Sara had a difficult time sleeping. Her mind was in overdrive. Nick Stokes was taking her out on a date. When she had sufficiently tossed and turned, she finally got up and showered. She let her hair dry into its natural curl, and she opted to forego makeup. She didn't really wear it much anyway. Nick had said to dress warm. As she perused her closet, that thought threw her for a loop. Wasn't this Nick Stokes, ladies man? She would have thought he would have suggested dressing up and going clubbing. Well, he knew she wasn't really into that. She smiled. She finally decided on a comfortably broken in pair of button fly Levis, a snug T-shirt, and a Harvard sweatshirt. She pulled a Carhart jacket out of the back of the closet to top it off. Now she just needed to find her boots. As she searched around the bottom of her closet, she heard a knock at her door. Boots in hand, she walked to the front door and looked through the peep- hole. She smiled; it was Nick a nervous expression on his face as he looked at the doormat. He looked up and grinned at her as the door opened. He was similarly attired. Only he wore a sweatshirt with his fraternity symbol on it.

"Hey, Nick, come in." Sara opened the door wide. "I just have to put my boots on."

He continued to grin at her as she sat down on the couch and put her boots on. "Did you eat anything?"

She looked up at him with a quizzical expression, "Should I have?"

He shook his head, "No. And don't worry, everything is vegetarian friendly."

A grin spread across Sara's face revealing the gap in her front teeth, "Thanks, Nicky." She finished tying her boots and stood up. "Ok, I'm ready. Where are you taking me?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out, Sara Sidle," Nick teased.

She grinned back, "Is that right?" She stepped toward him, a mischievous grin on her face.

Nick chuckled at her as they walked out the front door. Sara locked it behind them. As they walked toward his Tahoe, Nick took her hand. Sara glanced over at him with a surprised, but pleased look on her face. She squeezed his hand, reassuring him that it was ok with her. Nick opened the passenger side of the Tahoe for her and then walked around to the driver's side. As he started the ignition, country music blasted out from the radio.

Sara chuckled and grinned, "Do all Texans come preprogrammed to listen to country music?"

Nick flashed her a grin and in his distinct Texan drawl he replied, "It's in our DNA."

Sara laughed at him and swatted at his arm.

"Seriously though, Sara, if you don't like it we can listen to something else." Nick offered.

Sara shook her head, "No, I want to get to know the real Nick Stokes, and this is part of the package deal."

Nick chuckled, "Ok, well I'll make it a little easier on you. If you look in the glove box, you'll find a couple of CDs. I think you'll like Sarah Evans or Faith Hill."

Sara looked over the selection of CDs, "Hey, I've heard this song before. I like 'I Hope You Dance'."

Nick smiled at Sara as she sang along with the song as they threaded their way outside the city limits of Vegas and into the hills. They finally pulled off onto a dirt road and headed toward a bluff that overlooked the city. Nick pulled the Tahoe to a stop and turned the engine off. He turned toward Sara and smiled, "We're here."

Sara grinned, "Where is here?"

"Just a place I like to come and think." Nick replied opening the door and stepping out of the SUV. He opened the back door and pulled out a cooler and a blanket.

Sara had stepped out of the Tahoe and made her way around to where Nick was placing the cooler on the ground and spreading the blanket out. "So, what's for dinner, Nicky?"

Nick grinned at her as she settled herself on the blanket. He started pulling containers out of the cooler and then handed Sara a plate, "Well, I thought it would be safe if we had a little Mediterranean fare, hummus, pita, cucumber salad, tatziki sauce, and spannikopita. I even got baklava for dessert."

Sara looked at Nick with a bit of disbelief, "You didn't make this did you?"

Nick chuckled, "No, Sar, I went to a Greek deli. It was all I could do to convince them I didn't want lamb."

Sara started eating, "This is really good."

"I'm glad you like it," Nick replied, helping himself.

They ate, talking about work, their families, their childhoods. After they finished eating, Nick stowed the food back in the cooler. Sara looked over at Nick, "What's next on the agenda, Mr. Stokes?"

He looked at her and gave her a shy grin, "I thought we could just look at the stars. You never get to see them in Vegas because there are so many lights."

Sara chuckled, "Are you going to tell me what the constellations are? I never did take astronomy." She scooted over toward Nick so she was no longer across from him, but right next to him.

"Sure, Sar," Nick turned and grinned at her. He put his arm around her shoulder and began pointing out the stars to her. Sara slid her arms around Nick's waist. Nick continued pointing to different constellations.

Sara snuggled closer, "Do the constellations look the same in Texas?"

Nick chuckled, "Yeah,"

He turned to look at her, his hand cupping the side of her face. He looked into her eyes in the moonlight. She licked her lips unconsciously as she looked back into his eyes. He smiled at her and leaned toward her, slowly. She felt his breath on her lips. As his lips touched hers, she smiled. The kiss was soft and sweet. Nick pulled away and searched Sara's face. She leaned up and kissed him. He smiled and responded by pulling her closer to him. Her arms snaked up his chest and around his neck. Nick deepened the kiss, tasting her lips over and over. Sara parted her lips slightly and her tongue began teasing Nick. A moan escaped Nick's lips as he parted them. Sara's tongue thrust into Nick's mouth and found itself in an intimate dance with his. Her arms tightened around his neck and she began to lean back onto the blanket, pulling Nick with her. One of Nick's hands tangled in her hair and the other gripped her side. Sara's fingers ran through Nick's hair. Their legs intertwined. All rational thought seemed to leave them as they continued kissing and touching. Sara's hands found their way under Nick's shirt in search of bare skin. Nick's hand found its way under Sara's shirt, caressing her stomach with his fingers. Sara's fingers dipped below the waste band of Nick's jeans. Nick began unbuttoning Sara's button fly Levis.

The seriousness of where they were headed started sinking in, and they simultaneously pulled away from each other panting.

Nick looked down at Sara, "I'm sorry, Sara, we should stop."

Sara nodded trying to catch her breath, "Yeah." She buttoned her jeans.

Nick lay back on the blanket, one arm above his head, the other resting on his stomach.

Sara looked over at him smiling. She reached over and grabbed his hand pulling it to rest between them, "This might be safer."

Nick grinned, "Yeah."

They lay there for a while looking at the stars, holding hands. Finally, Nick rolled on his side to face Sara, "We should head back."

"Ok," She rolled onto her side, and leaned in and kissed him. She felt him smile into the kiss and then break it, placing his fingers on her lips.

He looked at her with a serious expression, "I don't want to start something we can't finish, Sar."

"Who says we can't finish it, Nicky." Her voice was seductive and there was an edge of hurt in it.

"Sar, I care about you too much to push things too quickly. Let's take it slow and see where it takes us, ok." Nick replied, tracing her features with his fingers.

"Ok." She leaned in a kissed him again, softly. She pulled back and grinned at him.

Nick stood up and offered her his hand to help her up. They packed up the Tahoe and headed back to Vegas.