VI. Such a Long Time Now

"Eames, how many more of those are you planning on having?

They were at a bar. It was a Saturday night, they had the weekend off, and after the last few tension-fraught months, Bobby had wanted to go out for a good time and reconnect with his partner. He hadn't though that Alex would show up wearing five inch heels and a skirt that made his mouth go dry.

"As many as it takes to make my feet go numb, darling. These particular shoes happen to be a five drink minimum, so I'm planning on having at least two more after this one." Alex smiled up at him over the rim of her martini glass.

"Okay, you've had enough." Reaching over, Bobby plucked the glass half-full of annoyingly pink liquid straight out of Alex's hand.

"What? No! Give that back, Bobby. I need that cosmopolitan!"

"Eames, you just called me 'darling.' That's the international symbol for 'I've had too much to drink.'"

"But I'm not drunk yet." She protested.

Goren looked at his partner, He cocked to one side, one eyebrow raised and pointed and screaming 'you don't really think I'm going to fall for that one, now do you?'

Alex pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Don't you give me that look, Mister. You were the one that wanted a fun night out, and for me that includes shoes that make me miserable and enough alcohol to dull the pain, now give me back my damn Cosmo!"

"Why are you even wearing those shoes if you know they're going to make your feet hurt? You're way too sensible for that."

"That's why I'm wearing these shoes. They're not sensible. It's the first thing they teach you in 'Femininity 101,' Bobby. No one ever wears sensible shoes if they're looking to dance and have a good time. The higher the heel is, the higher the hemline and the blood alcohol level must be."

"For a woman who is usually so sensible, Eames, you are not making any sense at all, right now."

"Okay first you take my drink and then you insult me. You sure do know how to treat a lady, Goren."

Bobby looked bewildered at the sudden turn of events. "I said you were sensible. That's not an insult."

Eames gave him a look that made Bobby feel all of five years old again before patiently explaining, "No woman wants to be thought of as sensible all the time, Bobby. Especially not while wearing five inch heels and a short skirt."

"I swear this is the last time I take you out. I spend too much time trying to baby-sit you."

Eames chuckled a deep throaty chuckle that had Bobby swallowing nervously. "No one wears shoes like this to be babysat, Goren." She took advantage of Bobby's shock to reach over and pluck the cherry out of her drink. Enjoying the way he trailed her movement with his eyes. "And believe me," she said, putting the cherry between her lips. She bit down, causing Bobby to flinch unconsciously. "I do not need babysitting."

With that, Eames slid off her barstool and headed towards the dance floor. Goren swallowed hard and watched her go then decided he needed another drink. Badly.

-

-

"Cab, Eames. We need to get a Cab.

"Yes, Bobby, I know that. I realize we have to get a cab. I'm not that drunk."

He shot her a pointed glare and she rolled her eyes at him. Enunciating each word very crisply, she shot back, "All right. I'm willing to concede that I am, in fact, drunk, but I will not cop to being shit-faced." She paused for a moment, her head cocked and a look of serious concentration on her face. "Tipsy at the utmost," she concluded regally. "Buzzed, even. But not wasted."

"It wasn't for lack of trying, Eames. Now, hold still so I can flag us a cab."

"But I want to keep dancing."

"You can't right now, Eames. It's two o'clock. The bar is closed. We can dance at your place when we get there."

She grabbed his arm and looked him straight in the eye. "You promise?"

"Yes."

Clutching his arm tighter she repeated, "Promise?"

"Yes, Eames."

"Pinkie swear." She said, holding out her right pinkie solemnly.

Without realizing why he agreed to pinkie swear in the middle of a New York street, and feeling rather childish for doing it, Bobby Goren linked pinkies with his partner and solemnly pinkie-swore to dance with her in her apartment. He rather prided himself on being able to do so with a straight face.

Once that business was concluded, Alex smiled brightly at him and said, "Remember now, you promised." After this declaration, she promptly did an about face, put her fingers to her mouth and let out an ear-piercing whistle. Soon, a taxi was waiting for them on the curb and Alex was doing happy little dances around her partner and humming the theme song from Valley of the Dolls.

Eventually she stopped humming and when she did, Bobby found himself missing the sound of her voice.

-

-

They reached her apartment with a minimum of fuss, and after kicking off her heels; Alex grabbed Bobby's hand and demanded "Dance. Now"

"Okay, but I'm not dancing with you the way you danced back at the bar."

"Are you criticizing my dance moves, Goren?"

"Eames, what you were doing was not dancing so much as it was public indecency."

She threw her head back and laughed. "Chalk it up to pent-up frustrations being let loose. I saw more action on that dance floor tonight than I have in the last six months."

Goren placed her hand on his shoulder and held the other gently. "I assume you know how to waltz."

Eames looked up at him, puzzled. "Waltz? Yeah, sure. I haven't done it in a while, but sure. Everyone can waltz, right?"

"But not everyone can waltz correctly, Eames." He corrected her. "There's a difference between the two." He began to move slowly, and Eames matched him, step for step. "The waltz is about two bodies moving in synch. It's seductive, but it's romantic too. Most people forget that. That's the difference between your method of dancing and mine. Mine is much more subtle"

"Yeah, but mine is much more satisfying."

"No contest there. I nearly had a coronary just watching you."

Eames smiled slyly. "So you were watching?"

Goren looked down at her, barefoot and beautiful in his arms, and felt the remains of the four scotch on the rocks he had consumed at the bar coursing through his veins. 'Why the hell not?' he decided, and took a shaky breath. "Eames, God himself couldn't keep me from watching you."

She widened her smile and Bobby found himself unable to tear away from the sight of it.

"Good," she said, and then he kissed her.

"Hey, look at that." She remarked when at last they surfaced for air. At his questioning glance, she continued, "The world didn't end."

He smiled and pulled her closer. "No, I guess it didn't."

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