The newly engaged couple didn't have to pay for a meal all week. It seemed everyone wanted to take them out to celebrate. Deb, Dan, Brooke and Chase, Lucas and Lindsey. Come Friday evening, they had no groceries in the house that were edible, and they had Jamie for the weekend. Their big outing that Friday night to the grocery store saw them come home with four kinds of cereal and a lot of other snacks they normally didn't buy, but neither Nathan nor Peyton could say no to the little boy.
They tried to have a low key weekend, but it was interrupted in the best way when Nathan led his team to victory at an afternoon game that Saturday, and they were invited to an 'after party' at one of his teammate's houses. It was an outdoor barbecue, and Nathan and Peyton watched as Jamie ran and played with the other kids that were there. Nathan, of course, not-so-subtly reminded her that maybe the next toddler they saw stumbling around on the grass would be theirs. She could only smile and shake her head at him.
Peyton came home from work on Monday in ridiculously good spirits. She'd had an overly productive day and a great lunch with Haley where the two had a candid talk, and she felt like her week might not be so bad. She walked through the house and saw that Nathan was out on the back porch studying his playbook.
"Hey," she greeted him through the open window. He stood from his place and walked inside, and he could tell already that she was in a great mood.
"Hey," he said when he stepped into the kitchen. "Good day?"
"Great day," she corrected. "Ryan's photo shoot went amazing. Like...so good. And Mia has some new songs to record. It was just...a lot of good news."
"That's awesome," he said with a smile.
They'd had a great week, but something had been weighing heavy on Nathan's mind as more time passed. He was a little unnerved that she hadn't looked through a single bridal magazine, or asked him questions on what he preferred or wanted to do. She hadn't really talked about a wedding at all, save for general questions from their family and friends. He knew there wasn't technically a rush, but that didn't mean that he didn't want them to rush. Their entire relationship had been the best kind of whirlwind, and it almost seemed fitting to get married right away.
"So," he said, lifting himself up onto the counter, "where's your head with things?"
"What do you mean?" she asked absently, reaching up on her toes to grab something from the top shelf of a cupboard. He didn't help her, instead choosing to eye the expanse of bare skin revealed when she raised her arm and her shirt rode up. She shot him a playful glare and he just shrugged his shoulders.
"With...wedding, marriage, spending your life with me, having lots of sex and babies," he explained, making her let out a loud laugh.
"Is that all?" she asked sarcastically.
"I think that covers everything, yeah."
"I was actually thinking," she started, leaning back against the counter across from him. "Maybe your whole, 'let's jet off somewhere' idea wasn't so crazy after all."
"Peyton, I was totally joking about that," he said, shaking his head.
"Were you?" she asked with a raised brow.
"Well, not totally," he said, smiling when she laughed. "But...What's going on?"
"Nothing!" she said quickly. "I just thought it might actually be nice." She stepped towards him to stand between his knees, and his hands naturally found her waist. "Sunshine, casual clothes, barefoot on a beach somewhere, just you and me and a couple rings..."
"OK, as perfect as that would be..." he said in a low voice. Damn, that sounded perfect. "I just...can't see you getting married without your dad and Brooke there. And I want Jamie, and Lucas, and my mom and dad. So quit trying to seduce me with visions of you in a white bikini, and tell me what's got you freaking out."
"OK, first of all," she said with a raised brow and a stern tone, "I would not get married in a white bikini. That's just...no." He rolled his eyes and laughed before she continued. "And I'm not freaking out."
"You're not not freaking out either." He gazed at her knowingly and she rolled her eyes once more. "Talk to me, Sawyer."
"I just...I don't want something big, at all," she said seriously. "But...you've kind of...You've done this before. Twice, actually."
"That's what this is about?" he asked incredulously. "Peyton..."
"I know what you're going to say," she said, waving off whatever he was about to tell her. "I can have whatever I want, and it doesn't matter that you already had a couple weddings."
"Actually, I was going to ask you how I ended up engaged to a woman who's obviously insane," he teased, making her jaw drop. "Do you think it matters to me how we get married?"
"Um...wow," she said with wide eyes.
"No! Fuck. No. I didn't mean that," he said quickly. "I meant...You can have whatever you want and it doesn't matter that I have already had a couple weddings."
"Nice save," she said with a little smile and her head tilted to the side.
"I'm serious, though," he insisted. "I like the idea of something small, but I want our people there, you know?"
"That's what I want, too," she finally admitted, relieved that he had forced her to clear the air.
That was why she was marrying him. He made her tell him things that she should have been telling him anyway, and he soothed her worries, and he told her what she needed to hear. They didn't keep secrets - they couldn't - no matter how hard they each tried. They just knew each other, and they wouldn't let each other hide.
"I'd be totally cool with casual," she continued. "Simple, you know? I don't need tuxedos and a thousand flowers and a puffy dress."
"Thank God," he sighed. "I hate wearing a tux."
"You look sexy in a tux, Nate," she assured him.
"Whatever," he scoffed, though they both knew she was right. "What do you picture me in?"
He smirked at her, and she knew he was just waiting for her to turn that into an innuendo, but she wouldn't do it. This was a serious conversation, and she didn't want them to get...distracted...as they were known to do.
"I don't know," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe just a suit. All black or something."
"All black, huh?" he asked for confirmation, which he got when she nodded her head.
"What about me? What do you see me wearing?"
"Whatever Brooke forces you to," he suggested, making them both chuckle. "I don't know. You could wear anything and be hot as hell."
"Nathan! Girls don't want to be hot on their wedding day!" she cried seriously.
"OK, good luck with that," he muttered. "Maybe...maybe something shiny."
"Shiny? Like leather?" she joked.
"Mmm. Sexy, but no," he said with a smirk. "Like...silk. Or whatever they make dresses out of. And either long, or short."
"What other options are there!?" she asked as she laughed.
"I mean, like, knee length or something. Or...just below the knee," he said, before getting frustrated. He got down off the counter and pulled her into his arms. "You know what? Don't ask the guy about the dress. I don't know what the hell I'm talking about."
"Aww," she said, cuddling up to him a little bit more. "But it's still cute to hear."
"Well, whatever Brooke designs for you will be amazing," he said, kissing her forehead before moving away from her. "God, do you even remember how to cook?"
"Kind of. But I don't want to," she said with a laugh. "Is it wrong that I just want to order pizza and drink the beer that Skills left here?"
"Not wrong. And kind of sexy," he admitted, wrapping his arms around her from behind as she pulled two bottles from the fridge.
"You just think everything is sexy," she teased, placing her hand over his.
"When it comes to you? Yeah," he confirmed. He grabbed his bottle and used the countertop to knock the cap off, then noticed the horrified look on Peyton's face. "What?"
"Don't do that," she scolded. "These are granite countertops!"
"Granite is strong," he said, shrugging his shoulder.
"Bottle opener," she insisted, glaring at him as she made her way to the living room. "Order pizza!"
"Is this what it's gonna be like when we're married? You bossing me around all the time?" he called after her. He heard her laugh at the words she'd said to him just a week earlier, and dialed the phone as he was told.
She was watching television with her feet propped up on the coffee table, sipping from her beer, when he walked back into the room after ordering their dinner and tidying up.
"Are you watching Gossip Girl?" he asked incredulously, sitting down next to her.
"It's...It was just...on. And...," she stuttered, rolling her eyes when he started chuckling. "OK. Fine. It's a guilty pleasure."
"The guiltiest," he muttered.
"Shut up! Plus, Ed Westwick is totally hot," she pointed out, gesturing to the man on the screen.
"What!?" he cried. "Please."
"No. He is," she insisted. She turned to him and eyed him until he shifted and looked at her questioningly. "You're kind of like Chuck Bass."
"Oh...fu..."
"You are!" she said, cutting him off. "All cocky and smoldering, but a heart of gold."
"Smoldering?" he asked skeptically.
"Definitely smoldering," she purred, leaning over to kiss him.
The doorbell rang and she held out her hand expectantly, waiting for him to give her cash, and he just shook his head and laughed as he pulled out his wallet.
"Seriously, my dad warned me about this kind of thing," he teased, placing a couple bills in her hand.
"You know you love me," she said seductively, making him laugh again as she stood from her place.
He grabbed plates while she paid for their dinner, and when he came back into the room, she was already taking a bite out of a slice.
"I'm so hungry!" she said with a mouthful of food, making him shake his head.
"Where are your manners, girl?" he asked.
It wasn't until an hour later that they stopped goofing around and actually got serious, and even then, it wasn't their choice. They were each on their second beers when they heard the door open, and Nathan could only shrug his shoulders when Peyton looked at him, as if to ask who was there.
"OK, weird thing," Lucas said, stepping into the house and glancing at the couple. His brow was knit in confusion, and both Nathan and Peyton were sure it had been like that the entire drive to their house. That broody, squinting thing he'd always done when he was trying to figure something out was pretty much his trademark expression.
"What?" Peyton asked. She was a little unnerved that he hadn't offered a proper greeting, but she loved that they were all comfortable enough with each other again to just stride into each others' homes like that. It felt natural and...right.
"I got a call from someone who told me to ask you for a reference," he said, still bewildered as he looked to Peyton.
"What?" she repeated, narrowing her eyes. "Who?"
"Julian Baker?"
She felt Nathan tense next to her, but she was too stunned to reassure him of anything. She was too stunned to really say anything. Nathan didn't fail to notice that she was speechless, and he had no idea what that meant.
"He wants to option Ravens. For a movie," Lucas added when he saw the discomfort of the couple before him. He didn't know who this guy was to Peyton, but he could tell it wasn't anything good.
"No," Nathan insisted, shaking his head. "Absolutely not."
"Nathan..." Peyton tried.
"No!" he cried indignantly. "No way in hell."
"What is going on!?" Lucas asked, throwing his arms up in frustration.
"Julian is a guy..." Nathan started.
"Nathan!" Peyton shouted, interrupting him and glaring at him at the same time. "Just...don't be irrational." He sighed deeply and unclenched his fists, and Peyton turned back to Lucas. "Julian...Julian is someone I dated in L.A."
"Someone she lived with and was in love with for a year and a half," Nathan clarified quickly, shooting her a look over her neglect to give details.
"Oh," Lucas said slowly, squinting as he tried to comprehend that information.
"It's...he's a good producer," Peyton insisted objectively.
"I'm sure he is, but he's not coming anywhere near my novel," Lucas insisted seriously, crossing his arms and looking at her as though she were crazy for implying that he should work with this Julian person.
"Damn right, he's not," Nathan muttered, making Peyton turn to him and scowl again.
"You two are impossible," she said with a humorless laugh, standing from her place as she shook her head. "Lucas, this could be a good opportunity for you."
"And you are marrying my brother, and I'm not going to let some Hollywood jackass with ulterior motives come here and mess that up!" Lucas explained, making Nathan smile in both brotherly pride, and smug satisfaction.
"Please! He couldn't if he tried," she scoffed.
Both Scott brothers watched her face change as she stopped to contemplate if Julian really would try. She knew he would. She knew he'd try.
"Well...too bad," Lucas said firmly. "He's not going to get the chance."
"Ha," Nathan mumbled stupidly, and Peyton glared at him once again.
"You're an idiot," Peyton said, looking to Lucas. "Do you have any idea how much money you could make? There are signing bonuses and production bonuses. And that's before the thing is even released!"
"I don't care! I have a job, Peyton, and a writing career. I don't need an....an egoistical guy with some infatuation with you to write me a check, alright?"
She was biting her tongue to stop herself from mentioning his admitted infatuation with her when they were younger. It wasn't the time or place, and it didn't really matter, and it only would have hurt all three people in the room to bring it up.
"Did he ask about her?" Nathan inquired, standing from his place and folding his arms at his chest. It was his protective stance, and Peyton knew that, and normally she would have loved it, but it only served to infuriate her more in that moment.
"Are you serious?" she asked incredulously.
"He asked how she was," Lucas stepped in. "He asked if we were together, and I told him I'm married."
"So he thinks she's single!" Nathan stated irately.
"Calm down," she warned sternly. She turned so she was standing directly in front of him with her back to Lucas, and she took his hand in hers. "Stop. OK? He doesn't matter."
"I don't trust him!"
"You don't have to! I don't really trust him. Not anymore," she explained.
"But you want him to come here and..."
"No, but I don't want Lucas to miss out on this opportunity," she said gently.
"And I don't want to meet the guy who shared a bed with you," Nathan said seriously, raising an eyebrow.
Lucas couldn't help himself, and let out a snicker, making Nathan crack a smile, and Peyton turn to look at him admonishingly.
"What?" he asked, deadpan. "Oh, come on. That's funny."
Nathan and Lucas both started to laugh, and Peyton looked at them both, her mouth open in shock, before she joined in and started laughing, too.
"Stop it!" she cried, swatting Nathan on the arm, though their smiles stayed in place.
"How is this our life?" he asked with a chuckle, making them all laugh harder. "Luke, you need to write a sequel."
"Shut up!" Peyton shouted again.
"Like the E! True Hollywood Story of Tree Hill," Lucas chimed in.
"No one would believe it," Nathan said, shaking his head.
"You're impossible," Peyton said in frustration when she realized that they weren't going to listen to her. "I'm....going out."
Lucas and Nathan exchanged a look, realizing that perhaps they'd taken it too far. They both knew damn well that Peyton would indeed walk out if she wanted to, and neither man wanted to be responsible for that.
"Peyton," Lucas said apologetically.
"Babe, don't run out on me," Nathan pleaded, shaking his head as he smirked.
That fucking smirk. She was cursing it in her head, and he could tell just by looking at her. But that smirk, coupled with just that little bit of a southern drawl that had crept into his speech were really making her want to push Lucas out the door.
So she gave Nathan a seductive smirk of her own, and bit her bottom lip just subtly since she knew Lucas couldn't see. Nathan took a deep breath, and she winked at him.
"Luke, you need to go, man," Nathan said seriously, still looking at his girl.
"Nathan!" she cried with a laugh.
"No. I'm serious. Go home. We'll...I'll...I'll call you tomorrow," Nathan said quickly.
"I'm so out of here," Lucas said, grinning as he shook his head. Peyton offered him a timid smile before he started towards the door. "I'll lock it."
"Thanks," Nathan said absently, making his way towards Peyton.
Lucas heard Peyton giggle through the door as he made his way down the steps off the front porch of the house, and he could only shake his head again. Those two were just so obviously inseparable, and he didn't mind getting kicked out of their house. He got the feeling that Nathan would have made Peyton laugh like that even if he had been standing right there. He couldn't say he was anything less than thrilled for them.
"That was so rude!" Peyton said as Nathan pulled her roughly against him.
"Rude? You're the one getting all irresistible when we have company," he countered, making her turn her head away from him. "You just...can't do that."
"You could try to control yourself," she suggested, placing one hand on his chest, and the other around his neck.
He just let out a quick breath and shook his head. She still didn't get it.
"You have no idea what you do to me."
But she did. Because he did it to her, too. So she leaned up and let her lips graze the shell of his ear as she spoke, and she felt his hands grip her waist a little tighter.
"Show me."
----
"What if he did come here?" Nathan asked later that night as they stood on the balcony off their bedroom wrapped in a blanket.
"Who?"
"Julian," he specified. He didn't know if she had already forgotten about the guy, or if she just wanted to make him think she had.
"What if he did?" she countered. She knew he hated it when people answered a question with a question, but it was as much of an answer as she thought she needed to give.
"Peyton."
"What do you want me to say, Nathan?" she asked, turning in his arms so she could face him. "He could show up here with whatever motives he wanted to, but it wouldn't change anything between us."
"I guess," he mumbled.
"Not I guess," she insisted. "You're the one who is always telling me not to doubt us, Nathan. And now there's a ring on my finger, and you're implying that..."
"Hey," he said indignantly, "I'm not implying anything."
"Aren't you?" she asked quietly.
Her eyes wouldn't meet his, and he kind of hated himself for giving her the impression that he thought Julian would change their relationship somehow. He was secure with her. For the most part. But he didn't know this guy, and he didn't know how manipulative he was, or how hurt he'd been by his breakup with Peyton.
"Well, I didn't mean to," he told her. "I just...don't want any drama, you know? And this guy coming here would for sure mean drama."
"He could try," she muttered. "I don't want drama either. And I think Lucas was pretty adamant about not doing it, so...whatever."
"Whatever?"
"I still think he's stupid for not even entertaining the idea," she explained. "There are like...hundreds of thousands of dollars for this kind of thing. And if he wrote the screenplay, it'd be even more."
"He's just got my back," Nathan said with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders.
"I kind of love that about him," she said before she could stop herself. Her eyes flew up to meet his, and she winced as he laughed. "You know? Are there any of my other exes we haven't talked about today?"
"Jake," he stated.
"Stop!" she cried, swatting his chest.
"Oh, come on. We're good, here, right? We can joke," he pointed out, making her sigh.
"Apparently, we can," she said with a smile.
"And I mean, really, you're not gonna leave all this," he said, gesturing towards his body as he smirked.
"Was there ever any doubt?" she asked coyly.
"Maybe a little," he admitted. "But then I got you into my bed pretty quickly and all doubt was erased."
"You're a pig, you know that?"
"A pig that you love," he corrected. He leaned down to kiss her, and he felt her smile against his lips. He knew that for all the times she 'complained' about his attitude and innuendo, she actually loved it.
"Well, I was going to prove it to you again," she said softly, running her hand down his chest. "But if you're convinced..."
"Well, hey. I'm not entirely convinced," he said eagerly, cutting her off as he walked her backwards into their room.
"Really?" she asked as she dropped the blanket from around her shoulders and he wrapped his arms around her waist to lay her down.
"Uh huh," he mumbled, placing kisses along the column of her neck. "Show me."
----
A/N: OK, since I like to give fair warning, the next chapter will be the last one...
