'I thought he'd be jealous when he heard I got engaged. I was naive. He doesn't care at all, '
Blair thought bitterly as she tried hard to not shed tears in front of him. If she cried, she would look weak. In a relationship, whoever falls in love first hurts more. She was well aware of that, but she was also a proud girl.
She walked past him and reached out her hand to open the door to the stall, but he stopped her. He pressed her against the wall and pressed his lips against hers. She was trembling the whole time.
Blair was unable to hold back her tears anymore, and they streamed down her cheeks. 'What's he doing? If he doesn't like me, why kiss me? And this isn't the first time! What does he want?' she thought to herself.
A teardrop rolled into her mouth. The salty taste reminded her of their relationship, and the many things that happened. Wesley loosened his grip on her and panted in her ear. After a long pause, he said in a hoarse voice, "Study hard and forget me. Maybe you should go."
'What? Does he think I shouldn't have come to dinner? Maybe he has a point there. Among the other four juniors, two are Uncle Adalson's sons, and the other two are Uncle Baldwin's sons. I'm only Uncle Adalson's niece. Does he think I came here to see him?
But if I didn't come, would he think I was playing hard to get? Ugh!'
Tears welled in her eyes once more. Actually, she really didn't plan to bug him, nor did she want to be here in the first place. She was afraid that once she saw Wesley, she'd lose control and all the feelings would come rushing back.
'He kissed me because he wanted to comfort me? But that's not what I want!'
Blair raised her arm and was about to hit him.
She knew she shouldn't. This man was a superhero. But she was so pissed off that she just couldn't fight the urge to slap him.
However, Wesley was faster than her, catching her wrist.
Blair grew even angrier and punched him hard in the chest with her other fist.
This time, Wesley didn't stop her nor dodge. He just let her punch him nonstop. If this made her feel better, he was happy.
Blair finally stopped after a while, her knuckles red and swollen. She felt like she was hitting a rock.
They heard someone lock the stall next to theirs. Blair wiped her tears off her face and said in a low voice, "You look strong, but I bet you're bad in bed."
After that, she pushed him away and left the stall.
Wesley couldn't believe his ears as he looked at her retreating figure. 'I'll show her how good I am in bed, ' he swore to himself.
To Blair's intense surprise, before she could leave the men's room, the door of the stall next to theirs was opened. She looked back out of instinct and saw Hartwell.
Wesley also walked out. Blair's face was flushed from embarrassment.
She wanted to explain, but Hartwell said, "You two were gone a long time, so I came to look for you. Lucky I found you here."
'So he just happened to find us here?' Blair and Wesley both thought it was Niles who snitched on them.
"Hartwell, it's not what you think. Wesley and I are just friends. We were trying to have a private discussion," Blair explained hurriedly.
'What a lame excuse! Having a discussion in a toilet stall? And caught by Hartwell. How embarrassing!' she thought.
Hartwell said nothing, and Wesley said, "Why don't you take off, Blair? I need to talk to your cousin."
Blair heaved a sigh of relief as she didn't want to stay any longer. She didn't need to be told twice, and left straightaway.
Outside the door to the men's room, Blair turned around and saw a sign, which said, "Under Repair."
'Who did that? Niles? Or Hartwell?'
Inside the men's room, Wesley was leaning against the wall, smoking. "Think my cousin is hot?" Hartwell asked.
"Yeah, she is." 'She is pretty, and when she smiles, the whole world stops and stares for a while, ' Wesley thought.
"Is she a bitch?" Hartwell continued his line of questioning.
"No." On the contrary, Wesley thought she was a good person. She always wore a warm smile. Or at least, she used to. She didn't smile so much tonight.
"So she's not good enough for you, then?"
"What are you talking about? Of course she is." Sometimes, Wesley thought he wasn't good enough for Blair. Confident, friendly, beautiful. It was not like she didn't have her choice of guys.
"She doesn't like you? Is that it?" Hartwell asked.
"I'm pretty sure she does." Blair liked him a lot, and Wesley knew it. She had even put on a wedding dress and proposed to him in front of all his men, but he refused her.
Hartwell, usually the refined gentleman, grabbed Wesley's collar and shouted, "Then why did you turn her down?"
Wesley calmly shook off the fuming man. He took another drag on his cigarette, and said calmly, "You know I'm a soldier. I won't give my career up for a woman. My life's in danger all the time. On any given mission, I might not come back. So where does that leave her? She's a straight-A student with a bright future. She deserves a better guy. It's not fair to her." She once told him she was willing to give up her studies for him. He didn't like that. The chance to study abroad didn't come along every day. He'd feel bad for her for the rest of his life if she did that. He didn't want her to make any sacrifices for him.
He thought about saying yes. About giving in to his urges and becoming her boyfriend. And he would wait here while she was overseas. They could get married when she came back. But what if he died? He didn't want her to be sad at all, so he decided to put those thoughts aside.
What Wesley said convinced Hartwell.
He was a man and once served in the military too. He understood what Wesley was saying.
Wesley was due for a promotion soon, and he also had a bright future.
"Listen, I know Blair pretty well. If she made up her mind to be with you, she's already thought it through. She decided to accept the risk. Since she's not afraid, what are you afraid of?" Hartwell asked in confusion.
Wesley looked him in the eye and answered honestly, "I'm afraid of letting her down. I can't be the ideal boyfriend. So it's better if I don't say yes."
Hartwell wanted to press the issue, but decided better of it. He didn't want to interfere in their relationship. "You turned her down. Now live with it. Don't play games with her or get her hopes up. Just leave her alone," he warned.
"I know." Wesley thought he could do it.
When they returned to the private room, Blair and Niles were bantering back and forth. "You're such a sissy. You won't even try fish eyes," Blair taunted.
Niles puffed his chest up and retorted, "Taste is subjective. You don't eat everything put in front of you, either. Are you perfect? Uh-huh. Didn't think so."