The Bad Boy Next Room (Charlie and Taylor)

"I recommend this? This is the latest trend. It's sexy and comfortable," the

saleslady said while holding a two-piece halter-type bikini.

"Woah! That reminds me of dental flaws," Taylor said, his jaws clenched and his arms crossed firmly over his chest. He turned to Charlie and ordered, "Find another one. This one looks like yarn."

Charlie chuckled, rolling her eyes at Taylor. She told the saleslady, "No, this is not my type. These halter bikinis easily fall off. I like something a bit more sturdy, especially the top. Maybe we can go with a sporty type."

"Oh, we have Nike swimwear," the saleslady revealed.

The saleslady brought the two to the sports section of the store, and Charlie began choosing her swimwear. She didn't have one in Luxford, so they needed to stop before heading to Taylor's house.noveldrama

Charlie found a two-piece swimsuit with an athletic design. It had a spaghetti strap design with a Nike logo on the left. It had a high-cut bikini bottom and a sleek, streamlined look, likely made from a performance fabric that provides durability and stretch. She said, "I like this better."

"You know what's even better, Charlie?" Taylor said, pulling out a rash guard. "This one!"

Charlie: "..."

Saleslady: "..."

"No way!" Charlie reacted. "I'm not going surfing. Besides, I could use a little tan."

"You'd look better in this," Taylor repeated.

"No!" Charlie said in annoyance. "I'm going swimming, so normal swimwear is more suited!"

"Fine," Taylor said in surrender. He shook his head, fishing for his wallet and giving his credit card to the saleslady.

"What are you doing?" Charlie asked.

"P

ing for your swimsuit," Taylor plair offered.

"I did not ask you to pay for my swimsuit," Charlie said, taking out her card.

Taylor raised a brow. He mumbled, "It's just that—" he hesitated before adding, "Girls usually like it when the guy pays for their shopping."

"Well, I'm not like those girls," Charlie said. "And to me, this situation doesn't call for it. I'm buying my personal stuff."

"Okay, if you insist," Taylor said. He pointed toward the door, saying, "I'll wait for you in the car, Babe."

As Charlie paid for her swimwear, the saleslady laughed while packing her item. She said, "Miss, your boyfriend is very conservative."

"You think so?" Charlie asked, then recalling their argument about the thong, it dawned on her that Taylor might actually be traditional. She gasped, covering her mouth. 'But who would expect Taylor West to be like that? I definitely need to know him better.'

"If you had insisted on the halter-top swimsuit, I bet your boyfriend would have gone crazy," the saleslady remarked.

Charlie giggled. She was about to leave when an idea popped into her head. She mused, 'Charlie Rae King gotta learn to be mischievous too.'

***

"Are we there yet?" Charlie asked. They had been on the road for almost an hour. Charlie had never been this far into Luxford before.

"Almost there," Taylor said, pointing to a gated community.

"Wow, it's very strict and exclusive," Charlie remarked, seeing six security guards manning the entrance.

"Only old families of Luxford live here," Taylor revealed.

"You mean old rich," Charlie remarked, seeing only huge manors so far.

Taylor didn't reply, but Charlie could tell it was true. She had heard that Luxford was home to several

wealthy families, once known fomet

owning nearly all the land in town before gradually selling it off to institutions and residential

developers. Many of these families now lived off inherited wealth and

investments, real estate rentals, handicraft businesses, and eco-tourism ventures.

Charlie had also heard that some of these affluent families owned farmlands outside Luxford, which produced highly in-demand agricultural products.

"My, my, Taylor. You are loaded," Charlie remarked. "But why did you say you couldn't give me back my advance rent?"

Taylor laughed. He answered, "Just because my mother's side of the family is loaded, it doesn't mean I am. In a way, yeah, but we were raised differently." He took a turn, driving to a near-dead end, saying, "It's one of my father's principles, which he passed down to me and Tristan. He wanted us to work hard for what we wanted, and this especially goes for non-essential things."

"I bought Tristan a high-end acoustic guitar because that was the reason he got into a fight weeks ago. He wanted to borrow someone else's guitar and you know, Tristan... he doesn't understand it when people are annoyed at him," Taylor revealed. “It's not that Dad didn't want to buy him the guitar; I'm just used to finding my own means."