Diminishing distance

*Xin Lei*

Bai Li asked, "What are you doing?"

My mind went blank. My eyes were still glued onto Bai Li's firm and muscular chest. His breath kissed my forehead, and I could literally feel my cheeks burning hot.

Damn, he has such a good body! Which woman wouldn't drool over it?

Men in the army train and exercise a lot to stay fit. I could see that very well.

Should I cry? Or should I thank God for this accidental chance? I wanted to be in his arms, and that's what exactly happened.

I felt a tickling sensation on my waist where Bai Li had held me with his arm. His fingers were slightly pressed on it, and I swore that my heart would come out of my chest at any moment.

I knew I was attracted to him, and this situation wasn't helping!

No, it was adding oil in the fire!

Then my sight went onto his abdomen, where there was some sort of marks.

I looked at them carefully.

No, not marks. They were his injuries.

One was a wound clearly he must have got from a sharp object. It was quite big, stretching from the lower right side of his abdomen till a little upwards towards his chest. I could see the faint marks of the stitches, and as a doctor, I could say that they weren't done with much excellence. It was literally crisscrossed across the skin.

I felt hurt. And angry too.

Couldn't the doctor have done a better job?

If it were me, then I wouldn't have let that injury be even visible!

I gritted my teeth. But I could do nothing now.

Then there was another wound on the left side, but it wasn't that big as the right one. It was a small circle.

A gunshot wound.

There were two injuries on his body, but it just made Bai Li look all the more masculine.

As if in a trance, my hand automatically lifted itself. I traced his right injury with my fingers. It felt like a shot of current coursed through me when my fingers came in contact with his skin.

"You…"

I heard a low growl. I looked up at Bai Li. I stiffened as I felt his piercing gaze. Even though he couldn't see, at that moment, I felt as if he could. His eyes were squinted, and I heard him grinding his teeth by how his jaw slightly moved. His gaze looked like there were some hidden emotions that he was trying not to let them out.

It was dangerous.

But I didn't withdraw my hand. I pressed my palm on it.

It was bold of me to do that. But I couldn't help it.

Maybe this was the chance?

I wanted to change something in between us.

I sensed he might want to say a lot of things but didn't know what to say.

This time I didn't want the help of that robotic voice to talk to him.

I raised my right hand. I traced a question on his chest with my fingers.

How?

And then I pressed his injury to make my point. I wanted to know the story. I wanted to know more about him.

Bai Li shut his eyes and exhaled a long breath. He was silent for a moment.

"It was the same mission where I lost my sight in Baghdad. It was a bomb. It was too close. It blew off the car near to it, and a huge chunk of it just flew to my side and stabbed me. Some of it hit my eyes. I was even lucky to get medical aid. It was a mess and a lot of blood. It was enough for me that the skin was stitched back. My sight wasn't that lucky enough, though."

I was breathless. I couldn't even imagine the pain he must have gone through. I wanted to cry, but I held it in. It was hard to do it, though.

I bit my lip and then traced my fingers through his other wound.

Bai Li said, "Seven years back. A drug dealer was escaping, and in the crossfire, his bullet hit me, though my bullet hit in between his brows too, okay?"

A soft laugh escaped my lips. Even now, he could tell it off as a joke.

Serving the nation and getting hurt in the process...

I wished I could be there at those times with him.

I didn't ask him anything more, and he said nothing else either. It was so quiet that I could hear the sound of the clock ticking by, second by second.

Now I was supposed to move away, right?

But I didn't want to. I wanted to stay like that. And I so wished that Bai Li wanted it too.

God heard my prayer.

Because then, Bai Li tightened his grip on my waist, and it pulled me even closer to him. My breasts were practically pressed on his chest. Our heads were just a few inches away from each other. With his left hand, he pressed the back of my right hand that was resting on his wound.

He slowly lifted it for which I was fully cooperative as well. He brought it and placed it on his cheek. I cupped it and brushed my thumb along the cheekbone. With my fingers stretching at the back, I could also touch his silky hair a little.

My gaze met his.

My heart was racing as I looked at his facial features in great detail; his clear eyes, his sharp nose, his well-defined jawline, and his thin and pink lips.

Bai Li was slowly leaning towards me.

Am I imagining it?

He held my face and slowly felt his way to my lips. His thumb slightly brushed against my lower lip, and it stopped there. It lingered as if it didn't want to leave. His touch was enough to send butterflies in my stomach.

The distance between our lips was slowly diminishing into nothingness.

As if an invisible force was pulling me, I, too, leaned towards him. He was tall, so I had to step on my toes a little bit.

Our lips were just centimeters apart now.

I instinctively closed my eyes. And then I felt a soft sensation slowly starting to take root on my lips.