Broken Butterfly: MMF Bisexual Romance (Mundane Magic Book 1)

by Maxene Novak

  After he said his goodbyes, Max slipped under the covers and flicked off the lamp. His body still ached and groaned as he moved onto his back, but it was a reminder. It was the result of him sticking up for his friend. He’d never been happier to be this sore.

  -

  In the morning, Max got up at the same time he always did. He’d gotten so used to being up early in the morning that he couldn’t sleep in even if he wanted to. Reluctantly, he dragged himself to the shower and washed up. It was difficult working with only one hand, but he managed to get the job done in a decent amount of time.

  By the time he headed downstairs, Drew and Izzy were finishing up breakfast. He took a seat at the table and Drew placed a bowl of cereal down in front of him. He ate and chatted with Izzy while Drew ran around the house getting ready.

  “How come you got in a fight with that man?” Izzy asked him. She brushed a curly strand of hair from her face and looked up at him.

  “Well,” he said, his mind racing to find the easiest explanation. “Well, that man was being mean to my friend Louisa. I know your mommy says that hitting is never okay, but it’s sometimes okay when you’re protecting someone you care about. I had to protect Louisa from that mean man.”

  “You look like you lost!” she giggled. Max laughed and shrugged. She had a point.

  “I never lose fights, silly. Done with breakfast?” Max stood once she nodded that she was done eating. He took their bowls to the sink and rinsed them out. He’d wash them later on once his hand didn’t throb as bad. Drew returned to the kitchen, dressed and ready to go.

  “Let’s go, sweetheart,” he said to Izzy. She hopped down from her chair and grabbed her little backpack from the hallway. Izzy gave Max a peck on the cheek before taking Drew’s hand. “I’ll see you tonight,” Drew said on his way out. Max closed the door behind them and leaned against it.

  The whole house to himself, and all he wanted to do was resume his normal responsibilities. What kind of a person was he turning into? Whatever kind it was, he didn’t like it. Max forced himself to take a seat on the couch and put his feet up. He flipped through the TV until he found a recent action movie playing. He hadn’t seen it in theaters when it first came out, and it had always looked interesting to him.

  Halfway through the movie, there was a knock at the door. Max walked to the door and looked through the peephole. He spotted Louisa, Shelby, Claudette, and the rest of the Nannies outside. He pulled open the door, and before he could say anything, Louisa nearly tackled him with a hug. She squeezed tightly, hesitating when he made a noise of discomfort.

  “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” she said, letting him go.

  “You’re fine. Just a little sore still,” he explained. He stepped out of the way and invited the women inside. Most of the women tried to hide their reaction to Max’s busted up face, but the shock was obvious. They hadn’t expected him to look this rough.

  “I know, I look like I got hit by a bus,” he laughed. He showed them to the living room, making sure they were all comfortably seated around the coffee table. “I don’t mean to be rude, but why are you all here?”

  “We wanted to come by and make sure that you were feeling okay,” Shelby said. “We heard a little of what happened from Louisa and it scared us to death. You’re our only boy nanny! We can’t lose you!”

  Max laughed at her worry. “I’m okay, Shelb, don’t worry. Just a little roughed up, that’s all.”

  “What even happened? I never took you for the type to get in a street fight in the park,” Claudette said. She looked him over carefully. Max turned to Louisa, looking for permission. She nodded.

  “Louisa’s boyfriend was a really big piece of shit, pardon my language. I saw a few bruises on her that he left, and I wasn’t okay with that. When we were at the park hanging out, he ran up out of nowhere and started yelling at the both of us. I saw him hurt Louisa and I kind of just lost it. I don’t know what happened exactly, but we were both knocking the piss out of each other, and eventually it got broken up.” He could see the looks of horror slowly forming as he recounted the tale.

  “That’s so scary,” Joan said, shaking her head, her hand covering her mouth. It was the first time he’d seen any other expression except for snarky disregard from her. “I’m glad you’re okay!”

  “Me too,” he said. He looked at Louisa. “I’m glad she’s okay more than anything else. He’d tricked her into thinking it was her fault. But it’s not.”

  “No,” Claudette said, surprising Max. “It’s never her fault. Any man who puts his hands on a woman deserves nothing but the worst in life. I’m glad you got to give him a taste of what that is, Max.”

  Max had to be in some kind of parallel universe. Claudette never said those words together. ‘Glad’ and ‘Max’ just didn’t go together. Yet here she was, praising him and congratulating him on stepping up to the plate and doing what had to be done. Out of everything that had happened in the past few days, this was the most surreal.

  The Nannies stayed over at the house for as long as they could. He let them pick something on TV and prepared bowls of popcorn for everyone. The afternoon was surprisingly peaceful considering the company Max was in. He doubted a few women there liked him all that much, but for the first time since he’d met the Nannies, everyone got along. Claudette kept her sarcastic tone to a minimum, and her closest friends refrained from giving anyone the stink eye. Max couldn’t believe how nice it was for everyone to get along for a few hours.

  He reluctantly said goodbye at two. The ladies had to get back to their jobs, and they wanted to beat school traffic. He closed the door and sighed. He knew he was supposed to be enjoying his time off, but sitting around the house didn’t feel right to him. He’d gotten used to his usual routine over the past two months, and suddenly having days off to do nothing threw him for a loop. Thankfully he didn’t have to wait much longer for Izzy and Drew to return home.

  He and Izzy spent some time in her bedroom doodling and playing with dolls. He couldn’t help himself from coming up with ridiculous stories for the dolls. His blonde doll Amethyst was having an affair with her twin sister’s husband Trystan, and Amethyst had contacted a witch to curse them both once she found out. He amused himself for quite some time playing out this crazy story with Izzy.

  Gabby made it home at six, clearly worn out from the work day. She kicked her heels off and padded into the kitchen to find Max, Drew, and Izzy there, cooking together. “What’s for dinner?” she asked, pushing up on her tiptoes to see over Drew’s shoulder.

  “Chicken spaghetti,” Drew said, pecking her on the lips.

  “My favorite!” Izzy said happily.

  “That sounds yummy. I’m gonna get undressed and then I’ll be back to help with dinner.” She hurried upstairs and changed into a pair of comfortable yoga pants and a t-shirt. She returned to the kitchen with a burst of newfound energy, eager to help the other three finish dinner. While Izzy and Drew stirred the noodles and made sure the sauce didn’t burn, Gabby helped Max prepare the cheesy garlic bread.

  She popped the sheet of bread into the over and leaned against the counter. Max copied her pose. “How was work?” he asked.

  “It was work. Same old, same old. I seriously need to take a bath tonight. My muscles are killing me. You should join me,” she offered.

  “Yeah? I don’t think I could say no to that.”

  “Perfect,” she smiled. Drew watched the two of them with amusement. He began scooping out noodles while Izzy poured the sauce over them once he was finished. She carried her own bowl to the table and took a seat, swinging her legs eagerly while she waited for everyone else to get their bowls made. Drew organized the bread on a nice platter and set it in the middle of the table.

  “Time to eat!” Izzy exclaimed. She struggled to twirl her spoon in the noodles for a moment before finally getting the hang of it. The four of them ate and made conversation about their day. Drew talked about one of his students getting kicked out for cheating o
n her exam, and Gabby told them about the new office temp who was clearly flirting with her. Max didn’t have much to talk about, but he appreciated the three of them making an attempt to find his summary of the day just a bit interesting.

  After dinner, Gabby led Max up to the bathroom by the hand. He couldn’t help but recall the night they’d slept together. It had only been a few weeks ago, but so much had happened since then. He’d discovered Louisa was dating an abuser. He’d nearly lost his friendship with her. They’d gone to Vegas together. He’d repaired his relationship with Louisa. He’d been put in the hospital and forced to stay for an extra day. And now he was back in the bathroom with her, watching her strip down. He sat down in the hot water first, helping Gabby climb in and take a seat between his legs. She leaned back against his chest, sighing with relief. He wrapped his arms around her body.

  “I’m glad you worked everything out with Louisa,” she said quietly. “I was so worried that my advice had ended your friendship with her.”

  “Your advice was perfect, Gabby. Talking to her was the best solution. Sure, she’d reacted negatively at first, but everything worked itself out in the end.”

  “Well, I’m happy to hear that. You’re a good friend. I’m sure you’re sick of hearing that already, but it’s true.”

  “No, I’m not sick of it at all. I love constant praises,” he grinned. Gabby cracked a smile and flicked water back at him. “Thank you, though. I wouldn’t have known what to do without your guidance.”

  “I try to help whenever I can.” She reached for a bath bomb and dropped it in the water. They watched the little thing spin around and fill the tub with bubbles and the scent of honey and lavender. Max slid his left hand over her shoulder, massaging her tenderly. His fingers didn’t hurt as bad as they had before, but he didn’t want to press his luck and try and massage her other shoulder at the same time.

  “That feels good,” she said, her words just shy of a moan. Max smiled to himself and continued working his fingers into her back. He looked to his left when he spotted Drew enter the bathroom.

  “Did you get Izzy ready for bed?” Gabby asked him.

  He nodded. “Yeah, she’s all tucked in. Probably already asleep. She had a wild day today.”

  Max grabbed the bar of soap and lathered up Gabby’s back, glancing over at Drew every now and then. He liked the attention Drew paid him. Drew sniffed and gestured back towards the room. “I’m gonna get things set up for bed. I’ll be there when you get done, Gabby.”

  Max’s stomach flipped when he asked, “Do you think… I don’t know, do you guys think I could sleep in your bed tonight? I really liked when we watched that movie together and I got to sit between the both of you.”

  Drew’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “I don’t see a problem with that. Do you, Gabby?”

  “Not at all.”

  Max fought tooth and nail not to grin too wide. He finished up the bath with Gabby and dried off. Once he’d changed into his pajamas, he walked to their room to find them already under the covers talking. Tentatively, Max crawled across the bed and snuggled in between them. The giddiness he’d gone to sleep with on Christmas Eve as a child was the same kind he went to sleep with that night.

  Fifteen

  Gabby raised up the small pink t-shirt and looked it over, inspecting the size. She looked down at Izzy. “What about this shirt? It’s pretty!”

  “No, it’s ugly!” Izzy said indignantly. Max smiled at her frown. Ever since they’d started shopping, Izzy had argued with her mother about what she wanted to wear. She loved all the skirts and pairs of jeans Gabby had picked out, but when it came to the shirts, she hated all of them. She didn’t want princesses, crowns, Disney characters, or cute and quirky quotes on the front. Gabby sighed and put the shirt down.

  “You’re killing me, smalls,” she said. “Why don’t you go look for shirts and pick out your favorite one? Don’t go too far, though, okay?”

  “Okay, Mommy!” Izzy headed for another clothing rack a few feet away. Gabby took a seat on one of the benches in the store and pulled her hair back in a ponytail. Max smiled sympathetically.

  “She’s a handful when it comes to clothes.”

  “You have no idea,” Gabby said. “The last time I brought her here, she argued with me for twenty minutes that Elsa was ugly and that she didn’t want to wear any clothing with her on it. If she isn’t a lawyer when she grows up, I don’t know what I’m gonna do with her.”

  “She’s headstrong,” Max said, taking a seat opposite of her. He kept a watchful eye on Izzy as she looked around at all of the shirts in the store.

  “Headstrong is a nice way of putting it.” Gabby chewed on her lip. “I shouldn’t say that. I love her. She can just be a handful sometimes.”

  “Is everything okay?” Max reached out with his right hand, only to pull it back. His fingers had healed up but were still sore. He kept the splint on, too afraid that if he took it off early, he’d mess up his hand all over again.

  Gabby nodded. “I’m fine. Work is just kicking my ass. I’m dealing with one of the toughest clients I’ve had in years. The worst part is that I can’t even really complain because I completely agree with their vision. It’s just hard to convince my team that the ideas they’re giving us will sell.”

  “What’s going on? Who’s the company?” Max had always been interested in Gabby’s occupation. Advertising seemed like it would be pretty easy, but from the time he’d spent with the family, he’d gathered that it was actually a lot more work than he’d imagined. Every ad was strategic and was intended for a specific audience. Everything was deliberate. Sometimes that took away from the genuine nature of the product.

  “I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard of them, but they’re a company called Bright White Toys. Their newest product is a collection of dolls intended for boys and girls. They’ve mixed up a lot of the typical occupations, as well. There’s only one police officer doll, and she’s a woman. Two of the male dolls work as nurses. They want the taboo of boys and dolls to be gone completely. And while I agree with them and I think that the idea is quite progressive, they don’t understand how hard it is for me to market that.”

  Gabby lowered her voice, aware that she was getting a bit too passionate about the conversation. “Do you know how many parents want their children to stick to these arbitrary gender roles? They put colors before their own kids’ enjoyment. I was getting frozen yogurt with Izzy a few weeks ago and this woman refused to let her son use a spoon because it was pink.”

  “The horror,” Max said, rolling his eyes.

  “I know! So, I agree that this stigma is something parents put on their kids and has no actual correlation to their child’s sexuality or masculinity, but I’m not sure how to convince parents that their boys probably should play with dolls or focus on more domestic forms of playing pretend. All those studies that have proven that it’s healthy to have both kinds of play… I don’t know.”

  Max was no marketer, but he couldn’t help but try and solve Gabby’s problem. She needed this problem solved quickly, too, because they had a deadline to meet. “Well, I grew up with parents who never made me do something I didn’t want to do. My dad didn’t care that I was interested in baking more than working on his car. My mom encouraged me to play sports even though she thought they were violent and fed into toxic masculinity. They were always there for me, y’know? I think the best way to advertise this line of dolls is to make it the most normal thing in the world.”

  “What do you mean?” Gabby tilted her head, listening intently.

  “Alright, so, my parents never made a big deal out of it when I was growing up, right? Because of that, I don’t see the harm in a fraction of what these gender role adhering parents get upset over. It was never a big deal whenever I played with dolls. It was never a big deal when I played basketball. So, don’t make it a big deal for the advertisement. It’s kind of a catch-all.”

  “How so?” The worry on Gabby’s face h
ad subsided and now she looked at him with a smile, absorbing all of his suggestions.

  “When the commercial reaches people who need to see it, they’ll be thankful that you’ve depicted the normalcy of boys and dolls. The commercial will be something special to them. And when the idiots get a hold of it, they’ll have no leg to stand on. They can’t argue that you’re forcing boys to play with dolls or emasculating them or whatever, because you just have kids playing with dolls. What’s ‘revolutionary’ isn’t the boys playing with the dolls. What’s ‘revolutionary’ is that nobody is making a deal about it. It’s nothing. It’s normal. Plus, Izzy’s been picking shirts out of the boy section in this very store.” He gestured to the girl as she pulled out yet another shirt with a tiger on the front. She smiled at it and hugged it to her chest. “Kids gravitate to what they want. Parents should give them the space to do just that. That’s what this company wants, right?”

  “Max, you’re a fucking genius.” Gabby pulled her phone from her purse and held up a finger. Max smiled bashfully and crossed to Izzy. He didn’t want to eavesdrop on Gabby’s work call. On top of that, he figured Izzy wanted a second opinion on her shirt.

  “Whoa, look at that tiger on your shirt!” he said. Izzy’s eyes lit up.

  “It’s so cool, huh?”

  “It’s the coolest,” he assured her. She handed it to him and he laid it over his arm with the rest of the items she’d picked out for her wardrobe. Gabby ended her call and waved Max over. “How did the call go?” he asked.

  “I talked with one of the women on my team, and she loved it. She’s going to get in contact with the people from Bright White Toys and see what they think. She’s pretty convinced that they’ll love it just as much as she does.” Gabby couldn’t stop smiling. She wanted to stand up and throw her arms around Max, but she held back. She pecked him on the cheek instead. “For your effortless assistance, I’m buying lunch for all of us. Come, we’ll go across the street and get Chinese. The food at this mall isn’t the best.”