Shiver
I heard him close the door to the bathroom and his footsteps reach the top of the stairs, but that was the last I heard of him for a good two hours. As terrible as it was, I didn't pay much attention to anything that Riley was saying because my mind kept slipping, wandering aimlessly…well, I guess not so aimlessly. I couldn't help but let my eyes keep making their way to the door where I hoped he would soon appear.
Of course, he didn't.
It didn't make sense; how I could be so repulsed by someone yet so infatuated by them at the same time. And that's what Nathan did to me in only the few hours that I had known him. He already had my head spinning. It wasn't until Riley started laughing that I realized I had completely zoned out on him. "You okay?" She asked with a smirk on her face, knowing she had just caught me. "Please tell me you're not fantasizing about Brad Pitt again…"
Ok, first of all what the hell is wrong with fantasizing about Brad Pitt? I am only human.I laughed nervously. If only that was what I was fantasizing about…but no, I was fantasizing about her jacka ss of a cousin upstairs. The one who she had told me countless stories about in which he had ended up making a complete a ss of himself. The one who had only an hour ago, completely stripped down in front of me with no shame at all.
Unfortunately there's something attractive about that kind of confidence.
So yea, I had been looking forward to coming face to face with him again, but I had no idea that I would be taking a shower the next time he appeared. I practically lived at Riley's house and her mom was usually out so I never had to worry about anyone other than Riley coming into the bathroom. Which is why I unconsciously didn't think to lock the door behind me.
You would think that he wouldn't have come in, since the shower was running noisily…but well, let's just say no one really knows what goes through Nathan Scott's mind. He just came in and started brushing his teeth, completely unfazed that I was behind the curtain with absolutely no clothes on.
I heard the bathroom door open, but I assumed it was Riley. Imagine my surprise and complete mortification when I peeked my head out and Nathan was standing right in front of the sink. He turned around when he saw me in the mirror and smirked seductively.
He knew his affect on this world; me in particular.
"Um…hello?" I asked, somewhat rudely, though I suppose it came out more as a nervous stuttering. "Do you mind? I'm kind of taking a shower in here…if you didn't notice."
He shrugged. "We're all adults. Nothing I haven't seen before."
Of course that's his answer.
My eyes widened. I couldn't believe how casual he was being about this when my heart was beating a mile a minute. "I beg your pardon but I'm not as comfortable with my body as you are…could you please excuse me?"
He didn't say anything. Instead, he just turned back to the mirror and watched me through the reflection, brushing his teeth. Apparently my nervousness meant nothing to him; just like the rest of my emotions. He was going to do what he wanted to do, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.
Later, I learned this was a major problem.
"What are you doing?" I snapped in disbelief, my eyebrows raised.
"I'm brushing my teeth." He said innocently with a mouthful of toothpaste, shrugging. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
I rolled my eyes, knowing that I couldn't win this battle, not with Nathan as my opponent. I simply just went back to my shower and continued putting conditioner in my locks of hair, praying silently that he would leave. I was not ready to expose myself to Nathan; I wasn't ready to expose myself to anyone for that matter.
Nathan especially.
I turned off the shower but I could still hear the sink running so I realized he was still there. I poked my head out of the shower and watched him for a second. "Ok, well if you're not going to leave…will you at least hand me a towel?"
Not that I wanted him to see me in a towel. I just knew that it was either that or stay hidden behind the curtain until he leaves which has the possibility of being…well, never!
He obeyed and I stepped out, only half covered. He checked me out slyly in that way that only Nathan can do without making it creepy and then turned back to the mirror, spitting the toothpaste in the sink.
Wow. Now, that's attractive.
He put the toothbrush back in his mouth and then turned to me, with a mock annoyed expression. "Do you mind? I'm trying to brush my teeth here," he said, the toothbrush swaying back and forth as he talked.
I stared at him in disbelief.
Did he really just say that?He laughed at my confused expression. "I'm just kidding…don't look so tense. I won't bite…" he paused, spit out the remainder of toothpaste in his mouth and then rinsed "…unless, that is, you want me to." He smirked, moving closer and closer as he looked me directly in the eye.
I knew what his intentions were…I wasn't that stupid.
I scoffed and ducked out of his eyesight, moving to the other side of the bathroom, where I now realized I had no escape. "You are unbelievable." I stressed the word in an annoying tone as I glared as rudely as I could. But a petite brunette like me is not so intimidating…especially to someone like Nathan.
He nodded casually but I could see the smile tugging at his lips. "So I hear."
I felt my legs weaken as he backed me up against the wall, his arms trapping me completely. Our lips were inches apart and I felt that at any moment I would just give in. I knew I shouldn't. I knew who he was, he was the kind of guy who f ucks you and then f ucks you over.
And that just isn't enough for me.
"No." I whispered, our eyes locked. It wasn't a very convincing 'no' but a 'no' nonetheless.
He smirked even wider as his hands reached around my waist and I felt his palm slide to my ss. This is when I became aware that I was only wearing a towel. I tightened it around my body as his hands roamed around me. There was nothing more I wanted to do than give in, he was hot and I was infatuated, but I knew I couldn't.
Not now, not ever.
"Shh…" he whispered, tucking a lock of my wet hair behind my ear "…don't be scared, Haley."
And that's when his lips were on mine, my mouth parting to let his tongue roam. I had been kissed before, but not like this, not with such passion, not with these butterflies in my stomach. His hands slid up the bottom of my towel and I felt his smooth touch linger at my thighs. "I can't do this." I whispered in his ear, pulling away. It wasn't so convincing, even for me. I wanted to do this.I just knew that I couldn't.
Of course, I did anyway.
He shook his head and placed his hand on my flustered cheek, leaning in once more to touch my lips. I didn't protest, I reciprocated it. Now his hands were in uncharted territory and I was letting him suck at my neck while I breathed heavily. He wrapped my legs around his waist and the wall behind me held up my back. He pulled away for a second softly and looked me in my eyes; waiting for me to say 'no' even though he knew I wouldn't.
I moaned as he brought my hand to unzip his pants, while he left a trail of kisses down to my chest. When I felt his pants unzip, that was when I freaked.
"Sh!t." I shouted, my chest moving up and down in a fast past. I was breathing heavily. "I can't do this." This time, it was more convincing.
I pushed him away but he came back, smiling seductively. "Come on, Haley." He tried to convince me, his hand cupped around my neck with those big hands of his.
"I can't." I said forcefully, tightening my towel around my body and pushing him with my free arm. "You're…" my eyes darted around the room, looking for the right word "…you. I have to go."
He rolled his eyes as I darted out of the bathroom and into Riley's room. There she sat, completely oblivious that her dear friend had almost lost her virginity to her man-whore of a cousin. I tried to smile convincingly but she saw right through it as she looked up from filing her nails. "You okay?" She asked, her brow furrowing. Riley always knew when something was wrong and sometimes it bugged the hell out of me because I couldn't get away with anything. "You look flustered."
I sighed, trying to act as indifferent as possible. "Nathan was just being a jerk." I said, leaving out the part where he had come on to me and taken me willingly. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it was withholding the truth.
But she didn't need to know that, right?"Oh don't worry about him." She said, handing me a pair of boxer shorts and a tank top from her dresser. "He'll get over himself sooner or later…just be happy you're not the one who has to live with him indefinitely."
"So he's staying longer than the summer?" I asked, secretly planning ways of avoiding him.
She shrugged. "My mom told my Grandma that he is going to be going to school with us next year so I'm guessing he's here until college."
Ok, so avoiding him wouldn't be as easy as I thought.
"That sucks." I said truthfully, changing into the clothes she gave me and hopping onto the side of the bed that she wasn't occupying. She fell asleep almost immediately but I on the other hand was having a little bit more trouble. I couldn't help but let my mind wander to his touch and the way his lips felt on mine…but I tried desperately to forget, knowing that it didn't mean a thing to him…he did that kind of thing all the time…except for the girl saying 'no' part.
Riley had always slept like a baby, and I had always had trouble so it wasn't the first time that I slipped out of bed in the middle of the night and headed down to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. But it was, however, the first time that there was someone else down there.
Go figure…it was Nathan.
When I reached the doorway, I stopped and watched him dig through the refrigerator. He didn't even seem to notice my presence until I cleared my throat. That's when he looked up and rolled his eyes. "Come back for more?" It wasn't seductive or anything, it was just flat out cold and I winced.
I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about that it was just…too fast…I guess." I wasn't so sure of myself. And it was true, that had been the main reason I pulled away but there had been other reasons too.
He didn't seem to care as he sat down at the counter and took a gulp of water. "Yea, I guess I should've known you small town girls wouldn't put out."
I gasped. "Excuse me?" I couldn't believe he had just said that to me.
He rolled his eyes again. "Look…whatever. I know your whole speech…'sex is a big deal for girls' blah blah blah and I'm sure that was the first time you've even come close to that kind of thing, so…"
I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him, moving closer to where he was sitting. "First of all, sex is a big deal to me and second of all. How do you know I'm a virgin? You don't even know me."
He laughed. "Oh please. You're as virgin as they come."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I spat. He was trying to get a rise out of me and I probably should've seen all this coming but I took the bait.
"You were so goddamn uncomfortable back there it wasn't even funny." He had that triumphant smirk that I had already grown accustomed to and already hated with a passion.
"Well maybe it's just you…" I challenged "…maybe you just make me uncomfortable."
He took another gulp of his water. "Why would I make you uncomfortable?" He laughed.
Oops.
I gulped.
"Well…" I stuttered "…excuse me for having a problem with people I've just met checking me out when I'm in the shower and undressing themselves in front of me without me asking them to."
He got up from his stool and made his way closer to me. "What? It's nothing you hadn't seen before…right?" He was taunting me and I didn't like it one bit. I immediately turned and walked the other way, leaving him behind me with one of those annoying triumphant smirks.
God, I wanted him.
Riley and I left early the next morning because we had dance rehearsal at ten. We had both been dancing since we became friends and although I admit Riley is way better than me, we've always been in the same class. Riley was always the dancer and I was always the singer. I would choreograph things for her to dance and she would write music for me to sing.
We pretty much did everything together.
That's why it was hard to avoid going over to her house for the next couple of days. It wasn't that I didn't want to see her…or for that matter see Nathan…but it was because I was scared to death that I would let something with him go farther than it should.
So I was taking a complete risk when I went over to her house on Wednesday night, hoping she would be there. She wasn't…but guess who was.
He looked completely unfazed by my presence as he opened the door to greet me and instead of saying, 'hi' or something like that, instead he said this, "We don't need any Girl Scout Cookies…thanks anyways." And then he slammed the door in my face before I could utter a single word.
How rude.
I rang the doorbell again furiously, waiting with a look of annoyance plastered on my face. When he opened the door, he just scratched his head unenthusiastically. "You again?"
I pushed my way inside the house, pushing him to the side in the process and made my way up the stairs to Riley's room. When she wasn't there, I stomped back down to find him in the living room watching television. "Where is Riley?" I demanded.
He pouted. "Oh, and all this time I thought you were here to see me."
I gave my most impressive "hmph!" and made my way over to him, turning off the TV with his remote and throwing it to the other side of the room. "Where is Riley?" I asked again.
He smirked. "Oo, feisty…sure you don't want to give it another go?"
"Where's is Riley?" I asked through clenched teeth, trying my hardest not to scratch his eyes out. I wished Riley was here to hold me back but she wasn't so I had to control myself.
"She went shopping with Aunt Liz. Is there something I can do for you?" He said in a fake cheerful voice. "I mean…besides the obvious, gorgeous."
I sighed irritably. "Is there some reason why you feel like annoying the hell out of me, I mean there are a hundred pretty girls in this town…why don't you go bother them?"
He smirked. "Oh, but Haley…" he said innocently "…I want to bother you." He then started laughing and stood up, retreating to his room. I followed him, yelling the whole entire way and he just simply shrugged or laughed. He was sure as hell getting entertainment out of all of this.
I didn't even realize that we had reached his room, or that I was in fact inside it, I was too busy trying to scold him for all the things he had done to me. He didn't seem to care.
"Do you sing?" He asked abruptly, in the middle of my yelling.
I stopped and looked at him curiously. "Excuse me?"
"Do you sing?" He asked simply. "Riley said you sing."
"Yea. So?" I asked, still not sure of his intentions. He didn't respond, but instead made his way to the other side of the room where he picked up his guitar and handed it to me.
"Sing." He commanded.
My eyes widened. "Are you kidding me? I don't sing for anyone."
"Well…sing for me." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to sit on his bed with the guitar. He walked over to the doorway and stood there, leaning against the wall, just watching me.
I looked at him curiously, unsure of what he was trying to pull. First he was being straight up rude to me and now he wanted me to sing for him. But that wasn't even the weirdest part…the weirdest part was that I did sing for him.
If I had the chance love
I would not hesitate
To tell you all the things I've never said before
Don't tell me it's too late
Cause I've relied on my illusion
To keep me warm at night
And I've denied in my capacity to love
But I am willing to give up this fight
I only sang the first verse before I looked up to see him watching me. He didn't say anything, but I could tell by the way he was watching that he was intrigued. He pulled the guitar out of my hand softly and brought it back over to where it came from.
That's when he sat on the bed next to me and I turned to watch him. I couldn't help but feel those butterflies in my stomach again and I tried my best to hold myself back, but I couldn't.
He was too damn tempting.