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11
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I run from hate
I run from prejudice
I run from pessimists
But I run too late
I run my life
Or is it running me
Run from my past
I run too fast
Or too slow it seems
When lies become the truth
That's when I run to you
-I Run To You, Lady Antebellum
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Bella sighed and tucked her legs under her as she sat on her front porch swing watching the rain fall. Her lap top sat forgotten next to her as she got lost in her thoughts. She had a cup of fresh brewed coffee in her hands to help her wake up, though it hadn't helped thus far. She mused that another cup or three would do the trick.
She couldn't believe summer had flown by so fast. She'd signed up to earn a degree in Natural Resource Management with an emphasis in wildlife conservation and forestry. It'd been a passion of hers since she was little. Most of the classes could be taken online, which is what she signed up for, but some of them required the 20 minute drive to the campus in Tifton. She could deal, it was only one or two classes.
Sam's car pulling into her driveway jarred her from her thoughts. She smiled when she saw him, white tee shirt speckled with raindrops as he stepped out of the cab and hurried under the shelter of her porch roof.
"Mornin." He grinned.
She smiled. "Mornin. What brings you by so early?"
"I came by to rescue you from your boredom but the rain canceled out my plans." He laughed.
She moved her lap top, patted the seat beside her and invited him to sit with her for a few minutes. "It was sweet of you to try."
"Homework?" He wondered.
Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Yeah… two weeks in and I already have a paper due…ugh."
He laughed. "Don't feel bad. Some of my teachers were like that too."
She yawned and he couldn't help but chuckle at her. "You want some coffee? I'm goin inside to get more."
"How many have you had so far?" He teased.
Bella turned and gave him a playful glare. "Not nearly enough." She quipped while holding the door open for him.
Sam laughed and stood, following her inside with a grin. He'd thought to grab her lap top in case the wind picked up and carried the rain over the porch railing. "So you have any plans for tonight?"
"Nothing special. Sit at home… maybe watch a game with my dad if there's one on tonight." She shrugged. "Why?"
He stared at her in shock. "Bella… did you forget what today is?"
"Friday?" She tried.
Sam shook his head and pulled her over to the calendar hanging on the wall with a gentle tug. He stood behind her, caging her in and ran his lips over her jaw, barely brushing the skin on his path to her ear. "Happy birthday to you… happy birthday to you… happy birthday, dear Bella, happy birthday to you."
She nearly melted when his husky voice started crooning low in her ear. A shiver raced down her spine before she turned to face him. Something had changed in the space of two minutes. Sure they'd gotten closer as friends, but she wasn't sure how to tell him she wanted something more with him. Most of the rumors about her being pregnant had died, and Edward hadn't shown his face since everyone had found out about Lauren ending up pregnant with his child.
She was truly free of him.
"Bella…" Sam murmured, one hand moving from her waist to card through her hair.
Her eyes searched his, trying to guess what he wanted to say. They closed when he moved closer. Her heart pounded in her chest from the anticipation of his lips on hers. She sighed when she felt his mouth press to hers. Lightning could strike her where she stood and she could say she would have died a happy woman indeed.
What started out sweet and innocent moved to something wild and untamed. His hand resting on her waist moved down to her thigh in order to bring it up to his waist. The other thigh followed suit and Bella soon found herself wedged against the kitchen wall and an aroused Sam.
She broke the kiss with a gasp, her head falling back to hit the wall with a hollow thump. A shiver raced down her spine when she felt his lips ghosting over the skin of her neck. Her hands raised to card through his short hair, her nails scraping his scalp in the process. She dragged his lips back to hers and moaned when he pressed his hips into hers again.
They were so embedded in their own lust bubble that Bella never heard her front door open. They both heard the loud, excited whoops from a small group of boys now crowding her kitchen though when they were caught once with their lips once again locked in a heated kiss. Bella whined and buried her face into Sam's chest while he likewise buried his face into her neck, trying in vain to get rid of the obvious hard on he sported.
"Y'all are dead…" He muttered.
Paul smirked. "We wondered why in the hell you weren't answering the door."
Bella sighed. "Hey guys…" She tried for meek, peering over Sam's shoulder.
It didn't work. Jacob, Quil and Embry all used similar stances- an eyebrow arched with a 'are you serious right now' kind of look and arms crossed over their chests. It lasted all of two minutes before they all three of them smirked.
Sam sighed. "I need to use your bathroom." He muttered before walking out of the kitchen without facing his friends.
Embry snickered. "Come here Bella…"
When she was close enough, Embry fixed her hair in a side pony tail in order to cover the large bruise Sam had left on her neck.
"You know… that's why you get picked on so much." She teased, giving a playful shove to his shoulder.
He only shrugged. "Ask me if I care? We all know better."
Jared and Paul raised their eyebrows. "People messing with you?"
"Nah… people in school said I was gay.. Offered to help… straighten me out…" Embry muttered darkly.
"Yeah, but we've all toyed with Bella's hair… thrown it into a pony tail… thing… a few times… mostly when she's cookin." Jacob shrugged.
Jared shook his head. "Yeah… you're not doin that today by the way…"
Bella blinked at him in surprise. "I'm not?"
"Hell no! why are you gonna cook on your birthday?" Paul asked in shock.
She blushed at the memory of Sam's voice, deep and husky singing in her ear, his lips barely touching her skin.
Sam chose that moment to walk back into the kitchen. He grinned at Bella before making his way over to slap Paul and Jared upside their heads. It was followed with a slap to Embry's head as well. Jacob and Quil moved to the other side of the room in an effort to get away from him. It worked- for the time being.
"So… since it's raining right now… how about some movies?" Jacob asked holding up a bag.
Bella's eyes widened. "You brought superman and 3 Musketeers bars?! Jacob! You're amazing!" She squealed snatching the bag away from him.
Sam only shook his head. He had a lot to learn about the girl he'd just been five minutes away from throwing on the kitchen table.
"Come on… let's go watch the show." Embry grinned.
"Show?" Sam asked arching his eyebrow.
"Oh yeah… her and Quil ALWAYS get into it." Jacob grinned.
Jared, Paul and Sam shared a look. "Do we even want to know?" Jared wondered.
"Bella is a huge Superman fan… I happen to like batman. Quil though… Quil is all for Spiderman… say's he's the best superhero hands down, no contest." Embry explained.
"Oh is that all?" Paul asked, his tone dry.
Jacob shrugged. "Makes for good popcorn eating. They're hilarious."
Embry could only agree. "Come on…"
Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. So close… yet so far away from where he wanted to be. He walked into the living room and sat down at Bella's feet. He only shook his head when Bella and Quil did start to bicker, finding it hilarious that even in a friendly debate, Bella was still able to whip Quil's rear end- not that she knew he had let her at all.
Bella noticed and placed one foot on either side of him, scooting forward until she was on the edge of the couch. Jacob, Embry and Quil started to protest right away. Bella only smirked.
"Lean back Sam. You look tense." She whispered in his ear.
He couldn't help the shiver that raced down his spine to his semi hard dick. He did as asked of him and let a quiet moan escape when he felt the first contact of her fingers on his tense shoulder muscles. Embry had always gushed about her massages; now he knew why.
By the time she was finished, Sam was a mass of limp flesh resting against her legs. She giggled and kissed his cheek, as close to the corner of his mouth as she could get. "Feel better?"
Sam smiled at her. "Definitely." He muttered.
"Good."
It had been the last thing said before they got engrossed in the movie. When next any of them looked up, Sam sat on the couch with Bella's head in his lap, his hands running through her hair. Her eyes were closed, her chest rising and falling rhythmically in her sleep.
Jacob shook his head in amusement. They danced around each other, even if they had shared what looked like a few scorching kisses in her kitchen. He'd give it more time, then he would consider locking them in a closet somewhere until they realized how deep their feelings for each other ran.
Or until they slept together and got it out of their systems. The tension had started driving everyone mad!
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"Bella… hey… wake up sleepy head…" Sam cooed in her ear.
Her eyes fluttered open and she frowned in confusion when she noticed the TV turned off and no one else in the house save for Sam. He must have noticed because he chuckled.
"They're all at my house. My mom's throwing you a barbeque.. Remember?" He teased.
She smiled. "I do… the guys leave?"
"Yeah… bout 15 minutes ago now." He mused.
With a yawn and a stretch, Bella stood in front of Sam, trying to not be awkward around him now. She'd wanted that kiss- hell she wanted him- but, had she read too much into it? She wasn't sure exactly where Sam's feelings lay.
"What's wrong?" He asked finally.
"Nothing…" She said with a blush. He'd caught her… even called her on it.
With a squeal, Bella fell against him, his arms trapping her body to his. "Bullshit." He murmured.
"I'm fine Sam…I promise." She tried again, sounding more sure of herself.
Sam's eyes narrowed. Before she had a chance to react, he'd turned them and pinned her to the couch, both of her hands held over her head. "Tell me why I don't believe you, Swan." He teased.
Bella huffed. "I'm fine."
"Uh huh." He grinned before his free hand started the assault on her ribs, finding the most ticklish spots and teasing her mercilessly. "Gonna tell me?"
Bella lay beneath him gasping for breath, squirming, trying to free herself from his grasp. "Please… Sam… stop!" She giggled when he started tickling her again.
He looked up at her face, flushed with happiness, cheeks stained pink, eyes sparkling with laughter and couldn't help but fall for her that much more. In just three months, she'd weaseled her way into his heart and brushed aside every memory of any woman before her from his mind. He let go of her hands, using the one that had caged her wrists to better support his weight instead. His free hand ghosted up her side, barely brushing by her breast on the way to cup her face.
Bella's arms encircled his neck, her fingers toying with the hair at the base of his skull. "Thank you…" She finally whispered.
"For what, Bella?"
She smiled when he settled more of his weight on her. "not letting me forget my own birthday…" She whispered.
"You're welcome…" He whispered.
She let out a shuddering breath when he ran his nose along the line of her jaw only pausing to kiss her skin just below her ear. "Sam…"
"Go out with me…. I'll take you tomorrow to the movies then out to dinner…"
She smiled, pressing her lips to his, catching him off guard. "Yeah… it sounds fun." She said with a smile.
He grinned and climbed off of her, holding his hand out to her stand as well. "I can't keep you to myself tonight or people will hunt us down and drag us out of hiding." He teased.
"Heaven forbid." She quipped with a smile. "Give me ten minutes to get ready?"
"Just ten?" He teased, laughing when she swatted at his arm.
"I'll have you know I'm not like most girls! I don't need a lot of time to get ready!" She huffed.
Sam grinned. "Yeah… I know… I'm teasing." He promised.
She only shook her head and disappeared from his view up the stairs. She had to admit, this was one of the best birthdays she'd had thus far.