Boy Toy
12:32 AM. The time mocked him incessantly from the alarm clock. Who had programmed that thing anyway? Must have been Haley. Haley. Where the hell was she? They had agreed that she would come over after the stupid Boy Toy dates were over.
Nathan shifted on his bed, positioning his long legs straight out in front of him. He had already played a game of NBA Live after Peyton had left, and now he was just plain bored. He had assumed Haley would've shown up shortly after midnight, ready to make his night much more enjoyable than it had been. Not that his night had sucked.
Every year Tree Hill held the annual Boy Toy Auction. The football and basketball players were auctioned off to the horny girls of the school in the name of charity. Everyone knew it was just an excuse to get laid.
Not that he was looking. Not anymore. In the past, he had certainly used the Boy Toy auction to his advantage. It was nice to feel wanted, to hear the girls scream, and tonight had been no different, but he knew instead of his night ending at midnight, it would only begin.
He got up from the bed, restless, before striding down the hall to the kitchen counter to pick up his cell phone. He wrestled with the idea on whether or not to call her, finally choosing to swallow his pride and find out where the hell she was.
She answered, groggily on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Hey, what happened to you? I thought you were coming over." He spoke quietly, knowing she had been sleeping. But he couldn't help being pissed, they had had plans.
"I did come over. Luke and I came over, and you weren't home. I tried calling your cell but it was turned off. I figured I'd see you at school."
"Well I'm home now." She could hear the smirk in his voice.
"Nate, it's late, and I'm already in my pajamas…" her voice trailed off, she knew her argument was weak.
"What pajamas?"
She laughed into the phone. "Shut up! I'm serious; I'm all comfy in my bed already. You're going to need to offer me something pretty good in order to leave all this."
"In your bed, huh? Continue." He prodded laughingly.
"Ha ha. I'm serious." She tried for sarcasm but her voice betrayed her.
"Being in my presence isn't enough incentive?" He feigned hurt.
"Hmm, not the thrill it used to be, I'm afraid." She loved teasing him. She knew she'd eventually cave and go over there, but she enjoyed the fight.
"What if I promise to be your personal Boy Toy, for free?"
"You're getting warmer, but aren't you basically my boy toy everyday?"
He laughed. "You got me there."
"But there's no one I'd rather have as my boy toy than you. And I can just as easily see you in the morning hot shot."
"I have ice cream." He threw out his last bribe.
"I'll be there in ten."
He laughed as the dial tone rang in his ears.
Looking around the apartment, he took in his bare surroundings. It didn't resemble a home of any kind, just the shell of his life, the walls plain, and the carpets new. He had wanted this, wanted to escape the pressure and drama that had clouded his life for so long, making it almost impossible to navigate his way through. Until her. Haley had shown him a way out, and he had grabbed it, and her, holding on for dear life.
While there were many benefits to having his own place, the best was he knew he was free from his dad's constant verbal assaults. And while his apartment was empty right now, he knew that would soon change. And there was the added bonus that the only place to really sit was the bed.
Thinking back to the comment he had made to Peyton he winced. He hadn't meant to come across that way, but it was easy to fall into old habits with her, the way they had talked to one another. As the words had left his mouth he knew he should've kept quiet but he had played it off with a smirk and a shrug. He really didn't think of Peyton as anything but a friend; hadn't for a long time, knowing that Haley was the person in his life worth it all.
He had been bitter when Haley told him she was planning on bidding on Lucas at the auction. He had assumed she'd want to protect him from all the rabid girls that he had heard hollering, though his little strip tease probably hadn't helped matters much. He chuckled; the look on Haley's face had been worth it all. He liked to keep her constantly guessing, and she must have been worried, to get Peyton to bid on him.
It had been nice to hang out with Peyton, to be her friend again and remember why they had been friends before the drama of dating and sex had made it impossible for them to tolerate each other, let alone date.
He heard her footsteps on the wooden stairs outside, and he threw open the door, happy to see her. His eyes swept her body, taking in her pajama pants, his missing Duke sweatshirt, and messy ponytail. She hadn't lied when she said she had been in bed. He grinned at her, grabbing her in a fierce hug and dragging her inside the door. She giggled in his ear, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing his ear.
"Nice to see I was missed." He laughed as he set her back on the ground.
"Always." She grinned happily at him, leaning up to kiss him sweetly.
"So, where's the ice cream?" She headed straight for his freezer.
"Uh, yeah about that. I lied."
"You mean there's no ice cream? Then what the heck am I still doing here?" She grabbed for her keys, before he spun her around, planting noisy kisses along her neck.
She squirmed in his embrace, laughing as his lips tickled her neck, his voice muffled against her skin. "You're here to spend time with your hot boyfriend. Did you not hear all those girls screaming for me? It would seem that you are the envy of all the girls at school."
"Please. Like I'm worried about those girls." She tried to keep her voice steady, but he pulled back to look in her eyes.
"You're jealous?" His eyes lit with laughter.
"What? No. Don't be silly." She pushed at his chest, but he caught her hand.
"I think it's cute. Besides I already figured you were. You should've seen your face." Still holding on to her hand he led her back to his room, sitting them both on the bed.
"Oh like you wouldn't have been jealous if I had gotten up on stage and started taking my pants off."
"I didn't take my pants off, I ripped off my warm-ups. There's a difference."
She scoffed. "Barely. Oh, and nice touch with the whole Boy Toy thing." She gestured across his chest. "Who painted it on for you?"
He could tell she was relaxing, her hands playing with the watch on his wrist as she spoke. "Tim."
She laughed loudly then. "I'm surprised it was spelled right!"
He joined in her laughter, loving the way they were able to talk about anything. "You know, I'm glad you were jealous. You weren't the only one."
"What do you mean? Your other girlfriend didn't like it either?"
"No she was fine with it. She suggested the sunglasses." She hit him on the chest. "No, I mean me. I was jealous."
Her eyes crinkled in confusion. "Jealous? Of what?"
"Of Lucas. That you were bidding on him and not me." His eyes focused on the wall in front of them, not liking to admit a flaw in his personality, jealousy was not often a pretty emotion.
Her face softened and she turned his face towards her, kissing him greedily, pressing her lips firmly onto his. His lips responded instantly, applying pressure, his tongue darting out to trace her lips. She pulled back, looking at him through heavy lidded eyes. "You know if I could've bought you, I would have. But I was afraid Luke wouldn't get any one because of the whole Peyton/ Brooke drama."
"Yeah I know. I get it. Didn't make in any better though."
"Well you seemed to be enjoying yourself out there, regardless." She nudged him with her shoulder.
He laughed. "Yeah that was fun." He smirked. "That was quite a bidding war you started."
She blushed. "I didn't think it would bother me as much as it did. But seeing all those girls fawning all over you, I mean, I deal with it everyday at school, but it was multiplied by like a thousand tonight."
"You know I don't even pay attention to any of those girls. And I'm glad you got Peyton to bid on me. It was fun to hang out with her again."
She looked down then. "Oh yeah. I'm glad you guys had fun." Her tone told him she was less than thrilled about it.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Haley."
"Fine. I was jealous of Peyton, okay. When I asked her to bid I completely forgot about how you guys used to date, it just made me uncomfortable, that's all."
He was silent for a moment, forming the words correctly to reassure her of him. "You know you have nothing to worry about right? I mean, I don't think about Peyton like that, and you know she's still into Lucas. I would never do that to you, I don't ever want to be that guy for you."
"I know. God, I hate feeling all jealous like that." She buried her head in his shoulder.
"I hate it too. It's a horrible feeling. But you make it look very cute."
She chuckled as he brought her hand to his mouth, kissing softly at her knuckle. "So how was your date?" She smirked at him.
"It was okay. And I don't remember the last time I hung out with Peyton without fighting. It made me sad that we ever ruined it all by dating. Oh, and I pushed her into the pool."
She laughed loudly then. "Poor Peyton."
"Oh don't worry about Peyton, I threw myself in too. I think she even dunked me a couple of times. What did you and Lucas end up doing?"
"We had a water balloon fight like we used to. I filled up some with milk, those are always fun. Though my hair smelled afterwards, I was kind of glad you weren't around so I was able to go home and shower."
"I was home all night. I don't know how you missed me."
"Luke said he went to your apartment and you didn't answer." She furrowed her brow in confusion.
Nathan shrugged. "Oh well, you're here now, that's what matters." He put his arm around her waist. "So, did you get lucky tonight? Auction rules and all."
She giggled. "Yeah I kissed Luke, no worries there though; it was like kissing my brother. Who, by the way, I don't kiss, ever. What about you and Peyton?" She seemed nervous for his response.
"Yeah we kissed. Not all that exciting. It felt weird to kiss her. Especially when I'd rather be kissing you." He leaned over pressing his forehead against hers. She could feel his breath against her cheek and she tilted her head to close the distance between their lips.
"Good answer." She kissed him hungrily, pressing her body flush against his, shifting them to lie back on his bed. She never tired of the feel of his lips on her skin, and she sighed as he moved his mouth to pull at the skin of her neck gently with his teeth.
"How long till you have to get back?" Nathan's voice was muffled against her neck, and her hands traveled up his back, scratching lightly at the cotton of his shirt.
"Can you give me a ride to school in the morning?" She dodged his question.
"Yeah, of course." He pulled back to look at her face. His eyes silently repeating his question.
"Good, make sure you turn on the alarm. I already set it for six; I need time to get ready." She moved out of his grasp and wiggled underneath his covers, laughing at the expression on his face. "Turn off the light, would you?"
She could see his smirk in the darkness.