Bring on the Wonder Ch. 02

Lizzie nodded and moved away to pull dishes out of the cupboards. "How was the rest of your day?"

Nate shrugged. "It was fine. I only had one more meeting after lunch so after that, I just packed up and came home."

"Oh wow. You must have been home before three then."

"Yup. Plenty of time to make your favorite."

"Ooh! You made jambalaya?"

He laughed. "I thought for sure you'd figure that out as soon as you smelled it."

Lizzie laughed with him and finished laying out the two place settings at the table. "Well, I was a bit distracted when I walked in, I guess."

"Yeah?" Nate turned and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Was it my animal magnetism?"

She looked him over from head to toe and lifted an eyebrow. He was wearing a pair of ratty khaki shorts and a faded college t-shirt. "Sure. You could say that."

He narrowed his eyes and brandished a serving spoon in her direction. "Don't make me spank you, Lizzie."

Lizzie felt her temperature spike. "Promise?"

He chuckled. "Sit your ass down before I do."

She did as he ordered and waited patiently as he dished up their meals. As he set her plate before her, he bent over and stole another kiss. She gave him a happy smile as he sat across from her.

"So if it wasn't my raw masculine presence that had you distracted, what was it?"

"Oh, baby. You know I normally find you very distracting."

He made a face and she laughed.

"I had an interesting day at work." Lizzie looked down and forked a shrimp on her plate. "Samuel pulled me into his office for a meeting this afternoon."

"Did he?" Nate spoke around a mouthful of food. "What kind of meeting?"

"The kind where he tells me he's really impressed with my work. He told me he's never had a cover artist progress so quickly and with such talent."

"That's great, Lizzie. It's nice that he recognizes your hard work."

Lizzie nodded and they didn't speak as they ate a few more bites.

"That wasn't the only thing he talked to me about though."

Nate looked up, a piece of rice sticking to his chin. Lizzie smiled and tapped her own chin. He wiped his face with a sheepish smile. "What else did he have to say? Did he want to give you a big, fat bonus?"

Lizzie shook her head. "Not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

She drew in a deep breath before explaining. "He offered me a new position. As a team leader."

"Lizzie, that's wonderful!"

She smiled at Nate's reaction. She knew he'd be supportive of her being recognized for a job well done. "It would be team leader in their sister office, in Atlanta."

Nate blinked and stopped chewing the food in his mouth for a moment. Then he resumed and swallowed a second later. "Atlanta, Georgia?"

She laughed and nodded. "Is there another Atlanta?"

"I imagine there is, somewhere."

They fell silent and Lizzie waited for him to speak.

"Atlanta," he repeated and set his fork down. "Is it a good position?"

Lizzie nodded. "I'd be in charge of one or two other artists there. It's a smaller operation than here and I'd only be answering to one other person. I'd get a pay increase and better benefits."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'd even have an expense account and Samuel wasn't sure but he thought the team leader also got a car allowance."

Nate nodded as he absorbed everything she'd told him.

Lizzie bit her lip. "Nate, please say something."

He stared at her, his expression unmoving. "I'm am saying something. I'm speaking."

"Yes, but you're not telling me what you think."

His lips twitched and he offered her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I think... I think you deserve a chance like this."

She hadn't been expecting him to say that. She had a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "But you're not happy about it."

At that, he shook his head, his expression changing at last. "Of course I'm happy about it, Lizzie. You're an amazing artist and you're being given a promotion because of it. I'm so proud of you, you have no idea."

Lizzie blinked and looked down at her half-eaten plate. Nate reached over and grasped her hand. She looked up to see him giving her that tender smile that she adored.

"You just caught me by surprise is all, sweetie. I'm happy for you."

"For us, Nate," she whispered and turned her hand over to squeeze his fingers. "For us. With this opportunity, we could move to Atlanta and you wouldn't need to worry about finding work right away."

He laughed. "You're so amazing, you don't even know."

"What do you mean?" She raised her eyebrows. "Don't tell me you're going to be one of those guys who doesn't want their woman being the bread winner."

"Have I ever been that type of guy?"

Lizzie shook her head. "Then what is it?"

Nate sighed and pulled her hand to his lips to kiss her fingers. "I've been looking at different job openings in a few different cities for myself."

Her jaw dropped. "You have? Why?"

His face drooped a fraction and she thought she knew what he was going to say before he spoke.

"I love it here and I know you do as well." He kissed her hand again. "But we'll never be free with each other here. Or it's more like we won't feel like we can be free. We'll always be wondering if someone will catch us or judge us."

Lizzie nodded. It was the truth. It's what they'd been struggling with ever since they'd admitted their feelings for one another. How could they build a life here when they'd be scared of ever going out in public together?

"Where were you searching?"

Nate shrugged. "New York, L.A., Dallas. All places with larger established publishing houses."

"I bet New York had the most."

"You're right. They also had a lot of opportunities for accountants."

Lizzie laughed and rolled her eyes. "Of course."

"But I also searched Atlanta, if you can believe it."

"You did?"

He nodded.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Nate kissed her hand once more before letting it go.

"Eat your dinner. We can talk about this after we're done."

Lizzie nodded and picked up her fork to resume eating. She was back to feeling excited at the prospect of a real future with Nate. She wasn't so naive to think Atlanta would be the magical city that would erase all their troubles or grant them a legally recognized union, but it would be a chance for them to be together, just the two of them.

After finishing and cleaning up the kitchen, they moved to the living room and sat on the couch together.

"Were you really looking at jobs in Atlanta?" she asked.

Nate smiled and nodded. "Yes. It's a big city with several publication companies."

"That's all you looked for? Publishers?"

Nate shrugged. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, what about your work?"

Nate gave her a soft smile and picked up her hands in his. "Sweetie, I can be an accountant anywhere. Your career matters more to you than mine does to me."

Tears stung Lizzie's eyes and she looked down. "You'd really do that for me? Give up your job here? Move four states and umpteen miles away?"

He shook his head. "I'll do it for us, Lizzie. I think we both know we have to do this."

She nodded but couldn't speak for the lump in her throat. Nate shimmied closer on the couch and put his arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and let out a shaky sigh.

Nate turned his head to kiss her hair. "We'll make a new life together. You and I both know it'll be easier to move where no one knows us, or knows we're related."

"What about our friends? We'll have to tell everyone why we're both moving."

Nate didn't have a ready response. "I'm more concerned about how our parents will take the news."

Lizzie nodded, more tears gathering in her eyes. Their parents' reactions could go either way. They may be devastated and disown their children. Or they may recover from their shock enough to accept it. In time.

"What should we do?"

Nate kissed her forehead. "First, we should get ready for bed, maybe have a nice long bath together, after you've communed with your current piece in your 'ordered chaos', of course."

Lizzie smiled and put her arms around her brother.

"Then we'll make love, fall asleep and dream of each other." Nate kissed her again, this time on the cheek. "Tomorrow, you'll tell your boss that you'd like to visit the Atlanta office before making a permanent decision. Then we'll plan a trip, visit some neighborhoods, maybe I can line up some meetings."

He made it all sound so easy. Lizzie knew he was trying to be strong and level-headed for her since she couldn't seem to see her way through her emotional turmoil. She also knew he would be just as destroyed if their parents decided to never speak to them again. All they could do right now was what Nate suggested. So they cuddled for a few more minutes before she got up to change into her art clothes.

In her studio, she painted and for a brief hour she forgot about their troubles. It was dim in the room, the only light coming from her small lamp by the window seat, when she stepped back from the easel. She yawned and it was the time she realized how late it must be. She cleaned up her brushes and capped all her paints before heading upstairs.

The rest of the house was quiet and dark and Lizzie guessed that Nate would be waiting in bed for her. She wasn't wrong. He was in bed, propped up with pillows and an open book in his lap. He was also fast asleep.

Lizzie smiled when she saw him, love and affection for him swelling in her chest. She stripped naked and washed her hands, then climbed onto the bed next to him. He didn't stir even as her movement on the bed jostled him. Biting her lip, she pulled the book away from his lax hands and set it on the nightstand. Then she pulled the covers away from his body just enough to find that he was also naked.

"Mmm. Such a nice surprise," she murmured and ran a finger down his chest and stomach. She watched his muscles twitch in response but he still didn't wake.

Deciding to take advantage, she shifted on the bed and leaned over his lower half. She reached for him, taking hold of his flaccid length with both hands. Then she lowered her head to lick him from bottom to top and back down again. As she played with him, she delighted in the hardening of the member beneath her hands and mouth. He muttered something and she looked up to see if she'd woken him but he was only mumbling in his sleep.

She resumed her attentions, making pleased little noises in the back of her throat as he grew to a full erection under her ministrations. Then she increased the speed of her hands on his shaft and the tightness of her lips around him. In her exuberance, his entire length became soaked with her saliva and her palms slid up and down so easily. When she shifted again to adjust her position, she became aware of how aroused she was. She knew how excited she made herself when she attended to Nate in this way but she'd been so focused on getting him hard that she hadn't spared a thought for herself. She shouldn't be surprised at the moisture now coating the insides of her thighs but she felt need spike through her blood.

Unable to wait or draw it out any longer, she lifted her head and moved to straddle his lap. She rubbed her damp core up and down the length of his erection until she couldn't stand to wait another second. She lifted and took hold of him, guiding the tip of him to her opening. As the head of his cock split her lips, his eyes fluttered open and he looked into her face.

His hands came up to hold her waist and she smiled down at him. "I thought I was dreaming."

She let out a laugh that faded into a moan when he flexed his thighs, moving deeper within her. "Not a dream, my love."

"No, and I'm so lucky because of it."

His words, so sweet and earnest, made her well up. She blinked back her tears and leaned over him, bracing her hands on his shoulders. They kissed, a gentle, slow exploration in perfect contrast to the increasing pace of his thrusts into her body. It was a delicious blend of tenderness and physical need that had Lizzie's head spinning.

Then Nate put his arms around her back and pulled her close as he rolled over. Suddenly finding herself on the bottom, Lizzie laughed and held on as Nate really started to move in her. He thrust hard and fast, taking his pleasure from her body and giving her such a rush as he did it. She loved knowing she made him this crazy. It was a heady feeling that she didn't think she'd ever get tired of.

"Nate," she whispered, cupping the back of his head and drawing his face close to hers. "Nate, I love you."

"God, Lizzie, I love you so much." His words were spaced by the movements of his body, jarring thrusts that made them both gasp.

Lizzie clenched her inner muscles, making Nate tense above her.

"Jesus Christ, Lizzie, don't stop. Don't ever stop."

"I won't. I'll never stop loving you."

He came with a groan, emptying himself inside of her. Lizzie held him close, sighing as he kept moving, drawing out the last of the sensations. When he rolled to his back, she went with him, draping her naked, sweaty body over his.

"I'll never get tired of you waking me up like that."

She giggled and nuzzled her nose in his chest hair, not saying anything.

"But you didn't get your happy ending."

She laughed again and lifted her head to look into his eyes. "Nate, you are my happy ending."

He smiled and touched her cheek. "I can do better than that."

He pushed her onto her back and proceeded to prove it.