Nick felt a little like he'd been scorched reentering the earth's atmosphere after spending the shift working with Grissom. It wasn't that he had gotten an interrogation about his date with Sara; it was the exact opposite in fact. The anticipation of the questions that never came had him completely on edge. By the time they got back to the lab he was more than grateful to hole up in one of the labs to examine some fibers that they had collected while they'd processed the crime scene.
He was concentrating so much that he almost jumped out of his chair when he heard someone whispering in his ear. "What are you doing after shift?"
"You scared the crap out of me, Sara." He looked at her a bit wide eyed trying to get his heart rate down to a normal level.
She smirked at him. "Well that's a switch from last night."
He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry; I just didn't hear you come in."
Sara looked amused. "You know, you're cute when you're nervous."
He smirked. "Who said I was nervous?" He raised an eyebrow in challenge.
"Jumpy." She looked smug and leaned her hip against the workstation the microscope was on.
He smiled. "Ok, so Grissom's got me a little on edge."
She reached over and played at the collar of his button up shirt. "So did he give you the third degree about our date?" A smile spread across her face as she thought about the evening they had spent together.
He shook his head, a bit perplexed. "That's just the thing, he didn't say a word."
Sara furrowed her brow. "Are you serious?" She was a little surprised considering the look Grissom had on his face when he'd seen her in that dress.
He chuckled softly and nodded. "You look disappointed."
She crossed her arms in front of her body and pursed her lips together before responding. "I'm not disappointed. I'm just surprised that's all."
Nick wasn't sure he believed her completely. "I saw how he looked at you in that dress, Sara. He was kicking himself for being stupid."
"I don't care. He waited too long and I've moved on." She began to smile at him as she reached over and began to finger his collar again.
"I didn't say you didn't move on." He grinned at her. "I just said that you looked damn sexy in that dress and any man that wasn't me last night was jealous." There was a mischievous tone in his voice.
"You didn't answer my question." Sara had a flirtatious tone in her voice.
Nick furrowed his brow. "What question was that?"
She leaned towards him and whispered in his ear. "What are you doing after shift?"
He looked at her with a sexy grin on his face. "What did you have in mind?"
Neither one of them noticed that Catherine had appeared in the doorway. "Am I interrupting?"
Sara stepped back and smiled a bit too widely. "Uh, no. I, uh." She furrowed her brow thoughtfully and glanced at Nick before turning back towards Catherine. "Uh, I need to go check on something I left with Jacqui."
As Sara quickly left, Catherine turned and gave Nick a smug smile. "So how was your date?"
He smiled widely. "I said I wasn't going to give a play by play."
Catherine deadpanned. "That's when Greg was in the room. Spill it."
Nick chuckled softly. "We had a good time, Catherine."
"And you're going out again." She added for him.
He nodded with a grin. "Yeah, we are. I didn't think she'd ever go out with me."
Catherine gave him a knowing smile. "Nicky, you've liked her for a long time."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" He wasn't sure why he was protesting so much.
Catherine let out a deep throaty laugh. "Because it's true." She put her hand on his shoulder and looked at him with a more serious expression. "I was actually coming to see how working with Grissom went."
Nick just shook his head. "Fine. A little too fine if you ask me."
Catherine looked amused. "Nick, he's a professional. What did you expect; to get thrown to the wolves or something?"
Nick tried to restrain a smirk. "Something like that."
Catherine gave him a motherly look. "He knows it's too late, Nick. Besides, I think Sara really likes you."
Nick looked a little anxious as a grin spread across his face. "You think so?"
It was all Catherine could to not laugh. "Yeah, I do. I think the two of you are good for each other. You're different enough to balance each other out."
Nick's grin continued to grow. "Thanks, Cath."
She smiled. "Hey, I'm having a barbecue on the Fourth of July, you and Sara are invited if you want to come."
Nick furrowed his brow for a moment. "Uh, we kind of made plans to go watch the fireworks together."
"Nick, the fireworks don't start until after dark." There was a teasing tone in her voice. "Besides, Lindsey would love to see you."
"I'll talk to Sara." Just the mention of her name made him smile.
As Catherine turned to leave, a smile spread across her face and she let out a soft chuckle.
Nick didn't run into Sara again until shift was over. He had been so focused on getting the fibers analyzed that he'd lost track of time, and now as he entered the locker room, he saw her standing there next to her locker. "Hey." His smile widened as she glanced up.
Sara's lips curled upward. "Hey." She grabbed her purse out of her locker and shut the door. "Are you taking off?"
He nodded. "Yeah." He opened his locker and stowed his gear. "You never got to finish telling me what was on your mind earlier." He winked at her as closed his locker.
Her smile was a bit mischievous. "Walk me out."
"Ok." He gave her a curious grin and followed as she headed towards the parking lot.
As they neared her vehicle, she slowed her pace and glanced over at him. "You know, I had a really good time with you."
"I'm glad." He grinned at her as she unlocked her Denali and then turned around to face him.
"I was hoping maybe we could just hang out for a while this morning." She smiled at him a bit hopefully.
He nodded, his grin widening even further. "I'd like that."
"Good." She stepped towards him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. As she stepped back, her smile revealed the gap in her front teeth. "I'll see you at my apartment then."
Nick just nodded, a dopey grin firmly etched on his face.
From across the parking lot, Warrick watched the interaction from inside his vehicle and just shook his head as he let out a low chuckle.