Gaining Maisy

by Graystone, Summer

  “Something tells me I’m the only one sitting at this table,” Chloe’s voice broke into her thoughts, and Maisy looked up with a guilty look on her face.

  “Sorry, got a lot on my mind.”

  “Yeah, I noticed. And from the smile on your face, whatever it is you’re thinking about must be really good. But I know it’s not a guy because I haven’t seen anyone at your place. You aren’t seeing anyone, are you?”

  Maisy looked quite astounded at how fast Chloe had gone from what she was thinking to questions about her love life. Smiling a little, although she was still not sure where Chloe was going with it, Maisy said, “No,” then without knowing why, added, “had a nasty breakup a few months back. But I’m doing fine now.”

  “Good, because I want to hook you up with Aiden.”

  “No, no, no, no hooking up with anybody. Besides, I just told you I recently had a bad breakup. Relationships are the last thing I want to get into now.”

  “Come on, just hear me out first.” Chloe held out her hand. “Your breakup was months ago, right? And you’re perfectly over that now. And I think you and Aiden would be perfect for each other.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s hot,” Chloe said with a wink, and Maisy nearly scoffed at that, thinking to herself there was no way he was as hot as Carter. A quick picture of her tongue trailing across Carter’s rock-hard abs just two nights ago as she went down to wrap her lips around his cock flitted through her mind, and she smiled along with Chloe.

  “Sorry, but no can do. I’m kinda loving my life as a single woman and not ready to muddy my feet in the relationship pool just yet.” Maisy smiled mischievously as she took a sip of her iced tea.

  “Okay, I guess,” Chloe said, taking a sip of her own tea, realizing that Maisy wasn’t budging on the subject. “So, what’s in that thing you brought with you? I already told you the food here is great, and you liked it just fine the last time we ate here.”

  Maisy looked down at the small cooler beside her, and drew it closer to herself. “No, the food is great. But I noticed that they don’t really have many options on the dessert menu. So, I made some things I want to show the owner of the place. Was actually planning on showing him before we sat down, but I’m kinda nervous now.”

  “Why? Don’t worry. I’ve known Ralph since high school. Well, since I was in high school. He’s been here since, like, forever. Come on, let’s go in and see him.”

  “You sure?” Maisy asked nervously, wondering if maybe it would have been better to call first instead.

  “Yeah, I’ll just tell Gina to hold our table for us.”

  Maisy followed Chloe as they went to the back of the restaurant and into the kitchen, stopping on the way to tell Gina that they would soon be back. Immediately, Maisy was transported to when she worked in the kitchen in Chicago. The noise, the sound of pans and pots banging together, people yelling out orders and instructions to each other. She suddenly realized that, while she missed it all, she wasn’t ready to return to it.

  “Hey, Ralph,” Chloe greeted an elderly man who appeared to be the head chef.

  “Chloe,” he exclaimed, clearly happy to see her. “It’s been awhile since you came out back to see me. How are your folks doing?”

  “Fine; even got a call from Ben last week.”

  “He called me, too, told me he was having problems fitting in at that school of his. I told him to calm down and take it easy. He’s already great at the basics, the only things those guys can teach him is how to fancy it up.”

  “Thanks, Ralph,” then to Maisy, “Ben is my brother. He used to work here before he got into a big culinary school in Chicago.”

  “Yeah, he was our pastry chef,” Ralph said.

  Maisy looked at Chloe, shock written all over her face. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

  Chloe just shrugged and smiled. “Didn’t see a need to.” Then before Maisy could interject, she said to Ralph, “So, this is my friend Maisy. She’s a dessert chef and wants to show you some samples.”

  “I know who she is” Ralph replied, shocking Chloe and Maisy.

  “How do you know her?”

  “Read her book,” he simply said, then to Maisy, “Loved it, even tried some of your ideas here in the restaurant.”

  “Well, I don’t really know how to respond to that,” Maisy gushed, feeling shy and almost not believing that someone here had actually read her book. “I’m flattered, I guess, and suddenly nervous.”

  “Well, I’m really surprised and kind of pissed you didn’t tell me you were a famous chef,” Chloe said, pouting a little.

  “Well, I’m not really a famous chef, and we can call it even for you not telling me about your brother.”

  “Okay,” Chloe grudgingly agreed.

  “Okay, so I brought three samples,” Maisy said, lifting the lid on the cooler, happy to see that the ice pack she had placed inside had done the job of keeping the treats cold. She brought out her knife and carved pieces of the first sample, serving them on foil for Chloe and Ralph. Then she watched nervously as they lifted their pieces to their mouths. Then she felt half-relief as she watched Chloe’s eyes close in something akin to ecstasy.

  “Wow, this is amazing. You’re saying you can bake something like this and I’m just finding out now?”

  Maisy smiled but then looked at Ralph who, although he wasn’t vocal on his thoughts about the cake, was clearly pleased by it from the look in his eyes.

  “Already knew it was going to be amazing, but still surprised how good it is. Incidentally, you had the job the moment you stepped into my kitchen…I just wanted to have a piece of your cake.”

  Maisy smiled at his comment, mostly with relief and also because she was really starting to like him. He reminded her a little of Russell, the person she had worked under right after she got out of culinary school.

  “Well, you can have the rest then.” Maisy pushed the cooler to him. “I also have a three-ingredient lemon cake and a peanut butter carrot cake in there.”

  “Thanks; so when can you start?” Ralph asked her, placing the cakes in the freezer.

  “Actually,” Maisy appeared nervous again, “I was thinking I could make them at my place. I have everything I need there and could maybe work out a menu with you, on like a daily or weekly basis.”

  He appeared to think about it for a few minutes, then shrugged and said, “That could work. How about you come see me tomorrow afternoon, say around two, when business is slow around here and we can talk all about it. For now, go and enjoy your meal; it’s on the house.”

  Maisy thanked him profusely as he led them back to their table, asking her about her last job along the way. She answered as best as she could, then thanked him again after he had seated them and motioned to Gina to bring their order out.

  “Don’t worry about it; I should actually be thanking you. Having someone of your caliber working for us means a lot to this restaurant.”

  Kissing Chloe on the cheek and reminding her to send his regards to her parents, Ralph made his way back to the kitchen. As he left, Maisy thought about what he said last and had to admit she was a little shocked he held her in such high regard. She had stopped seeking validation a long time ago when it came to her professional work, but hearing him say those things make her realize maybe she had allowed Eric to affect her professional life. After all, what other explanation did she have as to why she had barely stepped foot in a kitchen until now? Not willing to allow such bad thoughts to mar a night she was supposed to be celebrating she turned her focus back on Chloe, who was gushing about how nice it was to have a famous friend.

  Chapter 15

  Maisy tried Brittany’s number again for the millionth time after she returned from the restaurant with Chloe, eager to share the news of her new job. And again, like all the previous times, it rang and rang till it went to voicemail. Maisy knew Brittany was probably busy, away from her phone, but she really wanted to share her news with someone. She was about to
give up and go to bed when she heard her phone ring, thinking it was Brittany calling back after seeing her missed call. She pounced on her phone. “Hey, why weren’t answering your phone?”

  There was a small pause, then a voice she was all too well acquainted with said, “I normally would, if it asked me a question. Evening, Maisy, this is Carter. I was calling to tell you that I need to go somewhere tomorrow morning. So can we move our session to evening? Or, better yet, you can come to the gym in the morning and work on your own, then we could still meet up in the evening.”

  Maisy’s cheeks flamed in embarrassment. “Sorry about that. And no problem, guess I’ll be seeing you in the evening.”

  “Alright then, and maybe next time you could check who’s calling before picking up the phone. You never know who you might be telling where you hide your gold stash.” He sounded playful, but his voice held a thread of seriousness in it, and it made Maisy wonder if he was trying to be protective of her.

  “I usually do, but I needed to talk to a friend of mine and I’ve been calling her since morning and she isn’t picking up. Then when the phone rang, I naturally assumed that she was calling me back and so I answered without looking at my phone.”

  “Oh,” Carter said, and Maisy realized she may have spoken too much. When Carter still didn’t say anything, she got nervous and continued.

  “You see, the thing is, I got a job today, sort of. I mean, I’m still meeting tomorrow to talk things out with the head chef, but he already said I had the job.”

  “That’s great; didn’t even know you were looking for one. So where is this place?” Carter seemed really excited at her news, and Maisy felt a little more comfortable talking to him about it.

  “It’s at this restaurant Chloe took me to, Ralph’s. It’s just about five blocks from here. Wait, you’ve lived here long enough, I’m sure you know where I’m talking about.”

  “Yes, Maisy, I know the place. Even worked there for a while after I came back.” A short pause, then, “So, you work there now. Well, I know Ralph only hires the best, so I’m thinking I’ll be stopping by to see how good you are in the kitchen.”

  Maisy smiled a little at that then, feeling a little bit naughty, said, “If you wanted to know how good I was in the kitchen, all you needed to do was ask and I would have shown you. Then you can thank me by showing me how good you are in bed. Oh wait, I already know that.”

  “You may think you do, but trust me, Maisy, you have no idea,” Carter replied, in a voice dripping with sex and not so subtle hint of forbidden pleasures. Maisy’s body went hot all over and she had to force herself to keep her mind on what they were talking about.

  “Now you’re just teasing me,” she managed to say in a voice low with arousal.

  “Maybe I was; but, really, congratulations on your new job.”

  “Thanks, I’m a little bit scared, though.” Maisy finally admitted the reason she was so frantic to get across to Brittany. Why she was talking to Carter about it, even though they never really got personal with each other?

  “Scared of what?” Carter sounded confused and concerned all at once.

  “I work as a pastry chef. I literarily work with the very thing that could ruin all the hard work and progress I’ve made these past few weeks.”

  “And you’re scared that going back to work would mean you would gain back all the weight you lost?” Carter asked, and Maisy nodded, almost afraid to even say it out loud.

  “Let me ask you a question: exactly what does your work mean to you?”

  Maisy didn’t even have to think before she answered, “It’s the one thing I have always wanted to do since I was a kid. I never wanted to be a movie star, or singer, or doctor, or any of that. I’ve always loved working in the kitchen, mixing recipes, coming up with new ones and all that. Quite simply put, I’m happiest when I’m cooking and baking, and stuff.”

  “Then go ahead and do it,” Carter simply said. Then he added, “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, and I can almost bet that you may fall a few times along the way. But what’s important is that you get back up and keep working hard at it, and in a way it just might help. Because the key isn’t to deny yourself something that you really want but isn’t good for you, but to work till you only want the things that are good for you.”

  “So, you’re saying I should go for it?”

  “Yes, Maisy, that’s what I’m saying. Tell me, do you think your former weight was a function of the fact that you cook?”

  “Well, not exactly. I mean, knowing how to whip up a three-layer chocolate cake without actually thinking too much sure doesn’t help. But I wouldn’t say it was exactly the reason why I was that fat before,” Maisy answered, trying to be as honest as she could be.

  “Then what would you say the problem was?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t use to be really like, fat, or anything. I mean, I used to eat a lot, sort of, and I guess not working out at all sort of meant I never lost all the weight I gained. But I think I ate mostly when I was unhappy. Actually, cramming the sweetest thing I could find was my default reaction to any situation that made me unhappy.”

  “There you go. So just try to stay out of scenarios that make you unhappy. It may not always work, but when you feel you’ve eaten more than you should have, you should just put in extra work in the next workout.”

  “That kinda makes sense now, and here I was blaming myself for putting on so much weight during my relationship and it was actually the bastard’s fault.”

  “Sorry, who’s the bastard?”

  Maisy startled as she realized she had spoken out loud. “Sorry. I was talking about my ex.” Then, feeling the need to explain further, she added, “I just got out of a nasty relationship.”

  Something in her voice suddenly made Carter ask in a low, menacing, and definitely protective tone, “Did he put his hands on you?”

  “No, nothing like that. Eric was more the type to use his tongue to hurt someone rather than engage in a brawl with them.”

  “So, he’s verbally abusive then?” Carter asked, and from his tone Maisy gathered that he didn’t really see the difference between verbally abusive and physically abusive. Basically, she got the notion from him that he would have confronted Eric had he been anywhere near him.

  “Yes, and I guess the more I stayed with him, the unhappier I was. And the unhappier I was, the more I ate. The more I ate, the more he made fun of my weight and laughed at me, calling me names and doing some other things I would rather not remember.”

  “That bad, huh?” he asked, and the way he said it with just a hint of barely-contained fury aimed at Eric, and totally sympathetic to her plight, Maisy just kept talking and talking. She told him everything, about how sad and depressed she had been after the breakup and in a way how it was why she had started thinking of losing weight in the first place. Then she told him that was before, and now she had started to learn little by little to do it for herself.

  He said little in between, mostly listening to her. But he did say that it was good she had stopped making Eric the reason and motivation for her weight loss, because holding on to something like that could be toxic for her. Then he said if he ever saw Eric he more than likely would punch him in the face, really hard. And that made Maisy blush and feel warm all over. But not in an erotic way, more like in a warm, mushy feeling in her heart sort of way. Feelings Maisy really liked, liked so much that she instantly sat up from her bed. Feelings she wasn’t supposed to be having feelings for Carter.

  Their relationship was supposed to be purely physical, no emotions involved. But it felt so good to talk to him, so good in fact that Maisy stayed on the phone talking to him till close to midnight. He made her laugh a lot, and talk about herself a lot. Then by the time she dropped the phone, he had already made her scared. Scared because now she couldn’t deny she had feelings for him, scared that her feelings for him would end up hurting her. But not because he would ever do anything to hurt her, but because he
didn’t have those same feelings for her.

  Chapter 16

  Maisy groaned as the shrill sound of her phone alarm pierced through what was turning out to be a particularly good dream. She blindingly reached out to turn it off, cursing when she only managed to knock it to the floor, where it continued ringing. Getting down from the bed, she picked up the phone and turned off the sound, then smiled guiltily as she remembered what she had done the night before while she was on the phone with Carter. They talked a lot on the phone at night now. It started at first with Maisy always looking for an excuse to talk to him, then slowly it developed to a point where there was no use for excuses. It didn’t matter who initiated the call, Carter or Maisy, they always found themselves talking on the phone, usually on days when they met earlier in the day as opposed to in the evening. And Maisy had never liked talking to anyone ever as much as she enjoyed talking with Carter. Maybe with the exception of Brittany, but then Brittany never made her moan over the phone, or bite her pillow as she tried to hide her orgasms from him when he had given her strict instructions not to orgasm. Of course, he always knew when she came, and then made sure to punish her for it the next day, usually by making her orgasm again.

  Last night, he had asked her if she owned a vibrator, and when she said no he had told her to use her fingers. Then, whispering in her ear the whole time, he had made her come so hard Maisy was sure Chloe had heard her screams of pleasure in the next house.