Max started walking around the lounge, picking up crumbled napkins, highball glasses, and abandoned cocktail straws. The lights from the overhead chandelier still showed down on the lounge, and a mix of expensive perfumes from members clung to the air. I could swear I could sniff out Clive Christian’s No. 1.
“I cannot picture you wearing Chucks to save my life,” Max said from across the bar.
“It was part of the uniform,” I continued. “Anyways, he slipped off my shoes and smelled my feet, but like, in a way that it seemed like he liked it? And, oh god, I can’t believe I’m telling you this.” I winced at the memory.
“Come on, it can’t be that bad,” Max said.
“He . . . he started sucking on my toes.” I buried my face in my hands at the memory.
Max threw his head back and laughed. “I’m sorry, your feet are cute and all, but I just don’t picture myself wanting to put those toes in my mouth,” Max said.
“Hey, don’t yuck someone’s yum, but yeah.” I laughed. “It was . . . an experience. I ended up getting the heck out of his apartment and quit the next day. I couldn’t bear to face him again.”
“Note to self: don’t suck on Isabella’s toes, or she’ll quit,” Max said.
“Yeah, something like that,” I said. “Okay, I think I’m going to brave standing on my feet. I actually have a surprise for you.”
Max held up his hand to stop me.
“What do you need?” he asked. “I’ll go grab it, or we’ll be waiting here all night for you to get back.” I rolled my eyes but sighed and slunk back into the chair.
“Just grab my bag from the locker,” I said. “Be gentle with her, though!”
Max came out seconds later, cradling my purse like it was a national treasure. He set it on my lap, and I reached inside to grab what I’d been working on. I pulled out a stack of blue-lined cards, straightening them in between my hands.
“I figured if you’re going to be staying late, you might as well get some studying in.” I sunk back down in the lounge chair, lifting my feet back up and flexing my toes. I started rifling through the index cards, looking for a challenging question to fire off at Max.
“You made me study cards?” Max asked.
I shrugged. “Yeah, I went through some of your homework and jotted down some questions I thought seemed hard. I don’t have a ton yet, but I’ll keep adding to the stack. Okay, ready?”
Max’s face had an odd look as he stood at the end of the bar with a handful of glasses ready to clean, but he nodded.
“Okay, ‘Noble Rot.’” I read off one side of my flashcards. “Sounds like the title of a Victorian-era mystery novel.”
Max snorted as he walked behind the bar and started putting the glasses in the sink, “Close, but it’s actually a beneficial fungus for wine grapes. Makes for some of the best dessert wines.”
“Wine and fungus.” I scrunched up my nose as I flipped to the next card. “Now that’s a romantic pairing.”
“Okay, what’s the primary difference between the Champagne Method and the Charmat Method of sparkling wine production?” I asked, flipping over the flashcard to spoil the answer for myself.
Max paused washing before answering, “The Champagne Method involves secondary fermentation in the bottle, while the Charmat Method does it in large tanks. I think.”
I nodded, signaling he’d gotten it correct. I kept flipping through the stack of cards and Max kept getting them all right. He was way more ready than he was giving himself credit for.
“Okay, here’s a hard one: What role does sulfur dioxide play in winemaking?” I asked.
“It acts as a preservative and prevents oxidation,” he answered.
“Ding, ding ding! You got it. You’re gonna crush this, Max,” I said as I flipped through the deck of cards to find another hard one.
“Thanks,” Max said quietly with his back now turned to me. Was there something cautious in that “thanks”? Was there hesitation underneath the surface?
“I mean, you knew what I meant when I butchered the word Brettanomyces so I think you’re going to do just fine,” I said.
Max chuckled. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Isabella.” His gaze lingered on me for a moment longer than necessary, sparking an unexpected warmth inside me.
Looking to shift the atmosphere from this unexpected moment of intimacy, I jumped to a topic that had been swirling in my mind. “Speaking of getting together, Jules keeps inviting me to go on a double date with her and her partner, but something tells me I might be a little out of their age bracket of double-date fun.”
