A/N: Here's the chapter a lot of you guys have been waiting for! I hope you guys like it! Thanks so much for you guys who sent me comments and for everyone who reads my stories! I love hearing from you guys... continue to review! I made this the longest chapter so far because I didn't want to split this scene up. I'll try to update soon, but it may be a couple of days before I can. Until then, hope you enjoy...


Haley exited the shower to find Brooke sitting impatiently on her bed. She had an outfit, which consisted of a strapless dark green dress with open-toed heels, lying next to her. "What is this?" Haley asked.

"It's your outfit for tonight. We only have a few hours to get you ready, so come on," Brooke said hopping off the bed.

"Ready for what? Where are we going?" Haley wondered.

"We aren't going anywhere. You and Nathan are going out for dinner while Luke and I watch Jamie here at the house. I don't want any arguments because he'll be here at seven," Brooke replied.

Haley stood there speechless before saying, "Does he know about this or are you setting him up to?"

Brooke just smiled and grabbed the dress. "Put this on and then we'll work on your hair. I'll do your makeup last," Brooke listed off.

Haley just shook her head and changed into the dress. For the next few hours, she let Brooke do what she does best. Since they were little, Brooke had been all about fashion and always used Haley as her guinea pig on ideas.


The guys had just finished up at the river court when Luke announced, "Alright, let's head to your house so you can shower. Then, we gotta head over to Haley's to drop Jamie off."

"Ok, where did Brooke run off to," Nathan wondered.

"Let's just say she had an errand to run," Luke replied vaguely.

Nathan glanced at him curiously but chose not to comment. They headed to Nathan's and Nathan headed upstairs to take a shower. Jamie and Luke went into the den and started watching TV.

About thirty minutes later, Nathan came downstairs in a t-shirt and jeans. "What's the score?" he asked looking at the screen at a current game that was on.

Luke looked over at him and said, "Um, I forgot to mention that you needed to put on something nice. So I would go change. Maybe some khaki pants and polo shirt or something."

"Luke, what's going on?" Nathan groaned.

"Well, you kinda have plans tonight," Luke stated with a small smile.

Nathan sighed, "Whatever, I'll go change."

Luke turned back to the game and laughed as he heard Nathan grumble the whole way to his bedroom. "So Jamie, how would you like to hang out with Aunt Brooke and me tonight?" Luke commented.

"Can we watch a movie and have snacks?" Jamie exclaimed.

"Of course," Luke laughed, "I'm sure Aunt Brooke will have it all planned out. We'll leave as soon as Nathan changes." Jamie simply nodded.


Nathan had asked a couple more questions on the ride over, but Luke hadn't given him any answers. Nathan had no idea what was going on, but he had to admit he was looking forward to seeing Haley. He had missed seeing her all day and hoped that she was willing to see him. He still was curious what Luke had planned and wondered if Haley was involved. Before he had time to think more on it, they were at her house. The guys pulled up to the house a few minutes before seven.

They headed inside to find the downstairs empty. Brooke was walking downstairs when she heard the guys walk in. "Haley, come on down," Brooke yelled.

Haley slowly made her way down and as soon as Nathan saw her he smiled. Haley finally made eye contact with him and couldn't stop the smile that formed. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," Nathan replied.

"Now that you've both said hello, it's time for you guys to head out. I've made reservations with your mom and she's expecting you for dinner at the café," Brooke added.

"The café isn't open tonight," Nathan pointed out.

Brooke sighed, "I know, but your mom made an exception for you two. Besides, Luke, Jamie, and I already have plans for tonight. You guys can thank me later, but right now you need to leave."

"I can't believe you're pushing me out of my own house," Haley commented.

Luke laughed at the interaction before saying, "Good night you two. We've got everything under control here, don't we, Jamie?"

"Yea momma," Jamie exclaimed, "good night." He went and gave her a quick hug before turning towards Nathan and doing the same. Brooke then took his hand and led him out of the room with Luke not far behind them.

"I guess that's our cue to leave, unless you don't want to. I had no idea about any of this…" Nathan started.

Haley smiled and answered, "Let's go. Besides, I owe you an apology for last night."

"Its fine Haley," he said, "by the way, you look beautiful tonight."

"You're not looking so bad yourself," Haley joked as she grabbed her purse and led him out the door. They walked to the café in silence with each of them thinking about what to say. Each of them was thinking about the kiss the night before and what it meant and where to go from here. Only time would tell and tonight there was bound to be some feelings brought to the table.


They arrived at the café to find the lights were dimmed and a table was set in the middle of the room. Karen walked out from the kitchen and place two covered plates on the table. "Enjoy, and lock up whenever you leave," Karen said before giving them each a hug and exiting the café.

"I guess that leaves just us," Nathan commented, "I guess we'll eat while it's hot."

Haley smiled as she sat down and said, "It seems your mom was part of this plan too." Karen had fixed them their favorites.

They ate dinner with little small talk. They both avoided talking about anything heavy at least for now. Haley knew she needed to tell him why she freaked out that night and had decided to after they were done eating. She had finished her last bite of macaroni in cheese when Nathan asked, "Do you mind coming with me? There's a place I wanna show you."

Haley nodded and followed Nathan to the back of the café. He started walking up a flight of stairs that led to the roof. She looked out on the rooftop and couldn't believe the sight. You could see all of Tree Hill from here, as well as, the night sky. "It's beautiful up here," Haley sighed.

"This is where I would always come to think when I was younger. I stopped coming up here after I left for college, and then when I went pro, I hardly made it to Tree Hill at all," Nathan replied.

"Thank you for showing me this. Do you mind if we sit for a few minutes?" Haley wondered.

Nathan led her over to a picnic table and sat down. "What's on your mind?" he responded.

Haley sat down next to him and turned towards him. "I don't know where to begin. I pushed you away last night but not for the reasons you probably think. For that, I owe you an apology," she began, "It's just that being around you scares me because I haven't felt like this in a long time. After Michael, Jamie's biological father, I stopped trusting guys and putting my feelings out there. Then you came along and everything changed. For the first time in years, I actually felt something again and last night I didn't know how to respond to your kiss."

"Haley, like I told you, it's fine. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Believe it or not, I was actually surprised of myself. In high school, I could get any girl I wanted and I used it to my advantage. I never had a serious relationship and that even continued into college. When I went pro, I settled down and focused solely on my career. Overall, I've only had a handful of girlfriends but nothing ever went anywhere simply because I didn't want to be tied down. When I got injured, a lot of things changed for me, and I started evaluating my life. I realized that I was alone and I hated it," he confessed.

"Is that why you came back home?" she asked.

"One of the reasons, yea," he admitted, "I also wanted be closer to my family. Like I've told you before, I wasn't the greatest person to be around when I got hurt, and my family was the only ones who stuck by me. I hardly had any friends after I left the NBA, and the ones I did have drifted away during my recovery. Since I've been back, you have been the first person I've befriended, and I thought I had messed that up last night after I kissed you. Please tell me I'm wrong."

Haley cracked a smile and said, "I thought I had messed things up too when I made you leave. The truth is I wanted to kiss you back, but I overanalyzed the situation and freaked out instead. Mainly, I didn't want things to change between you and Jamie, most of all because you really mean a lot to him, and I didn't want to mess that up. I want to give us a shot, but if it doesn't work out I don't know how I would forgive myself. I've thought about it all day and Brooke actually was the one who knocked some sense into me."

"I completely understand your concerns, which is why I think we should take it slow and see where this leads. I like you Haley and I promise to do the very best I can to make you happy. As far as Jamie goes, he's a great kid and I love hanging out with him. What do you say?" he finished.

Instead of answering, Haley leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. That was enough of an answer for him, Nathan thought as he pulled Haley into a hug. The two sat on the bench looking up at the stars completely content.