The Chariot (Spencer x Reader)

TWO

I wasn't surprised when we walked inside, only seeing empty seats and two other people sitting near the front. We settled in the back of the room, Spencer mumbling something about these two seats being the spot where the audio sounded the best.

The armrest was conveniently up and the only thing that separated us was the gap between the chairs. About halfway through, I set my hand down on the chair, partially bridging the gap between us. In what seemed like an eternity later, Reid did the same, positioning his hand so our pinkies touched. My heart practically started beating out of my chest. Was I really this touch starved?

Throughout the whole movie, I noticed Reid glancing over every few minutes to watch my reactions to certain parts of it. From what I could gather, it was about some Russian scientist that put a human brain in a dog, turning the dog into a human. It was a weird movie, but I knew I wasn't exactly the intended audience, either.

The movie ended, and on the walk back to my car, I tried to win some brownie points of the Russian literature variety by mentioning I read Anna Karenina when I was younger.

Reid ran with that statement, analyzing the themes of social change in nineteenth century Russia, forgiveness, death, and the symbolism of trains as it pertained to Anna's life. I tried my hardest to control my micro expressions when he started talking about the last point, just nodding and smiling at him whenever the conversation warranted it.

I pulled to a stop outside of his apartment. He slowly unbuckled his seat belt and turned to me, asking, "would you uh- like to come up for some coffee?"

Against my better judgement, I smiled and unbuckled my seatbelt, indicating I would. I knew the implications of going up to someone's apartment under the guise of a cup of coffee, but this wasn't a date, and this was Spencer. Sweet, innocent Spencer.

His apartment was exactly how I imagined it – not that I made a habit of thinking about my coworker's living situations. Olive green walls, bookcases on every wall overflowing with books so much that some had to be stacked on the floor. His desk was piled high with books on astronomy, art history, anything you could think of.

He put his keys down and motioned to the couch. "Make yourself at home, I'll go make some coffee."

I obliged, setting my purse down on the couch. Before I sat down, I walked over to one of the bookcases, drawing my finger along the spines and I paced. I stopped on a book about one of my favorite painters, Wassily Kandinsky. Pulling it from the shelf, I flipped through the pages.

Spencer returned, two cups of coffee in hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't know how you liked it, so I just left it black."

"That's perfect." I smiled and reached out to grab the mug shortly after returning the book to its resting place.

We sat on the couch and I nursed my coffee, not wanting this night to end before it had to.

"Nice mug," I giggled.

"Thanks," he replied, blushing, because a jack-o-lantern mug in the middle of March seemed only somewhat out of place. "Halloween is my favorite holiday."

I nodded in agreement. The scary stories of Halloween were nothing compared to what I saw on a daily basis.

"So, what did you think of the movie?" Reid questioned.

"It wasn't too bad! I don't know if I'd ever watch it again, but it was definitely... interesting. Maybe next time I can pick the movie," I trailed off, avoiding eye contact as I took a sip of my coffee.

"And what movie would that be?"

"Hmm" I took a minute to think. "Into the Wild? I know it sounds childish, but that book and movie just makes me want to sell all of my belongings and live life as a hitchhiker." I quietly thanked myself for not blurting out that I wanted to watch Twilight. After I moved here, I was desperate for anything that reminded me of home back in Kansas. Oddly enough, the baseball scene did, so I clung to it with everything I had.

"No, not at all, I can see where you're coming from. The prospect of no responsibilities or plans other than to fulfill the basic need or survival is quite alluring."

It was then that I realized our legs were touching. I don't remember sitting this close to him or moving near him during our conversation. I turned to look at him as he took another sip. He set his mug down on the coffee table and looked back at me.

Before I knew it, our lips crashed against one another's. It was a hurried kiss, almost as if one of us would change our mind part way through. I pulled away in an attempt to not spill my coffee all over our laps. I quickly placed my coffee on the table and looked back at him.

We sat there for a moment looking at each other. His eyes scanned mine almost to ask if I knew what had just happened.

Watching the gears in his head turn, I placed my hand on his cheek and slowly leaned in. We started kissing again, this time slightly less hesitant than before.

His hands raised to my back and pulled my body as close to his as possible.

"Reid," I breathed after a few minutes.

"Huh?"

"I- I think we should stop."

"Oh, yeah, okay." He down and refused to make eye contact. It didn't take a profiler to know he was disappointed.

"I'm sorry, it's not you. It's just we work together, and I've made a habit of not making out with my coworkers."

Desperately trying to get out of this awkward situation I caused, I picked up my purse and began walking towards the door.

"I should get going but thank you for the coffee and the movie. Really Reid, I had a good time."

"No problem, I'm glad you could come." A barely noticeable smile pulled at the corners of his mouth.

I turned and opened the door, quietly latching it behind me on the way out. I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt for how I just handled that situation. I didn't mean to leave so abruptly but I knew if I had stayed much longer things would've gotten more complicated.

I pushed down those thoughts and wrote off the interaction as just two people who were tired after a long day. It didn't mean anything, right? I repeated those lies over and over in my head until I started to believe them.