Sara sauntered into the Thai restaurant a few moments after Nick and it appeared that he was already in the middle of ordering for them.
"Extra tofu in that please, and could you make it two stars?" He hadn't noticed that she was behind him until she put a hand on his arm.
"Actually, make that three stars." She grinned at Nick. "I like a little extra spice sometimes."
He chuckled and looked at her as if he was filing the image away in the recesses of his mind to pull out at a later date. "I'll keep that in mind." He turned back to the petite Asian woman behind the counter. "I'd also like some Panang Curry with chicken, make that three stars."
"You want rice?" The woman behind the counter must have been no more than five feet tall and her delicate features were still beautiful even though she must have been in her late fifties.
Nick nodded. "Yes, and soup too." He glanced over at Sara and grinned again. "I thought I lost you back at that light."
She smirked. "Well some of us see the yellow light and slow down."
"Yellow isn't red." He teased back.
Sara arched one of her brows. "Still, Mr. Andretti, not everything is a race."
"I prefer Fitapaldi." He smirked in return, looking much more laid back that he usually did while they were at work.
"That will be about ten minutes." The smiling woman noted the flirtatious banter between Nick and Sara and excused herself to the back room near the kitchen.
Sara shook her head as she tried to keep from laughing at him. "So what did you order?"
"Big chunks of tofu. Plain." He tried to look serious, but held it together for just a fraction of a second before he cracked a smile.
Sara snorted. "Even I don't like plain tofu." She arched one of her brows at him doubtfully.
He nudged her with his elbow and smiled, his voice a bit softer. "Eggplant delight with extra tofu for you."
She smiled warmly at him, wondering how he had the ability to put her so at ease. "So do you spend all your nights off working on your house?" Sara queried him, curious to know what he did do on his nights off.
"No." He shook his head and grinned. "Sometimes I cruise the aisles at Home Depot looking for hot women to pick up."
It took her a moment to register what he was saying and as her cheeks began to flush slightly she started to laugh. "Right." She knew he was teasing, but there was a part of her that suddenly wished that he'd really see her that way, and not just as a coworker.
He nudged her with his elbow again. "So what are these hobbies of yours?" He looked at her expectantly.
"Huh?" She glanced at him a bit perplexed since her thoughts had been wandering.
He chuckled. "These hobbies of yours that have nothing to do with law enforcement; what are they?"
She smirked a bit embarrassed. "Well, Pilates for one, but I'm not very good at it yet."
"Staying fit is good." Nick unconsciously glanced down her body noting that she had seemed to have toned up a bit.
Sara smacked his arm. "Stop checking me out." She couldn't keep her smile restrained as she returned the favor.
Nick's eyebrows shot up as he started to laugh. "Oh, and you didn't just check me out." He looked pleased that she actually had.
Sara crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips together. "Interior decorating."
"Huh?" Nick looked momentarily confused and then his face brightened as he realized what she was talking about. "Oh, your other hobby." He smiled. "Is that what the finial is for?"
She nodded. "I was inspired by 'Trading Spaces' and decided my apartment needed a little more personality. I got the lamp for thirty-five cents at a yard sale and it just needed a little work."
"Your order is ready, Nicky." The petite Asian woman emerged from the kitchen with several cartons of food bagged up, smiling at Nick and Sara with a knowing eye.
"Thank you, Edna." Nick grinned at her. He stopped in the Thai restaurant at least once or twice a week and he had struck up a friendly banter with the owner and his wife.
"See you next time." She smiled and waved as Nick grabbed the bags and headed towards the door, pausing to hold it open for Sara who was right behind him.
As he approached his vehicle, Sara stifled a laugh as she watched him try and juggle the bags and get his keys out. She finally reached out and took the bags from him. "You know, it's ok to ask for help." She arched her brows to tease his penchant for showing how manly he was.
"I could have set them on the hood." He reasoned as he pulled out his keys and winked at her. "But thank you."
"Anytime." She smirked back before handing him the bags to set on the floor of his SUV.
"You think you can keep up with me this time?" He challenged as he shut the passenger door and turned to look at her.
"As long as it's legal." She jabbed. It wasn't that she didn't think Nick was a good driver, he just tended to go a little heavy with his foot on the accelerator at times, and since they were driving department issued vehicles, it was probably a good idea to avoid traffic violations.
"Point taken, Ms. Sidle." He grinned at her. He knew that his competitive streak went deep and sometimes he let it cloud his judgement. He would take heed and drive in a very legal and safe manner back to his house.
"But don't drive like your grandmother either." She teased as she strode to her own vehicle.
Nick called out over his shoulder. "She used to drive in the demolition derby." His cheesy grin was a dead giveaway that he was flat out lying, but his comment got its desired result in Sara's guffaw.
Sara shook her head as she climbed behind the wheel wondering what she had gotten herself into. She always enjoyed working with Nick and she had gotten together with him quite often outside of work, but it was usually with Warrick or Greg, or sometimes even Catherine. There had only been about a dozen or so times that they'd gotten together by themselves and most of those had been in the last few months. The flirtatious banter that had gone on between them for the last four years made her wonder if he was serious about his comment about how hot he thought she looked in her worn and faded 501s and her Harvard T-shirt, because his jeans and T-shirt were doing wonders for his body and the thought of it brought a smile to her face.