Chapter Nine
Kiss On
Nathan stared after her. He couldn't believe he had just done that, and that she had run out. Lucas walked up to him. "Man, what happened?"
Nathan sighed. "I tried to kiss her, and I guess she freaked out. She left. I screwed up."
Lucas looked after her. "You have to go after her."
Nathan looked at him as though he was crazy. "What? No way. She doesn't want to see me."
Lucas argued, "She is just afraid. Go, Nate."
Nathan looked back and forth between his brother and the door, and then took off after her. He ran out the door, frantically searching for her. He saw her shadow walking hurriedly toward the parking lot, and he rushed up to her.
"BROOKE!" He shouted to her. She stopped, and saw him coming after her.
When he caught up to her, tears were sliding down her face. "Nate, what are you doing here?" She herself was kicking herself for leaving. Here was a wonderful, amazing guy who really cared about her, and she stopped him from kissing her. What the hell?
He stopped in front of her, grabbing her hands. "Rescuing you before you go and do something stupid. Brooke, give me two minutes okay?" She nodded, but didn't look him in the eye. "I kissed you because of stupidity on my part. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess you were just looking so damn gorgeous in that dress, and I just did it."
Brooke finally looked at him. "Nathan, we can't go there." Tears flooded her eyes again. "I can't go there again."
Confused, Nathan said, "Brooke..."
"No," she said harshly. She pulled her hands out of his, and starting walking away. "Leave me alone."
He wasn't about to do that. He followed her, forcing her to turn around. "Brooke, I'm not going to let you walk away from me. Not this time. What are scared of?"
Tears still flowing, she wiped them away. Nathan, ever the gentleman, reached in his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. Reluctantly, she took it from him.
She wasn't sure how to say this. "I've fallen in love with you," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. She was tired of holding it in. She needed him to know.
Nathan stared at her, shocked. He hadn't expected her to say that. "Brooke..." He reached out to her.
Brooke shook her head, as though to tell him to keep his distance. "And that scares me. The last time I fell in love, I got my heart broken and torn apart. I was cheated on, and treated like shit. I promised myself not to let my heart go there again." She sobbed, "Its too hard. And then you came along. You were so sweet, and caring. You weren't like the other guys. For a guy who had started out a jerk, you had turned out really great. So I decided I wouldn't let myself fall for you. I wouldn't put myself through that hell again, because all great guys turn into asses. Except you were the exact opposite, but how do I know you won't go back to the way you were?" She started to cry harder, and leaned into Nathan for support. He led her to a bench, and they sat down together. She leaned on his chest, allowing herself to have a good cry.
He stroked her hair. "Brooke, when I was in high school, I was stupid. I will be the first to admit it. I was a jerk, ass, bastard, whatever. But I changed. I really did. I'm not that person anymore, and you know that."
She tried insisting, "Yes, but..."
He put a finger on her lips. "Brooke, I'm not Lucas. I'm not going to cheat on you. In case you don't remember, I had an emotional hell of a ride in high school too. Haley cheated on me with Chris, and then left me. When you showed up in Tree Hill after all these years, I felt relieved. I could be close to you and good friends with you, but we wouldn't have any romantic feelings involved. Come on, you were Brooke Davis, high school cheerleader and major tease. Why would I ever get involved with you? But after spending time with you, I realized you were no longer that happy go lucky wild party girl. You are so much more than that. You are caring, sweet, and understanding. You care about other people's feelings, and you are very devoted." He gently took her chin in his hands, tilting her face up. She looked at him, with her mascara running. His voice got caught in his throat. He tried to talk but couldn't. After a few moments, he finally said, "I've fallen in love with you too."
She let out a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. It had been so long since anyone said those words to her. And this was the first time someone actually meant it. But it didn't matter. She shook her head. "We can't be together Nathan. What if it doesn't work out? What if someone new comes along?"
"What if they don't? What if its me and you forever? We don't know what is going to happen." He rubbed her chilled bare back, and she laid her head on his shoulder.
Brooke said in a shaky voice, "Nate, I'm scared."
"I am too." She looked up at him, surprised. "We have similar relationship histories, Brooke. In college, every time I was with someone new, I immediately called it off. I feared the whole Haley thing would happen all over again. Like you, I didn't want to put myself through that hell." He had never admitted to anyone, not even Lucas, that he was afraid to be in a new relationship. He was definitely afraid of commitment. Or, he had been. Brooke Davis has a tendency of changing things around.
"Are you sure we could work?" She was doubtful. In her experience, nothing ever worked. No one ever lasted. Her parents argued constantly, for example. Deb and Dan Scott had divorced, Nathan and Haley had divorced, she and Lucas were a joke.
Nathan kissed the top of her head. "I am positive. We just have to both put forward the effort." He sighed, frustrated. "Damn it Brooke, do you have any idea how hot you look right now? In that dress, and even with all your make up running. Our past doesn't matter to me," he insisted.
She giggled, releasing the stress and tension from her face. "Is my make up really that bad?"
He grinned. "Yeah, you have mascara on your cheek." She gasped, and reached up to touch it. He grabbed her hand, reverting her attention back to him. "Brooke, we have fun together. We laugh, we cry, we click."
She nodded. "I know we do. But it terrifies me. If I let myself fall for you, how do I know you won't cheat on me or treat me bad?"
He gave her hand a light squeeze, and scooted closer to her. "I promise you I will never hurt you the way Lucas did. I won't cheat on you, because that's not my nature. I respect you. Have I ever done anything to you that made you doubt me? I mean since you've been back. High school doesn't count," he said quickly.
She smiled. "No, you haven't. And even then you didn't do anything like cheating."
"See? Brooke, I don't know what will happen in the future, or even next week. But I do know that right now I want you, so bad. It doesn't matter what others think. What matters is me and you. Besides, you already have fallen for me. And I've fallen for you." He caressed her cheek. "I love you. As crazy as it sounds, I really love you. Not high school love, not even college love. Real love. Love that lasts."
A smile formed on her face. "I love you too," she whispered. She knew he was the real deal. She could see a future with him. She took a deep breath. She was about to embarck on a whole new journey. "I promise I won't leave you like Haley did. I don't know how she left you. You are so great."
"So are you," he said hoarsely. They had been talking for at least twenty minutes now, and trying to convince her was wearing him out. "I would kiss you right now, but we all saw how that worked out last time."
She laughed softly. "That won't happen again." She leaned in, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him to her, and crashed her lips to his. It was a passionate, wonderful, tender, emotional kiss, one that was full of love. His tongue teased her lips, and she allowed it to explore her mouth. She had forgotten how great it felt to kiss someone with such passion and affection.
They pulled away, wrapped up in each other's arms. He said softly, "That should go down in history as the best first kiss ever."
She giggled lightly. "Yeah, it was pretty intense." She leaned in again, and he kissed her. Every kiss seemed to be filled with more warmth and love then the last. After, she laid her head on his chest, and yawned.
He said, "Its been a long night. You want to turn in?"
She nodded. "Yeah, lets go home." He held out his hand to help her up, and they walked to the car arm in arm.
They arrived at Brooke's door. She fumbled with her keys, and finally got the door unlocked. Audrey was waiting for them. Nathan picked her up, and laughed as the dog licked his face. "Audrey, I saw you a few hours ago."
Brooke threw her keys on the table and smiled as he played with her. "I'm going to change, I'll be right back."
Nathan smiled back at her. "Okay."
She walked into her room, and leaned heavily against the door. It had been an emotionally draining night. One that she would remember forever. She walked into her bathroom and saw her face. She was shocked at her appearance. It was a wonder that Nathan hadn't left her right then and there. Her hair was tossled, her eyeliner and mascara were running down her face, her lipstick was smothered a little bit, and her dress was wrinkled. Not to mention the tear stained cheeks. She grabbed a washcloth, and scrubbed her face. Then, she undid her hair and pulled it back in a sleek ponytail. Finally, she pulled off the dress and hung it up to be dry cleaned. She slipped on a pair of sweat pants that said FLIRT on the ass, and added a baby blue wife beater. She decided she didn't care how her face looked, Nathan had already seen her at her worse.
She walked back out and found Nathan lying on the couch. Audrey had settled down and was sleeping at his feet. He had taken his jacket and dress shirt off, and all he had on besides his pants was his white undershirt.
He heard Brooke come in, and sat up quickly. "Hey, that was fast."
She smiled. "I didn't feel like doing my make up." She sat next to him on her couch.
"Good, you look better without it," he said. He pulled her close. She yawned again, and snuggled close to him. "Maybe I should get going. You look tired."
She shook her head. "No! Don't," she pleaded with him.
He grinned. "Okay, okay."
She cuddled with him, resting her head on his chest. He had his hand around her shoulder, and he massaged it. "I don't want to be alone tonight."
He pulled back, and looked her directly in the eye. "You won't be alone, not ever again." He kissed her softly. "Come here," he said, pulling her back down. Feeling safe, she fell asleep like that. She knew he would protect her, and always be there for her. For the first time in a long time, she could go to sleep and know there would be someone there when she woke up.
Nathan watched her sleep. He had done this numerous times before, but this time was different. Before, he would just pull a blanket over her and quietly slip out. This time, he wasn't going anywhere. Not ever again.
Author's Note: Wow, you guys rock! Thanks for all the great reviews, I love them! Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, I rewrote it three times because each time it just didn't seem to work. I finally got it just the way I liked it, so I hope you liked it too!
Kaos2405: Thanks for the review!
Christine: Thanks for looong review. You are too sweet. Hope you enjoyed the 'aftermath' of the cliffhanger... I don't really know what else to call it! I wanted it perfect so you guys liked it. Let me know what you think, though!
Swedishblonde: Thanks, I do too. Brucas on the show, but Brathan in the fics!
Ababy99: Hey, I don't know what's wrong. Its working for me. LOL, I see you got it to work. Thanks for BOTH reviews! (i couldn't pull away from nathan either!)
Mony19: Yeah, I hope you guys understood why I did that. Maybe this chapter will explain things a little better. Thanks for the review.
msCrazy: Well, I am glad you enjoy it. I always love finding new fellow Brathaners!
Kristen: Thanks, I am very proud of it (not to sound modest). Keep reading...
MarissaAtwood: I know, but it got better, right?
Agel15: Don't worry about, as long as you are caught up now. Thanks for reading & reviewing!
Okay, now stay tuned and in the meantime review...