Deleted Scene from Chapter 6: Ellie Dancing
I know these are supposed to be missing scenes, filling in some of the gaps of the story or else ideas which I had after moving too far along in the story to incorporate, but this one's a bit different. This is like a deleted scene because it would have been a bit out of character, even for an AU. But I couldn't get the image out of my head, so here we go!
Recap: Joe Miller's trial has been scheduled. Ellie has just her first two long, frustrating days at court. Alec had spent the previous night on Ellie's (very uncomfortable) couch and Lucy has already given them shit for it. Now they're unwinding at a bar on the edge of Broadchurch.
At first she dances by herself, carried away by the music and in no particular need of a partner. Eventually, however, some bloke moves in and dances with her. She goes along with it, not out of any particular interest in the man, but simply because it's easier to dance with someone. He's polite enough, keeps his hands away from any inappropriate areas, and they dance together for a while.
She glances over at Hardy every now and then, just to make sure he hasn't left her in the bar. He hasn't. He's waiting for her at their booth, watching over the rim of his beer. His expression is blank but his big, dark eyes never leave her.
The man leans over and says something in her ear, but she can't make it out. She laughs, hoping it's an appropriate response, and she guesses by his smile that it is. Those hands, which previously had been playing it very safe, are now sliding a bit lower on her back. She considers saying something, but he isn't out of line yet and she's still enjoying the dance. His fingers splay across her hips as he moves closer. It's a bit strange, but she closes her eyes, shutting him out while she continues to move to the music.
Just as her dance partner's hands start to slip lower, warm fingers close on her shoulder and a voice interrupts them.
"I'll take it from here," Alec says. Ellie's eyes shoot open in shock. Alec looks friendly enough, but there's steel in his voice: he isn't going to entertain any argument from the man. Reluctantly, seeing that Alec is not going to back down, her stranger moves away. A second later, Alec blocks her view of him by stepping in front of her.
"Do you even know how to dance?" she asks him.
"Shut up, Miller." He nudges her. "Move."
She does, awkwardly at first. He follows her lead and he's even worse than she is. But there's still a gratuitous amount of alcohol in her system, so she warms up to dancing again quickly. She laughs at him a bit because he's so far out of his comfort zone.
"Sorry if I…interrupted," he says into her ear, leaning into her.
"No you're not." She knows she's right – she can tell by the look on his face.
"Did you really want his hands all over you like that?" He sounds incredulous, as if he can't imagine a scenario where she might enjoy something like that.
"Not all of us can be pillars of isolation, Hardy. No, I didn't want his hands on my arse, but sometimes a little attention is nice."
He's silent for a bit, mulling that piece of information over. Then, the music slows and he startles her even more by tugging her in close. Her arms flail slightly before she finally settles them around him. His arms slip around her in a much smoother motion.
"Why are you still dancing with me?" she asks. He looks down at her for a second.
"Did you want him to come back?"
Well…not precisely. She isn't sure she's comfortable with this, either, but...he's a surprisingly good dancer when it comes to the slow stuff, and he's warm. Lulled by those things, she allows him to take the lead. Her head drifts toward his shoulder as he leads them, and she enjoys their easy, swaying motions and his clean, woodsy scent.
"You're good at this."
"I took lessons before my wedding," he says, his voice slightly gruff—as though he's admitting something embarrassing. She does giggle a little bit at the mental picture that paints.
"Did you?"
"Oh aye, didn't want to embarrass myself or Tess when it came time for the first dance. I got pretty good at it. It's been a while, but I remember."
She thinks about that for a while as they dance, a nervous Alec Hardy taking ballroom lessons. She's almost sad when the song ends and they step away from the dancefloor.
"Ready to head home?" he asks, and she nods. She'll feel silly about all of this later, but she's drunk enough now that all she feels is content. And she knows one thing now with certainty: she needs a divorce.