6
There was a knock on her door at almost exactly 5:30. She yelled for him to come in. "I'll be right out."
After a spray of perfume, which she normally didn't wear, she walked out into the living room. She almost fell over when she saw Catherine standing in her living room, not Grissom. "Cath?"
"Sorry, you told me to come in. Obviously, I wasn't who you expected."
"No, you're not."
"Well, you look great."
"Thanks. What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to grab those case files you called me about last week. I've stopped by a couple times, but you've been out a lot."
"Let me get those for you. Sorry I didn't bring them to breakfast. It was sort of a last-minute decision to go. Uh, I don't mean to rush you out, but I'm expecting someone any minute." Almost on cue, there was a knock at the door. "Um, Catherine, would you mind going into the living room a minute?"
"Uh…sure."
Sara went to answer the door and stepped out before Grissom stepped in. "Grissom, Catherine is in there."
"What?"
"Yeah, she came by to grab some case files I called her about last week that I'd brought home. Do you want to just wait in the car and I'll be right out?"
"Uh…no. I'd like to come in." They turned and walked in to Sara's living room. "Hello Catherine."
"Oh! Hi Gil! I figured Sara was expecting you."
"You did?"
"Yeah. I don't know if anyone else noticed, but your hand on Sara's back on the way out…giveaway. But, hey, maybe no one else saw it. Anyway, I'll get out of the way." Catherine walked toward the door.
Grissom stopped her, "Catherine, I'd…we'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about this for now."
"Talk about what?" Catherine winked, "You guys have fun."
It wasn't until Catherine left that Sara realized Grissom had brought her a rose. "Is that for me?"
"Well, I really brought it for Catherine, but…of course it's for you." He handed her the single white rose.
"You remembered. Thank you." She took the rose into the kitchen to put it in water. White roses were her favorite; she couldn't believe he remembered.
She'd chosen a dress that hugged every one of her curves, dipped dangerously low in the back and showed just enough cleavage to drive a man crazy. And that's just what it did to Grissom. "You are stunning. It's been a long time since I've seen you in a dress. You're amazingly gorgeous."
"Thank you. You look equally amazing. We'd better get going."
They arrived just in time. The menu was French, which Sara didn't know a whole lot about. It turned out that it didn't matter because Grissom had preordered everything from the wine to the dessert. There was a wine she couldn't pronounce and a seafood medley for an appetizer. He'd ordered her the only vegetarian meal on the menu and admitted that was one of the reasons he chose the restaurant and a Red Snapper dish for himself. The evening ended with the two of them sharing a Crème Brulee and a Chocolate Plate.
She'd never eaten that much food in her life and would probably die if she saw the check. They walked back to the car and drove home in silence. When Grissom pulled into her parking lot, this time it was her who didn't want the night to end. He opened her door and wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked to her door. He took her keys and unlocked her door for her. She went to step inside and he pulled her back to him.
With one hand on her back and the other on her cheek, he looked deep into her eyes as he captured her lips under his. He could taste the sweetness of her lips and smell the intoxicating perfume she wore. When she titled her head, he slipped his tongue onto her lower lip. She opened her mouth and invited his tongue to dance with hers. It was magic like he'd never known. He pulled her into him with the hand on her back and she snaked one arm around his neck and another around his waist. He would never forget how she tasted, how she felt under his hands. She was his object of perfection.
When he finally pulled away he whispered, "Goodnight, Sara." Then he turned to walk away.
He was stopped, though, when she grabbed his hand, "Stay."
Without turning around, he pulled away and walked to his car. Feeling rejected, and on a downward spiral, Sara went into her apartment. She didn't know whether she should stay and dance on cloud nine, or drift down to earth and cry about him not staying. She chose to dance and fantasize about how his hand burned the skin of her cheek. How she could feel the sweat of his hand through her dress on her back. She reveled in his bittersweet taste. He still tasted of the chocolate dessert they shared and the expensive white wine. Yet she could taste the saltiness of his skin through it all. She was lost in dreamland when someone knocked on the door she leaned against.