Living in the Moment
by Kate
CHAPTER ONE – First Impressions
“You’re kidding right?”
Haley James smiled. “Nope.”
“OH MY GOD!” Peyton Sawyer jumped off Haley’s bed. “You have got to be kidding! ‘Cause no way!”
Haley winced. “Peyton! Volume!”
Peyton smiled sheepishly but continued to bounce excitedly on her feet. “Sorry. But can you blame me? You are going to. . .do you even know what you’re going to do?!”
“Go to a party?” she asked wryly.
Peyton picked up a pillow and playfully knocked her with it. “No! Well, I mean yes but. . .” Haley laughed. “It’s not the party! It’s who is going to be there!” Peyton paused, almost as if she were waiting for the dramatic music to swell up or something. “I can’t believe that Nathan Scott. . . .Nathan Scott!. . . is going to be there.”
Haley smiled. “I just told you that.” Peyton smacked her with the pillow again. “Hey! The hair! Watch the hair!”
Peyton rolled her eyes. “You do realize who Nathan Scott is right?”
“Basketball player,” she mumbled as she began applying her eye make-up.
Peyton groaned. “Oh, God, Hales! You are going to be the death of me one of these days! He’s so much more than a basketball player. I mean have you seen him? He’s like. . .drop dead gorgeous. He’s also a huge celebrity. . .especially here in Charlotte, now that he’s making a comeback with the Bobcats. He’s also rich and talented. And drop dead gorgeous. Did I mention the drop dead gorgeous part?”
“Only about 50,000 times!”
Peyton looked at her. “And you don’t care?”
She shrugged. “Peyton, he’s Lucas’ brother. You remember Lucas right? Goofy loveable Lucas? I guess I’m just not thinking like that.”
Peyton nodded, climbing back up on the bed. “Right. Luke’s brother.” She shook her head. “You know whenever you talked about Luke’s brother, Nathan, I never thought you were talking about. . .you know.”
She looked at her friend amused. “Lucas’ last name is Scott. How could you not make that connection?” She laughed and easily caught the pillow that Peyton flung at her.
“Brat,” said Peyton good-naturedly. “You’ve never met Nathan before?”
“I don’t think,” she said, picking up her blush. “I mean Luke and I were best friends back when we were like 7. Then I moved away, but he and Nathan weren’t exactly. . .close then. I saw Nathan around at times but I don’t think we’ve ever met. I sort of hated him because Lucas did.”
“Huh,” Peyton said thoughtfully. “How come you never told me this before? I’m only your very best friend in the world.”
“’Cause I didn’t think you’d care,” she responded. She looked at her friend in the mirror. “Since when did you become a basketball groupie?”
“I am not!” Peyton retorted indignantly. “I’m just a fan of. . .the male form shall we say? And Nathan Scott has quite the form. I can’t believe I’m like. . .once removed from him or something.”
“Or something,” she said teasingly.
“Do you know why he’s making a comeback? Or why he suddenly disappeared from the NBA?”
“Why all the interest, Ms. I’m-Not-A-Basketball-Groupie?”
Peyton made a face at her. “If you saw this guy, you’d be interested too. Trust me. No one should be that gorgeous.”
She laughed. “You know he’s been out of the public eye for a while now. For all we know, he’s probably fat, bald and deformed.”
“Nice try,” said Peyton with a grin. “It just so happens I saw his news conference a couple of months ago announcing his comeback and he is still quite the looker. Let’s just say he personifies tall, dark and handsome.”
“Well, if he’s anything like I remember, he also personifies ‘jackass.’”
“Ohhhh,” Peyton drawled. “I’m sensing some history there.”
She shook her head. “Not really. Like I said, just what I got from Lucas when we were kids and what I saw of him around Tree Hill. I do remember he used to walk around like he owned the town.”
“Well, he can’t still be like that if he and Luke are close now right?”
She shrugged. “I guess. Like I said, I don’t really know him. After I had to move away, Lucas and I lost touch and we didn’t talk again until I ran into him downtown last year.”
“And you haven’t asked for all the details about Nathan’s life?”
“I’m not nosy unlike the other person in this room,” she said teasingly. “Besides, I guess I’m not associating the ‘Nate’ he’s talking about now to the Nathan Scott I remember. Or to the one who’s the big-time celebrity basketball player.”
“Come on, Hales. Honestly. . .you’re not at all excited about finally meeting Nathan?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a sigh. “Honestly. . .I would rather just stay in tonight and study.”
“Haley Lynn James!”
“What? Peyton I-“
“Ah!” Peyton held up a warning hand. “Do not make me come over there! You are going to this party! Besides, you can’t bail on this party now. Especially when you know Nathan is going to be there. Luke would never forgive you. I would never forgive you!”
She chuckled. “You want to go in my place?”
”I think I’d be a big disappointment when everyone’s expecting you.”
She scoffed. “Please! You make it sound like I’m the belle of the ball. On the contrary. . .I’m more like one of the ugly stepsisters.”
“Hey!” she protested as she felt an object hit her on her shoulder. She looked down to find her stuffed polar bear lying there. She picked him up and shot Peyton a look. “Snowden did not deserve that!”
“Snowden did that on his own accord since you clearly need some sense smacked into you.” She made a face at Peyton before she placed the polar bear on her desk. “Seriously, what is wrong with you? Do you not realize how hot you are?”
“I don’t put a lot of thought into it to be honest.”
“Ugh!” Peyton threw her hands up in the air before falling onto her back on the bed. “You are so hopeless! Do you realize if you put some effort into it, you could have guys literally falling at your feet.” Peyton shot her a knowing look. “And you need to work it tonight if you want that one particular guy to fall at your feet.”
She laughed. “Right. Nathan Scott, basketball star slash celebrity extraordinarie is gonna be falling at my feet if I just will it. Ahhh. . .fantasy. What is life without it?”
“You never know.”
“Actually, I kinda do. From what Luke tells me, I’m not his type at all.”
“What’s his type?” Peyton asked curiously.
“More like you. Blonde Pamela Anderson type.”
Peyton looked at her amused. “I’m a Pamela Anderson type? In what alternate universe?”
“You’re blonde,” she argued.
“And?” Peyton prompted. “That’s about the only thing I have in common with Pamela Anderson. And I’m not even a real blonde.”
She smiled. “I’m just saying. . .he seems to go for the blonde swimsuit model types. At least that’s the impression I got.”
Peyton grinned. “You mean big boobs?”
She chuckled. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“That’s like 99% of the straight male population so no surprise there. Besides, how does that rule you out?” Peyton was looking at her chest pointedly.
She blushed. “Peyton!”
“Just calling it like I see it,” said Peyton with a shrug.
“O.K., this conversation has entered ‘uncomfortable’ territory.”
Peyton laughed before she sat up. “What are you going to wear?”
She shook her head and walked over to her closet where she pulled out cocktail dress with a flowery print and flowing skirt. “This?’
Peyton shook her head. “It’s nice, but it’s not knock-‘em-dead nice.” She hopped off the bed and walked over to Haley’s closet and began riffling through the hangers. “No. . .no. . .no. . .possibly. . .no. . .” She watched her friend in amusement for several minutes before Peyton finally cried out in triumph. “A-ha! This is it. Perfection.”
She looked at the dress in her friend’s hand. It was black silk with small straps that ended just slightly off the shoulder. It had a tight, fitted bodice and a short skirt that if she recalled correctly, ended somewhere above her knees. It was a beautiful dress, but seemed a little too dressy for the ‘casual’ party that Lucas was throwing tonight. “Don’t you think that might make me a bit. . .overdressed for this party?”
“A little black dress is appropriate for all occasions. Except maybe a wedding. And you’re not planning on getting married tonight. . .are you?”
She snatched the dress from her friend. “You are impossible!”
“That’s why you love me,” Peyton said, chuckling.
She sighed as she discarded her robe and began to step into the dress. “I don’t even know why I’m going. It’s not like I can’t meet Nathan at some other time. They’re brothers for crying out loud.”
“Will you stop?” Peyton admonished her. “And you need to get out more.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that.”
“I get out,” she countered. She hated that her voice suddenly sounded so defensive. What did she have to be defensive about? “I just. . .I’ve been busy.”
“Right”
“I have!”
“I didn’t disagree with you,” Peyton said easily. “I’m just saying. . .” Peyton sighed. “Haley. . .it’s been a long time.”
She stopped dressing and looked over at Peyton, who was looking at her in concern. “I know. That’s not why.”
Peyton didn’t look convinced but her expression told Haley she wasn’t going to push it. “O.K.”
“And this party has nothing to do with that.” The defensive tone had crept back into her voice.
“Maybe,” Peyton said softly. “Look, just go, O.K.? At least for a while. If you’re completely miserable then you can leave.” Peyton smiled. “Besides, how am I supposed to live vicariously through you if you don’t do these things?”
~*~
Judging by the numerous lights inside Lucas’ multi-leveled house tucked inside one of the many affluent suburban neighborhoods just outside Charlotte, as well as the dozens of cars parked outside it, she would guess that the party was in full swing. Parking her five year old Honda between a gleaming BMW and a gigantic Range Rover, she quickly checked her appearance one last time in the rearview mirror before she stepped out of the car and began to make her way to the front entrance.
She breathed deeply as she walked up the cobbled walkway. For some reason, she was nervous. And she didn’t really have a reason to be. This was Lucas. Granted, their friendship had suffered a ‘lull’ in the middle, but when she had run into him at that restaurant a year ago, it was as if they had picked up right where they had left off. And in the ensuing time, they had grown close once more. Lucas was once again the older brother she never had. She felt about as comfortable around him as she did Peyton so going to his house shouldn’t make her nervous.
Yet here she was. . .as nervous as the first day of her clinical teaching assignment. Perhaps more so. At least with the clinic, she had known what she was doing.
Reaching the door, she drew in a final deep breath before she pushed the bell. She heard it chime on the other side and waited patiently for someone to answer. Several moments passed before the door opened, but instead of Lucas’ familiar smiling visage, she found herself looking at someone who was vaguely familiar to her, but who she couldn’t place right then and there.
“Hi,” she said with a brief smile. “I’m Haley. Is Lucas around?”
Cool, blue eyes regarded her impassively. “Somewhere. You want to come in?”
“Thanks,” she murmured, brushing past him to enter Lucas’ ornately decorated front foyer. She could see people milling about just down the hallway and soft music floated in from the direction of the living room.
Remembering the man who had just let her in, she turned and found him openly staring at her. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks and forced herself to meet his gaze steadily. Unlike herself, he had taken the words ‘casual’ to heart and was underdressed in faded jeans and a grey T-shirt ensemble that accentuated his tall, muscular frame beautifully. The T-shirt was tight enough so that she could see the sculpted muscles underneath with a disconcerting clarity, and the jeans were even tighter. They seemed molded to his narrow waist, muscular thighs and that bulge-
Look at the man’s face! she commanded herself sternly. The face!
She jerked her eyes back upwards and found his blue eyes looking at her, as cool as ever. She could have sworn that she had seen a momentary flash of amusement in them, but mostly they were cold and impassive. Just then, she realized who it was she was in this staring contest with. Nathan.
The last time she had really seen him, he was a tall and skinny 14 year old, but those icy blue eyes were unmistakable. About the only thing that Lucas and Nathan seemed to share was their blue eyes. Yet Lucas’ blue eyes wasn’t quite as intense and to her, Lucas’ always seemed. . .warmer. Nathan’s blue eyes were. . .the only word that came to mind just then was. . .piercing.
Peyton was right. He did personify ‘tall, dark and handsome.’ And there was no sign of any baldness or fatness and if there were deformities, they were very well hidden. Given his profession the tall would be a given, but still, she found it a little disconcerting that he seemed to loom over her. She was in heels but still had to look up a ways to meet his eyes. Dark? Check. His hair if she remembered correctly was dark brown but in the dimly lit foyer, it almost seemed jet black. It was cut short, but he was wearing it haphazardly, with some ends sticking out at different angles. Yet the ‘messy look’ was working for him. Quite well in fact.
And handsome? Definite check. What had Peyton called him? Oh right. Drop dead gorgeous. She had to admit that he was. His features were almost classically handsome. Square jaw, defined cheek bones, penetrating eyes, and full lips. If someone were looking for a throwback to the days of Cary Grant or Rock Hudson, they need look no further than Nathan. Yet unlike the quiet, gentlemanly ‘aura’ of a Cary Grant, Nathan’s good looks seemed to mask a persona that was more bad boy than debonair gentleman. The combination of classic good looks and bad boy persona was enticingly attractive.
She cleared her throat, which had the effect of making them both stop staring at the other. “Uh. . .you’re Nathan Scott, right?”
Irritation flashed across his handsome features. ‘Yes. And you know what? I’m not doing groupies tonight. Sorry.”
Before she could say anything in response, he quickly brushed past her and stalked down the hall. She stared at him, shocked, for several seconds before her brain fully processed his words. And then whatever nervousness she had been feeling was quickly replaced by fiery anger.
“Of all the. . .” she muttered angrily. He may personify ‘tall, dark and handsome’ but she could also see that he still personified ‘jackass’ as well.
~*~
Nathan was about halfway across the living room when he began to have doubts about snapping at that woman in the foyer. Somehow, he doubted that she was a groupie. She just didn’t have ‘the look.’ Though she was quite the looker. Small, with reddish brown hair and big, brown eyes that seemed to look right into him, she also had an air of. . .class and dignity about her. Something about her told him she didn’t spend a lot of time hanging around sports arenas hoping to hook up with athletes.
And that dress that she was wearing. He shook his head slightly. It seemed to cling to her every curve and from what he could see, she had all the right curves. It was. . .quite the distraction. She had told him her name. . .only he hadn’t been paying much attention since he was checking her out. He could freely admit that. He searched his memory. What was it? Ally? Holly? He sighed. Well, if he had wanted to chat her up later, he had blown it. Then again. . .maybe not. An apology and a little bit of his charm and maybe she would forgive his abrupt rudeness.
Not that he was completely unjustified, he told himself. He had recognized that familiar look of recognition in her eyes. He had seen it before. Thousands of times. On thousands of different faces. It only preceded a kissing-his-ass routine that he had once enjoyed but now only left him completely nauseous. True, he didn’t know if that woman was about to kiss his ass, but the odds were in his favor.
He sighed again as he made a silent promise to himself. If he saw that woman from the foyer again, he would apologize. And possibly try to get her phone number.
“Hey man.”
He turned and smiled at his brother. He and Lucas had been close for years now but a part of him still found it odd to view Lucas as his brother. He had spent so much of his childhood hating the guy and resenting his very existence. “Hey.”
“Enjoying the party?”
“No,” he returned bluntly.
Lucas laughed. “I should be offended by that but I’m not. ‘Cause I agree with you. Who knew that sports agents and managers were such a bore?”
“You being a sports agent yourself didn’t tip you off on the boring thing?” he teased.
“O.K., that I’ll take offense to,” Lucas retorted good-naturedly.
“So why are you throwing this party again?”
“It’s my turn,” Lucas said with a shrug as they headed for the table containing the plates of catered food. Lucas handed him a plate which he refused. “I didn’t cook the food, man. You’re safe.”
Nathan grinned. “No kidding, genius. Like you can put together a spread like this. I’ve seen you struggle with a PB&J sandwich!” He shrugged. “Not hungry.”
Lucas looked at him with mock severity. “You’re not hungry? O.K. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just. . .I’m not into parties these days.” He sighed. “Bad memories.”
Lucas laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I know. And I do appreciate you coming tonight. Normally I wouldn’t have asked but when Haley said she’d come, I figure you guys can finally meet up again.”
“Or just meet?” he asked wryly. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually met her.”
“Well, then tonight’s your chance.”
He smiled. “Haley James. I can’t believe what you’ve been telling me about her man. That little slip of a girl? What is she doing again?”
“She’s finishing up her Masters at UNC-Charlotte.”
He shook his head. “She was always a bookworm like you wasn’t she?”
Lucas smiled. “She’s way smarter than me.”
“A lot of people are Luke,” he said teasingly. He looked at the crowd. “Think she’s here yet?”
Lucas checked his watch. “Yeah, actually she should be here by now.” He grabbed a few more things off the table and placed it on his plate. “And I should probably go find her. All these people might scare her off. . .if they haven’t already.”
~*~
Lucas wasn’t gone that long. But to him it felt like an eternity. He had to endure overhearing such mindless drivel. . .and gossip. He would never guess in a room where the men were outnumbering women 2-to-1 that there would be so much gossiping, but there was. And he would venture to guess that only a fraction of what was being said was true.
He sighed. Par for the course actually. Rumors, gossip, innuendos. Isn’t that how it went in this industry?
Thankfully, no one was approaching him. It helped that he had long ago perfected his ‘unapproachable’ demeanor. But still, he was slowly dying of boredom standing by the fireplace, listening to the chatter and watching people try to not stare at him as they passed.
Just then, he caught sight of Lucas walking towards him. Lucas was clearly with someone, but from his vantage point, he couldn’t clearly make out who it was. He caught a flash of hair or an arm or leg here and there. Enough for him to know that Lucas had indeed found the mysteriously elusive Haley James that he had been hearing about for a while now. Lucas had really wanted the two to meet, but it seemed like her schedule and his never quite meshed. Until tonight.
He had to admit, he was intrigued. He knew who Haley was. She was the girl that he had always seen around Lucas, and who he used to catch glaring at him every now and again. He remembered being kind of annoyed by her. Wondering why she was always looking at him like that. He also remembered that she was rather plain as a kid. Stereotypical tomboy. Truth be told, knowing she was friends with his at-the-time hated half-brother made him less than aware of her. Besides, they moved in different circles. Lucas and his friends hadn’t been on the same ‘social level’ as Nathan and his.
So now, he wanted to see how that tomboyish girl had turned out. From Lucas’ description, it seemed like she was a late bloomer. He knew Lucas had lost contact with her when she had suddenly moved away from Tree Hill so when Lucas had mentioned that they had reconnected a year ago, he had been intrigued. And since then, his curiosity had only grown.
Just then, a group of people moved and he caught sight of Lucas and Haley clearly. And he suddenly felt ill because Haley was the woman he had so rudely dismissed in the foyer earlier.
Oh. . .crap!
He groaned softly and looked down, wondering if this was some kind of cosmic joke. Of all the people in the world for him to act like an ass with. . .it had to be her! He looked back up and saw Lucas smiling at him, indicating Haley besides him. He smiled wanly and reluctantly shifted his eyes over to her.
And he was hit with a sense of déjà vu when he found her glaring at him. . .just like she had done when she was a little girl all those years ago.
He felt that knot in his stomach twist tighter and tighter as he watched Lucas and Haley approach him. Lucas didn’t seem to notice the stormy expression on Haley’s face because he was grinning widely. He sighed. As if the night hadn’t gone so well already. He squared his shoulders, preparing for his confrontation with Haley. After all, he told himself, he had said that he would apologize to the woman in the foyer if he ever saw her again. Well now was his chance.
“Hey!” greeted Lucas happily as he looped an arm around Haley’s shoulders. “Guess who this is?”
He forced a smile to his face, trying hard to ignore the daggers her eyes were shooting at him. “Haley?”
“Hi.” Her voice was icy.
Lucas beamed at the both of them. “This is so great. I can’t believe I finally got the two of you to meet.”
“Actually Nathan and I already met.”
Somehow, she had managed to sound even icier, but Lucas didn’t seem to notice. “What? You did?”
She nodded, her eyes still boring into him. “Earlier. Nathan let me in.”
Lucas looked at him confused. “Did you?”
“Um. . .I. . .” He mumbled, trying to come up with something to say to defuse her very obvious anger. And yet he only drew a blank. So much for his charm saving the day with her.
“How come you didn’t say anything man? I mean you even asked me if she got here already.”
“I think he was busy,” she replied before he could say anything.
“Busy? With what?” Lucas was looking increasingly confused, and seemed to have caught on that Haley was upset.
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. All I caught was something about him not doing groupies tonight.”
He groaned inwardly. It was very clear now that she wasn’t about to let him off the hook. In fact, she seemed to enjoy watching him squirm on that hook. A little too much if you asked him.
“Doing groupies?” Lucas repeated, turning back to him.
“That’s what you said right Nathan?” Her voice had taken on a saccharine sweet tone.
“Um. . .”
“O.K. I’m lost.” Lucas looked between them. “Could someone please explain?”
“Nathan?” she prompted and then proceeded to bat her eyes innocently at him. He stared at her and she unwaveringly held his gaze with a challenging one of her own. All the while smiling sweetly at him. It was that sweet smile that was getting to him more than anything.
“Nate?” His attention snapped towards his brother who was looking at him with an expression that seemed to waver between anger and confusion. He felt his own anger begin to rise at his brother’s expression. Why would he assume that Haley was in the right in this instance? How about a little bit of a benefit of a doubt? Especially for his own brother!
Haley is in the right in this instance, that little voice in his head reminded him. He sighed. That little voice was damn annoying sometimes. Especially when it was right.
He cleared his throat. “I, um. . .think I, uh. . .see there was this, um,. . .then the-“ He stopped abruptly as her eyes lit up in amusement and she bit down on her lower lip to keep from laughing.
“What?” Lucas was squinting at him. That was never a portent for good things.
“I just-“
“You know what Luke?” Haley cut in. “It’s fine. It’s not that important.”
Lucas looked at the both of them uncertainly. “What’s going on between you two?”
Haley met his eyes and held them for a long beat before she shook her head, as if dismissing him. “Nothing.”
CHAPTER TWO – Underneath the Shifting Facade
She pressed the doorbell again and waited. And again, she heard nothing from behind the door. No movement. Nothing. She frowned and checked her watch. It was the right time, and today was the right day. So where was he?
Abandoning the front door, she made her way around back, and when she was halfway there, she heard the distinctive sound of a basketball bouncing against asphalt. She shook her head slightly and smiled. Of course. No wonder he didn’t hear me ring the bell, she thought.
Knowing the basketball court was off to the right side of the house, she quickly cut across the landscaped patio area and made her way over to the court. The sound of the bouncing ball grew louder as she approached. She came to the small clearing that opened up unto the basketball half court and stopped abruptly.
She had expected to find Lucas there. After all, it was his house and she was supposed to meet him. But instead, there was Nathan. Dressed in baggy black basketball shorts and a light blue sleeveless T-shirt that accentuated his sculpted, muscular arms to perfection. She involuntarily swallowed at the sight of his flushed, slightly sweaty physique on display.
Stop it, she admonished herself. The guy’s a jackass remember?
Haley was one of those people who tended to find people attractive based on their personality. Even the most physically beautiful person could grow ugly in her eyes if they didn’t have a good personality to match their outside beauty. And Nathan’s personality definitely didn’t help him in the attractiveness department as far as she was concerned. Still, when she saw him, especially like this, she seemed to have such a. . .visceral reaction to him. One strong enough to make her momentarily forget just how much of a jerk he had been at Lucas’ party a few days ago.
So she couldn’t help but watch him for a bit. He may be a jerk but there was no denying that he was a very good-looking one, and she wasn’t immune from enjoying a good. . view just for the sake of it. Oddly, though, he had stopped dribbling the ball and was now standing at the free throw line, just throwing the ball deliberately against the backboard and catching the rebound. Throw, bounce, catch. She frowned, deciding that now would be a good time to announce her presence.
“You know,” she began, stepping further onto the court. “I’m no expert but I think you’re supposed to throw the ball into the basket.”
“Wh-“ He turned at the sound of her voice, startled, and in doing so, missed catching the rebound off the backboard. The ball hit him in the shoulder and then bounced away. He glanced at the ball now rolling off the court and onto the grass and then back at her. “Haley.”
“Sorry,” she said, although a part of her wasn’t really sorry at all. “I was, uh, looking for Lucas.”
“Lucas?” he asked, sounding confused. “Did he know you were coming?”
“He should,” she returned. “He asked me to come over today.”
His expression grew more confused. “That’s strange.”
“What?”
“Uh, Lucas left a little while ago. Said he needed to meet with someone and that he wouldn’t be back for a while.”
Now it was her turn to be confused. “What? But I-“ Just then her cell phone rang and she hurriedly dug through her purse for it. “Hello?”
“Hey Hales.”
“Lucas.” She turned slightly, granting herself some privacy for her conversation. “Which one of us is confused here? I thought we were meeting up for lunch today.”
“Uh. . .yeah. Listen Hales, I, uh. . .” There was a pause and then a sigh. “I’ll just say it and then you can start yelling, O.K.? I only asked you to meet me there for lunch ‘cause I wanted you and Nathan to talk. I wanted to give you guys a chance to talk. ..and work out whatever it is that’s going on between you two and-“
“Lucas Eugene Scott!” she said through clenched teeth. “You get back here right now!”
“Haley would you just-“
“This is none of your business Scott!”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Nathan’s my brother and you’re one of my best friends and I’d like to be able to hang out with the both of you without worrying about whether I’m gonna need to referee something. And Lord knows you and Nathan are both stubborn enough to keep whatever it is between you two going until you’re both dead and buried. So how about trying the path of least resistance this time and working whatever it is out?”
“There is nothing-“
“I gotta go, Hales. You can yell at me later, O.K.? But please. . .just try?”
“Luke!” she cried but it was to no avail. He had already ended the call. Sighing in exasperation, she snapped her phone shut and turned back to Nathan, who was standing there looking at her in amusement. “Your brother is so dead!”
He grinned. “What’s my big brother done now?”
She couldn’t help smiling slightly. It was weird to hear someone refer to Lucas as their ‘big brother.’ Even weirder that that ‘someone’ was Nathan Scott. “He, uh. . .kind of set this up.”
“Set what up?”
“Did he ask you to come over today?” she asked him instead of answering his question.
“No, but he knew I’d be here. I’ve been, uh, hanging out here a lot lately.”
“Right.” She sighed. “Of course. That was him on the phone. . .apparently having me meet him here for lunch was just a big set up.” Nathan looked at her questioningly. “For us. Apparently he wants us to work on our issues.”
His eyes widened in understanding and then he smiled. “No wonder you want to kill him.”
“You don’t?”
He shrugged and walked over to the bench situated off the side of the court and grabbed the towel lying on it. “I, uh. . .not really. I mean I was over here anyway.” He took a sip from his water bottle. “So we’re supposed to work on our issues?”
“Let’s just say we did,” she joked.
He smiled briefly but grew serious. “You know, I, uh. . .I’m not exactly sure what ‘work on our issues’ mean but I’m.. . .I mean I’m not saying what Luke did was right but at least he’s giving me a chance to, you know. . .apologize.”
His response, appearing so genuine, gave her pause. “Um, look, I-“
He met her eyes and she was drawn into the sincerity emanating from their blue depths. “I, uh, I do want to apologize for the party. . .my comment to you. I was. . .I was having a bad night. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“It’s. . .fine,” she said slowly, keeping her voice steady and neutral, although his sincere apology had affected her more than she had thought it would. “I shouldn’t have baited you like that in front of Lucas.” She smiled wryly. “Might have pre-empted this lame plot of his.”
“So why did you?” he asked, looking at her intently.
“I, um. . .couldn’t resist,” she confessed. She smiled. “I mean the look on your face as I got closer. It was just. . . hard to pass up on.”
“Good ‘deer in the headlights’ impression huh?” he said with a deprecating smile.
She laughed. “Best one I’ve ever seen.” He joined her laughter and she caught his eyes and in that instant, felt her breath catch in her throat. Suddenly, Nathan wasn’t the ‘cute jackass’ that she could easily dismiss anymore. He had revealed glimmers of his real personality and she liked what she saw. Which was a problem, because she needed to see him as a jackass. That was the only thing that was making it easy for her to deal with just how good he looked right now, sweating and flushed from his workout.
She looked away, at any place other than at him. “Um. . .you know, since it doesn’t look like Lucas is meeting me, I’ll just, um, go and let you get back to your. . .practice.”
He grimaced slightly. “Practice would mean I was actually doing something productive.”
Again, she saw a glimmer of his real personality. It was as if that brash, cocky bravado of his shifted in and out. Like a shield he wielded against the outside world. The more she saw, the more intrigued she grew despite herself. “Not going well?”
He shrugged and she could see the cocky exterior shifting back into place. “I was never really a top notch free throw shooter anyway.”
It would have been easy for her to just walk away at that point. They had had their ‘resolution.’ Lucas would have been happy, that is after she yelled at him a bit for his manipulations. There really was no reason for her to stay. None except that she felt. . .compelled to.
“Maybe if you tried practicing something else?” she offered gently.
“You think it’s that simple?” The irritation in his voice seemed to come from nowhere, and when she looked at him, she could see the impatience in his eyes.
They stared at each other as they air between them grew charged. She could see him tensing up, as if preparing for a fight so she held her temper in check. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have-“ She nodded. “O.K. I’m just gonna go then.”
“Haley.” She could have kept on walking. No one in the same situation would blame her. But there was. . .something. . .in his voice that made her stop. Slowly she turned around and looked at him. He held her gaze for a few seconds before he looked down and sighed. “I. . . .” He looked up and smiled wryly. “I keep having to apologize to you.”
“There’s an easy way to fix that.”
“Stop being an ass?” he offered with a disarming smile.
Again, she couldn’t help smiling. Nathan Scott was. ..infuriating and seemed to have a special ability to piss her off and yet, he could also be so utterly and completely charming that it was hard not to get swept up in it. It was damn maddening dealing with him. “I wouldn’t have phrased it quite that way but. . .yes.”
“I am sorry. . .I just. . . .” He sighed and sank down on the bench. “This. . .comeback of mine. . .it’s a little harder than I thought it’d be.”
Sympathy welled in her at how tired he both sounded and looked. At that moment, he looked as if he had been out here for hours, trying to shoot those free throws. For all she knew, he probably had been. She took a few steps towards the bench. “I’m sorry,” she said softly, not knowing what else to say just then.
He looked up at her and again, she noticed that his cocky façade had shifted and she saw at that moment, honest vulnerability on his part and it touched her. “Yeah.” He shook his head. “It’s just a free throw right? One point. What’s the big deal if I’m missing more than I’m hitting? I mean Shaq is a terrible free throw shooter and that hasn’t hurt his career any. Hell, half the league has horrible free throw shooters and it doesn’t seem to matter.”
“Why does it matter to you?” she asked gently.
He looked up at her sharply and for a second, she thought he was about to say something that was going to anger her again, but instead he just shook his head. “I don’t know. . .it just does. I. . .people are going to be looking. . .no scrutinizing my game. . .picking apart the flaws and just ready to pounce. Ready to tell me I shouldn’t have tried for this comeback. Tell me I should have just stayed away.”
“Wow,” she said softly. “You carry all of that with you to every practice?”
“What?”
She shrugged and took a few more steps towards the bench. “I just. . .it just seems like you’re carrying around a lot of pressure.” He started to say something but she held up her hand. “I know, I know. There’s pressure involved in this game. Believe me, I know. Lucas used to go on and on about his stats in Junior League, and I can only imagine what that pressure is like once you’ve reached the pros. It’s just. . .” She stopped and shook her head. “I just wonder. . .do you like playing this game?”
“Do I like it?” He looked as if she had just asked him to solve the mystery of the universe.
She nodded. “Yeah. I asked Luke that once after he lost one of his games and was doing that brooding thing of his?” Nathan smiled slightly. “He had the same expression you do right now.” She shrugged. “I’ve always thought that was a little weird. I mean, basketball’s a game right? You should, at some level, like playing it then, right?”
“What’d he say?” he asked softly, not looking at her.
“Um, he thought about it and then said. . .yes. I think that’s why he started playing at the Rivercourt with the guys. That was just. . playing. No pressure. . .just having fun.”
He sighed. “Just playing? I haven’t. . .it’s been a long time.”
Again, she caught the note of vulnerability in his voice and was affected by it. “Why not right now?”
He looked at her, surprised. “Right now?”
She shrugged. “Yeah. I mean you’re not being watched or anything right?” He smiled. “So why not just take a little time. . .just to play? Goof off as opposed to you know. . .practicing with the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
“I. . .”
“Or at least just stop thinking about all those things.”
“It’s not that easy,” he said tiredly.
“It is if you don’t think about it.” She looked around and spotted the ball just off the side of the court. She jogged over to it and picked it up, before carrying it with her over to the free throw line. Nathan was looking at her curiously but hadn’t moved from his spot on the bench. “Tell you what. I’ll make a deal with you. If I hit a free throw, then you have to stop thinking and just make a shot.”
Predictably his eyes widened with disbelief. “You’re gonna make a free throw?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m sensing some macho chauvinistic vibes from you.”
He stood up and took a few steps towards her. “What? No, no. Of course not.”
She scoffed. “Right. So. . .do we have a deal?”
He smiled. “You make a free throw and I have to. . .take a shot?”
“I think that’s fair. I mean I’m not that easy you know.” He lifted his eyebrows and she realized too late how that may have sounded. She felt the heat rush up her cheeks and shook her head quickly. “I-I mean. . .it’ll cost you. No! I didn’t mean that either. You have to show me something first.” His lips curled in amusement and her horror magnified. “God! I didn’t mean that either. That is not what I’m talking about. I just-“ She stopped and took a deep breath. No matter how old she got, she couldn’t seem to lose her embarrassing tendency to ramble. “I’m just saying. I’m about to embarrass myself. . .even further here so I’m not going to do it for nothing.”
“Well, with an offer like that, how can I resist?” He grinned and she was sure her face must have been bright scarlet at that point. “Deal.”
She smiled slightly and then positioned herself on the free throw line. She took a breath and then bounced the ball once, before she bent her knees slightly and then lofted the ball, underhanded, towards the basket. It clanged on the rim once before falling in through the basket. She beamed. It had been a while since she had done that, so she was honestly surprised that it still worked.
She turned to find Nathan regarding her with narrowed eyes. “A granny shot?”
She shrugged. “Worked didn’t it?”
“But that’s-
She shook her head and retrieved the ball. “Uh-uh. A deal’s a deal.” She threw him the ball. “Your turn. Remember, no thinking. Just shoot.”
“Any shot?”
She nodded.. “Any shot. Forget the free throw. Don’t think about your comeback or anything else. Just shoot the ball.” She noticed that he was still just holding the ball, he hadn’t even dribbled it, nor had he made any move to shoot it.
“Just shoot the ball?” he repeated.
“What? It’s not rocket science. You put a ball through a hoop. How hard can it be? You’ve made what? Thousands of baskets by now right? At this point, it should be mostly reflexive right?”
She knew she was deliberately goading him, but there was a method to her madness.
“Reflexive? If that’s all it-“
“You’re thinking! And stalling! Just make a shot already!”
He pressed his lips together, in what she guessed was probably an effort not to yell at her. Then he turned towards the basket and fired the ball. She watched as the ball sailed in a perfect arch towards the basket before it sank in. The basket made a soft ‘whoosh’ sound as if to emphasize the point.
“Nice,” she said with a smile.
Nathan said nothing, simply staring at the basket. After a few seconds, he turned and looked at her before a smile slowly spread across his handsome features. She felt her heart skip a beat to be on the receiving end of that electrifying smile. “Yeah, it was.”
“Guess my theory was right? You are over-thinking it. A little maybe?”
If it were possible, his smile grew even wider, which not only made her heart skip a beat, but her breath catch in her throat. “Maybe.”
~*~
“Hey! That’s not fair! No dunking!”
He chuckled softly as he retrieved the ball. “What? Are you changing yet another rule?”
“You’re a 6 foot. . .3?. . .pro basketball player. I need to get some advantages!”
“6’4” and do you want me to tie an arm behind my back? Shoot blindfolded?”
She smiled sweetly at him. “Would you?”
He grinned. “Which? The blindfold or the arm tie?”
“Both?” They both laughed as he handed her the ball. She took it and walked around the court, trying to find a good place to shoot. “I’m just gonna take a letter on that dunk. There’s no need to humiliate myself any further.”
“That leaves you only one letter left.”
“Your concern is very touching,” she deadpanned. He chuckled as he watched her trying to find a good place to make her next shot. If anyone had told him on the night of Lucas’ party that he would be out here playing a ‘modified’ game of ‘HORSE’ with Haley, he would have thought the person was certifiable. But yet, here he was.
What was even more surprising was that he was having a blast. He shook his head slightly. He was actually having fun on a basketball court for the first time in who knows how long. What’s more, he had already made more shots during their game than he had made all morning in his frustrating attempt at ‘practicing.’ Hell, he was making shots he hadn’t made in years.
And he had to give most of the credit to Haley. He looked over at her as she continued to walk around the court, deciding on her next shot. She may have thought that she was ‘humiliating’ herself during the game, but it was really quite the opposite. He didn’t know many women who would shoot baskets with him. Heck, he didn’t tend to want to shoot baskets with women. There were far more. . .interesting things to do. But with Haley. . .it had been fun and exciting. . .and quite the turn-on. She was in tan slacks and a silk-screened T-shirt. She had discarded the light jacket she had been wearing. Her hair was slightly windblown and mussed, and her face held the barest trace of make-up. Nothing at all remarkable, but he thought that she was sexy as hell. If her purpose was to make him forget about all the pressures and expectations that were riding on his comeback, then she had succeeded in spades.
If he hadn’t already been intrigued by her at Lucas’ party, he definitely was now. As uncomfortable as her baiting of him had been, he had also admired it. Most of his life, he had gotten away with being an ass. It was rare that anyone put him in his place. Those that did were close to him. . .and didn’t care about his ‘status.’ Lucas. . .Whitey. . .and to an extent, his father. But Haley? She could have just ignored him like most people did. . .or brushed it off and let his behavior slide in order to get close to him. After all, if you got to hang with Nathan Scott, it didn’t matter that he was a jerk right?
Yet Haley had done something he had never expected. She had called him on his behavior. . .just because. And she had done it in a rather impressive fashion. No screaming. . .no histronics. If anything, she was cool and collected. He had been the one bumbling around. . .trying to find the words. He had never experienced anything like that before.
And just when he thought he had figured her out. . .she had turned around and done something like today.
He sighed softly. He still couldn’t quite figure out why he had confided in Haley like that. He hadn’t told anyone other than Lucas about how hard he was finding his attempted comeback to be. But Lucas was both his brother and his agent, so it was natural for them to discuss things like that. But he had only met Haley a few days ago. ..and here he was, confiding in her. What’s more, she had actually listened. . .and had tried to help.
She had helped.
“O.K.” Haley had positioned herself a few feet from the hoop and lofted the ball. It clanged off the rim and bounced away. “It could be worse,” she said with a shrug
“It could,” he agreed, chuckling. “Actually, you know, I’m impressed. I mean that granny throw aside, you actually made quite a few shots. I thought I’d have spelled B-O-O-K by now.”
“Little confident there aren’t you?” she replied with a smile. “Actually, most of those shots were just me lobbing the ball at the basket. If it went in, it was just fate taking pity on me.”
He laughed. “Alright. Tell you what. I’ll make this an easy one for you.” He picked up the ball and walked over so that he was almost right under the basket. He tossed the ball up so that it bounced off the backboard and then fell into the basket. “There. Easy lay-up.”
“Easy for you,” she mumbled. She took the ball that he held out and copied his position. Trying to imitate his action, she bounced the ball against the backboard, but she bounced it too hard apparently, because instead of falling into the basket, it bounced completely clear of the basket and rolled down the court. “Typical.”
He smiled. “That would be a ‘Y’ for you. Which if I’m spelling correctly, completes your word. . .or words.”
“I knew I should have picked a longer word. . .or an author with a longer name!”
“There’s an author with a longer name than Lucy Maud Montgomery?”
She laughed. “Sure. Although honestly, I can’t think of one just now.”
“So what did she write?”
“You’ve never heard of Lucy Maud Montgomery?” she rebuked him lightly. “She only created one of my favorite literary characters ever.”
“Who?” he asked. And surprisingly, he was genuinely interested. It seemed like anything Haley had to say or do interested him. And it was real interest. Not the kind of ‘interest’ he showed to a woman he was attracted to.
“Anne Shirley. . .of the Anne of Green Gables series.” She smiled. “She was this amazing, quirky, talkative, feisty orphan who goes to live with this elderly couple and she gets into all kinds of trouble but makes great friends along the way, and has these great adventures. She’s a great role model for kids, especially little girls. I loved reading those books when I was a kid. Even though it took place in the 19th Century, I could really relate to her.” He smiled at her description of the character. Now why did that sound so familiar? “What?”
He shrugged slightly. “Nothing. I just. . .you kinda sound like her. You know. . .the Anne character.”
“Really?”
“Feisty. . .talkative. . .amazing. . .” He grinned as the color in her cheeks. “Was she pretty?”
“She didn’t think so but other people did.”
“That definitely sounds like you,” he said softly, looking straight into those deep, brown eyes of hers.
Her eyes flashed, but her expression didn’t change. “You haven’t read the books,” she said dismissively. Their gazes held, and he felt the initial stirrings of desire and for once, didn’t know what to do with it. Haley was so completely unlike any other woman that he had met before. She finally broke their eye contact and looked down at her watch. “Oh, wow. I, uh. . .I gotta go.”
Disappointment surged within him. “Do you?”
She nodded. “I, uh, have a clinical for school.”
“Oh, uh, O.K. I-“ They smiled at each other awkwardly before Haley went over to the bench to pick up her jacket. “Uh. . .Haley?” She looked at him expectantly. “Um, you know Luke and I were planning on trying out this new restaurant downtown on Friday. You, uh, want to join us?” Where that came from he didn’t know. He just knew that he had wanted to see her again. And soon. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem too enthused about the idea if the expression on her face was any indication.
“Um, I. . .”
“Come on,” he said, with a smile. “You’ll get a chance to yell at Luke in person. And the place is supposed to have really good food.”
She seemed to be waging an internal battle, but she finally nodded. “Yeah, sure. O.K.”
Somewhere, inside of him, something was telling him that he should be concerned at how happy he was at her answer. It simply didn’t make sense that he should be that happy about seeing someone that he barely knew. . .and who seemed to thrive on putting him in his place. Someone who didn’t let him take the easy, ‘jerk’ way out. Someone who had a way of making him want to confide in her. She was too complicated and he didn’t need that right now. . .if ever.
Yet he was happy. He’d even go so far as to say he was a little thrilled at the thought of getting to see Haley again so soon.
CHAPTER THREE – Something in Common
“Oh Haley?”
“Hmm?” she murmured, barely looking up from her computer screen.
“We’re best friends right?”
She stopped typing and glanced up at Peyton. Uh-oh. Anytime one of them started a conversation off like that, it tended to mean the other had done something she shouldn’t have. “Yeah,” she answered while mentally reviewing her week. She didn’t think that she had done anything worthy of a ‘we’re best friends’ talk.
“So, as my best friend, you’d tell me certain things right?” She sighed as she watched Peyton stroll casually into her room and sit on her bed. Clearly, whatever Peyton had on her, she was going to take her sweet time in revealing.
“Sure.”
“Especially if you were, oh, dating someone?”
She looked at Peyton, confused. “I’m not dating anyone.”
“Oh really?” Peyton lifted an eyebrow in disbelief. “Then what would you call your little dinner with Nathan Scott tomorrow?”
She smiled. If that were all it was. “Peyton, I-“
“So it’s true? You are going out with him?”
“I. . .yes, but-“
“And here I thought I had heard the message wrong.”
Memo to self, she thought. Always check answering machine when getting home from now on. “Peyton, this-“
Peyton looked at her questioningly. “I thought you didn’t like him.”
“I never said that I-“
“You called him an arrogant jerk. . .among other things.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t say anything about not liking him,” she argued jokingly.
Peyton smiled. “So you do like him?”
“Well you know, Luke tricked us into meeting up and talking at his house yesterday and-“
“What?”
“Didn’t I mention that?” she asked sweetly.
“Someone needs to re-read the Best Friends’ Guide Book, especially the chapter called ‘Things You Should Always Disclose,’” Peyton said teasingly.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve just been so busy. My evaluation for the clinical is due next week and you know I always get a little crazed with those.”
Peyton nodded. “It’s O.K. I won’t make you turn in your ‘best friends’ card this time.” She smiled. “So. . .yesterday?”
“Remember I was headed over to meet up with Luke for lunch before my evening clinical?” Peyton nodded. “Turned out, Luke had it set up so that I would run into Nathan. He was over there. . .practicing. Apparently Luke picked up on our, uh, tense first meeting and that was his way of getting Nathan and I to. . .talk I guess. Anyway, we did even though it was. . .hard at times. And then we played this highly embarrassing, for me at least, game of ‘Horse’ and well, long story less long, we’re kind of. . .friends now. . .I guess.”
“Kind of friends. . .you guess?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean. . .I. . .he’s hard to read sometimes but I thought we parted on. . .friendly terms.”
“Friendly terms?” Peyton repeated with a teasing smile. “Yeah, I’ll bet, considering you guys have a dinner date for tomorrow.”
“It’s not a date!” she protested. “Honestly. Apparently Nathan and Luke were planning on checking out this restaurant downtown and Nathan asked me if I wanted to come. So see? Not a date. Unless I was into creepy threesomes.” Peyton burst out laughing, but something told her it wasn’t from her comment. “What?”
Peyton fought to control her laughter and after a few minutes she finally managed it. “I. . .oh, God! Only you, Hales!”
“Only me what?”
“Only you would manage to land a date with one of North Carolina’s. . .no scratch that. . .one of the country’s most eligible bachelors and not know it.”
“It’s not-“
“A date,” Peyton finished for her. “Right. You know, you never asked me what that message was.”
She regarded her friend warily. “What was it?”
“It was from Lucas. He said he had to cancel tomorrow.”
“What! Oh my God! If he’s pulling another-“
“And he also said that he was not pulling anything. It is an honest work-related cancellation on his part.” Peyton smiled. “So it looks like just you and Nathan tomorrow.”
“It’s still not a date,” she insisted.
“O.K.,” Peyton agreed. “But still. . .single guy. .. single girl. Dinner. You can see how I reach some conclusions?”
“You reach conclusions because you lack the same reasoning skills we, the good people of Earth, do,” she teased.
Peyton made a face at her. “Whatever. Seriously, though, Hales. . .you’re not at all attracted to Nathan? Is he like hideous in real life? ‘Cause you know how actors are always shorter in real life? So is he. . .less cute or something?”
She laughed. “No, it’s not that.” It definitely wasn’t, she thought. While she hadn’t seen Nathan on TV, she would guess that celluloid and film couldn’t possibly capture just how incredible his eyes were or just how handsome he was or. . .whoa! Where is this coming from? She shook her head slightly.
“You clearly like him though right?”
“Clearly?”
Peyton looked at her knowingly. “Who do you think you’re talking to here, kiddo? You played ‘Horse’ with the guy! Of course you like him. I mean not only did you hang around and talk to him but you actually engaged in an athletic activity? If that’s not a sign then I don’t know what is.”
“A sign?” she asked, keeping her voice light. If she didn’t take this seriously then perhaps Peyton would just drop the subject. “You know there’s no-“
“Are you telling me that if Nathan asked you out on a real, honest-to-goodness date, you’d say ‘no’?”
“Yes. I mean I-“ She sighed. “I’m not dating, Peyton. Not Nathan or anybody else. You know that.”
“You’re not actually serious about that are you?”
“I. . .yes, I am! I’m focusing on school and my career so he can be as good-looking as he wants and it just. . .it doesn’t matter. Besides, he’s Lucas’ brother. You know how messy things could get if I did date him, I mean assuming he would want to date me in the first place which I’m pretty sure he doesn’t and besides I think he’s got a girlfriend. . .or maybe girlfriends which makes him someone I really don’t want to date, assuming I was dating, which I’m not, so this is all pretty moot.”
“You’re rambling,” Peyton pointed out with a smile.
“I’m just saying! Yes, he’s cute, but one, it’s not going to happen and two, I don’t want it to so it’s not.” Peyton studied her silently for several seconds. She felt herself grow uncomfortable under her friend’s scrutiny. “What?”
Peyton shook her head. “I just. . .I can’t believe you’re actually serious about that not dating thing. I just thought that was. . .I don’t know. . .you being. . .sardonic or something.”
“Well, I am. . .serious I mean.” She stopped abruptly, her mind going back to that place she swore she wouldn’t ever think about again. “Peyton, we’ve already talked about this. I’m. . .I just don’t have the time for it now.”
“Haley,” Peyton said gently. “You can’t exactly pencil in time for love into that date book of yours.”
“Well, good, ‘cause I’m overscheduled as it is,” she joked, hoping it would shift the conversation from where it was headed.
But Peyton wasn’t so easily deterred. “Haley-“
“It’s not what you’re thinking.”
“It isn’t?” she challenged.
“I’m just. . .busy!”
Peyton fell silent and she thought that she had successfully diverted the conversation, but then Peyton spoke, her voice gentle but determined. “Look, I know I’ve said this before and I’m going to keep saying it because it’s important. But you can’t let what happened with Matthew make you give up on the possibility of finding a real and loving relationship. Matthew was a. . .complete loser who if I ever see him again, I will pull a ‘ Lorena Bobbitt’ on him-“
“Peyton-“
“But he’s not the rule. He’s like the ugly, cautionary-tale, exception, O.K.? There are like thousands, no millions, of guys who aren’t anything like him and-”
“I know that,” she insisted. “And this has nothing to do with Matthew.” She stopped and made an exaggerated gesture of concession. “O.K. maybe in a miniscule way it does because I. . .lost so much time there that I need to work extra hard now to catch up. I just. . .I don’t have time and I just don’t want to date right now. Much less someone like Nathan.”
“Someone like Nathan?”
She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not going to happen with Nathan. . .or anyone else for the matter, so can we just. . .not discuss it anymore?” Peyton started to say something but she cut her off quickly. “Please?”
Peyton sighed. “I just want you to be open to the possibilities Hales.”
“My mind’s always open,” she said lightly.
“I wasn’t talking about your mind.”
~*~
“Oh, and before I forget,” said Nathan, drawing her attention to him. She had been looking around at the décor of the new Indian restaurant that they had agreed to try out. So far, it seemed like a great place. The service was fast and friendly, but not overly familiar. And while their food hadn’t come yet, there were tantalizing smells all around them. “Lucas wanted me to tell you that he swears that this isn’t a set-up.”
She chuckled. “I know. He called and left a message saying the same thing. You know I wouldn’t have had to threaten him if hadn’t pulled that stunt in the first place.”
He smiled, but when he spoke, he couldn’t help sounding slightly wistful. A part of him would always envy the childhood his brother had had. “Sounds like you guys were really good friends back then.”
She nodded. “We were. It was kind of strange actually.”
“Strange?”
She smiled. “Yeah. . .I mean we met at his mom’s Café. He was helping out behind the counter and I came in because I saw these mini chocolate cakes that I swear to this day were calling out my name, and anyway, he was looking through comic books and then was telling Karen about this Junior League basketball thing and I just thought he was too much of a. . .well, boy, you know?” He smiled. “But somehow we started talking about old movies. Well that and mini golf and anyway, it just grew from there.” She gave him a knowing look. “And Luke might tell you a different story but I’m the undisputed champion in our mini-golf play.”
“You guys met when you were what? 8?” She nodded. “And when did you move away?”
“I was 13 so you and Luke were around 14.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I remember our freshman year at Tree Hill High. He walked around looking all depressed.”
“Lucas always looks half depressed,” she joked.
“He probably missed you,” he said quietly. “You guys sounded like you had a lot of fun.”
She looked down at the table for a beat. “I missed him and Tree Hill too.”
There had been an odd note in her voice. Funny. He didn’t tend to pay much attention to people. Honestly he didn’t care. . .nor did he have to. He had few friends. . .at least the kind that you could confide in. Friends that he could call up and ask to spend a night on the town, he had plenty of, but friends like that, there wasn’t a lot of emphasis on getting to know each other. It was more like which clubs they would be hitting that night. . .who would be hooking up with who.
Looking back on it now, he realized just how. . .empty that kind of existence was. How lonely. Just then, he realized that Haley had asked him something because she was looking at him expectantly. “Sorry? I missed that.”
“I just asked you if you liked it in Tree Hill.”
He shrugged. “It was. . .O.K. I guess.” She studied him and he could see her trying to decide if she should pursue the topic or not. He made the decision for her. “I remember seeing you around at times.” He smiled at her teasingly. “You looked cute in pigtails.”
She made a face and groaned softly. “Oh God! That was. . .a phase.”
“A phase hmmm?”
“Can we move on from my unfortunate hair styling choices? Please?” He chuckled. “So Luke told me you guys started. . .getting along in your junior year?”
He smiled slightly. “Yeah, well, we were sort of forced to. You know Coach Durham? Whitey?” She nodded. “When Lucas made the team in junior year, Coach sort of made us. . .bond. He assigned us all these drills and practices and stuff together. After a while, we just talked to each other out of sheer boredom and it just went from there.”
“Sounds like Whitey deserved the reputation he had in Tree Hill.” She smiled. “I wish I could have seen the two of you become friends.”
He smiled. “Yeah. The three of us? That would have been interesting.”
“Or murderous,” she joked.
He grinned. Haley James was something else. He had to admit, he wasn’t expecting her to be anything like she was. After spending months listening to his brother talk about how great it was to have her back in his life, how great she had been in Tree Hill, how amazing she was now, he just didn’t think anyone could live up to that kind of hype. He had been intrigued, but a part of him had been waiting to be disappointed upon finally meeting her.
But since their first memorable meeting, she was not only living up to Lucas’ ‘hype,’ she was well exceeding it. And intriguing him more with each passing minute.
He cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him. “How come you moved away?”
At first he thought it was his imagination, but he saw her tense. It wasn’t overt, but he would guess that he was starting to get a pretty good read on her. . .with some missteps thrown in. “My Dad, uh, got a new job in Raleigh so. . . .”
“You have an older sister right?” She nodded. “Where’s your family now?”
“My sister’s in Texas of all places. Married with two great kids who I wish I could see more of and my Dad’s retired and living in California.”
“With your Mom?”
This time, there was no mistaking the way her shoulder tensed at his question. “Um. . .no.” He looked at her curiously and before he could say anything, her words came out in a rush. “She. . .left us when I was 13. That’s why my Dad had to take that job in Raleigh. She. . .calls but I really don’t talk to her. We’re not close so I’m not sure what’s she’s doing and I don’t really care.”
There was such an open vulnerability to her at that moment, and it scared him because he had never been confronted with something like this before. He didn’t quite know what to do. “I’m sorry.”
She met his eyes and nodded. “Thanks.”
“Parents can really mess with you can’t they?”
A look of understanding passed between them. “Yeah.”
He reached across the table and touched her hand gently. “The trick is to not let them.” She smiled in understanding and then moved her thumb so that it squeezed his own.
Just then, their server came over carrying a large tray laden with steaming plates of food. They fell silent as they watched the food being placed on the table and once their server was done, they began to eat, letting the topic drop naturally. When they picked up the conversation again, it was distinctly less serious, and centered mainly around just how good the food was.
Before he knew it, the plates had been cleared away and they were both sipping hot tea. He marveled at how easy it was to lose track of time around Haley. There was such an easy rapport between them. . .something that made the time they spent together pass by so quickly. . .often too quickly.
Now that he considered it, it was a little shocking. The words ‘easy rapport’ could never describe any of his relationships. Past or present. He tended to second-guess people’s motives, always wondering if they had any ulterior motives for wanting to be around him. It took him a while to get comfortable with someone. More often than not, it just didn’t happen.
With Haley. . . .since that day out on Lucas’ court, he had felt comfortable around her. And it was disconcerting just how easy it was to feel comfortable around her. Even when they were butting heads, there was such an. . .ease to it. He had found himself telling her things he normally kept hidden and letting her in when he usually would be pushing the person away.
Not that any of this was bad. In fact, it was actually a good thing. Usually with a woman that he was attracted to, that comfort level was hard for him. These days. . .actually, pretty much his entire life, if he was attracted to a woman, he usually had only one interest in her. And he made no apologies for that. He was a healthy, virile man in his prime. He didn’t treat women badly. . .not usually, and he made sure that both knew where the other stood before anything happened. He could be friends with a woman he was attracted to, of course. That certainly made the times they spent together, non-sexually, better, but if they didn’t quite get along well out of bed, that didn’t tend to bother him.
But with Haley, it was like the comfort level was there already. Which was good, because the physical attraction definitely was. How could it not be? She was gorgeous and feisty and smart and funny and he could go on and on. Even dressed in jeans and a light sweater like she was now, she was beautiful and her simple ensemble somehow heightened his physical desire more than if she were all decked out in a dress specifically designed to show off a woman’s. . .assets.
“Nathan?”
Her voice shook him from his thoughts. “Sorry?”
She smiled. “You looked very. . .introspective.”
“I was just thinking about. . .well, us.”
She shifted uncomfortably. “Really?”
“Just you know, we haven’t argued once,” he said teasingly.
She grinned. “That’s true, but then, it’s early yet.”
He laughed softly as their eyes met, and there was no mistaking the look in her eyes, and the way they held his own. It was as if in that moment, they were the only two people in the room. But in the next instant, it vanished, as she abruptly looked away. He frowned, confused. He was pretty good at reading women. Especially the signals they sent out, and he was sure that there had been something there between them in that moment. But the abrupt way she had looked away made him less sure.
“The dinner was good, wasn’t it?” he asked, moving back to a ‘safe’ topic.
“Delicious,” she agreed. “Too bad Lucas missed out.”
“Yeah, but I’m kind of glad in a way.” She looked at him questioningly. “Gave us a chance to get to know each other.”
Her eyes flashed with something he couldn’t quite read before she smiled. Although her smile seemed a little. . .forced to him. “Yeah. That’s true. I’m glad we did.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “I’m glad we could be friends.”
She was smiling at him, but again, he thought the smile seemed forced somehow. And the way she seemed to emphasize the word ‘friends’. . .as if that had been a. . .dismissal somehow.
But just as quickly as that thought came into his head, he quickly dismissed it. Haley is amazing person. Sure he was attracted to her, but he didn’t need to sleep with every woman he was attracted to. In fact, it was best that he didn’t. And being her friend was worth something. If there wasn’t anything more there, then at least they were friends. And he knew that she was sincere in that. Whatever. . .dismissal he had sensed from her. . .it wasn’t of him. He honestly believed that she did want them to be friends. Just nothing more.
Which he could live with. Being friends was better, wasn’t it? If he and Haley hooked up, things would inevitably go wrong and then he’d be left with. . .what? It would get messy. . .and given their ties to Lucas. . .it also had the potential to get ugly. And he didn’t need that. Not now. Especially now.
So this was better. Besides, friends could still flirt couldn’t they?
