#tr; maxine rothe

[thedevilsbckbone]

Continued from here

A couple of weeks didn't really sound all that bad, Max thought at first but then the other teacher continued and she couldn't help but wrinkle her nose up a bit. A month or two? That was a bit longer than she expected but then as she tried to break it down, it really wasn't all that bad. Especially if it meant getting to be around Jessie more often during that time. Besides, it wasn't as if Maxine would be taking the lead on things and mostly just helping out. Not to mention she owed it to the other teacher. At the very least it was a musical that sounded like it would be fun, once Jessie revealed what they would be putting on.

"Legally Blonde? Well, at least it's not The Sound of Music." she cracked a teasing smile at the other woman. "I'll have to listen to the soundtrack on my way home tonight - you know, get myself familiar with it." The mention of being blonde did make her genuinely snort out a laugh though as she tried to imagine either one of them as a platinum blonde. "Oh god, better be kidding. Blonde is not my color." She said, playfully pushing her curls over her shoulder before going in for another bite.

As the topic turned to the dinner though, Maxine couldn't deny that she wasn't more interested in that portion of the deal. She was trying her best to be casual about it, but the idea of getting to go out on an actual dinner with the other woman was very enticing. "I like all food really - but if you're asking, I am partial to Mediterranean." She suggested in response to Jessie's question. However, she couldn't hide the surprise as her brows rose when the other teacher asked if she was free that weekend. "Oh yeah, I can do this weekend. I'm pretty open Saturday night if that works?" She felt her stomach do a flip at the thought and had to try and ignore it - after all and for all she knew Jessie might not actually like Max like that. She supposed she'd find out soon enough though. "Yeah, if you want to, just let me know what time, I'll be there." Maybe it was just to discuss the musical but even if that were the case, she was excited to get to spend more time with the woman sitting across from her outside of work. | @heroexxs

[thedevilsbckbone]

Maxine stood there, pulling the earbud out from her ear that she'd been using to listen to some music before the young girl had approached her. Her eyes all the while moved between the girl and the handsome man who had joined them as the two interacted. It was obvious by their mannerisms and how they spoke to one another that they seemed to know each other well. She couldn't help the small chuckle that left her at the child's sassy comment towards the man and for a moment the brunette speculated on the man's relations to Ollie.

The question was quickly answered though as Olivia introduced him as her uncle Adam and Max's eyes went a bit wide when she realized this must have been the famous uncle Adam that the little girl was so dead set on always telling Maxine about, obviously trying to play matchmaker in her childlike ways. Maxine had always just entertained the little girl during their conversations and would always make comments about how she couldn't wait to one day meet him but she never actually thought it would happen. Nor did she actually think the man in question would actually look like that.

It caught Maxine off guard and she found herself feeling embarrassed at how unprepared she was for this moment. Her mind thought back to all the talks she had with Ollie about her uncle and wondered just what the little girl had relayed back to him — especially when he mentioned that she spoke of her all the time. "Oh yeah, that's me." she said as she waved her hand, smiling awkwardly and then wrinkling her nose up at herself for a split second as she realized how fucking cringy she was. "It's nice to meet you too, and hopefully it's only been good things -- right, Ollie?" She said, as she looked back at the little girl with a smile. "Like how I'm the coolest teacher around?" The playful comment made the little girl giggle as she nodded her head.

"Ollie come here," Adam said quietly knowing fully well his goddaughter will do whatever she goddamn please and he'd let her, pretty much like his mother used to do. Meanwhile the little girl ran around, up and down and started climbing a tree with him dillingently near to catch her and avoid fractures--Jack would fracture him if that were to happen and his own guilt would drive him to a bottle of single malt that he was trying to avoid drowning into. Ollie was one of the very few things in his life he felt positive about. He wanted Ollie to have a long, happy life and no regrets so she'd go straight up with her mom when she was very old and grey, he'd do anything in his power to see that through.

The little one got him out of his head when she went down the tree in two seconds, jumping and falling with her two feet in front of him and sprinting towards the running trail towards someone. Barely jogging, he made it behind her, "Olivia you gotta stop running away for fu--dge's sake," he quickly corrected himself as he made it to them.

The little girl was all grin when meeting her teacher and she explained she was there with her handsome uncle Adam who wasn't at all grumpy even though he looked a bit like an ogre right now. Once the man made it next to the ladies, the little one scolded him for saying a bad word and that she'd tell on him with her dad. "No you won't cos you won't get any chocolate cake if you do," he retorted before giving the teacher a small smile with his pursed lips. "Adam Milligan, nice to meet you miss Maxine right? Olvia talks about you all the time."

[thedevilsbckbone]

Continued from here

Maxine kept in pace with Leo as they made their way down the Vegas strip, weaving through the crowds that were already filling the pathways. She alternated with taking a bite of her bagel and taking a drink of her coffee - each time feeling a little bit better and better. Though her head was still pounding quite a bit but she tried not to think about it, focusing ahead of her to help keep from running into anyone. She felt a small hopeful smile tip the corners of her lips when he explained that the process was fairly easy. She hoped he was right because truthfully she didn't have a single clue. "Oh, do you think so?" She asked, turning to glance at him when he mentioned they could possibly get it done today. Though he did bring up the fact that they'd have to find the place they got married at first for that to happen. The momentary hope was cut short by that reminder and her expression dropped dejected as she turned to look ahead of her again.

"Shit -" she sighed. She wanted to think that they could figure it out but truth be told she was not liking her options. She was desperate to want to find the place without getting anyone else involved but if never one of them got anymore clues about then they'd just might have to. Then there was the possibility that even their friends didn't remember where it happened either. Maxine didn't like the idea of that - not sure what the hell they'd do at that point. She was pulled from her thoughts when Leo spoke again, asking if she was with anyone. She licked her lips and shook her head, giving a quick response. "No, I'm not seeing anyone right now. Thank the Lord for that." She said with a relieved sigh before realizing she didn't know if Leo had a partner or not. She knew he had an ex that he had a kid with, which in itself complicated this situation even more. "Umm how about you?" she asked, glancing back over at him curiously. | @missautumn

[thedevilsbckbone]

It was a lazy Saturday for Maxine, with no real plans for the day so the brunette had decided to go for a jog. She tried to get a jog in at least once or twice a week, which was just enough to keep her feeling good about herself without overworking her leg and causing herself too much pain. She'd was just finishing up her first lap around the mile and a half long stretch of park when she'd began to pass the playground.

She didn't pay it much mind at first, until she heard her name being called out in a small voice. Quickly that small voice became clearer as she whipped her head over to see the familiar smile of her student Olivia bolting over toward her. "Oh, hey sweetie! How are you doing?" She asked the little girl with a warm smile. "Are you here with your dad?" She glanced up to look around for Jack but did not see him.

Instead, she noticed a tall blonde man right behind the little girl also making his way over. She didn't recognize the guy but damn was he handsome she couldn't help but think as she looked him over. "Oh hi --" she said in surprise as she looked from the man to the little girl again, trying to get any hint as to who the stranger was. "And who is this Ollie?" She asked her, partly to make sure she was okay (her teacher brain always on) and partly because she couldn't help but be genuinely curious.

closed starter for @amomentxofhappiness

[thedevilsbckbone]

Maxine gave Jessie a pleased smile when she agreed to go for what she'd suggested. It was always fun discovering the people you strike an interest in liking the same things as she did. It made Max all the more excited to learn more about the other woman. She found herself letting out a small chuckle, though still a bit hesitant, when Jessie tried to assure her that it would end up being fun. She hoped that maybe the other teacher was just exaggerating a bit and even if it was as bad, at least she'd still be getting to spend time with her as Jessie had put it.

There was something in the way that Jessie seemed captivated by her words that made Maxine feel giddy, her cheeks warming up at the attention. So many people these days seemed so checked out of conversations but with Jessie, Maxine felt like the other woman was truly invested in her every word. Her smile grew at the brunette's comment about not finding her boring and when it was Jessie's turn to speak, Maxine paid the woman equal interest. "Hey I totally get that too!" She chimed in. "Believe me, I have those days where I can't even be bothered to walk five feet to my mail box." An amused laugh left her as she painted the picture.

"But that sounds nice. Honestly I haven't gone into the city much since I've moved here. You'll have to tell me all the good spots I should check out." She would love to explore it more but just hadn't really made the time out for it. Their conversation was momentarily interrupted by their waiter and Max shot Jessie a smile when the other woman ordered a bottle for them to share. "Yeah I go to some parks that have some good hiking trails just about a twenty minute drive from here. It's nothing too difficult, if you ever want to join me sometime, let me know. It's a great place to clear your mind."

She gave a nod to Jessie's next question. "Yeah, I live just ten minutes away over on Grand. I will usually just walk down a couple blocks and then back again. Though, I usually head in the opposite direction of the school." Max added, chuckling in amusement, her eyes drifting back down to the menu as she thought about how Jessie had mentioned living on her own. "Honestly I feel you though. I have a house but it's more like a little bungalow. Two bedrooms but kind of on the smaller side but it's also just me so I really love it." Scanning the menu for a moment, she wondered what to get. "Man, this all sounds great. What are you thinking of getting?" She asked, glancing back at Jessie curiously. | @heroexxs

"I could go for a nice white." Jessie said with a chuckle as she caught Macine's eyes once again. Already she could feel this pull between the two of them and could only wonder if the other brunette could feel it as well. A laugh slipped her lips at the mention of tec week, and she knew she didn't want to scare the other into not helping her out, but there was a part of her that was excited to spend all this time with her. "Hey, on the bright side, you get to see how fun I can be after school hours and on about two hours of sleep." Jessie teased with another smile. "I swear I basically live at the school during that whole week, but I promise you it's not too scary."

Jessie set her menu down and gave Maxine her full attention as she listed everything that she liked to do after school hours. "I don't find it boring at all." Jessie said with a smile. She found it extremely relaxing, and something she wished she could incorporate into her own after-school life. "Well, usually after school I'm already exhausted so you have me there by going for a walk in the neighborhood." She teased as she leaned back in her chair. "Usually after school the minute I head home I sit on the couch and watch some tv, but on the weekends I try and head into the city every once in a while. I still have some college friends who live there, but it's starting to be a bit much going back and forth." There were some weekends she would love to just curl up and sleep the whole weekend away and she knew when the musical started that's exactly what she'd be doing.

A waiter came over to ask if they wanted anything to drink, and Jessie ordered a bottle of white wine for the both of them to share. "Do you hike around here? Honestly, I should probably go outside more, but I feel like I run around that school enough to make it count for something." She teased again. It was easy to talk to her, unlike some of their other co-workers, then again she was hoping that after this it might blur the lines a bit.

"I know you said that you walk around your neighborhood, are you close to the school?" Really she wanted to ask if she stayed there alone or if there was anyone else in the picture. It was easier said than done but she knew she could hopefully poke just a bit to see if she even had a slight chance. "I'm actually in the apartment complex a couple blocks away. I don't need too much space since it's just me." Jessie said with a little shrug.

[thedevilsbckbone]

As Jessie spoke about her choice of musical and why, Maxine began to form an idea. "Oh yeah, I'm sure more kids are willing to want to go out for something more modern that they know about." She agreed before adding, "But hey, I'll tell all my classes that anyone who signs up for the musical will be given extra credit for the semester so maybe that'll help incentives a few more to sign up." She wanted to help Jessie however she could, knowing how much this meant to the other woman. If it would make her happy, then Maxine was more than willing. She wanted to impress Jessie.

Once they were settled in, Maxine began to scan the menu trying to figure out what sounded best. She glanced up towards Jessie as the other woman spoke, feeling her smiling growing, an amused chuckle leaving her lips. "Oh you say that now but just you wait - you'll probably be sick of me by the end of it." She teased, trying to hide the fluster she felt by Jessie's comment. It almost sounded flirtatious which caused Maxine to grow more hopeful that this thing between them wasn't just two friendly coworkers grabbing a bite to eat.

"I'm up for something to drink," Maxine said with a nod, glancing back down at the menu to look at their wine collection. "I'm a white wine junkie myself but if you prefer red I can usually get through a glass or two." Her smile was wide as she met Jessie's gaze. She was so stunning, Maxine thought, as she watched the way the other teacher's face lit up as she smiled. It made Max's heart skip a beat as warm tingles attacked her stomach. Until Jessie was mentioning needing it to get through tec week ,causing the brunette' to wrinkle 's expression to drop slightly as she groan, though it was all still very playful. "Ugh, don't tell me or I might back out after all." She teased.

She continued to switch her attention between figuring out what she wanted to eat and listening to Jessie as she spoke. She gave a nod of understanding, regarding how finding time for themselves could be hard as a teacher. "Yeah, I don't tend to do a bunch during the week because of how late work can take but I do like to still go for walks in the afternoon, just around the neighborhood to try and decompress - on the weekends I like to hike actually. Nothing crazy or hard, but I like to move around in nature when I can. I'm a big fan of brunch too but mostly because I like coming up to nap after and then spend the rest of my night curled up on the couch watching tv. I guess I'm a little bit boring most of the time." She shrugged, giggling. "What about you?" She turned the question on Jessie, curious to know more about her colleague. | @heroexxs

Jessie could feel her cheeks go a bright red at Max's compliment as she tried to just wave it off a bit. She knew she was just being nice, but it was easier said than done to not read into it. Those butterflies continued to fill her stomach, even more so now that they were not in a school setting. There was something that excited her about seeing Max outside of the walls of their familiar building and she hoped that she felt the same way. The smile on Jessie's face widened when Max said she listened to some of the album as she gave her a small nudge. "See? It's catchy. I'm hoping because of that more kids sign up. I have a good handful, but I could use a couple more." She said as they headed to their table. "Right? It looks amazing, great pick by the way."

Once the two of them got to their table, Jessie slipped her jacket off and took her seat before sighing happily. "You know this is a pretty great trade-off. You're helping me with the play and we get to go out to dinner, am I supposed to be losing in one of these?" She said with a chuckle. She couldn't help but flirt a bit especially since she couldn't pinpoint what Max thought this was as well. Was this just the two of them discussing the musical? Or maybe was it Jessie trying to get to know the other teacher more? Whatever it was, she wasn't too sure the next time she'd get a moment like this with her so she knew she had to savor it while it lasted.

"Want to get something to drink?" She asked as her eyes flickered down to the menu. "Are you more of a white or red kind of person? Trust me, that's the only thing that gets me through tec week." She teased again. "You'll see. It's not as bad as it seems but with how long we spend at the school we might as well just sleep there." Jessie said with a laugh. Her eyes went from the menu for a moment before looking up to look across the table at her. She could already feel her heart beating a bit faster and quickly looked down in hopes she wouldn't catch her staring.

"Do you get to come out often? I know it's hard during the week, honestly, it's basically impossible but the weekends aren't too bad. Usually, I try my best to reset as much as I can." As she leaned her chin against her hand, she gave the brunette another smile. "What do you like to do when you're not at school? Besides signing up for amazing musicals."

[thedevilsbckbone]

The conversation was a bit awkward between both adults, obviously neither one expected to be thrust into this sudden introduction by a small child. Maxine was already awkward as it was on a good day, so she felt completely off her game after meeting the man that her student had been innocently trying to play matchmaker for her with. The only thing keeping her from completely just giving up and running off like a loser was the fact that she didn't want to disappoint Olivia. At the very least, she did feel a little relieved that Adam was also struggling to make casual conversation with the kid present. "Uh I kind of rotate a few spots but this is one of my more frequented spots."

The made short conversation from there which did get slightly better over time but just as quickly as they'd met one another, Maxine really did have to be off. She had errands to run and prep to do for the next school day. So after a bit of pouting from the little girl, Max said her goodbyes to the pair - secretly hoping she'd maybe get to run into uncle Adam again now that she knew what he finally looked like. Little did she know, that would actually come to fruition much sooner than she expected. | @amomentxofhappiness

Adam did not expect the teacher to be so cute. He also didn't expect to find someone he would call cute attractive. Actually, he didn't expect to ever use the word "cute." Clearly he was spending way too much time with the kid. Not that it was a bad thing, to compensate for all the shit he saw day in and day out at work really but still. He had to keep himself in check not to come off like a complete and utter asshole.

Ollie explained that of course she was the coolest teacher and that Adam was the coolest uncle so that naturally (she had been reading something or other with the word naturally Adam realized, and she was using it on every other sentence now) they needed to meet, to share their coolness.

"I'm your only uncle," Adam added a little offended at the thought though he had to admit that being considered the coolest of Jack's friends with access to Ollie was definitely the highlight of this day--make it of his week. "So Miss Maxine, you run this trail every day?" Wow that sounded almost as lame as asking her zodiac sign. He was extremely rusty at speaking to women it would seem--at least in this environment (during the day with his goddaughter next to him). Not to mention, he couldn't fuck this up for Olivia. She adored Miss Maxine and he wasn't about to make things awkward with her teacher by hitting on her. He had to have some boundaries.

[thedevilsbckbone]

Maxine could only nod, hoping he was right, though there was a small part of her deep down that nagged at her that it might end up being harder than they thought. She was sure eventually they'd figure out a way to get it undone but it was up in the air of just how long she might have to spend being married to Leo. It was an awkward conversation she didn't want to have with people and wanted this to be water under the bridge that they could both move on from and never talk about again as soon as possible. Ironically, this was probably the most they've spent time together and spoken to each other civilly. Go figure, she thought.

She let out a relieved sigh when he revealed he also wasn't seeing anyone. "Oh good, that's good." She said quickly, her tone making her relief obvious. Her brow raised curiously though when he mentioned his daughter finding out and she looked at him quizzically. "You plan on telling your daughter?" Maxine didn't know much about Leo so naturally she didn't know much about his kid either. She knew he was a parent but his relationships beyond that was a mystery to her and she'd never thought twice about it up until this point. "Sounds like you guys must be close then." She wasn't sure why the idea of his kid knowing about this made her anxious but she tried not to dwell on it, taking another bite from her sandwich as a distraction.

Leo surprised her though when he suddenly asked if she was doing okay and needed a break. She'd noticed him glancing down at her leg and knew he was aware of her condition but Max still couldn't help but be surprised that he even had the care to even ask. "Uh no, I'm okay right now." She said, holding up a hand as she shook her head. "think I can manage another block or two but if I need to take a break I'll let you know." Even then Max was willing to push herself a bit further if it meant taking care of this quicker. "Thanks though for asking" She added, her tone appreciative, if not a bit surprised sounding. | @missautumn

"We'll figure it out, don't worry." Leo added when seeing his previous words didn't do much to ease her mind. Honestly, he was also worried the chapel here was a dead end but he was hoping that they could go back home with this problem solved. He wished to say he'd visit every chapel until he got the correct one but he had a life and a job to get back to; time was limited, resources were limited, too, so their friends needed to show up soon. The only bright side about this was that he didn't have explain this to anyone later, which led Leo to wonder if Maxine did.

He nodded when Maxine answered with a too-euphoric negative, he had no idea about her romantic life so he wondered if there was more meaning behind her tone or if it had to be with this current situation and the fact she wouldn't have to explain it to anyone. When the question was returned to his way, Leo looked up, surprised Maxine was asking about it but then again, their day had started off reversed and they were catching up on basic personal information about themselves that they hadn't cared about before. "No. I'm not dating anyone." He answered. "So the only other person who'll hear about this will be my daughter and she'll laugh her ass off." As he said the words, a chuckle escaped him, too.

Leo scratched the back of his head, which hurt a lot less now as he looked down at the sidewalk and his eyes fell on the woman's feet. "You're okay? Wanna sit down for a bit?" He knew about her pain and since he wasn't sure how long they had left to get to the chapel, Leo didn't want to be the one to blame if she got tired.

[thedevilsbckbone]

Maxine was embarrassed by how many times she had changed her outfit as she got ready to meet up with Jessie for dinner. She found herself overthinking each look she tried on. By the fifth she began to grow stressed, knowing she was running short on time and had decided the black trousers and the satin wrap blouse she wore would have to do. It wasn't too casual but didn't make her feel overdressed either - plus the top gave her a nice bit of cleavage which she thought made her look hot. She wasn't sure if Jessie liked her like that but Max couldn't help but want to impress the other woman.

After doing her makeup and pulling her hair up, Maxine had made it to the restaurant nearly right on the dot. Sure she may have been speeding a bit but at least she'd made it. After parking, she began to walk up to the doors and smiled when she noticed the other teacher waiting for her. She was struck by how pretty she look and felt her giddiness rise inside of her making her stomach flip but she did her best to keep her expressions and voice casual as she greeted the other woman.

"Hey!" She said back once she reached her. Of course, the feat turned out to be a bit harder than she realized when Jessie was complimenting how she looked and the brunette couldn't help but blush, feeling her heart race a little at how the other seemed to react upon seeing her. "Thank you," Max said, biting her lip softly to keep from grinning like a complete idiot. "You look gorgeous as ever. of course but I expected no less." She said back with a small chuckle and she'd meant it too. She always thought Jessie looked great, even during some of the toughest parts of the semester. Meanwhile Maxine would sometimes show up to the school looking like she threw herself together in the dark.

Se followed the other to the door and thanked her again as she held it open for her. Max tried not to get her hopes up too much in case it wasn't a date, but boy was it kind of feeling like out. "I did listen to some of it, it wasn't too bad actually. Very poppy but I gotta admit the songs are kinda catchy. I actually caught myself humming the tune to Bend and Snap while I was getting ready earlier." She said with a chuckle as they then reached the host table. It didn't take more than about a minute for them to be led to a table and Max glanced around the place and at passing table's plates, smiling over at Jessie once they sat. "Okay, this place looks great. I'm pretty excited to try the food." | @heroexxs

Jessie went through her entire closet trying to figure out what to wear to meet Max for dinner. She didn't want to be too dressed up just in case the brunette didn't think this was a date but wanted to be dressed up enough that it could possibly be one. She didn't know if the other teacher even looked at her like that but here they were, going out for dinner outside of school. It was to discuss the play afterall, but there was a part of Jessie that was getting excited about seeing her again. She wanted to keep it as professional as she could in the slight chance that Max didn't feel the same way but still had butterflies building in her stomach. She settled on a knit dress, one that she had worn far too many times to school in hopes that it would look a bit different outside of school grounds. Like she suggested, she found a Mediterranean restaurant close to them and let her know what time she was heading over. After smoothing her dress out once more, she took a deep breath and headed out.

She got there a bit early at the restaurant and as she made sure they had a table ready for the both of them, she patiently waited and tried to keep the butterflies in her stomach down to a minimum. She didn't want to seem too eager, she already had her agree to help her out the last thing she wanted to do was scare her off as well. When she finally saw Max, the smile on her face widened as she smoothed out her dress once more. She looked amazing and felt her stomach do even more flips than before. "Hey!" Jessie said with another smile. "You look... wow. Great, like really great." Already she could feel her cheeks go red and knew she was in for a long night ahead of them.

"I triple-checked and they have a table for us, honestly I've never been here before so we'll have to trust Google." She said with a chuckle as she held the door open for her. "Did you take a listen to the musical on your way home? It's a little long and very poppy. I think that's why the kids are so excited for it."