Another Girl

Reid stared at the napkin sitting in his desk drawer. It had been a few days since he was dragged to the club and he still hadn’t called Stephanie. She probably thought he wasn’t interested, but he was just too nervous to call.

He heard someone walking his way and quickly grabbed a pencil and closed the drawer. “Kid, just call her.”

Spencer looked over his shoulder and saw Morgan standing there, drinking a cup of coffee. “W-what do you mean?”

“You’ve had that damn napkin in your drawer since the morning after she gave it to you. She gave you her number without your asking. She wants you to call.”

Spencer sighs. Why was this so hard for him? Obviously Morgan was right, but he still had doubts. “I guess you’re right. I’ll call.” Morgan stood and eyed the young profiler until he grabbed the number out of his desk and picked up the phone, then gave him his privacy. Spencer took a deep breath and dialed the number slowly.
---
Spencer waited at the small Mexican family restaurant for Stephanie. They decided to meet up for dinner after he got off work. Morgan was there to congratulate him as soon as he hung up the phone. Turns out, he hadn’t walked away to give him privacy, he went to Garcia’s office to listen in.

She arrived a few minutes late, apologizing profusely. “I’m so sorry, I got caught in traffic. I never leave enough time for in case I get caught in it.”

Spencer smiled reassuringly. “No worries, you’re not that late.” They walked in and took a seat at a small, secluded table. Stephanie looked around the restaurant and noticed that everything was themed. It wasn’t just Mexican food, but the whole atmosphere was something from south of the border. Even the waiters and waitresses had themed uniforms.

Their waitress, who was probably still in high school, came over to get their drink orders. The two began talking about their days. To Stephanie, her day seemed much less eventful than Spencer’s. Spencer, though, sometimes wished for those uneventful days. His were, more often than not, way too stressful.

Once the waitress set their drinks on the table and they were getting ready to order, Spencer’s phone began ringing. He excused himself from the table. “Can you give us just a few more minutes?” Stephanie asked the waitress. She nodded and walked to another table. Spencer came back shortly. His face held a look of disappointment and slight embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry to do this, but that was my boss. We’ve just been handed a case and I need to go.”

Stephanie did her best to hide her frustration and put a weak smile on her face. “Oh, no, it’s okay. I understand.”

“I’ll, uh, call you when I get a chance.”
---
Stephanie sat on her couch, watching old Disney movies. It had been a couple days since her date with Spencer was ruined. She still hadn’t heard from her. He’s busy, she told herself numerous times. It still didn’t help the fact that she let down. Not by him, but by her luck.

Right at the part in Cinderella where the clock strikes midnight and she’s leaving the ball, there was a knock at her door. Steph sighed, paused the movie, and got up to answer it. “S-Spencer?”

“Hi. Uh, I just got back from my case. This is actually the first place I’ve been, other than the BAU.” Stephanie looked at him quizzically. One, how did he know where she lived? Two, why didn’t he go home and get some sleep first? He looked like he could use it. You weren’t answering your phone. I got your address from our Technician. I hope you don’t mind….”

“No, no. Please come in.”

“I’d love to, but I really just came to apologize and see if we can reschedule. I should probably get home and get some sleep.” He chuckled at the thought of his reflection of a mirror he passed earlier. He had dark eyes, it looked as though he was punched, and stubble from not being able to shave. The case had taken a lot out of him, out of the entire team. It was one involving the murder of some New Jersey children, and the ones with kids were always the worst.

“Yeah, it looks like you could use some. How about tomorrow night? If you’re feeling up to it.”

“Sounds great. I’ll give you a call so we can set an official time.” She nodded in agreement. Instead of walking away, like she expected, he lingered there. After a few minutes of hesitation, he leaned in and connected their lips, taking Stephanie by surprise. Spencer, too, was shocked by his own forwardness and immediately pulled back, his cheeks flushed bright red. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you later.” Stephanie muttered a goodbye and closed the door. Spencer walked away, smirking, knowing that Morgan would get a kick out of what had just happened.