CHAPTER XXVIII
A/N: Just a quick note that I'm going to stick to Max's POV for a while—possibly for the rest of the story. I feel like since she's the real main character and there's so much development potential for her, it's kind of anticlimactic to switch POVs as often as I've been doing lately. There's some development that's going to come from Fang, too, but I feel like I can do it better from Max's perspective. On that note, hope you enjoy this chapter!
I had to remind myself again and again that I wasn't drunk. I'd only had a few drinks. They were supposed to be virgin. They were virgin. I knew how I was acting was just a combination of the atmosphere and my inevitable sugar high. I'd guessed that Fang and I would kiss a little, maybe a little more if there was time. But this? I was responding to Fang's ministrations in ways I didn't think I knew how. And while my body was obviously enjoying itself, my mind wasn't quite as convinced.
Overthinking for the win.
In an effort to win over my logic, I closed my eyes and tried to focus. It didn't help. The cranny we'd shuffled into was dark as fuck. Fang's hands found my ass, and I felt myself automatically respond with a moan. But it wasn't me. This was an out of body experience. I felt the claustrophobia start to creep in. My fear of the dark. Someone touching me. My breathing started to pick up, and I knew it wasn't all because of my boyfriend.
"Fang." It came out breathier than I'd hoped. It only encouraged him. My breathing grew faster. I couldn't do this. That wasn't true. I could do this. I'd been through it before. I could let myself shut down and pretend like it wasn't happening. Or I could be normal and go with it. Enjoy it. Pull yourself together, Max.
It was at that moment that Fang's fingers found the hem of my dress again and danced up the side of my thigh, pulling the dress up with it. My breath hitched. I could feel my instincts taking over, and they weren't in my mind's best interests. I suddenly forgot what I was so worried about.
"Fang," I moaned into his mouth. His tongue touched mine in response, and I loved the way it tasted. Who was I kidding? This was Fang. He would stop any time I told him to, so why not enjoy this moment? I pressed myself against him harder until there was absolutely no space between us. I could feel what was happening to him against my stomach; even in my heels, I wasn't quite as tall as he was. Speaking of which.
I separated my right leg and kicked off the strappy pump that was attached to my foot before hitching my calf around his waist. He groaned louder than before and pulled his hand out of my dress, finding my ass again and pulling me up. I let the other shoe fall from my left foot and wrapped that leg around him, too. He pressed me to the wall and ground his covered cock against me. My dress was riding up slowly, and soon he was rubbing against my wet panties. He cursed when he noticed.
"You're so fucking hot, baby," he whispered in my ear. The noise I made wasn't human.
"Bathroom," I whispered back. The occasional lights that flashed outside our little cove illuminated a growing cluster of people dancing frighteningly close to us. Fang nodded and held me against him while he walked us to the side in a couple steps and into the small women's restroom in one more. He didn't seem to notice the designation, and neither of us cared. Quickly, he clicked the lock on the handle and swung me up onto the sink, smoothly pulling my panties down to my ankles before taking them and flicking them across the room. Normally I'd think it was disgusting to have my bare ass against something this public, but right now, it totally wasn't.
I fumbled in the near-dark with the buttons on Fang's shirt and got frustrated with the last one. Fang handled it and smoothly slipped it off before pulling me close and putting my open mouth to his. One of his hands pulled up my dress further and trailed from my waist down to my thigh while his lips dropped to my collarbone. I moaned as he licked down my neck. He blew over where his tongue touched, giving me goose bumps. The hand on my thigh moved to between my legs, and I automatically opened my legs. His magic fingers danced over the area. He looked up at me, and even with the lack of light, I saw the blackness of his eyes.
"Tell me what you want me to do to you," he whispered. His voice was raspy with lust. My eyes closed and my head tilted back with my moan. I pressed his hand against me and reflexively bucked my hips.
"I want your fingers deep inside me, Fang," I whispered back. "Your tongue on my clit. They feel so good, babe. Please."
"Anything else?"
I froze, and then my mind started reeling. Was he really asking me what I thought he was?
"I'm…" I swallowed, but my voice still sounded strangled. "I'm not…"
He nodded, and then his fingers and his tongue made me forget about my guilt and anxiety and insecurities and I was just fucking gone. My body felt like it was on fire and covered in ice at the same time, I was empty and full, I felt everything everywhere and it was so fucking good and right that I screamed. Fang's fingers found the right spot inside me and hit it, over and over, and I felt like all the nerves in my body were right there, stimulated with every second of his touch. My words were garbled syllables, interspersed with "Fang" and "fuck." I was on fucking cloud nine when I felt the familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach that felt like warm honey, slowly trickling to my wetness.
"Fang," I managed, trying to form coherent sentences. "I want you…up here…when I come."
His mouth left me for a moment and he looked up at me from between my legs. I moaned. "How close are you?"
I shook my head and grabbed at his hair, pulling him futilely, and he understood. His fingers continued, and I closed my eyes, seeing fireworks. His mouth finally found mine again, and though I could taste myself on his tongue and it should've been strange, I was only focused on Fang and how he was making me feel. I felt myself begin to melt and I unraveled, screaming again. Every muscle in my body tensed against Fang's, and it was so intense that I had to push his hand away because any more feeling would have killed me. I moaned one last time and melted into Fang's kiss. He picked me up and swung me so my feet were on the floor again. I leaned on him heavily; there was no way I could stand up. I opened my eyes and faintly saw his open, too. I could still feel him hard against me. Slowly, I let myself sink to my knees, doing my best to keep eye contact. He shook his head quickly, putting his hand on my head.
"You don't have to do this," he said, but he sounded tortured. I smiled, undoing his trouser button and pulling at the waist. His pants fell to the floor, pooling at his feet. His boxers came next. A familiar sight sprung out in front of me, and I took a deep breath as I wrapped a hand around his length.
"I'm gonna make you feel so good, Fang," I whispered, stroking him slowly. "Just like you made me feel. Is that okay? Do you want it?"
He groaned, his head going back. I grinned and let my tongue lick his tip. His dick twitched and one of his hands slammed down on the side of the sink. I oh so slowly let my mouth wrap around him and took him in my mouth. His cock was way too big to deepthroat, but I took as much of him in as I could, using my hands on the rest. Then I kept up the slow pace, moving my head and my hands. The hand on my head made its way to the back, and Fang's hand tangled in my hair.
"Please, baby," he begged. "Faster. Please."
I knew he was barely restraining himself from forcing me, so I took pity and quickened the pace. His hips started moving in time with my mouth, and soon I had to work to keep my gag reflex under control. His moaning increased, and I knew he was getting close.
"Max…just use your hand…baby, it's okay," he groaned. I shook my head slightly, but I knew he didn't see. Determined, I sped up, and by the sounds he was making, he was enjoying it. "Fuck."
And then he was gone, his salty cum flooding my mouth and throat. I moved so just the tip was in my mouth and I continued to rub him with my hands while he came. I swallowed, still tasting the saltiness on my tongue and not really caring.
"Come here," Fang whispered, pulling me up from the hard tile floor. I fell into his embrace, and he kissed me. It was sweet, tender, and passionate, and it left my head spinning. He rested his forehead against mine. It was more intimate and cute than before. "I love you, Max."
I smiled. "I love you, too."
We stood like that for a long time. I'm not sure exactly when, but I think we realized we were tired at the same time. I saw the exhaustion in his eyes and I knew he probably saw it in mine. My knees were also starting to ache after spending that time on the floor. We dressed each other quickly and left the bathroom hand in hand. A girl rushed in as soon as we left. There seemed to be a line. I did my best to ignore the looks and let Fang lead me away.
The rest of the night passed by in a hazy mess. I guess we found Nudge and apologized. Fang said we hadn't seen her coming and I agreed. We reunited with everyone else and I watched them all enjoy one last drink. I turned down Fang's offer to buy me one, and he just smiled and kissed me. I leaned on his shoulder while we were sitting down and he made sure to keep his arm around me while we were standing up. Eventually even Nudge complained about being tired and we all left. I don't know how I got back to our cottage. I could've been in either car. Or I could've walked. Not much was clear to me at that level of exhaustion. I did recognize the sun just barely starting to come up by the time we reached the front door, though, and I remember Fang kissing me one more time before giving my phone to Nudge.
Once I hit my bed, I was dead to the world.
0_-_-_-_0
"And then what? What did he do?"
I sighed, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples with my head down. "I don't remember, Nudge. We just made out for a while and then we came back and met all you guys." I sipped my coffee and winced. "Can you stop making me talk, please? My head is killing me."
I wasn't lying. I'd woken up thinking someone had tried to murder me with a hammer in my sleep. Even looking at the glowing numbers on the clock hurt my brain. Coming out from the covers had been torture. To make it worse, as soon as I'd walked downstairs, I'd been assaulted with questions by the talking queen herself. The only highlight was the coffee Ella had mercifully prepared for me.
My savior returned from the bathroom and dropped a couple Advils in front of me on the table. I thankfully gulped them down with some coffee.
"Max, it's not like you're hung over," Nudge unnecessarily informed me. I bristled.
"I'm tired, okay?" I snapped. "I never stay out that late and I never drink anything other than coffee and normal shit. I don't care if this is a fucking sugar crash, my head feels like it's imploding and you're trying to get me to tell you I got laid last night. Leave me the fuck alone."
I moved my coffee and put my head down on my arms. I was pretty sure some of my hair got in the mug anyway. Ella sat down beside me and put her arm over my shoulders.
"I have to agree with Max this time," she conceded, giving me arm a little rub. "Just back off for a bit, Nudge, okay? There'll be a time and a place to talk about it."
"There'll never be a time or a place," I mumbled. They ignored me.
"She doesn't have to be so rude," Nudge huffed. I imagined her crossing her arms and pouting. "I'm just wondering about what happened between her and Fang. I'm one of her best friends. Don't I have a right to know how far she goes with a guy? I'm not asking for specifics or anything, I mean ew, I don't want to picture her boyfriend naked. I just want to know what happened, you know, in general."
I sighed.
"Base?" she added hopefully.
"Third," I replied, my voice muffled by my arms. "Now leave me alone."
Nudge squealed, and I grimaced. I lifted my head and took another sip of my drink. Hair had definitely been there. I felt the few wet strands on my shoulder.
"I was there before," I reminded her. It was surprisingly weird talking about this with her. She was right; she was my best friend. Before Fang and I had done anything in any way sexual, I felt like I could tell her anything about us. But now that we'd actually done stuff, I felt like it was my own business and she didn't have a right to know it. It felt private. And I kind of liked having my own secrets. At least these sorts of healthy ones. "Were you?"
Nudge shuffled her feet. "Aunt Flo is still in town. It was a pretty slow night."
"I was," Ella informed me. Nudge and I whirled, my vision going blurry for a moment due to the pain this brought. Ella was blushing. "I mean…well, yeah. Pretty close to it tonight, but we did some stuff before. Nothing over third base, though. I don't think I'd do that without asking you guys about stuff first. I haven't really…you know. I don't really know much. About anything."
I nodded. Nudge was surprisingly quiet. Ella coughed, obviously embarrassed.
"I don't think I would either," Nudge agreed. I thought about it. Honestly, I couldn't imagine going that far with Fang. How I'd reacted last night to just the making out scared me. I'd gone along with it eventually, but how did I know I wouldn't freeze like that when really serious stuff starting actually happening? Not that what we did wasn't serious. I'd never do that with anyone other than Fang, and it was so perfect last night.
Ugh. I was so confused. I really needed to stop thinking so much about it all. The important thing was I hadn't frozen when it was really important. And on top of that, I'd gotten over my own fear without Fang even noticing. I'd conquered one of my demons. It might come back, but I was sure I could overcome that one again.
Despite all of my thoughts of strength, I was still having doubts. We'd gone that far twice. Both times it was fast and rather unexpected. It was cute afterwards when we cuddled or hugged or tenderly kissed, but it was just instinct and sweat and fucking without the actual fucking during the real ordeal. And I wasn't sure if I liked that or where that was going. I was definitely secretly hoping that Fang and I would go all the way. One day. Maybe not this summer, but someday in the future. But I didn't want it to happen like that. I wanted it to be cute and romantic and cheesy like in the movies, where there was a big comfy bed and we could actually make love, not snap into a hormone-induced make-out session on the sink in a club.
"Earth to Max," Ella said in my ear. I jumped slightly and realized that with the pain in my head going down, I was actually able to zone out into my standard depressing thoughts. Wonderful. "I think you got a text from Fang."
"What does it say?" I asked without thinking. Ella took my phone from the table before I could retract what I'd just said.
"Hey, Max," she read, "just wondering if you're awake yet so I can call you. I just woke up. I love you."
I sighed and put my hand out for the phone. Ella complied without saying anything, and Nudge was silent, too. I hoped that meant they were done harassing me for the day. I looked at the watch I'd put on before I came downstairs. It was four in the evening already. Hardly the time for yoga pants and a simple camisole unless it's a lazy day. But in my mind, it was a lazy day. My thoughts were becoming incoherent again. I speed dialed Fang and took one more sip of coffee before leaving the kitchen to lounge on the couch in the next room. Fang answered quickly.
"Hello, love." My eyes closed and my lips formed a smile at the sound of his wonderful voice. It did wonders for my headache. "That was fast. How are you?"
"I've got a bit of a headache," I admitted. He laughed lightly.
"I'm not bothering you, am I?"
"Of course not," I replied, still smiling. I stretched and made a baby dinosaur noise, making him laugh again. "Don't laugh at me. I love you."
"I love you, too, beautiful."
We stayed in comfortable silence for several seconds. I turned over on my stomach and let one of my legs wave around a little.
"How much did you tell Nudge?" he asked. He sounded playful, but I knew he was also being serious. I sighed.
"Not any more than she needed to know. She's been quite the obnoxious child this morning."
"I can fucking hear you!" sounded the topic of our discussion. Fang and I laughed.
"I take you don't want to hang out at all later tonight?" he asked, sounding semi-hopeful. I made a face.
"I'd love to," I said. "I just don't think my body's up for it."
"Same," Fang replied, sounding relieved. "I love you, though. I'll always love you, Max."
"I'll always love you too." I loved the way my name sounded in his voice. It gave me butterflies and goose bumps and chills all at once. His voice was beautiful in general. Hearing him say he loved me was like listening to angels sing the hallelujah chorus.
"Can I call you again later?" Fang asked after a moment. "Iggy's making food and I kind of want a shower before it's done so I don't smell like sweat anymore."
"Cute," I commented, raising an eyebrow even though I knew he couldn't see it. "Of course you can. I already showered. I'll be here the rest of today and probably most of tonight. I love you."
"I love you too." He paused. "Can you hang up first?"
I laughed. "No, you."
"You."
"You."
"Please, baby?"
My smile widened. "No, come on, don't pull that card."
"What card?" he asked innocently. "I'm only telling my girlfriend how much I love her. Can't I do that?"
I shook my head and giggled. Actually giggled. I stood up and walked towards the window, putting my hand on the frame. I almost wanted to pop my foot up like in the Disney movies, but I decided against it. The headache kept me from a mood that good.
"I love you, Max."
"I love you too, Fang."
"I'll hang up if you want me to. I love you."
"I love you too, babe."
I heard the click of disconnection and he was gone. I held my phone against my ear until I heard the beep that meant call mode had turned off and sighed, turning away from the window and setting my phone down on the couch. I stared at it for several seconds. Then, unable to resist, I picked it up once more and typed out a quick message.
I love you.
I placed the phone back on the cushion and walked back into the kitchen. I knew what the reply would be.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! I love each every one of the 70 people who hit the last chapter the night I had it up. I know it's a lot to ask, but please review if you can. I don't care if it's a positive review or a negative review, a smiley face or a frowney face, I just want a little bit of feedback here. I want to know if you guys like how I'm progressing with the story and if you like the development of the characters. I rely on your critiques to know where to go with the next chapter, and now that I have some actual time to write, I'd really like to hear what you guys have to say. Don't be shy!
Songs I listened to while writing this chapter: DJ Got Us Falling In Love Again (Usher), I Want It That Way (Backstreet Boys – Acoustic Cover by Boyce Avenue), and Just the Way You Are (Bruno Mars – Acoustic Cover by Boyce Avenue). All of these songs will be linked on my profile. See you soon!
-YAY
