AN: Here is the followup to Duty from Careese Themes. I know you guys asked for their 'date' :)
They sat together at Reilly's sipping their beers. "So did it go as badly as you thought it would?" John questioned, ignoring the grumbling of his empty stomach. He hadn't had any dinner but he wanted to come as promised at 8pm. He had been too busy working a number to stop to eat anything all day, which had not gone over well with Shaw who was a nuisance more so than usual with an empty stomach.
Joss snorted. "Worse, they never called my number so all I did was sit there, twiddling my thumbs, and stare off into the abyss," she answered dejectedly. "I could have caught up on my paperwork, did anything else than what I was subjected to today: mindless boredom," she muttered. "I think they did it on purpose, knowing it would tick me off," she added hotly with a big thirsty gulp of her Miller Lite.
He chuckled. "I doubt that Carter."
She pinned him with a glare. "No go, no opinion. I'd like to see one your aliases get a summons for jury duty through the mail and you actually go to one and then you tell me how bad it is or is not," she sniffed.
John grinned liking this side of Joss. He nursed his beer, before motioning for the dart board. "Well I did promise you I'd let you win a round," he said with a wink, seizing the opportunity to tease the detective some more.
Joss narrowed her eyes on him. "Fat chance! No one lets me win anything, let alone at darts! John, you might be a kneecapping extraordinaire but I'm a beast at darts. I'll be the one letting you win a round."
"Carter, your competitive streak is worse than Shaw's," he commented dryly. "But I think you're all talk."
"I can back it up. Trust me," she assured him with a wide grin.
She was already feeling the remnants of her dull day fading off into oblivion thanks to John. Glad it was just them two without Finch, Fusco, or Shaw. Joss enjoyed spending time with them but it was just different with John. She wanted him to ask her out in a lot less friendly more intimate way. She didn't know how to proceed with their relationship. Not since their kiss in the morgue. It hung between them and she just couldn't look at John as just her best friend any longer because as much as she valued their close friendship and his respect and admiration (because she did), she wanted more from him, she wanted John.
John shifted as she stared at him. Joss looked lost in thought, eyes steadily on him, and he was unsure of what she was thinking. "Well I guess we'll find out soon enough," he murmured, seemingly drawing her out of her thoughts because she blinked and then smiled.
"I guess so," she agreed as they got to their feet, making their way to the dart board. His eyes were on her butt as her jeans molded to her body, clinging in all the right spots. Suddenly he felt hot as he loosened the cuffs at his wrists to roll his dress shirt sleeves up. He swallowed hard as his eyes never lifted and he undid the top two buttons of his shirt as well.
Joss turned around and paused as she stared. John was loosening up, making her falter slightly. He looked good relaxed as he had undone the top two buttons of his dress shirt, sans suit blazer which was left at their table, and had rolled his sleeves up.
"Think loosening up is going to help you beat me, think again," she muttered hiding the fact that seeing him so, made her want to help him undo the rest of his shirt and then his pants. God, she was hopeless.
John offered nothing, preferring to let Joss think that than explain that he had been gotten too hot staring at her ass. Yea, that would go over well. He was still trying to figure out their relationship since he kissed her in the morgue. Neither one of them had been willing to talk about it after Simmons had tried and failed to kill them. He was trying to work up the nerve to tell her how he felt, ask her to dinner and talk. It wasn't so much he was worried that she wouldn't listen but rather he was more worried at what would happen if the status quo changed. None of his previous romantic relationships had ended well and he had been truthful when he told her that he couldn't lose her. So as he figured things out he enjoyed these times he got to spend just with her as friends.
Joss handed him his set of darts before pasting on a smug look. "Get ready to be blown away, John."
"Ladies first," he motioned.
"You're going to wish your chivalrous side was dead, John," she assured him before turning her attention on the dart board. She zeroed in on it with laser focus and aimed for the bullseye. Joss threw it and smirked as she hit it with ease. She turned to look at him. "Voila, your ass is mine," she said with a wink.
"Lucky shot," he murmured. "Do it a few more times, Carter, and it might impress me." She smirked as she turned and focused on wiping the floor with him. She hit another bullseye and then missed but barely on the next throw. Joss turned and smiled, seeing the look on his face. "Alright, you're good Carter," he muttered.
"Thank you for admitting it, now let's see what you got, John," she teased.
He stepped forward, attention on the dart board for all of a few milliseconds as he became hyper aware of the fact that Joss was behind him and he could feel her stare. John shook it off and tried to focus but as he threw the dart and it pierced the wall beside the dart board, he realized focusing was going to be a tad difficult.
Joss wanted to choke on her beer as he hit the wall with the dart. She hadn't actually seen him hit the wall, no her eyes were more interested in his butt than actually watching anything else. Too bad John hadn't worn jeans, then she would have had a real nice show in front of her. But on his second throw she did watch and giggled. This time he hit the dart board but the side of it and it bounced off and fell onto the floor.
"How can you be a sharpshooter and be so terrible at darts?" she wondered out loud with laughter as she guzzled the last of her beer down. "Do you need my assistance to hit the board?" she offered.
John turned and scowled at her because he wasn't usually this bad. He always hit the board around the bullseye, but with Joss standing behind him he was having a little bit of a difficult time concentrating.
"Carter, can you move?"
She snorted. "Oh, good one, blame me. I'm not your reason for your accuracy problems," she teased him.
"I don't have problems with accuracy," he said, affronted before he looked at the dart in the wall and then the one on the floor.
"Tell that to the wall," she remarked dryly. He chuckled unwillingly as he turned to look back at her, motioning at her to move away. Joss sighed dramatically as she sidestepped over and moved to his side. "Is this better?"
"Yes," he agreed. Now knowing she wasn't directly behind him, he could focus.
Joss pouted inwardly as he asked her to move. Where she had been standing had the best backside view! "I'm going to go get us more beers, while you try aiming for the dart board this time," she said, smiling when she heard a small chuckle. She headed for the bartender. "Two Miller Lites, please," she ordered. Her eyes drifted over to John who threw his last dart and her brows rose high as he hit the bullseye immediately. Interesting that while she watching he couldn't hit the broadside of a barn but while her attention was diverted he was back to his pinpoint accuracy. Interesting indeed, causing her to wonder why that was the case, as she took the beer bottles and headed back towards him.
"See you managed to hit the dart board this time."
He smirked. "Told you, Carter." she rolled her eyes as she handed him his beer and watched totally enthralled as John leaned his head back and gulped some of his beer, watching his Adams' Apple bob. Man, how in the hell did he manage to make drinking beer sexy?
As they continued to play darts she experimented on John, seeing what would cause his ineptitude and what didn't. And each time she did something that had him thinking her attention was off him, his aim was far better than when she blatantly watched him and he knew she was. The difference was nearly night and day: John sucked when she watched him and he looked like a pro when he thought she wasn't. Joss had claimed she needed to use the restroom once just to observe him from afar. Sure enough John had easily hit the board each and every time he thought she was gone.
Once she beat John three times in a row, she gave him a respite. "Okay John, I think I beat your ass enough for one night," she teased as they sat at their table once more and he smirked at her.
"I thought you were going to let me win one," John grumbled under his breath.
She smiled, hearing him but didn't respond. "So can I ask you something?" she asked seriously. He nodded. "You couldn't hit the damn dart board when I was watching and whenever you thought my attention was off you, your aim was a million times better. Why is that?" she wondered, having a vague idea and it made her feel warm inside.
"…er…well, uh…" he stuttered and she chuckled at his inability to come clean.
Joss leaned forward, noting that his big gorgeous blue eyes feel to her breasts. Her phone buzzed with a text and she tugged it out of her leather coat's pocket. She frowned when it was from some unknown number and simply read: Primary Asset didn't eat.
She looked around for a moment. So help her if Shaw was watching them she was going to shoot her. She wanted this evening just them, not with that little nosy busybody listening in. John would clam up the moment he thought one of their friends were around. The only times he ever opened up to her was when they were alone. But Shaw didn't talk like this it was strange as her eyes landed on the camera in the corner, viewing them. And a sudden thought struck her. What if it wasn't Shaw that was texting her but rather the super computer? The computer would know about John not eating and Joss had known he was working a number while she was stuck in hell called 'jury duty'.
"Who was it?" John asked gently as Joss pocketed her phone thoughtful.
"Taylor, he was just letting me know something." she covered. "John, I'm hungry, you want to go back to my place and share a pizza?" she said slyly.
John was starving but he was more suspicious that she had dropped their conversation that was interrupted by the text. It wasn't like Carter at all. "I actually haven't eaten anything all day," he admitted a little wary.
"Then it's settled, come on," she said as she got to her feet, tugging on her coat. John blinked as he furrowed his brows as he slowly did the same. He tugged his wallet out but she shook her head. "I'm paying," she said. "It's only fair since I kicked your ass and didn't let you win a round."
"No, I'm paying," he countered.
"Fine, you can pay for the beers, but I'm buying the pizza," she countered. Her phone buzzed again and she tugged her phone out as she watched John walk to the counter to pay their tab. While John was paying, she eyed the text and smirked. It read: Primary Asset likes you.
She grinned. "I know that." she murmured and blinked as another text came in at her response.
Needs Push, her phone responded. Joss rolled her eyes. Yea, she knew that too, which was why she offered pizza at her place. Her phone buzzed with another text nearly instantaneously: Give him one.
"Easier said than done," Joss muttered and was becoming aware of the fact that she sounded like Root at the moment and talking to a computer A.I. Damn it! She was hanging out with these people too much.
John approached her. "Who are you talking to Carter?"
Joss blinked as she hid her phone. "Taylor, he's at his dad's and I guess his dad told him something funny." she said flustered before pocketing her phone once more. "I changed my mind about pizza, want some Thai instead?" she suggested as he opened the door for her.
"Sure, but you're not buying."
"I'm not?"
"No, I'll pay for it," he insisted.
Joss seized the opportunity that presented itself. "Okay, only if you let me repay you by cooking you a meal," she said casually. "And if you say no, then no dice, I'm not letting you pay for the Thai."
He eyed her. "What would you cook?"
"It would be a surprise." she said. She would need to ask Harold or someone what was John's favorite meal. Her phone buzzed with another text. Okay never mind, super computer was coming through again.
John smiled at her. "Alright, how can I pass up a homemade dinner from you," he murmured as they walked together towards a taxi. Joss grinned, she couldn't wait for their first date that John was unaware he was even going to go on.
AN: I couldn't resist the machine texting Joss and trying 'her' hand at matchmaking them. TM is getting a little impatient and wants her Careese together :) I don't know maybe I'll write the dinner date and give this a Careese-y end.
Thank you for reading this fluff fest XOXOXOXOX