Gravity

Gravity 1

He's finally home, it's two in the morning and he managed to sneak out and hang with a few of his guy friends, just to get away from this family for the sake of his sanity.

He stumbled into the front door, trying to stable himself quickly and quietly. Carefully, he opens the door to his room and sighs in relief when he's safe and sound. No one would suspect a thing. Mission accomplished.

"Where have you been?"

Shit.

"Phoebe...what are you still doing up?" He's shocked but tries to play innocent.

"Answer the question Max." She crossed her arms over her chest.

He knows beating around the bush is hopeless. He's been caught, but better his sister than it being his parents.

"I was out with the guys." He slumps into his bed, in no mood for this interrogation when he's downright exhausted.

"Why are you sneaking out so much?" Phoebe's eyebrows narrow in concern.

"Because." He sighs and runs a hand through his unruly hair. "Because, I'm stressed out. I needed to get away."

"So you think coming home at two in the morning, smelling like a brewery is a good way to un-stress?" Her voice is heavy with disbelief.

"It's nothing, the guys and I had a few drinks. No big deal." She always gets like this, whenever he gives her a reason to scold him, she does. He hates it.

"Max, this has got to stop. You're putting yourself in danger."

"It's none of your business what I do. I'm seventeen, we're not little kids anymore."

She catches on to his sudden coldness, the fire in his eyes but doesn't say anything for a moment. "Well...then it's my bad for worrying about my brother, sorry." She bites.

"I never asked you to."

"It's hard not to Max...I care about you."

She takes a seat next him on the edge of his bed, trying to look at him to really take in how his face twisted in agony. This is the fourth time he had snuck out this week, she's been keeping tabs. She finally managed to catch and question him about it.

"What's really wrong?"

"Nothing." He bites out harshly.

"Max, if it's anything, you know you can tell me right?" She voices quietly with sweet tenderness, hand on his knee with warmth that creeps to his heart and stills his aggression dead in its tracks.

It's been weeks since they confessed to each other and decided that it would be best if they lived their lives as if nothing had ever changed between them.

But something did shift, something they can never take back. In the heat of the moment, a relentless argument, pent up frustration, raw heat and one thing led to the next. It was a mistake, that's what they told each other.

He doesn't want to feel this way but he does, it's wrong. There are no exceptions to this, even though it's something that he tries to keep in the back of his mind. Lately, he finds himself wanting more.

Phoebe has a pretty good idea what's eating him, it's been bothering her as well, but...no. It's forbidden, and she doesn't make the same mistake twice. No matter how many times she tries to convince herself of this, it doesn't calm the slowly growing need to be near him.

"You know what's wrong with me," He whispers, voice husky for reasons unknown to him. "...it's been so long."

"...Oh." It's so different hearing him cut to the chase and say it. Ignoring what his words mean, they can't go back there again. They agreed not to.

In one moment it feels like everything is slowly spiraling out of control. They stare deeply in each other's eyes, reading every desire, every drawn up emotion the other is feeling. Nothing else matters, but her being here with him.

Neither can tell who's leaning in, but their faces are slowly drawing closer.

"...We can't." She tries to protest but doesn't stop him when he cups her face. "This is a bad idea..." Her eyelids flutter shut.

Max pulls her forward into a heated kiss, full of want and need, tugging at her lower lip with his teeth before taking the briefest of seconds to shudder a puff of air against her cheek then kiss her again with every intention of letting her know what he feels for her is real.

Phoebe's hands go to his jaw, cupping his face and pulling him as close as she possibly can, opening her mouth under his with a tiny moan. Max loses his balance and he's on his back with her on top of him, hands everywhere from his hair to his chest and back again, pouring out every single pent up emotion she'd been repressing.

She moves over him, sitting up and dragging her hands heavily down his chest, feeling the ridges of his body through his thin V-neck. Heaven help her, she missed this. Shifting over him, she leans down slow, hands moving to either side of his head, and her hair falls in a thick curtain around their faces.

The bottom of her top has ridden up, and when the exposed strip of her stomach lays against his own, he sucks in a hard breath and he turns them so he's hovering over her.

Max watches her eyes slip shut when he digs his fingers into the skin over her ribs, flexing his fingers over her skin until they touch where her hipbones jut out about the waistband of her sweatpants. Her back arches, and she opens her eyes to give him a lazy, look of contentment.

It feels like forever ago but he still remembers what she likes, he still remembers all the little details. He lowers himself down on his hands and places an open kiss on the fluttering pulse in her neck.

Phoebe gasps and her fingernails embed themselves into the back of his neck, she loops a leg around his waist hitching their hips together. His eyes threaten to roll back in his head. He groans, dropping his forehead to her collarbone, the feeling of her pressed against him leaving him breathless.

"Shit." He groans, and rolls his hips into hers.

It's enough to make Phoebe come to her senses. She shoves at his shoulders, while trying to untangle their heap of limbs stuck together. Were they really willing to cross that line again, for the sake of a few raging hormones?

"I should go." She fumbles and tries to get him off her, but no avail.

"No." His grip on her waist tightens and he uses his weight to push her further into the mattress. "Stay."

"Max-"

"One night Phoebe, please. I want you...one night and we can move on, like it never happened." He pleads and runs his lips along the line of her collarbone.

"You said that the last time." She trembles underneath him.

"I mean it this time."

Can she really believe him? Is that even what she wants to hear? She did the best she could ignoring him, hoping her feelings would go away but they came back full force.

She doesn't want this, the back and forth but she's trapped between love and what's right. She knows the right thing to do is to leave before more damage could be done, before this becomes a habit they won't be able to break.

But Max is here and so willing with her, and the lines continue to blur. It's his fault. Her mind wants to blame him for all of this, if he would have just listened to her then they would have never had that stupid fight in the first place.

She would have never known what his lips felt like against her own or the thousand different sensations he could awaken when he touched her.

Phoebe is a good girl, who follows the rules. So why does something that is supposed to be wrong, feel so right? Something always brings her back to him and she doesn't want to think tonight, she doesn't want to judge.

"...Okay...just one night." She wraps her arms around his neck.