A/N: You've already heard from me tonight, so lets just get to it, shall we? Oh, except another big thank you to Nyre The Black Rose and Cathmarchr for their help on this one as well. =)
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, just love 'em!
~B/B~
Booth paced in Brennan's office, fidgeting with his tie except when he was checking his watch. It was seven-thirty in the morning. She should be at work by now. He'd arrived early without bothering to call because she was always here at this time of day.
He heard the punctuated sound of heels against the floor and turned towards the door, anxious to see her. It had been hard to say goodbye to her the night before. Harder than usual, since he couldn't shake the concern that this case had brought on. She would tell him it was irrational.
He would just tell her that of course it was. That was how fear worked.
She suddenly appeared in his view, her face startled when she saw her office door already open, her light already on.
"You're late." He said, walking towards her and lifting the coffee out of her hand before she spilled it all over the files she was juggling in the other hand.
"I'm actually twenty-six minutes early." She said, setting her purse down. "What are you doing in my office?"
"Waiting for you." He told her. "I wanted to talk about the case."
She glanced at him. "Usually you call and ask me to meet you for breakfast. That seems far more practical than pacing in my office without having any idea when I intend to arrive."
She had a point. He'd thought about calling her and asking her to meet, but they weren't exactly in the habit of sharing as many meals these days. Somehow it had felt invasive. Another thing she would have said was irrational.
"I wasn't hungry." He said, coming up with an alternate explanation on the fly.
She laughed. "Ok." She said as though she didn't believe him.
"Anyway." He said pointedly. "After you went to talk to Clark yesterday, Agent Lyndon and I kept going over the files and I think we can at least narrow our pool of suspects a little. Not much, but a little." She was making a face and he stopped. "What?" He asked, amused by the distinct scrunch of her nose.
"I find Agent Lyndon's personality to be abrasive." She said, sitting down at her computer and clicking extensively.
"Her entire personality?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes." She said easily.
"Yeah well, I don't think she's that fond of you either." He said. If they were going to be honest…
"Precisely." She said, nodding. "She finds me unpleasant yet she made a point of constantly smiling at me, laughing at my jokes or things that I said that she somehow assumed were jokes. Her behavior is entirely disingenuous. Not to mention tiresome."
He laughed, shaking his head. "Geez, Bones, tell me how you really feel."
"That is how I feel." She said, meeting his eyes. "Why would I lie about that?"
"You definitely would not." He said, still amused. "Look, I know she's a bit… much, but we're kind of stuck with her. She's trying to be nice."
"Well, she is failing." Brennan muttered.
"Bones, can we talk about the case or are we going to dissect Agent Lyndon's personality all morning?" He asked, resting a hand on her desk and leaning his weight on it.
"I believe you brought her up." She replied snippily, returning her attention to her computer.
"What – no, I – look, never mind." He said, exasperated. "As I was saying, the fact that this guy used medical instruments will give us a start. We need someone who would have access to specialized medical equipment, a private space, and a place to dispose of evidence afterwards. We're running a check on hospitals in the DC area as well as in North Carolina, and all those in between."
She stared at him until he cleared his throat. "Bones? What are you looking at?" He finally asked.
"I assumed you had more to tell me." She said, looking puzzled.
"Well not right now." He said, uncomfortable under her scrutiny. "We're still working through the search. I mean those things don't just get done in an hour."
"No, I'm sure." She said, shrugging. "I just don't understand why you waited here to tell me that when you could have passed on that information over the phone much more efficiently."
He sighed, rubbing the back of his hair. "Yeah, well, I also wanted to see you." He admitted, looking a bit sheepish.
He could have sworn that she smiled. "You did?"
"Of course." He said. "Yesterday was hard on you. I just wanted to… you know, make sure you were ok and everything."
Now he was sure she was smiling as she stood and walked towards him. He caught his breath as she reached her hand out, and his whole body anticipated her touch. Then her hand closed around the coffee cup he was still holding for her and disappointment washed over him as he relinquished it without feeling so much as a brush of her fingers.
"I'm fine." She said, taking a sip. "I have had time to consider the case rationally and my emotions are no longer a factor in my analysis of it."
"Sure. Good." He said, nodding as he tried to regain his composure. "Uh, I guess that's all then." He nodded again, unable to come up with a reason to stay. Other than that he simply wanted to be with her. "I'm just gonna go back to my office. Get some work done. The bones, remains, from the other two victims should be here this afternoon so… I guess you'll just call me when you know something." He gave her a weak smile.
"Yes." She agreed simply.
"Right. I'll just see you later then." He said, reaching out to bump her arm lightly with his fist. She lifted her cup to take another drink at the same time and his fist bumped her cup, sloshing hot coffee all over her neck and chest.
"Oh, ouch!" She said, putting her cup down quickly as her hand went to her neck. "Booth!"
"Crap Bones, I'm sorry." He said, reaching behind her for the box of tissues on her desk and grabbing a few. "Here, let me…" He said, dabbing at her reddening skin. "I'm so sorry. Are you ok?" He asked as he ran the tissues down her neck and then held them against her chest, sopping up the burning streams. Pursing his lips, he blew lightly on the irritated skin, trying to neutralize the temperature and relieve the pain.
She didn't answer his question and he glanced up to meet her eyes, finding them glued on his face, intensity radiating out of the blue irises. All thoughts of the burning liquid on her skin fled his mind as he took in their stance. He was close to her, one hand on the nape of her neck, holding her steady, the other pressing tissues against her skin just above the line of her shirt. Her hands were on either of his wrists, her fingers splayed out over the backs of his hands. Unbidden, his eyes flicked to her lips, noting how very close they were to his own.
Every cell in his body demanded more as he felt himself lean in closer to her. His body brushed hers lightly and he held his breath.
Then, with a staggering rush, reality set back in. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to drop his hands and step back from her despite his entire being protesting the loss. "Here, you should do that." He said stiffly, handing her the wet tissues.
She took them from him, her expression carefully unreadable.
"Sorry." He said again, backing away. "I'll just come back later. When you call."
She didn't answer, nor did she meet his eyes as she focused on soaking up the remainder of the spill.
He tore his gaze away from her and exited quickly, muttering every curse he knew under his breath as he walked towards the main door. He was so transparent. So horribly, obviously transparent. Not to mention, failing. He was devoting all of his energy to just being her friend and then just like that… he'd nearly kissed her.
And he couldn't just kiss her like it didn't matter. Like they could just move on from it, call it a mistake and be done. How many times did he have to learn the hard way that nothing was ever just a kiss between them? Kissing her meant losing her. She ran from him every time, and he wasn't going to let it happen again.
"Get it together, Booth." He said, hitting the palm of his hand on the main entrance door frame as he passed through. Clark, who was just arriving to work, gave him a startled glance, but held his hands up when Booth looked at him.
"I don't want to know." He said, shaking his head. "Do not tell me anything."
"Yeah, don't worry." Booth snapped, heading for his car.
~B/B~
She'd finally called him. After taking her time with the first new set of remains she had run out of excuses and it was getting late. She had to give him an update.
So she had called him and asked him to come over, but she'd asked Cam and Angela to be there too. She had told them it was because they needed to hear the update as well, but if she was honest with herself, it was more that she didn't want to be alone with him at the moment. She'd even called Agent Lyndon and asked her to attend.
All day the memory of the morning had lingered with her, plaguing her usually focused mind with doubts and frustration. She had been so sure he was going to… going to what? Kiss her? She was losing her incredible, superior mind.
No, it was worse than that. She was actually allowing her emotions to cloud her rational thought processes. She wanted him and so despite how many times he made it clear that he no longer wanted her, she continued to allow her own perspective, her own desires, to affect her judgment. It was irrational. Stupid. Painful.
She wanted to break the cycle. To find a way to give herself undisputable evidence that he had moved on. Maybe then she could accept what they were to each other now. Partners, friends, family. What they had always been to each other. Then maybe she could stop all this… feeling.
"Dr. Brennan?"
Agent Lyndon's voice reached her ears and she released a small sigh. The fact that she needed the presence of the agent to dilute Booth's presence didn't change the fact that she still found the woman irritating. She turned to greet her, but stopped as she saw Angela approaching.
"Hey, you're the FBI agent on the earlier cases, right?" Angela asked, holding out her hand for Lyndon to shake. "I'm Angela Montenegro Hodgins. Forensic artist."
"Lovely to meet you!" Lyndon enthused and Brennan cringed.
"Oh, and this is Dr. Saroyan." Angela continued as Cam arrived as well. "She's our faithful leader."
"Dr. Saroyan, a pleasure." Lyndon said, shaking her hand as well.
"Please, call me Cam." Cam said, smiling back. "Dr. Brennan are you ready for us?"
"Booth is on his way." Brennan answered. "I prefer to give the information all at once."
"Nope, Booth is here." The formidable FBI agent said as he joined the group. He glanced at her. "Heya Bones, I was beginning to think you weren't going to call me back here today." His tone appeared casual enough and she envied him his easy demeanor.
"My processes take time." She said, returning his glance. She could feel her hormones responding as the images of that morning flashed in her head. "If I may…" She said, indicating the remains.
"We're ready." Cam said, nodding.
Dragging her thoughts away from her partner, she began to speak, giving the details of what she had found on the body, pointing out similarities and differences to the body most recently found. She knew her language was complicated, her tone formal, but she needed the distancing maneuver to steady herself as Booth listened, interjecting questions, leaning over her to see what she was pointing to. Placing his hand on her arm to move her out of the way when he wanted to see something.
Finally her explanation was done and she looked at her team members expectantly, awaiting some sign of comprehension.
"So…" Cam said. "Essentially we have forensic evidence that this victim was killed by the same person that killed our victim."
"Precisely." Brennan told her.
"Ok. Excellent work, Dr. Brennan. As usual." Cam said, smiling. "We can move on from here."
"Hodgins is currently examining the particulates that were found on the two sets of remains. Hopefully those will match as well." Brennan added, side stepping Booth who was standing next to her and moving over to the other body. "Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to finish the examination of this third set of remains tonight as well."
"Sure, Sweetie." Angela said, keeping her eyes carefully off the bodies. She focused in on the skull. "I'll just get started on this reconstruction."
"Yes, thank you, Angela." Brennan said, not looking up.
The crowd began to disperse, though Brennan was very aware that Booth was still standing nearby. She supposed this feeling was what people meant when they said they could feel someone's eyes on them. She could tell that he was watching her and she wished with everything within her that he wouldn't.
"Agent Booth, I don't know about you, but this is my dinnertime." Brennan heard Lyndon say and her hands stopped their routine movements on the bones as she listened. Somehow she could sense what was coming next. "Perhaps we could find something to eat while Dr. Brennan finishes her work here."
Since she refused to turn around, she couldn't see the expression on Booth's face, but from the corner of her eye she saw Cam and Angela, who had been walking away together, stop and turn back around, surprise on their faces that was evident even to her.
"Uh…ahem." Booth said. "You know, this is a really big case. It's probably better if I stick around and…" He was obviously stumbling. "Besides, Bones here won't stop and eat if I don't make her…"
Cold, calculated reason took over, and she found herself turning, words leaving her lips. "Don't be ridiculous, Booth. There's no need for you to stay." The words hurt her as she spoke them, but she also felt the intrinsic relief that having boundaries created for her. This was what she needed. Some sort of distance. Some clear definition of their relationship. While she was the most important woman in his life it was so easy to become confused about his feelings and her own. If he was dating then perhaps…
"What?" He asked, looking over at her in surprise. "Sure there is, Bones. We're working and I bet you haven't eaten all day."
"No, I'm working. There's nothing for you to do here right now." She said bluntly, having decided on her course of action and therefore committed completely. "And I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself." She forced the words out just as she forced her eyes to stay on his.
"Bones…" He said.
"Seeley, Dr. Brennan is clearly fine here." Agent Lyndon said, smiling and touching his arm. "It is just so sweet how dedicated you are. Why don't you tell me why you love your job so much… over dinner?"
"Uh, listen… Renee…" Booth said awkwardly. "It's not that I don't want to… I just , you know, don't think it would be professional."
"You're not really working together." Brennan heard herself say. "Its only temporary. There's no reason not to engage in the ritual of dating."
"Well, it wouldn't be a date…" Booth said, glancing at Lyndon.
"It would match all of the qualifications of a date." Brennan argued, unable to stop herself. "Perhaps you would enjoy yourself."
"Perhaps he would." Lyndon said, smiling at Brennan before addressing Booth again. "Dr. Brennan seems very anxious to get you out of her way, but I'll be glad to keep you company."
Brennan met Booth's eyes as he stared at her.
"You really don't care at all, Bones?" He asked, his eyes searching her face.
"Of course not." She said, hating to lie to him but he was the one who told her sometimes lies were necessary. This certainly felt like one of those times. "Go, enjoy your dinner. My work here will keep me occupied for several hours." She insisted.
"Shall we, then?" Lyndon asked, turning wide eyes on Booth.
Brennan held Booth's gaze for as long as he kept it on her.
"Why not?" He finally said. "There doesn't seem to be a reason not to, does there?"
"Wonderful." Lyndon said. "I know this amazing place."
Booth's phone rang and he let out a frustrated noise. "I need to take this call. I'll just meet you outside Agent… uh, Renee."
Brennan took a deep breath as she watched her partner walk away without so much as a glance over his shoulder. "Excuse me." She said, peeling her gloves off and throwing them away. She headed down the steps of the forensic platform, moving towards her office. She might have done the right thing rationally, but that didn't mean she wanted all of her colleagues watching as she dealt with the emotional backlash of it.
She entered her office, closing the door behind her and sitting down at her desk, resting her elbows on the familiar wood. She closed her eyes, only to snap them back open a moment later when an irate Angela was suddenly before her.
"What was that?" Angela demanded, anger coloring her tone, distorting her pretty features.
"What?" Brennan asked, surprised at her friend's behavior. "Are you upset about the case again?"
"Don't you play dumb with me, Temperance Brennan." Angela said, her hands on her hips. "How could you do that to him? How could you look him in the face and tell him you don't care about him?"
Now Brennan's mouth gaped open. "I did no such thing."
"You forced him into that date that he obviously didn't want to go on with that woman he obviously doesn't like" Angela let out an irritated noise. "Honestly, Bren, I don't know what is wrong with you."
"Nothing is wrong with me." Brennan said, standing up. "And I didn't force him. I simply made a logical argument which he readily agreed with."
"No, you took away every excuse he came up with until he either had to go on out with her or explain why he didn't want to, which he couldn't exactly do, now could he?" Angela said, gesturing hopelessly.
"I don't see why not." Brennan said, thoroughly confused and more than a little irritated.
"You really don't, do you?" Angela said, shaking her head. "He didn't want to go on the date because he wanted to stay here with you. Because he's crazy in love with you and wants to be with you all the time. Now, tell me, can you imagine him coming out with that under those circumstances?" She asked.
Brennan fumbled for a moment. "That is simply not true." She finally said.
Angela stared at her. "I can't believe you." She said, shaking her head in disbelief.
Brennan's door opened again and Cam entered, closing it behind her again. "Dr. Brennan…" She said. "Oh, Angela."
"Sorry, Cam, the case is going to have to wait for a few minutes. Our resident genius is acting like an idiot." Angela said.
"Angela!" Brennan protested, now thoroughly irritated.
"Actually, that's why I'm here." Cam said. She looked at Brennan and sighed. "I don't mean to interfere, Dr. Brennan, but after what just happened…" She took a deep breath. "I feel you have a right to know something, despite the fact that telling you may jeopardize an eighteen-year friendship with a man I care about very much."
"I don't understand." Brennan said, wishing that both women would simply leave her alone. This conversation was doing nothing to aid in her in accepting the proper boundaries with Booth.
"I know." Cam said. "Dr. Brennan, I have always had the utmost respect for you as a colleague, but over the years that we've worked together I have come to think of you as a friend. And I just witnessed one of my friends hurting another one of my friends very deeply and I'm pretty sure she did it out of ignorance."
"I don't understand." Brennan said again.
"Cam," Angela said, turning towards her boss. "Just the facts." She reminded her.
Cam nodded. "Dr. Brennan, Booth is in love with you."
Brennan kept her defenses high as she processed the words. Shaking her head, she disagreed. "No, you're incorrect. He is not at all in love with me."
"This time, you're the one who is incorrect." Cam said, shaking her head. "He told me himself. Yesterday. When he barged into my office and demanded that I upgrade protection here in order to keep you safe during this case." Cam smiled, glancing at Angela who was hanging on every word. "He was desperately afraid that you would be affected by the murder and decide that this job wasn't for you again. He didn't want you to run from him again because," Another glance at Angela. "Because he loves you and he wants to be with you even if you can't love him back the same way."
"Oh my… Sweetie," Angela laid her hand over her heart. "That man is just… and you! You are just… oh! If you don't run after him right now I will not be held responsible for my actions. "
Brennan shook her head, unwilling to relinquish the decision she had come to. "You misunderstood. He loves me platonically. Nothing more. I have a great deal of work to do…"
"With all due respect, Dr. Brennan, there is nothing platonic about the way he feels about you." Cam said stubbornly. "If I thought that there was any chance that he meant it in that way, do you think I'd be in here betraying his secrets?"
Brennan shook her head just as stubbornly, refusing to allow even one flare of hope to touch her. "I have evidence to the contrary. This morning he had the ideal opportunity to physically demonstrate his feelings and instead he left very abruptly." She shook her head again. "If you don't mind, I'd really rather return to focusing on work."
"Ugh, Sweetie…" Angela said, shaking her head. "You can be so oblivious sometimes. Of course he left quickly. He's scared to death of scaring you away again. Of course he's not going to just kiss you or something when he's convinced himself you don't want him to." She sighed, rubbing her stomach absently. "It's your turn, Bren. You have to be the one to initiate because you've made good and sure that he's not going to again. So are you going to woman up and do it or not?"
Brennan considered this new information, her brilliant mind reeling with emotions and concepts that she didn't understand. Was it possible that she had misread the situation so entirely?
Of course it was possible, she decided. She was one of the first to admit that interpreting social behavior was not her forte. Human remains, yes. The behavior of societies as a whole, certainly. But the complicated, interwoven, convoluted reasons that individual people acted the way that they did, that simply escaped her.
She could see the logic in Angela's point. It was one of the first things that Booth had taught her about relationships. It was all about give and take. Each person had to offer something, each person had to bring something to the table. He'd offered her himself and she'd turned him down. Now she had been hoping he would offer himself again, and yet she had never made the effort to offer anything of herself.
"It's my turn," Brennan mused aloud. Cam and Angela shot each other cautious glances. Brennan rose abruptly, gathering her coat and bag, muttering, "I have to stop him. I have to tell him." She barreled out of her office without giving her colleagues another glance, gathering steam as she stormed ahead, in search of her partner.
"Where's Booth?" She demanded of the first person she came across. The startled intern looked up at her in terror.
"He just left, Dr. Brennan. Just a second ago."
She ran through the Jeffersonian, her heels clicking on the hard floor, her hair falling out of the ponytail she'd had it pulled into. Rushing, she flew out of the door and into the parking lot, her eyes desperately searching for his car as she barreled across the asphalt.
A horn sounded from her left and she whirled, catching a glimpse of Booth's terrified face before she instinctively threw her arms up over her face to shield herself from the large SUV that was a mere seven feet from hitting her.
The sound of squealing tires pierced the air and she felt the gust of wind that was created by the vehicle's sudden stop. Cautiously, she lowered her arms and took in her surroundings. She was still standing. There was no pain. He'd stopped the car.
His face was a mixture of panic and fury as he threw open his door and leaped from the car. Though her eyes were on him, she vaguely noticed that Agent Lyndon had also opened her door and gotten out.
"Bones, what the… are you insane?" He shouted, gesturing wildly with his hands as he spoke "You can't just run through parking lots like that, Bones. I nearly hit you. What were you thinking?"
He grabbed her arms, shaking her lightly, fear tainting his voice with an unusual hysteria. "Do not ever do that again. Do you hear me? Do not ever scare me like that again." He pulled her into a tight, quick hug. "What is the matter with you?" He asked, releasing her.
"Booth…" She began.
"No." He said, his hands on his hips. "No, I am not even close to being done yelling at you yet."
"Booth…" She tried again.
"Bones, you have to think before you do things." He continued. "What were you even doing? What was so important that you couldn't take two seconds to see if there were any large, potentially deadly vehicles heading in your direction?"
"I needed to stop you." She explained, looking up at livid face.
He hit his palm against his head. "What, with your entire body? Bones, look." He pulled out his cell phone. "This is called a phone. You can call people on it and they answer and you say things to them like 'Please stop, I need to speak with you.' Then they turn around and don't hit you with their car." He dragged his hand through his hair. "What if I had hit you, Bones? What then? What, you just get to die and leave me here without you? Not ok with me."
"I'm sorry. I'm fine. I'm not hurt." She said, trying to soothe him.
"Yeah, well, you are not forgiven either." He said, pointing at her. "You scared the crap out of me."
"I'm sorry." She said again. "I had to tell you that I don't want you to go on a date with her."
He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Ok, then I won't go. Again, let me introduce you to a phone." He glared at her.
"Um, excuse me." Lyndon said, stepping towards them. "You won't go?"
Both partners ignored her. "You won't go on the date?" Brennan asked, surprised in spite of herself at how easily he agreed. There was no questions about her motives, just acceptance.
"No, of course not, Bones." He said, starting to calm down. "I didn't want to go to begin with, but you were so determined to get me out of your way..." He stopped and looked at her, calmness bringing better clarity. "Did something happen? Did you get a threat or something? Did this guy contact you?" He stepped closer to her, concern replacing anger in his eyes.
She shook her head. "I want you to be with me tonight." She told him quietly.
"That's what I was trying to do to begin with." He pointed out. "You were the one who…" He stopped and looked at her. "Ok, hey, you look terrified." He said, pulling her into his arms again, holding her against his chest. "Whatever it is, it's ok, Bones. I promise. We'll figure it out or fix it or whatever. Ok?"
"I want you to be with me tomorrow night too." She said into his shoulder.
"Of course." He said, rubbing her back. "As long as you need me."
"No, Booth…" She shook her head, pulling out of his arms so that she could look at him. "You don't understand." She told him, taking a deep breath.
"Then explain it to me." He said.
"I don't know how." She realized. She'd had no time to prepare, no time to think this through. Explanations didn't come easily to her, not when they were about people who were still alive.
"Try, Bones. Give me something to work with here." He said, holding her gaze.
Blue met brown as she stared into his eyes, trying to figure out what in the world she was supposed to do now. She didn't have the words that would sum up seven years of feelings that had all suddenly culminated in the last few weeks. She didn't know how to make him understand that even though she was terrified of the step she was making, she was more terrified of not making it. So she did the only thing she knew would get her point across with absolute clarity.
Stepping forward, she invaded his space, her body brushing against his. Reaching up, she took his face in her hands, dragging her thumbs along his cheekbones. Then her mouth touched his and she was sinking in to him as heat flooded through her, originating where their lips locked.
For a long, terrifying moment, he was stiff under her touch and the burn of the morning's rejection began again. But then she felt the brush of his fingers along her face, and then his hand was in her hair, his other pressed against the small of her back, and his mouth angled over hers, taking the kiss infinitely deeper.
She melted against him, reveling in the closeness, amazed at the idea that she was really in his arms. He gripped her tighter, his strong arms binding around her, pulling her nearer, tangling in her hair.
And then he was pulling away, his hands back on her face as he dragged her mouth from his. Opening her eyes, she found him staring at her, his eyes hazy with swirling desire and confusion.
"Bones," He murmured. "You are the most confusing woman I have ever known."
She smiled, catching her breath. "I can imagine that you find my behavior to be quite mercurial." She admitted.
"If that means crazy, then yeah. That about covers it." He said, leaning his forehead on hers, his hands still on her face. "Wow." He breathed.
"I agree." She said, nodding, her hands moving to rest on his wrists again, as they had earlier that morning.
"Tell me what this means." He said, closing his eyes. His nose brushed against hers. "Please, Bones."
"I don't know." She confessed. "I didn't plan for this… I just.. acted."
He laughed. "Wow." He said again. "Ok. Let's… can we… I just want to get out of here. Right now."
She smiled at him, but the smile faded when she remembered her responsibility inside the building she had just fled. "The other remains…" She said reluctantly.
"No way." He told her, shaking his head. "No way are you going to ignore me all day, force me into some date, run in front of my car, kiss me until I can't breathe, and then abandon me without talking about it. Not going to happen, Bones."
She considered and quickly gave in. "I see your point. Lets go somewhere."
"And talk." He said, his eyes resting on her mouth. "We need to talk."
They turned back towards the car, his hand comfortably resting on her back, and she realized something with a start. "Where did Agent Lyndon go?"
He craned his neck to look around the parking garage. "Huh." He said, opening the passenger door for her. "No idea."
She looked up at him with an impish grin. "I guess that's going to be awkward for you tomorrow." She teased him.
"Guess you'd better make it worth it then." He said, leaning in and dropping a kiss to her lips. Several long moments later, he drew away. "Talking." He said, pressing the back of his hand to his mouth. "We're supposed to be talking."
~B/B~
And it finally happened! See, didn't I tell you it would? ;-) I hope that it was worth the wait. At this point I'm going to absolutely beg you for reviews, because this chapter is so important to me and I'd really love to hear what you think. So... pretty please?
As for next chapter... remember when you're right smack dab in the middle of new love and you just spend hours and hours talking to someone, even if you end up talking all night? Why do I ask, you say? No reason... just wondering! ;-)
