Chapter 5

It was Sara who woke alone this time. There was a box on the side of the bed where Grissom had slept. Her name was scrawled on it. She opened it to find a dark crimson robe. Silk. She pulled the robe around her and padded to the kitchen.

"Gil," she called before she saw him.

He stood in the doorway talking to someone. She came up behind him. "Where did you get..." her words trailed off as she saw Grissom hunched and in a deep conversation on his cell.

His voice sounded forlorn.

"I am sorry about that. Sofia.."

She could hear a low yell coming from the phone. Grissom rubbed at his temple. It was the first sign of a migraine.

"Sofia please don't do...Will you just listen for a minute? Can you do that?"

Sara had not realized the gasp had come from her own mouth until Grissom turned. He pressed a button on the phone. The yelling from the other end stopped.

"Sara"

She hadn't bothered to tie the robe and she felt vulnerable as he walked to where she stood.

He pulled the robe closed and his lips grazed the spot just behind her ear. She shivered from the intimate contact or maybe she shivered because she was frightened

"What exactly is going on with you and Sofia? It wasn't just a date was it?" Her lips spoke the words against his. Her dark hair fell into her eyes.

Stress pulled his eyes downward. She wondered how fast his heart was beating. She put a hand to his chest.

Awareness filled his eyes and he took the hand from his chest. "I need to call Brass."

He reached for Sara's land line. Brass hurmphed into the phone, "Sidle don't you ever sleep?"

"It's Grissom"

Brass was too sleepy to respond.

"I need you to go to my house."

"What for?"

"I think someone might be trespassing...someone with a key."

Brass looked at the phone. "You know what? I am not even going to ask. You owe me. You owe me big time. I am on my way. I'll call a locksmith and I guess bring the keys to Sara's"

"You are a prince among men Jim Brass."

Grissom had kept Sara close to him while he spoke to Brass, afraid that if he let go of her he would never get her back.He hadn't realized the pressure he was exerting until he hung up the phone. His strong hand was digging into her soft skin like a vice. He sat next to her on the couch.

She surveyed his face as he took a deep breath.

"Sofia and I have been dating on and off for close to six months...mostly on."

Silence.

A blank stare came from her dark eyes. Guilt emanated from his blue ones.

Her words sounded drunk to her ears. "Six months?"

"We were talking about marriage. Actually she was talking about marriage. I was consenting by my silence."

Sara's eyes remained dry. She thought that was a good sign. She wasn't crying. Was she in shock?

"And Heather..."

"I cheated on Sofia with her...on several occasions. Actually I was...am seeing them both at the same time." The truth Gil. The damn truth. You have been lying to yourself and everyone else since college.

"I am still seeing Heather."

He watched Sara. She didn't seem to be breathing.

"The two things I seem to have inherited from my father are a keen intellect and a penchant for multiple romantic entanglements. I have a problem with commitment. I always have."

Her face seemed twisted. "The rumors in Boston?"

"Mostly true."

"Wow! I think I may be a little insulted that you just got around to servicing me again. No wonder, you are so good at it. I guess quantity does mean quality. Some CSI I am. All these years I thought you were a lonely aloof man, but that was just where I was concerned, right?"

"Sara..."

Sara stood and peeled off the robe. She dropped it in Grissom's lap. The lock on her bedroom door resounded through the small apartment.