14. The wedding party
The party was being held in the same hotel where the pool party had taken place. Again the six of them sat together, but this time Max quickly sat at John's right, and Jeanie, to his left. That left Sherlock between Melanie and Terry. He watched the dull proceedings of meal, toasts, cake cutting, all blurred by the concentration he dedicated to the two men in front of him. Max tried hard not to stare at John, but he was constantly trying to catch his attention. When the music became louder after dinner, Max leaned over to speak in John's ear. He had an arresting smile and his eyes blazed, while Sherlock glared. No one noticed with the dimmed lights. John seemed a bit shy, and kept turning to Jeanie, trying to concentrate on her instead, flirting shamelessly. He asked her to dance and eventually everybody followed.
Sherlock stood up and walked around, so he could keep an eye on John. John and Jeanie seemed to be having a good time. John was surprisingly at ease dancing. He was actually graceful, in Sherlock's opinion. Some men were always self conscious, awkward or embarrassed to let themselves go when dancing. Not John. He seemed confident and self assured, which gave Sherlock a glimpse of the TC persona and made him understand why women fell for him. There it was again, that aura of power and danger that surrounded John. Sherlock rarely saw it because John never turned it on for him, he now realised with a pang of regret. With the different hair style and in uniform, he looked dashing, elegant and irresistible.
The pair stopped for drinks and a break. Then, halfway through the night, Gwen swept him back to the dance floor. In a whirl of comings and goings, most people seemed to be dancing. Sherlock just observed, unaware of the looks he himself was receiving. A few women came over and tried to talk to him, but he barely noticed them. A couple of men approached him, but were equally ignored.
By now the party had spilled outside by the pool. Sherlock caught a glimpse of John walking outside with Gwen, so he followed.
They strolled by the pool, and slowly made their way to the garden around it, where it was a little darker. Sherlock noticed that Max too, was watching the pair. They sat on a bench and chatted for a while. She said something that made John stop and stare at her for seemingly a long time, surprised. Then they leaned towards each other and kissed. Max raised his chin, but soon he couldn't stand it and walked away, an angry look on his face. John left with Gwen soon after. Sherlock didn't see him until the following morning.