CHAPTER 4

An hour and 2 ½ drinks later, Brennan was feeling good, much to Angela's delight. Just as they made their way off of the dance floor for the third time, a familiar face came into sight.

"Booth!" Brennan yelled across the bar. "Booth!" she yelled again after noticing that he was still glancing in every direction. He finally caught sight of them and waved, making his way through the crowd. He was dressed in a silk, purple button down shirt and a pair of slacks. Brennan found herself thinking how handsome he looked.

"Booth, hi," Brennan said as they reached each other. She gave him a slap on the back from behind as if she were a guy.

"Is she drunk?" he asked Angela, who was standing just in front of Brennan.

"No, I'm just a little tipsy. Feel great," Brennan replied. As she finished, Angela stepped out of the way and Booth got his first look at his partner. His eyes scanned from her head down to her, well, hips and he let out a whistle.

"Wow, Bones. I've never seen you so…spirited. And Angela, compliments on the outfit," he said, smiling.

"Oh no, the outfit…was all Brennan," Angela replied, smiling mischievously as she waited for the reaction.

"Really? Well, Bones…you look…great," Booth replied, holding back a bit as he felt a twinge of embarrassment.

"Hot is the word, Booth…hot," Angela instructed him.

Booth gave Angela one of his looks while Brennan seemed to have missed the entire exchange.

"What time is it?" she asked out of the clear blue.

"11:30, why?" Booth replied.

"Just wondering. I told some guy I'd dance with him before midnight," Brennan responded as she reached down to the table and popped a few peanuts into her mouth.

Angela watched Booth's reaction to this news and she liked what she saw.

"Well, I'm going to go find Hodgins. You two have fun. Oh, they're going to start a game of beer pong outside if you want to check it out," Angela informed them, knowing full well that Brennan would not be interested…she just wanted them to be alone with a spectacular view.

"Beer what?" Brennan asked as Angela gave Booth a look and hurried off to "find Hodgins."

Booth was trying not to look at Brennan and her…body, but he was finding this quite difficult given what she was wearing.

"What took you so long?" Brennan inquired, sounding a little whinier than she had hoped.

"What? I had stuff to do for work. We ARE dealing with a serial killer, you know. In fact, I'm shocked to see you out and about. I didn't think Angela was going to be able to convince you to leave the lab," Booth replied.

"I've never been to a New Year's Eve party, so I thought I'd come…I mean, mainly for Angela," Brennan replied, adding the last part a little nervously.

"Really, Bones? You've never been to a New Year's Eve party? Even for you, that's hard to believe," Booth replied, stumbling forward and into Brennan as someone shoved past him.

Their bodies connected and a jolt went surging through both of them, but Booth quickly stepped back as each of them glanced the other way.

"You wanna go outside? It's pretty crazy in here," Booth asked, slightly unnerved.

"Sure. I'm getting sick of this music. I've been attempting to dance to it, but I find that it's fairly pointless," Brennan replied.

Brennan led the way to the terrace where there was a group of people gathered to one side. From what Brennan could see, there were several cups of goldish liquid sitting on a table and a rather large amount of ping pong balls scattered across the table and floor. She furrowed her brow as she and Booth walked past them and to an emptier part of the terrace.

"Ah, the good ole' days of beer pong," Booth said, laughing as they walked. "Idiots," he added.

"You mean, you've actually played this 'game?'" Brennan asked.

"Yeah, college, Bones. It was a requirement," Booth explained.

"So, then…that would make you…an idiot," Brennan replied, smirking at him and quite proud of herself.

"Thanks, Bones. College was a long time ago, by the way," Booth replied.

Brennan chuckled, beaming in the triumph of her comment as Booth rolled his eyes.

Booth found his eyes wander back to her, unable to leave the sight that beheld them.

Brennan noticed his stare. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing, Bones. You just…look…wow," Booth said, a boyish grin illuminating his face.

Brennan felt her face flush and she glanced down, shifting her jaw as she tried to think of something to say.

"No need to get embarrassed, Bones. Just stating the obvious," Booth replied, pulling out his best charm smile.

She smiled through pursed lips and raised her eyebrows. "Thank you," she replied simply.

A few moments passed in silence and Booth turned to lean on the railing of the deck. Brennan joined him a moment later.

"Aren't you cold?" Booth asked her, noticing that she didn't have a jacket on.

"Actually, it feels good. It was stifling in there," Brennan replied.

Booth smiled. "So…what do we do now?" he asked. "I know Angela likes to party, but this isn't exactly my idea of a party," Booth revealed. "My idea of a party is a nice glass of wine, a big screen TV with the Steelers on it, and a few slices of pizza."

"They're a football team, right? From Pittsburgh?" Brennan asked, truly curious.

"Good job, Bones! You make a man proud," Booth said as he elbowed her gently in the arm.

Brennan smiled and chuckled. "You know, Angela means well and I know she wanted me to have a good time," Brennan replied.

"ARE you having a good time?" Booth asked her.

"Now I am," she replied as she glanced at Booth, a small smile on her face. He returned the expression and tilted his head slightly, squinting his eyes as if he were trying to read her mind. After a moment, she looked away and back out at the city. "It really is beautiful up here. I had no idea there was a place like this that overlooked the city," Brennan added.

"Yeah, I used to go mountain biking around here," Booth informed her.

"Mountain biking? You never told me you mountain biked," Brennan responded, thoroughly surprised.

"Yeah, well, I messed up my knee and that was that. There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Bones," he replied, smiling mischievously.

"Really? Like what?" Brennan asked, a smug smirk on her face.

Booth paused for a moment before speaking. "Okay, I admit, you pretty much know everything," he said, leaning in towards her as he flashed yet another charm smile.

She smiled triumphantly, her expression soft.

They stood, gazing at each other in silence for what seemed like too long. Booth's face softened and a small smile played across his lips. Brennan's smile faded ever so slightly as her eyes fell upon her partner's lips. Her breath grew rapid and her chest started to quiver. She thought she knew what was about to happen and yet she couldn't believe it. Should she let it happen? Was she reading Booth correctly? Is this what he wanted? She began to pull away ever so slightly and Booth noticed and he too pulled back.

"Excuse me, but I believe that you promised me a dance and the ball's about to drop," the man interrupted, leaning in to offer his hand to Brennan.

Booth and Brennan stepped away from one another.

"Yes, I guess I did say that, didn't I? Of course," Brennan replied as she gave Booth one last glance before she was whisked away by the man with the wrong intentions, as far as Booth could see.

He let her go, unable to fully comprehend what had just happened. He knew he had wanted to kiss her; he had been wanting to kiss her for a while now and tonight in that moment, it had seemed like the perfect time. But something flashed in her eyes…uncertainty. And he knew that he shouldn't push it, even though he was fairly sure that she had wanted it too. And he knew that she wouldn't admit it unless he was the one to bring it up, to show her how she truly felt.

And he knew that there was really only one way to make her see…