A/N: Okay, time to repeat myself again by saying thank you for the reviews and alerts. You are all probably just wanting me to shut up by now, but I really do appreciate them so much. They make a girl happy. =]
Um, so this chapter proved to be a real pain in the ass (excuse the language xD) for me to write, for some reason. I'm not really sure why, but I was having trouble focusing, and it wound up taking me like, three hours to finish. So I hope you all enjoy. And Sully is finally coming into play next chapter, so Sully-lovers, if there are any, can give a big 'hooray' to that (even though I dislike Sully xD). Alright, I'll shut up now.
Chapter Ten:
"This Isn't A Date"
"You're slightly over dressed for the diner," Brennan observed as she took a sip of her milkshake, swirling it around with her straw afterwards.
"Well it's not like I planned for our 'big date' to be here," Booth reminded her, "we would have been out to a nice restaurant with dim lights, candles, soft music playing. But you had to go get caught up in your bones for two hours."
Brennan just shrugged as she sipped on her chocolate milkshake, occasionally glancing into the glass to make sure she wasn't drinking it too fast. Even though she wasn't embarrassed to eat in front of Booth, she didn't want to look like a pig either.
"I'm sorry for, ruining your dinner plans," she finally said, noticing that Booth was lost in thought until she spoke, "next time we're going out to dinner, I'll make sure I finish my work early."
"You don't have to be sorry, Bones. You just owe me now."
"Owe you what?"
"A date."
"This is a date."
"You think this is a date?" He had to laugh now, "Oh, Bones."
"I don't see what's amusing."
"This isn't a date, Bones. It's the diner."
"I thoroughly enjoy this diner. Especially when I'm here with you."
"As flattering as that was, it doesn't mean you're getting out of that date you owe me."
"I just don't understand, Booth. Why doesn't this count as a date?"
"There are so many reasons why this doesn't count as a date," he chuckled.
Brennan set her glass on the table, the large glass making a clunking noise when it touched the hard surface of the table, which gave the moment a little dramatic effect.
"Why won't you just tell me why you don't view this as a date?" She asked.
"Because, Bones, a date is planned, and at least somewhat romantic. And, we've been here a million times as friends, so it's really nothing special anymore. When we go on a real date, you'll know it."
"A million is not a rational number to represent the times we've been here."
"See, this is why I don't answer your questions," he narrowed his eyes slightly at her, "I give you a whole big explanation on why this isn't a date, and all you do is comment on my hyperbole."
"Sorry," she muttered, the slightest bit of attitude detectable in her voice as she stirred her milkshake with a straw.
They sat in silence for a minute, as Brennan incessantly stirred her shake, her eyes only focused on the brown substance that filled the glass up halfway.
"Come on, Bones, are you gonna be cranky for the rest of the night now?" Booth asked, letting a charming smile come to his lips.
"I'm not 'cranky'," she mocked his words, but couldn't resist smiling back, "you're using your charming smile on me."
"Is it working?" He asked, keeping the charm in his voice and on his lips.
"Yes," she admitted hesitantly, "but anthropologically speaking, it's just my body reacting to the-"
She let her voice trail off when she saw Booth shake his head disapprovingly.
"Remember we agreed we weren't going to talk about work?" He asked.
"That's not talking about work," she informed him, "you know, having as much information as I do in anthropology could be useful to you, Booth."
"Oh, I can't wait to hear why," he chuckled, leaning forward on his elbows so they were a tiny bit closer together, "this should be good."
By this time, Booth had already finished his pie and had the plate pushed to the side of the table, waiting for the waitress to come by and pick it up.
"Because," she paused, a small smile coming to her lips as she took his tie in her left hand and tugged on it so he was leaning a little further over the table now. She could see his pupils dilate slightly as her smile became slightly more wicked, "I have great knowledge of the human body, while you don't. There's so many things I need to teach you, Booth. Like this," she touched the line of his jaw with her right hand, "is your mandible. And this," she touched his collarbone through his shirt now, "is your clavicle."
"Bones," he chuckled, his cheeks slightly flushed now, "you should stop."
"Why?" She asked innocently, moving her hand back up to his 'mandible', as she just taught him, "I'm only teaching you about the human body. It's science. Squinty stuff."
"Did you do this when you were teaching Zach about the human body?" He chuckled.
"No. You get the 'special lesson'," she explained, letting go of his tie to put her hand over his, which was resting flat on the table before she pulled it up and laced her fingers through his.
"Phalanges," he commented, his mouth twisting into a half smile, "I know that one."
"You know, you get a reward for correct answers," she told him, her smile suggestive.
"And what would that be?" His smile mirrored hers.
"You don't get it until later."
"Temperance Brennan, you are such a tease."
"Like you're one to talk, mister 'one day, I'll show you what love making really is'."
"I said one day. That day has just still yet to come."
"What, do you have a date set? Marked on your calender?"
"No, but that's a good idea," he said, sarcastically.
Brennan gave him a stern look, pushing her empty milkshake glass to the side of the table with his plate now as she glared at him, not letting the look in his eyes that mirrored hers intimidate her. He wasn't going to establish his dominance over her this time. She'd make sure that he knew who was the alpha 'female'.
"There's no set date," he assured her, not taking his eyes off hers, "but I get to choose when it happens."
"Because you're the alpha male?" She asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Because it was my idea," he corrected her, "and, I want it to be memorable for us. You're different, Bones. You're not just some random girl I picked up at the bar. We've been through a lot together, and I want the first time we actually, make love, to be special."
Her eyes softened as she gave the hand that was still tangled up in his a gentle squeeze.
"It will be special," she said, her voice softer now, "it doesn't matter where we are, or how romantic the scenery is. As long as it takes place between me and you, it'll be special," she paused, examining the look on his face as she giggled lightly, "you're blushing."
"I'm not blushing," he lied, glancing out the window, then back to her to break the intense stare, "it's just a little warm in here."
"You're lying," she accused, dropping his hand from hers "you're blushing because you're a prude."
"Oh God, let's not have that conversation again," he laughed lightly, "just because I don't want to have long discussions about love making in the middle of the diner does not make me a prude."
"You get flustered whenever I say the word sex," she told him, "we've done it before. I don't understand why it's still a touchy subject with you. You're an exceptional lover, Booth. I don't know why you get so uncomfortable when the topic comes up. Surely you've had plenty of practice."
"Bones, can we please, talk about something else," he begged, his head in his hands.
"Okay," she had a small, satisfied smile on her face when she saw how embarrassed he was getting, "would you rather talk about work?"
"Are those the only two topics you have programed in your software?" He asked.
"First of all, I'm not a computer, and second of all, I find them to be very stimulating topics," she informed him, "I'm not one of those people who can have an hour long conversation about the weather. I need to be interested."
"And the only two things that interest you are dead bodies and sex?"
"They are the topics I find most appealing, yes," she replied.
"Okay, Bones, that's the first sign that something is not right in your head," he tapped the top of her head for effect, as she gave him a disapproving look "how about your novel? Let's talk about that. How is that coming along? Is it going to be a hit? Is it practically writing itself?"
"It's scientifically impossible for a novel to write itself."
"It's a- you know what, never mind."
"So how about we talk about the subjects you like, like sports," she said, "so how are those Flyers doing? How many home runs did they score last week?"
"The Flyers are hockey, Bones," he shook his head in disappointment, "I'm not doing a very good job at teaching you these things."
"I think you're doing an okay job," she shrugged, "I know a lot more about sports now than I did before I met you. I still don't really understand the games when I watch them, but I know what team I'm supposed to cheer for when they score."
Booth chuckled at how clueless she was on sports. He found it adorable when she talked about sports, since she barely knew what she was talking about half the time.
"I have tickets to a Phillies game in a couple weeks if you want to come with Parker and I," he offered, as she smiled brightly.
"That sounds very enjoyable, spending time with you and Parker of course," she smiled at the charming half smile he was wearing now, "Phillies is football, correct?"
Booth laughed lightly as Brennan looked at him curiously.
"Baseball, Bones."
"Oh, well, either way, I'd like to join you."
"Good," Booth smiled, reaching into his pocket and putting the money to pay for their food on the table, "come on, Bones, it's getting late."
(line break =])
Brennan's breathing was irregular as the stubble of Booth's beard scratched lightly over where he was kissing her at that moment. They were in the back of his SUV, parked next to Brennan's car, since he was supposed to be bringing her there to pick it up, and they wound up getting distracted.
"Mandible," Brennan whispered, as his lips left steamy trails of kisses over her jaw bone, moving down her neck quickly, "clavicle, clavicle," she paused her incessant whispering of the bones in her body to let a small moan escape her lips, glancing down when his fingers worked at the buttons on her blouse, "Booth?"
"Present," his voice sounded slightly hoarse, her skin tingling where ever his lips touched.
Trying to control her breathing, she didn't respond, since she wasn't really sure why she asked for him in the first place. She figured it was just force of habit as he continued on his path.
"Sternum," she bit her lip to contain a moan, "sternum, sternum."
"Bones, what the hell are you chattering about up there?" He asked, pausing the kisses to glance up at her.
"Nothing," she promised, her fingers running through his hair, "continue."
"Not until you tell me what you're talking about."
"I was just naming the bones you were kissing," she said quickly, pushing gently on the back of his head to try and reconnect his lips with her skin.
Brennan let go of his hair when he sat up, away from her body, and fixed his shirt, his chest moving in rhythm with his heavy breathing.
"Booth!" She complained, sitting up as well, buttoning up her blouse at this point "you're such a tease."
"Simmer down, Bones," he chuckled, "this wasn't a date, so 'that' can't happen," he smiled charmingly, "I'll see you tomorrow."
Brennan had a sour expression on her face, but it quickly washed away when he planted a gentle kiss on her lips and pulled her into a hug that was different from their usual 'man hugs'.
"I love you, Booth," she mumbled into his shoulder.
"I love you too, Bones," he responded, kissing her head before she climbed back into the front seat, got out of the car, and went to hers.