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plasticflwrs · 1 month

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★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀TOWER OF BABEL is the fictional fourth studio album released by South Korean-based idol band PLASTIC FLOWERS on April 8, 2024. This will be the last album released with all five members being signed under SUPERBLOOM MEDIA, as the company confirmed the departure of four members in early March. It would later be confirmed by the various South Korean music shows that Plastic Flowers' lead tracks ARE U COMING, EASIER, and KNOCK ME OUT would be banned from performance due to inappropriate lyrics and negative effects on the youth. They would instead promote THE RIVER for a month.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀The album gets it name from the biblical story of the same name from GENESIS 11:1—9 and is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages. According to the story, a united human race used to speak a single language and when they moved eastward to Shinar, they decided to build a new city and tower with it's top in the sky. Observing their city and tower, Yahweh makes it so they can no longer understand each other and scatters them across the world. According to leader SALEM, the name TOWER OF BABEL was chosen to reflect the major themes of the album, which includes miscommunication, self-destruction, decaying relationships, and escapism.

That is why it was called Babel—because there, the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth ( NIV; Genesis 11:9 ).

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀TOWER OF BABEL would peak at NUMBER ONE and achieve a PERFECT ALL-KILL with the fifteen songs locking out the top spots for THREE DAYS. The lead single ARE U COMING? would remain at the top of the chart for 739 hours, replacing DITTO by NewJeans as the song with the longest perfect all kill. Despite not promoting their actual title tracks on music shows, THE RIVER would earn 17 music show wins across the different shows.

TRACKLIST — playlist.

‘ # 001.⠀ ⠀A KISS WITH VENUS ──── written by oliver song, produced by kwak yulli and oliver song, and performed by oliver song. beginning with a heavy drum line and instrumental, a kiss with venus explores themes of love, sexuality, and self-expression as the narrator attempts to break their societal norms. as they "reach planet earth", the song confirms that it will deal with subjects that are often considered unconventional before leading into their challenges of stereotypes and diversity of an individual's identity. though beloved by fans, a kiss with venus was met with criticism from the general public as their open discussion of sex and oliver's sexuality was "too much" for them.

‘ # 002.⠀ ⠀TITLE TRACK: KNOCK ME OUT ──── written, produced, and performed by oliver song. twitter user @/oliver4eva summed it up best: "you know the pf album will be good if they get banned from music bank". knock me out deals with themes of desire, connection, and vulnerability as he wants to completely surrender to the passions of this new relationship. the chorus emphasizes the power and intensity of their connection, describing it as loud, angelic, and addictive, as they become completely captivated and consumed by each other. by the end, they are dependent on each other and the lover has made such an impact on their life, needing the other person their constantly and feeling insignificant without them.

‘ # 003.⠀ ⠀RUTHLESS ROCKSTARS ──── written, produced, and performed by salem kuaekulsri. originally released in 2017, ruthless rockstars is not only a fan favorite, but beloved by all five members. it was re-released with deurim to celebrate their short time together and show how plastic flowers have changed since 2017, with minor edits being made to the instrumentals. the song explores themes of frustration and defiance in the face of control of others. they are seen as suspects, watched closely, and labeled as "hopeless murderer" by those around them. those around the narrator continuously reject and oppose them, leading to a growing sense of resentment with the other around them. the chorus emphasizes their resolve to stay true to themselves because they are doing nothing wrong.

‘ # 004.⠀ ⠀THE FALL OF BABYLON ──── written by salem kuaekulsri, produced by minami hiro and salem kuaekulsri, and performed by oliver song. the fall of babylon is about two people who were once deeply in love, but that love was not strong enough to stay together. though they wanted to take their love to the next level, it was too intense and burned out quickly. they tried to stay together, but it was in vain, and eventually ended. it uses the ancient city of babylon—known as a place of destruction and ruin—to emphasize the unfortunate destruction of their relationship. anyone that's caught up on the plastic flowers lore clocked this as a draft from oliver and salem's break up back in 2022 and has been subjected to intense analysis by those fans, leading to the interpretation above.

‘ # 005.⠀ ⠀TITLE TRACK: ARE U COMING? ──── written and produced by oliver song and finn lee, performed by oliver song. an oliver song classic, he pulls out all of his favorite themes of yearning, escapism, and longing in a romantic situation. the lyrics paint the picture of a place where hopelessness is nonexistent and creating their dreamlike reality. they are eager for their partner's presence, symbolizing a deep emotional yearning for connection and intimacy. rather than their traditional music videos, the production for are u coming? was just a performance at cheeky's! in seoul, confirming that the place discussed in the song is a bar or some sort of party.

‘ # 006.⠀ ⠀TITLE TRACK: EASIER ──── written by lee jiyeon, produced by oliver song and oh deurim, performed by oliver song. now this was the talk of twitter when the highlight medley dropped and it was confirmed that jiyeon of all people had written easier. unlike the rest of the members, she's never been involved in a dating scandal so fans were surprised to see a break-up song from her. easier revolves around the question of whether it is easier to stay or go, contemplating the idea of letting go of a toxic relationship, but at the same time, admitting the love is too strong to leave. she is unsure if she wants to stay in such a relationship, creating a cycle where they are stuck running away and returning to each other. when asked about

‘ # 007.⠀ ⠀THE RIVER ──── written by salem kuaekulsri, produced by min eunji / roze, and performed by oliver song and salem kuaekulsri. if you loved please from ohio impromptu, you will definitely be a fan of the river. originally just meant to be a b-side and not promoted, when it was confirmed their three singles would be banned from music shows, they were quick to petition and lost once again. the river was chosen as the replacement title track because of how similar it is to previous singles and how much the members liked the song. the river focuses on the complexities of a failing relationship and highlights the struggle of two people walking down a lonely road together. the chorus explores the depths of emotions as the singer contemplates throwing everything into the river, symbolizing the desire for change and renewal.

‘ # 008.⠀ ⠀DAY DRINKING ──── written, produced, and performed by oliver song. this song explores themes of escapism, dysfunctional relationships, and self-destructive behaviors. it goes into the struggles and complexities of dealing with personal issues and trying to deal with them through unhealthy means. though he knows that the behaviors are unhealthy, it serves as a temporary escape from their emotional turmoil and helps them avoid confrontations. throughout the song, it reflects a trouble relationship as the emotional toil is taken on both parties and one's search for escape from reality.

‘ # 009.⠀ ⠀EAST COAST BLUES ──── written by oliver song, produced by lee jiyeon and oliver song, and performed by lee jiyeon. east coast blues dives into themes of self-destruction, depression, and a desire for escape. for many fans, this is seen as a spiritual successor to day drinking as it was also written by oliver and actually confirms them escaping from their current turmoil. the protagonist grapples with being overwhelmed by life's challenges as they think about moving to a different location to start new, highlighting a need for healing and self-improvement. despite the struggles in the lyrics, there is a sense of liberation in letting go of toxic influences and embracing the unknown.

‘ # 010.⠀ ⠀CRASH MY CAR ──── written by oliver song, produced by salem kuaekulsri, and performed by oliver song. the song depicts a sense of desperation and longing for someone near, even to the point of risking something like crashing a car to be with them. it suggests a strong emotional attachment and an ability to let go, as well as a willingness to do anything to be with the person they desire. poppies have so many theories about who this song could be about and it's causing a mini-fandom civil war as they try to figure it out. many still believe that salem is in the picture, while others—mainly solo stans of oliver—think there's a new person and want to figure out who that is.

‘ # 011.⠀ ⠀NOTHING / EVERYTHING ──── written by oh deurim, produced by oh deurim and oliver song, and performed by oh deurim and kang junyeong. as the member with the least amount of songwriting credits, fans were excited to see what she would bring to such a conceptually strong album. thankfully, nothing / everything would rise to the occasion as an introspective song that dives into themes of perseverance, loyalty, and self-reflection, inviting the listen to contemplate their own experiences and struggles they may face. they question if they have given everything or lost everything, yet acknowledge that despite any deep changes, their heart remains steadfast and unchanged in its dedication to their loved ones. on live, she confirmed the song was written about plastic flowers and how much she's given over the past few years.

‘ # 012.⠀ ⠀JOKE! ──── written by lee jiyeon, produced by minami hiro, and performed by lee jiyeon. whatever jiyeon is going through, it's creating some amazing music as joke! explores themes of power dynamics, control, and emotional manipulation within a relationship. this enters a new "arc" of the album, which heavily focuses on relationships and the downsides of them. it depicts a complex dynamic between two individuals, with one asserting dominance and the other at their mercy. though they don't want to harm their lover, the narrator gains a sadistic pleasure from the other's reaction and gets a sense of empowerment from it. the phrase "i know you need to be someone, evil angel, or someone has to suffer" reflects that power dynamic, insinuating the other person much embody a deceptive person or endure suffering for their relationship to continue.

‘ # 013.⠀ ⠀THE SWEETNESS ──── written by oliver song, produced by chloe lee, and performed by oliver song. using the concept of sweetness and darkness, this song explores the contrast between moments of joy and happiness with moments of despair. the lyrics depict a journey from innocence to adulthood, where the speaker reflects on the past and longs to return to a simpler time. the sweetness is described as seeping into one's bloodstream, bringing a renewed love for life while darkness creeps in like an unwelcomed intruder, descending into the depths of the basement. the sweetness poses the question "are you still sane?", implying a struggle with mental health issues or the consequences of relying on such methods to find temporary relief.

‘ # 014.⠀ ⠀THRONE OF LIES ──── written by salem kuaekulsri and kang junyeong, produced by salem kuaekulsri, and performed by oliver song. throne of lies represents a sense of uncertainty and confusion as the song implores the listener to not just speak empty words of affection, but to go beyond and truly convey one's true desires and feelings. they used the pounding drums and brass horns of the seoul national university marching band to add to this sense of tension and chaos. on the plastic Flowers youtube channel, they even posted a 10-minute vlog that went from their first meeting to their performance at their comeback stage. the musicians all confirmed that working with plastic flowers was easy as the five members remained professional and were always happy to help understand the song further.

‘ # 015.⠀ ⠀I KNOW THE END ──── written, produced, and performed by salem kuaekulsri and lee jiyeon. at the end of the world, the narrator finds herself in a state of detachment and longing for the comfort of home, which she lost a long time ago. throughout the song, she reflects on past memories while acknowledging the inevitability of change and loss. as the song progresses, there is a sense of acceptance and embracing the unknown, symbolized by driving towards the sun and letting go of that fear. the haunting outro, featuring a long scream from jiyeon, suggests a sense of liberation and rebirth.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀FIND THE PRODUCERS ... finn lee ( @bluwavez ) ★ chloe lee ( @venusvity ) ★ min eunji / roze ( @d0zenr0zes ) ★ minami hiro ( @lvcky0ne ) ★ kwak yulli ( @superbloomz ).

ERA SUMMARY.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS: 2,000,000 copies sold and The River won 17 times at the music shows. Are U Coming? also officially dethroned any record held by CNBLUE and Ft.Island as the top selling single by an idol band in South Korea.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀This album was well received by fans and critics alike since they had spent the last few years complaining about "the old Plastic Flowers" being missing. Tower of Babel was the perfect combination of those beloved Oliver title tracks and b-sides that had gotten them their original fan base. Everyone has their opinions on Plastic Flowers' musical identity, but Tower of Babel will always be in their top five. It's just that album.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀Critics rated the album four out of five stars. Though they were able to see some lyrical growth and new themes, many took issue with the album being composed of first drafts rather than finished songs. Many blamed Superbloom Media for this, however, as the band hasn't been given a proper break since their return from hiatus in May 2022. They praised Song and Kuaekulsri for their experiments when it comes to the new songs, however, they dismissed the other members as secondary songwriters. Han Jiyoon called the album "self-indulgent" and "fun", praising how the different arcs of the songs worked together to create a larger picture.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀It was also noted by the members the album should be listened to in order of the original tracklist. Salem said, "putting the album in track order is always one of the hardest parts. For this album, we all agreed that the best way to listen to it was in order rather than shuffling around because of the different thematic arcs we composed. The beginning is very focused on that rougher and more rock and roll sound and mellows out at the end of I Know the End. It just makes the most sense."

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀When the track list dropped and fans saw they had brought in a bunch of guest producers and songwriters, everyone was torn, to put it nicely. Many Poppies have a complex about Plastic Flowers being completely self-produced for seven years and now, with their supposedly final release, they featured others? Call them Julius Caesar the way they felt back stabbed. Other fans were excited to see Plastic Flowers actually making friends and lowering the burden self-producing a studio album can take. Their main defense was that writing, producing, and promoting three studio albums in less than a year would destroy anyone so why not invite their friends to help out?

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀After Deep Dive's newest come back with Tax Writeoff, seeing Finn Lee in the credits for Tower of Babel was not surprising. Finn and lead singer Oliver were practically inseparable at this point and have been photographed inside their respective companies and even outside as well. In an Instagram live, a fan asked a question about working with Finn, to which Oliver replied: "It's always the best. He really understands whatever I can't put into words and where the music should go next. He's just great, I love being around him."

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀Salem stans were glad to see Hiro on the track list, knowing how close they are. In a live stream with Jiyeon, they reflected on how much fun it was having Hiro in the studio again and their misadventures with Roze as well. While reflecting on Bloom with Us!, Jiyeon said, "I know there's a lot of discourse surrounding having guest producers, but it made the album better. Having these fresh sets of eyes really helped navigate us forward and present the best album we could."

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀However, seeing the Chloe Lee of Venus on the producers list was a bit more surprising. In defense of Oliver, many Poppies had spoken ill of Chloe during Shooting Stars after she had called Oliver a "loser" on national television and seemed upset by his mere existence. In an interview with Elle Korea, Oliver laughed the whole thing off and reminded everyone about "evil editing" and that they'd gotten closer since Starzie's promotions for their debut album. "I mean, it's Chloe Lee," Oliver stated with a laugh, "I would be upset about losing as well. We've put that all aside, though. She was a really big help on The Sweetness and she got along well with the rest of the band. That's all you can really ask for sometimes."

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀In a suprise, it was Kang Junyeong who had the most to say about working with their label mate, Kwak Yulli of Belladonna. "I had never met her before this, but I can see why she's so popular. Great songwriter and even better singer, she's gonna go pretty far." He even likened her to bandmates Oliver Song and Serin. Yulli would repost the comment to her Instagram story with crying emojis and thanking Junyeong for his kind words.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀The theories that fans were coming up for this album were actually insane but well proven by the lyrics and visual content. There were fan wars over any relationship pairing you could think of, especially with Oliver as many of his songs seemed to be about a new relationship rather than lamenting the past as usual. People looked into his recent interactions with other idols and his bandmates trying to figure out what was going on.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀Speaking of shippers... The Salem & Oliver Truthers went insane over a report from Dispatch hinting at them maybe being together again. Their biggest piece of evidence was them being see shopping together in Gangnam. Not even a rumor about them being on a date and they had Twitter freaking out. Salem, however, shut this down pretty quickly with a comment while being interviewed on a variety show.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀You either loved or hated the hair colors this era. While Salem, Junyeong and Serin all felt the love from their fans, they did not express the same feelings for Oliver and Deurim. Fans felt that their colors were playing it safe and should have also be a similar shade or just gone blonde like Salem had.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀Plastic Flowers reminded everyone that they were singers first and a band second with their appearance on Dingo's Killing Voice. They sang Easier, Are U Coming?, Scared, The Chain, Death Valley's Take My Hand, Oliver's Youth, and b-sides Monster Among Men and Wishful Thinking. The video received over 2 million views within the first day.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀This era was actually really good for the Found Family believers. There was very little fighting between the members and they all seemed to be at ease despite only one of them having a career past September. Even the hate train for Deurim seemed to be smaller than usual with the members talking about all the drafts and new music that she brought to the table.

★⠀⠀ ⁄ ⠀⠀The music video for EASIER was the talk of Twitter for days. The members were all featured on the accounts "kpop moments that could kill a sapphic" and "kpop moments that could kill achilleans" as they filmed in that cave. A self-described "Plastic Flowers anti" would go viral for asking "what business did Oliver Song have in that cave and acting like that" and honestly, they had a point! It's become a copypasta within the fandom now and is always featured in threads about Poppyville's best moments.

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fewwawifwiends · 2 years

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soft serve ice cream

this is a story that might appear innocent. but it's not. reader discretion is advised for the filth that follows.

trigger warning: none that i can think about?

word count: 11,345 (this has not been proofread as much as it should, beta'd or anything of the sort. so, small disclaimer: it might have been better and it's also my first attempt to smut, constructive criticism is welcome)

soft serve ice cream

fucking imperial system. his gps for some godforsaken reason had changed upon landing to england and now his drive was approximately 68 miles. how hard would it be to have one system and fucking stick to it so that people can have at least one thing in common worldwide?

an image of the babel tower as he used to imagine it as a child collapsing flashed through his mind as he connected his phone to the car’s speakers and put his spotify playlist on shuffle. he shook his head, and a few blond strands of hair fell in front of his face, pushing them back harshly; this had not been an easy day and the slightest inconvenience, that otherwise he might have brushed off, now fuelled his anger more.

trying to leave all thoughts of what happened in the testing session behind him; he’d heard once that a good way to do that is to imagine all negative thoughts and emotions becoming smaller and smaller when picturing them in the rear-view mirror, quite literally, leaving them behind. but max could now attest that this was a bunch of horse shit. all this ‘mindfulness exercise’ did was to bring images that he wanted to forget right in front of him. quite frankly, now he didn’t want to leave them behind but have them right in front of him, ready as ever to run them over. or run that cocky bastard over, whatever came first.

surprisingly, the turn that his train of thought took, along with the visual of a certain driver’s face flattened by his wheels, brought him some clarity and peace. his pride allowed him to acknowledge this much, so perhaps that exercise wasn’t as useless as he initially thought, even though he knew fully well that it was his ideas that had worked in the end. then again, he did always require to personalise everything, make it somehow his own, one way or another, why would something like that be any different?

he even took a deep breath, concentrating on that for a few minutes, while his eyes wandered aimlessly in the somewhat scenic route around him. who would have thought that his might actually work? not him, that’s for sure. but it did help. the deep bass blasting from the car’s speakers had a part to play as well; it was part of his ritual now, and rituals equal routines and routines equal stability. quite a simple equation, even though it took more than he would have liked to fully understand it.

soon enough though, his mind started going back, desperately trying to make him face what happened, who said what and why. needless to say that max wasn’t having any of it, so he trying converting miles to kilometres in his head, trying to also somehow measure the distance he’d already made, and subtract it from the total, which was a logistical nightmare on its own accord. his speedometer showed 130 kilometres, you know, like a normal person. and then he realised that that wasn’t exactly a normal person’s speed margin on a freeway, but there was no way he’d budge on the metric system. or slow down.

he was driving as if he were in some kind of trance, not fully aware and definitely not realising when he reached london’s civilisation. but he was there, and the sun was still up, so he probably had made good time.

he figured that parking in the centre of the city would be much harder than it turned out to be, so he was quickly out of the car, absentmindedly banging the door on his way out into the street. apparently just driving didn’t cut it, his nerves were still on the verge of snapping. but he was prepared for that, he knew that much, so his plan wasn’t obviously to just drive; that would be irrational, who works to let off steam caused by their job?

“shit” he cursed under his breath, retracing the few steps he had taken away from the car; his phone was still in there, and while he couldn’t care less about being reached from anyone in the team, or his family for that matter -god forbid, his father- he’d rather shoot himself in the face than not having music taking his mind off things. sometimes, it was the best company he could ask for and the only thing he needed. other than bashing a coworker’s face in, of course. but that wasn’t socially, or legally acceptable for that matter, so music was the next best thing. he wasn’t one to settle, but exceptions had to be made from time to time.

with quick and sudden movements, he opened the door, grabbed his phone and, oops, banged the door again.

his step was heavy and determined, even though he had no clue where he was going. a park would be nice, probably get a jog in there as well, and just his luck, regent’s park was only a song’s walk from where he found a parking spot. to be fair, he had no idea if the place was actually called regent’s park but there was a park and a train station with that exact same name, so how far off could he be?

he entered the park, making a conscious effort to slow his pace, breathe in through his nose, exhale through his mouth, take in his surroundings and all that yogi bullshit that he could think of, in what, in retrospect, could only be characterised as pathetic attempts to act like a person and not a kettle about to explode.

he made a challenge with himself, to take a note and comment on everything his eye caught, in some adult version of ‘i spy’, in order to enhance his mindfulness. sometimes he wondered how he was even related to his sister, when such words came out of her mouth in all seriousness. for a few minutes, his challenge was something along the lines of ‘tree - very green, tree - almost dead, squirrel - kind of cute, trash - much like the human that left it there, tree - barely clinging to life, middle-aged jogger - enough to discourage me from jogging at the end of the day, group of loud girls - ugh, group of teenage boys pining over the girls - double ugh, dog shit - ew, much like the human that left it there’ and so on, until he saw it: a vendor.

the humidity and heat of an english summer was enough to drive him mad. he was sweaty but not exactly sweating, and everything felt sticky. peeling off his skin seemed like a very nice workaround to survive this. or an iced tea and some shade. and that’s how the vendor from a simple man in his forties, became the closest thing to a god max could see that day. picking up his pace in spite of himself, he found himself releasing some more of the tension that he kept on holding -and that useless challenge did fuck all at getting rid of it. perhaps a nice exercise was in the cards for him, but the mental image of the shirtless skinny middle-aged man was now etched in his mind. so an iced tea and just trying to fucking relax for once was the plan he chose to stick to.

approaching his own little oasis, he saw a girl getting in front of him, in the same direction. trying to suppress a groan -because of course nothing would go his way the first time around-, he fixed his sunglasses and silently accepted his fate, waiting as patiently as he could behind her, not even realising that he was tapping his foot on the gravel. his eyes searched for a quiet bench and he marked one just before it was his turn to order at that over-packed stand. he could only hope that it was still be unoccupied when he reached it.

max’s interaction with the vendor was brief, his eyes focused on the bench, as if mentally claiming it, only darting at the man who was supposed to be the main focus of his attention, just enough to make sure that the transaction would be completed and successful. not wasting a fraction of a second, knowing full well the difference it can make, he walked towards his bench with long, assured strides.

but it was all in vain. like appearing out of thin air, the same girl who took his place at the vendor, was now taking a seat on his bench.

“fucking unbelievable” was all he could think and the words turned into a sound before he realised it.

a quick scan of the area provided him with an alternative, not too far away. certainly close enough to keep an eye on his original bench and reclaim it as soon as she got up. trying not to fuss over it too much, he sat down and took a few large gulps of his drink, enjoying the cool feeling in his hand and almost feeling his throat opening up again as soon as the liquid touched it. a headache he didn’t know he had subsided substantially and everything seemed a bit brighter, in spite of his dark shades.

however, his mind was still fixated on its previous activity: observe and note, so in lack of anything more stimulating to occupy his brain with, he drifted back to finding patterns and correlations. this time around though, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the girl on the bench. unwillingly on both ends, she was the object of his observation now, and there wasn’t anything either of them could do about it.

her hair was a sweet shade of brown, with something that resembled gold highlighting the strands framing her face when the sun hit just right. he wasn’t close enough to notice her eye colour, but he imagined a plain but warm brown. fitting of the bitch that took his spot, derailing his plan to actually catch a god damn break. she was no one, and yet, she already held that much power over his mood. not only was she no one, max didn’t even know her. it wasn’t a matter of socioeconomic standing at that point. unbeknownst to her, it became personal.

one hand was holding a cup and the other a spoon, presumably soft serve vanilla ice cream. she looked like a vanilla kind of girl, which pissed max off even more. not to brag, but he always felt some considerable steps ahead of anything vanilla. and now that exact same thing had the audacity to get in the way of his one big attempt at finding some god damn peace and quiet.

still, he couldn’t find the power in him to look away. only if he took in every single detail about her would he be in peace, his brain dictated and max could only accept and follow that; so what else besides a fairly common hair colour, a definitely dull eye colour and the fact that she was eating ice cream on his bench could he gather about her?

on her right, on the far end of the bench, she’d placed a white (or beige?) tote bag with a minimalist design he couldn’t quite make out, as it was scrunched and crumbled away into a shapeless mass. all he could see were black lines, ‘artistically’ squiggled on a what could’ve been white canvas. max had never met a girl who carried a tote bag and wasn’t pretentious. she’d definitely go on endlessly about feminism -which he was all for, don’t get him wrong- but then complain that chivalry is dead the instant he doesn’t open a door for her, as if it made a fucking difference.

and then her rest of her clothes went through the scan; her plain white t-shirt, elaborately white as to not have the sun constantly overheating her -a smart move, no doubt, considering he didn’t bother to change out of his dark blue, borderline black redbull attire- didn’t give anything away about her figure, short of her arms that were exposed. they were not the skin-stuck-to-bone arms he was so used to seeing, there was a bit more to it, and he had to admit, it was a bit refreshing. nothing strong enough for this heat though. certainly not as effective as his lemon iced tea, from which he sipped on carefully, making sure he had enough to last him for however long he’d stay there; he could splurge on his way home. or to the hotel room he’d call home for the next few days.

her legs were covered by an equally white, long skirt, reaching all the way down to her ankles, which were laced with the thin straps of her leather sandals. another smart move on her end, he hated to admit as his jeans felt like they were embedded on his thighs and calves more and more as the minutes in the heat went by. she’d be able to feel the slightest breeze, while all he could savour was the sweat beads that were slowly forming on his brow being slightly cooled, if some wind blew his way.

a few moments passed and max was having a very hard time accepting his defeat. it was always a hard pill to swallow, made even worse by his a small voice in his head dared to whisper that the girl did absolutely nothing wrong, certainly nothing to be in the receiving end of his temper. but that voice was quickly silenced, no questions asked. she was his nemesis, for the day at least.

his gaze was fixed on her movements, time passing by so, oh so slowly. he felt the heat having a consistent toll on him, despite of the fact that the sun was about to set, not really relating the cues of his body to his mental state. he took his eyes off her to enjoy the split seconds of another big sip of his iced tea, but when he opened them again, there she was again. it was ridiculous to expect that she would be gone in an instant, but a man could hope.

he was now watching her hand guiding the plastic spoon to take a scoop of the ice cream and bringing it to her mouth. it was a very simple thing for a person to do, but max couldn’t help but notice how her wrist flicked almost delicately, and how her lips wrapped softly around the spoon. he kept watching her, repeating the same monotonous moves, spicing things up a bit by playing around with the spoon from time to time, making sure that no ice cream was left when she dipped it in the cup again.

she seemed so lost in her thoughts that he couldn’t help but feel a sting of jealousy overcome him. how would max have liked to just be lost in thought, mindlessly repeating the same motions over and over again, just a nudge away from his mind going completely blank. but he couldn’t remember the last time he ever felt that calm, a thought which caused a scoff to escape his lips while a smirk formed. was he ever capable of something like that?

still, this served as some kind of trance, slowly bringing his blood down from its boiling point that it had been reaching, but just not quite, for hours on end now. but of course, this couldn’t go on forever, not that such a thought ever occurred to him. a sudden move from her was enough to bring everything crumbling down all over again: angrily she stabbed the ice cream with the spoon, and with a very sudden move she turned her head to face him. before he had a chance to collect himself, he heard her voice.

“can i help you?” her tone was sharp, and very much directed at him. turns out she had a bone to pick with him? well, wasn’t that just rich!

“you’re sitting on my bench.” he replied calmly, stating his fact, not letting his smirk being wiped away as he pushed his weight forward, arms resting on his knees. if she wanted to play, he was more than willing.

“oh i’m sorry, i didn’t realise it was reserved for assholes” her voice dripped with sarcasm, and normally that would be okay. max was no stranger to delivering verbal blows ever since he found out that they were more acceptable then physical ones. in his current state, he was practically itching for a fight, and a stranger calling him an asshole would be ideal.

in a weird twist of his brain though, it had the opposite effect. he wasn’t the asshole in the situation, but he momentarily remembered the voice that he was too quick to silence earlier. he wouldn’t dream of calling that voice reasonable, but maybe it had a point. the girl had done absolutely nothing wrong from an objective standpoint, and all she’d received was some guy eyeing her for no apparent reason. he’d come off as a creep at best.

max sighed as the realisation dawned on him and a hand reached to scratch the back of his neck. he looked down and forced his legs to help him stand up and take a few steps towards her, his drink still on hand. behind his sunglasses he could see a flicker of fear in her eyes, although the rest of her body was consistent in its aggressive stance towards him.

“i- i’m sorry. i had a really shitty day and i know it sounds crazy, but i was looking forward to that specific bench. and then you just came and took it-”

“how old are you?” she cut him off, venom still slowly dripping from her words.

“three and a half.” max replied, defeated, concealing exactly two decades. a small smile formed on her lips, fit for a victor.

“i appreciate your honesty. you can sit here, if you want.” she said simply, gesturing at the empty space next to her, her eyes averted from his, as if she didn’t care, knowing fully well she had indeed already won.

“thank you.” he replied almost coldly, taking the offered seat.

quite a few silent minutes followed, during which max realised that the location of the bench didn’t to the slightest difference for his mood. this was all in fucking vain. but he couldn’t let it go to his head, not again.

in a desperate attempt to keep whatever was left of his cool, he decided to take up his little challenge again and the first thing he noticed was her, the girl sitting next to him, so he decided to take a closer look.

her features weren’t exactly typical; cheekbones were high but not sharp, her nose was long and straight and her mouth was perhaps small, but her lips were full. he smiled when his eyes met hers; he was fucking right, plain brown. there was absolutely nothing special about them, but for some reason he couldn’t quite define, he couldn’t look away so he stayed there, staring looking. they were brown, sure, but there were some darker lines and a weird feeling in his chest. fuck him if he’d ever met another human being who could convey their emotions just by a single look so effortlessly. and she felt… defensive.

“what the fuck are you looking at?” her words indicated more than ferocity, there was definitely a hint of regret, if not that fear he detected in her eyes earlier.

“i tend to stare and zone out.” he stated, keeping his tone as neutral as he could. his breaking point wasn’t far off and he’d already established it would be a shame if he took it out on her.

“that doesn’t make it any less creepy. nor did i hear an apology anywhere there.” her last words came through gritted teeth that he was sure she wouldn’t hesitate to bare, figuratively or literally.

max took a deep breath, taking her words at face value, trying to ignore her tone or what she might have meant.

“you’re right. i am sorry. it’s very rude to stare, even where i’m from.” he forced a chuckle to lighten the mood and it seemed to put her at ease, even a little.

“and where might that be?”

“i’m dutch, actually. and my name is max.” he extended his hand.

“amelia”

“you have a very nice handshake there.”

“hm… this tends to intimidate men like you.” she let go of his hand and took a long look at her palm, as if she were trying to figure out if there was something wrong with it.

max raised an eyebrow in response.

“what the fuck is that supposed to mean?” his tone was borderline playful and if he were to be honest with himself, he didn’t exactly have the capacity to sugarcoat or hide anything. so it came as quite a surprise when her comment didn’t push any more of his buttons. but boy, was he right. he was in for a rant and there was no way out of it but through.

“oh you know, insecure creeps who think that a woman is inherently ready to eat from their hand.” she replied matter-of-factly, still examining her hand.

“that’s quite a leap to make, isn’t it?”

“i’ve made quite a few attempts to help you prove me wrong, but none of them have turned out in your favour, i’m afraid.”

“i’m just a boy, standing in front of a girl, asking her to believe him when he says that he’s not a misogynist.” he laughed at the turn this conversation took. once he managed to let out the last chuckle he continued; “worst thing you can charge me with is anger issues. but if you ask me, those are just rumours.”

“how’s that supposed to make things better? okay, so now you’re an unstable creep with an elevated social vocabulary who can quote notting hill.” she sounded almost exasperated and he felt something connect a bit different inside him, like he took a wire that almost fit, put it in the right spot and now it was surging with electricity. looks like her victory might have been short lived after all, and he needed a win.

“if you ask me, i’m managing my anger just fine. and the fact that we’re talking like civilised adults does prove my point. besides, i told you, that’s just a rumour.” a smirk laced his words and he saw her lips pout just slightly, mind racing to find the words to wipe it off.

“this is just pointless. guess i’m glad i didn’t get killed, or worse-”

“expelled?” he finished off her sentence, barely holding back another surge of laughter. “oh come on, it was right there!” he responded to her glare.

“god, you’re a privileged asshole!” her hand collided against the wood of the bench and instantly reached for her bag, which she put over her shoulder and picked up her ice cream, getting up to leave.

his reflexes worked faster than his brain, that was what he was supposed to do anyway. it was his job, so in a sense, it was a good thing. grabbing a strange girl’s arm as she’s trying to leave, on the other hand, might not be considered that good. for a second he froze, body locked in place, fingers against her arm, eyes for the first time, gentle, even if just a little.

“this was your bench. i should be the one to go. i have to get back anyway.” he let go as soon as he could; it was like touching ice: the mistake doesn’t quite register until it’s too late and your hand is on fire so you drop it. and that’s exactly how he let go, he dropped her arm as if it was burning cold. “i’m sorry.” he continued. “i- i don’t know why i did that. have a good one!” he flashed her a smile and a small wave, like he was trained to do by his pr specialist when he needed to end an encounter in a friendly way, a tip he hadn’t used as much as he should, but was apparently engraved in his brain.

and just like that, he turned around and left.

two days later, the weekend was looming and he felt very close to bursting, so much so that tuesday felt like a walk in the park (pun sort of intended). he realised that at this point, his biggest threat was himself. everything else had worked like clockwork, his team was a well oiled machine but that fucker was still finding the smallest and subtlest ways of getting to him; a passive aggressive comment muttered under his breath, a cocky wink when things didn’t turn out as his team expected to name a couple.

the press conference wasn’t much easier. max found himself gritting his teeth and digging his nails into his palms every time he opened his mouth. by the end of it, he couldn’t tell if he felt more angry or anxious that he wouldn’t be able to control it. however, eventually it did end and feigned a bullshit excuse to get out of the rest of his responsibilities for the evening. he needed to rest and get ready for the start of the weekend the day after, it was only rational to take an evening off to collect himself.

thankfully, the team refrained from asking too many questions. most of them probably knew exactly what was going on and knew better than to push him further or try to make him talk about it -ugh. and those who didn’t, those not yet familiar with max’s moods, received glares from everyone else, alerting them of the potential and imminent danger speaking about it would put them in.

if there was something in max that would balance out those moods of his, that would be his consistency and professionalism. he never read too much into it, but it looked like those two attributes helped him get away when he needed, because it had only happened a handful of times in the five years of his career and he’d always make sure that everything was set before demanding strongly asking to be excused.

after a cold shower his room seemed too small, as if it couldn’t fit him anymore, so he found himself in the leased honda once again, taking the exact same route he did two days earlier. getting to the park was much easier, considering that this time around he knew where he was going. he didn’t know why he chose to be there again, but rationalising at his current situation wasn’t a strong suit. all max knew was that repetition did him some good and that was enough. it was far and familiar enough to at least pretend that it could help.

he forced a smile at the same vendor he found, with the same iced tea in hand. max felt his lips relaxing into a more genuine smile as he managed to sit on the bench he had set his eyes on from the get go the first time around. for some reason this felt more fulfilling than knowing that everything was exactly as it should be to grant him another pole, if not another podium -wouldn’t want to get too cocky now.

the park seemed more peaceful than it did the other time he was there; less people, less noise, letting the nature really speak for itself. of what was left alive of it, anyway. it was a much nicer time to be there as well: the sun was almost setting when he sat down, giving a warm hue to everything, making the sky a true spectacle. maybe not everything about england sucked. max felt finally free to get out of his head, let go and just close his eyes, and enjoy life as it was at that moment; calm and serene. he allowed his elbows to rest on the back of the bench, almost levelling with his shoulders, and the cracks from his shoulder blades indicated that this was a smart move to make, allowing him to finally start relaxing.

“you have got to be fucking shitting me” his peace was short lived, as the familiar-but-can’t-quite-place-it voice stabbed it in the neck, letting it bleed out profusely, much like his patience.

blue eyes shot wide open, one eyebrow instantly and instinctively raised, head turning to his left, the exact location of the sound. his gaze landed on what’s-her-name from the other day. just his fucking luck.

“we have to stop meeting like that” he said with a snicker, trying to lighten the mood, more his than hers.

this earned him a very intense eye roll, but she remained silent, continuing her path. it didn’t take more than a couple of steps for max to notice that she was headed his way and before there was anything he could do about it, she took the empty spot on his right. he opened his mouth to speak, his next snarky remark just hanging on the edge of his tongue, but the glare she shot him shut him up pretty quick, albeit not for long.

“now who’s being entitled?” he just couldn’t keep it in any longer, there was no other option.

“you’ve got some nerve.” she replied, not even bothering to look at him.

“you called me privileged the other day.”

“mmhm…”

“what gave it away?”

“name one article of clothing on you that isn’t designer.” she stated simply, still not even facing in his direction.

“why did you sit next to me?”

“you said it was my bench, didn’t you?”

“i also said i was three!”

“you certainly keep acting like you are.”

“oh that’s rich coming from a girl who sat here out of pure pettiness.”

“don’t you ever shut up?”

“am i wrong?”

“i just go after what i want, and i wanted this bench.” she finally looked at him.

it took just this one simple phrase to make his eyes darken.

“you clearly have no idea who you’re talking to.” he smirked, knowing that he knows better, gaze locked into hers.

“max, right?” she faked a ditzy look and a wide smile, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, which made the lights in his head go on. god, she knew exactly which buttons to push.

“aw you remembered! such a good girl.” max made sure to stretch out his words, certain that it would sound condescending enough to get her as riled up as he was.

“i’m not leaving.” she stated calmly, thinking that she saw right through him. but he didn’t want to make her leave, not in the slightest. it hadn’t even crossed his mind. out of everything he’d tried in the past two days, this was the only thing coming actually close to help him let off some steam.

“i’m not trying to make you leave.” his reply was sincere, but still not enough to change the tune of the conversation.

“you sure as hell are doing your best.”

and just like that, for the first time, silence fell between them. but max was now noticing her every move.

she took her canvas bag off her shoulder and placed in the small space between her and the far right end of the bench. with swift movement she placed the cup she was holding between her knees, bringing to his attention that she was wearing a pair of jean shorts this time around, that surprisingly, didn’t cling to her skin. he caught only a glimpse of it, careful to not give himself away, but even though she was wearing the same plain white shirt, the shorts did baffle him; like her arms, even more so perhaps, her thighs were more than skin clinging on to bone, but the shorts weren’t suffocating her. an amazing fit, if he had anything to say about it.

the cup, he noticed next, contained both chocolate and vanilla soft serve ice cream, and somehow it felt good that he’d been wrong about her choice of ice cream flavour. even though he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it…

before he had a chance to lift his gaze from the ice cream cup, a book made a loud noise as it fell on her thighs, constricting his view. he could sense a hint of disappointment, but it wasn’t enough to pay attention to. max could have at least noticed the title, see what she was interested in, but that didn’t interest him enough. he decided to wait a few moments, let amelia (he finally remembered her name, fuck yes) get lost in her book, whatever it was, other than a heavy stack of pages stitched together, before annoying her again.

“so vanilla and chocolate, huh?”

“what of it?” her voice gave nothing away, as if she was keeping her cool, but the fact that she didn’t look at him once again and a quite violent flip of the page suggested otherwise.

“i just took you for a vanilla kind of girl, is all.” max replied, taking some weight off his statement by nonchalantly drinking some of his tea that he’d almost forgotten.

“you clearly have no idea who you’re talking to” she returned him his exact words, holding her ground, with her indifferent tone and her eyes glued on her book but the blush on her pale cheeks betrayed her.

“amelia, right?” he kept up his charade of pretending that this conversation was as casual as talking about the weather.

“does this conversation have a point? i’m kind of in the middle of something.” she shook the book that was carefully held open in place with her thumb.

“does everything have to have a point? i’m just trying to get to know you-”

“no need.” she cut him off and picked up her book with her left hand, emphasising that she was busy.

that was enough to shut him up, but only because his mind was now otherwise occupied. the innuendos certainly helped with that. her actions brought his attention back to her bare legs, as now there was no book to cover them up, not spending as much time on the cup, as on the fact that her thighs clung on to it. she wasn’t thin, which meant that she wasn’t his normal type. but that didn’t stop him from having images flooding his brain, namely of what her skin would feel like, especially perhaps around his head.

for those fleeting seconds that that mental image lasted, he lost touch with reality and that was an unfamiliar and unwelcome feeling, so he shook it off. he didn’t know her, he didn’t even know if he liked her, for that matter. averting his eyes, his gaze landed on her face, but he had a new thing coming; apparently, while he zoned out, she’d taken a spoonful of the ice cream, which she was now nursing, full lips softly wrapped around the relative small bite. once the spoon was empty, she darted out her tongue, collecting what could have remained. this time around, max didn’t even have to zone out, it was taking place right in front of him and he found himself unable to look away.

“you have got to be kidding me.” he muttered under his breath, not really caring if amelia heard him or not. there was no way this was as innocent as she’d certainly have him believe.

“hm?” she gave him half a glance and a raised eyebrow in response.

“was this on purpose?” max almost pleaded. almost. there was no way he’d give away that much.

“maybe.”

“so you’re not denying it.” not a question anymore. a part of him was relieved that he didn’t have to explain himself which would inevitably end in a very well deserved kick in the balls. another part of him was getting riled up all over again over the sheer audacity of that girl.

“that’s what you get for calling me vanilla.”

she was playing him like a fucking fiddle. he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, his brow furrowing. there was absolutely no emotion in her voice, talking as if to say that the sky was blue, not even a hint for him to cling to. she knew what she was doing better than he cared to ever admit out loud.

without really realising why, max stood up and started noticing their surroundings. the park was notably less crowded as the orange and pink colours of the sky faded to be replaced by purple and dark blue. it was around the time that normal people went home. he knew he wasn’t normal and he was certain she wasn’t either. and then it dawned on him: he was actively looking for some place with a bit more… privacy than their current location. was this really where the evening was going?

"that's all it took to get you to leave?" there was a tone of superiority in her voice, proud that she was able to push his buttons so easily. perhaps a little disappointed that it was that easy.

she spoke as if she didn't care if he were truly about to leave, which realistically, would make sense. but he wasn't done yet and he chose to interpret the disappointment in her tone as an opportunity to take this just a little bit further. his next words weren't carefully chosen per se, but he knew it would make or break whatever that was.

"what will it take for you to shut up?" he glared at her, unable to hide his frustration. max felt his eyes darken as they were locked with amelia's, that were laced with a gleam that made his blood boil all over again. nothing was final until she spoke again.

"why don't you find out?" a smirk formed on her lips as she slowly closed her book and putting her ice cream cup on the side, almost… preparing for what would follow? was he really that transparent?

he didn't take time to dwell on that, it was the last thing on his mind, not that the list was very long. with his body on autopilot, he found himself just dropping his body on top of her, his hands wrapped tightly around her wrists, pinning them to the hard wood beneath her, his face a few centimetres away from hers, blue eyes still locked into brown ones.

her gasp was sharp and short lived, immediately turning back into the smirk she had on moments earlier. she raised an eyebrow as she spoke, her sweetened breath hitting his face.

"is that all?"

"oh for the love of fuck" he muttered while closing the distance between them, lips clashing.

it wasn't sweet or soft, far from it; it was violent and deafening. nothing else existed for those moments, just skin against skin with his hands still holding her down, lips against lips. she opened her mouth, maybe trying to pull away, add another snarky remark but he didn't let her. he grasped the opportunity to deepen their kiss, if he could even call it that, slithering his tongue in her mouth, grazing it with her teeth before finding her own. this was their first gentle contact, and he dared think the last of the sort. she let it be gentle, knowing fully well that it wouldn't last; that much was evident from her attempt at pushing her body closer to his. once again, he didn't let her. he pulled away, breaking some of their contact. like hell would he let her have it her way.

reality shot him though as he opened his eyes and he saw the sight in front of him: the girl, eyes wide open and dark. he couldn’t be sure if this was because she felt what he was feeling, wanting this as he wanted it, or because she was about to engage in either fight or flight.

“you sure?” he whispered, voice barely reaching his throat, breath uneven but just not quite.

she slowly blinked and her head nodded a slight ‘yes’. her teeth found bite marks on her lips that he left and his eyes followed them. maybe reality was a tad better than he thought it would be.

he let go of her right hand, grip never wavering on her left. her eyes found his and he found them anxious. did she think he would just up and leave? perhaps he was that kind of sadist, but certainly not that kind of masochist. however, he couldn’t help but grin at the thought of walking away, imagining the look on her face; simply priceless.

smirking still, he took his sweet time to make a move. any move other than breathing. a few seconds later, he yanked her hard enough to let her know it was time to get up.

“i’m not a dog!” she hissed, but her body followed him with no resistance, bag hanging from her free wrist, clicking on her legs as she half-jogged behind him in order to keep up.

“give me 10 minutes.” he turned his head as he replied to her, making sure that she saw the smirk still etched on his face.

he heard her huff in response, still following his lead. a few meters later, just a bit deeper, there were no passersby and a tree that probably predated his grandfather, big enough to provide some sense of cover. he didn’t waste any time rushing towards the tree, his stride wider than before, hearing amelia struggle to keep up behind him. the rest of the things that happened between max locating that tree and having amelia’s back pinned on it, both hands now in his grip, above her head, would remain a mystery.

all he knew was that he was once again crashing onto her and while he was kissing her lips, he was admiring the smell of her neck, which he found irresistible, he simply had to dig in. and so he did, teeth latching onto the part where her shoulder met her neck, slowly but intensly worked his way up, until his lips were now on the back of her ear. his free hand reached to cup her face.

her eyes were closed and from her mouth escaped small, almost inaudible, rhythmical sighs. until his hand that was cupping her cheek inched fast but strongly downward, his thumb moving, closing a bit around her throat. that was when be felt her eyes open and her sighs collecting into one sharp gasp that quickly turned into a small moan.

‘don’t mind if i do’ thought max, having the green light and letting his thumb squeeze a bit harder, a smile growing wide on his lips against her skin.

he let go of her hands and she didn’t waste any time digging into his hair, ready to tug. his teeth toyed with her earlobe as his now free hand reached for the thighs he could only image the touch of only minutes earlier. her skin was soft and he didn’t know why he was surprised by that. he allowed some pressure in his palm and found the sense more than gratifying, letting it squeeze and grab and feel until he felt like it was barely enough to not leave a bruise.

with slow but rough motions, his hand found her waist, not neglecting to admire her figure and giving it a squeeze as well, and after that he stopped right below her breast. face now moving away of hers, he expected to see some pleading look, but he was bound for disappointment. in her eyes he saw inextinguishable fire, but not a single sign to show anything that would allow him to feel on top of the situation.

determined to make that change, his arm left her chest, snaking right beneath her belly, stopping where her thigh met the crotch of her jeans. max looked up once again, hoping to see a change, but she wouldn’t do him the favour. determined still, he moved his hand forward, reaching exactly between her legs. at the same time, his other hand reached to find her nipple and give it a tug, a contact that was over as soon as it started.

the look in her eyes didn’t waver, but amelia pouted her lips, letting a very exaggerated breath through her nose with a faked grunt accompanying it.

oh, he could do this all day. he reached for the same spots again, making sure to linger a little longer this time. results remained the same, until the third time, when max unbuttoned and slid down her shorts instead of attempting to tease. in a flash, he was on his knees, helping amelia get one leg off, so he could spread her legs just wide enough to be able to reach her panties.

max would never remember the colour of her underwear, but the smell of her cunt would be hard to forget. his face inched closer while his hand hooked her panties and pulled them to the side, until he was close enough to place a swift lick along the length of her slit, making sure to thoroughly check her taste and how wet she was. he moaned in accomplishment. she was wetter than he thought and she tasted sweet and tangy; perfection.

he thought he heard her release a moan, so he quickly made sure to look up and make sure she heard him.

“don’t you dare make a sound.” this would be a fun game.

“bold of you to assume you could get a sound out of me.”

“now that was a whole string of sounds.” he smiled too sweetly as he talked and looked up at her. “and your only warning.” eyes darkened in a matter of milliseconds and torn away from hers.

returning to his prior position, max continued offering long licks along her lips, suckling and biting slightly even, to exploring her folds and entrance with his tongue, to giving small and tentative licks and suckles on her clit.

amelia remained silent, but her body told him all he needed to know; the grinding of her hips when she needed more and the slight convulsion of her thighs around his head let him know when to stop so she wouldn’t come were enough. once he calculated that she was a few seconds away from release, he gently pulled away, making the transition as slow as possible, torturing her for a little longer. once satisfied by the sight, he reached up.

“you were so silent, such a good girl.” he whispered softly, raising her head with his finger, so he could look at her when he praised her.

“like i’d want to get caught with you” she retorted, averting her gaze to the ground.

“was that a sound you just made?” his voice remained soft, his eyes, reflecting his tone while searching for hers, as if it wasn’t the insult that got to him, reminding her calmly of her second strike. if that’s how she wanted to play, he didn’t mind reminding her that she was never on top of their game. did she know that most things end on strike three?

when she not only didn’t reply, but didn’t give him any cues either, he completely let go of her and took a step back.

“it’s okay, you know. if you don’t want to get caught with me, you can just leave.” he called her bluff, still giving her an out.

“and miss this?” came her response as she closed the gap between them and reached for his erection over his pants, making sure she familiarised herself with the entire outline.

“sounds like you need me.” max smirked, lacing his hand with hers over his cock.

“i feel like you need me.” she reciprocated his smirk and squeezed a bit harder and then proceed to unbutton his pants, slithering her hand behind his boxers and letting her fingers find his cock and start playing with it.

he bit his lower lip and inhaled sharply through his mouth.

“your pussy was dripping into my mouth not a minute ago.” he replied, an edge in his voice.

amelia squeezed her fingers around his cock just a little too hard. “you’re lying.”

in an instant, his hand was dipped between her legs. he took a few seconds to run his fingers through what his tongue was all to familiar with, giving her clit a couple gentle flicks, for good measure. continuing to toy around for a few more seconds, he suddenly located her entrance and quickly added two fingers, making her inhale sharply, in both pleasure and surprise.

the softness of her pussy lips paled in comparison and she was oh so deliciously wet, but he knew that she could do better, so he curled his fingers slightly searching for what made her tick. after finding and repeating the move he found to make her shake her hips ever so slightly a couple of times, he took his fingers out, bringing it between their faces.

“taste it.”

amelia reached closer to max’s fingers painfully slow. locking anew her look with his, she stuck her tongue out and kept it hanging from her mouth until she tasted herself. she took a long lick of his fingers and then, in a swift motion, took them inside her mouth. she used her lips and her tongue to clean his fingers off her juices, eyes filled with an innocent look which drove max insane because she knew exactly what she was doing and there was nothing innocent about it.

“is this you asking if you can take me in your mouth?”

she didn’t reply, she just winked at him, lowering herself, getting to eye level with his crotch.

before he knew it, he was sure that she was doing to the spoon and his fingers she was now doing to his cock. the thought was enough to make him twitch inside her mouth. forcing himself to relax, he sighed and let his muscles drop. he closed his eyes, focusing on the sensation of her lips wrapped firmly against his length, her tongue darting all over the head, making sure to taste it all.

amelia’s hands didn’t stay idle; she gripped his thigh for stability with one, nails digging into his skin, while her other one covered what her mouth couldn’t.

max couldn’t be sure for how long she was in front of him, sucking him quite expertly, he could say, but he’d be lying; the expression he was looking for was more along the lines of better than he expected, even though his expectations never fell under than that. and if not that, then best he’s ever had would cut it. but then again, all of that was just details, as was the time. it could be standing still or rushing past them, it wouldn’t matter. all that mattered was to feel her until he had his fill.

“do you want me to cum in your mouth?” he hissed as he felt his orgasm build up. she didn’t react, other than looking up at him and maintaining eye contact, while crossing her tongue around his head.

“we can stop, you know.” escaped another hiss from his lips, unsure of whether he’d gotten a yes or a no in his question, holding himself back as best he could, nearing closer to the edge with each passing millisecond.

with a throaty groan -the vibrations of which max could feel send a shiver down his spine-, amelia broke eye contact and started working harder on his cock. in his book that was a yes. a hell yes. a satisfied smile formed in his mouth as he reached down to grab a handful of hair by the root. he made sure to tug just hard enough and then reward her with a soft caress before resuming tugging.

he felt his orgasm build even more intensely than before, and in a few seconds he, no she, let him explode in her mouth. slowly she got up, releasing her head from his hand, and looked him in the eye before swallowing discreetly and licking her lips ever so slightly. with his body on autopilot, max closed the distance between them and then some, pinning her against the tree and kissing her with a new fire burning in his stomach. his tongue still had her taste while hers had his, and the combination was heavenly.

he sensed her pulling away and reluctantly, he let her.

“condom?” her voice was hoarse and low.

max immediately sobered up and frantically searched for his wallet; he must have one stashed in there somewhere.

“don’t get your knickers in a twist” he heard her voice again, along with a small laugh. he stopped fumbling as soon as she reached down for her bag and had one in hand in just a few seconds. how could she be so calm and collected? she would definitely use his lack of composure to get back to him, it was just a matter of time and he knew it.

she gave him the condom and he wore it as discreetly as he could, taking comfort in the fact that there wouldn’t be as much of need for him to be discreet, but for her.

he pushed down her panties, dropping them to her ankles and then turned amelia around with a sudden and quick grab of her arm, her back now facing him. her hands reached out just in time, just as he expected her to; ready. and just like that, he slid inside her with ease.

once he was inside her, he felt all inhibitions abandon him. hands kept a firm hold of her hips, eyes fixed on the curve of her back. it didn’t take long for him to go feral at all. allowing amelia only a couple of seconds to adjust while he familiarised himself with how she felt around his cock, in contrast to around his fingers. his body was now in control as he thrust with quick and deep moves, almost curious to see just how deep he could go.

he heard her breath align with his thrusts, and from simple exhales go to sighs and from sighs to the softest of moans. needing to hear more of her, he released his right hand from her hip, reaching up to the curve of her neck, pulling her head upwards, resting it against his shoulder. his mouth was now right next to her ear and almost daring her to moan for him.

she breathed in again and instead of just the breath leaving her mouth, so did another moan. instantly his right hand snaked over her neck reaching for her left breast, making sure to apply just the smallest bit of pressure in his forearm, against her throat.

“didn’t i. say. not. a fucking. sound?” he accented every part of his sentence with a considerably slower and more forceful thrust and a graze against her nipple, as his fingers squeezed around it, making it just a little bit harder for her to stay completely quiet. his words, should she listen to them, would bring him less of her. but if there was one thing he was known for, was consistency.

but she didn’t even try. she kept tickling his ear with her moans, so he decided to take it one step further. continuing with his slowed pace, he let go of her hip, reaching out for her pussy. exploring her folds, he found her clit and run gentle and rhythmic circles over it, making sure to keep pressing on her neck and playing with her nipple.

he continued for a few moments, allowing her to relax in his touch, letting her back hit his chest.

“do you like that?” he said softly, his breath hot on her cheeck .

“mhmm” she muttered between increasingly louder sounds and audible gasps.

that’s all he needed. max pulled away his hands, keeping his steady rhythm, slithering them down her arms and on her waist.

“not until you stay quiet” he said through gritted teeth. he almost hoped for a whimper to escape her throat and it would be a shame to not have his arm still around it to feel it, but no such thing ever came. all the reaction he got from her was a twitch of her hips and her small sounds turning back to almost even breaths.

he smiled and half a chuckle left his lips. he kept going, enjoying the feeling of her pussy sucking in his cock, certain that her juices were flowing around him. after god knows how long, he realised that he’d lost himself in a trance, and no sound from amelia to break it.

“hm. that’s my good girl.” he said with a hint of pride lacing his voice and a small smile forming. he decided that they both waited long enough for her to cum and resumed his hands in their earlier positions: right hand over her throat, bringing that small pressure back, palm on her left tit, fingers toying with the nipple. his left hand was once again focused on her clit, finding the rhythm that made her gasp and break her silence. he heard her immediately suck in her breath, scared that he might have heard and take his hands away again.

another small, throaty laugh escaped max’s throat at her reaction. there was no way he’d tell her that it would be okay to let go a little now that he was touching her again, this was about her at the end of the day. if amelia wanted to make it harder on herself just because, he wouldn’t interfere.

a short while later, it seemed like amelia had enough, as her breaths became more and more shallow, until she was very clearly inhaling in sharp gasps and exhaling even sharper, slowly morphing into now familiar small and barely audible moans; music to his ears. he smiled as he reached down to suckle on her neck, surprisingly careful to not leave a mark.

it didn’t take long for her to come undone in his arms. with very little warning, he felt her cunt spasm around him, her back arching. he saw her close her eyes. he heard her release the most satisfying and satisfied sound.

when her orgasm started to subside, she rode it out on his dick, rolling her hips along with his movements and reached behind to grab his waist, making sure to let her fingers run along the side of his chest and abdomen.

her soft caress and the softer noise topped with her orgasm fading out around him was enough to send him over the edge again. he held on to her tightly, as he tried to control his body as much as possible, remembering that anyone could pass by at any time. but that only made him cum harder.

once his own orgasm was starting to subside, he found the strength to pull out of her. as he took off the condom and tied its end, she turned around, her chest centimetres away from his.

“want more?” he asked, a gleam in his eye.

“you can go again?” not only did she not answer his question, and she also had the nerve of raising her eyebrow.

“last chance, amelia.” he growled. “do you want more?” he knelt down, bringing his face a breath away from her pussy. he gave her a long lick. “god, you taste so good and you’re so wet. you’ve been a very good girl for me, amelia.” he said, looking up, sure that his words would press her buttons.

“i don’t need you to make me cum again.”

“good girls get what they need. but bad girls get what they want, isn’t that right?” he paused, enjoying the confused look on her face. “so, do you want more? don’t make me repeat myself a fourth time.”

“or what?” she questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.

“that’s for me to know and for you to find out.” he said before burying his face between her silky thighs again, only coming up for air. “so are you a good girl, or a bad girl?” he asked, squeezing her leg for emphasis of his patience running out.

“i’m both.” she replied shakily.

“and what do you think little brats like you get?”

“your face between my legs.” she muttered, careful not to be heard.

instantly he sent his hand to play with her, keeping his face purposely just far enough. after a few moments of his index and middle finger working inside her, his thumb explored her lips and clit out of tempo, earning him a frustrated groan and a buck of her hips, attempting to get closer to his face. another small win.

allowing her to be tortured for just a little longer, max enjoyed the sight of her biting down on her lips, exhaling sharply, trying to contain the sounds escaping from her throat, eyebrows furrowed.

when he finally decided to give in, amelia didn’t waste a second; her hands reached for his head, keeping it in place. his fingers were still inside her while his tongue met the same rhythm, her hips grinding on his face following shortly after.

lapping hungrily at her cunt, unable to get enough of her taste, max almost didn’t realise it when she came. his only indication was a new wave of her wetness and her hips slowing down, but max didn’t think much of it. he wasn’t done with her yet, so he kept going.

before long, her hips were picking up the pace once again, more forcefully this time around, her thighs forcing his head into place, still, and it felt even better than be imagined so he couldn't help but lose himself in the sensation. his fingers were still playing with the sweet spot they’d found inside of her and his tongue kept contact with her pussy, but other than that, he stayed completely still. after a few movements of her hips, he felt her thighs crushing his head but he didn’t stop; she was on the edge, there was no way he’d let anything stop him from licking her clean. soon, her small spasms became more frequent until they became one longer one, cunt rubbing shamelessly against his lips, a small scream escaping from hers.

he stopped moving and refused to do anything until he knew she was satisfied. he looked up, waiting for amelia to open her eyes so he would know. the second she met his gaze, she gave him a smile and nodded, and that was his cue. with careful moves, he pushed her shorts and panties up from her knees, planting kisses on her legs and then, he pulled away, pulling his own pants up.

“where’s the condom?” came her voice in a breathless whisper.

“dunno. around here somewhere, i guess.” he replied, not really able to follow, but still looking around for it.

“you need to throw it away.” she continued, buttoning up her shorts and fixing her shirt.

“it’s your condom!”

“exactly, i did my half of the job, now you do yours.” she said reaching down and picking it up, having found it.

“i think i did my half by fucking you.” he carried on his defensive tone.

“oh please” she extended her hand, the used condom dangling from her fingers.

“you’re being ridiculous!”

“and you’re being a child!”

“oh for fuck’s sake!” he took it from her hand, and walked away, trying to find a trash bin, not bothering to dwell on the triumphant smirk on her face. “happy now?”

amelia picked up her bag from the ground and met him halfway.

“sure, you’re decent.” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“i think making you cum three times deserves something more than decent.” he kissed her again, making her sigh into his mouth, proving his point. “thought so.”

“fine.” she sighed. “max,” sex was dripping from her voice just from uttering his name, sending a jolt from his brain straight down to his cock. “you were the best. thank you for making me cum so hard and for letting me suck on your cock and taste your cum.”

he kissed her again, hungrily, fingers laced in her hair, biting her lower lip and then running his tongue over it before meeting hers.

“good girl.” he smiled against her lips, pulling away ever so slightly.

“was that enough to stroke your fragile, male ego?” her fingers played with the collar of his shirt, tingling him whenever they made contact with his skin. her voice was soft, but her tone was razor sharp, contrasting the blush creeping up her cheeks.

“why are you insisting so hard on accepting the fact that you’re being such a good girl for me?”

“because good girls don’t fuck strangers in public places.” came her reply, simple and unapologetic.

“we’re not strangers. you know me. i’m an entitled bastard with anger issues. and i know you. you’re a loud-mouthed, disobedient and independent brat with a secret praise kink.”

“some couple we are.” she scoffed and pulled away, not denying a word he said. “how’s that anger thing going for you, anyway?”

“better now, thanks.” he gave her a small wink and for the first time during their evening together did he notice the passage of time. it had to have gotten pretty late, considering how dark the sky was and how he couldn’t hear anything but the sound their synchronised footsteps made on the gravel as they walked back.

he should be getting back, resting, preparing for the weekend ahead. but a few more minutes couldn’t hurt, right?

he lead her back to their bench, and sat down. amelia surprised him by sitting down next to him and snuggling up to his chest, resting her head against him. instinctively almost, his arm reached around her shoulders, holding her closer, leaving absentminded strokes of his fingers along her arms.

they didn't speak for a while, and max had a strange feeling. he was feeling… serene, in a way he'd almost forgotten how, so he stayed there, emptying his mind of any thought that wasn't her, enjoying having her in his arms, for however long that would last.

"will i see you again?" amelia broke the silence but not their contact.

“probably not, but doesn’t that make it better?” his question was rhetorical, he didn’t expect an answer, nor did he get one. there was a mutual understanding: they knew that leaving things as they are protects them both. he didn’t get to know her better and neither did she; there was nothing to tarnish and eat away at what they had, no matter how brief. both of them knew just enough to make this a fun and pleasant memory.

she nuzzled closer to him and he smiled, against his better judgement. he wasn’t one to smile at intimacy. it was something entirely unfamiliar, but it was… it was a good ending. soon her breathing became even and heavy. max glanced down at amelia and found her sleeping soundly. in his arms. was she really that reckless or did she feel that safe? and what was the difference between the two?

he reached out and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. this shouldn’t go on and it had already dragged on more than it should, or more than it did normally for him, anyway. that didn’t mean that he had to ruin it for her as well.

“wake up, princess. it’s time to go home.”

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if anyone's interested in more filth, you can find part two here <3

#and they were roommates!!! is my first published smut fic #this came first and took like 5 months to complete #heh #max verstappen #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen smut #max verstappen imagine #formula 1 smut #f1 #formula one smut #formula one fic #formula 1 fic #f1 smut #f1 imagine #f1 x you #f1 x reader #original named female character #f1 x y/n

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