7 pm:
It was a gorgeous Friday night in DC. A man about 6-foot with broad shoulders pranced up the front steps to the Jeffersonian and into the medico-legal wing.
He silently walked into the lab where he knew he would find the most beautiful woman in the world. Where else would she be but working?
He walked up behind her and with soft hands he brushed the hair from her neck and kissed her softly.
She jumped a bit then embraced the feeling she loved all too much.
"Hi" she said smiling as she turned to face him.
"Hi" he smiled. "We're still on for tonight aren't we?" He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?" she asked and her brow furrowed in genuine confusion.
He laughed and kissed her lips. "Just making sure"
She pulled him in closer reveling in the idea that she could kiss him anytime she wanted. They had been dating for a while now and she still wasn't used to that fact.
"So… tonight…" he started with a hopeful expression.
She pushed him away and looked him in the eyes but his hands never left ass which his fingers were gently caressing.
"Booth" she started with a sigh and he knew what was coming.
"Please… don't say it." he begged. "Baby, please don't say it?"
"… I can't. …I'm not saying no. …i'm saying not tonight." she said her eyes not leaving his and she could see how desperate he really was.
"When then?" he asked not able to stand it. "We've been dating 9 weeks. I can't take much more of this. You drive me crazy, Temperance Brennan. You have No clue what you do to me."
She kissed him knowing he was telling the truth. They had been dating over 2 months and no one even knew. They still haven't had sex yet, mainly because she was scared of what might happen when the FBI found out and she wasn't ready for that yet, and it was driving them BOTH crazy. It was time, it was most definitely time.
7:30 pm:
He pushed her down on her bed kissing her fiercely over every inch of exposed skin, ravening her.
"Booth… I love you." she said holding him as close as physically possible.
He didn't even hesitate; he kissed her and then whispered in her ear.
"I love you too."
She kissed him strongly.
"Bones… Bones… Bones…" he repeated over and over again. "Bones, Bones, BONES. Wake up Bones."
And all of a sudden she was awake in the lab with Seeley Booth lightly shaking her awake.
She sat up on the couch still in a daze over the dream she had just had. "Booth… what are you doing here?"
"We have a case. … Were you dreaming about me?" he asked as a big knowing smile spread across his face and her breath hitched almost audibly at its beauty.
"No, no, no, of course not" she said fighting the urge and practically forcing herself to continue breathing.
"Uh-huh" he smiled disbelievingly. "Wait you're not having nightmares again are you?
"No Booth" she met his gaze as she answered.
"Well that only means one thing" he said his perfect lips stretching into a smile. "It was a sex dream wasn't it?"
"What? …uh… no I've never…" she said floundering and knowing it was useless to argue the moment she first objected he knew her dream was starring him and if it wasn't a nightmare there were only so many options left.
"You know how I know? …" his smile spread wider realizing that she knew he had already figured it out. "Because you're all hot and sweaty and you are so red and flustered. It's pretty… hot actually" his eyes locked with hers and she felt the pull his warm brown eyes had. She couldn't help getting lost as she gazed longingly into them. "Besides what good is a dream when you can have the real thing?" he asked rhetorically as they grew closer and closer their eyes automatically closing.
"No good at all." she whispered back as she felt his warm breath on her and closed the very small gap between them. Her arms moved behind his neck and locked on the back of his head holding him closer and his moved behind her and laid her down on the couch. She pulled away smiling a bit breathlessly. "You know I'm only going to break your heart right?" she said quietly and her lips brushed his softly.
"maybe." he kissed her. "But I don't care. The ride down will be worth it." he said beaming.
She pulled him back in and farther on top of her and kissed him with a small laugh.
At that moment Angela walked in looking at something intently.
"Wow, sweetie, I hate to say it but when I'm good I'm really good. And this WWII guy was actually pretty cute."
At the sound of her voice Booth pulled away and she sat up grudgingly letting go of him. "Oh My…" she dropped the folder and her hands flew to cover her mouth. "I am so soo sooooo sorry. … I'm just gonna… leave now. Continue. What you were doing" she smiled coyly and walked out.
She shrugged and pulled him back in with a smile kissing him again. He stripped her sweater off and unbuttoned her shirt revealing a light brown cami and then pushed her back down repositioning himself over her and pulling her hips up towards him and she worked on the buttons of his shirt.
Less then three minutes later Cam barged in bringing everything to a crashing halt as she let out a high-pitched whistle. "Break it up!"
He looked up at her annoyed. "Damn Cam. Why do you always have to do that?"
"Seeley get off of her. Didn't you have a case?" She said raising one eyebrow and crossing her arms.
"Yes" he smiled. "I just got a little… sidetracked"
Brennan laughed and her hands caressed his lower stomach which was now bare and her thumbs traced along his belt. , and she kissed his chest.
"Does Dr. Brennan know you are fooling around with some woman on her couch?" Brennan let a small laugh escape before she could stop herself and she clamped her lips tightly shut. "Wait a second. … I know that laugh." she took a step closer attempting to get a look at who it was, but she had no success. "Ewww." She said 99% sure that it was Brennan. "You know this is really weird. Can you two sit up please? And get off her"
He sighed and climbed off of her sitting on the edge of the couch as she pulled herself up and sat up against the arm.
"Hey Cam." she gave a half hearted smile.
"Oh my God… Brennan really? …this aught to be fun. Keeping the two of you off each other as well as the newlywed lovebirds."
"Hey you don't like it you don't have to intervene. You can just walk out and pretend you saw nothing." he smiled and hissed her again.
Sweets walked in. "hey Cam what's up? I heard we have an interesting one."
"Oh yeah. Interesting." she directed him towards them on the couch.
"Whoa! … How'd that happen?"
"Beats the hell outta me. But they don't care."
Brennan pulled away. "Ok EVERYONE out of my office. NOW!" she ordered frustrated and did up her jeans.
"Whoa. You seem anxious. Do you want to talk?" he asked jokingly.
"OUT!" They left and Brennan sighed. "I'm sorry about that."
"It's ok" he nodded pulling back again. "They thoroughly killed the mood anyway." he buttoned his shirt. "Tonight?"
That brightened her mood. "8 o'clock don't be late. She kissed him then grabbed her sweater and walked out only to be cut off and practically dragged by Angela. "Ange!" she complained but Angela turned on her.
"Why didn't you tell me? How long have the two of you been together? And how great is he? This is so great. I knew you two were meant to be." she smiled. "You two make such a cute couple. I just can't believe it. …this is AH-MAZING." she said in a rush of amazement at the news that her best friend was finally with the man she belonged with.
Brennan stared at her amazed that someone could talk so fast and not turn blue from lack of oxygen.
"Well? Are you going to respond? In anyway? Shape? Or form?
"I have NO… clue what you just said."
"Ok. Ok." she took a deep breath to calm herself and organize her thoughts but she couldn't succeed in suppressing the smile that was prominent on her face. "Let's start slowly. What happened?"
"I'm not sure."
"You're not sure? What the HELL do you mean you're not sure! What did you look up and realize you were under him?"
"No. I know what happened I'm just not sure how it happened. He woke me up, we talked for a minute, and we kissed."
"When? How long have you been keeping this from me? Was it last night? Last month? A year ago?"
"Don't be so dramatic Ange"
"How long Brennan? I need to know this stuff"
"Ten minutes before you walked in maybe less." she shrugged unsure. "And besides like you said I couldn't keep it from you even if I wanted to. Which I wouldn't because you are my best friend and there is no one else I would rather share my secrets with anyway. …especially about my plans tonight" she hinted not meeting her eyes but smiling and wondering how long it would take for her to get the hint.
"What? Really?" she said with a tone of excited realization.
"Of course. You are my best friend." like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Aw sweetie. (She hugged her) sweetie… sweetie… sweetie… Brennan? Are you ok?"
Angela was standing in front of her looking very French and wearing designer sunglasses on top of her perfectly styled head.
"Angela!" Brennan exclaimed throwing her arms around her in a hug.
"Wow, sweetie, it's nice to see you too." She laughed hugging her back. "Are you ok? You looked pretty out of it?"
"I'm great. … I was just daydreaming I guess." she smiled and pulled away, fully in the present now. "Wow Ange, you look…" she stepped back in an attempt at a better look.
"Fabulous… glamorous… rich… French?" she said offering up some examples of complements with a huge smile.
"no." she shook her head. "pregnant." she looked confused.
"Well… Sweetie… that's what happens when you get pregnant. You look it." she hinted.
"Yeah bu- wait… Ange? Are you pregnant?" Angela nodded. "Oh my God. Ange, that's amazing." she smiled hugging her again.
Over her shoulder she saw Hodgins hanging back.
"Hey! What are you doing all the way back there?" she walked over to him with a serious look. "Are you avoiding me?" she smiled and her face grew warm. "Congratulations Jack." She hugged him.
"Thanks. It's great to see you again Brennan." he smiled and hugged her back lightly.
"Yeah… you too." she smiled pulling away.
"How was Indonesia?" he asked curiously.
"It was…" just then she saw him standing about 30 feet away watching them with a calm face waiting for her to notice his presence. "great." she walked past Hodgins dumbstruck. "…excuse me a minute"
She walked across the walkway and onto the grass every step bringing her closer to him. The thought made her step quicken and she was almost running towards him. She ran into his arms and he lifted her holding her tight.
After a long moment she pulled away to look at him and reassign his face to her memory, he was even more beautiful then when she left.
"Hi." she smiled her eyes not wavering for even the slightest second.
"hi." he leaned in and kissed her, quickly and gently.
"Wow" she said stunned at the event that had just occurred.
"Sorry. I guess Afghanistan has made me a man of action."
"It's ok" she laughed and smiled with a nod. "I missed you too." she admitted and she kissed him her lips lightly grazing his.
"I missed you too. I'm so glad you're back."
"Me too." she said stopping herself from kissing him again. Her daydream had had a larger effect on her then she realized, and she was beginning to see that a relationship with him wouldn't be that bad. "There is no place I would rather be then home with the ones I love"
"A year is way too long Bones."
"Definitely" she said and succumbed to him letting him kiss her and kissing him back.
"As much as I hate to break up this love fest… we're right here. And you are making SOME of us nauseous."
"Hey. Ange! Are you pregnant?" he smiled and turned to them still leaving an arm around her waist.
"yeah." she let out in a breath. "Glad to see you didn't get yourself killed over there."
"Ah. Same old Angela."
"Shut up and hug me." she laughed and he obeyed.
"I think we should go out to celebrate"
"I agree. This is definitely a cause for celebration" Brennan said with a smile feeling his hand stroke the small of her back.
"Thai?" he asked looking down at her.
"sounds great" she agreed smiling up at him then looked to Angela and Hodgins "what do you guys think?
"…yeah" he said surprised at the awkward tension between them.
"Thai sounds… great" she agreed.
"I'll call Cam." he said taking out his phone.
"we'll meet you there." she took his hand. "I need to talk to you" she said pulling
him away.
"ok… that is soo hot." she laughed.
"do you know something I don't know?" he smiled.
"duh. Come on. I'll tell you on the way."
10 minutes later:
"So what was it you wanted to show me?" he asked as his impatience over came him.
She stopped and turned to face him. They stood there for a second silent as she was deciding what to say. "it's stupid… irrational… something I would never ever do. But I think that's why it seems so right." she took a step back, releasing his hand. "I just hope you think so." she took a deep breath then pulled her shirt up and her skirt down revealing a tattoo with the letters "SJB" on her right hip.
"wow" he said stunned and even more attracted to her at the same time.
"is that bad?" she asked, concern flooding her face.
"definitely not. …that is sooo hot." he pulled her closer. "…and very ironic"
"what do you mean ironic?" she asked her lips practically touching his.
He was silent for a second and she realized how close they really were when she felt his heart rate increase, and pulled away.
"I mean this." he took his leather jacket off and pulled up the sleeve of his t-shirt to show her a cartoon skull tattoo with the name "Temperance 'Bones' Brennan" under it in a fancy script.
"oh… I see" she smiled she stepped forward and kissed his cheek. "thank you" he smiled back and they began to walk again hand in hand.
"strictly speaking soldiers aren't supposed to get tattoos while on tour so I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."
"of course not" a smile spread across her face. "I won't tell anyone if you don't"
"why Temperance Brennan that's blackmail." he said in faux shock.
"yes it is." she smiled as they reached her car.
They met Cam Angela and Hodgins at Wong Fu's and sat for hours reminiscing and laughing about old times and sharing what happened in the last year.
As they were leaving Booth got really brave. "BRENNAN!" he called after her.
She turned knowingly. She knew he was going to ask her something she had known all day. "yes Booth?"
"let's get some dinner"
"we just ate." she smiled pretending she didn't know what he meant.
"no. …I mean… do you wanna go out sometime? Just you and me? … on a date?"
She smiled. "come by at 8. I'll make us dinner."
"Okay" he smiled getting his nerve back. "that means I'll make breakfast." he said with a small suggestive wink.
"ah. …you think I'm that easy? A cocky attitude and a glass of wine and the
clothes will just fall of huh?" she said with a smile and a contradictory tone.
"I think so yeah." he nodded solemnly with a smile pulling at the corner of his lips and he looked into her eyes less then six inches away and he towered over her.
The closeness made her have to stop herself from kissing him as the smell of his
cologne flooded her senses. "we'll just have to see about that" she said confidently. And he pulled her in strongly kissing her. "that is soo not fair." she mumbled under his breath as she slowly opened her eyes but avoided his gaze.
He chuckled lightly and pulled away. "I'll see you later" and he left.
She leaned against the side of her car fanning her face with her hand she was suddenly overheating. Angela walked over to her gesturing Hodgins to hold on for a minute.
"I saw that," she commented smiling softly.
"I have a date tonight" she smiled and looked at Angela.
"oooh. Tell. Tell. Are you going to sleep with him?" she asked curiously.
"it's possible…" her smile spread. "he looks great doesn't he? He's stronger."
"he's hot."
"I've known him for a long time"
"he loves you"
"he's brave"
"he's gorgeous"
"he's got my name tattooed on his body."
"…he does?"
She was no longer paying attention to Angela. "I really want to Ange. It would be … terrific."
"you want my advice? … go for it. You deserve a little fun in your life."
"I think I will… he won't expect it. He's cocky but he won't do it. I'm going to have to make the first move."
"hey, just remember… no glove no love. Protection is your friend."
"yeah… is that what happened to you?" she said looking back to her with a smile.
"har-de-har-har. Very funny. … I gotta go sweetie. Listen call me tomorrow. I want to know everything."
"I'll tell you when I come in tomorrow."
"come in whenever. Take a little…extra time for yourself. don't worry about dishing all the details. …I'll pry them out of you later." they laughed.
"ok." she nodded.
"congratulations Sweetie." she said more seriously.
"thanks Ange." she hugged her. "I'll see you tomorrow." she turned and opened
her car door getting in.
7:45 pm:
Booth took a deep breath then knocked on her door finally gaining enough courage to make his presence known he'd been pacing the hall for nearly twenty minutes.
Moments later the door opened. She was wearing a short burgundy oriental style dress that came down to a few inches above her mid thigh, but was slit up a few more inches above that, and complemented her eyes phenomenally well. Her hair was pulled back into a bun with two chopsticks sticking out.
"wow" he said stunned.
"Booth you're early. I'm not ready yet." she said fixing the tendrils of falling hair.
"don't." he took her hand stopping her. "you look perfect… like always."
An embarrassed smile spread across his face and she turned a pale red. His hand slid down from the side of her head and to her hand, leaving a trail of goose bumps behind it. Her fingers intertwined with his and their eyes locked for a second until she broke the contact and looked down.
"I'm sorry. … this is just…" she sighed.
"nerve-wracking and a bit awkward" he offered up.
She nodded. "I was going to say. 'unusual for me' but… that's a bit more accurate." she smiled and he laughed lightly.
"yeah. I know the feeling. … so… can I come in? or are we just going to stand in the doorway all night?" he said his charmed smile spreading across his face.
"of course" she said quietly and flushed a light pink again. She lead him into the foyer and he closed the door behind him.
She dropped his hand suddenly awkward as she realized how many men she had led to her room that way. "…do you want something to drink?" she asked in an attempt to cover it up.
"uh… sure." he said and followed her into the kitchen. "so what is that delicious smell?"
"it's nasi goreng with beef rending and sates along with a mild sambals sauce."
"ok… what is that?"
She laughed. "just try it." she fed him a spoonful.
"oh my God. … that's delicious. What is in that?"
She smiled. "that was the beef rending, which is beef cooked in coconut milk and spices. That is nasi goreng which is fried rice. There is also sate which is grilled chicken served in peanut oil and sambals is a chili sauce made from peppers.
"wow." he said thoroughly impressed.
"and for desert… vanilla ice cream." she smiled as he laughed again. "well it cant all be fancy foreign food."
"well it smells delicious. … and so do you." he said leaning in a bit further to get a better whiff of her perfume.
Her breathing hitched at the close proximity and she smell his cologne mixed with a scent that was all him. "well that's probably because you are not used to being around me without the smell of decomposing corpses." she said her mind not clear enough for stopping herself.
"do you mind not talking about decomposing corpses tonight." he said pulling away, the mood killed. "the only thing I want to think about is you and me and this lovely dinner you made." he took her hands in his and kissed them gently. "it's a beautiful night how about we take this out onto the balcony so we can watch the sunset."
She smiled. "good idea…. Too bad I already thought of it."
"well great minds think alike." he smiled his face only a few inches from hers.
"I guess so." She closed in kissing him and he pulled her in tighter, a minute later stepped back gently pushing him away. She looked down eyes on the floor. "I'm sorry" she apologized quietly feeling guilty.
"Don't be. …" he flashed a forced smile. "come on lets get this food outside" he said picking up the dishes of food as she grabbed the glasses and the wine.
They sat down at the table on the balcony that was set up for their dinner. The table was facing the amazing view of D.C. from the sixth floor and the sun was setting on the Washington monument in the horizon.
After a minute of silence Booth felt the need to fill the void. "wow… I forget how great this view was."
She nodded. "me too. …It's actually one of the reasons I fell in love with this place." she poured the wine into the two glasses and handed him his still not completely meeting his gaze.
That was the end of conversation. They ate in silence as they watched the sun set and disappear over the horizon in beautiful streams of color. When they were done and the sun was gone they decided to lay out the tablecloth and look at the stars due to the beauty of the clear spring night.
"I love the stars" she said in another attempt to start up conversation.
"Really?" he asked surprised and sitting up on his elbows.
She nodded. "yeah"
"I mean I knew you liked delphinius because it's the dolphin and both you and your mother loved dolphins but… I never knew you liked the stars."
She leaned up on her elbows so she was eye to eye with him. "no one does…. I never even told Angela that… and I have no clue why I just told you that. It may have been the three glasses of wine but I…" she felt a small wave of confusion and looked away embarrassed again avoiding his curious gaze.
"well thank you" he said hoping that the line of communication wasn't shut down again. "…for telling me now."
"I know they are just burning balls of gas but they are also very pretty. don't you think?" she said and gazed back up at the dark night sky. At that moment he wanted so badly to know what she was thinking but she wasn't one to open up about what she was thinking.
"yeah I guess, but they are no where near as pretty as you look tonight."
She looked away from the sky with a smile and her eyes met his warmly. He leaned in slowly and she met his lips with hers. She pulled away slowly as an attempt not to bruise his ego again.
She sighed and laid back again.
"are you ok?" he asked. She looked up to see him looking down at her quizzically.
"it's just so confusing. … it's like there is this war going on between my brain and my… I guess you would call it heart. My brain tells me that this is a bad idea but… my heart says that we deserve this chance. … I need to know for sure."
He laid down on his side propped up with one elbow in a better attempt to be level with her. He stared at her for a second and then dropped down onto his back too with a sigh. "yeah I know the feeling."
she turned her head to look at him. "I really missed you Booth" she admitted after a moment's hesitation and there was a slight smile in her voice.
"you know as awkward as this night has been, I would give anything to have this night never end. To be able to just lay here under the stars with you." he let out a nervous laugh. "it's just so surreal. None of this feels real." he smiled seriously but softly at the same time. "when I was in Afghanistan teaching all those men how to train recruits all I could think of was you in Indonesia with Daisy examining ancient bones and how there was always the possibility that I would never see you again. And I could remember was the look on your face when you told me to be careful. And then I left."
"do you want to know what I was thinking about in Indonesia?" she asked sitting up and looking down at him.
"old bones found in a cave?" he asked with a small smile and leaned on his elbows again.
"no I-"
"I was kidding Bones" he said with a light chuckle.
"oh… well I wasn't… I was but…that's not… what I was going to say"
"then what?" he asked humoring her.
"what I was going to say was…" she paused suddenly nervous. "you. …the way
we used to solve cases even when no one thought we could and hope was lost. … I missed that… but the one image I couldn't seem to make disappear was… the look on your face that night outside of Sweet's office. I cant help but wonder what would have happened if I didn't turn you down… if I didn't stop you. And there were all these questions like… would we still be together? Or would it have ended a long time ago? Is there anything deeper inside me besides this sexual attraction to you? And no matter how hard I try I cant fight it anymore. … and when I saw you. When I kissed you I…" she stopped unsure of what his reaction may be or if she could handle the consequences of what she was about to say. But good or bad she had to say it. There was no turning back now. She knew that. They were either going to catch fire or burn out. Slowly and painfully and she couldn't let that happen. She understood what Rebecca had said so long ago. 'I think there's a moment for two people. A single moment where they can either catch fire or-Seeley and I, …we missed our moment. Do you understand?' and now she did and she was not about to let theirs pass like Rebecca.
Booth waited with patient and eager eyes to hear what she was going to say. He knew it was big but he didn't want to push her because pushing her now would be pushing her away. He knew she had to do things her own way and in her own time and he would just have to let her. He would just have to be a bit patient with her.
"I realized…" she started again genuinely struggling with her words. "that… I DON'T want to live without you in my life. Ever." the words started to come easier now. "whether it lasts or it doesn't I think we owe it to ourselves to give this a try because… I love you Seeley Booth." it was almost a whisper but Booth was sure what he heard. "In Indonesia there were tons of men, soldiers, scientists, and doctors, all wanting to ask me out, wanting to know me but all I could think of was 'what would Booth say about this one?' or 'is he the right guy for me?' and all of a sudden I realized… it doesn't matter if he was right or not or if it would work out because the only man I wanted was the one I knew was right for me. The one that always knew." she smiled. "they weren't good enough. No where near in fact because they weren't you. YOU are the right on for me. The only one right for me the only one I really wanted. Because what good is happiness if you cant share it with the once. And you know what… I'm Happy. Ecstatic. Because I finally got all of this out of my system and I finally told you that… I love you." she was breathless in her confession and her chest heaved with nerves and vulnerability.
Booth was shocked by the flood of words. He knew what she was going to say was big but this was gigantic.
When he still didn't answer she began to worry if it really was the right thing to have done or not.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have… I don't know what I was thinking. Please forgive me… or not. Just say something? Please? …maybe-"
She was beginning to ramble but he no longer heard her. There was a million things he wanted to say, a million and one running through his mind. He wanted to shout it to the heavens, he finally had the woman he loved. …And she was rambling like an idiot trying to justify what never should be. He was the idiot for making it seem like anything needed to be said at all.
"… and what if the FBI breaks us up? What if Sweets was right and we did miss our chance all those years ago when we worked that very first case? Besides I shouldn't have expected you to wait for me. You said you were going to move on and-" he kissed her to stop the attempt.
She was stunned for a second and then kissed him back. He held her as close as possible and when they pulled her apart he pulled her into a hug and the only thing he could manage to say was "I love you too." as he pulled away.
She smiled. "you do?" she asked biting her lower lip.
"yeah" he nodded and kissed her again. "I always knew remember?"
She laughed and kissed him. "yeah… I remember." she pulled him in again wrapping her arms around his neck.
After a few minutes she pulled away, against his will, and stood. He groaned thinking she was going to tell him he had to leave, but instead she reached behind herself and unzipped her dress letting it fall down to the ground around her ankles. He stood and grabbed her around her waist and pulled her in kissing her roughly, her knees buckled, suddenly weak, with the intensity of his kiss. He pulled her closer supporting her to keep her from falling. Then she was up against the wall straining to keep herself from crying out. She wrapped herself around him and he held her up never parting as he carried her into the bedroom and laid her on the bed.
~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~B~
7 am:
The alarm went off and she hit the off button rolling over and facing him. She was exhausted but for some reason she felt blissful and well rested.
"morning" he smiled down at her contently.
"good morning to you too." she stretched up to kiss him smiling. "…so…how did you sleep?"
They laughed. He smiled. "like a baby." he beamed down at her a smile she had never seen before.
She laughed lightly. "good" she kissed him again.