AN: Don't own 'em, just love 'em.
Greg strolled along the walkway at the base of the bleachers, looking up into the stands. He was hoping to find Sara and Grissom or Catherine and Warrick, he'd even settle for Wendy and Hodges if it came right down to it. He was a little nervous about coming to the football game on his own, even though he could see familiar faces belonging to fellow staff and students. He stopped and stood there scanning the crowd, but not finding anyone he felt comfortable joining without first being asked.
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Warrick standing there grinning. "Hey Sanders. How about over there?" He pointed to a somewhat empty section of the bleachers. Greg nodded and started up the aisle with Warrick trailing behind.
As he reached the area he believed Warrick had indicated, Greg turned and asked, "This okay with you?"
Warrick nodded. "We need to save seats for Catherine, Grissom and Sara. I suspect Hodges and Wendy will end up here too."
Greg sat down and asked the green-eyed man, "How'd it go last night? Hodges behave himself?"
"It was okay, everyone got along and the show was good. But Greg, we only have a few minutes alone here and I don't want to talk about my night, I'm much more interested in yours." Warrick glanced around and, seeing they were still isolated from the main crowd, added, "Come on, Sanders, dish."
Greg tried to give Warrick a sincere 'whatever do you mean' look, but the other man just shook his head. "I know you and Nick had plans last night, but I haven't had a chance to talk to him since yesterday afternoon. I really don't want any personal details, Greg, but did you two at least have a good time?"
"Well," the young man blushed, "I can't speak for Nick, but I had a really good time." He looked at Warrick smiled. "A really good time."
"Good enough for a repeat?" The driver's ed teacher was mentally crossing his fingers for his best friend.
"God, I hope so." Greg said fervently, before realizing what he had said and lowering his reddened face to look at his sneakers.
Warrick threw back his head and laughed. "Good. It's about time that man got some action."
"Hey," Greg raised his head to look at Warrick, "it was only a first date, man. No action was involved. Well not much…" His voice trailed off, his blush becoming deeper.
The other man continued to chuckle, "Gotta start somewhere, Greg. I'm glad that you both enjoyed the evening." He glanced around the bleachers. "Incoming. We've got company, Sanders."
Greg turned his head to look in the direction Warrick was indicating. "Hi Catherine, and how are you this beautiful afternoon?"
Greg enjoyed the camaraderie of the afternoon with his new co-workers and friends. The only thing missing was having Nick sitting beside him. Greg had to settle for watching Nick walk the sidelines of the football field. He followed the tenor of the fans and knew when to cheer or when to sigh in disappointment by listening to their outbursts, but Greg didn't see any of the plays causing the verbal and visceral reactions. He kept his eyes on the sidelines. On Nick.
During half-time as the other six discussed their previous evening, laughing about something that had happened among some of the other guests, he relaxed and turned his attention to his companions. Greg smiled and listened to their banter, glad to be a part of their group.
At one point, Sara had turned to the chemistry teacher and asked, "So what did Nick and you do last night, Greg? I bet you two hit the bars looking for a couple of pretty tourists, right?"
Greg just shook his head and laughed. "Naw, Sara. We grabbed a bite to eat and raced go karts."
"Go karts? Really, Greg?" she looked surprised at the disclosure.
"Yeah, it's a guy thing, Sara. Give a man a full stomach and a little velocity and he's usually a very happy individual." He looked over at Grissom. "Am I right, Gil?"
"For such a young man you are very self-aware, Greg." The older man smiled at his wild-headed companion. "Whereas you happen to enjoy go karts, I prefer roller coasters."
Greg's grin grew wide knowing the biology teacher had just managed to move the attention onto himself and away from Greg and his evening with Nick. The new teacher wanted to make sure the interest stayed elsewhere and decided to manipulate the conversation. "So, Grissom likes the coasters. That's two for two." He turned to the math teacher and smiled, "So, give Hodges, what's your secret speed fix, man?"
The clearly embarrassed man fidgeted on the wooden bleacher. He noticed Wendy was focused on the conversation, awaiting his answer. "Well, I…It's not really…You have to be fast…"
"What is it?" Wendy asked softly, leaning closer.
Hodges tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders before responding, "I like to snipe."
"Snipe?" Gil asked with a puzzled look. "I don't think I understand. I've heard of a snipe hunt, but…"
The math teacher shook his head, "It's not like that, Gil. I like to buy things on the internet, and making a last second submission to outbid your opponents is called a snipe. If you're not fast, you don't win the auction."
Greg clapped his hands together in delight. "That's three for three, Sara." He turned to the driver's ed teacher. "How about you, Warrick? What's your secret speed vice?" His face showed his pleasure in finding out little tidbits of information about his new friends.
Warrick looked at Greg with deadly grin. "Sanders, I don't think you want to pull me into this conversation," he said quietly.
Seeing the chemistry teacher's face begin to cloud with distress, Catherine piped up, "I can answer that question for you, Greg." Six sets of eyes turned to the blonde. "I can tell you his speed-related secret."
"Cath…," Warrick began, but Catherine put a finger to his lips and smiled. She turned back to the others and put their questions to rest. "Warrick's need for speed is displayed every time he hears Lindsey is going to be gone overnight. I'm not sure the man even stops for red lights on his way over to my house."
The entire group let out peals of laughter, causing those sitting around them to turn and stare. Greg let out a relieved breath, the conversation had permanently moved away from his evening with Nick. The chemistry teacher looked down at the field and realized the team was coming back out from the locker room for the second half. Time to Nick-watch again.
Nick's team won the game that afternoon, and while the score wasn't as close as the week before, it wasn't a blowout by any means. While watching the coach, Greg had replayed the morning phone call several times in his head.
"Morning, Sunshine."
"Hi, Nick. I had a really great time last night."
"I'm so glad, Greg, I did too. What are you doing right now?" The voice coming across the lines sounded as smooth as silk.
"Standing here in front of my closet, trying to decide what to wear to the game today," he teased the other man. "Should I go with the tight white tee shirt, or should I wear the fishnet, hmmm?"
The young man heard an audible gulp coming from the phone. "What are you wearing now?"
Greg chuckled at the response he had received. "A damp towel, Nick, and I think my knot is slipping."
He heard a groan come from the phone. "You're killing me here, G."
"Uh oh, there it goes. I better bend over and get that wet towel off my floor." The blond leaned against the closet door jamb and smiled.
"Greg…." There was clearly a moan coming from the receiver.
"Nick, you sound like you have a problem, maybe I can help?" he offered, a smirk on his face.
"No, Greg. This is not happening. Our first time will not be over the phone lines. No phone sex." It sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.
"Never, Nick?" he chuckled.
Greg heard a sigh. "I'm not saying never, but not now."
"You have a lot of restrictions for our first time, Nick. I can't be passed out, it can't be over the phone,….."
"Greg," Nick interrupted his ramblings.
"Yeah?"
"The green shirt."
"Huh?" the young man's brain tried to shift gears.
"The green shirt you wore to the cookout at Catherine's. Is it clean?"
"Yeah, Nick. I'm looking at it right now." He reached into the closet and pulled out the hanger containing the shirt.
"Wear it, Greg."
"You like that shirt, Nicky?" he asked quietly.
"I like you wearing it, G." His soft voice whispered across the lines.
As the game ended, the small group started to move from their seats, following the departing crowd. Before they could reach the bottom of the bleachers, Warrick's phone rang. He listened for a few seconds and then put a hand out to stop Greg's forward movement.
"Hold up, Catherine, Greg." He looked at the others and waved them on. "Catch you all on Monday."
They nodded and continued on their way. Warrick looked at his two remaining companions and indicated that they should step back and allow the remaining crowd to pass around them. "Nick's on the phone."
Greg looked down at the field and saw that Nick had moved away from the mass of fans and players on the field and had his phone to his ear. They made eye contact and Greg waved, watching Nick raise his chin and smile back. Gosh, he was really starting to love that smile.
Warrick spoke, "Nick wants to know if the three of us are free tonight for dinner." He looked at Catherine, who nodded, and then over at Greg, whose gaze remained fixed on Nick. The tall man smiled and gave a snort.
"I guess that's a big yeah, Nick." He paused for a few moments. "Okay, I'll tell him."
The green-eyed man clicked his phone shut. "Nick said he'd stop by and pick you up at 6:30 since you're on the way to the restaurant, Greg."
The young man nodded and gave Nick another smile, knowing that the dinner that evening would probably be their coming out party for Catherine, as Warrick was already aware of the situation. He was excited and pleased that Nick was willing to make that leap.
Catherine came up and put an arm around Greg's waist, and when he turned toward her, she put her other hand on his chest. "I'm glad, Greg."
He looked down at her with a confused look on his face. "Uh Catherine, I'm not sure…"
The blond smiled at the young chemistry teacher. "I told him that when he was ready, I wanted a double date. I guess he's ready."
Nick was right, Catherine had already figured it out. Greg raised his eyebrows and smiled back at her. "Double date, huh? I haven't been on one of those for quite some time." He nodded over to Warrick and pulled the home ec teacher close. "So do you think Nick and Warrick make a cute couple?"
"Sanders…," the dark haired man started, but his retort was cut short by the laughter of his two co-workers.
Nick had arrived at Greg's fifteen minutes earlier than planned, which was fine with the young teacher, especially when those minutes were spent up against his living room wall with Nick's lips on his and his hands roaming under the hem of Greg's untucked black shirt.
As the older man's lips traveled to his partner's neck, a groan was heard. "Nick, they're expecting us at the restaurant." Greg moved his hands from the Texan's hips to his upper arms and massaged them gently. "Earth to Nick."
Nick raised his head and Greg saw his dark, dilated eyes burning with desire. "God, what you do to me, G."
"If you haven't noticed, Nicky, the feeling is entirely mutual." He bucked his hips forward and gave the other man a naughty smile. "See what you do to me, stud?"
The muscular man swooped in for one more devastating kiss before placing his hands on the wall beside the young blond and levering himself off the slighter man. "It's going to take me a few minutes before I can walk out of here." He smiled at Greg and looked down. "Looks like you need a few minutes, too."
Greg shook his head and smiled. "Naw, Nicky. I'll proudly walk out of here like this right now. I want everyone to see what you do to me." He stretched his arm out and ran one finger across the front of Nick's jeans. "And that I can do this to you."
Nick gave a shuddering breath and pulled Greg back into his arms, capturing his lips again. "'Rick and Catherine can wait five more minutes," he muttered.
.
