The Next Step [Claire]

[clairebear]

When Wade burst out laughing when she said she'd love to see him kick a guy in the family jewels, she couldn't help but laugh along with him. His laugh was so contagious. He had a lovely laugh, a lovely smile, gorgeous eyes, luscious lips, a perfect body. Then Claire mentally slapped herself, why the hell was she thinking like this about her best friend? Her head and heart were once again having issues with each other. He's my best friend, I shouldn't feel like this, said her head, well, there's something more going on here than just friendship, go with the flow said her heart. Last time Claire went with her heart, it had gone all so very wrong. So she was tempted to go with her head, but she really, really didn't want to.

Claire laughed along with Wade again when he laughed at her comment over the amount of food he had on his plate. When she'd said she was in competition with him, he said 'maybe' and Claire just smirked. She found she couldn't stop laughing and smiling around Wade tonight, although, she was always happy around Wade, but tonight, tonight, it was different. The whole thing just felt different. When Wade said he didn't think he had much to grow either, but guys took longer to fully mature, but hoped he was already finished with that, Claire gave him a warm smile. She did look down slightly, before speaking, "I'd say you were more than mature Wade." Then she looked back up at him, and smirked again, licking her bottom lip slightly, before grinning cheekily, with her tongue between her teeth.

It would seem her head might be telling her Wade was her best friend, but it was certainly telling her mouth to say things she wouldn't normally have said, so she was now sure more than before, that something was happening for her tonight with Wade. She only wondered if he was feeling it as well, she most certainly didn't want to make a fool of herself.

Then there was that electric touch from Wade's fingers in her mouth when he'd fed her a strawberry after saying how delicious they were when he'd eaten one himself. She had to close her eyes, taking in the feeling of that electric touch. She was definitely falling for her best friend. Nothing else could explain how she was feeling. Nothing. When Claire had finished the strawberry and then commented she didn't know what tasted better, the strawberry or Wade's fingers in her mouth, she had felt shocked by her mouth once again having a mind of its own.

Wade then moved in close to her, so his face was only mere inches away from her own. She could smell the strawberry which he'd eaten on his lips. He then said they could test the theory again. She then waited for Wade to pop another strawberry into her mouth, but that's not what happened. She felt his lips on her own and he was kissing her. Oh My God!! Thought Claire, he's kissing me, what do I do? Get up, move away, it's wrong, said her head. No, it's right, stay where you are, enjoy it her heart said. No, it's wrong, you caused this to happen, you've ruined your friendship. No, you haven't, it's what he wants too, he kissed you first. Then unable to take anymore of her heart and head arguing with each other, she pulled away. Looking at him with fear in her eyes, what was she doing, what were they doing.

She stood up, and began to walk away from him, tears forming in her eyes. This was wrong, it was wrong. Then she stopped, took in a deep breath, and slowly turned to face him. Wiping at the tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry Wade, I don't know what's happened to me tonight." She went to turn around again, but she couldn't, that face, that smile, she couldn't deny how she felt. She couldn't. She started walking back to him, and knelt down on the floor beside his chair, and looked him in the eye seriously. "I never thought I'd feel this way about a best friend again, after my last disaster. But I think I've known how I've felt for a while, and just been too scared to tell you." Then, closing the gap between them, she kissed him, passionately. Her heart had won the fight, again.

[wade]

Wade smirked, when Claire said that he had more than matured. He then watched as she smirked back at him. When she licked her bottom lip, Wade somehow just wanted to get in there, and do that instead. What was he thinking? His eyes then diverted back to his plate of food. Wade should know better than to think like that with his best friend.

After Claire had told him she didn't know what tasted better, the strawberry, or Wade's fingers, he had moved in closer. Between the both of them, the scent of the strawberries was overwhelming. Wade didn't know which way he would go. Would he just feed her another strawberry, or go in for the kill? He did what he felt was right, and went in to kiss Claire. As Wade kissed her, he felt that it was the right move to make. But to Wade, it felt that Claire was not responding much, or not at all. Maybe he shouldn't have done this at all. Maybe he should have just kept to giving her another strawberry. But no, being a male, he went in to kiss her instead.

Then all of a sudden, Claire pulled away from Wade. As he looked at her, Wade could see tears forming in her eyes. He felt like just sinking into the ground at that moment. So what he did was wrong, and now he had to pay the price. Get slapped, or just completely lose his best friend forever. Looking at Claire, he could definately see he had done the wrong thing. Before he could get a word out of his own mouth, Claire stood up, and walked away from him.

Wade watched as his true best friend walked away. He lent his elbows on the table, and put his head in his hands. Running his fingers through his hair, Wade didn't know what he should do. Should he go after her? Should he just sit and wait for her to come back, if at all? Then Claire spoke, which made him sit up in the chair, and listen. Seeing those tears of hers, made him just want to run up to her and apologise for what he had done. But then Claire apologised to him twice. Again, before he could say anything, she turned away from him.

Wade lent back in his chair, and quickly put his hands on his face. "Shit! What have I done," he murmured to himself. This was the moment that he knew he had lost his best friend. She had apologised, when Wade should have been the one to do it. He was the one who had kissed her, when he should have just done something else. He was the one now to blame. Then that voice of hers made him remove his hands from his face. He didn't feel he should interrupt Claire at all, as she spoke, so he sat and listened, with no expression at all. He listened as she spoke about how she was feeling for him. But then he soon found out how she was feeling, when she closed the gap between them, and she kissed him.

Wade felt like his breath was taken away then. Just when he thought he was going to lose Claire, here she was kissing him. So she was feeling the same way he had been feeling. The feelings that he had been playing with since they met up tonight. Wade decided it was best to stop talking now, and just kiss Claire. He could feel the passion behind it, allowing himself to let his mouth really get in there, and kiss her back. As he opened his mouth, working his passion on his end, Wade encouraged Claire to sit on the chair behind her. He wrapped his arms around her, and began to run his hands up and down her back.

Wade then slowly pulled out of the kiss, even though he didn't want to. Looking at Claire, he began to calm himself down. "I thought I was going to lose you then, when you walked away. I don't know what I would have done if you walked out of my life."

[clairebear]

When Wade had kissed Claire, she was completely lost in her thoughts over it. It felt so good, she had tingles running down her back, but because she was so shocked at Wade kissing her the way he had, she hadn't been able to respond very much, if at all. But she had enjoyed it, his lips felt so good on hers, and she wanted to so much kiss him back, but couldn't. Not because she didn't want to, but because realising, or finding out he was obviously feeling the same about her, as she was about him, seemed to send her into a slight panic, which resulted in her not kissing him back.

However, unbeknown to Wade, the reason why she had tears in her eyes was because she was blaming herself for letting the kiss happen. She was blaming herself for kissing Wade, even though he had been the one to kiss her. She had stood up and began to walk away from him, even though her heart was heavy to do so. But she felt, she had to, to figure out what had just happened, and more importantly, to figure out her own feelings, because her heart and head were having this argument over what she should do and say.

However, the feel of that kiss, and Wade's face kept coming back into her head, over and over, and she knew deep down, she couldn't walk away from him completely. That's when she had turned to speak to him, apologising for what was happening to her, thinking it was wrong. But it wasn't wrong, she realised. It was how she felt, and obviously Wade kissing her, meant he felt the same. That was when she went back to him. Kneeling down and speaking to him, telling him how she felt. Then proving it, by kissing him passionately.

As Claire continued to kiss him, she felt him kissing her back with just as much passion. It was like they had never kissed anybody before. She felt him open his mouth up to her, and as he did so, she allowed her tongue to explore his mouth, really getting into the kiss. She soon felt Wade encourage her to sit on the seat behind her, and she did so, not moving her lips from his own. The kiss continued and Claire felt Wade wrap his arms around her and his hands began to run up and down her back.

After a while, she felt Wade pull away from her, and he was looking at her. Not that Claire wanted to stop kissing him, but it did feel good to have a bit of air. She just looked at him, misty eyed, and slightly out of breath, but with a glow about her, and a bright smile on her face. Maybe he was hers now, and thinking that, it felt so good and made her so happy. Wade then spoke, and his words melted her heart and it made her feel bad for walking away from him.

Claire put a hand on his face, and held it there, talking in a soft voice, "You will never lose me Wade, I could never walk out of your life, because..." She trailed off, should she really say what she had been feeling, what she had known for a long time now, but had been too scared to admit? Really after everything they had just shared now, there was no point in holding back any longer. She looked at him seriously, "...because it would crush me, and there's no point in not telling you how I feel now, not after everything tonight, I love you Wade Murphy, I thought it was just as a friend, but it's not, it's so much more than that."

She could feel the tears forming in her eyes again, but not because she was sad, far from it. She was so happy right now, but now she had fully admitted her true feelings, she was scared as to how Wade would react. Was he only just finding his feelings for her tonight? Or, had he, like herself, known for quite some time how he truly felt? "Now, please don't say, telling you this, is the biggest mistake of my life?" She took her hand from his face, and then took both of his hands in her own, using her thumbs to caress the back of his hands and just stared into those ever so sexy eyes of his, and prayed she wouldn't be walking out of here now, without him.

[wade]

As they kissed, Wade had begun to get into it, and open his mouth, but that was it. Then he soon felt Claire's tongue in his mouth, having a bit of fun of its own in his mouth. Wade returned to favour, let his tongue have a bit of fun as well. They didn't part at all, even when Wade encouraged Claire to sit down on the chair behind her. He murmured a few times as they continued to kiss. It just felt so right, right now, just kissing Claire.

When Wade had pulled away from Claire, he looked at her, and saw that her eyes were a little glassy. He heard her let out a breath, as he calmed himself down. That smile made everything that had just happen so worth while. He told her that he thought he was going to lose her, and didn't know what he would have done if she had walked. When Claire put a hand on his face, Wade smiled, looking down, as she said that she would never walk out of his life, because it would crush her. The rest was a bit of a blur, until he heard her say that she loved him. Wade looked at Claire then, as she went on about how she thought it was just as a friend, but it is so much more.

Wade just looked at her, pretty much gob smacked. He just couldn't believe that she loved him. He was trying to find the words somehow in her eyes, but nothing was forming in his head. He just couldn't find the words at all. Wade then swallowed, and then saw the tears forming in her eyes. His best friend was now going to be something more to him, a lot more now. The title that she had in the public eye meant nothing to him. They had known each other for so long, none of that mattered. Wade knew her on a personal level, and now was going to know her more so like that. She was going to be his love, and also his best friend.

Then Claire asked him not to say that what she was telling him was the biggest mistake of her life. All Wade could do was shake his head slowly. Just as he wanted to say something in response, he felt Claire take her hand away from his face, and took his hands in her own. "It is not the biggest mistake, Claire. In fact, it is just something to bring your life back on track. And I hope that I won't disappoint in that area of your life. I haven't really felt this way about someone in so long. You are my best friend, and my love now. Nothing is going to change that, ever." Wade then lent in, and kissed Claire on the cheek, making his lips linger for a few seconds, taking in her scent.

Wade pulled away, and then smiled. "Now that is all out in the open, would you like to dance? I feel that I need to get up and move. I don't want to just sit here and see others having fun. I want to have some fun, as well, with you."

[clairebear]

When Claire had allowed her tongue to explore Wade's mouth during the kiss, she soon felt his own tongue do the same thing in her mouth, and as it did, she felt herself murmur slightly, as she felt tingles run down her neck and back. This was definitely the right thing she did, to come back and kiss him passionately like this. All that fighting between her heart and head earlier, which had caused her much confusion now gone.

Allowing her heart to win the fight was by far the right move. When they parted from the kiss and Wade said he thought he was going to lose her and wouldn't know what to do if she walked out of his life, she soon told him, that she would never do that, because it would crush her. However, she had went on to say she loved him, and now she was wondering if that was a mistake. Not the word love, that wasn't a mistake, she knew how she felt, but she did wonder if telling him was a mistake.

He seemed to be quiet for too long, and it made Claire feel slightly uncomfortable. Had she taken it all too far too soon? Which was probably why she should maybe have listened to her head after all. The silence was too much for Claire, she began to regret saying those words, and swallowed a few times, as she got a very dry mouth and throat. Claire had then asked him to tell her she hadn't just made the biggest mistake of her life. When he did speak, she smiled, he hadn't exactly said he loved her, which she had hoped for, but love was in the sentence, and so she had to settle for that. At least she hadn't made a mistake, he hadn't walked out on her, although after saying he wouldn't know what to do if she walked out on him, she could hardly see him doing that to her in all fairness.

Her smile just continued to get brighter, as she really took in what he said, about her life getting back on track, and how she was his best friend, and now love, and hoped he wouldn't disappoint. Looking at him with her bright smile, "You have never disappointed me Wade, and I don't think you ever could. As for my life getting back on track, I know you have already been a huge part in that, but I hope you will continue to be so. I don't plan to look back on anything now, it's time to move forward, and I want to do that with you." Wade then leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, and she closed her eyes for a brief second enjoying the touch of his lips on her skin. She so wanted to just go back to kissing him passionately, but knew they were here for a party, and they should get into the party, and keep the passionate things for when they were on their own.

Wade then spoke again, asking her if she wanted to dance, and how he didn't want to sit there while others were having fun, he wanted to fun too, with her. She grinned, getting up from the seat, "Sure, sounds like fun. Have to make sure we get at least one slow dance in though." She couldn't help but say that, because she so wanted to have a slow dance with Wade, where she could just put her arms around his neck, and lean her head on his shoulder, and just get lost in the song and dance with him.

[wade]

Wade heard Claire murmur a little, as they kissed passionately. It just felt so right, after all the time that early evening, when they had friendly banter between them, and various gestures from each other. This was the perfect ending to what they had gone through. Even if it was almost lost, when Claire was almost about to walk away from something that would be rather magical, like this kiss they were sharing right now.

He saw that smile of hers, when he replied to what she had asked him. That was what he liked to see. He liked seeing Claire happy, and she deserved to be happy, what with everything she had been through. Wade had been a part of her life for this long, and he could see being with her for a long time yet. When Claire said that he had never disappointed her, and didn't think that he ever could, he smiled warmly at her, and took her hand in his own then, and gave it a bit of a squeeze. Then Claire went on to say that he had already been a big part of her getting her life back on track, and that she didn't plan on looking back, as it was time to move forward. The last thing made him just stare at Claire. "Well, I can't wait to move forward along with you."

Wade had then kissed her on the cheek, and then asked her if she wanted to dance. He watched as Claire got out of her seat, which made him smile. Wade nodded, when Claire mentioned that she wanted to get at least one slow dance in. "Yes. That would be nice too." He gestured for Claire to take his hand, and led her out to the dance floor. The upbeat song was coming to an end, and a slow song came on. "Well it looks like you will get your chance now." As the song Crazier by Taylor Swift, came on, Wade let go of Claire's hand, and then pulled her close to himself. Wade smiled, just knowing that this moment would be one that he would never forget

[clairebear]

Claire couldn't believe she had almost let her head win over her heart over the situation with Wade. If she had let her head win, she wouldn't be enjoying this passionate embrace with Wade now. Everything about it made Claire realise she had most definitely made the right decision. Any doubt she previously had were now wiped from her mind. All she wanted to do, was move on with her life, and look forward to the future. A future which she felt might now be rather bright. What more could she ask for? Her best friend and now boyfriend was going to be very much a part of her future, and hopefully for a very long time.

When Wade said he couldn't wait to move forward with her, she gave him another one of her dazzling smiles. Moving on with Wade was the right thing to do. He had always been there for her when she needed him the most, especially the past few months. It was only natural she wanted him to move forward with her in her future. The hand he had taken earlier to give a gentle squeeze was still there, and Claire gave his own a gentle squeeze back, "Well, that makes two of us then."

After Wade asked if Claire wanted to dance, she had got up from her seat, and she saw Wade smile, which made her smile. Naturally Claire had said she wanted at least one slow dance, and she smiled again, feeling her face go a slight shade of pink, when Wade agreed that would be nice too. Just the thought of being on that floor, lost in the music of a slow song, being in his arms, it made her feel really good. Wade then gestured for her to take his hand, which she did, and he then began to lead her out to the dance floor.

Just as the reached the dance floor the upbeat song which was playing had just come to an end, and a slow song began to play, as if luck would have it. Claire loved the song which had just come on, it was perfect to dance with Wade to. Wade then said it looked like she had her chance for that slow dance. "I love this song too. Really love it." Not as much as I love you though, she said to herself, not ashamed to say it out loud, but she had already used the L word once today, and she felt once was enough since they had only just revealed their true feelings for one another.

Soon Wade let go of her hand and pulled her close to him, she smiled up at him, as he did this, and as she leaned her head on his shoulder, she breathed in his scent. It was magical. She then put her arms around his neck loosely and just enjoyed the embrace as she began to sway with him, enjoying the feeling of his arms wrapped around her. She soon began to sing along to the song softly, forgetting that she might just be loud enough to be showing off her own vocal talents at that point.

[wade]

Wade smiled, when Claire sqeezed his hand that he had been holding hers with. Just hearing that she felt the same way he was feeling was fantastic. Wade couldn't wait for the night to end, and for them to begin their new level of their relationship. He couldn't think of a better person to share things with now. Just knowing it was Claire who he was now going to get rather close to, just made him smile even more.

He just couldn't believe his luck, when a slow song came on. He smiled warmly, when Claire commented about the song. Wade knew of it, but didn't really listen to Taylor's music. "I'm glad." So in order to enjoy the moment, Wade had let go of her hand, and pulled Claire close to him. He caught that smile of hers, before Claire put her head on his shoulder. A moment later, Claire put her arms around his neck, which led to Wade kiss her head, and then run his hands slowly up and down her back. He didn't want this moment to end, but he couldn't wait for the night to end, so that he could start this new relationship with Claire.

(ooc: I feel that this might be a good spot to end the thread. What do you think?)