When Nick had informed Chelsea that he and Sara were leaving for the Gulf earlier than they planned, her expression was unreadable. Nick wasn't sure if he'd thrown her for a loop or disappointed her that he wasn't going to let her watch while he and Sara figured out how they felt about each other. She had gladly lent them the Miata for the trip and couldn't help but smile when Nick had informed her that they would be back in time for Fiona's third birthday party.

Nick and Sara were three hours into their drive to the condo that his parents had on South Padre Island and Sara could see him visibly relaxing the further they got from Dallas. The silence in the car was comfortable and Sara began wondering about Nick and his family and what had caused him to move away from them in the first place. Surely it wasn't just because his sisters were intent on getting him married off, they obviously loved him and he loved them. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice him glancing over at her with a wide grin.

"What are you thinking?" He chuckled softly.

She smiled at him. "Just wondering what made you leave Dallas."

Nick let out a sigh. "I needed a fresh start."

Sara didn't want to push him, but she was curious exactly what he meant by that. She tried to keep things light in case he didn't want to talk about it just then. "Not that your sisters wouldn't be reason enough." There was a teasing tone in her voice.

He chuckled. "There's more truth to that than you know."

Sara looked a little surprised. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I don't know if anyone in Vegas even knows this, but I was almost engaged once."

"What happened?" Sara queried, curious that she hadn't known this about Nick.

"When I was a CSI with the Dallas Police Department, I started seeing this gal that I'd known in high school. She was working as a lab tech and when my sisters caught wind of our relationship, they started pressuring us. Every chance they got they tried something to try and push things ahead, and for a while it worked. I even put a down payment on a ring before I had a chance to step back and think about how I really felt." Nick had a mixture of frustration and hurt on his face.

Sara voice was soft as she questioned him. "What made you step back?"

He smiled at her before he continued. "I went to a seminar in Vegas on forensic entomology for continuing education credit. I met Grissom and learned that there was an opening at the lab for a CSI. By the time the seminar was over, I'd applied for the job and decided that when I returned to Dallas that I was going to break things off with Becky. She didn't take it well and I ended up losing a very good friend."

A realization dawn on Sara and she turned toward Nick. "Are you afraid that the same thing might happen with us if we start seeing each other?" She bit her lip nervously.

He sighed as he looked at her and reached over and took her hand. "Yeah, I am afraid, but I also know that my feelings for you are changing and I want to see if seeing each other might be the right thing. I just don't want them to interfere in something that's between you and me. You're too important to me to lose your friendship if we decide that this isn't right for us."

Sara squeezed his hand. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm afraid too."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You didn't mention that there was a view." Sara turned and looked at Nick a bit incredulously.

He couldn't help but grin at her. "I wanted to see your face when you saw it."

"How long have your parents had this place?" Sara asked as she turned her attention back to the large windows overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.

"A few years. They used to bring us down here a couple times a year when I was a kid and they finally decided that they wanted a vacation place down here." Nick explained coming up behind her as she stood by the sliding glass door.

Sara opened the door and stepped out onto the deck. She closed her eyes and inhaled the salt air. "The smell reminds of Tamales Bay."

Nick placed his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her. "It's pretty isn't it?"

Sara opened her eyes and turned around smiling. "Yeah, it is. Thank you so much for inviting me to come to Texas." She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him.

Nick put his arms around her and held onto her for a few moments. "I'm glad you're here."

She stepped back and studied him with a mischievous grin.

Nick chuckled nervously. "What?"

She tilted her head slightly. "You said something this morning."

Nick mulled over all that he had said to her that day, but couldn't put his finger on what she might be referring to. "What did I say?"

Sara looked coy. "You don't remember?"

Nick furrowed his brow. "I said a lot of things."

Sara smirked, trying not to laugh. "I thought you'd remember this."

Nick looked sheepish. "Could you give me a clue?"

Sara pursed her lips and crossed her arms in front of her body. "You said it was something you wanted to try."

Nick started to chuckle and glanced at the ground before looking at her. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Sara looked amused. "You didn't mean to?"

Nick reached over and brushed her hair off of her face, gently tucking it behind her ear. "Sara, I don't want to force it, I want it to just happen."

"But you do want to kiss me." She wanted to clarify what she'd heard him say earlier.

He grinned. "Yes, I want to kiss you. Just not quite yet."

She fingered the buttons on his shirt. "Why not?"

He looked at her with a serious expression. "Because unless we decide that we want to see each other, I don't want to cross that line."

Sara shot him a doubtful expression and cut to the chase. "Nick, we've been dancing around this issue of seeing each other since last night. At some point we need to just stop talking and analyzing and just do something about it because I want to try this and I'm pretty damn sure you do too."

Nick was slightly taken aback at Sara's forcefulness. Usually, she would be the one analyzing every angle of a situation before acting, and here he was the one holding back when normally he'd barrel ahead without really thinking through all the consequences. His voice was soft. "You're right. I do want to try this. I'm just scared that I'll lose you."

Sara's hands rested flat against his chest. "I'm scared too, but we could miss out on something amazing if we don't try."

"You're right." Nick whispered, leaning towards her and softly touching his lips to hers.