“We have to be very careful about who we tell,” Nathan admitted. “Although, it’s a relief to finally have told you. It’s a huge weight off my chest.”
“If you need me to help in any way, you can count on me. I like Simon. And, I’m very, very curious about all of this.”
All in all, the whole confrontation went better than he expected, and now he knew he could rely on Elaine for assistance if it was necessary. When he relayed all this information to Simon, the omega was visibly relieved. His support team had gotten just that much bigger.
So time went on. August turned to September. Teachers found their pace again. Students adjusted to their routines and no longer seemed so upset when they stopped to talk to him in the hallway. The flood of concerned parents slowed, and Nathan’s meetings tapered down to a more manageable amount.
Simon started to put on a little bit of weight around the middle as the weeks passed, though it wasn’t enough to really interfere with anything yet. He occasionally complained of tiredness, though his nausea had disappeared. According to their doctor, this was perfectly normal. His body was working overtime to build an entire human being inside him, so of course he was going to be tired.
The two of them spent as much time together as they could, though it was difficult to actually have any time together at all until the very end of September. Most of their time was spent in bed, waking up next to each other in the morning and going to sleep together at night. They occasionally ate dinner together, though Nathan found he had to eat dinner so late to get everything done, that it resulted in Simon eating twice. Simon was always hungry these days however, so that never became a problem. When Nathan started to have more time, two dinners turned into a dinner and dessert.
It wasn’t all just leisure, however. Simon spent a majority of his day reading up on baby development, and planning for all the things that the pup would need. He started to purchase odds and ends here and there, setting them up in Nathan’s home, in the spare guest bedroom. The guest room was a long way from becoming a nursery, and they were a long way from actually living together, but it was a start.
Simon’s mother pitched in with buying baby supplies, and so did Elaine. Nathan stressed to her that it was unnecessary, but she insisted. She kept bringing clothes and toys that she said were leftover from when her nephews and nieces had outgrown them, though it was obvious that every single item was new.
Nathan just gave in. They really did need help with this, and it was nice to know that there were people who cared so much.
There was one thing that resulted directly from the lack of free hours to spend with Simon, a sort of counterintuitive experience: lacking the ability to warm up to each other every single day, they had to jump straight into everything. Conversations started on a whim, as did sex. There could be no fiddling around, no hemming or hawing. What needed to be discussed was discussed, and what needed to be done was accomplished in a pinch. It brought them closer together, stripped away another few layers of the separation between them. Day by day, they became more of an actual couple.
That was what resulted in Nathan looking up at the ceiling one night while waiting to fall asleep, and saying, “We should go on another date.”
Simon glanced over at him from where he was propped up in bed, a little book light clipped to the corner of a volume about parenting. He’d been working steadily at it for days now, by no means a fast reader but a damn determined one.
Nathan took this as a sign that his lover was feeling more confident about the life they were building.
“I’m not sure,” Simon said. “Two dates in what, three months? You don’t think that’s a little excessive?”
Nathan growled at him, keeping his gaze on the ceiling, watching the play of shadows from Simon’s little light. The other wolf had been concerned about the light bothering him; Nathan just reassured him that it didn’t, preferring not to say he liked looking at their shadows together because it sounded a little dorky. “I think it’s the perfect amount.”
“I could stand to get out a little more,” Simon admitted. He sounded almost guilty, and Nathan reached out to pat his leg to reassure him that it was okay. “You’ve just been so busy and you’ve looked so tired. I didn’t want to say anything. I figured you could just enjoy this break without me making more work for you.”
“Well, that’s the thing about a date. It’s not supposed to be work.”
“You get what I mean, you stubborn ass.” Simon’s voice was teasing, lessening the potential sting of his words. “I didn’t want to wear you down when there’s so much more coming up. It’s going to be Halloween soon, and then Thanksgiving, and Christmas…You deserve a break.”
“I want to spend my break with you. I’ll see if we can get a reservation somewhere nice.”
“I’d like that,” Simon murmured.
Nathan was determined to make it happen. If Simon wanted it, Simon would get it.
Through the next couple days, Nathan spent a few minutes at a time researching nice restaurants in the surrounding area. He wanted somewhere that wouldn’t be fancy in a toxic sort of way, where they couldn’t relax.
Eventually, he settled on a restaurant called Viola! in Norfolk, across the river. It seemed to be a bit more relaxed than the other places he looked at, since they specifically advertised “friendly” service and a “hip” atmosphere.
Plus, they only had to go there once. If it sucked, they didn’t have to go back.
He placed the reservation for Saturday, 6:45 p.m.
The only unfortunate thing about making a reservation like that in advance was the fact that now they just had to wait. Somehow, they managed to get through the week. Simon spoke to a real estate agent about selling his house, and Nathan took a private trip to a jewelry store.
At long last, Saturday arrived.
Simon stayed over the night before, bringing his vest and dress slacks with him so they could just go straight to dinner when the time came. Nathan watched him get dressed, admiring his figure with warmth stirring around inside his groin. Even several months pregnant, Simon looked better than anyone else he had ever seen. His features had softened in a subtle sort of way, his skin growing softer and a bit more elastic without losing any muscle definition. He looked almost as if he had matured in a way, like a fine wine that was finally ready to be tasted.
Simon glanced over his shoulder while fastening his belt. “What are you looking at?”
“Dessert,” Nathan replied. He eyed Simon’s ass, wishing the slacks were a little tighter so he could see those peachy curves even better.
Simon smiled slightly. “I don’t know about you, but my dessert is going to be the chocolate mousse.”
“I’m trying to flirt with you,” Nathan laughed. He stood up and went over to Simon, fiddling with his bow tie under the guise of straightening it. In reality, he just wanted to get closer to the wolf who would, by the end of tonight, be his fiancé.
Hopefully.
“And I’m telling you that if you want sex, I’d better get some chocolate mousse.” Simon swatted his hands away. “Go put on your own tie. Mine is fine.”
Having had his ruse discovered, Nathan backed away and went to fetch his own tie. He folded it into perfect form around his neck, then glanced at himself in the mirror.
Simon reached up from behind him and pushed at his hair, dislodging some of the strands. Nathan didn’t mind. In fact, he would have actively encouraged this behavior if he had known how to communicate what he wanted. To have Simon grow so comfortable around him as to poke at him and tease him, it was one of the best feelings in the world. Nathan hadn’t ever had anyone who was so relaxed around him, since everyone tended to treat him like a police officer: with respect and distance, censoring everything they did and said for fear of crossing him.
He knew what all these feelings were, individually. Together, they all added up to something with a very specific name. He would give voice to those feelings tonight, letting fr
ee what he had been keeping inside for weeks.
“Quit admiring yourself, and let’s get this show on the road. I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry,” Nathan replied fondly. He turned and reached into his pocket, then held out his car keys to Simon. “Go get the Malibu started up. I want to check that everything’s all locked up.”
He knew he didn’t have the biggest or most expensive house in the world, and this was a very safe neighborhood with its own organized watch; all the same, it didn’t do to be careless.
Simon nodded, understanding. “Don’t be surprised if you come out and I’ve already left you behind.” He took the keys and walked off, twirling them around his finger and whistling.
“The reservation’s in my name!” Nathan called after him. “Enjoy your dinner alone.”
Simon called something in response, though his voice was too muffled for even Nathan to understand. The other wolf was already outside, shutting the door behind him as he went out front to the car.
Nathan waited in the bedroom for a few moments, his heart starting to pound. When he was certain that Simon wasn’t about to come back inside for something he’d forgotten, thereby catching him in the act, he dashed over to the nightstand on his side of the bed and yanked open the top drawer. He pulled out a box, which was stuffed to brimming with business cards; he had a habit of collecting them whether he needed them or not.
It wasn’t the cards he wanted, but what he had hidden beneath them.
Dumping the cards out on the bed, Nathan grabbed up a smaller, nondescript box and opened it up to reveal a velvety little jewelry box. He tucked that in his pocket, then checked to make sure it wouldn’t make a noticeable lump that Simon would notice.
Once that was done, he did what he said he would do and went around the house to check that all the doors and windows were locked. They were, as he had known they would be.
He pulled the front door shut behind him and went around to the car where Simon was waiting for him. The doors were all locked, and he had to beg to be allowed inside before Simon would allow him to enter.
Climbing behind the wheel, Nathan glanced over at his companion. “You’d better get that out of your system before the weather starts getting even colder.”
Though summer was reluctant to give in to the coming fall, it was still happening slowly but surely. The nights were muted with a faint chill that gathered strength with every passing day.
“What’ll you do if I don’t?”
Nathan backed out of the driveway, pausing before he shifted into drive just in case there was anything he’d forgotten. He looked over at his house. It really didn’t look like much on the outside, he realized. It was just a one-story house with a basement. Despite the fact that it was pretty big—being a principal wasn’t exactly the worst way to live—there just wasn’t much about it was that was special.
Maybe that would change soon. Simon would be living with him. The guest room would be converted into a nursery. They would have their baby. The house would finally be something he could be proud of, because right now, wealth and money meant nothing to him. He wanted that to change. He wanted to look at what he had and know it was being put to good use.
“You look like you’re thinking really hard about something,” Simon said.
Nathan felt his lover’s eyes on him, searching and searching. He tried to slow down his heartbeat, to keep his nervous excitement from showing. “I am. But it’s not important right now.”
Simon made a disbelieving sound but let the subject drop.
The sun was sinking slowly down towards the horizon, casting warm rays of gold and red across the city. Silver skyscrapers seemed ablaze in a wash of fire, the Elizabeth River reflecting what appeared to be a chaotic, apocalyptic scene. All of it was beautiful. A man couldn’t have asked for a more romantic setting for a fancy date night dinner.
All the same, Nathan felt long, spindly fingers of dread scratching their way down his spine. He wasn’t the kind of person who necessarily believed in bad omens, yet he couldn’t deny there was something unsettling about this.
It looks like melted rubies. Like passion, he thought, trying to make himself have a different opinion of the sunset. He just wasn’t able to do it.
“It’s like the river’s full of blood,” Simon said.
Nathan glanced over at him, flexing his fingers on the steering wheel in an effort to keep them from tightening any further. “Do you feel it, too?”
Simon glanced at him and raised one eyebrow. “Feel what? I just thought it was kind of cool. I don’t often come out in this direction at this time of day. Night, I mean.” He shook his head and then laughed a little. “Sorry. Pregnancy brain.”
“Maybe I’m also having pregnancy brain,” Nathan mused.
“That’s actually a thing,” Simon piped up. He sounded excited to be able to share something he had learned through all of his reading. “It’s kind of hard to explain but it’s mostly about hormones and subconscious sympathy. It’s your body responding to what’s happening with me.”
“Really?” Nathan had read something similar, though he wasn’t exactly studying up on the subject like Simon could. Perhaps he needed to. Or, he could take this opportunity to get his mind off the dread lingering in the back of his mind. “Tell me more about it.”
By the time they arrived at Viola! just in time for their reservation, Nathan had mostly managed to forget that strange omen he’d seen in the water and the sky. Animals had different ways of sensing things, especially shifters, but that didn’t mean he had to believe that every odd feeling that came his way was something significant. Maybe a wolf somewhere has in trouble and he had picked up on that. Hell, if it was an omen, it might not even be meant for him.
Best just to forget it and enjoy his romantic dinner.
The Viola! building itself was absolutely beautiful, composed of dark blue bricks with bright gold trim around the windows and doorways. The walls were designed like castle ramparts, elegant and stately.
Simon paused in what he was saying and looked at the restaurant. He let out a low whistle. “Wow. Are you sure that we belong in a place like that?”
“Look at that,” Nathan pointed, gesturing over the steering wheel at the street in front of the restaurant. Most of the cars were pretty average, all except for one truck that was covered in gigantic blooms of rust and dents. Half of the front bumper was missing, and both headlights were surrounded with thick swathes of duct tape that was evidently holding them in position. “If whoever drove that was allowed inside, I think we’re good.”
“Hmm.” Simon pursed his lips playfully, then shrugged. “I hope you’re right. It’d be kind of embarrassing to be turned away and have to go have a romantic dinner at McDonalds.”
“That won’t happen.” Nathan drove to the end of the street and then performed what was probably a very-illegal U-turn so he could work his way back around and parallel park in front of the restaurant. It took a few tries, inching forward and backing up again in increments, but eventually he managed to wiggle his way into the spot.
Leaning over so that he could peek out the window, Simon said, “I guess it’ll do. Better than anything I would’ve ever done.”
“That clunky van of yours wasn’t made for finesse. Hold on.” Nathan got out of the car and came around to the sidewalk so that he could hold Simon’s door open for him. Then, he offered his arm out. “Shall we?”
Simon laughed a little. “Okay.” They linked arms and walked around the side of Viola! with their faces gently warmed by the soft light spilling out through the big windows. A few other diners sat inside at tables, talking and laughing and drinking. Their mouths moved but no sound emerged that Nathan could hear, not even with his powerful sense of hearing. The disconnect was especially odd for a wolf, once more summoning a shadow of that dread which he had felt earlier. It was like an errant wind had sent ash his way, despite being far from the fire.
The illusion faded as so
on as they reached the gilded front of the building. An employee from within emerged to hold the door open for them. Nathan nodded to the man, who smiled back as if they had been friends for years.
The hostess inside greeted them with an even bigger smile, which was what really drove home the whole notion of friendly staff. Plenty of high-end restaurants had professional workers, though that didn’t always equal a good atmosphere if the employees were stiff-faced and passive. It gave the feeling of apathy, as if they didn’t actually care whether or not you had a good night at their place of business.
“Welcome to Viola!” Spreading out her hands as she spoke, providing a fanciful gesture that went along with the name of the restaurant, the hostess somehow managed to avoid sounding and looking ridiculous. The motion was somehow natural, as if she was always so expressive in her daily life. “Isn’t it such a beautiful night? Do you two have reservations?”
Nathan had already looked around the interior of the restaurant, taking in everything there was to see in only a glance. The hostess wore a red dress, and that red was an echoed theme around the rest of the space that he could see. French art covered the dark walls, illuminated by chic double-layered chandeliers with dozens of little lightbulbs. The tables and chairs were all shades of crimson, with the elegant curves that furniture in France was known for.
The atmosphere was exactly as advertised, dim and peaceful and comfortable. He could hear the low murmur of the other diners speaking, the occasional click of silverware against the surface of plates. And it was a low murmur, an occasional clink, because the space wasn’t well-populated at all. He had to question the need for reservations if there was so much space, unless this was exactly what they wanted.
“Yes,” he said. “Two for Pepper at 6:45.”
She didn’t even bother checking whatever list or schedule she might have on her podium. “Of course, sir. If you’ll please follow me?”
Alpha Principal Page 19
