Chapter 7: The View


The sun beat down on her exposed skin, spreading a tingling warmth through her body that she hadn't felt in a long time. With her eyes closed behind her sunglasses, she enjoyed the sounds of life starting to emerge on the Pool Deck: soft music was being pumped through the speakers, children begging their parents to jump in the pool with them, and the cheery wait staff created a natural song around her that she hadn't enjoyed in a long time. Content to spend the day relaxing in the glow of the sun, Sara reached for the headphones next to her and adjusted them on her head, hitting play and tucking the cd player under her deck chair.


Half way through the second song she felt a shadow fall across her, hiding her skin from the sun's tingling rays. She opened her eyes to see Erika standing in front of her, a scowl on her face. Plucking the headphones away from her ears, she sat up. "Good morning!"


"They're all taken!" Erika pouted in front of Sara. "And you seem to be feeling better!"


"See those three towels?" Sara pointed to the three chairs to her left. "They're saved for you guys. All yours. What crawled up your butt last night?" Sara put her headphones away and tilted her chair up so she was sitting and could talk to Erika as she tried to get herself situated in the chair next to Sara.


"We went to the disco last night after dinner," she practically spat. "Chewbacca tried to hit on me... it was just sad. He was all drunk and slobbering..." She laid on her chair and threw a dramatic hand over her eyes. "It's way too early."


"Why didn't you just sleep, then? You're on vacation!" Sara leaned back and readjusted her sunglasses, intent on not letting her friend damper her mood. Her night with Grissom had been indescribable, and her mood since then had been much better. She was actually looking forward to spending some time alone with him now. "No one said you have to be out here at nine in the morning just because I am."


"Whatever. Where's a waiter? I need a Bloody Mary..." Hoping to tune out Erika's incessant whining, Sara reached back down for her headset and pushed play.


~~~~~~~~~~


Sipping on the thick coffee, Grissom leaned back in his chair and let his eyes roam over the deck. As the waiter came to take away their empty plates, Danny and Dr. Roger Thomas returned to the table, their own cups of coffee in hand.


"So what do you think, Gil?" Roger's deep baritone added with a laugh as he sat down. Grissom turned his head around and raised an eyebrow at the man about ten years his senior. "Danny and I were just talking about the view."


Grissom tried to hide a smile as he glanced over to what he had finally found, then turned back to the two men across from him. "Awe-inspiring."


"Are we talking about the women, or the ocean?" Roger laughed.


"I think I'm going to go with both!" Danny smiled, hoping his joke would go over well with his mentors. When they chuckled at it, he smiled broadly.


When the laughter had died down to silence, Grissom turned to more serious topics. "So what's on the agenda for today?"


"Ahhh, always work with you Gil!" Roger put his coffee cup down and leaned back "Actually, it should be pretty interesting. Jon has a study on a new form of mutated beetle he found at a crime scene. We're spending a few hours on that, I believe, this afternoon, then..." He trailed off as his gaze followed a young woman walking by in a barely-there bikini, "back to enjoy the view."


~~~~~~~~~~


Sara turned back over and sat up, reaching for the sun block next to her. She began to work it into her warm skin when she felt another shadow pass over her and assumed it was the waiter that had been serving Erika. After she left to go meet the girls for lunch almost an hour ago he kept coming around.


"No thanks. I don't want a drink just now." She held up a hand as she continued to massage the cream into her calve.


"I was thinking more about food." Grissom sat on the chair Erika had vacated and smiled at Sara when she looked over, embarrassed.


"Oh, hey Griss. How's your morning been?" Sara smiled and leaned back a little to rub the cream onto her exposed stomach.


"Uneventful." His eyes, shielded by his sunglasses, roamed appreciatively over her body and the tiny scraps of cerulean blue material that kept her from being indecent. "Mostly just enjoying the view." He smiled up at her, and watched a half smirk form on her face.


Sara tipped her sunglasses low on her nose and looked at him over the tops of them. "Good view?"


"Gorgeous."Their eyes locked and held for a second before a devilish grin overtook Sara.


"Griss, do you think you can give me a hand with something?"


"Sure. What do ya need?" Grissom scooted to the edge of the chair.


Sara handed him her sun block. "Do my back?" A glimmer in her eye accompanied her grin as she turned away from him, presenting her back to him. In the sun her lithe muscles played under her skin as she wiggled closer to him. He could feel his heart beating faster, and his throat was suddenly as dry as the Nevada dessert in a heat wave. "Well?" Sara turned her face, raising an eyebrow at him.


"Yeah, sure." He squirted the white, coconut scented lotion into his hands and began to rub it onto her back. He took his time, reveling in this indulgence and memorizing the curve of her hips as they flared from her stomach, and the way her shoulders stood; broad and sure. Soon, without realizing it, he was massaging the lotion into her back, locating small knots and deftly working them away with his fingers.


Sara's head lolled forward as she felt her senses being seduced by this simple task. She knew he always took his work seriously, but this was above and beyond what she had expected when she asked him. In fact, she had almost expected him to barely touch her, but here he was rubbing away the vestiges of civilization from her body and pulling her deeper into the fantasy world that she hoped existed on this ship: no crime scenes, no police scanners, just the two of them spending time with each other as people.


She felt him move closer to her, his breath sending shivers down her spine. She lifted her head and turned towards the source of her chill. His eyes met hers, the color of the sea, and so close that she couldn't see anything else. Her lips parted slightly, and she felt his slick hands move to her waist. She craned her neck as far as it would go, coming closer but still being so far away. His right hand slipped around to her stomach, pulling her infinitely closer to him.


All she could think about was that she'd finally know what it was like to kiss him; to feel his lips move over hers in one perfect moment.


He couldn't tear himself away from her if he tried, his goal to taste her at long last.


They were so close they could feel each other's breath.


As the first, single cell of each of their lips touched, they were ripped apart by a shrill voice.


"Sara! Hey, Sara!"


They jerked away from each other like two teenagers caught by their parents. Sara turned to the offending voice, and if looks could kill, Keri would have been dead many times over. "Hey, Keri."


"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Keri looked at her friend, seeing past the man behind her, and sat down in the free chair on the other side of Sara. "Great. Look, I just met this great guy.. I think you'd like him. Job's kinda like yours.. I think. Name's Dan, I think."


"Look, Keri," Sara leaned her elbows on her thighs and whispered to Keri, tilting her head to allow for a view of a very embarrassed Grissom, "I was in the middle of something... Besides, I told you I didn't want you picking up guys for me!"


Keri bounced on her chair, oblivious to the stare she was getting. "Look, I told him we'd meet him and one of his friends for drinks at 6 before the formal dinner. You in?"She got up without waiting for an answer. "Great! I'll be by your room later to help you pick out your dress."


Sara let out a frustrated grumble at the retreating figure of her friend, and barely restrained herself from making a few rude gestures. She turned around, only to find that Grissom was standing at the foot of her deck chair. "Look, Griss, she's a royal pain when it comes to..."


"It's ok," he cut her off. "Look, I have a meeting I have to get to. Are you properly protected?" Sara raised an eyebrow. "Sun block?"


"Oh," she smiled broadly at him. "More than properly. Can I, uh, count on your assistance again? Say, tomorrow morning?" A sensuous gleam invaded her eyes.


Grissom nodded, smiled, and walked away without a word. Watching his retreating form, Sara couldn't believe how close they were to actually kissing. She let a hand glide over her lips, wondering if there had truly been the electrical charge between them she thought she felt.


She leaned back into her chair and replaced her headphones, tossing the sun block back in her bag, and wondering how she could get out of cocktails this evening.


(TBC...)