Chapter 12
It was quiet in James home. It was calm as the sun trickled in through the window blinds, and usually, Haley felt uneasy with the calmness – growing up in a large family made the still eerie and unwelcome. Haley was the youngest, so naturally noise had ushered her into life. Without it, the silence pierced her eardrums. The alarm it sounded warned of distress or panic. Like when Kenzie, her older sister, was rushed to the hospital with a ruptured appendix. Or when her father lost his job, and everyone was too afraid to cry because they needed to be stoic for the family.
She was starting to get used to the quiet. With everyone gone, the absence of pleasant family chaos was growing. But she never enjoyed it.
Not until now. Lying on her bed, curled towards her and under her, was a sleeping boy. Nathan. His regularly creased brow was smooth with serenity. He was relaxed, his arm draped lightly over her still bare stomach. And a slight smile touched the corners of his lips.
Maybe he was dreaming, she thought happily running her finger down his forearm. Maybe he was painting an image right now in his mind. If he was, she mused, it appeared to be a good one. As she brought her hand up to his face to trace the soft contour of his mouth, she decided that she wanted to know exactly what he was thinking. What made that slyly content grin grace his gorgeous face? But she couldn't wake him.
What had happened last night...it was exactly how she wanted it to play out. She felt wanted. She felt loved. She felt safe. It had been all on her own terms. And god, Nathan had been so wonderfully gentle. He had taken care of her. He had found peace in her.
She was glad – glad for his moment of rest.
And with that revelation, just like irony, she heard the phone ring.
She tried to sound angry as she answered the phone, irritated at the disturbance, but she couldn't muster the negativity with Nathan's peaceful form so close. "Hello?" she asked softly, trying to preserve the moment.
"Haley?" a voice barked over the line. "Is Nathan there?"
"Mr. Scott," she whispered as though the name was a pebble poised to ripple the current waters. Maybe if she threw it softly enough, it wouldn't cause a disturbance. "Yeah, he's here," she said hesitantly.
There was a pause. Awkward. Impatient. Clumsy, even. As if the great Dan Scott needed time to search for the words. "Is he alright?" he finally croaked, his voice honest and full of reserved emotion.
She looked over at Nathan, still snug and covered by unawareness. She couldn't help but smile. "He's fine," she said, the grin spreading across her face evident even over the phone line.
"That's good." Click. He abruptly hung up. Not one for the small talk, she quietly chuckled to herself, shamefully thankful for the lost of Dan's presence.
"I'm fine, huh?" posed a husky, sleep-encrusted voice from within the covers. His body slide suggestively towards hers, pulling her closer in the process. He nipped at her neck for a moment and then settled with her body flush against his.
His cocky, lopsided grin drove her crazy – it made her insides ache. Even in the morning, his hair mussed and the blues of his eyes barely noticeable from the early squint, he was magnificent. He was fine. There was no contending that.
"Actually, I was just talking about another man in my bed," she quipped with a wicked gleam in her eye. "What was his name?" she asked slowly, looking upwards in fake contemplation. "Ted? Tom? Theo? It was something with a 'T', I swear," she said suppressing a giggle at the brief look of annoyance in his face.
He growled, biting her shoulder in the process. "That's...not...funny," he said kissing his way back up to her neck. She loosened into his hold. He was intoxicating. His warm breath on her skin felt like a climate she never wished to leave.
"Haley," he whispered again. Apparently, he was trying to get her attention.
"Maybe you should stop touching me if you want me to pay attention," she spoke distractedly before she even realized what she was saying. She blushed furiously once she recognized the weight and meaning of those words.
He just smiled. Pulling back for a minute to look at her. "Who was on the phone?" he finally asked.
"Would you believe a telemarketer?" She cocked one eyebrow in mock disbelief. "I mean, it's 6:30 in the morning. How dare they! I, for one, am outraged."
"Haley," he said shaking his head but smiling.
She looked into his eyes, begging him not to let the words ruin the moment. "It was your father."
"Oh." That was all.
She was nervous, and the thing that came natural to her during these moments was to ramble. "He was just calling to check up on you. Ask if you were ok. And then he just hung up. Not one to mince words, is h..."
He silenced her with a soft finger to her lips. "Haley," he sighed, "what would I do without you?" It was a real comment, full of meaning and intent. But right now wasn't a serious moment. She didn't want that. She sought after fun. And there was definitely a sure-fire way to have fun right now.
She smiled wickedly. "Hmm. I don't know," she pondered aloud, "but I know what you can do with me," she finished slowly dipping her head towards his. They kissed for what felt like hours, taking their time to explore everything just as they had last night. Perhaps, a little less rushed though, she thought. They had time.
She felt him pull back slightly. Her lips felt vulnerable without his, but she tried hard to push that thought away and concentrate on his voice. He started somberly, "You know, I still have to go back there." He looked defeated, as though reality was finally setting in.
She brushed the sleepy hair off his furrowed brow. "I know," she whispered, the words so close, she could feel her lips brush his, "but not right now."
They had time to worry. Time to mend what could be salvaged from the tumultuous events. Time to deal with what needed to be removed or discarded. But not right now. Right now was about them, together, in a warm bed showered in the morning's first light. It was simple. It was pure. It was precisely what they both needed.
She leaned forward, craving his touch as she filled the sliver of space between them. In her house full of light and promise, she captured his lips in a warm kiss.
She melted into his embrace as he kissed her in return. This was right, she thought to herself right before his lips and hands and breath and self made it impossible for her to think at all. It was all right.
*******************
Ivan has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but unfortunately, we still have one big ole mess to clean up throughout the coming weeks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author's Note: You know, I wrote this story a long time ago. I thought this was where it ended, but as I've been rereading it, little ideas have sparked into my mind. Should I continue it? Or should I just leave it like this? I really don't want to mess up the nice tidy ending, but...I don't know. I'll see what the feedback suggests : )
It was quiet in James home. It was calm as the sun trickled in through the window blinds, and usually, Haley felt uneasy with the calmness – growing up in a large family made the still eerie and unwelcome. Haley was the youngest, so naturally noise had ushered her into life. Without it, the silence pierced her eardrums. The alarm it sounded warned of distress or panic. Like when Kenzie, her older sister, was rushed to the hospital with a ruptured appendix. Or when her father lost his job, and everyone was too afraid to cry because they needed to be stoic for the family.
She was starting to get used to the quiet. With everyone gone, the absence of pleasant family chaos was growing. But she never enjoyed it.
Not until now. Lying on her bed, curled towards her and under her, was a sleeping boy. Nathan. His regularly creased brow was smooth with serenity. He was relaxed, his arm draped lightly over her still bare stomach. And a slight smile touched the corners of his lips.
Maybe he was dreaming, she thought happily running her finger down his forearm. Maybe he was painting an image right now in his mind. If he was, she mused, it appeared to be a good one. As she brought her hand up to his face to trace the soft contour of his mouth, she decided that she wanted to know exactly what he was thinking. What made that slyly content grin grace his gorgeous face? But she couldn't wake him.
What had happened last night...it was exactly how she wanted it to play out. She felt wanted. She felt loved. She felt safe. It had been all on her own terms. And god, Nathan had been so wonderfully gentle. He had taken care of her. He had found peace in her.
She was glad – glad for his moment of rest.
And with that revelation, just like irony, she heard the phone ring.
She tried to sound angry as she answered the phone, irritated at the disturbance, but she couldn't muster the negativity with Nathan's peaceful form so close. "Hello?" she asked softly, trying to preserve the moment.
"Haley?" a voice barked over the line. "Is Nathan there?"
"Mr. Scott," she whispered as though the name was a pebble poised to ripple the current waters. Maybe if she threw it softly enough, it wouldn't cause a disturbance. "Yeah, he's here," she said hesitantly.
There was a pause. Awkward. Impatient. Clumsy, even. As if the great Dan Scott needed time to search for the words. "Is he alright?" he finally croaked, his voice honest and full of reserved emotion.
She looked over at Nathan, still snug and covered by unawareness. She couldn't help but smile. "He's fine," she said, the grin spreading across her face evident even over the phone line.
"That's good." Click. He abruptly hung up. Not one for the small talk, she quietly chuckled to herself, shamefully thankful for the lost of Dan's presence.
"I'm fine, huh?" posed a husky, sleep-encrusted voice from within the covers. His body slide suggestively towards hers, pulling her closer in the process. He nipped at her neck for a moment and then settled with her body flush against his.
His cocky, lopsided grin drove her crazy – it made her insides ache. Even in the morning, his hair mussed and the blues of his eyes barely noticeable from the early squint, he was magnificent. He was fine. There was no contending that.
"Actually, I was just talking about another man in my bed," she quipped with a wicked gleam in her eye. "What was his name?" she asked slowly, looking upwards in fake contemplation. "Ted? Tom? Theo? It was something with a 'T', I swear," she said suppressing a giggle at the brief look of annoyance in his face.
He growled, biting her shoulder in the process. "That's...not...funny," he said kissing his way back up to her neck. She loosened into his hold. He was intoxicating. His warm breath on her skin felt like a climate she never wished to leave.
"Haley," he whispered again. Apparently, he was trying to get her attention.
"Maybe you should stop touching me if you want me to pay attention," she spoke distractedly before she even realized what she was saying. She blushed furiously once she recognized the weight and meaning of those words.
He just smiled. Pulling back for a minute to look at her. "Who was on the phone?" he finally asked.
"Would you believe a telemarketer?" She cocked one eyebrow in mock disbelief. "I mean, it's 6:30 in the morning. How dare they! I, for one, am outraged."
"Haley," he said shaking his head but smiling.
She looked into his eyes, begging him not to let the words ruin the moment. "It was your father."
"Oh." That was all.
She was nervous, and the thing that came natural to her during these moments was to ramble. "He was just calling to check up on you. Ask if you were ok. And then he just hung up. Not one to mince words, is h..."
He silenced her with a soft finger to her lips. "Haley," he sighed, "what would I do without you?" It was a real comment, full of meaning and intent. But right now wasn't a serious moment. She didn't want that. She sought after fun. And there was definitely a sure-fire way to have fun right now.
She smiled wickedly. "Hmm. I don't know," she pondered aloud, "but I know what you can do with me," she finished slowly dipping her head towards his. They kissed for what felt like hours, taking their time to explore everything just as they had last night. Perhaps, a little less rushed though, she thought. They had time.
She felt him pull back slightly. Her lips felt vulnerable without his, but she tried hard to push that thought away and concentrate on his voice. He started somberly, "You know, I still have to go back there." He looked defeated, as though reality was finally setting in.
She brushed the sleepy hair off his furrowed brow. "I know," she whispered, the words so close, she could feel her lips brush his, "but not right now."
They had time to worry. Time to mend what could be salvaged from the tumultuous events. Time to deal with what needed to be removed or discarded. But not right now. Right now was about them, together, in a warm bed showered in the morning's first light. It was simple. It was pure. It was precisely what they both needed.
She leaned forward, craving his touch as she filled the sliver of space between them. In her house full of light and promise, she captured his lips in a warm kiss.
She melted into his embrace as he kissed her in return. This was right, she thought to herself right before his lips and hands and breath and self made it impossible for her to think at all. It was all right.
*******************
Ivan has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but unfortunately, we still have one big ole mess to clean up throughout the coming weeks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author's Note: You know, I wrote this story a long time ago. I thought this was where it ended, but as I've been rereading it, little ideas have sparked into my mind. Should I continue it? Or should I just leave it like this? I really don't want to mess up the nice tidy ending, but...I don't know. I'll see what the feedback suggests : )