You're standing in the middle of a briefing room in some backwater town in the middle of nowhere listening as your team tears a new one into the local law enforcement. It should be you doing this only you're too tired. Damn! The whole team is too tired. You've been working collectively for days with little to no sleep and one of these Jerkoff's, Dave's favorite word, has released information about the case that shouldn't have been released. You should step forward and take the heat, but the team is hot and needs to blow off some steam, so you sit back on the corner of a desk and let your mind wander.
A flutter of hands catches your eye and you watch in fascination as they punctuate each word being delivered to the hapless leo's. A small smirk graces your lips as you contemplate those hands. How, you wonder, would they feel upon your naked flesh? You've watched those hands for years; soft and gentle, firm and hard – they can be both. A soft sigh escapes your lips without notice from the others.
You watch in fascination as the person those hands belong to gets even more animated. You've never been on the receiving end of one of those tirades and you hope to God that you never will be in the future. Your eyes flit from hands to lips and back again. You have to admit those are some very kissable lips. Whoa! Wait a minute. Where did that come from? A frown creases your brow. You've been friends for years and have never had these kinds of thoughts before.
Your heart races in your chest as you continue to stare and think. You've been an admirer for years, but it never occurred to you think about that before. You've always had a thing for blonds with small round faces and big blue eyes, so why are you now fascinated with a brunette with brown eyes? You blink once. And again, as your mind finally catches up to your heart and you realize – you have a crush!
You moan loudly and bury your face in your hands. At that moment, the room has gone silent. You look up to see all eyes on you.
"Anything you'd like to add, Hotch?" Morgan asks.
You shake your head and look down to see a prominent bulge in the front of your slacks. You quickly stand and begin to gather your paperwork, stuffing it in a briefcase. Your hands shake and a bead of sweat forms on your brow.
The room clears out for the night. The team efficiently pack up to head to the motel.
"Hotch?"
You glance over your shoulder to see the team watching you in concern. "Yeah?"
"Are you alright?" Emily asks. Your eyes catch, and you hope that she can't see the desperation in yours.
You nod and offer a strained smile. You look at each of them. "I'm fine."
"You guys go ahead," Dave orders. "Hotch and I will catch up with you."
You continue to shuffle papers as the team files out.
"What the hell, Hotch?"
You turn back to see the smirk on your best friend's face. With a sheepish smile, you answer. "I was wool gathering."
"Wool gathering?"
You grab your briefcase and head for the door. "You have the keys?"
"Yeah. I'm driving."
You give him the patented glare, but it only makes him smirk again.
"If you're wool gathering, then you're too tired to drive."
Instead of replying, you throw your briefcase into the backseat and climb into the passenger seat in the front. Dave gets behind the wheel.
"You want to talk about it," he asks still smirking.
You look him in the eye and realize that he knows. He knows exactly what you were thinking about because it's fucking Dave and he knows everything. Your frown deepens as you shake your head.
He lets out a deep breath and starts the SUV.
"You know, I sometimes wonder what the hell I'm doing here. Especially on days like today when it seems like we're getting nowhere. I think to myself that I could be anywhere else in the world. I could be dating beautiful women and eating amazing food. Instead, I find myself going from one shithole town to another looking for jerkoffs and scumbags. I'm not getting any younger, but I can't imagine myself doing anything else. Sometimes, we let opportunities pass us by when we should stop chasing dreams and live them."
"What are you saying?" You ask.
"Stop letting opportunities pass you by. If you see something you want, go for it."
You nod slowly and turn to look back out the window. You think about what he said and wonder exactly how much he does know.
"Dave," you say lowly.
"Yes, Aaron?" he replies just as low.
You glance over at him; the smirk is gone. "When we get back to D.C., do you want to have dinner with me?"
The corner of his lip raises forming that crooked smile that makes your stomach flip.
"I'd love to," he replies not taking his eyes off the road.
You smile in return. Your eyes drop to his hands on the steering wheel and you realize that soon, you may get to know what those hands actually feel like in yours.
Suddenly, you're smirking. You don't want to wait for some time soon, you want to know now. You reach over and gently remove his right hand from the wheel and grasp it in yours. His hand wraps itself around yours and a small sigh escapes your lips.
You glance at his face. That damn smirk has returned. Unfortunately, you will have to wait to do something about that, at least until you are safely back at the hotel and out of public view. For now, you're happy with your crush and that's all that matters.