"So, you've been staying with your aunt and uncle?" Sara queried Anisha.
Anisha nodded. "Yeah, they're great, but I really want my own place; my own space. Living with relatives isn't really conducive to your social life."
Sara smiled. "I can imagine." She steered her Denali into the parking lot of the first apartment on Anisha's list.
Anisha studied the building for a moment. "Well, it's nicer than the place I had in LA."
They got out of the vehicle and made their way to the manager's office. While they were touring the available apartment, Sara's phone rang.
She pulled the phone off of her belt. "Sidle."
Anisha continued following the manager through the apartment as he explained different features of the unit.
"Oh, hey, Nick." Sara felt a smile spreading across her face.
Anisha glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow, curious about Sara's smile.
"You did? Oh, that's great." She glanced over at Anisha. "Yeah, I think we can do that. Let me just ask Anisha if she minds." She pulled the phone away from he ear. "Anisha?"
"Yeah?" Anisha stopped looking in the closet and glanced at Sara.
"Uh, Nick wants me to stop by. He spilled coffee on my new blouse the other day and he got it cleaned and wanted to know if I could come by and pick it up. Do you mind?" Sara looked hopeful.
Anisha smiled, wondering if there wasn't a little something going on between the two CSIs. "Sure, that sounds great. We can just hit the other two apartments afterward."
The manager cleared his throat. "Did I mention that we have a move in special and covered parking?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So, Sara's coming by, huh?" Greg queried Nick.
Nick nodded as he brought them each a beer before he settled back onto the couch. "Yeah, she's picking up a blouse I had cleaned for her."
Greg raised a curious eyebrow. "A blouse?"
Nick glanced over at Greg and laughed. "I startled her the other day and she spilled coffee all over herself. She made such a big deal out of how much she paid for this shirt I told her I'd try and get the stain out."
"Ah." Greg was quiet for a moment as he watched the football game. "So, what's Sara doing today anyway?"
Nick took a sip from his beer. "She's helping Anisha apartment hunt."
Greg felt like his throat was constricting. "Anisha?" There was a slight squeak to his voice.
Nick nodded. "Yeah, you know the new girl in Trace?"
"I know who she is, I just haven't officially met her yet." Greg tried to keep his voice controlled.
"I guess you'll get to meet her then." Nick turned his attention to the game; gesturing toward the TV. "You know, that's the reason these guys are in the playoffs."
"That was a pretty good pass." Greg agreed.
Nick's eyebrows shot up. "Pretty good? That was damn good, Sanders." He grinned.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sara pulled into Nick's driveway and parked the Denali. "Looks like Nick has company."
Anisha noticed the other vehicle in parked in front of Nick's house. "Girlfriend?"
Sara restrained her smile. "No, as far as I know, Nick's not dating anyone. I think that's Greg's car. It sounded like he was watching football when I talked to him earlier."
"Ah." Anisha watched Sara carefully as they walked up to Nick's front door. Sara seemed a little too excited to be there just for a shirt.
When Nick answered the door, a grin spread across his face. "Ladies." He opened the door wide to let them in. "Can I offer either of you a beer?"
"I'm driving." Sara smirked at him.
"You could stay awhile. As much fun as Greg is, he just not as pretty as either of you." Nick was laying it on thick.
At the mention of his name, Greg sprung off the couch and walked over toward the other three. "Hey, Sara."
"Greggo." Sara smiled.
Greg looked at Anisha and couldn't keep the smile off of his face. "Hi, Anisha. Uh, I don't think we've officially met. I work in DNA."
She grinned at him and reached out to shake Greg's hand. "Hey, nice to meet you, Greg. I work in the Trace Materials lab."
Greg was silent for a moment and continued to hold onto Anisha's hand as he took in her beauty close up. It wasn't until Nick cleared his throat that Greg finally released her hand. "Trace, yeah, I knew that."
"So, do you ladies want to stay and watch the game with us?" Nick invited, knowing that Sara would go for the idea, but unsure if Anisha would.
Anisha glanced over at Nick and raised an eyebrow. "Can I borrow your phone for a minute?"
Nick nodded. "Sure." He glanced over at Sara and she just shrugged.
Greg couldn't get the smile off of his face.
Anisha placed a quick phone call to the manager of the apartment that they'd just been to. After talking for a couple of minutes, she finished up the call. "Ok, so I'll drop the deposit check by this afternoon. Thanks for holding the place. Yeah, great. Ok." She hung up the phone and glanced over at Sara. "I'm game to stay if you are. I just need to go back by that apartment before six and drop of a deposit check."
Sara nodded. "Sounds good." She turned toward Nick. "Now about that beer."
He chuckled. "Anisha, you want one too?"
"Yeah." She made her way over to sit on the couch next to Greg who was still smiling.
Nick grabbed a couple of beers and handed one to Sara before giving the other to Anisha. The game was in the third quarter and as it continued, Nick, Greg, and Anisha were really getting into the game. Sara just sipped her beer and studied the TV wondering what could possibly be so fascinating about football besides the guys wearing tight pants.
Nick glanced over at her with a curious expression on his face, noting her lack of interest in the game. At the next commercial, he gestured toward her. "Hey, Sara, let me get that shirt for you."
"Uh, I'll come with you. I want to know how you got the stain out of it." She responded as Nick got up and moved toward his laundry room.
Neither Greg nor Anisha looked up, they had started talking softly and neither Nick nor Sara could hear what they were saying as they made their way to the laundry room. Nick closed the door and grinned at Sara. "It looks like our plan is working."
Sara smiled as she leaned against the washing machine. "Looks like you might be right."
Nick stood in front of her and raised an eyebrow. "Might?"
Sara smirked. "Well, you said Greg would be with Anisha by next week, and that he'd stop asking me out, but you also said you'd have the coffee out of my blouse."
Nick chuckled and reached behind her, causing Sara to lean back slightly until she realized that he was reaching for something hanging above the washer. "Here is your blouse. Good as new." He handed her the blouse on a hanger.
Sara glanced at it and then at him. "This isn't my blouse."
A slightly panicked expression crossed Nick's face. "Uh, sure it is."
Sara looked amused and shook her head. "Uh, uh. Mine didn't have the price tag still attached."
Nick put a hand on the washer behind her. "Ok, so it's not the same shirt you handed me the other day. Catherine told me where you went shopping and I got you a new one."
Sara raised an eyebrow. "You bought me a new shirt?"
He nodded. "Yeah." He rested his other hand on the washer on the other side of her.
"Why?" Sara noticed that he effectively had her trapped against the washing machine.
"I couldn't get the stain out of the other one." He admitted studying her face.
Sara set the blouse down on top of the washer. "Oh. You didn't have to do that. It wasn't your fault." She studied his face, curious why she didn't bolt from the room at Nick's close proximity.
"But I told you I'd get the stain out of it." Nick seemed to lean a little closer.
Sara had a sudden interest in Nick's lips, wondering if he planned on kissing her and then in the next instant wondering why he wasn't kissing her. She glanced up at his eyes and found a glimmer of amusement in them. "What?"
"Oh, I was just thinking that there was one more part to this plan I forgot to tell you about." Nick grinned.
"Really." Sara just continued to stare at him.
Nick nodded. "Yeah."
Sara again glanced at his lips. "And what would that be?"
He smiled. "This." He leaned down and softly touched his lips against hers, smiling as Sara let out a little whimper.
Sara slid her arms around Nick's neck and responded as he deepened the kiss between them.
They finally broke the kiss when the door to the laundry room opened. Breathing heavily, they turned to see Greg and Anisha.
"Well, I can see you two are a little busy." Anisha looked thoroughly amused.
Greg grinned. "I'm going to take Anisha by that apartment so she can put the deposit down."
Anisha smiled. "Then we're going out to dinner."
Nick and Sara just nodded, unaware that Sara still had her arms around Nick's neck and he still had her pinned between him and the washing machine.
"We'll let ourselves out." Greg grinned as he and Anisha turned to leave.
As she heard the front door close, Sara cupped the back of Nick's head and pulled him into another kiss. Their plan had worked far better than she could have imagined, and now it was clear what was in it for Nick, and she didn't mind one little bit. In fact, she thought she was going to enjoy it.
~ The End ~
Anisha nodded. "Yeah, they're great, but I really want my own place; my own space. Living with relatives isn't really conducive to your social life."
Sara smiled. "I can imagine." She steered her Denali into the parking lot of the first apartment on Anisha's list.
Anisha studied the building for a moment. "Well, it's nicer than the place I had in LA."
They got out of the vehicle and made their way to the manager's office. While they were touring the available apartment, Sara's phone rang.
She pulled the phone off of her belt. "Sidle."
Anisha continued following the manager through the apartment as he explained different features of the unit.
"Oh, hey, Nick." Sara felt a smile spreading across her face.
Anisha glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow, curious about Sara's smile.
"You did? Oh, that's great." She glanced over at Anisha. "Yeah, I think we can do that. Let me just ask Anisha if she minds." She pulled the phone away from he ear. "Anisha?"
"Yeah?" Anisha stopped looking in the closet and glanced at Sara.
"Uh, Nick wants me to stop by. He spilled coffee on my new blouse the other day and he got it cleaned and wanted to know if I could come by and pick it up. Do you mind?" Sara looked hopeful.
Anisha smiled, wondering if there wasn't a little something going on between the two CSIs. "Sure, that sounds great. We can just hit the other two apartments afterward."
The manager cleared his throat. "Did I mention that we have a move in special and covered parking?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So, Sara's coming by, huh?" Greg queried Nick.
Nick nodded as he brought them each a beer before he settled back onto the couch. "Yeah, she's picking up a blouse I had cleaned for her."
Greg raised a curious eyebrow. "A blouse?"
Nick glanced over at Greg and laughed. "I startled her the other day and she spilled coffee all over herself. She made such a big deal out of how much she paid for this shirt I told her I'd try and get the stain out."
"Ah." Greg was quiet for a moment as he watched the football game. "So, what's Sara doing today anyway?"
Nick took a sip from his beer. "She's helping Anisha apartment hunt."
Greg felt like his throat was constricting. "Anisha?" There was a slight squeak to his voice.
Nick nodded. "Yeah, you know the new girl in Trace?"
"I know who she is, I just haven't officially met her yet." Greg tried to keep his voice controlled.
"I guess you'll get to meet her then." Nick turned his attention to the game; gesturing toward the TV. "You know, that's the reason these guys are in the playoffs."
"That was a pretty good pass." Greg agreed.
Nick's eyebrows shot up. "Pretty good? That was damn good, Sanders." He grinned.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sara pulled into Nick's driveway and parked the Denali. "Looks like Nick has company."
Anisha noticed the other vehicle in parked in front of Nick's house. "Girlfriend?"
Sara restrained her smile. "No, as far as I know, Nick's not dating anyone. I think that's Greg's car. It sounded like he was watching football when I talked to him earlier."
"Ah." Anisha watched Sara carefully as they walked up to Nick's front door. Sara seemed a little too excited to be there just for a shirt.
When Nick answered the door, a grin spread across his face. "Ladies." He opened the door wide to let them in. "Can I offer either of you a beer?"
"I'm driving." Sara smirked at him.
"You could stay awhile. As much fun as Greg is, he just not as pretty as either of you." Nick was laying it on thick.
At the mention of his name, Greg sprung off the couch and walked over toward the other three. "Hey, Sara."
"Greggo." Sara smiled.
Greg looked at Anisha and couldn't keep the smile off of his face. "Hi, Anisha. Uh, I don't think we've officially met. I work in DNA."
She grinned at him and reached out to shake Greg's hand. "Hey, nice to meet you, Greg. I work in the Trace Materials lab."
Greg was silent for a moment and continued to hold onto Anisha's hand as he took in her beauty close up. It wasn't until Nick cleared his throat that Greg finally released her hand. "Trace, yeah, I knew that."
"So, do you ladies want to stay and watch the game with us?" Nick invited, knowing that Sara would go for the idea, but unsure if Anisha would.
Anisha glanced over at Nick and raised an eyebrow. "Can I borrow your phone for a minute?"
Nick nodded. "Sure." He glanced over at Sara and she just shrugged.
Greg couldn't get the smile off of his face.
Anisha placed a quick phone call to the manager of the apartment that they'd just been to. After talking for a couple of minutes, she finished up the call. "Ok, so I'll drop the deposit check by this afternoon. Thanks for holding the place. Yeah, great. Ok." She hung up the phone and glanced over at Sara. "I'm game to stay if you are. I just need to go back by that apartment before six and drop of a deposit check."
Sara nodded. "Sounds good." She turned toward Nick. "Now about that beer."
He chuckled. "Anisha, you want one too?"
"Yeah." She made her way over to sit on the couch next to Greg who was still smiling.
Nick grabbed a couple of beers and handed one to Sara before giving the other to Anisha. The game was in the third quarter and as it continued, Nick, Greg, and Anisha were really getting into the game. Sara just sipped her beer and studied the TV wondering what could possibly be so fascinating about football besides the guys wearing tight pants.
Nick glanced over at her with a curious expression on his face, noting her lack of interest in the game. At the next commercial, he gestured toward her. "Hey, Sara, let me get that shirt for you."
"Uh, I'll come with you. I want to know how you got the stain out of it." She responded as Nick got up and moved toward his laundry room.
Neither Greg nor Anisha looked up, they had started talking softly and neither Nick nor Sara could hear what they were saying as they made their way to the laundry room. Nick closed the door and grinned at Sara. "It looks like our plan is working."
Sara smiled as she leaned against the washing machine. "Looks like you might be right."
Nick stood in front of her and raised an eyebrow. "Might?"
Sara smirked. "Well, you said Greg would be with Anisha by next week, and that he'd stop asking me out, but you also said you'd have the coffee out of my blouse."
Nick chuckled and reached behind her, causing Sara to lean back slightly until she realized that he was reaching for something hanging above the washer. "Here is your blouse. Good as new." He handed her the blouse on a hanger.
Sara glanced at it and then at him. "This isn't my blouse."
A slightly panicked expression crossed Nick's face. "Uh, sure it is."
Sara looked amused and shook her head. "Uh, uh. Mine didn't have the price tag still attached."
Nick put a hand on the washer behind her. "Ok, so it's not the same shirt you handed me the other day. Catherine told me where you went shopping and I got you a new one."
Sara raised an eyebrow. "You bought me a new shirt?"
He nodded. "Yeah." He rested his other hand on the washer on the other side of her.
"Why?" Sara noticed that he effectively had her trapped against the washing machine.
"I couldn't get the stain out of the other one." He admitted studying her face.
Sara set the blouse down on top of the washer. "Oh. You didn't have to do that. It wasn't your fault." She studied his face, curious why she didn't bolt from the room at Nick's close proximity.
"But I told you I'd get the stain out of it." Nick seemed to lean a little closer.
Sara had a sudden interest in Nick's lips, wondering if he planned on kissing her and then in the next instant wondering why he wasn't kissing her. She glanced up at his eyes and found a glimmer of amusement in them. "What?"
"Oh, I was just thinking that there was one more part to this plan I forgot to tell you about." Nick grinned.
"Really." Sara just continued to stare at him.
Nick nodded. "Yeah."
Sara again glanced at his lips. "And what would that be?"
He smiled. "This." He leaned down and softly touched his lips against hers, smiling as Sara let out a little whimper.
Sara slid her arms around Nick's neck and responded as he deepened the kiss between them.
They finally broke the kiss when the door to the laundry room opened. Breathing heavily, they turned to see Greg and Anisha.
"Well, I can see you two are a little busy." Anisha looked thoroughly amused.
Greg grinned. "I'm going to take Anisha by that apartment so she can put the deposit down."
Anisha smiled. "Then we're going out to dinner."
Nick and Sara just nodded, unaware that Sara still had her arms around Nick's neck and he still had her pinned between him and the washing machine.
"We'll let ourselves out." Greg grinned as he and Anisha turned to leave.
As she heard the front door close, Sara cupped the back of Nick's head and pulled him into another kiss. Their plan had worked far better than she could have imagined, and now it was clear what was in it for Nick, and she didn't mind one little bit. In fact, she thought she was going to enjoy it.
~ The End ~