Title: A Different Kind of Tutoring
Author: Diane
Entry: 06
Fandom: One Tree Hill
Pairing: Nathan/Haley
Rating: Teen Rated
Genre: Romance
Disclaimer: I don't own a thing!
Spoilers/Warnings: None as it's AU. Story contains language of a sexual nature.
Word Count: 2,049
Summary: Haley watched him. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, the question that had been plaguing her for a couple of weeks now on the tip of her tongue. They had gotten to know each other fairly well over the course of the past few months and if anyone could give her an honest answer she figured it would be him.
Author's Notes: This has been written for The October Writing Challenge.
A special thank you goes to Jen for all of her help with this. *hugs*
Glancing up from his worksheet, Nathan Scott smirked as he saw what could only be described as a faraway look etched upon his tutor's face. “What'cha thinking 'bout, James?”
His voice cutting into her thoughts made Haley blush and she shook her head. “N-nothing.”
“Uh huh. C'mon, you know you want to tell me,” he teased. “Unless it's me you're thinking about.”
“Have you finished the exercises I set you yet?” she asked, getting back to the business of tutoring.
“Almost.” Nathan flashed her another smirk before returning his attention to the sheet of paper in front of him.
Haley watched him. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, the question that had been plaguing her for a couple of weeks now on the tip of her tongue. They had gotten to know each other fairly well over the course of the past few months and if anyone could give her an honest answer she figured it would be him.
“Are you trying to imitate a fish or is there something you wanna say?”
“I, uh... can I ask you a question? It's kind of personal.”
Setting his pen down, he gave her a small nod. “Sure, what is it?”
She hesitated. “First, promise me you won't laugh or tell anyone else about this?”
Nathan's earlier smirk vanished. Her tone was serious which matched the expression she now wore. “Haley, what's this ab—”
“Promise me,” she repeated.
“Okay, I promise.” In the five months since Haley had begun tutoring him, he couldn't remember ever having seen her so skittish. She seemed really nervous and, he noticed, her eyes weren't meeting his which was unusual. She was someone who, he'd come to learn, faced things head on and didn't dither.
“Okay.” Taking a deep breath, she finally voiced her question. “Do you find me attractive?”
Nathan's mouth dropped open as he stared at her. “Uh... what?”
“You heard me.”
“Where's this coming from?” he asked. To the best of his knowledge she already had a boyfriend so he had no clue why she would be asking him this.
“Just answer the question... please,” she said quietly as her fingers played with the gold ring she wore on her pinkie finger, her eyes focused on the table in front of her.
Despite his hesitation in answering her, he hadn't needed to think about his response. “Yeah, I do.”
“You mean you think I'm cute,” she said, scrunching up her face in disgust.
“No,” he stated, chuckling. “More like I think you're really hot.”
Haley scoffed. “Yeah, right.”
“If you're not going to believe me why bother asking me the question in the first place?”
She stayed silent.
“Why are you asking me the question, by the way?” Nathan asked. “I thought you had a boyfriend.”
“I do... I mean, I did. We, uh, broke up a few weeks ago.”
“Oh, I'm sorry.”
Shrugging her shoulders, she said, “Don't be. He's an ass.”
He watched as she leaned over to retrieve her messenger bag and began hurriedly stuffing her books into it. “We still have another twenty minutes left of our session.”
“I have to go,” she told him.
“Haley, what's going on? You can't just ask me something like that out of the blue and not tell me what it's about.”
Sighing loudly, she said, “Fine! My boyfriend fucked me and then dumped me. Happy now?”
Nathan's eyes widened and he felt an unfamiliar sensation in his chest when he saw her large brown eyes fill with tears. “God, Hales... I'm sorry.”
“Why? I'm sure you've done your fair share of the same thing, right? Taking someone's virginity and then dumping them afterwards. The only difference is you probably didn't spend months dating them and lulling them into a false sense of security.”
The vitriol in her words shocked him. “Wow, is that really what you think of me?”
Haley looked up and met his gaze, a strong sense of guilt overwhelming her when she saw the pain in his eyes. Of course, she'd heard the stories about him and the opposite sex but the strange thing was none of them were particularly malicious. The gossip seemed to focus more on the number of girls he was allegedly supposed to have hooked up with. The more time she spent with him, the more she'd come to like him and she was finding it hard to think of him as the same guy she was hearing about in those rumors.
“I guess that pretty much answers my question,” he said after several minutes had passed she still hadn't said anything. Pushing his chair back, he got up and walked over to the fridge.
“No... no, I'm sorry. I was just... lost in thought,” she told him. Getting up from her own chair, she followed him and, hesitantly, placed her hand on his forearm. “I don't think you're like that, Nathan, and I-I'm sorry for taking my anger out on you. I guess I just feel so stupid for having been duped by him. He put so much time and effort into the relationship and yet it was all a big fat lie.”
“You want me to beat him up?” Nathan offered, a small smile tugging at his lips.
“You don't know how much I want to say yes to that,” she replied, returning his smile. Realizing her hand was still on his arm, Haley blushed. “I, uh... I'd better go.”
“Sure,” he said, nodding. “Unless you want to hang out for a while.”
Still feeling bad about the things she had said to him, she figured that maybe it was the least she could do. Besides, she didn't want their next tutoring session to be awkward. “Okay.”
“Okay.” Opening the fridge, Nathan grabbed a couple of sodas and handed them to her. “Do you want something to eat? I could fix us a sandwich.”
“I'm fine, thanks.”
“Yeah, I'll say,” he murmured loud enough for her to hear.
“Nathan...”
Taking the sodas she was still holding and setting them down onto the counter, he placed his hands on her hips; his fingers coming into contact with the strip of bare skin from where her silkscreen T-shirt didn't quite meet the waistband of her jeans.
“I meant what I said before... I think you're really hot.” Tucking an errant lock of auburn hair behind her ear, Nathan cupped her cheek and held her steady as he ducked down and brushed his mouth over hers. Drawing back a few seconds later, he licked his lips and tasted her cherry lip gloss which had transferred onto them.
The kiss ignited something within Haley and as she gazed into his eyes she felt a nervous, giddy anticipation swirl low in her belly and she realized in that very moment that not once in the seven months she'd dated Josh had she felt this way.
Placing her hands either side of Nathan's head, she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. When he parted them, she suckled first on his top lip followed by his bottom one. She trembled when she felt his fingers slip beneath the hem of her top to caress her lower back. Twining her arms around his neck, Haley raked her blunt fingernails along his scalp and she smiled against his mouth at the growl he released.
Before she knew what was happening, he had picked her up and set her down onto the table.
“Nathan!”
“What?” he asked, smirking as he began kissing a path down her throat.
Tilting her head to the side, she silently told him what she wanted and he was quick to pick up on it as he continued his journey south and sucked on the base of her neck.
“Mm, that feels so good,” she whispered. Without realizing what she was doing, she hooked her legs over his hips and shifted backwards slightly so she was now sitting at an angle. Anticipation grew stronger still as Nathan inched forward until he had her lying down on the kitchen table.
When he finally pulled back, he braced his weight on his forearms as he looked down at her. “Maybe we should stop.”
“I-I don't want to,” she told him, “I want this.” Pausing briefly, she then added, “I-I want you.”
He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. “I don't want to be your rebound guy or... or some kind of revenge fuck.”
“I wouldn't do that,” she said. After what she'd said to him earlier, she figured she couldn't blame him for thinking she was out to use him.
“Prove it.”
Lying beneath Nathan Scott, basketball God of Tree Hill High, on his kitchen table during one of their tutoring sessions having a conversation like this felt so surreal and if he wasn't looking so serious right now she was sure she would be laughing. “Prove it how?”
“Go on a date with me.”
“What?”
“If this...” he said, gesturing between them with a nod of his head, “... isn't just about sex and getting back at your ex, then go on a date with me.”
“Well, what if all I want is to have sex with you?”
Nathan swallowed as he felt beads of sweat break out on the back of his neck. “Uh...”
This time, Haley did laugh. “Sorry, I couldn't resist teasing you.”
Pressing the length of his body along hers, Nathan slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her hard. “How come I never realized how much of a minx you are?”
“I guess I'm mysterious like that,” she quipped. “So, were you serious about us going on a date?”
“Yes,” he stated simply. Rocking his hips into her, he continued, “I think you can tell that I'm ready and willing to have sex with you but after the way Captain Asshat has treated you I just... I don't want you to think all guys are like him.”
“All guys?”
“Me,” he said. “Look, I'm not going to lie and tell you I'm an angel but, I promise, I'm not as bad as the rumor mill makes me out to me.”
Smiling up at him, she tenderly rubbed his cheek with her thumb. “Yeah, I'm starting to realize that.”
“So, you'll go out with me?”
Haley nodded shyly at him. “Yeah. When do you want to do it?” Her cheeks infused with color at the double-meaning she heard in her own words.
“There's no time like the present.”
“Okay. Do you want to go out or stay in?”
Nathan's lips curved upwards. “It's probably better that we go out.” His self-control was pretty much already shot to hell.
She shivered at the twinkle in his blue eyes. “Are you, uh, sure you want to be seen out with me? I mean, he's probably told everyone how he managed to deceive me and—”
Sealing his mouth over hers, he kissed her long and deep. “Don't give that bastard another thought. He's not worth it. You know something? I hope he sees us out together and realizes just what he's lost.”
Her eyes glittered with unshed tears. “Thank you,” she whispered. Curling her fingers around the back of his neck, she drew him down to her for another kiss.
“As much as I want to stay here and spend the next few hours making out with you, we'd better get going,” he said, reluctantly climbing off of her. When she placed her hands in his offered ones, he gently pulled her up. As he watched her gather the rest of her stuff, he laughed softly.
“What?” she asked, glancing across at him.
“It's just... I think I'm going to enjoy tutoring a lot more from now on.”
Fin