This chapter had to go a bit longer due to the effortless chemistry of this lovely conversation.
Our server thinks I'm Sherlock's date.
He's winking at me.
Rubbish.
"What do real people have?" Sherlock asks me. "In their real lives?"
I rest my chin in my palm. "Friends. People they know. People they like, people they don't like. Girlfriends…boyfriends."
Sherlock gives an impatient headshake. "Dull."
"You don't have a girlfriend, then?"
A pause.
"Girlfriend, no. Not really my area."
I flick my gaze up. "Alright. D'you have a…boyfriend?"
He falters and I add, "Which is fine, by the way—"
"I know it's fine," Sherlock interrupts.
I wait. "So you've got a boyfriend?"
"No."
"Right, okay." I chuckle, seeing his apparent dismay. "You're unattached. Like me."
Sherlock stiffens, his eyes narrow. He's thinking. "John, um, I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work, and while I'm flattered by your interest—"
I end his monologue. "No. No, I'm not asking—no."
I force myself to mirror his stare. "I'm just saying, it's all fine."
Something flashes across the detective's face, instantaneous, fleeting. Could it possibly have been—emotion?
Nah.
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-Spark Writer-