Try Me (One Night with Sole Regret #1)(22)

"What are you all lookin' at?" Gabe grumbled.

In unison, five pairs of eyes turned upward to gaze at the ceiling.

A waitress approached and set plates of food in front of those who'd arrived before Melanie and Gabe.

"Force!" The waitress whipped a black Sole Regret T-shirt from her apron pocket and handed him a silver paint pen. "Will you please sign this for me? All I need is Shade and my collection of signatures will be complete."

"Sure," Gabe said.

"The concert last night was awesome! I was stoked when I found out you all were staying here."

"Glad you enjoyed the show." Gabe signed the T-shirt, and the waitress took his order while the ink of his autograph dried.

He ordered for Melanie first-which made her feel special, cherished even-and then for himself.

"And can I get some fresh fruit as well?" Melanie asked. She didn't usually eat such a heavy breakfast, but her stomach was up for it this morning.

"No problem," the waitress said. "What I wouldn't give to be in her shoes," she muttered under her breath as she walked away with her autographed Sole Regret T-shirt draped over one shoulder.

Melanie was suddenly delighted to be sandwiched between two sexy rock stars and having breakfast with most of the members of Sole Regret. Thanks to Nikki's impulsiveness, she had an amazing story to tell her grandchildren. She'd skip the sex parts, of course.

Apparently, Melanie wasn't the only one who was starving. Everyone with food fell silent as they devoured their meals. Gabe held her hand under the table, stroking the sensitive skin below her knuckles with his thumb.

"I wonder where Nikki and Shade are," she said.

"Screwing in the sauna," Adam said.

Melanie turned her head to look at him.

"He took two security guards with him to ensure their privacy."

"Sounds hot," Melanie said. "And I don't mean sexy hot. Hyperthermia hot."

"I'm sure it's hella sexy hot," Adam said. "And I'm sure Shade will tell us all about it later when we're bored on the tour bus."

"I'm sure Nikki would prefer he didn't," Melanie said, embarrassed for her friend. Yeah, Nikki could be slutty, but she made no excuses. If she wanted to fuck a guy in the sauna, she fucked him in the sauna. Melanie sometimes envied Nikki's lack of inhibition, but Melanie also pitied her, because she knew that what Nikki really wanted was for someone to love her. She was just going about it all wrong. Melanie recognized that she was going about it all wrong too, but then she'd never expected to feel anything for Gabe besides lust. She was feeling things for him that she had no business experiencing, much less expressing.



       
         
       
        

"I have some time after breakfast," Gabe whispered in her ear. "Are you planning on sticking around until the bus leaves?"

"Do you want me to?" she asked.

"That's a stupid question."

"You don't want to fuck in the sauna, do you?" She crinkled her nose.

Beside her, Adam inhaled sharply and then started choking. The guy who was sitting on his opposite side pounded him on the back. Adam's chains rattled in time with the pounding.

"Are you okay?" Melanie asked.

He nodded, still coughing, and reached for a glass of water. He knocked it over when his attention diverted to Nikki, who danced into the room, positively glowing with happiness. Or maybe her face was rosy from all the time spent in the sauna. Everyone at the table stood in unison, piling fancy cloth napkins on the puddle of water spreading across the table. Nikki trotted across the room and wrapped her arms around Gabe's neck.

"Did you have fun with Mel?" she asked, giving him an affectionate squeeze. She tilted her head to the side, grinned at Melanie, and offered her a little wink.

Shade stopped behind her and cleared his throat. Nikki untangled her arms from Gabe's neck and hugged Shade around the waist, resting her head against his broad chest like a docile kitten. He cupped the back of her head in one large hand.

"I suppose you thoughtless assholes didn't bother ordering for the rest of us," he said. Melanie couldn't tell who he was looking at, because he was wearing his damned sunglasses again. She wondered if he wore them to bed. And while fucking in the sauna.

"You're the only asshole I see here," Adam said and sat in the booth again. He tackled his omelet with vigor.

There was an uncomfortable moment where everyone stared at Shade, and then, when he didn't engage further with Adam, they all sat down again to continue their breakfast. Shade sat next to Owen, who shifted closer to Kelly to make room. Nikki perched herself on Shade's knee.