Booth stood in front of his closet, staring at his wardrobe. A blue towel was wrapped around his waist, his torso was bare, and his hair was tousled and still a little damp from his shower. He subconsciously whisked away a droplet of water that made its way down his chest and took a step closer to his closet.

He was trying to decide whether to go traditional and wear a suit or go more causal and opt for dark jeans, a t-shirt, and a blazer. The bad thing about having Brennan choose the restaurant was he had no clue if they were going somewhere somewhat fancy or sticking to some place more comfortable like the diner. He couldn't go wrong with a suit, but then again, he wore a suit every day for work.

Throwing his hands up in the air in frustration, he decided to go somewhere in between the two. He grabbed black trousers and a black button-down shirt and laid them on the bed before moving to the dresser. Now dressed in boxers and his trademark striped socks, he pulled on his pants and slid into his shirt, buttoning it up, leaving the top two buttons open. After making sure the collar wasn't sticking up, he headed into the bathroom to fix his hair.

He returned to his bedroom and glanced at his vans for a brief second before he picked up his shiniest pair of dress shoes. Slipping them on, he stared at himself in the mirror. He fiddled with the buttons and tucked and untucked his shirt several times. Relax. It's just Bones. Exactly, it's BONES! You're going on a date with Bones. Holy crap. What the Hell were you thinking? You can't do this. You're totally going to screw this up and then you'll probably lose her forever. Damn it. You don't even know if she said yes. The last time you spoke to Angela, she said Bones was freaking out. Oh, God, what have I done?

He breathed out and wrung his hands together. Snap out of it. You're not going to screw this up. It's Bones; she's your best friend. Just be you. He nodded and looked at himself in the mirror. Lookin' good. Smiling, he grabbed his wallet and keys and walked quickly through his apartment before he could back out.

Booth paced back and forth in front of Brennan's door, pausing briefly to stare at it a few times. You can do this. Just breathe and knock on the door. What the Hell is wrong with you? You're acting like a teenager on his first date. You've been out with Bones tons of times. Yeah, but not like this. Stopping, he stepped closer to the door and raised his hand to knock, but it opened before his knuckles had a chance to make contact with the wood.

Angela smirked at him and stepped out into the hall, pulling the door shut behind her. "She's all yours." She brushed her hand against his arm as she passed him. "Have fun tonight, Jasper," she called, already heading for the elevator.

He blinked, not expecting Angela to be there, though he should have known the artist would insist on helping Brennan get ready. It was a good sign. If Angela was there, that had to mean Brennan was actually considering going on a date with him or had already agreed, didn't it? Realizing the time and suddenly getting a burst of confidence, he set his shoulders back and raised his hand, giving the door two strong knocks. When his knocks went unanswered after several minutes, he sighed. I knew this was a bad idea. I'm such an idiot. Shaking his head, he turned and started walking down the hallway.

"Where are you going?"

Booth whipped around at the sound of Brennan's voice and stumbled backwards, tripping over the flipped up corner of one of her neighbors' welcome mat. He swallowed. He knew he was staring, but he couldn't help it. She looked beautiful, not that he ever thought she didn't look beautiful.

Brennan stood awkwardly in front of her apartment, watching Booth. She had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing when he tripped over the mat. Subconsciously, she smoothed her hand down the front of her dress, tugging on the fabric.

He cleared his throat and swallowed again, his eyes taking in every inch of her. She was wearing a simple black dress with somewhat wide straps. It clung to her curves and hit her just above the knee, showing off her long, shapely legs. The neckline exposed a lot of her creamy skin and dipped low, emphasizing her cleavage. Finally able to take his eyes off her body, he looked at her face. Her hair was down, a bit of a natural-looking curl to it, and her makeup was light, drawing attention to her eyes. God, her eyes never looked so amazing, so mesmerizing.

"Are you going to stand there all night?"

Her voice brought him back. He shook his head and walked towards her. He stopped right in front of her and blinked, his breath catching. Seeing her from a distance was one thing, but seeing her up close was totally different. Wow. He cleared his throat and swallowed. "You look beautiful, Bones."

She smiled. "Thank you." She stepped back into her apartment and gave him a subtle onceover (or at least what she thought was subtle). He looked good, better than good. The black dress shirt was pulled taught over his very muscular torso, drawing attention to his well-defined bicep, tricep, pectoral, and trapezius muscles. The hint of smooth, tanned skin that was revealed by the two undone top buttons made her itch to reach out and touch it. Shaking her head at the absurdity of that thought, she moved downwards. His pants fit him perfectly and she could just imagine the crazy socks he was wearing. He was very handsome and she would be lying if she said she didn't find him sexually alluring.

"Like what you see?" he teased, breaking the tension that was quickly filling the air between the partners.

Her eyes snapped up to his and she smiled, suddenly shy.

"Can I come in? Or do you just want to head to the restaurant now?" he asked, when he realized they were still standing in her doorway.

She cleared her throat and nodded. "Yes."

"Yes, I can come in? Or yes, you just want to head to the restaurant?"

Her cheeks warmed when she realized she hadn't been clear. "You can come in; we have time."

He clapped, rubbing his hands together. "Great."

She stepped to the side, allowing him to walk inside. She paused, momentarily distracted by the way his ass looked in his trousers. Clearing her throat once more, she asked, "Do you want something to drink?"

"Beer would be great, thanks." He plopped himself down on the couch and twisted his body, so he could watch her walk into the kitchen.

She returned to the living room with two beers, handing him one before taking a seat in the chair. She tugged on the hem of her dress and shifted before taking a sip of the cold liquid.

He sighed in relief when he read the label. "Oh, Thank God, it's the real stuff."

"There's nothing wrong with trying different varieties of beer."

"I'm all for variety, Bones, but your kind tastes like cough syrup and wood. Now, this," he tipped his bottle, "is the good stuff, America at its finest."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head and trying hard to suppress a smile.

He smiled at her, catching a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. It was silent for a brief minute and then he asked a question he was dying to know the answer to, "Did you like the flowers?"

She swallowed a sip of beer and looked at him, lowering the bottle to her lap. "Yes, they were beautiful. Thank you." She smiled, thinking about the bouquet sitting on her coffee table at work, the one she looked at and smelled every time she entered her office.

"You're welcome." He glanced at his watch and downed the rest of his drink. "We should get going."

"Yes. Let me just grab my coat." She stood at the same time as him.

He took her empty bottle and went into the kitchen to recycle them. "Where are we going, by the way?"

"Founding Fathers," she answered, coming out of her bedroom.

"Really?"

She shrugged. "Yes, why not? It's a great restaurant."

"Yeah, I know, but we go there all the time."

"That's why I picked it." She slipped on her jacket and looked at him. "Is that a problem? We could go somewhere else."

He shook his head and stepped behind her, pulling her hair out from inside her jacket, fighting the urge to run his fingers through it. "No, no, Founding Fathers is great and I said you could pick."

"If you wanted me to choose a restaurant we don't frequent as often, you should have specified."

"Bones, really, it's fine. I like Founding Fathers. I was just expecting you to pick something new, that's all."

"Why? Is it because this is a social dinner as opposed to a working one?"

"Well, yeah."

"Oh. We can go somewhere else."

He shook his head and steered her towards the door. "It's fine. Let's just go."

"You're upset now."

"It's my fault. I should have been clearer what I meant."

She stopped and turned towards him. "This evening is important to you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

"I'm no good at this. I already ruined it."

"Hey," he bumped up her chin with his thumb, "you didn't ruin anything. C'mon."

"Are you sure?"

He smiled, placing his hand on the small of her back. "Positive."

She nodded.

The two of them soon left her apartment and headed for the elevator, both nervous and unsure how the rest of the evening was going to turn out.

Thanks for reading and/or reviewing. I'm glad you like this story.

The next chapter will be the last, except for an epilogue