Coming Back for More (Chapter nine)
Nathan studied Haley for a minute. She was absolutely stunning now. Her hair was no longer brown with blonde highlights; it was dark brown with light brown highlights. The way it had been when they had first met and dated. He liked her hair better this way. It seemed simple and mesmerizing just like her. She smiled at him and he shook his head and realized that she had stretched out her hand for a handshake. He accepted her hand and the moment their fingers touched, he felt something go through him. It was like a jolt of electricity only this time it didn't kill him, it made him realize just how much he missed Haley. "So, um, how about we go get something to eat?" Peyton asked, bring him out of his trance.
"Sure," Nathan said.
"I'm up for food," Jake said, and smiled when everyone started chuckling. "What do you say, Hales?"
"I guess I have time to eat," Haley said, smirking.
"Ok, then. Let's go because I am starving," Peyton said. Fifteen minutes later, they were all sitting down in a random restaurant that Peyton and Nathan had picked out and they were looking at their menus. Then all of a sudden, Peyton's beeper went off. She checked it, dialled a number and sighed. "Brooke, calm down. What's going on?" Haley looked at her in concern. Peyton just smirked and rolled her eyes.
"Brooke and Lucas are engaged right now and Brooke is also pregnant. So, she freaks out at the slightest problem," Jake explained.
"Slightest problem? She freaks out even when there is no problem. See, the doctor put her on bed rest for two weeks, which was about five days ago. So, ever since then, Brooke calls one of those two to come over and spend time with her," Nathan explained. Haley had to laugh.
"When did they get engaged?" Haley asked.
"Right out of high school," Jake replied. Haley almost spit out her water.
"They've been engaged for five and a half years?" she asked in disbelief. Jake and Nathan nodded.
"See, Brooke's parents kept putting off the marriage, putting silly conditions on it. Like, Brooke had to lose weight or Lucas had to get a haircut or a promotion. Things like that because they don't really want Brooke to marry Lucas since they think that she could do better. So, when Brooke found out she was pregnant, not only was it a good thing for her and Luke, her parents are now insisting that they get married right away," Nathan said.
"Wow. Just think. If she had only gotten pregnant three or four years ago, they would already be married now," Haley said. They all laughed and when Peyton hung up the phone, she joined them.
"Don't let Brooke hear you say that. She will freak on you," Peyton warned. Haley chuckled and nodded, even though she knew that the likelihood of her seeing Brooke again was not very good since she and Brooke were never friends to begin with. "Anyways, um, Jake and I have to go," Peyton said.
"What?" Nathan and Haley asked in unison.
/So this was Peyton's plan all along from the moment she stuck that magazine article to my door. She had planned the meeting outside the gym. Peyton had pulled some hair-brain and annoying schemes before, but this one is actually a good one. Peyton knows how much I've missed Haley and I'm glad she feels that she needs to push us in the right direction./
"I'm sorry. It's Brooke and she's in one of her freaky moods so we have to go and visit her and since I know you probably don't want to come, I didn't tell her you were here," Peyton said. Nathan nodded and smirked when Haley did as well.
"You guys could stay. Just put it on my tab," Peyton said. Nathan and Haley both glared at her.
"No, really. You guys could catch up and fill us in later," Jake said, grabbing Peyton's jacket and putting it on her. He had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing at the death glare Haley was giving him. Then, they left.
"Well, I'll stay if you want," Nathan said. Haley sighed.
"Why pass up a free meal? All right," Haley replied. They ordered their food. Haley ordered some sort of French Canadian soup to be followed by a Caesar salad and Nathan ordered a burger and fries. While they were eating, they both sneaked glances at the other.
"So, how have you been?" Nathan asked. Haley shrugged.
"Fine, I guess," Haley replied. Nathan frowned.
"Gee, could you be a little more vague?" he asked. Haley nodded.
"If you want me to be," she replied and laughed.
"So, I read Peyton's article," he announced. Haley stopped eating and looked at him in surprise.
"You did, huh? So if you read it, you know how I've been," Haley replied. Nathan shook his head.
"No, no. That tells how you went to a school in Montreal, studied music and that you're a CEO of the JL in NYC and also a recording artist, which I found interesting," Nathan said.
"Why?" Haley asked, looking at him.
"Well, I always liked your voice and I suggested that you pursue music so I find it interesting that six years later, here you are, a recording artist. My advice means that much to you. I'm touched," Nathan said, smirking. Haley shook her head.
"You know, I was going to comment on how much you seemed to have changed, but I guess not," Haley said. Nathan looked at her in confusion. "You're still making those arrogant, not to mention, obnoxious comments." He laughed.
"And you still have a lot of patience when dealing with them," Nathan said, chuckling now.
"What?" Haley asked.
"Arrogant and obnoxious is pretty tame. Other girls have said worse about the comments I make," he said.
"Other girls?" Haley asked, raising her eyebrows in interest. "Still playing the field?"
"No," he replied.
"You don't date more than one girl at a time?" Haley asked.
"No, I don't date," he replied. Haley's brow furrowed. "It's not really fair to anyone who would date me considering my career. I am not in the town a lot and when I am, I like to catch up with friends and hang out at random events." Haley nodded.
"That makes sense. You don't want to tie anyone down," she said. He nodded.
"Well, yeah, I guess. But if the right girl came along, I don't know," he said. Haley laughed. "I really have missed you, Hales." Haley smiled.
"I've missed you too. I've missed everyone and I'm glad that I'm back," she said.
"When you left, I didn't think I'd ever see you again," he commented. She nodded.
"I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. I've never really been good at saying good-bye and I didn't want to face people because I knew that if I saw you guys, I wouldn't want to leave," she said.
"But you would have. Haley, it's ok. I understand that you had to be there for your family. Better than anyone, I know what that's like," he said. Haley didn't push for an answer because it didn't seem like her place. "And at least you wrote a letter that time," he said. Haley chuckled. Then, Haley's cell phone rang. She looked at it.
"It's work. Hold on a second," she said, as she flipped her phone open and started talking to her secretary. Apparently, there was a meeting with a producer. "I'm so sorry, Nathan. I have to get to a meeting with a producer. It's one of my friends who's the singer so I promised her that I would oversee her career. But this was fun and I would love to catch up more," Haley said. Nathan smiled and nodded in understanding.
"Are you free tomorrow night?" he asked. Haley was getting her jacket on and she froze at the question. She nodded. "Then, how about we grab some dinner then and catch up?" he asked. She smiled at him and then considered the offer.
"I guess dinner wouldn't be too much trouble. Call me tonight with the details?" she asked and looked at him. He nodded and smiled.
"How about tomorrow night, I pick you up and we have dinner here?" he asked. Haley smiled and gave him her phone number and address. "It's a date," he said, holding out his hand. Haley took it and squeezed it as she nodded. He couldn't believe that not even a day into her return he had managed to get her to agree to go out on a date for him. Now, he had to plan and make sure he didn't screw this up.
/ I can't believe I didn't see Peyton's little plan coming. Though I am so pissed at her for butting her nose into mine and Nathan's business, I feel like I owe her one. If it weren't for her sneaking manoeuvring, I wouldn't be going out on a "date" tomorrow with Nathan/
The next day…
"Oh, so, I'm going to help pick out the best outfit for your date tonight with Nathan," Brooke Davis said, as she and Peyton walked into Haley's apartment. Haley frowned. The only reason Brooke was there was because Peyton had refused to come over without Brooke.
"First of all, I've got an outfit picked out already and I wouldn't let you pick clothes for me anyway. Second, it's not a date. It's just two friends having dinner and catching up," Haley said.
"Two friends who used to date," Brooke pointed out. Haley shrugged.
"So?" Haley asked.
"So, it's never just dinner when the two people have a past," Brooke explained. Haley looked at Peyton who just rolled her eyes in response.
"Nathan and I dated for a few months a long time ago," Haley reminded her. Brooke laughed.
"Oh, please. I saw the two of you together back then. You didn't just date. You two loved each other," Brooke said.
"And I saw you two together yesterday," Peyton said.
"And?" Haley asked.
"Well, it seemed as if after Jake and I left, you two got pretty cosy," Peyton said.
"I thought you had to go see Brooke after she called you. How would you know what Nathan and I looked like after you left?" Haley asked.
"I never called you," Brooke said, looking at Haley and Peyton in confusion. Peyton gritted her teeth and slapped Brooke lightly on the shoulder. "Ow!" Haley turned to Peyton.
"I knew it!" Haley exclaimed. Peyton tried her best to look over at Haley innocently.
"What?" Peyton asked.
"That the whole thing was a setup! The fact that you wanted me to meet you at a game which Nathan just happened to be playing at, then waiting outside for Jake, knowing we'd run into him, then suggesting to eat and then leaving me and Nathan alone. You even gave him that article you wrote about me to make sure he knew I was back," Haley said. Peyton bit her lip.
"How did you know about that?" she asked.
"He commented on how he read the article and I knew he didn't just by an issue of THUD. Someone had to have given it to him," Haley said. Peyton looked at her in embarrassment and smiled. "Why are you putting us together?" Peyton sighed.
"I know how much you two care about each other still, Haley and I know that if it weren't for me, you two would've gone on dating throughout high school and you'd probably be married by now," Peyton said.
/I was shocked that Peyton felt responsible for the reason Nathan and I broke up and while she is partly to blame for our break up in ninth grade, it was not her fault that we never got back together. The fact that she still feels guilty after all these years, after I forgave her a long time ago, and that she still wants to put Nathan and I together means a lot. Well, I can't deny that I haven't thought of Nathan in the past few years because that would be a lie if I ever heard one, I'm not sure I'm ready to start 'dating' him yet/
It was almost eight o'clock when Nathan showed up at Haley's front door. He lightly knocked and smiled when she opened the door. She let him in, explaining that she still needed to get her shoes and purse. "I'll be a few seconds," she said, rushing back into her bedroom, he guessed. He looked around and smiled at the sight. It was exactly how he pictured her living room would be. A couch, a chair, a television, a table, and one lamp set to one side of the room. On the other side was a piano with sheet music scattered all over it. Then there was a stand off to one side of the bench with a guitar case on the floor beside it. It was almost like that was her music corner. Then there was a computer that was like a mini recording studio. Haley came out dressed in a simple navy blue dress with black sling backs on her feet. Her purse was black as well. She grabbed her coat. "What do you think?" she asked, gesturing to her living room. He chuckled.
"Fairly predictable," he said and then he explained why which Haley laughed at.
"Let me guess what yours looks like. The living room has a big entertainment system fully equipped with the latest game system and a whole punch of basketball games. Probably TiVo or something like that. A VCR, DVD player and on somewhere on the wall, one of those little basketball hoops with the little blow-up kind of balls. Am I right?" Haley asked when they were in the car. He rolled his eyes and chuckled at her fairly accurate assessment of his living room. They sat down in the restaurant. They chatted about everything, from their school days to their current jobs. Nathan was telling her about the first game he ever played in as pro.
"It was the best feeling ever. You can't imagine. When I scored that point and the crowd cheered and the rest of my team mates came over and hoisted me up. I love it, Hales," he said. Haley nodded. "Your turn."
"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. She had just asked him what the most exhilarating experience in the past six years.
"Oh, yes, you do. You probably just don't want to tell me," he said. Haley shook her head.
"All right," she said, "It was two years ago. I had just graduated and I was helping Scott with the JL in Montreal and he was helping me getting my singing career started. So, he took me to a club where they had this open mike thing and Scott volunteered me to go on stage and even chose a song for me to sing. It was that song by Christina Aguilera called 'I Turn to You'. It's corny, I know and I really am not fond of that song personally but Scott knew I could sing it and the band actually knew it so. And I got on stage, sang and when I was finished, the entire room went silent. Then one person started clapping and the others slowly started and then everybody stood up and started cheering." He congratulated her and commented on how good a feeling it must've been.
"Are you putting on a concert at any time?" he asked.
"Uh. I'm not putting on a concert, but I will be singing a few songs with one of my friends. The one I was telling you about," Haley said.
"When?" he asked.
"Tomorrow night," she replied. He nodded.
"Any spare tickets?" he asked.
"I gave some to Peyton for all of you," she said. He smiled.
"I would really like to hear you sing," he said. They left the restaurant and pulled in front of her apartment building. He leaned over and kissed her after she took his seatbelt off. "I just wanted to see if it still felt the same." Haley smirked, pulled him closer, and kissed him hard.
"And what's the verdict?" she asked.
"A million times better," he replied, smiling. He kissed her again and again. He opened his door and locked it. Then he came around to her side and opened her door. He took her arm and led her to her apartment door. She fiddled with the keys as he pushed her against her front door. Haley had just gotten the key in the lock and he kissed her hard. She fumbled with the doorknob a few times before she actually got it open and was afraid that she would fall backwards as the door opened but Nathan anticipated this and lifted her up before the door fully opened. He lifted her up as he kissed her and she kicked the door closed. He carried her to her bedroom and gently laid her down on the bed.
The next morning, they woke up in each other's arms. Nathan pulled her tighter against him and she leaned her chin on his chest, kissed him and smiled. "Good morning," she said.
"Morning," he said, smiling and kissed the top of her head.
"You do know that Peyton set us up from day one, right?" she asked. He laughed and pulled her closer.
"I figured it out yesterday," he replied. Then he looked around the room. "Remind me to send her a thank-you card." Haley burst out laughing against him. She went into one of her fits of hysteria that Jake had constantly teased her about. He leaned down and kissed her to silence her giggles.
/So much for my not being ready to date him yet. It was a little fast for my standards but it was definitely worth it./
/I am so thankful to Peyton right now for being a nosy reporter. If she hadn't done what she did, I would not have Haley in my arms and I would not be able to once again call her my girlfriend. This time, I will not take her for granted./