Chapter 49 To Do Naughty Things
The main victim of this dinner was the chef.
Natalie seemed to have forgotten everything that happened before nighttime. She touched the bite mark between the thumb and forefinger of the man's hand and felt extremely distressed. When Luke pulled her into his arms, she did not resist. On the contrary, she refused to let go of his left hand and her body was curled up in his arms.
When he picked up some food for her she would open her mouth. She was quiet and she did not sulk anymore, it was as if she had done something wrong and she was very docile.
This while time, the chef cut, boiled, and fried the food in front of the bar and served them. After the meal ended, he called the mutual friend in front of the two and teased in his native language that the young couple in front of him really tormented him a lot.
It was unknown what the person on the other end said. The chef chuckled and replied to the person, yet his eyes were staring straight at Luke, "Mr. Bennington is utterly charmed by his girlfriend... Yes, he's deeply in love."
Luke just picked up a shrimp to put it on Natalie's plate. After he heard that, he slowly lifted his eyes.
When their eyes met, the chef's eyes were astute. Then, his tone became pompous. "If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it too. I'm wondering if this lady is an evil spirit because his eyes never left her the entire time."
"Haha! You're right, finally someone who can hold down this mad man."
Luke smiled as he heard that. He allowed them to mock him and he downed the content of his glass gladly.
However, Natalie was confused. Even though she watched a lot of TV shows from Chatforte, she did not understand the language. When she saw Luke's expression, she asked in puzzlement, "What did he say?"
"He's complimenting you," Luke looked at her seriously.
He leaned against the bar leisurely and he curled his lips into a nice-looking curve. His elbow was against the edge of the table and a transparent glass was between his dangling fingers. One could see the sake swirling inside the glass.
A lamp for ambiance was hanging on top of the bar and it was shrouding them silently with a tasteful light. The light rays were soft as they cast down on his face, softening his hard and sturdy features.
A pair of black eyes that were reflecting the light and her was hiding under his thick and dense eyelashes
Natalie absent-mindedly felt the passion in his eyes, it was the kind that he should not have. So, she could not stop herself from slowing down her breathing and she seemed to be intoxicated by his gaze.
In that instant, aside from indulgence, she also felt uneasiness drifting in the deepest part of her heart.
...
Actually, Natalie knew very well that Sloane was not the biggest obstacle between her and Luke, or rather, she might not even be considered as an obstacle.
At most, Sloane's existence was just to disgust her.
The thing that was truly obstructing them was the difference between her and Luke, and also her trauma and bias toward Athana since she was a child.
After she thought about it, this seemed easy to solve, she should just not care about it, what was so hard about that? However, after some serious contemplation, those were all irreversible matters and they rendered her so helpless.
Lucas was on shift in the Orthopedics Outpatient Department that morning. Natalie and two other resident doctors were listening and learning beside him.
At about noon, he finished consulting all of the patients who had prior appointments.
After it ended, Lucas asked the two resident doctors to leave first and asked Natalie to stay. "Nata, I have a question that I've been wanting to ask you this for a very long time."
Natalie sat next to him and after hesitating for a while, she smiled and said, "Ask away, Dr. Atkinson."
"You obtained the Athana Medical School MD certificate when you graduated, so you can work in Athana No.1 Hospital directly, but why did you come back to Alcomara?" Lucas crossed his hands and placed them on the desk while asking her seriously.
Natalie's eyes shone and she was stunned.
Lucas observed her expression and continued, "Athana No.1 Hospital's ability and clinical experiences are the best in the country, especially in Orthopedics. They are the magnate that is worthy of the name in the medical field. I believe you'll have a better development over there compared to here."
Natalie did not expect this question so she grabbed her fingers. Then, she pretended to smile relaxedly, "Dr. Atkinson, didn't you also come back to Alcomara and didn't stay in Athana?"
Lucas put away the seriousness that he only put on while he was at work on this rare occasion, and curled his bottom lip faintly. "My wife and children are here, what about you?"
What about her?
Her only family member wanted to cut ties with her, so to be honest, she did not have anyone in Alcomara that she needed to be concerned about anymore.
"I..." Natalie did not know where to start.
Lucas took out a form from his drawer, placed it on the desk, and pushed it in front of her. "While I was undertaking advanced studies in Bostabaca last year, I got to know an old professor named Mateo. You should have heard about him, he has high attainments in both clinical and scientific studies."
Of course, Natalie knew who he was. Professor Mateo was a famous Orthopedics expert in the medical field. He had made significant achievements in joint and bone tumor research, moreover, he had won numerous international awards.
It could be said that everyone in the medical field knew who he was.
"Professor Mateo is old now and he wants to mentor two more students before he retires. Right now, he's looking for suitable candidates and he's leaning toward medical students in Estain," Lucas said. "He asked me about this two days ago and he asked whether I have any talented and smart students whom I can refer to his research institute."
He said slowly and Natalie listened to him quietly.
Lucas pointed at the form in front of her with his fingertip. "I have a short-listing quota here but it's just a short-list, so it's still unsure who'll go in the end. If you are willing to go, you should try it out."
Natalie widened her eyes in surprise.
Lucas had already made himself clear now that he had said this. Professor Mateo had only mentored less than ten people in this world and this was a once in a blue moon chance.
Lucas directly continued to explain the situation to her, "You will be fine in the intermediate title exam. After three years of study in his institute, you will get a certificate after passing the assessment. Then, you will directly get the qualification for the deputy senior exam when you return to the country. He will also write a letter of recommendation for you, so you do not need an internship after those three years and you can serve as the deputy director of Athana No.1 Hospital."
Natalie thought, "Stay in Bostabaca for three years and then go to Athana after three years..."
Natalie captured the important details and she was completely stunned. Her heart started to race wildly and she could not speak after a long time.
Lucas cherished talents and the opportunity was rare so he did not want her to miss it. "Nata, to be honest, you are the best student I have ever taught, and of course, there are many other students that are excellent too, but I can see that you are a very ambitious girl, so I'm giving you this chance."
Perhaps he saw that she was hesitating, so Lucas said that it was extremely demanding to be a doctor, but if she stayed here year after year, she would be at least 30 or 40 years old when she got her senior professional title. If she studied in Professor Mateo's research institute, she would be able to be evaluated to be the Chief Physician before she was 30 years old after returning to the country. This would be a change of fate for all medical students.
After Natalie went back to Alcomara, Lucas was the one who guided her the entire time. He was very reliable and he would give everything he could to teach someone. Hence, he could be regarded as an eminent person in Natalie's career. He was speaking very earnestly and sincerely as he genuinely wished to help her with her life.
If this was back then, Natalie would definitely find an excuse to reject him on the spot. She did not want to go to Athana.
Yet, right now, Natalie hesitated. Her eyes behind the thin glasses were lowered and collected, she was drowning in deep hesitation.
"Dr. Atkinson..." After hesitating for a long while, Natalie still could not come up with a decisive decision. She dug her fingertips into her palm and recomposed herself. Then, she asked softly, "Can you give me some time to think about it?"
"Of course, you have to consider all things relating to your future properly, but I selfishly hope you can give it a try."
Lucas said it would be fine if she gave him an answer before September.
After leaving the office of the outpatient department that day, Natalie's heart was throbbing like an unbalanced scale and it was vigorously tilting to the left and right.
Even though Lucas gave her more than a month to consider, Natalie had no clue. All of her concerns turned into entanglements at this moment, and she had absolutely no idea what to do.
It was definitely the most tormenting summer Natalie had experienced.
On one hand, she was crazily in love, and on the other hand, she was in an ordeal and it was because she did not tell anyone about this.
In the same month, the super talented singer-songwriter Calvin Chapman, known as the most handsome man in the domestic entertainment industry, would make Alcomara the next stop of his solo tour that was themed, "Rock and Roll".
According to rumors, he also invited a mysterious guest that was of the highest level.
The night the tickets went on sale, all of the ticket-selling apps were so crowded that they were almost paralyzed.
The air conditioning of the bedroom was blowing out cold wind and Natalie was on a voice call with Mia. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed while trying her best to refresh the phone in her hand.
However, the tickets were all sold out in just a few seconds.
"Ah! Why are they like this? I'm so mad! If I can't go to my Calvin's concert, I'll cry! I curse that the people who fought me for my ticket to be constipated for a week and they won't have toilet paper for half a year when they do a number two!" Mia was wailing and crying on the phone.
"I didn't get it either..."
Natalie pouted as she looked at the blank ticket-selling page. She could not understand how her rivals could be so fast. "Do you think they have secret connections so they can pre-book the tickets or something?"
She said it casually but Mia fell silent all of a sudden. Then, she called out to Natalie solemnly, "Nata."
"Yeah?"
Mia had a sudden realization. "No, why are we fighting them for the tickets? Your man can surely get us the tickets with just a click of his fingers!"
"..."
Natalie bent down to pet Fourteen who was beside the bed. She sighed, "...I don't think he'll help me."
"How is that possible?" Mia did not believe her.
Natalie said grudgingly, "He'll get jealous whenever I take an extra look at people on the street, let alone going to the concert of the most handsome guy in the domestic entertainment industry. I don't think he'll let me go."
Then, the other side on the phone was silent.
Natalie saw that they were still on the call so she asked, "Mia, is the connection unstable?"
"No, the connection is great." Mia's dispirited voice came from the other end. "I was just gagging from all the PDA you're displaying just now."
"..."
"Damn it, are there no handsome and rich blind men who fancy me? I don't mind old men too!"
Natalie tugged the corners of her lips. "Not old men..."
"Old men are great. They have a subsistence allowance."
"..."
That day, after Mia persistently persuaded her, Natalie decided to call Luke after she ended her voice call with Mia. 
She considered asking him whether he could get two tickets for the concert.
Indeed, when Luke heard her request, he scoffed. Maybe he had a cigarette dangling between his lips, so his voice was a little lazy and inaudible. "You want to scream at other men while holding a glow stick and you want my help achieving that?"
"..."
"Natalie Moore, you're so bold."
The man's pettiness had reached such great heights. Natalia murmured, "My best friend is the one who wants to scream, I'm just going for the music."
"Really?" There was a trace of laughter in his voice.
Natalie felt goosebumps rising on her skin when she heard that word. She held her pillow and cleared her throat lowly. "Yes."
Luke did not answer her immediately, maybe he was taking another drag of his cigarette. After a long and lazy exhale, he said, "That's all? Aren't you going to act coquettishly to flatter me?"
"...What do you want?" Natalie wrung the corner of her pillow.
His voice sounded a little hoarse after he smoked. Then, he deepened his voice, "Baby, you should know that men have some fetishes, more or less."
After Natalie heard that, she did not speak. He was saying that to purposely make her thoughts wander to something inappropriate.
"Can I see you in your doctor's overall, Dr. Moore?" Luke asked slowly.
At that moment, Natalie did not understand and she fell into his trap, "Haven't you seen it before?"
He chuckled and his words were super amorous. He said softly, "I want to see you wear it at home."
Since Natalie was negatively influenced by her best friend Mia for so long, she immediately understood the meaning behind his words. After everything clicked, she recalled that there were always hospital themes in the adult movies from Chatforte.
Natalie's face immediately turned red. "Luke Bennington! Are you thinking about those shameful things? You... You have no shame! You beast! You scoundrel!"
After she scolded him, she seemed to hear scattered footsteps over the phone and they did not just belong to one person. Then, she could hear him talking to someone.
Natalie asked indistinctly, "Is there someone with you?"
"Yes, I'm drinking with my friends." Luke had a cigarette between his lips and he was indifferent. "Not a lot, maybe around ten to twenty of them."
"..."
Then, he chuckled lowly, "Dr. Moore, you can be louder."
"..."
Natalie flew into a rage from humiliation and hung up the call.
Luke was an scoundrel ! That night, Natalie fell asleep with a blush on her face and her mind was occupied with thoughts like that.
The next morning, someone came to deliver a letter to Natalie after she went back to her office when she was finished with her rounds.
After she opened it, there were two tickets to Calvin Chapman's concert and they were VIP seats with the best view.
For a while, Natalie was in a state of shock as she was sitting in her seat. She covered her mouth so she did not make any noises. Then, she quickly texted Luke and asked whether he was the one who asked someone to deliver her those tickets.
Luke replied in time but he sounded like he needed some beatings, "Who else will do that if not me? Do you think you have a man who's better than me?"
He was always like this and Natalie wanted to block him, but whenever she looked at Love NM on top of the chat, her anger would greatly vanish.
Natalie replied to him reluctantly, "Yes, yes, yes, you're the best."
The person on the other end was not happy. "Tch, why are you so perfunctory with me even after I allow you to meet your idol?"
After he said that, Natalie felt guilty, "...I didn't."
Luke, "You ungrateful little girl, back then you said you suffered a huge loss by being so good to me."
"..."
He mentioned the past without warning again and Natalie was not confident at all. In the end, she sent him a cute sticker of a cat to pretend to be dumb.
Then, she said sweetly, "I have the best relationship with you in this world!"
Luke seemed to be setting a trap for her, "Really?"
Unfortunately, Natalie did not think much at that moment, "Yes!"
Luke, "Then it means I can do naughty things to you."
Before Natalie could come back to her senses, he asked, "When are you getting off work today?"
Natalie replied obediently, "Five."
Then, Luke replied with an "okay" and nothing else.
After Natalie coaxed this man, she quickly texted Mia to tell her this good news. Then, the chat was occupied with Mia's screams.
Mia cheered, "Luke is the best!"
Two seconds later, she asked, "Did our Fairy Nata use her sex appeal to get these tickets?"
She did not use her sex appeal, but she was flirted with... As she recalled the call with Luke last night, Natalie subconsciously looked down at her doctor's overall and her thoughts started to become impure.
Natalie's ear turned red and she denied, "Stop your nonsense. He wasn't in Alcomara yesterday."
Mia said as a matter of factly, "That won't stop anything."
Natalie, "?"
Mia chuckled twice and said, "Phone sex or video sex."
Natalie knew the words individually but not when they were together. "What do they mean?"
Mia, "Are you even unwilling to look them up on the Internet?"
Natalie knew she did not have a pure heart.
Two minutes later, Natalie came back from her research. "Mia!"
Mia, "Peering from the dark.jpg"
Mia, "Making your dream come true with your own two hands.jpg"
Then, she asked, "You two are in a long-distance relationship but you've never done it before? Isn't Luke lonely when he doesn't have his girlfriend by his side during those long nights?"
Mia, "His fingers are pink so it shouldn't be."
Natalie suddenly remembered that night in the restaurant. She almost could not hold him and in the end, she felt as if her hands were getting burnt by him...
There was air-conditioning in the office but Natalie felt warm at that moment. She fanned her face with her hands and threatened Mia to stop, not allowing her to continue with this topic.
Mia changed the topic in embarrassment, "I want to know who the mysterious guest is at Calvin's concert. I heard it's an old celebrity of the highest level! Damn, if it's true, the tickets will be worth the price!"
Natalie was not bothered by this.
She only liked Calvin's songs and as for who the mysterious guest was, she did not care too much.
That day, Natalie and Sherman got off work at the same time. After the two had dinner outside, Natalie went home by taking the subway. She looked at her phone in the elevator and she wondered if she should order some milk tea since the weather was hot.
As she was contemplating, she started thinking unconsciously that it had been a week since Luke came back. Why was there no news from him? Was he so busy that he could not make time?
The door of the elevator let out a ding before opening sideways.
Natalie walked over and lifted her eyes away from her phone, then, her gaze met with the man's gaze without warning.
She stopped in her tracks and stared at him blankly. She was not sure whether she was seeing things.
Luke leaned against the door of her house lazily with his arms crossed. Then, he smirked. "You didn't tell me the passcode to your house and you didn't even give me the keys."
Natalie came back to her senses and beamed. She then ran in front of him and asked, "Why did you come here all of a sudden? Why didn't you tell me?"
She lifted her head and her light amber eyes were filled with surprise as she looked at him, a grin on her face. She walked all the way back from the subway station and her cheeks were red. The stray hairs that escaped from her high ponytail were plastered on her sweaty forehead and temples.
Luke looked at her and thought, "This is bad."
It had only been a few days and he missed her to death.
Luke straightened his body and reached out to hook his arm around her waist before he said anything. After he pulled her into his arms, he put his lips close to her ears. "I'm here to do naughty things."
In the next second, Luke took her earlobe into his mouth. Natalie's heart shuddered and she almost let out a moan.
She bit her lip and pushed him away. "Don't... Let's go inside first..."