And we continue our adventure in Act III of Green Penguin Productions' "When in Doubt!" As always, comments are welcome/needed/appreciated!
-GPP
"Ugh, I hate tropical climates!" Mary complained as the partners stood at baggage claim. "It makes my hair really frizzy!" She patted at her hair to try to ease the frizz.
Marshall grinned, but wisely let Mary vent uninterrupted.
"Stupid blonde hair," she muttered. "Why couldn't I have been a brunette?" she whined to Marshall, "Stupid, alcoholic, gambling, bank robbing gene pool..."
"I like your hair." Marshall said softly, he refrained from wrapping his fingers in it; only because Mary hated public displays of affection.
Mary hastily pulled her hair into a messy bun to minimize the frizz. "Thanks, Marshall," she sighed, "that makes one of us."
Marshall's fingers itched to slip the elastic free, but Mary still had her gun and he rather liked having four working limbs. Instead, he shouldered both of their bags and followed her out of the airport into the warm Miami afternoon.
"Also, what the hell is up with all these palm trees? They're ugly as sin!" she rambled as she exited the airport and hailed a taxi.
Marshall scanned the area for threats; a habit that helped him do his job in Albuquerque, but one that made him look paranoid everywhere else. He noted a line of yellow taxis, a parking attendant collecting baggage carts and a family of tourists in appallingly bright t-shirts but nothing suspicious. He opened the taxi door for Mary and climbed in beside her.
"I swear, I feel like I'm in a modern day episode of the Golden Girls," she muttered then nudged Marshall with her elbow, "you can be Dorothy; she was the freakishly tall one, right?"
Marshall wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her close in a half hug. He knew what she was doing. "You don't have to talk to him today," he said softly against her hair, "we can just see if he's here and then you can decide what to do." He pressed a gentle kiss against her hair and then loosened his hold.
"You don't deserve to be stuck with me, Marshall," she closed her eyes at the feel of his lips on her head. She remained snuggled against him.
Marshall pressed a second kiss on her forehead, "I love you Mary. Nothing that happens here is going to change that."
"I love you too, Marshall," she leaned her head on his shoulder for the rest of the cab ride.
They checked into their hotel and showered off the travel grime before hitting the car rental desk. Marshall let Mary pick the car; it wasn't worth fighting over.
Mary had forcibly straightened her hair and tossed it triumphantly over her shoulder as she passed by Marshall.
"Let's go, Doofus," she called out to him.
"Yes darling," he called while pocketing the keys to their rental Camaro. They found the car easily in the underground parking and climbed in.
The partners spent the day looking in all the obvious places: bars, casinos, car sales lots, etc. They turned up with no leads and both realized they would have to contact James' other family if nothing fell into their lap by the next day. Even Marshall was getting cranky by the time four o'clock rolled around.
"Want to grab dinner and try again tomorrow?" he asked.
Mary nodded her agreement. "Pizza and take it back to the hotel? Or would you prefer Chinese tonight?"
Marshall smiled mysteriously, "I had something a little nicer in mind. You brought that dress right?"
"I own a dress?"
Marshall rolled his eyes, "The sexy black one I specifically suggested you bring."
"Which sexy black one? I have two... Technically, one would be considered lingerie, but it is, in fact, a dress..."
Marshall was very glad they were stopped at a red light. "Whichever one, both sounds great," he shot her a lust filled look, "but we are going to be seen in public, so probably the second."
"So, the see through one... got it."
Even knowing she was purposefully messing with him didn't stop Marshall's possessive side from growling at the thought. "If you wear that one I can pretty much guarantee you aren't getting dinner until much later."
An hour later, Mary was putting on the final additions to her outfit. The dress was satin and clung to her curves. The straps were wide halter style that wrapped around the back of her neck. The satin bunched at the bodice and at the waistline before it stopped at the knee. She wore a pair of strappy heels and had her hair in loose curls cascading down her back.
Marshall straightened his black bow tie. His hair was smoothed back with a little gel and his Silver Star cuff links shone in the hotel lights.
When Mary finally stepped out of the bathroom, Marshall's mouth dropped open and he almost regretted the decision to eat out. She looked incredible.
"Took you long enough," he teased, offering her his arm.
The restaurant Marshall had chosen, The Capital Grille, was a ten-minute drive from their hotel. He let Mary drive, because she looked too good for him to focus on driving with her in the passenger seat.
Mary grinned to herself as she drove. She'd done well in her wardrobe choice. "So where are we going?" she snuck a smug grin in his direction.
Marshall shook his head, and forced his eyes not to focus on how her cleavage looked in that dress.
"Not a chance."
"How am I supposed to drive us there if I don't know where I'm going?"
The GPS on the dash suddenly piped up, "In one hundred meters, turn left."
Mary banged her head on the steering wheel, "Of course. You brought the GPS. Freakin' boy scout," she muttered.
Marshall placed one hand on her thigh, rubbing his thumb absently against the satin skirt of her dress. "Don't knock the GPS. You're the one who always refuses to ask directions."
"That's right; I'm the man in this relationship."
Marshall deliberately pulled her skirt up enough so he could trace a circle on the skin just above her knee. "The sexy man in the dress," he said with a smirk.
"Doofus..."
"You love me."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."
They pulled into the restaurant parking lot and as soon as Mary pulled the car into a spot, Marshall came around and opened her door; once again holding out his arm for her to grab. He knew Mary outwardly hated chivalrous gestures, but he couldn't help himself.
Marshall gave his name to the hostess and they were immediately shown to a secluded booth in the back corner of the posh restaurant. He ordered a bottle of wine for them, casting a glance at Mary to make sure she was all right with him making the decision.
Mary nodded but otherwise remained quiet.
Flipping through the menu with one hand, Marshall reached across the table and took Mary's right hand in his.
She absently entwined her fingers with his as she perused her own menu.
The waitress returned with their wine and poured them each a glass. Marshall looked politely at her as she took their orders, but did not let go of Mary's hand. When the waitress was gone, he fixed his eyes on Mary's face, tracing her lifeline with the edge of his thumbnail.
Mary kept her eyes to her water glass. Meeting Marshall's eyes would mean telling him what was bothering her. She didn't want to talk about it; mostly because she wasn't even sure what was wrong in the first place.
"Did you know that the word Steak comes from the Old Saxon word Steik which means meat on a stick?"
Mary gave him a hint of a smile as a reward for trying to distract her.
"Or that sirloin steak so impressed King Henry the VIII that he knighted it, Sir Loin." A smile danced at Marshall's lips, but he could tell Mary was still lost in her own thoughts.
"Wait, what?" Mary shook her head and looked up in disbelief, "Really?"
Gotcha! Marshall thought, allowing his smile to blossom.
"Or it comes from the French word surlonge which means over the loin. But I like the first one better."
"You're a jackass, you know that?"
"Well, you know I'm hung like one," he deadpanned.
Mary's mouth dropped open. She could think of nothing to say in response to that. Instead, she snorted with laughter as the words sunk into her overactive mind.
Marshall took a sip of wine to cover the smug smirk on his face. He hadn't fixed anything, he knew that, but at least he'd made her laugh.
Mary dropped her eyes back to her water glass. She was still trying to figure out how to phrase what was going on inside her head. Luckily, Marshall merely seemed interested in distracting her.
Noticing his partner's gaze returning to the tabletop, Marshall knew he had to step up his game if he was going to keep her mind off James Shannon until tomorrow. Grateful for the dim lighting of the restaurant and the booth that blocked them from view of the other patrons, Marshall carefully toed off his left shoe beneath the table. Keeping his face blank, and Mary's hand in his, he slid one sock covered foot across the table, rubbing against Mary's calf.
Mary jumped a little at the unexpected contact; but soon recovered and sent a mischievous glance in his direction. She slid around to his side of the circular booth and placed a soft kiss underneath his earlobe.
Marshall turned his head and kissed her softly on the lips. He moved their entwined hands off the table and into Mary's lap, twisting a little in his seat so he could cup her cheek with one hand.
The kiss deepened. Mary's tongue flicked across his lips and he opened to her while the hand that had been on her face dropped to cup her breast through the satin of her dress. Her nipples were hard with arousal and he pinched one lightly, reveling in the little gasp she breathed into his mouth.
He lowered his mouth to her neck, suckling at the tender skin right beneath her jaw. He released her breast and slid his hand down her abdomen, along her thigh, stopping at the edge of her skirt.
"Ahem," their server cleared her throat, "8 oz Sirloin," she slid the dinner plate in front of Marshall," and duck," the second plate slid across the table, stopping in front of Mary. "Can I get you anything else?"
Marshall recovered the power of speech first, "No, thank you." He said, smiling politely despite the burning in his cheeks.
The duo spent the remainder of their dinner glancing awkwardly at each other while trying to suppress their embarrassed giggles.
The food was delicious, but Marshall barely noticed. He was absorbed in her smile, her laugh and the feel of her body leaning slightly against his as they ate. He didn't try to go for more than that at the dinner table. They'd had enough embarrassment for one evening. And, besides, his goal of distracting Mary out of her slump had been achieved. The rest would wait until they were safely in the rental car or back in their hotel room.