Lucas woke up in the morning to realize that his arm was completely numb, with Peyton's sleeping head resting on it. He would have loved to groan at the physical discomfort, but he couldn't bear to wake her, so he just lay there, watching her breathe in and out. He ran his free arm idly up and down her arm as it was draped over him. He must have stayed like that for a half hour before her eyes fluttered open and she took a deep breath as she smiled at him.

"Morning, gorgeous," he whispered. Her response was a groan, making him chuckle. "You hung over?"

She shook her head in the negative. "Too early." She buried her head in his chest and he attempted to pull her closer to him before remembering that his arm was useless.

"I need my arm back, babe," he laughed. She rolled away from him without a word and he gave his arm a shake, hoping to get the blood flowing again. "You want breakfast?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, then turned back to him. "You want to bring me breakfast in bed?" She wiggled her eyebrows in the most adorable way, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I can't say no to you," he muttered. "I can't believe last night happened." He spoke more to himself than to her. He set his feet on the floor and she watched him walk to the door in just his boxers.

"Hey Luke?" He spun around to look at her before leaning against the door frame and smiling at her rumpled appearance. "You want to just stay in bed all day long?"

"Why did you suggest that after I'd already left?" he joked, making her chuckle. "I'd love to."

Peyton lay there in his bed and sheets and tee shirt, and she couldn't wipe the smile off her face. How had she ended up there? She thought about how it had been such a long time coming. Every time she thought about his kisses, her stomach fluttered. She remembered the first time they kissed, then the first time they were in bed together, in a seedy motel along the coast. She remembered the kisses he'd pressed on her stomach and the way his eyes saw everything in her.

She got up out of the bed after about 10 minutes of reminiscing and walked to the kitchen. He hadn't heard her come up behind him, and was surprised when she snaked her arms around his stomach and kissed his neck sweetly.

"Hi there," he said as he continued tending to the omelette he was making.

"How come we haven't been doing this all along?" she asked, moving away from him and leaning against the counter next to him.

"We kind of have," he laughed. "Just without the making out."

She playfully punched his shoulder and he cowered away from her. She poured them each a cup of coffee.

"This smells really good," she admitted with a smile. She'd been doing most of the cooking since she'd arrived, and she'd forgotten that he knew his way around the kitchen.

"Why don't you go back in there and wait for me to bring you some?" he said sweetly.

How did she get so lucky? Was she really doing this - feeling this - with her best friend?

She took their mugs to his bedroom and got back under the covers. It was a mid-summer day in North Carolina, so she had no reason to snuggle beneath the sheets, but it felt right so she did it anyway.

He'd watched her walk out of the room, his tee shirt barely covering the boy cut underwear she had on. He'd never wanted her more.

He put two plates on a tray and carried it into his bedroom, only to find her cuddled up beneath the covers, only her face poking out. She smiled and sat up when she felt the bed dip next to her.

They ate their omelettes, which were met with a chorus of noises from Peyton expressing how good her breakfast was.

"Peyton," Lucas said seriously, "I'm sorry about last night and the whole jealousy thing."

She tilted her head at him and smiled. "It's OK. Actually, it was kind of sexy," she admitted softly, leaning towards him to kiss him softly. "You know, when I wasn't mad at you for being an ass."

"Right," he nodded.

"Sorry for...lots of things," she said quietly.

"You weren't trying to make me jealous, were you?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer. If she said yes, it meant that she had wanted him all night like he'd wanted her. If she said no, it meant she hadn't cared what he thought.

"Well I didn't know he was going to be there, obviously. And then I just couldn't get away from him. I would have rather been with you guys, of course," she said with a smile. "Oh God! I hardly talked to anyone last night."

"They were busy trying to calm me down," Lucas half-joked.

"I'm a terrible friend," she jested. "I should call Haley."

"No!" he said quickly. "No outside distractions today, OK?" His hand reached for hers and he bought it to his lips to place a gentle kiss on her palm.

"OK," she nodded. She stood up and grabbed their dirty dishes and took them to the kitchen.

"You need to put pants on or something!" he called after her, laying back on his bed.

"You complaining?" she asked, peering into his room from the hallway.

"Not exactly," he admitted with a boyish grin. He saw her take off down the hall. "Where are you going, wily?"

"I have a game we can play!" she yelled back. He heard her walking back towards his bedroom.

"A naked game?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows jokingly.

"Luke!" she scolded as she got back on the bed and set her computer on the night stand next to her. "We can play later. It's fun."

"OK. Well, what do you want to do right now?" he asked as she settled back into his arms.

"This," she said, placing her hand on his chest.

They lay like that for a few hours, just talking about everything they could think of. She told him all about the research she'd done on starting her label. She'd spoken to her old boss who'd agreed to help her however he could, and now that she had an office - for which she thanked him again - she could really put things into motion. He told her the comments his editor had given him about the recent chapters of his book, and that the head of his publisher's company had pegged him as the best young literary talent he'd ever seen. They just talked like they always had. Only this time, they stopped to kiss every now and again. It wasn't awkward or strange. It just felt natural.

---

"Have you heard from your brooding brother today?" Haley asked Nathan as she joined him in their living room. He had been playing on the floor with the boys, but moved to the sofa when he saw his wife coming into the room.

"No. Any word from Peyton?" he questioned. She grabbed his wrist to look at the time. It was 1:30. Surely, one of them should have made contact by now.

"Nope. You think we should send the police over there to make sure they haven't killed each other?" she teased.

"They're probably just staring at each other waiting to see who'll cave first. You know those two." He laughed at the friendship the two shared. They'd had their share of battles over the years, but they'd always resolved them after a few days of not talking.

"I don't know, Nathan. There is something going on that we don't know about," she said seriously.

"Yeah, but it's Luke and Peyton. They'll figure it out," he assured her, dropping his hand to her thigh comfortingly.

"I hope so."

Nathan could sense the worry in his wife's voice and decided to do something to placate her fears.

"I'll tell you what," he said, turning to face her. "How about we feed these two, then we can put Mattie down for his nap, and I'll head over to Luke's to make sure everything's OK."

"Thank you," she said softly, kissing him gently, eliciting a disgusted groan from their oldest son, while the other played with his blocks cluelessly.

-----

"So what's this game?" Lucas asked after a while. He checked the clock and it was nearly 2:00.

"Get your computer," she said happily, and he obliged. He stood and grabbed his laptop from his desk before settling beneath the warmth of the covers again. "So what you do, is you go through your iTunes list and pick out the song that best fits a certain description. Like, for instance, the happiest song you have?"

"Ah. I see," he said. He scrolled through his list. "Happiest song?" She nodded back at him. "We Are The Champions."

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Yup. You hear it after any sports championship. I just think of how that must feel, you know? The roar of the crowd and how...elated you would be."

"You've won a championship, Luke," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but it's not the same. I mean, that felt amazing, definitely. And so have the ones I've won coaching. But there's something about being the best of the best, you know?"

"Sure," she nodded. "You miss it? Playing?"

"Not as much as Nate. But yeah. I just wonder what could have happened if it weren't for my heart, you know?" he asked. "But it all happens for a reason, right?" She nodded again and offered a smile. "What's your happiest song, then?"

"Carolina In My Mind," she said with a timid smile.

"James Taylor," he added with a smile of his own.

"When I was in Chicago and feeling really, really homesick, I'd just put on James and he'd sing me that lullaby. I actually saw him not too long ago when he was touring. It was amazing. I had goose bumps when he sang it. It just...brings me back here, or something."

They shared a moment just staring at each other. He'd loved that she'd finally admitted to getting homesick. She'd never told him that before, even though he had thought on some level that it was true.

"OK, saddest song," he said after breaking her gaze.

"Saddest song..." her voice trailed as she searched through her list. "Lover, You Should've Come Over. Jeff Buckley."

"Damn. That's so good that I wish it was mine," he admitted shaking his head.

"What's yours?" she asked with a laugh.

"End of the Road," he admitted, not a shred of nervousness in his voice as he named the song.

"Shut up! You do not have End of the Road on your iTunes!" she joked, leaning over to see that, yes, he indeed had Boys II Men on his playlist.

"It's the best breakup song ever!" he said seriously. "Come on! The drums start it off, then that speech by the guy with the low voice. Just makes you want to cry sometimes."

"Just makes you want to cry sometimes," she teased. "Baby," she muttered under her breath.

"Hey!" he shouted indignantly.

"Most embarrassing song," she laughed.

"Can I use End of the Road?" he joked. She shook her head. "I have Hey Lover by LL Cool J and Boys II Men..."

"Oh my God! Who knew you were a closet Boys II Men fan!?" she said before launching into a fit of laughter.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. What's your most embarrassing?" he asked, shaking his head at her as she laughed.

"I have I Said I Loved You, But I Lied by Michael Bolton. It was an impulse buy after the whole...Joshua...thing," she said, not wanting to mention her ex's name, but realizing she was too deep into the story to stop.

"Boys II Men is way less embarrassing than Michael Bolton," he pointed out, making her laugh again. "OK, what song reminds you of me?"

"Use Somebody by Kings of Leon," she said proudly. She didn't even have to search her list. It was one of her current favourites, and since he'd spent the weekend with her in Chicago, she thought of him each time she heard it.

"That is a very cool song to be linked to," he said softly, leaning forward to kiss her.

"What about me?" she asked, giddy to hear his answer.

"I can't believe you don't already know that," he said, shaking his head.

"What?" she asked, confusion in her voice.

"Linoleum," he said softly. "The first words I ever said to you were the lyrics to that song."

She didn't say anything. She just placed her computer back on the bedside table before taking his and doing the same. She put her hands on either side of his face and pulled him into a kiss that, even as it was happening, he knew he'd never forget. He sat up so they were facing each other, and she moved to the space between his legs, placing hers on either side of his body. She ran one hand through his hair as the other moved down his spine, and she passed her tongue along the seam of his lips. His hands roamed to her back and snuck beneath her shirt, feeling her smooth skin as he pulled her closer to him.

She moaned into his kiss when his fingertips grazed the top of her underwear, which happened to be the only other garment she was wearing. He pulled away from her mouth to place kisses on her neck, and her hands moved to the waist band of his boxers. He tugged at the bottom of her tee shirt and began to pull it up off her body.

That's when the door swung open and Nathan strode in.

"Oh shit! Sorry!" he said, perhaps louder than he had to. Peyton's head spun around to see him, before she buried it in the crook of Lucas' shoulder "I'll just...go around and...wait. In the living room..."

"Oh my God," she muttered, still sitting in the same position with Lucas' hands on her back beneath her shirt. Nathan closed the door and she could hear him laughing on the porch. "Why didn't you lock the door?!"

"I didn't know you were going to...do...that," Lucas said lamely. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and regain composure.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. She pulled back and he couldn't help but smile at her flustered appearance. "What?"

"Nothing," he chuckled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Just...you...this...You are really good at it." He'd said it to tease her, but it also wasn't a lie.

"Lucas!" she squealed, swatting his chest before moving away from him. Her face went even more red, which just made him want her more.

"Listen, is one of you two gonna come out and talk to me, or should I just leave?" came Nathan's muffled voice from outside Lucas' bedroom door. Presumably, he was sitting in the living room waiting, like he'd said.

"You want me to go?" she asked with a laugh, standing from the bed.

"Yeah, I need a minute," he admitted. "Put something on, though, OK?"

"I have something on!" she pointed out indignantly. He raised a brow and looked at her skeptically before she rolled her eyes and grabbed his robe from the back of his door.

He watched her disappear into the hallway and when she closed the door behind her, he took another deep breath. It had been a lot of years since he'd wished he didn't have a brother, but right now, those thoughts were flooding his mind.

"Hey Nate," Peyton said, the blush returning to her cheeks.

"Oh, come on, Sawyer. It's not like I haven't see it before," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Shut up!" she replied, swatting the back of his head as she sat next to him on the sofa.

"I'm really sorry," he admitted sincerely. "I just came over to make sure everything was um...OK between you two. And clearly, it is."

"It's just fine, thanks," she replied, making them both laugh again.

"So you want to tell me what the hell I just walked in on?" he asked. "I mean, I know what it was, but...yeah. How did this all happen?"

"It just...did," she offered lamely.

"Well it's about damn time," Nathan said happily. "I mean, I would have rather not actually seen it, but what can you do?"

"You can try knocking!" she said, feeling embarrassed again.

"I'm sorry! I just never expected that! Kate was a 'lights off' kind of girl, which I know you aren't," he teased.

"Nathan!" she cried, irritation in her voice.

"What?" he laughed. "You know I have grounds to torture you about this forever, right?"

"Oh, you want to start telling stories?" she threatened, raising her eyebrows.

He contemplated it for a moment, knowing that she had dirt on him that he'd rather everyone else not know, then noted the serious look on her face. "OK fine. I'll back off."

Lucas had put on a pair of shorts and a black tee shirt and walked into the room.

"Hey, little brother," he said nonchalantly, sitting in the chair across from them.

"Nice work, Luke. Pissed off to in the bed in just over 12 hours! That's a good record with this one," Nathan said, gesturing towards Peyton with his thumb. She just sat there with her mouth agape in disbelief of Nathan's words

"I actually had her in bed last night, but who's counting?" Lucas laughed.

"Luke!" she cried.

"I'm kidding," he said, trying to calm her. The angry look on her face didn't go away. "We're guys! This is how we are! You're just not used to being the subject of these talks."

"Do you usually have these talks when the subject is in the room?" she asked seriously. Nathan and Lucas exchanged a look, knowing she was right.

"Hey, baby, you wanna go into the kitchen and grab us some water?" Lucas teased, making Nathan laugh uproariously.

"You are on my list, Lucas Scott," she warned, standing from her spot. "I'm going to get dressed."

Lucas watched her walk into her room and close the door behind her. He didn't notice his brother staring at him.

"What?" he asked after he'd finally refocused his attention on his guest.

"Finally," Nathan said simply. "You two morons have been driving us all crazy since high school."

"What does that mean?" Lucas asked.

"It means this is kind of the least surprising thing that could have happened," Nathan laughed. "But I'm happy for you. Both of you."

"Thanks, Nathan," Lucas said with a smile. "Haley's going to die."

"Oh, please. She's been bugging me about it non stop since you got back from Chicago," Nathan admitted. "Speaking of, I should get back. Expect a call from her in about 20 minutes."

"Thanks for the warning," Lucas chuckled.

"And try locking the door next time," Nathan said. The two men shared a look when some angry rock started blaring from behind the closed door down the hall. "If there is a next time."

"Noted," Lucas said with a laugh. "See you later."

He watched Nathan drive away, then made his way to her bedroom door, knocking before turning the knob.

"Hey," he said, watching as she pulled a tank top over her head. Suddenly, in his eyes, any clothing was too much clothing for her to be wearing.

"Hi," she replied sheepishly.

"Sorry about that. Just...guy stuff," he offered. "You aren't mad, are you?" He took a few steps towards her and she gave him a genuine smile before speaking.

"Slightly mortified that your brother slash my ex-boyfriend just walked in on us...getting acquainted? Yes. Mad? No."

He laughed at her choice of words and wrapped his arms around her.

"So much for staying in bed all day," he chuckled.

"Well, we could have if only you'd locked your door," she said teasingly, tracing her finger down his chest.

"Careful, Blondie," he muttered, his lips just above hers.

"Oh my God!" she said, surprised, before pulling away. "You haven't called me that in ages."

He placed his finger beneath her chin and brought her face back to his gently and kissed her once again. He was starting to think he'd never get sick of doing it. He let out a low whine as she pulled away.

"I think I'm gonna go see Brooke," she said, reaching for an elastic to pull her hair up.

"You don't have to go," he said. She noticed a boyish disappointment in his voice, and smiled at him.

"You've had boy talk, now I get to have girl talk," she explained. She swept her hair up to pull it into a pony tail, and he began placing kisses on the skin now left bare on her shoulders and neck. "That's not going to stop me from leaving."

"So what am I supposed to do?" he pouted as she walked past him and started down the hall.

"I don't know. Write. Read. Do laundry! I have a whole basket in there," she said with a laugh as she reached for the doorknob. "I'll see you later."

"Hey!" he said, walking to meet her at the door and kissing her once more. "Bye."

She rolled her eyes, but inside she was gushing. How she'd forgotten what a good kisser he was, she wasn't sure. One thing she knew: he was making her more than just a little weak in the knees.

Why hadn't they been doing this all along?