Giving In

Two Months Later...

I felt his breath on the back of my neck before he spoke, his voice still carrying its raspiness fresh from sleep. “Wake up, baby. You’re sleeping the day away.”

“’Time is it?” I managed before I could focus on the fact that I was lying in his bed, wearing only one of his t-shirts. “What are you doing here? Didn't you have to be in court today?

“Brace yourself," he said sweetly. "Ecklie called…said that Gary Simons confessed, so I have a day off. With nowhere to be until shift begins tomorrow night. We have the entire day together, and we’re not wasting it sleeping.” Laughing as I protested, he jumped from the bed and whipped the duvet and sheet off on the floor. “Up! In the shower. What do you want for breakfast?”

“You know, this drill sergeant side of you is very sexy…why don’t you follow me into the bathroom and we’ll have our breakfast after the hot water runs out?” I allowed myself a small, smug grin when I got the answer I expected: Gil’s sexy, wordless growl as he cradled my face in both hands, used his thumbs to relax my lower jaw, and plunged his tongue into my mouth. We stood in the middle of the room for a long moment like that, locked together, until I hooked my fingers through the belt loops on his jeans and began backing toward the bathroom. He followed me, never breaking our kiss until we reached the glass door of the shower, which he opened and reached through to start the water. Turning back to me, he kissed me roughly while his fingers dug into the backs of my thighs as he lifted me off the floor, pinning me against the cool glass. Before I could move to wrap my legs around his waist and pull him to me, he moved his hands and let me slide until I was standing again.

“I think our plans for today should involve taking you to buy you some more comfortable sleepwear, so you’ll quit raiding my drawers,” he teased as he toyed with the hem of his green tee where it grazed my thigh.

“Hey, you want it back so badly you can have it. Here,” and I pulled the shirt quickly over my head and tossed it into his face. Although steam from the shower was beginning to fill the room, I shivered as I stood in front of him in only my thin cotton bikinis. After dropping the discarded t-shirt onto the stone floor, he met my eyes with a mischievous grin and planted a soft kiss on the side of my neck, then bent and kissed my stomach just above my navel. I heard myself moan quietly as he caught my inner thigh in another soft kiss.

“Now this,” he grinned, running his hands up my thighs and sides while as he stood, “is the perfect sleepwear for you. I think you should meet me at the door in these every night.”

“Um doll... Have you noticed that I’m standing here, almost naked in front of you?" I said as I slipped out of the panties. "And what's this about every night...?”
Before I could finish my thought, he stopped me. “Yes, I noticed. It is the most effective way to take a shower- you know, without clothes.” With that, he turned me toward the open door, swatting me on the ass as he gently pushed me through and tossed a washcloth over the top of the stall. “Stop stalling. We have places to go.”

As usual when hit with the force of his charm, I was speechless. I yelled the only word I could think of at his back, “Tease!!”

After my shower, I found him in the kitchen, pouring coffee into a giant mug while grinning in my direction. “Are you awake now? Tell me what we need to do —do you have anything you need to get done today?”

“Don’t give me that lopsided smile, Gil Grissom. I’m mad at you…hey, are those chocolate scones? And raspberry jam?” He nodded solemnly at me. “Never mind. You’re forgiven. And yes, I have a list.” I sat at the table and started ticking off items on my fingers: “I need to take my clothes to the cleaners…guess we need to swing by my apartment before…”

Gil interrupted me as he lifted the laundry bag from behind the bar. "When did you get..?"

"I went over early this morning, while someone was sleeping. Grabbed you some clean clothes too. And your makeup bag."

I smiled sweetly as I reached for his hand. "You're too much, you know that?"

He only smiled as I watched him lick raspberry jelly off the back of his hand.
"Oh, back to my list - my car needs washing, I need to go to the grocery, and, God willing, I had hoped to get a manicure today. Sound like a big day to you?”

“Great. We’ll tack on lunch and one other stop, then call it a day. How soon can you be ready?”

“Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Gil Grissom? You hate doing this shit, so I’m going to get dressed and get you out of here before you change your mind."

“I do hate running errands, but," he hesitated slightly. "Well, you might think I'm insane, but...well." He stammered. "I love you. .I've been in love with you for a while and dammit, I want to be with you all day. I’ll even sit in the nail salon waiting room and read Cosmo.”

I stopped in my tracks and, without turning to face him, replied “I love you, too.” He'd said it so sweetly, but caught me off guard with it at the same time. I'd known I was in love for a while, but it just felt nice to say it, and hear it, too.
Twenty minutes later we were headed toward the dry cleaners. As we drove, we talked constantly about everything and nothing: his work at the Crime Lab, my new upcoming job with Western LVU as a Physics professor, plans for the summer break, the song on the radio. I realized he had been right—this was the best day we had experienced in a long time. I remembered why and how we’d become friends in the first place.. But days like this were the best, because we had all that history, but hadn’t lost any of the excitement that new lovers experienced, waiting for the next touch, the next kiss. And I knew Gil well enough to know he had something in mind he wasn’t sharing with me yet. While we waited in the carwash lobby for the cleaners to finish the interior of my car, I tried a clumsy interrogation. “So, what’s for lunch?”

“Don’t we still have a manicure to get to?”

“Well, yeah, but it usually takes an hour long discussion before we can decide where to eat, so I just thought I’d get the ball rolling. Chinese?”

“Sure, that’s fine,” he replied as we climbed back into the car. “I know just the place. Okay, that’s settled. Now, where’s the nail shop?” That was way too easy. Rolling my eyes at his evasion, I gave him the address, then tried again.

“So, what’s the extra stop we’re ‘tacking on’ after lunch?” Since the only response I got from him was a shake of his gorgeous head, I knew I was getting warm. I lowered my eyes from his to plan my next line of questioning, and that’s when I was lost. I suddenly became transfixed staring at his right thigh through his jeans, watching the muscles bunch and relax as he moved his foot from the gas to the brake. From there, my eye was drawn up from his legs, which I loved, to the obvious bulge at his crotch, which only served to remind me how frustrated I was when he rushed me out of the house that morning. It also made me suddenly very aware of the friction of my jeans and underwear as I squirmed in the passenger seat. I must having been staring for longer than I realized, because the next thing I remember hearing was Gil speaking my name, and I finally noticed the car was parked in front of my manicurists’.

“Hmmm? God, I’m sorry. I got distracted for a minute there.” I looked up at him to see an even bigger grin on his face than on mine. “Oh, please. Like you’ve never had an entire conversation with my boobs. You’re the one that left me hanging this morning.” I unbuckled my seat belt and, instead of opening the passenger door, I climbed over my seat and into his lap, straddling him. As I expected, his reaction was immediate: he laughed, cradled my ass in both hands, and pulled me closer to him so I could feel his cock swelling inside his jeans. Determined that he should be as miserable as me, I kissed him deeply, sucking his tongue hungrily into my mouth, and ground hip circles into his lap. I lingered there for several minutes before hopping out his door. “Let’s go get buffed and polished,” I tossed over my shoulder at him as he followed me across the sidewalk and into the salon.

What seemed like hours later, we pulled up in front of the restaurant. By this point, I’d realized it was useless to try convincing him to get the food to go and take it home to eat later. Much later.

Instead, I followed him inside and took my seat, quietly. I picked up my menu, made my decision, and excused myself to go to the ladies’ room, asking him to order for me if I missed the waiter. While in the bathroom stall, I slipped out of my jeans, stepped out of my panties, and redressed without them. Smiling slightly to myself, I wadded the damp scrap of fabric into my fist and walked back to our table. I stopped beside him, leaned down and kissed his temple gently, and dropped the discarded pink thong into his lap while whispering, “I'm losing my patience” softly into his ear, then nipped his earlobe lightly with my teeth.

As I took my seat, I smiled at the expression on his beautiful face: a mix of amusement, love, and pure desire, exactly what I had counted on. Before I could get my napkin to my lap, he was wordlessly looking around the room, a faint smile on his lips.

Finally, he located our waiter and waved him to the table. “I’m sorry, but can you package our order to go? I’m afraid something has come up and we’ll have to leave.” Somehow, we didn’t burst into laughter until after the poor server had headed to the kitchen. We were still giggling when our meals arrived, neatly wrapped and bagged. Gil threw cash on the table, grabbed the bag, and led me by the hand as we practically ran to the car. He backed out of the parking space and started the drive back toward his house.

We pulled up at a stoplight, and he leaned toward me, pulling me as close as my seat belt would allow, and kissed me softly, almost as if he was afraid I would break under too much pressure. While it was far from the passionate tongue-tangling I expected, the unaccustomed sweetness took my breath and left me speechless. “I just don’t think you know how precious you are to me. I work so much, and I guess I got accustomed to seeing you every day while you were still at the crime lab. I miss having you around there and I can’t get enough of you, so that's what I wanted today to be about,” He whispered against my lips. “Being with you. Pleasing you.”

The light turned green, and he drove on toward our destination. I couldn’t resist teasing him just a little to lighten his mood, which was suddenly so serious. “You weren’t so worried about pleasing me this morning, when I was showering alone.” I smiled over at him to make sure he knew I was joking, and he just smiled back at me.

I noticed the large van pulling out of his drive just as we were turning onto his street.

"Dammit" I heard him mutter underneath his breath as he noticed it too.

"What?" I questioned, noticing the worried look across his brow.

His look quickly went from concern to care. "I was expecting a delivery…guess I missed them." He reached over and patted my hand as he maneuvered my Jeep Liberty into the drive. Taking the food from my lap, he helped me out of the car and held my hand tightly as we walked up the front walk and up the steps to his front door.

"What's this?" I said, walking into his now empty living room. "What happened to your furniture?"

"Well," he said, placing the food on the countertop in his kitchen, "I thought maybe you'd like to help me pick out some more...ya know, since..." His voice trailed off.

"Since what?" He'd piqued my curiosity.

I could see that he was nervous about something. "Well, I was..." He was fumbling for the right words to say, and I could tell it. "Well, it's like this. You pay rent on an apartment that you hardly stay at. I have this huge townhouse for only me...and well...."

He looked at me, and I realized what he was trying to say. "I was tired of that furniture, and thought that maybe, if you wanted to, we could pick out our furniture together. So...., what do you say?"

"Are you asking what I think you are?" I could feel the tears stinging behind my eyes.
"You want me to...?"

"Yes," he whispered. "I like having you here when I wake up...and I love falling asleep beside you. So, what's your answer?"

I could only nod my head as he walked toward me and pulled me into a sweet embrace.

"Good, that's settled. We'll gather up all your things, and have you moved in by the weekend." He smiled as he pulled away a strand of hair that had stuck to the side of my tear-stained face. "My home is now ours."

"Well, if that's so, does that mean I can do as I please?"

He nodded at me. "Sure does."

"Then," I cooed, taking his hand as I started to lead him toward the bedroom "Shall we finish what you started earlier today?"

He only giggled as he swept me off my feet, kissing me as he carried me to what was now our room...

FIN