Clarity
Chapter 6
It had been over a day since Lucas had worked up the courage to kiss Peyton at that park. Neither of them had talked about what had happened, on the drive back to Tree Hill. It wasn't as if Lucas wanted to forget what had happened, but what was happening between him and Peyton was something he didn't have a lot of experience with. He'd never really dated anyone before, he didn't know what a kiss meant or if it would mean anything at all.
Having all of his insecurities rolling over in his mind did nothing to help him sleep. A glance at the clock on his nightstand revealed it was nearly midnight and he was nowhere near rest. He'd tried everything, counting sheep, listening to soft music, even an unsuccessful attempt at drinking a glass of warm milk still left him tossing and turning. He shrugged off the sheets and searched his dark bedroom for a pair of basketball shorts and tennis shoes. The cool night air hit him as he snuck quietly out of his back door and crossed the damp grass towards the window he knew was Peyton's.
A light knock on her window was enough to wake her. Lucas saw a light switch on in her room and waited patiently for her to come to the window, she did a few seconds later hands rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She smiled when she saw Lucas standing outside waving sheepishly back at her.
"What are you doing out here so late." She asked leaning her head out of the window.
"Thought I might take you up on that offer to play basketball." He produced a worn ball from behind his back.
Peyton smiled. "Let me throw some different clothes on." She disappeared back behind the white curtains and appeared minutes later wearing a pair of white cotton pants and a t-shirt. Lucas helped her climb out of the window and they took off towards the park.
"Couldn't sleep tonight?" she asked as they walked through the dark, quiet neighborhood, the ball still tucked under Lucas' arms to avoid waking anyone with its bouncing.
"Nope, I was just feeling a little restless so I figured I'd head down to the park."
"Was something on your mind?" Peyton hinted at.
"Just couldn't sleep is all." Lucas bluffed.
When they made it to the courts, Peyton hung back as Lucas began to shoot around. Peyton found herself mesmerized by the sight of him becoming lost in his passion. The way he moved with the ball, his tongue jutting out of the side of his mouth, eyes focused on the basket with a steely gaze, she found that she was unable to look away.
She was snapped from her focus when Lucas tossed the ball her way. "Show me your stuff Sawyer."
Peyton gripped the ball awkwardly in her hands before sending it flying towards the hoop, it dropped back down to the ground with a hard bounce before it even touched the rim. Air ball.
Lucas avoided a smile while he chased down the ball. "You're probably just a little rusty, how long has it been since you played?"
"Counting that time in fifth grade phys ed, I've only played basketball once. And I was so bad they let Kerry Walker, who had a cast on her right arm, play in my spot."
"I thought you said you played on a team before."
"Alright I'll admit it, I lied so I could score an invite." A sheepish smile crossed her face. "I don't know how to play basketball, I just wanted to be able to tag along."
Lucas almost didn't know what to say in response to her admission, but instead of reading too much into anything he walked towards her.
"I'll show you how to play."
"Yeah?"
"It's not that hard once you get the hang of it, you just need to know the basics." He bounced the ball a few times before spinning it in his hands and lining his fingers up on the grooves. "All you have to do is aim for that orange triangle above the rim, bend your knees a little bit and throw the ball." He tossed the ball with a gentle push and let it spin off the tips of his fingers where it arced lazily into the air and through the rim.
"Alright my turn." She caught the ball and followed his lead, lining up her fingers on the black grooves of the ball. He came to stand next to her and bent her elbows with a soft touch. Her shot hit the front of the rim and bounced back to them.
"That was close." He smiled. "Try again, you'll get the hang of it. I promise."
Lucas watched patiently from the side trying not to coach her too much, as Peyton took shot after shot. He couldn't help but smile with her when she sunk her first basket, he'd never seen anyone so excited over scoring such a mundane point. When she tired of shooting she walked over to where he was standing and handed him the ball.
"Can I ask you something?" she questioned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Of course."
"Am I a bad kisser or something?"
Lucas was a little taken aback at her question. "Why would you ask that?"
"I don't know if you remember but we kissed at the park the other day."
"I remember."
"Oh good, well I thought it was a pretty god kiss and I was just wondering why you haven't kissed me since then." Lucas was secretly envious of the confidence she had when it came to handling an awkward situation. She had no problem talking about their kiss and he would have rather talked about anything else.
"You want me to kiss you again?" he asked. Peyton smirked at the sound of surprise in his voice.
"I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't want it." She smiled boldly at him.
"I wanted to kiss you again, I just wasn't sure if it was what you wanted. I don't have a lot of experience with this kind of stuff and I took a chance by just kissing you like that."
"I'm glad you kissed me like that, a girl needs to be surprised a little every now and then. And I know it took some courage to kiss first, but now that we have that first one out of the way could we possibly try to do it a little more often."
"I've never met a girl like you Peyton."
He was smiling broadly as he leaned down to kiss her, his strong arms wrapping around her waist and lifting her gently to her toes. Just as he was becoming lost in the touch of her soft lips on his, Peyton pulled slowly away and looked into his eyes.
"For the record, you can kiss me whenever you want."
