The Usual... A Max Schneider Fan Fiction

Chapter Fifteen: His Own Drawer

~ You spin me like a record player, you get to my caramel layer ~


Chapter Fifteen: His Own Drawer


"Licorice!" I giggled, beginning to chew at a normal pace. Max laughed, watching me cutely.

"You actually like licorice?" he asked. I nodded a little, grabbing another from the few jellybeans in his hand.

"They're one of my favorites," I admitted. "Is that weird?"

Max just chuckled, kissing my cheek. "Just a little," he laughed. "But it's cute."

I giggled again, watching his smile turn loving. I adored this, just lazing around in his bed, talking, feeding each other jellybeans and guessing each flavor; it was effortless. I loved the way Max's eyes seemed brightest when they were trained on me, loved the way his smiles could go from being adoring, to being innocent and hesitant, to being ridiculously sexy, in less than a perfect instant.

"Green apple?" he guessed, bringing me back to reality. I smiled and nodded, looking up at him where he laid on his side facing me, his head propped up in his hand. I laid on my back beside him, watching him pick through the bunch he hand in his hand and finally deciding on one. "Close your eyes," he told me, laughing lightly. I chuckled and did as he said, parting my lips slightly and waiting patiently for him to deposit a jellybean into my mouth.

Instead of a jellybean though, I felt his lips against mine. I let out a soft gasp as I reacted, feeling his quiet smirk against the kiss as I reached up to cup his cheek in my hand. He'd all but stopped asking for permission when it came to his tongue, each kiss we were alone usually immediately becoming a mission of his to become as accustomed to my mouth as he could get. I wasn't complaining though, actually far from it, loving how comfortable and confident he was getting in the course of our relationship. There were still certain things he was hesitant about, no doubt an indirect fault of Adeline's, but he was getting there; he was easing up, little by little.

Max kissed me slower, suddenly savoring every single moment, almost as if he was afraid I'd slip away if he moved any faster, his hand holding himself up on the mattress beside my head. My other hand found his neck, my thumb tracing lightly over his strong jawline, letting his frame hover slightly over mine.

His breathing was staggered when he finally pulled away, resting his forehead gently in between my shoulder and head, his breath on my neck. Max pressed a tiny kiss right below my ear, causing goosebumps to ripple through my body. My fingers absently carded through his brown curls, watching him close his eyes and smile to himself.

"I love you..." he murmured against my skin. I chuckled, kissing the top of his head.

"I love you too, Max," I assured him gently. "Heaven, by the way."

Max looked up at me and furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

I smiled. "The 'jellybean' flavor," I said, referring to his soft and sweet kiss. "The flavor was heaven."

Max laughed a little, catching on and slowly sitting up. "I don't know that I'd go that far," he said, his face tinting a sweet red color. I chuckled and leaned up and forward, pressing my lips against his pink cheek.

"I would," I told him sweetly, entangling my fingers in his. He smiled a little, bringing me closer and pressing a shorter, softer kiss to my lips, before pulling away and instead tucking a jellybean into my mouth. I laughed and chewed, thinking a little as I reached for the bag.

"Watermelon?" I guessed. Max nodded and smiled, watching me pick one from the vast bag. "So I have a question," I said, watching him. My boyfriend nodded, leaning back on his bed and running his fingers through his hair.

"Shoot, baby," he said, winking playfully. I bit my lip, watching him.

"So," I began. "I have this theory," I said. "And I wanna test it."

Max nodded. "Test away, lovely."

I smiled, leaning forward and taking his chin in my thumb and first finger. He sucked in a quiet breath, suddenly not so confident when I was the one leaning over him. I slowly guided his mouth open, placing the candy in his mouth and closing his jaw again, watching him as he slowly chewed.

"Cherry," he breathed, the candy still in his mouth. I smiled and nodded, before closing my eyes and kissing him again. His hand came up to press against my cheek, his thumb tracing gently over my cheek bone as he let me deepen it, his reaction obvious as his surprise manifested in his actions, fighting back a bit too late as he tried to maintain a playfully spoken dominance. He laughed lightly as he realized his efforts were in vain, letting me take control as his other hand found my waist. He traced the visible parts of my tattoo at the front of my hip, making me work to maintain control as I pulled away.

"Just as I thought," I smiled, leaning back. Max evened out his breathing, watching me.

"What?" he asked. I laughed, kissing his cheek.

"Your lips," I stated. "They fasted like cherries."

Max just smiled, tucking my hair behind my ear and lovingly kissing my forehead.

Hours later, I found out nothing is worse than shifting over and over again in bed, therefor disturbing your partner's peaceful sleep.

Max let out a quiet groan as he realized he wasn't holding me, reaching out his fingers for my body. He sighed when he felt the cold sheets next to him, slowly lifting his head from his pillow and looking around his room, his eyes eventually falling on me, sitting on his window bench.

"Symphony...?" he mumbled sleepily. I couldn't help but smile at how cute he was, wrapping my arms tighter around my legs, my knees pulled up to my chest.

"Go back to bed, baby," I murmured, watching him. Max shook his head, slowly making himself sit up.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, his words slurred and tired. The covers fell away from his body, leaving his chest bare and exposing his strong torso. I bit my lip, looking away from him and out his window.

Max sighed a little. "Talk to me, little dove," he spoke, his voice soothing. I heard him shift again, before he sat in front of me on the bench, setting his hand on my foot. I shrugged a little, still looking out the window at his breathtaking view of Chicago.

"Just can't sleep," I told him quietly, resting my cheek on my knee. Max came closer, his brown eyes sleepy.

"How come?" he asked, kissing my arm and resting his face against it so all that was visible was from his nose up. The way his eyes stared up at me was enough to make me melt, watching the adoring way he ran his thumb along my arm, the way his breath tickled lightly against my skin.

"Insomnia, I guess," I said. "I really don't know, baby."

Max frowned, kissing my arm again. "I'm sorry, lovely," he whispered. "Not even letting me hold you is helping?"

I frowned. "Unfortunately not," I said. "Lay back down through," I told him. "You've gotta get up soon."

Max slowly nodded, standing. He gathered me up in his arms before I got the chance to object, setting my body on his side of the bed and kissing my forehead. He crawled over to me and enveloped me in his warm arms, swaddling us together in a blanket and cradling me in his soft embrace. "Try to sleep," he coaxed. "Close those pretty green eyes of yours and rest your head on my chest... Let me sing you into slumber."

I slowly nodded, resting myself against him and curling into his warm body. "Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep..." he murmured. "Dreamin' about the things that we could be. Lately, I've been, I've been prayin' hard... Said no more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars."

I smiled a little, listening to him hum into my ear. I felt my breathing evening out, my body slowly feeling the wear and falling into a slow slumber. I was on the edge of quiet, peaceful sleep, before I felt Max kiss my forehead and cuddle me closer.

"You don't even understand how much you mean to me," he whispered sweetly, his breath in my ear. "Another chance to fall in blissful love with a beautiful young woman, this time one who loves me just as deeply I love her..." Max let out a small laugh. "You're like my guardian angel."

Max laughed again. "I love you, little dove," he whispered. "So much..."

I didn't get to tell him I loved him too before I finally fell asleep.

* * * * *

The way he moved was borderline cruelty.

Max was nothing less than beautiful, strange as it sounded. His body moved in the most extraordinary ways, rippling in waves of perfection and easy touches that drove me insane. He could touch my shoulder and look at me with those brown eyes, and I was instantly at his total mercy, though from the way he acted he had no idea he had that kind of effect on me.

It was most definitely cruel.

"Symphony?" he called me back to the moment with him the next night, slowly taking my hips and helping me down off the chair. I didn't protest, letting him slide his arms around my waist as we looked at the work we'd done; a large, non-synthetic tree sat in the corner of my living room, decorated in blues and whites with silver garland tracing its shape. White lights poked curiously out of the branches, making me smile slightly and nod my head gently at the beautiful Christmas tree Max had spent all evening helping me decorate.

"We did good, baby," he told me, kissing the top of my head. I chuckled and nodded, looking up at him and smiling. He grinned and pecked my lips, squeezing my hip.

"How's it coming, guys?" Lucas asked, coming into the living room and into the kitchen. Max and I turned and smiled at him, laughing a little as he looked behind us at the green foliage in my living room. "Oh!" Lucas grinned. "It looks beautiful!"

Sophie came running in from the kitchen behind him. "Aw, it does!"

Max and I laughed as he took my hand, guiding me towards the kitchen. "Dinner ready?" I asked. Sophie nodded, grabbing Lucas and following us.

"Homemade baked macaroni and cheese with bacon," Sophie announced, clapping. We all made happy noises of hunger as she and I began serving, setting plates around the table while I poured drinks. Max grabbed me mid-pour, placing a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Hey there, cutie," he chuckled, kissing me for a gentle moment. I giggled, biting my lip.

"Hi," I greeted, feeling him move his hand to tilt my chin up to look at me better. He nuzzled his nose against mine and kissed me again, longer this time, his lips lingering lightly on mine.

"Hungry, darlin'?" I asked, handing him a glass of Sprite. He smiled and nodded, kissing my forehead and walking over to the table. I followed him and let him pull my chair out for me, pushing me in before taking a seat beside me.

"This is soo good, Sophie," I said, taking a bite. She smileda little and thanked me, blushing a bit and chuckling to herself.

"So can I ask a question?" Max said, looking up at me and Lucas as we ate.

Lucas nodded. "Ask away," I said. Max swallowed, taking a sip of his drink before speaking again.

"What do the two of you typically do for Christmas?" he asked, looking over at me specifically. I shrugged, pushing my hair from my face.

"We normally have our own little Christmas here," Lucas said. "Then we have dinner at Dad's that night."

Max slowly nodded, looking over at me and smiling a little. I furrowed my eyebrows, cocking my head at him. "Why do you ask?" I spoke, watching my boyfriend. His brown eyes lit up as he kissed my forehead, laughing a bit.

"I'll talk to you about it later, baby," he assured, winking at me cutely. I nodded, settling back into conversation with Sophie and Lucas, Max following suit after a moment or two.

"Gosh, that was great, Soph," Lucas told his girlfriend, leaning over and kissing her temple. Sophie turned pink and thanked him, watching Lucas and Max stand and begin gathering dishes to wash.

"You girls go on into the living room," Max said, nodding in the direction he spoke of. "Let me and Lucas do the cleaning."

I smiled and nodded without protest, grabbing Sophie's hand and leading her to my couch. She laughed a little, pushing her hair from her face sitting down beside me.

"So," I said, raising my eyebrows and watching her. Sophie laughed, looking over at me.

"He spent the night we me last night," she told me quietly, referring to Lucas and biting the inside of her cheek as she spoke. I laughed, making childish 'oooh' noises as I poked her side. She chuckled, swatting me playfully.

"We didn't have sex or anything though," she told me. "He said you might think we had."

I shrugged, watching her. "It's not my business," I told her. "I was curious, but it wasn't my place to ask."

Sophie chuckled, looking over at Lucas before looking back at me. "Well," she said. "Now you know."

I grinned, poking her cheek. "You guys are cute," I said. She laughed, thanking me quietly before Lucas and Max came into the room, joking and shoving each other.

"Bunch of cuties," Max smiled at us, sitting on the other side of me and pulling me swiftly into his lap. I laughed lightly, letting his arms wrap around my waist and his hands rest over my stomach, mine falling over his and my fingers tracing along his knuckles.

Lucas smiled as he offered his hand to Sophie, helping her up. "We're gonna head out," he told us, kissing her cheek as she stood. "I'm gonna get her home and all."

Max and I nodded as Lucas looked to my boyfriend. "Are you staying here tonight?" he asked. Max yawned a little, nodding.

"Most likely," he said, kissing the tip of my nose. "I see no reason not to."

Lucas chuckled and nodded. "Then I'll see you both tomorrow," he said, leaning forward and ruffling my hair. I laughed and swatted him away, making him grin. "Night, sweetie."

I smiled, waving as he began guiding Sophie towards my front door. "Bye, loser!" I called. "See you around, Soph!"

Sophie called her goodbye and Max yelled his, before my front door shut, leaving Max and I in the quiet. I sighed a little and curled into his chest, kissing his shoulder and grasping his t-shirt in my fingers.

"So you're staying tonight?" I asked, feeling his arms tighten their gentle grip around me. He nodded and smiled down at me, kissing my nose.

"Yeah," he told me, biting his lip. "I like staying with you," he said. "I like waking up with my arms wrapped around your waist, with your breath on my chest."

I chuckled a little. "Good," I told him. "I sleep better when you're beside me."

Max grinned. "So about my question earlier during dinner..."

I sat up a little. "Oh yeah," I said. "What was that about?"

Max's fingers tapped a soft, unknown rhythm out on my thighs as he thought for a moment. "Well," he said. "Typically, I go home for about a week before Christmas," he told me. "Home as in New York."

I slowly nodded, and he continued. "You see, my mom called me the other night," he spoke. "And she's been bugging me lately about wanting to meet you, and since you said you don't normally do anything except on Christmas, I was wondering if maybe you'd want to..." Max paused, watching me sheepishly. "Maybe you'd want to come back to New York with me for a week, to meet my family."

I slowly sat up, watching my boyfriend's face. "You don't have to," he told me. "I understand if you're not comfortable with it, but it's something I'd like for you to do at some point, and I thought Christmas was a good excuse since I don't go out there much, and-"

I silenced Max by putting my hand over his mouth and kissing his cheek. "Max," I smiled, knotting my fingers in his hair. He looked at me as if he was ready for me to shoot the idea down point-blank, but I just chuckled, nodding a little. "Yes, baby," I said. "I'll go back to New York with you to meet your family."

Max's face broke out into a grin as he hugged me, burying his face in my hair. "Yay," he laughed a little, his words muffled. "I was afraid you'd say no."

I giggled. "I can't say no," I admitted. "Not about something you're so sincere and excited about."

Max smiled, shifting me out of his lap and laying me down across the couch, swiftly hovering over me. I laughed as he grinned, gently pressing those perfectly warm lips against mine, enveloping me in a sweet kiss. I teased him, denying him access not once, but twice when he'd subtly asked with a light trace from his tongue, but I caved on the third attempt, letting him gain control and begin to fondly tease me, flickering his tongue in and out of my mouth playfully. I giggled quietly against his mouth as my fingers absently carded through his hair, making Max all but melt under my touch. Max began tracing his touch up and down my side, letting me pull him closer as a small part of his weight settled around my waist. His fingers lightly tugged at my hair, making me tilt my head back slightly and offer a quiet, low moan from the back of my throat.

Max suddenly tensed at my noise, his kiss growing more guarded. He didn't stop, but found a hesitancy he hadn't really had over then past day or two. I pulled him back, breaking our kiss and taking his face in my hands. Max avoided my gaze, making me frown.

"Are you okay?" I asked gently, trying to regain my breath as I ran my fingers along his cheek. He offered me a tiny smile and nodded, finally meeting my stare after a long, loud silence.

"I'm alright," he promised me softly. "I just didn't..." Max paused for a few moments, biting his lip. "It's just been a while," he finally whispered.

I slowly nodded, understanding dawning over my mind and feeling my heart begin to hurt for my boyfriend. "It's not like I'm gonna push you," I told him softly. Max tried his best to smile, shrugging.

"I know," he told me, meeting my eyes again. "I don't want you to think anything to do with you is holding me back..."

I chuckled. "I know it isn't," I assured him. "You gave your virginity to Adeline, didn't you?"

Max bit his lip, and for the first time since the night he told me about her, a slow tear trailed down his cheek. "Yeah," he answered, though I already knew. "I did."

I smiled assuringly, kissing his lips for a sweet second, before pulling away. "I get it," I murmured. "Don't let me pressure you, okay? I want to make sure you're okay before anything ever gets too far."

Max slowly nodded, settling most of his weight on my body and resting his face in my neck. I went back to playing with his hair, soothing him and allowing his body to rest and relax across mine.

"I love you, Max," I whispered, kissing his forehead. Max smiled a little, nuzzling deeper into my neck and letting his hand find my side and come to rest there.

"I love you too, Symphony," he murmured, looking up at me. "More than you realize."

I smiled as he slowly retracted his body from mine, standing and offering me his hand. I took it and complied as he pulled me up, entangling his body with mine as he hugged me tightly.

"I should probably call my mom and tell her you're coming," he said, his thumb running along my shoulder. "But I kind of just wanna go lay down and watch a movie with you."

I smiled, leaning up and kissing his nose. "You can do both," I assured, grinning. "I can make popcorn while you call her. How's that sound?"

Max slowly smiled and nodded, leaving a long lingering peck on my lips before making his way for his phone, leaving me to go make popcorn. He followed me into the kitchen as he pressed the phone to his ear, sliding his arm around my waist as I waited for the kernels to pop.

"Hi, Mom," he greeted, resting his chin on my shoulder. I could clearly hear his mom through the speaker, having no shame in listening as she greeted him back.

"So that thing we talked about earlier?" he spoke. "About Simmy going up with me to visit for Christmas?" he said. Max's mother hummed in response. "She just said she'd come with."

Max's mother gasped lightly. "Oh, that's wonderful!" she told him. "That just perfect! I can't wait to meet the girl. Oooh I'm so excited!"

Max chuckled, pressing a light kiss to my cheek as I poured the popcorn into a large bowl. "Me too, Mom," he said. "I just wanted to call and let you know."

Max's mom laughed. "Okay!" she said. "Is she with you right now?"

Max nodded a little. "Yes ma'am," he told her. "She's popping popcorn; we're gonna watch a movie."

She laughed. "Okay!" she said again. "I'll talk to you later to iron out details."

Max smiled. "Alright," he said. "I love you, Momma," he spoke.

"I love you too, Max," she assured him. "I'll talk to you soon."

Max nodded and said goodbye, hanging up as I finished and turned in his arm. He locked his phone and slid it into his back pocket, looking down at me and grinning sweetly. "Hi there, cutie," he smiled. I chuckled, leaning up and kissing his cheek.

"Hi, baby," I said. "Ready to watch a movie?"

Max nodded, taking the popcorn from me as I grabbed two cans of soda and let him lead me back to my bedroom. Max set the popcorn on my bed and began rummaging through a pile of his clothes at the end of my bed, searching for a pair of sweats to put on. He eventually found what he was looking for after I'd settled, quickly dropping his jeans and sliding into the softer fabric.

"I should probably take some of that home and wash it," he mused aloud, watching me pull open a drawer and begin searching for a pair of shorts and a tank top. "I mean, at least the pile of your stuff at my place is mostly neatly folded in one place in the corner," he said. I smiled a little, shaking my head and looking over at him getting settled on what had become his side of the bed.

"I've got a better idea," I said, slowly going one drawer over from the one I was standing at. I beckoned him closer, smiling as he watched me with curious eyes, coming up behind me and kissing the top of my head. I slowly slid the drawer open, exposing the totally empty space, looking up at him and biting my lip.

Max furrowed his eyebrows. "What's this, baby?"

I chuckled a little. "I was thinking that..." I paused. "Maybe you could do the laundry here, and then put everything away in a drawer that's specifically yours..."

Max didn't quite understand at first, but once he did he couldn't stop grinning, looking down at me lovingly. "Yeah..." he whispered, slowly sliding his arms around my waist. "I could do that."

I smiled as Max began peppering my face with small kisses, making me giggle as he began at my forehead, then my cheeks, then my nose, and finally ending with a long, slow kiss to my lips. He cupped my face gently in his hands, holding me close and smiling against the action as he felt my arms snake around his waist.

"I love you," I told him. Max smiled, kissing my forehead once he pulled away.

"I love you too, little dove."

__________________________________________________

I'm writing this at a Christmas party XD

We're cute.

ONE! :3

Y'all are fabulous

TWO! :D

Happy belated thanksgiving!

I'm beyond thankful with you guys, and I love you to the edge of the universe and back.

THREE! :-)

Guys this party is beautiful. There be hella food XD

Okay I'm through lol.

EXCEPT I'M STILL NOT OVER THE COUNTING STARS COVER SOMEONE SEND HELP

okay I love you guys

Bye :3

- Casey