Nathan showed up at Sydney's door on Friday night around seven. Arlen had gone to a friend's – certain he couldn't be found – to once again get away from David for a couple of days, so the house was calm. When she opened the door, she wasn't surprised to see Nathan, but she was surprised to see him with a couple of bags that weren't holding classroom materials.

"Hey, gorgeous," he said, overly sweet.

"Hey…sexy delivery man?" she replied, almost laughing for the first time in days.

"You barely touched your lunch today, or the rest of the week, really, and you haven't been yourself…I thought maybe I could fix that before we got started on our hell project."

She tried not to smile. "And what did you think could fix that?"

He walked inside and went straight to the living room. "Oh, I don't know…little clear soup, ginger salad…sushi…"

Her smile broke through. "You'd better watch it mister, this is almost date territory."

"Exception for a bad few days…and a very trying six weeks to come." He took the food from the bags and spread it out on her coffee table before going back to her. "I'm even going to hug you, platonically." He enveloped her in his arms and she could have melted. She wanted to tell him how much better these little gestures made her feel, but refused to do so. She simply thanked him and they ate very well while discussing the classes they were to teach.

"This is going to be impossible," Sydney sighed, her head spinning a little.

"Says the woman who couldn't use chopsticks," Nathan laughed. He sipped at his wine as Sydney tried to glare at him.

"I'm in the United States, forks are my friends." She laughed, just slightly tipsy, and moved closer to Nathan. "How could he not have any plans done…or at least old ones lying around?"

"Is that a serious question?"

"At least Sheryl had hers, but they need so much tweaking. Ugh, this really is punishment, isn't it?"

"I see it as something a little different." Nathan's arm slid around Sydney's body and he pressed himself to her. "And I have a few ideas."

"Oh?"

"No matter what we say to them, they're going to fuck like rabbits. Hell, my daughter's…oh, Christ, here it goes out loud again, active, and…at least she knows enough to be honest with me and smart about it." He ran his hand along her arm. "So, what if we taught them…how to make it better."

Sydney burst into laughter. "You're funny."

"Funny?" He shifted his body a little. "You know they're going at it wherever they can and as quickly as…"

Her tone darkened, but her smile was wider. "Like under the bleachers at a football game? Or in an alleyway or…"

"Young men should know that there's a time and place for that…and that other things are important too."

"Other things?" Sydney asked, reaching for her glass. When she emptied it, she leaned back again…and found herself part of Nathan's lesson.

"Important things." His voice was low and irresistibly sexy. He moved Sydney's hair away from her neck and kissed the spot he knew drove her crazy in certain situations. He was quite sure it could work in another way as well. His lips were warm and soft against her skin and he let them linger. He didn't nip or suck, but simply kissed, his tongue barely grazing her flesh. If she resisted, he'd end this little game, but…

"Oh…" She sighed and her muscles relaxed at his touch.

…she didn't resist. "Sometimes quick and dirty isn't what a woman wants, even when she says it is." His hands found her shoulders and massaged deeply, just as he had a few days ago. "A man should know when the woman he enjoys being with needs something different, something…soothing." She moaned, barely audible, and he felt her body slacken. "See?"

Her eyes closed and she smiled. "I am enjoying this lesson thoroughly, Mister Gardner."

"I'm glad, Miss Turner." He returned his lips to her neck, exploring a little; testing her nerve endings. "He should also tell her things like…she smells amazing. She picked a delightful new shower gel and it suits her."

"And what if she tells him she thinks he's crossing over into the wrong territory? What if an agreement had been made?"

"Well," he said, slipping the neckline of her shirt off her shoulder and kissing newly exposed skin. "I think he'd tell her that she needs a bit of good after a shitty week. Time to relax and indulge…and to let him take care of her. Maybe he's repaying her for being there for him at some point."

"Is that so?"

"It could be; I'm not a high school student anymore, so I can't be positive." He chuckled against her shoulder, sending pleasurable chills through her body. "You're stressed, baby," he whispered in her ear. "We won't get anything accomplished until you've relaxed a little."

She turned to him, claiming his lips as her own, but with gentle passion…very much out of the ordinary. She couldn't admit it out loud, but she needed some tenderness. She didn't tell Nathan exactly what David had screamed at her…or how he almost hit her in his outburst. Kind hands and a soft voice were hers right now and she wasn't going to turn away from that. "Go on, then."

Nathan tangled his fingers in her hair and went back to her lips. His kiss was deeper, but still so gentle. His tongue always wrestled with hers, but now it simply glided along her own, melting her. "Do you want me to take care of you tonight?" Sydney could only nod in response. "Well, then this is a good time to mention how a young man could sweep the object of his desire off her feet…literally." Nathan pulled Sydney onto his lap, then stood, holding her in his arms. "He would understand that while a couch is a fine place to make out or fool around a bit, it's not where a woman always wants to be taken." Sydney loved that he was keeping up with his own game…it distanced them from what they had started.

After carrying her up the stairs, he entered her room and placed her in the center of her bed, his body next to hers immediately. "He could even admit that he enjoys being close to her…" They kissed and caressed, truly intimate with one another for the better part of a half an hour without another word breathed. When Nathan finally began to undress her, she whimpered at his touch. "Syd…" He then saw her eyes. They were distant and shining with tears she was fighting to keep from spilling down her face. He left her clothing in place and ran his fingers along her cheek. "Sydney?" he barely whispered her name. "Are you okay? Am I…"

"Please, don't stop…and no more lessons." She looked him in the eye and let herself be vulnerable. "I need you." She had always told him she wanted him…never once had she used the word need. "Rules can be broken for good reasons, can't they?" The game was over.

He smiled at her, brushing her bangs away from her eyes. "We'll treat your bed like Vegas tonight if that's what you need."

She smiled back, grateful. "Thank you."

Nathan wished she would have told him all of what happened over the last few days, what was said to her that upset her so much, but it wasn't his place to ask…or even know. She had already told him she trusted him, now she needed him…his want to be her friend was just as powerful as his want for her. He took her hand and started to move her arm. She thought he was going to pin her hands above her head again, knowing how much she enjoyed it…instead, he brought the inside of her wrist to his lips and kissed her there. His actions were slow and his breath warm. "What can I do for you, Sydney? Tell me what can make you feel better." He wasn't asking this in any sort of dirty tone. He was looking for an honest answer, for guidance. He knew they both enjoyed being rough with one another, but that's all they'd been. He knew how to be gentle, but he was afraid to push boundaries.

Sydney looked at him, her lips suddenly dry. "Just…" She sighed, embarrassed. "…I want to feel you."

His voice was soft. "I can do that, Syd, but I need you to relax for me, hm?"

She hadn't even realized how rigid she'd gone. Events of the last few days were repeating over and over in her mind, tensing every muscle Nathan had previously relaxed. She nodded, "I'm sorry."

He kissed her, trying to quiet his own thoughts. "Shh…" His hands ran along her curves and he felt her relax against the mattress. He took off his shirt and then, with gentle hands, he removed her bra and pressed her body to his, letting her feel him on a different level. "…you're so beautiful, Syd," he said, meaning the words.

She blushed, her eyes closed and her head resting against his shoulder. "Nathan, you don't have to…"

"I'm not doing anything." He shifted, his lips finding her breast and his tongue slowly circling her nipple. She gasped. "…you're gorgeous." He kissed his way down her stomach, each one slow and warm. When he reached her waist, he slid off her sweats and panties, not touching her sex.

"Why are you here with me right now?" she asked as he kissed his way back up her body. "You know I'm a mess and this isn't what either of us…"

"Syd…" He paused, not wanting the word "baby" to slip into his vocabulary anymore. It was something they both used when they were being more anonymous and rough with their bodies and that's not what tonight was about. "…stop over thinking. You said you needed me and…I'm here."

"So take me," she said, all but whimpering.

"No taking tonight, Sydney." He removed his jeans and boxers, then quickly dipped into her nightstand. "I'm very much in a giving mood." He kissed her with sincere passion, letting himself get lost in her taste. He refused to break away from her as he slid within her body, truly feeling their connection for the first time.

"Nathan…" Nothing more than a breathy sigh let him know that right now she was completely his.

"Syd…" He moved his hips as slowly as he could, sure that she felt every movement he made within her. He watched as her eyes closed and her head tipped back, satisfied in knowing he was making her feel at least a little better. When her eyes opened again, they locked with his, neither able to look away. "Better?" he asked, as he withdrew almost completely.

"You have no idea."

He slid within her again, biting a moan. "I bet I do." He felt her legs wrap around his waist, pulling him deeper. He picked up his pace just slightly, and he felt her begin to tighten around him. "Oh, God…Sydney…"

"Please," she begged. "Please, Nathan." They must have made the same mental promises as nothing remotely dirty escaped either set of lips. He kissed her for what must have been the hundredth time and he felt her let go, giving herself to him in nearly every sense of the word.

"You feel amazing," he breathed, his lips moving against hers. He pumped his hips gently, twice more, before she felt him tremble. She ran her hand through his hair as he clung to her, releasing far more than just something physical. He stayed within her, their lips not able to part. When they did finally separate, Nathan began to worry.

"Nathan, I know that we…well, we just…and I know it wasn't what we…"

He looked down at her. "You can just tell me," he said, feeling uneasy.

"Can you stay?" She looked away from him. "I just…I really don't want to be alone and…"

Relief flooded his body. "Of course I will."