Author's Note: So, I'm 100% convinced that nobody is reading and/or gives a damn about this fic…not sure how much more I'm going to bother posting…

With no blizzard in sight, Sydney left Nathan's arms somewhere around one in the morning – quite reluctantly. While she was still firm with herself about wanting to be more casual with him, that didn't mean she wanted to leave him in the middle of the night. He kissed her goodbye, the act lingering and neither of them wanting it to end.

Sydney drove home wondering where she would say she'd been all day. She wasn't sure if Jess and Arlen would be home, but if they were she was sure that Arlen would hear her the moment she opened the door and bombard her with questions. She parked in the driveway, rather than opening the garage, and made her way to the front door, feeling like the teenagers she was teaching…sneaking home past curfew after being a "bad girl" with that cute boy she liked. Well, I didn't do it then, so why not now?

After successfully making it through the front door without any noticeable noise, Sydney found herself holding her breath as she approached the stairs; however, the glow from the living room caught her attention. As stealthily as she could, she peeked into the room. The television was on with the Sony logo floating across the screen, a telltale sign that those watching it had fallen asleep. On the sectional couch were three people – Jess was partially sitting up on the short end, his head flopped to the side, David on the longer end, he too sitting up and asleep, and Arlen (the only one horizontal) with his head in David's lap. She felt a small ball of guilt in her stomach, leaving them the way she did wasn't usually her style, but Arlen's sister had pressed one too many buttons.

Sydney went to her room and closed the door. She was relieved that there was nobody interrogating her. Upon plugging her phone in and restarting it, the missed calls and text notifications poured in. She ignored them all since all three of the callers were downstairs. When she finally crawled into bed, she inhaled deeply. She could smell Nathan on her skin and the comfort that brought her lulled her to sleep almost immediately.

The next morning Sydney went downstairs, ready for work. She was disappointed that Nathan's scent had disappeared down the shower drain, but knew it was necessary. Arlen approached her immediately. "Sydney, I'm so so sorry for…"

"Stop right there," she interrupted, gently. "Arlen, please don't ever apologize for her. I'm sorry for leaving. I just…"

Arlen caressed her face, his eyes exhausted. "I would have left too. Are you okay? We were all worried when we couldn't reach you."

Sydney forced the corners of her mouth straight to keep from smiling too much. "I'm fine, I promise. I just had to…clear my head for a while." She hugged her friend, knowing there was so much he wasn't planning on telling her right now. "How's the baby?"

"Stable…but weak," he whispered. She could see the heartbreak in his eyes. "I'm going back today, but Jess," he sighed. "Syd, he has every right to be angry, but it got so bad after you left." The exhausted eyes watered.

"Is he gone already?" Arlen nodded. "You take care of yourself tonight, I'll talk to Jess."

"Thank you, honey." He looked at the clock. "You better get moving. I'm sure you don't want to miss another day." He kissed her on the cheek and sent her on her way.

Sydney's heart fluttered as she made her way down the hall to her classroom. How she'd be able to cover up any excessive smiling or blushing around Nathan was beyond her; she knew she'd have to think of something, as they would certainly be seen together at some point in time. For now, she was just focused on the previous night. They had somehow mixed conversation and pleasure into an unforgettable time for both of them.

She went about her normal routine, which included unlocking her desk drawer…and finding the pink rose and the envelope. The rose had a small, plastic vile full of water attached to the end of it, so it was still full of life despite its dark hiding place. I know his car wasn't in the lot yet… She smiled as she opened the envelope, Nathan's handwriting coming into view:

I promise to be more of a gentleman…Nathan

The words were short and simple and left Sydney slightly confused. It was then that a frazzled Nathan appeared in her doorway.

"Damn, too late," he panted. Sydney looked at him, but couldn't speak fast enough. "I wanted to intercept the note. I put it there yesterday and…"

Sydney stood, forcing herself to remember that she couldn't act on what she wanted. She lowered her voice so no one in the hallway could hear her. "You are incredibly sweet and I'm glad that you weren't able to 'intercept' anything." Nathan watched as Sydney slipped the note into her purse. "I'm wishing I would have come to work yesterday, that would have made my day…although something else was much better." She winked at him. "Just for the record, I promise to be more of a gentlewoman myself."

Nathan smiled. "Until lunch, then." He left to go to his own room and Sydney made a makeshift vase out of a plastic cup. Nathan couldn't have known how much the gesture he assumed was small meant to her.

It felt like days, not hours, had passed when the bell finally rang for lunch. Sydney found herself more than anxious to grab her sandwich and converse with the history teacher from across the hall. Right, he's not just the history teacher anymore he's "my lover." Oh, yeah, I just thought that. Lover…amazing, skilled, comforting lo… She registered Nathan's body in front of her desk. Please let all of that have been contained in my head. "Hey?"

"Lost in thought today?" Nathan asked, smirking.

"Uh…yeah, let's go with that."

As he pulled up his usual chair, he asked. "Out of curiosity, what is a 'comforting lo' exactly?"

Sydney blushed. Shit, stupid brain! "Shit, stupid brain," she laughed, why keep that a secret? "I was thinking about this guy I know and I guess one of those thoughts tried to slip out verbally."

"Do I know him?" Nathan asked, forcing an innocent tone.

"Pretty sure you've met." She brushed her hair away from her face. "Oh, before you get comfy over there, can you take a look at something for me?"

Nathan circled around to her side of the desk. "Sure."

"You fixed my last problem here, but…"

He knew it was stupid and possibly risky, but he lightly kissed the side of her neck. "There was just no way I couldn't do that," he confessed.

"Oddly enough, I think I may have been offended if you wouldn't have." Sydney found herself growing a bit flush and forgot all about what she needed help with. She lowered her voice, even though no one else was around to hear her. "I have the worst urge to rip your clothes off and use this desk as a…" She stopped herself, heat welling in her cheeks, partially from embarrassment and partially from the thought.

"I can't say that I'm not flattered, but are we on booty call standby or…" Nathan had to stop as Sydney began to laugh so hard and so quickly that tears were falling from her eyes. "I missed something?"

"No," she said, trying to catch her breath. "You…said…" She lowered her voice to a whisper. "…booty call. Who says that?"

"People who have them I'm guessing," Nathan replied, now also beginning to laugh at his word choice.

Sydney continued to whisper. "Well, no, we're not doing that. I told you, I want to date you…I want to…" She smiled. "You know what I really want to do?"

"I'm pretty sure you just told me something about the desk…"

She rolled her eyes. "Not exactly an option, but I do want to see you Wang…no, er, Wing Chun."

Nathan's entire mood changed in an instant. "You…do?"

"Why so surprised? We want to get to know one another, right?" She suddenly thought that she might be overstepping some sort of bounds. "Unless it's a private thing, then…"

"No, it's…it's not, I just thought…I don't know what I thought." He tilted his head to the side.

"Did you think I wasn't serious last night? I distinctly remember giving you my iPod, a very sacred item, by the way, as well as giving you a few other things…"

"Tomorrow at seven," he said, smiling fully. "Meet me at my session."

"Session? Like one on one? Not a class?"

"One on one."

"Oh, Nathan, I don't want to impose, I thought it was like, you know, when kids take karate and there's a place for people to watch and…"

He wanted to take her hand or touch her face. She was genuinely interested in his interest and that meant the same to him as the note and rose meant to her earlier in the day. "I want you there."

Sydney smiled. "Tomorrow at seven."