A/N: This chapter came much faster than I thought it would. I wrote it last night and this morning and I have to say that I'm quite proud of it. The romance really starts tokick in instead of just sexual tension.

Also, "At Last" is a great song by Etta James which is also not mine. (You'll see what I mean.)

And seeing as I'm only 15 and have never ordered wine before, I probably messed up that part of the chapter.

P.S. To my lovely reviewers: I know Bobby can dance, but I felt that it fit the Bobby in this story better if he didn't think he could. I mean, would you like him as much if he went around bragging? Didn't think so. So even though it screwed up the continuity a little bit, I decided to give him a sort of sweet modesty/insecurity. (more of the boy-next-door thing)

"This place is…" I struggled to find the right words to describe the restaurant we had just entered. "…incredible." Grimaldi's was a small place, but it was beautiful. It had a few dozen small two-person tables complete with floor-length tablecloths and candles in the center. There was a jazz band playing on a stage with a parquet dance floor right in front of it.

"Bobby!" a man called as he walked out of the kitchen. "What are you doing here? What am I saying, you came for the best authentic Italian food in town, of course!" He gave Bobby a hug. "And you brought this lovely lady with you too!" The man grabbed me by the shoulders and kissed my cheeks. "Uh, Alex, this is my friend Johnny Grimaldi. He's the owner and the head chef. Johnny, this is Alex Eames," Bobby said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you miss. I got this restaurant from my father after he died. My grandfather was the founder. I'm the owner and the chef and I make the best damn fettuccini alfredo in town, if I do say so myself!" he said. Feigning a whisper, he leaned in towards me. "Between you and me, it's good to see Bobby with a girl again. It's been far too long since he's had a lady to keep him in line!" I laughed and looked over at Bobby, who had a look somewhere between shocked and embarrassed. He looked down at his shoes and blushed feverishly.

If he's going to play the shy card now, then fine! I thought. "Sorry, Johnny, but you're going to have to worry about him a little longer. We're just partners, we're not dating. No matter how much he may wish we were…" Heh heh heh…

Bobby's head snapped up at that. "I-I-I-…" he gaped. "Johnny! You started this! Stop giving her ideas!" His face started to go back to a normal tone. "Can we just get a table? I want some alfredo."

"Alright, alright, I'll seat you." Johnny grabbed two menus and walked us back through the restaurant. "But I'm giving you the secluded table in the back, the one we always give to loooverrrrs…" He drew out the word and rolled the R heavily.

"Johnny, I'm warning you…" Bobby began, but he sounded much more playful this time. "Fine, I'll behave," Grimaldi said. "I'll stop talking about your secret, hidden looovvveeee for each other." He wiggled his eyebrows at us and walked off.

As we sat down, I started laughing again. "Is there a sign on our backs that says, 'Please make strange and suggestive facial expressions at us'?" I asked jokingly. Bobby rolled his eyes and smiled. "Well, at least he didn't wink at me," he said. "That would have been a little more than I could handle." I looked away and tried not to concentrate on his smile. God, I love your smile…

A waiter approached our table. "Hi, I'm Heather and I'll be your server! Would you like to start with some wine or champagne?" she asked in her overly peppy and very practiced waitress voice. "Um, yeah, we'll have a bottle of red wine please," Bobby told her. "Okay, I'll get that for you!" she said and walked away. I hate people who talk in exclamation points. They always sound like cheerleaders on ecstasy. I smiled to myself.

"What's so funny?" Bobby asked. Apparently not enough to myself.

"Oh, nothing…" I started. "I just love meeting your buddies."

He smiled again. Don't blush… I willed myself. "Johnny's just…" He looked at the ceiling while he searched for the right word. "He has no self-consciousness. Or shame, for that matter."

Heather-the-cheerleader-on-X came back with our wine and glasses. "Here you go!" she said as she poured us each a glass. "Are you ready to order?" she asked as she pulled out her pad and a pen.

"Yeah, I'll have the fettuccini alfredo, please," I told her. "Great! And for you?" She turned to Bobby. "The same for me." he said and handed her our menus. "Great! I'll go put that in for you!" She gave us a huge fake smile and walked back to the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes. "If I ever act like that, please shoot me." He gave me another one of his wonderful smiles and chuckled. "No one's that happy all the time," he replied. Oh, I don't know. Between 8 and 5 I'm pretty close…

I took a drink of my wine. I was getting the feeling I'd be needing a lot of it tonight.

"Alex, while we're waiting for our food…would you like to dance with me?" he asked, startling me out my thoughts.

I smiled questioningly at him. "I thought I had to blackmail you if I wanted a dance," I said teasingly. "Well, you're my guest, so I'll give in and let you have your dance," he replied, flashing me a grin of his own. He took my hand and walked me towards the dance floor.

The band was just starting a new song. I recognized it as "At Last" almost immediately; it was one of my parents' favorite standards. Bobby put his hands around my waist and I slid mine around his neck. We swayed gently in time with the music while I tried to get my heart to start beating again. I leaned my head towards his shoulder, but I wasn't brave enough to rest it on him. I breathed in his smell. It was warm, something like rain with a hint of cinnamon, if you can imagine that. He smelled good; breathing in his essence was just as intoxicating as the wine. This feels right. I felt like nothing else mattered anymore, like everything would be right in the world if I could just stay in his arms for another moment…

I felt him suddenly stop. It took me a moment to realize that the song was over. I had been so entranced by the feel of his arms around me that I hadn't noticed anything else. I looked up into his eyes and saw the same look I imagined was in mine: a mixture of longing and questioning. Neither of us was quite sure what to do at that moment. We had just experienced something I can only call magical, and I don't think either of us wanted it to end.

We awkwardly stepped away from each other, smiling nervously. "I…I think our food's here," he said. "Yeah…" I replied and started back to our table.

That was it. The moment was over. It had been wonderful while it lasted, but now it had ended and an air of hesitation and tentativeness had settled over our table. I wanted those few minutes back more than anything right then, but there was nothing I could do. So I just ate my fettuccini.

And waited.