First of all, I just wanted to say I'm sorry that it took so long to get back to all of your reviews after my last update. There was some weird syncing issue with the reviews and I wasn't able to reply to them normally, so it took a while to go through and reply to you all :( I'm sorry! Secondly, did we all enjoy that little bit of Bellarke that we got? That beautiful hand hold, and Bellamy swallowing...He's just so beautiful... And third; on with the chapter! We finally get the date :)
Octavia wisely stayed in the bedroom when Clarke went to the front door, and she took in a nervous suck of breath before she opened up the door. Bellamy was standing there, wearing a pair of old looking jeans that were worn thin in places, but that looked as though they had been specially molded to his legs and ass, and also a tight-fitting blue tee-shirt which showed off his impressive biceps.
Maybe her mouth watered just a little bit.
"Hey!" She greeted him with a grin as she grabbed a pair of sneakers from the shoe rack inside, just beside the front door.
"Hey," Bellamy smiled easily back at her, looking adorable with dimples and a few curls of dark hair falling over his forehead.
"You going to tell me where we're going yet?" She asked as she laced up her sneakers and grabbed her wallet and keys from the side table.
"Patience is a virtue. Did you know that?" Bellamy teased her lightly as she shut the front door and locked it behind her. Octavia would go out the back door, and she had her own set of keys anyway.
"Well, it's not one of my virtues," Clarke informed him airily as they walked down the path toward his car.
"I can tell," Bellamy smirked over at her as he took a few quick steps to get out in front of her so that he reached the car first, opening up the door for her. Clarke flashed him a smile as she slid inside the silver Holden Commodore, raising an eyebrow at how meticulously clean it was. Bellamy walked around to the drivers side and got in, waiting until they were both buckled up before starting the engine.
"Clearly you got all the tidy genes in the family," she commented. "I've seen the way that Octavia lives—I'm surprised she can ever find anything to wear."
"Yeah, I guess that's something that comes with being the eldest," Bellamy shrugged as he pulled away from the curb and started driving down the street. There was music playing softly through the radio and Clarke leaned her head back against the head rest, tapping her fingers to the beat of the song. "So how's your week been?" Bellamy asked after a couple minutes of silence and Clarke couldn't help but let out a surprised snort of laughter. "What?! I'm making polite conversation!"
"I know, I know," she grinned over at him. "Anyway, my week was good," she paused for a second and then shot him a sideways look. "What about yours?"
"It was good," Bellamy played along with the slightly awkward small talk that he had created. "Murphy has been cutting out early most days to go and see Emori."
"Oh, yup," Clarke nodded knowingly. "Have you met her yet?"
"Nope," Bellamy shook his head. "I mean, we're not exactly the kind of guys who go around and have meet-and-greet dinners."
"No, but he's still your friend. And he's also Murphy," she reasoned with a smirk. "I figured he would have wanted to show her off and shit by this point."
"Valid point," Bellamy conceded with a nod. "But, no. I haven't met her yet." Clarke nodded and flashed a smile over at him before looking back out the window. She had no idea where they were going, but she was a bit confused when rather than driving back toward the main city, he was driving toward the highway that lead out of town. One of the things that Clarke loved about Ark was that the city was full and buzzing and everything she ever wanted from big city life. But then it only took about ten to fifteen minutes of driving before you were in the countryside, gorgeous, rolling countryside.
"Uh," Clarke frowned. "Can you please tell me where we're going?" She asked.
"We're almost there," Bellamy promised her with another grin. He slowed down and pulled off the main highway, chancing a look over at Clarke who was staring out the window, catching a glimpse of where they were heading.
"Paint balling?" She let out a squeak. "Are you serious?!" Bellamy's hands tightened around the steering wheel, not sure if it was a good or bad squeak.
"Is that a good thing?"
"Oh my god—I haven't been paint balling in so long! This is amazing!" She assured him, looking excitedly back out the window as he indicated off the side road and drove down the bumpy driveway that lead up to the paintball arena and main building. Clarke was definitely glad that she had heeded Bellamy's warning and gone with casual, outdoors clothes, because it was likely they were going to be ripped and ruined after this game. There were about three or four other cars parked up outside when they got out, and Clarke was almost bouncing with excitement.
Bellamy couldn't help but preen slightly with pride at the gleeful smile on her face.
He had made a good choice.
"You want to head in?" He asked her, nodding toward the door leading up to the shop.
"Yup," Clarke nodded and lead the way up the stairs. Bellamy had come out here a couple of times, but not for years. He had been racking his brain for somewhere to take Clarke—somewhere not boring—and when this place had come to mind and he had Googled it, he had been relieved to find out that it was still open. There were gulleys and bush fields, and while it wasn't the kind of place Bellamy would usually take a girl, he had a feeling that Clarke would appreciate this kind of place.
He was glad he wasn't wrong.
While there were other cars there, everyone else must have already paid and started because there was no one else waiting in line. Bellamy approached the man behind the counter, paying for them to have about two hours out there and two hundred and fifty paint balls. Clarke was already sizing up which gun was best for her by the time he had paid, and he had to admit, he kind of liked that she knew what she was doing.
"Did you guys want overalls with your helmets?" The facilitator asked. Bellamy glanced over at Clarke, who just cocked her eyebrow at him and gave him a cheeky smirk.
"Nah, we're good," she answered for them. "Unless, of course, you want them," she fluttered her eyelashes at Bellamy and gave him a joking, condescending smile that made him shake his head determinedly. "Although I think we'll take some vests," she said.
"Aw, is the Princess a little bit scared after all?" Bellamy teased her as the facilitator grabbed two vests and handed them over, waiting to make sure they were fastening them on securely.
"Dude, this is purely for your protection," Clarke smirked at him as she picked up the canister with her paint balls and picked up her gun. "You ready?"
"Ready," Bellamy nodded.
"Let's do this."
Bellamy knew that Clarke had good aim—he had seen her at the shooting range and she had incredible aim, to be specific. But that had been with an un-moving target. When you were actually running, and your target was running and ducking and trying to avoid you, that was a completely different story. So Bellamy had planned on taking it easy, maybe not running as fast as he could typically run, or aiming as best as he could.
He was wrong.
He was so wrong.
Clarke was kicking his ass, and he was loving every second of it.
Their time was almost up when she fired another shot at him, managing to get him directly between the shoulder blades as he ran for cover behind a grouping of bushes. It stung and he let out a hiss through his teeth, but he couldn't stop the smile that curved his lips upward when he heard the triumphant crow of Clarke from about ten or fifteen meters away.
"Do you surrender yet?!" Clarke cried out. Bellamy rolled his eyes.
"You clearly don't know me!" He shouted back at her. "I'm never going to surrender!"
"Then it's your funeral!" Clarke screamed out and there was the smacking sound of a bullets smacking the bushes that he was hiding behind. He laughed again as he took a step back, making sure there was no chance of any of the paint spatter hitting him. Bellamy took a moment to count how many pellets he had left, and winced when he realized he only had about twenty. But Clarke had to be running low as well, so it would be about fair.
"Hey, Princess?" Bellamy called out, pushing off from the squat he was currently in to try and see over the top of the bushes without getting shot. "You realize I'm closer to the flag than you are, right?"
"Is that so, Blake?" Clarke called back, her voice taunting.
"Damn straight," Bellamy grinned as he loaded up as many paint balls he could into his canister. "And you realize there's no way in hell that I'm going to let you win and go back to Murphy and tell him that I got beaten by a girl, date or no date?!"
"Oh, boo motherfucking hoo!" Clarke shouted out with a laugh and Bellamy couldn't stop his grin and shake of his head. "You're gonna loose, Blake!"
"You might want to reign that enthusiasm in, Princess!" Bellamy shouted back at her. "And bottle that energy up so that you can focus it on capturing the flag!" There was no response and Bellamy assumed that she was mapping out her path to get to the flag before him. They had already finished three rounds, 2-1 to Clarke, and he was determined to break even with her on their last round. The flag that they were after was maybe a two minute run from where he was at the moment, and for Clarke to get in front of him, she was actually going to need to get past him.
Which he refused to let happen.
Bellamy pushed away some of the the leaves and branches in front of him, trying to catch a glimpse of Clarke's position. He couldn't see her, but then he didn't have a wide range of view because of his sheltered spot. He pursed his lips and looked over his shoulder, wondering if he should make a break for it, but then he heard the snap of a branch nearby and he swung his eyes back around, gaze narrowed. There was no one behind him, or to either side, and he flattened his lips into a line was he considered his options.
He could make a run for it. It was risky, but there was a chance that he could make it, if he was quick, and stayed behind the trees.
Or he could find her, and take her down before making a run for it. That would definitely be more satisfying, given how much she had been rubbing in his face how much better she was doing than him.
He was so caught up in his thoughts—stupidly caught up in his thoughts—that he didn't even process that he wasn't alone behind the bush until there was a muzzle being pressed against the back of his neck. Bellamy froze, a rush of annoyance flooding over him before shaking his head in amusement. And then his skin prickled all over when he felt a brush of hair against the nape of his neck and the warmth of her breath.
"Gotcha," she whispered, cutting off with a giggle. Bellamy shook his head and got to his feet slowly, letting his gun swing free on the leather strap that was around his neck and holding up his hands in mock surrender. She turned around to face him, and felt his body tense again as he saw her properly for the first time in almost two hours.
Her cheeks were flushed red, and here eyes were glowing. She hadn't worn much make up to begin with, which he had loved, because even though he thought it was ridiculously hot the way she painted her eyes up all dark so that the blue was emphasized, he thought she looked downright beautiful all natural. Her hair had started falling out of the braid she had it pulled back in, and parts were a little damp with sweat, curling around her face.
She looked gorgeous.
"Thanks," Clarke gave him a half smile and Bellamy flushed a deep red when he realized that he had uttered that last comment out loud. Clarke let her grip on the rifle loosen and one of her hands lashed out to grip the blue button shirt he had worn over the short sleeved grey tee-shirt, pulling him toward her. Their lips came together, and Bellamy forgot all about the white flag that he was meant to be running toward, and everything else around them faded away.
Her lips were soft, just as soft and perfect as they looked, and despite her assertive and confident personality, she let him take lead, which he liked, and appreciated. He opened his mouth, encouraging her to do the same, but he didn't slide his tongue between her lips straight away, taking the time to get a feel for the way that she moved. She tasted like mint, something citrusy and faintly of cigarettes, which he knew that he would be able to get used to really quickly. He licked his way into her mouth and she made this tiny, little noise at the back of her throat that made him want to shred both of their clothes off.
When Clarke pulled away from him, her lips were swollen and pink and she had this glazed look in her eyes that he hoped he was going to put there a hundred and one more times. For a moment she just stared at him, before winking and taking off running toward the winning white flag, leaving him in her dust.
Okay, so I'm going to recommend a couple of songs again! Mainly because I love so many songs that I just have to share them, and also because I absolutely love, love, LOVE you guys giving me songs back. So keep suggesting them, I have a massive list on my computer of your songs and I make my way through all of them :) Anyway, the songs this time; Still Here and Devil Within by Digital Daggers. Fucking amazing, a little bit haunting—both of them. And then there's Couple of Kids by Maggie Lindemann is sweet and has this underlying sort of sad tone to it? But it's gorgeous and I'm addicted. And then the last one is Peach Arizona by drumaq. I've listen to this at least twice every time I get into my car. It's really chilled out and I'm just...God, I'm just in love.
Please leave a few words if you guys are still reading and enjoying this.
I absolutely love hearing what you all think :) And for your review, there will be a preview xx