Eames and Barek returned to the table, and Eames laid a hand on her partner's shoulder. She felt his muscles tense beneath her hand. Leaning down, she said, "Come on. You owe me another dance."

He looked at her with a frown. "I do?"

"Just come on, Goren."

With a sigh, he got up and followed her. Barek nudged Logan. "Let's go."

"Go where?"

"Just shut up and come on."

He followed her toward the dance floor. "Why do I get the feeling we're spying?"

"Spying? We're going to dance, idiot."

Eames was quiet as she let him lead her around the floor. A thousand things were rushing through her mind. Barek suggested she give him a push. Well, she'd start with a nudge and see where it got her. Just like the night before she had settled her hand to rest on his side beneath his jacket. The shirt he wore now was thinner than his tux shirt, and he wasn't wearing an undershirt, so she gently moved her fingers to caress his side. She felt him tense, heard him catch his breath. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

"Enjoying our dance. Why? Do you have a problem?"

"I…no. No problem."

Yeah, right, she thought. Now she moved her hand up and down along his side, gently, affectionately. Same reaction, just a little more intense. "Eames…"

She looked up at him. His face was confused, so she offered him the chance to retreat. "Do you want to go back to the table?"

He was silent for a moment before he replied, "No."

Good, she smiled to herself. He accepted the nudge.

The music changed and she smiled. Strangers in the Night…how appropriate. Right now she felt like they were strangers. She stepped in closer to him, letting her body come into close contact with his. Her hand gently slid along his side to his back, where she continued to lightly caress him.

Goren tensed again. What the hell…? He was totally at a loss to explain this. They were approaching that line, and if she kept this up… He closed his eyes, trying hard to get his bearings…but all his mind would focus on was her hand…

Without missing a step, she untucked his shirt and slipped her hand onto his warm skin. He swore. "What the hell are you doing?" he whispered.

"Why? Is something wrong?"

He was overwhelmed in a way he had never been before and it made him very uncomfortable. He had no idea what to say or how to respond. Unfortunately, his body didn't have that problem. "We're done here," he said quietly, guiding her to the edge of the dance floor and stepping away. She watched him walk off. Barek and Logan both appeared at her side. "What happened?" Barek asked.

"You were right, Carolyn. I pushed and he didn't push back."

Barek gave Logan a shove. "Go talk to him."

"What the hell am I supposed to say?"

"You'll think of something. Just be his friend, Mike."

Logan found him pacing the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, very agitated. "Hey, you ok?"

He turned to look at Logan. "What the hell is going on?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I…" He pointed toward the restaurant. "Were you watching?"

"All I saw was her dancing close to you."

"She…" He closed his eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down.

"What did she do to you?"

"She..." He forced his mind away from the memory. "Damn it, Logan. I don't know what to do with her."

"Are you angry with her?"

He shook his head. No, he wasn't angry. Not at all. He was confused, overwhelmed, totally off balance with no idea how to regain his equilibrium. But he wasn't angry. Logan leaned against the wall. "You want to tell me now that there's nothing between you?"

"What?"

"Look at you. And all she did was touch you. If you don't talk to her about this, you're gonna go nuts."

"But I thought…"

"That's your problem. You're thinking too much. Let it go, Goren. Quit analyzing her and just let her know how you feel. This won't turn out bad unless you avoid dealing with it. And that's my insight for the week. Come on. Let's get back in there. I know they're talking about us, well…about you, anyway."

Barek and Eames had returned to the table when Logan went off after Goren. Barek smiled. "What did you do?"

"I just touched his back."

"Damn. I told you all you had to do was give him a push. Of course I didn't expect a little push to send him over the edge."

"I hope he doesn't fall too far."

"Alex, he already fell…a long time ago, I'd wager. It's up to you to pick him up now. You're in control of this; he's not."

"He told me he would never approach this line because he was comfortable with where we were."

"Like I told you, he lied about that. Come on, Alex. I'd be willing to bet that there's nothing he wouldn't do for you. After seeing the two of you together outside the squad room…you guys belong together. Quit pretending you don't."

The two men approached the table. Logan dropped into his chair and watched Goren as he quietly sat in his. The big detective deliberately did not look at his partner.

"Anybody up for dessert?" Logan asked to break the tension.

Barek looked at him. "Are you ever not hungry?"

"I couldn't think of anything else to say."

"How about 'are we ready to go?'"

He looked at Goren and Eames. "I am. What about you two?"

Both of them nodded. Goren nodded his head toward the door. "Go on to the car. I'll get the bill."

Barek looked at him, surprised. "Are you sure about that, Bobby?"

"Positive. Go ahead. I'll be right out."

The three cops walked toward the car. "How is he, Mike?"

Logan thought about it for a moment. "I don't know for sure. He's not angry. He told me that much. He seems…confused, maybe."

Eames nodded. "I understand that. In all this time, I've never given him any sort of clue he is anything more than my partner and my best friend. He's never let me know how he feels either. And we're together all the time. Heck, we spend more time together than married couples do," she said with a laugh.

"And you're still on speaking terms," Logan added.

Eames unlocked the car and they got in to wait for Goren. Five minutes later, he got into the car. "Let's go."

Eames looked at him. "Are you ok, Bobby?"

Finally he looked at her. He was tense and she couldn't read the look on his face. "Yes," he answered simply. "But we need to talk."

She nodded. "Yes, we do."

He turned away from her and looked out the passenger window. It was a quiet ride home.