AUTHOR'S NOTE: In keeping with the tradition of all author's notes for this story: here is my apology for taking so long to update, here is me complaining about how I'm struggling to write anything decent, insert massive thank you to anyone that has reviewed because it truly does help me write and sorry for any typos/mistakes/crappy writing. Oh, and the usual disclaimer that I don't own anything.
Nathan scrutinized his reflection in the mirror for the eight time that morning. Not that he was counting specifically, but with each perusal came a fresh shirt and the pile of 7 shirts behind him on his bed made it kind of obvious.
Finally settling on blue and white shirt that met his "casual-but-not-too-casual" criteria, he gave his hair one last tug in the direction he wanted it to go before grabbing his keys and heading out the door before he could second - or ninth - guess his appearance.
He only had one shot for the perfect first impression. The professional basketball player that still resided in him knew that confidence was key at this point; he had to embrace the pressure and use it to his advantage, not let himself buckle under it and choke. He felt more pressure riding on his first meeting with Halo23 than he did when he first played against Cleveland in his Eastern Conference rookie game. After ghosting him for days, her sudden and unexpected reply saying she wanted to meet felt like a second chance to Nathan. He wasn't going to blow it.
It had taken Nathan the best part of a day before he realized that Halo23 hadn't replied to his text saying he wanted to meet. He'd crashed into one of the best sleeps he'd ever had and spent most of the following day re-reading and enjoying their sexy exchange the night before. He'd spent the time realizing that there couldn't be a more perfect woman for him on the planet and was filled with nothing but positivity towards the blossoming relationship.
But as the sun started to set and his phone remained silent, Nathan's doubts started to creep in. A simple "is everything alright?" message had been fired off, but there had been nothing but silence for five, long, agonizing days. To make things worse, he'd met Haley in the Tree Hill High staff room, looking so professional and grown-up, so beautiful in a way he'd never seen before, and ended up making an idiot of himself trying to brush off that girl from the bar who happened to be one of Haley's colleagues. As if things couldn't get worse, he'd had to admit to Haley that his relationship with the "someone special" he'd mentioned to her had fizzled out. Nothing bruised the ego more than having to admit to his ex-girlfriend that he wasn't as irresistible as everyone thought he was.
He'd heard his phone go off as he was driving away from the school, but hadn't had the usual knee-jerk reaction to dive for it, as he would have done a week ago when every message was from Halo23. It had been a shock to get home and discover that she had replied and that, without any explanation for her five-day silence, she wanted to meet him. Nathan wasn't going to question it.
There's a little cafe in a town called Tree Hill that I think you'd like, he typed out. It's called Karen's Cafe, on the corner of Front and Grace streets. Friday, 10am?
He knew the cafe would be safe - Karen's cool and cozy business was somewhere he could relax and feel comfortable and he had the feeling Halo23 would love it, too. He knew Brooke had organised something called "manipedis" - whatever that was - with her mom, Karen, Peyton and Haley for the day before the wedding, so that ruled out any curious eyes from being around the cafe that morning. On a stroke of genius, he told Lucas he had a really important meeting and would catch up with him later, but encouraged him to spend some quality time with Keith, some father/son bonding that he hadn't ever gotten from his biological father.
It was all going to work out perfectly. Not caring that it was only just after 9am, Nathan jumped into the car and headed away from the beach and into town. As his foot pressed the accelerator, he couldn't help but feel like he was heading towards his future
Haley braced her arms on the steering wheel of her car, parked across the road from Karen's Cafe, as she worked to slow down and deepen her breaths. It wasn't even 9:30am and she still had plenty of time to prepare for her first meeting with Devil12, but Haley James was nothing if not organised and a planner.
She knew she had set her location search settings on MetYet to a 150 mile radius, but she had expected to match up with someone in Raleigh, or even Charleston. When Devil12 had suggested meeting at the very place she'd spent more time in aside from her own home (although her mom would like to argue it was the opposite) Haley's stomach twisted with a potent cocktail of excitement and anxiety. It was all getting real: this man that made her laugh and smile and orgasm through a phone was going to be meeting her in a little over half an hour in her own home town.
After some frantic panicking and using her best negotiating skills on Brooke to pull out of the scheduled pre-wedding nail appointment without a legitimate reason, Haley had agreed to meet Devil12 at Karen's Cafe. Leaning against the cool brick on the shady side of the building, Haley thumbed through the messages she'd exchanged with him the previous day, the fluttering in her stomach intensifying with anticipation.
How will I recognize you when I see you?
Devil12's reply had made her swoon as if she were in a Jane Austen novel: I'll be the one whose heart is racing
Seriously though, I've been waiting a long time to find someone like you, Halo. I'll just know.
You've been waiting a long time to find someone like me, or me? Haley had fired back, a smile firmly fixed in place.
I think you know the answer to that ;-)
You're quite charming, you know that?
You haven't even seen my A game, Angel.
Once again, her heart did a somersault inside her chest. He had taken to calling her Angel on occasion, and the fact that he remembered why Halo had been her childhood nickname and the overall swoon-factor of the name had completely melted her.
Oh lord, help me if that's true!
Feeling more confident about what she was getting herself into, Haley tucked her phone back in her bag, pulled her shoulders back and stepped out of the car, feeling more at ease after re-reading their exchange. She knew being early would pay off - aside from giving her a chance to settle in and keep a careful eye on any man who looked to be in his mid-twenties to mid-thirties that walked through the door by himself, she knew the cafe would be quiet at that time of day and she'd have the chance to relax and enjoy the experience without feeling too self-conscious.
As she neared the door, she stepped back to let a young couple with a baby stroller enter first. The proud dad had one arm protectively on the small of his wife's back - Haley knew they were married because she couldn't ignore the way the ring had gleamed in the sunlight - the other holding the door open. The woman, who looked about Haley's age or perhaps a little younger, smiled adoringly up at him in thanks. The moment caused a wave of envy and warmth to spill over Haley; she wanted that: the kind, protective man, the diamond on her finger gripped around the handle of a baby stroller, the private smiles of happiness. She wanted love. In a few short weeks, she'd gone from thinking she'd never feel the way she'd felt 10 years ago in Nathan's arms, to remembering that there was a possibility someone else was out there for her - that lightning could strike twice.
"Karen, what are you doing here?"
The dark haired eponymous owner of the cafe looked up. "Haley, hi."
Immediately recognize her distracted tone, Haley moved quickly towards the counter. "Is everything ok? Why aren't you at the salon with Brooke?"
"I was on my way there, but Lisa called me in to say there had been a huge delivery to the back door and she couldn't move it," Karen nodded towards the young waitress who was wiping a table in the corner. "Then I get here to find the order is completely messed up and they've only delivered half of what I put through, but of course they've invoiced the full amount..."
Haley glanced at the bills Karen had been studying, momentarily distracted from the reason she'd come to the cafe in the first place. "Can I help with anything? You shouldn't be moving all the stock by yourself, anyway."
Karen waved away the concern. "No, no, it's fine. Luckily some hired muscle happened to walk in just when I needed it. I just have to do some stocktake as I unpack."
"I've got it covered, Karen," a familiar, deep voice interrupted. Over the delectable aromas of brewed coffee and sugary muffins, Haley inhaled a lungful of something even more delicious. It was clean and masculine and made her mouth water. "I've been checking the contents of the boxes as I move them."
"Speaking of hired muscle!" Karen exclaimed, happily. "Nathan, you didn't have to do that."
"It's not a problem. And I'm not actually hired muscle, Karen. You offered me a slice of your apple pie in exchange for doing the heavy lifting. Pie doesn't count as currency."
"You and your fancy business studies," Karen swatted Nathan's sizable bicep, laughing.
"Seriously, it's fine Karen. I've cleared most of the boxes from the doorway and it won't take me long to write up the numbers for you. Go, do your wedding stuff with Brooke."
Haley had quickly moved past her surprise of seeing Karen at the cafe, but the shock of seeing Nathan was harder to budge. She didn't know how long she'd been gaping at him until he looked over the counter and saw her for the first time. He seemed just as startled to see her as she was to see him.
"Haley?" The expression on Nathan's face resembled something close to panic. Haley frowned slightly at his reaction as she watched his eyes slide to his watch before taking in the empty cafe and back to her face. "What are you doing here?"
"He's got a point... what are you doing here, Haley? I thought the appointments were at 9 o'clock?" Karen frowned.
Under the scrutiny of a pair of warm brown eyes and a second pair of deep, clear blue, Haley felt herself grow warm. This wasn't part of the plan! She might have been able to handle meeting Devil12 with Karen nearby, but Nathan was a completely different story. The eyes and body she'd tried to shut out since she first brushed past him at Clay and Quinn's new home absolutely could not be around to witness the first time she met someone who had become so special to her. Someone, in fact, who might finally be able to erase the damage Nathan had caused to her heart and her ego when he left her ten years ago.
"Ah, umm..." Haley's brain whirred, trying to piece everything together. It wasn't too long before Devil12 would be walking through the door and she had to put a stop to their meeting. "Coffee! I'm here for coffee!"
Karen's usually omniscient eyes narrowed in confusion. "I got held up with something so I thought I'd bring coffee for everyone to make up for it," Haley continued in a rush. "Can I get four... no, five coffees to take away please?"
"Well, I guess we can both turn up late together," Karen finally turned to the coffee machine and laid out five takeaway cups on the counter. "Are you sure you're ok to finish up here, Nathan?"
"What? Oh yeah, uh, sure... of course."
"Ihavetogotothebathroom" Haley rushed out, and without making eye contact with the pair behind the counter, she dashed off in the direction of the restrooms.
Throwing herself into the nearest stall, she didn't know if she wanted to throw up, cry, or throw up while crying. She hadn't expected any of this to happen at all and she'd wanted this first meeting to go so perfectly. With shaky hands, she pulled her phone out of her bag and noticed it was 10 minutes until their arranged time. It took Haley three attempts to press the right icon for the app and type the letters out correctly.
I'm sorry, I can't do this.
Haley collapsed onto the closed toilet seat lid, not caring how disgusting the action might be, and put her head in her hands. Wasn't she allowed something good to happen, just this once? Or was Nathan being at Karen's some kind of cosmic payback for all the dates she had bailed on in the past?
The quiet ping of her phone had her sitting upright, almost too afraid to look at the screen. What if she'd blown it with Devil12 already? She'd already ghosted him for nearly a week when he first suggested meeting in person - what if he thought she just wasn't interested? He could easily move on, block her profile and throw himself back into the pool of women who had signed up to MetYet looking for a serious relationship. The guy was sweet, funny, charming as hell and - from what Haley could see - had stomach muscles that looked like they had been carved from marble; he would have no problem charming his way into another woman's phone and heart with another cheesy pick-up line.
Haley took a deep breath and looked at her phone.
Halo? Is everything ok?
"Oh God," she muttered quietly, closing her eyes to shut out her surroundings. She had bailed on him literally minutes before he was due to arrive and he was checking if she was ok? She felt like the worst person on earth.
I know it's last minute and I'm sorry if you've had to travel ages just to meet me, but something came up.
"Haley?" Karen's voice came from the other side of the toilet stall door, accompanied by a small knock. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine!" dropping her phone back into her purse, Haley threw open the door and smiled brightly at the older woman. "Just... you know... really needed to pee!"
"Ok..." Karen looked at her curiously. "Are you sure you're ok, sweetie?"
A small part of Haley wanted to break down in Karen's comforting arms and tell her how Nathan continued to have this effect on her and she was afraid he always will and she'd never be able to fall in love with someone else again, but thankfully, the larger, more rational part of her knew that this wasn't the time or place. Tossing her neatly curled hair over her shoulder and turning the wattage of her smile up to blinding levels, she nodded like a bobble head figurine on a car dashboard.
"Of course! Let's get going!"
She relieved Karen of the coffee carrier tray and strode back into the cafe as confidently as she could. The large room was empty and she studiously avoided looking back at the counter to see if Nathan was still there. She threw the door open, crossed the street to her car and waited for Karen to catch up.
Haley had no idea that if she had looked back, she would have seen Nathan Scott still standing behind the cafe counter, looking forlornly at his phone.