Disclaimer: the characters and all recognizable situations belong to Stephanie Meyer - Last I looked I wasn't her... this story is a work of fan fiction, except for the legends and histories of the Quileute Nation which, of course, belong to them.

Beta: MrsTrentReznor, Prereader: Sparkling Fae and Astrid, thanks ladies :)

Pairing Leah and Bella

Rated T

New Year, New Start

The Uley's New Year's party was in full swing by the time I arrived. I pulled up to Sam and Emily's house and crawled out of my truck making a run for the door.

It was still raining. Not just raining, it was an all out downpour. It had been that way ever since I had left work in Port Angeles.

Originally I had planned to stop off at Charlie and Sue's house to clean up and change clothes but after the drive I had just experienced, that was out of the question. I was afraid that if I stopped at home, I might just decide to crawl into bed and stay there. No, first I had to stop and visit my friends.

I ran through the rain and up the steps. It only took seconds for me to be completely drenched. I look like a drowned rat I thought as I hit the wooden floor of the porch. The door suddenly opened and I tried to stop but the water on the landing made it impossible. Instead I slipped and skidded straight into Leah Clearwater.

"Oomph," I heard as we collided. Her hot arms came around me and pulled me tight as we both tumbled to the floor.

"Shit Leah, why don't you watch where you're going?" I heard from somewhere up above me.

"Fuck off Black," was her snappy reply.

I lifted my head from where it was nestled in between Leah's breast, "Hi Leah, um… sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it, Swan," she replied. "You all right?"

"Yeah," I replied as warm hands grabbed hold of me and lifted me easily to my feet. "I'm fine, are you ok?"

"Sure, I'm good," she answered as she jumped up.

I glanced around and greeted everyone. It looked as if the entire pack was present for the party. Emily handed me a towel and I quickly dried off.

"Here Bella, why don't you come with me and I will find you something dry to put on?" she suggested.

I followed her to the bedroom that she shared with Sam and soon I was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a band tee. The jeans were an almost perfect fit but the shirt was a little tight right across my chest. I groaned but went with it, my only other option being one of Sam's shirts. It would swallow me whole.

I walked back to the den and stood there on the outskirts of the group, looking at the decorations. The room was done in a comfortable, homey kind of way. Strands of lights adorned the ceiling and walls. The multi color lights twinkled and blinked and created a festive atmosphere. .

The rest of the room was done up in "Happy New Year" banners and signs. There were balloons and streamers everywhere.

Through the archway that led to the dining room I could see the remains of the feast that the pack had consumed. I quickly joined Emily, Kim and Rachel as they worked to clean up.

"I saved you a plate, Bella," Emily said. "Why don't you eat while we clear all of this?"

"Thanks Emily," I quickly nuked it and then sat down. I was starving. In mere moments I was surrounded by half the pack wanting treats from my plate. I pretended not to notice as they snagged bites of ham and turkey. With the help of Quil, Embry, Jacob and Seth my plate was cleared in no time at all. I cleaned up after myself and then joined the party that was in full swing in the den.

The music was loud and I noticed that the furniture had been pushed back against the walls to make room for dancing. Punch was flowing freely and it didn't take long before the stress of the drive was behind me.

After one glass of Paul's super, strong, party punch I was moving my feet to the music that was playing over the speakers. After two glasses I was moving my hips and joining the group of women in the middle of the room. After three glasses I found myself sandwiched in between Kim and Leah. We rolled our hips and rocked back and forth into each other, laughing and having fun.

The music changed and Jared came up and claimed Kim for a dance. She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to pull her into his embrace. They swayed, lost in their own little world. They didn't seem to care that they were moving slowly to the beat of an up-tempo song.

Leah and I kept dancing with each other. I had my back to her stomach and her hands were on my hips, guiding my movements. I closed my eyes and lifted my arms putting them around her neck. Our bodies were close and we were moving quickly in time to the beat. We moved back and forth, our hips grinding and gyrating with each other. It was an erotic display, but that thought never entered my mind. I was simply having fun and enjoying myself.

We continued to dance until a slow song came on and Jake quickly came over and pulled me into his arms. We had danced together before but this time was different. I wasn't sure what the difference was, maybe he was holding me tighter than normal or it might have been his hands that were inching their way down my back getting closer and closer to my ass. Regardless it was making me uncomfortable and he needed to stop.

I looked up at him and said, "Jake… wh-" my question was interrupted by him, planting his mouth on mine. His tongue licked across my lips and then pushed insistently into my mouth.

I stood there in shock for just a moment before shoving against him hard.

"What the fuck, Black?" I growled when he finally let me go.

"Bella, you know how I feel about you," he started.

"Yes, Jacob, I do know how you feel about me. And I've told you before that I'm sorry, but I just don't think about you that way."

"What, Bella?" he yelled, "I'm not good enough for you? Is that it?"

"Jacob," I started saying, "You don't-"

"Why Bella… why not me? What is wrong with me?" he yelled.

"Jake man, lighten up, you need to calm down," Embry said. I hadn't noticed how quiet the room had gotten until he spoke up.

"No I don't, did you see her? Did you see her dancing that way with Leah? She knew how it would affect me… fuck Em… you can't deny that it turned you on as well. She did that shit on purpose." He looked at me, "Fucking cock tease."

"Whoa Jake, that's enough, you need to stop now. Bella wasn't teasing you, she was just having fun."

"Yeah Leah, you're a fine one to talk. You want her almost as much as I do."

I stood there in shock as Leah's mouth popped open and her face flushed. She turned and ran out of the room.

I took a step toward the door with the intention to follow her when Jake put his hand on my shoulder, "Bella."

I turned on him and he was instantly able to see my anger, "Jacob Black, let me make one thing clear. I have never had the feelings for you that you seem to have for me. I will never share those feelings with you. I love you Jake but not like that."

I stared into his heartbroken eyes and whispered, "I will never love any man like that."

Jacob stared at me in shock while the room erupted around me.

From somewhere behind me I heard Paul say, "I fucking knew it."

Paul's comment was quickly followed by Quil, "Fuck that's hot. Think they would let us watch?"

"Bella…" Jacob quietly said, his eyes going hard with determination. "What about Cullen?"

"I would never have been attracted to Edward if he hadn't done that vampire dazzling mojo on me. If it hadn't been for him playing with my mind he would have known that."

"Oh…" Jake replied in a small voice.

I turned and looked at the rest of the room daring them to say something. When no one did I walked toward the door. I stepped out on the porch and stood there looking out into the dark rain wondering where I needed to go to hunt for Leah.

"Bella?"

"Yeah, Seth."

"Come on and I will take you to her. I know where she likes to go when she needs to get away."

"Really?" I asked, hopeful.

"Yeah, you're going to get wet again, I mean, there's no way I can carry you and keep you dry."

"That's fine, just take me to her."

We ran through the woods at what seemed like break neck speed to me. I buried my face in the material covering his chest and tried not to look at the dark tree trunks that seemed to fly by. After about ten minutes we came across a small house nestled in a clearing in the forest. Seth stopped running when we reached the tree line and put me down.

"This used to be our grandmother's house. Leah comes here when she wants to think or needs some time alone."

"Oh… are you sure she's here?" I didn't see any sign of life anywhere.

"Yeah, she's here," he answered. A light appeared in the window and then I knew that Leah must have heard us talking.

I took a couple of steps forward before I looked back over my shoulder. "Thanks Seth."

"You're welcome, Bella."

I didn't hear him leave. Honestly, I didn't give him another thought. I just walked toward the light that was shining out in the darkness.

I had almost reached the house when the door opened up several feet away.

"What are you doing here, Swan?" Leah asked.

"I came to make sure you were all right," I replied as I walked toward her.

"I'm fine, you can leave now."

"I don't think so," I answered. "You may say you're alright, but I'm not sure that's true, and I'm not sure that I am."

"Besides, my ride left me." By this time I had reached her. I walked past her and into the house. "Do you have anything I can dry off with?"

"Yeah, hold on and I'll get you a towel."

She returned a minute later with an old worn out towel. "Sorry, it's the best of the lot. We don't really need 'em here."

"It's fine," I answered and started drying off the best I could.

My hair and clothes were soaked, again. I tugged my shirt off over my head and laid it across the back of a chair. The wet denim was a little harder, but I managed to wiggle my way out of the dripping jeans without falling.

I felt vulnerable standing there in my damp underwear. I crossed my arms and used my hands to try to rub some heat into my cold and clammy skin.

"Fuck, it's cold. Does this place have any heat?"

Leah snorted. "This cabin is almost eighty years old. The fireplace still works but that's about it."

She threw me a blanket. "Here, take this for now. I think there are some logs on the back porch."

I wrapped the blanket around me gratefully and stood there shivering.

Leah returned a minute later, her arms full of logs. In no time at all, she had a roaring fire going. I moved to stand in front of it.

"Damn but that feels good." I sighed.

Leah snorted. "Why did you come here Swan?"

I glanced over at Leah, "We really need to talk."

"About what? About what Jacob said? You can forget that you ever heard that. It's not true anyways," she scoffed.

"Oh… I umm… I was kinda hoping that it was," I replied in a small voice.

Leah inhaled quickly. "You were?"

"Well yeah, look at you. You are beautiful and smart, funny and protective… you're sexy as hell. Why wouldn't I want to be with you?"

"Are you making fun of me Swan?"

"No! Honestly, I'd like nothing more than the chance to be with you."

"What about Jacob?"

"What about him? He's a friend, a brother, nothing more."

"So you don't… love him?"

"Sure I love him, in the same way that you love Seth." I explained.

Several seconds went by while she seemed to consider my words. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

I decided to be blunt. I turned and looked at Leah, nearly shaken by the vulnerability I saw in her eyes. "I'm saying that I want to be with you."

"You… want to be… with me?" She said it like it was the most unbelievable thing in the world.

"Yes I do." The words seemed to hang in the air, while I waited for her to give me some indication of what she wanted.

Leah ran her hands through her hair and then glanced down at the floor. Her arms fell to her side and she looked up and stared at me. She took two steps forward and pressed her lips against mine.

I almost groaned in relief.

Leah's kiss was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. For one thing, it was different having her breast pressing up against mine, good, but different. Another thing was that her lips were so much softer than I was expecting.

I couldn't stop the moan that left my mouth and traveled into hers. She wrapped her hands in my hair and I nearly melted. Electric shocks spread over my body and finally stopped and gathered between my legs.

Leah licked my lips and I instinctively opened my mouth wider. My tongue traced over the edges of her teeth and then met hers in a twisting dance that left me breathless and gasping for air.

I didn't let that stop me from kissing her though. I took a deep breath and moved my lips down her neck, following her pulse. Leah tilted her head to the side and I continued my way down until I was stopped by the collar of her shirt.

Her breath was hot and heavy where she panted next to my ear.

I brought my hands up to her shoulders and then ran my fingertips down her arm to her wrist and then back up again. It wasn't an accident when my thumb grazed her breast.

Her reaction was instant. Her mouth parted and her nipples hardened.

I longed to wrap my lips over the tight bud and suck. My only concern was her response. I just didn't know if Leah was ready for me to take that step.

She showed me with her actions. Leah boldly placed her hands over my breast and kneaded lightly.

I moaned. My knees went weak and if I hadn't been holding onto her, I would have fallen to the floor at her feet.

Instead, Leah moved one of her arms around me and wrapped her hand in my hair. She pulled my head back and kissed me. Her other hand continued its work on my breast. Her fingers plucked, teased and twisted my nipples, through the material of my bra and shirt.

I was in heaven.

Every single molecule of my body burned for her.

I moved my hands to her waist and slipped my fingers underneath her shirt. Her skin was silky smooth, incredibly soft and oh so warm. I kept them on her sides, afraid to move too fast, more than willing to let her take the lead. My thumbs slid up and down in a gentle caress, lightly skimming the tender skin that covered her ribs..

Leah whimpered and rested her forehead against mine. "Bella, I want this. I want you, but I'm afraid. I can't go through... I can't lose someone again like I lost Sam."

I wrapped my arms around her and snuggled into her. "We'll take this slow. Nothing says that we have to do anything that we aren't ready for. But you'll see, I'm not going anywhere, not unless you want me to."

"Maybe we could just sit and talk?"

I smiled. "Sounds perfect."

The hours passed as we talked. We sat, hand in hand and watched the sun come up on a brand new day. It was a New Year and a new start, for both of us.