A/N: Hellooooo. I planned on adding a lot of details and more backstory to this chapter, but while I was reading it, I preferred the purer version. Oh also: I was too lazy to make up a well-balanced meal, so you can all fill in whatever you're craving XD.
Opening the door to let Wendell in, she was still wearing her apron. "Hi, welcome, come on in!"
"Hi, I brought you something." Wendell handed her a bottle of wine.
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Lilly asked jokingly.
Snorting, Wendell was quick to respond. "No, if that was my intention, I would have brought you an already opened bottle of wine, you lightweight." His tone teasing her. "The man at the store said it would complement every possible meal and I nixed bringing flowers. My dad raised me to never visit someone emptyhanded."
Appreciation his efforts, Lilly nodded as she read the label. "I am not really great with knowing my wine, but my dad always says that 2004 was a great wine year. He also thought me not to let your company stand outside, so let's go inside and open up this puppy."
Obeying her invitation, Wendell followed her into the apartment. "Wow, this is nice," Wendell said, impressed by the spaciousness and modern-ness of Lilly's home.
Lilly smiled. "It was the biggest apartment available with a price that I could afford. It's totally catered to hipsters thought, but the isolation is good enough for me not to have to listen to their crappy music."
"And for you to play Frank Sinatra."
"Well, you did ask for romantic, remember? So, I figured the music should be romantic too. I would have picked something more recent, but most Billboard songs are going for something else than romance."
Wendell shrugged agreeing, smiling back at her. "Can I help you with something?"
"No need, I got it all covered. I looked up romantic dishes, so I made quite the surprise meal for us." Her eyes twinkling, she continued, looking like she was sharing the biggest secret she could muster. "For dessert, we're having my favorite chocolate cake recipe, topped with red fruit. So, there is nothing to do for you except to sit back and relax. I'll have the first dish out in a second."
Not really willing to sit and wait for Lilly to bring out the first part of their shared home-cooked uber romantic meal, Wendell walked through Lilly's living room. It was a really nice place. It did look huge. He wondered how many rooms her apartment had, his' didn't even have a living room.
"Ready? Lilly asked as she made it towards Wendell, who was checking out her reading stack.
He nodded, looking at her, admiring her dress since she had taken off the apron. "That is a lovely dress. Why do you seem shorter, did you shrink?" He blurted out.
Lilly laughed. "Thanks, and no I don't think so, but this might be the first time you've ever seen me not wearing heels. It's hard to cook in this kitchen when I'm a couple of inches taller and I didn't want to tempt faith by having to carry hot plates and what not on heels back to the table."
"Hmmm. Where did you learn to cook like this?" Wendell asked as he shoved his next filled-to-the-max-fork into his mouth.
"I am glad you like it, I never tried any of these dishes before but I thought I could risk it. As for learning to cook, being a nanny helped big time."
Wendell nearly chocked at the comment of Lilly's previous profession. Last time that came up, was when he oh so awkwardly found out that Lilly wasn't a mom of a newborn, but that she had been helping out Hodgins and Angela.
Lilly smirked, knowing perfectly well why he almost gagged on his greens. "As I was saying, in one of the families I was even responsible for making the dinners. In others, I'd like to help and then there was this colleague-nanny whose parents have a two Michelin star restaurant and she taught me a lot. Though, those children meals were usually really easy and pretty plain, so we're lucky it worked out tonight. In the worst-case scenario, I would have had to order pizza for us."
"This definitely beats Dominos." Wendell complimented.
Suddenly looking a bit nervous, Lilly took another sip of the delicious wine that Wendell had brought. "I want to tell you something. I kind of feel I owe you an apology for when I canceled on you a couple of weeks ago."
Wendell looked at her surprised. "You don't need to explain, I know there was a guy that was bothering you, you told me that when you called to cancel, unless that wasn't the truth."
Lilly gently shook her head. "No, that is true, but it isn't the whole truth. As dr. B. would say, I have lied to you by omission."
"Oh," Wendell let out a sigh.
"What is wrong?" Lilly asked, not understanding his sudden change in mood.
Meeting her eyes, Wendell shook his head signaling to her that she didn't need to worry. "It's nothing. I am just a little worried whether or not you're going to tell me that you and Booth dated. Because I am not sure I want to know."
"What? No, that is not it. Booth and I are not together. He pretty much made me stay with him for my own safety, but nothing like that happened then." God this sounds like I am some sort of cheating housewife. Biting the bullet, Lilly continued. "I suppose you're asking, because you heard of him and me..." Feeling a little uncomfortable to say it out loud she stopped talking.
"Hmm-mm, yes, I heard." The dryness of his tone almost bordering sarcasm. "Angela couldn't stop talking about it for two days straight according to Hodgins and I happened to walk in during one of their conversations about it. It was the day after you canceled this dinner. I already knew you were staying with Booth for your safety, because of whatever had happened earlier that week or the week before. So, I just thought it meant that living with him meant something more than Booth just protecting your safety."
"Oh god", Lilly said softly.
Wendell smiled sadly. "Not that I have a right to judge. As you know I dated Angela for a while." He took a deep breath in, swallowing his nerves. "But I think I really like you and having the suspicion confirmed that you and Booth are together would really suck."
"Oh my god, Wendell," Lilly repeated. "Why didn't you ask me, instead of worrying about this for weeks? What must you have thought when I asked you for tonight after all?" Her last question a rhetorical one.
Feeling his cheeks turning red, Wendell looked a little uncomfortable. "Well, I knew that if you had been together with Booth in those weeks, it was over now. Especially with dr. B. being so subtle about seeing Booth more now. But yeah, if I am being honest, I still thought that maybe in the meantime you and Booth might have happened. As for not asking you, at first, I was too upset to ask you anything and it really wasn't any of my business. As I said, I have no right to judge."
Lilly nodded. "I am sorry, you struggled through all of that."
Wendell took her hand in his. "Hey, don't worry about it, it isn't your fault. You're right that I could have just asked you, instead of coming to conclusions without all the facts."
"What happened isn't my fault, but if I had known about Dr. Brennan and Booth's history, which nobody told me and I surprisingly missed completely. If I had known I am sure it wouldn't have happened in the first place. So that part is pretty much my fault too. I am not the person to apologize for things that happened; I hate labeling something as a mistake, just because of the consequences. So, I won't call it a mistake, but in hindsight, it would have been better and a lot easier if it hadn't happened. It messed with Dr. Brennan. It messed with Angela and me and now I find out it messed with you too. But what I want to tell you..."
After Lilly filled Wendell in about Stein, Wendell let out a soft sigh. "Well, that is a lot to take in. I am not sure what to say, except I am sorry you had to deal with that."
Lilly waved it away. "You don't have to say anything. I am sorry I'm ruining the ambiance. We were having such a nice night, but I felt like I needed to tell you."
"In a weird way, I appreciate you telling me. Of course, I'd prefer if you never had needed to go through it in the first place. Truth be told I was a little worried when you first blew me off, and then I let my mind fill in the gaps - incorrect as that all turned out to be." Wendell added, his cheeks coloring slightly again.
Lilly managed to give him a small smile. "Yeah, I definitely managed to kill this night."
"What no? It is a bit of a downer, but reality just sometimes is. I am really enjoying spending time with you. Whatever it is you think reality killed, it is nothing we can't restore within the next couple of minutes. Anthropologically speaking sharing personal stories which lead to a stronger bond between humans."
Lilly snorted. "Talk nerdy to me. And fix how?"
"Well, you did mention chocolate cake for dessert, yes?"
Lilly smiled. "Ah yes. How could I forget, the love of a man goes through his stomach?"
Wendell grinned. Well, I am not sure about that but the rest of the meal has been this good, I wouldn't want to miss out on this dessert. Also, maybe we should shift our focus on something happier." Now it was time for Wendell to gather his courage. "The reason I dislike the idea of you and Booth together is because I think I like you, a lot."
A smile broke through on Lilly's face. "That is a suspicion I love to hear you confirm. And I'll confirm it right back. I like you a lot too."
Wendell's smile matched Lilly's within a heartbeat. "That is great and a relief. Though maybe discussing this that isn't the best thing, after what you've just told me, but I do really like you so I didn't want to keep that a secret any longer either."
Lilly smiled. "Sharing is bonding, right? And this is definitely a happier subject."
They spend the rest of the evening chatting, laughing and flirting. The only reason to end the night was Wendell's hockey game tomorrow morning. Standing in front of the door, they fell silent. The night was now really coming to an end but neither was really ready to end it.
"So uhm, thanks for the romantic dinner. This wasn't quite the night I expected but I guess that is what makes it a good night right?" Wendell smiled.
Lilly nodded. "Yeah, it was a fun night. This was the best night of the month or even longer for me at least."
"Well, I am flattered."
Lilly plucked a piece of fluff from his coat, dropping it to the ground.
Reacting to her small act of affection, Wendell leaned in and kissed her.
For a couple of seconds, Lilly felt like she was floating as most of the tension from at least tonight coursed through both their bodies. Thoroughly enjoying the kiss, the only thought crossing Lilly's mind was a wish that this amazingly fun evening wouldn't end.
Pulling back as Wendell realizing what he had done, Wendell moved back as if he hadn't been kissing Lilly but a burning hot stove. "Oh my god! I am sorry Lilly. I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have done that, especially not since you've just told me about what happened to you." Wendell sounded horrified as he spouted out his apology.
Surprised more by the sudden ending of the kiss than by the kiss, it took her a second to land back on earth. But she arrived in time to consciously hear Wendell's last sentence of his apology. Lilly met his eyes. "It is okay Wendell. That was one hell of a great kiss though." She said with a smile.
"I am sorry", Wendell repeated, hastily buttoning up his coat.
"Well, I am definitely not sorry," Lilly said as she touched her upper lip, trying to imprint the kiss to her memory. "I might seem like a weak damsel in distress but I am doing okay. I even got my living on my own privileges back, remember?" She tried to comfort Wendell.
"Yeah, but what I did... I am as awful as that asshole at the employee exit." Wendell said disgusted with himself. "I apologize, I... I... have to go." Wendell rushed out the door, leaving Lilly standing there.
Staring at the open door, Lilly debated if she should go after Wendell, trying to reassure him. He was probably too upset to be able to be rational enough anyway. With a sigh, Lilly closed the front door.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this snippet. I'd love to hear what you think. Until next time!