Never Want To Choose ch 17 (Days: Sami, etc)

[chrisevefan]

Kimberly sat at Salem Place thinking about her parting words with Brandon. While she’d tried to play the part of the good, supportive friend, friendship was the furthest thing from her mind. She had an agenda and one way or another she’d find a way to make it work. The question is how would she go about getting what she wanted? She stirred her coffee with the small red stick that she’d snagged up at the counter and now her mind was reeling with possibilities on how to get what she wanted.

Of course there were still a few details to work out, she reminded herself as her gaze traveled listlessly through the crowd of shoppers that surrounded her. Sure, this waiting was a pain in the butt, but it would be well worth it when in the end she buried the ever troublesome Samantha Brady. The thought alone sent a jolt of enthusiasm over her body now that she’d found herself a woman on a mission. Oh how she would enjoy what came next, but for now she was going to enjoy life’s simple pleasures like the coffee before her.

“Kimberly,” she heard a voice call out to her. Looking up, she noticed Lucas approaching. Setting her mug aside, she tossed her dark hair over her shoulder before smiling at him intently.

“Lucas, how good to see you,” she grinned eagerly rising up from her seat, “Here I thought we wouldn’t cross paths, yet here you are.”<br>
“I was getting a few errands done,” Lucas confessed with another smile before motioning to the chair across from her, “Got room for one more?”<br>
“For you always,” she nodded appropriately watching him slide into the seat across from her, “So what brings you out and about this afternoon?”<br>
“You mean other than the big ball of nerves that follow me around in planning a wedding,” he half teased before letting out a slow sigh, “I needed a break.”<br>
“That overwhelming huh,” she arched a curious brow.

He nodded, “I guess that’s what happens when all of your dreams are coming true.”<br>
“So they say,” she mouthed in the beginnings of a scowl.

“I’m learning first hand how time consuming planning happily ever after can be,” Lucas continued with a bright grin, “So what about you? What have you been keeping busy with?”<br>
“You mean other than trying to keep Brandon from busting in on your next wedding,” she questioned in a hint of teasing only to watch Lucas’s eyes narrow with obvious distain.

“I take it you heard all about that,” Lucas frowned.

She nodded, “More than I wanted to. I guess he’s just a creature of habit.”<br>
“You mean in making Sami’s life miserable,” he questioned with an inward groan.

“No, he’s just confused. Brandon hates the idea of letting go of anything. Failure isn’t in his vocabulary and his marriage is no different,” she shrugged her shoulders before lifting her mug to her lips again, “I guess you could say that’s his problem.”<br>
“Kim, look I wasn’t going to bring this up, but given what Brandon did the other night, well maybe you should think about moving on. You know--about finding some other guy who won’t treat you like dirt,” he suggested.

“Brandon doesn’t treat me like dirt. He’s just a bit of a perfectionist that’s all,” she shrugged her shoulders once more, “He doesn’t know what it means to let go of something that should matter and that incident was a moment of temporary insanity on his part.”<br>
“Kim,” he started with a sigh before reaching out across the table to touch her hand, “I know you want to think the best about him and about the life you’re hoping for, but the guy is messed up in the head. Take it from someone who knows him…”

“Watch it Lucas or I might think you care more than you’re letting on,” she stated with a teasing wink watching the color rise over his features, “For a moment there you were starting to talk like a former lover as opposed to a concerned pal.”<br>
“Well, whatever way you choose to take it, I’d just steer clear of Brandon if I were you,” he paused thinking about what she’d said to him, “and besides, when did the rules change to make it black and white were former lovers are concerned.”<br>
“I’m guessing you didn’t mouth a word to Sami about our history,” she stressed the word adding sensual hues as she spoke it aloud, “with one another.”<br>
“Hardly,” Lucas couldn’t help but feel his throat go dry at her implications of the long, erotic nights they’d shared in Africa with one another at a time when life had been seemingly empty. Catching the sultry expression that burned behind her wide, brown eyes he added further, “and I’m sure Brandon doesn’t have the first clue about it either.”<br>
“Heavens no,” she shook her head, her dark hair swirling around her face, “I wouldn’t dream of complicating things anymore than they already have been.”<br>
“So then why are you wasting your time on Brandon,” he questioned in a worried tone.

“Maybe because the right guy slipped through my fingers,” she reached out across the table to brush her finger tips against his palm for a brief, fleeting moment before drawing back.

“Kim,” he started with a moment of uneasiness growing between them.

“Don’t say it Lucas,” she urged him to silence, “It was ancient history and besides it was fun while it lasted.”<br>
“That it was,” he couldn’t help but admit as the vivid memories overtook him.

“And besides fate lead us away from one another to everything that we wanted. You said it yourself that happily ever after was well within your reach now.”<br>
“It is,” he nodded in agreement.

“Yet I sense a but coming on,” she arched a curious brow.

“If Brandon would just leave well enough alone all would be great,” he confessed with a grumble.

“Brandon is just trying to close a chapter in his life, but truth be told I don’t think Sami wants the same thing,” she added with a huff, “Otherwise she wouldn’t keep calling him like she’s been doing lately.”<br>
“What,” his jaw practically dropped upon her revelation.

“That’s right. The girl calls him nonstop making desperate pleas to meet with him. I mean you think she’d be happy to have you in her life, but no she has to have her cake and eat it too. She keeps spouting out these sob stories to Brandon and he feels sorry for her,” she continued to misinform him, “Brandon only went to that wedding because Sami begged him to save her from making the biggest mistake of her life. Lucas, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Sami is playing you and eventually you’re going to get burned by her.”<br>
“No, Sami wouldn’t do that to me,” he argued thinking about the woman he loved.

“Are you really so convinced? I mean how many times has she used you as a pawn in one of her games?” she challenged with an arched brow, “I mean first she lied to you about Will’s paternity and then with all the custody battles going on…”

“Sami’s changed. She’s not like that anymore,” he tried to argue with her, “She’s grown up.”<br>
“A leopard never changes her spots and in this situation I think all Sami’s managed to do is pull the wool over your eyes in more ways than you realized,” she reached out to him, “I just don’t want you to get hurt by that woman Lucas. She’s trouble and you could do so much better.”<br>
“I love her,” Lucas confessed honestly.

“Love shouldn’t make you stupid,” she warned him cryptically, “Just make sure you really know what you’re getting into before you’re stuck in a situation that you can’t pull your way out of. I’d just hate for that to happen for you once Sami has set her sights on screwing you over all over again.”<br>
“Kim, you don’t know her like I do. She’s not…” he started to argue in Sami’s defense.

“The woman who made your life a living hell? Lucas, think about it. First she says she hates you and then you two are lost in love. Did it ever occur to you that she’s played this situation to a tee in the hopes that Brandon would return and win her over all over again now that she’s yours? I mean you can’t deny that this sounds like something she’d pull.”<br>
“Maybe a long time ago, but not anymore. Sami loves me and she wants to be with me,” Lucas argued hoping that he wasn’t wrong in putting his unwavering faith in a woman who’d had the power to make his life heaven on earth or destroy him completely in the blink of an eye.

********************

[chrisevefan]

“Brandon what are you doing?” Sami questioned taking a step away from him.

“Samantha, I can’t let us make the same mistake twice in a lifetime. You and I both know that this isn’t as cut and dry as you’d like to believe it is,” he urged on further watching the twisted turmoil that spread over her features, “You can’t tell me that you’re happy with how things turned out.”<br>
“This isn’t about being happy. This is about doing the right thing Brandon,” Sami tried to argue with him, “That’s what I’m doing here and for once I want to follow through on that.”<br>
“So you’d rather deny your heart to do the misguided right thing,” he gave her a strange look watching the way her breath spilled from her lips, “Samantha, who is it right for? I’d really like to know because this sure as hell isn’t what I wanted for us.”<br>
“It doesn’t matter what you want,” she informed him while trying to contain the ache that spiraled out of control over her body at the nearness of him. His cologne sent her head swimming, kept her insides pooling to mush and all she could do was fight like crazy to keep from saying what was on the tip of her tongue, “We’re over.”<br>
“Are we,” he took a bold step towards her. With one swift motion, he reached out to her drawing her into his arms completely. He wrapped the strength of his perfectly sculpted bicep around her body while she easily shifted in against him.

Their eyes connected for a long, lingering moment as they both could feel the wild rhythm of their hearts lost in the unspoken need between them. She opened her mouth to speak--feeling her throat dry while her lips were moist with anticipation. Her eyelashes fluttered and her pulse leapt to another plane altogether when Brandon’s succulent lips beckoned hers. Igniting the fire that she’d fought like mad to contain, Sami nibbled on his lower lip, remembering all too well why he’d been able to captivate her from the beginning. His kiss was strong yet gentle, loving yet reckless, planned yet desperate and full of that sensuality that belonged solely to Brandon Walker.

She could die in this moment and it wouldn’t matter. Life was irrelevant when he held her in such a fashion and as his embrace constricted, she found herself wanting nothing more than to take back those harsh words she’d issued to him only a few short days ago. If she could she’d erase the pain and the misery they’d put one another through only to replace it with the warmth and fire that he’d brought into her life. She’d wrap them both up in the intensity that burned her to the core. She could so easily melt into him and not think twice of it…except that wasn’t the path she’d set out for with him.

“Brandon stop,” she tore herself away from his kiss despite her body’s protest to such a demand. Shaking with each word she spoke, she struggled to keep her knees from buckling.

“Samantha please,” he reached for her once again.

“It’s over Brandon,” she stated doing her best to remain cold and distant as she thought of what Kimberly had explained to her, “Our relationship ended a long time ago and I can’t keep doing this.”<br>
“But you love me and I love you,” Brandon pleaded with her, “When we made love…”

“That was a mistake Brandon. One that I wish like hell I could take back and if you can’t understand that, well then obviously you’re the one who needs to learn to let go. I’ve moved on in my life with Lucas. He loves me and I love him,” she bunched her fingers into the fabric of her skirt straining to keep from letting him see how much she hated the words that flowed from her, “He was there when you abandoned me. He stayed at my side and he’s given me what I need--more than you ever could’ve.”<br>
“You don’t mean that…” he started with obvious hurt behind his eyes.

“The hell I don’t. You abandoned me Brandon Walker and coming back into my life to uproot me is just cruel. You had your chance and you blew it,” she stood taller fighting to keep from falling apart, “and if you really cared about me, then you’d stop this madness. You’d just let well enough alone and let me live my life. You’d go back to Kimberly and beg her for her forgiveness. You two can have your happily ever after and I can have mine with Lucas.”<br>
“Sami, you are my happily ever after,” he started seeing the distance between her blue eyes, “You’re the woman I want to spend my life with.”<br>
“I guess you should’ve thought about that before you walked out on me on our wedding day,” Sami shot back icily, “That in itself says how much I mattered to you Brandon.”<br>
“Samantha, I was confused and…”

“And you made the biggest mistake of your life,” she added with a huff, “but I’m not about to stand here and let you do the same for me again. I’m not going to let you stop me from being with Lucas, so it would be best if you just let this go. Sign the papers when you get them and get out of my life.”<br>
“Samantha,” he paused watching her expression shift, “Is that really what you want?”<br>
“More than anything I want to be free of what we had with one another,” she nodded fighting the tears she could feel threatening, “I want my life with Lucas.”<br>
“What if I don’t believe you,” he threw back at her catching her off guard, “What if I thought you were just doing this to run from what you feel for me?”<br>
“Then you’d be crazy to think such a thing,” she huffed impatiently.

“Would I? You’ve done it before Samantha. You did it with Austin and now with Lucas,” he approached her once again, “When are the games going to end?”<br>
“When you give me the divorce I’ve been waiting for. It’s over Brandon,” she spit out in a rapid fire of words before taking off in the opposite direction refusing to let Brandon see the truth. She had to let him go. He had to get on with his life without her and if this was what it took, then that’s what she would do to get him to see how things were meant to be.

********************

[chrisevefan]

“Thanks for the conversation and the coffee,” Lucas smiled reaching to embrace Kimberly after their talk with one another.

“Anytime Lucas,” she hugged him in response keeping him close to her while she tipped her eyes up to seek out his trusting gaze, “you know how important your happiness is to me.”<br>
“Likewise. I just want to see you do better than you’ve done with Brandon. Someone like you deserves the world,” Lucas tipped down to kiss her cheek gently.

“As do you Lucas,” Kimberly nodded in response turning her head just enough to catch his lips with hers in a brief, chaste kiss. The movement surprised Lucas. She offered up a tiny grin before explaining, “For old time’s sake.”<br>
“Of course,” he smiled taking a step back before reaching for her hand, “Just think about what I said Kim.”<br>
“You too Lucas,” she insisted watching his retreat. After he’d slipped out of sight, she felt her own sense of purpose flowing through her veins. She’d planted the seeds of doubt in Lucas and now it was time to watch them grow. Soon Sami wouldn’t know what hit her and by the time she realized who had delivered the ultimate blow to her happiness, it would be too later.

“Goodbye Sami,” Kim beamed reaching for her cell phone as it was time to take things to the next level. She would need to work out the whole issue of proving that she and Brandon shared an intimate bond with one another, but to do that, she needed to find herself an unknowing partner in crime. The question was who would be the unlucky, unknowing participant in her plan.

“What do you think you’re doing,” Nicole’s voice accused breaking through Kim’s plans of victory where Sami was concerned, “What were you doing with Lucas just now?”<br>
“Nicole,” Kim gasped in surprise, “what are you doing here? I didn’t hear you come up.”<br>
“Big shocker there,” Nicole frowned in response, “could that be because you were too busy making out with Lucas Roberts to realize you were in a public place?”<br>
“I wasn’t making out with Lucas,” Kim defended her position, “We’re just old friends and…”

“Spare me the bull,” Nicole rolled her eyes, “I know a line when it’s being fed to me, so you might as well stop before you start.”<br>
“Fine, then what do you want to hear,” Kim folded her arms in front of her chest.

“You can start by explaining what you were doing with Lucas,” Nicole ordered.

“I was upset with your brother since it’s obvious he hasn’t gotten Sami out of his system. I tried to talk some sense into him, but he’s just not willing to open himself up to the reality that’s right before him,” Kim continued to explain, “I ran into Lucas and I thought that maybe he should know about what Sami’s been doing to warp Brandon’s mind. I thought that maybe he could get Sami out of Brandon’s life so that Brandon and I could be happy with one another.”<br>
“So you took it upon yourself to get cozy with Lucas to make it happen,” Nicole arched a skeptical brow.

“That’s not what was happening,” Kim began to explain.

“Spare me the details,” Nicole cut her off abruptly, “Just know one thing. If I ever catch you trying to upset the balance in my brother’s life, then I’ll bury you.”<br>
“Nicole, I wasn’t…” Kim started ready to step up to take on Nicole.

“I’m just warning you Kim. I’ve watched my brother being miserable for far too long and I’m not about to let anyone else bring him down,” Nicole warned sharply, “Sami might be trouble, but you, well if you make one false move…”

“You’d be best to watch your words Nicole or else I might think we’re going to have some major tension in the future once we become family,” Kim threw out at her in a menacing tone, “and I’d hate to have to force Brandon to cut you out of his life.”<br>
“Oh that’s rich,” Nicole chortled thinking about the confrontation she’d had with Sami. While she hated Sami, Kim had just pushed all the wrong buttons, “In fact, from this moment on you should just consider yourself a memory in Brandon’s life because the next time I see him, I’m going to tell him all about the witch you are.”<br>
“You wouldn’t dare,” Kim threw back, unable to mask the wild determination behind her dark eyes.

“Just watch me,” Nicole cut back with a wicked smirk, “You just picked the wrong person to mess with and sooner or later you’re going to live to regret this day.”<br>
“Not like you are Nicole,” Kim replied under her breath watching Nicole’s retreat as she realized it was time to turn the heat up in her plans for the future.

********************

Sami opened the door to her apartment hating that she couldn’t control herself these days. While she’d tried like crazy to keep her emotions under control, it had taken everything in her power to keep from running back to Brandon. He could still read her like a book and she’d hated that she couldn’t hide from what it was he made her feel. She loved him--longed to be with him and that was destroying her dreams for a future with Lucas. She’d made her choice. She’d requested Brandon would just back off, but it felt as if the harder she pushed him out of her life, the more he fought to work his way in.

“Why does this keep happening,” she muttered under her breath leaning in against the doorway. Closing her eyes she let out a long sigh as she tried to make sense of the situation.

“That’s what I keep asking myself,” Lucas broke through her inner turmoil drawing her back to reality. She opened her eyes to find him seated on the couch looking forlorn and miserable. Stepping in closer to him, she could see the obvious sadness that had overtaken him.

“Lucas, what are you doing home so early,” she questioned in confusion.

“Trying to make sense of what it is we’re really doing with one another,” he extended his arm out towards her motioning for her to join him. As she approached him, he shifted on the sofa leaving room for her to join him. Once she was beside him, he reached for her hand tracing the lines of her palm before their eyes connected, “Sami, what are we really doing with one another?”<br>
“I don’t understand,” she blinked back in confusion.

“Yes you do,” he turned in towards her reaching out to cup her face in his hands, “Tell me are we together because this is where you wanted for us to be or is this about your trying to reopen old wounds again?”<br>
“Lucas, I love you,” she began caught off guard by his question.

“But does that mean you love me enough for share forever with me or is this just means to an end on your road to getting back together with Brandon,” he asked point blank, “Because if this is about your wanting to recapture his attention…”

“No, Lucas this is about us. Yes, I’ll admit that when I’m with Brandon thing are different, but what I feel for you…” she started thinking about what she’d experienced just outside of Salem Place, “Lucas, we have a family with one another and this is something we’ve waited forever to have.”<br>
“But if we’re going to make that happen I don’t want it to be because you’re settling for second choice. I want to be the man you want to share your life with--the man that you love unconditionally. I don’t want you to just see me as a consolation prize because Brandon decided to hit the road.”<br>
“That’s not what this is. Yes, at first I was confused, but over time, well we found something with one another. We have so much history and we know one another inside and out. Lucas, no one has ever seen me so raw and at my weakest without running away. You stood by me when everyone else faded out of my life. I wish that it didn’t turn out that way, but in the same breath, you were that rock when I was at my lowest point.”<br>
“But does that mean it’s enough for us to keep this going strong through the years,” he slid his fingers into her blonde hair, “Will we be able to keep this love going strong?”<br>
“I’d like to think so,” she mouthed feeling him inch in towards her. His lips pressed in over hers, urging her to submit to the moment that had transpired between them. His mouth said so many things in a wordless breath while he held her. His urgency was only a hint of the desperation that overtook him in his questioning.

“I want us to know that this is right for us,” he mouthed, his lips tapering off over her shoulder while he pulled her into his lap, “Sami, I want the dreams we’ve always wanted with one another.”<br>
“I know you do,” she nodded feeling his arms wrap around her, “and I want that too.”

“Do you really?” Lucas questioned seeking out the truth behind her eyes, “Is that where you really want for us to be with one another?”<br>
“Of course I do,” she nodded after a long moment of silence. In those moments her memories shifted between her longing for Brandon to her love for Lucas. The two meant so very much to her, but Brandon was a path that would lead to misery for all involved and with Lucas, well they had history and a son. Will would be so happy that they had finally tied the knot and Lucas would never leave her. Brandon had left when he’d seen her at her worst and now he was about to have a chance at something that would never be feasible with the two of them. She was doing what was best for all of them. She loved Lucas and this was where she was meant to be. Reaching out to touch him, she urged his eyes back to hers again, “I love you Lucas Roberts. More so with each passing moment of our lives with one another.”<br>
“I love you too Sami,” he replied stealing another kiss from her, “and I just had to be sure that this feeling was mutual before I was so far gone that there would be no turning back again.”<br>
“You won’t ever have to turn back,” she promised tipping down to kiss him while saying a silent vow that one day she would be able to live up to those words once she’d put Brandon in the past forever.

[soapaddict]

Nicole Vs. Kimberly Vs. Sami!!!


Quite a triangle!!!! ;D ;D ;D


I'm loving it & anxious to read more!!


Please hurry & continue!

[Josette]

After 17 chapters I have no clue where you will go next. Well done!

[autumnstar]

Oh my gosh!! Now Nicole hates Kimberly & Sammi!! Up date soon please!!

[MistiTiffani]

Between Sami & Lucas & Kimberly & Brandon & Nicole my head's spinning & my eyes are crossed LOL! Can't wait to find out what happens next! Hint hint!!!

[kudzukid]

Got a chuckle out of Kimberly & Nicole! LOL great great great! I'm definately enjoying this one!

[1Nikki]

I was really drawn into this chapter. How ironic it would be if Nicole was the one to blow Kimberly out of the water & get Sami & Brandon back together! This is so good! Don't leave us hanging too long!

[keagan]

i like verym ucyh