Chapter Seventeen: Midnight in Miami--Part 2

A small, apparently sophisticated, crowd was assembled in front of the restaurant's glass doors, mostly turning their attention towards the finely-dressed man behind a black podium. He was randomly calling out last names and times, apologizing for the long wait that was included.

Horatio and Robin were lightly conversing, chuckling here-and-there at a funny recollection, as they passed the select groups of tuxedos and flowing 'after 5' dresses. The man at the podium smiled charmingly as he noticed them approach.

"Good evening, Sir, Miss," he greeted politely with a hinted Latino accent.

Horatio nodded, "Hi, I've got a reservation under the name 'Caine' for eight o'clock."

"Caine?" the man repeated, his dark brown eyes scrolling down a large list of names. "Ah, here it is. I'm sorry, but we're very busy tonight, the wait should be about forty-five minutes."

"No problem," Horatio compromised, glad to have made a reservation.

The waiter looked again at them both, "If you'd like, you can step inside. There are a few open seats at the bar. Please have a drink or just relax until your table is ready."

Horatio nodded, "Sure."

"Thank you," Robin said to the Latino man as she followed Horatio through the doors.

Inside, the restaurant flared of modern elegance. By the looks of it, Touch was a place where everyone knew everyone--there were women moving from table to table, martini-in-hand, laughing and smiling with each other, while some of the men were seated, having heated debates over politics or God-knows-what and others maybe just talking about the latest happenings in sports or their love life.

The bar was of a dark black marble, with the palette of colored glass being lit like a showcase painting in a gallery. Different shaped glasses hung from above the bartender, quickly disappearing as more people gathered around.

"And what can I get for you two?" the petite, nearly middle-aged woman asked as she quickly swept a cloth over the counter in front of her, her voice slightly more rough than would be expected of a woman her size.

Robin ordered, "Um…I'll have a Sea Breeze, light on the Vodka."

"And for you?" she turned to Horatio.

"Same."

As the woman turned to pack the ice into a couple crystal tumblers, Horatio noticed a quizzical look plastered on Robin's face.

"You're still thinking about the case, aren't you?"

She perked up slightly, not knowing she had been so obvious, "Yeah, kind of."

"We've got our guy, there's nothing to worry about," he said quietly, reassuringly.

Robin was still quiet, remembering the cold stare that Steven Peters had given her as he was being ushered into the police car, "But…you said he went without a fight or anything. Doesn't that strike you as weird?"

There was a small pause as the bartender sat the drinks in front of them.

Horatio continued as the woman stepped away, "All he was doing was a simple cat-and-mouse game…he set off the chase, we found him…fun's over."

"But still, Horatio…I can't help shaking the feeling that something's up. He still seems so familiar to me…not just the one time I bumped into him at the hotel, I know there's something more."

"Robbie, there's a hundred guys that look like him in Miami alone… maybe he looks like someone that bought one of your paintings, who knows?"

"Horatio?" Robin was surprised at his lack of confidence in her. "Why don't you trust me in this? Tomorrow, you need to really grill that guy…he's hiding something, and you can't risk anything…"

He remembered telling that to Robin when she had first started her career in criminalistics…that 'risk' was part of the job description, and the only way to get over it was to not leave anything unscathed.

"…You're right, nothing goes unexamined. I'll check it out for you and see what's up with this guy."

An announcement from the speakers broke the tension, "Caine, party of two…Caine, party of two."

He gave an apologetic smile, getting one in return from Robin, "Let's go see if the food is exactly how you remembered it to be."

* * * * *

The couple enjoyed a perfectly assembled dinner, snacking on a plateful of appetizers and sampling each other's dishes. The ride back to the hotel was quick, to them both…somehow, slightly too quick.

As they stood alone in the elevator, Robin felt her heart racing at top-speed as she pondered on her next actions. She wanted, more than anything, to invite Horatio back into the hotel room for…as she thought of it…a slightly longer visit. However, the thought still loomed over her head of how she had hurt him so badly the last time they had become romantically involved.

There was a soft "ding!" as the elevator doors slid open, revealing a long stretch of identical doors. Horatio followed behind Robin, noticing her brush her fingers against a "Do Not Disturb" sign that was tagged onto the doorknob of a nearby room.

She surfed through her small evening bag, pulling out the hotel's room-entry card. After a few seconds of fussing with the door, she managed to get it open.

Turning around, Robin rested her arms on Horatio's shoulders, slightly raising up on her toes to give him a small kiss, "Thanks for giving me such a great night, Horatio…H."

He chuckled at hearing the nickname, still smiling as he leaned into another kiss, slowly moving Robin back into the hotel room. Once the door shut behind them, Horatio began to slowly unzip the back of Robin's elegant, black dress.

She braced her hand on his chest as they fell back onto the cushiony mattress, feeling the soft fabric against her bare back, "…Are you sure you want to do this?"

Horatio brushed the loose strands of hair from Robin's flushed face, "Well, we're following a theme, aren't we? Touch--the restaurant…and now…"

Robin laughed playfully, feeling his lips making their way down her neck, "You always were bad at pickup lines…"

**Wow, I'm actually posting! Can you believe it? Sorry about the wait, first of all I didn't get some of the reviews for chapter 16, maybe since I changed my email, and second--I've been working about 5 or 6 days a week. I just get really exhausted! But I'm back on track now, so hopefully I still have some people's attention! Post a.s.a.p. if you're still following the story, please!!**