Mary Dates Lou
Chapter: 4
Pairing: Mary/Lou
Rating: PG
The morning light coming through the oversized windows lit up the entire apartment. Lou had been awake for a while and was struggling with the decision rather to get up or not. The sofa wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but he wanted his relationship with Mary to work out and he didn't want to rush things. After several minutes he pushed the blanket off of him and sat up on the sofa.
He glanced at the clock finding it to be close to ten. There were no sounds coming from the other room and he decided that Mary was still sleeping and he didn't want to wake her. He was in dire need of a shower and a shave. He went over to the desk and picked up a pen, scribbling her a short note on her monogrammed notepad.
He placed the note on the breakfast counter where she would be sure to find it. He was resisted temptation to look in on Mary because he knew that if he did he probably wouldn't be leaving any time soon. After all he had to be back at noon to pick her up.
Mary awoke to an empty apartment. She found a hand written note on the counter. As she read over it she smiled. Lou wanted the spend the day with her. First a baseball game and then dinner later at the new Italian restaurant that just opened downtown. She was heading to the shower when she heard a knock at the door. She thought maybe it was Lou coming back, but she was wrong.
"Good morning, Mary." Sue Ann said, happily. "I didn't wake you did I, dear?"
"No." she replied, remembering she was still in her robe. "What's going on, Sue Ann?"
"Well." she said, pushing her way into the apartment. "I was out and in the neighborhood so I thought that I would stop by. I thought maybe we could do a little shopping."
"Uh, Sue Ann..." she started. "I actually have plans for this afternoon."
"A date?"
"Well, sort of." she replied. "I'm going to a baseball game."
"You don't strike me as the baseball type."
"I'm not really." she admitted. "But I think with the right teacher I could learn to like it."
"We're talking about baseball, Mary, not sex." she laughed. "So who's the guy?"
"Oh, he's just someone I've had a few dates with." she said, casually. "It's no big deal."
"Usually when a woman does something she hates, like attending a baseball game, it is a big deal." Sue Ann told her. "He must be quite the catch."
"You could say that."
"So who is he?" she asked. "Do I know him?"
Mary's thoughts lingered on Lou. She wasn't ready to tell anyone anything about their relationship just yet. Not when everything was so new. "No, I don't think so."
"I'll be the judge of that, dear." she said. "What's his name?"
"Name?" she questioned. "Um, John, his name is John."
Sue Ann smiled. "Oh, you're such a bad liar, Mary." she said. "But that's okay, you don't have to tell me. I'm sure I can figure it out on my own. I will take a rain check for our shopping date though. Perhaps we can go shopping and get you something a little more provocative to wear, dear. It might help you hold on to him better."
"As intriguing as that sounds I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass, Sue Ann."
"If you don't keep things spicy he might lose interest."
Mary wrapped her arm around Sue Ann's shoulders and started walking her toward the door. "I seriously doubt that." she told her. "This man is kind and caring and not interested in trivial things."
"All men like a little variety." she said. "After all it is the spice of life. But suit yourself and when he dumps you I won't say I told you so. I promise."
She opened the door. "Goodbye, Sue Ann."
"Goodbye, Mary." she said. "Good luck on keeping this one."
Lou had decided that instead of sitting in the WJM box at the stadium that he and Mary should sit among the other fans. They were on a date and he didn't want to spend the entire time pretending like they weren't simply because they were sitting with colleagues. This way they could be themselves without having the prying eyes of onlookers or sparking idle office gossip.
Too bad his plans were thwarted by none other than Ted Baxter. He must have spotted them right away because he waved and yelled from several rows away. "Hi, guys." he smiled, stopping at where they were sitting. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Hi, Ted." Lou mumbled. "Heading up to the box?"
"Yes." he replied. "It's much roomier up there." he said, looking over at Mary. "I didn't know you were a baseball fan, Mare."
"Well." she breathed out. "Mr. Grant offered to teach me about the fundamentals."
"You have more patience than I do, Lou." he said. "I would never bring Georgette to a baseball game. I would have to spend the entire time explaining every move they players made on the field. Don't you guys want to come up and sit in the box with me?"
"No thanks, Ted." Mary replied. "I'd much rather sit down here."
"Well suit yourselves." Ted said. "If you like sitting among the common folks."
Lou watched as Ted continued up the stairs. "Of all the people." he said. "Now we're never going to be able to enjoy ourselves."
"You really think Ted is going to be watching our every move?"
"I certainly hope not." he said, leaning in to kiss her. "Otherwise I'd have to explain that."
Mary smiled. "I don't really care what Ted thinks anyway."
"I didn't think so." he said, kissing he again. "Besides he wouldn't be able to figure out what was going on if I kissed you right in front of him."
tbc...
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