Friday night.
Gil entered the reception room nervously. He didn't know why he had let Catherine talk him into this. It was insane. He should turn around right now and leave before anyone saw him. He had made up his mind to do just that when he was spotted by Sara.
"Grissom, you made it." she greeted him from across the hall.
"Yeah," he replied as she came up to him. "What are you doing here?"
"Catherine didn't tell you?" Gil shook his head. "I offered to volunteer, because, well, I couldn't resist the opportunity of seeing all of you dressed up."
"Great," he said with little enthusiasm.
"There is another reason, too," she added with a coy little smile.
He looked around the room for Catherine. "What's that?" he asked disinterestedly.
She winked at him. "You'll see."
Gil grimaced. Catherine owed him big time for this. He was just trying to think of an excuse to make a run for it when he realised Sara was saying something.
"Excuse me?" he asked blankly.
"I just said that you look good."
"What? Oh, thankyou." She seemed to be waiting for something else, so he offered up a, "You look nice, too," and was grateful when she accepted it.
"Well, I'd better get back to it then. I'm signing up bidders for later on."
"Uh huh."
Sara stood staring at him and when she realised that that was the best response she was going to get she frowned slightly, tossed a nonchalant, 'See ya' over her shoulder and disappeared into the growing crowd.
Gil didn't even notice her departure. He was too busy being frozen to the spot with fear of making a fool out of himself.
~x~
"I can't believe you did that to me," Nick accused again as Grissom left the to see what was keeping Catherine. He was sitting at a table with Warrick and his bidder, Fiona, who were getting along famously, and Sara. There would be six of them when Grissom came back with Catherine. Greg was at another table, trying to make the most of his evening with a 70 plus year old woman who kept squeezing his knee.
Sara sighed. "I didn't realise I was doing it to you. I thought I was bidding on . . .someone else."
"I had a chance to spend an evening with a gorgeous woman with money to throw around, and instead I got stuck with you."
"Stuck with me? You'd better fix that tone, mister, or you're in for one hell of a long night."
Nick took a long gulp of wine. "Sorry – it didn't come out quite the way I'd intended."
"You know this isn't exactly a barrel of laughs for me, either. I've got half a mind to complain to the organisers about making the bidder numbers more visible."
"You really weren't bidding on me?" he asked.
"No, you dolt. I wasn't."
Nick laughed. "Well, that's gotta blow. Spending all that money on the wrong bachelor just because you weren't paying attention."
"Shut up. It was a different system than I'm used to."
"Really?" Nick leant across the table. "Just how many of these auctions have you been to?"
"Never mind – but I believe the most reasonable way to run an auction would be for the bachelors to come out one at a time and the auctioneer to accept bids like that. Not having you all standing on the stage and calling out lot numbers so that you don't know who you're bidding on. That just smacks of ineptitude."
Nick rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It's all for charity, so it doesn't really matter, does it?"
Sara refused to be placated. "It's the principle."
They fell into silence as Warrick and Fiona chatted animatedly, and did their best to ignore each other as they waited for Grissom and Catherine to join them. A short time later Gil reappeared. "No one knows where she is," he frowned as she sat down at the table. "Did you see her during the auction?" he asked Sara.
"No, but then she would probably have been working behind the scenes."
"What about you, Nick? Have you seen her?"
Nick shook his head.
Gil slapped the table in frustration. "So we don't know if she's even here."
"She's here, Griss. Don't you worry about that," Warrick assured him.
"How can you be so sure? I didn't turn up to this thing and make an idiot out of myself for nothing. Especially if she's not even here to see it."
"You wanted her to see you make an idiot out of yourself?" Nick questioned with a smirk playing around his lips.
Gil glared at him. "You know what I mean," he mumbled.
"Gris, relax. She somehow managed to bid on you, right?"
Gil grunted in agreement, and they fell into nonsensical chitchat and sipped their wine. Warrick was the first to notice the woman making her way determinedly to their table. "Ah – the elusive lady herself," he commented as she arrived.
Catherine flashed him a smile. "Sorry – I got held up with some administration stuff. But I'm here now, and ready to enjoy the company of my newest acquisition."
Nick and Warrick laughed, Sara scowled, but Gil's tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of his mouth. Catherine was wearing a very long, very slinky, very low cut black dress that allowed him to see more skin than he ever did during working hours. Two splits up the sides only accentuated the fact that she had amazingly long, incredibly tanned legs. Black high heels, which at some point in his life he had heard referred to as, 'come fuck me' shoes completed her ensemble. Realising that he was staring he pulled his eyes away from the vision before him and gulped down the rest of his wine.
"Drink?" he managed to choke out.
"That'd be nice, Gil, thank you."
TBC
Gil entered the reception room nervously. He didn't know why he had let Catherine talk him into this. It was insane. He should turn around right now and leave before anyone saw him. He had made up his mind to do just that when he was spotted by Sara.
"Grissom, you made it." she greeted him from across the hall.
"Yeah," he replied as she came up to him. "What are you doing here?"
"Catherine didn't tell you?" Gil shook his head. "I offered to volunteer, because, well, I couldn't resist the opportunity of seeing all of you dressed up."
"Great," he said with little enthusiasm.
"There is another reason, too," she added with a coy little smile.
He looked around the room for Catherine. "What's that?" he asked disinterestedly.
She winked at him. "You'll see."
Gil grimaced. Catherine owed him big time for this. He was just trying to think of an excuse to make a run for it when he realised Sara was saying something.
"Excuse me?" he asked blankly.
"I just said that you look good."
"What? Oh, thankyou." She seemed to be waiting for something else, so he offered up a, "You look nice, too," and was grateful when she accepted it.
"Well, I'd better get back to it then. I'm signing up bidders for later on."
"Uh huh."
Sara stood staring at him and when she realised that that was the best response she was going to get she frowned slightly, tossed a nonchalant, 'See ya' over her shoulder and disappeared into the growing crowd.
Gil didn't even notice her departure. He was too busy being frozen to the spot with fear of making a fool out of himself.
~x~
"I can't believe you did that to me," Nick accused again as Grissom left the to see what was keeping Catherine. He was sitting at a table with Warrick and his bidder, Fiona, who were getting along famously, and Sara. There would be six of them when Grissom came back with Catherine. Greg was at another table, trying to make the most of his evening with a 70 plus year old woman who kept squeezing his knee.
Sara sighed. "I didn't realise I was doing it to you. I thought I was bidding on . . .someone else."
"I had a chance to spend an evening with a gorgeous woman with money to throw around, and instead I got stuck with you."
"Stuck with me? You'd better fix that tone, mister, or you're in for one hell of a long night."
Nick took a long gulp of wine. "Sorry – it didn't come out quite the way I'd intended."
"You know this isn't exactly a barrel of laughs for me, either. I've got half a mind to complain to the organisers about making the bidder numbers more visible."
"You really weren't bidding on me?" he asked.
"No, you dolt. I wasn't."
Nick laughed. "Well, that's gotta blow. Spending all that money on the wrong bachelor just because you weren't paying attention."
"Shut up. It was a different system than I'm used to."
"Really?" Nick leant across the table. "Just how many of these auctions have you been to?"
"Never mind – but I believe the most reasonable way to run an auction would be for the bachelors to come out one at a time and the auctioneer to accept bids like that. Not having you all standing on the stage and calling out lot numbers so that you don't know who you're bidding on. That just smacks of ineptitude."
Nick rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It's all for charity, so it doesn't really matter, does it?"
Sara refused to be placated. "It's the principle."
They fell into silence as Warrick and Fiona chatted animatedly, and did their best to ignore each other as they waited for Grissom and Catherine to join them. A short time later Gil reappeared. "No one knows where she is," he frowned as she sat down at the table. "Did you see her during the auction?" he asked Sara.
"No, but then she would probably have been working behind the scenes."
"What about you, Nick? Have you seen her?"
Nick shook his head.
Gil slapped the table in frustration. "So we don't know if she's even here."
"She's here, Griss. Don't you worry about that," Warrick assured him.
"How can you be so sure? I didn't turn up to this thing and make an idiot out of myself for nothing. Especially if she's not even here to see it."
"You wanted her to see you make an idiot out of yourself?" Nick questioned with a smirk playing around his lips.
Gil glared at him. "You know what I mean," he mumbled.
"Gris, relax. She somehow managed to bid on you, right?"
Gil grunted in agreement, and they fell into nonsensical chitchat and sipped their wine. Warrick was the first to notice the woman making her way determinedly to their table. "Ah – the elusive lady herself," he commented as she arrived.
Catherine flashed him a smile. "Sorry – I got held up with some administration stuff. But I'm here now, and ready to enjoy the company of my newest acquisition."
Nick and Warrick laughed, Sara scowled, but Gil's tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of his mouth. Catherine was wearing a very long, very slinky, very low cut black dress that allowed him to see more skin than he ever did during working hours. Two splits up the sides only accentuated the fact that she had amazingly long, incredibly tanned legs. Black high heels, which at some point in his life he had heard referred to as, 'come fuck me' shoes completed her ensemble. Realising that he was staring he pulled his eyes away from the vision before him and gulped down the rest of his wine.
"Drink?" he managed to choke out.
"That'd be nice, Gil, thank you."
TBC