6
The woman's right hand within seconds was on Sherlock's cheek and caressed it lovingly, "You haven't changed at all" she said moving closer in his personal space, sliding her hand casually and confidentially over his chest.
Sherlock froze, shocked. Of all the people he could expect to meet, she wasn't one of them. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Molly had done the same although she, from her position, could not see the woman in the face and therefore was oblivious about her identity.
"And, let me tell you…you're damn good, Sherl" she squeaked flirtatiously trying to undo a button on his black shirt as he rolled his eyes at that hateful nickname. Sherlock turned his gaze back to Molly who had crossed her arms over her chest and was giving him a 'what the hell is going on' look.
"Janine" he uttered in a detached tone catching her hand before she dared to go any further, "What are you doing here in Edinburgh?" Sherlock added letting go of her hand taking a little distance. Janine chuckled amused "Emotional support to my boyfriend" she explained turning her head to the left and pointing to a tall, blonde, bearded man texting on the phone and approaching them.
"Well, boyfriend…maybe that's a big word, since I still have a little trouble trusting men" Janine said, giving him a knowing look. Sherlock swallowed heavily feeling guilty again about how he pretended to be in love with her in order to gain access to Magnussen's office, "And what about you?" she asked curiously. Sherlock looked over her shoulder and held his hand out to the woman who was patiently waiting not far from them, "Molly" he called softly.
Janine followed his gaze until she met Molly's golden brown one, "I know you! You're the girl in yellow from Mary and John's wedding!" she exclaimed and Molly nodded as she put her hand in Sherlock's. "Are you two together?" she asked in a tone of wonder, "We're working on it" Sherlock replied coldly just as her boyfriend put his arm around her hips and said "I see you've already met my colleague, honey".
Janine laughed loudly "Is she the colleague from the research group?", Jordan nodded "Do you know each other yet?" he frowned questioningly at her and reached out to Sherlock, "By the way, I'm Jordan Maddox". While the two men shook hands, Janine said to Jordan "He is Sherlock Holmes". The blonde man looked first at her then at Sherlock and then at Janine again, "You mean that Sherlock Holmes…your ex?".
She nodded seductively looking Sherlock in the eye "What a coincidence! Right, my love?" she added capturing Jordan's lips in a passionate kiss. Sherlock, annoyed by the blatant display of love, muttered through clenched teeth that the world was rarely so lazy about coincidences, earning a slight nudge in his side by Molly.
Sherlock coughed on purpose to attract the attention of the two sweethearts "If you want to excuse us, the two of us go to greet the guys and then we go to our hotel", Janine broke away from his boyfriend and shook her head several times negatively "Don't think about it!" she objected and tucked her arm under Molly's, forcing her to release Sherlock's hand, "I want to chat with your almost girlfriend for a while" she stated, taking Molly with her to the table, leaving Jordan and Sherlock with no choice but to follow.
Janine monopolized Molly's attention for more than half an hour, during which Sherlock sat among the rest of the group hardly uttering a word and tense as a violin string. He had never looked away from Molly, trying to figure out what that devil woman was telling her, but Molly's face looked like that of the Sphinx. When she finally got up and took her coat from the back of her chair, walking over to him, Sherlock sighed with relief.
He immediately jumped to his feet as she told him she wanted to leave and before walking to the exit at a brisk pace, Molly turned to the others saying she was tired and wished everyone goodnight. Sherlock hurried to run after Molly but first gave Janine a reproachful look, getting a shrug and a sly smile in return. He found Molly outside, standing on the pavement "The cab is coming" she said as soon as she felt his presence at her side, "You're angry" he noted, "What did she tell you?".
"Can we talk about it in the morning? I'm really tired, I just want to go to bed" she raised her hand to motion the cab to stop, "Molly…whatever Janine has told you can't be worse than what you already know about me" he stated appealing to her good sense. "No, it's not" she admitted, "I'm not angry. Not with you, Sherlock, I promise" she sighed entering the cab, "I just need to sleep on it".
Sherlock nodded, sat down beside her, biting his lip as he wondered how he could fix this thing without knowing what the problem was. During the race they barely exchanged two words, both deep in their own thoughts.
It was Sherlock who broke the silence when they came in front of Molly's room, "I leave the connecting door unlocked" he said softly and she nodded as she swiped her key card. Sherlock sighed, took her free hand and placed his lips on it for a few seconds, "So…if you want to talk, you just have to come to my room. Anytime you want, Molly".
She cracked a smile, put her hand behind his neck and pulled him down to her to give him a soft kiss on his cheek, "See you in the morning" she whispered, briefly looking into his eyes and disappearing into her room.
Molly leaned against the door for a while, feeling exhaustion take over her whole body. She rummaged in her bag to find a headache pill that she swallowed with a glass of water. Sighing she slowly began to undress as she thought back to the evening and to how foolish she had been to let Janine Hawkins ruin it.
She was aware of Janine's resentment towards Sherlock for deceiving her with a fake love affair, a fake engagement and an even more fake marriage proposal. But she thought it was now a thing of the past as she got her revenge by selling tabloids a 'spicier' version of their relationship.
So when it was obvious what the topic of their conversation, Janine's monologue to be precise, would be, Molly should have politely told her she wasn't interested in what she had to say to her. Instead she sat there listening to Janine's warnings and complaints without batting an eye, "Don't believe him when he says he loves you because he only loves himself and his Work".
What had troubled her was what she added next, "Anyway, if on emotional level Sherlock is a complete failure, I assure you that from a very different point of view…" Janine gave Molly a knowing wink, "…if you know what I mean, Sherlock is absolutely worth it".
She leaned forward and whispered in her ear "It's not like we had sex properly, but he knows other ways to make sure a girl doesn't complain about him". Molly's expression at her statement must had been one of bewilderment as she laughed with an amused glint in her eye, "Come on! Do you really think he could have fooled me to the point of agreeing to marry him without ever having…what do you want to call it? A proof of his love?".
Molly didn't know whether to be more embarrassed for Janine or for herself. And that the bubbly brunette insisted on telling her details Molly would had preferred not to know, "Oh, he really likes bathtub…for recreational activities for two!", made her think that Janine hadn't gotten through her infatuation with Sherlock yet, or everything she'd told her had been said specifically to bother her. And she had taken the bait.
Shaking her head and pulling her hair back into a ruffled bun, Molly walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She let the hot water flow over her with the intent of relaxing and chasing away those annoying thoughts. She knew she had no right to be pissed off or rather jealous of what had been Sherlock's past relationships, but Janine had really got on her nerves! And now Molly couldn't get out of her mind the idea of Janine and Sherlock kissing and touching…jealousy, what a stupid and irrational feeling!
"Stop it, Molly!" she told herself running a hand over the steam-damped mirror. Compared to Irene Adler and Janine, both naturally beautiful, elegant and sexy, she had always felt like the ugly duckling, but she had no reason to doubt Sherlock or how he felt about her. Molly could feel his love for her. It was evident in every effort he made to soften his temper a little, in every little gesture he made such as picking her up after her afternoon shift at work with a fish and chips foil. She felt it in the racing beats of his heart as she caressed his chest as he rested his head on her lap.
"So, what the hell are you doing here?" she asked her reflection in the mirror, "The past is past" she told herself firmly as she took off her bathrobe and went back to her bedroom. Molly put on her underwear and a knee-length dressing gown, lowered the handle of the communicating door and opened it just a chink.
Sherlock had his back to her, standing near the front door. His shirt was out of his trousers and Molly assumed it was completely unbuttoned as it didn't fit his body as usual. She plucked up courage and opened the door a little more, but she froze on the spot as she saw a strip of transparent blue chiffon fabric peeking out from behind his tall figure.
"I missed you so much, Sherl" Janine's seductive purr hit Molly like a slap across her face. That thin strip of fabric belonged to her thin straps sexy baby doll. It was tight under her breasts, open on her belly and slid softly with a flared line on her hips and matched with lace blue knickers.
Janine took a step to her left and forward until her body was close to Sherlock's. She raised her head to look him in the eye and Molly saw a flirtatious smile on her face, "I'll share the bathtub with you" she said bringing both hands to Sherlock's chest, "Mm, candles, scented salts and vanilla bubble bath…your almost girlfriend doesn't know what she's missing!" one of her hand slowly slid up to his arm, then to the back of his neck where her fingers slipped into his hair.
"Oh, Sherly…you need to relax" she flirted at him. What Janine meant was pretty clear. "And you think you're the girl for that job, don't you?" was Sherlock's provocative response as he grabbed the wrist of the hand she had on his neck. Molly had her heart almost out of her chest. She didn't understand what game she was watching, and expected Sherlock to send Janine out of his room at any moment, instead he seemed to enjoy the situation and did not want to cut it down.
"You can bet I am" Janine put her other hand on his right shoulder and slid his shirt off to his elbow, "I'm sure you haven't forgotten how much fun we had" she continued pulling his head towards her. "Janine" Sherlock's voice in Molly's ears rang low and hoarse, a sign of arousal rather than annoyance or a warning not to overstep the line.
Molly instinctively closed the door and rushed to get her phone. She wasn't going to stay there a minute longer and searched on line for a night train leaving for London. She booked the 11.40pm one, refusing to pay attention to any telltale noises of what Sherlock and Janine were doing in the next room.
She left the hotel with her head in confusion, unsure whether leaving was the best choice. She was running away like a girl on her first crush who finds out the guy she likes make out with someone else. But why had Sherlock done it? Could she have been wrong in those four months? Or had seeing Janine make Sherlock realize that he didn't really love her as much as he thought?
The journey back to London by train would give her some leeway to think about what to tell him once they meet again. But meanwhile silent tears rolled down her cheeks at the thought that perhaps they weren't meant for.
