M.

It's not a sex thing. Max swears it isn't. She isn't even gay. Of course, it's not a sex thing. She didn't even realize how far it'd gone before she got it in the mail.

She didn't think it was gay, it's not. She was only trying to buy a nice sweater for the holidays. A nice sweater. She thought to herself. She had been walking to the mall for a sweater when a woman called her into her shop. Max wasn't good at saying no to people so she obliged and followed the woman. Long story short, the woman convinced her to buy one of her Playboy magazines out of a large stack of nude women photographs. Max tried her hardest to get away from the situation but the woman was pushy and Max had just enough money in her pocket. She wasn't uninterested, she just couldn't be caught eyeing such things.

"I'll take five," She said suddenly, holding out money to the woman who said she'd mail them to Max's residence.

The blue-eyed teen was quick to fall out of her chair, leaping across the room to lock her bedroom door. Last thing she needed was her stepbrother to walk in and catch her in such a compromising state. Max stared for hours, gulping at every engrossing photo and every curve and slant of their bodies. She'd never even known there were so many different ways to shave down there.

What kind of fuckery, she thought. She turned through the pages with curious fervor. Which she'd argue, definitely wasn't gay. The fact that she bought five, really, really, wasn't gay.

Max was sweating when a sharp knock on her bedroom, sounded. She muttered a series of curses, closing the magazine and throwing it under her bed. All clear. She walked towards the door with a racing heart. Another quick knock and the door swung open.

"Do you have plans today? Why the hell are you sweating?" Billy, her older brother peered into her bedroom.

"What?" Max stepped into the hall, blocking the entrance to her room. "What time is it?" She'd lost track of time.

"It's six, now are you busy or not? Mom says I need to take you with me to the mall," Billy nodded his head towards the door. Max rolled her eyes.

"Why does she want me to go with you?" She questioned with a frown.

"She said you spend too much time in your room and she wants you to be more like kids your age." Billy shrugged.

"Fine. Let me just change." Max rubbed a hand on her face. She really hated being forced to go out especially by her mom.

In between, ruffling her hair and changing shirts, she found a new spot for her secret magazines. Feeling cornered and exposed, she did what any logical teenager would do in her situation, she hid them in her underwear drawer.

Later, as Billy drove them to the mall to act more like kids her age, she thought long and hard about how she hadn't even bought a sweater. Her fucking sweater. She'd freeze her ass off this year all for a collection of dirty magazines she bought on impulse.

"You have that weird look on your face," Billy said, scowling at her. She gulped, thinking of a way to change the subject. Any topic was better than the naked photos on her mind.

Once they arrived, Billy stepped out of his car and waited for her to move. "You coming or what?" He asked, seeming annoyed but waiting nonetheless. Max groaned, getting out of the car.

She made her way into the closest entrance, just another generic girl store, secret-21-something-or-whatever. She breezed through the store, hoping to get the fuck out before anyone saw her. She looked back to see Billy walking towards a group of girls. She rolled her eyes and carried on without him.

"Max!" Billy shouted, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. She began to blush, hating the fact that everyone in the store began to stare at her.

"What," she hissed, angry she was caught walking around the pink and preppy store.

"Come over here I want you to meet my new friends," He gestured toward the group of girls I vaguely recognized from school.

"I didn't know you had a brother," Angela gasped, something Max was used to, and ignored. She did a once over of the group her brother was with. Three girls, seemingly dressed in the same outfits. All except one, all legs with pale skin and light brown curls. She wore silk shorts, that almost looked like pajamas, and a white sweatshirt. Max was eager to see her face, but a stack of pink outfits, made it impossible.

"I'm his sister," Max deadpanned and folded her arms, glancing back at the curly one.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I just assumed with what you're wearing and the boy name and all," Angela trailed off. A blonde with red lips, twirled a strand of her own hair. "She could be pretty, with a makeover or something." the blonde girl whispered to Angela, but Max caught every word.

"Bye," Max said, rolling her eyes for the millionth time that day. She turned around attempting to walk away from the conversation she hadn't chosen to be in to begin with.

"I don't know, she's kind of pretty how she is." A new voice said nonchalantly. Max knew it had to be the unknown girl with the pajamas since she was the only one who hadn't spoken yet. She quickly turned back to the group and blushed, hoping to see the mysterious girl's face. She looked relaxed, like she didn't just call Max pretty and blown up her whole world with one sentence.

Max felt anything but relaxed. She was stricken by the sight. Brown eyes, pink, pink lips and a soft smile.

"You're right, I'm hot," Max tripped past a mannequin, all but running out of the store with a sick feeling in her stomach.

What the fuck.

Published: September 09, 2022
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-kat