You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
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Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or anything else copyrighted, for that matter.
Author's Note: This is something I wrote a while ago but never put up here. I used a prompt from the "Staring Out" daily prompting thing on LiveJournal… uh… enjoy, I guess.
Prompt: When she said she wanted to go dancing, this isn't what she meant.
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Dancing faces you towards Heaven, whichever direction you turn.
~Terri Guillemets
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Jennifer Jareau was confused. Spencer Reid had called her on the phone perhaps half an hour ago with that special tone of voice that told her he was plotting. It usually meant a surprise for her and they were usually good. Not all the time, of course. They were disastrous just often enough to keep her on her toes.
She had been pestering him for weeks now, telling him that she wanted to go out dancing. She knew he disliked it, but she thought perhaps he would have a better time if her were there with her. At first, she had thought maybe he had finally given in and planned a night at the club for them. However, when he told her to dress in formal attire and to be ready by 6:45, she doubted this was the case. She also doubted dancing would be on tonight's agenda.
However, she obliged with his command. By 6:45, she wore a dusty-purple off the shoulder dress with a glittering black swirl pattern that went down to her knees and hugged her curves perfectly. She had pulled her hair back into a twist, allowing a few curled strands of hair to frame her face. She was just slipping on her shoes when the doorbell rang. She shook her head. No matter how often she told Reid he didn't have to wait at the door, he always did. When she opened it, she found herself speechless for a moment.
JJ had no idea that Reid owned a suit, let alone that he looked so good in it. He smiled shyly at her and held out his arm to her. She laughed a little and linked arms with him, shutting the door behind them.
They had been driving for 10 minutes when JJ finally broke. "So, where are we off to, dressed up so nicely?" She asked playfully.
He smiled one of his odd little secretive smiles. "You said you've been wanting to go dancing." He told her mysteriously, keeping his eyes on the road.
JJ was about ask that he assure her that they weren't going clubbing dressed like this when they pulled up in front of La Rosa, a very nice and very elegant restaurant. "Oh." Was all JJ said as she got out Reid's old Volvo and followed him up to the restaurant.
While they stood in line behind another couple JJ turned to Reid. "Okay, what are we doing here?" She asked curiously.
A look of confusion came over Reid's features. "We're going dancing... well, we're also having dinner. This place has very good reviews for service, food, atmosphere..."
"Spence, when I said I wanted to go dancing, I meant at a club." JJ told him.
"Oh..." Reid looked embarrassed. "I... oh. I'm sorry... I can take you home and you can change and we can go to a club instead..."
Suddenly, JJ felt as though she had kicked a puppy or something equally offensive. She hated to see that look in his eyes. It was the look he got when he had once again misconstrued some custom that everyone else his age would certainly understand and he had yet to grasp it. "Spence, wait." She grabbed his hand as he turned to leave. "We can go clubbing another time. You obviously put some thought into this; we can stay."
"No, JJ, it's fine. If you don't want to be here, then we should go." He said, looking into her eyes.
"Spence, if you're here with me, there's no place I'd rather be." She told him, tugging him down by his tie to meet him in a soft, reassuring kiss.
They both pulled apart and blushed with the maitre d cleared his throat. "W-we have seven o'clock reservations under 'Reid'." Reid stammered, readjusting his tie.
"Of course, right this way." The young man grabbed two menus and led them to a table near the dance floor.
The couple ordered their meals and ate while chatting quietly or sitting in comfortable silence. JJ could tell Reid was still embarrassed about the misunderstanding, and she tried very hard to show him that she really didn't mind being at a nice restaurant. "You know, a lot of guys would rather cut off their feet than take their girlfriend to place like this for the night." She said with a small smile.
Reid's eyebrows went up. "That seems a little extreme..."
JJ shook her head. "It's just an expression, Spence."
"Oh..."
Reid seemed rather embarrassed again and JJ opened her mouth to speak, but she never got the chance. He stood and stepped over to her side of the table, holding out his hand. "Would you care to dance?" He asked, smiling down at her.
JJ smiled back. "But of course." She giggled a little at the exaggerated formalities and took his hand.
They moved out onto the dance floor just as a new song began playing. "I haven't ballroom danced in a little while." She warned him as she placed one hand on his shoulder and one in his hand.
"That's okay, I'm sure you'll be wonderful anyway." He said as he placed his hand on her waist. "Unlike me…" He added with a small chuckle.
It soon became apparent that that was not be the case, though. Much to JJ's surprise, Reid moved across the dance floor with grace and ease, much unlike the way he walked. "You've done this before, haven't you?" JJ asked, keeping time with him.
Reid shrugged. "I took dance lessons when I was younger. I looked ridiculous then, though. Everyone said so." He held out his arm and spun her around.
"Well, that has definitely changed." JJ told him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him softly.
He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. She laid her head on his shoulder and they swayed slowly around on the dance floor, foregoing the formal waltzing. JJ smiled against the soft fabric of his coat. She decided that even though this wasn't quite what she had meant when she said she wanted to go dancing, she wouldn't trade this moment for anything in the world.
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We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.
~Japanese Proverb
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Author's Note: Just a bit of smushy stuff to get you through the day.