Ch. 14

Trembling from the intimate contact, she felt her knees weaken. The idea that he would wake up any minute caused her to regain some strength. Trying to make a quick exit, Haley tiptoed towards the guest room, but was stopped by a masculine voice, "Haley?"

Sighing softly in frustration, she turned around. "Yes Luke?"

Rubbing his eyes, he questioned, "What are you doing up so late?"

Hoping that he was in such a deep sleep that he didn't remember what just happened, she told the truth, just not the whole truth, "I couldn't sleep so I was going to make myself some hot chocolate, but I changed my mind. I'm sorry about waking you up."

"No worries. Some hot chocolate sounds great right now." As he got up and stretched, Haley noticed that he was only wearing checkered boxers. She quickly lifted her uncomfortable gaze to his mouth. His lips settled on hers earlier with such eloquent finesse that she found herself yearning towards him, but restrained herself. If his kiss was that powerful when he was asleep, she wondered what it would feel like to experience it when he was awake. Stop thinking about that, nothing going to happen between the two of them she thought as she moved to the kitchen to fix the both of them some of the chocolaty concoction.

Although he was happy about spending more time with Haley, he was disappointed that he woke up from his dream. He dreamt that he and Haley were dancing on clouds. When the song ended, they shared an intense kiss. He could almost feel her lips on his. Never before had he experienced a dream as realistic as this one.

Heading towards the kitchen, he found Haley already reaching for a cup. As she did so, his shirt lifted up, giving him a good glimpse of her shapely thighs. When he first met her, he'd thought she was pretty enough in an ordinary sort of way, but not exactly the kind to stop traffic. Maybe the conservative dress suit she wore had fooled him because the truth was, she had a surreptitious glamour that crept up on a man and blindsided him when he least expect it. And seeing her wear his shirt in his lonesome house made him feel as if this was actually his home for the first time since he moved in. Even though he was slightly afraid of her ability to put these unfamiliar thoughts in his mind, he also experienced the need to get to know her even more.

"Why weren't you able to fall asleep?" Taking out the hot chocolate powder, he set it on the table and then retrieved a kettle. "Did you wake up from a nightmare?" He poured some water and set it on the stove. As he waited for the water to boil he looked for the marshmallows and whip cream.

Haley watched him in interest as she placed the cups on the counter. She loved seeing the domestic side of him, even though he was only making instant hot chocolate. "I guess it's because I'm not in my own bed," Haley admitted. Her subconscious was nagging her that there was another reason, but once again, she ignored it.

"Maybe drinking some hot liquid will help." Lucas placed the items he found on the counter next to the cups. Reaching for two spoons from the drawers, he handed one to Haley and held on to his.

"I hope so." Haley poured the power into the cups.

The screeching noise caused Lucas to turn off the stove. He moved toward the counter once again when Haley stepped back and diligently poured the hot liquid into the mugs. Working as a team, they placed some marshmallows and whip cream in and mixed their drinks. Taking a sip, Haley released a satisfying sound of approval.

Noticing that something as simple as hot chocolate made Haley happy, he sent her a roguish grin, which Haley failed to notice since she moved towards the small round table in the kitchen and sat down.

"You seem to know your way around the kitchen. What else can you make besides hot chocolate and the food of gods?" Realizing that Haley probably meant macaroni and cheese, Lucas laughed. Haley joined in.

Sitting down in the seat across from her, he revealed, "Not trying to sound cocky or anything, but I can make just about anything."

"Really? Does it run in the family?"

"Yeah. My mother is the best cook in Tree Hill."

"I can't agree more," Haley let slip. Wincing inwardly, she hoped he didn't pick up what she just said.

Giving her a peculiar look, Lucas asked, "How would you know?"

"I meant that I'm sure that your mother must be the best cook since you obviously inherited her talents."

"And you can tell just from my mac and cheese?"

"Of course. I'll have you know that I'm the expert when it comes to mac and cheese and yours comes in second place. Trust me that's no small feat seeing how I am the best mac and cheese food critic in the world."

His humorous side wanted to say that she seemed a little full of herself, he decided to stick with a safer comment to avoid the wrath of Haley. "Does your mother's come in first place?" Looking intently at her, he wondered if he guessed correctly.

Upon seeing the tears well in her eyes, he regretted even asking her. He should have stuck with the first thing that came to his mind. He moved to the chair next to her, "I'm sorry Hales. How inconsiderate of me. I should of known that talking about your family is a touchy subject."

She smiled slightly when he called her Hales but it disappeared rapidly. "Don't worry about it." Hoping that it sounded believable, she shook her head to give the appearance that she was fine.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I...I don't know if I can." A single tear ran down her face.

Lucas gently wiped it away. "Maybe not talking about it has only made it worse," Lucas suggested.

"That might be true but," her voice quavered, "how am I suppose to talk about the fact that my parents don't...don't...lo-...lov-...love me?"

Pulling her into his arms, she rested her head on his bare chest. How dare her parents make her feel unloved! No child should experience this. Encouraging her to let out her sadness, he breathed in the scent of his shampoo on her. It definitely smelled better on her.

His tender caress released all her defenses and she succumbed to the tears that had been threatening to spill for years. Allowing the tears to fall freely on his bare chest, he listened attentively to Haley's turmoil. "They were...were never around when I was growing up," she sniffled. "They love my older siblings more than they love me, that is if they even love me." Lucas pulled her in closer.

"Aren't parents suppose to love their children equally?" She asked hoping Lucas had the power to wipe away all the pain.

"Yes they are," Lucas stated. "But sometimes parents aren't able to show it." He couldn't help but think about his biological father and Nathan. "Sometimes parents don't realize that they have favorites; that their actions affect us more than they know." Although he knew he can erase or fix her pain, he could try to ease it.

"I guess we both experienced the same thing huh?" she laughed bitterly. "Two peas in a pod I say but at least you have one loving parent. I wasn't so lucky." Immediately regretting what she said, she apologized. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have brought your family into this. They have nothing to do with this."

"Shhh," Lucas placed a finger on her mouth when she tilted her head to look up at him. "No need to apologize." He couldn't bear to have Haley watching him with those stirring dark eyes, dwelling on the things that made her ache. Wanting to take the pain away, he lowered his head towards hers.