Chapter Ten: Probably Not The Best Idea
Haley never spoke a word to Taylor about the setup, or Nathan's visit, but Taylor knew about it. The walls were thin. Her ears were large.
Both of them were reluctantly glad when Gabby began school the next day. They had told her that she could stay home for longer if she wished, to gain bearings, but the girl had been eager for her start.
Gabriela Travers was nothing like Haley had expected. Haley knew that these kids came with their problems, but she'd suspected them to be voiced differently-late nights, out of control behaviour, brattiness. Gabby was polite, well mannered. She said her pleases and thankyous. She just didn't say much else.
Taylor was nervous but not surprised when Haley locked herself in the bathroom for the entire afternoon. She sat on the sofa, attempting to watch the television while she tried to guess, with the different sounds coming from the bathroom, what Haley was doing, and why she was doing it.
Taylor's breath was bated when the door of Haley's room slowly opened, but she was unimpressed when it finally did. Expecting Haley to be dressed in something sultry to show off her curves, to win back the love of her life, Taylor was disappointed to see her little sister dressed in a knee length black skirt, sensible shoes and a cream sweater.
"What are you wearing?" she demanded, raising one eyebrow.
"What? He's my ex husband, I don't have to dress up for him," said Haley, crossing her arms and making a stare to match Taylor's own.
"Please. People who don't want to impress don't wax, or spend all afternoon in a bathroom," said Taylor.
"He still pictures me as sixteen, I have to uphold that image. I've gotten older," said Haley pettishly.
"You're twenty-five, not fifty. Though I'm not saying you look it, in that outfit. Come on, remember how much he used to like your legs?" asked Taylor, taking her sister's arm and dragging her back into the room.
Haley was still protesting fifteen minutes later when the two of them came out again, when she was dressed in a low black dress and stilettos, her hair bouncing down her back.
"I look like a prostitute! He's going to be disgusted! He's going to think I set this up to seduce him!" moaned Haley.
"Come on, like you don't want to. Nathan Scott has been lusting after you since you were sixteen, and you after him. Many girls would kill for that," said Taylor reassuringly.
"Course you never had to," mumbled Haley, staring at her wide selection of handbags.
"Shut up. I didn't ruin your marriage," shot back Taylor.
"You know, people say it takes two to ruin a marriage. I think it takes four," said Haley cruelly, as the doorbell rang.
She received a flashback of his brother when she saw Nathan leaning against the doorframe in Lucas' traditional pose. A flush crept into her cheeks when he couldn't resist his gaze traveling down her body.
The two of them turned to walk silently down the hall. Taylor crept after them, and gently eased the door open to watch, happiness and a tint of jealousy in her eyes.
Haley had been cavorting around in her own limo for almost a decade, but she was still surprised when Nathan's own purred up to the curb, was even more surprised when he chivalrously pulled open the door and took her hand to help her in.
His eyes fastened on her legs again when she crossed them. One of her hands went to fiddle with the earring that hung from her earlobe-a habit of her he still remembered. Sometimes Nathan felt that he remembered all of Haley's quirks, her habits, her idiosyncrasies. Sometimes he felt like he'd forgotten nothing about her.
Sometimes he felt that what they'd had had been so long ago that he couldn't possibly remember anything at all.
The car pulled up to the restaurant, and she quickly got out without his help. Together they walked up to the restaurant. Someone opened the door for them. The maitre d' already knew Nathan, and ushered them in right away. He called Haley Mrs. Scott. Of course he did. Wasn't she? Sometimes even Haley forgot how it worked.
Haley wanted to stare at Nathan as he sat down, planted his feet firmly on the hardwood floor and gritted his teeth while a waiter fluttered around, putting his napkin on his lap, pouring him a glass of wine, handing him a menu and somehow managing to stutter something about his performance in the game against Detroit.
But she couldn't, because Nathan was staring at her.
He was blatantly, almost obscenely, drinking her in. He didn't exactly approve of the long, straight blonde hair, the designer perfume, the expensive, revealing dress, but they made a bewitching combination that he couldn't tear his eyes from-didn't want to tear his eyes from.
Haley awoke the next morning with a splitting headache and a sour taste in her mouth, images of the previous night flashing through her head, mingling with the tread of his heavy footsteps coming down the hall toward her.
Author's note: I'm getting the impression no one actually reads these, but anyway. Sorry for the delay. Review lots and I'll get the next chapter up fast, and it's a flashback.