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Finally, it was over.
They could breathe again. Three days felt like a lifetime. Although uncertainty loomed over Max's future at Caledon, one thing was crystal clear: Chloe.
She was here, and her threat still lingered; the paradox. In time, she assumed they would study it with Moses and learn.
But right now with their hands intertwined, all Max could think about was how she had so much she wanted to say to her over these past three days, and now with seemingly all the time in the world, Max was at a loss for words.
Chloe, noticing that Max was deep in thought, squeezed her hand as they stood at the overlook, watching the fire consume the observatory.
“Hey, you okay?” Chloe whispered to Max’s side.
Max nodded without turning, “Yeah. I wish I could have done more.”
Chloe gave Max an apologetic smile and turned to look ahead, giving another squeeze as if to say you did everything you could.
Max knew it was true, yet she felt she could have done so much more. Nobody said anything as they watched the fire eat away at the observatory.
Max glanced at Moses who had an unreadable expression on his face. She felt the guilt gnawing at her chest at not being able to stop the fire; the observatory was Moses’s pride and joy.
"So... what's the plan?" Safi asked with a smile as she pulled out her lighter and lit her cigarette. She couldn't help but chuckle at the way Max shot her a disapproving look for smoking and for being the cause of the observatory fire.
“Hey, I think I could use a smoke after all this,” Safi said with a playful grin, catching Chloe’s curious glance. She offered her pack, Chloe chuckled and remarked, “Alright, why not?” as she took one.
“I think I’m overdue for a long conversation with my mom.” Safi said, watching as her mom sat at the bench with her hands clasped to her face. “What about you two?”
Max glanced over at Chloe, awaiting her answer.
“I’ll probably get on the road after a week or two, I need time to process all this shit. I still can’t actually believe we did it.”
Max agreed, “I can’t either, this feels so surreal.”
“I think when I get back home, I’m going to have a glass of red wine, take a bubble bath, and maybe write some poetry. I feel inspired,” Safi said, taking a long drag of her cigarette and exhaling into the cold night air.
Moses chuckled, shaking his head and removing his glasses for a moment to clean them. “I think I’m going to head back, it’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”
“Catch you later, Moses. Don’t forget you owe me that movie marathon,” Chloe said, sending a wink.
Moses laughed, “I haven’t forgotten.”
“Alright, lovebirds, I’m gonna go.” Safi said, clapping Moses on his shoulders and dragging him away.
Max watched as Moses, Safi and her mother headed down the clearing. Just leaving herself and Chloe.
Chloe was still smoking the remainder of her borrowed cigarette, she took a final drag and then crushed it under her boot. When she looked up Max was already staring at her face, not with judgment but a look with familiar aching intensity that made Chloe’s chest ache.
“So-” Chloe started holding her hand out
“I was thinking-” Max said at the same time.
They both stopped and chuckled, feeling a sense of deja vu at the moment. Chloe smiled and held out her hand again. “You go first.”
Max’s chest fluttered as she paced around before stopping at the railing, “Being with you these past three days has been-” she stopped, taking a glance over at Chloe who was waiting eagerly with that look of adoration Max had grown to love over the past couple of days.
“Everything I had hoped for, minus the destruction.” Max laughed moreso at herself, “Before you came back into my life, I was building up what I would say to you. I thought of a thousand ways to reply to your text message.”
Max let out a shaky sigh, “But now you’re here, and it’s all over. I can’t think of the right words anymore. That’s silly right?”
Chloe exhaled through her nose, and shook her head. “Not really, I feel the same. On my drive up here I had rehearsed everything I’d say to you. I had a hundred scenarios in my head of you shutting the door on me or turning me away.”
Max opened her mouth to speak but Chloe continued, “But you didn’t, somehow for some reason you took me in like nothing had happened, and I’m so grateful you did. I know I don’t deserve it, I know I don’t deserve you.”
“Chloe- that’s not true.” Max stepped closer, taking Chloe’s hand into her own. “You’ve done nothing but show me you care for me over these past three days.” Max ran her thumb over Chloe’s knuckle, “I wish I could have done more for you- you came here seeking help for your visions, and we haven’t done a thing.”
“You brought me to Moses… and Safi. It’s true I might still not know enough about what this all means, but we’re on the right path. Moses has already been working on some techniques to help me. I’m not going to let this paradox shit take me out.”
Max wore her signature apologetic pout, an expression that tugged at Chloe’s heartstrings. *God, I’ve missed that look,* she thought, feeling a rush of nostalgia wash over her.
“Hey,” Chloe placed her hands on Max’s shoulders, “It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I’ll stick around, be Moses’s lab rat for a few more days. Help with the cleanup. I told the girls I’d be gone for a few weeks. I can stay…If that’s okay with you.” Chloe felt nervous asking this of Max; she didn’t want to assume she’d overstayed her welcome.
“Of course, Chloe. I was actually hoping you would stay,” Max replied almost instantly.
“Great.” Chloe said with a grin that was too wide, “So uhm… Think we could head back to your place? Getting a little cold here.”
Max’s breath hitched; she hadn’t even been back at the Hellerton House since two days ago. Admittedly, her bed was calling her. “Yeah. Yeah, let's go. You must be exhausted after staying up with Moses all night yesterday.”
“A little, I’m more wired after all this adrenaline.” Chloe laughed, putting an arm around Max as they walked down the clearing towards the campus parking lot.
Max had much more to say, but this was a start. With Chloe staying, she felt comforted knowing they could finally talk it all out without urgency.
“So, you’re a manager now?” Max said with a teasing tone
“How’d you know?”
“I uh, may have snooped in your bag for your keys a few days ago and came across your journal.”
Chloe laughed, “Classic Max. You remember that little band I used to work the merch table for?”
“Of course I do, you were so happy to get a job doing something you loved. Drugstore Makeup, right?”
Chloe held her hand to her chest and let out an exaggerated gasp, “Wow, Max, I’m flattered you remember that much. But yeah, Izzie came to me with a proposition after her last manager kept fucking things up for them.”
“I had no experience with that shit but, I couldn’t stand to see Izzie and the girls getting fucked over again and again. Her last manager was some bum who knew nothing about queer culture. So, I stepped in.”
“That is so incredibly Chloe of you.” Max chuckled, unlinking their hands as they approached Chloe’s truck.
“You know me, turns out I have a knack for this thing.” She held open the passenger door for Max and gestured with her other hand.
She climbed into the truck and felt a wave of nostalgia as she admired how much character Chloe’s vehicle seemed to possess. Stickers that had countless stories, the faint scent of weed and cigarettes lingered. A pirate flag, upholstered on the roof caught her eye. It stirred something deep within Max. This was a life that Chloe had crafted without her, and it made her heart ache a little.
Chloe noticed Max looking, “You admiring my wheels?”
“Mhh.” Max nodded.
How long had it been since their breakup? She wanted to say it felt like yesterday Chloe walked out of her life with how familiar everything felt but looking at the signs of a life lived without one another it was glaringly obvious time was cruel. *I suppose it’s been two to three years now.*
She looked over at Chloe as she drove, really looked. She was thirty now, Max looked for signs of a life without her, maybe a new scar? but saw only the face she knew better than her own. Despite everything, Chloe was still Chloe.
“Max, I can see you staring at me you know.”
“Sorry, I just- I think it’s just settling in I finally have a moment to breathe and just.. Take things in.”
“Hey, it’s okay. Take all the time you want. You earned it.” Chloe patted Max’s shoulder for a moment before turning her attention back to the road, “It’s a left here right?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s on your mind?” Chloe asked, one hand on the wheel as she drove down the straight road ahead.
“How much time has passed since we… broke up. How long has it been?” Max asked, fidgeting with the ring on her finger.
“Hmm… I think about two years? Give or take.” Chloe said casually, stopping at a light.
“Oh, I thought so. Feels like yesterday.”
Max watched Chloe’s hand grip the steering wheel tighter. “I regret it, you know? Leaving you like that.”
“I know you do.” Max said quietly.
“No, you don’t. It was pathetic. I should have just talked to you… but how can you just talk to someone who has an instant redo on any moment in life?”
Max was silent, “You did the right thing.”
“What?!” Chloe exclaimed, turning with a furrowed brow.
“Whose to say I wouldn’t have rewound if you told me to my face?” Max continued staring down at her hands.
“You wouldn’t have, I know it. It was me, I was fucking paranoid. Looking back, it’s so stupid.” Chloe tapped on her steering wheel, watching as the light turned green.
“Leaving you like that on Valentine's Day, I-I can’t forgive myself for it,” Chloe said, her voice cracking. “You just wanted to settle down with me, and I- fuck, I ruined everything.”
Max stared ahead. Finally, this was the conversation she had been waiting for with Chloe. It was strange. She thought she would be angry remembering how Chloe left her, but now only her heart ached for the time they had missed. “I cried so much in that motel room after you left me. It took me days and weeks to finally get out of that rut. Maybe it took me years. I don’t even know.”
Max bit her lip and continued, “But I also know you’ve grown. Chloe, you’re a band manager whom the band probably adores you from everything you’ve told me.” She looked at all the stickers on the dashboard, “And this,” Max gestured. “Proof of a life you’ve lived without me.”
Chloe shook her head, “On fucking autopilot, I wanted nothing more than to call you…” she sighed heavily. “But I didn’t.”
“You’re here now. That’s what counts.”
“Max, you're too good to me.” Chloe reached over, squeezing Max’s hand as she pulled up outside Hellerton House.
Max smiled softly, a warmth spreading through her. That was an understatement. Chloe meant everything to her; Chloe was truly her entire world. And Max would bend reality time and time again for her.
“Come on, let's get you inside before you fall asleep.”
“I’m not tired,” Max said, staring at Hellerton House up ahead.
“Could have fooled me, you’re zoning out.”
“Just thinking.”
“Then let's think inside your warm, cozy house.” Chloe laughed, turning the engine off. She stepped out of her truck and walked around to open the door for Max.
“It’s crazy to think the last time I was here was at the start of my existential crisis.” Chloe laughed, tucking her hands into her pockets as she followed Max to the door.
“I knew, by the way.” Chloe said, watching Max head to the door.
“Knew what?” Max turned the key in the lock, opening the door. Stepping aside for Chloe.
“That you were watching me sleep.”
Max opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it and turned to shut the door. “I-I was not!” an obvious lie, she was watching her sleep; it was hard not to be awestruck by Chloe Price sleeping in your bed.
“Hey, I would have done the same. Had I not been exhausted beyond belief.” She chuckled and ran her hand through her hair, removing her jacket, which had been practically glued to her at this point. She didn’t fail to notice Max’s eyes scanning every inch of her arms once she placed the jacket down.
“You have another tattoo,” Max stated as a matter of fact, pointing at Chloe’s upper arm tattoo.
“You should see the one on my back,” Chloe teased, but soon faltered as she noticed that Max’s expression turned sad. “Max?”
“Sorry, I just... It’s not that it doesn’t look incredibly cool. It’s more like, when I see you, I expect you to be just like I remember... but then reality sinks in that you’ve lived this life…without me.”
“Max,” Chloe approached, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “I may look a little different, but I’m still me. I’m still your Chloe.”
“I know, it’s stupid of me to be getting upset over you looking hot.” Max let out a half-laugh, half-sigh over the absurdity of it all.
She was staring down at the ground when she felt Chloe’s hand reach for her cheek and cup her face.
“I mean it Max, these past three days have been… wonderful, incredible. Being with you again like this, I wouldn’t trade anything for it.”
Max looked up, her blue eyes meeting Chloe’s, filled with genuine sincerity. When she saw Chloe like this, she was reminded of their childhood, of the days when she would spend hours playing in her room.
When they were young and had no idea of what the future would hold for them, playing pirates in the yard with her captain Bluebeard. *I suppose it’s greenbeard now* Max snickered internally to herself.
Chloe continued, snapping Max out of her thoughts, “And… that kiss? At the observatory? Felt like air, like I could breathe again. Like I had found my missing piece.”
“Chloe,” Max rested her cheek against Chloe’s palm, letting her warmth overcome her. “I wanted so badly to run back up those steps and kiss you again.”
Chloe laughed, “You should have, you goober.”
“But there was so much going on, with the investigation… the riots and protests, I wanted to spend so much more time with you, and when I almost lost you on that roof I-”
“Hey,” Chloe held Max’s chin, gently guiding Max to look up at her. “I'm here.” Her thumb caressed Max’s cheek, wiping away a small tear that was welling from her eyes.
“I told you, you’ll have to do a lot more to get rid of me.” Chloe laughed, and then her eyes flickered to Max’s lips. Once she looked back up Max was glancing at Chloe’s lips.
That was all Chloe needed to take that next step. She leaned her head down and kissed Max softly, stopping for a moment to see Max try to impatiently kiss again with a grin. She pressed their lips back together, her arm wrapping around Max’s waist as they got lost in the kiss. Chloe guided them towards the wall, bracing them against it as she kissed Max with more intensity than the kiss at the observatory.
“Chloe…” Max sighed as they parted, chasing Chloe’s lips for another kiss, but she only grinned before running her thumb over Max’s swollen lips. “Is this okay?” she asked.
Max let out a sound that could only be described as a half-moan. “I-I missed you so much.”
That tugged at Chloe’s heartstrings; she knew, God, she knew Max missed her. Fuck, she missed her too. “I know. Me too, baby.”
The moment Chloe said it- Baby. Something had ignited in Max. Chloe saw it in her eyes. She worried she’d overstepped or it was too soon, “S-Sorry, was that too much?”
“No, I… missed you calling me that.” Max stammered quickly, not wanting Chloe to get the wrong idea. “I like it.”
“Well, good.” Chloe grinned, squeezing her tighter against her waist. Her eyes trailed upward at the stairs leading to Max’s room.
Max knew what Chloe was asking without words; she wordlessly grabbed Chloe’s hand and led her up the stairs, noticing how Chloe seemed to be nervous, which Max found adorable.
“Max, we don’t have to if you don’t want to-”
Max interrupted her with a kiss. “I want to, I really, really want to.”
Chloe’s grin was wide; she knew Max wouldn’t say no, but she felt like she had to put it out there. Her fingers tucked underneath Max’s green jacket, making it slide down her arms. “Just checking.”
Her bare fingers traced the skin of her shoulders, and then she noticed Max was shaking. “Max, you okay?”
“Y-Yeah…” she leaned into Chloe, resting her face against her neck. “I just can’t believe you're here, I-I never thought you’d touch me again like this…I can hardly anticipate it.”
She felt Chloe exhale deeply at that and felt her chin being tilted up. They locked eyes, and Max saw a look of total desire in her eyes. “You really know what to say to rile me up.” Her eyes flicked down to Max’s lips again, and they kissed, this time deeper as Chloe directed them to the bed.
If you’d ask Max from a year ago what she’d be doing, making out with her bad girl ex was the last thing she would have expected. But here she was, being pushed onto the mattress as Chloe climbed over her.
Max’s fingers clenched her pillow as Chloe kissed down her neck, admiring the constellation of freckles dusting her chest before she sat up and tugged at Max’s t-shirt, helping her lift it over her head and discarding it on the floor. Her hands moved quickly, reaching down for Max’s pant button.
She swiftly removed Max’s pants and tossed them on the floor. Her eyes briefly surveyed Max’s body, dressed only in her bra and underwear. “Max, you’re beautiful.”
Max reached up, her hands running down Chloe’s arms, and she stopped at her waist, putting a finger into her belt, tugging her closer. Chloe directed Max further up the bed and parted her thighs gently as she settled herself between her.
She crashed her lips against Max in a searing kiss as Max began to unbuckle her belt, letting it dangle on her hips as Max slid her hand down Chloe’s boxers, she gasped and broke the kiss. “Shit Max…”
Max was nibbling on her lip as she watched Chloe’s pleasured expression as she ran her fingers over her swollen clit. Her expression turned into a look of frustration as she tugged Max’s hand away and pulled her closer by the hips. She lifted her band t-shirt over her head and tugged her own pants off, leaving just her boxers on as she settled between Max’s thighs and kissed her lips roughly.
Max grinned against her kiss, her fingernails lightly scratching along Chloe’s back as she ground into her a little.
It was a mess of teeth clashing and gasping for air as they kissed with desperation, as if they were trying to make up for lost time. Chloe pulled away, gasping loudly as she stared down at Max, who was panting heavily with swollen lips. “Fuck, you look so hot right now baby.” Chloe groaned when she felt Max tug at her emerald hair and pull her back down for a kiss.
Somehow, while kissing, Chloe had managed to remove Max’s bra and was kneading her breast with one hand and rolling a nipple with her thumb and finger on the other.
Max pulled apart to let out a moan, Chloe was running a mile a minute, and her mouth was on her nipple before she could even process her fingers.
She ran her tongue over the bud and gazed up with a look of lust as she spoke, “Tell me you thought about this, about me with you… after all this time.”
Max let out a shaky breath as she felt Chloe’s hands trailing down her stomach and stopping just shy of the waistband of her panties. She nodded, “I-I did… so many times. Chloe, you have no idea.”
Countless times, she couldn’t even count how many. She had tried so hard to forget Chloe and move on, but even with Amanda, her mind kept returning to her first love.
Max couldn’t stop the tears from falling in that moment; she didn’t mean to ruin the moment but was overwhelmed with emotion. Chloe quickly sat up and said, “Hey, hey… it’s okay,” gently reaching out to caress her cheek.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to-”
Chloe kissed her gently, smiling down at her warmly. “You didn’t, don’t be ashamed Max. This is natural, I mean… we have so much fucked up baggage between us… What’s some breakup sex without some ugly sobbing and crying?” She laughed and kissed Max again for emphasis. “I love you, there’s no rushing this, okay? We’ve got all the time in the world.”
Max nodded, a smile on her face as she let her fingers trace Chloe’s features, her freckles that had become darker with age. Her cheekbones had become softer. Her eyes were a calming blue-ish gray. That was when Max realized that she hadn’t stopped loving Chloe for a single moment.
“Do you want to stop?” Chloe asked again,
“No, please… don’t stop.” Max pulled Chloe down again for a kiss; her desire was reaching a boiling point Max had never felt this worked up before, it was surprising even to herself.
“Good,” Chloe grinned between their kisses, “I really want this too.” her hand slid into her panties, and to nobody's surprise, Max was soaked. She let out a muffled moan from Chloe’s lips as her fingers gently caressed her clit.
“Fuck Max, you’re soaking.” Chloe bit down on her lip as she watched Max’s eyes flutter open and shut from the slightest touch.
“You’re not joking, you’re really wound up.”
Max laughed, playfully shoving Chloe’s shoulder as she lifted her arm over her face to hide her embarrassment. “I told you I was.”
“Hmm, it’s hot.”
Max had little time to be embarrassed as Chloe was pressing her face into the fabric of Max’s panties. She inhaled slightly and let out a shaky moan. “Holy shit…”
Max wordlessly reached down to hold Chloe’s hand as she watched with flushed cheeks, as Chloe pulled her soaked panties aside and with a single look for the go-ahead, she ran her tongue over Max’s glistening folds.
Max clenched tightly onto Chloe’s hand and let out a loud moan as Chloe’s tongue ran circles over her clit. “C-Chloe…”
Max let her head fall back on the pillow. How long had she dreamt of this moment? How many nights had she pined over Chloe for it all to lead up to this moment?
She felt Chloe squeeze her hand and looked down to see Chloe tugging her panties down her legs, giving her a wink that felt like an arrow to the heart. Max grinned, lifting her legs to kick off her garment before Chloe settled back between her legs, kissing along her thigh.
Max hadn’t realized she was biting her own hand in anticipation as she watched Chloe flatten her tongue and drag it through her slit. Her mouth hung open at the action, her hand shakily reaching down to grip onto Chloe’s hair.
“Fuck, you taste so good.” Chloe mumbled against her, or at least that’s what Max assumed she said.
Max felt Chloe shift a little before she realized that Chloe was moving her arm beneath her own body. Chloe was touching herself while eating her out. Max groaned as she took in the sight, there was something so erotic about seeing Chloe pleasure herself from the act of giving.
“Do you like it?” Chloe asked, pulling away to breathe for a moment. “Do you like watching me touch myself from eating you out?”
Max groaned and nodded. She was so near, and Chloe had barely been on her for more than five minutes. But she couldn’t help it, not when Chloe was desperately rubbing her hand into her boxers.
“Please, keep looking at me with those doe eyes..." Chloe groaned as she maintained eye contact with Max, flicking her tongue side to side. Anything to evoke that look of pleasure on her face.
“Chloe…”
“Y-Yeah?” Chloe’s voice was shaky as she looked up at Max, god she looked so desperate like that. Her mouth and chin covered in her slick and going at herself.
“I want to feel you.” Chloe’s hand stopped; she knew immediately what Max meant by that. She sat up suddenly and pushed her boxers down, before leaning down to kiss Max.
Max gasped against the kiss as she could taste herself on Chloe’s tongue. Chloe smirked, already knowing it. “Can you taste it?”
“Yeah…” Max licked at Chloe’s chin, her hands bracing Chloe’s hips as she felt her hands positioning her thighs open.
Chloe held onto one leg as she glanced down at Max’s face, “God, I missed you so fucking much.”
Max might have been overwhelmed by the sweetness of the moment if it weren’t for Chloe pressing against her. The first contact of their clits made Max’s toes curl, her fingers gripping Chloe’s hip as she moved into her. “Fuck!” Chloe groaned, sweat sliding down her forehead.
“Max, d-does that feel good?”
Max's eyebrows were deeply furrowed as she struggled to match Chloe’s quick pace. Both of them were so soaked that Max couldn't tell where she ended and Chloe began. Only that it felt incredibly amazing. “Yes, yes… you feel so good Chloe.”
Chloe gripped tighter onto Max’s thigh and ground down harder, almost whimpering at the feel of it. “Max… I-I’ve wanted this for so long.”
Max reached up, holding onto Chloe’s hand, releasing her death grip on her thigh to interlink their fingers. “Show me… how much you’ve missed me.”
Something flicked a switch in Chloe then, she braced her knuckles either side of Max on the bed and ground down on her roughly, skin on skin slapping from the force of it. The sound was only drowned out by the combined moaning.
Chloe tightly gripped the bed sheets, nearly grimacing from the overwhelming sensation. All it took was to look at Max’s pleasure-filled face as she rocked her pelvis into hers. Max crying her name, hanging her mouth wide open, “I love you!”
Chloe came with a choked cry, which Max followed shortly after. Both gasping for air and limbs aching from the awkward positions, Chloe sat up, wincing as she moved and lay next to Max, letting out a sigh of contentment. “Damn…That was-”
“Fucking incredible?” Max finished, her face was beaming with the hot red flush of an afterglow.
“Yeah, you took the words right out of my mouth,” Chloe smirked and pulled Max into her arms.
Max was quiet for a moment before she spoke, “Chloe…”
“Yeah?”
“Where do we go from here? I mean, you and me?” she looked up at Chloe from her chest.
“I don’t know, anywhere, nowhere… as long as it’s with you. We’ll deal with it when it comes to it, right now Max I just want to spend my time here with you, at Caledon.”
“Then we’ll hit the road again. I can’t wait for you to meet Izzie, Bash and Marisol. You’ll love them, I know it.”
“What if they don’t love me?”
“Baby, who doesn’t love you? You’ve got everyone at this campus falling for you.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“I’m not! Have you seen the way Amanda still looks at you? And that Vinh dude? Not to mention Safi, Max… I’m kinda jealous of all these girls falling for you.”
Max held her tongue; she did notice it. “Okay, but isn’t it going to be weird when you come back to the group and some random girl’s with you?”
Chloe sat up with a look of mock shock on her face, “Excuse me, you are not some random girl, Max Caulfield.”
“You know what I mean,” Max shook her wrist, despite her words, a smile was creeping on her face.
“I already told them.”
“What?!”
“I already texted them, told 'em I’d be coming back with you.”
“Well, damn, I'd better pack my bags.” Max grinned, curling up to Chloe. The fact that Chloe was already thinking about them, their future, made her feel more assured that this time they would get things right.