AN – Hey guys! I'm still so amazed at how well this story has been received by you all; literally every time a review/story alert/favourite story e-mail comes through I get so excited! It's so lovely to hear that my writing is being appreciated by all you guys and to hear some of you guys say that both this story and Kiss the Rain are your favourite stories at the moment... well that's just amazing! So thank you all so much for the reviews – I love reading what you think about the chapters I post so keep it up! K, Gonggirl and Juliette – you guys don't have accounts so I couldn't respond to your comments but thank you for taking the time to leave them – I really appreciate it!
I know in this story we are all rooting for Nathan, and are waiting for Haley to open her eyes and realise that Tom is an ass basically... so we'll see what happens in this chapter and how Nathan reacts to the news that Haley is giving Tom another chance. Also move in day is coming up soon...
So here is the next chapter... I hope you all enjoy! x
Chapter Four
Nathan still hadn't said anything. "Nathan... please?" Haley asked after another two minutes of silence had passed, the awkwardness of the situation was driving her absolutely crazy. She stood in front of him, a slight distance between them, and she found that her teeth were biting down on her bottom lip so hard she was sure she was going to cut her lip if she chewed on it anymore, but she couldn't stop. She was shuffling from one leg to the other, her glove covered hands held out in front of her as she played with her fingers, and she was found herself completely unable to be still. Haley had known that this would be awkward, in fact, telling Nathan about her decision to try again with Tom had been playing on her mind the whole of last night, she had barely had a wink of sleep. As Haley thought back to the moment when she had told Tom that she was willing to give their relationship another shot yesterday, Haley was sure that Nathan had been on her mind at that time too, even though her thoughts should have been with her fiancé, focussed completely on him and not clouded by another man. But then again, Nathan seemed to be constantly in her thoughts, especially where Tom was concerned, and that confused her deeply.
Nathan was still unable to form a coherent sentence. He was shocked at her revelation, that was not what he had been expecting her to say, not in a million years, and especially not after the night they had spent talking about her and her boyfriend. She had all but admitted that she didn't love him anymore, and that she was unhappy, so what had changed since then? Why wouldn't she just leave him? Nathan didn't understand and he didn't want to understand her reasoning for all this. All he wanted was Haley. He could feel the frustration and anger running through his veins, it wouldn't stop and then that was before the hurt at what she was saying to him had started to build up inside of him. He needed to find the words to fight back, to make her see what a mistake she was making but the words just weren't forming in his brain and he couldn't even look at her, for fear of what he might do if he did, as if by not looking at her made this somehow seem unreal, like a nightmare that he had the option to wake from, and looking at her would cause this whole situation to become real and become something he needed to deal with.
Haley watched Nathan's expression changing from completely unreadable, to angry, to hurt, to pissed off, back to hurt again and found his silence completely unnerving. She had known that after the night they had spent together, after they had kissed, that telling Nathan wouldn't be easy but she hadn't expected it to be this hard, for him to take it this way. She was scared, scared that by being with Tom, she was going to lose Nathan, and that was something she didn't want to happen, their morning meet ups over coffee were the highlight of her day and she didn't want their friendship to end, she didn't think she would be able to cope without seeing him every day. The thought of hurting him like this caused tears to well in her eyes, she could feel her lip begin to shake and in response she bit down harder with her teeth, trying to stop it. "Nathan." She prompted him softly, quietly, needing him to say something. She could see his eyes were completely avoiding her, looking at anything but her, but she needed him to look at her, she wanted to make sure everything was going to be okay between them, that things would go back to normal after today.
Nathan slowly caught Haley's gaze and could see that her eyes were filled with tears that were threatening to fall at any second. He felt a mix of emotions at seeing her this way, part of him was sympathetic almost to her situation, as he knew that it took a lot of guts to be able to walk away from a two year relationship, but he knew that Haley was strong enough to do it. Then there was another part of him that was pissed off at her for nearly crying. She had created this, she was the one who was staying in a bad relationship, and she was the one who wasn't willing to even give him and her a chance. But the fact that she seemed upset about this was his little glimmer of hope. The fact that she was crying had to mean that she wasn't happy with this set up, that a part of her felt like she was giving up something that had the opportunity to be amazing. He decided to try one last time, give her one more chance to realise that they were meant to be together. He took the steps forward towards her that were needed to close the distance between them, and he placed his hands on her arms, just underneath her shoulders and looked her deeply in her eyes. "Haley, please don't do this." His voice was desperate, he knew this was it; this was his last chance to make her change her mind.
Haley looked into his blue eyes, which were so gorgeous; she nearly forgot to listen to him, finding herself getting lost in them, and not for the first time. She closed her eyes, and the tears started falling down her face due to this action. She felt Nathan's hand move softly up to her cheek, where his thumb wiped them away and when she opened her eyes again, Nathan's hands had moved back to her arms. There was something about Nathan, he was so comforting, she felt so safe with him and there was something so intimate about his action that made her glow inside. But she had to try again with Tom, she owed it to herself and to Tom, and Tom did seem to be trying harder with her, his actions yesterday had proved that. She brought her hands up and wrapped them around Nathan's which were still attached to her arms, and she found herself gripping onto him, not wanting to let him go. "I have to." She said simply, almost regrettably.
Nathan let out a long breath that he didn't even know he had been holding in. He closed his eyes as that little glimmer of hope he had thought he had seen faded away, leaving nothing but darkness. He opened his eyes after a couple of seconds, smiled sadly at Haley and forced her hands from his arms, gently giving them back to her. He couldn't find any words, and if he was honest, he wasn't sure that there was anything left to say, he just knew that he had to get away from there, away from her. She had made her decision, and they both needed to live with it. He turned and started to walk away from her, needing to get into the safety of his office before his heart literally burst into pieces for the second time that day.
Haley watched Nathan turn and walk away, a frown coming across her face. Nothing had really been said between them, nothing had been resolved, she didn't know how he was feeling, whether he was okay with the situation, whether they were still friends. "Nathan?" She called out after him, expecting him to turn around and talk to her, but he continued walking. She didn't know why but she felt like this was so final, that this was goodbye, and she couldn't take that. "Nathan." She called out again, only this time her voice was muffled by the sobs that had started to escape from her body. She watched his retreating form through gaps in people as they all milled around, rushing to get to their places of work, until she lost him. She closed her eyes and prayed that it wasn't for good.
~*~
Haley had been sitting at her desk, staring into space for the last half an hour. She wasn't thinking about anything, she felt completely dead inside, which was ridiculous given that she had only known Nathan for two months, but they had such a connection, she needed him in her life, she was sure of it, and the way he had walked away from her, that last smile he had given her had been so final. She felt like crawling under her desk and sobbing her eyes out, but she knew that she couldn't do that, not at work, she would have to save that for when she got home.
"Haley?" Lucas shouted from his office as he walked out of the door and headed towards Haley's desk.
Haley quickly wiped her eyes, checking that her tears had been brushed away as soon as she was jolted out of her day dream by the sound of Lucas' voice and straightened herself out, putting herself in complete professional mode. She cleared her throat before speaking, not wanting Lucas to know that there was anything wrong with her, she was here to do a job after all. "Yes Lucas, what can I do for you?" She asked politely.
Lucas smiled when he found Haley sitting at her desk; she was such a great secretary, always willing to go the extra mile and always gave one hundred and ten percent at work. "Can you print off the presentation regarding the property upstate that we're looking into? I just want to have a run through it tonight before the meeting tomorrow."
"Sure I can, is there anything else I can do for you?" Haley asked, smiling back at her boss.
"No, that's all for now. Thanks Haley." Lucas said as he walked back into his office, closing the door behind him as he had a conference call that he needed to start.
Haley sighed and got started, trying to find the presentation she had been typing up for Lucas last week. Nathan kept popping into her mind, she wished she could just forget about him but it wasn't so easy after the morning discussion they had had. She opened up the presentation and hit print, and waited for the mountain of paper to come out of the printer. Once it had been printed, she picked it up and walked over to Lucas' office, seeing that he was on the conference call and so quietly opened the door, leaving the stack of paper on his desk. Lucas smiled at her in appreciation and she walked back to her desk, ready to start her constant thinking of Nathan again.
After five minutes of thinking of Nathan, Haley decided that she needed cheering up. She decided to call Tom, wanting him to provide her with some comfort, wanting him to confirm to her that she had made the right decision in giving him another chance. She picked up the phone and dialled his extension, waiting for him to answer.
"Scott Investment Management, Tom speaking." She heard him say.
"Hi Tom, its Haley." Haley greeted him, sighing slightly at the way his voice didn't make her heart race... Nathan's always managed to.
"Hi Haley, how's it going?" Tom asked politely.
"Fine thanks." Haley said, hearing the familiar sound of his keyboard being tapped on. Nathan always paid attention to her when she talked to him. She mentally scalded herself for comparing them again, she knew that she had made her decision; she needed to stop doing that. "I was just wondering if you wanted to head out for some lunch in a bit?" Haley asked hopefully. She wanted to spend some time with him; she needed to get out of the office, for her thoughts of Nathan were driving her mad.
"Haley, I'm really sorry but I can't today, I have back to back meetings all afternoon, the first one is in literally five minutes." Tom answered.
"Oh." Haley said disappointedly.
"Haley, I'm sorry. Another time this week okay?" Tom suggested, trying to make up for the fact that he couldn't go with her today.
Haley sighed. "Sure. Have a good day." Haley said dejectedly and then she hung up the phone. She didn't think he had been lying to her; he hadn't used any pet names, which was her usual tell-tale sign if he was telling lies. But she had needed to see him, she wanted to see him and he had stupid meetings. She banged her fist on her desk in frustration, just as Lucas came out of his office.
"Haley, what's wrong?" Lucas asked, seeing her bash her fist down on the desk, which was completely out of character for her.
Haley blushed instantly, she was completely embarrassed. "Oh... erm... it's nothing." Haley said sheepishly.
"I bet the poor desk doesn't think it was nothing!" Lucas teased.
Haley went an even deeper shade of red, she could feel it, but she didn't know what to say, so kept her mouth shut.
Lucas chuckled at her before speaking to her. "You gave me the wrong presentation; this was the one we used for the Chicago property." Lucas said as he placed the presentation Haley had given him on her desk so she could see that it was the wrong one.
"Oh shit!" Haley said, before bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. She couldn't believe that she had just sworn in front of her boss.
Lucas laughed out loud this time.
"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Haley said, while getting completely flustered, grabbing the wrong presentation that she had printed out in error and leant over to throw it in the bin, however, in doing so her wheelie chair moved sharply which nearly caused Haley to fall to the floor, she only managed to save herself by grabbing onto the desk and holding on for dear life.
"Haley are you okay?" Lucas asked, watching her struggle at putting some paper in the bin. Haley was usually so calm and collected, so proficient, but today she was all over the place.
"I'm fine, honestly." Haley said breathlessly, once she had managed to get her seat back to her desk and sat down, before finding the correct presentation and printing it out for Lucas, wanting nothing more than the ground to open up and swallow her whole, either that or Lucas to just go away, he was making her nervous.
Lucas knew she wasn't fine though, and decided to be a good boss. "Have you got any lunch plans?" Lucas asked.
Not now Tom won't come and see me. Haley thought bitterly to herself. "No." She answered.
"Well you have now, come on Haley." Lucas said as he walked into his office, putting the presentation he picked up from the printer on the way on his desk, and grabbed his coat. When he walked back out of his office, Haley was still sat at her desk. "Come on Haley, we're going to get something to eat."
"Oh. Thanks Lucas!" Haley said brightly, at least someone wanted to spend some time with her today, even if it was her boss!
~*~
Lucas sat across from Haley at one of the trendy restaurants in the finance district, watching her closely. He had wanted to speak with her about the apartment, and let her know that Nathan, her boss, ultimate owner of Scott Investment Management, was going to be her landlord too, but first he wanted to make sure that everything was okay with her. The waiter had just brought out their pasta dishes and Haley and Luke began to tuck into the delicious food, when he decided to ask her again. "Haley, are you sure everything is okay?" Lucas asked, concerned with Haley and the haphazardness of his usually so efficient secretary.
"Honestly, I'm fine." Haley said, trying to deflect Lucas away from the truth, which was she was far from fine, in fact, she was so far from fine, she couldn't remember what fine felt like.
Lucas looked at her suspiciously. "Haley, I know that everything's not okay. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Lucas asked, hoping that she was going to open up to him, see if there was some way he could help her, for he knew she had something big on her mind.
Haley sighed and put her fork down, finding her appetite had gone. She was starting to think about Nathan again. She knew she couldn't tell Lucas about Nathan, lord knows what he would think, and plus he knew who Tom was, he was the only one who knew that Tom worked for the same company as her, so if she told him there was a chance that Tom could find out and that was the last thing she needed to happen. Peyton knew that there was a Tom but she didn't know he worked for Scott Investment Management too. "I'm just having some problems with Tom." Haley answered. It wasn't a lie, despite giving things another go, they still had problems, and they still had a lot of stuff that they needed to work out.
"What kind of problems?" Lucas asked, probing for more information than that.
Haley laughed. "You don't want me to get into them Lucas, believe me, we'd still be sitting here next week if I started to tell you what was wrong with us." Haley sighed and raked her fingers through her hair, hoping to rake out some of the problems too, either that or find some much needed solutions.
Lucas watched Haley, he could see how stressed she was and he wanted to help her out. He was just about to open his mouth and tell Haley about the apartment, and who owned it, when he thought better of it. Haley didn't need that additional stress; she had enough on her plate it seemed. So he decided to keep quiet and have a chat with his brother later on. "Are you looking forward to move in day?" Lucas asked, hoping Haley would be excited about it, and also hoped that it would take her mind off her problems with Tom for a while.
Haley smiled at Luke. "Yeah I am, it's going to be so nice living much closer to work."
"Well the apartment is absolutely amazing; you're going to love it." Lucas said as he whipped out his credit card and paid for the lunch.
"Good." Haley said as she watched Lucas pay for lunch. "Thanks for that Lucas." Haley said as she put her coat back on and both of them headed back to the office. Haley was feeling slightly better after getting some food inside of her, and for the first time that day, Nathan hadn't been in her thoughts for a while, although she was sure that wasn't going to last.
~*~
Nathan hadn't been able to focus all day, it was a joke, he may as well have just stayed in his suite at the hotel and slept, that was how much he had accomplished today. And it was all because of Haley. He couldn't help but feel bitter and angry at the whole situation, Haley and her boyfriend carried on as they were, Haley was trapped in an unhappy relationship, Nathan was pissed off at the fact that he hadn't got the girl he wanted to be with, and Haley's boyfriend, well if she was unhappy, he had to be too, right? So who the hell won in all this? As far as Nathan could see they were all losers. What a fucking sorry state of affairs. He'd had his fists clenched up in balls the whole day, unable to shake the tension that was running through him. He was going to hit the gym tonight; he desperately needed the punch bag they had to offer. He looked down at his clock on his computer and saw that it was already eight o'clock in the evening and decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel, when his phone rang.
"Scott Investment Management, Nathan speaking." Nathan said as he picked up the ringing phone.
"Nate, its Luke." Lucas responded to his brother's greeting.
"How's it going? I was just about to leave." Nathan said, trying to not so subtly let Lucas know that he wasn't in the mood for a long drawn out chat.
"Don't worry; I'm planning on making a move too, so I won't keep you on the phone for too long." Lucas said, laughing at his brother's nudge that he wanted to get off the phone.
"Okay, what is it?" Nathan asked, closing his computer down in the process.
Lucas took a deep breath before speaking. "Your apartment."
"Mmm." Nathan said sceptically, wondering where this conversation was going, already not liking the direction it was taking, or the tone of Lucas' voice, like he was scared of what Nathan was going to say next, which meant he had done something that was highly likely to piss him off, which was just what Nathan didn't need right now.
"I need you to stay away from it for a while." Lucas said quickly.
Nathan's eyes grew wide. "What?"
"I need you to stay away from your apartment for a while." Lucas asked, speaking a little slower than he had before.
"Why?" Nathan asked, irritated at the fact that he seemed to be being chucked out of his city crash pad.
"What difference does it make Nathan? You hardly ever use it anyway, you have your mansion just outside of the city, and you'll just have to use that for a bit instead." Lucas asked, wondering why Nathan was so agitated at the situation.
"Well it's nice to have the option to stay in the city when I need to." Nathan huffed.
"I'm sure you can do without it for a while." Lucas said.
"Why can't I use it anyway?" Nathan asked, realising that he hadn't received an answer to his question he had asked Luke.
"Erm...." Lucas said, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse for the fact that he hadn't told Haley who owned the apartment yet.
Nathan instantly worked it out. "You haven't told her, have you?" Nathan questioned Lucas incredulously.
"No, not exactly." Lucas stammered out.
"What do you mean, not exactly? Either you have told her or you haven't Luke. And I'm guessing you haven't, right?" Nathan shouted. Lucas really wasn't helping the level of frustration he was feeling today, in fact, he was only adding to it. That punch bag was really going to come in handy once he got down to the gym.
"No I haven't." Lucas said quietly.
"Lucas! I told you to tell her!" Nathan shouted again.
"I know!" Lucas shouted back. "There is a reason why I didn't tell her though. She's been a little stressed out lately and I didn't want to add to her stress levels by piling the fact that her boss was going to be her landlord." Lucas explained.
Nathan sighed. "I can't believe you haven't told her Luke."
"All you need to do is stay away for a while until she settles in and then I'll tell her, okay? It shouldn't affect you that much anyway, right?" Lucas tried to provide the silver lining through the very dark, looming cloud.
"Fine." Nathan agreed, it wasn't like he had much of a choice anyway, he'd offered his apartment to Lucas' secretary and he couldn't go back on that now, not when she was moving in on Saturday.
"Thanks so much Nate, you're a lifesaver." Lucas said.
"What's her name anyway?" Nathan asked, curious as to what his new tenant was called.
"Haley." Lucas answered.
Nathan laughed bitterly as he thought of his Haley again and what she had done to him that morning. That's just what he needed... another Haley in his life! Hopefully this one wouldn't cause as much trouble...
~*~
Haley was still sitting at her desk mulling over her day when Lucas left the office. She didn't know what to do. She knew that she had hurt Nathan, more that she had wanted to and that made her feel absolutely terrible. And the way they had left things didn't sit well with her at all. She couldn't carry on this way tomorrow, with Nathan clogging her every thought, she had done absolutely nothing at work today and she knew she wouldn't get away with that for long. She took a deep breath and decided to call Nathan's mobile, hoping that he would pick up and speak to her.
She lifted up her work phone and dialled the number from her mobile and waited for him to answer, but after a couple of rings, it went to voicemail. Haley thought about leaving a message but didn't have a clue what she would say, so hung up before the tone sounded, she didn't feel like leaving a rambling message, and she wasn't sure he would listen to it anyway.
She rested her chin in hands and pondered what to do next. She realised that she needed to speak to him tonight, she wouldn't be able to sleep again if she didn't and then Nathan would be in her thoughts for the whole of tomorrow too, which she didn't want. She decided to chance it and go back to the suite he had been staying in when he had invited her to the hotel, praying that he was still there. She closed down her computer and rushed out of the office, hailing herself a cab once she got onto the street.
~*~
Nathan grunted as he smashed his fist into the punch bag for what felt like the thousandth time that night. He knew his arm was hurting from the exercise but he couldn't feel it, so he kept on punching. He must have looked like a madman and given the looks some of the people in the gym had been giving him while he was punching away, he knew he should calm down a little, but he had so much anger and frustration inside of him, this was the only way he was able to let it all out, well, it was either punch the punch bag, or punch a person, and luckily for that person, the punch bag had won.
After an hour of hitting the bag, Nathan stopped and held the punch bag with both of his gloved hands, stretching his legs out, panting for breath. He could have gone on all night if he had wanted too, but he was tired, emotionally and physically, and so decided to head back up to his suite and try to rest, he desperately needed some sleep, he needed to be on the ball tomorrow, especially as today had been a complete waste of time.
~*~
Haley walked into the hotel and headed straight for the elevators. She knew that Nathan's suite was on the top floor, so she pressed the button and waited impatiently for the elevator to get to the top floor. She checked her appearance over in the mirrors, and sighed at what she saw, she looked a complete mess, she looked tired, her hair was all over the place, and her makeup was all worn off from the day she'd just had. But she didn't care how she looked, it would have to do, she had to see Nathan and find out where they both stood.
After what felt like an hour, the elevator doors opened on the top floor of the hotel, and Haley made her way down the corridor, vaguely remembering the route she and Nathan had taken a couple of nights ago. She got to the door which she was sure was his and knocked on it, waiting for Nathan to open the door. She waited for about thirty seconds before trying again, this time knocking a little louder. She knocked again when there was no answer. She wasn't even sure if he was still staying here, for all she knew she could be knocking on either an empty room, or a complete stranger's room. But this was the only place she knew he could possibly be so she had to try.
She was just about to turn and walk away when she heard the elevator doors opening at the end of the corridor. She turned to look at who had just walked out of the elevator and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Nathan walk down the corridor towards his suite.
Nathan grabbed his key card from his pocket and used the towel he had wrapped around his neck to ruffle his hair which he had just washed in the shower at the gym as he walked along the corridor to his suite. He was about half way down the corridor when he stopped towelling his hair and noticed that there was someone standing out in the corridor. He looked up to see who it was and his eyes were met with the beautiful brown eyes that belonged to Haley. He let his gaze drift quickly over her body; she still took his breath away. But however much he was blown away by her beauty; he couldn't help the irritation that ran through him at her turning up like this, no matter how much he wanted to see her, he was still angry and hurt at what she had done that morning.
Haley watched Nathan walk towards her. He looked so gorgeous, obviously having just stepped out of the shower, he had a white sleeveless t-shirt on and some shorts. She loved the way his hair was still slightly wet, spiking up in all directions, it looked good on him. She smiled cautiously at him, but noticed that he didn't return it, so she instantly looked away from him. It was clear that he didn't want her here.
"What are you doing here Haley?" Nathan asked as he walked around her and placed his key card in the door, opening it when the green light went on.
Haley turned around again so she was facing him. "I wanted to talk to you."
Nathan walked into his suite, threw his towel from around his neck onto the chair and leant against the door. "I don't really think there is anything left to say Hales." Nathan said coldly, refusing to meet her gaze, for he knew if he took one look into her eyes, he would get swept away and walls he currently had up against her would come tumbling down.
Nathan's words felt like a slap in the face for Haley. "I think there is stuff to talk about Nathan." Haley tired to sound confident but she wasn't sure her voice portrayed that, she sounded scared almost.
Nathan leant his head back. "Have you changed your mind?" He asked.
"No..." Haley said quietly.
"Then I don't think we have anything to say to each other." Nathan said as he moved away from the door and began to close it.
Haley could see the door being closed in her face and knew she had to do something; she couldn't leave things the way they were, not like this. She held out her hand and stopped the door from closing any further. "Nathan, wait." Haley said, commanding his attention.
Nathan sighed in frustration. "What is it Haley?" Nathan almost shouted.
"Can I please come in?" Haley asked tentatively, unsure of whether he would let her enter his room.
Nathan made the mistake of looking down at her. He could see in her eyes the pleading for him to listen and he felt his resolve weaken slightly. He opened the door wide again and left it open, walking into his suite, wandering straight to the kitchen to grab himself a drink of scotch. He didn't want to offer Haley one; he didn't want to make her feel comfortable. He wanted her to say what she needed to say and then leave.
Haley walked timidly into the suite, and closed the door behind her. She noticed Nathan's hostility towards her; it was pretty hard to miss. She stood in front of the now closed door and started to fiddle with her hands and bite down on her lip, for she didn't know what else to do.
Nathan had poured himself his scotch and took a sip, eyeing Haley suspiciously over the rim of the glass, before placing it back down on the table. "So what do you want to talk about?" Nathan asked, wanting to get right to the point, not wanting to dance around this any longer than was needed.
"I just wanted to make sure you're okay." Haley said, barely above a whisper.
Nathan scoffed. "Oh yeah, I'm fine." Nathan said sarcastically.
"Nathan, please." Haley pleaded with him to not make this any more awkward than it already was.
"What do you want from me Haley?" Nathan asked, moving out of the kitchen area, standing opposite her.
"I want us to be friends still; I don't want to ruin what we had." Haley said honestly.
Nathan didn't say anything for a while, he was stewing over her words, over her actions this morning and over her actions on the night they had spent together. Their kiss that evening had stayed with him, he felt the craving and desire she had for him in that kiss, so he knew she had some sort of feelings for him. He didn't understand what she had going on with her boyfriend, why it meant more to her than what could be between them. "What does he have, Haley?" Nathan asked, desperate to understand.
"What do you mean?" Haley asked, she didn't understand what he meant with this question, why he was asking her that when she had just asked if they could be friends.
"Your boyfriend. What does he have that's making you stay with him?" Nathan asked again.
Haley shuffled uncomfortably from one foot to the other. She didn't want to be discussing Tom with Nathan. "Nathan, I've been with him for two years..." Haley started but was interrupted.
"Haley, that's not a reason to stay with someone, that sounds like an excuse. I'm asking you what he has?" Nathan interrupted. He was sick of her using the time that they had been together as a reason to stay with him, it doesn't matter if its ten years or two months, it's the happiness that counts, and Haley wasn't happy, he knew it and so did she.
"Nathan, I don't want to talk about this now." Haley said quietly, biting down on her lip.
Nathan walked closer to her, still keeping some distance between them, but closing the gap a little. "What was worth saving Hales?" He asked softly.
Haley looked down at the floor. She knew that Nathan was asking her the same question he had asked her when she had stayed in his suite a couple of nights ago, and she hadn't given him an answer then and she wasn't going to give him one now, because she honestly didn't know what she was saving, if it was worth her time, she just knew she had to give things another try with Tom.
Nathan waited for her answer, but realised once again that she wasn't going to answer him. He walked closer to her and gently placed his hand underneath her chin, slowly lifting her head so she was forced to meet his gaze. He took a deep breath and started speaking. "Haley, I don't want to see you unhappy, I want to see you smile, I want to see that beautiful smile on your face every single day. I want to see you be you. I don't like what your boyfriend does to you, the person he turns you into because that unhappy girl is not the Haley that I know you could be. And you know that too, don't you?" Nathan asked, searching her eyes for the truth.
Haley listened to what Nathan was saying to her, gazing into his eyes. When he asked her the question at the end of his speech, Haley looked down at the floor before lifting her gaze again, and bit down on her lip nervously. He was speaking the truth, she knew it, and he knew it. She slowly nodded her head, it wasn't worth denying it.
Nathan breathed a silent sigh of relief that she had agreed with him, and so decided to be brave and continue. "And I think I could make you happy Haley. I really do."
Haley was surprised that he had been so honest with her. She wasn't expecting him to be, not with the way things had been left between them that morning, she was expecting unfriendliness, unkindness, so his mood completely knocked her off kilter. She looked deeply into his eyes, unsure of how to react to what he had said, and felt scared by the part of her that agreed with him, that he could make her extremely happy, more happy than she could hope to be. But then there was that other part of her, the part that wanted her to be faithful to her relationship with Tom, the part of her that wanted her current relationship to work. She was absolutely torn again, unable to understand what she was meant to do in this situation, this had never happened to her before. As she looked into Nathan's eyes, she could see the honesty and hope that was so evident in him, the promise that he would make her happy. That caught her off guard a little, and so before she knew what her body was doing, before her brain could comprehend what she was doing, she had stepped forward and brought her body in close to Nathan's and had lent up and kissed him.
Nathan was a little shocked that Haley had kissed him but he felt elated all the same and he definitely wasn't going to stop it. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her in closer and kissed her back, running his tongue slowly over her lips, asking for entry into her mouth, needing to deepen the kiss, needing to make this moment last for as long as possible, not ever wanting it to end, for when he was kissing Haley, nothing else mattered.
Haley felt Nathan's tongue on her lips and opened her mouth willingly, wanting to feel more connected to him. She felt his tongue move into her mouth and the second it connected with hers, she heard Nathan moan sexily into her mouth. Haley wrapped her hands around Nathan's neck and started to scratch lightly over his skin with her fingernails, feeling Nathan's tongue tangle with her own and start to explore her mouth. The kiss was slow, sensual and full of promise.
Nathan began to walk backwards, taking Haley further into his suite towards the living room area, his mouth never leaving hers, his tongue still tangled in her mouth. As he was walking, he brought his hands around to the front of Haley's coat and started to unbuckle the belt and once that was undone, he started to unbutton the buttons, pulling it off her in the process and throwing it to the floor. He felt his legs hit the side of the couch and pulled away from her, sitting himself down in the middle of it, before reaching up and pulling Haley down on top of his lap, capturing her lips in a searing kiss as Haley started to sit on top of him.
Haley knelt on either side of Nathan's legs, sitting herself in his lap, her mouth moving quickly over his, her hands cupping the sides of his face before moving into his hair, tangling her fingers in his locks. She felt him break away from the kiss and leave feather light kisses on her lips, both of them taking the opportunity to catch some much needed breath.
Nathan couldn't get enough of her, she smelt, tasted, and looked amazing, in fact, everything about her was amazing. "You're so gorgeous Haley." Nathan said in between the kisses he left on her face, his hands roaming over her stunning body.
Haley felt Nathan's kisses move down her jaw to her ear, where he started nibbling on her earlobe, biting down playfully on it, causing Haley to let out a giggle, as her hands moved up his arms, flowing over the contours of his muscles, up towards his shoulders and then ran them down his toned chest. He felt amazing.
Nathan smiled at the laugh that had escaped Haley's lips and moved his mouth down from her ear, leaving kisses just below her ear on her neck. He then moved his mouth over to the front of her neck, sucking softly on her skin, and then grazing his teeth along her neck, before leaving hot, wet kisses down towards the collar of the shirt she was wearing. He brought his hands up from her waist and started to unbutton her shirt, kissing his way down her shoulder bones as more of her delicious skin was revealed, unable to stop his eyes from devouring her hot, sexy body, his eyes growing wider in appreciation with every button that was being undone. Once he had fully unbuttoned the shirt, he felt Haley's hands lift his head back up towards hers, her lips connecting with his, her tongue forcing its way into his mouth.
Nathan's breathing was quickening again and he couldn't control his hands, they were all over her body, and he couldn't stop his eyes from dropping to her breasts, watching them rise and fall as she breathed in and out. He found his hands move to trace the curve of her breasts that spilled out over her black lacy bra, he was itching to touch her all over, he wanted to feel all of her. His hands then dropped to her stomach and snaked their way around the back of her shirt which was hanging on her loosely and he moved his hand up her back towards her bra strap, wanting to free her full breasts from their constraints. He undid the clasp and instantly moved his hands around to the front of her stomach again, before grazing his fingers lightly up her skin towards her breasts. Once he found the edge of her bra, he pulled it down from her breasts and covered them with his hands and begun to play with her nipples, running them in between his thumb and fingers, causing them to harden.
Haley moaned in pleasure as Nathan's hands tugged on her nipples, she couldn't think of anything other than the need to be with him, be closer to him. She broke away from his kiss and kissed her way down his neck, nipping and biting on his skin, before she felt Nathan pull her away as his hands moved up to her shoulders, and move down her arms, bringing her shirt with her, which once off her body was tossed onto the floor, her bra soon following.
Nathan took this opportunity to admire her amazing body. "You're so beautiful Haley." Nathan said while looking in her eyes, his fingers coming up to trace over her full, red lips.
Haley blushed, she couldn't help it. She watched as Nathan continued to move his fingers over her lips, and she didn't know why but her breathing quickened in pace, there was something about that action that was so sensual.
Nathan watched the blush creep across her cheeks and then moved one of his hands to her cheek, his fingers starting to trace over her cheekbones, as he leant in to place a soft, slow kiss on her lips, the other hand moving down to her legs, running up her thigh and underneath her skirt.
Haley could feel the goose bumps begin to form on her skin where Nathan's hand was. She could feel him moving up underneath her skirt, pushing it up her body as his hand moved closer and closer to her centre. She gasped when she felt him run a finger along her slit and up towards her clit, moaning out loud when she felt his finger run over her clit. She needed to concentrate on something else, for her mind was being clouded by him and what he was doing, and she was so turned on in that moment, she was sure she would have an instant orgasm if his finger decided to linger on her clit for one more second than it had. She moved her hands from his neck and found the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head, breaking away from his kiss in the process, and chucking it to the floor once it had been removed. She knew she needed him, she needed him inside of her right now, so she decided to take the initiative and balanced herself on her knees and lifted herself off his lap, tugging on the waistband of his shorts as she left feather light kisses on his lips.
Nathan knew exactly what Haley wanted, he had felt how wet she was through her panties and he wanted her too, the need to be inside of her was all consuming. He lifted himself off the couch and pulled his shorts and boxers down to his ankles, and then sat back down on the couch.
Haley rested her arms on his strong shoulders and kissed him forcefully on the mouth. She felt Nathan try to take her panties off her, but she needed him now, she couldn't wait. She reached down with both hands, brushing his aside, taking his hard cock in one and moving her panties to the side with the other, before lowering herself on top of him, her skirt rumpled at her waist, her hands moving back up over his muscular stomach and chest, tracing the contours of his body.
Nathan moaned out as he felt her sink on top of him, his cock entering her tightness, the feeling of being inside of her one of complete wholeness. He felt connected to her, his eyes found hers and he could see the desire and lust so clearly evident in them, the want and need for him so clearly shown. He gripped onto her waist and started to help her build a steady rhythm, his gaze moving over her whole body, enjoying the feeling of just being with her.
Haley could feel the pleasure building up inside of her fast. She quickened the pace but still made sure she took as much of him as she could get. She could feel him hitting her in all the right places, and couldn't help moaning out his name breathlessly.
The sound of his name falling from her lips in a moment like this was just as amazing as Nathan had dreamed it would be. This truly was one of his fantasies coming to life. He knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer, and could also hear that Haley was close too. He began to thrust his hips up, meeting her, matching her every move.
Haley couldn't take it much more, she needed to let go. Her hands moved to Nathan's shoulder and she gripped on tight, needing to hold onto something as the pleasure overcame her, her body pulsating as her orgasm rocked right through her, and she was unable to stop the cries of pleasure coming from her mouth.
Nathan felt Haley's walls tighten around his cock as the waves of Haley's orgasm ran through her body, and that was his undoing as his own orgasm overcame him and he spilled his load deep inside of her.
Once Haley had calmed down and her breathing had returned to a near normal state, she closed her eyes as she rested with him still inside of her, she wasn't ready to let him go just yet. She tried to breathe deeply, and once heart rate had come down, she didn't know what was happening but alarm bells went ringing off in her head, she couldn't stop them, in fact, they were getting louder. The only thought that was running through her mind was Tom, and the fact that she had betrayed him. She didn't feel dirty, she had that familiar guilt running through her, but she had been expecting that. But she felt disappointed too, in herself and at what she had done, ashamed almost. She knew she had to get away; she couldn't let stay with Nathan, it was wrong, she had cheated on Tom and she couldn't do that, she couldn't stay with Nathan and pretend that everything was okay when it so clearly wasn't. She lifted herself off him quickly and stood up, ignoring Nathan's protests and picked her bra and shirt up off the floor and put her shirt on. She then grabbed her coat and pulled it on her, doing it up quickly, before walking to the door.
Nathan watched as Haley recoiled away from him and couldn't help groaning out in frustration. He knew her conscience was playing games with her and he was pissed off for it. "Haley, please don't go, don't do this." Nathan pleaded with her to stay.
Haley turned to look at him as she did up the buttons and belt of her jacket, and as she looked at him, the feeling of shame only grew inside of her. "I'm sorry Nathan, that shouldn't have happened." Haley said as she shook her head, her hands shaking which was making doing her coat up that much harder than it needed to be.
Nathan could see her slipping away from him, he was angry again, angry that they had just had sex, moved a couple of steps forward in their relationship and now she was now pulling away from him, regretting it, when he thought it was the right thing for her to be doing. He didn't want to be a part of her regrets. As far as he was concerned, the only thing that Haley should be regretting was all the time she was spending with her boyfriend when she could be much happier with someone else. "Haley don't go." Nathan almost commanded, he needed to rake back some of the control in this situation, at the moment, Haley had all the cards, and Nathan hated the hand she had dealt him.
"Nathan I have to go." Haley said shakily. "I'm sorry." She turned away from him and walked out of his suite, running to the elevator and pressing the button until it had arrived, needing to get away, needing some fresh air. She rushed out through the lobby and felt the harsh night air hit her skin, and she finally felt like she could breathe.
~*~
The next morning, Haley waited in Starbucks for Nathan to come in for his morning espresso. Every time she heard the door open, she lifted her head hopefully, only to be disappointed when every single person that entered the shop wasn't Nathan. She was earlier than she usually was when she turned up to meet Nathan and she had expected him to be there, she wanted to apologise for throwing herself at him last night, it wasn't fair to him. She knew he was pissed off and she needed to make him understand how sorry she was. But he never showed.
~*~
The following morning, Nathan was waiting outside Starbucks, waiting for it to open. Once it had opened, he walked inside and ordered three espresso shots to go, not wanting to drink them inside as he didn't want to see Haley, he was too angry at her to spend time with her, it was better for both of them if he avoided her. He didn't want to make her anymore miserable than she already was, and he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to control his emotions or his anger if he saw her right now. It was better for business this way too, he would be in work early, be able to give another three hours to the business that he otherwise would have spent chatting to Haley, he tried to provide for reasoning for his actions, because there was a huge part of him that longed to see her again, that longed to talk to her again, but he wouldn't betray himself, he had made a decision to not see her and he was going to stick to it, no matter how much it killed him to do so.
AN – Oh dear!!! I'm sorry to leave it like that guys but if I wrote anymore then this chapter would have been about 15,000 words!!! Don't worry – I'm not going to make you guys wait too long for an update so keep a look out! And let me know what you thought of that by leaving me a review! Thanks x