With a baseball hat covering the top of his head, Nathan Scott prayed nobody would see him as he walked into Victoria's Secret. He tried to keep his blue eye trained to the floor, but it was hard to shop with his head bent down. He wasn't exactly sure what to buy and he suddenly felt like a fish out of water, flopping on the shore, when he realized he was the only guy in the store. Girls from all ages surrounded him, and he cringed when he noticed a group of what he assumed to be sixteen-year-old girls shopping for lacey bras. He needed to get out of that store, and get out quick. Not only did he feel like a fish out of water, but a perverted one at that. How the hell was he supposed to buy something sexy for his girlfriend when a mix of teens and women his mother's age were all around him? Talk about a mood killer!
He was actually afraid to look at some of the displays, or flick through the racks of negligees because of how inappropriate it felt. Surely, there was nothing bad about buying a sexy gift for the woman he's been sleeping with, but still … he was staring to second guess going there. Just as he was about to walk out of the store, his gaze pulled towards a dark green, lacey babydoll slip that left little to the imagination. His girl would be a knockout in it and he couldn't help but smirk as he pictured her sauntering through her bedroom with it on. Peeking over his shoulder to make sure no one recognized him, he walked to the rack and silently wondered what size she was. He wasn't sure what the hell any of the letters or numbers meant, but he knew her rounded, voluptuous breasts fit perfectly in the palms of his hands. Nathan tried to deduce the size by putting his hands in the cupped area of the babydoll, but it felt strange and not at all helpful. Why couldn't there just be small, medium, or large?
As he continued to contemplate on a size, a familiar blonde woman made eye contact with him and he cursed under his breath. Of course he had to run into someone he knew— just what he was trying to avoid.
"Nathan?"
He slumped his shoulders and sighed as he brought his hand up to his neck, rubbing it awkwardly, "Hi, Mel."
Her perfectly manicured eyebrow arched questionably on her forehead and Nathan watched a teasing grin slide over her pink lips, "I'm not sure green is your color."
"Ha-ha," he deadpanned, "it's not for me."
"Right, of course," Mel's southern drawl laughed airily and at that, he couldn't help but chuckle. He'd known Mel since signing with the Charlotte Bobcats two years ago; then, she was Tony Battle's — his teammate and good friend— fiancé, but they married last summer and she followed along to most of their games. Most of the player's wives and girlfriends were airheads or gold-diggers, so Nathan never made any effort to get to know them, but Mel was different. She was a bubbly blonde with an infectious smile and he could understand Tony's infatuation with her. Though she looked like she herself just stepped out of a Victoria Secret catalog, she was actually an incredibly smart and successful doctor.
"You look incredibly lost," Mel pointed out, further giggling at Nathan's confusion.
A mix between a grunt and a sigh sounded from his lips as he held up the lingerie; "I am. I'm trying to buy this for my girlfriend but I don't know what size she is."
Mel laughed and rolled her eyes. "Men."
His shoulders slumped with humiliation. As if this wasn't embarrassing enough….
"Wait, Tony didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!" Mel nearly shrieked until she remembered where they were and lowered her voice.
Nathan cleared his throat nervously, "uh, yeah. I didn't tell him. We're, um, trying to keep it hushed."
Mel nodded in understanding, "How long has it been?"
He cleared his throat again and mumbled so lowly Mel almost didn't hear him.
"Six months?" Her voice was loud again, and this time, a few heads turned to look at them. "Sorry," she whispered after seeing the panic flash in his eyes. "What happened to that other girl you were seeing? What was her name?"
Nathan shook his head as his eyes found the floor again. "We broke up a while ago."
"Oh, well, I'd love to meet this new girl. Have her come to a game!"
"She tries to come to as many as she can but she works a lot," he muttered. The store was growing more crowded and he wanted to get the hell out of there. Having Mel see him was risky enough.
"What does she look like?" Mel asked, "I mean, what body type? If it's like mine, get the 32B or C size."
"Uh," Nathan scratched the scruffy edge of his chin and stared at the garment that Mel thrusted in his hands. He looked back up at Mel and studied her with scrutiny. He hated to have to look at her chest but it did look somewhat comparable to his girlfriend's. "What do the letters and numbers even mean?"
"A is on the smaller size, B is still small but a decent amount. C is probably average— it's what I have— and D is on the heftier size. Double D is a a lot, but you'd probably know if she was."
Nathan groaned again. This was so much to take in. He still had no idea what letter she was. Maybe C?
"Tell me," Mel prodded, "are her boobs augmented?"
"Huh?"
She stifled a laugh, "you know, are they real or fake?"
"Oh!" He widened his eyes, "real. Definitely real."
"I'd go with B or C, then. She's got a package, right?"
Nathan felt his cheeks flush with warm heat. It was uncomfortable talking about his girlfriend's breasts with someone else.
"Yeah, they, uh,…" he struggled to find the right words, "they're nice."
Mel rolled her eyes again, "nice?"
"I don't know!" He flailed an arm with frustration, "they're not small and they're not too big. They look perfect for her. She's tiny, like 5 foot 4, but her boobs are proportionate with the rest of her, so I guess they're bigger than most short girls'."
"Okay, okay," Mel grabbed the green and sheer garment and held it up to her. "This will work. It's 32C— if anything, it'll give her some ample cleavage which I'm sure you won't mind."
Nathan smiled in appreciation and pulled his wallet out from his back pocket. "Thanks, Mel. You're a lifesaver."
. . .
Haley James was in the middle of preparing dinner when the sound of her cellphone ringing from the other room interrupted the quiet apartment. Grabbing the nearest kitchen towel to wipe her greasy hands, she hustled across the hall and into her bedroom.
"Hello?" She said into the receiver after answering the call.
"Hales?" It was her friend Mia, an up-and-coming musician who worked at the record label with her.
"Hey, Mia. What's up?"
"Are you still seeing that basketball player? Nathan was it?"
Haley's heartbeat accelerated at the mere mention of his name. "Yeah," she shyly tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, "why?"
"Did he by any chance give you something yesterday? Like, a sheer green slip or something from Victoria's Secret?"
Haley cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear as she went back into the kitchen to stir the pot of sauce on the stove top. "Uhm, no. Why?" She and Mia had been working together for over a year now, but the singer's question had Haley flustered. Why would she be asking if her boyfriend bought her something from Victoria's Secret?
"Shit," Mia cursed. "Then that asshole is cheating on you."
Haley's grip on the wooden spoon slipped. She prayed she misheard Mia— but she heard the words. Loud and clear. Her stomach flipped and suddenly she wasn't hungry for macaroni anymore.
"Wh-what makes you say that?"
"I was in Victoria's Secret yesterday to return a bra and I saw him there with some blonde girl. It looked like he was buying her some lingerie or something. They were smiling and laughing together and he as eyeing her as she held up this like, lacey green babydoll."
Squeezing her eyes closed, Haley braced herself against the kitchen counter and inhaled a steadying breath. "Are you sure? I mean, was it really him?"
"At first, I thought I was imagining it, but the group of girls behind me kept whispering about how Nathan Scott was there and so I googled a picture of him on my phone and unless he has a twin brother, I know for a fact it was him."
Haley's eyes pricked with tears. She didn't want to believe it, but Mia wouldn't lie to her. "It could have been a worker," she said hopefully; there had to be a reason. Then again, Nathan told her practice ran late yesterday and was too tired to come over… oh my God, she almost gasped. What if he was with the blonde woman?
"I thought that too, but she was dressed too casual to work there and I'm pretty sure they left the store together. I'm so sorry, Hales. I know how much you liked him—,"
Her stomach dropped again. She didn't just like him, she was in love with him. How could he do this to her? "I have to go, Mia." She choked on her tears and quickly hung up the phone before Mia could even reply. She didn't want to hear anything else— picturing it was bad enough.
As she collapsed onto her couch in a fit of sobs, she failed to hear the knocking on her apartment door— until it swung open, revealing the man responsible for her tears. She invited him over for dinner before, eager to share her intense feelings for him, but that was all a shot to hell now.
"Haley?" Nathan raced into her apartment when he found her rolled into a ball on the couch, "baby, what happened? Are you okay?" He was concerned when she hadn't opened the door right away, and his worst fears were confirmed at the sight go her.
"Don't touch me, Nathan!" She seethed, angrily wiping the hot tears burning her cheeks with the back of her hands. "Get out!"
Nathan visibly recoiled and jumped away nervously. Haley distanced herself from him and burned holes through his blue gaze. "What happened?" He pressed again. He wouldn't be leaving until she told him what the hell had made her so upset.
"You're a damn liar, that's what happened!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Hales," he held his hands up in surrender and fought his instinct to reach out and grab her. He just wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay, but by the look of vengeance in her eyes, he knew he'd better not.
She rolled her eyes, "oh, cut the crap. I know you're cheating on me."
Like a slap across the cheek, Haley's words stung Nathan. How could she possibly think he could cheat on her? He wouldn't dare to even THINK about cheating on her. Since meeting her at a charity dinner six months ago, he'd been hooked on her like a junkie finding a needle for the first time. It was love at first sight, that much he knew, but he would've been crazy to tell her that. Haley, who had just ended a relationship, was reluctant to accept Nathan's eager advances— but, she couldn't resist his charming smirk and tantalizing blue eyes that put the North Carolina stars to shame. She finally agreed to getting drinks after the dinner, and they ended up staying at the local Charlotte bar until three am. He, like the perfect gentleman, hailed her a cab and gave her his number, insisting she text him when she got home. They'd gone out again the next night, and the night after that, and the next night, and, well, you get the idea.
In a short span of six months, things had actually gotten pretty serious. Though their jobs were both extremely demanding, whenever they had free time, they'd be together. They'd slept together after only a month of dating, and though they were keeping things hushed, decided to be exclusive.
Haley was happier than she ever remembered— up until Mia called her twenty minutes ago, that is.
"Cheating on you? Haley, what? How could you think that?" He didn't dare let the anger seep into his tone at her insinuation. The team liked to get drinks after winning, but Nathan rarely went out most nights. Girls tried to flirt with him but he stopped them quickly. He wasn't interested in any of what they had to offer. All he wanted was what was standing right in front of him: runny mascara and everything.
She folded her arms across her chest insecurely and sniffled, a fresh wave of tears pricking at her eyes, "my friend saw you. At Victoria's Secret yesterday with some blonde girl. She- she said you were buying her lingerie and that you were laughing and all over each other."
Nathan almost laughed, but he knew that if he did, Haley would execute him. She might not find it funny, but he did. Someone must have seen him with Mel; and, okay, yeah, it probably did like he was buying her lingerie because he was holding up the risqué piece in front of her, but no. No way. He wasn't having an affair with Mel.
"I'll admit," Nathan said and took a step closer to Haley, "I did buy something at Victoria's secret yesterday, but it wasn't what you think—,"
"Well then what the hell was it Nathan? Who was the girl that was all over you? And why the hell were you holding up some sexy green lacey thing for her?"
"Christ, Hales," Nathan shook his head, and remembered the bag he was holding— thanking the Lord he remembered to get it from his car— and he promptly pulled out its contents and dangled it in the air hurriedly. "You mean this lacey thing?"
Haley stopped in her tracks and swallowed, "wh-what is that?"
Nathan took a giant step towards her and wadded the babydoll up in hands, "it's for you, Hales. You see, I went to Victoria's Secret because I wanted to buy you something nice but I was struggling with knowing what to get. I ran into Mel— you know, Tony Battle's wife— and she helped me out. She's the blonde that your friend saw me with. I swear to you, Haley. I'm not cheating on you. I could never cheat on you. Want to know why?"
Haley was crying again, but not for the same reason from before. She tried to wipe her tears as she choked on her words, "why?"
"Because I love you, Haley James. I'm in love with you."
She inhaled a sharp take of air and nearly forgot how to breathe. Looking into his eyes, all she could see was truth. Launching herself into his arms, she kissed him passionately until she ran out of air again. When she pulled away slowly, a smile graced her lips. "I love you, too."
Nathan's lips erupted into a smile, "I'm sorry if you did think I was cheating on you. You can call Mel if you want, she'll tell you the same thing and I'm sure she'd laugh. I swear, though, we ran into each other and she helped me pick a size. I hope I got the right one," he rambled, holding up the babydoll.
Haley reached out and ran her delicate fingers over the sheer material; it was beautiful and definitely sexy, leaving a lot to the imagination. "You didn't have to get me anything…" she said shyly.
"Do you like it?" He asked, bouncing nervously on his toes.
Haley giggled at his nervous smile; she couldn't believe that five minutes ago the air was so different. She had believed he was cheating, and now he had told her he loved her and bought her the most beautiful lingerie piece.
"I love it, baby."
"I love you," he smiled, "I knew when I saw it you'd look amazing in it."
"Well," Haley smirked at him and grabbed the babydoll, "I guess I should put it on, right?"
Nathan swallowed to try and produce saliva in his suddenly dry mouth. "You don't have to."
She laughed and cocked her head, "you've got to be kidding me!"
He stood in awe, watching as she ran across the apartment and into the bedroom, slamming the door. His jaw was on the ground, two minutes later, when she walked out dressed in the green babydoll.
It fit perfectly; hugging her curves in all the right places, and the lacey green bra pushed her breasts up tightly, showing off her ample cleavage. Nathan felt the drool pooling at the side of his lips; the dryness of his mouth now replaced with a surge of drool.
"Shit, baby, you're so sexy."
Haley's cheeks tinted with a pink blush, "you think so?"
"Yes," he nodded eagerly and walked over to put his hands on her hips which were covered by the thin lace. His eyes drowned in the image she made— her flat stomach was veiled by the material, and a sexy green thong covered her lower region, accentuating her slender and silky smooth legs. Nathan couldn't wait to get his hands on her.
"You'll have to tell your girlfriend she did a nice job picking out the right size," Haley winked.
"My girlfriend? What? I'm not dating Mel," Nathan panicked, but smiled when he realized she was teasing him. "Oh, ha-ha."
Haley threw her arms around his neck and eyed him with slight embarrassment, "I'm sorry for freaking out."
"Hey, stop it. I would've freaked out if I were in your shoes, too. I'm sorry for giving you a reason in the first place to think that way. I never would have gone if that was the case."
Haley shook her head and licked her lips seductively. His hands were still on her hips grazing the skin gently, but with every trace, it ignited a fire in her bones. "Actually, I was hoping you'd go back and buy more." She loved the way he was looking at her.
Nathan smirked and bent down to trace her lips, "I'd be glad to."