Blair strolled over, stood in front of Wesley and looked up at him. He frowned in confusion. Suddenly, she put her hands on his strong waist, stood on tiptoe, and quickly planted a kiss on his lips. "Thanks for your help."
Last time, she kissed the corner of his lips, but this time, her kiss fell fully on his lips. She was getting bolder.
Blair was wallowing in the smugness when Wesley suddenly leaned forward. She was startled and instinctively took a step back. 'What does he want to do? Will he kill me just because I kissed him?' she wondered.
"Blair."
"Yes?" Was this the first time he said her name? It sounded so great!
"I don't love you." His cold and straightforward words rang in her ears.
Blair grinned, a hint of unnoticeable bitterness lingering on her lips. "I know." She was the one crushing on him, not the other way round. In a relationship, whoever falls in love first hurts more. Blair was well aware of that.
It only proved that Wesley was a good man. He didn't love her, so he turned her down from the start. Quickly. It was better than stringing her along.
Wesley felt a headache coming on. She was quite stubborn so he decided to be blunt. He explained further, "I'm only 24. I don't have time for love. I don't need it. My job is to serve my country and its people. That's it. That's what I was born to do."
"Wesley Li," she suddenly called out, interrupting him.
"What?"
"You're a grown-up. You can marry and have kids and still be a soldier. Plenty of military types do that. And I'm not asking you to marry me now. Let's just date. I promise I won't bother you when you're working." Blair didn't know where she got the confidence to say things like that. She knew it was now or never. She probably wouldn't be that bold a second time.
Wesley gave her a long look. "No, it's not in the cards, okay? Don't kiss me again. Keep your hands—and your lips—to yourself, and we can still be friends."
"Friends..." She hesitated for a second. "I can't just be your friend. I love you."
"I told you, I don't love you. Hate me if you have to, but just leave me alone." He left her apartment after dropping the last words.
Blair took a deep breath and ran to the doorway. "Hey, I can't cook tonight. You hungry? We could order some takeout."
Wesley pressed the down button on the elevator panel and turned around. He glared. The girl hid her body behind the door, leaving only her head visible in the doorway, staring at him with sparkling eyes. He wondered why he had to care about her dinner. "I'll order takeout for you."
Blair was relieved. He didn't ask her to order takeout herself.
So she decided to keep going. "But can't you cook too? I cooked for you last time. Now it's your turn. Fair's fair, right?"
The elevator hadn't arrived yet. Wesley became a little impatient and had an urge to bolt for the stairwell. "What do you want for dinner?"
Maybe he was a softie, or maybe she was getting to him. He had bluntly rejected her just a few minutes ago, and now he was caving to her. "Anything is okay. I'm not particular about food. I'm easy to please..."
Not waiting for her to stop talking, Wesley hastily strode into the elevator as soon as the doors opened. When he turned around and made eye contact with her, she blew him a kiss before the doors closed.
Inside the elevator, Wesley closed his eyes in frustration. He wondered why he listened to her. All he wanted to do was head back to work.
He hurt her, true, but the girl didn't back down. She kept making excuses to be together even after that.
Wesley felt even more frustrated.
On the other hand, after closing the apartment door, Blair leaned against it, the smile fading from her face.
His words stung her heart.
She felt sad. She loved him so much that she cared about every word that flew from his mouth.
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