A Kind of Magic

November, 1993

Grunting with effort, Seeley threw another shovelful of snow behind him into the already-impressive pile he'd collected. He hadn't quite started sweating under the t-shirt and jacket he was wearing against the winter chill, but he could feel it coming on. With a sigh, he stopped for a minute and rested his forearms on the handle of the shovel, contemplating the reasons he'd taken it upon himself to add his hot neighbor's sidewalk to his own when he came out to remove the ten inches of snow dumped on DC the night before. Hot neighbor. Yeah, that about covers the reasons, doesn't it, Seel? He had seen the beautiful woman who had recently moved into the unit next to his and while they had exchanged flirty smiles, they'd had yet to meet formally. Thinking again about her cute little compact rear end moving under her slim jeans as he watched her walk to her car the other day, Seeley shook his head at his own inner guy and continued to clear the walk in front of him.

Cam watched, hidden from view by her curtain, as her gorgeous neighbor huffed and puffed his way through the task of shoveling, sighing as she could see even through a few layers that he had a spectacular build. When his head unexpectedly popped up and looked her right in the eye, she fought the urge to pull back and threw him a smile instead. Slowly, she moved away from view and headed for the kitchen to start the kettle, hoping to offer him a cup of hot chocolate…after all, it was the very least she could do to repay him.

Seeley knocked at the door with more bravado than he was feeling, suddenly unsure that the grin he had seen from the woman in the window was more than just a look of gratefulness. He'd imagined that the way her lips curled sexily in tandem with the slight nod of her head was a blatant invitation, but as the seconds passed and there was no answer he began to doubt himself.

Cam threw the door open, the same grin Seeley had seen earlier firmly in place. "Hi." She said, breathless from her quick run to her bedroom to change her clothes. "Come on in, uh…"

"Seeley. Seeley Booth."

Cam moved out of the way as he entered the combination living room/kitchen area and began to shake off the remnants of snowfall from his boots and jacket. "I'm Camille Saroyan, but…"

"Don't call me Seeley."

"Don't call me Camille."

They both laughed, the simultaneous protest easing the way for some of the tension to dissipate between them as Seeley stomped his feet on the small rug inside the door and removed his gloves. "So what should I call you?" He asked, as one eyebrow rose in amusement.

"Cam." She returned his look. "You?"

"Booth. Just Booth." He looked around the sparse apartment, still a little off kilter. "Nice place. Nicer than mine, anyway. Certainly cleaner." He laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Oh, well…I don't spend too much time here, so…."

"You stay with your boyfriend a lot?" She was glad to see he looked disappointed at that prospect.

"No, no boyfriend. I'm a med school resident. I don't really have time for anything else."

He was impressed. "That's amazing…I mean, great." He sighed internally at his own lack of smooth reply. He liked his women smart, but he thought this woman was definitely too smart for him. "That's a lot of work, I hear."

Cam nodded. "Yes, but it's going to be worth it." She glanced down at his feet for a moment. "So…what do you do when you're not here? I mean…not here here, but…"

Booth smiled. "I just got home from my first tour in the Army. I'm stationed at the Pentagon for a few months until I get another assignment."

"Wow. The Pentagon. That's impressive. What do you do in the Army?"

He shuffled his feet for a moment, and then cleared his throat nervously. "Oh, you know…this and that. Whatever Uncle Sam tells me to do." He replied, feeling noticeably uncomfortable.

Grinning mischievously, she let him off the hook. "Ah so, it's like that, then. You could tell me, but then you'd have to kill me."

"Yeah." He gave her a genuinely grateful smile. "Something like that."

They regarded each other silently, neither quite knowing what to say, until the shrill whistle of the kettle on the stove interrupted the standoff.

"Oh!" Cam exclaimed, heading for her kitchenette. "I almost forgot. I put some water on; I thought maybe you'd like something hot." She busied herself with cups and Swiss Miss packets until she realized that the reason she was suddenly feeling so warm was that he was standing right behind her. She turned slowly, hands on her hips, and found Booth had removed his jacket and boots and was currently less than a foot from where she stood, towering over her with an indecipherable look on his face.

"Hot chocolate?"

Unavoidably caught in his piercing eyes, Cam nodded slowly. "I just thought…you know, that you would need something…to warm you up."

Booth glanced over Cam's shoulder at the still-empty cups, and then back at his pretty neighbor. "And if I told you…" He leaned forward enough to breathe her in, eyes darkening at her exotic scent. "…that I'm not a big fan of hot chocolate? Is there something else you might have to warm me up?"

Cam's breath shuddered as Booth moved to press against her, his chest brushing hers lightly as his hands rested on the counter on either side of her hips. She looked up at him through half-mast eyelids. "Well…what did you have in mind as an alternative?"

Just before his lips touched hers, he smiled. "Surprise me."