In the evening, when the sun was not as hot, Hazel and Megan decided to head over to the beach and joined the others. Alex was already waiting for the girls outside. He looked up from his phone and his gaze instantly went to Hazel.
After having a little chat with Megan about Alex, Hazel was prepared to look closely at his action. Seeing that the man had kept his eyes on her the moment she came out, Hazel felt a little embarrassed. Alex… he did not even bother to look at Megan who was with them.
Was this how he would always look at her?
Unable to bear his scorching gaze, Hazel lowered her head and urged, "Let's go. Didn't you say that we're going to play at the beach?" Instinctively, Hazel stretched her hand to hold Alex's.
Her movement halted when she realized what she had done. From the corner of her eyes, Hazel could see that Megan was secretly laughing at her.
Holding hands had become a habit from childhood and she was used to it. However, now that she was aware of Alex's feelings towards her, reaching to hold his hands first gave her a different feeling.
Her heart was beating furiously and Hazel was a little worried at how Alex was going to react.
Just as Hazel was about to pull her hand away, Alex had grasped her hand tightly in his.
"Let's go."
Hazel could imagine that the smile on his lips although she was not looking at him. She pursed her lips and followed his lead.
Megan rolled her eyes as she watched the silly couple in front of her. She pulled out her phone and texted her fiance how much she was missing him.
Their classmates gathered at the beach when they arrived. They saw how Alex was holding hands with his sweetheart and started to whistle to tease them. The single boys began to complain and urge them to stop showing PDA.
"Do you want to go for a swim?" Alex asked.
Hazel turned to look at the sea and was a little stunned at the beautiful scenery. However, the scenery was not as beautiful as the beaches that Auntie Edith had taken her. Hazel still thought that the beach on the east side was a lot prettier.
She saw a few kids playing around the water and suddenly had the urge to go in. It felt as if it has been a long time since she dipped her feet in the seawater.
"You guys go ahead," Megan said. "Let me watch over your stuff. I'm just going to sit around and enjoy the sun."
Hazel handed her belongings over to Megan and took off her cover-ups.
Alex swallowed the moment Hazel reached to his side in her high neck halter and shorts swimwear. Although it was very modest, Hazel had exposed a lot of skins. His gaze stopped at her toned tummy and he had the urge to touch them.
Hazel has been training with her Great-Grandpa and Auntie Edith from a young age and had never slacked off. Because of that, her body was well proportioned.
Alex noticed the way the others were throwing their glance at her and suddenly regretted asking the question. He should have asked her to walk around the beach instead.
Hazel ran slowly towards the beach and quickly entered the water.
"If you don't go over, the other guys are going to join her."
His face turned darker as he listened to Megan's reminder. After leaving his possession to Megan, Alex then entered the water to join Hazel. When he reached her side, Ian Huo, one of his classmates was seen swimming around Hazel.
The moment he saw that boy, Alex was a little unhappy. He had always known that Ian Huo had liked Hazel. Back then, it was because of this boy that Cindy Bai had made Hazel run away with tears on her face.
Every time he saw her tear-stained face, Alex would feel distressed.
"You're here." Hazel quickly went over to Alex's side the moment she saw him approaching.
If one looked closely, one will notice the relief on her face when she saw him.
"Alex, you're here as well." Ian was a little unhappy upon seeing Alex around. He had thought that he would have a chance to talk to Hazel for a little bit, but suddenly, this light bulb appeared. It was not as if he did not know how protective Alex can be towards Hazel.
Back then, when they were in high school, Ian had witnessed how Alex had warned other boys to stay away from Hazel. Hazel was popular for her indifference towards the other gender. Then, there were rumors that a senior who was in the soccer club had approached Hazel.
Somehow, Alex had caught rumors that the boys from the soccer club made a bet. Whoever can ask Hazel out will receive an amount of money. Then, a fight broke out, and fortunately, a teacher had walked past by to stop them.
Ian was not sure of the details, but in the end, Alex got off the situation unscathed, while the senior was given a warning.
"Mmm…" Alex merely nodded towards Ian.
Seeing Alex's unpleasant gaze, Ian did not know whether he wanted to get angry or laugh. He raised both hands and smiled. "I was just asking Hazel if she's having fun."
He knew that Hazel had joined this trip as Alex's plus one and knew that he would be at a disadvantage if he tried to create trouble.
"I am," Hazel said. She swam over to Alex and hid behind him. "Alex is here, so I'll be fine."
Ian got the hint and finally left with an awkward smile on his face.
"Are you alright?" Alex asked. He watched Hazel nodded and let out a breath of relief. "Let's just swim around for a while."
"Alex, hold on," Hazel called.
Alex cocked his head as he watched Hazel approached him and slowly reached to touch his arm. His gaze followed to look at the place she touched and Alex was puzzled at what Hazel was trying to do.
"What are you doing?" Alex continued to watch her, amused.
His voice snapped her out of her trance. Hazel lifted her gaze to meet Alex's and was suddenly shocked at what she had done. "Nothing. I was just trying to figure out things."
"What thing?"
Earlier, she had lowered her guard and let Ian grabbed at her hand. Hazel always knew that she did not like it when others tried to touch her. But, why was Alex a little different?
These days, her heart would jump whenever they hold hands. It was a strange feeling. But, it was not an uncomfortable feeling. In fact, with Alex, everything felt very natural.
"I don't like it when other people touched me. But, I think being around you is quite comfortable."
Alex was surprised upon hearing her words and a little happy knowing that Hazel was slowly trying hard to figure out her feelings. If he leaned in and kiss her, would she find it uncomfortable?
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