This chapter is basically Naley fluff.
Chapter 25
Nathan ran his fingers through his hair, repeatedly, his head down as he sat on the bench in the locker room. A few of his team mates walked passed him, patting him on the shoulder, mumbling a quiet "Good game" or a sympathetic "We'll win the next one" to him. He couldn't believe this. He'd played his heart out, he really had. But they'd lost in a blow out. Down by thirty points once the game ended. It's a horrible feeling losing any game by that much, especially at home. It was especially embarrassing, considering the circumstances.
He blew out a deep breath, pressing his face into his hands, before picking up a towel and wiping off his face, throwing it into his locker and shaking his head at himself. "Dammit." He mumbled quietly, leaning over to unlace his shoes. He really didn't want to go face his disappointed son. Thankfully, he'd told Haley to take him home after the game, because he didn't know exactly how long he would need to stay after.
This was definitely not the game that he would've chosen for them to come see. He almost regretted inviting them to it. Having his girlfriend and son there to watch him get dunked on, and yell in another guy's face was definitely not ideal. He let out a deep breath, resting his elbows on his knees, shaking his head at himself. It was weird, but right now he definitely didn't want to go home.
He let out a deep breath, picking up his phone when it started buzzing, seeing Clay's name and goofy picture show up on the screen.
"Hello?" He grumbled into the phone, rubbing his neck lightly.
"Hey Nathan. Why don't you stop by my house on the way to your place?" Clay suggested, letting out a deep breath. "I want to run over some things with you. I know Haley and Jamie are here, but we should talk. It won't take too long. Fifteen minutes."
"Yeah... I'll head over there in a little bit." Nathan said slowly, hanging up on his friend, before tossing his phone into his locker. Well, there was one way to avoid going home.
xxxx
About twenty minutes later, he walked into Clay's dark house, raising his eyebrows and heading into the kitchen, where the light was on.
Clay looked up from his phone, holding his finger to his lips and gesturing to the seat across from him.
"What's going on, Clay?" Nathan asked, frowning slightly. He couldn't think of anything that he could've done wrong.
Clay looked around the house, "Quinn is asleep, so you don't need to worry about her listening in." He said, tapping his fingers on the table.
"You're kind of freaking me out, man. What did I do wrong?" Nathan asked him, raising his eyebrows at his friend, letting out a deep breath.
Clay looked around, "It's more like what you're doing right." He said, standing up slowly, beginning to pace around the kitchen, before turning to look at Nathan. "You've received an interesting offer. The season just started, as you know."
Nathan blinked at him, nodding his head slowly. "Yeah..." He trailed off, looking up at him.
"Your initial answer is going to be no, but I want you to think about it." Clay said, pushing his hand through his hair. "I've been talking with the Miami Heat this past week."
Nathan raised his eyebrows, standing up slowly. "Clay..." He began, shaking his head.
"Listen to me." Clay said, leaning against the island in the middle of his kitchen. "I've been talking with the Miami Heat, and they are not impressed by the way that their season has started off."
Nathan crossed his arms, shaking his head again. Clay was right. He could see where this was going, and his initial answer was no.
"They want Nathan Scott on their roster." Clay said simply, shrugging.
"I already have a contract with the Hornets." Nathan argued, letting out a deep breath.
"I know, but it's almost up. They're prepared to offer you a four-year deal with them. At twenty-three million dollars a year, Nathan. If you do the math, that's ninety-two million dollars." Clay said to him, letting out a deep breath. "I think I could get them up for twenty-five million. What's twenty-five million times four? One hundred million dollars."
Nathan raised his eyebrows, sitting down in the chair once again, letting out a deep breath. "Wow." He said, running his fingers through his hair.
"Right now, your contract with the Hornets is eighteen million a year." Clay reminded him, shrugging his shoulders. "We're talking around seven million extra. Do you know how much ice cream you could buy a little boy with seven million extra dollars in your pocket?"
"A lot of ice cream." Nathan said, resting his forehead on the back of the chair. "Florida is far away from Tree Hill."
"Nathan, you were going to sign with the Lakers until the Hornets offered you a deal. California is further from Tree Hill." Clay said, letting out a deep breath and sitting down again. "Trust me, Nathan. I don't want to pressure you one bit. I know how important your family is to you, and I know that Haley is set on living in Tree Hill. I wouldn't ever do anything to jeopardize your happiness, buddy. I just think that you should consider this."
"I'll think about it." Nathan said, standing up. "But I'm already telling you, it'll probably be a no. I like these guys, and I like this team." He said, shrugging. "I like having Haley and Jamie so close to me."
Clay nodded, "Whatever you decide, I'll respect it. But I think you should consider it." He said, standing up. "Now go home, see your son."
Nathan nodded, smiling slightly at his friend. "Until the next time, Agent Clay." He said, chuckling quietly, before heading out of the house, closing the door behind him quietly.
xxxx
Nathan arrived home, stepping into the house through the garage, his head spinning slightly with the information Clay just provided him with. He glanced at the clock on his phone. It was almost ten. Jamie probably wouldn't be up still. He had not had the chance to speak with Haley, nor Jamie before the game, so he was excited to see them.
He only took about three steps into the house, before a sleepy five year old was barreling into his legs.
"Daddy!" Jamie yelled, hugging him tightly, grinning up at him.
Nathan smiled, scooping up his son, who was wearing his jersey and pajama bottoms up. "Jimmy Jam!" He said, ruffling Jamie's hair, hugging him tightly. "I missed you." He said, letting out a deep breath.
"I had so much fun! You did so awesome." Jamie said, ruffling Nathan's hair. "I like watching you way better than watching it on TV." He said, shaking his head. "When Coach took you out in the third quarter, I almost yelled! You would've won." He pouted.
Nathan smiled, shaking his head at his son's enthusiasm. "Is it going to be hard to put you to bed tonight, Jame?"
"I don't want to go to bed." Jamie complained, shaking his head. "Let me show you my favorite play, please?"
Nathan chuckled, setting him down. "Alright, do you want to take me outside, or show me in the little hoop in your room?"
"Let's just do my room. It will be easier." Jamie said, tugging on Nathan's arm.
"Where's Mom?" Nathan asked Jamie as he tugged him along, raising his eyebrows.
"She's getting ready for bed. She told me to go to bed and I laid there for a little while but I just couldn't handle it when I heard the garage open." Jamie said quickly, continuing to pull on Nathan's arm.
Nathan chuckled, shaking his head. "I thought we agreed that if I started dating her, you'd go to bed on time." He said, following Jamie up the stairs to his room.
"This doesn't count." Jamie said, pushing open the door, rushing over to get his little rubber basketball. "Ready?" He asked, turning to Nathan.
"Tell me where you want me to stand." He laughed, moving as Jamie positioned him in front of the hoop, the rim reaching his waist. He looked at Jamie, getting into guarding position. "Show me what you've got, Scott."
Jamie began to dribble the ball, making eye contact with Nathan, smirking slightly. "This is what you do." He said, pausing to point at his mouth. "I've been practicing it, so I could do it with you." He said, smirking once again.
Nathan laughed, shaking his head at his goofy son. It was adorable, really.
Jamie continued to dribble, faking as though he was going to go left, causing Nathan to hurry in that direction, though the young father was positive his son was going to go right.
He did just that, driving to the right, where Nathan "attempted" to move after him, but he wasn't quick enough, tripping on his own feet and falling down, watching as Jamie went up and dunked the ball.
Nathan jumped to his feet, picking Jamie up and holding him high. "Ah! Jamie Scott for the win!" He whisper-yelled, pretending to be a bunch of screaming fans. "Jamie! Jamie! Jamie!" He said, dropping his son on the bed and towering over him, beginning to tickle him.
Jamie burst into laughter, trying to push Nathan's hands off of him. "No! No! Stop!" He laughed, "That's not what happened after you dunked it." He managed to get out between laughs.
Nathan shook his head, "Sorry! I can't hear you, buddy. The screaming fans are yelling your name too loud." He chuckled, continuing to tickle him.
Jamie laughed even louder, both of them unaware of Haley's presence in the doorway, a smile pinned her her face.
Haley cleared her throat, watching both of their heads snap in her direction.
"I didn't do it!" Jamie said quickly, pointing up at Nathan. "It was his fault."
"Dude! Throwing me under the bus." Nathan chuckled, tickling Jamie once more, before standing up straighter, walking over to Haley. "Hey you." He said, pressing a very brief kiss to her lips, before looking over at Jamie. "You're lucky I'll take the blame for this one."
Haley smiled, resting her hand on Nathan's back, letting out a deep breath. It felt nice to see him. It felt even better to see him and their son playing together. A sight she would never get tired of seeing.
Nathan looked over at Jamie, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "You know, Jame... If you pair that smirk up with your puppy dog eyes, Mom will give you anything you ask for. What do you say we put it to the test and watch a movie tonight?" He suggested, nodding at his son.
"Whatever you two are talking about isn't going to work on me." Haley said, smiling at them. "It's way past your bedtime, James."
Jamie looked up at Nathan, before looking at his mother, doing as Nathan had suggested. "Can we please stay up and watch a movie? It's Friday." He said, before smirking at her.
She raised her eyebrows, her eyes flickering to Nathan, who had a similar expression on his face. She was gone. As usual, the Scott men had a certain type of hold over her. Of course they did. She's fallen for Nathan's smirk and puppy dog eyes for years, and of course it had to be passed down to their son.
"Fine. But I'm not carrying either of you up to bed. You've both had long nights, and if you fall asleep on the couch, I'm leaving you there." Haley said simply, shrugging her shoulders.
"Yay!" Jamie cheered, rushing over and picking up the basketball once more. "Watch this shot, Mama. Let's do it again." He said, nodding at Nathan.
Nathan chuckled, getting into position once more, moving left as Jamie did, watching him go right instead, jumping to the basket and dunking it in.
"Wow!" Haley said, hurrying over to Jamie, kneeling down and peppering kisses all over his face. "You're the best basketball player I've ever seen! Can I please have your autograph, Jamie Scott? I'm your biggest fan!" She said, hugging him close.
Jamie took a step back, holding up his hand. "Sorry, lady. I only love my Mama." He said, smirking at her once more.
"Aw, aren't you the sweetest." Haley laughed, pulling him into and Eskimo kiss, rubbing her nose against his. "Good answer too." She said, standing up. "Let's go get that movie started. You can go to bed as soon as it's over." She said, rubbing her son's back and looking at Nathan.
Jamie rushed out of the room, leaving his parents alone for a moment.
Nathan let out a deep breath, visibly looking more exhausted as soon as his son left the room. "Hey." He said, wrapping his arm around Haley, pulling her into a side hug.
Haley smiled at him, winding her arm around his waist, rubbing his side softly. "You doing okay?" She asked him quietly. "You look pretty tired."
"Exhausted." He chuckled, looking to the doorway that Jamie had exited. "I don't know how he can have so much energy."
"He just watched his hero put up a damn good fight, that's why." She said, resting her head on his shoulder for a brief moment, looking around his room.
"And then fall on his ass and choke at the very end." He sighed, shaking his head. "Who am I kidding? We had no chance from the start of the second quarter."
She smiled up at him, resting her hand on his cheek, turning his head down to look at her. "Stop it." She said softly, brushing her thumb over his smooth cheek. "You did amazing."
Nathan smiled, leaning down an kissing her lightly. "I love you." He whispered to her, looking towards the doorway when Jamie poked his head back in the room.
"Come on!" He called out, before running down the hall again.
Nathan laughed, kissing Haley's forehead. "It looks like we've been summoned. Don't want to make the king angry." He said, grabbing onto Haley's hand, and following after Jamie.
xxxx
Haley looked down once the movie was over, smiling slightly. Nathan was asleep on her shoulder, and Jamie was asleep on his.
She raised her hand, gently pushing it through Nathan's hair, massaging his scalp lightly, before pressing a kiss to the top of his head. She really didn't want to disturb him, but if they all fell asleep like this, it would be hell in the morning.
She let out a deep breath, brushing her hand up his leg, before shaking him lightly. "Nate." She said softly, pushing on his stomach softly. "Wake up, baby." She said, smiling down at him.
Nathan blinked his eyes open, groaning quietly and sitting up a bit straighter, looking down at Jamie and smiling slightly. "Sorry." He said softly, letting out a deep breath.
She smiled, standing up slowly. "Will you carry him up to bed?" She asked him softly, smoothing the back over her hand over Nathan's cheek.
Nathan nodded, carefully standing up, scooping Jamie up quickly, letting out a deep breath.
Haley pressed a light kiss to Jamie's head, before watching Nathan take him up the stairs, smiling slightly. She found the TV remote, turning off the TV and beginning to clean up the mess that Jamie had made with popcorn, shaking her head.
She headed up the stairs, looking around the house and smiling slightly. It was a beautiful house. Nathan had fairly good taste. She headed into Nathan's bedroom, finding him standing in the bathroom, brushing his teeth with a rather blank expression on his face.
She chuckled quietly, walking in and pressing a light kiss to his cheek, rubbing his back softly.
"Hm?" He mumbled, his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.
"I didn't say anything." She laughed, shaking her head. "Are you doing okay?"
"Yeah... Just pretty tired." He said, letting out a deep breath.
He wasn't kidding when he told her that he would be exhausted after that game. He looked like he could practically fall asleep standing up.
She began to get ready for bed, smiling slightly because once he was finished, he hopped up on the counter top to wait for her, smiling lazily at her.
"You're beautiful." He mumbled, winking at her, letting out a deep breath.
Haley laughed, resting her hand on his knee, shaking her head. "Thank you." She mumbled, eventually zipping up her night bag, letting out a deep breath and looking at him. "Think you can make it to bed, superstar?"
"If you go get in it, that'll be the incentive I need." He said, smirking at her.
She smiled at him, nodding her head and heading out of the bathroom.
Nathan quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket, brushing his fingers through his hair, googling the distance between Tree Hill and Miami. Nearly 800 miles. Nope.
He let out a deep breath, shaking his head and stepping out of the bathroom, beginning to strip his clothes on the way to bed, tossing them around the room until he was left in his boxer-briefs, falling into bed next to Haley, climbing under the covers, looking over at her.
She smiled at him, rolling onto her side so that she was facing him. "You did great tonight, Nathan." She said softly, brushing her fingers down his chest.
He looked over at her, grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles, staring up at the ceiling. "What is it about Tree Hill that you like so much?" He asked her, looking over at her once again.
Haley propped up her head, shrugging her shoulders slightly. "It's my home. And it feels like it's my home. Every time I set foot on the Rivercourt, I can see myself watching Lucas play there. Clothes over Bro's feels like Karen's Cafe to me. I drive past my childhood home and I think of all the memories I have there, with my crazy parents. Or fighting with Taylor. Laughing with Quinn." She said, letting out a deep breath. "You sneaking up into my bedroom." She said, winking at him. "I like the beaches." She said, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to his chest. "I like the way it smells after it rains in Tree Hill, it's unlike any other. I like the memories the rain in Tree Hill brings."
"Those are a lot of reasons to love it." He said, letting out a deep breath.
"Why do you ask?" She questioned him, scratching her fingernails over his stomach lightly.
"Just wondering." He said quietly, shrugging his shoulders, smiling at her. "I'm really glad you're here."
She smiled at him, kissing him briefly, before resting her head against his chest, "I really liked watching you play tonight." She said softly.
"You should come when I play somewhere else..." He trailed off, shrugging slightly. "With or without Jamie."
Haley lifted up her head, looking at him again. "Is that your own little way of proposing we go away together?" She asked him.
"Maybe." He chuckled, looking up at the ceiling. "Don't you want to see what it's like out of North Carolina?"
"I've left North Carolina before." She said, smiling at him and kissing his cheek softly. "I would love to go somewhere with you." She said quietly, resting her head back down on his chest.
"Okay." He said, letting out a deep breath, looking down at her and smiling slightly, pressing a light kiss to the top of her head.
"You don't have to stay awake for me, Nathan. I know that you're exhausted." She said quietly, rubbing her hand over his stomach.
Nathan laughed, pulling her closed to him. "Okay." He said again, gently brushing his finger tips over her arm. "It's a great feeling knowing that you'll be here when I wake up in the morning."
She let out a deep breath, lightly rubbing her fingertips up and down his side in an attempt to relax him. "Mhm." She hummed, closing her eyes.
Nathan let his eyes fall shut as well, smiling as Haley's presence surrounded him. She was one of the two best things in his life, and he wanted her to know that.
xxxx
Haley felt around the empty bed in the morning, frowning when her palm was met with cold bed sheets and no Nathan. She blinked her eyes open, sitting up slowly, looking around the room and letting out a deep breath. She looked over at the clock, sighing softly. It was only eight-thirty, an unusual time for Nathan to be awake if he didn't have to be. She looked around his room, standing up slowly and cleaning up the mess of clothes that he left last night, setting them in his laundry basket. She slowly headed down the stairs, stopping on them when she heard Nathan's voice from the kitchen.
"Shit! Ouch. Jamie, move back." Nathan said, letting out an annoyed sigh. "Don't say shit, Jamie. Sorry."
"Why not?" Jamie asked him.
"Because it's a bad word. Daddy shouldn't be saying it either. If mom heard me saying that around you, she'd have my head." He chuckled.
"Okay, I won't say it around her." Jamie said, before laughing.
"Jamie!"
"I won't say it at all!" Jamie laughed again.
"That's my boy." Nathan said, letting out a deep breath.
Haley stepped down the stairs, looking at the two of them standing in the kitchen, Jamie sitting on the counter, kicking his legs and watching Nathan. She waved at Jamie, holding a finger to her lips and sneaking up behind Nathan, pushing her fingertips into his side, pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder. "What are you doing?"
Nathan jumped slightly, glancing over his shoulder. "You're supposed to be in bed." He groaned, shaking his head. "We were making you breakfast, but this damn bacon keeps shooting fireballs back at me. Jamie- don't say that either." He grumbled, letting out a deep breath.
Haley hit his back gently, "Watch your mouth, Scott." She said, resting her head against his shoulder, before stepping away, walking to Jamie and kissing his head. "Hi baby."
"Hi Mama! We're making you breakfast." Jamie informed her, smiling brightly at her.
She grinned at him, kissing him again. "Thank you so much, Jamie." She said, resting her hand on his shoulder.
"What about me?" Nathan asked, looking over at her and kinking his eyebrow.
"Don't want you to burn the bacon." She said, winking at him. "Jamie, why don't we leave him to this and you and I go watch cartoons?"
"Not fair." Nathan said, shaking his head. "Jamie, why don't we go watch cartoons and let her finish?" He asked, nodding at him.
Jamie looked between them, "Um... I'll go watch cartoons, and you help him, because he definitely needs it." He said, holding out his arms to Haley.
Haley helped him off the counter, nodding and smiling at him. "Alright, baby. I will help him, you go watch." She said, ruffling his hair and watching as he rushed away.
Nathan looked over at her, smiling slightly. "Hey beautiful. I really wanted to treat you nice, you know? So why don't you go get back in bed?"
She laughed, shaking her head. "It looks like you might need my help here." She said, brushing her hand over his back. "I wanted you next to me this morning." She said softly, glancing towards the living room where Jamie was.
Nathan glanced over at her. "Oh?" He chuckled, winking at her. "It's too bad I attempted to make you breakfast. Damn, me. I'm too nice."
"I can think of another way you could've woken me up." She said softly, pressing a light kiss to his arm.
He shook his head, "Don't you distract me, Haley James. I'm trying to cook bacon." He said, letting out a deep breath.
"I knew you were tired last night, but I feel like you haven't even given me a proper kiss since we've gotten here." She said, lifting up his shirt a bit, sliding her fingertips over his warm skin.
"Well, Jamie is sitting right over there." He said, his cheeks tinting red, shrugging slightly.
"Don't get all embarrassed on me, Nathan Scott." She said softly, glancing over her shoulder, stepping behind him, slipping her hands up into his shirt, rubbing them over the muscles in his back.
"Haley, you better knock it off." He chuckled, taking the bacon off the pan, setting it on the awaiting plate. "He's right there."
"He's watching cartoons." She said, brushing her lips over the back of his neck.
Nathan glanced over his shoulder at her, letting out a deep breath. He turned around, removing her hands from his skin, pulling her close to him. "I had some stuff ob my mind. I can't believe I forgot to kiss the hell out of you." He said softly, cupping her cheeks, leaning down and kissing her deeply.
Haley wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him against her, her hands roaming his back. She stood on her toes a bit, closing her eyes, bunching his shirt up in her hands.
He pulled back after a second, smiling down at her. "You're right. I should've done that last night." He said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Why'd you stop then?" She asked, winking up at him.
"You're being a little frisky today." He said, laughing quietly. "What's going on?"
"I just haven't seen you since Monday." She said, running her fingers through his hair. "And last night you fell asleep watching Cars, which is one of your favorites." She said, pinching his sides softly.
"I'm sorry, baby." He said softly, kissing her forehead. "I love you." He whispered, rubbing his hands up her arms. "I just played extra hard last night, and I've had some stuff going through my head. But tonight, I'll show you how sorry I am." He said, winking at her.
She smiled up at him, brushing the back of her hand over his cheek. "I like you." She said softly, kissing him once more. "I can't wait." She hummed, reaching behind him and picking up a piece of bacon. "Thanks for making me breakfast, you amazing man."
He smiled at her, kissing her forehead and wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry I'm the worst boyfriend in the whole entire world and forgot to give you some good loving." He said, winking down at her.
"Some good loving?" She laughed, shaking her head. She pinched his cheek softly, "You're the best boyfriend. Ever." She hummed, standing on her toes and kissing his cheek. "Why don't you let me finish making breakfast? Go spend time with Jamie." She said softly, nodding at him.
Nathan let out a deep breath, wrapping his arms tighter around her. "I want you to come with." He said, smiling at her. "Maybe we could leave Jamie with Clay and Quinn for a little bit, and I could show you just how nice the tub in my bathroom is." He hummed, letting out a deep breath.
Haley raised her eyebrows, smiling slightly. "Sounds nice." She said softly, glancing over her shoulder at Jamie. "Are you sure, though? I know how much you miss him." She said, shrugging slightly. "I can wait until tonight."
Nathan looked past her, his eyes narrowing in on Jamie, before shifting back to Haley. "I think I can give up an hour or two." He said, nodding at her.
Haley brushed her fingers through hair hair, pulling him down once more, kissing him softly. "You better go watch with him, otherwise I might not be able to stop myself from kissing you for another ten minutes."
He laughed, grabbing her hand and twirling her around, before dipping her down, kissing her once more.
She blinked in surprise, her eyes falling shut, her hand moving to rest on the side of his neck, relaxing in his arms. Her eyes stayed close when he raised her up to her feet a short while later, letting out a deep breath. "Wow. You're good." She said, smiling at him.
Nathan nodded at her, "I try." He said, smirking at her. "Thank you, baby. For doing all of this. For coming up." He said softly, stepping away, blowing her another kiss and laughing. "I'll just be in there if you need me." He said, pointing towards the couch.
She smiled at him, nodding her head and turning back to the oven, shaking her head and letting out a deep breath. She had it bad for Nathan Scott.
xxxx
Nathan smiled slightly as Haley relaxed against him, her head rested back against his shoulder, her eyes falling closed. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing the side of her head.
Haley turned her head slightly, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck, brushing her fingertips up and down his forearms, biting her lip. "Your house is beautiful." She said softly.
"Thank you." He responded, smiling at her, removing one arm from around her waist, resting his hand in her knee.
"This is probably my favorite part." She said, gesturing around. "This bath tub is amazing." She said, laughing.
"If I would've known that you were dying for my body, I would've dressed the place up a little more." He chuckled, looking around the bathroom. "Bought some candles or something. I didn't even think about it." He said, brushing his thumb over he knee. "Kinda thought we were past the point in our relationship."
"Oh, shut up." Haley laughed, blinking her eyes open. "I'm not sure I'll ever get past the point in our relationship where I, as you put it, miss your body."
He smiled, holding her tighter against him, kissing her head again. "I know, Clay and Quinn weren't even out of our driveway by the time you jumped me."
"You're just so sexy." She chuckled, kissing his hand lightly. "I missed you." She said, looking up at him and pressing a long kiss to the side of his neck.
"I would miss me too." He said, lifting up some of the bubbles in the tub. "Look at you. You're making me take a bubble bath. How could I miss you?"
"I didn't make you do anything." She laughed, grabbing his hand, resting it on her knee once again.
"I didn't take bubble baths before. The last bubble bath I took was with you." He grumbled, shaking his head. "What are you doing to me?"
"Mm... Making you relaxed. Because you should relax." She said, lifting her head up for a brief moment. "You could switch me places and I could give you a little back massage." She suggested, shrugging slightly.
"Nah." He said, winding his arms around her waist, kissing her ear lightly. "I like where we are right now. And I guess I don't hate being in a bubble bath. I guess I feel relaxed."
"You guess? Nathan, it doesn't get much better than this." She laughed, shaking her head. "Maybe you don't deserve this. These are the moments I live for. Relaxing."
"You live for this? Taking a bubble bath?" He asked her, squeezing her side lightly.
"Nathan, I deal with high school children and a hyper five year old all day long. What do you think?" She laughed, closing her eyes. "I can't believe this."
"Believe what?" He asked her curiously, raising his eyebrows and looking down at her.
"I'm in your arms, naked, and all you can do is whine about taking a bubble bath." She said simply, shrugging her shoulders.
Nathan shook his head, "I'm not complaining. I said it was relaxing." He laughed, sliding his hand down her arm.
Haley looked up at him, "Remember the bath tub in our apartment? It was difficult to cram both of us in there, but we still managed to do it comfortably. I didn't hear you complaining back then." She said before laying her head back on his shoulder.
Nathan smiled slightly, nodding his head. "Yeah. Everything was cramped in that apartment." He said, letting out a deep breath. "Cramped, but it was nice."
"It was nice." She agreed. "I love you." She whispered to him, sucking in a deep breath.
He resting his head on hers, closing his eyes. "I love you too, you beautiful, amazing, gorgeous woman." He said quietly, stroking his fingertips up and down her arm, leaning further back.
Haley rested her hand on his knee, brushing her thumb along his skin, smiling. "I really wish you could come back with us." She said, sighing softly.
"You and me both." He said, smiling down at her. "But I'll be home Tuesday. Not next Tuesday, but the one after that."
"So you'll be home for Halloween." She said, smiling up at him. "You can take Jamie Trick or Treating."
"For the first time in his life." Nathan said, shaking his head. "Since you're the mean mom that wouldn't let him go."
"There are scary people out there, Nathan. And this is also the first year you could take him. I need his big, strong dad there to protect him." She said, digging her fingernails into his knee, looking at the indentations left there.
Nathan looked down at her, shifting slightly behind her, pushing her so that she was leaning forward ever so slightly, admiring her back.
She raised her eyebrows, glancing over her shoulder at him, "What are you doing?"
He brushed his finger down her spine, smirking. "You're sexy." He informed her, resting his hands on her hips. "Let's get out of here."
"I knew you wouldn't be able to stay here for more than twenty minutes." She chuckled, dipping her hand under the water. "The water is still warm. Let's just wait a little bit longer."
He let out a deep sigh, pressing his face into the crook over her neck, pressing a few soft kisses there, before he opened his mouth and started sucking hard on her skin. His fingers traveling up her body to brush against the underside of her breasts, gliding his tongue over her skin when he heard her gasp. After another three seconds, Haley was gone, wrapping a towel around herself.
"Come on." She said, tilting her head back at the bathroom door.
Nathan jumped up quickly, his fingers fumbling with the drain. He whipped around, pulling the towel off of her, picking her up and smirking slightly when her legs wrapped around his waist.
"Nathan! Dry off, or else your bed is going to get all wet." She commanded him, laughing.
He shook his head, "I think I'll take it." He said, kissing her briefly.
"I'm not doing your laundry later." She said to him, shaking her head, closing her eyes as he started to suck on her neck again.
He laughed against her skin, nodding. "Okay." He hummed, rushing out of the bathroom.
xxxx
"What happened to your neck, Mama?" Jamie asked her, watching her and Nathan clean up dinner, his eyes wide.
Haley glared at Nathan, before her gaze moved over to Jamie. "Oh, I don't know, Jamie." She said, moving her hand to rest on the mark left on her neck, shooting Nathan another glare when she felt his hand grab her butt behind the countertop.
Jamie looked at them, humming quietly and nodding his head. "Okay." He responded, tapping his fingers on the counter. "What are we going to do tonight?"
"Well, little Jimmy Jam. I was thinking that we could go shoot some hoops in the practice gym." He said, nodding at him and smiling. "Some of the guys just texted me earlier and invited me to come. They told me I had to bring you."
Jamie's eyes widened as he stared up at his father, "Are you serious?" He asked, nodding quickly.
"Of course! I left a little present for you on your bed." Nathan said, nodding, wrapping his arm around Haley's shoulders.
Jamie rushed out of the room quickly, not giving his parents a second look.
Nathan looked down at her, kissing her head lightly, raising his eyebrows when she pushed his arm off and turned away from him.
"Haley." He laughed, glancing towards the stairs, shaking his head.
"No, this is embarrassing, Nathan. I tried to cover it up but it's still clear as day that I have a hickey." She said, pointing at her neck.
"You weren't complaint while I was giving it to you." He pointed out, smirking slightly. "I don't know what it is about you, Haley James." He said, his eyes gazing up and down her body, letting out a low whistle. "I want you so bad right now." He whispered, stepping towards her, resting his hands on the counter on either side of her, pressing himself up against her back.
Haley sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes. "Don't say that. We're just about to leave and Jamie is home, don't say that."
"You make washing the dishes look so sexy." He said quietly to her, tilting his head down, kissing up her neck.
"What has gotten into you?" She asked him, leaning forward, letting out a deep breath.
"You have. Damn you look good." He said, "And you have a hell of an ass." He added, smirking at her.
He pulled back when Jamie came running down the stairs, wearing his very own practice uniform, a replica of the one Nathan was about to go put on.
Haley fanned herself off for a brief second, before looking at Jamie and smiling brightly. He looked so adorable. It was adorable that Nathan thought about their son all the time, bought him little presents so that they could match each other. She loved it. She loved them.
Nathan went upstairs to change, and of course, she sat back as watched them practice the whole time, unable to move her eyes from Nathan, except to watch Jamie. He was not lying when he said that Jamie was popular on the team. She'd watched him be thrown in the hair, hoisted up on shoulders, held up to dunk the ball. And he loved every minute of it.
He was practically bouncing off the walls when they got home, still on such a basketball high, the same way Nathan used to get when he won a game in high school or even in college.
The only way to get him settled was to unfortunately allow him to sleep in between the two of them.
Nathan chuckled quietly from his spot on the bed next to Jamie, brushing his fingers through his son's hair an looking over at Haley. "I love you two." He said, letting out a deep breath. "I had a few more plans to sweep you off your feet tonight, but this isn't so bad." He said softly.
Haley smiled at him, kissing her son on the head, looking over at Nathan, shaking her head. "No, it's not." She agreed, tracing her fingers over Jamie's cheek. "I love watching you two together." She said quietly, smiling at him. "You're a great dad, Nathan Scott."
"Thank you." He responded, smiling brightly, leaning back against the headboard. "I learned everything from you, really. Watching you with your nieces and nephews, and then watching you with Jamie once he was born."
"This isn't how I thought my life would turn out." She said softly, looking at Jamie, before meeting Nathan's gaze once again. "But it's so much better."
He nodded, letting out a deep breath, looking down at Jamie. "I talked to my mom. She said that she could do lunch next time I'm home. She would love to, actually." He said quietly. "If you're still okay with it."
Haley nodded, laying down on her side so that she was still facing the two of them, wrapping her arm around Jamie protectively. "I trust your judgement." She whispered.
Nathan smiled, mirroring her actions, but stretching out his arms to lay across both of them. "I love you, Haley." He whispered.
Haley smiled at him, winking at him. "I love you too, baby." She responded, letting out a deep breath. "Thankfully, our flight doesn't leave until six tomorrow, so we still have all day."
He nodded, looking between the two of them. "I'm lucky to have you."
She let out a deep breath, reaching her hand out and brushing it along Nathan's chest, before resting it on Jamie once again. "Right back at you."
Nathan lifted his head up, leaning across Jamie and kissing Haley briefly. "Goodnight, beautiful."
Haley smiled at him, closing her eyes and relaxing against the mattress. "Goodnight, Nathan."