Rise of the Grasshopper – Part 3 of ? ( I can't stop yet)

By Ms. Maggs

After running through the sun salutation poses four times, Greg turned to his protégé. "I think you're ready for your first solo."

Always eager to show off his athletic ability, Nick didn't hesitate. "Mountain pose, prayer position, deep breath, hands up, head to ankles, feet back…"

Greg watched with great amusement as his jock buddy powered though what was supposed to be a slow series of purposeful motions.

"Plank!" While doing push-ups, Nick asked, "How am I doing?"

"Great…if we were filming a P90X infomercial." When the show-off started doing plyometric push-ups, Greg's gaze shamelessly shifted to the ripped biceps flexing in front of him.

"You wanna give these a shot?" Nick teased as he switched to one-arm push-ups.

"I'm fine right here, thanks." Uninhibited from the bourbon buzz, Greg's lips spread into a salacious smile.

Rolling onto his back, Nick panted, "Okay, show me somethin' else while I catch my breath."

"Next up – the warrior poses. There are three." Still drooling, Greg returned to his mat. "Warrior One - start in mountain pose, but this time, instead of bending over, you're going to move your left foot out so your feet are about four feet apart. Then turn your left foot ninety degrees and point your right foot forward. Bend your knee so you're in lunge position and lift up your arms." Feeling a little tipsy, his legs started to tremble. "For Warrior Two, you open your arms and move them parallel to the floor. To get to Warrior Three, you make a T with your body, extending one leg straight behind and moving your…ahhhh!"

When his pal squealed like a girl and landed on his back, Nick said, "I don't know, I didn't really get a warrior vibe from that last move."

"Shut up, muscles." Rubbing his hip, Greg whined, "Real friends don't let friends drink and pose."

Even though it was a lame joke, Nick belly laughed.

"When people at work ask why I'm walking funny tonight, I'm going to tell them I got hurt fooling around in my bedroom with Nick."

"That'll get 'em to stop talking about Hodges and Wendy."

"Wouldn't it?"

"You're not really gonna tell anyone I was in your…"

"Don't worry." While rolling onto his side, Greg cracked a huge grin. "What happens in my bedroom stays in my bedroom."

Facing his buddy, Nick propped up on his elbow. "Is that what you tell all the guys you lure back here with the promise of a yoga lesson?"

"Dude, you're the one who showed up on my doorstep clutching a yoga mat and begging for help." Feeling comfortable enough to push the envelope, Greg inched closer and whispered, "So um…exactly how many times have you used this 'I'm a hypertensive jock who needs help with yoga' ploy?"

Keeping a straight face, Nick suavely replied, "At least a dozen times. You'd think I'd be better at it by now, huh?"

"Do you always pull that cute push-up stunt?"

"It's my signature move." When Nick could no longer hold back his laughter he said, "I don't know about yoga lowering my blood pressure, but joking around with you probably is."

"You know what they say - laughter is the best medicine."

Enjoying the intimacy, Nick softly said, "The other day when I was in Pahrump with Cath, I told her she seems a lot happier lately."

"Yeah, I can't even remember the last time she snapped at me."

"She said that the best thing about her relationship with Vartann was having someone to relax with and talk to after a shit day."

"I guess all those fun conversations and meals we shared with her after shift weren't that fun after all."

Nick grinned. "Probably 'cause we weren't spooning her in the afterglow."

"Yeah, if I had someone like Vartann snuggling up to me after a long hard…day at the office, I'd be content too."

"Seriously? He's your type?"

With a self-deprecating laugh, Greg replied, "I don't have type. I like anyone who is still attracted to me after I've been speaking for five minutes, which narrows the field to my mother. Since I don't have an oedipal complex, my love life is pretty boring."

"Your naughty drawer tells a different story."

"I'm a good Eagle Scout. I like to be prepared." The flirt teased, "In case one day a jock with a yoga mat shows up on my doorstep using hypertension as a ruse to get into my shorts."

"That's not why I…" After glancing down at the borrowed gym shorts he was wearing, Nick rolled on his back laughing.

"Want another drink?"

"Definitely."

Greg jumped to his feet and hurried toward the door. "Be right back." But when he arrived in the kitchen, he couldn't wrap his hand around the bottle. "This is a really bad idea." It didn't take a mathematical genius to figure out the odds of something happening between two intoxicated and affection-deprived best friends enjoying each other's company in a dimly lit bedroom. The last thing he wanted to do was damage their relationship or make things awkward at the lab. "No way is this a good idea." Although he had gotten drunk with Nick many times without incident, there were always other people around. "I need to kick him out."

"What's takin' so long?" Nick shouted from the bedroom. "I'm thirsty! Get in here already!"

The enticing sound of a husky voice commanding him to the bedroom resulted in an immediate shutdown of Greg's reasoning abilities. "Coming!" Hoping his reply was foreshadowing, he snatched the bottle and rushed out of the room clutching two glasses.

"It's about damn time," Nick huffed while walking to meet the bottle. "I thought you went to Tennessee to get a fresh batch."

"Maker's Mark is distilled in Kentucky, the bourbon capital of the world." Greg pointed to the label. "Tennessee whiskey is an entirely different style. It's distilled through maple charcoal, which is what gives it its unique flavor. Bourbon, on the other hand, has a…"

"You're reminding me of my sister goin' on and on about a bottle of wine while I'm standing there frustrated waiting for her to fill my empty glass." While his pal continued to school him on whiskey brewing locales, Nick grabbed the bottle and took a swig.

Greg was just about to tell his guest that he didn't want backwash in his sixty dollar bourbon when he saw him wipe his mouth with the back of his hand and sit on the edge of the bed. "Uh." Nick Stokes sitting on his bed wearing a beater and holding a bottle of whiskey was without question the sexiest thing that had happened in his bedroom in a long time and he wasn't about to say or do anything that would cause the spectacular moment to end.

"Sorry if I sounded pissy just now." Nick clutched the bottle. "I've been in a funk since I failed that physical. "It's just so friggin' humiliating."

"Worse than when you failed your firearms test?"

Nick gaped at his supposed pal. "Thanks for reminding me of that when I already feel like shit." He took another quick gulp.

"Sorry." Retrieving the bottle, Greg said, "I think you're being way too hard on yourself. It's totally explainable high blood pressure that can be corrected."

"It's what it represents."

"Which is?"

"I'm a stressed out, lonely, middle-aged man with nothin' waiting for me at home except an empty house and an overinflated mortgage."

When Nick reached for the bottle, Greg shook his head. "I think you've had more than enough to fuel the mid-life crisis you're having in my bedroom."

Thinking about where he was and how he felt, Nick stood and nodded. "You're right. I should go." He immediately regretted the statement.

"I wasn't kicking you out and besides, there's no way you can drive home."

"Obviously." Nick rested his hands on his hips. "I'll just walk until I can catch a cab. A walk will do me good."

While every ounce of common sense told him to let Nick walk out the door, Greg replied, "You don't need a lonely walk, you need a friend and more laughs." Placing the bottle on his dresser, he announced, "I will now attempt Tree Pose with a BAC of point one."

Watching his buddy hop on one foot, Nick's smile returned. "Must be a jumping bean tree." Remembering the reason he was there in the first place, he said, "Okay, yeah, let's get back to yoga. Show me the happy baby pose the sales girl mentioned."

Laughter bubbling up inside him, Greg dropped to his mat, rolled onto his back and grabbed the soles of his feet. "Give it a try. You can't be depressed when you're in Happy Baby Pose. It's a nurturing position."

"People actually do this in public." Shaking his head, Nick returned to his mat and attempted to mirror his instructor. "How the hell did you do that? I can barely grab my ankles, no less the soles of my feet." He continued to strain. "Shit, I think I just pulled a muscle in my hip."

Greg snickered, "Now that we have the top/bottom question out of the way…"

Nick's laughter resumed with a vengeance.

"Not that I don't enjoy changing things up every now and then." Rolling onto his side, Greg mischievously asked a loaded question, "Any other positions you want to try?"

Staring into Greg's inviting brown eyes, Nick resisted saying the first answer that popped into his inebriated mind. "I think I should probably go."

"Yeah, you probably should."

A hint of vulnerability creeping into his voice, Nick asked, "Do you want me to go?"

"No, I want you to stay, but you should definitely go." Greg bluntly confessed, "I'm tanked and it's been a long time since I had a guy I liked in my bedroom."

"How long?"

"Too long."

"Me too."

"That's exactly why this is a dangerous situation." As Nick inched closer, Greg warned, "You're drunk, pent up, and emotionally off balance - not a good state to be in when decision making. Not that it would be a hard decision if we weren't coworkers, because there's no denying the obvious attraction between us or the fact that a hook up right now would be incredible…beyond incredible actually, because the sexual tension has been building between us for a while now and to finally act on the urge would be amazing."

"Here's a little piece of advice." Nick sweetly teased, "If you're tryin' to convince me to leave, you should probably stop talkin' about how hot the sex would be if I stayed."

Acutely aware that the space between their bodies had been reduced to inches, Greg flirtatiously replied, "Sorry, but it's hard to think clearly when you're practically on top of me."

"How did that happen?" Nick pretended to be surprised. "I blame the music and the mood lighting."

"All part of my genius plan." Greg nodded. "I actually paid the doctor to lie about your blood pressure and tell you to do yoga, knowing that you'd come to me for advice."

While sharing a laugh, their bodies gravitated closer and their toes touched.

"I um…" Though they were barely touching, it was enough to ignite Nick's body. "I'm gonna go," he whispered without moving an inch.

"Okay." His heart pounding and stomach swirling, Greg smiled and slid his foot over Nick's bare leg. "Admit it, you're not going anywhere."

"I'm not goin' anywhere." After almost a year without physical contact, the slightest touch felt fantastic.

Slipping his foot between the warm legs in front of him, Greg entwined their bodies. "I…" He shivered with delight when his future lover's hand slipped under the soft cotton of his t-shirt and began exploring. "I can't believe this is really happening," he stated along with a nervous chuckle. Just the thought of what was to follow made his body pulsate with excitement. "After all those years of resisting temptation, we're going down."

Nick playfully replied, "I will if you will." Then he closed the small gap between them with a brush of his mouth across Greg's irresistible smile. The lingering almost-kiss drove him wild, but instead of diving in for more, he paused to let the heat build and give them both a chance to savor the first moments of their physical relationship.

"You really are a romantic, Stokes." Greg's voice was thick with appreciation. By now the losers he used to date would have been pushing him to his knees or tearing open a condom wrapper with their teeth.

"Too slow?" Nick whispered while their noses brushed.

"Just right." The reply came just as their mouths met for a second time. "Mmm," he groaned as his mouth was tantalized. As far as first kisses went, it was off the charts…a perfect balance of give and take, lips and tongue, and each kiss that followed only fueled the fire building between them.

"Greg…" Kissing someone he actually had cared about was a new experience for Nick and it quickly left him feeling overwhelmed. "Do you…"

"Yes," Greg panted in between frantic kisses, "Let's move to the bed."

"You read my mind," Nick replied as he peeled himself away, stood up, and tossed his shirt. Extending his hand, he pulled his best friend to his feet and quickly rid him of his white cotton tee.

Eager to feel their bare chests pressed together for the first time, Greg circled his arms around Nick's waist and initiated a steamy kiss that left both men hungry for more. "Yoga pants and gym shorts tell no lies," he announced when the physical attraction between them had grown painfully obvious.

Grinning wildly, Nick backed his playmate up to the bed and gave him a little push.

Landing on his back, Greg trembled with anticipation. "Since you already had a self-guided tour of my naughty drawer, you know where the…"

"Why the rush?" Nick asked as he blanketed his new lover's body.

"I'm not rushing things, I'm just taking care of business up front so when I'm in the heat of the moment and too incoherent to speak, you'll know where to find stuff, because even though I know you, I don't fly without a net."

"You really are a good boy scout." Nick lingered a kiss on Greg's neck.

"Eagle scout, remember? I told you the whole story about how my…"

"G, what's with the chatting?"

"You know I always get extra talkative when I drink."

Smiling at the jittery man beneath him, Nick half-joked, "Are ya nervous?" If there was one thing he had learned about Greg in their early years working together, it was that he talked big about everything, but had hardly experienced anything. "Be honest, have you ever made it past third? Not that I think you haven't been with anyone, but you know, some guys don't…"

"Yes, I've made it past third!" Greg's drunken laughter returned. "A few more times than I should have actually."

"During your PLUR days?" Nick rolled his eyes.

"Oh like you never went through an unexplainable phase, cough, porn mustache, cough."

"Touché."

"But to answer your other question, this is the first time I've ever been with anyone I care about and have to see on a regular basis afterward, so yeah…I'm a little nervous." He was actually terrified he would disappoint and have to live with awkwardness every night for the rest of his working life. "One more shot of whiskey and I'll have my sea legs."

"You don't need booze to relax." Nick snickered as he lowered his mouth to the rapidly rising and falling chest beneath him. "As a Zen Master, I have a much more holistic approach to soothing your nerves."

"Ha!" When his lover's lips returned to his chest and began moving in a southerly direction, Greg gasped. "So far I'm not really feeling the calming effect of your Zen magic."

"Patience, grasshopper." Nick smiled, enjoying the comforting combination of bourbon and friendship that was making the romp unusually playful. Wrapping his fingertips around the waistband of Greg's yoga pants, he rejoiced, "Finally I get a chance to see what had Sara all flustered after you two shared in that cozy little HazMat shower."

"I knew you were jealous."

"Yeah," Nick freely admitted while enjoying the view. "I hope she didn't get to do this."

"Ah!" Greg propped up on his elbows to watch the historic event. "No, um…I definitely would have remembered her…doing…that." Overwhelmed by the image of Nick's head between his thighs, he fell back on the pillows and closed his eyes. "That feels…" Resting his palm on the back of his skilled lover's head, he pleaded, "Don't stop."

"Give it up, Lou," Catherine smacked her lover with a pillow. "I can't."

"C'mon," Vartann whined as he lounged on top of the sheets randomly kissing parts of Catherine's irresistible body. "The guy lives to work and he needs the extra cash. You know he'll cover your shift for you."

"I thought tough guys didn't whine?"

"I hate spending my night off alone." Like the devil on his lover's shoulder, he whispered, "C'mon, call Stokes and tell him you're sick."

Glancing over, she shook her head. "Nick's already covered for me three times. Seriously, I've already had food poisoning, a personal crisis with my daughter, and a broken alarm clock…not that he believed any of them. Well, I think he believed the one about Lindsay."

"One more time." He reached for her cell phone from the nightstand. "I'll make you breakfast in bed." He leaned in for a proper kiss. "And later, when you're playing hooky, I'll make you dinner."

"What about lunch?"

He winked. "You'll be too exhausted." Once he opened the phone and clicked Nick's cell phone number, he handed it over. "I promise, I'll be at your beck and call all night."

"I can't believe I'm doing this again." Then she saw the handsome man beside her. "Hey Nicky," she began the message, "I think I'm coming down with something." She was on the verge of faking a cough when she decided to tell the truth for once. "I'm being held captive by a horny homicide detective. I need you to cover my shift one more time. I'll owe you big."

"I'll owe you too, Stokes!" Vartann laughed and crashed against the sheets. "I seriously feel seventeen again."

"Love ya, Nicky. Call me when you wake up and get this message."

Once the phone call was over, Vartann said, "You don't say you 'I love you' to me, but you can say it to Stokes?"

"I didn't say 'I love you', I said 'love ya' like a sister would." Amused by the misguided jealousy, she chuckled. "Once upon time, after my divorce, I had a little too much to drink after shift and came on to Nick and kissed him. He said it felt like he was kissing his sister and politely declined my advances. It took my bruised ego a while to get over the fact that he had no problem falling into bed with other women, but I was a turn off."

"You kissed Stokes?"

Rolling her eyes, Catherine said, "You want me to tell him to meet you on the football field after school so you can teach him a lesson?"

"Kinda." Vartann laughed. "But I'll let him off the hook if he covers for you tonight."

"Of course he will." Catherine snuggled up to her man. "What else does he have to do?"

"Who are you calling?" Greg asked when he returned from the bathroom and saw Nick sitting on the edge of the bed wearing his boxer briefs and holding his cell phone. "Are you calling a cab?"

"What? Are you kidding?" Nick tossed his head back and laughed. "Like I'm going anywhere before we have sex again."

"Sorry." Greg laughed at his own insecurities. "It just wouldn't be the first time I thought things went well and then found myself alone when I woke up, so..."

"Not gonna happen." Nick returned to the pillows and patted the sheets, urging his anxious lover to join him. "When I went searching for my underwear, I saw my phone on the floor. I had a message from Catherine."

"Let me guess, she needs you to cover for her. What's her lame excuse this time?"

"No, this time she went the honesty route and admitted she wanted to stay home and screw Vartann."

"How refreshing." Greg laughed as he slid into bed. "What did you tell her?"

"I'm just gonna call back now." He flipped open the phone and made the call. "Hey, Cath…" He made sure his voice sounded extra scratchy. "I'd love to help you out. I was plannin' on coming in anyway to work on the Martinez case." While she excitedly thanked him, he cleared his throat hard. "But here's the thing…when I went to the doctor for my physical, he told me I had a wicked case of strep throat. I'm contagious for twenty-four hours until the antibiotics kick in and honestly, I feel like hell."

"Nice job," Greg whispered.

But Nick wasn't done yet. "Here's the other thing…I called Greg to see if he could follow up on the Martinez stuff for me tonight and it turns out he's sick too. You know how responsible Greg is, he never calls in sick, but he sounded like shit, so as Assistant Supervisor, I ordered him to take the night off and told him to go to the doctor to see if it's strep. That stuff is nasty and so easy to catch, the last thing we need is for him to infect the rest of the team. I think we picked it up when we were processing that robbery at the day care center over on Main. He was worried about missing his shift, but I told him it would be fine and that I'd let you know. Wendy could use the extra field hours anyway. Okay." He winked at his stunned bedmate. "Tell Vartann to give you his schedule and then you and I can sit down and tweak our schedule, 'cause I need to do a little rearranging myself."

Greg's smile lit the room.

"I will. Okay, thanks. Bye."

"I totally believed you," Greg chuckled, "and I know you're lying. Thanks for getting me the night off."

Turning off his cell phone, Nick mischievously grinned, "As I'm sure Sara has told you, boffing the boss has its privileges."

"Until Ecklie finds out."

"Hell, at this point he'd have to can half the department." Nick snuggled closer until they were sharing a pillow. "And unlike like everyone else, we're used to living on the down low."

"I promise not to plant one on you in the Trace Lab or start our first lover's quarrel in the break room."

The hopeful romantic, teased, "I'm still basking in the afterglow of our first time and you're already worried about our first fight."

"Honestly, I'm worried that you'll have regrets a few hours from now when you're sober."

"It takes a lot more than four shots to cloud my judgment."

"Technically you had five if you count the swig from the bottle."

"Greg…"

"I just want to make sure that if things get awkward between us at work, that you'll take full responsibility for the drama."

"Like hell I will." Nick laughed. "I showed up at the door, but you let me in, plied me with booze, and led me to your bedroom."

"Drinking was your idea, not mine."

"Right. Okay, yeah, but the bedroom…"

"Is where I always do yoga."

"And the music and the incense?"

"I use the same stuff when I do yoga alone."

"Yeah, but you were flirting."

Greg laughed, "I'm a flirt, I'm always flirting."

"Whatever." Nick shook his head. "You tore open the condom, put it on me, and gave me an all access pass, so I'd say we're equally responsible for complicating our lives."

"I just don't want you to..."

"Hey." Nick decided to end his lover's semi-panic with a slow, soulful kiss and a confession. "I honestly came here for help, not to hook up, but once I was here, I knew exactly what I wanted and what I was doing. Hell, I can't wait to do it again," he sweetly laughed, "and again and again."

"Do you have a stash of little blue pills I don't know about?"

"No, that's why I had to get you the night off, to allow for recovery time."

After a mutual chuckle that led to a series of long, slow kisses, Greg whispered, "I'm going to be very good for your blood pressure."

Thanks for reading!

I have to write a bit more because I need to see what happens next LOL

Part 4 to follow…

Maggs