"What is taking them so long?" Lucas asked. Lucas and Nathan were sitting on the couch at Brooke's house, waiting for her and Haley to come down so they could go to dinner.

"I don't know, but I'm starting to get really hungry." Nathan complained.

"Just one more minute!" Brooke called from over the balcony. Lucas and Nathan rolled their eyes.

"Their meaning of a minute and ours are two very different things." Nathan commented. They heard stomping and a shriek of giggles before Haley stumbled to the top of the stairs in her bathrobe.

"Sorry! Just one more second," she ran back into the room and started the hairdryer. Half an hour later, Brooke was zipping up Haley's dress and they were marveling at how good they looked. When they started down the stairs, they burst into giggles. Lucas and Nathan had found the PS2 and a basketball game and were yelling at each other over who had won.

"Guys, guys! Calm down, can we just go? Jeez, what took you so long?" Brooke joked as she took Lucas by the hand and pulled him out the door.

"Wow," Nathan breathed. Haley did a twirl and giggled.

"Thanks," she slipped her arm threw his and they were off.

"Scott," Lucas said to the receptionist at the restaurant. He was a short fat man with long black hair that was slicked all the way to one side.

"Wait, you Scott Lucas and Scott Nathan?" the man asked in his fake accent.

"Um, yes." Nathan said bashfully.

"Oh, you get specialty seating for Scotts. I regular game watcher. You good," the man drawled.

"Ah, thanks." Lucas said. The man smiled a huge toothy smile and left them alone.

"So, Scott Lucas and Scott Nathan, what will you be having tonight?" Brooke joked. They all burst out laughing.

The rest of the night, Nathan and Haley kept stealing glances at each other and flirting uncontrollably. Brooke couldn't take it anymore.

"So, when's the wedding?" she said.

"Huh?" Haley asked looking away from Nathan.

"I asked when the wedding was because there's no way you guys aren't spending the rest of your lives together." Brooke said with a straight face. Haley and Nathan rolled their eyes and returned to their conversation. Brooke decided to give it a rest until they had ordered their food and decided to make a more subtle approach. Subtle for Brooke, that is.

"Hey Hales, can I see you in the bathroom for a sec?" Brooke stood up holding her hand out for Haley to take. Haley sighed but agreed.

"What is it?" Haley asked when they were in the bathroom.

"This is driving me mad!" Brooke started pacing, "You guys are so freaking hot for each other and neither of you want to make a move." Brooke stated matter-of-factly.

"Brooke, this is the first guy that I really want to get to know. I don't just want to get to know him enough to know what he's like in bed but what he's like out of it." Haley explained.

"I totally understand that. I mean I can tell just by the way you guys look at each other. It's just that you guys should totally be like making out in a corner by now." Brooke said under her breath, regretting it as soon as Haley glared at her.

"I just don't want to mess this up. This is the first time I've ever really cared, you know?" Haley looked down at her perfectly manicured toes and smiled at how great they looked against her black shoes.

"Oh Hales," Brooke enveloped Haley into a hug and rocked her back and forth.

Meanwhile, back at the table…

Lucas and Nathan were sitting by themselves staring at each other awkwardly.

"So," Nathan tried. Lucas looked up.

"Dude, I know you like her, I know Brooke knows you like her, I know Haley knows you like her and I know you know you like her, so why don't you just save us all the agony of having to see you guys flirt with a passion and just get it on already." Lucas said.

"Luke, I just want to take it slow. I don't want to drive her away, you know?" Nathan explained.

"Yeah, I just think you guys are more than perfect for each other."

"I know, I think we are to. I mean she fits perfectly. It's so weird though, I just don't want to do anything to mess this up."

"…but that shot he took, that was mad." Lucas pretended they had been talking about some pointless basketball other than some sentimental conversation. Nathan was quick to catch on.

"Sorry," Brooke whispered into Lucas's ear.

After dinner, Lucas offered to take Brooke home, who had gotten pretty wasted.

"See you guys later," He called from the car. Haley and Nathan waved.

"So, I guess we're walking," Nathan turned and started walking away.

"Shit," Haley commented under her breath.

"What is it?" Nathan spun around to face her.

"I can't walk in these shoes." Nathan burst out laughing causing Haley to giggle.

"You're joking right?" Nathan laughed.

"I wish I was. Let's just go, I'll take them off." Haley reached bent over in front of Nathan, giving him a pretty good view of her ass. He's a guy, of course he was staring!

"No, I'll carry you." Nathan suggested. Haley spun around with a surprised look on her face.

"What?" Haley was confused. She couldn't wait to feel his warm skin against hers and to feel close to him, it's all she wanted to do all night.

"I'll carry you," Nathan repeated.

"Uh, Okay." Nathan walked slowly to her and swept her up. He was surprised again at how well her head could rest on his shoulder and how her hips didn't poke him in the side the way it did with most girls. She was like a feather in his arms. The way home went by faster then they both hoped it would. Nathan was reluctant to set her down when they got to her doorstep and Haley was sad to let go.

"Thanks, Nate." Haley slipped the shoes back on.

"No problem."

"And for dinner, I had a really good time." Haley continued, not ready for him to leave. She didn't think she ever would be.

"Yeah, so did I."

"Yeah," Haley whispered. She looked into his eyes and saw a small twinkle. Her heart nearly leapt out of her thought when he brushed a stray hair out of her eyes. Haley laughed and looked down. Nathan took her chin in his hands and leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was gentle and not very long, but it was full of such longing and emotion, neither wanted it to end. By the look in their eyes, they both noticed that their lips were still touching in their hearts if not literally. Haley brought her lips to Nathan's again but with more force this time. He slid his hands around her tiny frame and rested on the small of her back. Haley wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. When they pulled away, both were breathing hard.

"Does this mean…" Haley trailed off, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Yeah, I think it does." Nathan answered before bringing his lips back to hers.

Yay! Another chapter done. Thanks so much for all the reviews I love every single one of them. This might be the last update before I leave so I'm super sorry about that. I just finished reading the latest update of another series of stories that were so good! Here's the stories and the summaries if you guys want. Their all total Naley's but I really really liked them:

Letting Go of Holding On:

Main couple: Nathan and Haley. Haley moves to New York at the age of 13 and returns three years later a changed person. Can Nathan help her forget her past? COMPLETE WITH EPILOGUE

Holding On to Letting Go

Nathan & Haley. This is the sequel to Letting Go Of Holding On. A complication with someone from Haley's past forces her to reevaluate her decision. COMPLETE

The Art of Letting Go

NathanHaley. Sequel to Holding on to Letting Go. After finally letting go of the past, a new problem arises. Will Haley's insecurities make her lose what she's taken so long to get back?

Anyway, their sooooooo good! Thanks again for all the great reviews guys!

Emily