6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Kit

Boy, if that's the way first dates were meant to go, I'd been missing out. Though I had a feeling the sole reason it went as well had everything to do with the man I was with and not so much with what we did. Outside of that kiss, that was. How was it I pictured myself having a future here with Nate? Being that I always followed my gut, I wasn't going to go against it this time and it told me to stay here. Even though it had only been a short while, Foggy Basin felt more like home than any place ever had.

And then my brain was back to that kiss .

Oh. My God.

Did it ever curl my toes. I'd read it a million times, the leg pop, the trembling, the whole body on fire for a kiss that rocked your world. However, how the authors described it was nothing compared to reality. Of that one groundbreaking, earth-shattering kiss. Like the one Nate gave me outside the restaurant tonight.

I didn't think it was possible to feel it as bone deep as I did. I believed in signs and that was one I wouldn't ignore. Trust me, I'd seen enough of them since I came here and not one told me to run or to pack up my backpack and hit the road. Nothing warned me to be afraid or scared.

Not a single red flag waved.

Was it possible I finally found where I belonged?

I dreamed of that kiss all night and how it would feel to have Nate's lips all over me. My hole contracted at the thought of him penetrating it. First with his fingers and then his cock. My God, to feel what I saw beneath those boxers that first night. Long and thick. Filling me in the best of ways. I shuddered at the thought. All this desire was spurred by a single kiss. When his tongue slipped between my lips and touched mine, I nearly came. How was it possible to come without being touched? Had it truly been that long or was it that mind blowing ?

Going to sleep with thoughts of Nate only led me to wake horny and hard as hell. The smell of bacon wafted from the kitchen so he was up and there was no way I was facing him in my current state. I scrounged through the nightstand, but no lube or lotion was stashed there. Something I'd remedy first chance I got. It appeared my only options were to wait for the damn thing to go down or sprint across the hall and rub one off in the shower.

Shower for the win!

I grabbed my clothes, covered my crotch and ran out into the hall...and right into Nate. "Shit, I'm sorry."

"Good morning to you, too," he kissed me. "You okay?"

My face heated, that kiss did nothing to deflate the situation between my legs. "Oh, I, um…"

Nate's brows rose. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing, was gonna shower, that's all."

Way to contradict yourself and that truth you preached last night.

"Kit."

Ugh, yes, Daddy was on the tip of my tongue and I barely refrained from blurting it out. Again. "I, um, have an issue to take care of."

"Issue? Is something wrong, are you hurt?" He patted my back and sides, waiting for any sign of pain .

"Not the way you're thinking." I sighed. "I have something to deal with." Why were the words so hard? I pressed my groin against him, so he'd get the point. No pun intended.

Nate's eyes widened and he grinned. "I had a similar situation myself this morning. Need some help with it?"

Did I?

"Yes, Daddy." There was nothing I could do to stop the words that time as I nearly begged. "Please."

Nate took my hand and led me into his bedroom then gently guided me to lie back on the bed. "May I remove these?" He tugged at the rim of my boxers, and I nodded. He slid them off and tossed them to the floor. "Do you still want hold the pile of clothes you've got a death grip on?"

I was such a dork. Completely lost to the act that we were about embark upon. More like what Nate was about to do. To me. One of many acts I'd dreamed of last night. I tossed the clothes on the bed as Nate slid my boxers off.

"Now the question is, do I use my hand, or my mouth?"

This man, without a doubt, was trying to kill me.

Oh, sweet baby Jesus. I wasn't a religious man, having grown up with no insight into it. But, you know, when in Rome and all that. Praying to whatever deity would help me keep my cool, I was good with throwing a shout out .

"Either choice will likely end fairly quickly and then we can get you fed." Nate drew in a breath. "I've been dying to taste you, so the mouth it is. Now, be a good boy and make sure Daddy hears every sound." I shivered at his words. How many times had I been told to keep quiet, that it was just a quick fuck and then we parted ways? Finally, I got to let go and fully immerse myself in the glorious experience. Back to that sweet Jesus thing.

Nate knelt on the bed and crawled up between my legs. "Feel free to grab my head and fuck my mouth." This man blew my mind and was now in the process of sucking what remained of my brains from my cock. Nate's tongue trailed up the shaft and around the head before he drew me in all the way to the base.

My hips thrust up on their own. Thankfully, he didn't gag. "S-s, sorry."

Nate side-eyed me in that be good way.

That was hard to achieve given this was…yeah.

I'd been on my knees enough times to know but now that I was thinking about it, I didn't remember anyone ever having been on their knees for me. Maybe one of the boys I experimented with as a teenager, but that was so long ago. Either way if this wasn't my first blowjob, it'd for sure be the one that was committed to memory .

"Fuck, Nate, I'm not gonna last much longer." The methodical way his tongue moved up and down, hitting every overstimulated spot. Hell, who was I kidding? My dick was a ticking time bomb, with only a few seconds before reaching detonation. His finger slid down along my perineum and a needy sound escaped me. As soon as it circled my hole and the tip popped in, I lost it. I gripped his ears, thrust up and came so hard my eyes rolled back. I rode it out until my body went limp.

Nate slid off my cock, far too pleased with himself and proudly announced, "Time for breakfast."

I couldn't think, let alone walk. He literally removed every last brain cell I had and my muscles were mush. Nate figured that out and grabbed my boxers off the floor, sliding them back into place then hopped off the bed and had the audacity to turn around and wink at me. I didn't have the energy nor the brainpower for a smart-assed comeback. He held his hand out and when I didn't reach for it, he grabbed mine and pulled me up, then he kissed me.

"Now, good morning, sweet boy."

"Yes. Yes, indeed it is. What are the chances I could be woken each morning this way?"

Nate chuckled. "Would be easy to achieve if you were already in bed beside me."

Blink. Blink .

"Take care of your morning stuff and meet me in the kitchen." Nate disappeared around the corner. It wasn't until I heard the pots and pans shuffled around that I found my footing and got moving.

When I reached the dinner table, in the space that had become mine sat a plate piled high with eggs, bacon and sausage with a shared tray stacked with toast.

"Eat up. You need to replenish your energy," Nate teased. "I fully anticipate every townie popping in to check on us today and comment on our date. As though their opinions matter."

That much Nate was right about, those busy bees were all up in our business and I wasn't talking about Pints ‘n Pool.

"Good morning, Merle," Nate greeted him as he unlocked the bar door and turned on the open sign.

"Morning, Nate, Kit. Hmm, smells like sex in here."

Jim, another local, joined Merle at the bar. "Boy howdie, that kiss was sizzling hot. You two are the talk of the town."

Nate shook his head, and my face heated to an unhealthy level.

"I swear, if I didn't know any better I'd think you two were born in a barn." No sooner had Nate finished that sentence than in walked a handful more locals. We were never this busy at opening .

Hated to admit it, but it was kinda fun to be the center of attention for a little bit. Eventually, the newness of Nate and I would wear off and everything would fall into the new norm it created but for now, we'd enjoy our few seconds of fame. Plus, the extra business at the bar was good for the bottom line.

Nate began teaching me how to make different drinks so I could help him behind the bar when we got busy. Bussing tables on Friday and Saturday nights was a given at those times but otherwise I was all over the place, helping wherever I could. When Vonda would get overwhelmed, I'd hop in and take orders, too.

From the time we opened until the dinner rush was over, we had a steady flow of nosey, but paying patrons. Nate called Vonda and Stevie in to help out. They didn't mind the extra hours and said they were sitting at home with the kids, and they were driving them crazy.

Early on, Nate and I agreed to not give the townies any more fodder than they'd already gathered. Nate and Kit's soap opera hour wasn't turning into a mini-series, we had teased them. Eventually they'd get bored and stop asking questions, though right now they did their best to rephrase ones we'd declined to trick us into answering.

So, when is the wedding ?

You're already living together, might as well put a ring on it.

When is Kit's family coming to meet us?

"Us? What's this us nonsense?" Nate asked and Joel, a man I'd never met before today huffed.

"We're family here. Kit's near family so it's time his blood relatives get up here and meet us." For some reason, that made perfect sense to Joel.

Nate winked at me, and we turned the flirting up to ten and had fun at their expense. Sneaking peeks that weren't sneaky at all. Extra touches that earned a few cat calls and wolf whistles here and there. Just made it all that much more enjoyable to poke at the hungry bears. So much for our earlier pact, we were having a blast.

"What a day," Nate sighed as he locked the door as the last customer left, even though it wasn't closing time. "No use staying open any longer. Every abled body within town limits has been here today."

"That was a lot of people. How long do you think it'll take before the newness of us wears off?"

"Well, if we don't watch ourselves they will have our wedding planned. The next thing you know, we'll walk into the bar and the justice of the peace will be standing front and center surrounded by an all too familiar crowd. "

"Do you think they'd really do that?" I had zero problems with marrying Nate if or when we reached that milestone, but in our own time and in our own way.

"Absolutely. The man you met today, Charlie Pratt."

"Yes?"

"He is the town non-denominational minister. I get the feeling he was sizing us up and was way too excited to meet you for my liking. I think this town's been trying to marry me off for longer than I knew."

"Oh shit."

"Oh shit exactly. Speaking of which, I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of calling Joseph Gilderoy. He's the town lawyer. We have an appointment with him tomorrow morning at nine to see how we go about getting you a birth certificate and hopefully a state ID to get your social security and food handlers' cards. Then we can work on teaching you how to drive."

"Just for the record, I already know how to drive." Nate's eyes widened. "We learned on tractors first and then the truck that was used to run errands to the next town over. We were all taught how to drive but the only ones that had their licenses were the adults." Most of the kids had last names outside of my family. My parents were born on that compound and came from a long line of elders. I suppose if I'd have paid attention and traced the lineage back in the ledgers that they kept in the common room library, I probably could've figured out what mine should've been. The thought never occurred to me at the time because it was a non-issue.

"Makes sense, but it's unfamiliar territory for me and I want to do everything legally. We'll see what Joseph has to say in the morning. I'll pop a pizza in the oven so we can eat and head home."

I'd never talked to a lawyer before, wasn't sure if I should be nervous or not.

I tossed and turned all night. Different scenarios played in my head, like what if it was illegal to not have a birth certificate? Could that result in a fine or worse, jail time? What if the lawyer couldn't help us?

There had to be a way to make this right. Everything had a fix, right? How had my parents never considered what a mess this would cause their children once they left the compound? Why weren't the midwives held accountable? Then again, they were commune members, too, and followed the elders' ways.

My mind never shut down and I was up before Nate in the morning and decided to make breakfast for him for a change. I had just put our plates into the oven to keep warm when a pair of familiar arms slid around my waist from behind .

"Good morning, sweet boy. What are you doing up so early?"

I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"Why was that? You know you can crawl into bed with me anytime, claim that big empty side as yours."

Why was it taking me so long to do that? What exactly was I afraid of?

"The birth certificate, the driver's license, the lawyer fees. I can't imagine it will be cheap and then it dawned on me, I don't even have a social security card. I just feel like I'm a bigger problem than all of this is worth."

Nate spun me around so fast I nearly fell. "Don't you ever talk badly about my boy again or there will be consequences in the form of a punishment."

Was he serious? I'd never been punished in my life. I didn't even remember being sent to time out let alone spanked.

"Sweet boy, I'm the Daddy. I will take care of this. You've got to trust that it'll all work out. Okay?" Nate held me tight. I really wanted to believe it, but nothing about it sounded easy or cheap.

"Let's eat this delicious breakfast my sweet boy made us and then we'll get dressed and head on over to our appointment. "

I didn't talk much during breakfast and finished eating before Nate did. Granted, I hadn't filled my plate as I usually did. My stomach was a ball of knots, and I wasn't about to stuff it full and risk hurling. I cleaned the kitchen and then dressed in one of the new outfits Nate had bought me. It was nice to have new clothes, but I still wasn't comfortable with what he'd spent.

"Ready to go?"

"About as ready as I'm gonna get."

Nate took my hand. "All right, you gotta stay home, Jelly Belly. We'll be back for you in a little bit." She spun in a circle on her bed then plopped down. We'd get no argument from her on that, the poor girl would rather rest than walk.

"There's no need to be nervous, Kit." Nate did his best to reassure me. "Trust me, we'll get this figured out one way or another."

Had to admit, I enjoyed how easy it was to get around town, though in this instance my stomach hadn't settled by the time we reached the office. We entered into a storefront entrance along Main Street. I wasn't expecting a lawyer's office to have floor-to-ceiling windows that faced the road. Anyone who walked by could see who was inside. That small town lack of privacy thing wasn't ideal .

"Good morning, Nate. It's good to see you," the woman behind the desk said as she came around to hug Nate. "And you must be Kit. I'm Donna, Joseph's wife and secretary. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, ma'am." My hands shook and I nearly stuttered from nerves.

"I'll let Joseph know you're here. Give me just a moment." Donna walked down the hall and disappeared into an office, returning a few seconds later. "Come on back, boys. He's ready for you."

"Nate, it's been a while." He and Joseph shook hands. "And you must be Kit. Welcome, gentlemen, why don't you take a seat."

We sat in the two leather chairs facing Joseph's desk. "Now, Kit, Nate's told me a bit about your predicament, and I've done some checking. There is, of course, more paperwork involved than there would be had you only lost your birth certificate. My contact at Vital Statistics sent the forms over to help move us along. It's a little unorthodox, I must admit, but doable. Any information you can provide about the commune would be helpful, like is there a physical address?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I remember one of the weekly errands was into a nearby town to pick up our mail at the post office and other supplies. I think if anything, there's at least a PO box. Would map coordinates work?" I mentally cursed my parents for this. Nothing about this would be easy.

"Well, we can start with that. I don't think they'll accept a PO box, but we can try. Fill out this paperwork as best you can and then we'll go from there." He handed me a pen and a clipboard with papers attached and I filled them out while he and Nate talked. "If there is no last name that your parents can provide, I'd guess you'd need to pick one."

"What's your last name, Nate?" His eyes bugged out like he'd been spooked.

"Um, Cloverdale."

"Can I use that if there aren't any others?" Nate and Joseph stared at each other. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Well, no, not really, it's just…" Joseph replied. "Generally speaking, taking the surname of a significant other is done through marriage."

My turn to be all bug-eyed. There was so much I didn't know, simple things such as this, and I looked like an idiot. Were my parents even legally married? How had I never thought to ask these questions before? It was like I skated through life with blinders on.

"Oh. Okay. Sorry. I can call my mom and see if she knows anything." Nate still hadn't said a word. He just kept staring at me like I'd lost my mind and yeah, maybe I had. I finished the papers and handed the clipboard back to Joseph.

"Thank you, here's my card. Please call or email me with any information you have. In the meantime, I'll send this over and will be in touch as soon as I hear anything." Joseph stood as we did. Nate said goodbye to Donna on our way past, so I hadn't broken him. Not completely, at least.

We called for Belle on our way past. She wandered out through the dog door, her nub wagging away and met us inside the bar. It was unnerving, though, Nate not talking to me.

"Nate, what did I do to make you mad at me?"

"Sweetheart, I'm not mad at you and I'm sorry I made you feel that way. It's actually kind of…" he tugged at his beard like he did when he got nervous. "Well, you just kind of got me thinking when you mentioned taking my last name. I mean, I'm honored and all." He paused and I figured, here comes the this isn't working out speech . "I guess I had hoped you would pick us and stay in Foggy, and we'd build a life together and eventually get married. Not gonna lie and say I haven't thought about it because I obviously have. I mean, we haven't even exchanged I love yous or well, you know." He seemed to be answering himself more than me. Almost like he forgot I was there.

"Oh, I, um…" What did I say to this? "I mean, I'd like to stay. I want to stay here. With you. Everything was falling into that place, and I was just riding along, and never thought about having a discussion with you." No, that would've been the grown-up thing to do, dumbass . "But yeah, if that's what you want. I know it's what I want. I know I've only been here a few weeks" Fuck, ramble much?

"Two months, three days, sixteen hours, and four minutes," Nate rattled off.

"Should I be nervous or honored that you know exactly how long I've been here? Is this some kind of genius thing? OCD?" Where was he going with this?

"More like my brain trying to justify how quickly I was falling in love with you. Then it kinda rolled into an OCD thing, and then my mind calculated every minute. I have the seconds, too, but figured it would be too much to throw that out there."

"Wait. You love me?"

No one besides my family had ever said those words to me, nor had I said them to anyone other than them myself. Did I love Nate? Given the fact I hadn't once thought about leaving him said a lot. In fact, as I just told him, I wanted to stay and build a life with him. Was that love? My parents wanted to be together forever, and they loved each other. Did I take my wanting to be with Nate forever to mean love? Wow, this was a lot to decipher.

"All right, slow your roll over there, Kit. You got steam coming out of your ears. I didn't say that to give you an aneurysm, I just spoke my thoughts aloud. I know you care for me, or you wouldn't have said you want to stay and build a life together. When you feel the words, then you say them and not a second before. They don't mean anything if they're not from the heart."

I ran behind the bar and hugged him. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but whatever it is I hope I keep doing it."

"My sweet boy," Nate kissed the top of my head. "All you need to do is be yourself. You're perfect the way you are, don't ever try to change you. For me or anyone else."

How could anyone not fall in love with a man who said such sweet things?

I texted my mom the questions from the lawyer. I hadn't expected to hear from her as fast as I did, especially when in lieu of texting she called me.

"Hey, Mom, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing well, but these questions that my son is asking me make me wonder if he's all right. "

"Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. Nate wanted me to get my license, so I'd be able to run some errands in his truck. Then it came about that I don't have a birth certificate, or a last name, or a social security card for that matter and now there's a lawyer involved."

"A lawyer involved?" Her voice escalated. "Are you in trouble for this? Can they throw you in jail? What's going on?"

"Deep breath, Mom. Everything's okay. You know I'm not one to cause trouble but because there's no birth certificate, we had to get a lawyer to investigate what it would take to get one. Come to find out it does require a last name. Do we have one and you've just never told us?"

"Well, there was one generations back on both sides of the family. Your father and I were married here, inside the compound, but outside these walls we're not considered legally married." I was afraid of that. "We can go through the archives and figure it out but as far as a birth certificate goes there's only the ledger we keep of all the births that happen on the compound. No births were ever registered with the government as far as I know. How long do you plan to stay in Foggy Basin?"

"Honestly, forever. I've got a wonderful man and I'm building a great life here, with him." Wow, that was easy to admit .

"My sweet baby boy is in love. I've waited so long for this day to come. Your brothers and sisters are paired up and starting their families. I worried you'd wander the earth alone forever."

"Geez, Mom, I'm only twenty-two."

"I have to meet this wonderful Nate. Maybe Dad and I will take a road trip up to Foggy." Yeah, like that'd happen, though while I thought it, I didn't dare say it aloud.

"Well, after we get all this paperwork sorted out, then maybe I'll be able to drive you around and show you the town." And have time to get my shit sorted out, though I left that part off.

"That would be wonderful, love. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"That's okay, Mom. We'll get it figured out. I love you."

"I love you, too, baby boy."