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

by Maxene Novak

  “Who says that?”

  “Er… they say that.” Max himself didn’t know who they were, but he believed them. Even though he was just Drew’s teaching assistant, he wanted to look respectable. He felt much more comfortable dressing up for a job like this considering the last gig he’d had, he spent most of his time lounging around the house waiting for Izzy to get home. Speaking of, Max walked to the kitchen to find Izzy eating fruit salad for breakfast. He’d whipped it up last night, making sure to sprinkle over some lemon juice to keep them from turning colors.

  She munched happily on a strawberry, smiling when he entered the kitchen. “Morning, Maxie!” she said cheerfully.

  “Morning, Izzy Bear. Louisa is gonna be here in a minute to pick you up for school. I wish I could take you,” he pouted.

  “Don’t be a baby,” she giggled. “I’ll see you after work!”

  “I’m excited already,” he smiled. Max washed off an apple and took a bite out of it. He checked his backpack to make sure he had everything he needed. It was ridiculous, but in a way, he felt like this was his first day of class. He’d packed highlighters, a pencil sharpener, and plenty of spirals and agendas that he might need during his time working with Drew.

  Louisa arrived five minutes later. Izzy hopped up, brushed her teeth, and gave Drew and Max a kiss on the cheek before running out to the car. Louisa waved at them, then pulled out of the parking lot.

  “That’s our sign to get outta here,” Drew said. He and Max headed to Drew’s car. While Drew drove, Max picked out the radio station. He didn’t find anything to his liking, and hooked up the auxiliary cord to his phone. He smiled to himself, remembering the first time he’d been in Drew’s car. He’d scrolled through his phone until he found the playlist he’d first played for Drew. The man’s eyes lit up, and he looked at Max fondly.

  “Is this…”

  “Yup,” Max smiled. Drew sighed nostalgically.

  When they arrived on campus, Drew gave him a quick tour. The place was beautiful. Max was especially fond of the water fountain out front. They hurried to class and Max got set up. Students filed into the room and took their seats at the desks. The desks formed a semi-circle around Drew’s so that everyone could see him easily. Max sat down in his office, watching with baited breath as Drew began class.

  “Max, if you could come out…” the man said. Max’s breath caught in his throat. He stood up, smoothed out his clothing, and stepped out to face the students.

  They didn’t look much younger than him, and that’s because they weren’t. He was only a year older than the eldest students in the classroom. He gave a small wave and regarded the entirety of the room.

  “Hi,” he said meekly. “My name’s Max. I’m his teaching assistant, so if you have any problems but don’t want to face the big bad professor, you can contact me. My number’s on the Blackboard page. Feel free to message me whenever, I’m around most nights. I was also a babysitter before this, so don’t come crying to me about late assignments. I’m used to dealing with crying children.” This warranted a few chuckles from the students. He let out a breath, his shoulders relaxing. They didn’t hate him. Yet.

  “I look forward to helping you guys just as much as Professor Noble. Thanks, guys.” He bowed out and returned to Drew’s office. There, he tried to calm down his nerves. Though that introduction had only lasted two minutes, Max’s nerves had nearly gotten the best of him. He steadied himself and got to work.

  The first day wasn’t that hard for Max. He got right into it, reading through some of the emails Drew had received. He wrote down important details from the man’s peers. A woman named Marlene needed Drew’s help getting her computer to work, as well as his teacher’s copy of the book their students would be reading during the second half of the course. Max bookmarked the important emails Drew received as well.

  Once all of his messages had been sorted through, Max responded to general questions his students from other classes had sent to their professor. He was careful to respond with his own email address as not to confuse the students when they received such a personable and laid back reply.

  Drew’s final class ended and he entered his office to find Max tapping away on his phone. “I have a no phone rule in my classroom,” Drew informed him. Max cocked an eyebrow up and looked at him.

  “Good thing I’m your office then, huh?” Still, Max put his phone away and grabbed a bottle of water from his bag. He took a quick sip then said, “Are we headed home or do you need to stay a little while longer?”

  “I just need to go over all of my messages, then we can go.” Drew took a seat at his desk and looked over everything Max had written down for him. Once he’d finished, Drew grabbed his coat from the rack. “I’m good to go. You ready?”

  “Oh yeah,” Max smiled.

  “How’d you like your first day of work?” he asked.

  “It was very, very busy, but it was good to do something else besides make snacks for Izzy and watch cartoons. A much needed change of scenery, if you will.” As much as Max had loved working as their au pair, he wasn’t going to miss all the parental responsibilities he’d taken on six months ago. Much like his mother, Max needed a change of pace every now and then. This new job was exactly what he needed.

  When the men made it home, Gabby and Izzy were waiting for them in the kitchen, a large brown box on the dining table. Izzy looked like she was ready to tear right into it. Drew pecked her on the head and asked Gabby, “What’s this?”

  “It came in the mail this afternoon. I had to go to the post office to pick it up, but I’m not the most excited to see what’s inside.” She looked at Izzy as the girl barely contained herself.

  “Can we open it yet, Mommy?” she asked, standing up in her chair. Gabby smiled and handed the scissors to Drew. While he cut it open, Max took note of the logo on the side of the box. Bright White Toys.

  Drew cut the tape holding the box closed and popped it open. Inside, underneath the tissue paper, were sixteen smaller boxes, each with an individual doll inside. Izzy cheered when she recognized the line of dolls. Simple Times dolls had blown up over the past four months. After the initial release of the first eight dolls, people were practically demanding that more and more dolls be released. Just as Max had predicted, some people had been unhappy with the “unconventional” jobs some of the male and female dolls had, but the company handled the unhappiness with class and diplomacy.

  “I spoke with the CEO and she sent down both the first and second generation of the dolls,” Gabby said, looking up at Max and Drew. “I told her Izzy loved dolls and she wanted the ones her mommy had worked so hard to help promote. They’re also sending a second shipment next week, ones that Izzy won’t get to play with. I wanted to put them on a shelf.”

  “That’s amazing,” Drew said, looking inside the box at the various races, shapes, and sizes of dolls.

  “That’s not even the best part,” Gabby said. She glanced at Max, her smile growing. “There’s a special doll in there for Max.” Gabby stood and searched through the boxes until she pulled out a young male doll. “This one was inspired by you. He looks different, but he’s the au pair to the Regalton family,” she explained.

  Max’s eyes widened and he looked over the doll in her hands. She handed it off, allowing him to take a closer look. The doll’s name was Matthew, was in his twenties, and he loved helping others. He had a family in France, but after meeting the Regalton family, he made the decision to fly to Simple Times Town and help with their daughter.

  “This is amazing, Gabby,” he said incredulously. He couldn’t believe they’d given this gift to him. His very own doll. His six year old self would have died to see this.

  “Isn’t it, though?” she giggled.

  “Maxieeee, can we play dolls? They can be friends with all the new dolls!” Izzy suggested. There was no way Max could say no to an offer like that.

  “Of course we can! Let’s take this box in your room and introduce all the new do
llies.” Max lifted up the box and made his way into Izzy’s room with her. Drew and Gabby watched the younger man go.

  “That was nice of them,” Drew chuckled. “I’m also digging our doll names. The Regaltons. Has a ring to it.”

  Gabby stepped into his arms and smiled. “It does.” She put her head on his chest and inhaled the smell of his cologne. For his birthday, she’d given him a new scent and she still loved it to this day. “I have a question.”

  “Uh-oh,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong, really. I just… I wanna know if you’re still happy. With everything. With us. Max.” Ever since he’d finished up his job as their au pair, Max had become sort of a live-in boyfriend. They fooled around regularly, oftentimes falling asleep in the same bed. Max was well aware that he would never have the kind of relationship Drew and Gabby had with one another, but their love was open and malleable, and in time, they’d come to love one another as more than friends.

  “Do you want to know what I really think?” he asked.

  Gabby nodded. “Yeah. Tell me.”

  “I think we have an amazing family. I think we have an amazing boyfriend. I think we have the life most people would kill for. We’re like the Regaltons, but better in every single way.”

  Gabby smiled and looked up at him. “Good. I think we’re perfect just the way we are.” She stood up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “C’mon. Let’s go play with our doll-selves.” Drew laughed at her dirty joke, following her into the room to spend the rest of the night with Max and Izzy.