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smiling at Melanie.
“Actually,” Melanie said, “I’ve been thinking of getting one on my back. But no names. Not even Gabe’s. And definitely not one anywhere near my head.”
Gabe felt awkwardly aroused by the idea of Melanie getting a tattoo on her back. It would be a bit of added scenery for him to admire during her continued drum lessons. But he had one condition.
“The only way I would ever let you get a tattoo—”
“Let me?” Melanie’s eyebrows rose.
“—is if I get to watch,” he finished.
She grinned. “You can even help me pick it out since you’ll be seeing it a lot more than I will.” She flushed and then turned wide eyes toward their parents. “I mean because I can’t really see my back, can I?”
Especially not during those drum lessons.
Mealtime was announced by Caitlyn, and Melanie visibly relaxed. She’d totally backed herself into an embarrassing corner with that tattoo announcement.
“Does this mean you’re completely over your aversion to tattoos?” Gabe asked her as they made their way to the end of the chow line. Their parents were walking and chatting directly in front of them. He was glad they all got along. It would make those huge holiday get-togethers less stressful.
“I love your tattoos,” she said, and left it at that. He wouldn’t push the envelope by getting some barbwire inked around his wrist. He knew it was her main trigger.
A breathless Nikki got into line behind them. She was talking animatedly to Adam.
“And so then I was like, I have got to try this thing. If it can make Melanie scream like that, it has to be pretty amazing.”
She was blabbing about their business enterprise to Adam? Who’d be next, Gabe’s mom?
“Uh, Nikki . . .” Gabe tried to catch her attention.
“Holy fuck, I came so hard I thought I was going to explode.”
Adam chuckled at that and grabbed two plates—the second presumably for his injured fiancée.
“So,” Nikki continued loudly, “after I caught my breath, and trust me it took a while, I went and got my camera phone and set it up to record—”
“Nikki!” Melanie shouted.
“Oh, hey, Mel,” she said. “I was just telling Adam about how we all became millionaires thanks to your fiancé’s dirty mind and my moment of genius.”
“You’re telling more than Adam,” Gabe said, glancing ahead. Sure enough, two sets of curious parents were hanging on Nikki’s every word.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson,” Nikki said, throwing them a cheerful wave. “When did you get here?”
“About half an hour ago,” Mark said, his tone rather cold.
“That’s nice.” She turned back to Adam. “So anyway, I’m bucking around on Gabe’s invention, getting off like you would not believe. Actually, I can show you the video if you’re interested.”
“I don’t think Madison would approve,” Adam said with a smirk.
“Right. I always forget about her.” Nikki glanced toward the tree where they’d last seen Madison. “So my video went viral on this website and everyone wanted to—”
Melanie grabbed Nikki’s arm. “Could you keep it down? There are respectable people here.”
Nikki snorted and busted out laughing. “Where?” She looked around, and her gaze landed on the four real adults at the party. “Right. I guess I’ll have to finish telling you about it later,” she said to Adam. “If Madison will let you off your leash.”
Adam stiffened slightly, but then his gaze found the woman who held his leash and he smiled. “I wouldn’t count on it,” he said.
Gabe grinned. Madison was trying to glare a hole through Nikki’s narrow back.
“So,” Dad said, falling back in line to stand beside Gabe, “what’s this about an invention?”
Gabe could feel his ears burning with embarrassment. “It’s nothing. Nikki’s crazy, you know.”
“I am not crazy,” Nikki shouted. “I’m an addict. Like Adam.”
Adam huffed. “Not like me, sweetheart.” Then he shrugged. “Well, maybe a little like me.”
“Exactly like you, except sex is my drug of choice.”
Every man within earshot perked up at that news.
“And just like Adam, I’m rehabilitated.”
The attentive male perkiness flattened, and people began to fill their plates again.
“Best not to draw attention to your addiction,” Melanie advised quietly.
“Why not? How can I ever get better if I don’t admit I have a problem?”
“But you don’t have to admit it to everyone,” Melanie said.
Nikki looked to Adam for validation, and he nodded. “Yeah, it does work best that way. The worst thing she can do is hide her addiction. That makes it too easy to slip back into old habits.”
Melanie straightened, and Gabe was pretty sure she was about to go off on yet another member of his former band.
“But you do need to be careful,” Adam said. “Some people will use your problems against you, rather than trying to help you out.”
Melanie smiled at Adam, but he was looking the other way. She lifted a hand and stroked the back of Nikki’s head. “Whatever you need to do to heal, honey,” she said. “I just worry about you. Adam’s right. You have to be careful.”
Nikki melted. “I know, Mel. And I know it’s hard for you to understand what it’s like for me because you’ve never had an addiction. But Adam understands. He gets it.”
So that was why she always glommed onto Adam the second she saw him. Her trust in him was actually kind of sweet. One look at Madison told Gabe that his fiancée didn’t think Nikki’s budding friendship—or perhaps, sponsorship—was sweet in the slightest.
“Well, long story short, we’re making sex toys now,” Nikki said. “Melanie runs the business, Gabe invents the toys, and I do PR. Pretty neat, huh?”
“That’s a lot to have accomplished in a few weeks,” Adam said.
“I know, right?” Nikki beamed with pride. “And we’re just getting started. You should see all the pervy stuff Gabe has invented.”
Adam snorted. “I can only imagine.”
Gabe very much wanted to get the hell out of the line. Especially since he was sure that not only had his parents heard Nikki’s entire spiel, but so had his future in-laws.
After filling his plate, Gabe found a shady patch of grass and sat down. Melanie and both sets of their parents sat in a little circle facing him. Leslie was chatting with Caitlyn at the end of the buffet line. Nikki had gone off with Adam, which meant the subject of his new business venture might actually be dropped.
The six in their little group ate in terse silence for several long minutes.
