Haley pulled her arms closer towards her small frame, hugging her body against the sudden chill of the evening's ocean breeze. She had always thought the beach was a nice place but she had never quite taken the time to just enjoy mother nature's pristine beauty. It was peaceful and beautiful standing with her bare toes in the sand. The once blue sky had given way to magnificent streaks of gold and purple as the sun set. It was perfectly silent, except the crashing of the waves. What a place to get away from it all and just relax with one's thoughts and many thoughts raced through Haley James' head.

The FBI had been a dream come true. Haley felt like pinching herself to see if it was even real. But it was and she had worked damned hard for it. Those first few months had been a struggle for the pretty rookie but out of nowhere, the assignment of a lifetime had popped up. One day she was in Phoenix using her badge for nothing more other than fetching coffee for an ungrateful boss and the next day she was living the life on the Cape, working undercover, investigating one of the sport's worlds biggest stars. Things like that didn't happen to Haley James. But it didn't matter much anyway. Now she was Haley Webb and Haley Webb's life was much more complicated.

You were supposed to earn your way to the top by hard work and dedication…the old fashioned way. It was appalling to use feminine charms and good looks, to sleep your way up the ladder of success. Haley had always vowed never to be one of "those" women. Now she couldn't help but feel like a sell out. And a hypocrite. Getting an arrest in the Scott case would mean a promotion and more importantly, newfound respect. It would be a crowning achievement. But when matters hadn't been sailing smooth and fast enough for Agent Bailey, she had been forced to take a different route. Gain information from Nathan Scott by any means necessary. The whole concept made Haley shudder.

She was supposed to like him, right? Those rippling muscles and piercing blue eyes. At least Haley Webb had been scripted to fall for it hook, line and sinker. Haley James however once again harbored conflicting emotions. It was supposed to be an elaborate game. She was acting, pretending. That was the whole point of going undercover. And so she had swallowed her pride and went against her better judgment and decided to approach Nathan that night in his hotel room. With butterflies in her stomach, she had knocked on his door pouring out her heart, hoping, praying he might feel the same way. Instead she had found humiliation and the object of her investigation and supposed affections, in the arms of a silicone bimbo. Haley's heart had sank and she had been miserably on edge ever since.

She had done a damned good job of avoiding him and when in his presence, she had still managed to skirt around the issue at hand, the big pink elephant in the middle of the room, so to speak. He had looked worried and nervous as if the words had been on the tip of his tongue. Still he had never spoken them. Perhaps he wasn't ready to say them. And whatever it was, Haley knew she wasn't ready to hear it. Still time moved on and she knew what was inevitable. Eventually she would have to make a decision. Her bosses were waiting on her. So much depended on it, a fact Haley was more than aware of.

"Hey."

She jumped, startled. That part of the beach was private. No one came out there. Almost no one.

"Hey," Haley said, turning to meet his eyes before quickly facing the water again.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Just thinking."

Her answers were short and sweet. What else could he expect? Their last few encounters had been icy, to say the least. And who could blame her after what had happened at the hotel. With a sigh, Nathan shoved his hands in the pocket of his jeans.

"Oh," he managed to mumble.

They stood together, hearts racing, for a few minutes of silent awkwardness. Finally Haley could take it no longer.

"It's getting late. I have stuff to do. I, I guess I'll go back inside."

She turned to leave.

"Wait," he grabbed her arm, surprising both of them.

Her eyes met his and she sucked in a breath.

"What are you doing?"

"Look, I need to talk to you."

"We don't have anything to talk about."

"Haley…"

"Just forget about it."

"About what happened, you know, that night?"

He was looking right at her.

"Yeah."

"I can't forget about it. I mean, as much as I want to. It was stupid. I was a real dick."

"It's okay."

"It's not okay, Haley. I think we both know that."

Finally something they could agree on.

"I, um, I shouldn't have gone up there, you know, to your room. I had no right. I just barged in unannounced and I was rambling not making any sense. I mean, you're an adult and you make your own decisions. You have the right to, to…female company, shall we say. I can't get upset about that. If you like…"

"That's the thing," he interrupted. "I didn't like her. She was some groupie. Some wannabe model friend of a friend of a friend of one of the other players. We met, we got drunk, it was a random hookup. It meant nothing."

Haley closed her eyes.

"I don't want to hear that, Nathan. Look, I can admit that it really bothered me seeing you with that woman. But even with her huge, fake boobs and her so 80's bleached blonde hair, and spray on tan…oh God, I sound like Brooke, don't I?"

"Just a little."

Haley frowned.

"Even with all that, underneath it, there is a human being with real feelings. And it's not right for you to hurt them or take advantage of it. You're so much better than that. Yeah, I didn't like seeing you with her but it sucks even more knowing you could do that to another human being."

"What do you want me to say, Haley? This is my life. It happens all the time. There are girls who live for following football and basketball teams and rock bands around just to hook up. They know the deal, they know it is what it is and in the morning it's over. That's their choice."

"What about your choices?"

"Maybe I made a mistake."

"Maybe."

Nathan took a deep breath.

"Just tell me one thing."

"Nathan…"

"All that stuff you said, the stuff you were trying to say, the stuff you were gonna tell me later…did, did you mean it?"

"It's not important now," she looked away.

"It's important to me," he answered in a muffled tone.

Haley bit her lip. It was her chance. Everything depended on that moment, that response. She could walk away and end it all. That choice could stall the FBI's case and be the very end of her career. Or she could stay. She could stay and try to move things forward with Nathan.

"I meant it," she whispered.

"What?"

"We were friends. I guess we are friends. I, I want that but…"

"But what?"

"I, I kind of felt like there was something more. Maybe it was stupid of me…"

"It's not stupid."

"Nathan, you don't have to…"

"You're a cool person, Haley. I can really talk to you. You're smart. You listen. You talk to people, not at them. You care. You're fun. You're honest and real. I don't have a lot of people like that in my life. I'm not used to it. It's weird. But the more we hung out, the more you stopped being just the cool chick, or a friend or my nurse or one of the guys. I didn't know what to do, how to act, how to tell you how I felt."

"Hooking up with prostitutes was not a good start," she muttered sarcastically. "Sorry."

"It's cool. You don't hold anything back. I like that. You say what you think. You do what you feel. I definitely respect that. The way you have fun, the way you carry yourself…the way you stand up to my dad. I, I just like being around you. When I am around you, it's pretty fun. And…and when I'm not around you, I think about being around you."

"So what now?"

"You tell me. I still feel the same way. I screwed up and I'm sorry but maybe, hopefully a little bit of you feels the same way about me."

Haley nervously ground her toes into the sand.

"What if it's a mistake?" she asked quietly.

"What?"

"All of it. You. Me…us. I mean, technically you are my boss. What if things didn't work out? How would that affect our working relationship?"

Nathan shrugged.

"I don't know. But that's a big 'what if'?"

He stepped closer to her and she felt like she might pass out.

"I'm not all into the big party scene, you know. And there are things that are definite deal breakers. I mean, groupies? No way."

He chuckled in spite of the situation.

"Sorry."

"Are you laughing?"

"I couldn't help it."

"So much for saving your case."

"I'm not laughing at you…I mean, I am but not the way you think. I'm not trying to be mean. You, you just look really cute right now."

She shot him an annoyed look.

"Now is not the time for flattery."

"I mean it. You're so cute when you're mad. Like when you're trying to get me to do stuff in the gym and I don't want to. You get so pissed off. You eyes narrow and your face gets all red and your lips curl up…"

"My lips do not curl up."

"They're doing it right now."

"Really?" she made a face.

"Haley…"

"I don't know, Nathan. This is scary. This is a big deal. I like you, I do but I don't want drama. And I don't want to get hurt."

"Neither do I."

"I mean, this could seriously be one huge recipe for disaster as we know it. First we go through the awkward phase, then it's on to that glorious honeymoon period. Next thing you know, there are whores and tabloids and we're arguing when we're supposed to be working, or worse, not talking at all and I get fired and…"

"Whoa, slow down, girl. Damn. You worry way too much. It's not like I'm asking to get married."

"I didn't mean that. It's just that I don't know what I want. I don't know what you want either and…"

He silenced her with a long, soft unexpected kiss. Haley felt her insides go mushy and then completely numb. His lips were sweet, his kiss gentle yet still maintaining that electrifying toe tingling effect. Haley was stunned. But not stunned enough to not kiss back after a few seconds.

"Wow," she finally said after they both pulled away.

He smirked, looking away, noting the angelic glow the sunset had cast upon her face.

"That's a good thing, I hope."

She cleared her throat.

"I, I, um…I can't believe you did that."

"Me either."

"But I'm, I, I'm glad you did."

He took her hand in his.

"Does that answer your question?"

"What?"

"That's what I wanted."

"Oh."

"Look, I don't always know what I'm doing. You've probably figured that out by now. I screw up from time to time. I don't really know how all this is supposed work. I might mess up but…but at least I'm willing to give it a try. I hope you are, too."

"Nathan…"

"I'm sorry, okay? About all of it. About hooking up with that girl, about not talking to you that night, especially about acting like an ass about the whole thing. I was wrong and I hope you can forgive me. Maybe, I don't know. Maybe I could make it up to you."

She looked him square in the eye. God, he was gorgeous!

"How?" she mouthed carefully.

"I don't know. Maybe we could go on a date."

"What kind of a date?"

"A real one. A nice one. You know, with flowers and dinner and all that shit."

"Sounds…romantic."

"Sorry. You know what I meant."

"Yeah."

"Maybe I should get Brooke to help me, you know, with the planning and stuff."

"Might not be a bad idea," she smiled.

"So does that mean you'll go?"

She shrugged.

"It means I'll think about it."

He nodded. It was a respectable answer, he thought as he turned to walk away. He wasn't prepared by the sudden and soft touch of her hand grabbing at his. Neither was she. A million and one thoughts raced through their minds but neither spoke. The moments was what it was, it needed no words. Instead they stood their quiet, hand in hand watching the sunset. For Haley it was the biggest moment of truth. She had felt it before but now it was certain. There would be no turning back. Not this time.