I loved being at the beach. Though I didn't venture much into the ocean water, I loved to lounge on the sand, good book in hand and be at one with nature. Enjoying our stops in Florida, I was in heaven, not to mention all the girl time I was spending with Liz. That first night I had stayed with her and John at their new home but as soon as Mike had arrived in town, he had insisted we stay at a hotel. For the sake of argument, I caved in and was relieved as we became too busy with work to focus on anything else.
It was noon and I had a few hours to myself finally. All the NXT guys were tagged to appear at an FCW show and a staff meeting had been called earlier that morning. Afterwards some crew members had suggested an impromptu romp at the beach to blow off some steam. It sounded like a good idea and we had the time so the majority of everyone agreed to go. Back at the hotel, Mike had planned to come with me but after accepting a mysterious phone call in private, he had suddenly changed plans making up some excuse about meeting me later.
I stretched out on my towel and rolled over. The sun was beaming and I realized I had dozed off after a while. I didn't bother checking for the time. Mike still hadn't shown up and I wasn't about to hold my breath. Instead I just tried to enjoy the peace and quiet but a nasty burn on my shoulder was becoming more than an annoyance. Sighing, I sat up and untied the straps of my bikini top. I pulled out my bottle of sunblock but it was knocked out of my hand as I caught the glimpse of what appeared to be a red Frisbee flying straight at my head. I let out a little scream and ducked, missing the impact by a matter of mere seconds and inches.
"You okay there?"
I sat up, hearing PJ's accent before I saw him. He gingerly helped me to a sitting position. I was stunned but okay.
"I, I'm fine, I think," I said, just relieved that my head hadn't been taken off. "Never knew a Frisbee packed that much power."
"Sorry about that," PJ apologized. "Kind of makes a difference when Ryan is throwing it."
Ryan aka Skip Sheffield's hands were larger than most. I imagined the former standout baseball player could pack quite the punch.
"Well, thanks for looking out but I'm okay."
I looked down and for the first time noticed that my top was halfway hanging off of me. My face turned red as I struggled to cover up.
"Um, you missed a little spot right there…"
PJ awkwardly pointed to a glob of lotion on my shoulder. I struggled to rub it in but couldn't reach. His hand trembled a bit against my skin as he quickly helped me out.
"Thanks," I said, clearing my throat.
"You're welcome."
We exchanged shy smiles as Liz approached, beach bag in hand.
"Hey hussy, how's it going?" she hugged me, interrupting the moment PJ and I had just shared.
Secretly I was grateful. He was a nice guy but I wasn't in the habit of letting strange men rub sunblock on me.
"Liz, hi," I said as I stood. "Liz, this is PJ Lloyd, one of the NXT competitors. PJ, this is my friend, Liz Cena."
He shook her hand.
"Any relation to the champ?" he inquired.
"I'm his better half," she winked.
"Well, it's an honor. I'm a real fan."
"I'll be sure to pass that along. He loves the show, never misses it."
"PJ, get your ass over here!" David Otunga beckoned, as the guys playing Frisbee stood around waiting for their game to resume.
"I have to go. Liz, nice meeting you. Claudia, I'll see you soon."
With a polite nod, he was gone, running back to be with his friends. I settled back on my towel and tried to ignore her probing stare.
"What?" I finally asked.
She smirked, putting on a pair of sunglasses.
"Nothing. It's absolutely normal for me to walk up to the beach and see one of my best friends being groped by an exotic hottie."
I couldn't help but laugh.
"I would hardly call it groping. And I am a married woman, need I not remind you for the billionth time."
"Oh," she muttered. "Mike. I forgot about him and PJ would be a total upgrade by the way."
"Liz…"
"Speaking of, where is the motor mouth?"
"Busy. He says he's coming later."
I tried to sound casual like I didn't mind and like I wasn't wondering where he was. It was no secret how Liz felt about Mike and as much as I loved her, a lecture was the last thing I needed or wanted.
"You having a good time?" she let it go.
"Yeah. Relaxing, looking forward to the show tonight. It was the highest rated program on SyFy last week."
"That's awesome. Congratulations."
"It's all because of those guys," I motioned towards the rising Superstars who were frolicking at the water's edge. "They're amazing."
"And total eye candy," she laughed.
"So you say. Anyway, how's John?"
"Good. At the gym now but what else is new? He flies out tomorrow."
"I don't know how you do it. Before I started working it used to be so hard saying good bye to Mike all the time. Seeing each other only two days out of the week really sucked. I missed him so much."
Liz's face became serious for a moment. I knew how much she loved John. They had been off and on for years and years and at times she had described just how tumultuous the relationship had been. Liz was definitely her own woman, the one who marched to the beat of her own drum but she was a good girl at heart and she loved her man. Despite what people said about her, she kept her head held high.
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I miss him of course but it makes it that much better the short time he is home. We really cherish that time, spend it together. I'm used to it by now. It's like that's how our life is and that's how it's supposed to be. It just works for us."
"I'm glad."
"And you and Mike are good?"
I looked away.
"We're fine."
"Claud…"
She could see right through me.
"We're okay, at least I think we are. He's been really stressed lately and he gets a little snippy sometimes but it's okay. This is a really stressful business and we both have so much on our plates. Things aren't perfect all the time but I deal with it. My life is pretty good, I can't really complain."
"You're incredible, you know that?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you're a saint. You have to be to put up with that guy. I know you're married to him but I don't have to like him."
"He's not that bad."
"Actually he is and I love the way you keep making excuses for him. Personally, I think he could be a lot nicer to you. You certainly deserve it. It's just hard to see how much you put into this marriage. Nobody really knows what goes on behind closed doors with a husband and a wife but I just hope he loves you as much as you love him. I know it's none of my business and I give him a hard time but I just want you to be okay."
"I appreciate it and he is a good guy, Liz. Just like you and John, we've been together a long time. I knew him before he was The Miz, before the Real World. I know Michael the person. Sometimes I feel like we've lost our way a bit but no marriage is perfect. Relationships require commitment and effort. I think we just need to reconnect, spend some more time together."
"I hope it all works out," Liz said sincerely as she laid back onto her towel.
My phone buzzed alerting me that I had an incoming text message. I checked and it was from Mike. Tied up with work stuff. Won't make the beach. Will catch up with you before the show. I tried to hide my disappointment. After all, what was a few hours out of one day? I grabbed my book and took a deep breath, relaxing and determined to enjoy my day. We had the rest of our lives to spend together.
