24. Casual

god in jeans - ryan beatty


Filtered sunlight warmed my face. My bed, so cozy, was a haven from the world. I knew as soon as I opened my eyes and stood up I'd have to deal with a hundred things. Bills. Cases. Feelings. I kept my eyes shut.


More comforting than the sun was the weight on my mattress beside me. Reid's leg was pressed against mine. I felt strangely safe, much safer than when we had just locked up a killer. But all good dreams have to end, and so Reid shifted behind me, waking up.


"Maya? You awake?" I opened my eyes.


"Yeah." I turned toward him. Suddenly, I became very conscious of the fact that I was still naked. Reid has tugged on his boxers. How he managed to find them I had no idea.


"Um," I said. I'm going to go take a shower. Where's your bathroom?"


"Down and to the left." He nodded. His hair was such a mess I had to smile.


When he had left the room I scrounged to find my underwear, which was strewn across the floor. Then I pulled on a big, black t-shirt and some boy shorts and headed to the kitchen to start the coffee maker.


"This keeps happening to us," Reid commented when he emerged into the kitchen. He was dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing the night before.


"Yeah," I said softly. I handed him a mug of coffee which he accepted gratefully.


"Sorry, it's not French press." He chuckled. For a few minutes, we drank our coffee in silence.


"Do we need to talk about this?" he asked finally.


"What's to talk about?"


"I'm not sure." He bit his lip and my heartbeat picked up for the hundredth time in twenty-four hours.


"Look," I said, swirling my coffee, "It's fine. I'm not going to bring it up in the office or anything.


"I didn't think you would." There was a hint of a smile in his voice. But I couldn't see it. I was busy watching the tornado of coffee in my mug. 


"We can keep it casual," I said, after a beat. Clearly, there was nothing more here, not for him.


"Is that what you want?" he asked, a little subdued.


"Isn't that what you want?" Who could blame him? He probably just saw me as a rookie obsessed with his research, throwing herself at him. Reid was far too kind to ever say that, particularly using those words, but I want an idealistic. There wasn't much room for idealists in our line of work.


"Ok," he said, "I guess I'd better get going then." He went to get his jacket.


"You don't have to go," I said and immediately regretted it. So clingy. He just made it clear he didn't want anything to do with me than sex. He paused.


"I... I have some errands to run." Yikes.


"Yeah. Okay. Um, have fun. I guess." He flashed me a small smile.


"I'll see you around," he said, but it sounded more like a question.


"Yeah." He set the mug down on the counter and grabbed his jacket.


"Thanks for the coffee." He paused again.
"Is it weird if I say I had a good time last night?" Now it was my turn to smile.


"A little," I said. He nodded and step toward the door.


"Wait!" I called as he pulled the door open.
"Your clothes," I said.


"I got them." He lifted the bundle of jacket to indicate that he had them in there.


"I had a good time too, Spencer," I said before he could turn away again."


He looked back at me with something in his eyes I couldn't place, swallowed, and walked out the front door.


At least we always timed it with a day off, I mused silently once he was gone. I was free to do whatever I wanted, almost. I wandered around the house tidying this absently and trying to convince my relentless brain to deviate in subject matter at least one inch from Spencer Reid. Around three o'clock my phone buzzed and my heart jumped a foot in my chest. When I picked it up, however, it wasn't Reid's name on the screen.


Max: Hey, it's your day off, right? Wanna grab some dinner?


My fingers hovered above the screen. I'd met Max, my friend from college, for coffee a while ago. We'd had fun reminiscing about the old days and promised to meet up again, but I had forgotten about with all the commotion of the last week. I wasn't sure I was up to leaving my apartment in the next twelve hours.


Max: Your place? Pizza and a movie?


That settled it.


Me: Sure! 7:00?
Max: I'll bring popcorn.

Comment