PART I
"Why does this seem familiar?" Haley lay sprawled out on the bed she shared with Nathan, his clothes scattered around her as he tossed them haphazardly into his duffel bag. "You know it is alright to pack ahead of time, instead of the hour before we have to leave?"
Nathan turned to send her a glare, a t-shirt in his hands. "But that would break the tradition I've been building for the past five years. Now, are you going to criticize me or are you going to help me?" He threw the shirt at her, the cotton landing across her head, making her giggle.
"Well, if I help you, what will I get?" She sent him a flirtatious smile.
Returning her smile he walked over to the bed to place a soft kiss against her upturned mouth. "Anything you want." He pulled back slightly to look her in the eyes.
"Anything?" She gave him a wicked smirk. "Even if anything is making you watch Moulin Rouge again?"
He groaned loudly, standing up straight. "Oh god, I take it back. Not anything. I can't handle another viewing of that."
Haley laughed at his dramatics, pulling at his shirt to bring him back down to her level, moving her lips softly over his. "Oh c'mon, it wasn't that bad."
"Wasn't that bad? Haley, it has singing and dancing. Two things I don't do." He kissed her again, teasing her lips with his tongue.
"I beg to differ. I remember coming home a few weeks ago to see a certain someone singing and dancing around the living room." She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, linking her fingers together as her mouth roamed to place a wet kiss against his collar bone.
"Okay, that was different." Nathan pushed her back against the pillows, his body hovering over hers.
Haley's hands began to roam under the worn cotton of his t-shirt, feeling the smooth lines of his back. "How?"
"Well for one, I certainly wasn't singing any Madonna, it was a Black Eyed Peas song, and second, I wasn't dancing, I had just bumped into the couch, you just caught me as I was regaining my balance." Nathan's hands pushed up Haley's tank top, fingering the front clasp of her bra.
Haley giggled again. "Whatever you have to tell yourself honey." Haley pulled at the waist of Nathan's jeans, bringing his body down on hers, as her lips moved over his in a possessive kiss.
Nathan responded feverishly, enjoying the feel of her warm skin against his as he ripped off his t-shirt and threw it over his shoulder onto the pile on the bed. Haley's hands gripped at his hips, pulling at her denim belt loops, angling her beneath him. Her legs wrapped around him eagerly, as Nathan's hand moved to finger her bra clasp. Haley sighed beneath him, relishing in the feel of him before angling her neck to give him better access to bite at the chords of her throat. Her eyes roamed, stopping at the alarm clock on their nightstand. Her body tensed and she pushed at his chest roughly.
"Stop, Nathan." She wiggled underneath him, trying to untangle herself from his hands as he continued to pull her back under him.
"What, Hales?" Nathan sighed frustrated, as she once again pulled away, this time making it off the bed to stand before him.
"We don't have time! We told my parents we'd be there at 11, which is never going to happen if we don't leave now."
Nathan flopped back against the bed, running a hand through his hair. "Haley, I'm sure if we left fifteen minutes late, we'd still get there in plenty of time." He reached for her again, as she moved away from him to hastily push his clothes into his duffle bag.
"Fifteen minutes?" She smirked at him. "That's all? Then why even bother."
"Oh shut up." He laughed good-naturedly, throwing his shirt back on.
Haley laughed loudly then, moving to stand in between his legs. "Aww, honey, you know I love you." She kissed his pouting lips. "And I know that what we do, never takes fifteen minutes. And that's a good thing." She kissed him soundly.
"Well that's true. Okay, fine, but you're making it up to me when we get there." He stood up quickly, rushing to put things in his bag, running through a checklist in his head. "Do I have everything?"
"I think so. My bag's by the door, so let's do a quick run through, make sure we have everything for the week." Moving into the bathroom, he heard her open drawers and cabinets, muttering lowly.
She returned, her hands holding his toothbrush, all but shoving it into his bag. "Oh yeah, that would be a good thing to have." He winked at her.
"I think that's it, let's hit the road Jack." She gave him a quick slap on the butt, rushing out the front door, leaving him her bag to carry.
"Myrtle Beach, here we come." Nathan shut their apartment door behind him, ready for a week of fun in the sun.
"Haley, leave it there, I like that song." Nathan's hand snaked out from the steering wheel, pushing the preset button back to the Outkast song.
"But I just wanted to see what else was playing." She sank back against the leather interior of his Durango, sulking briefly.
Nathan's fingers tapped against the steering wheel, keeping beat with the music. He turned to eye her through his sunglasses. "Hales, I know you better than that. You just don't want to listen to it."
She pouted, turning to look out the window. "Fine, whatever."
"Don't get sulky on me now." He reached across the center console to pull her hand into his lap. Her fingers were tense against his, as he rubbed his fingers softly over her palm.
"I'm not sulking." She tried to keep her voice brittle, but couldn't help the smile that crept over her face. Haley turned to look at him, seeing the famous smirk writ across his features.
"Did I ever tell you how cute you are when you sulk?" He looked back at the road, the interstate stretching out before them.
"You are so annoying." She spoke with fondness.
"I love you too."
Haley shook her head, laughing glibly. Looking out her window, she sighed happily. "I'm so glad we're going back. We need a vacation."
"I couldn't agree more. You were starting to scare me for a minute there."
Haley gasped loudly, "Just because I was worried about us graduating is no reason why I should ever be considered scary. And don't try and act like you weren't freaking out about the draft."
"There was never a way we weren't going to graduate. And as for the draft, hell yeah I was freaking out. Our whole life was going to be decided in split second. I had reason to be nervous."
"I know. It was actually very sweet how concerned you were about our future." Haley gave him a quick peck on his lips.
Nathan had dreamed about the NBA draft since the first time he'd watched it on TV. The prestige, the honor of getting your first jersey, had all crossed his mind, but the nerves had been almost more than he could handle. He had been jumpy for weeks prior to the draft, anticipating the camp, preparing himself and his game for being scrutinized by dozens of pro teams. And all the while, Haley played in the back of his mind. Her future was riding on him as well. It was scary, to know that she had so much faith in his potential, in his future, that she was hitching hers on as well.
She had found him one night, up late, his hands passing a ball back and forth, the glow of the TV in front of him, his eyes locked on the ceiling above him. He didn't hear her until she was next to him, her legs curled under her, her hand brushing softly at the hair at the nape of his neck.
"What's wrong?" She whispered, seemingly not wanting to break the mood.
Nathan exhaled loudly, his eyes closing briefly. "Do you ever regret it?"
Haley's eyes clouded in confusion. "Regret what?"
He turned to look at her then, his face serious, the ball stilling in his hands. "Tutoring me."
"What?" Haley laughed, shocked. "Nathan, of course not. Why would you even ask that?"
"I don't know." He ran his hand over his face, pausing to take breath. "I guess I just think that's when you're life changed. And I'm not saying I regret it at all, I wouldn't trade these last five years for anything, but I worry that was when your life stopped being about you, and instead started being about me."
Haley's hands stilled at his collar, pulling her body upright. "You don't honestly think that, do you?"
"Sometimes, I don't know. But I worry. I mean, I'm about to take the biggest leap of my life, our life really, and what if it doesn't work? What if the pros realize I'm not cut out for professional ball? What if I get hurt and never return to the game? What if I get drafted to a team a 1000 miles from here?"
Haley smiled reassuringly, "That's a lot of what ifs Nathan. And none of them matter to me. You matter to me. I want you, I want to be with you, so if that means I have to follow you to live in Texas or Chicago, or LA, then I'm going. And I won't regret it for a minute." She paused, bringing his hand up to her mouth, pressing a kiss to his palm. "Now, as for you not being cut out to play in the pros, well I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. You will be drafted, and I will be by your side, ready to go to whatever town is lucky enough to get you. I love you; you're not getting rid of me anytime soon."
His eyes roamed her face, locking on her lips. "You're too good for me."
"I was thinking more along the lines of I'm perfect for you." She kissed him deeply, running her tongue across his.
That had been a mere week before the draft, and while she had calmed him for the time being, the following week had been stressful to say the least. In the end, all of Nathan's fears had been proved fruitless as he was drafted first round, eleventh overall by the Philadelphia 76ers.
They were moving, together, to Philadelphia in August, after a last summer in Tree Hill with their family and friends. But not before the traditional week in Myrtle Beach with her family. Over the last five years it had become a ritual that Nathan join her family for a week at the beach, and she knew he looked forward to it just as much as she did.
That first summer had been a dream, their relationship just in the beginning steps but at such a crucial one. One that Haley looked back on now with fond memories. There was no denying that at sixteen she had fallen in love, and now, five years later she was more in love than ever. Living with Nathan had given her a lot of insight into him, and while they still had their disagreements and fights, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wanted to be with him forever.
Nathan's deep baritone voice brought her back to the present, his hand running circles over her palm, the radio surrounding them with the heavy beats of rap. "Did you need to stop?"
Haley grimaced. "No. I'm good."
"C'mon Hales, I think we need to give you a good rest stop memory to replace all the gross ones." Nathan waggled his eyebrows at her.
Haley laughed, despite herself. "No matter how many times you suggest it, I'm never going to want to have sex in a dirty rest stop."
Nathan shrugged, his eyes returning to the road ahead of them. "Can't blame me for trying."
Shaking her head Haley switched the radio station, ignoring his cry of protest, to a classic rock station. "Oh look, 10 miles to Myrtle!" Haley bounced excitedly in the seat.
"So did Quinn say if she was coming this time?"
"Yeah, I talked to her yesterday, and as far as she knew she was still going to be able to make it. I don't remember the last time she actually came. But Ryan won't be there again, his new girlfriend's family is taking him on a trip to Bermuda with them."
"Bermuda, huh? Looks like I picked the wrong family." Nathan laughed as Haley slugged him in the arm. "I'm just kidding baby, I love you."
"Yeah," Haley grumbled, "you better." She gave him a haughty look, "Anyways, Mark and Carrie got that house again, so they'll be there with Drew and Lizzie. And of course, Taylor." Haley blanched.
"Yeah she never could pass up a chance to skank it up at the beach." Nathan shook his head disapprovingly.
"That's true." Haley sighed.
Nathan pulled the Durango off the highway and onto the coastal downtown streets of Myrtle Beach. Haley rolled down the window, feeling the salty breeze ruffle her auburn locks and she smiled happily at Nathan. This was the one place that brought back nothing but loving memories, and it was the place she had first decided to give herself completely to Nathan. For that alone it would always hold a special place in her heart.
The old Victorian came into view around the corner, as graceful as ever and her parents' station wagon sat parked in the circular drive and Nathan parked behind it. He had barely had time to park before Haley had thrown open the door and was scurrying up the steps yelling for her parents.
"Mom! Dad! We're here!" Haley was all the way on the porch before Nathan had even gotten out of the car, but he could hear Lydia's loud welcome from the car.
"Haleybub!" She gave Haley a tight hug, smiling broadly. "Where is that handsome man of yours? Nathan?"
Nathan ran up the stairs as Lydia pulled him into a warm hug. "Look at you Nate, more handsome each and every time I see you." She gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Oh Mom, please, stop feeding his ego!" Haley groaned from beside them as Jimmy joined them on the porch.
"It's about time you guys show up. I thought you were going to be here at 11?" Jimmy looked between the two of them. "What did I tell you about stopping for rest stop sex?"
Haley groaned loudly as Nathan laughed. "Dad!"
"It's good to see you guys." Nathan gave Jimmy a manly hug, already glad to be back in Myrtle Beach with her family.
"Well we waited for you guys for lunch, so I hope you're hungry." Lydia ushered them inside. "And Nathan we want to hear all about the draft. We were so proud watching you up there, and I know you two must be thrilled about going to Philadelphia."
"Yeah, it definitely was a great surprise." Nathan sat across the table from Haley, eyeing the sandwiches that lay in front of them.
"Oh Mom, it was so exciting. I've never seen anything like it. All those great players together, but I have never been so nervous in my whole life." Haley spoke excitedly. "Well maybe except for the NCAA championship game junior year against North Carolina State. I thought I was going to have a heart attack then. But the game worked out and so did the draft." She smiled warmly at Nathan. "And I'm so excited to be going to Philadelphia."
"Yeah, I couldn't ask for a better team to start the league with. And I think we're both glad we'll still be on the east coast."
"You looked so handsome with that 76ers jersey, Nathan. And of course our little girl was beaming from ear to ear." Lydia smiled fondly.
Jimmy leaned back from the table. "When are you guys going to look for a place to live?"
"We're actually going up there in a couple of weeks, look for apartments. We're looking at living downtown since we'll be in a new city." Nathan said between bites of sandwich.
"I'm sure you'll find someplace great to live. Now, I'm sure you two are excited to hit the beach before dinner tonight, so why don't you run your stuff up to your room, we set up Haley's old room for you two." Lydia winked at them, "This way you don't have to go sneaking into Nathan's room, Haley."
Nathan's face was completely blank and Jimmy broke out into laughter. "You knew about that?" Haley screeched.
"We're parents, not stupid. Of course we knew. Especially that first summer. You weren't exactly stealth, Haleybub." Jimmy gave Nathan a pat on the back. "Besides you and Mr. NBA are living together, you think we're going to make you sleep in separate rooms?"
"We've been living together since our sophomore year and yet you've always made us sleep in separate rooms."
"Well that was mainly to mess with you guys. We had to entertain ourselves somehow. Now quit worrying about it and get your luggage from the car."
Nathan got up from the table, pulling a still stuttering Haley from the table and out the front door. "I can't believe them! Every year, they do or say something to shock me. You would think I'd be used to them by now." Haley straggled behind him as Nathan pulled their luggage out of the trunk.
Settling his hands on her shoulders, he stopped her tirade and pushed his lips to hers. "It's good to be back."
Haley leaned against his chest, burrowing into the curve of his neck, sniffing lightly at the cologne that clung to his polo. "Yeah, it's good to be back."