Can't be helped

The end of that shift showed nothing new. Not a single lead. We’d ended up going out to breakfast with everyone, before Nicky took me home. He’d intended on just dropping me off, but I’d asked him in for coffee. Lame, I know but I hadn’t wanted to let him go just yet. Not that I had to twist his arm or anything. He’d decided to come in for a while, and we’d ended up cuddling on the couch. He was so warm and so damn comfortable, too comfortable. I fell asleep right there in his arms, I guess. But when I awoke the next evening, I was in my bed. No Nicky in sight. Confused, I showered, shaved and dressed before heading out of the house, only to remember that I’d left my car at his place. But, before I could pull out my cell and call him, I saw it parked in my usual spot. There was only one way it could have gotten there, and that thought made me smile. He really was such a damn golden boy. I shook my head and headed out, wondering if he’d actually gotten any sleep last night.

I caught him in the parking lot when I pulled in. He was just getting out of his truck. Feeling a bit giddy, I glanced around, and smiled. Not a soul in sight. Deciding that I didn’t care what might be caught on the security cameras, I jogged up to him and pinned him against the now closed door of his vehicle. My lips were on his without hesitation, and he kissed back eagerly. A moan rumbled in his chest as I ran my fingers up his sides and suckled his bottom lip. Grinning, I pulled back a bit. “Morning, and thank you. I didn’t even remember that I’d left it at your place.” He returned the smile and shrugged.

“Good morning, and I kind of forgot about it too, until we got to your house. So after you passed out, I brought it back and called a cab. No big deal, boss.” I frowned and took a few steps back, but only because I could hear a car coming. He tilted his head and flashed me an odd look. I couldn’t really decipher it right then, but instead of asking, I let it drop. Sighing lightly, I shoved my hands into my pockets and moved my gaze to the ground. I hated the way I felt around him sometimes. Like a fucking schoolgirl or something... It’s kind of pathetic if you think about it. Which is why I never let myself dwell on it for long.

“You could have stayed… I mean, you didn’t have to leave at all, you know?” I didn’t see the expression he wore when I said it. I was too nervous to look. Didn’t trust myself enough, because I’ve never had to do this before. Well, I mean I have, but not like this. I never thought twice about what the girl I was seeing thought about me. Because I’ve always been pretty sure of myself, and relationships always came so naturally to me. But this was different. It was Nicky, so of course it was. I scuffed my foot, if only for a small distraction, until a warm hand landed softly on my shoulder, then slid up to cup the side of my face.

“Next time, I will. Promise.” I looked up with a smile that I knew was splitting my face in two and nodded. He chuckled and shook his head before pulling me close and dropping his forehead into the crook of my neck. “I had to go home. Needed some clothes… and yours definitely wouldn’t fit.” I laughed, suddenly feeling infinitely better.

After that, we went inside and got the day started. Though the evening quickly proved that the case was going nowhere fast. Our youngest Vic didn’t seem to have too many friends. In fact, we couldn’t find a single person that had been an acquaintance, let alone any closer. It was almost as if he’d been a ghost in school. No one in the neighborhood had any information to offer about him either. His test scores and academic record were average. On top of that, every photo taken of the Vic had been either with other family members or he was simply alone. How could someone live like that? Without any social connection what so ever? It made no sense. One clue we did discover had been that he’d been attending therapy. With one Scott Evans. For what, we had yet to discover. As the therapist it seemed, was not listed in Las Vegas. At least, not anymore… It was discovered shortly after that he’d moved recently, to California.

Sadly, once this bit of information was unearthed, we found that we could only acquire his latest and last known addresses. There was no telephone listing. No cell phone number and no known family members to contact and question. Though one key point of interest was that a red mustang was registered under his name. Nick, being the senior CSI volunteered to venture to California, with Grissom of course, in order to continue the investigation. They were leaving directly after shift. Which was fast, but that’s how things happen sometimes. When you’ve got a lead, you have to chase it down before it gets cold. As such, said shift ended with a stolen moment in the locker room.

We had precious little time. Nicky was to go home and pack right away. I tried to bite back a moan as he attacked my neck while he pressed me into the wall. There was no way I was going to be able to stay quiet if he kept it up, though. And I tried to inform him of this between gasps, when he pulled back all on his own. “Wait for me at my place?” I blinked in surprise and attempted to process his odd statement. How could I wait for him? He’d be gone… Unless he meant… After another short moment, I realized what he was asking and nodded, licking my lips and gazing at him heatedly.

“But you could be gone for days, or who knows how long… Are you sure? I mean… You must be, but…Uh, yeah. I will, if that’s what you, what you want.” He stole another small kiss and let his fingers trace over the still sensitive flesh of my neck. I shivered at the contact, but somehow I managed to hold his eyes. Then his hand was gone as he sunk it into his jeans pocket and produced a shiny piece of metal. Less then a second later he was pressing that same object into my palm as my brows furrowed. I must have looked like some sort of an idiot, I’m sure… but this just didn’t compute.

I glanced down at my hand when he pulled his back, to stare at the small sliver key. There was no way he could have known that the investigation would take such a turn, and yet he had this key all ready for me. It wasn’t attached to his key ring, and it was obviously brand new. A low, soft chuckle caught my ears as he nuzzled into my neck. “I’m sure, G. I was going to give that to you anyway, its just now I have a convenient excuse to do it.” He took another kiss from me as he let his eyes travel over my face. “I’ll be back before you know it, and I have you to look forward to… So I’ll try to wrap things up as quick as I can.”

I swallowed thickly while nodding, and closed my fingers over the small object before shoving it into my own pocket. How the hell was he able to reduce me to a blushing teenaged wreck? It wasn’t fair, I tell you. Gentle hands cupped my face as he rested our foreheads together. “I’ll be back before that fades. Promise.” Huh? What the hell was he talking about? Before what fades? I arched a brow but decided to let it drop for the moment as his lips took mine one last time. Then, much faster then I would have liked, he was gone. With a long sigh, I trudged to my locker and changed sluggishly. Now that he’d left, I had time to contemplate his odd comment. What could he have meant? What was going to fade, exactly? This thing, whatever it is, between us? Grabbing my stuff, I headed out towards my car, head still in the clouds. It wasn’t until I walked passed Warrick that I was pulled from my inner musings over Nicky’s words.

“Nice bruise. Let me guess... A baseball hit you? Or maybe, you got punched in the neck? Oh, wait, you got attacked by a vacuum and lost, right? That one was always my favorite.” I frowned and my confusion must have been obvious because he laughed and pointed to a spot on his own neck. “The present Nicky left you… Its huge.” I ran to the mirrors around the corner and nearly shrieked in my dismay. God damn it, but that man was evil, I swear. ‘Rick wasn’t lying, it was huge, alright. The biggest hicky I’d ever had, that’s for fucking sure. And it was in plain sight, too. No turtleneck would ever cover it. Not that I’d get away with one in Nevada anyways. I ran my fingers over my face and laughed. What else could I do? There was no hiding it at this point and shift was over anyway. The only thing left to do was to go home, pack some things and head over to Nick’s. I’d figure it all out later. Maybe while I’m at it, I’ll call him and ask him what the hell he was thinking.

Either way, I was staying at his place. After all, I keep my promises. And this one, I was looking forward to keeping. Not the ‘being there by myself’ part. But the ‘him coming home’ part sounded pretty damn good to me. Warrick waved as I left the hall and headed out. I all but ignored it and went home to grab some essentials. This process took longer then expected, but only because I didn’t know what to bring, really. Sure there was the obvious things like spare clothes, my toothbrush and deodorant, etc. But what about little things, like my Ipod, and laptop and maybe some video games? Would that be a bit forward? I didn’t think so, since there was no way of knowing when he’d return. And it wasn’t like I was going to sit there and do nothing the entire time. Tomorrow was my day off and, if I’m staying there, then I’m going to be comfortable.

I decided that it didn’t matter, I’d bring what I wanted for tonight and get more things as and if needed later. Twenty minutes after that, I was back at his apartment. It really was weird being there when he wasn’t. I mean he was placing a lot of trust in me, you know? I could go through every last thing he owned and he’d never know. Not that I would. It was just the point of the matter. I dropped my bags and grabbed the note he’d left on the table.

Greg, go ahead and help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge. I set aside some space for your clothes in my room. You know where everything is. I’ll call you later from the hotel. Nick.

P.S. You are too damned irresistible, and I’m not sorry.

I smiled imagining the smug grin on his face, the fucking beautiful bastard, and set the note back down before heading to the fridge. I grabbed a beer and sat down for a moment, just staring at the bottle. This place seemed so big without him here to fill it. I decided that just wouldn’t do, so I hooked up my Ipod to his stereo and set up some music. The rest of the day was passed with settling in. True to form, Nick had indeed left me some space for my clothes, in his dresser. It seemed I had a drawer all to myself. I smiled as I placed the clothes I brought inside.

After all was said and done, I showered and changed into a pair of sleep pants before crawling into his bed. It was kind of lonely, smelling his scent all around me, but not being able to curl up in his arms. When had I gotten used to that? It’s only happened maybe a handful of times, but already I missed it. Missed his quiet, slow breaths. Wanted to run my hands over his sides and press my ear to his chest. Wanted his heartbeat to lull me to sleep.

As my eyes slid shut, I couldn’t help but remember the last time I’d been in this bed. The heat that shot through me at the thought was so potent, that as I glanced down at myself, I realized I was painfully hard. Just from a fleeting thought. I sighed and let my eyes slide shut once again. Then, letting out a tiny whine, I unfolded the still fresh memories, letting them replay in my mind.