Sara wasn't sure why she was so nervous. Maybe it was because she was going on a date with Nick, and maybe it was because of the blouse she had chosen to wear on that date with Nick. In any case, she looked at herself critically in the mirror as she considered whether or not she should change into something decidedly more conservative for a first date. The blouse she had on looked conservative enough from the front, even with the deep V-neck, but the halter style of it left much of her back exposed. She had paired it with a pair of low slung black slacks and she had to admit that the effect was exactly what she was going for. She wanted to make it clear that she was willing to be caught if Nick was interested in pursuing her, not that she intended to sleep with him right off the bat; she just wanted him to get the idea that she was definitely interested in him.

Before she could change her mind about what she was wearing, she heard a knock at her door. The look on Nick's face was priceless as Sara opened the door. He took one look at her and his jaw dropped and then a smile took over his face.

Sara had a coy expression on her face. "So is this sexy enough for you?" She had a teasing tone in her voice as she opened the door wide to let him in.

Nick chuckled softly and looked at her appreciatively. "You look amazing." His eyes widened slightly as he realized what the back of her blouse looked like and he silently wondered if she'd let him kiss her. Her skin looked so soft and he just wanted to hold her in his arms and splay his fingers out across her bare back and caress it with his fingers.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself." She took in the way his clothes accentuated his muscular physique and smiled.

Nick shook off the lusty cloud that threatened to envelope him and smiled. "So, I was thinking that we could eat at this little place I heard about before we head to the club." When Warrick had found out that Nick was taking Sara to dinner before they went out with Greg and his new girlfriend, he had chastised him not to blow it and had told him about a cozy romantic restaurant that served a wide variety of vegetarian friendly dishes. The fact that one of his friends owned the restaurant ensured that Nick and Sara would get first class treatment.

Sara's smile widened. "That sounds great." She was looking forward to spending some time alone with Nick, and she was hoping that her nerves would dissipate enough that by the time they went to meet Greg and Tiffany that she could let loose on the dance floor and just see where things led.

As they walked out the door of her apartment, Nick instinctively rested his hand at the small of her back, his fingers brushing against her skin, sending a shiver up her back. He raised an eyebrow at her curiously. "Cold?"

Sara felt a smile pull at the corners of her mouth as she glanced over at him, she was anything but cold and she shook her head. "No."

Nick grinned at the implication of her smile as they walked out to his rig, and as Sara reached for the door handle he arched his brows. "What did I tell you about a man being shot for not opening a door for a lady?" There was a definite teasing tone to his voice as he reached past her and opened the door.

As Sara slid into her seat, she glanced at Nick with a smirk on her face. "You're not going to do this when we're working a case together are you?"

Nick just smiled. "This isn't a case. This is a date." Of course in the back of his mind he fully intended to open doors for her any chance he got, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

Sara couldn't help but steal glances at Nick as they drove to the restaurant. He'd chosen a blue shirt and she'd always liked how that color looked on him. She felt her cheeks flush as Nick caught her looking and she pursed her lips together to keep from smiling.

"What?" Nick queried her, taking advantage of the red light they were sitting at to notice how soft and smooth her skin looked and how her blouse accentuated her body in all the right ways.

Sara giggled softly and turned to look at him. "You just look really nice." Nice wasn't really the word she was thinking, but she reasoned that it was a little early in the date to say what was really on her mind.

"You do too." Nick stared at her for a long moment before her heard a car behind them honking because the light had change.

Neither one of them said much else on the way to the restaurant, just occasionally stealing glances and smiling. When they got there Nick realized that Warrick must have talked to his friend who owned the place because even though there was a significant crowd waiting to be seated, they didn't have to wait at all.

Sara looked at him curiously as the hostess showed them their table.

As they sat down, Nick smiled. "The owner is a friend of Warrick's."

"Ah." She arched her brows in understanding and wondered what else Nick had told Warrick about this evening.

They spent some time perusing the menu and after finally making a decision and placing an order, they found themselves just looking at each other as they waited for the waiter to bring them the wine.

Sara smirked. "This isn't awkward." She hadn't anticipated how going out on a date with a friend could be familiar and uncomfortable all at the same time. It was just new territory for her and she was at a bit of loss with what to do.

"It doesn't have to be." Nick's tone was soft and he smiled at her from across the table. The restaurant was indeed cozy, the lighting was just dim enough to be romantic and the table they'd been seated at was fairly secluded.

"So, Nick." Sara had a look in her eye. "Why did you want to go out with me?" She had her suspicions, but she wanted to hear what he had to say.

He chuckled softly and then reached across the table and enveloped her hand with his, catching her by surprise and causing her heart to flutter as he looked into her eyes and began to caress the back of her hand with his thumb. "Because you're beautiful and you're smart and I love being around you."

Sara tilted her head slightly as a smile stole over her face. "Then why didn't we do this sooner?" The sensation his thumb was producing on the back of her hand was causing a series of flutters in the pit of her stomach and her question belied the nervousness she felt.

Nick smiled and chose his words carefully. "I didn't think you'd want to; until the other day anyway."

Sara smirked in an effort to keep things from getting too heavy. "Well I think I wanted to even before I knew I wanted to."

"Well then, I guess maybe we should do this again sometime." He wasn't sure he should be asking for a second date when they were barely into the first one, but he really liked Sara and he didn't want her to doubt his interest in her, especially after what she'd put herself through with Grissom and the man's lack of action.

Sara smiled at Nick as she saw the waiter approaching with their wine. "Maybe we should."