Jilaine's shift ended at 5:30. She was exhausted, but excited. Not to mention hungry. She spent a couple of minutes in front of the mirror perfecting her hair, then walked down to the lab. "Ready to go?" she asked with a confident smile.
"Oh God, Jilaine, I'm sorry," Greg answered, standing up from a microscope. "Grissom and Nick just loaded me down and I promised I'd finish this before I left."
"No biggie, I can wait," she offered.
"It's going to take a couple of hours."
"Oh." The disappointed look on her face broke his heart. He had figured that cancelling wouldn't bother her any, since she had probably only said yes to keep from hurting his feelings. There was no way a woman like her would be attracted to him.
"Can we go tomorrow? I take rainchecks."
"Yeah, sure." She stared at her shoes as she spoke. "I'm pretty tired anyway."
"Yeah." He watched her leave and let out a heavy sigh as he turned back to his processing.
Jilaine entered her apartment a few minutes later, locking the door behind her and staring at the boxes piled up in the living room. She had never felt so alone. After growing up in a small town in Wisconsin and being surrounded by all her friends and family for years, Vegas felt so big and so lonely. She kicked her shoes off and sat on the couch, unpacking a box at a time until she fell asleep with one in her lap.
The shrill sound of her cell phone ringing to a Michael Jackson song hit her ear drums like an alarm clock. Her eyes half open, she reached into her pocket and grabbed the phone. "Hello?" she mumbled.
"Jilaine?" Greg's voice asked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I can -"
"No, it's okay." She sat up and rubbed her eyes, moving the box from her lap to the floor. "Do you need something?"
"No, not really." He paused, then added, "And I got this number from the work listing, I promise I'm not stalking you or anything." She grinned, but before she could reply he continued. "I was just wondering if you still wanted that breakfast."
"What time is it?" she asked, glancing at her watchless wrist.
"Almost nine." She let out a huge yawn and he laughed quietly. "It was just a goofy idea, we can wait until another day."
"No, I want to." She glanced down at her wrinkled khakis and let out a groan. "But I need some time to change."
"No, don't worry about it. I'm in my pajamas already. I could just go get something and bring it to you." She looked around the room and groaned again.
"This place is a mess, Greg."
"I don't care." With a shake of her head, she gave him her order and directions, then changed into her pajama pants and a camisole, making sure her hair was pulled back and her makeup was cleaned up before he got there. When there was a knock at the door, she hopped up and, after a pause to maintain her composure, opened it slightly. "Hey," he grinned sheepishly, holding a McDonald's bag and wearing plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt.
"Come on in," she greeted and opened the door wider. He kicked off his sandals and walked around the living room slowly to take in the view.
"This is a great place," he said as he looked around. When he walked past her, she snatched the McDonald's bag and sat on the couch. "Hey!" He pounced onto the couch next to her and tickled her sides furiously. "You stole my breakfast!"
"I just want half!" she squeaked between giggles.
"Oh. Well, I guess I should stop tickling you then," he said, his hands slowly pulling away from her sides. "Nah, I don't think I want to."
"Aah!" she squealed, grabbing for his hands and squirming to get away from him. During all the pushing and tickling that ensued, they somehow ended up in an awkward position. She was laying down and he was lying on top of her, holding her wrists up on either side of her head to prevent her from stopping him, but essentially had stopped himself. "You must be a kinky one, Greg," she grinned after they recognized their positions.
"I can be," he shrugged. "Depends on the girl."
"What about a little Wisconsin girl who somehow got sent to work in the city of sin?"
"Is she kinky?" he asked, staring right into her eyes.
"Can be. Depends on the girl." He smirked, then caught what she had said.
"The girl?!" She cracked up as he raised an eyebrow.
"I was just messing with you."
"I was just going to ask if you had pictures," he grinned.
