A/N: La la la, disclaimer, don't own CSI, la la la.
Previously: Surprised, Nick's grin grew into the full-blown Texas smile that charmed everyone. "I'll call you," he promised as he headed out to the Tahoe.
Driving to his house, Nick thought about Johanna. That kiss…he reached a hand up and touched the spot where her lips had been. Her touch had been as soft as a butterfly, gentle and light. Nick smiled. Yep, I think a girlfriend would be pretty good idea…and a dog.
Arriving home, he changed into the tee shirt and sweatpants he usually slept in before crawling into bed. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, his phone rang. "'Lo?"
"Nick. It's Warrick."
"Warrick…what's up?" Nick suppressed a yawn as he sat up.
"You busy, man?" Warrick's voice was weary.
Nick knew the unasked question. "Nah. Come on over."
Within minutes Warrick was seated on Nick's sofa. The Texan had a sneaking suspicion that his friend had been driving aimlessly through Vegas. "'Rick, you want a beer or something?" he asked, heading to the kitchen.
Warrick shrugged. "Sure, a beer." Nick grabbed two longnecks and handed one to his friend before sitting in his recliner. Neither spoke for a few moments. Finally Warrick broke the silence. "Nick, do you think I could stay here for a day or two? There are too many memories for me to deal with right now."
Nick nodded. "What happened, man?"
The tall Black man sighed. "Tina and I had been having spats, you know? Just about little things, like not putting jelly on sandwiches or something like that. Anyways, she started working later shifts at the hospital…at least, that's what she was telling me." Warrick leaned his head into his hands. "Fool that I am, I believed her. Turns out she was fooling around with that doctor she had been with before me. And I believed her! Came home from shift a couple days ago to find her packing her bags. She told me she was moving in with him…and that she had talked to her lawyer about filing for divorce." He looked at Nick, the glisten of a tear in his eye. "Man, I had some doubts earlier, you know that. But I thought she and I could work it out! I didn't think it would come to this." Lapsing into silence, the two men sat, drinking their beers.
Not too much later Nick was back in his bed. Warrick had crashed in the spare room down the hall after another beer. Nick suspected the two beers his coworker had consumed in his living room weren't the first. Rolling onto his stomach, he let his mind drift back to Johanna. A smile reappeared on his face as he recalled every detail of the time they'd spent together, especially those last few moments. It slowly faded when Nick imagined what Johanna's reaction to his story might be. He could picture her eyes changing colors in…in what? He thought. In fear, anger? The last thing Nick pictured as he drifted into restless sleep was Johanna's piercing green eyes.
TBC...