Author's note: I'm really sorry I haven't updated this story in months. Honestly, I'd kind of given up on it. Then I started writing something totally different (a darker crime fic, which I'm so excited to share), but the ending to this chapter hit me so I had to get it out while I could. I'd like to finish this, but honestly I don't see it happening any time soon, so please enjoy this instalment :)

Anyway, if you're still reading this story or if you've just found it, here's a quick recap of the last few chapters to save you having to go back and read them again (I had to, and it was pretty torturous...)

Haley's getting on really well with the guy she's been chatting with through a dating app (so well, in fact, that they've exchanged sexy texts and photos of their body parts...) but she can't stop lusting after Nathan, and that's getting in the way of her moving forward. After a few drinks at Brooke and Lucas's wedding, Brooke and Peyton convince Haley that the only way to get over Nathan is to get under him... meanwhile, Nathan's just worked out that the amazing woman he's fallen for online is actually Haley. The new, mature version of him knows that he's got to tell her the truth as soon as he can, but it's not going to be easy to erase their history and live happily ever after, is it?

It was times like these when Nathan wished he could have a drink.

Not that he couldn't, but his intensive rehabilitation following his career-ending injury had involved a serious mental stock-take of his life. Abusing alcohol to solve life's problems was in his blood; cutting back on his drinking was the first thing he had to change.

As a result, his respite trip to the bar had been pretty unproductive. Haley had been the only thing he could think of, and he hadn't been able to stop , even if it was somewhat easier having her out of his direct eyeline. She had been completely adorable, giggly and tipsy with the girls in the limo on the way to the reception, and it had been doing some twisty, fluttery thing to his insides. He couldn't stop thinking about how hot her gaze had made him as they stood across from each other at the church, how her small, warm body had felt next to his as they walked arm-in-arm beside each other down the aisle.

His hand kept twitching towards his phone tucked away in his pocket, desperate to connect with her on MetYet, but he knew he couldn't. The next conversation he had to have with Haley, he was going to have to look into her heart-meltingly beautiful brown eyes and tell her the truth: that he was Devil12, the man she'd been chatting with online, and he was falling for her all over again.

He'd deliberately kept his back to the dance floor as he ordered his soda water and lime, so he hadn't seen the couple until they were right beside him, greeting him with friendly smiles and warm, welcoming hugs.

"Nathan, it's so good to see you, son."

"How are you?"

"We missed you at dinner the other week. You should have joined us."

"Didn't I tell you, Jimmy? I knew he would have gotten taller since we last saw him. And more handsome, too."

"Stop hitting on the kid, Lydia. You're embarrassing him."

Nathan found himself sandwiched between Jimmy and Lydia James, frozen in surprise as the older couple continued to talk.

"I'm not embarrassing him. I'm just stating facts. Am I embarrassing you, honey?"

Nathan swallowed hard at their expectant gazes. He turned towards Lydia, her brown eyes so full of warmth, the same golden brown intensity as her daughter's. "Uh, no Mrs James."

"See, Jimmy? The boy was a professional basketball player. He would have heard a lot worse than old ladies like me calling him handsome." Lydia patted Nathan's arm.

"We were really sorry to see you lose your game, Nate." Jimmy's expression was solemn. "But it's good to have you back in town. How have you been?"

"He's been avoiding us, that's how he's been," Lydia answered instead.

"I was talking about his knee, darling."

"I've been good, thank you Mr James," Nathan nodded politely. "I haven't been avoiding you, Mrs James, I just..."

"Didn't want to come to dinner at your ex-girlfriend's parents' house with your new business partner and his new girlfriend?" Lydia supplied.

"Lydia, would you just let the boy talk?" Jimmy fondly pulled his wife to his side, shaking his head.

"No, it's ok," Nathan rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "She pretty much summed it up. I didn't really think I'd be a welcome dinner guest."

"Why ever not?"

It amazed Nathan that Lydia James could ask him that with a straight face. "Uh, well... because the last time I saw you guys was at high school graduation, three days after I had broken up with your daughter."

"Oh Nathan," Lydia sighed in that maternal way he'd never experienced from his own mom before - so fond and exasperated but full of love. "You and Haley are ancient history. High School sweethearts. If we held grudges that long, it'd probably give Jimmy here ulcers. You're always welcome in our house ,sweetheart."

"I agree," Jimmy nodded. "Have to say, you're a helluva lot more welcome now you're not creeping in through Haley's window all hours of the night."

Nathan stared at them in shock. Lydia merely smiled back. "Now honey, tell us about Quinn's new boyfriend. He seems like a lovely young man. Not as handsome as you of course..."

Jimmy made another noise of protest, and for a few minutes Nathan was able to forget about the one girl he hadn't stopped thinking about, whose parents' company he relaxed into while they chatted about Quinn and Clay, and the new agency. The respite he'd been so desperately seeking was granted, but only for a few minutes.

"Hi honey!"

Nathan didn't even need to turn around to know that Lydia's exuberant smile was directed at Haley, but he did so anyway, feeling the thud in his solar plexus at the sight of her as he drank her in.

She is so beautiful... the thought danced through his head as he took in the way her rebellious waves fell from the tidy hairstyle she'd had earlier in the day, and how her cheeks had pinkened into the prettiest shade.

"Hey," Haley approached cautiously, clearly thrown by the sight of her parents commandeering her ex-boyfriend's attention. "What's going on here?"

"Nathan here was just telling us about finishing off his degree. Did you know that he got an 84 on his last exam?" Lydia's arm wrapped proudly around Nathan's shoulders, and he experienced his own burst of pride at being celebrated for something rather than basketball - and academics, of all things.

"Wow, an 84... I didn't know. That's great, Nathan."

"Well, I had a great tutor back in high school," Nathan smiled at her. It was hardly the time to confess that she had helped him much more recently than then, with her adorable mnemonic to help him with his business exam. "Something must've stuck."

Jimmy leaned over to pull his daughter into his arms. "You did a great job up there, Haley Bob. Well done."

"I didn't really do anything, Dad."

"Well you didn't trip over and you looked beautiful standing there. Didn't she, Nathan?"

Nathan startled at the question, but his eyes immediately took the chance to meet Haley's. "Of course she did."

He couldn't help the smirk that curved his lips at the sight of her blush deepening. It was something he never thought he'd tire of seeing.

"Don't get too used to the sight, Jimmy. That might be the only time we see her walk up the aisle."

"Mom!"

Lydia grinned, pulling Haley away from her husband's arms and into her own. "Oh honey, you know we're only saying what every parent with a single daughter nearing 30 would say."

"Mom, you have four out of your seven children married, and you have ten grandchildren. You don't need to rush me down the aisle."

"All I'm saying is you're not getting any younger... What about you, Nathan?" Lydia's shrewd eyes sparkled with mischief as she turned them back towards the taller man.

"I'm not getting any younger, either, Mrs James."

Much to Nathan's satisfaction, his wry response earned him a patented Haley James eye-roll-and-glare. The fancy decor around them melted away and it was just like he was back in the James' kitchen as a teenager, entertaining his serious and studious girlfriend while her parents joked around.

"Oh honey, listen!" Lydia said, grabbing her husband's arm and tugging on it lightly. "They're playing our song! Let's go and dance."

Nathan watched Haley's face scrunch in the most adorable way. "Mom, they're playing Billie Eilish..."

The older couple were already heading towards the black and white checkered flooring that marked the dancefloor when Lydia turned around and made her face at her youngest daughter. "Well, duh..."

Nathan couldn't help but laugh at the joyful expressions on Haley's parents' faces as they began jumping about to the fast beat. His smile widened as he glanced down at the smaller woman beside him, whose own face almost mirrored her mother's earlier expression of exasperation and fondness.

"My parents, ladies and gentleman."

"They're great. They always have been."

"Yeah..." Haley tucked the errant strands of hair behind her ear, suddenly looking shy. "I just thought... it might have been weird talking to them or something... so I came to rescue you."

Nathan shrugged, "They were surprisingly welcoming. It was nice to catch up. But..." he hesitated for a second, "I'm glad you came over. I wanted to talk to you about something."

Haley pulled her lower lip in between her teeth and Nathan had to bite back his groan at the sight. No lipstick in the world could turn him on the way Haley's bitten-pink lips could. When she released it, the flesh was swollen and shiny, a bullseye marker for Nathan's gaze. He tucked his hands into his pockets before he could do something stupid like touch her.

"Look, if this is about after the ceremony earlier, then it's fine..."

"What?" Nathan blinked, thinking back to the way Haley's gaze and heated him from the inside out. "Oh, no, it's just...look... do you, uh, have your phone on you?"

Haley's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Well, it's in my bag. I can go and get it..."

"No, no, it's ok... um..." Nathan shook his head in an attempt to clear his cluttered brain. That wasn't how he wanted to start, but he didn't have the words to approach something as huge as this.

"I'm Devil12 and I know you're Halo23 and I think I'm falling in love with you all over again, and I know I broke your heart and treated you horribly but you said you forgive me so do you want to try us again for real and go out with me sometime?"

Ok, so he had the words, just not the delivery.

"So, Hales, you know that guy you sent hot photos to online? It's me..."

Yeah. No.

Before he even had the chance to fumble for the words, Jake's voice boomed out from the loudspeakers as the background music faded out.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the bride and groom to take the floor for their first dance."

On the other side of the room, Nathan saw his friend grinning into the microphone. A lump of nerves stuck in Nathan's throat like tar as he watched Brooke and his brother step onto the dancefloor. As Kip Moore's Hey Pretty Girl began to play, Nathan's nerves over the difficult conversation he knew he had to have with Haley were replaced with a new fear; he knew he only had a matter of minutes before the rest of the bridal party were expected to join them, before he and Haley were expected to dance together in front of everyone.

"They look so happy"

"Yeah."

"This song is so cute. It's perfect for them."

Nathan could only nod and smile in reply as Haley continued to be oblivious to their upcoming doom. At that precise moment, the only thing Nathan wanted to do less than confess his online identity to Haley was to dance in front of so many people.

"Come on," she reached out, and with a surprisingly strong grip, tugged him out onto the dancefloor. Peyton and Keith were already out there. Further around, Nathan spotted Brooke's dad asking Karen to dance.

The next thing Nathan knew, he was in the middle of the dance floor, Haley's small, warm hand inside of his, another burning through the shoulder of his jacket. He couldn't hide his nerves as his other hand trembled against the small of Haley's back.

Haley smiled up at him and Nathan was relieved to see she looked nervous, too. "Remember prom?"

"Oh god, how could I forget? I'm surprised you still have your toes after that night."

Haley laughed and - was she moving even closer to him? "It wasn't that bad. I mean, you completely destroyed my shoes and Brooke was furious, but your dancing wasn't that bad."

"Haley, all I did was stand there and hold you."

"That's all you have to do now."

Nathan swallowed thickly. She had definitely stepped closer to him, close enough to feel her. The light pressure of his chest against hers caused the swell above the neckline of her dress to grow. She was gazing up at him as if she trusted him implicitly. It was too hot, too sweet, too much Haley for him to handle.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Uhh..." How was he supposed to function with her standing so close to him, looking so beautiful? "I was just..."

Haley removed her hand from his, sliding it along his bicep and up around his shoulder to meet her other hand. He could feel the gentle pressure of her as they linked behind his neck. It made him want to dip his head forward, to kiss her forehead, her lips, her breasts...

"Um..."

"Come on, Nathan. What are you thinking about?"

The gentle change in question helped him speak at last. He didn't have to lie, this one he could answer honestly. "You."

"Me?"

"I can't stop thinking about you, Haley," he whispered, the feeling of vulnerability stealing his voice. "You're so beautiful."

He watched carefully as something shifted behind her eyes. "Yeah..." she murmured. "Come with me."

Once again, her strength surprised him as she tugged at his arm, pulling them off the dance floor and out of the room. He jumped at the sound of cheering and applause, but saw that the other guests' attention were still firmly on the newlyweds enjoying their first dance. Lucas had dipped Brooke until the ends of her dark hair swept the floor, before effortlessly pulling her back into his arms with a twirl. Nathan let Haley lead him out of the building, following blindly until they were outside on the gravel driveway. He barely glimpsed the limo's driver standing by the gardens having a smoke, before Haley pulled the door open and pushed him inside.

"Haley, what are you..."

The door shut with a quiet click, and suddenly Nathan found himself in the middle of a dream where Haley was straddling his thighs, hovering above him breathlessly.

"Kiss me, Nathan..."

"Wh..." He didn't have time to finish when Haley's face descended even further and suddenly, for the first time in over ten years, he was kissing her.

And God, it was like everything he'd never let himself imagine in those long years. She tasted of champagne, fruity and delicate. The slight stickiness of the lip gloss she was wearing held their kisses together longer as she coaxed and teased his mouth against hers.

"Haley, we... the wedding... we can't..."

Why he was protesting this, he didn't know. How he even found the words was a mystery.

"Do you want me, Nathan?"

Had anything ever sounded as sexy as she did in that moment? As a former professional athlete, Nathan had to admit he'd been asked that by many women over many years. Only now, he'd never felt so desperate for anything in his life.

"God, yes."

He felt Haley's hands cup his face, her thumbs stroking the planes of his cheekbones. "Then have me."

Her lips were on his again as her hands slid down to work the tie knotted at his throat. Finally, Nathan allowed his own hands to wander, to the creamy satin skin that teased him under her floaty bridesmaids dress.

"You're so sexy, Nathan. I can't believe how sexy you are."

The feeling was more than mutual, but as Haley's lips attacked the warm skin of his throat where his pulse jumped underneath, Nathan he was going to die with how good she felt. His hands slid up her thighs and were halfway over the globes of her ass before he understood that she was wearing a thong.

"You're so beautiful, Haley. You've always been so beautiful..."

As they both gasped for air, Haley's hands rubbing the muscles of his chest was the first indication that she'd managed to undo the buttons of his shirt. Both his shirt and his jacket had bunched up at his elbow, and he twisted frantically to shake them off his arms completely.

"I want you, Nathan."

He didn't register when her hands left his body and twisted behind her back, but a second later, her dress dropped down her body like a marionette cut from its strings. He didn't understand the logistics of her dress, but he thought he'd at least have the forewarning of a strapless bra. Nathan could only gasp stupidly at the sight of her rosy pink nipples exposed in the darkness of the car.

"Fuck, you're beautiful."

There wasn't another word to describe her. Well, there probably was, but she'd never tutored him in English and he didn't see the point in learning anything new now apart from how that soft, supple flesh tasted. With her kiss-swollen lips glistening and her cheeks as flushed and dusky as her nipples, Haley looked like some Raphaelite painting, or a goddess from ancient Greece. They'd never gotten this far, in all of their teenage fumblings. The memory of him groping her beneath her shirts, but over her bra, was still catalogued in the library of his brain, but this was new territory.

He lunged forward, using his tongue and his lips in tandem to reach every part of flesh within his mouth's grasp. Haley spurred him on with loud, encouraging moans, a soundtrack he'd never tire of hearing. Her grip in his hair would have been painful, but there was nothing left in Nathan's mind but pure pleasure.

"I've dreamt of doing this for so long," he whispered, loving the way his breath puckered the delicate skin of Haley's areolas. "You feel amazing. I can't believe this is real."

"It's real, Nathan. Ohh God yes, a little harder, baby..."

He now knew that the sound of Haley's voice dripping with lust was even better than he'd fantasized about in those lonely nights after they had traded sexy photos of themselves. Being here, with her, like this, was more than he could have dreamed.

"Your breasts are amazing, like they were built for my hands. Fuck, the photos were one thing but nothing compares to being with you like this..."

The cold gust of distance hit Nathan a second later. He'd barely begun to understand why her chest had gotten further to reach, why his lips were met with empty air, when her voice, brittle with tension, sliced between them.

"What photos?"