Royal and I were inseparable, and my grams quickly became accustomed to it. Not that she had a choice, but truthfully, she loved Royal too. Probably always had. She could see how happy we were together, and truth be told, I was pretty sure she liked this me better than the last one. We made her laugh. A lot. Plus, Royal fixed things for her,like the bathroom sink downstairs. Royal replaced the spigot for her, and he replaced the brakes on her car. I helped with that, but I really just got in the way.

I did help him get his dad’s old pickup running though. My part consisted of turning the crank every time Royal told me to. It was so nice in the mornings now. By the time Royal picked me up for school, the heater was nice and warm. I liked him doing the picking up.

School was school, and it didn’t matter how many times I came back, I don’t think I would have liked it anymore. I hated all my classes Royal wasn’t in, I loved playing the flute, and I was okay at art, but nowhere close to Leigh and Royal. They truly were artists, and I was their cheerleader. At least, my people looked like tree people instead of stick people now. Gym class was still the worst, but I had started a revolution though. Most of the girls were happy training to beat the guys, but there were some who hated the extra work I’d caused them to endure. They weren’t interested in beating the guys. No names needed.

Royal and I spent a lot of time in the barn on cold or rainy days, and one of the things we’d done was “train” for the “event.” Royal wouldn’t punch Johnny in the face, but he loved the idea of me beating him. Third time was a charm. That’s what he said when I lost to him by four pullups. Four!

On the first of November, the girls came together with the boys for the monthly tough man challenge. It was cold and rained pretty much the entire weekend,but Royal was the best personal trainer anyone could ask for. We laughed a lot, and I was constantly rewarded with hugs and kisses. Royal may not have had any interest in beating Johnny, but he took great interest in me beating Johnny. As did the entire school. The principal even came to watch.

“What are you going to focus on while you’re doing pull-ups?”

“Yellow butterflies and the cricket orchestra. I still don’t understand why though.”

“Yes, you do. Your mind is what makes you strong, not your muscles.”

“Fenton. Let’s go. You’re up,” Coach Dixon called.

With a deep breath, I turned back to Royal. “Okay, wish me luck.”

“Good luck. Focus.”

“Okay.”

I’m not going to lie. By the time we ended with the pull-ups, I was tired, and I’m pretty sure Coach Dixon was just as much a douche as his son. “You forget I used to be your coach. I know your endurance, Fenton. There are some things girls just aren’t supposed to be at better than boys. This is one of them.”

That totally shot me down. All the fight I had in me was tired, and my teacher, who was supposed to be a mentor, had just stolen all my confidence. I started thinking he was right, and I would never beat Johnny at this stupid game because Coach Dixon would make sure I didn’t. He would make sure of it. I hadn’t even caught my breath from running through the tires yet when he placed his thumb on his timer.

“You can drop as many times as you want, but you only have one minute. The guy with the most pull-ups in that minute wins this match. Ladies first,” he smirked.

Panting like a hot dog, I held my arms over my head trying to catch my breath.

“Come on, Jessie. You’ve got this,” Leigh called.

Pushing his way through the crowd of bystanders, Royal helped too. “Butterflies and cricket orchestras.”

I glanced to him with a smile, thanking him for the reminder, then looked back at the bar. Blowing air on my moist hands, I nodded to Coach Dixon.

“Go!” he called.

The first thirty seconds were fairly easy. I popped off seven, flawlessly, but the eighth one got me, and I dropped.

“Thirty seconds,” Coach called.

I hadn’t realized Royal was that close until he whispered. “Close your eyes and feel the butterflies. Hear the music coming from the night. Go, Jessie.”

Closing my eyes, I jumped back to the bar and heard the angelic music while I felt the butterflies. Focusing hard on the sensations in my mind and not what was going on around me, or my depleting confidence, and suddenly all the cheering chants from my classmates became distant. A faraway echo. Coach Dixon’s countdown from ten seemed to go on forever, and even when he called time, I wasn’t sure it was real. Behind my eyes, I was sitting in a field. When I looked up, the sky was pitch black with twinkling stars, keeping perfect rhythm with one of God’s magnificent creatures. A musical masterpiece. When I looked down, I could see the sun cascading over a field full of wildflowers in every color, and a million little butterflies fluttered all around me. I felt them land on my fingers, my arms, and my nose, but then it was gone.

Coach Dixon touched my arm, calling time on my minute. My eyes weren’t even opened all the way before I felt Royal wrap his arms around me and kiss me on the cheek, spinning me in circles. “Yes, yes, yes. I knew you could do it.”

While everyone else focused intently on what Johnny was going to do, Royal and I used the crowd to be close. “How many did I do?” I whispered.

“Nineteen. I’ve never done nineteen pull-ups. I’m so proud of you,” he said, kissing my left ear from behind.

“I was really there, Royal. I could feel the butterflies and hear the music.”

What he said next was something I would never forget. “I know. I was with you.”

I did beat Johnny Dixon that day, but only that one time. A week or so after that victory, Royal and I were in the barn goofing off when I jumped up to the bar and told him to time me.

“No. Do you remember the Hobo Cliffs?”

Sarcastically replying, I jumped up to the bar and did a pull-up. “The ones where the hobo’s slept?”

“Haha. You’re funny. Yes.”

“Yes, of course,” I replied, remembering the story I’d heard from some hikers when we were kids. It was a trail off the Appalachian railroad where hobo’s would hop off. There was a mountain side on the west side of the tracks with some cliff rocks they used for shelter. Royal and I had been there more than once.

“Do you want to go camping there this weekend?”

Grunting, I pulled my chin over the bar again, reminding him of the weather. “Camping? It’s November.”

“So, I have a zero degree sleeping bag. You can sleep right beside me. I’ll keep you warm.”

“That’s a long hike.”

“Go ask young Jessie. I’ll be over here. Let me know what she says.”

With a long breath, I agreed. “Okay, I’ll ask my grams. Are you going to time me or not?”

“Not. Let’s go get a piece of that pie your grams made.”

“How am I supposed to beat Johnny on an apple pie diet.”

“You already did that. Come on. I bet it’s still warm.”

“Once. What about the rest of the year?”

Pulling my hand, Royal slid the barn door open and the cold air instantly took my breath away. And he wanted to sleep in a tent.“A creative man is motivated by his desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. You already achieved that.”

“Let me guess. Your cabbage patch friend told you that.”

“No, actually it’s from Ayn Rand. She was a Russian-American philosopher. She wrote Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, but you probably don’t know that.”

“Well, you don’t have to say it like that. I do read.”

“You read Bop and Teenbeat.”

Although I didn’t really keep up with Kirk Cameron or Ralph Macchio anymore, it was hard to argue with the stack of magazines on the stand by the sofa. “I’ll look for that book in my future. How’s that?”

I waited until Royal went home for the night before asking my grams about the camping trip. It was the dumbest thing ever. Here I was well past the maturity of a seventeen-yearold, afraid to ask permission to go on a camping trip. With a boy. There was no way she was going to go for it. Talking myself into asking as soon as Dallas went to a commercial, I jumped when the phone rang.

“Pause it, Gram,” I said, lifting my feet from below my butt and bouncing to the kitchen.

“What?”

I laughed hysterically at the confusion on her face and answered the phone in the kitchen. “Hello.”

“Hey.”

“Oh, hey. Leigh. What’s up?”

“Do you want to double date Saturday?”

“Excuse me?”

“Remember the guy from Summersville?”

“The drummer? Yeah? Did he ask you out?”

“Yes, can you cover for me?”

The mom in me wanted to tell her it wasn’t safe, but then young Jessie reminded me we were seventeen. “I don’t know. Royal wants to go to Hobo Mountain and campout.”

Leigh gasped in my ear. “Oh, my God. That’s perfect. Can we go?”

I frowned at the earpiece of the old phone like she could see me. “Go? Go where?”

“Camping. Bobby loves that stuff. He just got back from a three day hiking trip with a couple of his friends. Please, Jess. He would be so impressed if I asked him to do something like that. Wait. Hobo Mountain? What is that?”

“It’s these awesome cliffs that hobo’s used to sleep under for shelter up in the mountains. Royal and I used to go there when we were kids. It’s a hike, probably four or five hours, but the view is amazing.”

“That’s so perfect.”

“You don’t hike, Leigh.”

“Neither do you.”

“Good point. Okay. Let me run it by Royal and ask my grams. I’ll let you know at school tomorrow.”

“Okay, can I get your English paper in the morning?”

“Yes, will you draw me a tree with roots?”

“Totally.”

“Ask Grams what? Do you want some popcorn?” my grams quizzed me.

“Yeah, I’ll tell you when I get off the phone with Leigh.”

I chalked that one up to another one of those things Roxy called synchronicity. It took some persuading, and swearing on an actual real Bible that I was still a virgin and I would come home still a virgin, but she said yes. Royal had to do the same thing the next day, swearing on his life he wouldn’t try any funny business.

That’s all we could talk about the next few days at school, and we were all looking forward to it.

Royal and I ran back into town later that evening and ate chili and grilled cheese at the diner, then we ran into the mall for some rope for something. I was too busy, hoping Johnny and his gang didn’t see us. Luckily, we made it in and out of K-Mart without any altercation.

Our arms swung in unison while we walked through the parking lot to the truck, still talking about the hike. “Make sure you pack your gloves. You’ll want them in the morning.”

“Oh, look. King and Queen Hind-ass.”

“Great. Go away, Johnny,” I said, trying to step around him.

“Why? Come here,” he said, pulling on my arm. Johnny wrapped his arms around me and held onto me. “What’s the matter, tough girl? Huh? You’re not as tough when you don’t have an audience cheering you on now,are you?”

I struggled, trying to wiggle out of his arms. “Let me go, Johnny.”

“Let her go, Johnny.”

“What are you going to go about it? Why don’t you get in your truck and go away, and I’ll make sure Jess gets home safely?”

“I have a better idea. How about you let her go and pick on someone your own size?”

Johnny shoved me away and smirked toward Royal, his fingers motioning him forward. “Come on, boy.”

“Come on, Royal. Asshole,” I said, pulling him by his arm. Only he didn’t move. He just stood there and glared at Johnny. “Royal. Come on.”

“Back up, Jessie.”

“What? No. You don’t have to fight this asshole. Let’s go.”

Royal glanced down at me and moved me aside with his own hands. “I’m not going to fight anyone. I’m simply going to teach him a lesson,” he stated, turning back to Johnny. “One time,” he added, meaning for it to sound like the threat it was.

Johnny and his gang laughed as Johnny took the first swing. I don’t even know what happened after that. It was so fast. Royal swiped his legs right out from under Johnny, and I have no idea when or how he grabbed his arm and put him in that position. Johnny was on his knees, and Royal had his arm straight, twisted, and turned back over his head.

“Ahhh, ahhhh.”

“Put your head down and walk away,” Royal ordered, shoving him to the ground on his face. “Let’s go, Jessie.”

That was it. There was no fight to it whatsoever. Not even when Johnny got his second wind and tried to jump him from behind. Royal never hit him once, but he did cause pain. This time with a single thumb in his collarbone. “You’re embarrassing yourself. Go home.”

All I could do was stand there with my mouth open,just like the other guys, none of them offering to help their buddy out of the pinch he seemed to have gotten himself in. Royal took my hand and pulled me to the truck to follow in a state of shock.

I slid to the middle from his side, barely able to speak. “Royal! Royal! You’re a ninja.”

Royal laughed and kissed my cheek. “I told you I was going to be Hong Kong Phooey when I grew up.”

“Yeah, you did tell me that. Oh, my God, Royal. Where did you learn how to do that?”

Snickering, Royal gave me a look. “Guess.”

“The cabbage patch guy?”

“Zeke, yes.”

“Is there anything this guy didn’t teach you?”

“Lots. We never really stop learning,” he teased.

“Royal, you’ve been putting up with that idiot since the day you walked into that school. Why?”

Modestly, Royal shrugged, reminding me of something he’d said a couple days before. “A creative man is motivated by his desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.”

I was still in state of shock, the whole scene playing over and over in my mind. “Okay, Dr. Phil, but you could have put a stop to it a long time ago. I thought you were a wimp. And you let me think that!” I exclaimed when I realized it.

“Soooooo, whose shit does that make it? Yours or mine?.”

“Huh?”

“That guy didn’t bother me even a little. It bothered you way more than it did me.”

“No, it didn’t.”

“Really? It totally did.”

“Well, yeah, but you could have done karate on him or something. A long time ago.”

“But I didn’t need to do that to prove anything. The only reason I did it this time was that you were in the middle. Hong Kong Phooey,” he teased, chopping my leg with the side of his hand.

“Hey, he was like that. He was a dog janitor at a police station and he turned into a martial arts superhero.”

Royal raised a finger and corrected me. “Only when danger threatened. Not because some spoiled rich kid has never been taught the meaning of humanity.”

“I don’t think I was taught that either. I grew up around people who said,‘don’t throw the first punch’.

“After you, I grew up with Zeke. This is how I was greeted every single morning for years, day after day, after day.” Royal spoke to me in broken English. “Ahhh, goo morning. Today great day to let go things no support you anymore. You create what feel goo on inside. The rest follow.”

“You had your own Mr. Miyagi?”

“Something like that. Plus, my mom. She made me work at a homeless shelter every Saturday in the summer. You don’t experience that without coming out humbled. You know?”

No, I didn’t know. My post Royal consisted of trying to stay in the in crowd. While I was hanging out at the mall, buying Jordache jeans and soft pretzels, Royal was dipping soup for homeless people.

Leigh and her new friend Bobby were at my house at seven a.m., but we didn’t get out of there until almost eight, thanks to Grams. She made us all eat a big breakfast before she would let us head out, and she lectured me like I was a seventeen-yearold kid. Good thing I only told her half the truth. She thought we were staying in a cabin on Turner Lake, not walking ten miles or more to sleep outside on a place Royal and I used to sneak off to. We drove from our driveway to Royal’s and crossed the field behind his house.

The first couple hours were awesome. I really liked Bobby, but then it started to drizzle, and the hike became more of a challenge. It wasn’t as easy with twenty pounds on our backs, and Leigh and I had the light ones. Royal and Bobby were the two with all the equipment. Thank God. Leigh and I had sneakers, they had hiking boots. Despite the weather delay,we made it to the ledge around five in the evening.

The rocks were just the way I remembered. Large boulders hanging out over a flat ledge, overlooking the top of the world. Only we couldn’t see the miles and miles of mountains because of the thick fog.

“This sucks. Normally, you can see to China from here,” I stated while walking around the flat area, remembering the last time we’d trekked up there. It looked smaller than it had when we were kids, but I guess I was smaller too.

Royal and Bobby carried little hatchets and started a fire before anything else. It felt so good to take off my shoes and dry my socksWhile the guys setup camp, Leigh and I were sitting on our butts in front of the fire, talking about the last basketball game and how much she missed me on the team.Then, Royal tapped us both on the shoulder and pointed to the mountain directly in front of us, the only one we could see.

“What, I don’t see anything?”

“Right between those two pines. See the dead tree? Just to the left.”

Leigh gasped, seeing it before me. “A bear. Should we be afraid?”

“Oh, I see it,” I exclaimed, coming to my feet out of excitement.

I leaned into Royal’s chest when he wrapped his arms around me. It was one of those special moments I would never forget. We’d gone bear hunting all over that mountain and never saw a bear. Not one. Ever. “Royal, it’s a bear.”

“We found one. And no, Leigh, he won’t bother us.”

That was one of the best nights of my life, way better than freezing my ass off at a football game. Especially since I never even liked football. We sat around the fire for a long time, eating and talking. Royal and Bobby did have a lot in common, and they didn’t have one awkward moment. Leigh and Bobby, on the other hand,were extremely awkward together. I couldn’t help but watch them, remembering how it was the same way with Johnny. It was never that way with Royal. Not even after we were separated for ten years.

While he told a story about the other cliff on the next mountain, and the horse ghosts I made him chase after, I wondered if it would be that way no matter how many years went by. I snuggled into Royals arms, needing to feel closer to him, and moved my attention from the separation back to one of my favorite stories. That’s mostly what we talked about. All the trouble I got Royal into when we were little.

“Why didn’t we ever come to your house again?” Leigh questioned, wiping tears from her eyes from laughing so hard over the time I tried to hide a baby owl in my room.

Because I was ashamed of my house and my grams, I thought, but didn’t say it out loud. I only laughed, happy I had this opportunity to make it right. We all retired to our tents late, but I’m not sure how late. After midnight, if I had to guess. That was the closest we’d ever come to going further than kissing and fondling. I’m ashamed to say the whole hand over the Bible thing wasn’t what stopped us. It was the lack of room and all the clothes we were both wearing. Long johns, sweats, two pairs of socks, three shirts, and a toboggan. We weren't getting past first base.

Royal was half on top of me, his hand sort of caressed my right boob, and his hips thrust into mine while we kissed. Until I said enough. “Royal, you gotta stop.”

“I don’t want to.”

“We’ll get struck by lightning.”

Royal laughed and shifted his hips into mine one more time before he retreated. “I gotta go sleep with Bobby.”

I laughed that time, wrapping my leg over his waist, right across his undeniable arousal. “Oh, yeah. Definitely,” I said while I shoved my tongue halfway down his throat, my hand moving right over it.

Royal jerked away, moving as far away from me as he could in the confined space. “Jesus. Don’t touch it.”

I laughed so hard Leigh yelled from her tent, asking me what was so funny.

Deciding the fire was safer, we got out of the tent after that. At least, the fog had lifted, and we could see the moon and stars. We sat quietly, leaned into each other, listening to the crickets put on a show for us, staring up to the magical sky.

Between nature's chorus, the crackling fire, and Royal’s warm body tangled with mine, I slept better than I had ever slept in my life. If I would have woken up in my other life the following morning, I would have been forever grateful for that memory. Right there, tangled in Royal, I felt like we were it. The center of time and everything else revolved around that. Around Royal and me.