Chapter Nineteen
Blue painted fingernails gently brush up and down Max's back while soft lips draw a line of kisses from her shoulder to her ear. The girl smiles as she's slowly brought out of sleep by the delicate affection, her mind identifying that she's cuddled around a pillow and lying on her stomach. She opens her eyes and slowly twists to face up, the maneuver allowing for plenty of soft skin to rub along Chloe's as the two slept with nothing between them. Max smiles up at her girlfriend as Chloe drapes one arm and leg over her to halfway lie upon her.
"That's a much better way to wake me up than attacking my butt. Good morning, love." Max reaches up to brush her fingers through Chloe's hair, softly running her nails along the scalp to soothe her girlfriend.
"Morning, Cap. I can't rightly spank you without permission if you're gonna be playing the Captain, now can I?" Chloe can't help but lean ever so slightly toward that hand petting through her hair as she feels the wonderful tingles of pleasure it brings her. "Mmmh. You know what a real pirate Captain would do? Ditch school and stay here with me."
Max breathes a quiet laugh and reaches up with both arms to encircle Chloe's head, pulling her slowly down to nuzzle the girl. "We don't have to go that far. There's only like ten or eleven weeks of school left, and then we can be together all the time. For now, you'll only have to wait six days to see me again. We'll meet in Portland on Saturday, I promise. I love you, Chloe."
Chloe grumbles a little as she gives Max a squeeze. "Why do you have to live in a different city? That sucks so hard." She lifts her head to gaze down into Max's eyes before she says the more important words. "And I love you, too, my little sex bunny. What did we go, four times?"
Max grins and squirms, then scrunches up her face from the discomfort of rubbing her thighs together. "Yeah, something like that. I'm sore now… Is it always gonna be that way?"
With a laugh Chloe disengages, rolling off the bed to stand and reach for the ceiling, elongating her beautiful body for Max to admire as she stretches. "Going four times usually leads to soreness, yes. But don't freak, we don't have to go crazy in bed every time we get together. Plus you'll have a full week to recover after each time with me and your body will get used to it over time, so soreness won't be a problem by the time we're living together. Unless you wanna get into some seriously hardcore shit." She finishes by waggling her brows and grinning.
"Ummmm, let's just see what happens." Max scoots out of bed as she tries not to fantasize about wild and crazy sexual adventures with Chloe, not wanting to get worked up since she'll be leaving in a few hours.
Chloe puts together an outfit for the day and just stands at the doorway, smiling at Max and waiting for her. It takes Max a bit to realize that Chloe is waiting for her to come along so they can shower together, so she picks out the punk-goth clothes she bought in Portland and follows Chloe to the bathroom. She's reluctant at first, warning Chloe again that she's sore, but the blue haired beauty is surprisingly well behaved and gentle in the shower. Her touch is delicate and soothing as she washes Max and allows Max to wash her, the totally naked experience proving to be far more about the heart and less about the body than Max had anticipated. The naughty giggling and groping she had imagined Rachel and Chloe doing every morning was all wrong, and she finds herself feeling as if she's floating on clouds as she's carefully washed by Chloe for the first time.
After bathing and dressing the teens find Joyce in the kitchen and prepare a Denny's style Grand Slam breakfast for all three, plates covered in pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage. They all sit down with their calorie bomb breakfasts and coffees to enjoy their final meal together.
"You look like a changed girl, Max." Joyce comments as she looks the teen over with a knowing smile, not just talking about the red hair streaks, black hoodie and tank top, but noticing something else. "Do you feel like a changed girl?"
Max blushes furiously as she feels Joyce must know she just lost her virginity. "Um… I guess so. I feel happier than I've felt in a very long time. Kind of bummed to be flying away today, but Chloe and I plan to drive to Portland on weekends to see each other."
Joyce raises her brows and looks to Chloe, who just grins and wolfs down her food with little etiquette. "Is that so? Yall can't get enough of each other?" A broad smile slowly grows on the woman's face as she looks at Max. "Did you play the Shania Twain song I recommended?"
If there's such a thing as a double blush it happens to Max, the girl staring down at her breakfast with wide eyes and trying to melt into her chair. "Oh man, are you cereal? You knew the whole time?"
Joyce laughs and sits up a bit taller. "Darlin', don't insult me. A mother knows these things. And I'm happy for you two. Been waitin' a long time for you to come back into Chloe's life, Max. Does this mean you're plannin' on movin' back to Arcadia Bay to date her?"
Chloe almost chokes on her bite of bacon and takes a sip of coffee to wash it down, the three having an awkward silence before she's brave enough to respond. "Actually, I promised to move to Seattle after I graduate…"
The news makes Joyce deflate a bit, her smile fading away. "Oh…" She considers it for a few moments and sighs. "Guess I should've figured as much. You've hated Arcadia Bay ever since your father died. I don't wanna see you move away but… how could I stand between my daughter and love?"
Max has an idea and tries chiming in. "Well, you can move up there, too, Joyce."
Joyce looks a little stunned, as if the thought never occurred to her before. "Hm. I suppose it's somethin' to think about. I'm sure by the time June comes a knockin' Chloe and I will have it all figured out. What about today, Max? Do you need a ride anywhere?"
"I'll take her!" Chloe volunteers much too loudly and with a mouthful of food. "I'm driving my awesome new girlfriend to the airport and that's final."
Max snickers and shakes her head. "Well, I guess it's settled, then. Thank you for having me, Joyce, even though I spent most of the week on a road trip. I'm so sorry for your loss… but it's been really nice seeing you again."
A sad smile forms on Joyce's face as she slowly nods. "It's been a rough week. But I guess your heart findin' its way back to Chloe's is the light at the end of the tunnel. You just take care of my little girl, you hear?"
"Yes ma'am." Max offers her best smile.
Chloe just sighs and rolls her eyes. "I'm not a little girl anymore, mom. I can take care of myself. But, you don't have to worry about Max. I put her through a lifetime of shit this week and she never stopped loving me. I'm in good hands."
The sentiment leaves them all smiling and feels like a good note to end the conversation on, the three enjoying the rest of breakfast without much talking. After helping with the dishes the teens head upstairs to brush their teeth, then search around for all of Max's belongings to pack her bag. Max remembers Rachel and calls her to let her know the excellent news, and she demands that Max and Chloe head to the dorm to say goodbye before driving to the airport. So, once all packed and ready to go Max gives Joyce a farewell hug, then hops in Chloe's truck to be taken to Blackwell.
For the first time Max enters the Academy, seeing the inside of the girl's dorm at least, and wonders what it would have been like to attend the arts school. Chloe leads the way, knowing exactly where Rachel's dorm is, and upon knocking Rachel comes flying out to give them both excited hugs.
"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you! You two getting together at the end of this break is so clutch, like… I can't tell you how psyched I am about this!" She practically bounces in place as she ushers the new couple into her dorm for privacy. "Please, tell me everything. I wanna hear it all!"
The three girls sit on Rachel's bed, Max talking first as she tells about all the planning and thought she put into her romantic gesture and the beanie gift, making Rachel ooh and aah over how sweet and endearing Max tells it. But, when she gets to the bedroom part Max blushes and struggles, so Chloe takes it over from there, and she certainly spares no detail. Rachel doesn't seem to become jealous at all as she hears about their sexual exploits, and that brings a great deal of relief to Max, seeing that Rachel and Chloe are truly comfortable being just friends. After the storytelling Rachel has the idea to take pictures of Max and Chloe kissing on her bed, so Max lends her Polaroid for Rachel to take pictures with both their cameras. Rachel proves her talent for images and comes up with some fantastic shots that Max is glad to tuck into her satchel, pictures that will end up in the journal with the rest of her memories of this trip. A final set of hugs and goodbyes are spoken when it's time to set out, Max promising to stay in touch with Rachel and Rachel promising to keep Chloe out of trouble.
Once Chloe drives out of Arcadia Bay Max knows she only has an hour left with the girl before they arrive at Eugene Airport, so she scoots along the bench cushion and cuddles up to her girlfriend for the entire duration. Some of the drive is spent recalling events of the last nine days and talking about the journey they went on that led them to becoming a couple, while the rest is spent rocking out to punk music as Max nuzzles and kisses Chloe's neck. When Chloe finally pulls up to the front of the airport terminal there's a collective sigh, the girls knowing it's time to say goodbye.
"Well, this is it… at least for now." Chloe shuts the engine off after putting the vehicle in park, slowly twisting on the seat to snuggle with Max. "Thanks for coming, Max. Thanks for all the crazy shit you put yourself through to save me and Rachel."
Max leans in to plant a few delicate kisses on Chloe's lips. "I couldn't imagine a world without you. I had to come save you the moment I was told you were in danger."
Chloe laughs and eyes Max up and down. "You can get red hair streaks, wear a black hoodie with pink flowers in the shape of a skull on it, and a black tank underneath with another skull on it, but you're still the sappy dork you always were. Oh, Max… what am I gonna do with you?"
"You have six days to figure that out." Max smirks and slowly pulls away so she can hop out of the truck and move to the back.
Chloe exits the driver's door and meets her back there, pulling the girl's suitcase out and putting it on the curb for her. "I like that you chose that outfit to fly in. Your parents are gonna freak when they see you like this. We'll make a rebel out of you, yet! I've already got some epic plans for next Saturday kicking around in my head, so you better come ready to rock out!"
"I'll be ready." Max steps up to Chloe to wrap her up one last time, rising to her tippy toes to give her a passionate series of goodbye kisses. Her hands squeeze around Chloe's shoulders to hold them together as she lets the moment linger as long as she can. "I love you so much, Chloe."
Chloe offers a warm smile as she gently brushes the tip of her nose up and down Max's, happy to let the moment linger as the girls squeeze each other. "I love you, too, Max. You better call me when you land this time… I'll fucking hunt you down."
Max laughs and slips halfway out of the hug, her hands still staying on Chloe's shoulders. "Oh, will you now? Maybe I'll have to not call, then, see how long it takes you to find me in Seattle and… punish me." She drops her jaw and winks provocatively.
That makes Chloe laugh and put her hands on her own hips. "OK, not all sappy dork. We'll make a hell-raiser of you yet, as my mom would say." As soon as Max leans down to collect her suitcase Chloe swats the girl in the booty. "And that's for teasing me!"
Max grins over her shoulder as she slowly heads toward the automatic doors with her suitcase. "I'll talk to you in a couple hours, love. And see you in a week. Take care!" She waves with her free hand as she walks away.
"Safe travels, babe." Chloe watches Max disappear, then hops back into her pickup and sits there for a few more minutes, just in case Max forgot anything and comes rushing back out. But when Max doesn't return Chloe drives off, fighting away the dark thoughts of her childhood abandonment issues that try to convince her it's the last she'll ever see of Max.
After putting her camera and equipment in her suitcase so she can take her photography satchel on the plane without hassle, Max checks her suitcase and goes through security to sit in the waiting area. All that's in her satchel is her journal, colored pencils and all the photos from the trip, and she begins working on updating her journal as she waits for boarding to begin. It isn't long to wait, the girls pulling every minute out of the morning they could to remain together, so soon Max is on the plane and has a one hour flight to Seattle, spending most of the time writing in her journal.
The moment Max exits the plane she fulfills her promise, calling Chloe and reminding the blue haired beauty that she loves her. They talk on the phone a little as Max makes her way to baggage claim and then the pickup area, and when she spots her father's vehicle she has to end the call. Max has a laugh as she surprises Ryan, the man not recognizing his daughter until she's right next to the car. He has a lot of questions, and so does Vanessa when the two of them arrive home. Max is happy to spend the afternoon telling her parents every detail about the road trip between doing loads of laundry, and the couple couldn't be happier that Max is finally telling them she's in love.
The next morning almost feels surreal for Max, getting up and doing her regular morning routine before heading to school, as if Spring Break never happened. But it did, and all she has to do is text Chloe to be reminded of that. Kristen and Fernando have just as many questions about Spring Break, since Max canceled her plans with them at the last second to fly away, and the lovebird is more than happy to once again tell all about her dramatic adventure that led her to true love.
Max and Chloe stay in touch daily, and soon establish a single breach in Chloe's no emoji rule, Max allowed to send heart symbols but only when she texts 'I love you'. When the weekend comes they drive to Portland and meet as planned, spending Saturday afternoon together where, once again, Chloe totally rocks Max's world. It becomes a pattern over the next ten weeks, the girls only missing two weekends but seeing each other in the rest. Every time they meet the two of them further flesh out their future plans together, Chloe's abandonment and trust issues slowly eroding away under the constant stream of love and dedication coming from Max.
When school ends in June Max has a few long conversations with her parents, and over the phone with Chloe and Joyce. It takes some begging and pleading but Max succeeds in convincing her parents to allow Chloe to live with them in Seattle until other arrangements can be made, but Joyce decides she's going to stay down in Arcadia Bay. The idea of Joyce being alone down there makes Max feel guilty, so she dedicates some time to searching online dating sites and after some hours of searching finds a man in the next town over from Arcadia Bay. He's the right age, seems kind, and his wife died recently in a tragic accident. So, Max contacts him and tells him all about Joyce and the Two Whales Diner, hoping to play matchmaker and make up for what she took away from Joyce.
On Sunday, June 23rd the move finally happens and Chloe packs her pickup truck full of all her belongings. Max waits patiently in Seattle, giddy with excitement as she anticipates how wonderful the next few months will be living life with her one true love.