They were silent for a moment, letting the words hang in the air above them like mistletoe, before their lips found each other again. It was a soft, sweet kiss this time. The butterflies were skipping about happily inside Catherine's tummy, making her giggle into the kiss. Sara pulled back and gave her a puzzled look, which Catherine found ever so cute. Rather than explaining, she stroked Sara's face and peppered a butterfly kiss on her lips again.

They lapsed into silence again and Sara suddenly became very aware of their closeness. Cath was still perched on the edge of the chair, with Sara trapped behind her. And yet, curiously, the strange feeling that came over her was not fear, like normal in these circumstances, it was excitement. She was still tingling from the kiss.

Sara had dated girls before, unsuccessfully – but that described her love life in general – and sure she had noticed Cath 'that way' before. I mean, who hadn't? If she was honest, Sara had dreamed of this moment since the day she laid eyes on the gorgeous strawberry blonde. But she was sure that the older woman disliked her, and even after it became apparent that that was not the case, she still knew it was not worth pursuing the crush just to be humiliated and shot down.

"What are you thinking about?" Catherine's voice broke her train of thought. Sara looked at her.

"That you're out of my league." She answered honestly. To her surprise, Cath laughed.

"Oh honey, you can't really think that?" She said, a hint of amusement in her voice. Sara just stared at her, confused. Cath lent closer, so close that Sara could feel her breath on her skin. "Baby, you're a Harvard grad and I'm an ex-stripper with an ex-drug addiction." She spelt it out and Sara's eyes widened. She was not really surprised at Cath's revelation, more at the fact that she had revealed it. The brunette opened and closed her mouth, no sound finding its way out. Cath smiled and pecked her lips again. "Trust me Sara Sidle; you are too good for me."

"You really don't know me that well." Sara said again, but there was no sadness in her voice now, and that mischievous sparkle had returned to her eyes.

"Hmm? Well I'm sure we can find a way to change that." Cath grinned, nuzzling her face affectionately. And once again, what started as a slow kiss soon turned into a passionate and desperate one. Cath placed her hands on Sara's chest, gently pushing her away. "Stop, stop honey." She said, breaking the kiss. She lent her forehead against Sara's. "We can't do this." She mumbled. However, Sara misunderstood her words, visible by the way she tensed up. Catherine watched in utter confusion as Sara got up, walked to the kitchenette and rested her hands on the breakfast bar, her back to Cath. "Sara?" The blonde asked cautiously. She got up and moved behind her, placing her hands on the girl's hips. Sara flinched.

"No. Don't ... just don't." She said, no anger in her voice, just sadness.

"Sara?" Catherine pleaded, very confused by now. "Sar honey what's wrong?" She asked desperately.

"What's wrong?" Sara repeated in disbelief. "You kiss me like that, then tell me that we can't. And you ask me what's wrong?" She didn't raise her voice, in fact it was lower than usual. And despite the situation it was kind of sexy to Catherine. When it dawned on Catherine what had happened she laughed quietly, causing Sara to turn around, a look of hurt flashing through her eyes.

"Oh, no babe. When I said we can't do this, I meant we can't ... we had to stop before we ..." Sara raised an eyebrow at the usually so eloquent Catherine Willows stumbling over her words. The older woman took a deep breath and started again. "What I meant was I think we should take this slow. Figure out what everything means, maybe go on a few dates. Then, when we're ready, and when you're better," she added pointedly, "we can ... take it to the next level." Sara's cheeks were tinted slightly pink once she realised her misunderstanding, but then so were Catherine's. Understanding now, Sara smiled, a cheeky impish smile.

"Miss Willows, are you propositioning me?"