The Woman With You
October is the month for painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky; November the later twilight. –Henry David Thoreau
The sun was setting over the horizon, the bright red and purple hues painted in streaks across the early evening sky. Nathan pulled up to their house, parking his black Aviator in the garage, noticing the missing red Lexus that usually sat beside his. Walking into the house, he flipped on the lights, brightening up the darkened family room before heading straight to the kitchen. Grabbing himself a Gatorade, he sat tiredly on the couch. Practice had been especially rough today. Growing up in Tree Hill, he had dreamed of his life in the NBA, making money, meeting girls, having fans, it had all seemed so glamorous.
He smiled when he thought about his grand illusions at meeting girls. Basketball had made him one of the most popular guys in high school, and he had definitely used it to his advantage once or twice. But that had changed when he met her. His dreams had shifted the day he met her, he could feel them, twisting, bending to incorporate her in his future. The basketball was there, but it was no longer as all encompassing as it had been before. Instead he saw her at the center, his core, and he had never been the same since.
They had married at 16, and while many thought it was too young, it was right for them. Not a moment had passed where he regretted the moment when he looked at her, lying beneath him, her hair smelling sweetly of the rainstorm they had walked in, as he told her everything he had been feeling for months. She was it for him, and he didn't care if they were young, he wanted his life to start today, and he wanted her by his side. She had tried to call him crazy, the logical side of her afraid of the taking the leap, but her heart had overrode her brain and she had said yes. They hadn't looked back since.
Now at 26, ten years into their marriage, it was still the same. His dream realized; he was a professional basketball player, starting guard for the Charlotte Bobcats, making him the pride of his home state, the hometown hero. They had been ecstatic knowing they could stay in their familiar surroundings, neither wanting to leave North Carolina.
College together at Duke had made them stronger. He didn't think they could ever grow closer, but in those four years they had forged a bond that was irreplaceable. Haley had struggled with her career path, a characteristic so unlike her, as he made his way through basketball hierarchy. He had supported her through every major change: music, education, nursing, until he finally suggested she try a business course. She had always had a knack for numbers and he knew she could be as stubborn as they come; maybe business was the place for her. She had laughed at him then, as she signed up for Intro to Accounting, but a few weeks later she came home, her face aglow with the glory of her first test. A bright red A sat atop the page and looking into her eyes, he knew she had found her interest.
Getting drafted into the NBA meant a change of lifestyle for the two of them, that both were excited to begin. At times Nathan could hardly believe they ever had lived in that tiny apartment, knowing now that their house could probably fit 6 of those apartments in it.
Glancing at the clock, he noted it was 6:53pm. It wasn't like her to be this late. Usually she got off work around 5:30. When he had called her that afternoon to let her know he would most likely be late after practice, she had seemed flustered, her responses short, her voice laden with fatigue. Despite his large salary, she had insisted she wanted to work until they started a family. She couldn't stand the thought of becoming one of those NBA wives. He had never argued with her, knowing she liked to feel independent, and if it made her happy to work, then that's what he wanted. He was proud of her.
Picking up the phone, he quickly dialed the numbers of her cell phone before he heard a car door slam. Hanging up, he walked to the garage, only to see a distressed looking Haley struggling through the door, her arms laden with grocery bags.
She hit the door 6:55, sack full of groceries split down the side
Can goods scattered all the way to the curb
His first instinct was to laugh, it was almost comic, her in her business suit, struggling with grocery bags, as the contents of one bag trailed behind her leading to the trunk of her Lexus. But one look at her face sobered him quickly.
Look on her face saying don't say a word
He reached down to grab the split bag before pecking her on the lips. She was cute when she was flustered. She blew out a long breath, the stray hair that had fallen across her face puffing up slightly, before giving him a strained sigh.
"Could you pick up the stuff I dropped?"
"Of course." She went through the garage door, her step heavy. Chuckling, Nathan picked up the cans that led him back to her trunk. Picking up the last bags that sat in the trunk, he shut it before heading back inside. Placing the bags on the counter he took in her appearance. She had taken off her blazer, and her shoes had been kicked under a chair, as they were every night. Her head in the fridge, he took the time to stare, she had changed little in the ten years they had been married, but to him she was more beautiful every day. Her voice was muffled by the door, and she popped up, looking at him expectantly.
"I couldn't hear what you said. The door was in the way." He smiled at her warmly.
She grinned back. "I was just asking what you wanted to do for dinner. Do you feel like cooking?" The look on her face told him she definitely didn't.
"Not really. I just got home a few minutes ago. Let's just do something simple. Do you want to order take out?"
Closing the refrigerator door, she walked over to stand in front of him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "That'll take too long to get here." Standing on her tip toes she kissed him languidly. "I'd rather just heat up something we have here. I'm starving, aren't you?"
He pulled her closer, resting his chin on her head. "Yeah you're right. I want to eat now." Looking down at her, he took in her business suit and messy hair. "Why don't you go change, I know you're dying to get out of that suit, and I'll worry about dinner. Feel free to put on as little as possible." He patted her butt playfully.
She smirked brightly and placed another kiss on his lips before heading upstairs to change.
She found him 15 minutes later, out on their front porch, swinging lightly on their porch swing, the radio playing a soft soothing melody. It had been the main thing that had attracted Haley to the house, the large wrap around porch. She had romantic visions of them sitting out there together during a summer lightning storm, the air crackling with electricity. He had put in a swing for her shortly after moving in, remembering when she had told him all about her seventh birthday and how her dad had put up a swing on their porch. Being the youngest she had had to wait to actually sit on it, and by then it had lost its appeal. Now she had her very own swing to sit on whenever she wanted.
Sitting down beside him, she curled into him, laying her legs on his lap. "I thought you were going to worry about dinner."
His only response was holding up an open can of beans.
She laughed loudly, jabbing him in the side. "That's what you call dinner?" She shook her head slightly.
"Well I saw how amazing the sunset was tonight, and I figured we'd rather spend the evening out here then in the kitchen."
So it's me and her and a can of beans, sitting there on the front porch swing
Western sky all turning red
She leaned over to kiss him deeply, always amazed at what he would say next. Picking up a spoon, she dug into the can, still laughing at the scene in front of her. Picture perfect in every way; except for the beans. He nudged her with his shoulder, his eyes dancing with laughter, and she felt her giggles escape, her head falling back to rest on his shoulder, his arm around her waist.
Head on my shoulder, she sighed and said:
She sighed deeply, turning her face into his neck and blowing softly at the spot below his ear. His hand tightened on her waist, and she kissed him lightly at the corner of his jaw.
"You know, after a long day at work, there's no way I'd rather spend my evening than with you. When I'm at work, I feel like I'm an entirely different person. I'm not Haley Scott; I'm just Mrs. Scott, executive, accountant, coffee maker, copy repairman."
Been gopherin', chaufferin', company chairman
Coffee maker, copy repairman
Anymore there ain't nothing I swear man, that I don't do
"I mean, I love my job. You know that. But I feel like I'm two different people. Kind of like in high school." He looked down at her then, his eyes questioning. "In high school, when we first started dating, I felt like two people. There was Haley James, tutor, straight A student, reliable old Haley James. But when I was with you, I was different. I was still all those things, but underneath it all I was just a girl. And it was nice to be a girl. I think that's what made me fall in love with you. I had all these people that counted on me, needed me, and even though you needed me, above that, you wanted me."
Been juggling, struggling, closing big deals
Dancing backwards in high heels
Just when it feels like I can't make it through
She said it sure is nice to just be the woman with you
"And I still feel that when I'm with you. You've always made me feel like a woman, and I guess I never really understood how much that meant to me until the outside world came into play. You've always made me feel wanted." She reached down to intertwine their fingers, her small hand engulfed by his much larger one, her other hand playing with the sleeve of his shirt.
He was silent at her words, his mind processing everything, thinking of all the times she had helped him. He had been a mess in high school before her, and he had always known that his need for her was over powered by his want. But he had never known that she had felt it too, and that she reveled in it.
The sun set in front of them, but neither noticed; each too wrapped up in each other's presence to pay attention to the sky's impending dusk. His eyes wandered over her face, studying the planes that he had been gazing at for ten years. He could see her face perfectly in his mind, smiling, laughing, crying, frowning, upset, each emotion bringing a new beauty to her face. She gazed back at him, her eyes never leaving his, a faint smile on her lips before she leaned over to capture his mouth with hers. Her lips pressed evenly against his, molding against them in the perfect shape. Her tongue darted out, slipping through his lips, meeting his teasingly before retreating back. He laughed then, a deep laugh, as she giggled beside him, the tension visibly leaving her shoulders.
"You know, you are a hard woman to resist. I was a goner the first time I saw you."
"Oh please, don't try that line on me. We both know why you first talked to me." She pushed at him playfully, alluding to his plan to use her against Lucas.
"Okay, so I didn't have the most honorable of intentions for talking to you in the beginning, but that never stopped me from wanting you. Every day at tutoring, all I could think about was quieting all your talk of quadratic equations with a kiss. It took a lot of will power not to, in fact."
"And who would have thought that you wouldn't even cop a feel on our first date. I was waiting for it." She laughed at the shock the splashed across his face. "I never told you that? Hmm, I thought I had."
He found his voice. "I think I would have remembered that. Why didn't you put the moves on me?"
"Do you even remember how I was back then? Besides, I figured you must not have liked me that much if you didn't even try anything. Everyone knew all about Nathan Scott's infamous first dates. And then, if you remember, we didn't exactly end the night together."
He blinked at her, surprised by her words. She had thought he hadn't liked her. He had been so nervous throughout that whole date, knowing it was inevitable that he would screw it up somehow; afraid he would scare her away completely. And he had screwed it up, afraid to take a chance on her in front of his friends. He knew he had been acting like an ass as he did it, but he couldn't stop the words as he passed her off as simply his tutor.
"How could you think I didn't like you? Didn't the lingerie tip you off?"
"I don't know. I was nervous, I was unsure of how I felt, and definitely afraid of what you might have felt." She lowered her eyes, reverting back to her shy ways around him.
"Hey." He lifted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "I didn't put a move on you because you were more than that to me. You had always been more to me. And you hadn't exactly been happy to go on the date with me in the first place; I figured groping you wasn't the safest bet." His words teased her and she laughed, burying her face in his shoulder. "But that kiss the next morning, I knew you had it bad."
She laughed loudly then, her whole body shaking. "Shut up!"
"What? You nearly knocked me on the ground. I mean, I know I'm hot, but damn." He continued to tease her, loving the way her face lit up completely, her nose scrunched.
She said the girl I was with the business degree probably wouldn't recognize me
I was going around the bank
I was going to run them out
"Do you remember our first night at the apartment at Duke?" She shifted the conversation, looking at him then, her eyes teasing.
"Do you even have to ask that?" His thoughts wandered to that night with her, making love on the floor, the boxes from their move scattered about the room, both too tired to make up the bed, instead tumbling into some blankets. It had been the first time he really felt like his life with her was beginning. They were starting a brand new chapter of their lives, together.
She could tell she had lost him then, his mind probably recalling every detail of that first night, it was a memory she recalled often enough, as it was the first time she realized he was completely hers. At Duke, it was them against the world, the security of the familiarity of Tree Hill behind them; they were facing a brand new world by each other's side.
"You know, I never would've considered business if it hadn't been for you." Her words brought him out of his trance, and his hand flexed on her shoulder as she curled further into his side.
"I know. I'm glad I suggested it. I'll never forget your face after that first class. You had found it."
"I was so relieved to finally find something I was good at, and more importantly something I wanted to do. You know how I hate to be without a plan."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. That's why you're a natural born accountant; you love structure more than anything." He teased her good-naturedly.
"Well not more than anything." She looked out over the horizon, the first twinkle of the evening stars peeking out between the trees. She closed her eyes briefly, wishing on that first star as she often had in her younger years. It was hard to wish for something when her life was working out better than she could've ever planned.
He looked down to see her eyes tightly closed and he smirked, knowing she was probably wishing on an evening star. He had heard her plenty of times, when she thought he was otherwise occupied, whispering softly to herself "star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight." It was just another quality about her that he loved. She was the constant optimist.
She blinked open her eyes then, feeling his gaze upon her face. She stretched her legs across his lap once again, rotating her ankles, feeling the muscles pull tightly in her calves. He saw the flicker of discomfort that flashed across her face and he moved his hands to gently massage her legs. She laughed slightly, his hands tickling as they moved up her thighs, before leaning back to enjoy the feel of his long fingers digging into the tense muscles of her legs.
Now all I want to run is a bubble bath
"I could really go for a bubble bath right about now." She sighed deeply, her eyes closed, sleep threatening to take over as she relaxed into his touch, her mind drifting.
"Is that a proposition, Mrs. Scott?"
She opened one eye slowly to take in the wide smirk that played across his handsome features. "Play your cards right, Mr. Scott, and it just might be."
He loved the sexy banter that had settled in their relationship. She had long ago stopped making him be the aggressor, and he enjoyed seeing the want and need for him written plainly across her face. She was comfortable with him and that was sexier than he could have ever imagined.
"Did you ever think life would be like this?" She was looking at him now, curiosity etched in her features.
"I don't think you can ever really plan how life is going to be. I can't say I'm not thrilled with how it's turned out so far, but even back then, I never could have imagined it being this good."
Back then you know I had this plan.
Before all of this reality set in.
Here comes life boy ready or not
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I was just thinking that life couldn't get better if I had planned it. And God knows I tried." She smirked at him and he grinned back. "But once I figured out my career path, I felt more settled, more comfortable. It was scary not knowing how I wanted my future to play out. Even though I knew I had your support no matter what, I've never liked the feeling of uncertainty."
Hey I wanted it all, and that's what I got.
He let the silence hang then, knowing she didn't need to hear his words. He was proud of her in every aspect, never settling in the life his career gave them, but striving for more. He had told her more than once that he admired that she wanted to use her degree, knowing not many of the other player's wives ever thought of anything other than the latest sale at Gucci.
Seeing her game after game in the player's box, dressed simply in her jeans and tennis shoes, she stood out among the plastic wives that seemed to come along with the game, chest sold separately. She had joked with him after his first game that his next paycheck needed to go towards the enhancement of her chest. He remembered the blush that crawled across her face when he told her that she definitely didn't need any improvement in that area.
The opening notes of the song brought him out of his thoughts as he looked at her, seeing the wistful look pass across her face. Moving her legs off his lap, he stood up, extending a hand out to her, pulling her up off the swing. She smiled softly, joining their hands, as he pulled her into a dance. The soft sounds of Etta James' smoky voice surrounded them as he felt the skin of her back through the thin cotton of her tank top. Her arm tightened around his neck, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck that had grown long since his last haircut. Their intertwined hands pulled closely to his chest, they danced slowly, no real pattern or rhythm to the step, just the sway of their hips in time with the music. Her body was flush against his, her head turned into his neck, her lips kissing softly at his collar bone. His cheek rested atop her head and he pressed a kiss to her hair, breathing in the scent of her jasmine shampoo.
Cause I'm gopherin', chaufferin', company chairman
Coffee maker, copy repairman.
Anymore there ain't nothing I swear man, that I don't do.
She had always loved this song, a classic romance perfectly written to a wonderful melody. She had always hoped that "At Last" would be her wedding song, dancing that first dance with her husband to its sweet sound. And she had.
It was one of Nathan's surprises the night of their wedding. The ceremony had been quick, her parents the only witnesses, and afterwards there was no fancy reception, but simply him and her. He had pulled over to the side of the road, the tires of the convertible spitting up gravel as he parked them along the cliffs, the entire ocean in view. She had looked at him questioningly, wondering why they had stopped here. She had assumed they were headed straight back to the apartment.
He got out of the car without a word and she had followed, eager to understand the detour. Looking out over the ocean, hearing the crash of the waves as they pounded against the wall of the cliffs, the wind whistling around them, fluttering her dress in every direction, his back was to her. Coming to stand beside him, she looped her arm through his, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. He had smiled down at her, kissing her passionately before heading back to the car. No words had been spoken between them, and she went to follow, to only be stopped by his hand. Leaning into the car, he pulled a CD from his bag, popping it into the car stereo, and turning up the volume.
She recognized the song immediately and her eyes had glistened with tears as he moved in front of her to take her into his embrace. "I've been waiting for the first dance with my wife." She gazed at him amazed, her body following his, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
"How?" She was at a loss for words. She had never even mentioned the song to him, afraid she would come across as the desperate girl who had her entire wedding planned out before even having a boyfriend.
"I heard you humming it a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't pay much attention to it at the time. But after we got your parents' permission, I knew it was the perfect song for us. I wanted our first dance to be somewhere memorable, with a memorable song."
She had kissed him then, long and hard, as they circled slowly, their bodies keeping rhythm to the song.
Been juggling, struggling, closing big deals
Dancing backwards in high heels
Just when it feels like I can't make it through
She said it sure is nice to just be the woman with you
She pulled herself tightly against him now, wanting to get closer, to feel him around her. The night air had turned crisp, a nice contrast to the stagnant heat that had settled in the early days of fall, and she shivered at the breeze that whistled through the trees. The ending notes of the song had passed, but they had continued their dance, even as the song changed to an up tempo number. Neither stopped the dance, too entranced with the other to care about the change of pace. She breathed in deeply, the smell of his cologne fresh on the collar of his shirt and she snuggled further into his chest. His arm tightened around her waist, squeezing her closer, though there was no breath of room between the two.
Life had turned out better than either could've imagined, and to most people they were just starting out. Ten years seemed like a lifetime to most people, but to Haley it was a flash in the pan, a mere moment in their forever kind of love.
She said I'm gopherin', chaufferin', company chairman
Coffee maker, copy repairman
She pulled her hand down from around his neck, running her hand up and down his chest. The lust swirled in his eyes, mixing with the love that had taken a permanent place in every one of his looks, and she rose up on her toes to meet his lips. The kiss started out slowly, each taking the time to explore the well known areas of each other's lips, their tongues moving nimbly in a well practiced dance. Pulling upward at the hem of his shirt, she escalated the kiss, pulling at his lips fiercely, wanting more. He responded, his breath quickening, his heart beat pounding beneath her palm.
Anymore there ain't nothing I swear man, that I don't do
Been juggling, struggling, closing big deals
Dancing backwards in high heels
He broke away from her mouth, his words rushed. "What was that about a bubble bath?" He kissed her again, swallowing the giggles that erupted through her. His hands squeezed at her hips, pulling her tightly against him.
Just when it feels like I can't make it through
She pulled away then, her eyes meeting his in a lust filled gaze. "How about you make me feel like the woman with you?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively.
She said it sure is nice to just be the woman, the woman with you.
His grin widened as he pulled her through the front door and led her upstairs. The running sound of two sets of feet pounded against the stairs, her giggles floating through the air.
The discarded can of beans lay on the still swaying swing, as the radio played a soft song.