I crossed my tanned legs, one over the other, and flipped through the page of The Sun, pretending to be absorbed on an article I had just found on jam. Sherlock had asked me to help him with a case and that's what I was doing, little did I know it would involve sitting on a poolside chair and sunbathing all afternoon. We were visiting a high end hotel around four hours outside of the city to investigate the murder of a pool boy, which Sherlock had stated was maybe a 7, so we wouldn't be here for long. Well, he was wrong. It was now three in the afternoon and I had been sunbathing for hours, which I didn't mind. We rarely saw this much sun in the city. For Sherlock, the only upside to this case was he and I had been in the car for four hours, so we got to spend some time together. Well, that and the fact I got to wear my new yellow two piece, Sherlock seemed to appreciate that even more than the case or the car ride.
I noticed Sherlock was wandering over to me, seemingly lost in thought. I layed back once more, looking at all the commotion around me. Couples were everywhere: swimming, sunbathing, at the bar, taking dance classes, and playing ping pong. The weather was bright and sunny, warming the already heated pool to a comfortable temperature, making me wish I could swim, but Sherlosith ad yet to teach me, so I sat, observed, and tanned instead.
Seeing that he was only a few feet away, I lifted my sunglasses and raised an eyebrow at him, silently asking if we were done here. He shook his head, running his hand through his black curls and sitting down at the foot of the lounge chair. "It appears that we are going to have to check in. I will not be able to... Figure out what has been going on before dark." He said, picking his words carefully. We had discussed not mentioning the case in front of people, anybody could be involved. I nodded and looked him over, loving the sight of Sherlock dressed so casually. He had a pair of R.L Polo swim club swim shorts that were a navy blue with a green waistband (yes, I had tried talking him into a speedo, no he wouldn't go for it, claiming it would be "inconspicuous" enough)hanging low on his hips, a white tank top that fit him nicely and a pair of sandles.
It was strange to see him dressed like this, for multiple reasons, the first and foremost being: I had never seen him wearing anything except a suit, well except the time I saw him in boxers, but that didnt count. As far as I knew, he didnt dress like this unless it was for a case, even though it suited him very nicely- well, not as nicely as his purple silky shirt (yes, the one I secretly referred to as the purple short of sex. No judging!). He smirked, noticing that I was checking him out, which caused me to scowl and look at his face once more (which was equally as lovely a sight). "Okay, do you want me to do anything? I'm started to burn..." I said, still speaking in a low tone. Sherlock shook his head, looking at my pink shoulders. "No, we will talk later in the room. We are staying in room 239 on the second floor, here is a key." He said, handing me a key card. "We will go to the hotel restaurant for dinner, if you would like?" He asked, brushing a strand of hair off my face.
I giggled internally, he was actually giving me a silent apology for making me stay at a hotel a day longer than anticipated. He really didnt understand women very well, did he? I thought to myself. I nodded though, dinner would be nice. "Okay, I will pick you up from our room at five?" He asked, then added, as an afterthought, "Dress nicely!" He got up and strolled away, casually glancing around him, most likely deducing all of the affairs of our fellow hotel-residents. I shook my head slightly and got off my lounge chair, folding up my towel and gathering my belongings, planning on going to get ready, seeing as it was already 3:45 in the afternoon.
I started walking towards the French doors that led into the hotel lobby when I was stopped by a tall, muscular man who was wearing a pair of very tight swim shorts. He grabbed my arm and smiled at me, causing me to stop and look at him. "Hey, gorgeous! How are you?" He asked, his voice coming out smooth. Smooth like oil, I thought, pulling my arm out of his grip. "I'm going to go find my boyfriend." I answered, emphasizing the word boyfriend. The man smirked at me, stepping closer. "My name is Lance. Would you like to go get a drink? We could have some... Fun." He said, his voice sounding like he was trying to convince me of something. He added a wink at the end and flexed his muscles. I raised my eyebrow and took a step back. "You CLEARLY didnt hear me, I SAID I am going to go locate my boyfriend." I said, smiling at him politely, getting irritated. I didn't feel like being harassed, I had to go get ready.
Lance smiled a smile that was way too fake for my liking. "Well, clearly YOU didn't hear ME. I said we could have fun." He said, stepping closer, a malicious look in his eyes. I frowned and stepped around him, planning on just walking off. After a few steps I noticed that he was following me, seeing our reflection in the glass of the French doors ahead of me. I started getting worried, apparently he wasn't going to get the idea and I didn't have Sherlock around to protect me. Now I wasn't a girly girl and I knew self defense, but this guy was huge, atleast 6'2. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands, walking up to the lifeguard, with Lance casually following a few feet behind me. I bent down and whispered into the lifeguards ear, "Hey, that guy behind me won't leave me alone. I told him I was meeting my boyfriend, but he keeps harrassing me. Would you mind pretending to be my boyfriend, just so he will get the idea?" I asked, straightening and running my hand through my hair.
The lifeguard nodded, standing up. "Hey, babe! How was your afternoon?" He asked, loudly, pointedly looking over my shoulder at Lance. I smiled, fluttering my eyelashes for effect. "Oh, it was fantastic! Thank you for giving me a day to sunbathe!" I said, girlishly. The lifeguard chuckled, finding my acting skills funny for some reason. "He left." The lifeguard said after a minute of laughter. I laughed, wrapping my towel around my swimsuit-clad body. "Hey, thanks for that! Well, now I am going to go get ready for my actual boyfriend!" I joked, smiling my thanks at him and walking back towards the hotel.
A few minutes later I found myself walking into our hotel room, which turned out to be very spacious and attractive, obviously an expensive room. The walls were a light, sea blue with white oranate trim, seashells hanging on the walls, and a huge window looking out at the pond outside. The main room was lovely! All of the furniture was painted a crisp white, a queen sized bed sitting in the middle, decorated with white sheets and a quilt that was embroidered with a beach scene laying on top- not a wrinkle in sight. Across from the bed there was a large, flat screen tv sitting ontop of a dresser. In the corner, by the window, was a little table with two chairs. I smiled with delight when I also saw that there was a fairly large bathroom, with a huge tub/shower in it, surrounded by different kinds of scented soaps.
Sitting by the dresser were our bags, so I walked over and dumped my beach bag next to it. I all but skipped over to the window and closed the curtains, so I could get ready without the fear of someone (like lance) somehow seeing me. I decided that first and foremost I was going to find out what I was going to wear. I emptied my suitcase, not worrying about the mess and started looking through my clothing. I was about to settle on a pair of dress pants and a red blouse when I noticed a sweater box sitting at the foot of our bed. Curious, I went over and picked it up, seeing a note taped on top, the curly handwriting making me smile.
Dear Jessica,
I realized that since I told you that we most likely would not stay for long (even though you packed an overnight bag, in case) you probably did not have a dress, so I picked this up for you. I think the colors will look lovely on you.
-SH
I smiled and opened the box. Inside was a lovely seafoam green summer dress and a pair of pretty white sandals with tiny flowers on the straps. He is so sweet, I thought as I gathered the stuff I'd need for my bath and turned on the huge shower, the bathroom already fogging up, excited to try it out. I took around twenty minutes just standing in the warm water, completely in bliss, before getting out. I dried off and put my underwear back on, walking into the bedroom in the bare minimum, brushing my hair as I went. I dropped the brush into the bed and pulled the dress out of the box, looking at it happily. It was so pretty and what made it even better was the fact that Sherlock picked it out specially for me.
I placed it carefully in the box once more and grabbed my small makeup bag, heading towards the full length mirror that was on the back of the closet door. Sitting down Indian style in front of it, I grabbed my eyeliner, mascara and blush, ready to look as nice as possible for my wonderful date. I also pinned back the side of my recently cut hair, placing a pretty flower clip in it for decoration. Satisfied with how I looked, I glanced at the clock that was on the night table. It was 4:45 already, so I figured I'd best put my dress on. Sherlock was rarely late, so I didn't want to be the one to hold us up. I pulled the pretty, soft dress out if the box and slipped it on over my head, smiling when I saw my reflection.
The top cut straight across my chest, with spaghetti straps that were silver holding it up. It showed off my legs, reaching just above my knees. The color contrasted beautifully with my freshly tanned skin and the dress hugged all the right curves, making me look bustier than usual. I grinned, Sherlock must have me memorized to pick out something that fits me so perfectly, I thought. I sat on the edge of the bed and put on the cute shoes. Just as I finished strapping them I heard a knock on the door, i got up and went to answer it, seeing Sherlock through the peephole. I laughed as I opened it. "Don't you have a key?" I asked playfully, Sherlock stood in front of me, arms behind his back, dressed in a white button up, with the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of black dress pants. That was the Sherlock I knew and loved, looking so relaxed in his expensive clothing.
Sherlock smiled, his eyes crinkling slightly. "You are beautiful!" He said, handing me a bouquet of purple flowers. I, delighted, threw my arms around his neck, giving him a huge hug, even though he tensed at the unexpected hug. "You are so sweet! Thank you for the flowers!" I said, letting go of him, I headed into the hotel room. "Just let me put these in some water and we can get going." I said over my shoulder as I bent down to look through a cupboard for a vase. I saw Sherlock sit on the edge of the bed, clearly enjoying the view of my backside. I smiled to myself when I found a vase, filling it with water and placing the flowers inside. "Oh, they are beautiful. Oh, and thank you for the dress!" I said, sitting them on the table and standing in front of Sherlock.
Sherlock smiled, standing and grabbed my waist. He pulled me in for a sweet, but longing kiss, before saying, "We should get going, our reservations are for 5:30." I frowned a bit, how did he get reservations? We weren't expecting to be here this long, I thought, then shrugged, following him out of the room and grabbing his arm.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Dinner was lovely and we had a lot of fun, talking and laughing. I didn't mention the case and neither did he. It was great. Sherlock also made a point to compliment me at every opportunity, causing me blush like crazy. He even ordered wine, which was unlike him. I had never seen him drink, in the two years I've known him. After dinner we took a walk around the pond and held hands. "Have you enjoyed yourself tonight?" Sherlock asked, as we slowly strolled back to the hotel. I smiled and nodded. "Yes, it has all been quite romantic and fun. Did you have fun?" I asked him, knowing he didnt normally enjoy romance, finding it boring. He just nodded and squeezed my hand.
We made it back to the hotel room and I changed into a housecoat before coming out of the bathroom. Sherlock was flopped across the bed on his back, eyes closed. I started to wonder if he was asleep when he patted next to him in the bed, without opening his eyes. I blushed, knowing that he knew I had stood and stared at him, but sat down next to him nonetheless. He opened one eye and looked at me, causing me to smile. "You still look amazing." He said, seriously, not cracking a smile. I flushed as he looked into my eyes and sat up, pulling me into his lap.
"You planned this, didnt you?" I asked, breaking the silence after a few moments. Sherlock looked at me, surprise evident on his face. "How did you deduce that?" He said, confirming my suspicions. I smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "You had reservations, rented an expensive room, and bought me a dress even though there are no stores in the hotel, suggesting that you bought it ahead of time." I said, leaning my head to the side and smiling at him adoringly. He grinned, saying, "Good work, detective Abbott!" Then leaned in and kissed me sweetly on the mouth.
I pushed him back on the bed and continued kissing him, deepening the kiss and clutching the front of his shirt with my tiny hands. He smiled against my mouth, wrapping his arms around me. We kissed for a while before he pulled away. "What?" I asked him, searching his eyes and panting slightly. "You don't want us to accidentally get carried away, so while I still have my wits I am going to stop us." He said, his eyes twinkling up at me. I frowned, wondering wht he got to be the logical one and why I had to be the one that always got carried away. He stroked my cheek, making my frown vanish in a blink.
"It is midnight." Sherlock said, softly pushing me off of him. I nodded, now perched on the bed next to him as he sat up. "I am tired. I have not slept in a few days. Even though this was all a setup, I have had a case the last two days. I finished it right before we came." He said, adding a yawn for effect. I smiled and touched a curl, that needed trimmed, right behind his ear. "That's why you ate dinner tonight. You haven't eaten for a few days, have you?" I asked, a soft smile on my lips. Around him I just couldn't quit smiling, even when he was being a prat, which he most definitely was not being right now. He nodded slightly, kissing my nose and causing me to giggle. "Yes. Now go get changed for bed in the restroom. I will change out here." He said, getting off the bed.
"You did bring pajamas, right?" I asked, teasingly. Sherlock rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yes, I bought a pair just for the times when you sleep with me." He said, completely oblivious, once again, to how that sounded, the funny part was I didn't even blush. I had been with him for six months and he always said blunt things like that, it was just part of Sherlock. I grabbed my nightshirt and went into the bathroom, changing and brushing my teeth. When I came out Sherlock was standing, wearing a pair of blue cotton pajama pants. I mentally groaned, seeing that he didnt have a shirt on. Not that I minded, but it made it hard to fall asleep with this amazingly good looking and sweet man laying next to me, in nothing but a pair of pants.
Sherlock got into bed, the left side (like always) and lifted the covers for me. He had pulled back the quilt, so we only had the sheet to cover up with. I crawled under and he dropped it over me, wrapping his arms around my tummy. I had my back pressed against his warm chest and my hands were on top of his. I felt him bury his face in my hair. "You smell good." He murmured, earning a light chuckle on my part. The lights were already out, the moon shining in through the window. "I love you, Sherlock." I whispered, sleep calling me quicker than anticipated. "I love you too." He answered.
I woke up the next morning with the sheet thrown off of us and into the floor. I was laying on my back, my knees bent slightly towards my chest, my gray nightshirt pulled up, showing my panties and flat midriff, much to my embarrassment. Sherlock was as close to me as he could with still laying on his own pillow, on his side with an arm underneath his head. To my surprise the other hand was on my tummy, his long fingers relaxed. I looked at his sleeping face, not daring to move. His features were so relaxed and vulnerable when he slept. His dark eyelashes fanning his sharp cheekbones, making his skin look ever paler. His dark curls were only slightly messier than usual, even though he had slept on them. Sometimes I wondered how he was so perfect, inside and out, and still managed to love me. I sighed, falling asleep with the knowledge that he did love me, no matter how illogical.