Take My Breath Away

"Come back to the apartment," Wesley requested again, ignoring her question. The apartment felt like a cold and cheerless place without her there. He didn't want to be there if she wasn't.

"No way! Goodbye!" Blair was about to shut the door.

But Wesley managed to squeeze into the room before she closed the door. He slipped in, using his boots to stop the door from closing. Unable to prevent him, she said angrily, "Why did you come here? Go find your girlfriend Garnet. Didn't she say that you'd been waiting for her? Why are you still here?"

"I'm not waiting for her," he explained.

"Whatever. Not my business. You saved my life, and I owe you money. That's all." Of course, no matter how angry she was, she couldn't forget that he saved her life.

Wesley fell silent.

When he didn't say anything else, Blair took a deep breath, quieted her emotions and said, "You were my first love. Everyone always talks about their first loves in the past tense, like first love wasn't real. I used to think that was bunk, but not anymore. So when you brought Garnet by...the way you behaved around her...now I believe it."

Wesley was rendered speechless. What did he do that day? Did he behave differently around her? He didn't think so.

"Please go away. I won't bother you anymore. I owe you 300k. I'll get you the money, but it'll take some time." Blair pushed him out and was about to close the door again.

Wesley put his hand on the door. "Don't."

"Don't? Don't what? I told you I wouldn't bug you anymore, so what do you want?" she retorted.

"I don't want that! I don't want you to avoid me. Don't forget that you were the one trying to date me. You can't just leave!" he declared.

Blair looked at him in shock. "True. I fell in love with you first, and tried to get you to notice me. But I've given up. You don't get a say in this, Colonel Li. We aren't anything to each other." She remembered how he dumped her that day.

Wesley stared at her in silence. Then, he dropped that topic and handed the flowers to her. "The flowers, here you are. I've been in a lot of flower shops."

Blair looked at the flowers. Now she became visibly calmer. "Who gave you that idea?" she asked. Wesley knew nothing about romance. There must be someone who told him to buy flowers for a girl.

"Damon." He didn't bother trying to hide it. Damon knew more about women than he did.

"So did Mr. Han specifically tell you about the yellow carnations?"

"No. That was Megan," he replied honestly.

"Megan suggested you buy yellow carnations?"

"Yeah." Megan let him know that she'd seen Blair in yellow a few times. She figured Blair liked that color, so she advised Wesley to buy her a bouquet of yellow carnations.

But there weren't many flower shops that sold yellow carnations, so today, he hit every flower shop in the city looking for them.

'Megan...' Blair sneered. 'That little bitch.'

She breathed in the fragrance of the flowers and said coldly, "Pink and red carnations are for mothers. They symbolize good health, eternal youth and long life. You know what yellow carnations are for?"

'Flowers have meaning? That's new to me!' The soldier shook his head, confused.

"It means rejection, disappointment. Just what I wanted to hear! Now, take your flowers and get out!" As she yelled at him, she rudely stuffed the bouquet in his arms and pushed him out of the hotel room, giving him no chance to utter even a single word.

Bang! She slammed the door violently.

The officer stood in front of the closed door, his spirit crushed. He felt bad about all this. For listening to Megan, for his pride to get in the way of his feelings. The silent treatment brought him even more trouble in the end.

He let out a heavy sigh and left the hotel helplessly.

Blair had been working at full throttle since she was discharged from the hospital. Work had piled up in her absence, so she needed to work overtime to get it all done. She'd been doing this every day and came back to the hotel tired and drained.

The next day, before she could finish up work, Orion invited her to attend an important dinner with him.

When Blair returned to the hotel, it was already late at night.

She swiped her key card and walked in. Just as she closed the door, someone knocked. Looking through the cat's eye, she saw Wesley standing outside.

She was angry, but she didn't own her heart. He did. Despite them parting on bad terms, she still opened the door. It seemed that she still hadn't learned her lesson. Each time Wesley showed a little care for her, her heart softened.

This time, Wesley came with a bouquet of white baby's breath. The flowers were beautiful, but...

Blair shot a cold glance at the expressionless man. His attitude was unbelievable. He was here to apologize, but wearing such an arrogant face. 'What a jerk!'

"Anything you want to say?"

"Yes." He began to walk inside with the flowers in his hands.

Blair knew she couldn't stop him, so she just let him walk in this time.

Wesley handed her the new bouquet. "This time, I went to Damon, not Megan."

"Did Damon tell you what white baby's breath means?"

He nodded, "Yes. It means protection and care." He thought this was the right one. He wanted to protect her and care for her, so he figured he was in like flint.

Blair smirked. "Protection and care? Seriously? Wrong flower, man! That's the meaning of white heather. This is spirituality and innocence. Do I seem spiritual or innocent to you? Take your flowers and get out!"

The bouquet was back in Wesley's hands again.

In less than two minutes, he was driven out of the room and the door was shut behind him.

The third day, Wesley stood in front of the red roses in a flower shop. He hesitated for a long time but just couldn't decide. The owner of the shop noted his uniform and decided to leave him be. But her body language indicated exasperation, not to mention the snorts, sighs, and eye-rolling. Wesley suddenly pointed to a bouquet of Peruvian lilies, their golden petals displayed majestically. He simply said, "There. That one."

Then, he went to the hotel and knocked on Blair's room once again. Blair opened the door, wearing a strapless nightgown. She lazily leaned against the door and said with a yawn, "Lily flowers symbolize pure friendship or devotion. Which one do you mean?"

After a pause, he said, "Pure friendship."

"Sorry. I'm not interested in being your friend. Colonel Li, please don't come here again!" This time, the door was closed before he could have a chance to step inside.

The fourth day, with the help of a professional florist, Wesley bought a bouquet of yellow roses. The professional said yellow roses meant apologies and blessings.

Wesley believed Blair wouldn't turn him away this time. However, after a simple glance at the flowers, she said coldly, "Wrong color."

At this point, he had totally run out of patience. Ignoring her refusal, he stuffed the flowers in her arms, forced her inside and kicked the door closed. He pressed the woman against the wall. The bouquet was squished between them, a few petals dropping onto the floor. He called out in a low voice, "Blair..."

She thought he was mad at her, but he suddenly kissed her lips and demanded, "How about this? You pick out the bouquet you want!" The best way was to let her choose the flowers herself.

Blair didn't expect this to happen. Her heart was pounding fast. "No way! I'm not going!"

He kissed her lips again. "You have to!"

"No way! Why should I do anything you say?" She tilted her head to one side to avoid his kiss.

Wesley tightened his grip on her waist, held her chin and gave her a deep kiss.

After a long and affectionate kiss, he panted as he said, "I'm going to kiss you until you agree."

Blair was ticked off. "How dare you! Why should I listen to you?"

"I... missed you."

These were unexpected words from him. 'Is he trying to be sweet?' she wondered. But these three words worked like magic. Her anger dissipated at once. Nonetheless, she asked arrogantly, "Will you buy whatever I choose?"

"Yes. I promise."