Chapter 8
On Monday, Nathan headed for practice as usual. He couldn't stop thinking about Brooke all weekend. He could only imagine what she went through… all alone, dealing with a child and the guilt of her old behavior.
He ran into Brooke on the court…
She smiled at him "Hey Nate" she said and it took all of his self control not to kiss her right there.
"Hey Brooke" he said slowly, as coldly as he could… Brooke sensed it. She couldn't blame him. He didn't need a kid and all that jazz. A cool, young, hot player like Nathan could have anyone and she was no longer the wild girl she used to be… Although, she couldn't stop thinking about him…
"So, they should be here any minute now" said Brooke and then she heard a voice screaming from behind…
"Oh my God!" they both turned around to greet Peyton and Jake. Peyton dropped everything and ran into Nathan's arms. He smiled and caught her and they both were laughing.
"I swear to God, if I didn't know better…" sighed Jake and then smiled at Brooke "so great to see you after all these years Brooke"
"Good to see you too" said Brooke hugging Jake
Peyton stood there a little shy… Brooke looked at her and smiled broadly "It's been 10 years best friend, how about you hug me now?" Brooke said and Peyton hugged her in tears
"I'm so sorry. I've missed you so much…" Peyton said
"Forget it, Pey. It's in the past… I'm so glad you're here. I can't tell you how much I needed you through the years…" said Brooke
"Where's Jenny?" asked Nathan
"At our new place. She's kind of scared about the fact that she doesn't know anyone and that she's not gonna have any friends to play with" said Jake
Brooke looked at them 'it's now or never' she thought "She can play with Patrick. I'm sure he'd be pleased. He's new in here too" Nathan couldn't help but smile.
"Who's Patrick?" asked Peyton
"He's my son, Peyton" said Brooke slowly and watched how Peyton's jaw dropped. "He's almost 10. And before we go down that road… I don't know who the father is and it's just him and me so far"
Peyton looked at Jake and then at Nathan. Nathan smiled and nodded slightly.
"OK" said Peyton "Coffee, you and me. Now!" she said and grabbed Brooke's hand. They both left.
"Wow" said Jake
"Tell me about it…" sighed Nathan. Jake picked up something on that sigh… "Nathan?" he asked raising his eyebrows.
"Nothing happened, Jake" said Nathan "I want to, because she's amazing… but she needs peace right now. The last 10 years had been hard on her. I can't just barge into her life like that and turn it upside down"
"I understand…" said Jake "But do you really like her?"
Nathan nodded "A lot, Jake. She could be…" he trailed off, not wanting to think again about that…
Peyton and Brooke were having coffee on her office. Brooke had just finished the whole story…
"Geez, Brooke… I can only imagine…" said Peyton holding Brooke's hand "You're so brave"
"I had no other choice. I'm sorry if I treat you so bad…"started Brooke but Peyton stopped her
"Brooke, I behaved terribly also. Let's just put that in the past, the whole you-me-Lucas crap. It's been 10 years and we all moved on…" she said
"I've heard" said Brooke "I'm happy for you and Jake. I sensed something before I left" she smirked
"Brooke, I love him so much!" said Peyton, sounding like an 18 year old again, but truth was, she'd been wanting to tell Brooke all about Jake since she was 17.
"I'm glad for you. Nathan filled me in… We lost Lucas to Italy" said Brooke
"Yeap…" said Peyton "but he's really happy in there Brooke…"
"Have you met her?" asked Brooke
Peyton nodded "She's cool actually. Sweet and fun. She's the type of girl Lucas needed. Only problem was that she and Haley didn't click in… sometimes it was a problem for Nathan and Lucas."
"Not anymore…" deadpanned Brooke
"Yeah… Hales and her career. I don't blame her, she's entitled to want that… but she was really mean to Nathan the last couple of years… she kept wanting him to change, to be more famous, to go to a bigger team and Nathan just wanted…"
"Peace…" said Brooke. Peyton looked at her. She knew that face. That was the 'I really like someone' Brooke Davis' face
"Brooke?" she said and made Brooke look at her… they both stare at each other… Peyton couldn't believe it
"You have a thing for Nathan" she said slowly
Brooke nodded "Talk about irony…" she deadpanned
"Come on, Brooke! It's OK to like Nathan. He's a great guy…" said Peyton. Now that the first shock had passed, she could see some possibilities…
"Yeah, but I'm a single mother, possibly with his nephew… I don't think he's up for it" Brooke said sadly "There was this moment, but I guess it's over now. Let's leave it like that" she sighed. Peyton hugged her
"At least you're here" said Brooke "Now we can became the new PTA babes" she laughed
At the end of the day, Brooke ran into Nathan in the parking lot. He looked so great… she wanted him so much but he was looking at her coldly
"Did you and Peyton catch up?" he asked. Brooke nodded "I'm glad for you…" he said
"Yeah… all these new old friends" said Brooke and Nathan's heart broke when he heard the word 'friend'. He wanted so much more…
"Well, friendship is always important" he said
Brooke couldn't take it anymore.
"Nathan, it's OK. Don't play that game. I know that you wanted something else the other night… So did I. But I just couldn't. Not without telling you the truth first. But I understand that a kid is something you didn't expect, even less want at this point of your life…" she smiled sadly "And it's OK… just don't go dancing around the subject. I understand…" and with that, she left trying to hold back the tears…
Nathan stood there for a second… 'she wanted it too' he thought… 'she wants this too' he thought and then just turned and ran towards her
"Brooke!" he said. She stopped and turned around as he arrived…
Nathan looked at her smiling… "Brooke" he said as he grabbed her neck slowly and pulled her to him. He kissed her slowly, feeling the vibe all over him as she kissed him back… and he felt it one more time
'She wants it too' he thought
'He wants it too' thought Brooke, lost in his arms…