Peyton returned to Nathan and Haley just as Brooke and Lucas walked out of the club. She was still angry, but she wanted to talk to Lucas. She wanted to have an actual conversation with him about what the hell was going on, or not going on. She hadn't wanted to talk to Eric at all, and hadn't expected him to be at Tric, and she had actually missed Lucas. She'd just been too stubborn and blinded by anger to let him know that.

"Where are they going?" she asked, gesturing towards them with her head, as she noticed two full glasses - one Lucas', one Brooke's - on the table in front of her. She picked up the martini glass and began sipping its contents.

"Brooke's taking Lucas home," Haley said tentatively after sharing a worried look with her husband.

"You want to tell us what's going on with you two?" Nathan asked.

"There's nothing going on with us," she said, draining the glass in her hands, and reached for the scotch sitting next to her hand on the table.

"Bullshit," Nathan said forcefully, surprising both women at the table.

"Nathan..." Haley tried to scold him, but Peyton's voice interrupted.

"He's made it perfectly clear that there's nothing going on with us." She drank the rest of the amber liquid and set the glass down, avoiding eye contact with her friends.

Nathan and Haley exchanged glances, knowing they had clearly missed an integral part of the story, but they could fill in the blanks on their own. Both blondes had been adamant that nothing was going on, but that had obviously changed in recent days.

"We're taking you home," Haley said. "You want to crash at our place?"

"No!" Peyton replied indignantly. "I'm not going to hide from him."

Haley looked to Nathan again. She should have known Peyton would be this stubborn. She didn't know what was going on between her and Lucas, but whatever it was, it was intense. And tense.

"Come on," Nathan said, placing his hand on the small of Haley's back and watching as Peyton strode off in front of them.

"This isn't good, is it?" Haley asked worriedly.

"No. Lucas jealous is almost as bad as me jealous," he explained gently. Haley chuckled softly despite herself. "Whatever he said to her, it didn't help matters."

They drove Peyton to Lucas' house, and Haley was dying to ask for details on what had transpired, but she knew by the look on Peyton's face that she should just leave it. Peyton was silent the entire ride, until they pulled up in front of the familiar house.

"Thanks, guys," she said softly, grabbing her purse and reaching for the door handle.

"Peyton," Nathan's voice rang out. She met his eyes as he turned around to look at her. "Try not to kill him, alright? He's the only brother I have."

She chuckled and nodded, and he was glad to have broken the tension, even if only momentarily.

----

Peyton walked into the house quietly, before realizing that Lucas had probably arrived only a few minutes before her. She walked through the house on her way to her room when she noticed him in the kitchen. He had a bottle of water in one hand, and the other rested on the counter he was leaning back against. She stopped in the doorway and watched him. 'Damn, he looks good,' she thought. She wasn't sure what, if anything, she should say.

He hadn't expected her to be home so soon, or at all. He knew Peyton, and he knew how defiant she could get when she was feeling particularly stubborn. He'd like to think she wouldn't do something as rash as going home with a guy just to spite him, but he'd be the first to admit that he'd acted like an ass. But she was standing there, looking gorgeous and, if he was reading her correctly, a little remorseful.

"Hey," he said softly. She couldn't place the emotion in his voice.

"Hi," she whispered. She looked down to her hands as they twisted the strap of the wristlet she'd carried, and didn't see him walking towards her. "I...um..."

Before she could finish her sentence, his lips were on hers with an urgency that surprised her. His hands were on either side of her face and it took her a moment to reciprocate, but she closed her eyes and melted into his touch and his kiss. Her body was buzzing from the alcohol she'd had, and she knew his must have been too. His arm hooked around her waist and he walked her backward, pressing her against the adjacent wall and making her moan into his kiss. She pressed her hips forward and elicited the same response from him. He finally pulled away for a moment and looked into her eyes. Neither of them said a word before their lips met again.

She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, making out in the hallway of his home. Her mind was completely numb to anything that wasn't his lips on hers or his hands running over her back or face or stomach. Eventually he pulled her towards his bedroom and they stumbled together through the door, which he kicked shut for no reason at all - they were the only people in the house.

"What are we doing?" he whispered breathlessly, one hand still buried in her hair, and the other around her back and pressing her close to him.

"I don't know," she said with a breathy laugh.

"Are you still mad at me?" he muttered.

"I don't know," she repeated. She was dead to any rational thought.

He moved to place kisses along her collar bone and his hand moved over the bare skin between her shoulder blades. He dragged his fingertips lightly down her spine and he felt her shiver against him.

"Definitely not mad," she mumbled, making him chuckle against her skin.

He kissed her again, softly, then moved his lips away from hers to press them along her jaw line. He placed a wet kiss to the hinge of her jaw before whispering again in her ear.

"You're going to have to be the one to stop this."

"What if I don't?" she asked. He pulled away to look at her, sobered by her words.

"Peyton..."

"What if I don't want to stop?" she whispered, grabbing either side of his collar in her hands. Her eyes met his and she could see too many emotions. She ignored them all and saw the one that she wanted to see - lust.

"Then we can't go back," he said softly. She smiled and he kissed her again.

He walked her back towards the bed and let go of her long enough for her to lay back on the pillow. He smiled and rested himself on top of her. She mewled at the contact and the feel of him against her, and her hands found his face. She kissed him again and felt his hand move to the bare skin on her thigh as she bent her leg, pointing her knee skyward. She threw her head back and he began kissing her neck again.

Suddenly it all seemed too fast. She was kissing Lucas. Lucas was the one making her feel this way. Her best friend. He was right; if they did this, they couldn't go back. She wanted it to happen, but not like this.

"Maybe we shouldn't," she said softly and out of breath. His head dropped to her shoulder and she heard him sigh. "I'm sorry."

"It's OK," he insisted, rolling off her and turning to sit on the edge of the bed with his back to her. It wasn't OK. He wanted her. Badly.

She lay on her back for a few moments to catch her breath, then she sat up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, taking him by surprise.

"I don't want to ruin it," she admitted softly into his ear.

"Ruin what?" he asked, confused.

"Us. We've been drinking and you're jealous and I'm mad. I just...that's not the best way to do this," she explained.

"I definitely was jealous, and you said you weren't mad," he said, making them both chuckle.

"Why were you jealous?" she asked. She knew she'd baited him, but she wanted to hear his explanation. She wasn't fishing for a compliment.

"I...He was...," he stuttered before finding words. "Look at you! God, you're so damn sexy that it kills me, and I saw you with him and how he was looking at you and I just...I lost my mind."

"You're about to make me change mine," she growled, and kissed the spot just below his ear that she'd learned as a teenager drove him crazy. She heard him let out a moan.

"Then maybe I should keep talking," he laughed. She moved her arms and snaked them around his stomach, and he felt her place her knees on either side of him. He could barely control himself with her that close to him. He knew that one swift move would have her on her back.

"I'm sorry," she said, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck.

"You'll just be sorry if you don't stop that," he chuckled. His hands found hers and he took them in his.

"How did we end up here?" she asked in disbelief. She pulled her hands away from his and brought them to his shoulders and began gently massaging him. She'd done it simply to create a distraction and stop herself from kissing him.

"You tell me, babe." The term of endearment made her heart rate increase.

"OK, stop," she insisted, moving away from him and laying on her back.

"What?" he asked, turning to look at her. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. He stared at her for a moment, laying there on his bed with her dress wrinkled from their activities and her hair framing her face as it lay on the pillow. "You look so hot."

"Lucas!" she squealed. He crawled over to lay next to her and he threw his arm over her stomach.

"Don't act all innocent," he teased. His voice changed to a whisper and he leaned into her. "You're making me crazy." His thumb moved in slow circles on her side as they lay there.

"Lucas," she whispered after a few moments.

"Yeah?" He raised his head off the pillow to look at her.

"Can I sleep in here with you?" she asked, already knowing what his answer would be. He smiled down at her and kissed her gently.

"Of course you can."

She hopped off the bed and ran out of the room.

"Where are you going?" he laughed.

"Pajamas!" she shouted back.

She returned a few minutes later wearing the tee shirt she'd tortured him with the day before, and a devilish grin. He groaned and shook his head at her.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Tease," he said, standing and walking towards her. He hooked his arm around her waist and kissed her forehead before releasing her. She got under the covers and watched him as he unbuttoned his shirt. His hands went to his belt and she unconsciously bit her lip. The alcohol hadn't worn off yet, and neither had the effects of his earlier kisses. He looked over at her just as he'd undone the buckle.

"Stop it," he insisted.

"Huh?" she asked, pulled from her thoughts. Her face went red and he laughed at her again.

"You gonna be able to control yourself there, Miss Sawyer?" he chided.

"I'll be fine," she muttered, rolling onto her side away from him.

Moments later, he turned out the light and pulled back the sheets. He slid in next to her, his hand coming to rest on her thigh as her back pressed against his chest. He felt her inhale against him.

"'Night, Lucas," she whispered. He didn't respond, he just kissed her shoulder and took a deep breath.

He lay awake for a while. The feel of her in his arms made his mind and heart race. He'd never felt like this with a woman before. He wondered how she made him feel so calm and so turned on at the same time. He never wanted to let her go - he wouldn't. He had no idea how they'd ended up like that. She had been so angry with him just an hour earlier, and now they lay together in his bed. He knew one thing: if she hadn't stopped them, neither of them would be trying to fall asleep at the moment. God, he wanted her.

"Stop thinking about me," she said flatly, her eyes still closed.

"How did you...?" he asked.

"I'm thinking about you, too," she said, turning in his arms so she was laying on her back again. She took his hand and rubbed his thumb with hers. He smiled at her, though he knew she couldn't see through the darkness.

"I haven't stopped thinking about you since the first night you got here," he said, his voice low and sincere. He kissed her gently and pulled away again, resting his head back down on the pillow.

"Mmmm." The throaty moan was her only response. Being with Lucas felt so...right. His words and gentle touches were making her rethink her desire to wait. Suddenly all she wanted was to resume kissing him.

"I forgot about all those little sounds you make," he said softly, nuzzling her neck.

"And I forgot all those little lines you have that make me want to..." She stopped herself when she realized what she was about to say.

"Want to what?" he asked, teasingly. She could hear the smile he was wearing.

"Nothing," she said. She was glad he couldn't see her face redden.

"Liar," he said, kissing her neck again.

"Stop kissing me!" she joked.

"Baby, I don't want to ever stop kissing you," he said, pulling her closer to him, though he knew she was already almost as close as she could get. "Is that one of the lines?"

"It's a good example, yes," she laughed.

"So...what does it make you want to do?" he husked.

"Stop it, Luke. I'm serious," she said. She knew she couldn't resist him much longer. His fingertips traced her collarbone and he chuckled when she shivered beneath his touch. "OK, maybe I should go sleep in my room."

"NO!" he insisted. "I'll be good, I promise. Stay," he pleaded.

She turned onto her side so she was facing him and threw her arm over him. He pulled her close so their bodies were flush to one another and their legs tangled together.

"Good night, Peyton."

They both went to sleep with smiles on their faces that were long overdue.