Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters.
Peyton melted into Lucas's arms. She had longed for this since the day she lied to him and left him. The only wish she'd ever made was to have a second chance with Lucas. A second chance for them to be a family. It couldn't have felt more right, or been more wrong.
"Lucas, no. We can't do this." Peyton said, pulling away from him. She regretted pulling away immediately, but Jake didn't deserve this.
"Peyton, we've waited so long for this, for what we should have had." Lucas said to her, pleading with his eyes. Peyton bit her lip. She wanted this so badly. She had been dreaming about it for so long and now that he was here with her, all she could think about were Jake and Brooke. How hurt they would be if they ever found out. It felt like high school again. She had hated the feelings of guilt when she and Lucas had kissed when he was dating Brooke. They ate at her until she felt raw. She wouldn't do that again.
"Lucas, I want this as much as you do, but we can't do this until we've both taken care of our other relationships. We've done this before and it blew up in our faces. I'm not willing to take that risk again." She said sadly. Lucas nodded in agreement.
"You're right. I don't want to give Brooke any more reason to hate me, or Jake for that matter. I'm going to go though. I don't trust myself around you right now." Lucas said with a smile.
"Do I tempt you, Lucas Scott?" Peyton asked with a grin.
"Do I really need to answer that?" He said softly, pulling her in for another kiss. Peyton indulged him for a minute, then pushed him away with a playful smile.
"Goodnight Luke." Peyton said in amusement. Lucas gave her a smile before pulling the door shut behind him.
Peyton sighed in contentment. Finally, it seemed like things were going her way. All she had ever wanted was to be with Lucas and raise their daughter. Not that she didn't love Jake.
Jake. Just thinking about him caused her to feel pangs of guilt. She was immediately filled with regret. Not for kissing Lucas, he was her first love, her true love. She would never regret anything with him. No, she was feeling regret for the pain she would cause Jake. Even if Lucas ended up staying with Brooke, she knew she had to end things with Jake. She had cheated on him and even if he forgave her, he would never have her whole heart. Not that she was sure he ever did. She couldn't ignore her feelings for Lucas any longer though. It seemed her passion for him had been reawakened.
Peyton decided that she would talk to Jake in the morning and headed for bed. She was changing into her pajama's when the phone rang. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was after midnight. Her first thought was Lauren and that she was hurt or in trouble. Peyton hurried to the phone.
"Hello?" She answered breathlessly.
"Peyton, it's me. I just wanted to make sure you got home alright." Jake replied. It was easy for Peyton to downplay her feelings for Jake when he wasn't around, but hearing his voice reminded her of just how much she loved him.
"Uh, yeah, I got home fine. How's Jen's car?" Peyton asked, trying to keep the conversation away from anything concerning Lucas.
"Oh, it was just the alternator. I gave her my car and had hers towed home. I'm going to put a new one in tomorrow. Want to come and get greasy with me?" Jake teased her. He knew she secretly liked getting dirty and working on cars.
"Hell yes!" She replied enthusiastically.
"I mean, yeah, I actually needed to talk to you anyway." Peyton said, remembering the reason she needed to talk to him.
"Great, come over whenever you're ready. I'll wait for you. I love you. Goodnight Peyton." Jake said.
"Goodnight." Peyton whispered as she hung up the phone.
Peyton laid down on her bed. She was so conflicted. On one hand was Lucas. He was the love of her life. He meant so much to her. Only, she didn't know if what she loved about him was the boy she remembered or the man he had became. The man she didn't really know.
Then there was Jake. He knew her better than she knew herself sometimes. Lauren adored him and he just naturally assumed a father's role with her. And Peyton loved being with him and Jenny. What it really boiled down to was; Did she love Lucas enough to hurt Jake? The only thing she knew was that right then, she couldn't answer that.