(Your POV)
I stepped outside into the morning air to see James standing by the road with his car. I locked the door and turned to see that he was waving at me. I smiled and waved back.
He looked absolutely stunning without even trying. His previously wild hair had been combed to the side and was held in place by a bit of gel. He wore a long-sleeved white button up, with the sleeves rolled up and cuffed at his elbows. His outfit was completed with black slacks and the same black shoes he had been wearing when we had met. It took me only a fraction of a second to realize we were matching. #Twinsies
"Hey, you." He said as I approached. I grinned, loving the way his accent sounded.
"Hey, James." He brought me in for a warm hug. I pulled away, humming in amusement. "Have you been stalking me?" I asked playfully, referring to our clothes.
He laughed. "I could ask the same of you." His smile faded and his tone became more serious. "But this is okay, right? I mean, I can change if you w-"
"No!" I cut him off reassuring him. "It's fine, really."
He breathed a sigh of relief, then put an arm around my waist and pulled me to his side. "Good, because it makes us the perfect pair."
I slapped his chest playfully. "Alright then, Mr. Perfect, let's get going." He smiled and let go of me, then opened my car door.
"Any preferences, Miss Perfect?"
"Not really, I'm sure you know this city better than I do." I said as I climbed into the car. He nodded, closed my door, and then went over to the driver's side.
"Alright then, (Y/n), prepare yourself for the best coffee you've ever had."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
We arrived at our destination after about 20 minutes of driving and friendly chatter. I stepped out of the car only to be greeted with the quaintest café I'd ever seen. It was a small, hole-in-the-wall kind of place with vines growing down it. Amongst all of these larger shops, I might not have even seen it if I hadn't been looking for it.
"It might be small, but it's the best coffee in London, guaranteed." James said, as if he had read my thoughts. He placed his hand on my lower back and guided me forward. "Come on." He said, giving a reassuring smile.
He opened the door for me. What a gentleman- if only Sherlock could be this nice- he might actually be tolerable. I shook my head, mentally chiding myself. The one chance of the day I have to not think about Sherlock and here I am thinking about him. When I snapped myself out of my thoughts, I was greeted with the best aroma I had ever smelled. "Whoa."
James nodded. "I know."
The man behind the counter seemed to be the only one in the café- there were no customers anywhere. Apparently, James must be a regular, because the man behind the counter recognized him. But then again, it's not like they would have too many customers to memorize. "James! Hey, man! Who's the lovely lady?" He called out in a deep voice.
I chuckled and extended my hand, which he took. "(Y/n), pleasure to meet you."
His green eyes twinkled. "Ah, American! And a beautiful one at that," he added with a wink.
James cleared his throat awkwardly, and I pulled my hand away. "(Y/n), this is Dean, the best coffee maker in London. Dean, this is (Y/n), my..." He turned to me, unsure of what to say.
"Friend." I finished for him.
Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise and smiled coyly. "Just a friend, huh? Better keep your eyes on her, James. Pretty thing like her will attract all sorts of attention." I blushed at his words.
"I don't doubt it," James replied evenly, turning to me. "Why don't you save us some seats while I get us something?" I looked around the café, confused. Save us seats? There's not exactly a shortage...
My eyes widened when I realized he was sending me off to get me away from Dean. I smiled. That jealous bastard. "Okay, sure." I chose a table for two on the far wall. A few minutes later, James trotted over with a latte and a (y/favorite coffee-based drink).
He handed me my drink, and I gave him a surprised smile. "How did you know?"
"I'm a good guesser." He winked and sat down.
I took a sip. "Mm, delicious."
"Yeah." He shuffled his feet and looked at the ground, blushing. "So, I was thinking..." he paused, looking around. Dean had been watching us intensely from behind the counter. When James looked over, he looked away quickly, pretending to be washing dishes. James sighed and continued at a low whisper. "This is kind of awkward, can we take this outside?"
I nodded, a bit unnerved myself. "Yeah, let's go." James let out a sigh of relief and led us out the door.
When we walked outside, I noticed that the sky was considerably cloudier than it had been before. Clouds covered the sun and took away its soft warmth. Good thing I had brought my trench coat. In fact, this was probably the first cloudy day I'd seen since I got here. That's probably a normal thing here in August. I hope it rains soon. Rain was my favorite thing, like, ever. And not just a light drizzle or sun shower (even though those were enjoyable as well). I loved rain- proper rain. The rain that feels like bullets when it hits you. The rain accompanied by flashes of lightning and choruses of thunder. I wonder when rainy season begins...
"There's a park about half a mile up." James' voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Would you like to take a stroll?"
I looked up at him and smiled. "I'd love to." With his arm around my shoulder and mine around his waist, we took off down the sidewalk at a leisurely pace.
I didn't know how I felt about James. I appreciated his company, certainly. He was gentleman, never invading my personal space without my consent. Not to mention he was handsome in a striking, but unconventional way. Maybe it was the accent. In short, he had the makings of an ideal boyfriend. But the problem was, I didn't feel anything for him- there just wasn't a spark. I've been facing this problem my whole life- I don't get romantically attracted to people. Sure, I can find someone physically attractive- anyone can. Sure, I can love people. I've always had a deep-rooted love for my friends and family.
But the fact of the matter is, I'm an independent person. I don't rely on someone else or a relationship to make me feel happy. I can provide that happiness myself. If I am truly happy, a man by my side is just an added bonus. I supposed it would be nice to get married one day, maybe even have a family. But until someone was interesting enough to catch my full attention, that wasn't going to happen. And right now, I didn't think James would be the one to do that. We could be friends, certainly.
Suddenly, I felt quite uncomfortable with the whole situation, and I wanted to get as far away from James as possible. Why do I want to avoid him? He seems nice, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him... But my subconscious screamed at me, telling me to run. I opened my mouth to make some excuse to why I had to leave, but James started talking, taking away my chance.
"So what brings you to London?" Upon hearing his voice, my breathing steadied and my heart rate slowed as I was pulled back to reality. I shook off my previous thoughts, labeling them as me simply overreacting. One morning spent with this guy wasn't going to kill me. But still, my nerves were on edge.
"Uh... school. I'm doing my last year on-campus at Cambridge."
"Cambridge, huh?" A twinkle of pride filled his voice. "That's impressive."
"What about you?" I asked, looking up at him.
He shrugged. "Business. Just some corporate stuff, but I'll be here for a few months. Unless..." he hesitated, debating whether or not to continue. "...Unless I have a reason to stay." He glanced down at me then quickly looked away, swallowing quickly. His cheeks were beginning to flush pink.
I felt bad- I knew I wasn't going to be able to give him that reason. But I couldn't bring myself to tell him that, not just yet. Instead, I gave him a small smile of reassurance. "I'm sure you'll find one." I looked at the ground, suddenly feeling guilty, even though I had nothing to be guilty of. An awkward silence shrouded around us.
"Yeah..." He looked forlorn for a moment, but perked back up as if it had never happened. "So! 221B is a pretty high-end place. Do you have a flat share or is it yours?"
I cleared my cloudy mind, relieved that he had changed the subject. "Flat share. For now, anyways. I'll be on-campus at university soon."
He nodded, understanding. "Ah. So what're the other girls like? Nice, I would hope."
I chuckled. "Oh no, I don't live with girls."
His eyes widened in surprise. "Oh." He took his arm off my shoulder and we separated, choosing to stand facing each other instead. He looked incredibly awkward. "Is one of them... you know, your boyfriend?"
I laughed at the idea, and he seemed to relax a little bit. "Oh, not at all. The older one, John, is just a close friend. But the other one..." I trailed off as I thought of how to describe Sherlock. "Well, let's just say he's a pain."
James looked at the ground and stuffed his hands into his pockets, unsure of what to do with this information. I didn't see a problem with my situation, but James seemed unnerved about something. He looked up at me. "So, um, (Y/n), I was thinking maybe you and I-"
He was cut off by my ringtone. My eyes widened in a silent apology as I reached to see who it was. John. I cursed under my breath. "I'm so sorry, but I have to take this." I walked a few feet away before answering. "Hello?"
"(Y/n)!" John exclaimed from the other end. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need you to come to St. Bart's Hospital Lab immediately."
I frowned. "What for?"
"I'm not sure- Sherlock says it's an emergency."
I rolled my eyes, annoyed. "Yeah, well Sherlock's an idiot."
John sighed. "Please, (Y/n)? He's being insufferable as it is."
I let out a long breath. "Fine. But if I get there and it's something stupid..." I let the threat hang in the air unfinished.
"I understand. Thanks, (Y/n)."
"Mhm." I hung up and turned to face James. "I'm so sorry, it's a work emergency. I have to go. Thank you so much for today." I was suddenly glad to be out of James' company, and I tried to hurry way towards the road. Something about him put me off, and made me feel like I was in danger just by being close to him.
"Wait!" He called out. "Where are you headed?"
I answered reluctantly. "St. Bart's Hospital."
He gave a proud grin. "I can drive you, if you want. A cab will be at least a half hour drive, but I can get you there in 20 minutes."
I almost declined, but if it really was an emergency, I wanted to get there as soon as possible. "Yeah, thanks." We hurried off to his car and jumped in.
As promised, James was able to get me there in just over 20 minutes of intense driving and several broken speed limits.
"See?" James boasted as we climbed out of the car. "I told you."
I chuckled, brushing off my coat. "Indeed you did." He walked over and pulled me into an embrace. "Thanks for today, I needed it."
He smiled, pulling away. "It was my pleasure. Perhaps we can do it again sometime?"
I gave him a tight-lipped smile. "We'll see."
He nodded, lifting my right hand and pressing a light kiss to my knuckles. "Until next time then, Miss (L/n)."
"Until then." I watched him walk and then drive away with a forlorn smile on my face. I didn't know how I felt about anything or anyone right now. More than anything, I wanted to be away from it all. Something was very, very wrong. But what? All of my emotions jumbled together and threatened to spill over, but I forced them down. Now wasn't the time. I decided to suck it up, and I turned on my heels and marched confidently into the lab.