Famous Last Words, Chapter 2
Nick looked at the phone in the corner. He walked over to it and sat down on the edge of the bed, just staring at it. He sighed and shook his head. It was probably too early to call.
"Nick," he said to himself, "you're thirty-one years old. Just pick up the phone and call." He reached out, paused, and retracted his hand. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the receiver and dialed before he could think twice. It rang three times, and his head dropped. She wasn't there.
"Hello?" His stomach hit the floor without his permission.
"Uh… Kaylee?"
"Yes?" He breathed a sigh of relief. At least she hadn't been cruel enough to give him the wrong number.
"Hey. It's Nick. Nick Stokes?"
"Hey. How are you?" Well, at least she seemed happy to hear from him.
"Doin' pretty good." There was a pause.
"You don't sound like you're doing pretty good," she said. He smiled to himself.
"I just got off work. I'm beat," he confessed, falling back onto the bed with a contented sigh. His bed. He'd missed it.
"Just now? It's eight in the morning," she exclaimed.
"Yeah," he replied. "Night shift."
"Yuck. That's gotta get old fast."
"Not really. I mean, I'd rather have the night shift. I like the people I work with, and I'm really not a morning person."
"I hear ya," she said with a slight laugh. "You sound really tired."
"Do I?"
"You sound like you're about ready to keel over." He chuckled. "That's too bad," she said after a short pause. His eyebrow rose, his voice catching in his throat.
"Why's that?" It took him a while to get the words out. But at least his voice hadn't cracked and made him sound like he was on his second trip through puberty. That would have looked really bad.
"Well," she started. She spit and sputtered for a moment, and he started laughing. Finally, she stopped and laughed at herself. "I'll just say it."
"You do that," he said, still chuckling.
"I was just wondering if you'd like to join me for breakfast somewhere." He broke into a wide grin. "But you know, if you're too tired from just getting off work, I totally understand. I mean, I don't want to keep you up…" she trailed off, sounding hopeful.
"No, no," he interjected. "I'd love to." He tried not to sound too excited, but he wasn't sure if it'd worked.
"Great." He had no idea how big she was grinning at that point. If she grinned any bigger, her face probably would have broken. They quickly decided on a time and place to meet, and said their goodbyes.
As soon as he hung up the phone, Nick did a little victory dance on top of his bed, hooting and hollering. After realizing he was making a complete fool of himself, he hopped off the bed and sauntered into the bathroom, whistling as he turned on the shower.
***
Kaylee's tires screeched as she pulled into the parking lot. She hadn't meant to spend that much time standing in front of her closet, searching for something to wear, but by the time she'd realized what she was doing, she was already late. Throwing the car into park, she nearly tripped on the way out of the car. After nearly breaking her neck, but regaining her composure and almost looking smooth pulling it off, she looked up and saw him standing on the sidewalk, leaning against the glass, just smirking. She swore under he breath, got a grip on herself, and walked toward him, flashing a coy smile.
"Tell me you didn't see that," she demanded quietly.
"Oh, I saw that all right." She shrank about an inch. "But I won't tell anyone." He laughed at the playful jab in the ribs she gave him as he reached out to open the door for her. He followed her to the table, taking in the gentle sway of her hips, the way her hair swished as she walked, and her posture. That woman had confidence up the wazoo, and it was totally turning him on.
"Okay," she huffed once sitting at the table. Nick's eyebrow rose. "So I might not be the most suave person in the world, but you gotta admit," she paused dramatically, "comic relief is always called for." He smiled, trying to fight the laughter as he replayed the incident in his head. At first he'd been concerned she'd actually fall and hurt herself, but it soon became obvious she was used to being clumsy. Her cheeks flushed. "Go ahead and laugh. I know you're fighting it, so just go ahead." He couldn't hold it in anymore. She tried to hide behind her menu, but it just wasn't working. He was so cute when he laughed like that. Completely natural. Completely unabashed. Finally, he got control of himself.
"You're right," he said. Her eyebrow rose. The laughter threatened to break again, but he had to do this with a straight face or he'd blow it. "You're not the most suave person in the world." He lost it near the end of the sentence, but she just shook her head.
"Go ahead. Laugh it up. You'll regret it later." She was thankful he finally pulled himself together when he did. She was about ready to leave so she could crawl under the sheets and cry. Never in her life had she been so embarrassed.
"I'm sorry." She shook her head.
"Don't be. I deserved that." She smiled as she met his eyes. "But don't even try to tell me you've never made a complete fool of yourself like that." He raised his hands in surrender.
"I'm the first to admit I'm clumsy at times." A long pause ensued as he constructed his next sentence. "I think it's cute." Her eyebrow rose. God, that was mean. He was really glad there was a table to sit under.
"Cute when I make an ass of myself, or cute when you do?" He just smiled. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He cleared his throat and shifted in his chair, knowing he was caught.
"So you have the day off, I take it?" She looked down at herself. Jeans and a sweater. Ponytail and heeled boots. Yeah, it was her day off.
"It's Saturday. Most of the world has the day off." He nodded.
"Not I."
"Do you have any days off, then?" she asked, leaning her elbows on the table to rest her chin on a hand.
"Uh, sometimes. All depends on what's going on." She nodded.
"Sounds like you picked an exciting line of work."
"And what about you?" he asked, reaching for his iced tea. She shook her head with a slight laugh.
"Paperwork, filing, and email. That's about it."
"Research?"
"Sometimes. Mell, Jason, and Ray – they were at the Café a couple days ago – they like to do their own research. I catch the stuff no one has time for." Nick nodded as she continued. "They're the partners. Sean was the other guy there. He's a paralegal as well." He wanted to ask, but didn't. Too bad she read it in him. "And no, I'm not involved with any of them."
"You're good." She smiled and her eyes dropped.
"I know." Another pause. "So tell me something about me."
"Excuse me?" She laughed.
"Tell me something about me. You profile people as a career."
"No, I process evidence," he corrected.
"Don't tell me you don't read people well. You have to." He opened his mouth, but nothing came out, and she continued anyway. "I mean, you question people, right?" He nodded. "Well, there you go. You have to be able to tell if they're lying, or if they're hiding something. If they're involved somehow."
"You're going to make a damn good lawyer." She blushed again. "But you blush too much. Give yourself away." She flushed a brighter shade of red, but her eyes twinkled at him. "You must be horrible at poker." That got her laughing.
***
"So what are your plans for the afternoon?" she asked, turning to him. He squinted in the afternoon sun and took a breath. What was she asking?
"Well…" His brain was working over-time. "I'll probably just go home and crash for a while until my pager goes off. Work. Sleep. Who knows?" He knew he sounded confused, but there was no way he could hide it. She nodded. "What about you?"
"I don't really have anything to do. I've got a couple movies rented. Might watch one. Relax." He nodded.
"Sounds like a good time." She smiled, nodding slightly. It was probably too soon to invite him over. He took a breath, but stopped the words, not wanting to come off too eager.
"I'll let you get going. I don't want to infringe on your nap time." He laughed, looking down at her. She smiled slightly and started to turn, but he reached out and caught her arm.
"Can I see you again?" She had the urge to jump up and down and squeal, but thankfully didn't. That would really make an ass out of her.
"I'd like that." He smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, expecting her to turn again and leave, but she just stood there. They looked at each other for a moment, and she took a breath, but let it out. "If you get bored, call me. I can always rewind and forget what happened at the beginning." He mulled that over. She had a subtle way of being really forward and he didn't know what to make of it. He'd never met anyone quite like her, and didn't know what to think.
"Well, I guess I could just catch the beginning the first time," he said slowly, watching her for signs of reproach. There was none. Only a hint of a smile, her lips curving upward just slightly, almost too slightly to notice. She nodded.
"I guess you could."
***
His mouth dropped open as he rounded the corner, her Rav still ahead of him, leading the way. Spanish Trails. He'd dreamed of living here someday, but knew it would never happen. She had to be rolling. The gate opened, and he followed her in, throwing a slight nod at the security guard as he passed. The guard returned it. They wound around past the pond and wove through the million-dollar homes. He couldn't squelch the nervousness growing in the pit of his stomach. If he saved every penny he made for the rest of his life, he could never afford a place like this. Mustering as much bullshit as he could, he tried to act nonchalant as he got out of his car and followed her up the walkway.
Once inside the door, she turned to him, looking like she was trying to say something, but couldn't figure out how exactly to put it.
"I feel like I should explain." He looked genuinely confused. She glanced around the house, and he caught the implication. She fidgeted with her fingers and avoided his eyes as she fumbled for words. He reached out and took her hands in his. She looked up at him.
"If it's that hard, you don't have to." She smiled slightly.
"I've made some mistakes in my life." His brow furled. He wasn't following. "I, uh, I…" She looked up at him and stopped. He shook his head. "There was this guy in college." She shook her head, staring at the ground. He shifted, not knowing where this was going. No more words. That couldn't be the explanation.
"Oh my God." He took a few steps backward, shaking his head. "You're married?!" She laughed slightly.
"Divorced." Her smile fell quickly, and a pained expression replaced it. "We were young and stupid. Thought we were in love, blah, blah." She paused and shook her head. "Needless to say it didn't work out, and I have some regrets." With a heavy sigh, she turned away from him, taking a few steps further into the front room. "A lot of regrets. I'm thinking about selling it."
"The house?" She nodded.
"Too many bad memories. He was a stockbroker. Never home." A sarcastic laugh. "Never came home, anyway. He called some one else's house home, evidently. We both knew it was over a long time before we actually, uh, split up, but…" she trailed off. "It still hurt." He didn't know whether to hold her or run. She decided for him, turning to face him but still avoiding his eyes. "Look, if it's too much for you, don't stay because you feel sorry for me. It wouldn't be the first time." That stung, and he took another step back as the words hit him like a ton of bricks. She had to have gone through hell.
"Kaylee—" he stopped mid-sentence. "I'm sorry." Confusion flashed across her face. She'd thought he could accept this, but now she wasn't so sure. "You don't have to explain or apologize." Her eyes met his. "People make mistakes. Everyone does. You're not the only one. There's nothing to be ashamed of." A timid smile formed on her lips, and silence fell over them. Finally, she cleared her throat. "Tea?" He smiled.
"Great." She nodded and disappeared, leaving him to take in the mansion he was standing in. It took his breath away. Elegant, yet still homey and comfortable. He'd been in a couple of homes here, for work, of course, and none seemed this lived-in. This was the first home for the rich he'd been in that he hadn't felt out of place or unworthy. She emerged a few minutes later and handed him a glass, watching him look around the room.
"Want a tour?" She'd read his mind, and he answered with a radiant smile. She was really good.
***
He'd tried all afternoon to keep his attention focused on the movie, but couldn't make himself. She was too distracting. She was the type that joined the movie as soon as it started – she was part of the action, one of the characters. He bit his lip every time she jumped, trying not to laugh. She was just too adorable, all curled up in the corner of the couch, and he couldn't stand it. But there was another distraction that he couldn't fight any more. Sleep. He hadn't slept in over 36 hours now, and it was catching up to him. Any moment now, his pager would be going off, and he would lose any chance of napping before he had to return to work. It was closing in, and he was losing all power fighting it. One moment he was just blinking, the next he was out cold.
The movie ended and she stood, taking the tape out of the VCR. She turned to him to ask him what he thought, but stopped, just smiling. He'd fallen asleep. She knew he would, since he'd been up for God knows how long. So she sat on the floor in front of him, watching him, intrigued. Quiet snores escaped him, making her smile widen. She reached up slowly, running her thumb over his cheek, watching him stir slightly, not waking. The television cast a glow in the darkened room, the light dancing off the walls and ceiling as the scenes changed. She just watched him sleep, taking in every inch of him. The shrill beeping of his pager made her jump, and she shook him slightly to wake him. His eyes opened slowly and closed again before he lurched into consciousness, sitting up suddenly.
"Oh, God. I'm so sorry, Kaylee." She laughed.
"Don't be. You deserved a nap." She wiggled his pager and handed it to him. "Work beckons."
"Man…" he moaned. She stood and turned the light on, watching him stand and stretch. "Well, I really do have to be going now." A disappointed smile. He reached out to rub her arm and looked down at her. "I'll call you when I get off work." She shook her head.
"No." His eyebrow rose. "Go home and sleep." He nodded, stifling a yawn. She watched as he dialed on his cell phone, looking down at her while he waited for an answer.
"Grissom. It's Nick." She caught bits and pieces of the conversation, knowing he'd have to leave. "Yeah, I'm there." He looked down and shook his head. "Gotta run," he confirmed. She nodded, and walked him to the door. "I'll call you," he promised, watching her smile. She watched him walk to his car, and took a breath.
"Nick?" He turned. "Be careful." He smiled at that, and nodded. She watched until she couldn't see his car anymore, and closed the door, smiling to herself as she turned the lock.