First Time, First Love - Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
During the car ride, Haley used her cell phone to call home and let her parents know that she was going to be later than she had expected as she had bumped into a friend after leaving Peyton’s house. After disconnecting the call, she sighed quietly. She wasn’t exactly lying to them but she still felt bad about not being wholly truthful. It was so out of character for her.
“Is everything okay?” Nathan asked, glancing at her.
“Yeah, it’s fine. So, where are you taking me?”
“Well, I was trying to come up with a place where we could carry on seeing each other to... you know, uh, carry on our lessons and I remembered my grandpa’s cabin out by the lake.”
Haley smiled. “Oh my God, I forgot all about that place. No one uses it now, right?”
“Not as far as I know. While you were at school today, I managed to sneak past Luke and I went to clean it up a bit. It could do with a bit of work but at least it’s warm and dry.”
“And what do we tell the others about where we keep disappearing off to? You know as well as I do that they’re gonna be suspicious.”
“I know but I figure as long as we spend enough time with them, they won’t get too suspicious about the times when we’re not around. We just need to act as normal as possible when we’re all together.”
“Yeah, I suppose so. Oh, speaking of all being together, that reminds me. Peyton and Brooke are thinking of inviting you and Luke to our night out.”
Nathan glanced at her again before his eyes returned to the road. “And why’s that?” He couldn’t keep the teasing tone from his voice.
“They figure you two will be cheaper than us taking a cab to and from the club.”
“Oh really? Well I think you should all chip in for gas. We’re all students after all.”
“Uh huh. Well maybe I could persuade you about not charging us...” she trailed off when she realised what she had said.
He was just about to say something when her words registered but he was sure he’d misheard her. “Um, what did you just say?”
“N-nothing,” she replied quickly. “Are we nearly at the cabin?”
“We’ll be there in a few more minutes.” As he answered her, his mind was thinking a thousand different things, every single one of them related to Haley. He had heard what she had said before but he realised that it had probably slipped out unintentionally. “Maybe I shouldn’t be bringing you out here,” he said quietly.
Haley turned her head sharply. “Why not?” she asked a moment later.
“It’s just that it’s getting late and we’re probably going t—”
“It’s not that late, Nathan. As long as I’m back by midnight it’ll be fine.”
“Midnight? On a school night?”
“I know. But you know my parents, they’re pretty cool. They said that as I’m almost a high school graduate, they don’t see the need for me to have an early curfew any longer. Cool or what?” She couldn’t help giggling.
“Very cool,” he said, joining in with her laughter.
Moving closer to him, she tentatively placed a hand on his knee and she waited for him to look at her which he did a split-second later. “No one’s going to find out about us, not if we’re really careful. But if you really want to stop what we’re doing, then I’ll understand.”
Nathan didn’t say anything. Seeing his grandfather’s cabin in sight, he pulled up in front of it before killing the engine. Shifting in his seat, he turned to face her and he took her hands into his. “I-I don’t want to stop if you don’t. I’m just worried this is going to cause us both a helluva lot of trouble, you more than me. I know what Brooke and Peyton think of me and—”
She pressed a finger against his lips to halt his words. “Shhh. I don’t care what they think. Wait, I didn’t mean that. Of course I care what they think but not when it comes to you. I know you have this reputation with girls but I know what you’re really like.” Her hand moved to the side of his face and she cupped his cheek in her palm.
“Yeah, you do,” he whispered. “And that reputation is pretty much all hearsay. It’s not as bad as everyone seems to think it is.”
Haley smiled. “I know it’s not. So, do you want to go inside the cabin?”
His hand covered the one she had resting on his face and he squeezed the back of it before saying, “Yeah. Come on.” Getting out of the car, he went around and opened her door and helped her climb out.
She couldn’t get over how sweet and courteous he always was with her. She meant what she had said to him; it didn’t matter to her what people thought of him or his reputation.
Leading her to the door, he inserted the key into the lock and pushed the door open. “Let me just turn the gas lamp on,” he told her as he entered the dark cabin. A couple of minutes later a soft glow illuminated the living room area and Haley walked around taking in her surroundings.
“This is great, Nathan. It shouldn’t take us too much time to make it a bit more...” she realised she was just about to say the word ‘cosy’ and she stopped herself.
“Yeah. I’ll try and come back tomorrow with some cleaning supplies and make a start on it.”
“Cool. God, I can’t wait until Graduation on Friday. I’m finally going to be free... well, for a little while anyway.”
Walking over to where she was standing, they looked at each other nervously. “I, uh, figure we’ve got an hour-and-a-half at least before I need to drive us back home so...”
“Right. I guess we should pick up where we left off,” she suggested.
Leaning into her, Nathan cupped her cheek and brought her face closer to his. He watched her eyes flutter shut as she anticipated his kiss and a slow smile crept onto his face. She looked so beautiful. A part of him felt he should stop this now but he couldn’t. His feelings were gradually changing and he knew they should discuss what was happening but he didn’t want to stop. He knew there would be consequences but right now, he didn’t give a damn. Pushing all those thoughts to the back of his mind, he touched his lips to hers and kissed her. It started off soft and slow but quickly became heated and intense.
Haley gasped into his mouth as she reveled in the delicious sensations he was creating within her. She cupped his face between her palms and held him in place as they kissed hungrily. As the kiss gained intensity, her confidence grew and she let her hands slip between them and play with the buttons on his shirt.
Feeling her hands on his chest had him gently breaking the kiss and looking down at her fingers. Meeting her eyes again, he saw how bright they were and he also couldn’t help but notice how swollen her lips were from their shared kisses.
“Nathan?”
“Sorry, just taking a moment. Are you okay?”
She nodded at his question. “Should we, uh, go and sit down?”
“Sure.” Taking her hand in his once again, he led her over to the couch but he stopped her from sitting beside him. Instead, he sat down first and then pulled her down so she was sitting sideways on his lap. Tangling the fingers of one hand into her long tresses, he once again brought her face to his and kissed her. Drawing back from her slightly, he kissed down her throat to her neck and nibbled on the flesh.
Moaning at the feel of his teeth scraping her skin, Haley tilted her head further to the side to give him better access. One of her hands came up and tangled in his own hair before moving to the back of his neck and playing with the short hairs at the nape. She couldn’t remember anything having felt this good with the exception of the other times they had been together.
Their make-out session continued for a while longer and before long Nathan was lying down on the couch with Haley sprawled all over him. If it was at all possible, their kisses were even more passionate than before and they had taken on an intensity that was foreign even to him. His hands had slipped underneath her top and he was stroking the bare skin of her back.
Feeling ever more confident, she sat up astride him and grabbing the hem of her top, she pulled it up and off before throwing it to the floor.
“Haley...”
“Shh,” she whispered. Leaning forward, she pressed her bra-clad breasts against him and let her hair fall over them creating a sort of cocoon around them. She trailed a finger over his lips before covering them with her own.
He let her take the lead at first before kissing her back even harder. His hands wandered up and down her back and finally he unsnapped the clasp of her bra. Sliding the garment off, he gently pushed her back so she was sitting upright again and he let his eyes roam all over her. Reaching out, he cupped the plump mounds in his hands and kneaded them, smiling at the cute little noises he was eliciting from her.
Haley’s head fell back as she lost herself in the feel of his large hands touching her and without thinking about it, she started unbuttoning his shirt so she could reciprocate. His arousal was insistently pressing against her and her hips began a slow grind which caused them both to groan.
“Oh... oh God...” he mumbled. His hands gripped the sides of her waist as he held her tightly against him, his hips meeting her gentle thrusts.
“N-Nathan... please...” she pleaded.
He knew what she was asking for and he wished he could be the one to give her what she wanted but he couldn’t. It was way too soon for that to happen and deep down inside he knew when it happened for her, it shouldn’t be with him. Not in this way. She was confusing lust with something else and it wasn’t fair to take advantage of her like that. She meant too much to him.
Taking a deep breath, he stilled his hips and released the tight hold he had on her waist. “I... I think we should stop for tonight, Hales.”
Haley felt like a bucket of ice cold water had just been thrown all over her at hearing his words and she felt like crying. “Why do I let you do this to me?” she asked as she made to get off him.
His hold once again tightened as he tried to prevent her from going anywhere. “Haley, wait! I don’t mean we end this, I just meant that it’s getting late and we... this is starting to get a little... um...”
“A little what?”
“A little out of control. We’ve got the next six weeks or so to do this so let’s take our time. There’s no rush is there?”
She saw the sincerity of what he was saying and she relaxed. “No, there’s no rush.”
“Good. I know you probably think I’m evil for stopping things here but I don’t want to get you into trouble at home. If you’re to be back by midnight, we’ll need to leave really soon and if we carried on as we were, you wouldn’t be getting out of here until tomorrow,” he confessed.
Haley couldn’t help smiling at that. “Okay. Are we still seeing each other tomorrow night?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yeah, but as it’s going to be another late start, I don’t think we should come here. As soon as we arrive it’ll practically be time to get you back home.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Where can we go?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll try and figure something out.” Pushing himself up, he captured her mouth with his and kissed her again. He managed to maneuver them so that he could get up from the couch and bending down, he retrieved her bra and shirt and handed them to her.
She could feel herself blushing as she quickly straightened out her clothes and when she was ready, he held out his hand for her and she took it. It was such a simple gesture but she loved holding hands with him. Somehow it made her feel so safe.
Making sure the lamp was turned off, he opened the door and let her exit first before following her and then locking the door behind them. The journey back home was made in a comfortable silence and when he arrived at Haley’s street, he parked a few houses up so as not to raise anyone’s suspicions.
“I’m sorry I cut tonight short,” he told her after he had switched off the engine.
“It’s okay. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”
“Don’t worry about it. What time does your shift finish tomorrow?”
“Seven but I’ve got to help with the inventory so it’ll probably be closer to eight. Is that alright?”
“It’s fine. Give me a call when you’re ready and I’ll come and collect you. Hopefully I’ll have found somewhere a little closer to home where we can hang out.”
“I will and good luck. I’d better go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hesitated for a moment not knowing whether she should kiss him like she desperately wanted to. He took that decision out of her hands when he leaned towards her and kissed her cheek.
“Sweet dreams, Hales.”
“You too,” she replied as she stepped out of the car. As she walked the short distance to her house, she knew he was waiting for her to get safely inside and it warmed her heart even more. Just as she was about to close the front door, she saw him drive past and once again, she couldn’t wait for the next day, or rather night, to arrive.