Ch. 5 Soap Opera

Never mine; no money involved.

The Date

Sara was putting on her earrings when she heard a knock at her front door. She checked her watch - he was five minutes early. A tiny frisson of excitement passed through her- odd, really, since this was just Greg, after all. Funny, puppy-friendly Greg, who trailed around after her like a lovelorn calf. She wasn't interested in him; he was just, well, Greg. And anyhow, she was still heartbroken over being rejected by Grissom, wasn't she? Wasn't she? She frowned as she took the door handle. Truth was, she hadn't really been thinking about Grissom much the past couple of days. Her mind was too busy thinking about her upcoming date. With Greg. Whom of course she wasn't interested in.

Greg was wickedly handsome in all black - black suit, black shirt, black socks, black shoes, red and blue Marvin the Martian tie. Well, almost all black. His hair was behaving itself fairly well, for GregHair, and he was grinning from ear to ear as he handed her a bouquet of blood-red roses. "For you," he said with a bow, then stepped in.

"They're beautiful. Thank you," she said softly. "Have a seat," she said from the kitchen as she pulled out a vase and filled it with water. "You really shouldn't have. "

"I wanted to. I'm glad you like them."

"So where are we going?"

"A little place called Casablanca. It's eclectic, mainly Moroccan. I checked it out; it's really a cool place. Very vegetarian-friendly." And very romantic, but he wasn't going to tell her that. She'd figure it out soon enough.

"This place is wonderful." Sara looked around. The lighting was subdued, coming mostly from candles and Moroccan lanterns. The decor was middle eastern, and the low-slung tables were paired with overstuffed pillows, not chairs.

"Yeah. I discovered it while I was out and about one day. The food is really good, too."

Sara smiled mischievously. "Is this where you usually bring your dates?"

"Only you, Sara. Only you." He reached out for her hand, tracing shapes on the palm - hearts, maybe?- as he spoke. "You're special," he whispered, then looked down, suddenly fascinated with her hand.

Her heart skipped a beat. It had been a long time since she'd been out with a man who saw her as anything more than just another fairly attractive woman - perhaps desirable, but easily replaced with another fairly attractive woman.

"I'm glad you think so," she said softly.

"I'm glad you agreed to go out with me. Even if you are just here to settle a bet." He was still playing with her hand, and it was sending little tingles down her spine.

"I'm sort of glad now I lost that bet."

He smiled broadly. "I hope you're having a nice time."

"I am. I feel like Cinderella at the dance."

"Don't worry. My VW isn't going to turn into a pumpkin or anything. Although at midnight tomorrow I myself will change back into a lab rat."

She laughed. "So does this mean Catherine is my wicked stepmother?"

"Nah, that'd be Ecklie. "

"StepMommie definitely needs a hair transplant then."

"And they took your shoes. How shall I ever find you?"

She shrugged. "We cheated. You know where I live."

"So." He sighed nervously. "Do you think you might ever want to, you know, maybe go out again? With me, I mean. Like maybe next Tuesday, when we're both off again."

She smiled. "Yeah, I think I'd like that. I'm really enjoying this."

He stood with her in front of her door. "So." He stepped closer.

"I had a great time tonight."

"So did I. I, um, I was wondering if I could... could kiss you."

Sara smiled. No one had ever asked her for a kiss before."Yes, Greg. You can kiss me."

His lips were soft and tentative on hers, the kiss slow but chaste. When he pulled away he was grinning broadly. "I'll see you tomorrow night, then."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be there. Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you..."