Haley and Nathan sat in comfortable silence, full after a delicious meal and satisfied after hours of animated conversatiom. It had been an evening both had nervously looked forward to. They smiled at each other from across the table. It had been such a great night.

"You're nervous. Why are you nervous?"

Haley shifted in her seat.

"Am not."

Nathan smirked.

"Are too."

"Yeah? What makes you so sure?"

"Because you're doing that thing."

"What thing?"

"Tugging on your lip. You always tug on your lip when you get nervous."

"I am not tugging on my…"

She looked down and stopped mid sentence, grinning. The proof was all over fingers, covered in lipstick.

"Not tugging on your lip, huh? Not nervous at all? Not feeling the butterflies?"

"You are so funny, Nathan Scott…and so full of yourself."

"Hey, I'm just keeping it real. You got all done up and..."

"Uh, this isn't exactly what I would call done up. I mean, I was really done up before. Brooke was the one doing me up, actually but I made a few changes, thank you very much."

And that part was true. Haley hadn't known who was more excited about the date with Nathan…her or Brooke. The dimpled brunette had squealed with delight, saying "I so told you so", hundreds of times as she went to work immediately on plans. She had taken well over two hours fussing with Haley's hair and make up. In the end, it had been flawless. Haley had looked gorgeous. Brooke had given her a sexy, sweeping updo and makeup that mimicked those of high fashion models. When all was said and done, she had looked glamorous enough to walk anyone's red carpet. But it wasn't the look Haley was going for. She wanted something different so much to her friend's dismay, she had change it. She had agonized for hours herself in front of the mirror before finally deciding on an ensemble. Dressed in a beautiful white sundress with a light floral print and cute little sandals, her make up was equally soft to compliment her look. Her hair, a beautiful flowing auburn mane of natural curls. She was comfortable but still nervous, nervous about how she looked, how Nathan thought she would look.

"Well, you did good. I mean, you look nice. You look pretty."

Haley couldn't have contained her smile even if she wanted to. So far, so good. It was as glorious and normal as first dates went…except for the wire tap taped to her stomach.

"Glad you approve."

He had met her out by the pool. Dressed in khaki's and a light blue shirt, he had used his superstar confidence to mask any signs of nerves he might have felt.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Dan had smirked, casting his beady eyes over the newspaper he was reading.

Nathan had ignored him and headed straight for the one place the pair had designated to meet. When he saw her, his breath caught in his throat. A breeze was coming in from the ocean and her long hair was blowing in it. She looked like something out of a commercial. A lot of girls Nathan had encountered over the years needed all the fancy designer clothes and piles of makeup. But not Haley. She was a natural beauty and he appreciated that. When she looked up and flashed him that million dollar grin, his heart had absolutely melted. They had exchanged shy smiles and he quietly had extended his hand as if to gentlemanly lead the way. She had followed with goose pimples covering her flesh as they had walked outside to a waiting limo, not even noticing or caring about the aghast look on Dan Scott's face. The ride into the city to the heart of the Back Bay was filled with quiet chatter and flirty banter. They arrived at the trendy 29 Newbury and were escorted to a private table in the back. Along the way, the pair had paused briefly to admire the featured artwork. And after a wonderful two hours of crab cakes and grilled filet mignon, the evening had begun to wind down over her glass of wine and his imported beer.

"What are you thinking about?"

Haley looked up.

"Nothing," she shrugged.

Nathan frowned.

"Are, are you sure this is cool? I mean…"

"Oh no," she quickly reassured him. "This is great. I mean it. Perfect."

"I wanted it to be, you know, nice. I didn't want it to be cheesy."

She shook her head.

"It's not cheesy, trust me."

"I wanted you to have a good time."

He fidgeted in his seat like a little kid and Haley found it absolutely adorable. All of it had been just for her. It was a magical night, just sitting there across from him.

"I had, I am having an amazing time. Really. This is, it's pretty super."

"Super?" he raised a teasing eyebrow.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just that, who uses that word?"

"I do," she grinned, sticking her tongue out defensively adding a playful tap with a napkin. "I guess you think that is pretty cheesy."

"Well…"

"Okay, okay, I confess. I'm like the world's biggest cheeseball. I say things like rad and super and occasionally I'll say fiddlesticks instead of using the f word. I like colorful ponchos and comic books. I buy packs of Starburst at a time just to only eat the red ones."

"That is pretty cheesy, Hales."

"And," she took a deep breath. "And… when I was getting ready earlier tonight and you came out to the pool, it um…well, I, I sort of felt like a princess. Like Cinderella."

She let out a nervous giggle expecting him to start teasing her. But he didn't.

"No, I don't think that's cheesy at all," he said in a quiet, serious voice. "I think that's pretty cool."

With her hand flat on the table, he awkwardly grazed his larger one over hers. She felt all the breath leave her body and the blood rush her head for a few seconds before quickly floating back to earth. Blue eyes met brown and for a moment the world, which stood still, now belonged to them.

"What are we doing?" she whispered.

He had no idea. And it didn't matter. It just felt right. With Haley, he could be himself.

"I don't know," he gently rubbed her fingers.

Slowly, with deliberation, their faces inched forward…

"Can I get you anything else, Mr. Scott?" the waiter with the world's worst timing interrupted.

Nathan made a face, the trance broken as the two cleared their throats and quickly straightened up.

"No thanks, man. We're good."

He pulled out his unlimited American Express Black card to take care of the check and generous tip.

"I guess it's getting late," Haley rubbed her arms.

"Yeah. Um, we could still hang out though…I mean, if you want to and stuff. We could go to a club."

Haley wasn't much of the clubbing type.

"Nah…"

"Or we could go home, take a walk on the beach. It's pretty quiet out there. It's nice actually."

Haley grinned at him. That was more like it.

"I've never hung out with someone who owned their own stretch of beach before."

He smirked and came right back at her.

"I knew it would come in handy one day impressing cute chicks."

"Who says I'm impressed?"

"Are you?"

"Maybe."

The waiter returned and Nathan scribbled his signature on the receipt.

"You ready?" he asked.

She nodded and he called for their car. Before they could move, a fan approached them.

"Nathan Scott? Holy shit, dude. This is so cool. You're my favorite player. Can I get an autograph?"

"Yeah," Nathan quickly obliged before turning his attention back towards Haley. "Let's get out of here."

Haley glanced out the window as they began heading for the exit.

"Looks like we've got company. Is all that for you?"

She motioned outside to the small swarm of paparazzi beginning to gather. Nathan looked and cursed to himself. There they were, the bloodsuckers who made it their livelihood to intrude upon his personal life, always on the search for juicy pictures that told an even juicier story, no matter if the surrounding facts were true.

"Unfortunately," he muttered.

"What are they doing here? What do they want?"

What did they ever want?

"Who knows? Look, just keep your head down. Don't say anything."

They stepped two feet outside the restaurant and the photogs pounced like hungry, waiting lions. Haley had never experienced anything like it. Taken aback, she jumped a little bit, the bright flash of the camera blinding her even with her eyes closed and head covered and down.

"Nathan, who is this woman?" one asked.

"Is this your new girlfriend?"

Nathan, used to all the hounding, simply rolled his eyes.

"I don't have a girlfriend. Damn, don't you guys have anything better to do than follow me around?"

"Introduce us to your new friend. Miss, can we have your name?"

Haley remained silent.

"What can you tell us about your little date tonight?"

Deciding enough was enough, Nathan morphed into true Scott mode. He shot them his most infamous arrogant smirk.

"Date? Are you guys kidding?" he lied. "This is my nurse. We were here on business along with some other people. I'm single and I'm healthy and you guys have no story, at least not tonight. Sorry."

He wasn't the typical celebrity whose very picture, even in the most normal of situations sold magazines. People only wanted a glimpse of the off the court Nathan Scott when he was involved in something juicy and gossip worthy to further fuel his mysterious, bad boy image. A Nathan Scott leaving a business meeting with some random, mousy nurse would hardly make headlines. As slyly and quickly as they had come, the small mob began to disperse.

"You're killing us, man. Where are all the hot chicks?"

Nathan, in true character, just grinned.

"Catch me over at Tabu in a few hours."

Haley, still quiet, didn't know what to think. What was Tabu? The name itself said enough. She couldn't tell if Nathan was hamming it up for the press or being serious.

"Yeah!" they hooped and hollered. "That's what we're talking about!"

He began to walk behind her, carefully distanbcing their exit. She waited not knowing what to think or do, desperately wanting to jump into the limo that would provide safety and privacy. She watched as a cab pulled up to the curb, followed by the limo. She looked at Nathan and Nathan looked right back at her and then the taxi.

"Um, thanks for all the information tonight. I'll see you at work."

She couldn't believe it. Her heart fell through her throat straight into the pit of her stomach. She looked right in his eyes. So heartless. So cold. So not the man she had just spent a lovely evening with. Fighting back tears, a stunned Haley stepped inside the cab. The night was over. Ironically she eyed the digital time up front. 11:59 and ticking. The clock was about to strike midnight and just like in the fairytale, Cinderella's coach had turned into a pumpkin.