Page 63 of Just Between Us

Embarrassed, I cuddled into him. “I was just thinking about how I don’t really know anything about you.”

He shifted so we were lying side by side. I tucked my hands under my head, and he mirrored my position. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.” I grinned.

Even in the dim lighting of his bedroom, I could see the smile in his eyes. “That might take a while.”

My eyebrows went up. “I’ve got time.”

Don’t I?

I hadn’t ever considered making Outtatowner my permanent residence, but there was nothing calling me home to Chicago. My work life had imploded, and without personal friendships outside of work, I felt a depressing lack of connection to the bustling city.

Royal must have seen the questions begin swirling in my eyes, because he held my gaze with a kind appraisal. “I want to show you something. Sit tight.”

He left me in bed while he walked across the room. He was gloriously naked and unashamed—rightly so because his muscled frame was immaculate. My mouth went dry just thinking about how hot he was and the fact he was all mine.

When he returned, he had his wallet. He sat with his back against the headboard and opened the wallet, slipping out an old, faded photograph.

He handed it to me, and I studied it with a frown. “Why do you carry around a picture of a prepubescent boy in your wallet?”

Royal looked at the photograph with love in his eyes. The scrawny boy in the picture couldn’t have been more than ten or twelve years old. He wore thick glasses and already had early signs of acne. His wide, awkward grin revealed crooked teeth and metal braces.

He touched the picture as I held it. “This is Dwayne James King.”

I looked between Royal and the picture. When I glanced at him again, he mimicked the awkward smile frozen in time in the photograph.

No freaking way.

My eyes went wide, and my mouth dropped open. “This is—” I held it up next to his face. “This isyou? Are you telling me I just had sex with a man and didn’t know his first name was Dwayne?”

He chuckled and plucked the photo from my hand. “That’s hurtful. There are a lot of cool guys named Dwayne.”

I shot him a flat look. “Name one.”

“Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.”

My hand clamped over my mouth as I stifled a giggle. “You’re right. I’m so sorry. I’m just—” I shook my head. “I can’t believe that’s really you. You had a major glow-up!”

His forehead creased. “A glow-up?”

I blinked up at him, a smile playing on my lips. “I have to know how this happened.”

He looked down at me with a gentle smile and captured my mouth in a soft kiss. “For a long time after my mom left, life was a struggle. I wasn’t into girls or sports. I was the weird kid who liked to draw.” His shoulders lifted as he looked down at thephotograph, and I could see that cute little boy as clear as day. My heart squeezed.

“I got pushed around and picked on a lot ... likely because I was so quiet. There was this one kid who was relentless. He’d tug on my backpack, wait for me after school to push me around, that kind of thing.”

My nostrils flared as I sat up and gathered the sheets around my naked body. “I want names.”

Royal chuckled. “One day I decided I was done with it. I started working out and taking care of my skin. Started eating healthier. Whip was the first to notice the changes, and he hatched the plan to help.” He tipped his head and whispered: “Around here, you can’t justgive yourselfa nickname. Whip started calling me Royal and every time the story changed. ‘Oh yeah, so and so came up with that.’ or ‘I don’t know, I overheard someone say it.’ The crazy thing is, it actually worked. Pretty soon I was Royal King, and once I hit puberty, I grew nearly a foot taller, and no one messed with me anymore.”

“That’s incredible.” I shook my head again. “But I still want to know who was mean to you. We could ruin his life,” I grumbled, only half joking.

“What about you?” he asked. “Any mean bullies in your past that we need to take care of?”

My mouth twisted and I shrugged. “Not really. I was an only child, so I learned to play by myself. School and grades were really important to my parents, and I learned to gain their attention through stellar marks and overachieving.”

I rested my head on my hand. “God, it’s wild how much our parents can screw us up sometimes ... even when they don’t mean to.”

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