Well, due to the response I have had from several people who have left reviews, I have decided to write one last, final chapter (until the next one). So it is with great thanks and pleasure that I dedicate this chapter to scrimshaw89, joyce, twitter, anneruhland, O deep blue (I had to write it like that because my laptop automatically changes the spelling to 'deplume'), star eagle and SGBS4L. Thank you for the encouragement!
Sara's bedroom was not much different than her living room. It was decorated in warm colours, and filled with books, Buddhist ornaments and assorted …. things. He caught sight of the police scanner on her bedside table, and felt a pang of sadness, similar to a feeling of guilt. "So this is the police scanner," he called through the ensuite bathroom door to Sara, who was changing and brushing her teeth.
"Oh, you've seen it have you? Is there any noise or anything coming out of it?"
"Damn, Sara, give yourself a break. Is that why you never seem to get much sleep? You lay up the half the night, waiting for the next impending tragedy?"
The ensuite door swung open to reveal Sara frowning, wearing a pair of shorts and a vest. "Name something else that I could do with my time in bed, aside from sleeping," she muttered.
Grissom swallowed. "I thought you wore pyjamas in bed," he mumbled, almost incoherent. In front of him were her long legs, and he was pretty sure he had been the only guy in a long while allowed to see them.
"They are," Sara replied, quite enjoying Grissom's discomfort. "Why?"
"Oh, uh, nothing," he stuttered. "It's just when people say they're wearing pyjamas, I take that to mean trousers and night shirts."
Sara grinned. "My attire offends you?"
"Oh, no, not at all. I …. I, you know, it doesn't uh, it doesn't bother me. I just, uh, I just wasn't prepared for ….".
Sara cocked her head and raised and eyebrow. "What?"
Grissom closed his eyes and opened his mouth. "I wasn't expecting to be treated to a view of your body like that," he gabbled.
"Good thing you don't work out with me," she said, not realising the connotations her words held. "That'd really set you off." She noticed Grissom's lips pinching together, his eyes still closed, this time displaying a look of excruciating pain. "What?"
"What you said just then about working out," he replied in a strained voice. "The though just lends itself to the situation a little too well, and I'm kinda frustrated at the moment."
Sara shrugged, trying her best to ignore the fact that he was now incredibly and visibly aroused. "Bathroom's free for you to use," she said in a matter-of-fact voice.
He spent almost ten minutes in there, and Sara, resting between the bed sheets could guess what was up. As she thought this, she put a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles. The bathroom door opened, and Grissom stepped out, self-consciously holding his neatly-folded clothes to his pair chest. The only item of clothing that remained on his body was a pair of black underpants, not quite y-fronts, not quite boxer shorts.
"I didn't know guys took so long to get ready for bed," she teased.
"Yeah, I have a rigorous night-time regime," he answered as nonchalantly as possible.
"Glad to hear it," Sara said, almost under her breath. She patted the empty space on the bed next to her. "You ready?"
Gil nodded, placing his clothes on a chair. Trying not to panic, he approached the bed, and pulled the remaining bit of cover back, sliding in between the under sheet and the duvet. "This is warm," he commented, settling back.
"It's 'cause I've been keeping it warm for ten minutes." Sara huddled closer to Grissom. "Do I not get a hug?"
Grissom slipped an arm around her, holding her close. "Sorry," he apologised. "You know, I'm not very good at all this kind of stuff," he said.
Sara, Grissom's arm still around her, propped herself up on an elbow and studied his face. "Good at what?"
"Good at pretending I don't feel anything when I'm around you," he said bluntly.
"Maybe you shouldn't then."
Grissom shrugged his mouth in agreement. "I was beginning to think that myself." He looked into the chocolate eyes that stared back at him. "You reckon we could stand a serious chance of making this happen? 'Cause if it didn't work out, I wouldn't wanna lose you as a friend."
"How do we know what will happen if we don't take risks? Sure, one or both of us could fuck up, but at least we'd know it wasn't meant to be. I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering about what could have happened."
Grissom passed a hand over her arm. "Why the hell do you put yourself through this?" he asked, genuinely bemused.
"Because I care about you. And goddamn you're hot. How could I not live with the hope that one day we might actually see some action?" She smiled at him sincerely. "All my life, it was hard enough finding friends who were like me. I knew it would be even worse finding a life-time partner. Then I found you. I had you as a teacher, as a boss, as a friend, and I'll admit it, I really am attracted to you. In every single way possible. So why should I give up on you if I think of you like that? You're worth the wait."
He picked up her hand and turned it over, studying the palm, the forearm, the bicep, the shoulder. "I'm glad you didn't give up on me," he whispered.
"So am I," Sara agreed. She linked fingers with his and drew herself closer to him.
He moved towards her, their legs becoming intertwined. "If you think this could work then …. then I want in."
Sara studied him carefully. "You sure?"
He nodded in reply. "The only reason nothing has happened is because I was too much of a chicken-shit to do anything about it. I don't know why I put myself through mental and physical agonies because I'm too scared of being with you . I know it would cause less hurt to confront my feelings." He leaned forward and brushed his lips against the arm he had just been looking at, trailing kisses all the way down it. When he finished, he lifted his head, his lips enclosing Sara's bottom lip.
His beard tickled at first, but Sara didn't notice as they deepened the kiss. Their mouths opened against each other, their hands and tongues becoming bolder, and then all too soon it was over.
Sara drew a deep, ragged breath. "For a guy who isn't good with people, that was remarkably pleasurable."
Grissom smiled, the first time he had done so in a while, his blue eyes regaining some of their old sparkle. "What can I say? And what can I say about you? Although I have often looked at your mouth and wondered what it would be like to kiss you," he added.
"Did I match up to your expectations?"
"Surpassed them, my dear," he said, running two fingers up and down her leg, stopping just underneath the cloth of her shorts.
"Uh, Gil?"
"Hmm?"
"I don't think we should, you know, do anything, if you know what I mean. I just don't want to rush things, I want to enjoy each stage of what we have. I want to savour each moment without the fear that we'll run out of time."
"Hey, if you don't feel ready, I'd never ask you to do something you weren't happy with. I respect that aspect of you, there's no way I'd ask you to renounce it. It's what I like about you, among other things."
Sara smiled weakly. "Thank you."
Grissom wrapped her in his arms. "You're welcome."
"Goodnight Gil," she whispered.
"Goodnight honey."
THIS IS THE PENULTIMATE CHAPTER. THERE WILL BE ONE LEFT AFTER THIS.
