As Nick and Sara walked back to the hotel, shoes in hand, Sara began to get nervous. She realized that she'd packed with separate hotel rooms in mind, and as a result, she wasn't sure her pajamas were appropriate to wear in front of Nick. Not that they were indecent mind you, they just weren't something she wanted to parade around in while they were sharing a hotel room. Nick sensed that she was a little tense and he slung his arm around her shoulder as they neared the hotel. "You ok?"

She glanced at him and laughed nervously. "Uh, it's just that I didn't think we'd be sharing a hotel room, and how do I say this? Uh, I." Sara felt her words lodge in her throat. How in the world was she going to tell Nick that she was afraid he might find her pajamas a turn on without sounding a little too vain? Not that she would mind if he found her attractive enough to get turned on, but then that would just confuse things even further in this little charade they were playing. She just didn't want to force something that wasn't there.

Nick squeezed her shoulder. "Do you want to borrow a T-shirt?"

Sometimes there was an advantage to knowing someone so well that you really didn't have to complete your sentences. Although, it was also a little eerie. Sara just hoped Nick couldn't read all of her thoughts. She looked at him and chuckled. "Yeah, I would."

As they were coming off the beach, Kelly intercepted them. "Oh, you two lovebirds disappeared."

"Hi, Kelly." Sara hoped her smile looked genuine. It felt anything but. She had gotten her fill of Kelly at the dinner table. Kelly seemed to have only one tone of voice. A sickly sweet one that was getting on Sara's nerves.

"Well, you're just in time. We've got a bachelorette party to go to and Ben is just dying to talk to Nick." Kelly was gushing.

Nick tightened his hold on Sara's shoulder. "Actually, Kelly, Sara and I are tired. We drove most of the day after working all night and we both want to get some sleep before the wedding tomorrow evening." Nick interjected.

Kelly looked put out as she looked at Sara. "Chloe is going to be so disappointed. Can't you just come for one little drink?"

Sara glanced at Nick as if she needed his permission. The thought caused Sara a bit of pause. It felt so natural to be with Nick, she wondered what it would be like if it wasn't just a show for her friends, if they were truly dating each other. She didn't think she'd ever find out.

He smiled at her. "It's up to you, Sar. I'm tired though and I'd like to go to sleep."

Sara furrowed her brow for a moment. She really didn't want to go hang out with Kelly and the rest of the girls, what she really wanted to do was spend time with Nick, but she felt that she should since the whole reason she'd come to San Diego in the first place was for Chloe's wedding. She glanced over at Kelly. "I'll come for a little while."

Kelly let out a squeal that reminded Nick of the sound pigs make during a greased pig contest at the state fair. He chuckled. "Ok, I'll see you later then." He leaned over and kissed Sara on the cheek.

"What kind of kiss is that?" Kelly harrumphed. "You've got to kiss her so she'll miss you." She obviously felt that a much larger display of affection was in order.

Sara tried to swallow an embarrassed smile. She wanted to kiss Nick, but this wasn't the scenario that she'd had in mind. She wanted it to be real.

Nick contemplated her words for a moment as a mischievous smile spread across his face. "You know, Kelly, you're right." He turned to face Sara and reached out and cradled her face with his hands. His thumbs caressed her cheeks as he leaned his face toward hers. He whispered to her. "I'll miss you, Sar."

Sara sucked in her breath and moistened her lips with her tongue unconsciously. As Nick's lips softly touched hers, Sara felt as if electricity coursed through her body. She found her body had a will of its own as she responded to his kiss. She splayed a hand out against his chest and her other cupped his cheek.

They stepped apart looking a bit dazed as their eyes locked. Sara reached up and touched her lips as Kelly's squeal broke the moment. "Now that was a kiss." Kelly grabbed Sara's arm and pulled her off toward the bar where the rest of the girls were waiting.

Sara just nodded numbly as Kelly led her away, glancing back at Nick who now had a big grin etched across his face.

It wasn't until Kelly had repeated herself a third time, that her words registered in Sara's mind. "If that's what a kiss from him does to you, I wonder what he's like in bed."

Sara couldn't believe Kelly's crass comment. Ok, actually she could, only she still wasn't about to dignify it with a comment. Sara looked her directly in the eye. "I'm not interested in discussing my sex life with you, Kelly."

Kelly suddenly realized that she'd overstepped her boundaries. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sara, he's just so gorgeous and I can't believe you landed him."

This girl certainly had a way of putting her foot in her mouth. Sara just chuckled softly. Of course this girl couldn't understand. Her mind was still stuck in the mentality she had in college. She always seemed to be arm candy for some guy. It was too bad she hadn't bothered to work on who she was inside. If she had, she'd probably have quality guys lining up around the block to be with her.

The rest of the girls were waiting just inside the bar. Chloe grinned as Sara approached. "Oh, Sara! I'm so glad you came. I thought for sure you and Nick had snuck off somewhere for a little romantic tryst, but then I wouldn't blame you, he is gorgeous."

Sara smiled. If they only knew the truth, she'd be the butt of their jokes.

Kelly started to gush. "You should have seen Nick kiss her goodbye. You'd think they wouldn't be seeing each other for weeks instead of a couple of hours."

A faint shade of pink began to creep up Sara's cheeks. She had hoped that she could grab a drink or two with the girls and then go up to the room and get some sleep. But as Kelly began to describe the kiss in detail, Sara found herself the center of attention. One drink turned to two, then three, and before she knew it, several hours had gone by.

Meanwhile, Nick had gone up to the room and taken a shower and put on a clean pair of boxers and a T-shirt. He decided that he'd watch a little TV and wait up for Sara. He settled himself on the bed to watch a marathon of 'Walker Texas Ranger' thinking Sara would be back soon. After the first hour, he started to drift off to sleep, and by the time Sara returned shortly after midnight, Nick was sound asleep on top of the comforter with the TV still blaring away.

Sara was drunk. She hadn't drank that much in a long, long time. She had intended to have one drink, but lost count after the fourth. She stumbled into the room and kicked her shoes off. The blaring of the TV was giving her a headache and she smacked at a few buttons on the front of it until it turned off. All she wanted to do was crawl in bed and go to sleep. She had a vague recollection that there was a reason why she should put her pajamas on, but she couldn't seem to figure out how to make her fingers work long enough to open her suitcase to look for them, and besides, she wasn't sure what her suitcase even looked like right now. So she simply stepped out of her dress and crawled on top of the bed in nothing but her panties, snuggling up next to Nick and falling asleep.