Disclaimer: I don't own them, I didn't create them, I don't profit from them, but as always, coffee is on me if they have the time.
Author's Note: This is dedicated to Mel and Ashley, just because.
It all started with a simple shimmy of her hips as she was leaning over one of the layout tables examining evidence from a case we were working on. It was only as I got a little closer that I realized she was singing along to some ridiculous Spice Girls song; it had never even occurred to me that Sara Sidle even liked the Spice Girls. And as she turned around and flashed me an embarrassed grin, she pulled her headphones off and began to show me something that she'd found while processing the victim's purse. It was at that moment that I mentally dubbed her Shimmy Spice.
It's ridiculous I know, and it's not even something that I think I could ever really tell her about because to do so would mean that I'd have to confess that I was staring at her ass; something that by the way I seem to do rather often. And again, if she knew I looked for opportunities to stare at that particular region of her anatomy just for the chance to see that shimmy again, well, I'm fairly certain that she'd slap me. Who knew that one little sway of her hips to the rhythm of a group that I would never admit to owning even a single of would be the moment when everything would crystallize in my mind and I would just know? When did I suddenly shift gears from being Nick Stokes, all around great guy friend and favorite coworker to Nick Stokes who can't work up the courage to ask out one of his best friends?
I had to ponder that one for a while. I mean, it's not like I can just walk up to her and say, "Hey, babe, I like the way you shimmy your ass; it really turns me on." Again, I've known Sara a long time and I'm fairly certain that a comment like that would earn me a well deserved slap. Of course, it hasn't stopped me from trying to formulate a plan to work my way up to asking her out on a date so that she's fully aware that it's an actual date and not just one of those evenings where we both happen to have the night off and decide to watch action flicks on my home theater system. And while those non-date nights happen fairly frequently, and they do afford me with a great deal of opportunity to watch that cute little ass of hers in my most favorite pair of jeans in the universe because they hug her like a second skin, they still aren't an official date and she has no idea that I want to kiss her and ask her to shimmy just for me.
It was a full two weeks later when Shimmy Spice made an appearance again and this time it was very obvious to her that I'd been staring at her ass, mostly because she was in mid shimmy when she turned around to find my eyes fixed in the general direction of where her ass had been shaking just a millisecond before and if she hadn't picked up on that, the red face I was sporting would have been a dead giveaway.
"Do you want to go out on a date with me?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them; I never said my timing was great, but in this case what I'd thought was bad timing ended up being absolutely perfect because the single word out of her mouth was about to change my universe.
"Yes." Sara's cheeks were a little reddish and she was trying to cover up her smile with a sort of smirk. That look on her face made me wonder if she'd noticed me staring at her butt when I didn't realize she was looking.
"Good." My cheeks were starting to hurt from the grin plastered across it and I considered for a brief moment just how I might get Shimmy Spice to go on that date with us. "Dancing?" I wasn't sure it was really her thing, but then again I'd never figured her for a Spice Girls fan either and she certainly had rhythm. A guy could hope couldn't he?
"Yes, definitely." Sara couldn't hide her smile this time and the way was she was looking back at me made me wonder if she stares at my ass when I'm not looking. Well I'd like to think that she does anyway.
"Ok, then." I knew that the first chance we'd get was our next night off and thankfully that was just two short days away; two long torturous days to wonder if she might have a change of heart or for some crime spree to prevent us from having that night off. Or maybe Grissom might decide at the last minute that he needed to enter his cockroaches in some sort of race. Or Catherine might just find the need to stay home with Lindsey just in case she came down with some yet to be name mystery ailment.
Worry or not, before I knew it, there the date was, and there I was standing in front of Sara's apartment door with a bouquet of flowers in hand and feeling about as nervous as I had when I went out on my first official date at sixteen. I began to have doubts that this was going to work; I mean she is one of my best friends and just because I seriously admire the way she can shimmy her hips that doesn't mean that I haven't just risked one of the best friendships I have. Of course, I have to remind myself that she said yes, that she's a willing participant in this date of ours. And if there is any doubt about whether she really wants to go out with me, that's removed when she opens the door and I see the dress she's wearing. That dress is definitely not the sort of dress you wear if you're going out with someone you only have friendly feelings for. She is definitely ready for a night out dancing and I can see by the look on her face that she likes the way I look too.
I never really knew that Sara could dance like that and I am so thankful for that fact. If I thought Shimmy Spice lived in that little swivel in the layout room in the lab, I was sorely mistaken. Shimmy Spice had a wild side and a sensuous side that I hadn't realized had resided within my friend Sara Sidle; a wild and sensuous side that kissed me before I had the opportunity and courage to kiss her. Apparently, I was right about her checking out my ass when I was busy watching hers. And if you think that date ended when the dancing ended, you are completely wrong. Shimmy had a few other talents that she wanted to acquaint me with and let me tell you, now that I know what they are, I'll let her acquaint me with them anytime.
That was several months ago and I now have a very fond appreciation and respect for that subtle little shimmy that first made me realize that I was in love with Sara Sidle because when she does that it does things to me. Especially when we're in the setting we're in right now.
A soft giggle interrupts my thoughts and I glance over at the leggy brunette who is currently tangled up with me in my sheets; the comforter having slid down onto the floor some time ago. "You still with me?" Sara rests her chin against my chest and looks into my eyes with that smile of hers dancing across her face.
To answer her question, I lean over and kiss her, murmuring against her lips as my fingers slip into her hair. "Always, Shimmy."
The End