Chapter 19
Grissom was still whistling when he emerged from the bathroom 10 minutes later. He was sure that his face bore the vacuous expression of the infatuated, but frankly, he didn't care. He'd finally kissed Sara! As long as he managed to clear that expression off his face by the time they got to work, he decided, he'd be fine.
Making his way into her living room, Grissom smiled. Sara was still trying to get her reading done; she stood with her back to him, searching a bookshelf for what he assumed would be another forensics journal. He quietly walked to her and laid a hand just above her hip, causing Sara to jump, then spin around to face him.
"Uh . . . hi," she mumbled cautiously.
" 'Uh, hi' yourself." Grissom allowed his other hand to join the first, and slowly pulled Sara toward him.
Sara, wide-eyed, brought her hands up to his chest and pushed back. "Uh, Grissom . . . I don't know if, um . . ." God, she was such a coward.
Grissom released her hips, but didn't step back. "As you assured me about yourself earlier, Sara, I'm not going to bite. I'm not even trying to get you into bed. I just want to touch you."
"Oh. I, um . . ." Sara stuttered, "I'm no good at all this." Grissom noticed that her hand was clenched in a fist. He knew exactly how she felt.
"I'm not either, really. So how 'bout we both just try to relax and stop hyperventilating," he joked.
Sara smiled. "And here's me, all out of paper lunch bags." Drawing a deep breath, she continued, "Ok, I'm better now – I even promise not to jump three feet in the air again if you touch me."
"You sure?" He moved his hands toward her again, waiting for her to pull away. She didn't, and Grissom's hands were soon at her waist again. Pulling her toward him, he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Surprised, Sara hugged him back. After a few seconds, she relaxed against him. This was so comfortable – she could stay this way forever.
Grissom dropped a kiss on her ear. "This feels good, Sara." It had been a long time since he had been this close to another human being. He'd forgotten how wonderful it felt to hold a warm body to his. They stood, just holding each other, for a few minutes until Grissom's watch beeped at him over Sara's shoulder.
"Damn, when did it get to be 7 o'clock? We've got to get going, Sara." Sara nodded, and went to retrieve their coats from the closet.
She sighed, wishing work didn't have to intrude on her life. But then, she reminded herself, other than Grissom, work was her life. She'd have to balance the two. Laughing inwardly, Sara snuck Grissom's car keys from his coat pocket into hers and returned to where he was waiting.
As he took his jacket from her, Grissom held out his hand. "Keys, Sara." Sara gave him her best "who, me?" look, but Grissom just smiled and looked pointedly at his open palm.
"No fair, how did you even notice?"
Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he led her toward the door. "Because I know you well enough, Sara, to know that you wouldn't give up that easily on your quest to drive my car." She raised an eyebrow. "And because my coat is significantly lighter when my keys aren't in the pocket." He held out his hand again. "Now, keys?"
Sara removed them from her pocket, but didn't place them in his hand. "You're so mean to me, Grissom. I mean, all I ask is ONE little thing, and you refuse me," she mock-ranted, ducking out from under his arm.
Grabbing her companion's arm, Sara proceeded to back Grissom up against the car. Leaning toward him, she repeated her performance from earlier in the night. "Come on, Grissom. Pleeease?" Her lips were almost against his, but rather than pulling away again, she softly touched them to his and, sure he could feel her smile, whispered, "Please, Grissom?"
Grissom kissed her back for a moment, then pulled back just enough to whisper back, "No. Now get in the car, Sneaky."
Muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "jerk," Sara climbed into the passenger seat.
