Chater 3

Trying to decide the best approach she opted for a casual one though her cheeks felt hot under his gaze. "Yes it is a nice gym, though I was watching you workout and thought you were supposed to have a spotter when using the weight bench."

"I know my limits," he said equally as casually, knowing full well from the length of time she had been staring at him that a lot more than that had been on her mind. He had almost said something when she arrived but had held back, deciding to enjoy the opportunity to watch the attractive blonde since it was obvious she didn't recognize him. It had been an added bonus, as well as a challenge to his own focus to maintain his workout rhythm when he realized just how thoroughly she was checking him out. He had almost lost his composure when he had seen her purposefully lean to get a better look, the direction of her thoughts obvious even through the mirrored reflection.

With his proximity JJ could now see the faint scars outlined on his chest that she had not been able to see earlier and for a few minutes it felt much more comfortable to let her eyes stay on the scars than to meet his eyes as her mind feverishly worked on what she was supposed to say next.

"I know they look pretty bad." He said, some of the merriment gone from his voice as he saw where her gaze was focused.

"No, they actually look better than I had imagined." She quickly responded, before kicking herself for admitting that she had even imagined what the scars on his chest might look like. "Oh hell," she finally caved in as she hit the cool down button the elliptical, her workout focus shot as she decided to take the bull by the horns and go ahead and deal with the conversation since he obviously wasn't going to casually walk off with a "see you tomorrow."

A few moments later she was thankful for the towel and water Hotch handed her as she stepped off the machine, having decided on a timely retreat as her best option. She inwardly groaned as he walked with her towards her planned escape hatch.

"We all had a busy day catching up on case files, I know several of you didn't even take time to eat." He said, stopping her retreat as they approached the door to the locker room. Grateful when instead of pushing past him she halted her retreat to meet his gaze with a questioning one of her own. "I thought you might like to grab a bite with me, it's late, I'm assuming we're both hungry."

JJ thought she detected a note of uncertainty in his voice as she realized from the intent look in his eyes that stripping away the circumstances of where they worked and that he was her boss that he was actually asking her out. She had heard through the office grapevine that Beth had ended things but she was still so surprised she couldn't respond immediately. Taking her silence as rejection Hotch straightened and backed away a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes appearing on his face as she saw him start to shut down. "I'm sorry I guess it is a little late…" He began.

"No wait, it's just a lot to process" she responded instinctively, grabbing his bare arm as she did so, registering the feel of the warm skin beneath her own. "I would like that," she agreed tentatively, deciding to step out on the limb with him. She had thought herself over what she had defined as a schoolgirl crush that had first developed when she had started working at the BAU but the feelings seemed to surge back from their hiding place at the first opening they had been given. The flutter in her stomach from earlier as back as she let her hand linger on his arm, purposefully signaling that she was not only aware of his interest but returned it.

The smile that crossed his handsome face told her he had received her message loud and clear as they held the pose a moment longer before she let her hand drop and stepped back. "I'll meet you back out here in 20?" He finally asked, breaking the spell that seemed to have overcome them both. Still not quite believing his fortune. He had harbored secret feelings for JJ for as long as he could remember. Though had never been free to act on them, between Haley, Will and then Beth the moment had never seemed right. Watching her tonight and seeing her hungry expression had been the tipping point where he knew he had to act even if it meant risking their friendship and upsetting the balance of the team.

"You were watching me also weren't you?" JJ asked with sudden clarity, feeling both relieved and flattered as it quickly dawned on her the mirror had done more than just allow him to catch her spying.

"Maybe," he acquiesced, feeling like he could confess considering how thorough she had been in her examination of him. He had fully appreciated the view of her rhythmic moves on the elliptical and the glistening sheen of sweat that had appeared as she worked out, leading his own mind on a dangerous path of imagination.

"So what were you thinking?" She asked, now on the offensive as she felt the embarrassment fade into curiosity.

"I suspect much the same as you were," He answered honestly, letting the statement linger rather than continuing in his assumption.

"I hope not," JJ gave an honest laugh, as she tried to imagine him thinking about jumping her bones.

"I think," he said after a moment of contemplation, "that we shouldn't go further down this path at the moment." His voice slow and steady as he saw her again look embarrassed, hastily adding on to correct the situation. "Because if we do we're both going to do something we regret, so we had better stick with my plan," he continued, his heart thudding as he stepped closer and held her gaze to make sure she would understand that he was serious.

"Your plan?" JJ asked, the voice not even sounding like hers to her ears.

"Yes, first I ask you to dinner tonight, then maybe again over the weekend. Then in about a week I'll start inviting you and Henry to do things with Jack and I. In about a month I'll get up the courage to steal a kiss as we move from our growing friendship towards admitting our feelings for one another and dating. After a few weeks of that we go through the bureaucracy of having you report to Dave or Cruz instead of me while I pull strings to keep you on the team and wait till the dust settles from that before we date for another.."

"Wait a minute, you seriously have all this planned out?" JJ had to stop him, her head spinning from information overload.

"Yes, I've had quite some time to work on it, but if you disagree it's subject to change." He said matter of factly, having observed in her expression shock only but no resistance to his suggestion.

"But I, but we…" She stammered uncharacteristically.

"We've been dancing around this for years JJ, tell me if I'm wrong." He said boldly, pulse escalating as the moment of truth arrived and he took her hands into his larger ones.

"No, no, you're not wrong." She admitted after trying to take stock. Her mind was in a frenzy as it tried to put everything into place but her heart had responded to his words loud and clear without any hesitation.

"I'll meet you back out here then?" He said with a grin, suddenly releasing her hands and backing out of her space to allow her to finally escape into the women's locker room.

"Ok, but first I do have one problem with your timeline. More than one actually, but the first one is that you're crazy if you think it's going to be a month before you steal a kiss." She said with a now playful smirk as she stepped into his space and tilted her head upwards, her body language obvious as she waited expectantly.

"I have no problem with that, but the rest of the timeline stays." He murmured, the last words spoken before he dipped his head towards hers.