"He's got to be gay… no one is that hot and not gay…"

"God, I hope he isn't…"

"Me, too."

Ian was the subject of several conversations that evening. None of them to his face and all of them speculative. Of course, where the girls at the dance were discussing Ian, they needn't have feared their dates getting jealous, because most of the guys at the dance had trouble taking their eyes off Cassie – amazed at the transformation from a girl who wasn't too bad looking but had seemed a little tomboy-ish to them into what could only be considered a very hot babe.

"She's not leaving much to the imagination, is she?"

"Oh, yeah, she is… I can imagine quite a bit…"

"Wonder if he'd let me cut in for a dance…"

"I don't think so…"

Actually, after the first couple of dances, Ian and Cassie had both found themselves as much sought after dance partners. The first time they'd gone back to the table, Cassie flushed with happiness at the wonderful dance she'd just shared with him, Rad had asked her if she'd dance with him, while Ian took Crystal for a spin. Since the dance was a slightly faster one that wouldn't require a lot of physical contact – Ian wasn't about to hold anyone like he'd been holding Cassie – he'd looked over at her, his dark eyes telling her that if she wanted to dance with someone else, he wouldn't mind, as long as she remembered who she was dancing with when the evening ended.

Cassie had smiled and nodded, taking Rad's hand – she'd known him since junior high, after all, and was a good friend of his – and Crystal had eagerly given Ian hers, allowing him to lead her out into the fast-moving dance.

Crystal, Ian discovered, was a much better dancer than Cassie. She knew the dances well, and he didn't have to worry about her losing her footing while he twirled and spun her, and she was plainly delighted to be partnered with someone who was a better dancer than herself – something she didn't find all that often. But no matter how much he enjoyed taking her for a spin on the dance floor – and Cassie had enjoyed her dance with Rad – the two of them were both more than happy when it ended and they were back at the table, sitting beside each other with her hand in his while they took a short break to catch their breath.

"Where did you learn to dance like that, Ian?" Angela had asked.

Ian had simply said his mother taught him, but Cassie couldn't help share a little more of his background than that, her eyes twinkling in good humor as he blushed while she told her friends all about his famous mother – who none of them had really heard of, not being one of the dance scene. But the story spread among the dancers that night, because something that interesting always was, and several people in the group – mostly teachers and chaperones – had heard of her, and they all stopped long enough to at least tell him hello in between dances.

After the first couple of times, though, Ian stopped dancing with anyone but Cassie, and she opted to stick with just him. Ian didn't like the way the girls were beginning to hang around him, waiting for him to mention he wanted to dance – although Cassie was more than amused by it – so he simply stopped dancing with anyone but Cass. When she realized what he was doing, she did the same, and limited herself strictly to dancing with him – although he told her if she wanted to dance with others, he wasn't going to be upset. He wasn't sure if it was all the dancing, or the heat of all the bodies in the room, but he was beginning to feel a little warm, and he sat out a few dances to give himself a breather.

Cassie sat them out with him, though, more than willing to sit at the table and drink punch while holding his hand – which she was doing almost constantly now.

All in all, it was about as perfect an evening as Cassie could have ever hoped for, and she was very sorry when the band finally announced that they were going to do only one more number.

Ian took Cassie's hand with a slight smile, his eyes only for her, and he led her out onto the floor for a last dance of the evening. A slow one.

She put her arms around him, easily, now far more comfortable in his arms than she had been when the evening began. She'd learned she could trust him, now, to keep her from tripping up, and knew, now, that he'd never let her fail or fall. Her cheek came down to rest on his shoulder as she closed her eyes, the two of them pressed lightly against each other and his hands resting tenderly just above her hips as they danced. He'd enjoyed the evening far more than he'd expected he would, and was very glad now that the others had convinced him to take her.

He felt her move her head on his shoulder, then, and suddenly felt her lips against his neck. A kiss that was far more of a lover's kiss than even the few they'd shared that evening. He shivered at the touch, unable to help himself, and Cassie had felt it, and smiled. She'd made a few decisions of her own that evening – without mentioning them to him, of course – and all she'd needed was an affirmation of his feelings for her. And that shiver seemed to her to be all the evidence that she'd needed.

He looked down at her, his dark eyes warmer than she'd ever seen them, and Cassie wrapped her arms around him, tightly, hugging him.

Unsure what had brought that on, but willing to hold her tight if that was what she wanted – and she certainly seemed to want to be held – Ian's arms tightened around her as well, and the rest of the dance was more of a cuddle-fest than any actual movement.

When the dance ended, Ian led her back to their table so she could collect her shawl, and they could say goodbye to the others.

"We missed our reservation," he told her once he'd shaken hands with Frank and Rad – whose full name was Radclift, he now knew – and had said goodbye to Cassie's girlfriends.

Anticipating that he was going to have a less than fun time at the dance, he'd actually made the dinner reservations for 11, figuring that that would give him reason and excuse for them to leave early. Since he hadn't wanted the escape, he'd completely ignored when 11 had come and gone, especially since he'd been dancing at the time.

"That's okay," Cassie told him, smiling as she put her shawl over her shoulders and then took his arm. "You can make me dinner."

"What?"

Her smile broadened.

"Sandwiches and milk or soda – something easy," she assured him. "I haven't seen your new place and I'd like to see what you've done with it."

Ian frowned; thinking immediately that it would be a very bad idea for him to take her back to his place – even worse if Jack or Fraiser heard about it.

"I don't think-"

"Please, Ian?"

"Cass-"

"I'll make the sandwiches…"

"It's a bad ide-"

"Only for a little bit… I just want to see what it looks like, now that Daniel doesn't live there…"

"You can come see it in the-"

"Ian…" she gave him a look that turned his insides into goo. "Please?"

He sighed, realizing for the first time that somehow she'd managed to wrap him around her finger. He wasn't sure if that was bad or good.

"Okay…"