"I'm kind of glad you forgot to bring a razor." Sara's fingers skimmed over the scruffy growth on Nick's face. "This makes you look kind of sexy."
Nick smiled impishly. "Kind of sexy?" He puffed his chest out a little bit as Sara let out a giggle.
"You are such a boy sometimes." She smirked.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Nick countered, reaching over and sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her close.
Sara's hands splayed out against his chest and she looked up into his eyes. "Do you really think it's a good idea to make out in the foyer of a church?"
They had stepped into the historic Iglesia de San Miguel to see the ivory statue of St. Michael the Archangel that rested on the church's alter. Legend had it that more than a century before, farmers digging up a field had found the statue and thought it to be a gift from Juan Grijalva who landed on Cozumel in 1518.
Nick chuckled softly. "Do you think it's a bad idea?" He knew the answer to the question, but since she'd brought it up, he decided to tease her.
Sara smirked at him. "Yes, I think it's a bad idea." Her voice was a whisper.
Nick grinned at her. "Then maybe we should go somewhere else." After they had finally found Sara some pajamas, as well as souvenirs for a few people they had made their way over the main church that served the town of San Miguel.
Sara giggled. "I want to see the church first."
Nick leaned down and gave her a soft sweet kiss before releasing her from his embrace. "Have I mentioned that I'm glad you came with me?"
Sara couldn't help but smile. "I think you might have mentioned it once or twice."
Nick held her hand as they wandered around the church, studying the architecture and pausing to look at the statue that rested on the alter at the front of the church. So far since they'd left the hotel that morning, Sara had only had one other digestive emergency and she seemed to be feeling better and better all the time. He was hopeful that maybe tomorrow they might actually get to go to the beach and get some swimming in.
As they stepped out of the church into the quickly setting sun, Sara glanced over at Nick. "I didn't realize it was getting so late."
"You hungry?" Nick realized that they hadn't eaten in a while, but after a few of the comments Sara had made earlier after making an emergency stop at a restroom, he wasn't sure she was going to be looking forward to eating.
"Maybe a little." She smiled at him, enjoying the feel of her hand resting in his as they strolled down the street in the general direction of the beach.
"Fish tacos?" Nick quirked an eyebrow at her as he had a sudden taste for the tacos they'd had the other day.
"Yeah, that sounds good." She agreed.
By the time they found the vendor they'd bought the tacos from before, the sun was casting a pinkish golden hue over the entire sky and as they took a seat on a bench overlooking the beach, they found that the scenery was breathtaking.
Nick devoured his tacos and as Sara slowly ate hers, he slung an arm across her shoulders, his fingers brushing against her shoulder where her sleeveless shirt had left it exposed. As Sara finished eating, she rested her head against his shoulder and suddenly felt a wave of emotion that she couldn't get a hold of. It wasn't until she let out a sniffle that Nick noticed that she had started crying.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He looked utterly perplexed at this sudden welling of tears coming out of normally in control Sara Sidle.
Sara sniffled and let out an embarrassed laugh. "I don't know. I just feel so overwhelmed." She choked back a sob as she felt more tears slip down her cheeks.
Nick wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, unsure of what to say.
"I mean you took care of me when I wasn't feeling good and then the sunset and the ocean." She let out a nervous laugh as she sniffled back a few more tears. She pushed him away a little bit so she could look in his eyes. "I just can't believe you want to be with me." There was a somewhat incredulous tone in her voice. She couldn't remember the last time a man treated her with the respect that just seemed to come naturally to Nick.
Nick smiled at her and reached up to brush the tears from her face. "I do want to be with you. You're one of my best friends and I think I just woke up one day and realized that somewhere along the line I'd started falling for you."
As his soft words began to register in Sara's mind she felt her stomach flip. She wanted to ask him exactly what he meant by falling, but she was afraid if she did, that he wouldn't be ready to say that word, and she wasn't sure what she would do if she heard that word.
Nick studied her face and decided to just lay all of his cards on the table. "I know that you don't want to rush things between us, but I have to tell you that I'm in love with you, Sara."
A silence hung between them for a brief moment and then Sara leaned in and kissed Nick hungrily. She wasn't sure she was ready to tell him what her heart had been telling her since she arrived in Cozumel, but her kiss told him enough.
As they pulled apart, Nick whispered in the fading light. "I love you, Sara."
Sara sniffled again. "Nick, I..."
"Shhh, you don't have to say anything." He held her close, not wanting her to say something she wasn't ready to say just because he wanted to hear it. "I just had to tell you."
Sara just nodded as she pulled away and looked into his eyes. "Do you want to just walk for a while?"
He smiled. "Yeah, that sounds nice." He held her hand as they stood.
They strolled along the beach for quite a while, enjoying the sound of the surf crashing against the sand, and stopping now and then to share a lingering kiss. By the time they got back to their hotel, it was nearly midnight and both of them were exhausted.
Nick had every intention of staying awake until Sara emerged from the bathroom, but minutes after he laid his head on the pillow, he was asleep.
Sara was a little surprised to see him already asleep, but she couldn't help but smile as she watched him for a few minutes, noticing the way his eyelashes fanned out against his cheek and how peaceful he looked before she finally turned the light off and climbed into bed next to him. As she nestled her body against his, she whispered in the darkness so softly she could barely hear her own voice. "I think I'm falling in love with you, Nick."
