Wow. It wasn’t that long ago Mabel stressed me out. Now I like her.
Cami’s a white woman with dark hair cut in a sophisticated pixie style that highlights big eyes and killer cheekbones. Tala is Black with gorgeous smooth skin, bright red lips, and a mass of natural curls.
They don’t make a big deal about who I am, but they do tell me they love my music, so that’s nice.
“What’s the most embarrassing thing that turns you on?” Mabel asks us all as we stand at the island in her condo. I’m rolling out pizza dough, Cami is spreading sauce on another pie, and Tala is shredding mozzarella. Mabel is mixing drinks.
The three of us exchange glances and I roll my lips in. Do I want to tell strangers about my weird kinks? One of them could tell a reporter about it and the next thing you know it’ll be on TMZ.
“I love a man in a vest,” Tala says. “It makes me so hot.”
“A vest?” Mabel grins. “Okay.”
“Like, a nice vest,” Tala adds. “Not a sweater vest.”
“Oh, yeah, that would be dorky. How about you, Cami?”
Cami makes a face. “Weeelll… when we’re doing it and we hear voices outside the door while going at it, or someone coming home… like somebody could hear us, or catch us in the act… that gets me extra spicy.”
“Oh, yeah.” Mabel nods. “Been there when I was staying at Marek’s place.”
I grin. Marek must have been losing his mind.
“What about you, Nikki?” Mabel looks over at me.
“Can I say… dry humping?”
“You can say whatever you want,” Mabel replies with a laugh. “No kink shaming here.”
“It was really hot when we both…” I stop.
“Oh, no!” Mabel’s mouth drops open in horror. “Not with my brother!”
“You asked the question!”
Cami and Tala both crack up laughing.
“Can confirm, that is hot,” Tala wheezes.
“Okay, forget I asked that, let’s change the subject,” Mabel blurts. “What?—”
“Oh, no,” I say with an evil grin. “You haven’t answered yet.”
“Yeah!” Tala and Cami support me.
Mabel rolls her eyes and hands me a whiskey sour that she made using Ina Garten’s recipe. “Fine. I think priests are hot.Sexypriests.”
“Does Ben have liturgical vestments that he wears to turn you on?” Cami asks.
“Not yet.” Mabel smirks.
As we eat pizza, I confide that my parents are coming tomorrow. “Marek won’t mind that they come to his place, will he?” I ask Mabel.
She shrugs. “Doubt it. But you could ask him.”
“I’m not sure I want him to know.”
She cocks her head. “Why not?”
