“What are you making?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” she said, sautéing onions with garlic and flooding the house with the delicious smell.
Why couldn’t I have been a lawyer or a mechanic or a teacher? Ilovedmy job. But if my job meant I couldn’t have this, what was the point? I didn’t want to give up performing forever, but if I could even have this some of the time, it would give me an actual life to look forward to.
Would she be willing to settle for me being gone for months at a time, but fully present when I was home?
She had to want a future with me for it to even be an issue to resolve.
A voice from the hallway called, “Smells delicious!” and two people appeared in the kitchen doorway before I could even react.
My brother, Alex, and his girlfriend, Elena, stood there gobsmacked, then quickly apologized and turned around.
“We’ll give you guys a few minutes,” Elena said.
“It’s fine! You can stay!” Maia said too enthusiastically. “Just give me a second.”
“The front door was open, so we didn’t think to knock,” Alex said, flustered.
Maia had already taken the apron off and pulled a dress over her head. She turned the burners on the stove off, glaring at me. “You can turn around now,” she said, the picture of calm.
I waited for her to tell him it wasn’t what it looked like, having flashbacks to the time I’d tried to introduce her to my mom. But she held her chin up like she was daring Alex to say something.
That’s my girl.
“I take it you didn’t know we were coming?” Alex said. “Gabby asked if we could make it out for the awards show to support you. I assumed the ask was coming from you.”
I’d had about enough of Gabby interfering in my life even if it was her job. She could’ve asked me before using my brother as a PR tool. It was clear to me now that I needed someone in that role I could trust not to overstep boundaries.
“Maia…hey. Good to see you,” Alex said awkwardly.
Elena smacked him on the arm and muttered, “Stop making it fucking weird, Alex. They’re both hot grown-ups. Hot grown-ups who are a good match unless my superpower is broken. And it’s never broken.”
My dipshit brother had somehow convinced Lady Elena, the most famous dominatrix in the world, to date him. She could supposedly tell what most people’s kinks were just by talking to them, which I admittedly would’ve put to the test if it wouldn’t mean it getting back to my brother.
As though he had the same thought, Alex said, “I swear to God, Elena, if you say one goddamn word about what my little brother is into—”
“You’ll what, exactly?” she said, arching an imperious eyebrow in challenge.
It was like they’d forgotten we were in the room as he stroked her jaw and murmured. “Am I going to have to find something better for your mouth to do?”
From the way she was looking at him, Lady Elena was fully prepared to do whatever he asked. Howthe fuckwas he the dominant one in that relationship?
I really didn’t need to know.
I said, “Okay…ummm gross. Can we…not?”
Alex grinned like I was the one being ridiculous. “Maia, you’re back next week, right?”
I could’ve killed him.
She smiled politely. “Haven’t booked my flight yet, but I’ll be there.”
Alex said, “Do you want to just fly back with us?”
I’d never wanted to light anyone on fire as much as I wanted to light my beloved older brother on fire in that moment. He’d just given her the easiest out ever, reinforcing why she had to go and making it simple for her to leave without so much as having to book a flight.
“That would be much appreciated,” Maia said.
