A.N Wow you guys rock the last few updates have come through pretty close together which usually means fewer reviews but you guys have not let me down. I can't believe how many you have managed to submit in the last day. Thank you so much. Now on another note I don't know why but for some reason I sit down to write a nice sweet chapter without any sexual undertones and Nathan seems to end up saying all these things that I just can't seem to control. I'm sure you must all be cursing me for all the sexual tension between them but I promise it is leading somewhere, as you will discover in the next few chapters. Hope you can hang on that long. Especially you Jess I couldn't help but get the impression with the latest batch of reviews that you would like to see something happen between them. Don't know what could possibly have given me that idea. Anyway hope you all enjoy this chapter, as it will most likely be the last for the next couple of weeks as I leave for my holiday tomorrow. Remember to review and tell me what you think. It will help the creative juices to keep flowing while I'm away.
MeSpikeAndAngelinA3sum Ok so I'm thinking that people enjoyed the drunk Haley and were glad that she finally told Nathan about the dream. I thought the piggy back ride would be a nice touch. Thands so much for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter too.
Cap'n Keira Sparrow Well by working my little tail off I've managed to get another chapter done for your reading pleasure at least I hope it will be pleasure. Glad you enjoyed Haley's drunken confession. It should definitely help to clear the air between them. Hope you enjoy this chapter too.
heather dawn Yes he needed to know the truth about why she had called Josh's name and what better way to reveal it than with a drunken confession. I'm glad that you enjoyed that chapter and as for her room well I guess you'll just have to read and see.
catc20 Another new reviewer. Welcome aboard. I think you'll find the journey with this story a tumultuous one at times but hopefully ultimately enjoyable. Another fan of drunk Haley hmmm might have to keep that in mind for future chapters. Yes we should all be thankful for Brooke and as you will discover in this chapter there is even more for them and us to be thankful to her for. Glad that I managed to restore your good mood with the piggy back ride and the chat with the manager. They obviously had the desired effect for all you readers. Yes Nathan is definitely opening himself up again but I don't know whether you've ever read any of my other stories but things rarely continue to be smooth sailing for long. Although there is a hint of that in this chapter. I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts on all the chapters to come.
Britt Hey you're back. I'm glad you're still finding it entertaining. Keep reviewing its great to get some reviews from different people. Thanks for the feedback.
hilaryhilary I'm glad you approve. And as for your threats all I can say is let the battle begin. LOL.
unfolddream Ok thinking you're a fan of the drunkeness. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was fun to write. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze another drunken scenario into the story somewhere. Thanks for the review.
kennedy Stop I'm blushing. LOL. No really thanks once again for an extremely complimentary review. It makes my day to hear people are enjoying it so much. Hope you enjoy this one too.
kaos2405 She's back! Hey good to get a review from you again and three in one day. Wow that was great. So I'm getting a sense of a certain anxiety coming through in your reviews. All I can say is stick with it and as they say 'Good things come to those who wait'. By the way update I need to read at least one more chapter before I leave.
Enjoy everyone and thanx to all those who reviewed.
Chapter Seventeen
When Haley woke up the next morning unlike many may have been in her situation she didn't have to stop and think for a moment where she was. She could feel the weight of Nathan's arm where it lay draped across the bare skin of her midriff.
Wait bare skin?
I remember a lot of things that happened last night but none of them involved getting naked.
Well practically naked she quickly amended to herself.
Lifting her head from Nathan's chest she watched him as he slept.
He looked so peaceful and untroubled when he was asleep almost like he used to look when they were together five years ago.
As if sensing her scrutiny Nathan's eyes fluttered open and for a moment he appeared confused before he registered Haley's presence in his arms and without warning a sly smile covered his face.
"I could get used to this you know," he told her brushing a piece of hair away from her face.
Haley couldn't help but compare this to the last time she had woken up in his arms and had been so afraid that he would wake and find her there that she had practically ran for the safety of the shower.
A slight flush covered her cheeks as she remembered what had happened in the shower on that particular morning.
In reality she knew not a lot had changed since that day but for some reason the last few days she had felt herself opening up to him more and it seemed to stem from the way he had looked after her when she had that headache.
Even though he had acted distant after that she had somehow felt like something had been regained between them again.
Then after her drunken confession last night even though she could barely see straight at the time she had got the definite sense that something had changed for the better between them.
"Yes well I probably could too," she told him.
"Except for one thing."
"Oh really," he smirked "and what might that be."
"The fact that I have no idea where my clothes are or why I'm not wearing them."
Suddenly she looked at him and a feeling of dread rolled her stomach.
They hadn't had they.
No of course we didn't.
I would know if that happened surely.
Not only would I remember it but also if memory serves me correctly I would have woken up feeling a hell of a lot better than this.
He always was the ultimate hangover cure.
Realising she was once again becoming distracted from the matter at hand she turned her attention back to Nathan who was watching her with a rather amused look on his face.
"Something bothering you Hales?" he asked rubbing a bare leg against Haley rather provocatively.
"Nathan," she began but trailed off uncertainly as his leg once again brushed against her own and she lost her train of thought.
"Can you please just tell me what happened last night?"
"What do you mean Hales?" he asked determined to drag out this moment as long as possible.
"Nathan please just tell me," she pleaded feeling almost like she was going to cry.
"You really want to know?" he asked her.
"Yes," she said definitively.
"But you may not like the answer Hales."
"I don't care," she told him stubbornly "I just have to know."
"Ok if you're sure you want to know?"
"I'm sure,"
"Well then here it is.
You woke up in the middle of the night and insisted you were too hot with all your clothes on and started taking them off.
I managed to stop you before you removed everything."
Haley for a moment was relieved and then all the memories came flooding back of what she had done after she had taken off her clothes and she wanted to die right there and then.
FlashbackThrowing back the covers she sat up causing Nathan's arm to fall from where it rested across her back waking him up also.
"Hales what are you doing?" he asked groggily
"It's too hot," she moaned plucking at the hem of the t-shirt she was wearing
Then without further warning she pulled it over her head clad only in her jeans and bra as she sat beside them.
Nathan tried to control his sharp intake of breath but it was useless.
It didn't seem to matter how many times he saw her partially undressed it never ceased to affect him.
Her hands were now tugging at the buttons on her jeans, finally succeeding in undoing each of them she began to wiggle around attempting to shimmy out of them.
Nathan sat watching her fascinated by the way her breasts moved so enticingly as she insisted on wiggling around in the bed next to him.
Holding them up triumphantly she tossed them down onto the floor.
"Now," she said stroking a hand over his chest "Isn't that better?"
"I uh guess so." He choked out.
Haley looked slightly disappointed in his response then seemed to brighten almost instantly.
"No you're right," she said "I'm not finished yet."
Reaching behind her she fumbled with the clasp of her bra.
"This may as well go too." She told him as continued to struggle with the stubborn metal.
"Uh no Hales actually I think that's probably enough for now," he told her desperately knowing there was no way he would be able to retain the thin hold he had over his urges if she continued to remove bits of clothing.
"Are you quite sure about that?" she asked him cheekily.
"I'm positive," he said desperately.
"Well you know," she said conversationally "I'm not the only one who could stand to lose some of their clothes."
"Haley I'm only wearing a pair of shorts."
"Exactly" she responded "and as far as I'm concerned that's far too much."
As she spoke she slid her small hands inside the waistband of his shorts.
Nathan groaned loudly as he felt her fingers brush fleetingly against his length.
Grasping her wrists firmly he pulled her hands out of his shorts and held them up in front of her.
"Haley trust me you don't want to do this,"
"Yes I do," she told him determinedly.
"Hales I know you think you want this but you're drunk and trust me when you wake up in the morning you are going to be really glad that I stopped you."
"Nathan stop the bullshit.
You obviously don't want me anymore.
That's really why you're turning me down isn't it?"
Nathan stared at her incredulously scarcely able to believe that she was honestly contemplating the thought that he might not want her.
Is she nuts?
"Haley I do want you but not like this,"
"Bullshit Nathan, you're not interested in me at all anymore.
Here I am half naked practically throwing myself at you and you're turning me down.
Well fine Nathan if you're not interested anymore than I'm sure I'll be able to find someone else who is."
Nathan could feel his temper growing as he listened to her words and that wasn't the only part of him that was growing.
Watching her kneeling in front of him flushed with anger and wearing nothing more than her underwear he could feel his excitement building.
Grabbing her hand he pulled it down and placed it on the front of his shorts.
"Feel that?" he grated.
"Do you?" he asked again as she failed to respond.
She couldn't answer him.
As soon as her hand had come into contact with the front of his shorts her mouth had gone dry and rendered her incapable of speech.
She could feel the heat emanating from him through the thin material of his shorts and the distinct bulge seemed to be pulsing against her hand.
"That's how much I want you Hales and don't you ever forget it."
He held her hand there a moment longer relishing her touch but finally he couldn't bear it any longer and wrenched her hand away.
"Don't ever make the mistake of thinking I don't want you Hales.
Now go back to sleep.
I need to go take a shower."
Despite the alcohol still coursing through her system Haley found herself still laying awake minutes later listening to the sounds of his shower.
End FlashbackBurying her face in the pillow she could barely meet Nathan's gaze as he saw realisation dawn on her face and knew she had remembered all the events of the night before.
"Hales" he said and she could hear the distinct laughter in his voice as he spoke.
"Its ok, don't worry about it.
You just had too much to drink that's all."
Haley felt some of her embarrassment die away as Nathan spoke so understandingly,
"But you should understand one thing very clearly Hales if you ever do that to me again I wouldn't count on me being able to do the gentlemanly thing again.
So you can be rest assured that if you ever start taking off your clothes in the middle of the night in my bed there is no way that I'll ever say no again.
Consider yourself warned." He told her.
"Now" he said apparently ready to drop the subject for the time being "how about we go and have some breakfast and then check out what Barbados has to offer us."
"Uh yeah sounds good," Haley agreed relieved that he was allowing the subject to drop at least for the time being.
"I'm going to go get dressed and I'll meet you in front of the lifts in about fifteen minutes," she told him.
"Ok," he agreed as she clambered out of his bed trying to cover up as best she could.
"Oh by the way Hales for someone who must have the hangover from hell you're looking good this morning."
Haley blushed as she saw him running an approving eye over all the skin that was left bare to his gaze.
Hurriedly she picked up her jeans pulling them on before hunting around for her t-shirt.
He grinned to himself as he watched her.
This could turn out to be an interesting two weeks after all.
Letting herself into her room a few minutes later Haley rummaged through her suitcase looking for something to wear today.
She pulled out a white sundress that she knew accentuated her golden skin tones and put it on before going into the bathroom to put on a small amount of makeup.
She heard a knock at the door followed by Nathan's voice.
"Hales can I come in?"
"Yeah" she called back "its open,"
He came in looking around before spotting her in the bathroom.
He sat down on the bed to watch her as he began to talk.
"Hales I was just talking to the activities desk and they've got a boat trip going today that I thought might be fun for us to go on.
What do you think?"
"Um sure sounds good."
She called back distractedly over her shoulder.
"Well you're going to need your swimsuit," he told her.
Remembering what he had said just a few minutes ago in his bedroom Haley reached a fast decision.
She knew the swimsuits Brooke had talked her into buying and after what had happened between her and Nathan the night before there was no point tempting fate.
"No that's ok Nathan I don't think I'll be swimming considering the hangover I've got."
We'll see about that Hales he thought rummaging through her suitcase until he found exactly what Brooke had said would be there.
Stuffing it into his backpack that he had bought along for the day he waited for her to finish up in the bathroom.
When she exited he smiled at her before offering his arm to her.
"Lets go have some fun shall we?"
"Lets," she agreed happily linking her arm through his.
She couldn't suppress the bubble of happiness that was floating in her stomach as she thought of the day they had ahead of them.
It had been so long since she and Nathan had simply had fun together and that was one of the things that she had missed the most when she was away in Chicago.
Nathan had not only been her fiancé but her best friend too when they had been together and as clichéd as it sounds she had missed being able to talk to him even when she had known that they no longer had a future as Mr and Mrs Scott.
But she didn't want to think about that now.
There were too many bad memories from their past and that's where they needed to stay right now all she wanted was to spend some time with Nathan without all the tension that had surrounded them back in Tree Hill.
She tried to quell the voice in her head that kept popping up telling her that she was being disloyal to Josh with her current behaviour but try as it might that voice could not convince her that what she was doing with Nathan was wrong.
They hadn't spoken in more than a week and technically as Nathan said they were on a break so if she wanted to enjoy some time with her ex boyfriend then why shouldn't she.
She was a grown woman capable of making her own decisions about what was going on in her life and who she wanted in it.
Coming out of her thoughts she looked up to see Nathan looking at her quizzically as they stood waiting to be seated in the restaurant for breakfast,
Bringing his hand up to her head he tapped it lightly with one finger.
"Its holiday time Hales time to turn that overworked brain of yours off for a while and simply relax and enjoy whatever is to come."
"I know," she agreed "you're right I have to stop thinking so much.
But that's why I have you to take my mind off things."
"Well," he said cheekily mockingly taking a bow "I'm glad I can be of service,"
Seeing the waiter coming towards him he smiled at her.
"Now lets go see about getting you some bacon and eggs if I remember correctly that always was your favourite hangover cure."
Haley followed him across the restaurant smiling uncaring who saw them with their arms linked and appearing not to have a care in the world.
Besides it wasn't like anyone knew them here anyway.
Looking up she saw the manager that she had spoken to last night watching her warily and had to stifle a giggle.
That poor man all he had wanted to do was stop her from making a spectacle of herself in his hotel and she had decided to make him her confidante about all her confusion with Nathan.
Unable to resist the urge she smiled broadly at him before raising a finger to her lips in a Ssh motion.
He immediately blanched and looked away probably concerned that she would attempt to come and speak to him again.
Haley once again had to control her urge to laugh she couldn't remember the last time she had felt this happy and relaxed and she looked forward to what the day held in store for them.
Nathan settled her at the table before walking over to the buffet to heap a plate with a large serving of Bacon and eggs for her and made a similar plate up for himself.
"Here eat this we have a long day ahead of us." He said easily handing her the plate.
They ate in silence but for once Haley didn't mind this was a different type of silence to what she had been subjected to lately.
This was almost companionable.
After they finished eating he stood up and took her hand leading her towards the dock where the boat was waiting for them.
Haley looked around at the other couples waiting to board and was taken aback by how right it felt standing here with Nathan amongst all these people who were so obviously in love.
It was almost frightening how much being with Nathan seemed to make such perfect sense.
She felt Nathan's hand squeeze hers lightly and she smiled radiantly in response.
Walking ahead of him she walked to the boat feeling Nathan's hands come to rest on her hips to steady her as she climbed aboard.
She waited for him to join her on board before walking with him to an empty patch of deck and spreading out the towels they had been provided with.
Haley put her sunglasses on and laid back ready to absorb the beautiful rays of sunshine that were already beating down on them this early in the morning.
She glanced over at Nathan who had already removed his shirt and was sprawled out on his stomach next to her.
He reached over to his backpack and pulled out a bottle of sunscreen tossing it to her.
"Here you better use some of this or you'll get burnt to a crisp."
Gratefully she caught the bottle and sat up rubbing the lotion into the exposed skin of her legs and arms.
He couldn't help the smirk that crossed his lips as he watched her hands rubbing against her legs and imagined himself taking over the job.
But that could wait till later when she got into her swimsuit and had lots of exposed skin in hard to reach places.
Haley saw his smirk and wondered what had caused it this time but didn't waste a lot of time thinking about it as she lay back down.
"Hales aren't you going to offer me some help?" Nathan asked looking over at her.
She looked at him questioningly until he threw the bottle of sunscreen back to her.
"You don't want me to get burnt do you?"
"Oh no of course not," she said uncertainly coming to kneel beside him as he continued to lie on his stomach wearing nothing more than a pair of swim trunks.
She shook some lotion into her hands and began rubbing it into the warm skin of his muscled back and shoulders.
When she was finished she felt like the temperature had suddenly gone up by about ten degrees.
Nathan looked at her flushed face and smiled.
"Thanks Hales I'll make sure I return the favour later."
Haley settled herself back down next to him but she no longer felt as relaxed as she had when they first arrived.
Eventually though as they lay there chatting about inconsequential things such as work and the weather she felt herself start to relax.
They were quite a distance out from shore now and the weather was perfect.
All was right with her world.
Slowly she felt herself drifting off to sleep and glancing over at Nathan she could see that he was very nearly asleep himself so allowed her eyes to drift shut and sleep to take over.
A little while later they were awoken by the sound of a gong announcing that lunch was ready.
Making their way over they surveyed the plentiful spread in front of them before digging in.
All this fresh sea air had given them quite an appetite.
Nathan walked to the small bar on board and came back with a glass of red wine for them each.
As she sipped her wine a large wave rocked the boat slightly and the contents of her glass sloshed all over the front of her white dress.
Looking down at the large stain Haley was horrified.
"Oh no Nathan look, now what am I going to do?
I can't walk around with wine all over my dress and I bet it's going to stain too.
Maybe you were right I should have bought my swimsuit at least then I would have something else to change into rather than walking around in a stained dress."
Nathan opened his backpack and pulled out a small bundle of material with a flourish.
"Your wish is my command," he said jokingly.
She stared at him incredulously.
"Where did you get that?" she asked him in disbelief.
"What this?" he asked hooking a finger through the string that held the two halves of the bikini bottom together and twirling it around his finger.
"I got it from your suitcase."
"No way," Haley said, "I didn't pack that.
Brooke tried to convince me to buy it but I wouldn't even try it on.
Brooke of course…." She trailed off as all the pieces came together.
Brooke had insisted on coming home with her the other day after lunch and then had told her she needed the bathroom but for some reason had gone to use the upstairs one instead of the one situated just across the hall.
Then when she had gone looking for her after some time had passed she had found her in the hall talking conspiratorially with Nathan.
"She bought this didn't she and she put it in my luggage and you knew all about it."
Nathan couldn't help but laugh at her horrified expression.
Putting his hands up in mock surrender he leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"Guilty as charged.
So what's my punishment going to be?"
"I don't know yet," she laughed "but I'm sure I'll come up with something."
"Ok," Nathan told her "I'll take my punishment like a man but can I make one small request.
Can you wear that while you're doling out my punishment?"
Haley for a moment stared at him in shock at his blatant sexual innuendo but then felt the laughter bubbling up in her throat.
"We'll see," she told him mock seriously.
"We'll see."
"So," he said hopefully "do you need some help putting it on?"
Haley laughed at his eagerness "Down Boy," she told him.
As much as she wanted to admonish him for speaking to her that way the truth was that she was enjoying the flirty banter that they were exchanging.
After all it was just a bit of harmless fun.
Taking the bikini from his hand she went below deck to get changed staring at herself critically in the mirror when she was finished.
The silvery blue colour immediately caught the eye and while it wasn't as indecent as she had originally expected it didn't exactly leave much to the imagination.
She tied the strings at each hip and the ones that went up behind her neck and felt a flutter of excitement go through her as she wondered what Nathan's reaction would be to her in this.
She didn't have long to wonder because as soon as she stepped back onto deck he was by her side whistling appreciatively along with a few of the boat hands who found themselves on the end of some death glares from Nathan.
Wrapping a possessive arm around her waist he led her back to their towels.
"I think it might be time for me to return the favour with the sun block don't you?"
Haley physically shivered at the husky sound of his voice as he said those words.
The touch of his hands against the bare skin of her shoulders caused her to yelp in surprise but before long she was moaning in undisguised pleasure as his hands worked their magic on her body.
It never ceased to amaze her the effect he could have on her with such a simple touch.
After all he was only rubbing sun block into the bare skin of her back and yet she felt as if her every nerve ending was on fire.
It took every ounce of her self-control not to roll onto her back and pull him down on top of her but as much as she wanted to she somehow controlled herself.
She couldn't do that in front of all the other guests no matter how much she might want to it was bad enough that the older couple sitting just across from them had heard her moan.
The last thing she needed was to make even more of a spectacle of herself.
Nathan finally finished his ministrations and she breathed a sigh of relief that was quickly followed by a gasp as she felt his lips brush across the nape of her neck in a fleeting kiss.
"All done Hales," he told her as he settled himself back onto his own towel "and it looks like we're heading back to shore soon" he said noticing the deck hands busying themselves with preparations to head back.
As they lay side-by-side face down Haley was surprised to feel Nathan's fingers come out to thread themselves between hers.
Looking down at their joined hands she smiled to herself.
It just seemed right somehow.
They lay like that until they arrived back at the dock, gathering their belongings as they prepared to leave the boat.
"It's almost dinner time Hales shall we head straight to the restaurant,"
Haley looked down at her attire disparagingly "I think I might need to change first,"
"Alright," he said with a slight pout "if you have to,"
She laughed at his crestfallen expression.
"Why don't you go get us a table and I'll meet you down there shortly."
"Like I said earlier your wish is my command.
See you soon," he said before releasing her hand and allowing her to head back to her room.
She hurried up the stairs and changed quickly not wanting to be away from Nathan any longer than she had to be.
On her way back down she caught sight of a shaggy light brown head across the room and for a moment her breath caught in her throat.
Don't be silly Haley of course it's not him.
But as she joined Nathan for dinner she found it hard to shake the unsettling feeling that pervaded her senses.
Pushing it out of her mind she allowed herself to enjoy Nate's company but every so often she would find herself scanning the crowded restaurant looking to see if perhaps her eyes had not been playing tricks on her and he was really here.
Eventually she allowed herself to relax once more as she became convinced that it had simply been her imagination working over time.
After finishing dinner they went outside and sat enjoying the balmy night talking quietly amongst themselves.
As it got later Nathan once again took her hand and led her upstairs stopping outside her door he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.
"Night Hales, I'll see you in the morning at breakfast."
"See you there," she agreed.
"Sweet dreams," she added as he walked away.
"They always are when they involve you," he said with a smirk "although perhaps sweet isn't quite the right word to describe them."
"Nathan," she playfully admonished him but her own smile was huge in response to his smirk.
"See you in my dreams," he threw back over his shoulder as he entered his room.
Just down the hall someone watched this touching interlude and grimaced to himself.
Entering his own room he immediately picked up his phone.
"Hey it's me I have to get out of here now."
He cut off the surprised retort on the other end of the phone.
"Just do it.
She can't see me here."
A.N How's that for a bit of a twist thrown in at the end? Told you that things are far from over. So I wonder who it is? Let me know what you think.
Spoilers:- Chapter Eighteen will be the chapter you have all been waiting for. Esp you Jess if your reviews are anything to go by.