I'm sorry (again) for the long wait here! I've had a really busy summer and this chapter was so difficult! You'll be glad to hear that thanks to the way my mind works, the next chapter is already written. In fact I wrote it a while ago, way before this one…but anyway!
I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who offered to look my oneshot over. I really wasn't expecting so many willing readers! I'm sorry that I then had to turn so many of you down. I didn't want to say no to people but once I had two people helping I thought that any more would confuse me and pull it in different directions perhaps. But I really am grateful and I'll bear you all in mind if I still need any help :)
This one's really short but the more I kept adding and messing with it, the less I liked it. I hope you like what survived the delete button anyway.
Peyton holds Lloyd's legs up with one hand and rolls the "used" diaper up with the other, 'Heads.'
Nathan reaches out and catches the bundled cloth with ease from his lounged position across the room. He then plunges his hand into the diaper bag to find a pacifier without glancing up from the game he's watching.
'Hit me.' Peyton instructs after securing the fresh diaper. She grabs the binky from the air as it sails from Nathan towards the make-shift changing table that was previously Peyton's desk.
Over the weekend they've perfected their routine. They've been stuck in the house with Lloyd due to the fact that neither of them too much relishes the thought of being seen in public with a dolly. They both see it as some kind of miracle that they haven't killed each other yet.
Peyton sets Lloyd down in his car seat and pads over to her boyfriend who is shirtless on account that they have no plans on leaving the house. He's engrossed in the game but she doesn't mind, it just means that she can lean up against his warm skin and sketch a little. Really, it's a perfect Sunday afternoon – save for Lloyd of course.
Although Peyton thinks that all of Nathan's attention is on the game, she couldn't be more wrong. As she settles into the curve of his chest, he slips his arm around her slight shoulders and takes in her gorgeous scent. He runs his eyes from her toes, over her legs that are serving as her easel, along her flat stomach to her neckline then across every feature of her face until he reaches her curls. The game's now just a distant memory.
She's completely absorbed in her work. He knows because she hasn't turned around scowling yet; usually she'd feel his eyes on her.
She reaches her hand to her hair which is pulled back into a ponytail and her fingers graze her curls in a habitual manner. Nathan smirks because she's searching for a pencil that for once isn't tucked into her ringlets.
He can't begin to think of how many times he's run his fingers through her hair and ended up with a pen or even a paintbrush in his hand.
'Here, Babe.' He leans across to the cluttered bedside table and grabs the instrument she's searching blindly for.
She smiles softly. It's a small innocent kind of smile, one that he knows most people have never witnessed on her. 'How's the game?'
Shrugging he turns his attention back to the set, 'Kind of dull.'
Her brow arches in surprise, 'It's not that bad. I mean the Celtics are all over them but you've got to love an underdog when they just resort to playing dirty.'
Turns out that she's paying more attention than he is.
'Foul.' She calls out. He loves that she knows her stuff.
'Okay, that was too damn sexy.' He tells her.
Her eyes snap from the game to her boyfriend, confused as to what exactly is turning him on. He laughs lightly under his breath as her dazzling orbs pop in surprise when he leans in for a kiss.
'Nate!'
He quirks an eyebrow in a suggestive manner and she rolls her eyes. Then they both smile because it's typical of them.
It's not long before the sketchbook and pencils fall to the floor with a thud but neither teen notices.
There's a song playing that Nathan doesn't recognise but the way that it's making Peyton's hips move makes him hope that it's a long one. Music is like magic to her, in an instant her whole frame of mind can be transformed just with a few opening chords. If only he understood the mystery of it.
She hums as she moves around the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher. He could help out but he's enjoying being a spectator. As he's currently cradling Lloyd in his arms, he's using the doll as his excuse.
Peyton twists round suddenly, her curls bounce lightly with the movement, 'We eat a lot for two people, huh?'
Nathan laughs, 'It's taken you this long to realise?'
She shrugs and the hem of the shirt she's wearing grazes her bare upper thigh. He finds it that little bit hotter just because it's his shirt that she's wearing.
'I've just had the most amazing idea.' Nathan reveals.
Peyton glances up but looks slightly doubtful of his statement.
'Strip Poker!' He doesn't bother to hide his grin.
She wrinkles her nose, 'No.'
'Come on, Peyton, it'll be fun!' He whines, 'Drinking and stripping, I don't know why we haven't played before.'
'I don't know how to play poker.' She offers as a reason.
His eyes shine at her admission, 'You don't know how to play poker? It's done then, we're playing.'
She throws a dishcloth in his direction, 'This is just a not-so-clever way to get me naked.'
'Yeah, and?' He asks, confused as to where the problem is.
Her eyes bore into him but he doesn't see why, 'Um, we just did that like half hour ago, remember?'
He rolls his shoulders in a shrug, 'And wasn't it great?'
Her argument loses strength as her lips twist into a smile, 'Yes but,'
'But what?' He cuts in, 'It's just me, you and some cards.'
'No, it's you, some cards and me naked.' She corrects.
'And that's a bad thing how?' He questions.
She considers his point and concludes that it's a better situation than the last time he suggested Strip Poker. On that occasion it wasn't just the pair of them and some cards; there were about six other girls there too.
'Okay.' She concedes, 'But I'm getting dressed before we play and looking the rules up.'
He pretends to be put out at the news – not that he really needs to pretend, the fact that she's putting more clothes on is plain disappointing. Really though, he thinks he's hit the jackpot.
'Come on, Scott, don't be a sore loser!' Peyton jests before bursting into another wave of laughter at the sorry state that is her boyfriend.
In response Nathan throws his playing cards in her direction, 'You're a cheat!'
'I am not a cheat.' She says, arms folded across her chest, 'I'm just better than you.'
He pouts like a little girl, frustrated to be losing the game which was his suggestion in the first place. It was supposed to be fun, well, fun for Nathan at least. He'd fully intended on winning – obviously – and had planned for Peyton to be naked by this point. As it is she's fully dressed save for a few bits of jewellery that didn't even count as worthwhile items to bet in his opinion. Nathan however is down to his boxers and a sock.
'Lose it already.' Peyton demands, 'Then I can get around to winning the next hand.'
She smirks as he scowls.
'Can I just tell you how much you suck at this?' Peyton asks, even though she already knows the answer.
'Absolutely hilarious, Peyton.' He says with a straight face.
'Isn't it?' She's clearly enjoying herself.
He ignores her cackling laughter and reluctantly removes his penultimate article of clothing. The sock, to Peyton's disappointment.
'Very good, Baby.' She gives him a patronising tap to the head.
'Quit it.' He moans, lifting his hand to smooth out his hair again.
She feels a little sorry for him. She shouldn't considering it's his own fault he's in such a pitiable state but his puppy dog eyes have that power over her. He'd been so excited when she'd agreed to play and had obviously had a few fantasies involving the game but they've all come crashing down thanks to his inability to read her poker face.
Rising from her seat, she grabs another two beers from the fridge as her boyfriend pouts. His brow is furrowed and she suspects he's trying to work out how he's getting played by a novice.
He's so consumed with his theories that he doesn't notice her out the corner of his eye. It's not until a certain article of clothing catches him square in the jaw that he snaps from his daydream.
'Happy now?' She questions, her hands on her smooth bare hips.
It's as though he can't find the words right away which is a new phenomenon – Nathan's rarely speechless. But the sight of her there in just her bra and French knickers is enough to dumbfound him.
'Do you like it?' Peyton spins round so that he can properly appreciate her new purchase.
There had been one small triumph during the dreadful trip to the mall Peyton had suffered through with Lloyd. Brooke, through all of her flaws, was useful for a number of things including her unique gift; choosing lingerie. It was thanks to her and her keen eye that Nathan was receiving such a treat.
The set was lace, low cut and of course revealing but that wasn't the best part, least not for Nathan. It was the fact that it was rich raven blue that had his heart racing.
'How long have you been hiding these?' Nathan finally finds his voice.
'I forgot I had them.' She admits. Following the disaster of the shopping trip, Peyton had dumped her purchases as erased the whole thing from her memory. It was only when she'd gone upstairs to get dressed for poker that she'd stumbled upon them again.
She presses a beer into his hand and he thinks that this may be surpassing all of his expectations for Strip Poker.
Peyton takes a seat on the table that is now covered in a mess of playing cards following Nathan's outburst. She sits right before him and pulls him towards her with the waistband of his underwear. He obediently follows her lead. It's impossible for him not to, with her looking as she does.
Whilst he was busy throwing a little girl tantrum about losing at poker to her, he failed to see just how much Peyton was enjoying it. And not only for the fact that she was beating him.
He wasn't too turned on by her sat across from him in jeans and a t-shirt, maybe just a little because she looks damn hot all the time, but not to an uncontrollable point. Peyton on the other hand was wishing that he would win a few hands already to catch up. She was hot for him. He was a pathetic, grumbling mess and throwing his toys out of the pram but sitting there in his underwear he still looked nothing less than sexy.
So like any girl would, she chose to speed things up a bit.
As he tumbles on top of her teasing body she initiates a kiss. It's not soft, it's not loving and it's not gentle. He pulls away almost gasping for air but she's so infectious that he doesn't pause to catch his breath before replying with a kiss of equal passion.
Then it's her who's the one panting for oxygen.
He leans over her and whispers something dirty in her ear. There's no one around but it feels like the kind of thing that should only be whispered.
He watches as her eyes hood and she bites down on her lower lip, then there's the slightest of nods. He makes quick work of undressing her even though he really loves that underwear. Soon it's just a part of the backdrop just like the cards that served as the catalyst.
Neither of them is quite sure where the lust surged from but both of them felt it and both of them indulged. They christened a few rooms, well, christened them again if that's even possible. And then they definitely christened the porch swing.
'I love Strip Poker.' Peyton tells him later when they're entwined in her bed sheets.
'You know I let you win, right?' He questions, to which she just laughs into his chest.
Thank you again for reading! There's just one more chapter to go and an epilogue on this one and for once you won't have to wait too long! Lexie :)