Call You in the Middle of the Night, Couldn't Even Tell You Why, They Just Felt Like Saying Hi
Temperance stood by her door, smiling at the gentleman in front of her. He had been very nice and she'd enjoyed his company well into the wee hours of the morning, but that had been the extent of it for her. She had no intention of inviting him into her apartment or into her bed, as he seemed to suspect. In his defense, when she'd bumped into him again recently, he had reminded her that he was, in fact, heterosexual and would like to enjoy more than just theatre and concerts with her this time around. In the spirit of moving on, as per Angela's suggestion, she had attempted to open her mind to the idea of a sexual relationship with him. Regrettably, the longer the evening extended, the more she realized she just was not physically attracted to him, just as she hadn't been when they'd initially dated.
"Thank you for walking me to my door." She said politely, wondering if he would understand the social cue. "You may go now." She added when he began to lean into her personal space. "I am confident that I can manage from here."
"I don't want this night to end." He spoke quietly, reaching for her hand in some sort of romantic gesture. She pulled her hand out of his before he could bring it up to his mouth and watched as he smiled awkwardly.
"The night already ended." She pointed out. "It would be impossible not to due to planetary rotations." She explained matter-of-factly. "Goodnight, Jason." She nodded, turning from him and unlocking her door, tucking herself inside quickly while he stood there alone in the hallway. She waited a moment, leaning her back against the door until she'd heard his retreating footsteps.
Kicking off her heels, she set her clutch bag on the kitchen counter and removed her cellphone. She had a text from Booth asking her if she wanted to grab Thai and watch basketball with him. Hannah was away, she knew, and he was probably bored. She had another text from Ange, asking her how her date with Jason went and if she'd sealed the deal. Brennan quickly replied to the text with "I don't know what that means." Ange would probably be asleep by now, but she'd see it in the morning.
Opening her fridge, she found very little to snack on and suddenly regretted the marathon coffee date with Jason over Thai food with Booth. Making up her mind, she slid her feet back into her shoes and picked up her bag, heading out of her apartment and down to the parking garage.
Parking her car on the street in front of Booth's apartment, she quickly pulled out her phone and dialed his number.
"Booth." His sleepy voice grumbled, and she suddenly felt very foolish for thinking this was still appropriate. "Bones?" He mumbled when she failed to respond.
"I brought Thai." She said quickly, for lack of anything better to say, glancing up at the dark window of his bedroom as a dim light came on.
"You did what? Are you ok?" He asked, clearly unable to get his brain to catch up to real time.
"I just… called to say… Hi." She said, covering up for the clearly presumptuous act of just showing up at his door at 2:30 in the morning with take-out food. "So… Hi."
"Hi…" He muttered back, his voice sounding more awake now. "Where were you tonight? Limbo?" He asked, and she noted some rustling sounds before the living room light came on too.
"Oh, uhm, no. I– I had a date." She replied honestly, it wasn't like he was still mooning over her. He loved Hannah. He told her so, so why did she feel guilty for having a date. "You remember Jason." She added.
"Gay Jason?" He asked with a chuckle, and she rolled her eyes.
"He's not gay. In fact, tonight he was very clear about his interest in what Angela calls getting into my panties." She laughed at the thought because when she'd first heard the colloquialism she had imagined it meant the man wanted to cross-dress in her underwear rather than try to bed her.
"Did he try something?" Booth's voice was suddenly clear as a bell, on high alert to defend her honour.
"He walked me to my door and went home, Booth." She assured him, laughing at his noble intentions.
"So you're just… calling to tell me about Gay Jason still being gay then?" He asked, and she could hear his cocky smirk, though she knew it was impossible.
"No… I told you, I was just… saying hi." She corrected him shyly.
A knock on her car window startled her, and she turned to see Booth standing outside her passenger door, grinning and eyebrows raised as she rolled the window down.
"Hi." He said casually, reaching through the window to unlock the door before opening it and climbing into her passenger seat. "Do you always call people in the middle of the night from outside their apartments just to say hi?" He teased, inhaling suddenly and looking into her backseat.
"No… I was just…" She started, watching his gaze fall on the bag of Thai in the backseat.
"You brought Thai." He said, clearly his brain had caught up with her initial statement. "I could eat…" He shrugged, grabbing the bags and climbing out of her car. Clearing her throat, she climbed out of the car and followed him into the apartment building. "You look really nice." He complimented her as they boarded his elevator. "No wonder you almost turned Gay Jason straight."
