Waiting For a Girl Like You

"Carla Ji! Where the hell are you? Have you been slacking off? You're running behind with all of the deliveries. The customers have been calling and are complaining that they haven't received their orders yet!"

Karen was the owner of the diner where Carla Ji was working as a delivery girl. The many complaints that she received over the phone from angry customers overwhelmed her and she vented it out on Carla.

"I'm sorry, Karen, for the delay with the deliveries.

I had a problem with my scooter and couldn't find a repair shop to fix it. But I tried fixing it myself and it seems to be working now. I promise I'll deliver all the orders.

I'll be there in 10 minutes. I have to go now, Karen. I'll talk to you later." Carla Ji had just delivered an order to a customer and quickly hopped back on the scooter to go to the next. She was in such a hurry to make up for lost time that she forgot to put her helmet on. She turned the throttle to maximum speed, blinked uncomfortably in the cold wind that was blowing in her face, while stewing on the abuse that Karen had unfairly flung at her on the phone.

The scooter that she was riding was a cherry red color and had little details. After speaking with Karen on the phone, Carla felt a little nervous about facing her.

'What a bad day!' Carla Ji thought to herself as she was driving to the next delivery. Her scooter had broken down and there were no repair shops available, so it wasn't her fault. 'Everything is going to be all right. Just take a deep breath and smile!'

Determined to finish all her deliveries for the day, she put her phone inside her pocket and concentrated on the road.

The strong wind blew in her face and whistled in her ears. She had to focus on her driving and not to think about Karen.

Finally, she had caught up to all of the deliveries that she had to do for the day. There was just one more delivery left and she was excited about finishing so she could go home and rest.

Delivery played an important role in the food industry. It allowed customers to choose what they wanted to eat without the hassle of getting it themselves. But for the delivery person, it was a very demanding job. Deliveries were all over the city and it took a lot of traveling to and from each customer which was all time-consuming. Carla Ji would start work early in the morning and usually finished late at night.

It was nearly nine in the evening and had become dark. The street lights had been lit up for a while now and there were very few people walking in the streets. Most were already in their warm homes with their families.

Carla Ji had almost arrived at her last destination, which was just around the corner about two or three minutes away. She was so relieved that her working day was nearly over.

After the stressful day that she had with her scooter breaking down and then being abused by Karen for being behind on her deliveries, all she could think about was delivering her last order as quickly as possible and going home to relax and let this terrible day be behind her.

Distracted by her thoughts and driving fast, she didn't notice that someone was in the middle of the road until the last minute.

"Hey! Get out of there! Hey! Get out of my way!"

She yelled at the person to move as she was fast approaching.

The man wasn't moving out of the way. He just stood there slightly hunched over as if he was hurt and looked at her with a cold and defensive glare. She tried to brake but the scooter wasn't responding. She let go off the throttle and kept squeezing the brakes desperately trying to stop in time, while yelling at him at the top of her lungs,"Hey! Get out of there! Get out of my way!"

The scooter wasn't working properly, ever since it broke down earlier that day. Even if she did manage to brake, she was too close and would surely hit him if he didn't move.

Just as the scooter was about to hit the man, Carla Ji held on tightly and squeezed her eyes shut at the last moment and waited for the inevitable, thud! But instead of the 'thud', Carla felt the scooter ease to a stop.

She opened her eyes in surprise and saw two strong hands holding on firmly to the handlebars of the scooter.

Carla Ji blinked with wide eyes, trying to process what had just happened for a few seconds.

And then she looked the man up and down that was standing in front of her to make sure that he was okay. She noticed that he had muscular arms and a strong robust body. 'With that physique, no wonder he was able to stop the scooter, ' she thought.

His shirt was covered in blood and he seemed hurt. He looked at her questionably and asked as he winced in pain,"Are you okay? Can I let go of the handlebars now?"

He seemed tense and uneasy, and kept looking around.

He spoke a little abruptly to her, but there was something about this man that Carla Ji liked. She had an earnest and sincere feeling about him. He was charming and had deep expressive eyes. On top of that, his aura was so engaging.

The man that stopped the scooter when Carla Ji had lost control even though he was injured, was Terence An.

She put her feet out to the sides of the scooter to steady herself, and then remembered why she was going so fast in the first place. She still had an order to deliver.

Carla Ji turned to look at the delivery box that was on the back of her scooter. And saw that the contents were all scattered about and ruined. She frowned at the sight and it was then that she felt her scooter sink down by the weight of another person. Terence slid in behind her and yelled,"Let's go!"

"I can't! The orders!"

He was trying to tell her something, but she wasn't listening. All she thought about was the order that she had to deliver and how it was just one big mess now. She worried about what Karen was going to say when she found out.

'What will I tell Karen? How will I explain this to her?' Carla Ji didn't know what to do anymore.

She was still thinking about the dilemma that she was in when she was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts by something that was wrapping around her waist.

Terence An was holding her so tightly that she felt like her slim waist would break because of the strength of his hands.

"Go!" shouted Terence. "I'll pay you ten times the price of that."

Carla Ji suddenly heard the sound of stomping feet. And as she turned, she saw a group of fierce-looking men heading towards them.

"There he is!"

"Hurry! Get him!"

Carla Ji's eyes widened in fear at the site of them. They were obviously after the man that was sitting on the back of her scooter, holding tightly on to her. She didn't have much time to think.

In an instant, she started the scooter up and with full throttle raced off as fast as the scooter would go. 'My life is more important than this food for delivery, ' she told herself as she concentrated on putting as much distance between herself and the angry men as possible.

Carla Ji was a bundle of nerves. She tried to convince herself that the man on the scooter with her was just a large order that she needed to deliver.

She was exhausted. It had been a very long day. In her mind, she told herself as soon as she dropped the man off she could go home and rest.

Reassuring herself that she just had to do this one last delivery and then would be able to go home, Carla sighed and just kept repeating to herself that soon all of this would be over.

'You are just a large order.

Just a 'huge' order.

Just another order to be delivered, ' she kept repeating to herself.

Once Carla Ji felt that she was a safe distance away, she eased off on the throttle. The screaming sound of a motor stopped immediately and ran smoothly again.

She checked her mirrors, confident that no one was following them. Finally, she felt more at ease and wasn't as nervous and jittery as before.

'Damn it! This man is heavy, ' she thought to herself. It was difficult driving the scooter with him on the back.

The scooter was only a small one. Although it had a seat for another passenger, it was only intended for a child or someone similar to Carla Ji's frame. Fortunately, Carla was only a petite girl. Otherwise, they both wouldn't have been able to fit on the scooter. Especially since this fellow was not only tall, he was also buff. She had to concentrate hard on keeping her balance and hold onto the handlebars much harder to avoid the front wheel from wobbling.

Terence An kept his hands around Carla Ji's waist. He didn't want to let go, just in case, she tried to do something stupid against him. It was awkward for her since she didn't know who this man was. A short time ago, she nearly ran him over with her scooter and now he was holding onto her as if he was never going to let go.

"Sir, can you take your hands off my waist and just hold onto the scooter, please?

It is difficult for me to drive when you are holding on so tightly. I can barely breathe. I would appreciate it if you could just let go and hold onto the scooter instead."

Carla Ji felt that there was no need for him to keep holding onto her since they were out of danger.

"Not a chance!" Terence An replied. "You are a delivery girl. You know your way around here and are familiar with the streets. When you take me to a safe place then I will let go of you."

Terence An was hurt and tired. He wanted to find a safe place where he could clean himself up and rest without worrying that someone was going to follow them.

He managed to fight them off but he still got hurt in the process. His face was bloodied and his clothes were dirty and bloody. He just wanted to rest a while.

Carla Ji could only sigh, 'It has been a hell of a day today! It's like the worst day of my life.

First, my scooter broke down, then I nearly ran over this man with blood all over him. I don't even know if he's dangerous or not. Then my last delivery ended up scattered all over the place. This day has been an absolute disaster for me, ' she thought.

She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, but she chose to ignore it. She was overwhelmed by everything that had happened to her today, and couldn't handle speaking to anyone at the moment, especially if it was Karen.

Carla Ji was totally drained. All she thought about was getting home and running a nice warm bath for herself, where she could soak her aching tired body. Absentmindedly, she weaved in and out of the familiar streets. And before she knew it, she had parked out the front of her house and turned the motor off on the scooter. The silence startled her, and she began to panic that she had just brought a stranger to her home.

She pretended like she didn't know the place where they had stopped and started the scooter up again. And she turned the handlebars to head in another direction.

"Isn't this your house?" asked Terence An. "Why are you turning around?"

Terence wasn't stupid. He knew that Carla Ji was trying to distract him and take him somewhere else away from her home. He reached out and held onto the handlebar of the scooter.

The scooter stopped moving suddenly. Carla looked across and realized that the man was squeezing the brakes with his big strong muscular hand.

She felt frightened that he was aware of what she was trying to do. Her heart was in her throat

when Terence An leaned forward holding onto the brakes. She could feel his hard body against her and could smell the blood on him. He felt very hot and was sweating profusely.

"Of course not! That's not where I live," Carla Ji tried to mislead him. "I don't know how we got here. I just kept driving so we could get away from those bastards. It looks like a dead end street. I'm just an ordinary delivery girl. How am I supposed to know all the streets here?"

Carla babbled nervously trying her best to deceive him.

In the calmest voice that she could manage she said,"Hey, you can get off now. It's safe here." As she turned the motor off the scooter. She wanted to get rid of Terence An without offending him.

Just as Carla finished talking, she suddenly felt a weight on her back. She turned to try and see what was going on and

was so startled when she saw Terence.

"Oh my gosh!" shouted Carla. "Hey! Wake up. Please wake up!"

'Why is this happening to me? Seriously, right in front of my house. Could this day possibly get any worse?' she thought hopelessly to herself.

Carla was driving herself insane. She had no idea what do with this man. What was wrong with her? How could she take him to her house like this? She took one good look at him and decided that it definitely wasn't a good idea.

A thought crossed her mind, 'Is he a felon? I wonder whether he has a criminal record.' She glanced down at him and saw that he had blood stains all over his shirt. 'By the looks of him, he has got to be some kind of criminal, ' she thought. Looking at him again, her mind began to run wild, 'Why were those people chasing him? He must have done something quite horrific for them to want to beat him unconsciously.'

Looking around her, she took a second and thought to herself, 'There are so many people in this world... Why does this have to happen to me?' Carla's mom had told her never get involved with men like him. Her mom always used to say," Men like that will take all of your money, leave you homeless and heartbroken." Carla believed her mom, hence why she never associated herself with men like him, until now.

'What if these people come back? What if they saw my face and came after me? I hope that they don't think I was involved with this man, nor whatever he did.' Her eyes widened at the thought of men coming after her.

She knew nothing about this man. She knew that bringing him home could cause complete havoc. The thought of him being in her house sent shivers down her spine. 'For all I know, he could be a murderer.'

She really wanted to help him because that was one of her characteristics. Carla had such a caring heart. She was always willing to lend a helping hand to someone in need. As much as she wanted to help this man, she knew she couldn't. She had a little ten-year-old brother to look after and she would never do anything to put his life in jeopardy.

Carla's parents passed away at a very young age. Her brother was only a baby. Ever since then, she was his mom and sister combined in one. They never had any other close relatives in the city, so she took it upon herself to take care of him.

As Carla was trying to carry this man off of her electric scooter, she heard a familiar voice coming up from behind her," I am over the moon with excitement, Carla. You have finally brought a guy home. Is he your new boyfriend?" said the voice behind her. Seeing Carla with a guy was something unusual. Carla never had a serious boyfriend, as she was always busy with something. She was always juggling work, taking care of her brother and working hard towards paying off her debt. She never really had any time for one. Before she could turn around, she heard this lady say," Why don't you take him upstairs for coffee or something? I am sure your brother would love to meet him."

She turned around to see who it was, 'Oh no, it's Jena Wang. I can't deal with this woman right now.' Jena had just come from her usual run around the block and spotted them. She was very pretty. She had long tanned skinny legs and a tiny waist. Jena could never keep her nose out of other people's lives, even if she tried to.

Jena started walking towards Carla with a big smile on her face. She wanted to meet Carla's new boyfriend.

"Please Jena, now is not a good time," said Carla. She was planning to put him in an alleyway between the two buildings, behind the dumpsters, and just leave him there. However, Carla couldn't proceed with her plan anymore, as she knew Jena would see what she was about to do.

"He is not my Boyfriend. Why would you think that?" asked Carla. Jena could hear the slight irritation in her voice. "Come on, Carla... It's obvious. You know, bringing a man home is completely normal. You don't have to be shy about it," said Jena.

"I am really happy that you have found someone, Carla. You have been doing this all on your own for such a long time now. You really need a break," Jena said. She had a big grin on her face. 'I wish that was true, ' Carla thought to herself. After saying what she needed to say, Jena smiled at Carla. She then took a sip of water, turned around and started jogging towards the stairs.

Jena stopped and turned her head with the obvious intention to something more. Carla rolled her eyes and thought, 'What is she going to say now?'

"Don't canoodle for too long outside. It was reported on the news that a storm is on its way," Jena said, winking at Carla.

"I will see you guys around. Have fun!" Jena shouted. Letting out a small giggle, she then disappeared up the stairs. Carla halfheartedly smiled at Jena as she left. She thought to herself, 'Thank goodness she is gone.'

When Jena saw Carla and her 'boyfriend' outside the building, the man's head was on Carla's shoulder. It's rather dark at night and Jena wasn't able to see his face at all. That was why she thought they were canoodling.

As soon as Jena left, Carla placed the man's heavy arm around her neck and attempted to carry him off her scooter. "Why are you so heavy?'' she said to him.

'Am I stupid? Why am I doing all this for this man I've only met?

Why am I doing so much for this man? I saved him from being chased and killed from some kind of gang, and now I have to carry him to somewhere safe. If I take him home, he will be putting both Sean and I at risk. It would only be fair to dump him somewhere and forget that he even existed.'

Carla's mind started to run again, 'That's not the person I am... I will never be able to forgive myself If I just leave him somewhere to die.'

She searched him for any kind of identification. Carla found his wallet and searched for his name but she couldn't find any. While searching him, Carla couldn't help but notice that he didn't have anything valuable on him.

More importantly, Carla started to think, 'Am I attracted to this man?' She stopped her thought pattern before thinking any more about it. She always promised herself that she'd find a man that could take care of her financially. She wanted him to be attractive, charming, romantic and to help her get far in life. Her mind started to drift back to the unconscious man, 'Is he really making me doubt my future soulmate? Did Jena's words get to me?'

"Did they really?" she said quietly to herself.

Carla couldn't believe that she was thinking so deeply about a man that she had never even met before.

Her head started to hurt from all the thinking she was doing. She decided that she would have to risk it and take him home until he was better. She knew leaving him somewhere would not be the right thing to do. Perhaps she was even starting to have feelings for him.

Carla struggled to get his unconscious body up the stairs. She finally reached the door. Holing the man with her both hands and unable to reach for the keys in her pocket, she kicked it and yelled," Sean, open the door! It's urgent!"

Carla was battling to keep the man's body up. She had used all of her strength and put his entire body on her shoulder. "Come on. Just a little bit more," she kicked the door and yelled again," Sean, hurry up!"

Sean shouted from the other side of the door," I am on my way. Be patient! Did you forget your keys again? Stop kicking and screaming, Carla. It's late and people are sleeping!"

Sean ran to the door as fast as possible, battling to open the door. "Come on, Sean! Open up!" Carla shouted from the other side of the door. Sean then unlocked the door.

He flung the door open and was just about to give Carla a mouthful," What..." Looking at his sister, the sight of a man, whose face was covered in blood, immediately made Sean forget what he was about to say. He was speechless.

Sean's heart almost stopped. He was just standing there and staring at the unconscious man.

He was only ten-years-old, and had never seen so much blood before. It was only natural for him to react the way he did.

Carla looked up at Sean," Why are you just standing there... Help me!" Sean looked at her with his mouth wide open. He was in shock, yet managed to get out a word," Okay."

She dragged the man in by his arms, as she was unable to carry him any further. There was sweat running down her red face. "That is the most exercise I have done all year," she joked. Carla was just happy that she didn't have to carry him anymore.

Sean looked out the door to see if anyone was watching what they were doing. The coast was clear. He closed the door behind them and locked it just in case. Sean attempted to help Carla by grabbing his feet. After a lot of effort, they managed to put the man on the couch. "That was hard work," Carla exhaled and wiped the sweat off her head.

Sean took his gaze off the man that was lying there and asked his sister," Carla, do you care to tell me why there is an unconscious man with blood on his face lying on our couch?" Sean started teasing Carla," Is this what they give you as a tip for delivering pizza?"

Carla replied with a sarcastic tone," Ha-ha! Very funny, Sean." Carla walked to the bathroom, fetched a wet cloth and started wiping the blood of his face. "Shut up! Go and fetch the first aid kit, now!" she said to Sean.

"This is so exciting. Our house has become a hospital. I have always wanted to be a doctor," Sean said, grinning from ear to ear.

He was standing and staring at the man lying on his couch. His imagination was running wild about how this man got injured. "Sean, the medical aid kit!" Carla shouted. He snapped out of his daydreaming and ran to get the medical aid kit.

Carla cleaned up all of the blood from the man's face. She took his shirt off, which was also full of blood, and threw it in the wash. She fetched a blanket from the cupboard and gently put it over him.

Carla looked to see how bad his injuries were. He only had a few cuts and bruises, but nothing too serious. She had noticed his facial features and the way his jawline was prominent.

"Okay, he seems fine now. Sean, your job is done here so go back to your room now and finish your homework. Don't make me repeat myself."

"But, Carla... I want to be here when he wakes up," Sean replied. Carla looked at him and in a stern voice said," No buts, Sean. Just go."

Sean listened to Carla and went to his room. He needed to finish his homework and get some sleep as he had school the next morning.

For some strange reason, Carla was not tired at all. She just wanted to sit and wait for the man to wake up.

Moments later, she quickly went to check whether her brother was sleeping and quietly walked back to the couch where the man was lying. Since no one was around, she started to examine his face and his features. She poked his nose and tried to open his eyelids, just to check if he was still unconscious.

'I wonder if he's ever had plastic surgery done on his face?' she asked herself.

Looking at this man, her heart started to race and her mind started to drift, 'Look how beautifully carved his eyelids are and how perfectly shaped his nose is. Those lips must have been made by the gods themselves. How can one man be so perfect?'

She could still recall the very second that their eyes met. His eyes were so seductive and he could make you do anything he desired with just one look. Carla had never been so drawn to a man, just by looking at his eyes.

Carla took her gaze off his face and looked at his body.

She thought, 'How did I not notice his body? How can everything be so perfect? This man cannot be from our world.'

She let out a shy giggle and whispered to him," If only you knew how I was staring at you."

The man started to move and Carla's face went red like a tomato from embarrassment, 'What if he heard me?'

With his eyes closed, Terence mumbled," Ow, who is poking my face?" Forcing his eyes open, he almost jumped out of his skin with the sight of a woman staring right at him.

Carla's eyes widened with surprise," Oh, you are awake!"

Terence tried to get up, but his head was too sore," Who are you? Where am I? Where is my shirt?" He asked Carla. He felt his head and said," It feels like someone hit me on the head with a brick."

Gazing at his angry face and arched brows, Carla was in awe of how magnificent his look was. She couldn't stop staring at him. 'How can he be even more attractive when he's angry? Is that even possible?'

Carla tried to reassure him," Shh, it's okay. You are safe now. My name is Carla, and I put your shirt in the wash because it was full of blood. You are in my house." Terence scanned the room he was in. It was a big living room, with clothes scattered all around and on the floor. Nevertheless, it felt very homey. He then fixed his gaze on Carla.

Something about this woman seemed familiar. He thought to himself, 'Is this the woman that delivers pizza?'

He hadn't really paid much attention to her before, as it was dark and he couldn't really see what she looked like. He slightly moved his thick eyebrows and thought, 'She is quite attractive, but compared to the other women I know, I will score her a 3 out of 10 at best.

Hmm, I will add another 1 for her inviting figure, so let me make it a 4 out of 10, ' Terrence added to his thoughts.

He looked at her eyes, 'Her eyes are so mysterious. Who am I kidding? She is beautiful.'

Carla caught Terrence staring at her, and she joked," Why are you looking at me like I am a piece of meat? What? Are you amazed by my beauty?" She smiled at him slightly. It was weird, but Carla liked it when he looked at her in this way. "Hmm, it seems like you're getting better," Carla said with a smile on her face. She was so used to people staring at her like that. It always happened when she delivered pizza.

Starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with him staring at her this whole time, she decided to get up and fetch Terrence some water.

Little did she know that this man wasn't just watching her, he also had something else in his mind.

Carla came back with a glass of water and handed it to him.

"Thank you, Miss," he flickered his eyelashes and gave her a very seductive smile. Carla almost melted right there.

Terence then looked straight at Carla and said," Of course you are quite beautiful. Thank you for taking me into your home and taking care of me. You have a pure heart of gold."

Her lips curled slightly as she sat next to him. She picked up an orange and started to peel it. Jokingly, she replied," Thank you, but I am not Notre Dame. You don't need to worship me."

Terrence looked at her and said," Listen I don't say thank you often. So when I do, just know that I mean it." "Although you have threatened me to help you flee the scene, you stopped my electric scooter from collapsing on the street, which I am truly grateful. For that, I won't say another word about your 'abducting' me to get you out of your troubles," Carla said slowly.

'Damn, when people's lives are enduring serious risks, they would do anything to survive!

That's when you entered my eyes. Now you are blaming me for abducting you? To save my life? Woman, you were my silver light at that moment. I can't just let you go like that... I'd be a dead man if it weren't for you.' Terrence canted from within.

Carla continued with a smile," But, you do realize that you owe me a lot for carrying you up the stairs, cleaning you up, giving you a safe place to stay away from the people that were chasing you, right? Oh, and also for getting you out of a really bad storm and on top of that, all my delivery orders are missed and ruined." She paused for a second and carried on to say," You did promise me that you would pay me back ten times the value for my loss.

We will have to get those numbers all settled, won't we? Even reckoning makes long friends, right?"

Carla finished everything she had to say without even taking a breath. She sat back down, let out a small giggle and put an orange slice in her mouth.

Terrence's beautiful dark eyes fixed on her and he paused for a brief moment. His thin lips then curled up in a perfect angle and he smiled at her detailed description. He raised his right hand to his head and felt the messy bandages around it. As he was touching the bandages, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and laid back down on the couch.

Looking down to his shirtless body, he couldn't help but think, 'I could stay here. But, I wonder how much of my body had she explored.'

Terrence pushed his thoughts aside and replied to Carla," Since I have promised that I will pay you back every cent, you have my word." He carried on to say," I am still in a lot of pain. I don't have any money on me at the moment. I swear to you, I will make a plan to pay you back when I can." Terrence began to wonder, 'What if she lets me stay longer? I would like to get to know her better.'

Carla was not too impressed by what he had to say. This made her think back to what her mom used to say about men like him.

She replied with a faint smile," Hey, you are just being dramatic now. You are not that hurt. It really can't be that bad. By the way, just downstairs, there is a 24/7 ATM where you can draw money." She went on to tell him," Oh, and please don't tell me that you will pay me later. First thing tomorrow morning, please. Once you pay me back what we have agreed and promised on, then you may leave."

'He needs to leave before the sun rises, ' she thought to herself. Carla really didn't want him to stay any longer than he needed to, especially if people were coming after him. She had to protect herself and her little brother.

"But, wait!" Terence yelled.

"What do you want?" Carla replied.

She turned around and stared at the man. She became very frustrated deep inside, 'What the hell does he want now?'

"Have you ever heard of the old saying: When you see Buddha off, don't stop when you reach West. You may as well see him all the way to Heaven. It means you don't stop midway in doing a good deed. Since you've save me, you should be responsible for me," Terence relayed smugly. He continued,"I can't sleep like this. And if I can't sleep well, I won't be able to function tomorrow." "With that said, can I please have the honor of using your bathroom?" he finally asked.

To further prove his point, Terence visibly sniffed his sweaty body. When he saw blood all over him, he grew embarrassed.

As a neat freak, he wouldn't be able to sleep this way.

"You....." Carla tried to contain her annoyance. She didn't expect that the man could become even more unreasonable. She snorted and refused him firmly,"No, I don't like strangers using my bathroom. So I guess you just have to deal with it, sorry."

"Ah, never mind. I'm not a heavy sleeper, so I guess you won't mind if I stain your sofa." The man stretched his legs and deliberately wiped them on the spotless sofa. All he had to do then was wait for Carla's response.

Carla stared at him in disbelief. Rolling her eyes, she sighed and started walking towards the bathroom. Opening the door, she said,"Fine, you can take a shower. But I'm warning you! Keep it clean!"

Terence raised his brows and smirked as he got up from the sofa. He waved for Carla to come over.

"Come and help me," he demanded.

Having just recovered from a coma, plus the wound still fresh on his skin, Terence felt worn out. He wasn't sure if he could walk into the bathroom by himself so he had to turn to Carla for help.

If looks could kill, Terence would have already died a thousand times. But even so, Carla walked towards him. With apprehension, she helped him stand up by holding him by the arm.

Terence, on the other hand, had other plans. He disregarded her hands and instead placed his arm over her shoulders, putting his weight on her. It was in this way that they slowly walked towards the bathroom.

On a normal day, it would only take Carla a few steps to reach the bathroom. But this time, with a tall man bearing her down, it felt like she's carrying the Mount Taishan. At the same time, being so close with a man for the first time was causing her heartbeat to increase by the minute.

Finally, they arrived at the bathroom. Carla removed his arm off her shoulder the second she saw it fit and immediately turned away.

A loud thud could be heard in an instant.

It was Terence who hit the wall the moment he was out of Carla's support. He would have fallen to the ground if the wall hadn't caught him first.

"Are you okay?"

Carla turned to him, her face evident with concern.

"Can't you tell?" a wry smile appeared on his face.

If he had been well-rested, there was no doubt that he could walk by himself. But right now, all he could do was bear with it.

Terence cast his eyes to the ceiling and sighed deeply. Carla assisted him in a sitting position beside the tub then went on to prepare a warm bath for him.

"I should have just left you outside if I knew you're going to be such trouble. I should have left you there to die!"

Carla complained.

She helped him take off his dirty clothes stained with blood. Inevitably, she came in contact with his firm and strong muscles. The thought made her flush.

His muscles felt smooth and tense which were very different from hers. Damn it, her heartbeat began to accelerate again.

Watching him sitting on the sofa earlier was already causing her a headache. And now, she had to take off his clothes and touch him. She tried so hard to conceal how good it felt.

"If you want to touch more, would you let me shower first. Then, I'm all yours." Terence teased her, seeing the way she was looking at his body.

"What are you talking about? Don't be so full of yourself. I'm not interested in you or your body at all!" Carla protested. Recovering from her momentary slip of mind, she quickly looked away as she felt her cheeks get warm. She fled in a hurry after throwing the dirty clothes into the washing machine.

She shut the door heavily, leaving a loud stamp.

Upon reaching the living room, she buried her face on her palms. "Don't be such a fool!" she lectured herself.

Knowing that Terence was incapable of taking care of himself, Carla decided to stay on the sofa. She thought it would be better to wait and help him when he came out, instead of being woken up by the impudent guy if she fell asleep.

It was about 20 minutes later when

she heard noises coming from the bathroom.

Carla yawned and stood up with unsteady legs. Still dazed from sleep or the lack of it, she naturally walked towards the bathroom and opened the door without much thought.

Her drowsiness was knocked out of her in a second. As if she was suddenly splashed with cold water, her senses woke up, and her eyes went wide as she took in what was in front of her.

The next heartbeat, a red flush started to spread from her cheeks to her whole face and even to her neck. Abruptly, she shut the door with an even louder thud than earlier.

Terence did not expect that she would open the door without knocking. Needless to say, he wasn't wearing a single thread of clothing when she saw him. Looking at himself in the mirror, he smiled bitterly. It was the first time that a woman saw him naked but he couldn't do anything. How unfortunate!

He covered himself with a light pink towel from the shelf and opened the door.

"Ah! That was refreshing!" Terence exclaimed as he walked towards Carla.

"Where do you think you're going?" Terence asked. "The gauze got wet. Please help me deal with the wound again." Terence stopped Carla who was about to run away and hide in her room.

She was so embarrassed and yet she was also feeling so exhilarated. She had lived her life for 20 whole years and that was the first time that she saw a man without clothes on. It was too much for her, to say the least. If she were being honest with herself, she was stunned, and all she could think about was to leave the room as soon as she could.

"Why aren't you still standing there?" Terence looked at her with confusion. "I can't reach the wound on my back. Can you please bind it up again for me?"

Terence asked, making her jump. She was so consumed by her thoughts that she hadn't noticed he was already standing behind her.

Carla closed her eyes to calm herself for a few seconds. Then, she turned to him,"Are you playing with me? Why can you walk by yourself now? I didn't know taking a shower could do that."

'How naive of me! I'm not his maid that needs to wait on hand and foot. Why should I treat him well?' Carla thought to herself.

Terence grounded his arm on the wall beside her head. Trapped against his body and the wall, he started to tease her,"A shower does refresh me like that. Besides, I was just exhausted, so of course, I can walk now. Or am I right in guessing that the reason why you're complaining is that I didn't invite you in assisting me out of the bathroom?"

"You...Shame on you!" Carla raised her voice.

Biting her lips, she stared at him with contempt,"Fine, since your limbs are healthy, bind up your wound by yourself. Don't bother me!

Get out of the way. It's my room and I'm going to sleep. Leave me alone."

She added,"Also, get out of my house tomorrow morning. We are even now. Goodbye!"

Carla pushed him back and slammed the door.

Terence did not move an inch. He smiled and said nothing.

'Who knows what will happen tomorrow?' he uttered to himself.

The next day, Carla was still sleeping on her bed. Sean who was supposedly on his way to school shouted in the living room,"Carla! Carla! Hurry up! Come to the living room!"