Squinty Sleepover

Chapter 6

When Temperance returned into the living room, it was to find everyone with smiles on their faces, though in Cam's case it looked more to be a smirk.

Shrugging that as well as everyone's appreciative glances off, she looked over to Angela. "You owe me a dare," she told her best friend teasingly.

"It's a game, sweetie. I owe you nothing," she playfully glared back, and then turned her eyes pointedly at Booth who was still sitting in the seat Temperance had left him at, though now turned towards the rest of the squints.

Amusedly, the anthropologist watched, as her partner's eyes bounced off of everyone else's except hers, as the playful and appreciative comments rolled around. Smirking at inwardly at her success, she took a few minutes to enjoy her triumph. Yes, they had been partners for a while and the underlying attraction they had felt since the first time they had met, had only increased in time, but also an unspoken agreement had been established. They would never act on what they felt, even if at times –such as this- their feelings overwhelmed them. Now, though Brennan wasn't so sure.

Somehow in the past couple of years, the dynamics between them had changed. Where before Booth had been the knowledgeable one in regards to feelings, now she felt as if she shared that knowledge too. Granted, he still expertly handled 'matters of the heart' as he called them during cases, but her motions had in a way been unleashed since her father had returned, even if he was in prison. The need to connect with her friends and loved ones had grown each passing day, and surprisingly that need was mostly focused on Booth lately.

The conclusion she had reached only days before was irrefutable and yet she knew she couldn't have denied it even if she wanted to. The most important, dependable, trustworthy person in her life was Booth. He was also the one she felt most for. That's why she couldn't lose him, and that had led her to absently think of ways to keep him in her life no matter what. When the dare had come up tonight, the path she had promised herself she wouldn't take seemed the perfect solution seemed the perfect plan to achieve her goal.

Smiling once more, while looking at him she thought that it really hadn't failed. Truly perfect. Now only to see this through to the end without any glitches. "Ange, did you ask Booth a question?" Temperance turned to her best friend once more, a plan for the rest of the night already forming in her head.

"Yep, I sure did," the artist replied, grinning madly and peaking Brennan's curiosity.

Furrowing her brows in confusion, the smile still in place, Temperance looked quizzically at Booth who was still avoiding eye contact. "So, whose turn is it, now?" Pausing so that the question hung in the air for a moment, she then plunged right in. "Can I have a go?"

The surprise on everyone's face was priceless; since for them it must have looked like a stretched that she even accepted playing the game in the first place. It had been fun so far for Temperance. After a sideways glance at Booth who was now once again looking uncomfortable, her smile widened. Hopefully before the night was over it would become much more enjoyable.

"Are you sure you want to try? I thought maybe Booth could have a go." Angela's suggestion peaked everyone's interest.

"Yeah. I think I could give it a try." All the previous discomfort had left Booth's posture, and finally he was standing with his arms folded on his chest, a quiet tone of menace lacing his voice as he looked at Brennan intently.

Weighing the pros and cons in her mind, Temperance decided that either way would work, but only hers would make sure the results were beneficial to her decision. For all she knew Booth could make her do something extreme to get his revenge, and knowing how his mind worked, Angela was not the one she wanted to kiss tonight.