The Day of Mistakes
Prompt: "I should have known better" by the Beatles & David Rossi
Disclaimer: Unfortunately no matter how much I wish it were otherwise, I do not own Criminal minds or any of its characters
It was a beautiful day. By all rights he should have enjoyed the sunshine in his "brand new" purchase. However somehow his "plans" for the day changed and in turn it started a day of mistakes.
Dave was so excited when the arrangements for his 1966 Mustang convertible where finalized. His editor had made arrangements to pick him up that afternoon so he could go directly to the dealer. He left the airfield immediately after the team had returned from Atlanta to go pick up his "baby".
Once he did, Dave found himself driving aimlessly around the city, with the top down and the sun shining down upon him. He felt so free and so vibrant, with no worries and no thoughts about the cases that still haunted him. Instead he let the freedom take over and after an hour of driving around without a conscious thought, he discovered that he had circled her block for the third time. Pulling up in front of her place, he turned off the car and looked at her door. That was his first mistake.
Gathering up some courage, he reached for his cell phone and dialled her number. And before he realized what he was doing, he had asked her if she wanted to come out and play. Surprisingly she said yes. Mistake number two!
She came running out as beautiful as he remembered. The familiar tug in the pit of his stomach was dismissed as he kissed her cheek in greeting. She was excited about the car which was unbelievably in her favourite colour. "Let's go for a drive." He suggested. Nodding her agreement, he pulled away from the curb and eased into the traffic. Soon they reached the freeway that was miraculously fairly empty.
He stole glances at her as she tilted her head toward the sun to soak up some rays. The wind blew her hair around so she looked wild and free. 'God, she really is beautiful.' He thought to himself as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. He loved the way the sun made her hair glisten. He wanted to reach out and run his fingers through her hair. He almost did, when she turned around to look at him. It was her smile that made him suggest that they head towards Falmouth Beach for dinner. That was his third mistake.
The restaurant was not far from where they were on the highway but it wasn't until they pulled up in front of the quaint hideaway that he remembered that is was a restaurant that was far too intimate for 2 colleagues trying to keep their relationship professional.
Their dinner was amazing and each moment he spent with her, he could feel himself fall more and more in love for the woman in front of him. He loved how elegant she was as she picked up her fork to eat her risotto. Then she surprised him when she reached over and feed him a spoon of the creamy delectable dish, insisting that he try what she called an orgasm in her mouth. He almost choked at her words, but swallowed the offered delicacy. He offered her a piece of his steak but placed it on her plate instead of attempting to feed her as she did him.
He wasn't sure if it was the food or the company, but their dinner was probably the best he had eaten in the last few years. Tipping the waiter generously, he led her back to the car for their ride home. The temperature had dropped since the sun had gone to bed, so Dave put the roof up on the car. "Thank you," she whispered as he helped her into the car. Seeing her shiver, he took off his jacket and placed it around her. Placing her hand on top of his, she smiled, "Thanks Dave, I was feeling a little chilled."
Nodding, he closed the door and went around to the other side. That feeling in the pit of his stomach was back. How was he going to keep his hands off of her? He struggled to maintain his emotions as he slipped into the driver's seat and took off for home. This "play date" had just exasperated the feelings he had been hiding for the last few years. He tried to keep his mind off of how her beautiful eyes twinkled in the moonlight or how pink her lips were even though her lipstick had worn off during dinner. Instead he spoke to her about the case or his new car or his latest book. Eventually though, the conversation became one-sided. She had become unnaturally quiet and he assumed that she had fallen asleep.
The ride home was quick and he found himself in front of her door once again. He turned to look at her as she slept in her seat. She was even more beautiful sleeping and he was reluctant to wake her. He watched her for a few minutes before he hesitantly reached out to touch the strands of her hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.
Just before he touched her, she stirred and he redirected his hands to touch her shoulder. "Wake up sleepyhead." She smiled at him as she stretched out her arms. "I'm sorry, Dave. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you. It certainly wasn't the company."
"Sure, sure." He teased as he opened his door. He held out his hand to her to help her out of the car. She chuckled, "Always the gentleman".
"Not always." He replied as they walked towards her door. "Thanks for coming along for the ride."
"Thank you for asking me to come. I had a really nice time."
Nodding, he shuffled his weight from one foot to the other. "So did I."
"Well I should go in. Our workday always starts earlier than our bodies would like." She smiled, reaching out to touch his arm. The moment that he felt her touch, the feelings he had been pushing down started up again. Only this time he didn't stop it. He reached up and grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her towards him. His lips crushed against hers with abandoned passion. If he was going to go down then he was going to do it right. At first she hesitated and then after the immediate shock wore off, she responded with the same fierceness. Mistake number four.
She was the first of the two to come to her senses. She pulled away, wiping gently at her lips. " I...uh..sorry Dave. Goodnight." She slipped quickly away from his arms and closed the door behind her.
The feeling in his stomach turned to despair. He stared at the closed door hoping that she would come back out. She didn't. After a minute, Dave walked back to his car feeling as though he had just lost his best friend. He knew that this would happen. He told himself so many times over the last few years. He stupidly crossed the line and no there was no going back.
After berating himself for the first 20 minutes of his drive home, he finally turned on the radio to see if the music might help his mood. The first few channels played some god-awful rap music. He kept searching for something he could listen too.
"Damn!" he muttered out loud. What an idiot he was! He should have known better than to act on his feelings. He should have known that she wouldn't choose him over her career. Obliviously she enjoyed his company, but now he even ruined that! He finally found a channel that he could tolerate which played the oldies. Unfortunately, that was his fifth mistake.
When the next song began to play, he realized that it was a sign. The song, by the Beatles was a damn sign! Dave groaned out loud and banged his hand on the steering wheel. "Dammit!" he muttered listening to the lyrics of the classic song.
I should have known better with a girl like you
That I would love everything that you do
And I do, hey, hey, hey, and I do.
Whoa, whoa, I never realized what a kiss could be
This could only happen to me;
Pulling into his drive way, he listened to the last few lyrics of the song. He got out of the vehicle and leaned against the hood staring up into the sky. Dave shook his head in disgust, shouting out loud "I get it! Okay! I get the message that I should have known better than to play with fire. I've known since I came back to the BAU that I couldn't tell her how I felt. I knew that it would change things."
So, I should have realized a lot of things before
If this is love you've gotta give me more
Give me more, hey hey hey, give me more
Whoa, whoa, I never realized what a kiss could be
This could only happen to me
Can't you see, can't you see?
"I am a man who believes in God, but first and foremost, I am a man with real feelings. I can't help who my heart falls in love with. But God, you are just too late with this silly song of warning. Against my better judgement, I already love her...and there is nothing I can do about that." He argued.
That when I tell you that I love you, oh
You're gonna say you love me too, oh
And when I ask you to be mine,
You're gonna say you love me too,
You love me too
You love me too
You love me too
"I do. I love her. I shouldn't have let her in, but somehow she invaded the very depths of my heart. What am I going to do now? Leave the BAU? Never see her again? Oh God, what have I done? I'm smarter than this. I should have seen through her short skirts, and sparkling eyes. Maybe this is her way of setting me up. Maybe she is just an evil witch who cast a spell over me to get me to leave" he cried covering his eyes with his hands.
"Is that what you really think David?"
He turned around to see her standing beside his car. "What are you doing here?"
"Don't try and change the subject. I asked you a question."
Shoving his hands in his pocket, he turned his gaze from her back to the moon. "I don't know."
"Tell me how you really feel."
He snorted through his nose, "What do you want me to say? That I knew better than to let you into my heart. Or that I shouldn't have let my emotions get the best of me. I KNOW that we can't be together. I know how important your work is to you and to me. But dammit, I can't help how I feel when I look at you. I knew who you were before this and I know who you'll be after but as for myself, I'm lost...I'm lost without you."
"Oh David," she whispered touching his cheek.
"You know all my tricks. You know what I'm about and yet still you stand here in front of me. Why? Why would you do that? You could have walked away when I showed you how I really felt. Hell, you still can. So what are you doing here? Have you finally realized the inevitable and are you now willing to take a chance on an old dog like me?"
"It's complicated."
"Yah, so what? Life is always complicated but do you want to have a mediocre life just so it can be less complicated? Or would you rather take a chance on some unplanned moments and some fiery love with me that will take you to places unknown. And I'm not just talking about in the bedroom. So..." he asserted as he turned to face her, "Are you willing to take a chance on love...with me?"
Biting her lower lip, she looked into his eyes and could see more than just passion. She could see a future. Nodding her head, she placed her hands around his neck, "How did we get here, SSA Rossi? I thought you had radar on girls who play the field, not ones who are looking for the real thing."
"Well my dear, I should have known better than to fall for a girl like you, but lucky for us I'm as dumb as a post when it comes to loving you. Somehow, somewhere you've invade my heart. Now, please, make an old man happy and tell me you love me."
"I do old man...I do!"
And so as they sealed their love with a kiss, David Rossi had forgotten all about the mistakes he made on this glorious June day and only remembered what he had done right...and that was falling in love with Erin Strauss and finally telling her the truth.