"Explain please?" Grissom asked. Brass and Catherine exchanged a look.
"I'll go first." Catherine said and Brass waved a hand in her direction.
"I believe you to be fair and unbiased most of the time; then there's Sara."
"She's right. What's going on?"
"I just left my meeting with Ecklie. After Sara left, he asked me to stay. He said that I treat her differently; that I look at her and suddenly my heart is on my sleeve." Grissom explained.
"Ecklie noticed? It's more obvious than we thought." Catherine mused and Brass nodded in agreement.
"What are you talking about?" Grissom demanded to know.
"Ecklie's right. Your attraction to her; well let's just say that a blind, deaf man could pick on it." Brass said.
"I agree." Catherine joined him.
"What else did he say?" Brass asked.
"He said that if I stop denying myself and pursue her, we could reach an understanding."
"Go for it." Catherine said without hesitation.
"Yeah, go for it. She wants you too, buddy. Make a move." Brass said.
"Oh, Catherine, Sara needs you to call her; something fashion related. Catherine excused herself and Grissom turned to Brass.
"I need you to meet me at the men's house tonight. Sara agreed to give them an autograph and a picture. I need your help to make sure they behave themselves."
"No problem; what time should I be there?"
"I'm picking her up at six, so I would say meet us at seven."
"I'll be there." Catherine returned at that moment.
"Sorry guys, she needs help. I'm kicking you out. Grissom, I say go for it. Your boss just gave you permission to chase the girl you want. We all know how you feel about her."
"She's right. Make a move. That girl has been waiting for years."
"She won't reject you." Catherine unknowingly soothed his fears with that single statement.
"I'll think about it. Thank you both for your opinions." Grissom left and Brass shared a hopeful look with Catherine as she pushed him out the door.
Catherine tracked Sara down in the food court.
"Hi."
"Hey, thank you for coming." Sara said.
"No problem; what happened?" Sara told Catherine the gist of the conversation she'd had with Ecklie. Both women shuddered when Sara said that he admitted to looking at more than Sara's face.
"It grosses me out that he looked long enough to see what I was doing in the photos."
"Me too; may I see them?"
"Maybe; it's at my place."
"I won't tell a soul; I swear."
"We'll see." Sara answered with a smirk.
"I'm done pushing. Let's go find you a swim suit. You're not going alone, are you?"
"No, Grissom is taking me and Brass is meeting us there."
"Are you planning to change there?" Catherine asked and browsed the selection.
"No, the sooner I can put this behind me, the sooner I can move on."
"Why did you do it?"
"I needed the money." Sara answered.
"That surprises me. You strike me as the financially responsible type."
"I am."
"Then again, you also strike me as a bit of a prude." Catherine smiled and Sara returned it.
"I'm not a prude; I just don't flaunt it."
"Ok, show me what you've been contemplating." Sara and Catherine wandered through the store. Two hours later, Sara had a new bathing suit, a button down dress shirt, a skirt, and heels. All Sara had to do was bring shoes, pants and underwear to work unless she wanted to wear the bathing suit all night long. Catherine followed her home to see the photos. After resting for a few hours, the two women perfected her hair. Catherine left just after five to meet Lindsey for dinner.
Sara answered the door at six, but she wasn't ready to go. Her shirt was not completely buttoned and remained untucked. Her black heels sat by her bag.
"Hi, come in; I'm just about finished."
"Take your time. I like the outfit."
"Thanks; Catherine got me to get out of the box. Shopping with her is exhausting. You look nice." She complimented his black slacks and blue polo shirt.
"Only for you." He said quietly. She froze.
"What?" She was shocked by his blatant flirtatious remark.
"Uh…I meant because we're going to dinner." He rushed to clarify.
"Oh." She seemed a little sad. She instead focused on buttoning her shirt. He couldn't believe she was the same woman he worked with. She moved to slip on her shoes and he was quick to step in.
"Allow me." He knelt down before she could protest. Gently, Grissom slid his grasp from her bare calf to her ankle and slid the shoe onto her foot. Both of them felt the surge of energy from their skin to skin contact. Sara enjoyed the feeling so much more the second time. Both of them knew he was deliberately taking his time. He smoothly picked up her bag when he stood.
"Ready?" He asked in a whisper.
"Yes." She whispered in return. She'd never seen his eyes from this close before; not even when he pinned her down was he as close to her as he currently was. Together, they left. Grissom was as gentlemanly as he could be to her. When they arrived, Brass was waiting by his car.
"Sara, stay here until the contracts are signed, please?" Grissom asked her.
"Sure." He climbed out of the car with the papers pre-signed by Sara. She held onto the magazine, thinking about what to write. It seemed as though only thirty seconds passed when Grissom opened her door for her.
"The contracts are signed. Jim did a quick visual scan for any hidden cameras and he didn't see anything out of the ordinary."
"Well, I'm as ready as I'm going to get. Thank you for coming with me." Sara spoke with false conviction.
"Thank you for trusting me; and Brass to ensure your safety." He held out his hand to help Sara out of the car. Brass was walking up to see what was taking so long.
"Whoa, Sara, when you want to clean up, you pull out all the stops; looking good kid." Sara smiled and blushed at the same time.
"Thank you; are they ready?"
"They're practically flooding the place with drool." Brass assured her with a smile. She fought the urge to make a face just in case they were watching her. Brass led the trio up to the open door. Frank and Scott leapt to their feet and practically ran her over.
"Chocolate! It's just awesome to meet you. You haven't changed one bit!"
"Thank you…"
"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Frank and this is my friend and roommate, Scott." Each one of them kissed her hand. Sara offered a fake smile of gratitude and Grissom was disgusted. He was practically glued to her side and fully intended to stay there until she asked him to move.
"Do you have a table and a pen so I can maintain my end of the bargain?"
"Sure, right this way." Frank led her into the kitchen. Sara had tugged on Grissom's arm, so he followed her. Brass was quietly amused by this behavior.
In the kitchen, Grissom turned his back while she autographed the pair of magazines.
"Alright, here you are. Where do you want the picture done?" Sara had asked. Grissom picked up on her urgency to get out of that house.
"On the couch. We were hoping you'd sit on our lap for individual shots." Scott said.
"Nothing sexual." Sara warned.
"We promise." They said.
"Alright." The group retreated back to the living room. Frank sat on the couch first and Scott handed a camera to Brass. Sara stood behind Grissom.
"Block my view. They don't need to see me change." She whispered in his ear. He stood and made sure the two gentlemen were not trying to sneak a peek or anything. She shed her blouse and skirt and then picked them up.
"Will you hold these for me?" She asked him. He nodded and she put her clothes in his outstretched hand. She stepped out from behind him and he was flabbergasted by the vision in front of him. He'd never seen her look so beautiful or so vulnerable. She was still wearing the heels, but had on a very tiny black bikini; the bottom was almost a thong and the top was a halter top to accentuate her cleavage. The heels worked wonders on her already long legs. Without conscious thought, the hand holding her clothes moved to cover the bulge in his pants. He noticed he wasn't the only one to suck in a breath at the sight of her either. Even Brass had to adjust himself.
Sara sat in Frank's lap and put on her best fake smile. Frank wrapped his arm around her waist so Brass could take the picture. Next, was Scott's turn and he too, wrapped his arms around her body. Ten minutes later, Sara was shielding herself behind Grissom once again to redress. Again, both men thanked her with another kiss to her hand. Brass ushered the trio out and closed the door behind him. Sara discretely shuddered in disgust and wiped her hands on her skirt.
"I'm so glad that's over." She said
"Me too, are you hungry?"
"I'm starving; is Brass joining us?" Sara looked at Brass and Grissom ever so slightly shook his head from behind her, but spoke anyway.
"If he wants to…Brass?" Luckily Brass had seen the message from Grissom.
"I'll pass, thank you for inviting me, though. Behave, you two." Sara laughed and Gil smiled while he opened the car door for her. Sara paused.
"Will there be a place for me to change?"
"Yes."
"Thank you." She rewarded him with a smile and sat in the car. Gil walked around the car and caught Brass' eye. The other man offered a thumbs up and a wink. Gil climbed in the car and started it up.
"So where are you taking me?" Sara asked.
"It's a surprise; do you trust me?"
"I do, just as long as you're not taking me to the body farm…I'm over dressed." He chuckled.
"No, it's not that; though I did make sure there would be vegetarian food for you."
"Thank you." The rest of the drive was completed in silence. Grissom's nervousness was reaching unbelievable levels. For him, this was the moment of truth. He knew that he still felt the tension between them and it was time to see if she felt it too. If she did, then hopefully the brand new box in his night stand would be opened soon and he'd be visiting Ecklie. Sara's eyes widened when she saw where they were.
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A/N: So where do you think he took her? I'd love to read your predictions. All I can tell you is that it will have an interesting result. The ext few chapters will be a little angsty, but dont worry, I put some laugher in there to cover it up. The magazine issue has been set off to the side for now, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it. It will come back. :)
Reviews are wanted and appreciated.
Have a great day everyone! Kelly