Sand & Stokes
By Dany
Summary: Nick is in for a surprise when he goes date hunting.
A/N: This is the second part of my series "Alliterations" and follows "Soda & Sanders"
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI.
xxxxx
Nick Stokes was on a mission.
He perused the aisles of a bookstore in a small mall searching for some new material – flirting material.
He hadn't had a date in… too long and now he was looking for some books to find new ideas. Plus, in a trendy bookshop like this there were almost always some nice women around. He had managed to snatch his fair share of dates talking over books.
Today, he hoped for both, since it was his night off and he still needed a date, or at least a book to occupy his evening. The action/thriller section was passed by, while he picked up the new book by Nicholas Sparks. Women loved to read something like that, right? To broaden his scope he went to the non-fiction book section, where also the best women hung around.
He looked around, finding this section almost empty, which was very disappointing. Only an elderly woman, a young couple and a teenager flipped through some books.
Nick was just about to go and try his luck at another bookstore when he saw a pair of nice long legs vanish behind one of book walls. Finally. Maybe this woman could be the center of his evening.
He followed her path, peeking carefully around the corner. She was now standing in a corner, half obscured by the dim light and a bookstand. What he saw, though, he liked. Her legs were impossibly long, her waist small and her… behind seemed firm and shapely in her tight jeans. Just his type. He couldn't see her face, but that would change once he made contact.
The normal approach would be to drop something or hint at a book he wanted, which was not possible since he couldn't see what books she was looking at.
In the end he decided to just approach her and ask her if she knew a nice gift for his sister. The nearer he came the more familiar she looked, but he couldn't place her. When he was standing directly behind her he spoke, "Excuse me, could you hand me that book please?"
Her head lifted and she shook her head. "Please tell me you did not just try to hit on me, Nicholas Stokes."
Oh shit, that voice meant trouble.
Sara turned with a huge grin on her face.
Why hadn't he recognized her? It was too late now to deflect her, she must have seen the shock and guilt on his face. And now he was going to pay. He would be lucky if she didn't do any physical damage.
"Speechless? That's a rarity," she teased him mercilessly.
"I didn't recognize you, but I did not try to hit on you," he almost screeched, his voice higher than usual.
"Me thinks thou thost protest too much!"
Nick wanted nothing more than to undo the last couple of minutes. As a last resort he tried to distract her, before any more damage could be done. "Whatcha buying?"
Too late he realized that he had jus maneuvered himself into another trap. He still had the cheesy romance novel in his hand and surely Sara would notice that now, if she hadn't already.
"Travel books. Here" She held them up for him to see and then – as predicted – her gaze wandered down to his hands.
"Tell me that's not what I'm thinking!" Her laughter filled the whole section they were standing in and Nick cringed. He could as well pull out his gun or jump off the next bridge. At least that would give his colleagues something to work out. Still with a grin on her face Sara continued, "I think you better go before you can embarrass yourself any further."
He took the offered chance and turned to leave. Almost out of sight he called back, "Not a word Sara!"
But Sara's answer was again only a grin.
xxxxx
Of course Sara had no idea how a week later everyone was talking about Nick Stokes' bookstore exploitations. Even Grissom had looked at him in a funny way, smirking when he thought nobody was looking. He had vowed revenge, but he was still waiting for an opportunity.
"Nick, you and I have a 419 in the desert. My car, but I have to get some specimen jars, so wait outside." Grissom instructed him before hurrying down the hall.
While Nick was waiting dutifully outside he noticed some books lying on the backseat of Grissom's car. And those books looked strangely familiar.
What was Grissom doing with these? Grissom was reading Sara's books?
He never took a vacation and somehow Nick had never pictured him to be the guy for "Secluded Mexico – Beaches and Living History"
But then, neither was Sara.
Before he could follow this trail of thought Grissom arrived outside and unlocked the doors.
The crime scene held nothing unusual – besides the dead body and lots of Grissom's little friends and they were back at the lab fairly quickly. They separated to do their individual analysis.
The shift was almost over when he saw Sara sitting in the break room. He couldn't resist, he had to know. "Hey Sara, could you lend me that book you bought last week?"
This time was prepared. When she lifted her head he watched her very closely. She tried to hide it, but he saw the surprise.
"Which one?" Her voice didn't give anything away, her eyes did though. Sara was uncomfortable with his questioning.
"The one about Mexico." The eyes widened slightly and she held her breath for a second before continuing as if it was nothing.
"Sure, I'll bring it next shift." With that the topic was apparently finished for her and her head dropped back to the file in her lap.
He debated whether to call her on it, but decided to do some further research.
xxxxx
He had almost forgotten about the matter when it happened.
Sara had been on vacation for three days when Grissom announced that he was forced to use some vacation days. He would be gone a week and back before Sara would return to work.
In this moment Nick remembered the travel books.
It was hard to hold back the smile that threatened to break out, but he managed.
Sara was his friend and although they aggravated each other on a regular basis he knew this was not something to joke about.
She would never forgive him if he spilled her secret and that was the last thing he wanted.
TBC