When she heard what Hartwell said, Blair was stunned. 'What does he mean?' She turned to look at Joslyn, but her friend just shook her head and looked back with innocent eyes. "I didn't tell him," Joslyn said with a shrug.
"Stop it! Whose car are you riding in?" Hartwell repeated his question. He knew Blair was playing dumb.
"I want to come with you," Blair said in a low voice.
Hartwell took a deep breath and fought off the impulse to roll his eyes. "You asked Wesley to pick you up. Why ride with me? Just take his car."
Wesley was confused. 'Blair didn't call me to pick her up! Sounds like she didn't call Hartwell either. And he's only here to pick Joslyn up.'
Blair nodded her head obediently. She was so tired her eyes kept closing involuntarily. She was micro-napping and wanted nothing more than a bed. "Fine, I'll go with him. Have a safe drive." She grabbed her purse and got to her feet.
A moment later, she regretted it. Her head spun, and she was so drunk she couldn't feel her legs. She staggered and fell forward.
Luckily, Wesley was quick. He pulled her into his arms, preventing her from falling to the floor.
Blair held onto Wesley's arms and tried to get her footing. After all, Hartwell was still here. But her efforts were for naught. She was like a fawn, trying to stand for the first time. Her legs were shaky, and couldn't hold her.
Wesley had no choice but to scoop her up in his arms. He nodded at Hartwell and said, "Don't worry. I'll get her home safe."
Hartwell hesitated. It was not that he didn't believe him, but Wesley was a man, and Blair was drunk. People get stupid when they're drunk. Hartwell suggested, "How about you drive Blair to my place?"
Joslyn tugged at Hartwell's sleeve. "What does Blair think?"
Blair struggled to open her eyes. "Muh-my place," she slurred. She was so tired and drunk she could barely manage speech.
Hartwell still wanted to say something, but Joslyn nudged him. They could stay there all night arguing, or just let them go.
Although the other guys in the room didn't want to let Joslyn and Blair leave, they didn't speak up. Hartwell and Wesley were pretty domineering, and it was not the time to get in between them when they were butting heads. They watched as Wesley left the room, holding Blair in his arms. Joslyn and Hartwell decided to take off as well.
The moment the four of them were out of sight, the rest began to gossip among themselves. "So Blair does have a boyfriend."
"And he's a high-ranking soldier. Takes some dedication to get there."
"No wonder she's not interested in us. Must have a thing for guys in uniforms."
They looked at each other and then raised their glasses, looking forward to the burn of the alcohol in their throats and the numbness to follow.
The moment Hartwell was out of sight, Blair reached out her arms and cradled Wesley's neck. "I'm so happy, Wesley," she said cheerfully. Nothing made her happier than Wesley volunteering to pick her up.
Wesley, however, just thought she was happy because she was rip-roaring drunk. "Okay. Maybe you shouldn't drink like this," he said. "It's bad for you."
If he was going to pick her up when she was drunk, then she'd gladly get plastered every night.
Smiling from ear to ear, she stayed comfortably in his arms like a docile sheep while he walked towards the parking lot. Her ear was close to his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to his strong heartbeat.
Wesley thought she might be asleep, so he pulled the door of his car open and was about to put her in the back seat so that she could lie there.
Blair, however, refused to unfasten her arms from around his neck. "I don't want to sit in the back," she mumbled drunkenly. "I wanna sit next to you." The bratty charm was obvious in her voice, as if you could see it. His breathing came in short gasps. He was getting annoyed and turned on all at the same time.
He had to close the door with his foot and set her down in the passenger seat. "There. Let me get you strapped in."
Blair barely managed to sit upright and waited for him to fasten the seat belt. Her head lolled a bit. It was definitely late for her.
Wesley craned his head into the car. Blair smiled cunningly, held his face and gave him a kiss. "Wesley, you're so good to me."
Wesley was stunned for a bit, not knowing how to react. Then he pulled her hands away and fastened her seat belt. "Sit tight," he said.
"Uh huh."
Wesley closed the door and happened to see Hartwell's car driving off. He didn't wait around to watch, and got in the driver's seat.
Inside Hartwell's Mercedes Benz
Joslyn looked at Wesley's car and asked in confusion, "Wesley's there. Why not pull up and say hi?"
Hartwell closed his eyes and leaned against the back seat. "I'm in no mood to talk to him. He hurt Blair," he said coldly.
Joslyn's jaw dropped at his words. After a while, she slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Whenever Blair's drunk, all she wants to drink is Wahaha. She can be kind of bitchy about it, too. I totally forgot to tell Wesley."
Thinking of Blair's weird cravings, Hartwell rubbed his aching eyebrows and then held Joslyn's hand in his. "They'll be fine."
For some reason, Blair had a hankering for Wahaha probiotic milk. There were worse things she could drink, certainly. But she'd erupt into tears and get kind of abusive when she couldn't lay her hands on any. The funny thing was, she didn't care for it when she was sober.
Joslyn and Hartwell both ran into this before. They had to admit that it was rather annoying.
Hartwell's mood suddenly became better. 'Ha! She's his problem now. He'll find out soon enough.'
Wesley, who knew nothing about this, started the engine and left the parking lot. He turned onto the roadway and headed towards the Eastern Coastal Apartments.
Just as he turned the corner, Blair pounced on him, held his waist and rubbed her face against his chest. She was still belted in, straining against the limits of the seat belt. "Wesley..." she murmured in an alluring voice.
He trembled and almost lost control of the car.
"Y-yeah?"
"Wesley," she called out again.
"What?" He was growing rather bored with this. He needed to get her home.
"I want to sleep with you tonight."
"Hmm? Oh my!" The car almost hit the curb, and Wesley was fast enough to pull it back. The tires protested his quick action with a squeal.
Blair closed her eyes and rested her head on his legs. "Wesley."
"Hmm?" This was getting dangerous.
"How did you know that I was at the club?" she asked.
After a pause, he answered honestly, "You posted on WeChat."
"Why pick me up? I'm not your girlfriend." She breathed in his unique scent floating in the air as she spoke.
Wesley adjusted his position. "I was afraid you'd need a ride."
'So Hartwell didn't ask him.' Thinking of this, Blair was elated.
"Wesley, you have feelings for Megan?" she asked.
"No," he answered without hesitation. She curled her lips and smiled sweetly without him seeing.
"Wesley..."
He answered her every question patiently until she suddenly said, "Can we stop and get some Wahaha?"
"What?" Wesley didn't get her point.
"I just want Wahaha!" Blair yelled as she sat upright and looked at him. Fire was in her eyes.
Wesley looked out the window and saw some grocery stores as he passed. But there was no place to park, so he kept driving. "Okay. Hold on," he said.