I roll my eyes and take the changing room closest to the entrance, so we can keep talking. “Which color?” Staring at the swimsuits, I realize I should’ve put more thought into this when I was standing in front of a huge rack of choices. “Hot pink, baby blue, or orange?” Ugh, I hate orange. Why did I grab this monstrosity? “Ixnay on the orange. It’s hideous. I’m not even going to try iton.”
“Then why’d you grab it?” he yellsback.
“Because you were distracting me. I couldn’t focus.” I can never focus on anything aroundhim.
“My vote is for hotpink.”
I change into it, leaving my undies on, because trying on swimsuits is kinda gross. Thankfully, I’m wearing one of those seamlessthongs.
“Any day now,” he callsout.
Like he cares what I get. I’m laughing when I pull my T-shirt over the two-piece. I turn around to make sure my booty isn’t hanging out. My cousin Dawn says my head is messed up because my father was so strict about my clothes when I was growing up. I tend to cover myselfup.
“The pink is fine. I’m gonna getit.”
“Josephine. Get outhere.”
I peek out of the dressing room and smile at the nice attendant folding a mountain of clothes at a long counter who’s been listening to us yammer back and forth. “Can I show him my outfit before he gets any moretemperamental?”
She smiles. “Sure.”
Hesitantly, I shuffle out toward Logan. Thank goodness I shaved the important bitstoday.
He glances up from his phone. “I can’t see the suit, which means I’m buying all of them, even the orangeone.”
“You are such a pain.” I strip off my shirt before I overthinkit.
I stare at my feet. At Logan’s work boots. At the rack over his shoulder. Finally, I get the courage to look him in theeyes.
But he’s still busy checking meout.
My nipples pebble under hisstare.
Coughing, I motion behind me. “I’ll go try the otherone.”
When he doesn’t say anything, I figure he doesn’t like the pink suit. Once I get into the blue two-piece, I don’t bother to put on the T-shirt. I don’t want to prolong this. He’ll just make me strip it off anyway. The thought makes my stomachflip.
While I’d love nothing more than for him to fall at my feet in love with how I look, I have a better shot of getting struck in the head by ameteor.
This time, I throw caution to the wind and pull my hair out of the ponytail as I strut out the dressing room because I’m so tired of being haunted by ghosts. My dad and his strict rules can take a flyingleap.
Using an über-deep voice, I purr, “What do you think?” How do those Instagram girls do this? I’m laughing and tossing my hair with my mock model moves as the attendant gives me a thumbsup.
When Logan doesn’t say anything, I stop joking around. “So… Not theblue?”
I can’t read his expression, but he stares another long minute and then returns to his phone. “Get themboth.”
“I don’t need two swimsuits. That’s wasteful.” Tucking my hands behind me, I add, “I’m leaning toward the pink one. The rear on this one is a littleindecent.”
He makes a face like he doesn’t believe me. “Turnaround.”
“What? No.” I was planning to shuffle backward toward the dressing room while he was glued to his phone. Ugh, why did I bring itup?
“How am I supposed to make an informed decision,Josephine?”
When did this man become so difficult? I turn around slowly. Wait. Did he just groan? Now I’m hearingthings.
“See. Indecent.” Nobody needs to see that much butt cheek. I spin the other way and try not to fidget under hisstare.
