The Baker

Chapter 27

Shortish chapter, but the next will be longer!

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Ben took Cassie's hand and led her up to a rather large, modern looking house. With her free hand, Cassie kept smoothing down her white summer dress and fixing her hair. Ben couldn't help but laugh. "Darling, you look fine. You got past my parents, so you get get past my friends. They are going to love you." Cassie sighed in annoyance because she knew he was right. But she won't give him the satisfaction of knowing.

Ben rang the doorbell and squeezed Cassie's hand for reassurance. A few moments later, the door opened to a tall man, who Cassie knows as Mycroft Holmes. Of course, Ben told her his name is Mark. 

"Ben! Come in!" Mark stepped aside and let them in. Ben took Cassie's coat and hung it up, then turned to Mark and said, "Mark, this is my girlfriend, Cassie. Cassie, this is Mark Gatiss." Mark took Cassie's hand and placed a light kiss to her knuckles, before saying, "It is a pleasure, my dear. Come, I'll introduce you to everyone." Cassie graciously accepted his arm and he walked her into the dining room with Ben in tow. 

He smiled widely and watched how her entire demenor changed when she was introduced to Steven, Martin, Amanda, Andrew, Louise, Una, and Rupert. She moved swiftly among everyone with Mark and eventually got caught up with talking to the girls. All the men came over to him. 

"Holy shit, Ben," Rupert said. "You've really nailed one! We only chatted for few minutes and she's...enchanting!" Ben laughed, "I know, that's exactly how I felt when we first chatted." Andrew was the next to speak, asking, "How'd you meet?" And so Ben explained the story with a huge grin. 

"That's great," Martin said. "And it already looks as if Amanda's made a new friend." All the men looked over to see Amanda and Cassie laughing, with Amanda's arm drapped around Cassie's shoulder. Ben sighed contently and said, "That's my girl." 

Some more questions were thrown his way and he answered them without hesitation, but then they started to get a little more personal. "Who's place do you stay at the most?" Rupert asked in a whisper. Ben just shook his head and answered, "Hers." Then there was the "Have you met her parents yet?" from Steven. "We're visiting for Thanksgiving," he told them. After a while, they all seemed content with the information they were given.

A few minutes into talking, a few of the guys left the group. Soon, it was just Ben and Martin. Martin looked almost relieved when they left. "Hey, Ben," he said, pulling Ben's gaze away from Cassie. "How's the tabloid issue going?" Ben gave him a soft smile and said, "Fine, actually. They dropped it pretty quickly, especially since I've been denying everything. I'm just glad I'm not entirely known yet. I mean, I know I have a pretty big fan base, but I don't think it'll expand anymore."

***

Everyone gathered in the living room about an hour later. Cassie and Amanda were easily the best of friends by now. They've been laughing and talking the entire time. When they all started sitting down, Ben brought Cassie over to the couch, so Amanda sat next to her. Ben chuckled as the two were talking in hushed tones and looked above their heads to Martin, who was just smiling and shaking his head. 

Finally, Ben was able to get a word in when he kissed her cheek to grab her attention. She turned to him, smiles and all, and said, "Yeah?" He smiled warmly at her and asked, "Having a good time?" "Hell yes!" Ben laughed and kissed her. When he pulled back, he looked her in the eyes and said, "I'm glad." After a minute, he leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Are you still sore after our...exercise?" Cassie scoffed and whacked his arm. He just gave her another kiss.

A few minutes later, the show began to start. Cassie cuddled up to Ben, who put his arm around her to keep her close. For the first part of the show, she was clinging on to his shirt with wide eyes. She eased up after Moriarty got his phone call. As Mycroft stepped on Sherlock's sheet, Cassie started swirling her finger around his thigh. Ben purred in her ear, and then kissed it. But then...Irene Adler came on. Ben noticed Cassie shifting uncomfortably when she came on naked and sat on his lap. Ben squeezed her hip and placed a kiss on her head. He knew he would pay for not warning her about this.

The show ended an hour and a half later and everyone was applauding. Steven invited them to the backyard for some more drinks, so they all went out there. Cassie was in a bit of a daze, Amanda noticed, so she asked, "You alright, love? You seem a little off." Cassie gave her an unconvincing smile and said, "Yeah, just tired." Amanda gave her a look and said, "Come on, now. The truth." Cassie sighed and looked down into her drink. "I guess I didn't really enjoy the whole Irene naked on Sherlock scene. I mean, I feel stupid for even feeling anything towards it. I'm not one of those clingy, get jealous easy girlfriends." Amanda gave her a sympathetic smile and told her, "It's normal, believe me. When Martin was in Love Actually, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous with all those damn sex scenes he was in. But you get over it because at the end of the day, he comes home to you."

***

Ben grunted as he dug through his duffle bag, searching for his pajamas. He then started chuckling and said, "Honey, I may need to make a run back to my place. I'm running out of clothes here." Finally, he just grabbed a random shirt and threw it on. He'd sleep in boxers since his PJ bottoms got ruined for reasons that made him incredibly horny.

"Sweetheart," he called, when he didn't get a response or see her in the bedroom. He looked towards the en-suite door and saw it was barely cracked open. He pushed it open, while asking, "Are you alright?" He stopped when he saw Cassie standing in front of the mirror in her bra and panties, sucking in her stomach to make herself look skinny.

"Baby, what are you doing?" He asked with a bit of concern in his voice. Cassie jumped and spun around. "Hey," she breathed. Ben furrowed his eyebrows and said, "Hey...What are you doing?" Cassie grabbed her pajamas and threw them on while saying, "Nothing. Everything's fine." She was just about to slip past him and into the room, until he stopped her by placing his hand on her stomach. He gently pushed her back in to the bathroom and stepped in with her. 

"What were you doing?" He asked with a more authoritive tone. Cassie crossed her arms over her stomach and shrugged. "You don't know?" He asked. She shook her head. He told her, "It looked like you were sucking in your stomach to make yourself look skinny. Why?" Sighing, she struggled to tell him, "I just...I...tonight, when..." She grunted and just gave up. She had just thrown her head down when those strong, comforting arms wrapped around her and that sweet, velvet voice said in her ear, "Amanda told me." 

Cassie leaned her forehead against his shoulder and mumbled, "I'm sorry. It's just...seeing her, like that, and how good she looked with you...I promise, I'm not always jealous." Ben lifted her chin up to meet his eyes and gave her a sweet kiss. "I should have told you," he said, while nuzzling his face with hers. "I'm sorry, baby. But don't you ever think you have to change anything for me. Your body is a part of who you are and Lara's is a part of who she is. Just know, I'd choose your gorgeous, lucious curves over hers any day." That got a smile out of her. 

Ben gave her another kiss, but this time, moved his hands down to her thighs and abruptly lifted her up, making her squeal. "Now," he growled, "I shall show you how amazingly sexy I think you are." He carried them both into the bedroom in a heap of giggles.