Chapter 2

Nick pulled up to Mandy's condo, and put his truck into park.

"So…" Nick said looking at Mandy who was fiddling with her hands.

"An … afternoon cap?" she asked him hopefully, she didn't want the day to end and she knew she would never work up the courage to ask him. "I know it's getting late, so I understand…"

"Sounds good," he told her as he placed his hand over her fidgeting hands they stopped squirming. His touch seemed to calm her down. Not completely, but enough. He followed her up to her second story condo and waited while she unlocked her door. She silently hoped that she put away her stuffed animals from her dad, the trash, and the other stuff that could be mortifying for Nick to see.

She walked in and placed her keys down in her table and checked to see if any messages were left on her machine. It had one blinking message, but she figured it could wait till later. The only person she ever wanted to hear from was with her. The rest of the world could wait.

"I actually only have wine" Mandy said giving Nick sideways smile hoping he wouldn't be too annoyed with her. She remembered his face when Sara ordered a glass at the bowling alley.

"That's fine, as long as you don't tell the other guys"

She opened up a bottle of Pinot Noir and placed two glasses on her kitchen island.

"I like your place" Nick said as he perused her living room/kitchen. It was an open area with the kitchen facing a larger recessed living room. She had it decorated it modestly, lots of framed pictures and neutral colored furniture. It seemed to match but not too much. It seemed comfortable and lived in. He had frequented many apartments that looked like a page out of a Pottery Barn catalog or they were holes in the walls where he wondered if he needed a tetanus shot after.

"Thanks!" Mandy responded as she poured some wine in both glasses, "I like it too, minus the crazy sirens. I can hear the PD sirens from here, which is a bit annoying"

"Yeah I can hear them too from my place. Convenience beats comfort," Nick told her, while his hand found hers again. She was standing face to face with him. She smiled a little while sipping her drink. She liked the way it felt when his hand was on hers.

"Another glass?" she asked when she saw that Nick's glass was empty. "You know, I thought you didn't like wine"

"I didn't say that. It's just not something you order at a bowling alley." Nick said as he held his glass for her to pour more.

"Ah I see, the manly Texan needs to keep up appearances, well I bet Warrick would drink wine if Sara wanted him to"

"I think Warrick would walk across coals if she wanted him to"

"Wow are things that serious?" she asked, she was really starting to feel the wine affecting her more than the vodka did. It made her… well looser.

"Yeah I think it's the real deal," he said as he scooted closer to her.

"That's really great for them" Mandy said as she sincerely but just a little jealous as well.

"Yeah, it is. I like to bust Warrick's chops about it, since he was such a…" but he stopped himself.

"A what?" Mandy asked quizzically.

"Player…" Nick finished.

"Player, yeah I could see that. I'd be a player if I could pull it off" she said before sipping from her glass.

"You're a cute girl, you could be a player if you wanted" he said smiling at her.

"Yeah right!" she said shaking her head, "I'm really not the type of girl that guys pick up at a bar."

"What type are you?" he asked. He began running his hand up her arm, and she smiled watching him.

"I have … no idea," she said honestly. "A nerd?"

"No way, this doesn't seem like a place where a nerd lives. No Star Wars or Star Trek here, although your bookshelf is full of Jane Austen, that may make me change my mind."

"Hey leave her out of this! But I totally am a nerd, lab jacket and glasses"

"Yeah me too"

"Yeah right!" she scoffed giving his arm a swat, "you are the hottie of the LVPD crime lab."

If she were more sober, she would have never said that. But with a few drinks, the sensors in her brain weren't firing on all cylinders. This was why she didn't hang out with him outside of work. She drinks and it leads to saying stupid stuff like that.

"You think I'm a hottie?" he said teasingly and began to run his hands through her hair.

"I didn't think you were interested… most of the girls find Grissom to be the hottie," he added before he brought his face to hers. He kissed her softly hoping that it was OK. She closed her eyes and was all too obliging in allowing him to continue. She loved his lips, and now they were touching hers. She could barely keep her focus. It was like being on a cloud. It wasn't long before their kissing became more heated. He wanted to do more but was afraid she might not want to. Luckily the alcohol gave her the ability to lead him to her room.

She fell asleep in his arms and thought, if nothing else ever happened to her; she was the luckiest girl in the world. He was still awake; the alcohol wasn't affecting him as much. As he watched her chest rise and fall, and he couldn't help but wonder. Why didn't I do this earlier? It was amazing. As amazing as any first time could ever be. And he enjoyed her in his arms sleeping, almost as much as the earlier rendezvous. Before he could really think more, he drifted off to sleep.

It was a good four hours before she woke up to a heavy arm draped across her hips, and her head snuggled against a well-sculpted chest. She smiled to herself, although her head was pounding. She closed her eyes again, and when she woke up a few hours later, an empty bed welcomed her. She sat up slowly looking around only to find her room empty sans his clothes. She got up to shower hoping slightly that he would be somewhere around her condo. When she looked out her window and saw his Denali gone from her driveway, she shrugged. Maybe he was called to a scene? She would have heard the phone right? Showering and getting ready for another shift was in order. As she let the hot water run over her, she thought about how she was going to handle work that night. Cool and aloof? Pretend nothing happened? Act more outgoing? She decided that she would pretend nothing had happened. It would be mortifying for her to act like something happened only to find him ignoring it.

She dried her hair and contemplated wearing something more "sexy" but opted against it. It would seem too obvious if she did. Before she started breakfast she listened to her messages. The message was from her ex Brad. He sounded funny. He asked what she was up to and when he could maybe stop by and see her. It took her back a little considering she hadn't talked to him for over a year. It was on purpose that she did that and things hadn't changed. She deleted the message hoping that she wouldn't hear from him again. After a quick breakfast/dinner of mac and cheese with a salad she prepared for her day at the lab. She liked to do something normal and watch primetime TV. Because the graveyard shift didn't start till at least 10 it allowed her watch a few shows. It was a little bit of normalcy in a weird schedule. She realized after she had finished eating that her car was still at the lab. Begrudgingly she had to call Wendy to get a ride, and add an explanation to it.