1998. It was the last day.
Sara knocked on the door- three deliberate raps- and she waited. She looked up and down the hotel's corridor and studied the drab decor. It looked more modern and in better shape than the neighboring hotels but it wasn't luxurious by any stretch of the imagination.
"The lab's choice, not mine." He had said.
She raised her hand to knock again, when Grissom opened the door. She was greeted by the smell that she would forever label as his- mild soap, musky aftershave and something else distinct that she could never quite place.
"Hi! Are you early?" Hair still wet, a towel around his neck. He seemed the tiniest bit flustered as he looked down at his watch. "Nope. Right on time. Looks like I'm the one that's late. Sorry." He motioned for her to come in, briefly touching her elbow as she walked by him.
"I took an impromptu nap." He motioned at the disturbed sheets on the bed and disappeared into the washroom. Glancing around, looking for a seat, Sara perched herself on the foot of the bed. There wasn't any chair, or much else aside from that bed and a dresser.
"You'd think your lab could have splurged a bit, considering the length of your stay," she said.
"You obviously haven't met our lab director." He came out of the washroom, hair tamed, and a twinkle in his eye.
She felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach.
"I can't believe you're leaving." The words came out more soberly that she had meant it to.
The statement lingered in the air.
Until now she hadn't really let the knowledge of his departure sink in. But as she stood there, finally seeing where her companion of the last several weeks had slept. Seeing his luggage stacked neatly against the wall, it really hit her.
They had fallen into an easy camaraderie from the moment they first met at Grissom's lecture. She had taken an immediate liking to him and it had quickly become apparent that the feeling was mutual. The flirting had been plentiful over the weeks, and more than once she had caught him staring at her in a way that would make anyone blush..
But Gil Grissom had stubbornly remained an absolute gentleman, politely declining every invitation she had thrown his way to meet off campus.
Until now.
It was his last night, and they had dinning reservations.
Grissom sat down to the left of her on the bed. Their thighs were almost touching; all concept of personal space ceased to exist when they were together.
"This might be presumptuous of me, Sara." His steady gaze held hers. " But I thought you might want this." Grissom leaned back, taking a piece of paper from the small stack of paperwork on the bed. "Phone numbers, emails addresses..."
She returned his smile and reached into her coat pocket for the folder piece of paper that contained her own information.
"Great minds think alike." She laughed and his grin widened in response.
"So…" His shoulders and eyebrows went up at the same time. " Shall we head to the restaurant?"
He moved to get off the bed, Sara tugged gently on his sleeve to keep him seated and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Tentatively at first, she hugged tighter when she didn't meet any resistance.
"I'll miss you, Dr. Grissom." she said softly.
After a moment, he hugged her back, bringing her head firmly against his shoulder. She felt, more than heard, him sigh into her hair.
"I'll miss you, too." He sounded wistful.
With her nose buried into the crook of his neck, she breathed in the scent of him. If nothing else was going to happen between them, she wanted to enjoy this to the fullest. Her eyes fluttered shut and she let herself be in the moment. She relished the feel of his fingers on the back of her neck, the rise and fall of his chest against hers. She pulled away to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and then she stilled. Her mouth was mere inches from his.
The man looking back at her with an intensity that matched hers, had been a stranger a few short weeks ago. Most would argue they were still barely acquaintances. Yet, as she took in his blue eyes and dimpled chin, she couldn't help thinking she was saying goodbye to her best friend.
The kiss was aimed at his cheek but her lips brushed against the corner of his mouth. It was light, but more than enough to make the knots in her stomach turn into butterflies.
Sara pulled away again, eyes wide, not quite believing what she'd done. She waited, wanting him to make the choice and take the lead, if he wanted to.
And he did.
It was a chaste press of lips at first- kisses that reminded Sara of the first ones she'd shared in the school yard. She moved her head, changing the angle of the kiss and took advantage of Grissom's intake of breath to nestle her tongue with his.
They kissed for several minutes. Giving into their mutual desire, eyes closed, bodies pressed against each other.
When the need to breathe forced her to pull away, breathless and cheeks flushed, Sara felt like she was on fire. She had never felt anything that could remotely be likened to that moment.
"Sara, I'm sorry. I can't-"
Grissom was trying to regain his composure. Cheeks reddened, voice shaky, he seemed as affected as her.
He stood up, pulling her along with him and then he relinquished her hand.
"I'm sorry. I can't...Not here, not like this." His voice was barely a whisper.
And that was the key, she thought. He very much wanted to. But he couldn't, at least not now, for reasons that were his own.
And she respected that, even if it did hurt.
"It's ok, Grissom." She flashed him a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. "I get it."
The ringing of the hotel's phone stirred them both out of their mutual growing discomfort and Grissom jumped to answer it.
"It's the restaurant. They want to know if they should hold our reservations." He was gripping the receiver so hard his knuckles whitened. "What should I tell them?"
"Absolutely. I'm starving."
The cheerfulness in her voice sounded almost natural, but she could tell by the expression on his face that he wasn't fooled.
By the time they reached the restaurant, Sara had already revisited their kiss in her mind- committing it to memory before the details eluded her. She hoped with all her might that there would be more down the road.
She couldn't have known then, that she would have nothing more than that sole kiss to fuel her longings for years to come.
