Take My Breath Away

"Stop!" Farris shouted and grabbed Blair's arm to stop her from leaving. She hated being touched by strangers and shook him off with all her might.

Caught off-guard, Farris staggered backwards and tripped over a stone, which sent him plummeting to the ground. He rolled over to a sitting position, trying to get his bearings.

Blair couldn't believe her eyes. 'Am I that strong? Or is he that weak?'

She immediately helped Farris to his feet and apologized to him. "Wow! I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Many onlookers couldn't help but giggle at what happened.

Farris was pissed off. When he stood up, he grabbed Blair again with both hands and reprimanded, "Don't pull away from me when I'm talking to you! Who do you think you are? You should be grateful to me for liking you. You play goody-two-shoes when you're just a cheap-ass ho! Last chance! You can either agree to it, or I'll just do what I have to."

'Be grateful to him for liking me? Ha-ha! That's hilarious, ' Blair thought. She regarded the discussion as over, so she turned to leave.

Farris, however, pushed her to the ground, him on top. "Everyone's at the gala. If I fuck you right here, there won't be anyone riding to your rescue."

Blair panicked. "Lay a finger on me, and I'll paint the walls with your blood," she said through gritted teeth as she struggled to free her hands. He had them pinned on either side of her head.

After a short pause, Farris said, "Then agree to be my girlfriend."

Blair clenched her teeth and struggled against his weight. "Not a chance!"

Farris' friends saw this and ran over. "Dude, not cool," one of them said.

"You know her uncle's—"

"I don't give a shit who her uncle is!" Farris cut him off. "I'm gonna fuck this bitch, and no one's gonna stop me."

Birds of a feather flock together. Some of Farris' friends were also from well-off families, and they acted as if they were above the law. One of Farris' friends lit a cigarette and stared at them coldly. "Yeah. Teach this bitch a lesson so she'll know her place."

"Exactly! Farris, since she likes playing the good girl, fuck her as hard as you can, and don't stop until she begs you. She might even like it enough to come back to you."

"Ha-ha!" The boys leered at Blair.

Farris covered Blair's mouth so she was unable to call for help. His weight suffocated her. His eyes were red with excitement. "I've never fucked a straight-A student before. This is gonna be good. Quit struggling. I'll take you to a hotel if you behave."

At this moment, a man's voice came from the darkness. "Only wusses force themselves on a girl."

"Who's that?" Farris turned in the direction of the voice.

Tears welled up in Blair's eyes when she heard the voice. 'He came! My knight in shining armor, ' she thought.

"It doesn't matter who. What matters is that I've got everything recorded. Now amscray, or I turn this over to the cops." He held up his phone.

Frightened, Farris took his hand from Blair's mouth. But then he remembered something and covered it again. "Go ahead. Give it to the cops. Only wusses do that. Why are you hiding? Afraid to face me?"

A figure came out of the darkness. Before Farris could see who it was, he was hauled to his feet, and a hook kick sent him flying.

"Aaaargh!" Farris yelled at the top of his lungs, scaring a flock of birds.

"M-Mr. Li..." Farris stammered while backing up. He was lying on his back, so the scene was somewhat comical. If looks could kill, Wesley would have laid those boys out in an instant. They decided discretion was the better part of valor and ran off.

Wesley bent down, grabbed Farris by his collar and lifted him in the air. Farris covered his head and pleaded, "Oh God, no! Please let me go. I won't do it again!" He had seen Wesley fight off more than ten soldiers on the training grounds. He knew this guy had seen his share of real battles as well.

Wesley raised his right fist, ready to punch him in the face, but a pair of soft hands grabbed his fist. He turned around and saw Blair.

She shook her head. This was a university, and Wesley was a drillmaster. If he beat a student, his reputation would be ruined and he might be punished.

Wesley knew what she meant. This guy wasn't worth his career. He let go of Farris, and the would-be rapist ran off at full speed.

Blair and Wesley were left alone. After consideration, she said, "We gotta stop meeting like this. You saved me again. I owe you my life." She would never miss a chance to confess her love to him.

'Sounds like she's not done. What more could she say?' Wesley thought.

As expected, Blair continued, "Do you wanna get married? Then we can sleep with each other. I can take care of you." 'For the rest of my life, I want you, for better or worse, ' she thought.

To her disappointment, Wesley turned and left without saying a word. In fact, he was afraid of what he would say if he stayed.

Sighing in defeat, Blair walked to the entrance of the university instead of following Wesley. She didn't want to annoy him.

At the entrance, she grabbed a bike with a bike-sharing application on her phone and rode back to her apartment.

The next morning, when Blair came to school, she saw a couple of military vehicles driving out of there.

She knew that the military training was over and they were leaving.

She saw Wesley sitting in the passenger seat of the second vehicle. The girls beside Blair got excited, giggling, pointing, and whispering. They thought Wesley was super-handsome.

Wesley's eyes met Blair's, but in the next second, he looked away as if she were a mere stranger.

Talbot was in the third vehicle. He asked the driver to stop and waved at Blair. "Blair, we're taking off. Don't be a stranger, okay?"

Blair waved back. "Sure. Bye!"

Lenard, Bowman, and others who knew her also waved goodbye.

After they left, she went inside, feeling frustrated.

Somehow, she was suddenly struck with a deep sense of loss.

Hartwell's birthday was just around the corner. Joslyn asked Blair along on a shopping trip to buy him a gift. Blair herself had to give her cousin a gift too, so she didn't turn Joslyn down.

When Joslyn took her to the Shining International Plaza, Blair's eyes widened. "Joslyn, did you win the lottery? Prices are sky high here!"

Joslyn sighed and said, "I know. But your cousin's worth it. What can I do?" She felt her heart ache at the thought of buying something in here.

Blair grabbed Joslyn's hand and led her to the entrance. "Look, he's not that kind of guy. You can't buy his love. One dollar or a thousand, he'll just be happy you got him something."

Joslyn stopped Blair. "Don't worry. Although they don't give me any pocket money, I've got some money saved from my part-time job. I have enough to get him something special."