by Maxene Novak
“Ooh, it smells yummy in here,” Louisa said. Her wet feet slapped against the tile as she made her way over to the dining table. Gabby was quick with the first sandwich, assembling it and cutting it down the middle cleanly. She swiped the plate clean for presentation. Louisa thanked her for the sandwich and the bottle of water she was served.
They all took a seat at the table and ate, chatting about all the new and exciting things going on in their lives. Soon, their topic became the Nannies. Louisa let the both of them know all about the catastrophe that was Mimi Thompson’s birthday party. Mimi had wanted her friends and their nannies over, but two of the women weren’t on speaking terms and that carried over into the children’s friendships. Gabby couldn’t believe that the drama ran that deep.
“That’s just ridiculous,” she said, shaking her head.
“You’re telling me! I’m thankful that the girls I look after don’t have that many friends in the first place,” Louisa joked. “I’m terrible, oh my god.”
“Hey, sometimes it pays to be a loner,” Max chuckled.
Once they’d finished eating, Max washed up and walked Louisa to the door. She had to get going and pick up some groceries and Max didn’t want to keep her any longer than he had to. She gave him a long hug, and Max closed his eyes, squeezing her. As they parted, he noticed four purple bruises on the back of her forearm. He blinked, thinking maybe he’d seen something that wasn’t there, but the bruises were clear as day. They mirrored the ones he’d seen on his mother years ago.
Max pressed his lips together and smiled as Louisa walked back to her car. The moment she pulled out of the driveway, his smile faded. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew what caused bruises like that. He was even willing to bet money that she’d have one big mark on the front of her arm the size of a thumb. Someone had grabbed her hard enough to bruise her skin. He couldn’t stop his mind from wandering back to what she’d said earlier. She had a boyfriend, one she didn’t exactly want to talk about. He had a feeling he knew why the situation was complicated.
Nine
Max tried to forget what he saw all week. He knew it was none of his business, but at the same time, if someone was hurting her, there was no way he was going to be able to sit quiet and let it continue. He went back and forth with the idea over and over again. In one scenario, he was silent and let things play out for themselves. He wouldn’t have to deal with any of the drama, but he’d feel guilty for keeping his mouth shut. On the other hand, if he helped, he’d clear his conscience while also interjecting himself into her relationship with her boyfriend.
This was a sticky situation. When he wasn’t thinking about that, he was going through idea that he had for a date with Gabby. He wanted to impress her and show her a good time. She’d made it obvious that she was into him, and he wasn’t about to mess that up.
Finally, he came up with the best solution for both problems. He reserved a couple’s cooking session at a local restaurant for him and Gabby, and when he got the chance, he’d pull Louisa aside and talk to her about what was going on. While it was more likely that she’d been hurt by Hector, he could very well be looking at the situation entirely wrong. Either way, if he asked, he’d have his questions answered and he could go from there.
On Friday, Max spent majority of his time getting ready. Drew had agreed to watch Izzy while the two of them went out. The idea was still so strange to him. He’d had to ask Drew if he could get some time off so he could take his wife out on a date. The minute the question left his mouth, the two of them cracked up in laughter.
Drew was cool with it, though, and Max appreciated that. It was still kind of weird to him, but he was going with the flow. He quickly pulled on a nice casual button up, some slacks, and styled his hair before he headed down to see if Gabby was ready. She’d dressed just as casually as him, her hair pulled back in a ponytail and a pink sundress covering her body. Her cardigan was snug on her.
“All ready?” Max asked. Gabby nodded excitedly.
“Are you finally going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Nope,” he smirked. She sighed and hooked her arm in his. Together, they walked out to the car. Max helped her inside the passenger’s side and walked around to the other side to get into his seat. On the way to the restaurant, Gabby scrolled through the radio stations. She couldn’t find a good song, and instead plugged in her phone. Soon the car was filled with an upbeat pop song that Max actually knew all the words to.
Max pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and Gabby finally opened her eyes. She seemed a bit confused why Max had made a big deal out of coming to a restaurant she’d been to a million times before. But when he led her into the back kitchens, much further than any regular customer might’ve g one, her wonder returned.
“What is this?” she whispered, looking around at four other couples standing around large pots and baskets of vegetables. “Are we on a cooking show?” she joked.
“You’re not too far off,” Max laughed. “I saw how well you handled cooking a few days ago. I’m making assumptions here, but I think that you actually do love cooking but you never have the time anymore with your busy schedule.” Gabby looked at him with sparkling eyes.
“I can’t believe you picked up on that!” she said. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. “Yay, I’m so excited to just get to cook!”
The woman leading the class, Janice, stepped up and smiled at all of the couples in the room. She introduced herself and turned to reveal what the first meal would be. She opened the platter and the smell of sweet salmon wafted through the air. Max could practically hear the sharp breath of air Gabby took.
“That looks so good, oh my god,” she whispered. Max couldn’t really believe that he was seeing this side of Gabby. Normally she was calm, cool, and collected, but slap a salmon down in front of her and she was a completely different person. Janice instructed them on how to debone the fish first and then cut filets from it.
“So, I remember you telling me and Drew that your mom’s a pastry chef?” Gabby said, making conversation. Max nodded and looked up from the potatoes that he was cutting.
“Yeah, she was always good at baking when she was with my dad. After they split, she really threw herself into cooking. Opened her own shop and everything.”
“That’s amazing! I bet the holidays were always the best,” Gabby smiled, “All those cookies and cakes.”
Max smiled fondly at the thought. The first few years after his parents had split up, his mother Renee had done her best to keep Max from thinking about missing his father. She’d given him all the cookies and cakes he’d wanted, and even let him come to work with her after school. He now realized that he’d been at the bakery because his mother couldn’t find a babysitter, but that didn’t detract from the good times he’d had there.
The first pie he’d ever made was in his mother’s bakery. At first, Renee had tried to help him out with a guiding hand, but he shooed her away. He wanted to try this on his own. He followed her instructions to a T, and that’s when his mother realized what she wanted to do with her life next. If a child could follow her recipe, there was no way an adult couldn’t. Soon after, she’d dedicated her life to baking. She took up cooking classes as well, and though she found success there too, she was much happier baking sweets. She’d been the sole cause of Max’s sweet tooth and his love of culinary arts.
“I think we’re about done with the filets,” Gabby said, shaking him from his reverie. Max looked over the four filets they’d gotten from the fish Jamie had provided. The next step was to line the pan with tin foil and rub down the fish with sesame oil. Max let Gabby take the lead. She happily worked in the oil and sprinkled over the mixture of spices on top. While she worked on that, Max headed to the stove and began whipping up the honey teriyaki sauce. They placed the fish into the oven and started the white rice.
Max leaned against the counter and looked around at the other couples. They seemed to be having a bit of hard
time with the recipe. He smiled proudly and leaned in close to Gabby. “I think we’re the best cooks here,” he said softly.
“Of course we are,” she smiled. “Look at us. I grew up in a cooking household, you grew up with a pastry chef mom. I’d be embarrassed if we weren’t the best in the room. Not including, Jamie, of course,” she added when the other woman playfully shot her a dirty look.
Max and Gabby talked much more in detail about Gabby’s family while they waited for the food to finish cooking. Gabby’s home was always busy, and as a result, her adult life was the same. Her family lived a few states over, but during the holiday seasons, her relatives came to stay at their home. That was the best time to stop by for food, she proudly informed him. From the tamales to the pozole to the ceviche, every meal her family made barely made it past two days in the fridge. Max was excited to actually get the chance to meet her family in a few months. They seemed crazy and fun and the exact kind of people he loved being around.
Once their meal was finished, they headed out to the front of the restaurant to eat and talk. Max watched the couple to their right try their fish. The look on the woman’s face gave him all the information he needed to know. They’d tried their best, but the food wasn’t that great. Max and Gabby, however, thoroughly enjoyed their meal. They laughed and joked throughout the entire thing, even feeding each other at one point.
The night was strangely intimate with Gabby. With Drew, they’d connected in a much different way. They both had given in to their physical desires and hadn’t thought twice about the situation. With Gabby, though, it was different. She was a completely different person than he’d imagined her to be. When she wasn’t trying to be Supermom and Business Woman of the Year, she was sweet and gentle and fun. She laughed more that night than Max had ever heard her laugh before. It was no wonder Drew had dedicated his life to one woman out of all of the women in the world.
Once they finished their meal, Max and Gabby headed back to the house. Max drove while Gabby stared out of the window, basking in the glow that came from eating a delicious meal. He walked her inside and placed his keys down on the table beside the door. The first thing Gabby did was kick off her shoes.
“Oh my god, next time we go out to do that, I’m wearing sneakers,” she laughed. She flicked on the kitchen light and poured herself a glass of water.
“Are Drew and Izzy out still?” Max asked. He leaned against the doorframe and looked at her.
“Yeah, he sent me a text earlier to let me know he took her out to see that new Disney movie. He’s also taking her to her grandmother’s house. We’ve got the whole house to ourselves.” Gabby finished off her glass of water and placed it down on the counter. “So, tell me more about your friend Louisa. We didn’t get that much time to talk, but she seems sweet. Is there anything there between you two?”
Max laughed at the idea. “Not really. She’s the most tolerable of the Nannies. Trying to make that into something more would run the risk of losing the one good friend I have here. Besides, she has a boyfriend, too.”
“Ooh, what’s he like?”
Max bit his tongue. He wanted to call the man all kinds of names, but he hadn’t ever met him. He didn’t know what her situation was. “Um – I’ve never met him.”
Gabby tilted her head. “Why do you say it like that?”
Max hadn’t realized that his tone had changed completely just thinking about her boyfriend. He smiled in embarrassment. “I don’t know. I don’t think that I’d like him all that much.”
“Why not?”
“It’s kind of personal…” Max started. Gabby’s face fell. “Promise this is just between you and me? I know how rumors get around town, and I really like Louisa. I don’t want her thinking I’m running around telling her business to everyone.”
“This is just between us,” Gabby assured him.
“Well, when she came over to go swimming, she was acting kind of weird. Did you notice how she wore that towel over her shoulders while we ate?” Gabby nodded. “I saw under that towel when she was leaving, and there were these huge bruises on her arm. They looked like finger marks. Like someone snatched her up by the arm. And she told me her relationship with her boyfriend is pretty complicated. At the time, I didn’t know what to make of that. Seeing those bruises, though, I have a pretty good idea what’s going on.”
Max hated gossiping, but this was serious. This wasn’t whether Louisa got drunk and texted an ex. This was her being hurt by the person that was supposed to look out for her.
“I just, I don’t know what to do,” Max sighed. He hated being in this position. He wanted to take care of his friends, but he also didn’t want to overstep any boundaries and upset Louisa. He wasn’t sure how she’d react if he even brought up the topic in the first place.
“I think that you should talk with her,” Gabby said. “Don’t flat out call him out. Maybe ease into it. But she’s your friend, and I think you have every right to want to help her out. Who knows, it could take just one person offering a hand for her to realize that she can leave an abusive situation like that.”
Max nodded and looked down at the ground. He couldn’t even imagine what it was like to go through that. The person mean to care for her had put marks on her bruises that she spent that afternoon actively trying to hide. It upset him just thinking about it.
“I appreciate the advice, Gabby,” he said finally. “I’ve been thinking about it all week and I just… I felt like I was losing my mind.”
She smiled and walked towards him. She took his hands in hers and looked up at him. “It’s the least I could do. You do so much around here for us. This past month has been better with you around, you know that?”
Despite everything, Max felt a blush creeping up his cheeks. He didn’t get this way around people, but Gabby had a way of bringing it out of him. He looked back at her, his face softening. “It’s been a great month for me too.”
“I’m glad,” she said. She stepped closer, chest to chest with him. Max didn’t need any more indication than that. He dipped his head low and pressed his lips to hers. He was gentle at first, unsure whether she wanted to keep things sweet or not. She wrapped her arms around his back and held him close, deepening the kiss.
He pulled back and kissed down her neck, his breaths hot in her ear. She moaned softly, her grip on the back of his shirt tightening. He worked his way down to her cleavage, but before he could go any lower, she stopped him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, looking up at her.
“I want to take a shower with you, first,” she said. She looked at him with a glint in her eye. That innocent side of her, the tender and excitable personality, was now gone. It was like a light switch, and Max was head over heels for it. There was no point in arguing with her now. She wanted to take a shower with him, so he was going to take a shower.
Gabby took him by the hand and guided him up to the bathroom, his heart pounding in his ears as he followed her up.
Ten
Gabby turned on the water and gave it a moment to heat up. While she waited, she returned to the bathroom, smiling at Max as he stared up at her with wonder in his eyes. He watched wordless as she slipped her dress over her shoulders, all too aware of his lingering gaze. Max rose from his seat and moved behind her, sliding the zipper down to reveal more of her smooth skin. It was quite clear that she spent a great deal of time moisturizing. She was the softest person Max had ever touched.
He worked his hands down her back, sliding the dress lower and lower until it pooled at her feet. Gabby stepped out of it and turned to face him. He’d never seen her more beautiful than she was in this moment, clad only in her bra and panties.
“We shouldn’t be doing this, you know?” She smiled, stepping forward. She pushed him back against the wall and pressed flush against his body.
“Says who?”
“Says the head chairman of the service we’re using,” She winked. “But he doesn’t know how sexy you are, Max. He doe
sn’t know how your smile widens when you see other people laughing at your jokes. He doesn’t know what you look like when you’re getting out of a pool. The way the water drips over every single one of your toned muscles.” Gabby’s hands slipped down to his pants. She began undoing the belt, pulling it free from the loops.
“I never said anything, but I always thought you were beautiful,” she continued, her voice a purr in Max’s ear. “I saw you step into the house and I knew, without a doubt, that I wanted you. And when I found out about you and Drew…”
“Yeah?” he whispered, his breath hitching as she unzipped and unbuttoned his pants.
“When I pictured the two of you together, I can’t even describe it. Thinking of you and my husband together… It made me so wet.” There was a wolfish look in her eyes when she said this. Max shuddered.
“Fuck,” he groaned.
“You make me want to do bad things with you, Max. So many bad things.” She palmed over the lump in his boxers. Her eyes remained trained on his, devouring every little moan and shift in his posture. He was putty in her hands.
“What kind of bad things?” Max’s voice was barely audible.
“I can’t tell you just yet,” she smirked. Gabby backed away from him and winked. Max let out a shuddering sigh. He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath. “We still have to get clean before we can get dirty.” She waltzed into the bathroom and removed the last of her underwear. Max stood in the doorway, watching as she stripped down for him.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. Gabby grinned and stepped into the shower. The water hit her body and rolled down her curves in a way that was enough to make Max practically drool. He tugged off his shirt and boxers and joined her in the water.