Chapter Eleven: Forever Yours

Haley shut her eyes tightly, willing herself to remember the events of the previous night. At first, all that came to her was alcohol-vast quantities of it, consumed by both of them. Then the details came.

At the restaurant, Nathan had ordered steak, like she'd expected him to. Haley couldn't remember her own order, only that she'd ordered it with a glass of wine.

She was glad that the next part of the evening was a blur to her, but she could imagine it-mind numbing silence, awkward glances,

It picked up when she downed her glass of wine, and then several others.

"God, remember when we first met? I thought you were the biggest jerk ever," said Haley, pounding a fist on the white tablecloth.

"I thought you were in love with my brother," said Nathan, recalling the distant time.

"And that you could hurt him through me," she said.

"Always a good goal," he said.

"You were always such an asshole. You still are," she said, laughing hysterically.

"Oh yeah? Then why did you marry me?" he asked suggestively.

"Because…" she leaned toward him and whispered in his ear. Nathan Scott laughed appreciatively and marveled at the irony-how far off Haley had been from the standard of girls he'd dated in his teens, how close to it she was now.

"That's how it is?"

"You'll see how it is," she said coquettishly, smiling and leaning back to better expose her cleavage.

"I look forward to it," he agreed. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, she was distracted by a passing desert.

"Mousse cake! I need to get that! You're paying, right?" she asked, eagerly signaling the waiter.

A half hour later they stumbled out of the restaurant into the busy street. Haley let out a drunken giggle, and Nathan matched it with a full-throated laugh.

Haley did not remember inviting Nathan up, but it was silently understood between the both of them that he would. The driver pulled to a stop and they got out in front of Haley's luxurious high-rise building, they walked past the doorman, who raised a disapproving eyebrow but let them in.

"Taylor?" called Haley into the room. Nathan joined in:

"Taylor James!" they called. Afterward Haley would suspect that Taylor kept quiet to stop them from stopping, but she never really knew.

"So, now that we've got me home safe you might as well get home too," said Haley, turning around and brushing up as close as she could to him without actually touching.

"Safe? You don't want to stay here all by yourself, do you?" he asked

"Can't think of anyone to stay here with me," she said, shrugging her smooth, elegant shoulders.

"I can," he said, finally closing the gap between them and pressing his lips on to hers.

Nathan was initially shocked when Haley went down on her knees and took him in her mouth, but quickly his pleasure overcame his shock. It was something she'd never done when they were married, but it was one change that he welcomed.

He returned the favour when they were together in bed, by ducking under the cover to pleasure her in return. She gripped the sheets, waves of desire washing through her until she felt she would burst from the pent up energy.

"Was it like you remembered?" he asked, after they'd thoroughly completed the act.

"God no. Saying so would practically be blasphemy," said Haley, spreading her legs again to hint to him that she enjoyed the change.

Haley was shocked out of her reverie when the door opened and Nathan came in, wearing nothing but his boxers. He smiled when he saw her, and she realized how erotic she looked-her upper body out of the duvet, fully on display, her hair careening down to the pillow.

"Nate…. We… Didn't we?" she asked feebly, covering her breasts with the sheet.

"It was that forgettable?" he asked, slowly approaching from the doorway.

"I remembered, didn't I?"

"Yeah. Sorry. You were pretty far gone," he said, forcing a laugh.

"Whereas you were a perfect gentlemen. Are we doing this, Nathan?" she asked, her eyes round.

"Doing what?"

Haley floundered for a word to encompass all that she meant in her heart.

"Naley," she said finally.

"It's kind of early to…" he began to say.

"No, Nathan. It's nine years too late. If you don't mean it, if you can't do it, I want you to go. But if you think we can make this work…" she said carefully. Haley never understood how Nathan managed to climb atop her so quickly, but climb he did. He leaned down to kiss her gently.

"I could love you forever," he said. Haley indistinctly registered the cheesiness of his line, but not before it warmed her completely.

"And I think you might just," she said, accepting his kiss with a light heart.