Authors Note- Thanks to everyone who reviewed! It means a lot. Sorry for the long wait. I'll try to get the next one up sooner. Also, if anyone has a suggestion I'm open. Like if you want interaction between certain characters or something. Let me know!
Chapter 7: Kiss the Girl
"How did we end up here?"
"It's us. The real question is, how could we not.
"Now what?" Maxie questioned. And really, she was just as confused as she sounded. Her heart was pounding. Then again maybe that was Logan's heart. He was so close she could smell him. Clean, fresh, with just a smidgen of mint. As she took in his sent, he took in her lips. Ignoring her question and resuming what they had previously been doing. Before she had stopped them to ask questions. Questions that had been left unanswered. So many questions left unanswered...
Over and hour earlier; Maxie was quiet. Too quiet. Logan, being Logan, wasn't sure what the right thing to say would be. He thought about prodding it out of her until she was so annoyed that she gave in and told him what happened. He thought about being a jerk and getting her angry enough to let it slip. He thought about her. Her eyes, her mouth, her nose, her... Yeah. He thought about a lot. Yet, he came to no conclusion. Instead he remained silent. Nothing was said during the whole drive to his room. Nothing was said as Maxie headed to his bathroom. And, nothing was said when she turned on the shower and left Logan confused and waiting in the other room. Nothing was said.
"Thank you." Came the words that broke Logan from his thoughts and announced Maxie's entrance into the room. She was in her pajamas still. But, her hair was wet now. Her face was clean and bare. She took his breath away. And no, not in that romantic, soul mate sort of way. This was Logan Hayes and Maxie Jones. His breath was caught in his throat due to the sheer intimacy of it all. She was stripped of everything that made her Maxie. Her point on style. Her sleek hair and flawless make-up. But, now? Now, she was just a girl. A girl with a tragic story hidden behind her tortured eyes. And he was a boy. A boy hoping to touch her and hold her and quite honestly, have sex with her. But, above all else they were two people who understood one another.
"No problem." Came his horse reply.
"My mom's gonna' leave again." She offered walking towards the end of Logan's bed, where he was currently sitting.
"Well, I guess you knew it was coming." He replied honestly. From the moment Felicia had arrived back in Port Charles, Maxie had been sure that she wouldn't stay.
"Considering I all but exiled her from here? Yeah, I knew it was coming." Was her response as she climbed on the bed and rested comfortably.
"Did a part of you, even a small part, want her to stay." Logan asked as he reveled in the fact that she was less than a few inches away from him. A feeling that gave him chills and warmed him to the core all at once.
"No." She automatically replied. He nodded, excepting her answer. But, he was surprised when she continued. "A big part, maybe all of me, wanted her to stay." She confessed quietly. Not looking to see Logan's reaction, Maxie leaned her head down and rested her cheek on his upper back. She was mostly behind him now. Her legs were pressed against his lower back and her hair soaked through his shirt.
"Yeah?" He whispered reaching up and taking hold of her hand, which had been resting on his shoulder.
"I threw all of her stuff out the window." She told him. He laughed at that. The picture of the Scorpio/Jones yard entered his mind. He remembered the clutter of broken, dirty objects scattered all over the lawn. Never mess with Maxie Jones.
"I threw stuff at her too." She continued. "Like glass vases and... I don't even remember what else. It probably would have hurt if it hit her though." She added. He chuckled again as his heart swelled. This girl, this girl was amazing. Amazing in ways he didn't even completely understand.
"You? Throw stuff?" He joked. Feeling her laugh against him felt good. A brief flash of her smiling face across from him at a dinner table crossed his mind. He couldn't handle her for long periods of time. No one could. But, a really big part of him, most of him, wanted to build up a tolerance. He wanted to be the one to handle Maxie Jones. The one who didn't get away.
"I said some awful things too." She said. Her fingers began to trace patterns against his back. She drew a house with a big X through it. Then a bolt of lightning. Listening to Maxie was a science. It was more about what she wasn't saying that what she was.
"That isn't new Maxie." He commented as the outline of the word 'Don't' was splayed across his back.
"I know." She murmured. Next the letters 'G' and 'O' could be felt through his shirt.
"If you don't want her to leave then maybe you should say something." He suggested.
"I want her to stay with out me saying anything." Maxie stubbornly replied.
"You're pushing her away. I get why but, you're pushing hard and there is only so much a person can take before they walk away." He explained. In the back of his mind he wondered how much more Maxie herself could take.
"I want her to push back. I want her to act like a mother. Yell, slap me, something! I just, I want her to stay." She said. Logan felt more water soak through his shirt, this time not from her damp hair.
"And, you wont stop pushing her away?" He questioned. She shook her head and he nodded. Then, Logan slowly turned around to face Maxie. Only they would have a deep conversation with out looking at or even facing each other.
"Hey." He smiled greeting the sight of her stunning face.
"Hi." She replied offering a smile back.
"I push people too. Just to see, to see who really gives a damn." He told her sighing deeply and resting his hands on her shoulders.
"Do you think I give a damn?" She asked.
"Do you?" He shot back. She silently thought about the question for a minute before nodding. And then, they both leaned in. Their lips fused and a their bodies crashed against one another. As their tongues dueled and their lips tangled, Logan eased Maxie back and she lay fully on the bed. How did they get there?
"Your princess wouldn't be happy to hear you say that." Maxie said, snapping him back to reality.
"She's not really happy about much these days. Cept' good old Johnny Z." He bitterly replied.
"Aw, did big bad Logan get his feelings hurt." Maxie mocked him, earning a glare.
"Shut up." He muttered shaking his head. God, she was infuriating. And, really hot.
"You shut up." She replied crankily.
"Fine." He shrugged grabbing the back of her neck and using it to pull her lips down to his own. But, before his task was completed Maxie had to go and make things difficult. Big surprise there. She moved her head away and in the process caused there skulls to collide painfully.
"Ow! Jesus Maxie!" He growled rubbing his temple.
"Boo hoo." She muttered refusing to ease her own throbbing head.
"You are something else, you know that?" He glared, yet again.
"Look I don't have time for your lame banter filled with underlying sexual tension." She fired.
"Excuse me?"
"You're with Cindy Lu Hoo okay? I'm not messing with that again. As much fun as if was to crash the little weebles world last time, our feud is getting old." She spoke quickly.
"Alright, I don't even know what you just said. But, if it was about me and Lulu, you don't need to worry. We're taking a break." He confided.
"And, she knows about this break?" Maxie asked raising her eyebrows.
"Well..." Logan trailed off a bit.
"Logan!" Maxie exclaimed hitting him lightly. He laughed and took her hand in his own.
"I'm kidding. Look we've been fighting a lot. She's spending time with Johnny, I'm spending time with you... " He trailed off.
"You need to talk to her." Maxie firmly demanded.
"I will. I'm going to. Just, not now. I'm with you and, I'd like it to stay that way for a little while if you don't mind." He stated. Maxie accepted this and nodded.
"Alright then. Now that that's done." Logan kept his hold on Maxie hand and pulled her with him to the head of the bed. Wiggling around one another to get comfortable, the two finally settled. Logan was laying on his back with Maxie on his chest. Fitting perfectly as always.
"Did I ever tell you about Jesse?" Maxie questioned. Her words slicing through the silence rigidly. It wasn't a neat, smooth interruption. There was a jagged edge to her words.
"Not really, no." He simply replied. She didn't look at him and he didn't look at her. But, he felt her. Oh, how he felt her. Those tiny hands of hers bouncing around his chest. That soft hair tickling his neck. And, that heart. The one that hadn't always been a part of her but, grew to be so more than anyone could have for seen. He felt it beat. Not only did he feel it beat against his own chest but, he felt it all over. In the tips of his toes. All through his lips and even down to the ends of his eyelashes.
"He was my boyfriend." She spoke again. Logan nodded. He knew the basics of Maxie and Jesse's relationship. He'd heard bits and pieces through out the town and of course from Coop. He just couldn't figure out why she picked now to talk about it with him.
"A cop. One of the good guys. What a joke huh? Maxie Jones with one of the good guys." She chuckled lightly. He squeezed her waste a little tighter.
"Well, I guess the joke was one me because... right when I though everything was perfect, right when I was finally starting to get my life together..." She trailed off. Maybe it was to find the words. Maybe it was to compose herself. Logan didn't know. All he knew, was that she pressed herself closer to him. And, with that he could feel their hearts beating together. From the tip of his toes to the end of his eyes lashes.
"There was a shoot out in the park and he was shot. He did the whole hero thing. Bravery...what an idiot." She finished the story flatly. Not once did she choke on her words. Not once did she let a tear fall. She told Logan the information as if she were reading it from some pamphlet. They were just facts. Facts of Maxie's life.
"There are worst ways to die I guess." Logan finally spoke up.
"Maybe." She answered. Then it got quiet for a while. Logan didn't let himself think about how long. He just let it take hold of them. He just let it be. He understood now, why Maxie had brought up Jesse. When the quiet enveloped the normally loud blonde, she had nothing to distract her from her thoughts. Her pain. And, there was just so damn much of it. Logan guessed that it was easier to work out some of her older scars than to irritate the fresh ones.
"When Jesse died I was a wreck. Like a total mess." She started again. "I mean, Dillon literally had to hold me up. I don't remember a lot from that day but..." She stopped again. This time she seamed reluctant to go on.
"What do you remember?" He urged her to continue.
"Mostly little things. The sound of the guns going off. The smell of the blood. The way my entire mouth tasted like cotton candy. And, Dillon shaking me. Just shaking me so, so hard. Like, like all my pieces were falling away and he had to hold it together for me. I don't know, maybe some of them did fall away. Guess I never really got them all back." She mused insightfully. People could say what they wanted about Maxie Jones but, she was not a dumb girl. She spoke with purpose and meaning. Her words were never useless or wasting of space. There was always, always something that you could take from them. It had taken Logan a long time to accept this but, now he listened when Maxie spoke. God help him, he listened to every last word.
"I think..." This time Logan started to speak. He was unsure of what he was about to say. Growing up he was a simple country boy. Not a deep thinker or an articulate speaker. But, Maxie made him think. She made him feel and she made him think about those feelings.
"Hmm." She made a small noise in an effort to encourage him to tell her what was on his mind.
"I think that during our lives people just take pieces of us. The ones who loves us and especially the ones who don't. In the end we're just left with whatever it is that people don't take." He finished. Now, now she looked at him. Sitting up a bit, Maxie looked down into his eyes.
"You get it." She whispered, a hint of surprise tangling in her words. And, he did get it. He understood why she was the way she was. He even understood himself a bit better. The whole time she had told her little story there had been an edge to her voice. An edge that made Logan think that each and every syllable she spoke must have physically hurt to say. And, for the first time he realized, that was Maxie's life. Pain and struggle. Getting through each minute, sometimes even second. She didn't have grand plans for the future. She didn't feel bad about the past. She pushed herself through the present and really... that was all anyone could ask of her.
"Sure I do doll face." He replied just as quietly as she had before. He ran a hand gently through her hair and eased her head back down. With that, nothing more was said. It didn't have to be.