A/N- It has been a long time since I updated this as the great writers block of 2005™ was a bit of a hindrance. Reviews are always welcome and many apologies for the major delay in updating!

Disclaimer: I have to face the fact I will never own CSI so I just play around with the characters every so often.

Out of the Closet-Chapter 5

After leaving Lea's dorm room, Grissom and Sara went for a quick dinner at a local restaurant. It was a cosy place that had pictures of all the celebrities who had ever visited on the wall. That was the only significant décor yet it still managed to have a welcoming feel.

As they were choosing their meals most of the talk consisted of Grissom looking at a picture of a supposed celebrity and asking who it was. Sara answered the ones she recognised while making a mental note that Grissom needed to catch up on his movie knowledge. It wasn't until they reached a picture of Tom Haviland that they decided to end that guessing game.

By the time the food arrived, the air was thick with romantic tension. Innuendos were flying through the air like fastballs on a mission as they both tried to make the other forfeit the challenge.

Sara almost succeeded with her continual leg rubbing under the table. She allowed her foot to lazily glide up and down Grissom's leg until he did something about it.

"Sara." He warned in a mixture of amusement and torment. Ordinarily he would have encouraged what she was doing and the wonderful sensations she was creating, but this was going to make him lose. And he didn't want to lose.

"What's the matter Griss, something up with your meal?" Her feigned innocence made it even worse as her pout affected him more than she knew.

"No there's nothing up, notwith the meal anyway." He deadpanned as she giggled before taking a sip of her wine. "No dirty tactics. It's not fair that you take advantage of my weakness as a man."

That was enough for Sara to choke on her drink. "I wouldn't say that's a weakness." Her eyebrows rose suggestively. "Oh wait, are you implying the male of the species is weaker?"

"When it comes to temptation I would say so, yes." He really meant it too. He had fallen victim to his own temptations when Alyssa had dragged him into that closet back at the lab. If he had shown any of the restraint then that he was showing now then maybe Alyssa would have been caught.

"But you're the exception to the rule which is why you think you can beat me." He shrugged at her before letting her continue. "But what you don't know is that when you grow up with an older brother you develop a dangerous competitive streak that means you leave all the also rans in your wake."

When he didn't laugh along with her, Sara worried. He clearly had something on his mind.

"I'm sorry." He managed eventually.

"For what?"

"For getting drugged, going into the closet with Alyssa and making you worry. Evidently I'm just as weak-willed as the next guy."

She took his hand across the table in a sympathetic gesture and looked him dead in the eye. "You don't have to be sorry for that, I know why you were in there. And Grissom, weak-willed is one way I would never ever describe you. When it comes to your feelings you are the most stubborn man I know and although it annoyed me in the past I am glad that's how you are."

His lips twitched into a small but amazingly sexy smile which Sara mirrored, satisfied she had settled his anxious mind.

"So you wanna go check out this party?" She asked with amusement evident in her tone.

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As Grissom and Sara neared his rental car in the parking lot outside the restaurant, Sara realised it was time for some real dirty tactics. She couldn't handle being so close to Grissom without actually being close to him. Sure, she had gone four years working at the lab with him without needing to touch him this bad, but now she was allowed to but couldn't, it drove her crazy.

She opened the passenger door and slid inside just before he did the same. She drew in a deep, steadying breath as he turned the key in the ignition. She had to do something or she would burst.

"Oh my god, I've got something in my eye."

Grissom stopped the key's movement and faced her. "An eyeball perhaps?" was his feeble attempt at humour.

"It's not funny, my eye really hurts." She rubbed at her eye for effect. "Help me please."

Her biggest problem so far in this challenge was that she couldn't get close enough to him to tempt him. Every time she tried, he backed away and she knew it was because he was just as worried he would cave. It was sweet really how stubborn he was being. But amazingly frustrating at the same time. So she knew getting him inches from her lips would be unbearable, hence the dirty tricks campaign.

"Oh no you don't Sidle," He warned. "Clever, but I'm not falling for it."

"What is there to fall for?" She asked innocently enough while holding back a grin.

He considered her question. He'd already fallen for her and here he was with every chance to kiss her yet he wouldn't. If he got any closer to her now, he was sure to do just that but his stubbornness was keeping him from doing the one thing that every bone and muscle in his body was telling him to do.

"Ow, going blind here."

"Alright, let me have a look."

He leaned over to her face and gently held her eye open.

She tried not to focus on his face as he searched for the non-existent piece of dust or dirt. His touch was so caring and tender that she was distracted from the attempt.

She watched as his eyes investigated hers, loving the concentration of his actions. She glanced quickly at his bearded chin, immediately recalling the sweet friction it caused every time they kissed. Before he grew it, she had never really been into men with beards but he had changed her mind overnight- but then Grissom could dye his hair blue and she would still love it.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love the beard?" She asked breaking the charged silence.

Grissom shifted his focus from Sara's eye to her whole face. "I think you've said it once or twice. How's your eye feeling?"

"I can still feel something there. Keep trying."

He didn't go back to looking for the invisible evidence of her distress, instead he cast a suspicious look her way. But he got distracted very quickly when he glanced at her full and inviting lips.

Keeping his eyes on her lips he collected his thoughts enough to talk.

"Are you sure there's something there as I can't see anything."

He was teetering on the edge of madness with Sara's mouth so close to his but he told himself he could resist… But then her tongue peeked out and licked her lips. And he gasped, very quietly, but Sara could still hear it.

"Oh, there is definitely something there." She responded feeling just as breathless as he sounded.

She was equally distracted by her traitorous mind and its insistence to remember every time Grissom had ever touched her, every kiss they had ever shared and every loving word he had ever whispered into her ear. This was not conducive to her winning the bet though she wasn't sure she cared anymore.

They both moved closer to the other with electricity literally hopping between the gradually decreasing gap of their mouths. Before either could stop and think about the consequences for their bet, they were kissing.

As the passion of their hungry mouths eventually subsided, they pulled apart. They were both extremely breathless from the resolution of the tension that had been building all night. A tension that had, in fact, been building since the last night they had kissed.

"Now I can relax again." Sara told Grissom quietly. "I've been on edge around you since I got here." He nodded his head in agreement before she added, "But now you've lost the bet we can go back to normal."

She leant into him and pecked his lips

"I guess there is a new master of resistance in town."

TBC