She left early in the morning on Friday, claiming a crazy day at work, and when he complained when she woke him before the sun was even up, she'd given him that look he'd seen so many times before, and told him that she wanted him just one more time before she had to go.
And what man in his right mind would argue with that?
So he watched her leave, then went for a run, earlier than usual, and went to the River Court, earlier than usual, and spent the rest of his day wondering just how he was going to tell Haley about his relationship. He realized that the guy he used to be would have used his charm and his smile and his eyes to either make Peyton do it, or somehow make Haley think it was the best news she'd ever heard. But he wasn't that guy, and he wouldn't make Peyton do it, and he had no idea what Haley was going to say.
Gotta love a small town.
They were in a tangled web, and though it was spun by only good things, he realized that those good things had to crisscross and trip over each other so many times, that somehow he and Peyton had managed to back themselves into a corner. And yes, even thinking that, he realized he was mixing metaphors, but it made sense in his head.
He spent his entire weekend with Jamie talking about basketball and playing basketball and doing all the things that they never got to do together anymore, just like every other weekend the boy stayed at the house. This time, they had a boys' day, and Lucas, Skills, Mouth, Junk and Fergie all came over for pizza and sodas and they flipped between a few channels to watch as many games as they could.
No one noticed that Peyton's name flashed across the screen of his cell phone, or that he walked out of the room to take the call. She was upset about something work related, and so close to tears that his heart wrenched in his chest. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was around, and stepped out onto the back porch of his home.
"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I know this is your weekend with Jamie and I'm probably the last thing you need right now, but I just really needed to hear your voice."
"Peyton," he said, attempting to calm her as best he could. Her rambling was cute, but he knew it rarely ever meant something good. "You need to stop thinking that you're some sort of burden."
"I just know how you feel about Jamie..."
"And he's fine. He's," he paused to look through the window just in time to see Jamie laugh hysterically at something his uncle had said. "He's hanging out with the guys. Now tell me what's going on."
"I just got a call from my label partners in L.A. and they're really pressuring me about Mia's new album, and they won't agree with me on anything to do with Will before he goes on the road and we release his first song. I just...I feel like I can't do this, Nathan."
"Babe, you're doing great," he assured her. "And Mia's coming back tomorrow, right? So you can talk to her then, and I know that you'll make the label see things your way."
The line was quiet and he was worried that he had no freaking clue what he was talking about because...well, because he kind of didn't. He knew a little bit about the industry from Haley, and he had always listened intently as Peyton spoke of her work, but it was out of his realm, despite the business courses he took in college.
"Peyton?"
"Yeah," she said. He could hear her smile, and he had to do the same. "Thank you."
"I didn't do anything," he insisted.
"Shut up," she scoffed, aware that they both knew that he'd done exactly what she needed him to do. "Go play with the boys. I'll talk to you later."
"Don't say 'play with the boys'. That sounds like...like something this isn't," he joked, making her let out that laugh that he so loved. "Come over tomorrow night."
"Alright," she sighed dramatically, making him chuckle. "I'll see you after work."
He hung up and he was still smiling, but he didn't know that his brother had stepped into the kitchen to grab another drink, and had heard him say 'come over tomorrow night'. Lucas' mind instantly raced, wondering who had been on the phone that could make his brother smile that way. But Nathan had been through a lot, and there were people around, and Lucas didn't want to say anything. He decided instead to go back to the living room, turning a blind eye to the things he so desperately wanted to know.
When Nathan dropped off Jamie on Sunday evening, he found Haley and Brooke sitting in the kitchen, and when neither Haley or Jamie were looking, the brunette shot him a wink that he could tell was just the tip of the iceberg. He knew she'd have questions and jokes and harmless fun for hours over his and Peyton's relationship. He also knew that she'd love being the only one who knew about it, no matter how long that secret lasted.
"Hey baby boy," Haley cooed, taking Jamie in her arms and kissing his forehead. "I missed you."
"I'm not a baby," he groaned, and Nathan ruffled his hair as Brooke laughed.
"But you're my baby," Haley said dramatically.
"Hi aunt Brooke," the boy said in a sing song voice.
"Hi Jamie Scott," she mimicked.
"Hales," Nathan started. He still sometimes called her by that nickname, and at first he hated himself for it, but then he realized just how lucky he was to have an ex-wife he was on such good terms with. "You think we could talk sometime?"
Brooke's eyes went wide as she sat behind her friend, knowing exactly what it was that he wanted to talk about.
"Um...sure," Haley said, already curious.
"It's nothing urgent. Maybe on Tuesday I can pick Jamie up from here and...Brooke could watch him for a bit while we talk," he offered, and Brooke nodded and offered a smile when Haley turned to her.
"Sure. I'll be home around 4:00," she said with a smile.
"OK. I'll see you, buddy," he said, reaching down to pick up his son before pressing a kiss to the boy's hair.
"Bye daddy."
And Nathan would never get sick of being called that name.
"Nathan!" Brooke called. "I'll walk out with you."
He had to smirk as he waited for her to say her goodbyes so she could no doubt grill him and tease him and maybe say she was happy for him, in that spirited and unique way that only Brooke Davis could.
She had her eyebrow kinked as soon as the door had closed behind them, and he looked at her expectantly, waiting for whatever it was she had to say.
"Come over," she requested. "We can all hang out."
"Brooke, I don't know..."
"Come on, Nathan. You know you want to see her," she baited.
Of course he did, and so he tilted his head back and rolled his eyes, and gestured for her to lead the way, though they both knew he didn't need it.
Peyton was in only his Duke tee shirt, that favourite one of his that she'd worn, and apparently stolen, and a pair of little cotton shorts. She was making tea and her eyes went wide when her best friend and her boyfriend walked through the door together.
"You thief!" he cried, pointing to her shirt as soon as he saw her.
"What?" she said innocently, raising her shoulder and smirking coyly.
"You know 'what'. I've been looking for that," he explained as he made his way to her and pulled her into his side so he could kiss the top of her head.
And they both felt that rush, knowing their friend was standing right there and witnessing that fun and playful moment between them, and maybe Brooke would see that they weren't playing some strange game and that their relationship was more than just some fling, though they both already knew that really wasn't what she thought.
"Come on you two," she called from the living room. "Let's chat."
"Uh oh," Peyton said with a laugh, pouring the boiling water into her mug.
They made their way to the sofa as Brooke sat across from them on a chair with her arms and legs crossed like she meant business. Nathan would have been nervous if she'd been anyone else.
"So, Nathan, what are your intentions with my Peyton?" she asked, managing to keep a straight face, but only until she'd said all the words. The two faces with raised eyebrows and smirks looking back at her made her burst into a fit of laughter.
"I intend to get my tee shirt back," he said seriously, looking at Peyton as she rolled her eyes.
"OK, but wait until I leave," Brooke said wiggling her eyebrows.
Nathan kissed Peyton's temple and leaned in to whisper something in her ear that Brooke could only assume was flirtatious, because the blush that appeared on her best friend's cheeks and the look she gave him made him laugh at her.
"God, I'm so jealous of you two," Brooke said with a smile, shaking her head as she stood from her place and headed for the door.
"Thanks Brooke," Nathan laughed.
"Where are you going?" Peyton asked curiously.
"I'm um...," the brunette stuttered as she rested her hand on the doorknob. "I'm having dinner with Chase."
"Brooke!" came Peyton's cry.
"Whoa," Nathan muttered.
"We're just going to talk about the breakup and stuff. Don't get yourselves all worked up over it," Brooke explained.
Peyton suspected that no one - Brooke, Chase, herself or Nathan - thought that's all that dinner would be. But she didn't say a word, and when Brooke walked out the door, Nathan just looked at Peyton and shrugged his shoulders.
"You know this is the first time I've been here with you?" he asked as she took a sip of her drink and cuddled into his side a little closer.
"That's not true," she scoffed. "You've been here before."
"As your friend," he pointed out. "Not as your boyfriend."
"I guess you're right," she said after a few moments of thinking.
They sat for a while and chatted about their respective weekends, and he told stories and anecdotes about Jamie and his day with his friends, and she watched him with a smile, loving that he loved his son so much. She didn't know anyone else who could put that sparkle in his eye, just that bit of light blue, like Jamie could.
And when she checked the clock and saw that it was nearing 10:30, she knew he was about to say he should go, and it was her turn to say those words he'd said so many times.
"Stay with me tonight."
"I don't have clothes," he said with a grin, knowing that was no excuse and she'd roll her eyes the way he saw her do moments later.
"You can have your tee shirt back," she enticed, standing from the sofa. "But then I'll have nothing to wear."
That was all it took for him to stand, pick her up and make her squeal as she wrapped her legs around his waist, and carry her into her bedroom with a wolfish grin on his face.
He left her the next morning, after pulling the faded grey tee shirt over his head. She lay in bed with the sheets pulled up around her and told him she'd see him that evening, and he bent down to kiss her before he left the room.
Brooke didn't fail to notice the shirt he was wearing when he walked out to find her making coffee. He offered her an almost embarrassed nod as she smirked, and she just shook her head as she watched him slip out the front door.
He realized that was the first time he'd ever been the one to have to leave the next day. He couldn't say he liked it any better than having to watch her go.
----
He was more nervous than he could ever remember being, that Tuesday, as he walked up to the door of Haley's - formerly his - house. He didn't knock - he never did, and she never asked him to - before walking in and making his way to the kitchen, where he instinctively knew she'd be.
"Hi," she said with a smile, putting down her mug and motioning for him to sit.
And he realized, once again, just how lucky they were that, despite everything - all the hurt and confusion and broken hearts - the two of them could still be friendly, even in the absence of their son. He smiled back instead of saying those words, because they'd already been spoken and he knew it wasn't necessary.
"Hey," he replied.
"Brooke's bringing Jamie back at 5," Haley explained. "I'm sure he'll be sufficiently spoiled with sweets for you."
"Great," he groaned playfully.
"So," they both said at the same time, then smiled at each other and chuckled.
"What's going on?" she asked casually.
"I just...kind of wanted to talk to you about something that's...probably not going to be...I mean, it's just...I don't know if...," he stuttered.
And even as he was speaking, he knew he wasn't the kind of guy to stutter, and that he probably sounded like a complete idiot. But for all the thinking he'd done about what he was going to say to Haley, he'd come up empty and instead had decided to just 'wing it'. Thankfully, or maybe not, he hadn't told Peyton that he was going to talk to Haley. Part of him he wished he had, because she would have known what to say, but he didn't want her to have to stress about it when she couldn't control the situation.
"Nathan," Haley said softly, in that encouraging tone that was the perfect mix of school teacher and mother.
"OK," he laughed, more at himself than anything else. "I'm seeing someone."
There was a moment of silence when she furrowed her brow and smiled, not sure why he was so nervous, but thankful that he was still concerned and considerate enough that he wanted to tell her this piece of news.
"OK?" she asked slowly. "I think that's great, Nathan."
It wasn't a lie, or even a stretch of the truth, and he could tell just by looking at her. He felt himself calm down immediately with that knowledge.
"Well, the thing is...It's Peyton," he said, surprising even himself with the confidence with which he spoke her name.
Haley's eyes went wide and her mouth gaped in that way that it only did when she'd been let in on a huge piece of gossip.
"Get out!" she cried. "OK...that's just..."
"Crazy? I know," he laughed.
"It's so...unexpected," she finished, almost in awe, watching as he nodded. "Nathan, I really appreciate you telling me before I found out from someone else, but now I just need the gossip."
And he laughed because it was the best thing to do, and because he was so damn relieved.
"We just...grew closer," he said, choosing his words carefully. His ex-wife was understanding, but she didn't need to know that his new relationship originated at a seedy bar. "We've been seeing each other for over a month, and it's going really well, Hales."
"You guys are so sneaky!" Haley gasped. "All this time, we've been begging for info."
"Yeah, she's a sly one," he laughed, shaking his head because they both knew it was true. "So you're OK with this? She was really worried you'd be mad at her, and I'd totally understand that. And with Jamie and everything...I just...if you're not OK with it..."
"What?" she asked. "If I wasn't OK with it, then what?"
"I...I don't know," he said, stunned.
He hadn't really thought about that. Of course, it had crossed his mind, but he'd pushed it away, not wanting to admit that maybe this would cause a big argument and maybe he'd have to end things with Peyton. And ending things with Peyton simply wasn't something he thought he could do at that point.
"Nathan," Haley said sweetly. "I am fine with it. I was just asking because...Well, if you'd said that you'd stop seeing her if I wasn't alright with it, I would have asked you not to have her spend too much time alone with Jamie."
"What?" he asked, confusedly. "Why?"
"Because it would have meant that your relationship wasn't stable and I don't want people coming and going out of his life," Haley said with a smile. "But since you couldn't answer that, you just showed me that you aren't just messing around, and that you might be falling in love with her," she finished quietly, and with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm...what?" he said quickly, scoffing, and brushing off the comment with a shake of his head, though he knew damn well it was true.
"Nathan Scott," she reprimanded. "I know you, and I know how you handle your heart. You wouldn't have come to me about it, and you wouldn't have frozen when I asked you that question before, and you wouldn't have just done that little thing you just did if you weren't falling for her."
Yes, Haley knew him well and he should have been prepared for that, but he wasn't. She really was more understanding than anyone he'd ever met.
"You are something else, Haley James," he said with a smirk, and she shrugged her shoulders cutely. He knew he'd just confirmed her statement to be true, but they both knew there was no use in him trying to deny it. "Seriously, Haley, thanks for this. And everything."
"I'm happy if you're happy," she explained sincerely. "And honestly, I'd rather have you dating someone I know and trust than anyone else."
"Yeah," Nathan nodded. "I know what you mean."
He'd caught wind through Peyton that Haley had been on a few dates, though nothing serious had come from it yet, and it did make him worry about another man coming in and playing a role in his son's life. He understood her desire to have a trusted friend play that role.
"I promise you I'll keep you posted," she said softly, and they both knew what that phrase meant, so he just nodded again.
She spent the next few minutes plying him with questions about his relationship, and he spent those minutes trying to dodge any conversation that would have made either of them uncomfortable. He said he'd talk to Jamie soon, and she suggested that both she and Peyton be there with him when he did it. He explained that only Brooke and now, she, knew. She asked when he was going to tell Lucas, and he said he wasn't sure. She reassured him that everything would be fine, and that if she could understand, then his brother could too. Just as she told him that if he needed her to talk to Lucas, she would, the door flung open, and in ran a very excited Jamie.
"Hey daddy!" he shouted, climbing onto his father's lap. "Guess what? Aunt Brooke bought me ice cream and chocolate!"
"Well, that was awfully nice of her. And right before dinner, too," Nathan said sarcastically. "Thanks, Brooke."
"Anytime, superstar," she said with a dimpled smile and a wink.
"OK, kiddo, let's get out of here. Say goodbye to your mom," Nathan requested, watching as Jamie leaned over and hugged Haley, saying his goodbye before making his way to the door.
"Go on, Nathan," Haley said hurriedly, excitement in her voice. "Brooke and I need to have a little chat."
He felt his face going red, and he wondered again when he became that guy; the kind of guy who blushed and got bashful talking about his relationship. He assumed it was right around the time he and Peyton got together.
He didn't see Peyton that evening, though neither of them had expected it. He'd been too exhausted from chasing Jamie around and trying to get him to burn off the sugar, and though he would have liked to complain about that, he couldn't. He loved playing with his son, and he'd take advantage of every second he got to do it.
He meant to call her right after he got home, but he was so tired that he crashed at 10:00, and realized that was the first time in a long time that he had gone a full day without hearing her voice. But he had a really, really great dream about her that knew he'd have to tell her about at a later date.
----
The next day, Peyton was frantic. Her morning was busy as she tried in vain to get a hundred things done at once, though she should have known better. She had a meeting with a visiting rep from her label partners, and she was nervous, despite knowing that she had the control and the know how, and she was prepared to fight for her artist.
Of course, the meeting went off without a hitch and she'd finally made headway, and she wondered if she had Nathan and his reassuring tone during that call she'd made to him when she was holding back tears to thank for her sudden burst of confidence.
It was just after 1:00, and she had just pulled into the parking lot at Tric after returning from the meeting. Her phone rang, and she smiled like a fool seeing that it was him.
"Hello," she said, juggling her bag, phone, and a few files as she walked.
"How was your meeting?" he asked, genuinely interested, as always, in her work.
"It was good. We finally agreed on the marketing campaign," she explained, making her way up the steps into Tric.
"Nice! I told you," he said smugly.
"Yeah, yeah," she deadpanned, smiling at the fact that, of course, he'd see this as some sort of victory.
"So, I talked to Haley yesterday," he said quickly. He just wanted her to know.
"Oh," she said softly, almost stopping in her tracks. "And?"
"She was surprised, but said that she's glad that I'm with someone she trusts with Jamie. She didn't expect your quote-unquote mystery man to be me, but she said she's happy if we're happy," he explained.
"That seems to be the consensus," she admitted with a laugh. She wondered how much time Haley and Brooke had spent over the last month talking about her love life.
"I guess we have pretty great friends," he said with a laugh. "I'm actually really relieved."
"Yeah, me too," she said, smiling so widely that she knew he'd hear it.
"Listen, why don't you come over later? I'll grab a bottle of wine, you can bring some music and maybe that sexy little black number I like." His voice was low and gravelly, and it made her briefly wonder if she could skip the rest of her workday.
"Nathan Scott, are you propositioning me?" she teased, catching her own smiling reflection in the window as she walked into the club.
"I'm pretty sure you like it, Sawyer," he replied. "Actually, I know you like it."
"OK. I'm hanging up before you ask me what I'm wearing," she joked, laughing at his shameless flirting.
"Well, I wasn't going to, but if you wanted to tell me..."
"Goodbye! I'll be over around 7:00," she said, still laughing.
"Peyton!" he called, before she hung up. "Don't forget the..."
"Black. I got it," she said quickly, blushing as she noticed Brooke sitting in her office.
"I'll see you later," he said before hanging up.
"Lover boy?" Brooke asked as Peyton walked around to her side of the desk.
"It was Nathan," Peyton corrected. She tended to stay away from all the titles and nicknames Brooke liked to give people.
"That's what I said," she stated with a grin. "I take it you won't be home tonight?"
"I'm going to his place, yes," Peyton informed her friend, shuffling papers on her desk and prioritizing her afternoon.
"You love him," Brooke said, almost in disbelief.
"What?" Peyton asked dismissively. "No. It's...no."
"You do. You may not know it right now, but you do," Brooke said with a grin, flashing her dimples before she let out a delighted giggle. "Oh, I'm so happy for you!"
"Brooke, calm down," Peyton laughed. Her mind was flooded. She didn't love him.
Did she?
"What can I do for you, Miss Davis?" she asked, desperate to change the subject. "I've actually got a crazy afternoon."
"I just brought you a mocha to toast you to the fact that Haley doesn't hate you," Brooke explained with a grin, gesturing to the coffee on her friend's desk. "She and I had a long talk last night after Nathan told her, and she is totally cool with everything. Like, surprisingly cool. You and your boy toy superstar are pretty much in the clear!" Peyton rolled her eyes at yet another nickname - rather, two nicknames combined. "I guess, other than telling Luke."
"Yeah. That'll be..." Peyton started, unable to find the words.
"It'll be fine," Brooke said with a reassuring smile that almost convinced Peyton that it would be. "Well, have fun tonight. And Peyton? Make him say it first."
"What?" the blonde asked obliviously.
"I love you. Make him say it first." Brooke turned on her heel and walked out, leaving Peyton to her thoughts and her work. But mostly her thoughts.
His words from the other night still ran through her. She never expected him to say those words first, or maybe even at all, but they made her spine tingle in a way she hadn't thought possible.
