I couldn't believe that I had just kissed Sara. As I pulled back I looked at her face to gage her reaction. A smile seemed to spread across her face as she looked into my eyes. I had to ask though. I didn't want us getting caught up in a moment that maybe one of us would regret. "Is it ok that I did that?" My throat seemed to constrict as I waited for her to answer. She simply nodded and leaned in to kiss me. She tasted faintly of cotton candy. We'd had some at Disneyland. It was then as her lips were joined to mine that I started to laugh. Sara pulled back and looked at me a bit perplexed. It was then that she caught on to the joke.

We were still wearing our Mickey Mouse ears. What a sight that must be. We dissolved into laughter again.

After our laughter subsided, she looked at me and smiled. "Nick, can I ask you something?"

I nodded at her wondering why she even had to ask. "Yeah, what is it?"

She glanced away for a moment and an expression formed on her face similar to that when she was trying to solve an equation. She looked up again. "Why did you drive four hours to LA to see me? I mean, I know I didn't call you back right away, and I know you said you needed to make sure I was ok. But why did you need to? Warrick waited for me to call him back."

She had me, and she knew it. I think Warrick knew why, he'd even asked even though I'd denied it. I smiled at her. "Sara, I don't think I realized until I got here that the reason why I needed to see you was because I'm falling for you."

She smiled. "Good."

I raised a curious eyebrow at her.

She chuckled. "I'm glad I'm not the only one falling. I wondered why I was so glad that it was you that was coming to see me. It took me a while to figure it out."

We just sat there looking at each other with dopey grins on our faces. Grins that looked especially silly considering we still hadn't taken those damn mouse ears off. I quickly reached over and pulled Sara's off her head and took mine off as well.

She giggled. "Hey, I know it's late, but do you want to go for a walk on the beach?"

I nodded. I could think of nothing else I'd like better. Well actually, that wasn't completely true, but I was not about to jump into bed with Sara. We had plenty of time for that someday off in the future. For now, I just wanted to luxuriate in the feeling that she returned my feelings, and maybe kiss her a few more times before we went to sleep.

We kicked off our shoes and socks and walked out the back door and down the deck steps onto the beach. I reached for her hand and smiled when she interlocked her fingers with mine. We strolled along the beach for a while, our eyes adjusting to the dim light of the stars and moon. I glanced down at her and smiled. "Sara, do you really mean it? Are you falling for me?"

She chuckled and stopped me, looking up at me with a serious expression on her face. "Nick, I would never joke about something like that. Yes, I am falling for you."

I smiled. "Good."

She smacked my arm and laughed.

"It's good that we're falling at the same time. I'd hate to do this alone." I chuckled and released her hand to put my arm around her shoulder.

She put her arm around my waist and we walked that way for a little while; the waves teasing our steps.

We finally decided we'd better head back to the house. It had been a long day and we were both tired. As we neared the house I stopped and pulled Sara against me. She smiled as she looked up at me. I leaned down and kissed her tenderly. Damn she was beautiful and she tasted good.

We broke the kiss and ascended the steps into the house. Sara turned and looked at me as she prepared the coffee maker to go off in the morning. "Nick, what is this going to look like when we get back to Vegas?"

I looked at her. I knew it was a serious question. I knew it was a question not to take lightly. I took a deep breath and met her gaze. "I think we'll have to figure it out as we go along. We've known each other a while, it's not like we have tons of deep dark secrets we need to share. You already know mine."

She smiled at me.

I trusted her. When I had told her about being molested when I was nine, it broke her heart. She had become one of my closest friends. She had shared some things she had endured at the hands of some old boyfriends and I had never wanted to kill someone more for hurting someone I cared about.

She let out a deep breath. "Yeah. I guess we just take it slow and see what happens."

I grinned at her. "Seems like the best thing. I don't want to rush anything and I don't think you do either, as tempting as that sounds."

Sara chuckled. "Nice to know you find me attractive."

I waggled my eyebrows at her. "I certainly do."

She walked over to me and laced her fingers behind my head.

I leaned down and kissed her lingeringly. As we broke the kiss we both smiled. I let out a deep breath. "I think we both need to get some rest, it's been a long day. A great day, but a long day."

She smiled at me. "Night, Nick. I'll see you in the morning." She leaned up and pressed her lips against mine again.

I snaked my arms around her waist and enjoyed the taste of Sara. As we broke the kiss, I rested my forehead against hers. "Night, Sara. Sleep well. See you in the morning."

We walked down the hallway together, parting at the end to enter our separate rooms. I fell asleep rather quickly and dreamed of Sara and how good her lips tasted.