Hey guys! This is my first-ever Criminal Minds fanfiction and the first fanfiction I've written in over 10 years when I was still in my teens... Getting old haha. So please bear with me. :-) I hope you like it, all reviews are welcome and greatly appreciated. Also, English isn't my first language, so pardon any mistakes! And: I don't own Criminal Minds in any way, although I wish I owned Reid. *winkwink*
xoxo
ReidsGirl
Chapter 1
"What the hell have I just done", Annie Barker thought as she stepped out of the estate agents office, "I just hope this works out...". After spending the past 4 years as a Public Relations assistant, she had just signed a 2-year lease on her very own cafe/restaurant. She had always loved to cook and bake every since she started helping her mom out in the kitchen as a 6 year old. It had always been her favourite pasttime, inviting friends over for dinner, browsing the local farmer's market for fresh ingredients and creating the, according to her BFF Sarah, "best birthday cakes the world has ever known". But it had always been just a fun thing, eventhough she had always dreamed of opening up her own little place and actually turn her hobby into her job. And now, at the age of 27, she had done it. Just like that. "I just hope this works out..." she thought again as she got into her old, but much-loved, bright-red VW Beetle.
4 weeks later
"Sarah, can you come in here for a second? I wanna know what you think of the new wall paint!". Annie's paint-spotted face was quizzical as she looked at the result of the past two hours. After signing the lease she had gotten to work right away. She had browsed flea markets on the lookout for old tables and chairs she could use to furnish her little cafe. She had spent hours at the hardware store picking out wall paint and other stuff she needed to make the place just perfect.
She didn't want it to be one of those uniformed, boring restaurants you could find in any city across the country. She wanted to create a place where people felt at home and could just relax. And the color of the walls was an essential step towards reaching that goal. "Oh my god Annie, I love it!", Sarah exclaimed when she entered the room. "I never thought that shade of green would work but it's perfect and fits perfectly with the "dirty" yellow you picked out to paint the tables", she laughed. Annie shot her a look. "It's not "dirty" yellow, to be exact the name of the color is "antique yellow" and creates just the perfect look I want for them!", she determinedly corrected her friend. "Whatever you say! Anyway, just teasing you Annie!" Sarah said and laughed as she looked at her best friend. She had to admit, Annie was positively glowing. Eventhough her face as well as her light-brown, shoulder-length hair was covered in paint, her bangs totally out of place, her blue eyes were sparkling and she looked happier than she had seen her in a long time.
Annie looked around the room and had to agree with Sarah, she absolutely loved the wall color and just hoped her future patrons would think the same way. The place was almost done, even the sign had already been installed above the door. She hadn't felt that creative when it came to naming her cafe so she had just chosen the most obvious: "Annie's". She just couldn't believe it, in just a few days she would open her very own business!
Just then she heard the little bell above the entrance ring and in came a women she estimated to be around 32, blonde hair, in a bright yellow polka-dot dress with a matching flower at her ponytail. "Sorry, we're not open yet", Annie said to what appeared to be her first patron. "Ohhh, that's too bad, I noticed this place had a new owner and thought the new sign outside looked so welcoming with it's little coffee pot, so I thought I'd check it out and get a coffee while I'm here!" the woman said. Annie just had to smile, she immediately liked the curvaceous blonde who seemed to talk even more than she did. "I'm sorry, we're not open yet but the coffee machine is working, so if you like I can make you one – on the house of course. Not that I could charge you, our cash register hasn't even arrived yet", she laughed and extended her hand to the other woman. "I'm Annie Barker by the way and welcome to my cafe, you're officially the first patron here!". The other woman smiled at her "Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Penelope, Penelope Garcia and I have to say I'm already in love with your place! And yes, I would love that cup of coffee!". After Annie had introduced Sarah as her best friend she hurried to the coffee machine and quickly prepared three cappuccinos and then joined the others at the table in the middle of the room. Penelope was animatedly talking to Sarah, complimenting the interior. "This place is just what we needed around here! I can't wait to see it when it's all done and ready and drop by for my lunch break, that is if you plan to serve lunch", she laughed. Annie went on assure her, yes there would be lunch, good home cooked cuisine with an Italian touch. Penelope was delighted "I just love pasta, one of my colleagues is Italian, I'll have to see how yours compete with his" she declared with a smile. "I'll have to bring my team here for lunch as soon as you're open, I'm sure they would love the place as well!"
So what do you think? Good/Bad, any suggestions? Should I continue?