Bellamy watches the shift in her features, her lids partially lowering, the upward tilt of her chin to the slight hitch in her breathing, his right hand shifting from her elbow to the center of her back as he lowers his head to seal his lips to hers.
He tasted like heaven and felt like home.
Clarke moved her hand slowly up from his bicep to the base of his neck as she edged up on tip-toe to better leverage herself up, allowing her body to be pulled flush into his as his left hand shifted to the space between her shoulder blades. She ran her hands into the curls at the nape of his neck, pleased to discover the stands flowed through her fingers like silk. She parted her lips to deepen the kiss when they heard the keys turning in the lock of the front door. They jumped apart, and with eyes wide, Clarke settled one hand back to secure her towel to her chest, and the other to her lips, she glanced up at Bellamy, his lips equally swollen from her kisses.
"Bell?!" Octavia called out as she entered the house, her keys clanking as she dropped them into the bowl on the front hallway table.
Bellamy took several deep breaths, trying to gather his composure, excited at the new development, but severely disappointed in his sister's timing, he figured it was karma for always playing the overprotective brother anytime she was around boys in high school. Running his fingers through his hair, he turned back down the bathroom hall, making his way to the living room as he heard the door to Clarke's room softly click shut, they'd been hidden from Octavia's prying eyes thanks to the layout of the house and the wall that partially separated the living space from the bedrooms.
Turning the corner, Bellamy smiled at the sight of his baby sister, he's so glad that she and Clarke are getting along well, because if they'd not set off on the right foot, his possible new relationship wouldn't even get off the ground. "Hey! How was work?"
"It was good, pretty quiet night, only a few calls, Mrs. Hudson fell pretty bad and needed to be hospitalized, thankfully she thinks Linc is, and I quote 'the bee's knees' and was much more accommodating when being loaded to the stretcher at the thought being in his 'more than capable hands'. She needs to keep her hands off my boyfriend or I'll put her back into the hospital as soon as she gets out."
"Tavi! She's like 70 years old! I don't think you have much to worry about."
"Why can't she be like the rest of her generation in this town and think because he's covered in tattoos, he's gotta be some sort of criminal or up to no good seeking to besmirch any young unmarried woman's reputation? I swear I saw her palm his ass in the back of the ambulance."
Bellamy couldn't resist laughing at seeing his sister so worked up over what would turn out to be nothing, he was worried at that with the man's appearance Lincoln would be nothing but trouble and heartbreak for her, but it was a huge relief to see that his sister was truly adored and he'd never had to worry Lincoln would break Octavia's heart checking to see if the grass was truly greener in another pasture.
"Who palmed whose ass, and do I need to gather bail money or a shovel? Although, seeing as your brother is a cop, perhaps he'll be the get out of jail free card?" Clarke asked, casually dressed in jeans and a blue tank, wet hair braided back, and a slight flush still on her cheeks.
"See, Bell! Clarke has my back." Octavia exclaimed as she flung her arm at her brother. "One of our patients got a little too touchy feely with Lincoln, and someone here thinks it's hilarious because the woman is in her seventies! Get this Mr. Funny Man, she went dying swan on us so he'd give her CPR until I said that we needed to defib her. She perked right back up after that." She smirked at the thought of jolting the wannabe cougar as she plopped herself onto the sofa, she took in the mugs that they'd left on the coffee table the night before, one perfectly arched eyebrow lifted, but decided to keep any comments to herself, just in case something did happen, she didn't want to set them back in anyway. She couldn't wait to text Raven to tell her there was some progress even without their interference, and while the saying goes "Good things come to those who wait" Bellamy had certainly waited long enough for his happily ever after, it wasn't right that everyone else in their group was paired up, save for him. "Well, I'm exhausted and would love nothing better than to spend the rest of the morning with you two, but I'm going to have a shower and get some rest." she said as she trudged her way to her bedroom.
Clarke couldn't ignore the butterflies in her stomach as she watched Octavia exit the room, she wasn't upset at the new development, but it all seemed to be happening so quickly, she wasn't the type to just jump into a relationship without looking, but she's almost positive that if she were to confide in Wells, he'd be telling her to go for it, she's put her life on hold for school and why shouldn't she enjoy herself, enjoy the attention and possibility of a summer fling? She's going to be leaving once fall comes, so there's an end date in sight, no extended commitments unless she so chooses.
Bellamy glanced at Clarke, unable to decipher the look on her face, wasn't familiar with her enough to be able to gauge what the furrow between her eyebrows might mean for him. "I've, um, I've got to head over to Miller's, then to Kane's, but, maybe next week, when Octavia's not here, if you'd like to have dinner together?"
He was just as unsure as she was, and while Clarke could have easily pointed out that since she's technically living in his home, they already eat dinner together, but she knew without a doubt he meant in a more formal manner, which warmed her heart, since she couldn't remember the last time a guy offered to cook dinner for her as a date option, it was always a movie and fast food.
"I think I'd like that, very much."
Bellamy arrived at Miller's, unable to hide the smile on his face, his elation that Clarke accepted his offer of dinner was a step in the right direction. It was an odd start to a relationship, most of the time the end game is moving in together, but she's already in his house, much less on his mind much of the time and burrowing into his heart. They still had much to learn about one another and he knew she'd be going back to school in the fall, but he was definitely open to the possibility of a long distance relationship should they choose to extend this beyond the summer.
"Bell! Right on time, Kane wanted us to meet him by the south gate, said there was some fencing that went down, couldn't tell if it was rotting posts or if someone is trying to rustle cattle." Miller climbed into the passenger seat, and Bellamy turned the truck around and headed out towards the direction of Kane's farm.
"Cattle rustlers? In this day and age? I think it's more likely that the high schoolers are going cow tipping and didn't pay attention to whose cows they found and left in a panic."
"Right, cuz you, Murph, and I knew better than to herd cattle while indulging in the early days of Monty and Jasper's trial and error moonshine."
"I never said we knew better, just that we were lucky Vera didn't shoot our asses the second time she caught us."
"Those were the good old days." Miller waxed nostalgic, but while remembering the fun of their youth did put a smile on their faces, "Did she say yes?"
Bellamy turned to face Miller, trying to keep a straight face and failing "Yes."
"Well, congrats man. I told you she would. Monty swears that first night at Grounders she could hardly take her eyes off you. But did you listen to me, no. You say she looks after Gus and when you work late and come home to find him cuddled up with her asleep you get all sappy and wax poetic about this possibly being the one you've been waiting for, but you take your sweet time, At this rate your first kiss will be your last kiss as she drives off into the sunset." Miller was waiting for Bellamy to rise to the bait and get defensive, but when no response was given, "Well?"
Bellamy wasn't one to kiss and tell, but he did confide in Miller, the person he was closest to other than his sister and Kane, how hopeful he was that this would be more than just a fling. Baby steps, Blake, baby steps.
A/N: So sorry for the delays, a lot of stuff going down at work that's stressing me out to no end. It puts me in a bitter mood, and well, the story's not supposed to sound bitter. Creative juices are slow going and I really want to put out longer chapters. You'll see a little bit of a time jump in the new few postings, seeing as we're still at the very beginning of Clarke's stay. Any editing errors are strictly my own. Reviews are a burst of sunshine on this very rainy day!
