Page 66 of Out of the Shadow

King holds the sheet of paper up. He begins, “We are pleased to inform you that you passed the real estate examination for the State of New York…”

My chest tingles. “You did it?”

His biceps flex and his eyes dance. When he opens his arms, I fly into them, relishing his embrace and feeling prouder of him than I should. I’m so close, I soak in his delicious woodsy scent.

“Congratulations!” Marlene yells. Her comment brings me back to my senses, and I step away from his body and any sort of public display of affection.

Casual people don’t hug in public. Marlene skirts around me and gives King a hug as well. She’s happily married, which legitimizes my show of affection. “I’m shocked Mr. Instagram actually did it,” I say lightly as the two of them break apart.

King, once again waving the letter high in the air, nods. “Read it and weep, baby. Let’s do what I do best and celebrate.”

I’d like to get him horizontal and celebrateonhim, but we’re not in a relationship. I nod, pretending my pride in him is that of an employer in an apt protégé. “I think all three of us should go out for a celebration dinner.”

Marlene flushes, and King rushes in to say, “Sounds good to me.”

When eight o’clock rolls around, Marlene turns the sign on the door to say “Closed.” Pulling her purse up her shoulder, she says, “Time to go. We’re booked at La Cucina on Washington Street.”

“That’s right around the corner from my place,” King notes. “I’ll park there and walk over.”

I nod. “Meet you there.” This way, I’ll have escape wheels. There. That sounded professional. King shoots me a questioning look, which I ignore, and we all head over to the restaurant.

After a wonderful celebration dinner, I take one last bite of our dessert—Death by Chocolate—and let my fork clatter to the plate. “Marlene, this was a great choice. I can’t believe I’ve never eaten here before.”

She licks her fork. “Timmy and I come here every so often.”

King puts his utensil down and continues our conversation. “I have to admit, I’m stoked to have passed that exam.”

“You might have mentioned it a couple of times,” Marlene teases.

“I’m not a good test taker. But I really did get into all this real estate stuff.”

I nod. “It can be addictive.” Got to hand it to King, he seems to have a knack for real estate. His ideas about our social media campaign really make sense, and it’ll only be to our benefit that we can now attach his name to tweets and posts.

When the check comes, I’m quick to grab it. “This is on me. Congratulations, King, on your big achievement. The professional Instagrammer comes through.”

“I’m notonlygood-looking,” he volleys. And then he smiles, the crinkles at the corners of his eyes calling to me, like they always do. He places his napkin on the table. “And what a wonderful way to celebrate, having dinner with two beautiful ladies.”

They’re just pretty words. Like the generic gifts he’s been giving me—flowers and chocolates. I’m sure he gives the same things to all the women he…hooks up with. Practice has made him pretty near perfect. But I can’t help it. Those little gestures are getting through to me more than I would like.

I busy myself with paying the bill. It will add another ten bucks to my monthly minimum. I pray a new client walks through the doors—like tomorrow.

We all walk out of the restaurant in high spirits. At Marlene’s car, she hugs us both and whispers in my ear, “Keep the party going for me.” She hops into her car and takes off.

I wave as she drives away, but I feel a little uneasy. Am I being less subtle about this whole without-strings arrangement than I thought?

King holds out his hand, palm up. “Give me your keys.” He’s using the tone of voice he usually reserves for when we’re fooling around.

I stifle the urge to do a twirl right here in the parking lot. Now that we’re alone, I most definitely want to explore more of this hottie.Casual.Marlene forgotten, I play coy. “I think I’ll be in the driver’s seat tonight.”

“I like the sound of that.” His amber gaze gets so hot I might combust on the spot.

I unlock the car doors and get inside. This is it. Tonight, we’re taking it all the way. I rub my hands together as he buckles in. Turning my head, I ask, “Ready?”

He leans over and gives me a surprisingly gentle kiss. “You have no idea.”

My heartbeat is so erratic that it takes me two times to turn the engine over. A few minutes later, we’re parked in his lot. He grabs my hand and we walk to the entrance.

Should I let him hold my hand? Is that against the rules? I let my thumb slide along his palm and decide it’s okay just this once. After all, we’re continuing our celebration in honor of all his hard work. And after a week of fooling around, we’re about to havesex.

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