When Nathan awoke the next morning, the first thing he did was promptly close his eyes and groan. He was in bed alone. Again. And it was all Haley's fault.

Oh, he'd been propositioned last night. So many times that he'd lost count. He'd gone out with his teammates to celebrate after the game and the women were always throwing themselves at him. There'd been some alcohol, but they were on strict orders to keep it limited as they were in playoffs. Actually—they were under strict orders not to drink at all, but they never listened. But Nathan hadn't touched a drop. It was very rare that he did. He refused to be anything like his mother. As far as he was concerned—addiction equaled weakness, and he wouldn't be weak. If he had had something to drink, he probably would have been able to find someone to warm his bed last night. OK, able wasn't the right word. Willing was probably more accurate.

But Haley had ruined that for him, too. It had been five months since he'd been with anyone. What was the point? He'd been waiting for her since he was seventeen years old, and now that he'd had her, he knew that no other woman was going to taste as good as she did, be as soft as she was. Nathan sighed and grabbed his pillow, covering his head with it. He could still hear her crying out his name, could still see her head thrown back in passion as she rode him. He groaned again.

Walking away from Haley last night had been the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. It was harder even than when he'd left for college. Now that he knew what it was like to be with her, he felt like half a man. And the part that was missing—her.

He was trying to be a patient man, but it was getting harder and harder by the minute. He knew Haley, knew that if he went to her and told her he wanted to marry her, then that would be it. If there was one thing Haley did well, it was run scared. She'd done it before when she'd gone off to college. Sure, she'd told him that it was because she needed to prove to herself that she could go it alone. But they both knew it was a lie. She was afraid of what being alone with him would mean. No parents around for supervision? Yeah, they probably would have been in a little bit of trouble.

Nathan kicked the covers off of his body and tossed his pillow to the side. If he didn't have to fly to Los Angeles today, he'd sleep until noon. But he did have to fly to Los Angeles so instead; Nathan turned the ice cold water on full blast and stepped under the shower head.

777

There was nothing that Haley hated more than a road trip by herself. So when she finally pulled up to her hotel in D.C. at nine o'clock that night, she sighed in relief. Having spent most of her morning walking around Boston and then eight hours in a car, she was thoroughly exhausted. Out of all the places she'd visited, it was her favorite city and she hated to miss anything while she was there. She could walk around for hours, the same block even, and discover something new each time she rounded it. She'd gone to Quincy Market for lunch before she finally got in her car at almost one o'clock to leave Boston—and Nathan—behind her.

Someone appeared at her door to open it, and she gave a tired smile as she stepped out. "Are your bags in the trunk, Miss?" a bellboy asked.

She nodded, trying to stifle a yawn. She'd always thought the title 'bellboy' was ill fitting. She'd never met a bellboy who was actually a boy. Most of the ones she'd met appeared to be in their late fifties, early sixties. She frowned at the thought and this time, a yawn made its way out. She'd have to finish her assessment of the notion in the morning, after she'd had some sleep. "Shall I put you right here with the luggage?" the bellboy asked playfully, pointing to the rack that would carry her things to her room.

Haley laughed at the question and shook her head. "As long as there's an elevator, I think I can make it," she teased back, making her way into the lavish hotel. Haley didn't usually go plush, she preferred to be a little more economical, but she'd set some money aside and decided that while she was on her way home, she was going to be sleeping in style. Especially if she was going to be staying two nights in D.C.

She made her way over to the counter to check in and the woman standing at the computer smiled at her.

Haley smiled back.

"Good Evening. Welcome to Doubletree Hotel. How can I help you?"

"I have a reservation," Haley told her.

"Name?"

Haley went on to give all of her information while the woman looked her up in the computer.

"Are you kidding me?" she heard someone walking through the lobby say. "The Celtics are a sure thing this year."

Her eyes flew to the crowd of young boys, most of them wearing jerseys representing their favorite sports teams. She was glad to see that there wasn't a Lakers emblem in the bunch, but there were two boys sporting Celtics wear.

"With Nathan Scott, how can they go wrong?"

"Yeah, well, did you see how his game was off when they came back from half-time last night?" another one asked.

"Yeah, but he bounced right back," was the last thing she heard before they got onto the elevator.

The woman behind the counter handed Haley a small card. "Here's your room key," she said, then motioned to the man behind her. "Raoul will show you to your suite."

"That's great, thank you," Haley said. "And is it too late to order room service?"

"Absolutely not," the woman said brightly. "We have a list of limited items that are available twenty four hours a day. There should be a menu in your suite. Raoul can show you where it is. Enjoy your stay," she said, as Haley followed Raoul to the elevators.

After a quick shower and a small meal, Haley changed into her pajama's—the Celtic's T-shirt that Nathan had left for her over Christmas in Tree Hill—and climbed beneath the covers on the bed. She switched the lamp on the nightstand off and pulled the covers up to her chin. As tired as she'd been, she'd expected to be out in no time. But sleep eluded her. When she'd finally slowed down, her mind instantly turned to Nathan. She sighed and snuggled further under the covers. All she'd had to do was tell him, that no, she wouldn't disappear this time. Although, technically, she hadn't disappeared last time. He'd known she was going home to New Hampshire. He had her cell phone number and her home phone was listed, so it's not like he couldn't have gotten in touch with her. But he hadn't even bothered to try. But in his defense, you did leave him at the airport in Tree Hill with a chaste kiss on the cheek and a paltry 'let's let last night be what it was, her brain reminded her.

"Shut up!" she said aloud, rolling over to get away from the lecture. It didn't work.

Would you have called you?

"Seriously, I'm turning you off now!" Haley snapped.

That's what you think, her mind taunted.

Fine, Haley thought. You want to scrutinize this? Let's scrutinize this.

She rolled over onto her back and focused on the ceiling—which she really couldn't see because she had the thick navy blue drapes closed to block out any street lights—but she needed something to focus on. She sighed in defeat. She probably wouldn't have called herself, either. She'd made it pretty clear where he'd stood with her. Except that that wasn't where she wanted Nathan at all. She didn't want him in her memory as 'one amazing night.' She wanted him in her present. In fact, beside her right now would be nice.

But unless he told her he wanted her first, she would never admit that to him. She'd always felt like she'd held him back. He'd stepped right in that night all those years ago to rescue her—and until he'd gone away to college, he hadn't stopped. While the other guys his age—her brother included--were out hanging with their friends, Nathan was wherever she'd been. She'd needed him too much then to care that he was missing out. But now, looking back, she felt like she'd stolen something from him. He'd been glued to her side for the entire school year he'd lived with the James family. She should have been stronger, shouldn't have depended on him so much. He hadn't even dated anyone during that time and she couldn't help but feel like that was her fault, too. If she'd tried to push him away, he would have been able to do other things, spend time with other people.

She sighed in frustration and blinked her eyes a few times. And that was why she wouldn't admit her feelings to him now. She wouldn't hold him back like that again and she was afraid that that was exactly what would happen if they were together.

Her body gave in and she finally fell asleep, but it didn't matter. She dreamed of Nathan the entire night. And when she awoke the next morning, it was like she'd never slept at all.

777

Haley spent the next morning at the Smithsonian, something she would have loved under normal circumstances, but today her heart just wasn't in it. The Celtics were playing the Lakers again in L.A. tonight, and after two nights ago, the Celtics only needed to win this game to claim the trophy. She was nervous for them, especially Nathan. And so proud of him for living out his dream. When it became clear that she wasn't going to be able to keep her attention on anything for any amount of time, she left and made her way to Dupont Circle.

She made her way to the fountain at the center of the city—the structure was made of white marble and there were three carvings of nude figures in the center of it—one represented the sea, one— the stars, and the other—the wind. It was double-tiered, and she looked up as the water dropped from the top layer into the base. She meandered over to the edge and sat down to do one of her favorite things—people watch.

Usually the first things she noticed were playing children or dogs. Today, however, her eyes kept moving towards the couples strolling through the area. She watched as the women would lean into the men as if it were comforting. Or the way they'd find each other's hands without even having to look down, knowing that they would just be there. But her favorite was the elderly couple she spied, the woman's arm slipped through her husbands, his opposite hand covering hers as if for reassurance. He'd pat it every so often--and Haley bet he didn't even realize he was doing it. A little while later, she stood up for her trek back to the hotel. It was still fairly early—two p.m., but she hadn't slept very well last night and figured she could get a quick nap in before finding someplace for supper and watching the game.

Author's Note: This chapter wasn't very action packed, but I wanted to establish how profound of an effect Haley and Nathan had on each other after spending such a short amount of time together. Also—I wanted to give you a glance into how they were feeling and what their motives for staying away from each other were. I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to drop me a review! Thanks for reading!