Author's keeps goofing up on me, reverting to showing the story without the latest chapters for some reason. If you click on my name to get to my author page there you may see the most recent additions properly.
Minor edits made.
Same Friday, 6:45PM
The mood in the SUV continued to brighten as they continued talking about anything and nothing, both determined to will away the earlier unpleasantness as the miles rolled by.
Booth had decided to skip the practice range right inside the Hoover Building there in downtown DC to avoid any work-related BS or wagging tongues, not to mention not giving Cullen any ammo given his opinion of Bone's track record with guns. Instead he opted for a private indoor range at a gun shop he sometimes used on the Virginia side. Fortunately she didn't seem to take any offense.
For a meal along the way he suggested a hole-in-the-wall Thai place he knew, and she was willing to give it a try. They seated themselves and continued chatting while waiting for the waitress.
"I'm sorry I couldn't make it by the lab until tonight", he apologized. He had really hated being unable to make time sooner.
"What did Cullen have you doing since you got back Wednesday?" she asked.
"Well it felt like most of Thursday was spent listening to him bitch and moan about how I left him short-handed for most of four months." They both chuckled at that. "Mostly I've been double-checking the work other agents did on some of the case I had to hand off while I was in training. I think we should be back in action by the middle of next week." He smiled, not trying at all to hide how eager he was. It warmed him to see she felt the same way, if the smile she mirrored was any indication. They sat in silence sharing the moment.
He was saved from looking like a complete idiot by the arrival of the waitress with water glasses. The menus were already in the booth so they went ahead and ordered, first the drinks then the food. They had settled on the same thing, a spicy dish with shrimp and vegetables over rice noodles.
The petite waitress asked Brennan, "How spicy do you want that? How many stars?" She pointed to the spiciness scale in a sidebar on the menu.
Brennan thought briefly then played it safe and replied, "I'll have mine three stars, please."
Since he was familiar with the place Booth knew what he wanted, "Make mine four stars. Thanks." The waitress turned to take their order to the kitchen."
"Excuse me, miss." Bones called her back. She looked at him with mischief in her eye. "You're just playing some male dominance game." She turned to the waitress, "Miss, please change mine to five stars." She upped the ante. Her smug expression was clearly daring Booth to come out and play.
He laughed out loud. God, how he loved the way she challenged him. It used to be so annoying but now it was endearing, well most of the time. And her rare playful moments were something he'd come to cherish. He leaned forward and wagged a finger at her.
"I know exactly what you're up to. You think you've got me trapped in a dilemma. And I thought you had no use for psychology." Her lips pursed, trying to hold back a grin. He remembered the waitress, "If you'll excuse us for moment." He turned back, his attention only on the woman across from him.
He leaned back in his seat and went in to his analysis, arms crossed. "On the one hand, if I top you and go to six stars, aside from needing a mouth transplant, I'll have only confirmed for you that I'm just a predictable Neanderthal alpha male."
She tried in vain to keep a poker face, enjoying seeing him at work using his skills.
He continued, "On the other hand, I can stand pat, but even though your personal opinion is that the whole thing is stupid, I'd know that you'd know that I knew I lost to a girl. You play the game yourself, even while mocking it." He smiled in admiration at her gall.
She finally nodded, laughing at his insight. He saw right through her. What else did he see? she wondered. "So you think you have it all figured out?"
He continued, chuckling along with her, "You think you've got me coming and going, that it's lose-lose for me, but the solution to my dilemma is right under your nose."
She thought, What?
He sat forward again, expression serious now, leaned toward her across the table, and touched her hand. He didn't quite know what came over him, but he didn't want to play any more, and instead was simply totally honest. He looked her directly in the eye.
"Bones, I don't ever want to dominate you. We're partners. Equals." He even surprised himself with how he strongly felt that way once the words were said.
She was utterly disarmed. She suddenly knew, knew, what he was going to do next. She would have never guessed that such a simple, silly thing would mean so much to her.
"Miss!" He called the waitress back and changed his order to five stars, exactly the same as hers.
A/N
Please let me know if I still have my Bones mojo with your reviews. They really do motivate me to keep going when I bog down, or as has happened a couple of times, the characters tug me in unexpected directions, or unexpected ways of getting there.