New Lives (A Nathan Gardner Story)

Chapter 7 - Fast Times in Nathan's Backyard

A couple of busy weeks passed, bringing a hot and humid July. In that time, Susan's room had been transformed from a "Pepto" pink girl's bedroom to a light gray and lavender refuge for a young woman. Sydney's furniture was moved in, fitting perfectly, and Susan chose to save some of the clippings from her walls and frame them as collages, showing off her artistic abilities. She and Nathan had painted together while Sydney took her shopping for new bedding and curtains. It served as quite the positive bonding experience for all involved.

Nathan and Sydney's bedroom had also been completely revamped. They emptied the room of all of Nathan's past, very much at his insistence. The wallpaper was gone, along with the stained carpeting, and he couldn't believe how wonderful a fresh start felt. They did find a new bed and a bedroom set to match, giving that room a sleek, but romantic look; the black, white and gray motif working out perfectly. Sydney knew they'd be increasing their time in this room. The only current problem was the mattress in the middle of the floor. The new bed was on backorder and wouldn't be in until the end of the week. They didn't mind sleeping close to the floor for a few nights, especially with how hard they'd been working every day.

Today found them in planning stages, rather than working. They were looking into cost and contractors for the bathrooms and kitchen. They knew it would be an expense, but after a few long nights of talking, they knew they wanted to stay here.. The one thing that had gone right during his marriage was the purchase of the house. A foreclosure, he purchased it for a steal, and it had been paid off since just before Celia left. Stains of bad memories could be fixed and good memories were already taking over; it just made sense to stay. It was just after noon when Sydney convinced Nathan that they should take a break from all the they'd been doing around the house, research included. She walked into the kitchen wearing a pink two-piece swimsuit that Nathan hadn't seen before. He smiled at her and put down his phone.

"Guess it is a bit warm in here," he said, licking his bottom lip. He gave her rear a playful slap as he passed her, going to the bedroom to change. Once in his blue trunks, they went down to the pool together. "I suppose this is another one of the perks of staying in this house, hm?"

"Any time I get to see you wet is a perk," Sydney answered, a coy smile on her face.

"Like wet, do you?" Nathan sauntered up to her as smoothly as he could, the look on his face one of desire…until he got his hands on her. He picked her up and his face changed, a wide and devious smile crossing his lips.

"Nathan…" Splash. He jumped into the water, Sydney in his arms. Sydney had a habit of easing herself in, testing the water, and rarely made a full plunge. When she broke the water's surface, she gasped. "Cold!" Nathan laughed, slicking his hair back. "Not funny, mister."

"And yet we're both wet, so you got what you wanted." He saw the goosebumps on her skin. "Poor thing," he cooed, chuckling. He swam closer to her. "How 'bout I warm you up a little, hm?" He pulled her to him, the water making it far too easy, and he kissed her neck.

"I'm mad at you," she said, trying to sound convincing.

"Oh, I know…" His lips moved to hers, his hands traveling to her backside. She pressed herself against him. "I can tell."

"Well…anyone else would be in trouble."

He slid the strap of her top off her shoulder and kissed her there. "What makes me so special?"

She wrapped her legs around his waist, loving the support from the water. "Mmm…so very much. I won't go into all of the gushy, sickening details right now. Instead, how about…" She put her hands on his face and kissed him, hungry.

"Been a couple of days, hasn't it?"

Sydney nodded. "We've been busy during the day, exhausted at night."