011.

~ONE MONTH LATER~

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun was shining brightly and there was a cool breeze added to the mix. All the kids were outside, soaking up the sun. Some were hanging out in the backyard, running under the sprinklers and playing football while the others were lounging by the pool.

Hayley had been rudely awakened by Jubilee who had ran into her room, begging her to come down to the poolside. She reluctantly got up, knowing that Jubilee wouldn't stop begging her until she said yes. Stretching out her arms, she pulled out her black bikini and put it on, yawning. She looked out the window and saw the sun and it brought a smile to her face.

"Finally!" Jubilee yelled from her chair when Hayley entered the poolside.

Hayley rolled her eyes and tossed her towel on the chair next to Jubilee. She scanned the pool and to her disgust and anger, Kitty and Bobby were already in the pool, being overly affectionate. Her eyes saw red but she tried to calm herself down. She would not react to them, she would ignore them unless they- meaning Kitty did something to provoke her. Then she would not hesitate to beat the living crap out of her.

She sat on the chair and lathered suntan lotion on her arms, face and legs. She tried to rub some on her back but failed miserably. She looked at Jubilee who was just relaxing on the chair. "Help?" Hayley asked.

Jubilee removed her sunglasses and reached over for the bottle but then stopped. She grinned instead and leaned back in her seat. "Nah."

"Why not?"

"Someone else can do that for you."

"Need a hand, cherie?"

Hayley's body stiffened and she glared at Jubilee who merely winked before she turned around to face Gambit. Her jaw almost dropped when he stood next to her chair, nothing but black swim trunks and his towel in hand. She felt stupid for gaping at him- she had seen him shirtless before.

"No, I'm good," she said shortly.

Since the night Rogue had left school, Hayley had done her best to avoid Gambit. She didn't exactly enjoy those certain "feelings" that she had felt when she had been with Gambit that night. It didn't seem right. She felt guilty. So ever since then, she had done her best to avoid him and so far, Hayley had done a good job. She took up a lot of time recovering from her injury in the infirmary with Dr. McCoy. She hadn't really seen Gambit around school.

Until now.

"C'mon, don't look like it," he chuckled.

"I'm fine," she gritted her teeth, moving her hands around to reach the unreachable areas of her back.

"Alright, let Remy help."

She felt the chair sink down because of his weight and she reluctantly surrendered. She tried to relax but her body stiffened even more when Gambit's hands applied the suntan lotion on her back. His hands were rough but it felt nice against her soft skin.

"You're too tense, joli. Maybe Remy can help you relax," he said softly, right by her ear. His breath hit her skin and she felt a chill run down her spine.

"Please," she said rolling her eyes.

"You sure? I'm known to make women relax.. and then some," he whispered.

With one swift finger movement towards the pool, Gambit found himself soaked from head to toe. Everyone laughed, amused by their little flirtation. He resurfaced, spitting out water with a scowl on his face. Hayley merely shrugged and giggled.

"You should get into the pool, doll. You'd like it in here."

"No thanks Gamby. I'll stay up here."

"Gamby?" he said with an eyebrow raised. "Making up nicknames for me now, joli?"

Hayley rolled her eyes.

"Aw, don't be like that. We can discuss nicknames in here."

"Don't think so."

"Remy begs to differ."

Suddenly, two arms grabbed her waist and she found herself flying up to the sky. She looked up and saw Warren with a cheeky smile on his face. "Put me down!" she yelled.

"Okay."

She landed hard into the water. She swam up to the surface with a mouthful of curses coming out of her mouth for Warren who landed gracefully on his feet with a smile on his face.

Hayley pushed her hair back into a ponytail and noticed Gambit swimming towards her. She pretended to not see him and swam towards the other kids. But she wasn't a very strong swimmer and felt his arm wrap around her waist and pull her away from the others.

"Hey!"

"Oh c'mon, cherie. Let's just have a little fun. Remy promises to behave," he said.

Hayley pulled out of his grip and turned around to face him.

"Keep your hands to yourself," she said.

"Can try," he said with a wink. "Feelin' better since that night, cherie? I haven't seen you 'round since. You tryin' to avoid me?"

"No," she lied.

Gambit eyed her but chose to not press on it. "Maybe if you ain't busy tonight, Remy can take you on a ride through town. What you say?"

Hayley rolled her eyes and laughed. "No thanks."

"C'mon. Scared you might have a good time?"

"The opposite. Terrified that I'll have a bad time."

"Well, you won't know till you try."

"Hey, Gambit!"

They both turned to the direction of the voice and Hayley's throat burned when she saw Kitty Pryde phasing through the other kids. There was an arrogant, seductive smirk on her face.

Hayley turned back around, not wanting to look at her because if she looked at her long enough, well the Kitty Cat may be at the bottom of the swimming pool.

"Hey Gambit," Kitty said flirtaciously.

"Hey there Pussycat," Gambit greeted her. "How you doin?"

"I'm good... sleep well last night?"

"Could've slept better."

Hayley snorted, swimming over to the ledge of the pool. She got out, squeezing out the water in her hair. She sat on the chair and watched the two interact. Gambit kept glancing over at Hayley while Kitty did her best to keep his attention on her, flaunting everything that she had. She chuckled.

She laid on the lounge chair and soaked in the sun, shutting her eyes. The sun was beating down on her skin and she made a mental note to remind herself not to fall asleep. The last time she had done that, her skin had been red for a month.

Suddenly, she felt the sun's heat disappear. She opened her eyes to find Gambit blocking the sunrays and staring down at her with a grin. She rolled her eyes and sat up, crossing her legs. "Yes?"

"Geez, someone's a bit jealous." He sat down on the chair with her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Dollface, it's written all over your face." Gambit smirked. "So what you say about the ride around town? Remy can make it worth your time."

Hayley rolled her eyes. "No thanks."

"C'mon cherie. You know you want to. Don't you want to know what it's like to have a night out with Remy LeBeau?"

"Nope."

He chuckled and moved closer to her. She didn't turn her head away but merely stared at him. His grin widened when his face drew in closer to hers. Their noses almost touched.

"You sure? You sure in those cold lonely nights up in your room, you don't even think about dear ole Remy?" he said in a whisper.

Hayley knew how to keep a pokerface. She merely smirked. "I'm damn sure."

And for the second time of the day, Gambit was dunked into the water. The other people laughed, amused by their little exchange. She giggled, grabbing her towel and walking back inside to the mansion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There was a knock on her door. Hayley groaned, too full to even move around. Storm had cooked up quite a meal for dinner tonight- probably to impress Gambit after last night. She giggled at the thought as she walked over to open the door.

Her face fell and turned into a frown when she saw who it was. "What do you want?"

Bobby looked guilty and fearful of his life being in front of Hayley. He ran his hand through his hair, nervous. "Um.."

"What!"

"Look, could you tell Gambit to ease off on Kitty?" he asked.

She snorted. "Are you serious? So now you know how it felt for Rogue to see you all over Kitty."

He scowled. "Don't.."

"What, don't bring it up? Listen, get the hell out of my face. I can't believe that you have the balls to ask me this. Go tell him yourself. Fuck off, Bobby." She slammed the door in his face and stalked off to her bed, furious at him.

There was another knock on the door and Hayley was livid. She stormed up to the door again, ready to punch him in the face. "What the fuck did-,"

Gambit raised his hands up in self-defense, a bit alarmed at her outburst. "Whoa, whoa easy there! I ain't Bobby."

Hayley relaxed, breathing deeply. "So did Bobby talk to you?"

He looked confused. "Moi? About what?"

She chuckled. "Wants you to get off Kitty's jock."

Gambit laughed. "Maybe it'd be best if he told Kitty to get off mine."

Hayley rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"

"Seeing if you still would like a ride out on town."

"Don't you ever give up?"

"Remy LeBeau never gives up, especially for a beautiful girl like you," he said with a wink.

She sighed. "If I go this one time, will you never ask me again?"

"Oh I won't ask after tonight. You'll be the one asking," he chuckled.

Hayley wagged a finger at him. "Alright, there is going to be no touching, no invasion of one's personal space, got that? This isn't a date, this is just me going out with you because you won't leave me alone."

Gambit chuckled, shrugging. "Suit yourself, cherie. Wear something nice."

She rolled her eyes and shut the door. She took off her pajamas and rummaged through her closet. "Hey Gambit?" she called out.

"Oui, belle?"

"Where are you taking me?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well I gotta know what to wear."

"Why don't I come in and tell you what to wear?"

"Alright, nevermind."

Hayley decided to go with a casual black dress. She put it on and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked fine, not too dressy but not too scrubby. She tied her hair back into a ponytail and grabbed her purse.

Gambit let out a low whistle when he saw her. "You do know how to make a man go wild, petite."

Hayley blushed at his comment and scowled. "Alright, let's go."

They walked quietly towards the elevators. Hayley was a bit embarrassed at the stares that they were getting but she couldn't help but smile mischeviously towards Kitty who looked shocked and angry. The elevator doors, thankfully opened up as soon as Gambit hit the button and the two walked in.

Gambit approached a navy blue Mustang and held the door open for Hayley. She stepped inside, putting on her seatbelt. "So I'm curious about how you came across this car," she said when Gambit got in after pushing the garage door open.

He grinned. "Well, I thought since I've got Stormy wrapped around my finger, thought I'd cash it in. You like?"

Hayley chuckled. "It's pretty."

He looked over at her and smiled. "Ain't as pretty as you, petite."