AN: Thanks for the reviews! I have the next chapter done already, but I have to edit a bit. REVIEW PLEASE! Enjoy! And be warned, this chapter is sappy! Usually, I'm not sappy, I'm more sarcastic in my other fics but cmon. I had to be a complete sap for this chapter!
Chapter 23: A Tall Tale for the Cocktail Parties
"How could I say no?" I whispered softly into his ear. His face immediately shone with radiance. His blue eyes sparkled like sapphire pools. My hand gently caressed his face as I slowly leaned in.
Our lips met and the kiss was gentle and sweet. He put his hands on my thighs and I draped my hands around his neck. Our bodies were positioned quite comfortable to say the least.
After we pulled apart, our breaths became short with excitement. Never had I imagined for marriage to be so near. Suddenly, images of children and pets in a little suburban house flashed into my mind. These futuristic thoughts only brought my smiling face to a place where keen happiness only lay. All that lay ahead was the future. And now I knew Nathan was going to be a definite part of it.
The crushing doubts that had plagued me earlier had melted away. The previously woeful worries had filled me with such drastic grief, that I just fell asleep. I needed to escape the hellish nightmare. And now it had become a dream. A dream so surreal and happy, I almost expected a guy to jump out and scream "April fools!" But the guy never came, and reality soon took over.
Tears glided down my cheeks and dripped off my chin. Nathan's hand tenderly wiped the tears away and smiled. I never saw such happiness in him before. Then he leaned in for another kiss and I obliged happily.
As we tore apart, his hands met mine. His fingers to my fingers, his palm to my palm. His hands were so much more bigger than mine. With both of our hands touching, he spoke softly with a radiant smile.
"Haley, I promise I will always be there. That I won't ever leave you... because I need you and I love you."
"And I need you and love you. I promise you, wherever you are, I will always love you."
His face glowed even more and his smile grew even wider. His blue eyes crinkled with happiness. His hands gently moved away from mine and reached for the diamond ring. Slowly, he slid the ring up my finger. The cool golden band sent shivers down my spine. The diamond piece dazzled in the moonlight and sent crystalline beams of light onto the ground. I looked at the jewel and felt a rush of amazement.
"It was my great grandmother's" Nathan said seeing my astonishment.
"Nathan... This is too much..."
"No, no its not. It's too little."
"But—"
"It's for you, Hales. It's special to me."
"Well then, I guess I need to get you something too, huh?"
"That's not part of a traditional engagement Hales," he said his voice teasing.
"But I want you to have something special too," I pouted.
"But—"
"No buts mister. I am going to get you something."
"Well who am I to argue with the great Haley James?" he teased.
"Yep who are you? O wait, you're my fiancé!"
"I'm gonna like getting used to that."
"Me too."
"But you know what I'll like even more?"
"What?"
"Mrs. Haley Elizabeth Scott."
"Ooo I like that one more too."
He stood up and took my hand. We stared at each other for a moment. The wind blew around us and enveloped us into a whirl of colorfully red leaves. As it receded, Nathan once again tugged at my hand, my hand that had a brilliantly gleaming jewel that just screamed "look who got engaged!"
I followed him to a stone laden path, where the trees bent down like they were welcoming you majestically. It merged into a wooden bridge. As we crossed over, I gazed at the below stream. The clear fresh water gently rumbled as it splashed along. The silver glittering fish sped by whilst the gentle murmur of crickets and bumble bees flowed through the air like music.
As we crossed the bridge, Nathan pulled me near the stream. Afloat the stream was a maroon boat. It gently knocked at the stones on the river's bed. He pulled me along.
"Awww... Nathan..."
"C'mon my soon to be Mrs. Scott."
"You're just a hunk of sweet love aren't ya?" I said in a southern accent.
"Sure am, it's why you just can't resist the Scott charm."
He held my hand as I climbed aboard the small rocking boat. The boat gently dipped into the clear water and splashed around, scaring away the fish. I sat down on the boat's bench as he climbed in. He untied the rope from the boat and let it glide down the clear stream. Then he sat down on the opposite bench.
"Welcome to the Love Boat," he said jokingly.
He leaned towards me and saw me smile. It's funny, but this darn smile just won't disappear.
"So ya like it?" he asked with obvious concern.
"I love it," I said with sincerity as I gazed at his blue eyes and saw them crinkle again with happiness.
As the boat glided down the stream, the marvelous view took my breath away. Flighty deer pronged through the surrounding wildlife with such startling ease. As the older deer grazed at the lush grass, the younger ones nuzzled against their mothers. It was a sight to behold.
Frogs ribbeted and jumped in unison as they frolicked to other waters. They splashed playfully into the surrounding ponds and landed on the floating lily pads. Then they dived into the pond water and swam using their hind legs. It was so amazing to see these seemingly slimy creatures live in such an exciting place.
Birds fluttered by and sang such mellifluous sounds that flowed like thick sweet honey. As an incoming wave of birds flew by, they colored the sky a whole new shade, a thick mass of grays and blues. Landing in the trees, their nests revealed families of birds. I even eyed an amazing sight, where a mother bird had dug into the slushy mud, pulled out a squirming worm, and fed her newborn with affection.
Dragonflies glazed over above, displaying the wondrous beauty of their wings. As their green bodies twisted in the air, their wings fluttered and showed the sparkling glitter intertwined in the rapidly moving wings. The moon's light shone through their transparent wings. One dragonfly landed on my finger and stood there with stillness. I cupped it in my hand and presented it to Nathan.
"Here, I want to show you something," I said softly with my cupped hands in front of him.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Look," I said. I opened my hands and the brilliantly glittering dragonfly flew into the dark night, its wings sparkling under the moonlight. I looked over at him and saw him dazed.
"You are the most amazing person I have ever known," he said with astonishment. I smiled as I wrung my arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. After all he did, he earned it wink wink.
It was almost magical. Here we were, two bodies closing the space between us fast, gripping each other with a thirst for more. I couldn't help but feel the warm glow of love fervently run through my tingling body. It felt invigorating to know that as he nipped at my neck and whispered "I love you", we were engaged. Officially engaged.
His hand slipped under my shirt and circled my belly button. He drew his hand up and down my stomach as I felt electricity light up the hairs on my back. While he was his soft hands made their journey around, my own hands swung around his neck. As he kissed my neck, I looked down at my engagement ring and a sudden burst of ecstasy wavered through my veins. Sounds of wedding bells echoed in my head as I imagined the best day of my life.
I met his mouth with a full on kiss that left me shivering. His warm arms draped around me, keeping me warm. My hands trailed down towards his shirt and began unbuttoning it. I feverishly ripped each button open with my teeth, not hiding my giddy eagerness.
Just as all the buttons were successfully unbuttoned, a light flashed onto us. We looked up startled like a couple of nestling deer in headlights. The blinding light gleaned over us as our bodies lay on top of each other.
"What you're doing is illegal in public places," the man chuckled. He was a round man wearing a security outfit and angling a flashlight down at us. We stared back, obviously flustered.
"We—we're sorry sir. We didn't mean to—" Nathan stuttered nervously, but he was interrupted by the man.
"No sweat, just try not to umm... for lack of a better word, copulate in public places," he laughed. "I remember when me and the Missus used to go at it like that... ahhh young love... You two young love birds better fly outta here though. There might be a storm heading this way."
"Thank you sir," I mumbled, my face burning with utter humiliation. He chuckled again and treaded out onto the pathway.
I stared at Nathan, his eyes boring into mine. Slowly, our embarrassed faces cracked into smiles and we burst out laughing.
"I will most certainly never forget this day," I laughed.
"Yeah, what other couple got into a fight, got engaged, almost had sex on a boat in Central Park, and got caught all in one day?"
"No one I know, that's for sure."
"It'll be a story worth telling at cocktail parties, huh?"
"No, it'll be a story worth telling at the wedding reception."
"Good thinking Mrs. Scott, let's just not tell the 'rents"
"Just what I was thinking Mr. Scott."
As he roped the boat to a wooden stump, he slipped his hand into mine and kissed it.
"Come with me Mrs. Scott," he said as he walked over the boat's edge and landed softly onto the ripened earth. I climbed over with his helping hands.
We began our trek out of Central Park. Once we found the path, we cuddled closer together and walked down the path. With the clunking of our feet against the earthen trail, the sound of nature's music beckoned us to loose our fears and lull into this light dream.
We walked peacefully down the path unaware of the light drizzle sprinkling a light misty spray over us. Soon, the drizzle turned into droplets and couldn't be ignored. The rain dripped from the tree's leaves and glazed my hair with dampness. After a minute of walking, the water had begun to start pelting down, leaving us both drenched.
Together, we ran down the path, holding hands. Our bodies mingled closely together, as the clothes began to stick. I let out an escaped giggle and couldn't suppress my joyous laughter as we jogged out of this wet jungle. Together, Nathan and I laughed holding each other.
Once we had exited the park, we stood out in the rain. Just then, a limousine rolled by and parked in front of us.
"O my god Nathan! This is too much!" I exclaimed.
"Nothing is too much for you," he replied as he opened the door and ushered me in. I jumped inside and dragged him in.
"A lady with strength, just what I like," he said. I rolled my eyes, but toppled over him and began kissing him with unleashed passion. He gently pulled away and smiled at me, knowing that I was happy.
"Where d'ya want to go?" he asked keenly.
"I don't know," I sheepishly answered.
"C'mon think Mrs. Scott, where in New York City would you like to go?"
"How about back to the motel?"
"Of all places, you want to go back to that rat shack?"
"Yep," I said as smiled knowingly at him.
"Ooo I like the way you think Mrs. Scott," he said to me as he moved in for a kiss. Then he turned part of his attention to the limo driver. "Can you take us to Loman's Motels?"
"The one downtown?" the driver asked confused.
"Yep," Nathan answered as he looked at me.
"Alright sir, but that's the last place on earth I thought you'd want to go," the driver replied as he rolled up the private window.
I laughed and wrapped my arms around Nathan's neck and sat on his lap. He looked straight into my eyes and leaned down on me. His heavy body heaved down and tumbled over, lying straight on top of my rather smaller form.
I kissed his neck and tasted the scent of his cologne; it was bittersweet. I made my way to his ear and whispered a clear "I love you" before returning to the passionate kisses. His hands roamed freely over my body. The barrier between us and celebrating this night the proper way were our water soaked clothes.
The drenched clothes stuck to our bodies. As his hands grazed over my skin, my wet skin shivered from the pure feeling of unequivocal love. My mouth reached his and the battle of the tongues ensued.
Suddenly, the limousine came to an abrupt stop. The driver knocked on the private window and said "we're here." Nathan and I separated, breathing erratically.
"Thank you sir," I said. Nathan got out and held my hand as I followed him. The driver then rolled down his window.
"Have fun kids," he smiled good naturedly at us.
"Thanks," Nathan said. Then he winked and added "we will" before turning around and going into the motel.
As the rain continued it's fury of constant downpour, we ran into our room. As we entered breathlessly, I shut the door and leaned against it, smiling mischievously. He rushed towards me and kissed me passionately. He then wrapped his arms around my body and carried me to the bed. I gazed at him and felt his strong muscles working. As he slowly plopped me down, I pulled him roughly down and kissed him intensely.
The only coherent thoughts flashing through my mind consisted of "I love Nathan Scott" and t4hose ringing wedding bells.
It seemed out of my grasp, but unbelievably it had just happened. I was engaged. Not just engaged to some scumbag, but to a man I love and will undoubtedly love forever. The wedding vows I planned to say were already echoing through my head as we celebrated the night properly: with raw open passion.