Grissom knew Sara was beautiful, but when she entered the room with the others, wearing stilettos and a red dress, he couldn't ignore his attraction to his subordinate any longer. The way she danced and laughed with her co-workers made him want to have her completely to himself and never let her go. This will eventually go on through the series, bringing in things they revealed on the show, and coming up with the personal side that they "should" have shown. This will soon turn into a rating of M, so I listed the first few chapters in that category in preparation for the rest.
Chapter One
There was a low hum from the people already in the large room as Gil Grissom hesitated in the doorway, scanning the room for anyone familiar, but seeing no one he wanted to associate with. He glanced at the tables that were scattered throughout the room, rectangular in shape, seating eight people per table.
"Shall we go in?" Sophia Curtis cooed at him, bringing his attention back to his "date" for the evening.
He only took a few steps before he was spotted by an observant usher and taken to a table to be seated. Gil tugged at the neck of his shirt, his tuxedo making him feel extremely uncomfortable, as it always did. He glanced again at Sophia, admiring her beauty that was highlighted with a backless blue dress with a front that was so low that it nearly showcased her navel. She didn't hesitate leaning in toward Gil at every opportunity to show him the cleavage that she was using as an open invitation.
Grissom sat at their table, listening to her attempts at conversation when he saw two of his friends, Catherine and Jim entering the room. Catherine, as always, was breathtaking in an emerald dress and he couldn't help but hide a smile at the obvious admiration Jim was showing her. Catherine wasted little time, taking the seat next to Gil, and even less time opening a conversation with him that seemed to exclude the blonde on the other side of him. He really couldn't help it if Catherine's topic was much more interesting to him than Sophia's.
Their little group continued to converse for another ten minutes when Gil heard a whistle coming from the entrance to the room, as well as a variety of male voices making themselves heard in a very appreciative tone. He looked up to see Warrick Brown and Nick Stokes entering the room but their backs were to him, both looking at whomever was entering behind them. He watched as they smiled broadly and reached toward the other person, instigating an exasperated complaint from Greg Sanders; still out of Gil's line of vision.
"Back off, boys!" Greg said smoothly to the other two men, his exaggerated confidence in himself showing like a beam of light. "She's my date tonight."
"Good, Lord, girl!" Warrick smiled. "You sure do clean up nice!"
"Nice?" Nick agreed, taking the woman's hand and pulling her toward the front of them until she was standing between himself and Warrick, leaving an exasperated Greg in the background. "You're absolutely gorgeous! Too hot for the likes of this little creep."
Gil recognized the giggle that came from the woman before her identity actually hit him. He could recognize that laugh anywhere–he had been listening to it for years, and it was like a melody that could always lift his spirits.
"Yeah, well, this "little creep" brought her–and I'm taking her home tonight!" Greg complained as he followed the other three toward the table now occupied with Jim, Catherine, Gil and Sophia.
"Oh, my," Catherine remarked as she looked at the foursome coming closer, the tiniest of smiles gracing her lips as she glanced over at Gil and Sophia, quickly noting the look of enchantment on her friend's face and the fact that his "date" seemed oblivious to anything other than her attempts to capture Gil's attention. "Look what we have here."
"I always knew she was hiding something underneath her t-shirts and jeans," Jim said in the same tone that Catherine had used as he watched the woman approaching with a man on each side of her and one following closely behind. "She's stunning."
Nick and Warrick each held onto one of her arms as they came to the end of the table where Gil and Sophia were sitting. They were prepared to sit opposite them with the woman in the seat directly across from Gil, but when she looked over to see him in his tuxedo with the elegant blonde hanging off of him, she nervously stepped back, nearly bumping into Greg as she did so.
"Woe," Nick chuckled as he held onto her arm. "Careful there. Come on, sit here, between Warrick and me."
The woman's eyes kept going back to the blonde who was leaning closer to Gil. Gil didn't seem to notice though as he stared at her with immense appreciation shining from his eyes. He couldn't stop his gaze from traveling down the front of her red dress that flowed over her arms in an off-the-shoulder manner, and exposed the top of her chest before modestly covering her breasts. His gaze went lower, watching how the cloth hugged her slimness while at the same time, draped over her in a classic fashion. The dress stopped above her knees, exposing lean, strong, and sleek legs that seemed to go on forever and Gil couldn't stop the quick flashes of those legs wrapped around his waist as he would plunge inside of her. Her sandals topped off the ensemble with thin straps and three-inch heels (more closely resembling spikes). Finally, Gil's eyes traveled back to the creaminess of her shoulders and neck, then to the face that now wore cosmetics to enhance the beauty that they all knew was suppressed there. Her dark chocolate hair flowed in an almost careless style that made her look as if she had just been made love to and quite thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking at the most gorgeous set of brown eyes he had ever seen in his life, he lifted one eyebrow slightly as he watched her.
"Yes, Sara–please, take a seat." He gestured to the chair across from himself, but noticed how her eyes darted from him to Sophia.
"No. Thanks." She took a step back from Nick and Warrick and reached for Greg's sleeve. "I came with Greg. I think I should sit up here with him."
This, of course, brought a beaming smile from the younger man as he held the chair for her, then took the seat across from Brass. Nick wasted little time sitting across from Gil and next to Sara, leaving Warrick to sit opposite Sophia.
"Well," Jim said gently as he sat back and allowed the waiter to start spreading their dinners before them. "I hope you leave at least one dance open for me tonight."
Sara smiled sheepishly at the older man. "Why Brass–I didn't know you liked to dance."
"I'm an excellent dancer," Jim teased. "You just haven't had the opportunity to see me strut my struff."
"I've seen him "strut his stuff", and believe me–he's no John Travolta," Catherine giggled as she looked at Sara.
"I can do the "John Travolta" thing," Nick spoke up as he leaned close to Sara. "I'll keep you spinning across the dance floor tonight."
"Sorry, buddy, but she's going out on the floor with me–so you can put your little white suit away for the night. I'll show her some "real" dancing," Warrick spoke up.
"Jesus, girl!" Catherine teased. "It looks like Sophia and I are going to be completely without dance partners tonight. You've got all our men–Sophia and I will either have to settle for Ecklie or dance with each other!"
"I've got a partner right here," Sophia told her as she became more aware of Sara and her obvious admirers. "I think one man is enough for a woman."
"Gil?" Catherine looked at the blonde with raised brows. "Boy, are you in for a surprise! Gil doesn't dance."
"I think I can manage to talk him into it," Sophia tried to look into Gil's eyes, but failed miserably as he was too occupied, listening to the conversation on the other side of the table. This turned Sophia's attention to Sara and she took in the breathtakingly sensual aura of the woman. With a combination of a smirk and a huff, Sophia sat back in her chair. "Sara, I can't imagine where you got your dress. Although I did see something similar to it at Wal-Mart the other week."
Sara's smile she had been wearing as a result of constant teasing by Nick and Greg wilted as she looked back at Sophia. "I–really don't remember where I got it. It was just hanging in my closet."
"Really? I would never have thought of you as keeping such clothing. You're more a sweatshirt and sweat pants type of gal. Where did you go to have your make-up applied? It's–done rather well. We can hardly see the tomboy hidden beneath it."
Catherine turned hard eyes on the other woman as Sara dropped her gaze to the top of the table. "That's one hell of sexy-looking tomboy, if you ask me!" Catherine told Sophia. "If being a tomboy lets you end up looking like that–I'm going out for the softball team next year."
"Who are you kidding?" Nick chuckled as he looked at Catherine. "You're already on the softball team–and can out-slug even me. Now running–that's a different matter."
"And just what's wrong with my running?" Catherine asked with fake irritation, glad to turn the conversation away from Sophia's disapproval of her friend. "I can outrun Gil!"
"You've got to know when to slow down and when to run," Sophia told her. "There are times you want to move a little more slowly."
"I'm sure there is," Catherine started, this time, not being able to stop the spark of anger that was escaping from her. "And I'm sure you know exactly when to slow down and clamp your trap around. . ."
"Okay," Jim interrupted quickly. "This steak looks perfect. How does your. . ." He had to stop and stare at Catherine's dinner a moment. ". . .chicken look? That "is" chicken, isn't it?"
"I don't know," Catherine hissed. "It looks kind of spoiled rotten, if you ask me."
Knowing she was speaking more about the blonde woman at the end of the table, than her actual dinner, Jim simply grabbed her plate and switched hers with his. "Here–eat mine–it looks fine."
"Jim! I didn't want steak!" Catherine started to protest, then looked closer at Brass' plate. "Oh–but that does look good."
"Then eat the steak."
"But the chicken looks good, too," she almost whined.
"Fine," Jim breathed as he cut the chicken in half, then did the same with the steak, giving them each a half of the dinners. "Better?"
Catherine smiled at Brass, but her smile turned to a grimace when Sophia spoke up.
"I hope no one was watching. That isn't exactly appropriate etiquette for this occasion."
"I'll eat what the fuck I want to eat and if you're too. . ." Catherine started to stand, but Jim pulled her back into her seat.
Nick and Warrick slowly looked back to Sophia, then without a word, cut their dinners in half and slid them off of their plates onto each other's.
"If you're sharing down there," Greg spoke up as he leaned in front of Sara with his plate and handed it to Nick. "I wouldn't mind having some of that salmon."
Catherine looked at her friends with a very satisfied smile. She knew she could count on them. "So, you were saying something, Sophia?"
"Alright!" Gil spoke sharply. "Enough! Do I have to sit here like a parent and dictate what is and isn't appropriate to do at the dinner table? Jim, I would have thought that at your age, you would've had enough sense to not start this!"
"I didn't start anything," Jim said under his breath, loud enough for only Catherine to hear. "It was your damned date that started it."
Catherine smiled sweetly at Gil, then smiled even broader at Sophia as she slid a piece of steak into her mouth, clearly over-reacting to the more than satisfactory taste as it slid across her tongue.
"Now–can we eat in peace?" Gil asked the rest of the group with a stern eye.
"I'm eating," Warrick said quietly as he started on his plate that now consisted of baked salmon, filet mignon and chicken cordon bleu.
"Me too," Nick agreed.
Greg merely smiled at everyone as he started to enjoy his meal.