"How was the camping trip?"

Nikki sat up and looked at Neil, who was standing in the doorway of her bedroom.

"It was great!" she gushed. "Mr. Greene and his girlfriend, Gwen, are engaged now! And get this: she's the same Gwen who used to babysit us as kids!"

"Whoa! How the fuck did that happen?"

"Dunno, but he proposed right in front of me and Max!"

"Sounds… fun."

"Oh, and I hit a drunk college guy on a boat with a rock."

"Why were you hanging out with drunk college guys?"

"I wasn't. He was doing that thing guys do where they try and get a girl's attention by being sleazy, so I threw a rock at him and hit him in the leg."

"Please tell me you weren't alone on the beach for that."

"Nope! Max was with me."

"And he let you hit the guy with a rock."

"He thought it was funny."

"Jesus Christ." Neil couldn't help but smile, though. "I wish I could've gone with you guys."

"Uh, yeah! It was too bad you couldn't come."

"Nikki, what happened?"

"Nothing!"

"Nikki."

"Seriously, nothing happened."

"Nikki, you tell me what happened or I text Max and ask him."

"Fine. Max kissed me." Neil's eyes widened and one twitched.

"He did what?"

"He. Kissed. Me. And I let him because he's a good kisser."

"You've never been kissed before! How the fuck do you know he's a good kisser?"

"Because I wanted to kiss him again. And my leg did that thing girls' legs do in the movies when they kiss the guy."

"The stupid 'leg-pop' thing from The Princess Diaries?! Are you shitting me?"

"Calm down, Neil. It's not like I agreed to marry him. We've just been hanging out and stuff. And I guess we're official, now?"

" 'Official'?"

"Like, I'm his girlfriend now."

"Nikki, you've known him less than two months! That is not the guy you start dating for your first boyfriend!"

"Dammit, Neil! Why are you being so hostile?! I thought you liked Max!" Neil took a deep breath.

"Sorry. It's just… I keep thinking back to middle school. I don't wanna see you cry again." Nikki bit her lip, knowing exactly what Neil was talking about. "I may just be your stepbrother, but… to me, the 'brother' part is more important."

"Thanks, Neil. And… the 'sister' part is more important to me, too."

Hey!

How was the seasonal Father-Son Camping Trip from Hell?

Max felt his euphoric mood from the weekend evaporate as soon as he saw the message from Sasha. Shit, that was right. He wasn't supposed to fall for Nikki.

Shut up. It wasn't that bad.

Aw, did I wake up the baby from his nap?

Focus, goddammit.

I am.

Why wasn't it bad? You hate going on those stupid trips.

Well, this time, I wasn't suffering alone.

Gwen went with us.

Ugh, that bitch.

Hey, that's my future stepmom.

WTF?!

He put a ring on it?!

Proposed to her right in front of us.

Wait, us?

Who the hell else was there?!

Nikki.

David let me invite someone to come along, and I picked her.

She hit a college dude in the leg with a rock after he hit on her.

Jesus fucking Christ, what a brat.

Nah, it was kind of impressive, actually.

Considering we were on the shore of the lake

And he was on a moving sailboat.

Did you find out anything from her?

Um…

She thinks true love is bullshit and real love hardly exists.

But to be honest, I think that's true.

Ugh!

What the fuck am I paying you for if you're not taking this seriously?!

Excuse me, Your Royal Bitchiness.

It takes TIME to do this shit.

I can't just earn her complete trust in a couple months.

Well, fuck her, then!

I'm not a slut like you.

I can't just fuck someone like that.

It's not like you're a virgin.

Fuck. Off.

Why are you so defensive of her?!

She's a better kisser than you.

WTF YOU SON OF A BITCH! TAKE THAT BACK!

Max chuckled as he ignored Sasha's messages. Let her be all pissy. Eventually, she got the hint and stopped texting… for now. He picked his phone back up as it beeped to see a message from Neil.

If you hurt Nikki, I know how to castrate you.

WTF, Neil?

Just a warning, dude.

It's like I told Nikki: I'm her stepbrother, but to me, brother is the important part.

I'm not going to watch her cry again.

Again? She doesn't strike me as the crying type.

She's only cried ONCE in the fourteen years we've known each other.

I'm not saying why.

It's up to her if and when she tells you that story.

Noted.

Max felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Someone had made Nikki cry, to the point where Neil was willing to become the stereotype of an older brother and threaten whoever could possibly hurt her that bad again. And Max was being paid to do that.

I could handle Nikki crying.

No, you couldn't. She's too happy—it would upset the balance of the universe.

There are a thousand bucks on the line, dude. You're gonna fucking throw that away over some relationship that doesn't even matter?

No, she matters.

Just wait a few months, fucker. You'll be desperate to spill her secrets to Sasha then.

December rolled around as the leaves on the trees turned brown and the trees themselves become barren. Usually, Max loved it because the world was becoming as dead as he was inside. He'd always preferred colder weather over hot weather because the world seemed so much more cozy when there was a blanket of snow on the ground rather than the baking heat of the sun on grass. He supposed it was largely to be contrary to David, who preferred perfect camping weather over all others, but he'd been that way for as long as he could remember.

"Max!"

He jumped a little at the sound of Nikki's voice. They'd agreed to meet outside Naomi's for some coffee and hot chocolate before going Christmas shopping together, so he'd been deep in his own thoughts.

"Hey, Nik," he greeted her. She giggled.

Now that the weather was colder, Max still wore his hoodie full-time—just with a parka over it and a pair of thick pants instead of jeans. He also wore a winter hat that David had made for their first Christmas after the adoption went through, and a scarf from about the same time. His snow-boots were already slick from snow, but he didn't mind. He was comfortable, and that was all that mattered.

Nikki, on the other hand, was wearing a yellow sweater under a red parka with red pants. She was wearing a pair of white earmuffs and a green scarf, too. She was comfortable, but Max thought she looked adorable. The cold biting at her cheeks made them rosy.

"I heard she's trying out new hot cocoa recipes this year," Nikki told Max as they entered the café/bakery. It was busy, due to the cold and Naomi having the best hot drinks in town. She always had more help around that time of year, though she never put up 'Help Wanted' signs…

"They might be worth skipping my coffee for." Max shrugged.

"Hey, Max!" Naomi greeted him when he and Nikki reached the counter. "Black coffee for you and hot cocoa for Nikki?"

"Actually, I'll take a peppermint hot chocolate. Nikki?"

"I'll have a raspberry hot cocoa, please!" Nikki requested.

"You got it!" She wrote down their order and handed it to a girl about their age with long, dark red hair that matched Naomi's own. "Get that for them, please, Charlie."

"Whatever," Charlie muttered, heading into the kitchen.

"Do you know who they are?" Nikki asked Max as they sat down at a table. 'They', of course, referring to Naomi's seasonal employees.

"Nope," he sighed. "They're here every year around Christmas, though, and they look like Naomi. My guess is that they're family."

"Here for the holidays and required to help out."

"Isn't that how it is in most households? I mean, Gwen's parents are butting in all the time and they're excited to have me as a grandson in a few months."

"What about David's parents?"

"They couldn't make it this year. Said something about work. Sucks. I like having them around during the holidays because David 'chills' the fuck out." Nikki snorted.

"One peppermint, one raspberry!" called a guy with glasses and the same dark red hair as Naomi and Charlie.

"That's us." Max and Nikki took their drinks and headed out the door.

As they exited, though, he ran into a couple of familiar faces.

Erin and Tabii.

"Hey, Max!" Erin greeted him with a smile.

"And is that Nikki?!" Tabii gasped.

"Hey," Max and Nikki greeted them in unison, both sounding unenthusiastic.

"Aw! You two make such a cute couple!" Erin complimented.

"Thanks, but we've gotta go," Max told her. "Bye."

"Bye!"

Max and Nikki headed down the street, Max feeling a little rattled by the appearance of two of his old 'buddies' from Sleepy Peak. Sasha must have told them about the deal, right?

"You don't like Tabii and Erin either?" Nikki asked.

"Not really. They're a little bitchy, if you ask me. You got a problem with them?"

"They're friends with Sasha, who hates me because of something that happened in middle school."

"What happened?"

"I… I don't think you need to know yet. Just know that Tabii and Erin were involved." Her eyes lit up as they caught sight of the Christmas tree in the center of town. "Oh my gosh! I didn't know it was up already!"

"Yeah, of course it is." She pulled him along and stared at the lights as they went by. "You… really like Christmas, don't you?"

"It's my favorite time of year. I love everything about it—the lights, the presents, the food, spending time with family…"

"And me?" He smirked at her.

"And you, of course." She elbowed him gently. "So, any idea what you're getting David and Gwen?"

"Yeah. I'm getting David a bird-watchers' guide and I'm getting Gwen the latest 'supernatural romance' novel. It's her fucking favorite genre."

"I'm getting Neil new test tubes and some gift cards for Mom and Carl." Suddenly, Max realized that it wasn't just family he had to get gifts for this year—it was Nikki, too.

"Any ideas on what you want?" he asked.

"Anything outdoorsy would be nice. A wolf cub is the ideal gift, but it's impractical. I don't have time to train it."

It's cute how you think that's why it's impractical.

"You?"

"Not really. There isn't much I actually want nowadays." They stopped in front of the bookstore and Nikki looked up with a giggle.

"Mistletoe," she told Max. He looked up to see the decorative plant and smirked.

"C'mere, you." He brought her into a quick kiss before they went inside.

Saw Tabii and Erin today.

Your spies?

Puh-lease. I dumped those two at the beginning of the year.

They're such LOSERS.

Jesus Christ, you're a fucking bitch.

Wait, they didn't know about the job, did they?

Nope.

I haven't told anybody except Eddie.

Pikeman?

Fuck.

How'd he take it?

He said it was a brilliant revenge scheme.

Yeah, brilliant.

How long have you been 'friends' with Tabii and Erin?

Since middle school, after the Nikki thing. They backed me up.

Okay, then…

Bye.

Have you found out anything else?

For fuck's sake, Sasha.

NO.

Now leave me alone.

You aren't backing out, are you?

Maybe I am.

Because if you DO, I'll tell Nikki everything.

I'll tell her that you agreed to the job and accepted the payment.

And, on top of that, I'll tell the school board about your little 'business'.

I wonder how they'll treat David when they find out his son sells homework and test papers…

Sasha…

Don't test me, Max.

Unless you want your world to come crumbling down, you'll finish the job.

…fine.

I'll… try.

Good boy.

Max set the phone aside and buried his face in his hands as he fell back on his pillow. He was in deep shit now. He had to do what Sasha said. He'd lose Nikki either way, but at least if he did what the bitch wanted, David would keep his job.

Nikki…

You're only going to get hurt in the end, motherfucker. Find out what you need to know and finish this so you're out from under her.

I can't… I can't hurt Nikki…

There's no way out of this where Nikki doesn't get hurt. There's no way out where you don't get hurt. Do what Sasha says and cut the cord as soon as you're done.

Max felt a pain in his chest at the thought of losing Nikki. It worsened at the thought of David losing his job because of him.

He really was between a rock and a hard place, wasn't he?