The others were already seated by the time they made it out of the bathroom. A waitress finished jotting down their orders and stepped out of the way to let Neil and Nicky sit. Nicky went first, graciously leaving the outside seat for Neil.

Aaron arched an eyebrow at Nicky. "Drown in the toilet?"

"Even quickies take time, you know," Nicky said.

"Don't make me sick."

"You know, if you'd get around to popping Katelyn one, you wouldn't be so anal." Nicky ducked when Aaron threw a wadded-up napkin at him. "It's true. You are bringing her to the banquet, aren't you?"

"I haven't asked her yet."

"I think Andrew should ask her and see if she can tell the difference."

Andrew's smile was slow. "Okay."

"You aren't funny," Aaron said to Nicky. "Shut up."

They ate in silence when their ice cream showed up. The money Aaron left on the table was too much for just dessert, so Neil assumed they'd gotten their drugs.

The line outside Eden's Twilight was half the size as it was last time. Nicky blamed it on South Carolina's blue laws. Apparently alcohol sales were prohibited on Sunday, which meant the bars had to stop serving it at midnight Saturday. The group only had an hour and a half to drink, but Nicky promised there was a stash at "the house".

"But whose house is it?" Neil asked.

"Technically it's mine, but I consider it ours." Nicky waved to include the entire group in that. "I left Germany so I could be Aaron and Andrew's guardian, did you know? It was me or my super religious parents, and I figured I had a better chance of surviving Andrew. I bought that house so we'd have a place to stay. Dad cosigned it, but Erik helped fund it. I use my monthly stipend to make payments on the mortgage."

"If you have a house, why did you stay with Abby this summer?"

"Because Andrew didn't feel like driving Kevin back and forth to the upstate for practice every day," Nicky said.

He pulled up to the curb outside Eden's Twilight long enough to collect a VIP parking pass. The others went inside while he went down the street to the garage. It was easier to get a table tonight thanks to the shortened hours, but the club was still more crowded than Neil was comfortable with. Andrew left Aaron and Kevin to guard their seats and brought Neil with him to get their drinks. Roland the bartender was on duty again. Judging by the look on his face, he remembered Neil and couldn't believe he'd returned.

"He said no," Andrew said. "Keep them clean."

Neil was half-sure this was just a show, but Roland passed him an empty cup and a sealed can of soda. Neil checked the glass for residue as soon as Roland went to mix the others' drinks.

"Paranoid," Andrew said.

"If you're such a control freak you shouldn't be drinking either."