Trudy's POV
"Ahhh... isn't this the perfect spot to watch all these gorgeous people," commented Elisse as she laid her beautiful, sculpted body on the blue sun chaise. She was wearing a black stringed bikini and sunglasses, drinking the iced tea the waiter had handed her just a few minutes ago. Her long flawless legs crossed as she furrowed her eyebrows at me.
"You okay, Trudy?" she asked as she heard me sigh.
"Not really..." I replied, lowering my eyes.
"What's up, bestie? Don't tell me you're still trying to remember that jerk. You see that large rock over there," said Heather as she pointed at the large rock standing on the farther right of the sea. "I will smash your head there if you won't stop thinking about that asshole James."
"Geez, Heather! So harsh," commented Elisse, grimacing.
"What? Well, she better not be thinking about getting back at James, or she would be the most foolish of all fools."
"What made you think she would be going back to James?"
"I could tell the way she's acting. She was thinking about it. So are you, Trudy?"
I sighed. How could I tell Heather that it was not James I was thinking about but someone else in which I should not?
'But why not?' I argued to myself. 'James had found love from someone else's arms but why can't I?'
I guess I was very traditional and still follow that three-month rule to get over a relationship. Besides, Red was not showing interest to me. Then why do I get this feeling?
This past few weeks before this event, Red and I had spent so much time in the bakery. Those long nights where I have to make tons of orders and exhaust myself as the business booms once again, he was there helping me. I focused so much on the business that I had no time to rest and think about what happened between James and me, plus having Red with me was a great distraction.
I stopped wallowing with the pain and so far, I never even remembered crying for James. I never knew it had been a month already since it happened and somehow with Red's company, it helped me move on... and started noticing him.
"What the hell are you wearing, Heather?" Elisse pointed out suddenly that made me come back to reality. "Are you doing Zumba at the beach?"
I grinned. Somehow I felt relieved that the attention was diverted from me to Heather. I don't want to answer Heather's question yet until I know if my feelings for Red were right.
But why would it not be?
I tried to push those thoughts away and listened to my two friends arguing.
"What?" Heather replied, raising an eyebrow. "This is my best swimsuit and you know I don't like wearing those skimpy bikinis."
"Well, there are other types of swimsuits other than this. Like tankinis for example. But this…" and Elisse rolled her eyes.
"What is wrong with it?"
"You looked like you are going to exercise instead of swimming!"
"Well, this is waterproof."
"I don't care, Heather. A grey sports bra and shorts don't count as a swimsuit. You might as well go jogging on the beach instead of swimming."
Heather crossed her arms and pouted.
I suddenly felt conscious of what I'm wearing and looked down on myself. I'm wearing a one-piece black swimsuit underneath a white shirt. I could not get myself to wear a bikini as well since I felt I would only look like a whale. Ever since James and I broke up, my confidence sort of dwindled and it left me thinking if there was any guy who could ever be interested in me.
Aside from that, I binged on a lot of foods lately and felt I gained weight which added to the low self-esteem.
Suddenly, I heard a loud whistle coming from Elisse as she rose to sit up. Her sunglasses were pushed down on the bridge of her nose as we all turned towards the direction of her gaze.
There on the beach were three gorgeous men, all wearing board shorts in different colors. I was more amazed at myself as I suddenly felt hot watching them, most especially one guy with whom I had been thinking about lately.
Red.
He was wearing nothing but red board shorts and just came out of the water. His whole body was drenched with salt water as he combed his black hair with his hands. The world suddenly felt like a slow-motion movie as he walked towards us, smiling widely while I was eyeing his aesthetic body.
My God! How did he get so gorgeous? Those six-pack abs... Those large biceps which I often bumped into... That...
I could feel my face flush as my eyes settled on something I should not be looking for and gulped. It had been months since I got laid and somehow my body reacted the way it should not be.
I found myself sighing along with my two friends.
It was funny to see how our heads synchronized bending on our left side as we all checked out, Red, Tristan, and Jax.
"Oh. My. God! By any chance are they filming Baywatch?" whispered Elisse, enough for us to hear. "I can't believe Jane is missing this."
"Hey ladies!" greeted Tristan as soon as they came. I tried to avert my eyes and not blush as Red sat beside me. I took the drink that was sitting on the table beside the chaise and sipped it quickly to drain my now hot cheeks. I could feel Red's eyes on my face as I tried to hide my nervousness and forced a smile.
"You okay?" asked Red as his large hand settled on my right shoulder. I tried my best not to feel anything yet I knew my mind was going crazy with him near me.
"Hmmmhm," I replied nodding while sipping my drink quickly. Soon enough the frozen drink caught a lump in my throat and I coughed it out. I felt Red's warm hands behind my back as he caressed it, trying to make me feel comfortable.
"Shit!" I cursed as I coughed even more. I saw a smile form on Red's lips.
"Drink slowly," he reminded, smiling. "Maybe I should drink it for you so you only get a few sips. That looks a lot to drink."
I chuckled. "Are you thirsty?"
"Yes," and his eyes dropped on my lips which made me gulp. I bit my lip as my eyes stared at his now open mouth.
Red cleared his throat, and as if on cue, I shoved the drink to him nervously and spilled a bit on his body.
"I'm sorry," I quickly said, and touched his chest unconsciously as his eyes narrowed. I suddenly realized that what I'm doing was just adding more heat between us and I could see how he gazed at me which made me feel nervous and excited.
Then, the world stopped and it felt like we were the only two people there. Until…
"If I didn't know any better, I will think that you two are dating," teased Heather suddenly waking us up from the trance. I moved my hand away from Red's chest but despite that, I could still feel the electric currents running all over my arm.
"So, tell me, Red," Heather said and placed her arm on top of Red's left shoulder. "How much do you like my friend here?"
I glared at Heather as she chuckled. Red, however, set his eyes on me again and smiled. I felt my heart leap out of my chest suddenly. I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear and nervously smiled.
"Don't mind her, Red. She's just being UNUSUALLY loud. Can you excuse us for a moment? I need to go to the bathroom. Come with me, Heather," I said firmly.
"What? Like now?"
"Yes, NOW!" I demanded, glaring at her.
"Fine," and she rolled her eyes. "We'll be right back. You okay here, Elisse?"
"Yeah," she answered. "Besides, Jax is here."
"Right, sorry we forgot about you. I'm Heather and this is Trudy."
"Nice to meet you, ladies," greeted Jax.
"You know the boys, right?"
"I know Tristan and I believe you're Red."
Red nodded.
"Have you ladies seen Jane?" asked Tristan as he looked around.
"Oh, Jane is still in that family meeting, I supposed. It will take a while."
"I wonder what they're talking about…"
"Believe me, Tristan, you don't want to know. Don't worry, she'll be here soon," and Jax clasped his hand over Tristan's shoulder.
"That's weird. Her brother said that to me, too," replied Tristan. His eyebrows suddenly creased.
I looked at Tristan's worried look. I could tell that he cared for Jane so much and perhaps wondered why Joseph had told him the same thing.
"What are you drinking, Cakes?" asked Jax to Elisse as he examined her drink. He took it from Elisse's hand as she willfully gave it to him. He took a sip, then gave it back to him.
'Cakes...' I thought, smiling. 'That was the sweetest pet name.'
I tried not to sigh at the sight before me. Just like how Tristan adores Jane, Jax loves Elisse. Although Elisse would not openly admit it, I could see in her eyes that she was happy with him. Perhaps she loves him, too.
"Hey, what's with the face?" asked Heather as we head towards the restroom.
"Nothing," I lied. Inside insecurity was eating me up as I recalled the scene at the beach.
Heather stopped me and held my arm to face her.
"What is it?"
No matter how much I tried to hide from Heather, she would always know when something was bothering me.
I heaved a deep sigh and blow it out.
"Was it James?" she inquired. "God, Trudy-"
"No!" I shook my head.
Heather smiled and gave me a wicked look.
"You like Red, don't you?"
"I guess..."
"What do you mean you guess? Either you say yes or no? Those are your only two options."
"But it isn't right, Heather."
"What do you mean?"
I sighed.
"James and I just broke up and... Look at me. I look awful."
"What the hell are you talking about, Trudy? You're beautiful, smart, and successful. James is an asshole for leaving you and perhaps now regretting it. But the hell with him! You deserve to be happy, too and if Red is the one you want, then go for it. I'm sure he likes you, too."
"You think?"
"Of course! Don't you see how he looks at you? He's way better than James and I'm sure he could make you happy."
She was right. I deserve to be happy and if James decided to move on that quickly, I had to as well.
Armed with confidence, I looked back at myself in the bathroom mirror. Taking off my shirt, I took a quick visit to the toilet then hand in hand, I walked back to where we used to sit. Red was sitting in one of the chaises. Tristan was gone and so were Jax and Elisse.
"Go ahead! Take him down!" teased Heather as she pushed me slightly to step forward. I placed my shirt onto my arm and walked confidently in my swimsuit, ready to show Red what I've got.