Page 61 of Maksim

I give her a grateful nod before opening the pantry in search of the baking soda. When I find it exactly where I left it, I pull it out.

“What are you doing?” she asks, pouring white alcohol into both cups along with the orange juice.

“No, I don’t…” I reach for the cup, but I’m obviously too late to stop her.

She smiles. “Trust me, you need this.”

That feels like an insult.

She nods at the baking soda. “What’s that for?”

“It’s one of the ingredients for the laundry detergent I make.”

Her head tilts as she looks at me like I’m the last puppy in a box for sale. “You are so cute.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

She takes the baking soda from my hand and replaces it with the cup of what even she admits is poison.

“I only said that so Maksim wouldn’t ask what we talked about.” She takes a drink of her cocktail and rests it on the counter. “So give me the good stuff.”

“The good stuff?”

She nods and twirls her hand. “Yeah, you know, what’s it like?”

“What’s what like?”

Her jaw drops, and she looks away like she’s thinking. “Girl, come on, we’re all on the edge of our seats here.”

I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sleeping with Maksim,” she drones like it’s beyond obvious. “That man is a conquest, my friend. Many have tried and many have failed. There’s a rumor that he doesn’t like Russian women and another that he doesn’t like women at all. Don’t tell him I told you that, of course,” she says, more seriously. “I don’t believe it. Actually, I thought maybe he just had a thing for Italians until recently. He’s impenetrable to our group. But…”

She opens her palms to gesture to me. “Here you are, showing up with his arm around you, staying in his home while even his closest friends aren’t invited there. You must have a magic coochie. Please, tell me your secret. I’m dying to know.”

I shake my head. “It isn’t like that at all.”

“No?”

Again, I shake my head, looking down at the dull orange drink that suddenly tempts me.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” Cherish asks, excitement missing for the first time from her voice.

I shrug. “I just…” I don’t know how to finish other than to say yes. Of course. I don’t know her. I don’t know them. As much as I don’t trust Maksim, I trust him more than these people, and I’m not going to expose what could be his secrets.

What are his secrets?

They know he has a sister, right? Is it such a big deal if perhaps he isn’t a man whore?

But then there was the box of condoms in his drawer.

Could he be gay?

No. No, I’ve seen too many erections to be doubting his sexuality.

“I get it.” She raises a hand. “Sorry, babe. Zinovy always says I can be a bit much.” She chuckles, but it’s nervous. “Do me a favor and don’t tell Maksim I asked all this, okay? I like to think I’m one of them, but he’s a lieutenant, which makes him automatically terrifying. Girls like us have to look out for each other.”

Girls like us?