I'm Not Your Husband!
Chapter 3
At six fifteen, Nathan sat on his bed in only a pair of boxer briefs. The late summer evening was extremely warm in Jacksonville. After his show he decided to turn on the ceiling fan above his bed in the central air conditioned room. The coolness mellowed him temporarily. He debated on what to wear for only a second. He assumed Haley would probably dressed in jeans or a mini skirt with some novelty shirt ,so his clothing wasn't a big issue.
He was looking forward to this date about as much as a trip to the proctologist. He just wanted to get this dinner over with so he could come back home and figure out a plan to get Jen's attention. His new hair cut, or his division's great work and high sales hadn't impressed Jennifer. He was starting to think he would have to stand on her desk buck naked and play air guitar to get a rise out of her.
He walked in his home theatre/living room and turned on the television. The Sci-Fi channel was running an old Roswell episode and he secretly loved the show. Maria and Michael were arguing again. Of course, she ended up getting her way. Damn! Maria reminded him of Haley.
He brushed his hands down his neatly pressed jeans and tugged at his red v-neck tee. He imagined Haley was going to take him to some seedy bar and grill. They would have fill up on mozzarella stick and Buffalo wings. He would spend most of the night fending rednecks off her.
Nathan knew Haley's type. She was a tease, taunting and flirting her way into getting whatever she wanted. He was sure she drove one of those girly little cars about the size of a twin bed, perhaps a Mini Coupe or a VW Beetle. He bet it was in lavender, teal or some equally ultra feminine color.
From what Mr. Scott could surmise, she was perky and seductive and liked her men cocky and arrogant. In that case, he had nothing to worry about. He was all wrong for her and she would be bored of him before the night end. Thank goodness!
She was prompt, ringing the bell at six thirty and surprising Nathan. His stereotypes of her free spirit ways were already being shattered. He bit his lip and opened the front door. His jaw dropped.
Haley stood before him in a soft orange silk sundress. The haltered neck was cut low enough to show a little of her tan cleavage without giving off a trashy appeal. The skirt was just full enough to contour her slender waist on the knee length garment. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as his eyes traveled to her gold sandals and matching purse. She had pretty little feet, her toenails painted the color of her dress. Nathan liked that. He noticed the gown was backless. Her golden locks pinned in a gorgeous French bun to keep it neat and sexy in the Florida humidity. She was the picture of grace and style. She was the same girl in jeans and a tank top, but different. She was nothing like Jenn, but Haley James was a stunningly beautiful woman. Her big brown eyes sparkled with excitement, mystery and sincerity. He could still see the teen age girl in her. Nathan shrugged off these deep thoughts before they could grow into something more.
"Hi!" She said showing all her pearly whites.
"Hey." He stared back, unable stop ogling her.
"May I come in?" She said while maneuvering around his trance like form into the electronic savvy living room curiously soaking in the dark furnishings and decorations.
Suddenly aware of her absence, Nathan turned to follow her as she made herself at home sitting on the forest green sectional dwarfing her into a pixie like stature.
"You look nice, Haley." He complimented.
"Thank you." She struck a quick pose.
"Could you give me a second? I was about to change." He hurried.
"You already look great."' She admired, making Nathan turn away shyly.
"I wasn't sure where we were going." He replied more a question than a statement.
"Bovinity."
Raising an impressed brow, Nathan nodded. "There's lemonade in the fridge. I'll be back in a sec." He pointed in the direction of the kitchen before charging down the hall the other way.
Not watching where he was going, his foot caught the briefcase that was sticking out a little too far beside his dresser. He crashed to the hardwood with an achy elbow and a loud thud. This is exactly why he wasn't in the pro's. NBA stars couldn't have a tendency to be clumsy.
Hearing the boom, Haley raced down the hallway in a panic. Spotting Nathan's sprawled out on the floor she ran to him, bending to caress his face.
"Are you okay?" She queried. "What happened?" Her eyes search the room.
Embarrassed and in pain, Nathan slid across the bedroom floor, resting his back against the ottoman at the foot of the bed. "I was trying to get a cuff link that rolled under the dresser and I hit my funny bone." He lied rubbing his elbow.
Before he could protest, Haley took his right fore arm in her hands and examine the offending elbow. It was a little red and he drew it back for a moment when she touched the sensitive looking area, but she held on to the limb.
"Its fine, Haley." He bashfully argued.
The closeness of her body and the smell of berries her silky skin was emitting created a feeling in him that he most certainly didn't want to have for Haley James and didn't even get from Jennifer Lindley.
Ignoring him, she planted a soft kiss on his boo boo and turned back to him with a perfect smile
"All better!" She giggled.
Nathan didn't even see her turn around and start looking for the missing cuff link. "How in the hell did a stupid kiss on his joint, by the thorn in his side give him a hard on?" He wondered inwardly.
He tried to shake off the image only to see Haley's bottom hiked up and shaking occasionally as she scanned under his dresser for his sleeves lock. Quickly, he closed his eyes and then covered them with his hands. He had to be a masochist to get turned on by Haley he concurred. She was the devil. She had put a hex on him, that's it! He had seen Skeleton Key!
Finding nothing on the immaculate floor, Haley rose and left so Nathan could finish getting ready.
He jumped to his feet and made a bee-line for his closet. Scouring the organized amenity, he discovered the three upscale suits he owned, worn once each. They were purchase for two video game awards and Nikki's gallery showing last June. He chose the later, a navy pinstripe that was tailored to fit his muscular body perfectly, with a cream dress shirt and a tie with Pac-Man ghost being chased around it, he returned to his living room in less than ten minutes.
"You changed fast, handsome. Are you moonlighting as a stripper?" Haley teased as she enjoyed the view.
She was perusing the few photos on his end table. Picking up a silver frame, she grinned, showing him the contents.
"Is this Nikki and her daughter?"
"Yes." Nathan said proudly. "Jenny's almost eight."
"She has her eyes, but"
"Her father's looks." Nathan uttered gruffly. "You remember Jake Jageileski?"
Wide eyed she smiled." Wow! They're still together? Cool!"
"Not exactly, Nikki caught him in bed with Peyton Sawyer senior year of high school. My sister was five months pregnant. She dumped his ass and I kicked it. He's been trying to get back with her ever since, but as far as we know he never stopped having sex with Peyton on the side. He gets Jenny every other weekend."
She didn't remark on the couple, sensing it was a sore subject.
"What about you? Why don't you have a wife or kids?" She asked bluntly, sipping her lemonade and swinging her crossed legs as she now sat opposite him.
"I have never found the right woman or been in love."
"What about Jenn?"
"Umm, I mean until I met Jen." He corrected, shocked that he had forgotten the intense feeling he had for his boss. Remaining honest, he had overlooked the obvious person. "I am head over heals in love with Jennifer." He reminded begrudgingly, wanting to be clear.
"You don't have to prove anything to me." Haley said flippantly.
"I'm not trying to do that. I have been in love with her for close to a year. Once she realizes she feels the same way, we'll get married and live happily ever after."
"Cue the violins." Haley muttered to herself, rolling her eyes when Nathan fumbled with his tie. Her glossed lips formed a tight grin and she seemed to be about to debate him.
Nathan curbed any attempt by checking the time on his watch.
"Don't we have reservations?"
After a timely pause, Haley picked up her purse and got up.
"I guess we should go." Her tone was mild and unemotional.
Nathan could perceive her eyes on him as he retrieved his keys from the coffee table. He reared back to smile at her, but somehow it didn't develop. Their visual contact was unsettling, soothing and personal.
Nathan hit the house alarm and pressed onward, letting the lady out the door first and followed her to the drive way. He was astounded to see there was no Mini Coupe or Beetle. Instead, a new Cadillac with shiny rims, wood grain interior and leather bucket seats was waiting for them. He got the door for Haley before getting in on the passenger side.
"This is a big car for a little lady." Nathan smirked as they drove. He was actually flirting with danger. "What the hell?" He was starting to sound like the title to one of those Lifetime movies.
The steakhouse was one of the finest restaurants on the east coast. Nathan ordered a ribeye and Haley a t-bone with sweet potato wedges and grilled asparagus.
"Do you remember the time Nikki and I wanted to famous so we built that ramp? She strapped a rope to the back of her bike and pulled me on roller skates. When we came off I was suppose to do a back flip and a half twist before landing on the mattress from my family's guest room?" She laughed at her childhood stupidity before continuing. "We made Mouth the camera man and you the lookout."
"You guys were trying to get on that show. Umm." He tapped on his forehead with his pointer finger trying to recall. "Stunt Kids, but you ended up on Jackass instead." He howled.
Haley shoved him playfully. "Yea when we went flying off the top of the ramp sideways, Nikki flipped over the handle bars and I went flying out of the yard filled with thick grass and onto the concrete sidewalk.."
"You fell so hard you broke a rib and got the wind knocked out of you." Nathan reported with less amusement.
"When I came around, you were holding me and Mouth was crying with that damn camera pointed at me... Damn, he cried a lot when we were kids." She jeered.
"Nikki had gone to get the first aid kit, hoping to fix you up before our folks found out. You wanted to take some Tylenol and pretend like it didn't happen, but you couldn't stop wheezing and you couldn't lift your arms." Nathan shook his head.
"Well I didn't want her to get in trouble. They would have been angrier at her since she didn't get hurt." Haley defended. "She was my best friend and I trusted her nursing skills, but you just couldn't keep your mouth shut." She scolded.
"You scared the hell out me! I almost peed in my pants, Haley. I wasn't going to let you try something like that again." He said emotionally.
"But not only did you tell our parents everything, you sent the video footage to everyone in sixth grade at Tree Hill Middle School! " She pouted as their meals arrived.
"Well it backfired on me! All the guys thought you and Nikki were so cool for trying that stunt, they worshipped you for the rest of the year." He frowned, cutting his steak.
"You were always bugging me." Haley waved her knife at him.
"Ha! Then why were you constantly including me in your idiotic schemes?"
"You were sweet and accommodating. You did what I said without much of a fight." Was her simple answer before nibbling on a spear of asparagus.
Appalled, Nathan stopped eating. "'You mean all I had to do was say no one time and you would have listened?" He declared.
"Nope. I still would have made you do all that stuff." She giggled. "Nikki loved getting you on camera."
"She was addicted to that thing." He reminisced.
"Remember when she got suspended in 9th grade for taking photographs of the Spanish teacher and the married female coach getting it on in the girl's locker room showers. She passed out flyers in the parking lot at the next PTA meeting.
"Yes. She was pissed dad was cheating on mom." Nathan swallowed his food and the bad memory.
"I'm sorry Dan lied and said he was hanging out with your dad when he was spending time with his other woman. I can see why your parents haven't spoken to mine since the truth was uncovered. I don't understand why my mom is still with him. He never stopped cheating." His gaze was suddenly stuck on his plate.
Haley placed her hand over Nathan's balled fist on the table. "Sometimes love isn't understandable." She soothed.
"That wasn't even the worst thing you told." Haley tried to lighten the mood.
"I was the good guy." Nathan protested with a sexy grin.
"Although you swore not to, you told everyone at school I tongue kissed you!"
"I promised not to tell about the wedding. Nikki just couldn't keep those pictures to herself. I didn't say anything about the kiss."
Haley evil eyed him. "He can you remember details like that? That was so long ago."
"I don't forget anything." Nathan boasts a complete falsehood having not even remembered Haley when she first came back into his life. But he was lucid on one point. "You were more worried about anyone thinking I married you whether it was all a gag or not than the fact we kissed."
"Did you have to tell Lucas Roe? I know he was going to ask me to be his girlfriend. He had been trying to get me to make out with him for weeks, but once he found out I kissed you he was so angry he barely said a word to me the rest of the year."
"I'm the one he gave a black eye." Nathan said dryly.
"Luke was the captain of the JV basketball team. I wanted him to think I was cool and I knew he was all hung up on you."
"So you squealed on me."
"You want an apology now?" Sure she was spoofing him once again; Nathan gave her his most charming smirk.
"I'll take that." She smiled back, a smile that lightened her eyes to a hazel more greenish brown that mesmerized her date.
They drank coffee and talked after their meal, and chatted and laughed as the hours ran into each other. Nathan couldn't remember the last time he was this relaxed or laughed so much.
When he finally peered at his watch, he was astounded to realize it close to eleven. "Wow, it's getting late." He said. "I need to call it a night." After all, He got up promptly at six.
Haley placed her credit card in bill holder and excused herself to the ladies room. As soon as she was out of sight Nathan replaced it with his and handed it to the returning waiter, slipping her card under his sleeve (an old magic trick) until he could replace it without her knowing. His plan went without a hitch.
When they walked out under the starry sky, Nathan had a sense of regret. He didn't want to leave.
"Look at the sky." Haley awed, slipping her hand into Nathan's.
He didn't fight it, locking his fingers with hers. "It's captivating." He conceded.
Her car arrived and they drove back to his house in silence. When she pulled into the drive way, he considered inviting her in for coffee, then decided they both drank enough at the restaurant. Besides, they had to work the next morning. More importantly, Haley might read something else into the invitation. She was an old friend, nothing more. He wanted it to keep it that way.
He turned to her and smiled timidly. "I had fun. Thanks."
"You're welcome, Nate. We'll do it again."
Nathan was amazed at how attractive another evening with Haley James sounded to him. He had underestimated her. Had he?
"There's something else I would like to try again." Her eyes filled with corruption.
"Try again?" He copied. "What?"
Her amazing eyes grew dark and extreme. "I want to kiss you for old times' sake." Her fingers raked his ear lobe, her other thumb moving down the column of his throat.
"Well, okay. For old times' sake." He was terrified at how his heart was reacting to the idea of Haley touching him ….kissing him.
Her mouth lifted cautiously toward his, her minty breath caressing his skin.
"Don't forget." He whispered, when her mouth was about to greet his. His hands held her lovely face.
"Old times' …"
"I won't forget." She said as her lips dove over his.
He moaned and drew her chin up with his large hands. The kiss was slow-burning and thorough. When it ended, Nathan's hands were clutching her waist.
Haley's small digits cradled his strong neck and chiseled jaw line.
A sweet rush of happiness coursed through his veins. Nathan felt a brewing energy, a flow of warmth, unlike anything he'd ever witnessed before.
Then she kissed him a second time.
"Don't forget." He repeated when she drug her mouth from his and nuzzled it into the curve of his shoulder.
She heaved several sharp breaths before inquiring, "What shouldn't I forget?"
"Yes... Dear God, don't forget."
She raised her head and planted her hands lightly on his broad shoulders, her face only centimeters from his. "What is so crucial you don't want me to forget?" She whispered.
Haley wasn't the one that didn't need to forget; it was Nathan. He wasn't attentive to the fact he had spoken aloud. He bit his lip, unsure, and then he twisted his head to look out the side window of the car, anywhere but at Haley.
"Uh …. I can't forget I'm in love with Jennifer."
A cumbersome lapse of silence ensued.
"How did I forget that?" Haley answered shortly. "You're in love with Jenn."
Her arms fell away, releasing him.
Nathan waited, on edge. "Thanks again for wonderful meal." His hand clutched the car door handle. He was eager to make his exit.
"Next time maybe you'll actually let me pay." Haley stared at him stone faced, her own hands latched to the steering wheel.
Ashamed she had discovered his disrespect of her for not letting her pay, he reddened. He climbed out of the car and hurried inside his home. After cutting off the alarm and turning on the light in the living room, he peeked out the window by the front door. Haley had left.
Mouth was at his desk working when Nathan arrived the next morning, but they didn't have time to converse. His friend tried text messaging him, but he cut off his phone. He knew Marvin was disappointed he hadn't told him about his dinner date with Haley James.
Nathan didn't want to discuss it. He figured that if he told Marvin anything he would mention the kiss, which he wanted to avoid at all costs. He wouldn't be able to put him off forever, but maybe today, longer if possible.
What a bonehead he was for letting Haley kiss him. At the time, I seemed natural and honest, the end to a perfect night.
He was confused as to why he didn't' put up a fight. If Jennifer got wind of it, she might think he really liked Haley. Which, of course, was wrong, he didn't.
His boss was a woman of morals and virtue. Falling in love with her was frustrating. Judging to her reaction to him having dinner with Haley, she wasn't the jealous type. If he could only discover a way to spark her interest and show her how he felt in the process.
The morning was bustling. Out of the corner of his eye, Nathan saw Haley arrive. Although he was speaking to an important client on the phone, he stared after her as she approached her energetic manager. He watched her remove some paper work from her briefcase and show it to the other woman so the pair could study it. They conferred for a good while, then the manager nodded and Haley left without so much as a glance in Nathan's direction.
Ouch!
It wouldn't hurt her to say hello. But if she wanted to ignore him, fine. He would do the same.
The day ended with JL signing a popular professional football player to a big endorsement.
As Nathan had predicted, Marvin sought him out before he could leave his office.
"So how was your date?"
"I had a good time."
"You're into redneck bars now?" He teased.
"We went to Bovinity." He announced louder than necessary, since Jennifer was walking in the office. She paid about as much attention to him as a cobweb in the corner.
"Bovinity." Marvin aped. "I have to give it to Haley, that's a man's restaurant, red meat heaven. If they had strippers we'd never leave."
"That was the best rib eye I ever tasted." He continued to study Jennifer for some note that she was listening in on their conversation. She was seated at her desk, reading some statistics soccer cleats that Nathan had read earlier and suggested it to her.
"Then what did you do?"
Nathan looked back at his friend. "Why would you think we did anything else? We had dinner, talked, and she drove me home. That's all she wrote."
"If that's your story." Marvin said eyeing suspiciously. "You don't have to so touchy."
"Haley James is just a friend, that's all."
Jennifer peered up from her report, but her attention went Marvin before inching over to Nathan.
"Hi, Jennifer," Nathan greeted her politely. "Are Marvin and I disturbing you? We would be happy to go in the hallway if you would like."
"No, no, you're fine." She looked past them and rose to her feet. "Hi, Ms. James.
"Am I interrupting a meeting?" Haley stepped into the office as if it really didn't matter if she was or not. Her naturally curly hair was in a loose bun and today she was wearing a JL tennis dress that hugged her body nicely and a pair of their tennis shoes not yet out in stores. And yet Nathan had no trouble recalling last nights elegant dinner companion when he looked at her.
"No. We were just chatting," Jenn answered, " Problem?"
"There's just something I would like you to take a look at in the sportswear department."
"I'll be right there."
Haley threw Nathan a tranquil smile, batting her eyes.
"Hi, Nate."
"Hales." His heart was pounding so hard against the walls of his chest, it was crazy. It must be due to embarrassment, he convinced himself. Haley was a friend, a girl who didn't even like him; just because he let her kiss him didn't mean it had any romantic implications. The sooner he made her understand that the better.
"Haley and Nathan went out to dinner last night." Marvin said voluntarily to Jennifer. "She took him to Bovinity."
"Very nice," She commented, obviously more interested in what Haley needed than Nathan's dating history.
"We had a good time, didn't we?" Haley asked Nathan.
"Yes, very nice." He said staunchly.
Haley waited until Jennifer was out of the room before she stepped back and dropped a kiss on the tip of his nose. Then she loudly divulged to everyone in earshot, "You were stupendous last night. I can never get enough, Nathan."
Pamela
