Eccedentesiast || l.r.h.

Chapter 24 - Hot

"Calum put that down," I gasped when I realized what he was holding. "You have to model this for us," he was holding up a small stringy floral looking fabric. But I was positive it was a bikini. "No!" I exclaimed, suddenly feeling self conscious. I smacked the two piece out of his hands. It landed on the floor without a sound.

"Hey!" Calum cracked a sneaky smile. "Ashton pick that up," Calum instructed. "Uhh," Ashton only managed to stare at it. "God, it's a bikini, not lingerie," Calum rolled his eyes and bent down to pick it up. "And even if it was lingerie, what was the problem?" He asked once he straightened himself up. Nobody answered

"Anyway... Come on you gotta," he reverted his attention fully back to me. "No," I said firmly when I realized he was not ready to drop the subject matter of me modeling a bikini for them.

"Oh come on! Who's with me?" He looked around at his mates and I was quite disappointed with their answers.

Michael's hand shot up into the sky, Ashton raised a leg and Luke gave a shy smile.

"I hate y'all," I groaned. "Yay! Luke is gonna model in a bikini," Calum said excitedly. "That speaks to me on a whole different level," Luke commented and we all laughed heartily.

I entered a vacant cubicle and tried on a few stuff. First, I tried on a white flowy crop top. Michael liked it, Ashton liked it, both Luke and Calum didn't. Next I tried on a jumper with the wordings 'Not Your Bae' on it. I got everyone's approval except for Luke. After a few trial and errors they all approved on this sunflower crop top that was pretty neat.

Finally, it was time to model the bikini. "Do I really have to?" I miserably whined. "Yes Luke," Calum smirked. "You guys suck," I said the obvious. "We know," Luke answered.

"Fine," I whined again and shut the changing room door. I was so scared to open the door. I suddenly felt insecure and self conscious, more than I usually do. Normally I couldn't care less what people thought of me and my physical self. But with the boys, I wanted... I wanted to have that bikini body, luscious hair, sharp facial features, high cheekbones, defined jawline, plump lips.

I slipped into the bikini. It fit snugly. I admired the floral detailing with a bit of gold and the gold ring in the middle of the top piece that connects the right and left side of the bra and the right. There were also gold hoops at the side of the bottom piece.

It was truly a really pretty piece. I wasn't sure if I was making it pretty enough. Then there was a knock on the door, "Hey, you okay in there? It's been 10 minutes," I heard Michael's voice. "Yeah fine!" I probably heard my voice crack a little. Great, I lost track of time without even knowing it and I was on the verge of crying.

I breathed. In and out. This wasn't some kind of girly outing where I try out bikinis with my girlfriends. I was going to model a bikini piece for four really gorgeous boys who were unique in their own ways. Boys who hadn't seen my body more than shorts and a crop top.

This was it. Time to impress. I spun around quickly and fixed my hair. Then I gripped the lock and turned it clockwise to unlock the door. Then I pushed it gently and it swung open slowly.

Some of my curls were covering half of my face, like it used to. I observed them one by one while they observed me. From the left, Michael stood. He gave me two silent thumbs up. Thank god for those two thumbs that managed to boost my confidence. Then Calum. He just let out a whistle through his lips. Ashton looked like he was supposed to turn away but kept on staring. Luke. He was caught biting his lips but then covered it up by fiddling with his lip ring.

"What?" I said after having to discover they're different reactions. "Get it," Michael concluded. "Huh?"

"Get the damn piece," Calum explained. "I look fat," which is what every insecure girl say. "Bullshit," Ashton waved. I waited for Luke to say something. Instead, he slipped dollar bills into my hand. I blinked cluelessly. Then he nodded to my body, "You got us fro-yos, get yourself that." "But I-"

"Just take it Luke," Luke said. It was still weird when he calls me Luke. "Thanks Luke, I'll...I'll think about it," I told them with a smile and stepped back, closed the door of the changing room and stared at the dollar bill.

There was also a fro-yo receipt slipped behind the bills. With three letters scribbled on it with a Sharpie.

                             Hot.