Sorry everyone for the long wait... Just a short disclaimer: Own Nothing, now no more waiting just read on...
It had been over a week since the basketball player had seen the young mother. They were both miserable. Although Haley was more distracted with her work; so, she did not have time to really think about missing the raven-haired, blue eyed man. But Nathan did. He definitely did.
He had been a downright asshole at the team meeting last Friday. He had snapped at his teammates and even at Clay afterwards as well. The meeting had run long and some issues had yet to be resolved so the two friends stayed in the city overnight at Nathan's apartment, Clay calling to let Sara know and to make sure that she and the baby were okay. They didn't make it to the apartment until almost midnight. They would reconvene in the morning at ten.
That night, like every night since their date, and all the nights after Nathan thought of Haley.
He knew it was late but he had to talk to her. The pull that she had on him was already so strong.
He wondered it she was still up. He decided to take a chance and took out his cell phone. He dialed her number and waited...
He listened as it rang not once or twice or even three times, but four. He pressed the end button, not even waiting for the consecutive rings. He knew she probably wouldn't answer, she was probably fast asleep.
It was probably a good thing that she didn't answer, actually. Nathan's feelings for the young mother were growing stronger everyday. He had never felt this way about someone so soon. He had just met her less than a month ago. And that scared him a little. In reality it scared him shitless.
He had never felt this way towards someone so early in a relationship, 'if you could even call it that'. He thought to himself. He had only just met her after all. There was so much that he didn't know about her, yet it felt like he had known her his entire life. It was one hell of an oxymoron.
His feelings were confusing as hell, to say the least. And with the way he was feeling towards the young mother, he didn't want to scare her away by coming on too strong. Which wasn't something that normally happened to him. Usually he would sleep with a girl just once and then be done with her after that. He knew that sounded harsh. Some girls called him cold and unfeeling, but he really wasn't. There were few people in his life that he truly loved and trusted, such as his family. As for romantic love, he didn't really believe in it before Haley.
He had always thought that you found someone that you could stand to be around and go ahead and marry them because it didn't get much better than that. And then in college he had thought he had found that person, but even that was nothing like what he already felt for the gorgeous brunette.
He was a cynic and that was alright with him. He had seen the way his parents had been. They had been his role models growing up and what shit role models they turned out to be. Sure it seemed that his parents had some good times together but they were few and far between. The bad far outweighed the good in his parents' relationship.
They never seemed to agree on anything as he was growing up. They would fight over even the simplest of things. They disagreed on how to raise him, where to go on vacation, where to spend the bigger family holidays and things like that. They fought constantly about money, their jobs, his mom's absence because of said job. There were many other things as well. The only thing he had ever heard them agree on was that they had him. Boy was his family messed up. It seemed like it was just his parents though. His uncle didn't turn out to be an overbearing bastard like his father was. Now that he was older, he got why Dan was the way he was and that he wanted his son to be the best at what he loved to do. He just had an awful way of showing it. So in the end all the hard work really paid off. Sometimes though, he wished that he had a normal childhood like everyone else.
He thought back to the date last weekend. He wondered what it would have been like if he had been an army brat, like Haley, having to move all the time. He couldn't picture it. Tree Hill, as small as it was, was and is still considered to be, his home; even more so than Charlotte ever felt. He couldn't imagine growing up anywhere else in the world.
Charlotte had never felt much like home to him. His apartment was like his little sanctuary in a city that still seemed foreign to him even after the years that he had lived in the city. He was glad to call it his home away from home.
It was a three bedroom, three bathroom apartment in an upscale part of town. There was a balcony that looked out towards the city, with a beautiful park in view as well. The inside was mostly all grey, tan and brown, with different colored accents like red, green and orange. The long couch was brown leather. It was opposite tan colored wood shelving under, over, and around the flat-screen T.V. Facing the T.V. and to the right was the kitchen, also neutral in color.
The cabinets were black with metal handles. The counters were tan and the floors grey hardwood just like the rest of the house. The coolest thing in the kitchen though was the metal refrigerator with its see through glass door. Of course right now it was pretty empty because the basketball player was away for the off season. The kitchen island which housed the sink, stove and oven was square with dark countertops and had a bar with four chairs facing the kitchen.
To the right are two sliding glass doors that lead to the balcony which is all hardwood. There is a square table as you step onto the balcony from the kitchen. To the left are some loungers with a small accent table. Striding forward there are steps up to the hot tub and more loungers. The wall to the right is made of windows.
Back in the apartment, between the kitchen and living room is a large entryway with a few steps leading into a hallway. The first room to the right is Nathan's workout room, complete with various weights and several weight equipment machines. Walking along the wall of windows down the hallway there is a glass door to the left that leads out to the hot tub. Straight ahead is just a washroom, just a simple toilet and sink. The two guest rooms with a shared bathroom are on the right. The first one has a small walk-in closet and a more subdued tone of color. The second features a reading nook, with some natural light and brighter more vibrant colors. The large beds, sheets and duvets match the tone for each room. The bathroom between the two has two sinks and a large bath and shower combo.
Continuing to the left of the simple bathroom in the hallway is the master bed and bath. The colors in this room are blacks and blues. Two black leather chairs face a T.V. as you enter the room. The bedframe is espresso in color with dark blue, grey and black colors on the duvet. There are two bookcases opposite each other on each side of the room. The bathroom and closet combination is to the right of the bed and is as well dark in color.
Nathan moved the covers off his body, got out of bed, and made his way to the kitchen to get a drink of water. To his surprise someone else was already doing the same thing. There was a glass waiting for him on the counter, and it already had water in it.
"Hey man." The blonde-haired agent said, with his own water in hand. "Got you some water, thought you might need some."
"Yah, thanks." Nathan took a second to take a long gulp of the ice cold water. He took another minute to finish off the cup, and then said, "Hey, I'm sorry about tonight. I was a jackass."
"You still hung up about what's her name?"
"I'm not telling you her name." Nathan snorted."
"Why not?" Clay asked and continued, setting the glass down and positioning his hands on his hips. "It's the only way that I will ever forgive you for behaving the way that you did tonight."
Nathan smirked at that. Clay could never stay mad at him for long.
"Still not telling you." He said shaking his head.
Clay glared at the pro-baller. "Oh, you're no help. Off to bed with you then. We have a big day tomorrow." Clay glanced at his phone as it had just gone off.
Nathan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I should probably go to bed." Nathan waited for a second. "You should to."
"I've got some work to do." He said, waving his phone as it went off again.
"Well don't stay up too late. We have a big day tomorrow after all." Nathan grinned at his agent. He set his glass in the sink and walked down the hall. Once he made it into his room he stripped down to his boxers and got underneath the covers. Within minutes he was asleep.
The two weeks between the dates passed by quickly for Haley. Summer was in full swing by this point. School had gotten out and the Tree Hill High school seniors had their graduation last Friday. She had actually gone to it because she hadn't wanted to sit at home and sulk about her date with Nathan having been canceled. She took Jamie and they sat on the football field with all the other guests.
The café was swamped those two weeks. Karen needed all the help that she could get from the young mother. Since she was working so much she didn't have a ton of free time to dwell on the days passing her by.
She also didn't really have time to think about her feelings for the blue-eyed baller.
After all there wasn't much to think about. She liked him, she liked him a lot and that was that.
As much as she was excited for Saturday to roll around she was also nervous again, just as she had been before the first time around. She didn't know why she was so nervous; they had already gotten the nerve-wracking first date out of the way. It must've been that they were going to Brooke's opening together.
For the time being she stored her anxious thoughts away to fret over at a later time. Right now she had to get some work done. The tables weren't going to clean themselves. It was almost closing on the second Monday night. There were a few tables with customers still so before picking up a wet rag to wipe down the dirty tables she went to see how her customers were faring.
…
A few days passed. Haley worked as usual. It was now Thursday closing. As the last customer paid, leaving her a hefty tip, she wiped down the counter. Afterwards she walked them to the door, leaving her rag in the wash bucket behind the now gleaming counter. She locked the door behind them and sighed in relief. The day was almost over.
She went about wiping down the remaining unclean tables and putting up the chairs as she went. Any minute now the cook will come out from the kitchen and tell her that the dishes were done. But before that could happen, she went to find the broom to start sweeping.
When she was about halfway done with the front room, 'Grubbs' came out of the kitchen carrying the mop. "Haley, the dishes are done and the trash is taken out. I'm also just about done in the kitchen. Did you want me to finish the front room?"
"Thanks, Mike. I'm almost done."
"Alright Haley. I'll see you some other time." He starts to back into the kitchen to finish mopping but stops halfway through the doors. "Oh, by the way, Hales. Have fun on your date tomorrow."
Haley smiled along pretending not to have felt the ginormous butterflies that just happened to make their presence known at the mention of tomorrow night's date.
"Goodnight Mike."
"Goodnight Hales." And with that he left the dining room.
Haley was trying to calm her nerves once again as she finished sweeping the front room. But it seemed that the harder she tried the faster and harder the butterflies seemed to fly. She knew of one thing that would definitely help.
Once she was satisfied that the room was clean she walked over to the piano and sat down. She placed her fingers on the ivory keys and started to play.
After she had played a few bars she started to feel better. Any song by Simon and Garfunkel was relaxing. She had chosen 'Bridge over Troubled Water.' When she knew she was about to play the chords of the chorus she voiced the lines that went along with them.
After playing for a few more minutes, she got up, locked up and started her ten minute walk home.
After getting back from Charlotte, Nathan had to take an unexpected trip to New York. He had to pack quickly and be on the next flight out. There was a series of interviews for a magazine that wanted to do a story on him. He also had to shoot a commercial for an endorsement deal that Clay had arranged.
It was now Friday morning. The commercial was that day and then he had to catch a flight that afternoon back down to Tree Hill for the opening and his next date.
He was really looking forward to seeing Haley again. He wasn't nervous at all.
And the opening was sure to be a night to remember for his brother's girlfriend, and anyone who knew her. The whole town would probably show up.
After getting ready for that day, Nathan decided to get all of his stuff ready to go before he had to be at the set for the commercial. Nathan repacked his bag with his clothing. He picked up a gift wrapped package that had numerous lotions, perfumes, and various essential oils.
The gift was for Brooke. She was practically like a sister to him. She would be one day, when Luke decided to suck up his pride and propose to the girl. They had been friends before her and Luke started dating. He just wanted to do something nice for her and to show her that she was doing a really good job with everything. But what do you get for the girl who has everything?
He had gone to her favorite store in the big apple and requested her favorite things.
Now he just had to get it home. He carefully tried to put it in his bag but it just would not fit. He probably had to take it on as a carry-on.
Once he was ready to go completely it was about time for him to head for the shoot. He made his way out of the hotel, carrying his bag and the package for Brooke. He took a taxi across midtown and made his way inside the studio. They started him out in makeup as soon as he got there. They wanted to get this thing shot and done with and so did Nathan. He wanted to get out of there and back to his hometown.
The commercial took a few hours to shoot and when he was done he texted Clay.
'Hey, we're done. I'm about to leave for the airport.'
Nathan waited a couple of minutes for the reply. While he waited he walked over to the snack table. At events like these they always had snacks, which was good because he was almost always hungry.
He grabbed a little something to eat but before he could take a bite his phone dinged with a new message.
'Okay. I guess we'll see you at the opening tonight.'
'Yep. See you later.' He didn't mention that they would also get to meet Haley for the first time.
Before he went to catch a taxi to LaGuardia, he stuffed the entire plate of food in his mouth. You never know what kind of food you'll get on a plane. He wanted to be prepared if all they gave him was a bag of peanuts.
Of course he was flying first class so he had more options than in coach.
The basketball player took his luggage and left the building. The ride over to the airport took a while because it was New York. If you're planning to go anywhere you need to plan for at least thirty minutes of traffic. On the almost hour ride over he thought about what he was going to wear that night. If he came dressed in anything less than his finest, Brooke would castrate him. When he had talked to Lucas a few days before his brother had mentioned that there would be a jacket and just pressed pants waiting for him when he got back.
He made it to the airport an hour and half before his 3:35 flight. He was a little late. It's customary to arrive at least two hours before any flight, three for any international flights.
It took him twenty minutes to check in and then another twenty to make his way through security. Once he was in the airport terminal he could relax until he was called to board. Twenty minutes later they were calling for his flight. He got to board with the first group because he was first class.
He sat back in the comfy airplane seat to wait for take-off.
Once he made it home he would have a little over an hour to freshen up and get ready for the opening.
After taxiing out to the runway and taking off, the hour and a half flight didn't take too long at all because truthfully he fell asleep and was awoken just as the pilot's voice came on the intercom to say "We are now approaching Tree Hill. If you could put your tray back in its upright position and your chair in the correct position. We will be landing shortly."
Nathan walked off the plane and made his way to the front to catch a taxi home.
Haley walked up the stairs to her apartment. She made it to the door right as it opened.
"Hey Luke. What are you doing here? Is Jamie alright?"
"Yeah, he's good Hales. I was just dropping something off for you. It's from Brooke."
"Oh, okay." Haley holds the door open.
"I've gotta run." Luke says as he walks out the open door.
"Okay. I'll see you tonight right?"
"Yep."
"Tell Brooke to not work too hard and good luck."
Luke pauses at that. "Okay, will do. And Haley… Have fun tonight. You deserve it." Luke pulls her in for a hug.
"Thanks Luke." Haley replies, hugging him back.
Haley walked inside and closed the door behind her. She made her way to the bedroom and the something from Brooke that Luke had so kindly dropped off. Sitting on her bed was a white box with a note attached. She went for the note first.
'Here's the dress we were talking about- the first dress that I designed.
I hope you and Nathan have fun tonight. He will not be able to keep his hands off you.
I hope you like it too. And Haley, thank you for becoming such a good friend in so short a time.'
Haley opened the box next. The dress was wrapped up in tissue paper like a birthday present. Her first glimpse was of black. The dress was all black, well mostly black. The bottom edge was hemmed with an ivory design embroidered into the fabric about two or three inches deep. The ivory embroidery also hemmed the cap sleeves and the neckline. The design swooped down on the chest. There was a round gold buckle on the belt that came with the dress.
In the bottom of the box were two other smaller boxes, one smaller than the other. The bigger of the two looked like a shoe box. She took it out first and inside was a pair of nude pumps that would go perfectly with the dress.
The other box was very small and when she opened it there was a pair of pearl earrings and a silver ring with rhinestones inlaid in the frame. She slid it on the middle finger of her right hand to see how it looked. She really liked it.
Just then she heard her phone go off as if she were receiving a text. It was from Brooke. It said, 'Did you get it? How do you like it? I threw in a few accessories that I thought would look killer with it and with your awesome skin tone.'
Haley smiled at the compliment and wrote back 'Yes, Brooke. I did get it. Thank you so much. I love the ring.'
Haley puts her phone down and grabs the dress. She hears her phone go off once again. She puts the dress under her arm and grabs her phone.
'Oh, you can keep it… I should probably finish getting ready.'
'Really Brooke?! There are still a couple of hours till the opening.' She responds, putting her phone down again. Before she can move again her phone beeps, letting her know there is a new message.
'I know but not everyone can have as natural a beauty as you, Hales.'
'Stop it, Brooke. You know you are beautiful just the way God made you.' Holding the phone in one hand, she takes the dress over to her closet to hang it up until she is ready to put it on.
The next message reads: 'Oh, I know. But I want everything to be just right tonight. Everything must be perfect. Plus, there are a few last minute things that I need to do before the opening.'
'Don't stress yourself out too much. Everything is going to be just fine.'
'Says the girl going out with Nathan Scott.'
'Yeah, yeah.' Haley smiled at that. 'Go finish getting ready. I'll see you later.'
'Okay, you get ready too foxy.'
'Will do. Bye.'
Haley put her phone down once again thinking the back and forth conversation was over. She put the shoe box with the dress and the earrings on her dresser.
Thinking there was still a couple of hours til the opening, she decided to get a little work done around the house, mostly laundry. She went around the house collecting the dirty clothes laying around, careful not to mess up any of the salon's work from earlier that day.
She made her way to the laundry room to start washing the clothes, thinking of the very relaxing day she had with a new friend.
Earlier that day...
"Hey, Hales. You ready for a day of relaxation?" Brooke says just as the young mother opens the door to reveal the beautiful designer. It certainly seemed as if Brooke was ready. She was wearing a comfortable looking pair of distressed dark blue denim shorts. Her top was a cotton grey tank top. She looked comfy and ready for a day at the salon. But even though her outfit was simple she still looked beautiful. Brooke Davis could make anything look beautiful. Her makeup was simple, just eyeliner and mascara. She still looked every inch the stylish fashion designer that she was.
Haley was ready too. Brooke had called just before she left to come pick the brunette mother up, ten minutes before. Haley likewise had gone for comfort but that was also her usual style. Her dark wash Bermuda shorts fell just above her knees and matched perfectly with her scoop neck salmon cap sleeve tee. Her face was free of all makeup.
Brooke took a minute to look around the small apartment, as Haley grabbed her purse and threw her flip flops on. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go have some fun."
"Yippee. Spa day!"
And the two were off.
…
Twenty minutes later Brooke pulled into a circular driveway that looked like it belonged to a fancy hotel. As Haley got out she could clearly see that it was indeed a hotel. It was the Lumina Hotel and Spa.
Brooke handed the keys over to the valet and took her ticket. She had definitely done this before. She knew exactly what to do and where to go. Haley followed her inside the automatic glass doors into the lobby of the fancy hotel.
The inside was beautiful. There were green plants everywhere interspersed with various colors of different flowers. And the smell was heavenly with the many different aromas mixed together. The tan mixed marble flooring led up to a large reception desk with hallways branching off under archways in two opposite directions. Haley followed Brooke as she turned to the right and made her way to the spa located at the back of the hotel.
The Spa area was decorated with greenery as well but not as many varieties, and it was saturated with natural light from a wall of windows. There were also a few small coy ponds littered with different colored stones, with a small fountain that created the sound of running water. The mood was very tranquil.
Brooke with Haley right behind her walked to the desk to check in.
They were told to wait and were directed to a small sitting area. From the various hidden speakers came soft piano music. Mixed with the sound of water from the fountain and the enticing smells of lotions, it caused Haley to want to fall asleep.
"Thank you Brooke for bringing me here. It's beautiful."
"No problem Hales. I used to come here in High school with my best friend. We would get the works. We always had a great time. And I am sure you will too."
They talked about anything and everything for the next couple of minutes before their names were called.
Haley had no idea what she had gotten herself into. She had also never felt so relaxed before that day. They started with facials. They were both asked to pull their hair back out of their faces and were handed plain black elastic headbands. They sat right next to each other as the attendants rubbed the masks on their faces and added cucumbers over their eyes.
Haley does not recall how long the two sat there because truthfully, she fell asleep for most of the time. It was just so peaceful. Eventually though, she was awoken by the two attendants walking back into the room to help remove the masks.
Once everything was cleaned off and back to normal, they were lead to the message rooms. They were brought into a large room with two message tables. The room could be divided in half with a soft white curtain for more privacy.
They were asked to strip down to what they felt comfortable in. Haley being the person that she is felt uncomfortable removing all of her clothes until Brooke insisted. She stripped down to her matching cotton underwear and bra. After carefully folding her clothes and setting them in a neat pile on a nearby bench, only then did she remove her bra. There was no way that she was doing this with no underwear on. She slid under the sheet on the table and pulled it up to cover her naked back as she laid face down.
She almost fell asleep again as she waited the few minutes it took for her masseuse to come in the room. The woman adjusted the sheet over Haley's body.
A few minutes later, Haley felt like her muscles were melting under the woman's hands. She heard Brooke groan as she too felt the effects of the expert's hands all over her body.
Two hours later and with wholly limp and relaxed bodies, the two friends emerged, fully clothed once again.
Next was their mani and pedi appointment. They were led to a completely new room filled with nail and feet stations. They again sat next to each other and two young women came over and started filling up the basins with warm water, adding different oils to the water. Once everything was set up, they picked their colors. Brooke went with a plum color to match her dress for the opening that night. Haley meanwhile chose two different colors, a dark blue for her toes and a nude for her fingernails. Brooke actually picked out the nude to match Haley's dress for later that night.
An hour later after the polish dried they went to get their hair done. While the stylist was working on Brooke's updo, Haley went for a trim. After the cut, the stylist blow dried it and curled it to frame her face.
Once she turned towards the mirror, the young waitress did not recognize herself. She had to pull her gaze away from the vanity mirror in front of her to thank the woman for doing a superb job.
She thought back to the last time she curled her hair and truthfully she could not remember when that was. She had probably been in high school. She didn't even own a curling iron back then, nevertheless now. She had always borrowed her mom's or her best friend's.
She stood up from her chair and walked over to the waiting area to wait for the young designer, careful not to mess up her wonderfully curled hair.
She did not have to wait long, however. Brooke waltzed over to the waiting area to regard the young mother. Brooke's hair had been colored a little. Her once brunette locks now shone with a tint of burgundy. Her hair had been swept back into a tousled bun with a few small tendrils in the back loosely pinned up. She looked breathtaking.
The two made their way to the front desk to finish up their day. Brooke was the first there and pulled out a credit card and handed it to the woman behind the desk. She turned to see the young mother doing the same.
"Haley, don't you dare. This day is on me."
"Brooke… I can't let you do that."
"Well you're gonna have to because I already did. See?" Brooke showed her the receipt. Haley grabbed it out of her hands to see how much it was.
"As you can see it wasn't that much."
"Not that much Brooke? I guess you and I have very different concepts of what is 'that much'." She said pointing at the amount on the sheet of paper.
"Don't worry about it, Hales. It was two for one today."
"What?" Haley gasped. Knowing that it was two for one did not make it all that much better. It was still a very high amount to pay. In the end she conceded. If Brooke wanted to pay for her, she didn't really mind. She couldn't afford it anyway. Knowing she couldn't win this argument, she thanked Brooke instead.
"You're welcome Haley." Once the designer had signed for it she added, "Did you want to get a little something to eat?"
"Sure why not? I'm not too hungry but a little something would be good."
"There's a little place across the street with really good fish tacos."
"Sounds good. Let's go."
The two friends walked arm in arm across the street to a place called South Beach Grill. They ordered and as they waited for their one taco each, they looked around. The Grill was decorated with the local history, mainly about fishing. There were photographs in frames ranging from black and white to color. They were all of boats or men holding large and small fish up for the camera to see.
A couple of minutes later, a waiter comes bearing their food. They eat in silence because they are both busy eating the delicious tacos. After a few more minutes, their plates are empty and this time Haley gets the check.
After they are all paid, they make their way back to the hotel to grab the car.
Ten minutes later, she reenters her apartment. All of a sudden she felt really tired. She decided to take a nap so that she would be more alert and lively for the opening later that night.
Nathan made it home in record time. Tree Hill was definitely not the bustling metropolis of New York City.
The twenty-six year old unlocked his house and walked up the stairs to get ready. He took a quick shower even though he had already taken one that morning. He needed to wash the smell and grime of the airplane off of him.
He walked to his closet with a towel wrapped around his waist. The jacket was hanging up right in front and the pants were laid out on a bench right next to the jacket. He picked out a white button up shirt to wear
Ten minutes later he went to look in the floor length mirror in the bathroom. Looking in the mirror he liked his look without the formal jacket so he took it off. He unbuttoned the top two buttons leaving the shirt more informal than before. The black pants and white shirt were perfect for the evening ahead.
Meanwhile across town at Haley's apartment…
The young mother sat on the bed stepping into the nude pumps that went with the dress. She also looked in the mirror at her reflection. Her make-up was simple and classy. Her legs looked superb after the spa treatment earlier that day. The dress was incredible and fit her to perfection. Her hair had stayed curled and looked marvelous with the outfit from the young designer. She walked over to the dresser to put on the jewelry that Brooke had sent with the dress.
She really did love the ring. And she was so glad that Brooke allowed her to wear it and keep it afterward.
Just then her phone went off. The message was from Nathan. She was giddy with excitement as she read the text.
'I'm on my way.'
To calm her giddiness she went around the house picking up Jamie's various toys that littered the ground, just so that it wouldn't be a complete disaster. She started to fold the clothes that she had pulled out of the dryer before she had started to ready herself for the evening ahead.
She was almost done when the doorbell went off, signaling Nathan's arrival.
"Come on in." She yelled out. She heard the door open so she walked from the back room to greet her date. He turned towards her after shutting the door as she came down the hallway. He gazed at the young mother. She was completely radiant as she walked towards him.
She sent him a confident smile even though the butterflies were back, now that he was in the same room as her. She walked up to him and hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Nathan also put his arms around her. They pulled away a few seconds later.
Haley grabbed her purse off of a nearby chair and pulled out her keys.
"You look incredible Haley." He said, still in awe of the dazzling mother in front of him.
She blushed.
"I wondered when I would be seeing that again." Nathan smirked as he watched the blush expand from her cheeks down to her neck.
"Stop it." Haley continued. "We talked about this last time."
Nathan wiped the smirk off of his face and sent her a genuine smile which she returned. "Would you like to get going now?"
"Sure," Haley replied. Nathan turned towards the door and opened it, letting her lead the way outside. "Thank you."
"Your welcome." He said as he closed the door behind him and waited for her to lock it. "Where's the boy tonight?"
"Oh, he's staying at Karen's for the night with Lily."
As they walked down to his car the conversation went "You must be really close to Karen and Lucas."
"Yah. Lucas was a great friend to me growing up. Okay, don't make fun of me but I was kind of an awkward kid. I was shy and he helped me to come out of my shell a little when I lived here before. After that we kept in touch, we were sort of like pen pals in a way. As for Karen, she is the person I go to for advice on raising Jamie. And Lily and he get along really well."
"Karen was always there for me growing up. Since we lived across the street when I was little and when things got really bad at home, I could always just sneak across and stay with Luke, Keith and Karen. Then when we moved across town and I would still stay over for days at a time."
At this point they had made it to the car but were still talking so they sat on a nearby bench.
"My uncle Keith actually taught me to drive. I also had a job whenever I wanted to at his auto shop."
"So are you good with cars then?"
"Not really, no."
Haley laughed at that and Nathan continued. "That was all Lucas. I just liked to drive the fixed cars. Actually one of my first cars was an old Toyota truck that Keith and Luke helped me fix up enough to drive."
"Yeah, I remember Keith. He was always nice to me. It was really sad to hear that he died in a what was it?"
"A car crash, yeah. It was a few years before you came into town. Luke cried for days and didn't want to go to the funeral. Karen was the same."
"I can't imagine losing someone as close to me as they were. It seems unreal."
"Yeah, Luke had always been there for me, I knew that I needed to be there for him and Karen that day. Luke would not come out of his room. Karen called me to come and help, so I did. Luke had been drinking the night before and was passed out when I got there."
"Oh, man. I've never seen that before."
"Be glad." Nathan chuckled. "It wasn't a pretty site. He's a little mean the morning after."
"So are you mean the morning after too?"
"Actually I don't know. I don't think I was. I know I would get a killer headache and just sleep it off usually."
"You?"
"I didn't really party in high school. I was a good girl."
"And that's how you ended up pregnant in high school. Man California is weird." Nathan laughed.
"Oh, haha. So what were you like in high school?"
"I was a definite partier. I was also one of the most popular kids."
"Oh, you were one of those kids."
"Yah, I was a jock who played basketball in Tree Hill and I was really good. Tree Hill loves their basketball team."
They talked a little bit more about anything and everything. A few minutes later they were interrupted by the beeping of a cell phone. Nathan pressed a button on his phone and brought it to his ear.
Haley could only hear one side of the conversation.
"Hey Luke. What's up?"
"Yeah. I'm here."
"What? It's already that time?"
"Oh crap, we've just been sitting here talking for a bit."
"Yeah, we will be right there."
Nathan pressed the end button, presumably. He turned to look at the young waitress. "I guess we're late. Brooke was freaking out and basically yelled at Luke until he called."
"That girl is frightening."
"Yeah. You should have seen her in high school. She has really cooled down a little since then."
"Really? I cannot imagine her being in more than she is."
"Anyways, you want to head that way?" He asked standing up and offering her his hand.
"Sure." She took his outstretched hand. He led her to the passenger side of his SUV. "And by the way, Nathan, you look very handsome tonight."
"I know I do." He began. He added on more genuinely "Thank you."
Nathan closed the door as she sat in the seat waiting. He smiled at the faint smile that graced her lips and walked around to the driver's side.
The two made their way into the newly remodeled building that housed clothes over bros.
Straight ahead of them and about twenty feet away was the cashier's stand. It was a long white counter that was lit up. There were trays of drinks lined up, what looked to be champagne in the glasses. To their left was a long vintage couch and to their right was a matching settee and chair. There were manikins lining the windows along the left hand side of the store. Behind the desk was a large shadow box shelving unit. In the little cubbies were little trinkets for sale. There were a few bags by Brooke along with numerous accessories.
The clothes hung on racks throughout the store.
There were people behind them so they were ushered along right to the drink trays. As Nathan grabbed two flutes of champagne Haley looked around for Lucas. A second later he had walked out from the back room and saw her. Nathan handed her a drink as Luke made his way over.
Haley spots Brooke from across the room. She is stunning. Her hair was still picture perfect in it's messy bun. Her dress though was what caught Haley's attention. The dark raspberry base color went well with the her skin tone and new hair color. The streaks of plum that stretched every which way matched her nail polish. Haley could only see the low back and two inch slit on the back until the designer turned around and caught her eye. As Brooke came over to the group of three, Haley could see the front in it's all it's glory. It had a sweetheart neckline with ruching along the seam down the middle. The bottom hemline reached her mid-thighs and was tight fitted to the last inch.
"Haley! You look gorgeous."
"Me? You look spectacular." Now that Brooke was standing in front of her she could see the flawless purple based smoky eye with just the right amount of eye liner and mascara. Her cheeks were flushed with a light covering of pale pink blush that matched her lipstick and shimmery lip gloss.
She was wearing drop earring that had little light prisms at the ends. Her rings matched the colors of her outfit perfectly. One ring was a vintage flower cluster on her pointer finger of her left hand and the other on her right ring finger was a purple opal, african amethyst, diamond accented sterling silver ring.
"Doesn't she?" Luke commented as he put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder.
"Oh, Luke. Once again thank you for the compliment." Brooke grins. "He hasn't stopped complimenting me all night."
"Well, you deserve to be complimented." Luke replied. The two shared a loving smile and a small peck.
Nathan and Haley looked everywhere but at each other.
"So you two kissed yet?"
"Brooke!" Haley cried out, the blush returning to her face.
"What?"
Haley glared at her friend as she giggled.
"That dress Haley." Brooke changes the subject.
"I know. It's beautiful. I love it."
"What do you think, Nate?"
"It's not the dress, no offense, Brooke. It's all Haley."
"None taken." Brooke raised an eyebrow.
"I'm just really glad that it fits."
"Wait, this is one of yours?" Luke asked in surprise. It was a more modest dress than what he was used to seeing Brooke design.
"Yeah. It was the first dress I made. We did lunch on Monday and I told her about it. Didn't I say I would find it?"
"Yep, you did. Anyways, Brooke. This place is incredible."
"I know. I was worried that it would not come together as well as it did. The workers were actually here up to a few hours ago." Brooke and Haley got to talking and walking around the store. That left the guys to talk.
"I thought Clay and Sara were coming."
"Clay said they would be here. But I don't see them yet."
"So how do you like Haley?"
"Dude, none of those chick flick moments."
"Hey I'm just asking. She was the one I was going to set you up with you know that right?"
"Yep." Nathan said looking towards the door as Clay and Sara came in. Clay wore a white button up like Nathan but his was buttoned all the way up and he wore a dark blue tie. Sara was adorable in a strapless high low dress that showed off her baby bump.
"They're here." Nate told Luke as he walked towards the married couple.
"Hey guys. Glad you made it."
"Yah, this one wouldn't stop fussing over my hair, for some reason."
"With good reason. You can't go through life with messy hair." Sara replied. "Plus peanut was kicking up a storm."
"Congratulations by the way." Luke spoke up from behind Nathan and strode forward to hug the pregnant woman.
"Thank you Lucas. We are very excited." Sara said to the blonde.
At that second Brooke and Haley came to the door as well.
"Sorry Nate. You can have you back now. Just a little girl talk." Brooke said as she let go of Haley's arm.
"And who is this Nate?"
Nathan rolled his eyes. He knew this moment would come sooner or later. He had hoped to control the situation a bit more. "This is Haley James, my date."
Haley stuck out her hand for the couple to shake.
Clay went first. "Hi there, Haley. Clay Evans, Nathan's agent and friend."
"Yah, we'll see about that." Nathan teased. Hopefully Clay wouldn't embarrass him in front of Haley.
"This is my wife, Sara. As you can see she is really pregnant."
"Always a jokster, mister." Sara patted him on the shoulder with her other hand resting on top of her bump. "But yes I am very pregnant. Hi Haley. It's nice to meet you."
"You too, Sara and Clay. My son's told me a little about you Clay and your son, what's his name?"
"Logan."
"Oh, yeah. Logan." Haley began and then continued. "So how far along are you?"
"About eight and half months. So it should be anytime now."
Brooke greeted the couple as well, giving Sara a hug.
"So you have a son, Haley?"
"Yes. His name is Jamie." She took out her wallet and brought out a picture of Jamie and her that Luke had taken a few months ago. She showed it to the young couple.
The two mothers talked a little while longer. Brooke and Lucas had gone off to find more champagne. That left the two guys to talk about Nathan's trip to New York, the interviews and the commercial.
"We should have you guys over one of these nights for dinner."
"That would be great." Haley said as they exchanged cell phone numbers.
"I think we will be good friends." Sara commented as Clay went off with Nate to get a glass of champagne from Luke, who was now circulating with a tray of champagne flutes. Brooke came back over at the point and joined in the conversation.
...
The night flew by for the residents of Tree Hill. The opening of Brooke's store was a complete success. An hour after people started leaving, the six adults were still mid conversation. Brooke kept having to get up and thank people for coming in. But they all were having a great time.
Nathan looked over at Haley smile at something that Brooke had said a minute before. She must have felt his eyes on her as she looked over at him. He motioned towards the door. Haley nodded and looked back at the group.
"Okay. I know we are all having a superb time but I think we are gonna leave soon."
"Yeah. Okay. We'll plan that dinner sometime."
"Okay. Sara. We'll talk tomorrow or something."
Nate also said his piece. As soon as all the goodbyes had been said, Nathan and Haley walked out the door. Haley started for the car but Nathan had a different idea.
"Let's go this way."
"Okay." Haley said taking his outstretched hand to walk with him in the opposite direction of the car. Nathan walked along the sidewalk until he came to Karen's.
"You know what I feel like a midnight snack."
"But it's not midnight."
"So? Do you have your key?"
Haley nodded.
"Well, come on then. What are we waiting for?"
Haley took her key out and Nathan followed her to the door. She opened it and made her way inside with Nathan hot on her heels.
The young waitress went into the kitchen, without turning on the lights to the dinning room. "What do you feel like?"
"I'm not sure, actually."
"Well, I know what I want. I'll just make double." She said peering out of the double doors that lead into the kitchen area.
"Okay. Whatever." Nathan smiled at her. He took a minute and went after her.
Nathan watched from the doorway as Haley put on an apron and went into the walk-in. She came out carrying a jug of something. She brought over to a counter and started scooping some of the mystery food into bowls. She carried them both over to the microwave to warm them up. Once the first was done she motioned for Nathan to come and get it. Once he was close enough to smell it, he smiled in surprise.
"Mac n'cheese. How did you know that I love Aunt Karen's Mac n'cheese?"
"I didn't but I do. It's one of my favorite meals."
"Well, it was my favorite too when I was like 5."
"Well, now you know why it's mine. Jamie loves it."
Nathan took a bite of the delicious pasta, savoring the flavor.
"You know you're a really good mom."
"Well, thank you." Haley was a little confused at where that thought had come from.
"You just put so much into Jamie, so much time, effort and energy."
Haley smiled. She pulled her bowl out.
Nathan finished his first and was still a little hungry. He took a bite of Haley's as she tried to swat his hand away. But she really didn't try that hard. She actually liked him taking bites out of her food.
She put her bowl down after she was done. She smirked at the raven haired man in front of her. He smiled at her as he wrapped her in his arms. She was waiting for this the whole night. He pulled away but not all the way so that she was still in his arms. He cupped her cheek with his hand and pulled her towards him.
Their lips met in a short sweet kiss.
Once they broke apart, Nathan said, " I have been waiting to do that since the beginning of the night."
"Me too."
He kissed her again. "Haley. Would you like to officially be my girlfriend?" Nathan was nervous as he asked her. He hadn't thought of anyone in this way for a long time. He was also nervous that she would not want to be his girlfriend.
Haley gulped. She knew that their were a couple ways that this could go. She could eventually get her heart broken. She thought of a quote that she really loved-something about pleasure and pain. How sometime you just have to take a leap of faith to find great pleasure, even though it might be painful instead. It was definitely a gamble.
She decided to take the leap. She pulled the basketball player in for a long, toe-curling kiss. When she pulled away she said, "Yes."
I am so sorry for the long wait as I said at the beginning. Now for a few notes... And I know I just updated this chapter and you may be a bit confused if you got a notification. I was just reading this chapter from your guys' point of view and noticed I made a slight mistake. So I fixed it and updated it.
I hope I described things to where you could picture what it was... Haley's dress was from Lucas and Peyton's wedding ceremony. Brooke's was from 5x4, her opening. Just picture both those looks and that is what they both looked like. Nathan's was from the wedding as well but afterward when Haley and he are sitting at home.
And I know this chapter was pretty long but I just wanted to get it up as soon as I finished it. Plus I had company and I didn't want to be writing when she was here. So Sorry for mistakes or if anything didn't make sense. PM me if you have any questions.
-Next chapter is probably going to jump forward a few weeks and maybe have a few flashbacks to some important moments. Just wanted to let you guys know.
-Christmas story, as you all can tell I didn't get around to finishing this or even the first chapter. So I will continue working on it throughout this year and hopefully I can post it this next Christmas. If not I am sorry because I was really looking forward to it. But I will eventually (hopefully) get around to it.
-Other stories, I haven't been really good at updating this story so that makes me think that I would be even worse if I wasn't focusing on one story at a time. So that is what I am doing. I hope that is okay with everyone. As with the Christmas story, I will also eventually get around to the unfinished stories on here as well as the ones that I haven't even posted yet.