Safe Place to Hide (Chapter Nineteen)
The next morning, Haley opened her eyes groggily and widened them when she saw that she was on someone's bare chest. She looked down at herself and realized that she wasn't wearing anything. Then, she looked up and saw Nathan asleep. His arms were pulled around her, pinning her to his body. Haley moved her right leg and it brushed against his and the hair on his leg made goose bumps on her skin.
Nathan smiled as he felt Haley moving. He was already awake, of course. He couldn't stay asleep for very long. He was afraid that it might turn out to be a dream. "Are you awake?" she asked. He nodded slowly as he turned his head down to her. He opened his eyes and smirked at her.
"Morning," he said. Haley chuckled as she lightly slapped his chest. "Any regrets?" he asked. She shook her head. "How do you feel?" he asked. Haley stopped to think for a second. At first, she had been scared. Scared of how she felt about him, about what they had done and what it meant for them, but she wasn't anymore.
"I feel safe," she said softly. He looked at her in confusion. "I know it sounds weird, but when I'm in your arms, I feel like everything's all right. I don't think about school. I don't think about my parents' fighting or the fact that my siblings and I are practically strangers right now. I just feel safe," she said, smirking and rested her head on his chest.
"I know what you mean and I feel the same way. As long as I have you, all the other things are ok with me. I don't care that my dad's an obsessive jerk. I don't care that Whitey yells at me and bears a striking resemblance to a bear sometimes," Nathan said. Haley laughed at the description of Whitey.
"So we're each other's safe place," Haley said, chuckling. He pulled her closer and kissed her hair.
"Yeah," he agreed.
"How is basketball anyways?" she asked. She was the only girl he'd ever dated that actually took an interest in his life and how he was doing and he loved that about her.
"We've got a game against Cove City next week," he said.
"I remember Luke telling me about them. He said that the team is really good and that it's going to be hard to defeat them," Haley said. Nathan nodded.
"Oh, it's going to be difficult, that's for sure," he said.
"You'll pull through," she said. He chuckled.
"You really think so?" he asked. Haley looked up at him and nodded.
"I have faith in your ability to throw a ball through a hoop," she joked. He laughed and tickled her. She giggled and squirmed beside him. "But most of all, I believe in you," she said seriously. He smiled down at her and moved closer to kiss her.
"I love you," he said when he pulled away. "And I've missed you," he said. Haley smiled and nodded.
"Same here," she said in agreement and kissed him back.
"Now I think it's time that I head back," he said. Haley wrapped her arms around him to stop him from moving. He laughed as he pulled one of her arms and then her other arm away from him. Once he had done that, she threw the arm he had removed first back to where it was. "Haley, come on," he said.
"Just a few more minutes," she whined. He looked at her thoughtfully and then laid back down.
"Ok," he said and kissed her as she laughed against his lips.