Thanks for all the encouraging reviews - I wasn't sure what people would make of this story.
At quarter past nine on Saturday, Temperance was sitting impatiently in her kitchen a mug of coffee in one hand and a letter from her publisher in the other. The letter was her regular update on sales and possible deals for overseas releases for her books. It was all good news, but its contents wasn't really sinking in.
She put the mug down abruptly and tried to turn her thoughts away from being surrounded by loads of people she didn't know, while participating in sporting cum social gathering which she knew nothing about. She had almost called Booth to cancel on Friday, but Angela had made her promise to go. She looked across at the clock with a sigh. Of course, Angela hadn't mentioned then that she and the rest of the Squint Squad wouldn't be joining her and Booth until lunchtime; that minor detail had been saved until first thing this morning.
The doorbell interrupted her musing. She stood up and put her mug in the sink, before collecting a small bag. The spring weather was pleasantly warm, but it would still get chilly standing around outside all day, so she put a coat on over her jumper and picked up a scarf.
She opened the front door; Booth was leaning against the passenger side of his car, looking relaxed in jogging pants and a sporty fleece. He smiled and waved. She raised her hand in a half-hearted greeting and then turned to lock the door.
Booth opened the passenger door for her, before walking round the other side and getting in. He could tell that she was less than enthusiastic and he wondered if this had been a good idea, but as he watched her walking toward him, her hair tied back loosely and a defensive expression on her beautiful features, and he realised that it wouldn't have felt right going today without her. As that realisation sunk in, he stared unseeingly at the steering wheel.
"Booth - hello?" Temperance said waving a hand in front of his face.
He looked up with a start, and found that she was leaning in close. His eyes widened as he took in the puzzled smile curving her lips, only inches away from his. He swallowed and breathed out, "Hi."
Temperance's brows knitted together, "Hi," she replied slowly, "Everything okay?"
Booth nodded, still gazing intently into her eyes.
Temperance shifted uncomfortably as she realised how close their faces were once again. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek and her heart was starting to race. She sat back in her seat and looked forwards out the windscreen, "Good."
Booth squashed the feeling of disappointment he got when she moved away and said, "Sorry. In a world of my own there." He grinned at her, "You okay? All set for today?"
She turned slightly to reply, "I'm fine. Still not sure about spending the day watching a testosterone-fuelled mêlée, but I'm here."
Booth's smile widened in acknowledgement of that miracle and he pulled out from the kerb.
The drive downtown was quiet. The roads were largely empty and neither of them felt inclined to make conversation, but as they drove along, Temperance started to spot banners for the tournament and signs pointing to the car park.
She turned to Booth curiously, "So how does this work?"
"What the game in general, or this tournament?" He queried.
"Both, I guess." Her chin was resting on her fist as she stared out of the window.
His eyes flicked sideways to look at her and he smiled, "It's a annual tournament - it's the fifth one, hence the 'V'. There are teams from all over playing, a lot of the embassies in Washington put out sides. It's a big game in some parts of Europe and in Australia, New Zealand, places like that. It's a big fundraiser for a couple of international charities. Today it's the group games and then tomorrow is the quarter final, semis and the final."
Temperance turned to face him in surprise, "Tomorrow?"
Booth nodded and smiled wryly, "I wouldn't worry, I've never made it beyond the group stage! Our team is a bit, well, ad hoc."
"Ad hoc?"
"Yeah, as in this is pretty much the only game we play each year." In the mirror, he could see that she was looking mystified, "It's an ex combined services team, guys who used to be in the air force, marines, navy, army. We all know how to play after being based with Brits or Aussies or whoever, but we don't play actively. There is a league in Washington, but we're all too spread out, too busy to play regularly, but we make an effort once a year."
Temperance nodded, but found that she was even more surprised that Booth had asked her to come. He rarely mentioned his past and certainly never talked in any depth about his time in the army; yet now, he was taking her somewhere where she would meet people from that period in his life. She wondered what that meant.
There was another pause, then Temperance asked, "So are you going to explain the rules?"
He gave a heavy sigh, "I'll explain as we watch a game - it's a bit complicated." She gave him a stony look, "Seriously, it'll be easy with people playing."
Booth was saved from needing to give any further explanation because they had arrived at the entrance to the car park. He chatted briefly with the attendant, who was wearing a yellow bib, and was directed to the participants area. It was already quite full and large numbers of people were milling around. He pulled into a space and grabbed his bag from the back seat.
"Ready?" He asked.
Temperance replied by picking up her bag and getting out.
Booth shook his head slightly and opened his door. He locked the car and walked over to stand next to her. She looked up at him, "I guess we follow this lot?" She said pointing at the people walking towards a large marquee with huge 'Competitors' banner on the top. Booth nodded and, without thinking, placed his hand on her back and steered her towards the marquee.
(TBC)
(Will get more interesting - I promise!)