He Stole My Cab (Benedict Cumberbatch Fanfiction)

Chapter Four

*Beep Beep BEEEEP*
Stupid alarm clock. I inhale sharply as I sat up, wincing at the pain down my arm and across my stomach. Carefully I rub some cream onto it before rolling out of bed, putting on my fluffy white dressing gown and shuffling into the kitchen. The room begins to smell like coffee as the dark black liquid finishes filling the pot. "Good morning... woah" said Tina as she walked in. "You look dreadful" she said gesturing to my hair and eyes. Trying to laugh off her comment I slowly walk into the bathroom. Ok she had a point. My eyes are still puffy from lack of sleep and my hair is sticking to my face at all kinds of weird angles as it stuck to the tear streaks along my face. Time for a shower.

I hurriedly brush my hair through and blow dried it lightly. I then applied a light layer of tinted moisturiser on my face and brushed a few strokes of mascara on. I have never really been one for going all out on makeup. My face looked pretty much back to normal but you could still see the dark bruise on my arm so I decided to wear a tartan blazer with my suit trousers and ivory blouse to hide the mark.

I got the tube into work as I decided the walk from the station to the office would be good, that and I also love looking at the different people in the carriage and trying to suss things out about them. The fresh air did help to clear my head and the morning went by quite uneventfully. By the time half twelve came along my stomach was growling loudly, the bagel I had for breakfast seemingly vanished. I got up and nervously paced around the office. I fixed my hair, well as much as I could I kind of has a mind of its own but I still like it - it makes me different. I stood by the window and watched as the people walked back and forth: getting into taxis or typing on the phones or even shouting avidly into their phones.

*Vvvbbbrrr*

1 new message

My heart flipped in my chest and my stomach gave a tight squeeze as I read the text

I'm outside your office B x

I carried on smiling all the way to the lift, all the way out of the lift and all the way to him. He was wearing a suit again today but this time it was a light grey with a white shirt, again straining slightly across his muscular chest. "This seems appropriate" he said smiling when he saw me and pointing to the place where we both got into the same taxi. "Shall we?" he said offering me his arm. I nodded at him, a goofy smile crossing my face and linked my arm through his as we walked along the road.

He told me how he had just come from filming and that was why he was in a suit but I told him I didn't mind and he looked down at me an adorable half smile spreading across his face. As we walked along I made him laugh a few times and he would throw his head back and chortle out a deep, harmonious laugh and when he laughed that made me laugh as well. As he spoke to me I tried not to hang of every work he said but it was impossible, he was so open and expressive that I didn't even notice us arrive at the restauraunt until he had pulled out a chair for me and we were sitting down at a table. He had told me this story about how when he was filming for Star Trek he was tricked into putting this neutron cream on. When he finished his cheeks were glowing a deep red and I wiped a tear from my eye as my laughter died down.

"I wish I could have been there to see the look on your face" I said still chuckling
"Maybe you'll be there the next time something like that happens" He said looking into my eyes, his eyes looked hopeful and so uniquely beautiful that I could feel my cheeks burning slightly too as I said "I would like that too"

We were sitting in a very warm feeling room: there was a mahogany fireplace to our right with a leather couches around it, the walls were a dark wood as well and the carpet was a deep red. There were roses in the vase on our table and I fiddled with the petals idly as I looked down at the menu. Deciding to go with the lasagne and Benedict ordered a risotto dish and we carried on our conversation this time talking about our interests.

"I love to dance" I said "I have loved it since I was a child, my mum used to take me to all these competitions, although sometimes it did seem that she was much more into it than I was"
"I can see you being an amazing dancer, you've definitely got the body for it" he added and I could see his lips twitch slightly as he saw how deep my cheeks had gone. "It's rather warm in here isn't it?" He said taking off his blazer and then excused himself to go to the bathroom. Now that I thought about it I was rather warm, the sun was shining through the window creating a warm haze. The more I thought about it the warmer I became.

"How are you still in your jacket, would you like me to take it for you?" he said when he appeared next to me again, having returned from the bathroom. What do I say? I couldn't say no because he would think that I was weird so I just nodded and let him take my jacket and he gave it to a passing waiter, along with his, to be hung up.

"I was reading an article the other day" He said as he sat down opposite me "about how... What happened to your arm?" The concern in his was overwhelming and I stuttered for a few moments before saying "Oh I just fell over and hit it against something" which wasn't all too far from the truth...

I coughed before saying "What was the article about?" his eyes lingered for a little longer on my arm, his brow creasing, before looking at me and saying "I don't quite remember anymore" The temperature felt like it had dropped a few hundred degrees. A few moments of awkward silence passed before Benedict said "So where is it that you dance?" and I silently sighed in relief as the conversation continued flowing easily again, and by the time we had finished the amazing food, I was still trying to persuade him to come to my next ballroom class. "No Theresa" he laughed, tilting his head back in the way I was so fond of, "You do not want to see this" he said gesturing to his body "dancing its simply ridiculous and embarrassing"
"Ah but that's where you are wrong, I absolutely want to see all of this" I said mimicking his gesture "dancing, besides it will be fun" I said batting my eyelashes at him childishly, I saw his cheeks redden but he sighed over dramatically "Fine you win!"

I wooped in victory, and he laughed again, clutching his stomach. When the waiter came back with the bill I tried to let him let me pay for this one but he smiled and said "Your company was payment enough for me" and I sat back in my chair, feeling my cheeks full on burning. He stood up and helped me out of my seat and held my jacket open so I just had to slide my arms into the sleeves.

We talked about literacy as we walked back along the road, our fingertips brushing as we walked and I could feel tingles spreading throughout my body each time they touched "You can't seriously say you found Jane Eyre interesting" He said his voice full of disbelief. "I certainly did" I retorted, almost offended as if I had written the book myself. "Now the James Bonds books, they were good" he said smiling down at me "Much more exciting full of action and adventure"
"Your such a man!" I laughed "Although I have to admit I did enjoy those books" Just then he took my hand in his and I saw that he was looking at me out of the corner of his eye, as if afraid that I wouldn't like the gesture. Boy he couldn't be more wrong.

A short while later we had arrived back at my office and we stood outside the glass revolving door, I could tell that he was slightly nervous, so I took a step towards him as we stopped. "I had a really nice time, thank you" he said smiling down at me, as he pushed back his curly hair nervously. "So did I and don't think I haven't forgot about those dance sessions" I said and he groaned jokingly but took a step closer towards me. I could feel my heart beat increasing as he moved closer, and it felt like it was about to explode when he bent down slightly and lightly, very lightly, placed his lips on mine. Almost as if when he realised that I wasn't pulling away, he deepened the kiss; cupping my face in his hands and I wrapped my arms around his back. Suddenly aware that we were standing outside my office, I pulled away slowly and couldn't help but smiling widely when I saw that he was beaming as well.

For some reason I found it rather hard to concentrate for the remainder of the day...