A/N: Ready for some Sandor in swimming shorts?

Chapter 6

The promised heat began making its presence known by mid-morning.

As Sansa prepared for their visit to the Baths, she could feel the fine film of sweat developing on her body. She put on her favourite peach-striped, retro-style bikini which suited her colouring and wasn't overly skimpy. The Baths were generally frequented by older swimmers or families with young children. Wearing something scandalous was not a good idea, not that she owned any bikinis like that. That type of swimwear was better left for the surf beaches. Bondi Beach would be heaving with people on a day like today. Let the tourists enjoy that one.

Throwing on a strapless maxi-dress, she quickly put her hair up in a messy bun before proceeding to lather her skin with sunscreen. Redheads, with their fair skin, and the harsh Australian sun were not the best combination. She would have to re-apply at least every hour if she wanted to avoid a painful sunburn. Sansa could recall a few of those during her lifetime and was not eager to repeat the experience.

Grabbing her beach bag, she placed a towel, the sunscreen, keys, purse, sunglasses (not the ridiculously big ones she wore on the day of her humiliation) inside before slipping on her thongs and leaving the bedroom.

"Are you nearly ready, Margaery?" she called out to the closed bedroom door opposite hers. Muffled by the wood panel, she heard Margaery reply that she would only be a few more minutes.

While she waited for her friend, she grabbed a couple of water bottles from the fridge and turned to get her hat for the walk. It was brimmed but not as much the other one that had not been seen again after that day.

"Ok, ready," declared Margaery as she bounced out of the bedroom. Luckily, they were of similar size, so it wasn't a problem to loan her a bikini and clothes.

After locking up, the two girls began the leisurely stroll towards the park that bordered the Baths. Sansa was glad for her hat as the sun beat down on them, though she had to wipe her face of sweat a few times.

The roads were busy with weekend traffic and there was quite a lot of pedestrian traffic as well. People walking dogs and children before the heat really stung, as well as the usual fitness fanatics, sweat pouring off them as they ran past. They were even wolf-whistled by a passing car. Margaery's reaction was to give them the bird before the girls burst into giggles.

Arriving at the Baths, they paid their entrance fee before searching for a spot to put their towels down on the wooden deck that ran around the tidal pool. Expecting it to be packed with swimmers, the girls were pleased to see that there were still empty spots.

"I guess most people decided to go to the beach today," commented Sansa as they placed their bags down. "Or they'll come a little later, when the sun's not so strong."

Margaery stripped off her sundress and began applying sunscreen to her legs. "It'll be a madhouse at the beaches today. If you didn't get there early this morning, parking will be non-existent by now. And going down by public transport in this heat, with the crowds, does not appeal. At all."

After a check to make sure everything was in the right place, Sansa walked to the edge of the deck. "Coming in?" she called out to her friend.

"Yeah, in a minute. Go in."

With a nod, Sansa executed a graceful dive into the water, its cold contrasting with her heated body so that she gasped as she surfaced. "It's lovely, Marge. So refreshing."

Margaery, finished with the sunscreen, jumped in feet first. The tide was up so the water was quite deep and they could see schools of little fish swimming away from their bodies.

For the next fifteen minutes, the girls frolicked in the water, racing each other from one pillar to the next, avoiding bumping into other swimmers and floating peacefully on their backs. They climbed out of the water, squeezing their hair to get the excess moisture out before sitting down on their towels to dry out and bask in the sun.

"Tell me again why we work our arses off at the café when we can do this all day?" asked Margaery lazily.

"Because you would be bored stiff within a week and you know it. You're not like those other society girls who have never worked a day in their life and I love you for it. God, when I remember some of the girls I hung around with in high school! All they wanted to do was find a boy who was rich and well-connected, so they could live a life of luxury, doing nothing but running from hair to nail appointments all day. And I thought I wanted to do the same thing at the time," shuddered Sansa.

"Me too. I mean, my family still look at me funny when I tell them about the café and ask me why I would want to dirty my hands when it's not necessary. Especially my parents and grandmother. Loras and Willas are fine with it. Couldn't care less, really. My mother even tried to push me toward Joffrey, can you believe it?"

Sansa's mouth dropped open as she looked at her friend. "You're kidding! That dickweed? Doesn't she know what kind of a reputation he has? My father has told me about the numerous times his family have had to use their money to hush up the potential scandals caused when he's abused one of his girlfriends. He doesn't have any dealings with the Baratheon's, not since what he did to me, but he hears things from his business connections. It's a very poorly-kept secret within that world."

"I know. I've heard the same from numerous sources. He's going to do something one of these days that not even his family can get him out of. When Mum tried to organise a date with him, I told her that if he came anywhere near me, I would rip his balls off and stuff them up his arse. She was horrified. Mainly at my language. 'Margaery Tyrell! Young ladies do not speak like that!' Anyway, it worked because she hasn't brought it up again, thank god," laughed Margaery.

For the next couple of hours, the girls alternatively sunbathed before jumping back in the water when they got too hot. Sansa's stomach rumbled when she caught sight of a kid eating an ice-cream, so she suggested they go to the kiosk to get some lunch.

Despite the heat, there was nothing better than eating a meat pie, smothered in tomato sauce, whilst avoiding burning your mouth and trying not to let the gravy drip down your chin. The girls bought two and were walking back to their towels to eat them when Margaery pulled up short, Sansa nearly bowling her over.

"What the…?"

"Look! Over there," pointed out Margaery.

Turning her head to see what Margaery was looking at, Sansa gave a gasp when she spotted the tall, scarred man that was walking from the pavilion, accompanied by a smaller man, both dressed in board shorts and t-shirts and towels slung over their shoulders.

Sandor! Here, at the baths, and looking like he was going to swim. Praise the Lord!

"Shall we call them over?" asked Margaery. "That looks like his business partner. He's even cuter in person."

"No!" whispered Sansa. "It's not like we're friends. We're still technically only acquaintances."

"Well, what better way to advance the relationship than spend the afternoon sunbathing? And, we get to see them in only swim shorts," she replied with glee, eyeing off Sandor's companion with a predatory gleam in her eye.

In any event, before they could do anything about it, the two men walked close enough that Sandor did a visible double-take when he saw her standing only a few feet away, dressed in nothing more than a revealing bikini.

She did her own visual inspection, though he was still fully dressed. His hair was pulled back in it's own bun and he wore aviator sunglasses that made her want to melt. His feet, instead of the usual steel-capped boots, were bare except for the plain black thongs he wore. She could see the line where his boots normally ended, as his feet were a couple of shades lighter than his legs. This little detail made her want to smile. It made the sexy god she so lusted after seem so much more human.

Sansa could feel those grey eyes scanning her from head to foot, even from behind the glasses, lingering on her chest before trailing down over her stomach to her long legs and back up to her eyes, a heat in them that made her shiver, despite the sun's warmth.

"Hello, girls," purred the smooth voice of Sandor's companion, drawing them from their spell.

Clearing his throat noisily, Sandor nodded at them. "Hi, Little Bird," he said hoarsely, ignoring the sharp look his friend gave him at the moniker. "Margaery."

"H…hi, Sandor!" replied Sansa. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Hi. Who's your friend?" purred Margaery, the Tyrell charm in full force.

"Ah, this is Bronn. My business partner," he pointed out, looking at Sansa with a tiny curl of his lip.

Sansa smiled as she remembered that conversation. "Hi Bronn. Nice to meet you. I'm Sansa and this is Margaery, my business partner. We run the café that Sandor gets his coffee and croissants from."

Bronn nodded his head in recognition. "Of course! He's always going on about how he can never get decent coffee but he's always raving about yours. Now I see why," he grinned, looking at his friend with a knowing smile.

Sandor shuffled a little and he may have flushed, but it was probably only the heat. "Yeah, well, they make good coffee," he mumbled, looking at the water.

"Hey, do you guys want to sit with us?" asked Margaery, taking the bull by the horns. "There's some room where we are."

"That sounds grand, love," replied Bronn. "Lead the way, my ladies."

Margaery giggled at his silliness before falling into step with him, the other two following in their wake.

"Do you come here often?" asked Sansa curiously.

"No, this is my first time. I normally head to one of the beaches on the south coast where I can let Stranger have a run. I'm at a tricky stage of the reno, so I got Bronn over today. He's been working on another job in another part of town, so today was the only day he was available. It was fucking hot in that house and as soon as we finished we came down for a swim. It was close by."

"I come down when I can," said Sansa. "As you said, it's close."

They got to where the girls' towels were and proceeded to lay their own down. Expecting Sandor to sit next to Bronn, who had happily sat down next to Margaery, she was thrilled when he sat down beside her. He saw the pie she carried, and nodded to it. "Eat, before it gets cold. Nothing worse than a cold meat pie. Might get one myself."

While hungry, Sansa hesitated a little. Eating pies was a messy business. There was simply no way to eat one without getting gravy on your chin or on the body. She didn't want Sandor to see her trying to eat it with as much decorum as she could.

As if sensing her dilemma, Sandor stood up. "I'm fucking hot. I'm going for a swim to cool off. Coming, Bronn?" Bronn was engrossed in his conversation with Margaery and didn't hear him. Shrugging, Sandor took off his sunglasses before pulling off his t-shirt.

It would happen that Sansa had taken her first bite of the pie at that very moment and the sight of all those glorious muscles, covered in golden skin and black hair, coupled with the flakiness of the pastry, caused that first mouthful to go down the wrong way, bringing on a coughing fit of epic proportions.

Coughing uncontrollably, Sansa put her pie down before she dropped it on herself, and tried to catch her breath. Tears ran down her cheeks as her body tried to clear the food out of her windpipe. She was sure she sounded like a stranded seal.

Amidst all this, she felt a large, warm hand tap her between the shoulders, trying to help her out. Eventually, after what seemed like hours, but was only half a minute or so, her coughing subsided, only a few bursting through intermittently.

"You ok, Little Bird?" he asked, his hand still patting her back.

Looking up, his face so close to hers, she opened her mouth. "Y...ye.." another cough emerging. "God, sorry."

"For what? Choking on food. Easily done. All settled now?" he asked, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

Sansa nodded, not risking coughing in his face again. She was so embarrassed she wanted to jump in the water and drown herself. That man was a hazard to her health! "I'm fine, honestly." Picking up her water, she took a sip to clear her throat. "You go for your swim."

Margaery and Bronn had stopped talking during the commotion and she would have offered her assistance except it seemed that Sandor had it in hand, so she let it play out for itself. Besides, she was sure Sansa preferred to have her back rubbed by Sandor's large hand rather than hers.

Sandor stood up, somewhat reluctantly it seemed to Sansa, who waved him off re-assuredly, and stepped to the deck's edge. With one last look at her, Sandor dived into the water, much more gracefully than a man his size had the right to be. Once he re-surfaced, he began swimming to the other end of the baths, Sansa's eyes not moving from that strong back, muscles almost showing off obscenely.

Lost in somewhat of a trance, she didn't even notice when Bronn joined his friend in the water. It wasn't until Margaery touched her arm that she shook off her daze.

"Well, this is a stroke of luck, wouldn't you say?" purred Margaery. "Though I can think of better ways of getting Sandor to put his hands on you than nearly choking to death."

Sansa playfully swatted her friend's leg in response. "Just my luck. Seriously, he must think I'm the biggest klutz in the country. I spill drinks, fall at his feet and nearly die on a meat pie, all in front of him."

"And he always seems to be there to rescue you," pointed out Margaery with a giggle. "Still, you always manage to get his attention each time."

Sansa nodded ruefully before sighing. "Did you see that body? I don't think I'll ever be able to eat or drink in front of him ever again. Especially if he's topless. Lord almighty, there has to be some sort of law against having a chest like that."

"Yeah, it's mighty impressive, though I'm more partial to the wiry, defined look Bronn has." She looked at the two men, now wrestling in the water though it looked like Sandor definitely had the upper hand. "Yep, I'd quite happily hit that."

Sansa giggled at Margaery's lascivious expression. "So, it's not only me that has developed a penchant for tradies?"

"Nope. I'm joining that club."

Sansa could only be glad that she didn't have any food in her mouth when Sandor lifted himself from the water. Water dripping off him, droplets glistening in the sunshine, highlighting the enormous biceps and dips and hollows of his stomach, a visible, though not too exaggerated, six-pack run through with a happy trail of hair leading down to his shorts which were dragged down by the weight of the water so that the vee of his hips was visible, as if pointing down to the treasure-trove contained within them.

Unable to help herself, her eyes drifted down and almost had an aneurism as she spied the tell-tale bulge between his legs, faithfully outlined by the thin, dripping material.

Good lord! And that's after being dunked in cold water! Despite the heat, Sansa shivered with arousal. She could feel her nipples tighten, her bikini top not hiding the fact.

When she raised her eyes to his, she almost gasped at the heat contained in them as he squeezed his hair of excess water, an almost predatory smile on his lips.

The game had just moved up another level.

A/N: Some translations:

Thongs: in Australia, they are footwear (otherwise known as flip-flops but you get looked at weird if you call them that) NOT underwear! lol

Meat Pies: mainstay of the Australian diet :) Flaky pastry filled with meat of indeterminate origin swimming in gravy, eaten hot so that the gravy and tomato sauce drip down your face and body, burning as it goes. Could do with one now :)

And I nearly choked to death at a rugby league game when I took a bite of my hotdog just as my team scored and it went down the wrong way. No one noticed or cared except my daughter who was thumping my back while laughing hysterically. Lesson: don't take a bite of food when your team looks likely to score!