A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, they are gorgeous! Not totally happy with the characterisation here, but I struggled to write anything different, so here goes. And as always, read, review and enjoy :)
It's been a long hot summer, and I'm shaking like a cool lemonade.
"It's a bit hot in here," Stevie complained, dabbing her head with the back of her hand. Sweat oozed from her hairline as she fanned herself with a spare folder.
"Thermostat's broken," Smithy mumbled angrily, trying to peel his white shirt from his burning body. Why he had to be in the filing cabinet the day the heating went overboard was clearly a punishment from God. "I don't even believe in God," Smithy muttered to himself, rolling his trousers up past his knees.
Smithy sat for a second, eyes drifting shut as beads of sweat gathered around the top of his trousers. Feeling the heat send him into a warm slumber, the sound of her voice prickled him awake.
"So what do you believe in?" She didn't look at him as she asked, rearranging the A-D files on the shelf to her left.
"What?" Whether it was the heat or her intoxication on him, he couldn't tell, but something damaged his clarity.
"You said you didn't believe in God."
"Did I?" Smithy's desperation for a drink marred his memory, but realising this was their first conversation in what seemed like forever, he decided he should at least make the effort. She looked over to him , a tiny smile creasing her face as she sent a nod his way. "Oh." Great answer, Smithy, really riveting conversation, Smithy mentally abused himself. "Fate, I guess," Smithy finally answered after an awkward silence and much deliberation.
Stevie's eyes caught his and for a moment, even with the heat, everything froze in time. Feeling his cheeks burn - and not entirely from the heat - Smithy fumbled over an excuse to remove himself for a second or two, regain his frazzled mind.
"I'm going to go and get a drink, want one?"
"Water, please," Stevie's mouth curled into a smile as she chucked a 50p his way. He caught it in a clammy hand, and grabbed the handle to let him self out. Until..
"Shit."
Silence broke as Smithy turned to face Stevie, her 50p in one hand and the door handle in the other. She rolled her eyes and acted exasperated, but she was far from it - her eyes always gave her away. And anyway, now she had the perfect way to torture him to insanity for leaving them looked in this insanely hot cupboard with nothing but each other for company.
"You're going to regret doing that," Stevie said, undoing the top three buttons on her top and fanning her face.
"I already am," came the reply as his cheeks burned with more fervour than before. She was going to kill him, he was sure of it.
*
She'd never played this role before. She'd never been the temptress, the siren, but Smithy deserved the punishment and let's face it, there were only so many times you could rearrange a bunch of folders. This would teach him to let her go without so much as a struggle. Undoing even one more button would send him over the edge, that much Stevie was aware of, but two more buttons would torture him past he gates of hell and back again. Perfect.
Dabbing round her neck slowly, her spare hand dropped to her navel and unfastened the lowest two buttons, leaving only one remaining to struggle to keep her body inside. Smithy tried in vain to avert his eyes, but her magnetism drew him in more and more. Closing his eyes with a pained expression, Smithy sat with his fists clenched around the door handle, persecuting himself for the moment he broke his only means of escape. It was only as he felt a further heat source radiate around him that he realised Stevie was leaning over his head, so his face was in line with her unbuttoned shirt.
"Just getting a folder," Stevie's voice was strained as she struggled to reach, bringing the folder down along with her face, so her lips hovered just above his. "Hi," she breathed softly, a seductive glint casting through her eyes. She remained with her lips just centimetres from his, watching Smithy's excessive swallowing as he so desperately wanted to lick his own lips but couldn't without licking hers at the same time.
"You've got a boyfriend," Smithy whispered quietly, as Stevie refused to move from in front of his face.
"You haven't," were the only words Smithy registered before fate took over and brought his lips up to meets hers.
Springing apart like love-sick teenagers as the door began to open, Smithy and Stevie walked out shamefaced and blushing. Nate laughed and turned to his colleague, "If the heating hadn't broken, I'd be questioning just what went on in there."