said, ignoring my longing looks over my shoulder.
“I need one for college.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “One of the thirty you already own won’t work?”
“No.” I sniffed. “None of my purses say ‘college girl’ like that one.”
“A talking purse?” he asked. “We better go back and get it.”
Barely keeping a straight face, I shook my head. “Now you’re just being rude.”
“Step away from the precious,” he said, making some people walking past us giggle.
Blushing furiously, I gave him a glare and began marching toward the illusive men’s section. “Let's get this over with.”
He laughed the entire way. Being with Carson was so easy. He had this amazing skill to smile through the hard times. To make the difficult look easy. I loved that about him.
“So,” I asked, standing in front of a rack of board shorts. “Are you looking for anything specific?”
“Mrs. Mayes is fine as long as it doesn’t have any words.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t get more, but the ones I have are just a little tight.”
I patted his firm belly. “Growing up, are you?”
He shoved me off, and I couldn’t help but giggle.
“So what are you in the mood for, cabana boy?” I teased. I was still laughing about the summer an elderly lady had come to the pool every day and referred to him exclusively as “cabana boy.”
“Have your laughs,” he said, shuddering. “I still need therapy about that.”
I saw a floral pair of shorts that looked really cool and pulled them from the rack, along with a striped pair I knew he would like better, and handed them to him. If you wanted a guy to try something out of his comfort zone, you had to give him a practical option with it.
He raised his eyebrows at the floral pair. “Seriously?”
“Just try them on, cabana boy,” I said, pushing him toward the dressing room.
Shaking his head, he did as I asked, and I continued flipping through the racks, looking for more options for him to try on.
I heard a couple of guys talking nearby and glanced at them out of the corner of my eye. They were cute, but I didn’t recognize them. They probably went to one of the local public schools because I’d never seen them at Emerson or any games at Brentwood.
One of them caught me looking at him and snorted. “Are you checking me out?”
My cheeks got even redder than they were before, and I quickly shook my head. “No, I—”
“She totally was,” the other one said. “Ew. Why don’t you flirt with someone your own size?”
Suddenly I felt like a whale, ballooning to twice my weight. I wanted to tell them to stop, to stand up for myself like I should have back in middle school, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, to say anything. I was just as frozen as I’d been on the basketball court, listening to everyone chant at me.
The other guy laughed. “Why are you shopping in the guys’ section anyway? Can’t find anything that fits over there?”
My shoulders sagged. I wanted to melt into the floor, to disappear into the heap of garbage I felt like.
An arm snaked around my shoulder, and Carson leaned low, brushing his lips against my cheek. “Hey, baby. Anything wrong?”
I still couldn’t bring myself to speak, maybe because of the fact that Carson had kissed my cheek.
He sent a steely glare at the guys who had been picking on me. “If you say one more word to my girl, I’ll put your lips over your head and force you to swallow them. Capisce?” Carson was standing at his full height—every six feet, two inches of it—and in his swimming trunks, it was easy to see the muscles he constantly worked to build.
“We were just kidding man,” the loudmouth said.
“You weren’t, and that’s not okay,” Carson said just as firmly as he held me at his side. “Now, get out of here before I consider introducing my fist to your useless face.”
The guys hightailed it away from the men’s section, and Carson stepped back from me, making me feel cold in his absence. He gestured at the floral shorts. “I’m getting them.”
I shook my head distractedly. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know.” He put his hands on my shoulders and looked me straight on. “Are you okay?”
Tears stung my eyes as the reality of what had happened settled in. I’d been called out for my appearance and had done nothing to defend myself. I felt like a failure, but