The mall was huge, full of colorful storefronts and bustling people. Taylor felt her anxiety rising again, but Colby's firm hand in hers gave her a touch of reassurance.

“Look over there, a big store just for swimwear,” said Colby, leading her straight towards the shop.

“Okay,” Taylor murmured calmly. “I can do this.”

The windows were decorated with brightly printed swimsuits and shorts that practically begged to be tried on. In front of the entrance, two men posed in just swim trunks, holding up a sign with the store’s name.

Colby gave the models a playful glance and winked, even though they couldn’t see him. He couldn’t help but grin as he walked right up to them and briefly let go of Taylor’s hand.

“So, what do you think, Tay? Should I suit up like that? I bet I’d look way better in swim trunks than those two.” She stayed silent to avoid drawing attention, so he continued on his own. “If that was the uniform and I were still alive, I’d definitely apply here.”

Taylor shot him a playful look that said, “You’re impossible.”

Colby actually ran his hand through one of the models’ hair, styling it a bit without being noticed. “Not bad, guys. But you’re not on my level yet. Keep working on yourselves and maybe have a burger now and then. You need to bulk up,” he teased, teleporting back to Taylor and squeezing her hand a bit tighter than before. “Come on, Tay. Let’s steal the show. We look way hotter in these outfits.”

Taylor chuckled quietly and followed Colby into the store. Inside, it was just as colorful and inviting as the outside, with rows of swimsuits, bikinis, and shorts in every color and pattern imaginable. The walls were painted with tropical motifs, creating a relaxed vacation atmosphere.

Luckily for them, the store wasn’t very busy. There was only an elderly lady who seemed lost in nostalgia as she wandered through the bikinis, and the cashier was asleep at the counter, judging by her snoring, she wouldn’t wake up anytime soon. They could shop in peace without weird looks for Taylor talking to herself or clothes floating in the air.

“Look at this,” Taylor said, holding up a bright blue bikini. “What do you think?”

Colby nodded enthusiastically. “That would look amazing on you. Wow!”

Taylor disappeared into one of the fitting rooms while Colby wandered through the aisles, checking out some of the displayed swim trunks. He eyed a bright red pair and grinned. He wanted those.

When his girl came out of the fitting room wearing the blue bikini, she looked stunning. Colby whistled appreciatively. “Holy cow, you look fantastic, Tay!”

She blushed slightly and twirled in front of the mirror. “Thanks. I think I’ll take it.”

“You think? Girl, if you don’t buy it, I will.”

“What about you, stud? Found anything yet?”

The Ghost Boy grinned broadly and held up the bright red swim trunks. “What do you think? Too bold or just right?”

Taylor laughed and shook her head. “Just right. Try them on!”

Instead of heading to the fitting room, he dropped his pants right there, much to Taylor’s shock.

“What? I’m a ghost, I don’t give a damn about fitting rooms. And there’s nothing here you wouldn’t like to see,” he explained with a cocky tilt of his head. Then he took off his shirt too. It was, of course, very important when trying on trunks.

Taylor hid her flushed cheeks. “You could totally be an Instagram fuckboy, you know that?” she asked with a smirk. “Changing in public. Soon to be the latest Insta-trend among all the Casanovas with triple-digit body counts.”

“I know. I’d be an epic influencer,” he replied, grinning as he slipped on the bright red swim trunks. “So? How do I look?”

Taylor looked him over and nodded appreciatively. “You look hot, Ghost Boy. Really hot.”

Colby winked at her. “I know,” he repeated.

“That’s exactly what you wanted to hear, right?”

“You just know me too well.” He grabbed more swim trunks and bikinis that caught his eye, tossing the bikinis to his girl. “Come on, Tay. Let’s get the best of the best. No matter how much it costs. Today, there are no limits. Go all out!”

They spent the next hour strolling through the store, trying on various swimsuits, bikinis, and shorts, admiring each other and often bursting into laughter. Colby tried on a variety of swim trunks, from classic black to bright patterns, while Taylor tried on different bikinis and swimsuits that repeatedly amazed Colby.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Try this one,” Colby said, tossing a white bikini with golden embellishments over the curtain into the fitting room. He could hardly believe his eyes when she came out. “Wow, Living Girl. You look like a goddess.”

Taylor smiled shyly. “Thank you. I think this one’s perfect.”

Colby nodded. “Definitely. We’ll take it.” He lifted the stack of countless clothes next to him. “And now let’s get a few accessories too. We need hats, sunglasses, and maybe some beach towels.”

“Are you sure that’s not too much?” Taylor asked.

“Nope.”

They continued to wander through the store, searching for suitable items for Hawaii. Colby put on a wide straw hat and picked up a pair of sunglasses.

Taylor laughed. “You look like a rockstar.”

“That’s the idea.” He also put a hat on her and handed her a pair of sunglasses. “Here, try these on.”

Taylor put on the sunglasses and stared at her ghost expectantly. “Well? How do I look?”

Colby grinned broadly. “Fantastic. As always.” He took off his hat and placed it on top of Taylor’s hat, stacking them. “I want to get this one again, in a different color. Oh, who am I kidding, I want it in every color!”

After a while, they had found everything they needed: swimwear, hats, sunglasses, air mattresses, and some beach towels. Colby glanced at the huge pile and nodded in satisfaction.

“Can you think of anything else we might need? Or want?” he asked.

“No, absolutely not.”

Colby eyed the cashier at the other end of the store. “We don’t have to pay, you know? I could easily teleport all this stuff to our apartment.”

“No way, we’re good people. We’ll pay.”

He raised an eyebrow playfully. “Alright, you asked for it.” And with that, he handed her the pile of stuff they had gathered. “But that means you’ll have to carry all this to the checkout and later home. You know, floating bras aren’t as cool and acceptable in reality as they were in iCarly.”

He was right. She would have to carry all of this. What was having a boyfriend for, if not for carrying your stuff? “Okay, we’ll pay and then you’ll teleport the stuff home, okay?”

“Oh no, no,” he laughed, shaking his head. “You wanted to play the moral police, you want to pay, so you want to haul it too.”

Taylor looked at him incredulously. “Seriously?”

“Have I ever lied to you?” He made a small gesture and suddenly was only in his bright red swim trunks. “Now you have one less item to carry. My other clothes are already at home, or do you want to pay for those too?”

“If you’re wearing the trunk, other people won’t see it. So we can’t pay for that,” she retorted, annoyed but with a twinkle in her eye. She couldn’t believe what he was seriously pulling off.

“They should be glad they’re getting their money for the rest, I think they can overlook the trunk,” he grinned mischievously.

“Sometimes I really want to smack you.”

“Kinky.”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Okay, let’s pay.”

The cashier, still looking slightly sleepy, blinked in surprise as she saw the mountain of clothes Taylor quickly pressed onto the counter before everything slipped out of her hands. “That’s quite a lot,” she said wearily, beginning to scan the items one by one.

Taylor briefly turned to Colby, trying not to burst into laughter as he stood there in just his bright red swim trunks, acting like nothing was unusual. “It’s going to be a vacation,” Taylor said, giving Colby an amused look.

“There are men’s things in there too,” the cashier remarked disinterestedly. “If you’re shopping for your boyfriend, make sure it’s the right size. No exchanges.”

“Bitch, I deliberately took everything a size smaller. If you could see me, you’d know why. Don’t worry about it, this stuff is killer,” Colby playfully complained.

As soon as the cashier lowered her head again and they were almost at the exit, all the shopping bags disappeared into Taylor's hands.

"What the..." Taylor started, then looked at Colby.

"Yeah, and yes, I lied to you before. Like that time with the money from the perv at the Ferris wheel." He grinned. "Did you really think I'd let you haul all this stuff alone now? It's all already home."

Taylor smiled relieved. "I was a little scared, yeah."

Colby hugged her. "Remember one thing, Living Girl. You never have to be scared with me. I mean, look at me."

Taylor didn't quite understand. "What?"

As they passed the models from earlier, Colby suddenly joined them and struck a pose as if he actually worked there too. Again, Taylor just shook her head laughing, and her Ghost Boy swiftly returned to her side. "That's what I mean."

They were about to leave, but then a young student passed by the store, whistling suggestively in the direction of the models, who then looked at each other with an amused look and burst into laughter. The student stopped, started laughing too, and gave a thumbs up. The models grinned at each other briefly before returning the hand gesture.

"I bet there will be a threesome after their shift," Taylor whispered after they had enough distance from the three.

"I'm not betting on anything that's guaranteed to happen," Colby retorted cheekily, as the student put her arm around one of the guys. The other stroked her hair. "Told you."

Taylor's eyes widened as the student suddenly bent down and kissed the model's nipple. "In public?!" The two colleagues gave each other a proud high five.

"See, they get my humor. We should shop here more often," Colby remarked amusedly. "Bros supporting bros."

Taylor took her Ghost Boy by the arm and pulled him a little further to finally get moving, so she didn't have to witness the beginning of that orgy. "As if we haven't just bought swimsuits for the next 10 years."

"Proxley is Proxley. In this city, you can't have enough beach clothes. Eventually after we return, we'll go to the sea here."

"That's true."

"Hm?"

"We're flying to Hawaii, but right outside our door we have a beach we've never visited together."

"Because you actually hate sand." True. She did. "I'm surprised you even want to go to Hawaii."

"Lilo & Stitch."

"We could have a bonfire there tomorrow before our flight, or something. With Charlie and Harper. I used to do that a lot with my boys before, and somehow I miss that. And then we'll have a vacation just for the two of us."

"Again in public?" Taylor hesitated, biting her lip. "I don't know, Colby. It sounds nice, but I'm not sure if I can handle that."

"You totally rocked it back there in the store, Girl. You talked to the cashier like it wasn't a problem at all for you. You were awesome."

"It does sound nice, but I don't know... I mean, just the four of us?"

"Just the four of us," the ghost reassured calmly. "Charlie and Harper are your friends, they understand you, Tay. We can just be together and enjoy the evening. And I'll be right by your side, okay? We'll make ourselves comfortable, talk a little, laugh together. It's going to be super awesome. So, bonfire?"

Taylor nodded convincingly. "Okay, bonfire."