Take My Breath Away

"Yes, Gwyn likes it a lot," Matthew said simply.

"Oh, I see." Erica nodded without thinking too much.

Matthew, the busy CEO, was such a loving and attentive uncle. He could cook anything his niece liked.

She leaned over the counter opposite him, eating an apple. "Where are you going tomorrow? How long will you be gone?"

"England, for a week."

Her eyes lit up. She wanted to go to England too. "Hey! Didn't you say you were going to take me with you on those business trips? I wanna go!"

"Not this time. I'm on a tight schedule. I'm only in England for half a day, then I'm headed to France and Italy. Maybe next trip I'll have more time, and you can come along." He also wanted her with him, but they'd spend most of their time on the plane. She liked to walk around, take pictures, visit the mom and pop shops, and his schedule wouldn't let her.

Tonight's dinner was pretty simple. 15 minutes of prep, 45 minutes cook time. So, an hour later, two plates of spaghetti, some cream puffs, a colorful fruit platter and a plate of dried fruit were sitting on the table.

Erica picked up a puff and put it in her mouth. Before she could even take a bite, Matthew chided her. "Wash your hands!"

"Well... okay!" She swallowed the part of the puff she was chewing. She savored the taste for a bit before walking off to wash up.

After dinner, Erica decided to relax by watching TV in the living room. She asked Matthew to join her. After a couple shows, the two of them walked into the bedroom.

She took a shower first, and he went to the walk-in closet to change his clothes.

As he unbuttoned his shirt, Matthew looked over at the door to Erica's wardrobe. He saw it was still ajar. He was about to close it for her but something caught his attention. He saw a wine red nightdress hanging in her wardrobe. He walked over and took it out. It was sexy, but he never saw her wear it.

Without a word, he pulled it off the hanger and put the hanger back in the wardrobe. Just as he turned around, something in the corner caught his eye.

It was a rectangular box. He would never have noticed it if he hadn't touched the nightdress next to it.

He grabbed the box and had a closer look.

Half an hour later, Erica came out of the bathroom in patterned pajamas. They had characters from the popular cartoon Boonie Bears plastered all over them.

In the bedroom, Matthew stood beside the bed, hands in the pockets of his pajamas. He stared at the two items on the

re you talking about?" 'What is that strange logic?' He was confused.

'Forget it. He had a hard and exhausting day.' Erica's heart softened and she turned off the lights.

In the darkness, she lay beside the man, widened her eyes and asked, "Matthew, say I'm the red rose and your goddess is the pure white rose. Now that we're married, do you like the red rose or the white rose more?"

Matthew thought for a while and said, "Every girl has different charms and different sides. They can be the pure white rose and the sexy red rose at the same time. Only a man who knows how to love can make the woman he loves more and more beautiful. That's the thing—I don't love you for who you could become, I love you for who you are."

Not everyone could see the true beauty of a woman. The man who loved her would see her as the most beautiful creature. The woman who loved someone would show off her most attractive charms to them, like a peacock.

Erica sighed in her mind that Matthew knew who he was and how to control his emotions. He knew how to avoid her question. But she wasn't going to give up. "So do you like the red rose or the white rose?"

A caring look flashed in his eyes. "I like both."

"What? Can't you just decide on one?"

Matthew just smiled and didn't explain. She would understand sooner or later.

Erica sighed, "Know how to figure out whether a man is horny or not?"

"No. Tell me."

"Put your finger under his nose. If he's still breathing, then he's horny!" This was true. As long as a man lived, he would be thinking about sex. Matthew was no exception.

Matthew was confounded. Did she really see him like that?