Naked Attraction

2

Cassy was taller than most women in her town. She stood five feet, eight inches. One could say her height and face were fit for a model or beauty queen, but she couldn't say the same when it came to her body shape. She was considered chubby when she was younger, and her boobs and bottom developed faster than the rest of her body. She couldn’t escape the teasing from her classmates. They called her names like "giant", "elephant", and "dinosaur". Those were the kinds of insults thrown at her even though she wasn’t really that fat. But because she was tall, her excess fat made her look even bigger. It caused her to develop low self-esteem back then.

She only lost weight after graduating from college. She didn’t do anything specific to shed pounds. Her metabolism just seemed to speed up on its own. Maybe it was because she was always busy with work and constantly doing overtime. She wanted to save a lot of money because, like her father, who was the head of the Municipal Agricultural Office, she also wanted to retire early. Her father was only fifty-four years old but was already planning to retire in two years.

Cassy turned in front of the mirror in the dressing room of the department store where she was trying on swimsuits. Yes, if it’s a two-piece, then so be it. So what? There was nothing wrong with her body. She just wasn’t the type to wear sexy outfits because she never had a reason to. She always wore corporate attire to work—pants and blouses—even though the dress code was only business casual. She also didn’t wear skirts or dresses; she avoided anything tight-fitting. She was self-conscious about her boobs, hips, and butt.

Even after she lost weight, those parts didn’t shrink. Her work friend Bobbie told her that voluptuous bodies like Kim Kardashian’s were trendy now, so she should flaunt her curves. But she had gotten used to wearing loose clothes, so she never really gave it much thought.

Then again… what if her friends back in the province thought she needed a spiritual cleansing if she suddenly showed up wearing a two-piece?

The next day, when Cassy arrived at work, she stopped by Starbucks first to buy coffee for her colleague, Rick.

"Hey, what's this?" Rick said with a laugh when she handed him the caramel macchiato.

"A thank-you for covering the tasks I’ll be leaving behind," she replied with a smile.

"Just for that? It’s nothing, really."

"It means a lot to me, Rick. I’ll be gone for almost two weeks."

"You deserve to take a vacation, Cassy. I’ve been telling you that for a long time." He took a sip of the coffee. "Thanks for this, okay?"

"You're welcome! Enjoy the coffee."

"I surely will. It’s from you, after all."

Shit. Cassida De Vera was feeling all the butterflies!

When Cassy got to her desk, Bobbie teased her. "Wow, Rick really has a strong effect on you!"

"That was just a small thank-you for him. You, on the other hand, are too lazy to rely on at work."

Bobbie poked her in the side. "Awww! Stop pretending. I know you like Rick. It's so obvious."

Cassy scratched her nose with a grimace. "Am I really that transparent?"

"You're always so nice to him, and you barely pay attention to the other guys in the office."

"Well, he's the only one who's actually nice to me here. I can’t exactly be cold to him, can I?"

Bobbie laughed. “Good guys are really your weakness, huh?”

“Well, of course! Where else can you find good guys these days? They're even more endangered than the Philippine eagle!”

“Exactly! They're endangered, which means your chances of having one in your life are slim. Look at your old crush, Jerard—suddenly got married. Poor guy probably got trapped into it. Now they’ve flown off to the States, and you were left behind all heartbroken in your beloved country.”

Cassy laughed. “I can’t really blame the girl. It’s hard to let go of a guy like that,” she said while wiping her desk with Lysol wipes.

“Weh!” Bobbie poked her in the side again. “But you’re still bitter, admit it. Jerard was nice to you, and you thought he liked you too.”

Cassy pouted at her friend. “You don't need to bring that up!”

Cassy wanted to be embarrassed for being too presumptuous, but could she really blame herself? Even other people who saw how well Jerard treated her before thought there was something special going on between them. Naturally, she thought the same. But it turned out that all of it was just an assumption...

"What are you waiting for? Just be honest with Rick and tell him you like him."

"My God, Bobbie!" Cassy exclaimed, tossing the Lysol wipes into the trash can beside her desk. "Where am I supposed to get the courage for that? If only you could buy it from a street vendor or borrow it from a loan shark."

But Bobbie wasn’t joking. "What’s really your problem? There’s nothing wrong with being the first to confess, you know? It’s not like you're going to throw yourself at him. Just tell him you like him. Or are you going to let someone else steal him away like what happened with Jerard?"

"Jerard wasn’t stolen, okay? He just never liked me back. I was the one who assumed too much back then."

"But how would you know? Did you ever ask him? There were so many women here, but he was only extra-nice to you. For all you know, he thought you were friend-zoning him, so he never made a move. Men are hard to read sometimes, you know. That’s why you have to be upfront with them. Who knows—he might actually like you back? And if he doesn’t, at least you tried, right? Besides, the guys you like are all decent. They wouldn’t humiliate you," Bobbie explained at length.

Deep inside, Cassy admitted her crazy friend had a point.