Keeping You a Secret

My fingers curled tightly around the phone in my hand, paranoid thoughts rushing rapidly through my mind. Derek had left around six o’clock, and it was now nearly twelve. I brushed a hand through my hair, biting my lower lip as I tried to figure out where on earth he could be. It wasn’t really like him to just disappear like this. I had figured he would go out for a few drinks and then be back, but that didn’t seem to be the case tonight.

I made a split-second decision, dialing Garcia’s number and putting my phone to my ear. The line rang once before she answered, the sound of her typing coming to a stop as she said, “Hey, lover boy. I was wondering when you’d call. Facing trouble in paradise?”

“How’d you know?” I asked, stretching out on the mattress with a heavy sigh.

“One, you were all uptight with Derek today. Two, you guys weren’t all over each other when Hotch sent you home, and three, you never call me unless you need something on the case, and nothing’s really going on with that right now,” Garcia listed off for me.

“Derek and I had a… a fight,” I admitted sheepishly. I explained in detail about what had gone on, finally ending my rant when I said, “And Derek left and he’s been g-gone for hours.”

“I’m sure he’ll come back soon,” Garcia said soothingly, though I was almost positive there was a hint of unsureness in her voice. “So don’t you worry yourself over it, okay? In fact, I could probably find out where he is right now. Did he take his cellphone with him?”

“Well, yeah, but he’s not answering my calls-”

“I’m on it,” Garcia said simply, starting to type rapidly against her keyboard. The sound from it was so loud I could hear it over the phone. It was kind of soothing, in an odd sort of way. “All right, babycakes, I found him. He’s just down the block from your hotel… It looks like he’s headed your way, actually.”

“He is?” I asked, unable to ignore the rush of relief I felt. I frowned, a sudden thought jolting me from my moment of happiness. “What am I gonna say, Garcia? I don’t want us to fight anymore.”

“So tell him that,” Garcia said, as if it were a simple task. “I mean, not that I’m picking sides or anything, but you were a little harsh on the poor fella.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” I agreed, nodding as I sat up. “Thanks, Garcia.”

“Anytime, sweetums,” she said in a singsongy voice, before hanging up.

I tossed my phone to the side, scooting towards the edge of the bed. I placed both feet on the hotel room’s carpeted floor, waiting rather impatiently for Derek to get back. I tapped one foot and then the other, glancing at the door every few seconds. If someone had been watching me from a distance, they probably would have thought I had a bad tick.

After what seemed like an eternity- the clock told me it had only been four minutes-, Derek walked into the room, tucking his keycard into his jacket pocket. I bounded over towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck. Derek’s eyebrows shot up thoughtfully at this sign of affection, and I explained in a low voice, “I’m so sorry, Derek. I didn’t mean… I don’t want us to fight anymore.”

I tensed nervously when Derek’s arms snaked around my waist, holding me securely. “I don’t want us to fight either,” he said softly, meeting my gaze with his warm, coffee-colored eyes. “I wanna make it up to you, Spence. As soon as I can, I’ll take you out on a date.”

I found myself blinking in surprise, wondering what the catch was. When I realized there wasn’t one, I couldn’t help but grin. I was unable to think of the right words to say, so I leaned in to kiss Derek, my hand cupping his cheek as our lips connected in a rather heated kiss.

He made a guttural sound in his throat; an animalistic growl of triumph. Derek’s warm hands guided me to the bed, but at the last moment, I maneuvered so that he was the one sinking down into the mattress. I held him down with the hand I had splayed out on the middle of his chest, and I settled myself so that I was straddling him, a leg on either side of his body. I wasn’t sure exactly what had come over me, but Derek seemed to like it, so I didn’t change what I was doing.

Derek pulled away from the kiss, his eyes pleading with me. “Spencer, can we please-?”

He stopped talking, brown eyes widening as I allowed one of my hands to trail up his chest. My fingers worked to undo every last button of his shirt, which I pushed off of his shoulders and tossed to the floor. I let my hands trail over his muscular chest as I leaned down to kiss him again, a smile tugging at my lips.

“You know what we should do?” I asked, moving to press my lips against the sensitive piece of skin just behind his ear. Derek made a small noise, which I interpreted to mean, “What?”

I smirked, leaning up to nibble on his earlobe, something I happened to know would drive him crazy. I pulled away after a moment, unable to hide a cheeky grin.

“We should cuddle.”