So Now

Part One: Right Now

Nick held the room door open for Sara, who was carrying the prize basket. She set it down on the small desk and turned towards Nick, inviting him in for a long, slow kiss. They parted, and his hand stroked her back as he asked, "You're sure about this?"

"I don't think I've ever been more sure about anything in my life," she reassured, leaning in for another kiss. "I've been wanting this for six years," she whispered against his lips.

"I hate to delay it any further, then," he said, gently smoothing her hair, "but…I need to use the bathroom."

Sara just grinned. "Go ahead. I'll just see what else is in this basket."

Nick disappeared into the tiny hotel bathroom. Sara stood by the desk, sorting out the prizes they'd won that night.

"Spa getaway certificate…huh, a whole week." She grinned, trying to imagine Nick with his face coated in green goo, cucumber slices covering his eyes. "Never heard of the place…oh, it's in Arizona, that could be why." She set the spa certificate down and reached for the next item. "Voucher for the weekend getaway here…ooh, in a luxury suite. That could be nice." She flipped through the rest of the basket: gift certificates and coupons for some local restaurants, souvenir "King" and "Queen" coffee mugs with the radio station logo, two souvenir t-shirts…and what looked like a mini gift basket inside the larger basket.

Sara pulled out the smaller basket and untied the ribbon holding the cellophane closed. Inside were a number of small bottles and jars. Removing one bottle, she nearly dropped it when she read what it contained.

"Hey, Nick?" she called in the direction of the bathroom.

"Yeah?"

"Looks like one of their sponsors was one of those home-party companies."

"What, like Tupperware, or Mary Kay?"

Sara smirked. "More like Mary Kay trying to heat up her love life." She read the back of the bottle aloud to him. "Why just give a massage when you can coat your lover in all-natural, non-sticky sweetness and nibble and lick your way over her or his body?" She couldn't help giggle. "Looks like we've got Body Candy—that was what I just read to you, um, Love Dust, chocolate body paint, and something called 'lickable lube'." She pulled the tin of Love Dust out of the basket and studied the rather-familiar-looking applicator with a thoughtful look. Nick emerged from the bathroom just as she opened the tin to better examine the fine, vanilla-flavored powder. She looked up, caught his eye, and smirked. "So, Nicky," she said, holding up the powder and the fluffy applicator, "can I dust you for prints?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that's department-standard print powder, Sidle."

"Nope. Sounds a lot more fun, from the description." She matched his look. "Afraid I might find something?"

He crossed the room to her. "I promise, the only prints you'll find on me are yours."

Sara lay cradled in Nick's arms, feeling his breathing return to normal, waiting for her own heart to stop racing. She could still see traces of the vanilla dust on his skin and couldn't help but move down to taste it, the sweet of the vanilla mixing with the salt of his sweat.

Nick groaned, holding her tighter. "Darlin', you realize now I'm never going to be able to watch you print a scene again without wanting to take you back to the truck and have my way with you."

"I'm pretty sure that feeling's mutual," she said softly, reaching up to brush his hair away from his forehead.

He buried his face in her neck, kissing and nipping his way up her ear, drowning in the scent of her. "I wanna marry you, Sara," he murmured, unaware he was actually vocalizing the words.

Sara's face registered her shock. Did he just say… she thought. "Okay," she murmured in reply before she'd even fully processed his words.

Nick pulled away from her neck, meeting her eyes. "Okay?"

"Okay," she confirmed.

"Okay what?"

Sara frowned. "You did just say you wanted to marry me, right?"

I said that out loud? "And you said okay?"

Sara started to pull away from him. "Never mind; never mind, never mind…."

Nick tightened his arms around her, not letting her pull away. "Oh no. You said okay; you're not backing out of it now!" He peppered her with kisses, calming her. "I just…I didn't realize I said it out loud." Stroking her back, he looked into her eyes again. "Let me try that again. Sara Sidle, I want to marry you."

This time, her face reflected happiness, not confusion. "Okay." She shrieked as his fingers hit her sides, tickling her. "Nick! Stop it!" She tried to pull away, to defend herself, but he was merciless.

"Okay? Okay?"

"Yes!" she shrieked. "Okay! I want to marry you, Nick! Now stop it!"

Dutifully, he stopped tickling her, contenting himself with just holding her close. "You said you'd marry me," he said, grinning broadly. His hands wandered down her back, cupping her behind and pulling her even closer.

"You seem pretty happy about that." She wiggled her hips against his, making him groan.

"Sara…." He kissed her again, pressing her back into the bed. Her lips eagerly met his, fingers tunneling through his thick hair. He pulled back enough to look into her eyes. "Tonight?"

"Tonight….what?" she asked, mind still cloudy from his kisses.

"Tonight. Let's get married tonight." The comment from the photographer, "Well, it is Vegas," was haunting Nick.

"Tonight?" The thought was starting to pierce through the fog in her brain. "You want to get married tonight?"

He nodded. "I don't want to wait." He offered her a grin. "You might change your mind."

Solemnly, she shook her head. "No…no, I wouldn't change my mind. But…tonight? After the hell you gave Warrick about his drive-through wedding, you want to get married tonight?"

"I promise we wouldn't be in a car." He slid off to her side so he could touch her hair, smooth it away from her face. "I want to marry you, Sara, and I don't want to wait any longer."

Sara looked into his eyes, thinking of everything they'd both gone through in their lives to end up at this moment, and realized he was right. Why wait when they both knew this was right? Her lips spread into a smile. "Tonight, then. As long as it's not the Chapel of Intergalactic Love, any one with an Elvis theme, and not a gangster theme."

Nick nodded, hardly able to believe she'd agreed. "Okay. We'll find something tasteful." He hugged her close.

Sara snuggled in against him. "We should probably shower before we go out…" she mused, spotting another section of his skin still coated in Love Dust.

He stroked his fingers along her spine. "Yeah, probably best." He grinned, dropping a kiss on the side of her head.

She wiggled out of the bed, heading for the bathroom. "Going to join me?"

"I'll be there in a minute." He sat up, a thought forming in his mind. "I have to make a call."

Author's note: You know how in my bio, it says the racy stuff is on my website? Check there for the "Director's Cut: Unrated Version," of this chapter.