The Forbidden and The Reckless - Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Haley winced as the dish fell out of her hands and hit the floor with a smash, pieces of it splintering and flying everywhere.
“That’s the second one today,” Karen said, observing what had happened with a sympathetic smile. “Is everything okay, Haley?”
She forced herself to return the older woman’s smile and nod at her question. “Uh huh. I-I guess I’m being even more of a klutz today. You can dock my pay for them and—”
“Sweetie, that’s not necessary, you know that.”
“I’ll just go and get the dustpan,” Haley said as she walked out back to retrieve the broom together with a dustpan and brush to clear up the mess.
Taking a deep breath, she checked her watch yet again and saw that she didn’t have long before Lucas would be arriving. She had been on edge all day trying to work out exactly what she was going to say to him as well as thinking about where she should tell him. It needed to be in private but she couldn’t decide whether to tell him on the roof of the café or go back to his house.
After sweeping up the mess, she emptied the dustpan out and walking back into the main café area, she froze when she saw her best friend walking in and taking a seat at the counter.
“Hey, Hales, how’s it going?”
“Uh… good. You’re here early, I thought you had practice.”
“I did but Whitey let us go a little early for some reason. You feel like hanging out on the roof and playing a little mini-golf?”
“S-sure. How about you go on ahead and when my shift’s over I’ll bring us up some snacks?”
“Sounds great,” Lucas said giving her a smile before getting up from his seat and walking around the counter so he could go through to the back room.
Once he was out of sight, she released the breath she hadn’t realised she had been holding. Her hands were shaking slightly and she gripped the edge of the counter in the hope of calming herself down.
“Haley, why don’t you go upstairs and hang out with Lucas now?” Karen’s voice broke into her thoughts. “The place is pretty quiet and I’ll be able to cope on my own.”
“Oh, no that’s—”
“I insist,” the older woman said smiling at her. “If things get busy down here, I promise I’ll give you a shout.”
“Okay,” Haley finally agreed, returning Karen’s smile. Walking out of the café and into the back room, she removed her apron before opening the fridge and grabbing a couple of drinks for herself and Lucas, placing them on a small tray before putting some things together for them to snack on. Placing a foot on the stairs several minutes later, she took a longing glance at the rear entrance desperately wanting to run away and not have to do what she was about to. She finally began climbing the stairs knowing for sure that her relationship with her best friend was more than likely about to come to an end.
Opening the door at the top that led out onto the roof, she walked over to where Lucas was standing and held the tray out to him so he could help himself to the items she had placed on them.
“Great, I’m starving,” he told her as he took a big bite out of the chicken sandwich he’d picked up. “You not eating anything?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m not really hungry,” she replied. The truth was her stomach was flipping all over the place and the mere thought of eating anything was unsettling her even more.
“Listen, I’m sorry about bailing on you the other day… you know, after Peyton called me.”
Shaking her head, she said, “It’s okay, Luke. What did you guys get up to or shouldn’t I ask?”
“It’s not like that. I’m just glad that things have improved between us and that we can hang out as friends. It’s a shame that Brooke isn’t in that place yet.”
“You can’t blame her. I mean, at the end of the day her best friend and boyfriend cheated on her behind her back. I know neither of you meant to hurt her but the fact is you did and it’ll probably take her a long while before she feels able to hang out with you guys.”
“Yeah, I know and I didn’t mean it to sound like I expect her to be okay with what happened.”
“So, how was practice?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Better now that Nathan and his minions have stopped hazing me.”
Haley forced herself to smile back at him but her stomach soured again. Soon enough he’d know the exact reason why the hazing had stopped. “I-I’m glad.”
“I still don’t get why they suddenly stopped though,” he mused. “It almost makes me wonder whether he’s planning something else for me.”
“Uh… what makes you think that?”
Lucas snorted. “Because it’s exactly the sort of thing he would do. C’mon, he probably wants me to think it’s all over so I’ll let my guard down and when I do, bang! He’ll do something even more despicable than before.”
“Maybe he’s changed,” she replied in a quiet voice, her eyes lowering to the ground.
“Changed? I don’t think that word is in his vocabulary. No, believe me, Hales, the little creep is planning something for me but he’s got another thing coming if he thinks I won’t be prepared.
“But things have been better…”
“It doesn’t mean anything. Like I said, he’s probably trying to lull me into a false sense of security before he drops the big one but I’ll be waiting.”
Haley sighed and seeing the look of resolve on his face, she knew she couldn’t tell him about her and Nathan, not yet anyway. He obviously wasn’t going to budge from his line of thinking and hearing that she was now consorting with the enemy wasn’t going to help matters. If anything, it would only reinforce his thinking, believing that Nathan was using her just to get back at him for joining the team. And the problem was he would be completely right. That’s exactly what his brother had been planning when he had managed to get her to tutor him but things had come a long way since then.
Unfortunately, she knew that that wasn’t going to make any difference to Lucas. He wasn’t going to believe for a second that Nathan had changed and that she was the reason behind it.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. Just spaced out there for a second. What were you saying?”
“Just that maybe I need to be the aggressor for once. You know, get in first and make him see that I’m not someone who’s going to take his crap lying down.”
“Luke, no!”
“Why not? I need to make all those guys on the team see that I’m not some loser who’s gonna take being treated like scum without retaliating. There’s only so much I can take before I start pushing back.”
God, boys could be so stupid, Haley thought to herself as she fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Why do this now when things are better? I get that you want to prove a point to them but, if anything, it’ll make you look like the bad guy, especially since things have calmed down. You need to let this go.”
“I can’t believe you’re saying this to me, Haley. You know what it’s been like ever since I joined the team… You know the things Nathan’s done, the things he’s gotten his moronic followers to do to me and yet it’s like you’re defending him.”
She stared at him open-mouthed. Was that really what she was doing? In her mind, it was more that she was trying to stop World War III from breaking out between them, both on the court and off but maybe she was pushing it too much. Maybe she needed to tone it down because the last thing she needed right now was to alienate her best friend so that when he did eventually learn the truth, he didn’t feel totally betrayed by her. Unfortunately she was pretty damn positive he would feel like that regardless of how she sugar-coated it for him.
The ringing of her cell phone brought her out of her thoughts and pulling it out of the back pocket of her pants, her heart started racing when she saw the flashing ‘23’ on its screen. Crap!
“You gonna get that?” Lucas enquired before taking a bite of the chocolate chip cookie he had just picked up off the tray.
“Uh, yeah,” she replied, smiling weakly at him. Taking a deep breath, she answered the phone and said, “Hi, Mom, what’s up?”
“Uh, Hales, you know it’s me, right?”
“Yeah, of course I do. I’m, uh, actually with Luke right now.”
“Oh,” Nathan said on the other end of the line. He should’ve known. “I was just calling to see if you wanted to hang out later but—”
“I do,” she quickly interrupted. “Is it okay if I call you back in a little while though?”
“You know it is. Talk to you later, baby.”
Haley had to force herself not to smile at hearing his endearment and instead simply said, “Bye,” before ending the call.
“What did Lydia want?”
Her mind went blank as she tried to think of an excuse and without meeting his eyes, she answered, “Uh, nothing much. Just checking in.” She felt her best friend’s eyes staring at her and she knew it had been a feeble excuse.
“So, how about that game of mini-golf?” Lucas finally said, breaking the silence and she smiled with relief, grateful that he hadn’t starting asking any awkward questions that she had no clue how to answer.
“Sure, prepare to get your ass whipped, buddy,” she teased as she walked over to get their clubs.
* * * * *
Nathan moaned and the sound echoed around the confines of his car. His fingers gripped his girlfriend’s hips as she rode him ever so slowly and his head fell back against the headrest. Opening his eyes, he was met with the deep chocolate pools of her own as she watched his face closely, her teeth biting into the soft flesh of her bottom lip.
“You feel so good, Nathan,” Haley whispered into his ear when she leaned forward a second later.
The feel of her hot breath against his sweaty skin sent a shiver down his spine and his fingers tightened that little bit more, knowing she would most likely have bruises there the following day. “You do, too,” he managed to choke out.
When he had picked her up half an hour or so ago, Haley had been the one to suggest they drive out to the woods just outside of town and it hadn’t taken much persuasion to get him to agree. As soon as they were parked, she had climbed into the backseat and he had quickly followed. Without getting a chance to say anything, she had somehow managed to undo his pants, pushing them down to his knees before climbing into his lap and fusing her lips with his.
The kiss was hot, hungry and full of want and need. Her gentle hands had stroked him until he had to still them, not wanting things to be over before they’d had a chance to begin. Once again, she had taken him by surprise when she pulled her panties to the side and lowered herself onto his erection.
That had been several minutes ago and every time he felt close to toppling over the edge, Haley would sense it and ease her movements. She obviously wanted to be in control tonight and he wasn’t about to argue with her. Watching her sitting astride his thighs while still fully dressed was a total turn-on but he wanted to see her… to touch her. His fingers went to the buttons on her shirt and he slowly began undoing them and he smiled when he saw her lacy black bra coming into view. Inching his face towards her, he kissed her lips before then lowering his mouth to her chest where he began to drop kisses over her breasts which were threatening to spill over the cups of her bra.
Haley ran her fingers through Nathan’s thick hair as she reveled in the feel of his lips kissing her skin. Her body trembled when she felt his hips thrust up into her and she deliberately ground down harder, earning her a hiss as he felt the subsequent pleasure of her movement. Her own fingers moved to the shirt he was wearing and she made fast work of unbuttoning it, moving the sides wide apart and rubbing her hands all over his chest and abs.
Something akin to an electric shock ran through her when his slightly calloused finger began stroking her clit in maddeningly slow circles and she started moving her hips that little bit faster. One of her palms was braced against the car’s roof while the other gripped his shoulder as her speed increased even more. Her thighs squeezed in hard, wanting to feel him as close as she possibly could. A sob tore from her throat when, after pulling down the cups of her bra to expose her breasts, he began suckling them in turn, his teeth grazing along the sensitive nipples that topped them.
“Nathan… please…”
He knew she was about to climax any second now and he wanted to be with her when it happened so he increased all of his ministrations; suckling her breasts and playfully biting her nipples, running his hands beneath the open shirt she was still wearing and exploring her bare skin, squeezing her butt while at the same time thrusting his hips up as fast and as hard as he could, making sure the base of his cock brushed her clit since his hands were already otherwise occupied.
Within seconds, they both careened over the edge, their names falling from each other’s lips as they did so. They remained entangled while their breathing slowly returned to normal and even after it had, they stayed in their positions, not wanting to separate from one another just yet.
“You… you didn’t tell him, did you?” Nathan whispered a while later, already knowing the answer to his question.
Haley’s fingers idly played with the short hairs at the nape of his neck, scratching over his skin lightly. “I-I couldn’t,” she confessed. “He just… he’s convinced that you and the other guys on the team haven’t done anything for a while because you’re lulling him into a false sense of security. That you’re planning something big.”
“I-Is that what you think?”
Drawing back from him so she could look into his handsome face, she cupped his cheeks in her palms and rubbed her nose against his. “No,” she told him honestly. “I believe you.”
“Thank you,” he hugged her to him and quietly said, “It’s nice having someone believe you. I’m not sure I’ve ever had that before. People just always assume I’m the bad guy.”
Haley peppered his face with light kisses. “Well, you’ve got that now… with me. I believe you, Nathan, and not only that, but I believe in you.”
“I won’t let you down,” he told her, his eyes locked on hers, wanting her to see the truth in them.
She kissed his lips softly, rubbing her lips against his for a moment before pulling back again. “I know you won’t.”
They stayed that way for several minutes, enjoying the comfortable silence before Nathan eventually broke it again.
“I guess we’d better go back now, huh?”
Resting her head in the nook of his shoulder, she kissed the side of his neck. “Not just yet. Let’s stay like this for a little bit longer.”
Nathan’s hold on her tightened as the fingers of his other hand lightly caressed the petal-soft skin of her back. “Yeah,” he finally whispered, wishing they could stay like this forever.