A friend on FB really wanted to read some Strauss/Morgan. And even though they are out of my comfort zone, I figured that I could take that risk. I mean, I wrote the first Strauss/Rossi and I did tackle Strauss/Hotch, so why not another team member? Well, her prompts were: beach house, hot tub, and roses. Plus it had to be ROMANTIC. The moment she said that, the song played in my head as a quick film. Hope you enjoy.
Song prompt: "I Knew You Were Waiting" by George Michael and Aretha Franklin
For Jill.
I Knew You Were Waiting
Erin Strauss inserted the key into the lock and gave it a slight turn. With a heavy sigh, she opened the door and stepped inside. A strange fragrance tickled her nose, but she was too tired to care what it might be. She was tired and right now all she wanted to do was take a long, hot bath and relax.
Closing the door, she hiked the strap of her shoulder bag higher. She still had no idea how she had let David Rossi talk her into going to a beach house in May, but here she was, and she was going to make the most of it. Maybe he was right and she did need a vacation. Rehab had been anything but a piece of cake and going back to the stress of the FBI was beginning to be a little much.
Switching on the lamp near the entryway, she gasped as she took in the elegance of the room. She knew that Rossi had expensive tastes, but she never could imagine that he knew interior decorating. Her eyes glanced around the room at the paintings and furniture. It didn't escape that there were dozens of roses on the tables.
"What in the world?" she muttered. She tried to recall anything that he might have said about having visitors. Had she gotten the dates wrong?
Stepping over to the huge bouquet or white roses, she noticed the card. Puling it out of the envelope, she opened it.
"Erin, take this time to relax and have some fun. Champagne in the fridge, hot tub on the deck. Just make sure you and your friend clean up. Dave"
Erin frowned. Friend? She didn't have any friends. At least none that wanted to associate with her anymore. She was a pariah.
Her self deprecation was put on hold as her ears picked up the faint sound of gravel crunching in the outside drive way.
"Who could that be?" she wondered and hurried over to pull open the drapes.
Derek Morgan pulled the car into the gravel driveway and threw the engine in park. He still didn't know how David Rossi had talked him into taking the weekend beach house for the weekend, but now here he was and it was too late to back out.
Running a hand over his tired eyes, he turned off the engine and sat in the quiet. In the distance the waves made a faint crashing sound, but overall, it was quiet. Eerily quiet. Maybe he had seen too many horror movies, but a shiver went thru him as he mentally argued that there were no UNSUBs at the beach.
"Oh yeah," he said to himself. "Remember that one case…or that other case…or the one in Pismo Beach…?" He shook his head. "Okay, Derek. Stop. You promised to come out and relax. Worrying about Freddy Kreuger behind the door isn't going to help."
Pulling his go bag from the front seat, he opened the door and stepped out. He debated for a moment to lock the doors, but decided against it. Really, what could happen on an isolated beach in the middle of nowhere?
Walking around the car, he stopped short. Another car? Why hadn't he noticed it as he pulled up? And he even knew the plate. What was Erin Strauss doing at Rossi's place? Maybe he should just go. He could turn around and walk back to the car without every saying a word. He could go back home and take care of Clooney and relax by working out at the gym. Anything but seeing the Director.
Chicken! he taunted.
He rubbed his eyes again. He could leave and no one be the wiser. But he would know. And he wasn't one to make promises and then break them. But it wasn't like Rossi to forget to tell him that someone was going to be at the beach house on the same weekend. Maybe Rossi had forgotten. After all, the agent was getting up in years and he had been distracted with Prentiss's departure. Or maybe he had heard wrong. When spoken quickly, certain numbers sounded the same.
"Just go up and be polite," he ordered himself. "Take a shower and get something to eat. In the morning, you can leave. You don't even have to see her."
With leaden feet, he took each step as though he was heading toward a sentence. Reaching the porch, he raised his fist and knocked. He wondered if she was still asleep, when the door was suddenly thrown open.
"Well, hello, Agent Morgan," Erin greeted in monotone. "I'm surprised to see you here."
"I could say the same, Director," Derek returned in the same tone. "Either I got the dates wrong, or Agent Rossi set us up."
Erin thinned her lips in thought as she considered his words. "More than likely it's the latter, if he had any say in it." Derek nodded in agreement. "Which leaves the question that deserves an answer."
"That is…" Derek wondered.
Erin crossed her arms over her breasts. "Which one of us gets to shoot him first?"