I think I came up with a new route for this story that might make it a little longer than I originally thought it would be! Yay!
Thanks for all the love. Hope I can keep up with updating consistently!
Chapter Seventeen
Haley's eyes blinked open quickly when she rolled over and felt herself connect with someone else laying next to her.
She felt a little confused for a moment, before the realization set in with a small smile on her face.
Nathan Scott.
If she thought he was a hunk all throughout the day, it was nothing compared to right now.
His dark hair was disheveled, part of it from sleep, part of it from running her fingers through it the previous night.
He was definitely a sight for sore eyes, which was probably why she'd given into her own desires last night.
She raised her hand, gently tracing her fingers over his bare chest, letting out a slow, deep breath.
This might be a little bit of a confusing situation when he woke up. But maybe not. Maybe they'd be able to just add it to the list of things that were already happening without putting too much pressure onto it.
She pressed a very delicate kiss to his cheek, which caused him to shift lightly in addition to his nose twitching a little bit as her hair tickled him, but besides that, he didn't wake up.
This was an unusual situation for him as well, so she was surprised he didn't push her off the bed or something last night. He seemed like a bed hog.
She was pulled from her thoughts by a loud knock at her front door, her eyes finally shifting to the clock.
It was 8:45. Please don't be Macey at her door. Please. Someone adult, maybe Brooke that she wouldn't have to explain why Nathan's car was parked in front of her house. Or someone that she didn't know. A solicitor. That would be better than Macey.
Nathan's head lifted at the knock on the door, looking at her and raising his eyebrows.
"Uh... Good morning," He greeted, smiling at her.
The rasp in his voice. That was hot. Haley wanted to grab him and kiss him and relive the previous night all over again, just by him saying good morning to her.
He cleared his throat, running his hand through his hair. "Uh... Shouldn't you get the door?" He teased, shrugging his shoulders.
She kissed him briefly, shaking her head. "They'll go away."
It wouldn't be Macey. Quinn would have called her before she brought Macey by. She knew it.
He laughed, shaking his head and stroking his hand over her arm lightly. "Hi," He mumbled, clearing his throat.
"Last night was..." She trailed off, glancing over at her bedroom door when there was another knock on her front door.
"Incredible," He finished, leaning forward and kissing her again.
She let out a sigh when the doorbell rang, pulling away from him.
"I don't think they're going to give up," He laughed, tapping her arm lightly.
She shook her head, looking down at the sweatshirt that covered her that definitely didn't belong to herself. She got out of bed slowly, gesturing for him to look away.
He laughed, rolling his eyes and doing as she requested, pressing his face into the pillow.
At the speed only a mother could have, she changed into sweats and a sweatshirt of her own, clearing her throat and dropping his sweatshirt on the bed.
He lifted his head up, smiling at her and sitting up. "Thank you," He hummed, shrugging his shoulders, glancing over when the doorbell rang again. "Better get that."
"Yeah," She grumbled, stepping out of the room, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she headed down the hall to the front door, pulling open.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Mom and Dad! What are you doing here?" She asked, clearing her throat.
"Just in the neighborhood," Jimmy joked, gesturing to the RV that was parked on the street. "Thought we'd stop by and visit our two youngest children."
"What a great surprise!" Haley bit out, letting out a deep breath. "A big surprise."
"Who's car is that?" Lydia asked, glancing to the car in her driveway.
At the speed of light, Haley came up with a lie. She was a little impressed with herself for it.
"It's Brooke's spare car. Mine was having some issues earlier this week so she let me borrow it. She's coming to pick it up soon though," Haley said quickly, smiling at them.
"Well let me take a look at it while I'm here," Jimmy said, stepping forward and hugging her quickly.
Haley momentarily let herself forget about the man in her bedroom, hugging her dad and then her mom.
Not that she wasn't happy to see them, their timing was just... Awful.
"Where's the little one?" Lydia asked, smiling at her youngest daughter.
"She actually spent the night at Quinn's last night," Haley informed them, letting out a deep breath.
"That is disappointing then. We should've gone there first," Jimmy joked, earning a slap on the arm from Lydia.
"He's joking. Trust me, if I could've pawned off all of you guys for a night every once and awhile I would have," Lydia teased, hugging her again. "You look tired. Are you sleeping?"
Last night? Not a ton.
But it's not like she could say that.
"I'm fine, Mom. Just working hard," Haley said, offering her a smile. "Why don't I call Quinn and see if she's up? And you guys can come in and make yourselves breakfast, since that's probably the real reason you came here first instead of Quinn's."
"You know us too well. Her and Clay just don't have the same food you do. Although... They do have toaster pastries, which you seem to be lacking despite the connection," Jimmy joked, winking at her.
Lydia smiled, beginning to hum the toaster pastry song.
Haley groaned, shaking her head. "Let me go get my phone. You two go help yourself to whatever you want."
She let out a deep breath as the two happily headed into the kitchen, turning around and pretty much sprinting back to her bedroom. "You have to go," She said quickly to Nathan, picking up his sweatshirt and tossing it at him. "Like... Now."
Nathan raised his eyebrows, getting out of bed quickly, holding onto his sweatshirt. "Who was it?" He asked her curiously.
"My parents, and I don't really feel like discussing this right now," She said, gesturing between the two of them. "Not with them. I will... Um, call you later to talk about this... Unless you don't want to talk about it?"
He laughed, shaking his head. "We can talk about it. I should let you know though, that it really wasn't my intention to stay the night."
"I know," She said quickly, nodding at him. "But you have to go."
"How?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows, sliding his shoes on quickly.
Haley thought for a moment, before walking over to the window and lifting it open. "Out the window."
"Out the window?" He laughed quietly, pulling his sweatshirt on.
"Yes, now go..." She said, shoving him towards the window quickly.
He began to climb through, looking at her. "Wait, what about my clothes in your dryer?"
"I'll get them to you," She assured him. "Go."
"Do you want me to get Macey?" He asked her quickly, raising his eyebrows.
She shook her head, pushing on his arm lightly. "I'll get her."
He nodded, slipping out of the window. "One more thing," He said, grabbing her hand and pulling her closer. He kissed her quickly, winking at her and sneaking away.
Haley smiled, letting out a deep breath, closing her window.
She grabbed her phone, flipping over the pillow that Nathan had been laying on, just in case.
She let out a deep breath, quickly calling Quinn and shaking her head.
The timing could not have been worse.
Well... They could've showed up last night, which would've been worse.
"Hey Hales!" Quinn greeted into the phone. "You're on speaker with Clay, Nick, and Macey!"
"Hi everyone!" Haley greeted, clearing her throat.
"Hi Haley," Nick greeted, humming softly.
"Hi Mommy! Miss you!" Macey said happily, before she started giggling.
"They're just laughing because of what we fed them for breakfast. Macey is a bad influence on Nick," Quinn teased Macey, which made them laugh harder.
"I'm not going to ask," Haley hummed, laughing. "Quinn, can you take me off speaker for a minute?"
"Um, sure. Clay, I'll be right back," Quinn informed her husband. "Okay, Haley. I am off speaker and in a different room," She said after a second.
"Mom and Dad showed up here this morning," Haley informed her, sitting down on her bed and sighing.
"You don't sound happy," Quinn commented, clearing her throat. "Macey is going to be jazzed, I'm sure."
"Look, Quinn..." Haley sighed again, letting out a deep breath. "You can ask me whatever you want later, but right now just listen. Nathan spent the night last night."
"Oh, wow," Quinn said in surprise. "He did?"
"Yes," Haley said, biting her lip.
"I mean... What, do you need me to go get you the morning after pill or what?" Quinn laughed, letting out a deep breath.
"No- god, we're fine in that area, okay? I said you can ask questions later, but what I need from you right now is for you to text me after Nathan comes to pick up Nick. They saw his car in driveway and they'll recognize it if we show up when he's there," Haley said, letting out a sigh. "This is a mess."
"You probably almost threw up when your parents knocked on the door after you just had sex for the first time in like four years," Quinn joked, laughing at herself.
"You're so funny, Quinn. I'm dying laughing over here," Haley said flatly. "I made him climb out the window."
"Oh, Haley!" Quinn laughed again. "Well, I definitely have questions, but I will talk to you about them later."
"Thank you," Haley said, letting out a deep breath. "See you in just a little bit."
The phone clicked off and Haley stood up again, hurrying out of her bedroom.
"Sorry about that, you know how chatty Quinn and Clay can be," She said, smiling at them. "They said that Quinn will text me when it's a good time to go pick up Macey."
"A good time? For what?" Jimmy asked her, raising his eyebrows.
"She requires a decent amount of time before she's ready to communicate with other people," Haley said, shrugging her shoulders. "Shouldn't be too long. She'll be really excited to see you guys."
"Good, because we forgot to bring presents this time," Lydia laughed, smiling over at her.
"She has enough stuff, trust me," Haley said, shaking her head. "Hope you made enough of whatever you're making for me."
"Yes, I came into your house, used your food, but I did not make enough for you," Jimmy laughed, smiling over at her. "Who do you think I am, kid?"
"I should've known. I'm your favorite, of course," She said, nodding at them.
"Oh, honey, you are not our favorite," Lydia joked, patting her back. "But that was a nice try."
"Yeah, whatever," She hummed, shaking her head. "Dish me up."
xxxx
Nathan couldn't keep the grin off his face when he knocked on Clay's front door, shoving his hands into his pockets.
He felt pretty high on himself. Haley James. Wow.
That seemed to be the only thought running through his head since he woke up.
Wow. Ignoring the fact that he had not been with anyone since his divorce, he felt like his mind was blown.
Haley James knew her stuff.
He ran his hand through his hair, smiling at Clay when he opened the door.
"What's up, man?" Clay asked him, smirking slightly. "No, that wasn't an innuendo, but I wish I'd intended it to be."
Nathan laughed, smacking Clay's chest lightly. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Funny, because I got a text from you and eleven thirty last night begging me to keep Nicholas for the night," Clay said, smirking slightly. "I did not tell my wife about it, but her sister told her what happened this morning."
"I told her that I'd already asked you to watch Nick for the night, just because I figured it would be late when I got home, so that's the story we're sticking with," Nathan said, clearing his throat.
"Whatever you say," Clay responded, smirking at him. "I don't know if I've ever seen you look so chipper."
"I am chipper, aren't I?" Nathan said, shrugging his shoulders. "She shoved me out the window though."
"I'm sorry, did you want to meet her parents as the guy she hasn't told them about but he spent the night last night?" Clay laughed, shaking his head.
"Not even a little bit. If her house was three stories tall I still would have climbed out the window," Nathan said, shrugging his shoulders and shoving his hands into his pockets.
"We can talk more about this later, but I'm pretty sure we have to get rid of you as quickly as possible," Clay said, pulling the door open wider, gesturing for him to enter.
"Probably," Nathan said, clearing his throat and shoving his hands back into his pockets.
"Nick, your dad is here!" Clay called out, smirking over at Quinn when she quickly appeared in front of them.
"Hi Nathan," Quinn said, grinning at him.
"Good morning," Nathan greeted, rolling his eyes and clearing his throat. "I'm here to pick up Nicky and leave and not discuss anything about my personal life with you."
"But we're best buds," Quinn laughed, winking at him. "I don't want any information from you anyways. Anything I need to know, I'll get from her."
"Good luck with that," Nathan said, nodding at her.
"I'm in the kitchen!" Nick yelled out to get Nathan's attention.
Nathan smiled, heading into the kitchen, raising his eyebrows at the sight in front of him.
Nick and Macey were sitting at the table, an empty ice cream sandwich box in front of them, three wrappers next to each of them.
"Oh, wow," Nathan said, turning to look at the guilty parties quickly.
"Don't look at us," Clay laughed, holding up his hands defensively. "We each only ate one. They ate the rest."
"You let them eat three ice cream sandwiches each?" Nathan said, shaking his head and glancing at his watch. "It's like... 9:15."
"Best breakfast ever!" Macey greeted, waving at Nathan.
Nathan smiled at her, touching the corner of his mouth. "You got a little something here," He said, before gesturing to her face. "You too, Nicholas."
Nick shoved the remainder of his ice cream sandwich in his mouth, holding out the garbage to Nathan, who quickly took it, as well as the rest of the garbage, throwing them away.
"Are you picking me up too?" Macey asked Nathan, raising her eyebrows.
"No, your mom is picking you up. And you better get rid of any evidence before she gets here," Nathan laughed, shaking his head disapprovingly at the two adults in the room.
"Smart," Quinn said, wiping up some melted ice cream off the counter. "We never tell mom this, deal?" She said, holding out her pinky to Macey, who quickly hooked hers.
"I'm good at keeping secrets!" Macey hummed, winking at her.
"I bet you are," Quinn said, kissing her head quickly.
"Nick, go get your stuff all packed up, okay buddy?" Nathan said, smiling at him.
"Okay," Nick said, hopping off his chair. "Macey, let's go!"
Nathan glanced over into the livingroom as the kids ran off in that direction, ducking under quite an impressive blanket fort.
"Nice," He commented, sitting down at the table.
"Thank you. I take great pride in my blanket architecture," Clay confirmed, laughing quietly.
"Text from Haley," Quinn interrupted. "If Nathan is still there, he needs to leave now because we are on our way over."
Nathan laughed, standing up. "Yeah, time to go. I'll see you guys later, okay?" He said, clapping Clay on the back. "Nick, time to go! We get to clean up your room today!"
Nick groaned, coming out of the fort with his backpack and sighing. "Do I have to?"
"Yep," Nathan said, taking his bag from him. "Say goodbye to Macey. You'll see her tomorrow."
"Bye Macey!" Nick said, poking his head back into the fort and waving at her.
"Bye Nick. I'll miss you," Macey said sweetly. "Bye Natey!"
Nathan shook his head at the nickname, smiling slightly. "Bye Mace."
He nodded at the two other adults, resting his hand on Nick's shoulder and guiding him out of the house quickly.
xxxx
Haley let out a deep breath as her parents RV pulled up to Quinn's house, feeling herself finally relax when she saw Nathan's car was not out front.
This had turned into a stressful mess for her.
"Quinn's new house is so pretty," Lydia commented, climbing out of the RV and letting out a deep breath.
"It is," Haley responded, tucking her hair behind her ear.
She followed her parents up to the front door, shaking her head when they just went inside.
She locked her door every night, but she was especially grateful that she had last night because she couldn't imagine them just walking into her house in the morning.
"If I don't have an energetic seven year old in a hug within ten seconds, I'm going to cry!" Lydia called throughout the house.
"Grandma Lydia!" Macey yelled from the living room, rushing over and hugging her quickly.
"What? No hug for me?" Jimmy said, smiling and kneeling down, hugging the young girl.
Quinn and Clay exited the kitchen, quickly hurrying to greet the James parents.
"Nice of you to drop in without calling again! Good thing Haley called to warn me," Quinn joked, hugging her parents.
"I like it when they don't tell us they're coming!" Macey defended, frowning up at Quinn.
"See? At least someone likes us," Jimmy laughed, smiling at her.
"I like it too," Clay said, winking at Lydia.
"Oh, kiss ass," Lydia laughed, poking Clay's side and hugging him quickly.
"Mom," Haley said, scowling and shaking her head slightly.
"Whoops. Sorry," Lydia replied, smiling at her youngest daughter.
"We aren't staying long, don't worry," Jimmy assured them. "We know how much Haley hates having us around."
"That's not even a little bit true!" Haley defended, shaking her head. "I just like notice."
"Well, you're more than welcome to stay here if you want," Clay said, smirking slightly. "We don't have a guest bed yet, but I built an awesome fort for Macey last night," He said, gesturing towards the living room.
"Well, I think I'm going to need a tour of that," Lydia said, holding out one hand to Macey, grabbing onto Jimmy's with the other. "Show us the way."
"Oof. Let's hope my back can handle this," Jimmy joked, following the two into the living room.
Quinn and Clay both quickly turned to Haley, their eyebrows raised.
Haley sighed, shaking her head and following after her daughter and parents.
Some how Quinn had cornered Haley in the kitchen when she was getting a drink of water.
"Hi Hales," Quinn greeted her, a wide grin on her face.
"Hey," Haley said, turning around and looking at her, leaning against the counter.
"You look tired," Quinn commented, raising her eyebrows.
"You're making this really weird for me, Quinn," Haley said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.
"What are the odds that the first time you have sex in years out parents show up the morning after for a surprise visit? I mean, can you talk about bad timing?" Quinn laughed, shaking her head.
"You're telling me," Haley grumbled, letting out a deep breath.
"I have to say... I was not expecting you to drop that bomb on me this morning," Quinn said, smiling at her.
"Mom and Dad always show up out of the blue, it's not that surprising," Haley responded, knowing full well that was not what Quinn meant.
"Oh, shush. That didn't shock me at all," Quinn said, rolling her eyes. "I'll leave you alone about it. I just want to make sure you don't regret it."
"I don't," Haley confirmed, letting out a deep breath. "He's... Sweet, Quinn. I don't know what happened exactly. The whole day he was just this amazing, caring guy. I just judged him too quickly in the beginning I think. It's been a long time since I've felt this happy."
"High on... Life," Quinn said, winking at her. "Well I'm glad he's making you feel happy. I told you he was a good guy."
"As usual, you were right. You're always right," She replied, rolling her eyes and smiling at her. "I just wish I had the chance to actually talk to him this morning before I had to shove him out the window."
Quinn laughed, nodding at her. "Well we can take mom and dad tonight, if they don't mind sleeping on an air mattress or in their RV. Didn't think we'd need a guest bedroom put together so quickly because we figured we could pawn anyone off on you."
She shook her head, "No, they can stay at my house. It's not like he's going to stay over tonight. Might get a little complicated with the kids."
"I guess that's true," Quinn said, smiling at her. "He's a lucky guy."
"That's kind of weird to hear from my sister," Haley laughed, taking a drink of her water. "I don't think it will make anything weird between us, but I really hope it doesn't."
"Wait, does that mean it's not going to happen again?" Quinn asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Oh, no. It's going to happen again," Haley hummed, winking at her and letting out a deep breath. "There are just different things we have to figure out."
"What's up, gossip girls?" Clay questioned as he entered the room, pulling a face and shaking his head. "Forget I said that. It sounded better in my head."
"That right there, Haley. Those are the lines that do not work. If he says things like that to you, turn and run," Quinn joked, smiling over at Clay.
"Hey, that was mean," Clay mocked offense, placing his arm around Quinn's shoulders.
"I'm just kidding," Quinn teased, kissing his cheek.
"Hey, I just had a fantastic idea. Since you think I'm funny, let's have a baby," Clay said, raising his eyebrows at her.
"Oh, right now?" Quinn said, winking at him.
"Okay, this kind of flirty thing is not working for me," Haley said, shaking her head. "I don't know what it was, but I didn't like it."
"Words can hurt, Haley," Clay said, kissing Quinn's head quickly. "So let's hear the gossip that you're sharing. Let me know when to stop," He began, holding out his hands, before slowly spreading them apart.
"Clay!" Haley gasped, smacking his hands quickly. "Don't."
Quinn laughed, rolling her eyes at the interaction. "There is no gossip. She's not giving it up."
"She did give it up," Clay said, earning a smack from Quinn as well. "Ouch. Sorry, you're right. That was too far."
Haley crossed her arms, shaking her head. "You two are killing me."
"I don't know what he's told you, Haley, but this is kind of a big thing for him too," Clay said, clearing his throat.
Haley nodded at him, taking another drink of her water before setting her cup in the sink. "I think I should probably get a chance to talk to him before I start talking to you two about this."
"Selfishly, I disagree," Quinn laughed, nodding at her. "But of course, that makes sense."
Haley nodded, letting out a deep breath. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a blanket fort to go inspect."
xxxx
Nathan raised his eyebrows at the knock on his door, glancing over at the clock.
It was nearing ten o'clock at night.
Who would be at his door this late?
He stepped over slowly, pulling the door open. His confused look quickly turned into a smile when he saw who was standing in front of him.
"Haley," He greeted, quickly stepping aside and allowing her to enter.
"Hey, I can't stay long," Haley said, placing a kiss on his lips as she stepped past him, letting out a deep breath. "I told my parents I had to run to the store really quickly because I had been planning to all day, and I needed stuff for Macey's lunch."
"Is that my new nickname? The store?" He asked her, smirking slightly.
She laughed, shaking her head. "To be fair, I did actually run to the store," She said, smiling up at him.
Nathan grabbed onto her hand quickly, leading her over to the couch so that they could sit. "Don't worry, Nick is asleep," He informed her, letting out a deep breath.
She nodded, squeezing his hand lightly. "Sorry for not talking to you much today. My parents are a handful," She said, rolling her eyes. "It's not because I didn't want to talk to you, because I did. I do."
"Good," He responded, clearing his throat. He raised her hand to his lip, kissing her knuckles lightly. "Haley, you should know that I had absolutely no intentions-"
"I know," She said to him quickly, shaking her head and smiling. "I didn't either, honestly," She said, shifting herself so that she could face him. "I don't regret it at all... Do you?"
"No," He answered quickly, clearing his throat. "I meant it when I said that I really like you, Haley," He said, smiling at her.
"Good," She said, leaning forward and kissing him softly. "I like you a lot too, Nathan."
"I just think you're special," He said, resting his hand on her leg. "I'm sorry you haven't always been treated like you are."
She smiled at him, kissing him again. "So, this is going to make things a little more fun, yeah?" She hummed, winking at him.
He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "I have years worth of pent up sexual frustration built up in me, so be prepared," He joked, letting out a deep breath.
"I'm ready for it, believe me," She laughed, lightly tracing her hand over his cheek. "What do you think about a sleepover sometime this week? At my house, because I'm not climbing out of your window."
He smirked at her, tugging her closer to him. "I think it sounds like a lot of fun."
"Good," She said, letting out a deep breath. "I trust you, Nathan. I feel safe when I'm with you. I can't explain it, but just knowing you're there... It's a great feeling," She said, smiling at him.
He pressed a very delicate kiss to her forehead, closing his eyes and smiling slightly. "Good to know," He said, blinking his eyes open and looking down at her.
Haley checked the time on his watch quickly, grabbing him by the t-shirt and pulling him towards her.
"I think I can manage five more minutes until I have to go," She informed him, smiling.
He laughed, nodding at her. "Seven?"
"Seven works too."