Exchanging Gifts
Title: Exchanging Gifts
Author: Diane
Category: Nathan/Haley
Rating: Teen Rated
Disclaimer: I don’t own a thing!
Summary: Nathan and Haley celebrate their first Christmas together.
From his seat on the couch, Nathan had a great view of Haley as she added the finishing touches to their Christmas tree. Each time she would raise her arms, her top would slide upwards revealing the “23” which was peeking out from her low rise jeans. His lips curled up in a smirk as his eyes lingered on her and it wasn’t long before that smirk turned into a full blown smile when she happened to bend over in front of him to pick up another bauble.
His silence made Haley suspicious and when she turned to look at him, she blushed at the intense way he was looking at her. “What?”
“Nothing. I’m just admiring the view,” he told her.
She shook her head at him before asking, “Why don’t you come over here and help me? I can’t quite reach to put the star on top of the tree. I don’t know why we needed one this tall.”
“C’mon Hales, it’s our first Christmas together. I figured we needed to celebrate that fact,” he said as he got up from his seat and went to stand next to her. When she handed him the star he didn’t take it. Instead he stepped behind her and after wrapping his arms around her waist, he picked her up so that she could be the one to fix the star to the top of the tree.
Haley gasped in surprise but a moment later she had completed the task and her feet were back on the ground. Turning in his arms, she smiled up at him before standing on her tiptoes and kissing him softly. She was just about to pull back when he deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue inside her mouth to stroke against her own. After a few minutes had passed they broke the kiss, resting their foreheads together and looking into each other’s eyes.
Coughing to clear his throat of its huskiness, Nathan asked, “Are we still meeting up with the others tonight?”
She nodded yes to his question before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for another kiss. “Why?” she asked a little while later once she had gotten her breath back under control.
“I just figured we could spend Christmas Eve here together…alone.”
“Oh! Well, I…uh…guess we could cancel. We are seeing them tomorrow after all and you know what they say, too much of something isn’t good for you.”
“I don’t know about that,” he teased and was pleased to see her blush again. It always reminded him of her innocence which was one of the many things he loved about her.
“Nathan.”
“What? I didn’t think you’d disagree with that.”
“I’m not,” she quickly replied. “I just…uh…you know what I mean.”
His eyes flickered to her lips and then back to her eyes. “So, are we cancelling?”
Haley’s eyes fluttered shut as she felt his large hands trailing up and down her back, one of them slipping under her top to touch her bare skin. “Yeah,” she whispered. “I’ll call Lucas in a little while.”
“Good.” Once again he stared at her lips but this time he captured them with his and kissed her long and hard, leaving them both breathless. Stepping back from her, he smiled at her groan of disappointment. “I just need to go out for a little while.”
“What? Where are you going?”
“I just need to pick something up but I’ll be back before you know it. While I’m out you can call Lucas and make sure he and the others don’t decide to pay us a visit, okay? Tonight is just for us.”
She smiled at him and nodded. “Okay.” When he kissed her one last time, she trailed her hand over his cheek, liking the feel of his late in the day stubble prickling the tips of her fingers.
“I’ll see you in a little while,” he told her as he pulled on his jacket and headed out of the apartment.
While he was gone, Haley called Lucas and told him that she and Nathan weren’t going to meet up with him and the others after all. He warned her that Brooke would probably call her and he hadn’t been wrong. As soon as she had hung up the phone from speaking to her best friend, it rang again and she smiled before answering it.
“Hey Tigger, I had a feeling you might call,” she joked.
“What’s this I hear about you and boy toy cancelling on us?”
“I’m sorry but Nathan wants us to spend Christmas Eve together and…”
“You will be together,” Brooke interrupted before adding, “with us.”
“Yeah, I know but it’s our first Christmas together both as a couple and as husband and wife. We just want to spend it alone. I’m sorry that we’ve decided this at the last minute but…”
“No, it’s okay. I understand and so will the others. You two have a great night and we’ll see you tomorrow. We are still on for tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, we are. Thanks Brooke.”
“Don’t mention it. Bye.”
“Have a great night. Bye.”
After hanging up, Haley walked back over to the Christmas tree and bending down, she plugged in the lights and switched them on. She couldn’t help smiling as they twinkled prettily. Going into the bedroom, she opened her closet and collected the gifts she had hidden at the back of it. Carefully carrying them into the living room, she spread them out beneath the tree.
About half-an-hour later, Nathan returned to the apartment seemingly empty handed. As he entered, he noticed the lit up Christmas tree which now it was getting dark outside gave the room a welcoming glow.
“I’m back,” he called out when he didn’t see Haley in the living room. His mouth dropped open when he saw her walk out from their bedroom wearing a dark red dress which hit her just above the knee and a pair of matching heels. Her auburn hair was swept up in a neat twist showing off her graceful neck.
“Do you like it?” She asked nervously as she watched his eyes roaming up and down her body.
“Uh huh,” he said completely transfixed at the sight of her. “Wait, does this mean we still have to go out?”
“Nope. I’ve already spoken to Lucas and Brooke and they’re fine. We’re seeing them tomorrow so tonight it’s just us. This is for you. So, where did you go? You said you had to collect something but I don’t see anything in your hands.”
“Maybe I want you to search me,” he told her as he walked towards her. Taking her small hand in his larger one, he pulled her closer to him and then placed his hands on her hips. Lowering his head, he buried it in the nook between her neck and shoulder and breathed in her scent.
“Do you now? Well I don’t want to disappoint you,” she said tilting her head further to the side giving him greater access to her skin. As she reveled in the kisses he started dropping onto her skin, she slipped her hands between them so she could search his jacket.
“Nuh huh. You’re going to have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it is.”
“Nathan,” she whined. “It’s almost Christmas. Can’t I open one gift tonight?”
He lightly kissed her lips before saying, “That depends. What’s it worth?”
Haley thought about it for a moment before coming up with an answer. “How about you let me unwrap what you’ve got and, uh, I’ll let you unwrap me?” As she waited for his response, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his mouth before trailing her lips down to his jaw and nibbling on it.
“Deal,” he quickly replied before seizing her mouth with his and kissing her deeply. His hands slid up her back to the zipper on her dress and just as he was about to start lowering it, she stepped back from him.
“Woah there, grabby. You let me open your present first and then you can have your turn,” she said giving him a wink.
“You drive a hard bargain, Mrs Scott.” Reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket, he removed a small gift-wrapped box and handed it to his wife. He watched her large brown eyes as she looked at the package in her hands. “Go on, open it.”
Taking a deep breath, Haley carefully tore away the wrapping paper and let it drop to the floor. Meeting his eyes, she saw them sparkle with what she guessed to be anticipation at what her reaction would be. She removed the lid of the box and gasped at what was inside.
“Do you like it?” He asked nervously.
“I love it, Nathan. But how could you affo…”
“Shh. That doesn’t matter. This is the reason why I was working those extra shifts.”
Haley couldn’t take her eyes off the contents of the box. Sitting on a cushion of blue velvet lay a simple gold band with a small diamond in the centre of it. Looking up at her husband, her eyes filled with tears.
Nathan delicately wiped away a tear that had escaped. “Hales, don’t cry.” Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her to him. “I realised recently that although I gave you a wedding ring, I never gave you an engagement ring so I decided to get you one for Christmas.”
She kissed his cheek before drawing back from him so she could look into the crystal blue of his eyes. “Will you put it on me?”
When she held out her left hand to him, he gently slipped off her wedding band and then placed the engagement ring onto her finger before returning the wedding ring to its rightful place. He held her hand in his and they admired the view together.
“Thank you, Nathan.”
“You’re more than welcome,” he told her bending his head to hers and kissing her softly. “So, do we get to your present to me now?” he teased.
“Oh yeah,” she teased back. Tugging on his hand, she led him into their bedroom where the sound of joyful laughter could be heard ringing throughout the young couple’s apartment as they celebrated their first Christmas together.
Fin