Chapter 3
The next day Nathan was restless during all morning practice. He kept missing the shots and the passes. The Coach yelled at him a lot. Manu approached him
"Nathan are you OK?" he asked concerned while they headed for the showers
"I'm fine Manu. This is nothing. You should've seen my High School Coach. That was a yeller" he smiled remembering Whitey "I'm just a little distracted today, that's all" he finished
"And I'm sure meeting our new PR person has nothing to do with it" smiled Manu at him
"Brooke? Come on, we're friends. We grew up together…" said Nathan
"You guys never…?"
"No, not really. First of all, I dated her best friend for a long time. You know, Peyton…" said Nathan. Manu nodded. He knew about Peyton.
Nathan went on "and then, she used to date my brother"
"She dated Lucas?" asked Manu "How?"
"Long time ago, we were teenagers. But Lucas cheated on her with Peyton and it all ended badly. Brooke left a little after that… I don't know the real reason why she left, but I'm sure it had something to do with Lucas and probably Peyton" said Nathan
"Doesn't matter how many times you try to explain this to me, I still don't get your High School years. You people jumped from one to the other like it was no big deal…" sighed Manu
"Yeah, and look at the outcomes of that" Nathan raised his eyebrows "Although I have to admit is nice to see Brooke again. Someone from the past, who knew things back then, you know?"
"I sure do. I don't know what would I do without my wife here…" said Manu "I mean, she knows me since we were kids and all"
Nathan sighed "Yeah… that's the thing. I need someone from the past these days…"
"Well, then don't make her wait" smirked Manu
"I'm on my way" smiled Nathan
Nathan approached Brooke's office door. He saw her, seated on her chair and talking on the phone
"I know what you want" she was saying with a flirty voice "but I'm afraid that I cannot give you that exclusive, baby. Regardless how much I like you" she laughed slightly "Don't be mad, OK? I promise to make it up to you… see you hon"
Nathan smiled. Good old Brooke. He knocked on her door and entered the office
"You still know how to make them do what you want, Brooke" he smirked
Brooke smiled "Hi Nathan. Well, some things… they'll stay with you forever. Have a seat"
He sat on the couch of her office. They decided to order Chinese food. Brooke sat on the couch next to him. 'God, she's still beautiful…' thought Nathan. Years had been nice on Brooke. She looked even prettier than in High School. Her skin was still flawless and her smile looked more sincere. Her eyes still lighten up with her smile, making all her face shine. She smiled at him
"What's on your mind?" she asked
"You look incredible, Brooke" Nathan said "Even hotter than High School"
"And you sure look amazing" she replied and then sighed "I can't believe it's been ten years… What happened with the gang?" she asked
"Let's see…" started Nathan "Peyton and Jake got together…They got married 3 years ago. Peyton became an artist and Jake plays ball. He's joining us in a couple of months, actually…"
"Really? They didn't tell me that" Brooke was paralyzed "Jake and Peyton are moving here?"
Nathan nodded "It's great. I can't wait for her to be here…"
Brooke looked at him confused…
"It's not what you think!" said Nathan "But within years, Peyton and I became really close friends. We talk on the phone 4 or 5 times a week and we visit each other every summer…"
"Who would've thought…" said Brooke
"Well, when the problems started with Haley and with Lucas far away… I needed someone to talk to. And Peyton and I, well, we clicked as friends…"
Brooke looked at Nathan. She didn't wanna ask, but at the same time she was dying to know… Nathan noticed this and smiled at her…
"He lives in Rome, Brooke" he said softly
"Really? How come?"
"Lucas majored in Literature in college. The summer of his sophomore year, he went to an internship for a Publisher's company in Rome. He met someone there… this girl who was working as an intern for an art museum. They were assigned to work in a catalogue together. Long story short, Lucas fell in love with Bella"
"So, he stood there?" asked Brooke
"No, he came back to finish college. The long distance thing was hard on both of them. And on us. He kept whining about how much he missed her. He learned Italian and just moved there after he finished college. He's a book editor now… Bella and he are engaged."
Brooke looked sad all of the sudden
"Brooke, are you OK?" Nathan asked but then he noticed that she wasn't "I'm sorry, I didn't know that you still…"
"Nathan, no, no. It's not that" smiled Brooke "I don't have feelings for him still. I just got nostalgic… about the past, you know? About high school, the easy days…"
Nathan sighed "I know exactly what you mean…"
"What happened with Haley?" asked Brooke "I mean, if it doesn't bother you telling me…"
Nathan smiled "It's OK. It's gonna be nice to tell the story to someone from the past. We were great together. We manage to survive being young and married with no problem. Then we went to college and everything was still fine. Haley became a lawyer and I got to play in here. I really wanted to come here… I didn't want too much attention. Just a quiet life, you know?" Brooke nodded smiling "But I guess that Haley wanted more. She wanted discussions and debates. She wanted a big career and this wasn't the place for that. The past 3 years we kind of drifted away from each other. And last year, she decided to accept a job offer in Boston. That was the end. The divorce is not final yet, but there's no coming back. We're not the same…"
Brooke rested her hand on Nathan's shoulder "I'm so sorry, Nathan. I know how much she means to you… I'm sorry things didn't work out"
"Thing is…" said Nathan "I could go play for a Boston team and all. But I like my life here… I like my apartment with a view. I like Texas and the spirit of this team… it's like a family. It's…"
"Peaceful…" said Brooke
"Exactly" said Nathan, a little amazed that she could define it with the same word he was thinking… "What about you?" he asked "Married?"
"No…" Brooke smiled sadly "I haven't dated that much since High School"
Nathan opened his eyes "Were men blind in Maryland or what?" he asked
Brooke laughed slightly "I focused on other things… I worked a lot to support myself and school and all" she remained silent for a second…
Nathan noticed that Brooke tended to get silent really easy now… he wondered why was it… He knew for a fact that 10 years make a lot of changes in a person, but he had the feeling that it was something more in there. He didn't wanna push it though, Brooke would tell him if she wanted to.
He smiled at her "Well, what about those PR stuff?" he said trying to get her back to smile…
She looked at him smirking "Well, we can always see to get you some commercials and stuff, as a way to increase your incomes…"
"I really don't want that" said Nathan "my salary is good. And I got some money when my grandparents died. I'm OK the way I am. I don't need to make millions… I really don't"
"Then what do you wanna do?" asked Brooke a little amazed that Nathan Scott was saying those things…
"I like this city, Brooke. A lot. It's like my home now. So… I was thinking that maybe we can work in some social development things… I don't know, help promote literate programs, housing developments, single parent's counseling and aid… anything related to improve the life of the people here" said Nathan
Brooke opened her eyes wide… "You wanna do that?" Nathan nodded.
"Wow, Nathan, you got me speechless… I never thought that you…"
"That I had some decency in me, uh?" smiled Nathan sadly "Well, I guess I can't blame you for thinking like that…"
"Nathan, I didn't mean it that way. It has nothing to do with you as a person… but the big sport players usually are more interested in making more money and you're here telling me the total opposite. It's just…bizarre"
"Well, I don't want more money. I wanna make something good in the place I lived in. Everyone here supports me when I play, they greet me on the streets. I wanna pay that back. I wanna be productive. I want to make a difference" stated Nathan
Brooke's eyes filled with tears "That's amazing of you, Nathan. And I'll help you…"
"Thanks, Brooke. That's all I want…" he smiled
They finished lunch, both of them amazed at how much the other had changed throughout the years…