26 Presents
The door chime startled Brennan. He was early. Brennan placed her mug on the side table, stood and rubbed her hands together nervously as she looked around the room. "Answer the door, Brennan," she thought to herself. She didn't remember walking to the door, but suddenly she found her hand on the knob as the door swung open.
Booth stood before her leaning against the door frame, cradling a houseplant in one arm. He had shaved recently; the scent of his aftershave reached her before he spoke. His eyebrows rose questioningly when she stood there, mute. "Are you going to invite me in, or are we leaving now?" he asked with a lopsided grin.
"I'm sorry, Booth. Come in," she said, stepping aside. As he walked past her, she noticed he was wearing form fitting dark blue jeans, a burgundy striped polo shirt, and his brown leather jacket.
"I got you a little something," he said, extending the plant towards her after she shut the door. Her delicate perfume lingered in the space he now occupied.
"It's lovely Booth, thank you," she said taking the arrangement, gently fingering a daisy petal. She walked to her dining table and placed it in the center, careful not to set it on the envelope she placed there earlier. "I got something for you too," she said, picking up the envelope. She tapped the envelope against her other hand.
"You didn't have to do that, Bones," he said, flattered she had been so thoughtful. He wondered if, just perhaps, this might not be as difficult as he imagined.
"Well, it won't last as long as the plant you brought me, but if you like it, I'm sure I could arrange for more," she said, handing him the envelope.
Curious, he opened the envelope and extracted a small certificate for a deep tissue massage at the spa she visited earlier. "Bones, this is great!" Booth said excitedly. "Thanks. What made you think of it?"
"I didn't go to work this afternoon. My ankle was still sore and the bones were being macerated, so I told Cam I was going to relax. I just did my resting at the spa," she said, smiling.
"Good for you, Bones," Booth said tucking the certificate into the inside pocket of his jacket. He took a few steps towards her, closing the distance between. He held out his hand and asked, "Hungry?"
"I am," she said, her hand into his. "Let me grab my coat, and we can go," she said leading him to the closet. She hadn't noticed their fingers were twined together until he released her hand to help her into her coat.
"Grab your scarf and gloves there too, Bones. It's cold outside," Booth said. She nodded as she draped the scarf around her neck and slipped the gloves into her pockets.
They walked to his car holding hands. Booth couldn't recall whether he had reached for hers, or if she had reached for his.