Booth was a superb dancer. By far the best dance partner she'd ever had. He had the innate sense of rhythm which she lacked but made up for in precision. He made it easy and fun and she laughed a lot. There was something different about him tonight. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. He was alarmingly sexy, but then he was always sexy. He was charming, but not overly so. It was something about his mouth. The way he smiled when he looked at her. It was a little bit predatory and a little bit patronizing all at the same time. As though she was his prey, but he wanted to play with his food before eating it. It did strange things to her insides, this new smile. It made her nervous and hot and excited all at the same time.

She was so disappointed when two o'clock rolled around and they had to go home. By that time they had danced off every drop of alcohol they'd consumed and she was stone sober, full of energy and starving again.

"Lets stop and get some food on the way home. I could really go for a burger, or maybe two or three." Booth suggested as they wandered slowly back to the car. She linked her arm with his and agreed enthusiastically.

"Let's drive through at that place that has the veggie burgers." It was quite far out of the way but she was grateful for an excuse to prolong their time together.

"Whatever you say my little vegetarian princess." He rolled his eyes.

"Are you implying that my request is unreasonable and authoritarian." She demanded.

"Of course not your highness, I live to serve." She stuck her tongue out at him but didn't offer to rescind the request. They devoured their burgers in the car on the way to her apartment, the sleek SUV filled with the smell of grease. Her heart sank when they rolled into the parking lot of her building. It was over. The best night of her life and it was already over. And the worst part was, she still had no idea if it was actually a date or not. She supposed whatever happened next would make that determination possible.

He parked and got out of the car without a word, obviously intending to walk her to her door. Typical date behavior.

"You know what Bones?" He said as the walked across the lot. "I think that might be the most fun I've ever had on a date." A date! It was a date. Wow. A date with Booth. So that was what a date with Booth was like. His arm dropped over her shoulder and she leaned into his warm, hard body as they walked.

"Me too." She replied honestly. He opened the door for her and they walked in silence to the elevator. Once they were inside, Booth's eyes drifted to her face and he laughed.

"What?" She demanded. He turned towards her, his hand cupped her cheek. "You have mustard on your face... Cute Bones." His words were teasing but his eyes were intense as his thumb wiped the offending smudge from the corner of her mouth. She held her breath as those dark chocolate eyes burned into her and she licked the spot his thumb had just been. It suddenly occurred to her that he might kiss her. And she didn't know what she'd do. A kiss from Booth was not just a kiss. She knew from experience. It was a soul wrenching, gut twisting, intensely sexual experience. She was not ready for that. If he kissed her, it would ruin everything. She closed her eyes tightly and let out the breath she was holding. How could she be ready for a date but not ready for a kiss? What was wrong with her? Why did the thought of kissing Booth send her into a panic? When she opened her eyes again they had arrived at her floor and Booth was walking out of the elevator in front of her, talking as he went.

"You want me to pick you up for court on Monday or do you want to meet me there?"

"Pick me up at the lab and we can go together."

"You ready for that testimony? Have you talked to Cam about how to dumb it down? Because you know you can be a little hard to understand Bones."

"Yes, she did offer some helpful suggestions which I will take under consideration."

"You do that." She bristled at his patronizing tone.

"I am capable of giving an understandable expert testimony Booth."

"I know that Bones but sometimes you forget that the rest of us aren't as smart as you are."

"You are as smart as I am, just in a different way." Booth stopped at her door and turned back to look at her, his jaw slack with amazement. She didn't understand his suprise, she'd told him before that she thought he was intelligent. Of course, she had only said it once or twice in the five years they'd worked together, so she supposed it was possible that he'd been caught off guard.

"I can't believe you just said that."

"Why not? It's true." His slack jawed expression morphed into a cocky smile that made her stomach flutter. He caught her jaw in on hand and planted a soft kiss on her lips that only lasted for two steamboats. Long enough for her body to respond but not long enough for her mind to fly into a panic.

"You know Bones, you never fail to suprise me." He said as he turned towards the elevator. Her hand shot up to her mouth to feel where his lips had just been.

"Night." he said over his shoulder.

"Goodnight Booth." She barely got the words out through the ridiculous grin that had taken up residence on her face. She'd never had another date like this. It was as though he could read her mind. Like he knew exactly how much she could handle, and then he pushed her just a little bit beyond that. Just enough to excite her and keep her guessing. She leaned back against the door, reliving every moment of their date in her mind. She had to admit, it had been a perfect night. Absolutely Perfect.

THE END