Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill
The Con
Chapter Fourteen: Some You Give Away
"Nathan," Haley said Nathan held his hands over her eyes. "Nathan, where are you taking me?"
"It's a surprise," Nathan whispered. He still felt shaken up about what had just happened at his parents house, but on top of that he felt stronger - invincible, in a way. Like he could take on anything and win. He had got the limo driver to take them here, and then once they were out he had made Haley promise not to peek and held his hands over her eyes just to make sure.
Haley tripped on a step and Nathan laughed. "Watch out for the step."
"Nathan!" Haley yelled in between laughs. "Don't be mean! Can I see where we are yet."
"Go ahead," Nathan whispered into her ear as he moved his hand away from her eyes.
Haley's eyes fluttered open gently and the merry smile on her face froze in place before dropping open. She gasped at the view in front of her - the softly lapping waves on the golden sand, as the sun set in the background casting a red and gold glow over everything.
"Oh my God," She whispered. She hadn't been to a beach in so long, and she had forgotten how amazed she was by them. She felt tears spring to her eyes and she turned around and threw her arms around Nathan. "This is perfect!" she cried.
Nathan smiled at the reaction on his girlfriends face and wrapped his arms around her when she pulled him into a hug. He kissed her neck and smelt her hair - honey and vanilla. "Only the best," he laughed.
The two of them were stood on the deck of the Scott beach house. Haley hadn't even noticed the amazing piece of architecture behind them yet. She was still too amazed with the beach.
"Can we go down?" She asked, like a child asking if they could open their presents on Christmas day. Nathan found it adorable. He slipped his hand in hers and the two of them walked down the steps together. Haley bent down and took off her high heels, throwing them down by the steps. "You have to do it too," she said bossily.
Nathan laughed with a raised eyebrow. Anything for you, he thought, bending down and taking his shoes and socks off one-handed. The other one was still with Haley.
Haley smiled at the feeling of soft sand beneath her feet. She leaned into Nathan as they walked slowly towards the sunset, her head resting on the top of his arm - she was too short to reach his shoulder. The thought made her laugh and Nathan looked down at her, curious.
"What?" He asked softly, reaching out and wiping the hair from her eyes.
"Nothing," Haley replied with a smile. She pulled away from Nathan and set herself down on the sand, patting it for Nathan to join her.
Here, she felt like she was in her own little paradise. Away from everything that was tearing her up inside. She had even managed to get away from her internal arguments, which was more than a relief.
Still, it couldn't last for too long. As she sat side by side with Nathan, watching the sun set on the horizon, her mind wandered to the argument at the Scott house. She couldn't belief the way Dan treated his son, but in a way, she knew she was treating him much worse. She hated that she had to do this to him to save her sister. She hated that he had finally stood up to his dad, and that it had been for someone who didn't deserve it.
The worst thing was, Dan was right. She was a gold digger, just not in the conventional sense of the word.
Tears prickled her eyes again, only these were not tears of joy. They were tears of regret.
"Hey," Nathan whispered, pulling her close to him and wiping the tears from her face. "What's the matter?"
Haley shook her head stubbornly, trying to call the tears back into her eyes. "It's just…" she sighed, sniffing again. "I don't deserve you."
Nathan laughed and tightened his hold around her. "I can't believe you could even think that," he whispered into her hair. "Haley, I…"
"What?" Haley asked, wondering if he was going to tell her he loved her again. Haley felt a bittersweet feeling in the pit of her stomach at the memory of Nathan announcing to his friends and family that he was in love with her. She had tried to push it out of her mind, but now it was coming back twice as strong and powerful.
She tried desperately to focus on what Nathan was saying now, because if she thought about the 'L' word then she'd have to deal with it, and she really didn't want to have to do that.
"I'm not…" Nathan tried again, but he paused, looking at Haley. She could see that this was hard for him to say, and in a way she didn't want him to. Being here with Nathan beside her was making it harder and harder to focus on the con. "I'm not a great guy, Hales," he whispered, finally. Haley's head snapped up in surprise.
"What are you talking about?" She asked. "You're amazing."
Nathan gave a weak laugh. "I'm really not. You know, for years I've been supposedly 'promised' to Peyton, and it's never even bothered me. I looked at it as my get out of jail free card, you know? I never had to get too involved with someone if I had Peyton as an emergency exit plan. I was a love'em and leave'em kind of guy, and it never once occurred to me to change."
Nathan looked down at the sand as he spoke, as if he was scared to see Haley's reaction. Haley bit her lip and felt her eyes stinging again. She already knew all of this, but she couldn't tell him that, because then she would have to tell him that she had lied about not knowing who he was. "Why are you telling me this, Nathan?" She asked finally, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Nathan shrugged. "I guess, because… because since I've met you, I want to be a better person. I want to be someone who deserves you." He finally looked up at Haley and their eyes locked.
Haley wanted to say that he more than deserved her, she wanted to say that he was the most amazing man she had ever met in her life, she wanted to… God, she wanted to say so much, but she couldn't because Nathan's lips pressed hard against hers and all she could focus on was that.
And keeping her eyes open.
Nathan's hands moved up and rubbed down her bare shoulders, and the sensation of gritty sand on smooth skin made the hair on the back of Haley's neck stand up in pleasure. Nathan's arms moved down to around her waist and he supported her as he lowered her into the sand. His lips moved from hers and down onto her neck, her collarbone. Haley moaned in pleasure at the sensation and pulled Nathan back up to her, kissing his lips. She felt his tongue massage hers and she gave up. She gave herself over to the pleasure and closed her eyes, not caring about the consequences.
Her hands moved downwards to the bottom of Nathan's shirt, and he pulled away long enough for her to lift it up. As soon as it had been discarded on the sand, he lowered his body back down onto Haley's and touched her jawbone, her eyelids, her lips, all with feathery soft kisses. Haley's hands roamed down Nathan's back and rested on the waistband of his jeans.
Nathan pulled back again and Haley immediately missed the feeling of his warm skin on hers. She opened her eyes and saw Nathan looking at her with lust-glazed eyes. He seemed to be asking her for permission and she realised that his hands were on the bottom of her shirt. She nodded softly, completely lost in Nathan, forgetting all about the world around her and everybody in it. For now it was just this beach, her and Nathan. She wished it could be that way always.
She arched her back as Nathan lifted her shirt up over her head and threw it to the side, with his shirt. He lowered himself back on top of her, moving his arm around her back for the clasp on her bra. While he did this, he kissed her chest, moving down to her breastbone, and then her stomach. As soon as the clasp was undone he removed it with one expert movement. Haley's head was flung back in pleasure as he cupped her breast in one hand and flicked his tongue across it.
"Nathan," she muttered, feeling lost in the intense pleasure this elicited. She pulled him back up to her mouth and kissed him, with more love and passion than she had ever felt in her life.
"I love you," Nathan muttered, pulling away to kiss her neck.
"Nathan," Haley muttered again, but this time it wasn't a moan of pleasure, it was a stiff utterance. "Nathan, stop."
Nathan pulled back, looking confused. "What?" he asked, his eyes still infused with a mix of love, lust and worry.
Haley's heart beat fast in her chest as she realised what she had been about to do. She couldn't believe she had got this carried away, and when Nathan had said he loved her… She'd frozen. Her mind had pulled away from the way Nathan was kissing her neck and back to the way he'd told his whole family he loved her.
And she knew. She had to deal with it. Because something else had hit her square in the gut when Nathan said that, and that was that she loved him too.
She loved him too.
The thought and the feeling took her breath away and a pang of remorse tore through her heart. She pushed Nathan off her and sat up, reaching over to grab her shirt and holding it up to her chest. She wanted to cry but after her emotional overload, it felt like her tear ducts were on strike.
"Haley?" Nathan asked, looking confused and a little angry. "What are you doing?"
"Can you call me a cab?" She asked Nathan, realising that her cell was in her purse, which had been left in the limousine. "I left my cell in the limousine." Her voice was flat and cold.
Nathan took a deep breath, trying to remember what he did wrong. He was annoyed with himself because a bubble of anger had made residence in his throat, but at the same time he felt he had a right to get angry. Haley had just led him on and then turned in an instant… and he couldn't work out why.
"Do you want to tell me what just happened there?" Nathan asked, feeling his pride and his ego wither like a balloon. No girl had ever told him to stop before. He was actually questioning his abilities at the look on Haley's face. She looked… well, like nothing had even happened. Her face was void of emotion.
"I…" Haley started, and finally something appeared through the crack. Her eyes moved to him and were full of sadness. Nathan once again felt ashamed of himself for getting angry at her.
"What is it?" he asked, reaching over to touch Haley on the shoulder. His heart seemed to break when she recoiled away.
"Can you just call me a cab?" She snapped. "I want to go home."
Okay, this was officially weird. Nathan gritted his teeth together and nodded. "Fine," he spat. "I'd hate to think I was keeping you here against your will." He got up to his feet and walked up to the beach house, leaving his shirt on the sand. Once inside he rang a cab company who told him they'd be there in half an hour.
Haley had made her way up to the beach house and was sat on the steps outside. A part of Nathan wanted to go and see her, get to the bottom of all this craziness, but the other and more stronger part wouldn't allow him to. That part was his pride.
Haley wiped her eyes with her sleeve and put her head in her hands. When Nathan had gone to call the cab, she had finally been able to let go. She cried until her chest hurt at the thought of what she had to do. She had slipped her bra and shirt back on and walked up to the beach out, trying to work out what she was going to say.
"The cab will be here in half an hour," Nathan said coldly from the patio door. Haley tuned around but he had already moved away. She hated hearing the lack of emotion in his voice, and she knew she had to say something, anything to make him feel better. In fact, the truth would probably be a good idea. Or at least, part of it.
She got up to her feet and walked into the beach house, not even taking a moment to admire the interior. Nathan was sat at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. Haley took a deep breath and sat down opposite him. He didn't look up.
"I don't believe in sex until after marriage," Haley said in a single breath, deciding the best thing would be to just get it out there. It was true, she didn't. And that was the part of the truth she was going to tell him.
Nathan's head shot up and he looked at her with disbelief. He Didn't think people still did that these days. However, the disbelief was quickly replaced by relief. "So that's why… you went weird?" Nathan asked.
Haley realised that she had made a mistake. In trying to make Nathan feel better she had gotten his hopes up, made him feel there was some kind of future for them when there wasn't. Haley couldn't go through with this con, but she couldn't stay with Nathan either. Not after what she had done to him. She'd be living a lie and Nathan deserved better than that. He deserved someone who fell in love with him because it was natural, not because she had been planning to con him out of millions.
"That's… part of it," Haley said softly, looking down at her hands. "And I… I can't see you anymore Nathan." Her voice cracked as she said his name and her eyes teared up.
Nathan's eyebrows narrowed. He thought he had finally gotten to the bottom of this and she was being weird again. "Why?" he asked. "I mean, if it's because of the sex after marriage thing, then I can respect that. I love you Haley, I'll…"
"Stop saying that!" Haley sobbed. "Stop it!"
Nathan looked at her shocked. "But I want to."
"Well, I don't want you too. I want you to stop saying you love me because it's making this so hard!"
Nathan felt his heart crack. "And what is this?" He asked. "What am I making so hard?"
Haley finally looked into her eyes and Nathan saw a miasma of emotions whirling beneath the surface, but he couldn't pick up on anyone of them. "Breaking up."
"Why? What the…" Nathan was shocked. He couldn't understand why she was being so weird. Where had his Haley gone?
"It's too complicated Nathan! I can't cope with how I…" feel about you. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve again as the sound of a horn blaring outside told the two of them the cab was here.
"That was fast," Nathan whispered, too shocked to think of anything else to say.
Haley took a shaky breath and stood up. "Um, do you think you could get the limousine driver to drop my purse off at the hotel?" It felt so weird trying to make normal conversation with Nathan after what they had just gone through.
Nathan didn't answer, he just stared at the door behind her head with a vacant epression in his eyes. Haley nodded and realised it was probably best not to push him. She stepped out of the back door - the one that backed onto the beach - and walked around the deck to the front.
"Haley, wait!"
Haley stopped where she was and turned to see Nathan on the corner. He closed he space between them in two steps and put his hands either side of her face, "Nathan, what are you…" she started, but she was cut off as Nathan's lips pressed down on hers. Haley's eyes closed again and she gave in to the kiss, wanting to feel his lips on hers one last time…
No! Stop it! her mind yelled. You're just hurting both of you even more.
"Nathan," Haley whispered, pulling away. "Just don't, okay?"
She turned to walk away again but Nathan's hand on her arm stopped her. She looked up at him and sighed, feeling her resolve weaken by the second.
"Marry me," Nathan said. "And I'm not saying that because I want to get laid," he said with a cheeky smile that made Haley's knees melt. "I'm saying it because I love you, and the thought of not spending the rest of my life with you is driving me crazy."
At that moment the cab horn blared again and Haley bit her lip as the tears began to fall again. "I really can't hear that right now," she said, pulling her arm away and ignoring Nathan's shouts as she got in the cab.
She watched through tear-blurred eyes as Nathan's shape got smaller and smaller, until she couldn't see him anymore at all.
Haley tried to ignore the whispers of the hotel staff as she asked for her key in between sobs. She felt like her heart was physically breaking as she climbed up the steps to her floor. She didn't even notice that Taylor had left the door slightly ajar as she entered their hotel room with her mascara running down her face and her nose red and sore.
"We need to call it off!" She sobbed as she shut the door behind her. "I can't do it anymore, you were right, I'm not ready to be the…"
Her sobs and words caught in her throat at the sight that awaited her as she entered the bedroom:
Taylor looking petrified sitting on the edge of her bed while a tall figure loomed over her, his hands on his hips and his face full of anger.
"Hello Shelly," he said, eyeing Haley up and down. "Or should I say, Haley?"
Haley couldn't even say his name, the shock had closed off her throat. It was Robert Hartford.
AN: Well, there we have it. Now the fun can really begin! Oh, and by the way, I am frustrating myself with the Naley too, but I have to stick to m plan which means there'll be a few more obstacles before our star cross'd lovers can get it together.
But, review anyway?