Hi guys! I'm back with a new chappie. I'm so glad you guys are ok with Dan being a nice guy lol. Ok so here's the next one. Let me know what you guys think. Also I've noticed that there's a dip in the reviews I'm not sure why. Anyway, if you guys don't quite like some parts of the story, please let me know so I know what I did wrong ok? Cheers!

Chapter 4

Nathan stared into space during practice, letting Lucas do all the work. Every once in a while he could hear Lucas shouting out instructions to the team. His mind kept going back to the events of last night. As much as he regretted making the phone call, he knew it was too late. He needed something to take his mind off Haley. He closed his eyes and mentally kicked himself for doing what he did. What the hell was I thinking?

Flashback

He felt her hand stroking her arm and with his other hand, stopped her. "Rachel, I told you. None of that. It was just sex."

He heard her sigh. "I know. I just thought this time it would be different. You know I love you Nathan." If only those words came out of Haley's mouth.

"I know but I don't love you. You know the deal. We're just friends, well if you can call us that, with benefits."

End of flashback

"Yo Nate! What the hell is wrong with you today?" Lucas yelled in between giving instructions to his players. He had been noticing that his brother had been zoning out since the start of practise. Sensing that something was wrong with Nathan, he called an end to the practice. "Ok guys. I think we're done for today. Same time tomorrow. Good job," he said before joining Nathan on the bench. "Hey Nate, I'm pretty sure we're not paid just to sit on the sidelines. What's going on?"

"Nothing, I just have a lot of things on my mind today. I'm sorry," he said, not wanting to tell Lucas about what happened last night. Lucas had been so proud of him for laying off girls for the past few months. He knew he should have handled his issues with Haley more maturely, but having sex was the only way he knew how.

"Did you talk to Haley yet?"

"What? Oh no I didn't," Nathan said, relieved that Lucas thought Haley was the problem although at the same time the mention of her name brought an aching pain. "I had to do something last night."

Lucas looked at him suspiciously. "Speaking of last night, where were you? I came by the house but Dad said that you were out." His question was met by silence which confirmed his suspicion. "You got laid, didn't you? Dammit Nathan! I thought you're over that already," Lucas said, his words dripping with disappointment.

Nathan dared himself to look at him. It was one thing for Lucas to be angry at him, but he couldn't stand it if Lucas was disappointed in him. "I'm sorry! It just happened!" he yelled in defense, his words echoing in the now empty gym.

"What, you got into a fight with Haley and then ended up in another woman's bed?" Lucas asked incredulously.

Nathan looked at him nervously, torn between telling him the truth and torturing himself with his secret, and finally made up his mind. "And it wasn't just any woman, it was Rachel." He looked at Lucas for his reaction. As expected, Lucas yelled in his face.

"What's wrong with you man? I didn't think that the fight would affect you this much, but obviously it did. Is there something you're not telling me?"

"If I tell you, do you swear not to tell anybody? Especially Brooke," he said, knowing that Brooke could be a big mouth and was not likely to keep something like this a secret if she knew about it.

Lucas looked at him worriedly, wondering if he had done something bad. "Yeah I swear I won't tell. Are you in trouble or something?"

"No, nothing like that." Nathan took a deep breath before continuing, "I think...I think I'm in love with Haley." Just saying those words brought him some sort of relief. He didn't know how much longer he could go on without telling somebody about his feelings for her.

Lucas looked at him with the hugest smile on his face. "That's great Nate. It's about time too," he said, happy that his brother had finally confessed. A second later, his face fell as something dawned on him. "Wait a minute jackass. So if you're in love with her, how did you end up sleeping with Rachel?"

Nathan got up and ran his fingers through his hair, his face full of anguish and regret. "I know that was really stupid. But I was jealous of the stupid Michael and I needed something to take my mind off Haley and him."

"And having mindless sex is the way to do it? Wow you're a bigger idiot than I thought. So did it work?" Lucas asked as an afterthought.

"What do you think? Of course it didn't work. I think I only made it worse. Rachel told me-" he started to tell Lucas about last night.

"Shhh...stop talking," Lucas suddenly said.

Nathan rambled on, not hearing a word Lucas was saying. "We had sex, she told me she loves me, I told her I don't-"

"Shut up you idiot!" Lucas hissed, gesturing towards the door. "Wait, she told you she loves you. Nevermind, forget that." Nathan felt his heart stop when he saw Haley coming towards them. Shit, as if I don't feel bad already. He braced himself for another confrontation.

Haley found herself walking into the empty gym to find Lucas and Nathan talking. She had been up all night thinking about the fight, and as much as she wanted to her Nathan apologize to her first, she knew that part of it was also her fault. She felt Nathan's eyes burning on her and felt a shiver shooting up her spine. She stopped in front of them and looked at the two brothers nervously. "Hi guys," she stammered. "Was I interrupting something? What happened to the practice? Where'd everybody go? I'm sorry, I can come by later," she started saying before Lucas interrupted her.

"Haley you know I love you, but you're rambling again. Practice is over and you're not interrupting anything," Lucas said grinning, putting one arm around her shoulder.

"Oh sorry, I was just, I mean emmm...Nathan, can I talk to you?" she managed to say as she looked at Nathan.

Lucas kissed her on the forehead. "Ok I get the hint. Hey Nate, don't forget me and my mom are coming over for dinner tonight," he said. He looked at Nathan and mouthed, "tell her" before leaving the two friends alone.

Once alone they both started talking at the same time. "Hales, I'm sorry-"

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have yelled-"

They both looked at each other and grinned. Nathan held out his hand and said, "come here you." Haley took his hand and gave him a hug.

"I'm so sorry Nathan. I hate fighting with you."

Nathan held her close, taking in her scent and felt his heart hammering in his chest. He wanted so much to tell her how he felt but his fear got the better of him. "I'm sorry too Hales. I was out of line." He felt her swat him on the arm and looked at her grinning face.

"Damn right you were. You are such a dumbass, you know that. But since I'm in such a giving mood today, I forgive you," she said. "Besides, you're my best friend and I hate fighting with you."

Best friend. For once in his life he hated that connotation. He put up a brave face and managed a smile. "Thank you Hales. I hate fighting with you too. I know I was a jerk yesterday but I don't want to see you hurt."

Haley gave a long sigh and sat down on the bench. "I know Nathan. But I'm a big girl. Besides, what did you think was gonna happen? That I would give my number to Michael and we would go out and the next thing you knew, bam! I'm in bed with him one night and the next morning I would find a 'dear John' note on my bedside table?"

Nathan's eyes bulged at the mention of Haley being in bed with another guy. "Those things you just said. Those did not happen right? You're still, you know?" he asked looking for assurance, which made Haley laugh.

"No to the first question and yes to the second." Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. Haley was the only person he knew who had this principle of not having sex before being married. Or at least until she fell in love. He was amazed that she could hold herself out for so long and stick to her principles and he admired that about her. "Besides, those are things that I expect you to do," he heard her continue. Oh you know me too well Hales, he thought guiltily. "I know you too well Nathan," she said reading his mind. "And since you didn't call me last night to beg for my forgiveness, I'm thinking you found a skank somewhere and scored," she said and looked at him with narrowed eyes. In her heart she was hoping against hope that that did not happen.

He looked at her guiltily and for once he felt total remorse. "Actually you're right," he said slowly and for a moment he thought he saw sadness on Haley's face. "I was with someone last night. It was Rachel," he said, waiting for her reaction. He knew that she always had some reservations when it came to Rachel.

Well, looks like he hasn't changed after all, she thought. She felt sick at the thought and immediately wiped it out. "Rachel? Oh no Nathan. You know what she's like. She would hit you on the head and drag you to the altar like some cavewoman if she could."

He laughed at the thought. "No chance in hell Hales. She's good for sex, but not wife material."

"Ewwww gross Nathan!" she yelled covering her ears, shuddering at the thought of Nathan having sex. "I think I'm gonna go. That will probably scar me for life. Besides, I need to give my number to Michael, go out on a date and have mind blowing sex myself," she said cheekily and started to get up.

He felt his blood boil at the mention of Michael's name. He took Haley's hand and pulled her to him and said, "Hales, promise me you won't do that."

Haley's heart beat faster as her face came close to his. She shook her head and laughed nervously. "Don't be such an idiot. Of course I won't do that. You know I'm saving myself for-"

"Me?" he asked, half serious, half joking.

"You're a cracker," she said as she looked into his dark green eyes. Before she knew he had lowered his face and caught her lips, kissing her softly. "Nathan," she breathed, her voice slightly trembling. "What are you doing?"

"I have no idea," he whispered against her lips. It just felt so right to kiss her. He kissed her again, moaning when he felt her part her lips giving him access. He flicked his tongue in her mouth and deepened the kiss, pulling her closer. Suddenly he felt her hand on his chest, pushing him away. A wave of disappointment washed over him as he looked at her surprised face. They looked at each other in silence, both still reeling from the kiss.

"What was that?" Haley was the first to speak. "You know what? Scrap that. I think I'm gonna go. I'll call you later," she said and started to turn to leave. She felt him grab her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"Haley, wait," he said. It's not or never you idiot. Just tell her. "I need to tell you something." Before he could continue, she interrupted him.

"Nathan," she said taking his hands and squeezing them tightly. "It's ok. It was just the heat of the moment kinda thing. Come on, you had sex with Rachel last night and now you're kissing me?" she said. "I tell you what. Why don't we go to the movies tomorrow? My treat. Did I hear something about Lucas and Karen coming over for dinner?" she said, again refusing to acknowledge that the kiss meant something.

"Emmm...yeah," he said distractedly. "I think I'm gonna stay here for a while. Ok, movies tomorrow. I'll pick you up at eight."

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow," she said and left rather hurriedly without looking back.

Nathan stared at her until she was out of the door. He sighed and absentmindedly started to dribble his basketball thinking about the kiss. Why is it that everytime we kiss she pretends that it didn't happen? What is she afraid of? The thought of him actually falling in love slightly unnerved him. He had never fallen in love in his entire life and at one point, he thought it was something he was not even capable of. Girls are just something of a hobby to him. He was never seen with the same girl for more than two weeks. And yet he fell in love with his best friend. The last person in the world he thought he would ever fall in love with. Haley was the girl who had laughed at him when he fell in the mud at the playground. The girl he had spent every lunch time with in school. The girl who had somehow managed to make his thick skull understand calculus. The girl who could make him move the heaven and earth if she wanted him to.

He didn't know what to do with the feeling that was entirely new to him. He had always been a confident guy, so sure of everything that he did. And yet, when it came to matters of the heart, he was clueless. With another sigh, he picked up the ball and made a perfect shot through the hoop before leaving the gym, taking his empty heart along with him.

Haley's heart was racing as she ran to her car. She took a deep breath before starting the ignition. She touched her lips tentatively. She could still feel his lips on hers. Remembering the kiss, she felt a delicious shiver up her spine and quickly shrugged it off. She did not need this in her life. He's your best friend Haley, kept reminding herself. Her mind was still on him as she drove off. She started to make her way home when suddenly a loud honk jerked her into back into reality. Her feet automatically pressed the brake pedal and she looked on, only now realizing that she was just a hair away from hitting the car in front. She got out of the car, looking slightly flustered.

"Oh God I'm so sorry," she started apologizing.

"Haley?"

"Michael! Oh my God I'm so embarrassed. I've never done this before. I'm usually a good driver I swear."

Michael grinned. "Do you always talk this fast? You didn't hit me, did you? It's all good. Are you alright though?" The cars behind them started honking. "I think we should move. They look like they wouldn't mind hitting us. How about we go to Karen's? Can you drive?"

Haley looked around before turning her attention to him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Actually that sounds good. I'll meet you there in ten minutes."

Ten minutes later, she walked into Karen's to find Michael was already there. "Wow, you're Mr. Punctual. I'm impressed. I believe you're a dying breed," she said as she sat down opposite him. "What can I get you?"

"Don't move. I'll get it. Hot chocolate?"

"Mr. Punctual and a gentleman," she laughed. "Yeah, hot chocolate sounds good. Thanks." She looked on as Michael ordered the drinks, her mind temporarily off Nathan. A few minutes later, she was sipping her drink, enjoying the feel of the warm liquid slithering down her throat.

"So, how are you? Besides being on a killing spree on the road," Michael joked.

Haley laughed. "What? I'm fine. I've just a lot of things on my mind right now."

"Like what? Anything I can help?" Michael asked. Sensing her hesitation he continued, "look I know we've just met but I promise you I'm not some nutjob. Seriously if you need anything."

"I'm fine. Thanks for offering. By the way, I noticed that you were driving a pretty slick Porsche back there. How much do they pay you at the airport? I might want to change career," Haley said, intending to change the subject.

"Oh you noticed," he said. For a minute she thought she saw his face fall.

"I may not know a lot about cars, but damn, I know what a Porsche looks like," she said grinning.

"Well, I only told you I work at the airport. I didn't tell you what I do," Michael said.

She looked at him curiously. "So what do you do?"

He stirred his coffee before looking at her, giving her a sheepish grin. "You know those private airplanes you see at the airport? Well, I own those little beauties."

Suddenly something clicked in her brain. "Wait a minute. You're Michael Carter? The Michael Carter?" she exclaimed, as she put the pieces together. She had read somewhere that he was the youngest person to own an airline, hence making him a millionaire at just twenty-five. "Wow," she exhaled.

"It's not a big deal," he said modestly.

"Yeah, I guess not. It's just money," she said surprising him. The girls he usually knew made such a big fuss about him being rich, but not Haley. They continued talking, enjoying each other's company. Neither one noticing the silent figure watching them from the doorway.