"Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness."
Bertrand Russell
So far, Aaron Hotchner thought the date was going well. Thanks to a call to pull in a long due favor from David Rossi, he'd managed to score the prime table in the hottest restaurant in Alexandria. The food, as promised, was delicious. The wine, sent courtesy of the very same David Rossi, was perfect, and the conversation, after a few initial moments of nervousness, was flowing freely.
He'd decided over the course of their meal that he liked many things about Ana Schmidt. He liked the way her dark eyes conveyed her emotions. He liked her laugh, a true laugh, that despite the raised eyebrows at the "oh-so-upper crust" couple at the table next to theirs, she didn't try to tone down. He liked the way she flirted with him and how she responded to this awkward attempts at flirting back.
They'd lingered after dinner, continuing to talk over coffee and a very decadent serving of dark chocolate mousse. He'd never been a big fan of chocolate mousse but tonight, he'd deemed it his favorite desert. Of course, he wasn't sure if it was the actual mousse that he liked or the way she managed to share it with him by feeding it to him, mouthful by mouthful. He'd been eating on his own since he was a toddler, but there was something amazingly erotic to her actions that made him wonder why he'd become so damn independent.
Once he'd paid the check, they walked out front, waiting in the chilly spring night for the valet to bring his car.
"Dinner was amazing," Ana said, pulling her wrap around her shoulders. "Thank you."
"Thank you for coming," he returned, wanting to say something much slicker. He watched, as she shivered slightly. "You're cold," he observed, then thinking quickly, "Want my jacket?"
"I'm okay…" she dismissed, stepping closer to him.
Damn it Hotchner, he admonished himself, this is a date, not your sister. Slipping his arm around her, he said, "Well, if you won't take my jacket, I'll just have to keep you warm another way."
She smiled broadly, leaning against him. "I was so hoping you'd do that."
He smiled, "You could've given me a hint."
Ana shook her head, "No, the skills are in there, if I were to give you hints, you'd never shake those cobwebs."
"Come on, I'm not doing that bad, am I?" he coaxed, watching as her dark eyes sparkled.
"No, you're doing very well," she replied, with a sly smile, "Of course, now comes the hard part…"
"The hard part?"
She nodded, "Dinner's over. Now what?"
"Now what?" he repeated, realizing he didn't think of anything beyond dinner. Was he supposed to plan something after dinner? Damn this dating thing.
Ana's soft laugh pulled him from his thoughts, "That's okay. I actually have a plan."
Raising a brow, he asked, "And what would that be?"
Ana looked up at him, her eyes locking his, "I thought we could go back to my place."
He pulled her into his arms, "And just what would we do there?"
"Sit? Talk?" she said, as he leaned down and kissed her. Pulling back slowly, she said, "Do some more of that?"
"I was trying to show you that I was interested in more than sex," he said, kissing her again.
"Oh, I know you are," she returned, "We got through three and a half hours before you made a move. If you were just interested in sex, we never would have left my apartment."
He laughed, "I suppose you'd planned for that, too?"
She nodded, "Of course I did. I'm a fairly decent cook. If we didn't make it out, I would have just cooked something."
He shook his head, "Think I can talk you into ditching the teaching gig? I could use you on my team."
Ana laughed, watching as the valet parked his car at the curb. "Me? Hell no. There's no way I could deal with the stuff you deal with. I'm good at the way a pre schooler's mind works. For the most part, they're not too complex and there's no great amount of evil lurking behind those little faces." She paused, watching as he tipped the valet. "For the most part."
"I've seen some of those children," Hotch replied, with a wry smile, "Trust me, there's evil."
"The art of life lies in taking pleasures as they pass, and the keenest pleasures are not intellectual, nor are they always moral."
Aristippus
"So," Ana began, sounding slightly breathless, "It wasn't just the alcohol, was it?"
"I don't know," he returned, looking down to where she lay wrapped in his arms. "I think we may need to research this further."
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, "You think so, huh?"
"You don't agree?"
She pretended to mull it over for a moment, then, "I agree wholeheartedly. But…"
"Why is there always a but?"
"Because, tonight is Sunday night," she reminded. "And it's a school night."
"Ah, yes…" he nodded.
"And if you expect me to be awake enough to teach the brilliant young minds of St Anselm's 3 year old class, your son included, you're going to have to let me get some rest."
"I guess I should get out of here and let you get some sleep, shouldn't I?"
She moved up so that they were face to face and kissed him softly, "In a bit."
"This part's going to take some getting used to," he admitted.
Ana laughed, "Yeah, I guess after all that time, you're used to rolling over and falling asleep, not getting dressed and going home."
"Guess you take that stuff for granted," he mused, kissing her softly. "So, how bad was this for a first date?"
"It was perfect. Dinner in the hottest restaurant, great conversation…" her smile changed from sweet to devilish, "Great sex. What more could a girl ask for?"
"A second date?" he tried.
"I'd like that," she agreed.
"Assuming we don't pull a case, would tomorrow night work for you?"
She thought for a moment, "Tomorrow night is fine."
"Pick you up at 7?"
"Seven works," she nodded, then, "I have an idea, why don't I cook dinner for you? It's a week night, we'll both be tired. You can just come by after work and I'll make you dinner."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure," she kissed him. "You might want to bring a change of clothes."
"A change of clothes?"
"In case you want to spend the night. I'm not that far from your place, the ride to work can't be that bad for you."
He smiled at her, "I'll bring a change of clothes."
"Good. Now, as much as I would love to spend the night wrapped in those strong arms of yours, you've got to get out of here."
"I know," he said, kissing her deeply, feeling himself stirring again.
"Okay," she said, as he worked his way along her neck, "You can stay for a little bit more."
