Under The Stars
Title: Under The Stars
Author: Diane
Pairing: Nathan/Haley
Rating: Mature Rated
Disclaimer: I don’t own a thing!
Summary: Nathan and Haley spend a weekend away…
Author’s Note: This is a sequel to ‘A Cosy Night In’ and which has been written for the Nature Calls Challenge at dareyouto_write. This is set a few months after that story, still in Season 2 because, as I’ve said before, the crappy stuff that occurred in that season didn’t happen in my world. ;)
“Okay, are you sure we’ve got everything?” Nathan asked his wife as they both sat in the car ready to start their journey.
“Uh huh. I double-checked everything before we packed it in the car so we’re all set,” Haley replied, smiling at him. “I can’t believe we’re finally doing this.”
He chuckled at her obvious excitement as he started the engine and pulled away from their apartment complex. “Me either. It seems ages ago that you made the suggestion. Can I just say though that I’m glad it’s just going to be the two of us doing this. I don’t think I could take hearing Brooke bitching about not being able to use her hairdryer.”
“Well, since this is your first time camping, I figured it was best to start you slowly. We can organise a group thing later or something.”
Nathan nodded. “Much later,” he said teasingly. Placing his right hand on her thigh, he rubbed it back and forth as his eyes concentrated on the road ahead. “So, when was the last time you went camping?”
“It was a few years ago now; I was about thirteen and I remember two of my sisters bitched about going. They felt they were too old by then to do something as uncool as camping so my mom stayed behind with them which pissed them off. They thought she’d come with us and leave them home alone,” she told him, smiling at the memory.
“It was just you and your dad camping?”
Haley shook her head. “No. My two brothers came with us and so did Lucas.”
“You, uh, shared a tent with Luke?” Nathan took a couple of deep breaths as he impatiently waited for her response.
Shifting slightly on her seat, she turned her body so she was facing him and taking his hand which was resting on her thigh, she interlaced their fingers. “You really think my dad would let me share a tent with a boy I wasn’t related to?”
Shrugging his shoulders, he replied, “Well, he’s your best friend and your parents trusted him so--”
“So nothing. Yeah, they trusted him but, according to my dad especially, we were teenagers whose hormones were going nuts so no, he didn’t let us share a tent. I shared with my dad and Luke shared with my brothers. Happy now?”
Making sure the road up ahead was clear, Nathan turned to face her, a smile gracing his face. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her lips before returning his eyes to the road. “More than happy,” he answered, squeezing her hand.
They drove in silence for a few minutes before Haley spoke again.
“You’re going to love this place, Nathan. It’s so pretty and there’s a lake where we can go swimming. Oh, and at night, the sky is filled with stars. One of my earliest memories is of me sitting on my dad’s knee while he pointed out the stars and told me stories about them.”
Nathan smiled as he listened to her talk. “Thanks for sharing it with me, Hales.”
“You’re welcome.” She looked out of her window, watching as they drove out of Tree Hill and then added, “I’ve got a feeling this weekend is gonna be great.”
* * * * *
Parking the car in the spot Haley had directed him to after they had entered the campsite, Nathan turned off the engine and they sat there for a moment, taking in the views surrounding them. He had never been what you could call an outdoorsy person but he had a feeling this weekend might change that.
“C’mon, let’s get set up and then I can show you around,” Haley said before opening her door and stepping out of the vehicle.
He followed suit and made his way to the trunk, unlocking it and then lifting their belongings out. “There doesn’t seem to be many people here,” he noted.
“I know; it’s sort of off-season at this time of year which is one of the reasons I wanted us to come this weekend. It’ll be nice and quiet and will feel like it’s just us.”
Leaning towards her, Nathan covered her mouth with his and kissed her softly. “I like the sound of that. So, Mrs Scott, you’re the expert when it comes to camping so you’ll have to guide me in setting up our tent.”
“No problem,” she replied, trailing her fingers over his jaw. Grabbing a few items from the trunk, she added, “Okay, you grab that and follow me. We’ll have this done in no time.”
Nathan did as directed and followed her over to a small clearing not to far from where the car was parked. “Whose tent was this?” he asked out of curiosity as he set down the things he was carrying once she had stopped walking.
“It belonged to my parents. Seeing as they upgraded their tent a couple of years ago, I figured it’d be a bit more luxurious and comfortable compared to the one I used to share with my sisters.”
“So, your parents still went camping after your brothers and sisters stopped going?”
Haley nodded while unzipping the tent from its protective covering. “Yeah. Before they bought the RV and started traveling, they’d sometimes have the odd weekend away to recharge their batteries. I’d sometimes go with them if I needed a break and it was nice, just spending time with them on my own. Being the youngest, I sometimes felt a little left out of things so coming with them helped with that.”
“I’m glad,” he replied quietly which had Haley looking over at him, a concerned expression on her face.
“Nathan, are you okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just…”
“Just what?” she prompted when he hadn’t continued.
“I know you sometimes felt left out by your parents or that they didn’t pay you as much attention as some of your siblings but… Even with six kids they still paid you more attention than my parents did with me and I was their only kid, if you don’t count Luke, of course.”
Carefully placing what she was holding onto the ground, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. “I guess I sound like a whiny little brat when I--”
“No, you don’t. As much as I love your parents, it annoys me that they weren’t always around for you when you needed them but they’ve always supported you and maybe in some ways that means even more. I just wish my parents could’ve been a little more like them, you know.”
“I know.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him down and kissed him deeply, pouring every ounce of love and affection she felt for him into the kiss. Breaking the kiss several moments later, she rubbed her nose against his and said, “No more of that this weekend, okay?”
“Huh? No more kissing?”
“God, no! I didn’t mean that. I meant no more talk about sad things. I want this weekend to just be about the two of us; there’s plenty of time to deal with that stuff when we’re at home.”
“Thank god for that, there’s no way I could go a whole weekend without kissing you,” he confessed.
“Ditto!”
Giving her a peck on the lips, he pulled away before they lost control again. “Okay then, give me something to do here so I don’t feel completely pathetic letting my wife put up our tent,” he quipped.
Bending down, Haley picked up an item and handed it to him. “This is the groundsheet. Just shake it out and lay it flat on the ground and then you can help me set up the framework.”
Working together with Haley giving out the instructions, they had the tent set up and had also inflated the air mattress within around half an hour or so, and were now in the process of moving their belongings inside.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tent as impressive as this,” Nathan remarked as he walked around and looked at it. The dark blue coloured tent was huge and high enough that he wouldn’t have to crouch too low if he was standing up inside it. “It’s even got its own…hallway, I guess you’d call it.”
Haley smiled at the look on his face. “It’s apparently called a vestibule and is sort of designed, I think, so that if it’s raining outside, you can take off your shoes and outer wear without making the main part of the tent muddy or wet when you come inside. My favourite part though is this,” she said pointing out a clear section of plastic in the tent’s ‘roof’.
“It’s got a skylight!”
“Uh huh. My dad knows how much my mom loves looking at the stars so when he saw this, he knew he had to get it.”
“That’s pretty cool. I can’t believe how big it is either. When I think of camping, I always think of those tiny canvas tents that look like they’d blow away in a light wind.”
“Well, given how many times I’ve been camping over the years, you’re looking at a camping aficionado and, I’ll have you know, this is a deluxe model, although given that it’s a few years old now it’s probably already obsolete. Anyway, you’ve seen the size of my dad and there’s no way he’d fit in one of those rinky dink little tents. Plus, he loves his comfort as you know.”
“True. I’m surprised they didn’t take it with them on their travels though.”
Laughing, Haley shook her head. “Are you kidding? With the amount of stuff they did take with them, they wouldn’t have been able to fit this on board too. And besides, they have the RV to sleep in.”
“I know but hearing how much your dad loves camping outside, I’d figured he’d still enjoy doing it occasionally.”
“You’ve got a point and I’m guessing him leaving it behind means he might try to convince my mom that they should get a brand new one.”
“Ah, that’s pretty sneaky.”
“That’s my dad and I wouldn’t put it past him to do it in such a way that it’d be like it was my mom’s idea all along.”
Nathan laughed. “Next time we see them, I’ll have to get him to teach me that little trick.”
“Is that so?” she asked, closing the distance between them and once again wrapping her arms around him.
Looking into her chocolate brown eyes, Nathan returned her smile and lowering his head, he seized her lips, kissing her hotly. His tongue snaked out and slid into her mouth to tangle with her own and he moaned when he felt her fingernails raking across his scalp and down the back of his neck. Eventually breaking the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers and asked, “You feel like testing out that mattress?”
“Nathan!” Haley swatted his arm playfully. “We still need to move the rest of our stuff inside and I thought we could then take a walk before we cook dinner.”
“Okay,” he said, mock-sighing. “I should’ve guessed you’d have everything planned out for us.”
“Actually, I don’t. I just wanted to show you a couple of my favourite places, that’s all,” she replied, taking a step back from him.
“C’mere.” Pulling her back into his arms, he placed his hands on her hips and held her tightly to him. “I didn’t mean anything bad by that, Hales. It means a lot that you’ve brought me here and that you want to share your favourite places with me. I can’t wait to see them, especially that lake you were telling me about. Any chance I could talk you into skinny-dipping with me?”
“We’ll have to see about that, honey. Maybe if you’re good…”
“I’m always good,” he said smirking.
“Damn, and there’s me liking the bad boy in you. Oh well.”
“Well, I’m not that good.”
Haley giggled as she pressed her mouth against his. “C’mon then, bad boy. Let’s finish up here and we can then go exploring.”
* * * * *
Walking hand in hand, Haley showed Nathan all of the places she would visit during her family’s stays. She pointed out the trees that her brothers would climb and that she would attempt to climb until she had grown big and strong enough to follow them up.
“You were a little tomboy, huh?”
“Yeah, much to my sisters’ annoyance,” she said, smiling at the memory. “Thankfully my brothers were cool about letting me hang out with them and we had so much fun chasing each other through the woods, climbing trees and jumping from the rope swings over the lake.”
“Wasn’t that a bit…dangerous?”
Haley shook her head. “One of my parents would watch us when we were messing around in the water, at least when we were really young. I wasn’t allowed to jump from those ropes until I was around eight, I think.”
“You think those ropes are still there?” Nathan asked, one eyebrow raised.
Squeezing his hand which was still holding hers securely, she tugged him forward. “Only one way to find out.”
About five minutes later, they were standing by a crystal blue lake, rocks on one side of it with water cascading down them.
“You didn’t say the lake had its own waterfall.”
“I thought I’d surprise you. When the weather was particularly hot, standing underneath the waterfall was my favourite thing to do. The sun would warm the water slightly just taking the chill off it but it was still lovely and cool. My parents literally had to drag me away from this lake some days.”
“I can see why, Hales.” Looking around, something caught his eye and he smirked. “Hey, looks like the ropes are still here. We’ll have to try those out later.”
“Definitely. How about we come back after dinner?”
“Sure, that sounds good.”
“Okay. Let’s head back and on the way I can show you the shower block.”
“You mean this place has bathrooms? You didn’t, um, go behind a tree or something?”
Haley laughed out loud. “No, the James family may have loved nature but there’s no way my sisters would’ve even come camping if they’d had to wash up in the lake or pee behind a tree. My dad knew it’d be a losing battle so he made sure to find a campsite that had all the facilities.”
Nathan joined in with her laughter. “Your dad’s a wise man.”
“That, plus my mom agreed with my sisters so he wouldn’t have won that argument,” she told him as they made their way to where they had set up their tent.
* * * * *
“Wow! This fresh air really gives you an appetite, doesn’t it?” Nathan said as he finished off the last of his burger.
“It really does. You get me out in the great outdoors and I turn into a little pig. By the way, that was a good idea of yours to bring the grill tray and the burgers so we could have those instead of just heating canned food up on the stove. I was so busy making sure we had everything I didn’t even think of it.”
“No problem. And now I know why you’re always keeping those spare packets of ketchup and mustard whenever we get takeout.”
“Told you they’d come in handy. We used to do that at home; it saves having to bring bottles of the stuff. Before we started bringing those with us on our trips, we’d pack a bottle of ketchup and one time when we were unpacking the kitchen stuff, we found the bottle had broken and there was sauce everywhere. Lucky for me, I was too little to help with cleaning up back then,” she joked.
Nathan couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she reminisced. She seemed…different somehow out in this setting, more effervescent than she usually was. Her skin had a rosy glow to it, her hair gleamed in the sun which was slowly starting to set and even wearing just a pair of blue and white shorts and a blue tank top she looked beautiful.
“Nathan?”
“Huh? Sorry, what did you say?”
“I just asked if you were still hungry? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just…” His words trailed off before he answered her first question. “I could still eat if you’ve got anything else going.”
“Okay, remember when we had that movie night a while back and I made us some s’mores? I told you they tasted better if you had them when you were camping.”
“I remember, but don’t you need to have a fire to do that?”
“Yeah. Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten to bring matches with me so… But, seeing as you’ve brought the grill tray, we can put it over the stove and just toast the marshmallows on there. It probably won’t be as authentic but we’re still outside cooking them.”
“They’ll be great,” he said encouragingly. “Let’s get the dinner stuff cleared up first though ‘cos I don’t know about you, Hales, but I don’t feel like eating meat-flavoured marshmallows.”
Haley pinched his side earning her a yelp. “Very funny. I was going to suggest that anyway. Actually, we could do that and then go hang out by the lake. We could have the s’mores when we come back since swimming usually makes me feel really hungry afterwards.”
Nathan smirked. “I know something else that makes you really hungry afterwards.”
Blushing at his words, she leaned towards him and kissed him. “Well, maybe we can kill two birds with one stone while we’re there, huh.”
Getting up from his folding chair, Nathan pulled her up out of the one she was sitting on and swatted her on the butt. “What are we waiting for then? I’ll wash, you dry.”
* * * * *
Nathan tugged on the rope, making sure it was secure enough to hold his weight which it seemed to be. As he pulled himself up it, his breath caught in his throat at the breathtaking view surrounding him. The sun had now set and the first scattering of stars had now appeared and were shining brightly.
“You want me to go first? I am the expert after all,” Haley teased as she waited for him to swing out on the rope. In reality, she could see how the view of one of her all time favourite places was affecting him and, not for the first time that day, she was happy that she had brought him here.
“We’ll see about that, Hales.” He was just about to swing when a thought occurred to him. “Just how cold is that water?”
“You’ll find out soon enough but you might want to brace yourself,” she told him, biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing. “Don’t worry though, I’ll warm you up afterwards.”
That was enough incentive for him and a moment later, he was swinging through the air and landing in the water below him with a loud splash; his loud shriek piercing the quiet night air.
This time Haley did laugh as she watched him bobbing around in the water, no doubt hopping from foot to foot in an attempt to warm himself up.
“Get your cute little ass in here, Hales, and start warming me up,” he called to her. His eyes adjusted to the dark and he watched her curvy form in her dark blue bikini standing on the shore as she reached up and grabbed the end of the rope swing. “Be careful, okay.”
Climbing onto a tree stump, she held the rope securely in her hands before pushing herself forward as hard as she could and when she was directly over the water, she let herself go with a scream, bracing herself to hit the cold water below which she did a split-second later.
Swimming over to her, Nathan wrapped his arms around her, hugging her to him as his hands then began to rub her skin in an attempt to warm her up.
“That was great! It’s been so long since I’ve done that, I’d almost forgotten how much fun it is. Wanna do it again?”
“Later,” he whispered against her lips before covering them with his own. One hand cupped the back of her head while the other held her to him, his fingers rubbing circles over the area where he knew his jersey number was indelibly inked onto her soft skin.
When the need for air become too much, Haley broke the kiss but didn’t move away from him. Tilting her head to one side, she gave him unhindered access to her neck and she moaned with pleasure when he began kissing and suckling it, working his way down. As their make-out session grew in intensity, she somehow managed to maneuver them over to the waterfall and she giggled against his lips when the cold water rained on them from above.
“What the--”
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I figured you need a little cooling down.”
“Is that so?” he asked as he twirled them so that her back was lightly pressed against the smooth rocks and he moved his body closer to hers so that she could feel every part of him touching her.
Their lips crashed together as their hands wandered all over every available piece of flesh they could reach. Haley’s legs wrapped around Nathan’s waist, the heels of her feet digging into his buttocks, forcing his body even closer. Tipping her head back, she saw the stars all twinkling above her and she smiled. Being out here, just the two of them, it felt so…incredible.
Back at home it was sometimes difficult finding time to themselves with how busy their live were with school, basketball, work, etc, but right now, all of that faded into the background so that it was just the two of them and it meant everything. They were definitely doing this again.
“Where’d you go?” Nathan asked after popping a kiss onto her lips.
“Nowhere. I just got lost looking at the stars for a moment. Doesn’t it feel like…it’s just the two of us out here.”
“That’s because it is just the two of out here,” he replied, smiling at her.
“I know but… I just meant that it feels like we’re the only two people here… You, me and just the stars. Nothing or no one else.”
Nathan realised what she had originally meant and he nodded. “Yeah, it does. Feels great, doesn’t it?”
She grinned back at him. “Oh yeah.”
Cupping the back of his head, she pulled him to her for another need-filled kiss and after just a few minutes, they were both panting breathlessly. She whimpered his name when she felt him once again trailing kisses down her throat and neck, working his way down her collarbone until he reached the top of her breasts whereupon he began dropping kisses onto them.
“Let’s go back to the tent,” Nathan whispered into her ear. “I can’t guarantee I’ll make it back there if we end up making love here.”
“You’re so lazy,” Haley quipped.
“I’ll show you lazy when I get you in that tent.”
He laughed at the shocked expression on her face and together, they swam back to the shore and once out of the cold water, they wrapped their towels around themselves. Shoving their feet into their flip flops, they both reached out for each other’s hands at the same time, and proceeded to make their way back to where they had situated their tent.
* * * * *
“Why are you getting dressed?” Nathan asked her when he saw she was about to pull on a pair of pajama pants.
“I was going to make us those s’mores.”
Bending his head a little so he didn’t hit the top of the tent, he walked over to where she was and removed them from her grasp, tossing them to the floor. “They can wait, Hales. We’ve got all day tomorrow and most of Monday before we need to head back so there’s plenty of time to have them.”
“Nathan, I--”
Haley’s words were cut off by Nathan’s lips crushing against hers. Her arms came up to twine around his neck as she returned his kisses. Knowing that standing up in the tent wasn’t necessarily the most comfortable position for him given his height, she bent her knees, silently indicating to him that he should follow and before she knew how it had happened, she was lying down on the air mattress with him on top of her.
She moaned into his mouth when she felt his large hand cupping her breast through the tank top she was wearing and bringing her legs up, she hooked them around his waist, causing their lower bodies to come into closer contact. He was wearing the boxers he had changed into upon their return from the lake and nothing else and she took full advantage of that, letting her hands roam all over the bare skin of his back and shoulders before sliding one of them around to his front and sneaking beneath the waistband.
Nathan hissed when he felt her begin stroking him and he found himself thrusting into her hand, wanting more of the delicious friction she was creating. His teeth nibbled and grazed along her jaw and throat, working his way down to the column of her neck where he began sucking furiously, determined to leave his mark on her.
They made fast work of stripping off the few clothes they were wearing from each other’s bodies and they both sighed with pleasure when their bodies joined together. Their eyes remained locked on one another as their bodies moved in a perfect rhythm, their hands exploring, stroking and caressing every inch of skin that was within their reach.
When Haley reached her peak, she literally saw stars as her gaze moved from her husband’s face to the night sky she could see through the tent’s skylight. Her lips curved up in a beautiful smile as she watched the myriad of expressions on Nathan’s face as his climax hit and washed over him, creating even more blissful sensations coursing through her entire body.
Nathan felt boneless as his body rested against Haley’s and he forced himself to move despite her protestations. “We need to get under the covers, baby,” he whispered soothingly. He knew she was about to fall asleep, as was he, and he didn’t want them to wake up in the middle of the night freezing cold.
“I don’t want to move,” she complained, her lips in a pout which caused him to smirk.
“I know, I don’t either but we have to. I know how cranky you get when you’re cold.”
“Me? You’re the cranky one, Mister.” Reluctantly untangling herself from him, she moved to grab the double sleeping bag from the corner of the tent and with his help, they spread it over the air mattress and then climbed inside it before zipping it closed. Reaching out her hand, she turned off the lantern that was situated beside her.
Laying side by side, his arm wrapped around her shoulder while her head rested just beneath his, they snuggled together while looking at the sky through the skylight, catching a glimpse of the crescent moon. The fresh air coupled with their earlier activities meant they were both fast approaching sleep. Just before they did, Haley broke the silence as a thought suddenly occurred to her.
“Damn, we forgot to turn the light off before.”
Nathan wanted to ask her what she meant but he was too tired to even form the words. He’d just have to remember to ask her in the morning.
* * * * *
The rest of their three day weekend consisted of more of the same. They played and swam in the lake, they hiked through the woods which often ended up with Haley pressed against a tree while Nathan kissed her senseless, and, at night, they lay snuggled together in their tent watching the stars through the skylight. Oh, and they ended up having their s’mores after all which, as she had guaranteed, tasted even better when prepared and eaten outside in the fresh air.
“I wish we didn’t have to go back tomorrow,” Nathan mused, his fingers threading through Haley’s hair as she lay on his chest after they had made love.
“Me either. I’m so glad we decided to do this… It’s been great to get away even if it was just for a few days.”
“We can always come back though. It’s kinda nice to know we can come here pretty much whenever we want and it’s not going to cost us a fortune.”
Tilting her head up, Haley kissed his jaw. “Yeah, it is.”
“I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy camping but I really have. It feels so…”
“Freeing?” she suggested.
“Yeah, that’s a good word for it. Maybe it’s because we’re outside in the fresh air or maybe it’s just because I’m here with you.” Nathan rolled them over so that he was on top and he looked down into his wife’s smiling face. “Weren’t expecting that, huh?”
“Oh, nothing surprises me about that where you’re concerned,” Haley teased. Her fingers played with the short hair at the nape of his neck while her other hand stroked over his cheek.
“What time do we need to leave tomorrow?”
“Hmm, I’d say by two at the latest. That’ll give us enough time to get home and make sure we’ve got everything for school on Tuesday.”
“Haaaales,” Nathan whined. “Did you have to mention school?”
She giggled. “Aww, I’m sorry, honey. Pretend I didn’t say it.”
He smiled against her lips as he kissed her, his tongue entering her mouth to duel with hers. The pleasure/pain sensation of her fingernails digging into his biceps had a certain part of his body hardening further and he ground his lower body against hers, earning him a breathy moan in response.
“Turn the lamp off,” Haley whispered into his ear.”
“Why? You know I like seeing you an--”
“I know you do, but I don’t think you want anyone else seeing me.”
“Huh?”
“The lamp will create shadows if we leave it on and seeing as the campsite isn’t as empty as it was our first night here…” She let her words trail off and she bit back a laugh when he instantly moved to switch the lamp off. He had forgotten to ask her what she had meant last night when she had said something about the lamp but know he knew exactly what she had been referring to.
A second later all thoughts of anything else disappeared from both their minds as they made the most of the last night of their short break. Their next camping trip couldn’t come soon enough.
Fin