Learning Curve Part Three
"Look, I mean, you don't have to come," Penelope said. "It's just dinner and drinks with the team."
"I want to come," Lola said cheerfully. "Let me finish up this file; I'm lobbying the Senate Environmental Sub-Committee tomorrow and my assistant botched part of the file."
"Want some help?" Penelope asked. "I could probably get the info for you faster than -"
"FBI agents shouldn't lobby the federal government or help in doing so," Lola teased with a wink. "Give me five - I'm almost done, and then I'll change."
Penelope decided that she would blow their minds. She got herself into an outfit that would make the devil himself blush. Her trademarked fishnets and boots, a short skirt and a corset over a tank top which left nothing to the imagination. She checked herself in the mirror then walked out of her room.
"So, what do you think?" she asked, posing for Lola.
"Can we stay in?" she joked.
Penelope chuckled. "No, but we can make a hasty exit -"
Lola closed her laptop and grabbed her overnight bag. She passed Penelope and paused long enough to give her a soul-searing kiss that made her toes curl. "You look good, like a naughty, sexy goddess," she murmured, walking away before things could get out of hand.
When she came out of the bathroom, Lola was the antithesis of her daytime, buttoned-down corporate lawyer persona - she was in a maxi skirt and tank top with her hair up in braids, like a flower child come to life. "So, lead on to the profilers," Lola teased with a wink, relaxed and happy with a real smile on her lips for the first time since she'd arrived at Penelope's for the night. "Is there a Cole's notes version of what I should know?" Lola asked, "I don't want to appear stupid."
"Let me see," Penelope began, grabbing her purse and heading out, "Hotch is our head honcho, he is a bit stuffy, used to be a lawyer, so you should be used to that. Now Rossi, he is our Italian Stallion, and he apparently is the reason for a lot of the frat rules. Emily kinda keeps to herself, JJ is sweet and innocent, her son is my godson, Reid is the token smart guy, his is also Henry's godfather and of course you have already met Morgan, the token hottie." She smiled getting into the car, "That about sums it up."
"I didn't really 'meet' Morgan," Lola replied cheekily. "Or, rather, I didn't exactly look up."
Penelope blushed; yeah, that much was true enough. Lola was pretty shameless and didn't really give a damn what anyone thought of her outside of work - and Penelope was down with that. She was comfortable with Lola: it was easy and they both knew when to back off and back down.
That was something Kevin had never learned, nor apparently had Derek Morgan.
Penelope leaned over and gave her girlfriend a kiss. "I promise tonight will be fun," she said in a low, husky tone. "And when we get back, it'll be even better."
Pulling into the restaurant, they jumped out of the car and flooded inside. She caught her friends and joined them. They all just looked at her, never really said a word.
"Guys, I would like you to meet Lola," Penelope smiled. "My girlfriend."
Hotch was the first to react. He held out his hand to greet her.
Lola shook hands with everyone before sitting down, then she turned to Morgan. "Sorry I didn't get to meet you before, I was a bit preoccupied," she said, then sat down beside Penelope.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa - you got to meet her?" Emily said, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't say that - just that Garcia was seeing someone..."
Derek crossed his arms defensively and said, "Don't start jumping on me, Prentiss -"
Penelope blushed again, trying to avoid looking at him; she could feel the judgmental backpedaling going on from where she was sitting. "He came over and Lola and I were, well -"
"We were having sex," Lola stated matter-of-factly. "That's all - I'm sure you've all had a similar experience with someone walking into the middle of things."
JJ and Will exchanged glances. "Henry," JJ said, "all the damn time."
"Gotta love kids," Hotch added, "they need a glass of water at the most inopportune times."
"I wouldn't know." Rossi laughed, "but having a current wife catch you with someone else is not a nice thing either."
Reid just sat there and took it all in.
"What about you Derek, anyone catch you?" Prentiss asked.
Derek huffed, "I don't want to be a part of this, can we please change the subject?"
"I'm sure you've already heard all about what we do," JJ said, "so, what do you do, Lola?"
"I'm a lawyer," Lola commented dryly. "Mainly in the sense of I'm a lobbyist for an environmental affairs corporation out of California."
"Kitten, you took a step up in the world," Rossi said, tipping his wineglass at her. "I'm proud of you - lawyers are nothing to sneeze at."
"As opposed to greasy-haired computer hackers?" Penelope muttered wryly.
"I have nothing against your ex - except for the fact that he treated you badly in the end," Rossi commented. "That is tantamount to treasonous behavior in my book."
"I used to practice law," Hotch added, "before this. I think I am better suited here."
"So did you all get your start in law enforcement?" Lola asked.
"All but Penelope," Reid added.
"Oh, I knew that - she is a little wild for law enforcement." Lola laughed, "Aren't you babycakes?"
Morgan cringed; he thought for sure she was gonna say baby girl.
"My little Lolita, you make me this way for sure," she laughed.
"No way," Lola teased. "You came by this naughty streak long before I was around." She smiled around the table. "Did she tell you how we met?"
"She hasn't told us anything," Reid commented, giving Penelope a look; she knew that look and knew that she would be having words with him later.
"Oh - well, I was out with some of my work colleagues, celebrating ten more votes on HR 1987, and Penelope was there getting shitfaced," Lola said with a chuckle.
"I was not," Penelope protested with a pout. "I only had two drinks -"
"Because I took you home," Lola pointed out. She left off everything else that had happened that night - the dancing, the flirting, the wild fucking in the car in the parking lot... but the memories were enough to make Penelope flush bright red in the face and grin goofily.
"What's wrong, PG?" Emily prodded.
"Nothing." She said looking to Lola, "Let's dance."
They were on the dance floor, bumping and grinding to the music. Morgan went and grabbed a girl and followed. What they did, he did, until it got a little racy and the girl he was dancing with got a little uncomfortable with it.
After the song ended, Penelope and Lola went back to the table. "So Lola," JJ asked, "what is that short for?"
"My parents were hippies, my legal name is Sunshine Olivia Davison, so I go by Lola, much more pleasing to say." She smiled at Penelope.
"Baby Girl," Derek said, "didn't you say your parents were hippies?"
"Mmhmm," Penelope replied, smiling over at him. "I guess like attracts like in this case -"
"Not too much alike," Lola teased, giving her a quick kiss. "That would be boring."
"Garcia can't abide things that are boring," Reid interjected. "I'd advise against getting too much into a routine -"
"I like stability, Junior G-Man," Penelope contradicted.
"Stability doesn't equal boring," Hotch said.
"Why does anything have to be boring?" Penelope asked. "You can have fun with anything - believe me."
They all looked at Penelope and decided to end the conversation there. "Ready to eat?" Hotch asked.
"Indeed," Penelope agreed. She put in her order - roasted eggplant noodles with fresh green peas and mushroom cream sauce - and sat back to watch the others. Everyone else got their normal favorites, but Derek surprised her by ordering what she had, and Lola went with a safe salad and soup. That wasn't exactly surprising: Lola ate like a bunny and had the body to prove it.
She was also surprised that Derek kept watching her furtively, and would put up a blank poker face whenever she and Lola shared anything with a hint of intimacy to it.
Penelope didn't like this side of her best friend - the side where she didn't know what he was thinking.
He wore his poker face most the night, she was not able to read him at all. His words were curt and short and not a hint of flirting or sass. He watched her every move, every bite she took, he followed, but eventually they all parted for the evening went their separate ways.
"I like your friends," Lola said with a smile. "Especially Doctor Reid - he's quite personable when he wants to be, I think. I don't know about Morgan, though."
"He's just mad because I've left him out of the loop," Penelope said. "He'll get over it."
Lola raised an eyebrow. "He was almost hostile in there."
Penelope sighed. "The last case was rough -"
"You don't have to explain his issues to me," Lola said. "Let's just go back to yours and have a little bit of that fun you promised."
"I promised him I would always be there for him - when cases are hard - and I wasn't, so that may be on me... He compartmentalizes a lot and then he is hostile."
"You can't blame this shit on you, it is all on him." Lola spat, "Now were you up for fun or going to pout for the rest of the night, if that's the case I'll go and take care of myself!"
"Oh, no, I'm definitely in the fun boat," Penelope said, unlocking Esther and grinning at Lola. "Did you bring the -"
"The strap-on?" Lola interjected, grinning.
"I was going to say the - you know, nevermind."
"For being a very sexual woman, you're a prude when it comes to fucking a girl," Lola pointed out with a smirk.
"Because I was never with a girl - even experimenting - before you waltzed into my life two weeks ago," Penelope admitted. "And I'm enjoying every moment of this."
"So exactly how wild have you gotten - I mean with a guy and all?"
"Well I'm not really a prude - as you called it - I role play, a bit of Bondage, whatever feels nice..."
"Any threesomes?" Lola asked.
"Um no...why?"
"Just asking - just asking."
"I mean, three's a crowd, isn't it?" Pen asked, backing out of her parking space and putting the car back into gear. "Sex is very intimate - I'd only want to share it with one person. I'm a lot of girl to handle, you know."
"Oh, you definitely are," Lola said with a deep, sexy laugh. "And whoever has you is lucky as hell. I'm just glad it's me for a while."
"That sounds like a pre-breakup line," Penelope said, suddenly worried.
"Penelope, I know you are not a lesbian, I'm not foolish, so the fact I get to play with you for a while is great. If it goes long term, even better. But if it doesn't, I'll have the memories we made."
"But I really like you, Lola," Penelope admitted
"And I like you, but I have been through this countless times before."
Penelope sighed. "Look, I -"
"I'm the rebound chick," Lola said, "the one you run to when you're down on yourself and your relationship that's fallen apart - and that's okay. That's how I roll, apparently. I'm okay with it. I just don't want you to think that I'm not as serious about our relationship as I am. I'd like more, I'd like something deeper and forever... but there are things outside of my control. And that's how I feel about it." She shrugged. "I just have to let things hit me as they will."
"This isn't just about sex," Penelope said, shaking her head as she slowed for a traffic light. "I'm not in this for the sex - I want to be your friend, your confidant, your everything. That's what a relationship is supposed to be like, right?"
"You just got out of a four-year stint where you couldn't even stand to look at the guy at the end," Lola challenged. "So what's going to happen to us in four years? If I asked you to marry me, would you do the same thing?"
"For one thing, I have nothing against marriage -"
"Right."
"I just wasn't ready to tie myself down to him," Penelope finished.
"But will you be ready in another four years? I mean - I would like to eventually start a family and have kids and stuff? Is that what he wanted - what made you run?"
"No nothing like that at all - he wanted me to move and buy a farm - me on a farm. Picture that and you tell me why I couldn't do it."
"What about moving somewhere to settle down and have babies?" Lola interjected.
"If you want anything fun to happen tonight I would suggest changing the subject," Penelope said dryly.
"I'm just trying to gauge -"
"I'm trying to forget everything but you," Penelope murmured. "Can you just help me a little here and be my sexy, gorgeous girlfriend, please? Leave the lawyer in the briefcase."
Lola reached over and turned on the radio.
XXXX
It was damn unfair - just so damn unfair. Derek was a walking bundle of nerves and sexual frustration after seeing his Baby Girl in that outfit - and being so solicitous and sexy with some girl who wasn't worthy of worshipping his goddess.
He added another 10lbs. to his machine and went back to pumping. Something, anything, to get his mind off of those legs wrapped around his waist, her breasts ready to be -
He was so screwed.
And the idea that they'd gone home and were probably in the middle of fucking didn't help anything. He was so damn tired of being jealous. But it was his legacy - say nothing, hold back, compartmentalize, and lose the girl over and over again.
He was tired. He just wanted to get rid of all this pent-up energy; he wished he had a better route to use it in than the gym. He would be far more satisfied having a fling with someone. Nothing with strings, just sex - really good fucking and send her home.
Why did his head have to go there? Now he was back to thinking about Penelope.
A cold shower was not going to fix this problem.
He finally gave up fighting it - if he couldn't have her, just like always, he would just have to use his thoughts of her to his advantage. He put his weights away and headed to the shower. It wasn't very long before he was drowning in mental images of red lips, perky, sexy breasts just the right size for thrusting his cock against -
He was going to rub himself raw one of these days, thinking about his Baby Girl.
He tried to go to bed, sleep would not come easy. He was too busy thinking what Penelope and Lola were doing back at her place. Her head between those gorgeous thighs, then Penelope perched between Lola's... His hands went back to his hard cock. If he didn't do something soon he might not have one to use.
The idea of them 69ing, licking, sucking, moaning, panting, writhing, was enough to make him explode, spraying cum with force. He groaned. He could deal with her fucking Lynch - he wasn't attractive or anything. But Lola was different - she was pretty, sexy, a geniunely good person who deserved Penelope's affection. And that was dangerous. He was going to lose her for good and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. Lola was perfect for her.
He sighed, dried himself off and went to his bedroom. Slipping on a pair of shorts he crawled on the bed trying to get sleep to come.
He was ready to mourn losing his baby girl, he felt like he had. He couldn't compete with Lola; he felt like he'd lost and was completely defeated.
Derek woke up from his light doze to the sound of someone creeping up his steps and into his room. He wasn't worried; he knew what Penelope sounded like when she did this. She climbed into bed with him, her tears still fresh and her scent reeking of fear. He opened his arms and held her; there was no one else to comfort her nightmares.
"Shouldn't you be with Lola?" he asked.
"I didn't want to wake her up," Penelope whispered, her voice still husky with tears. "I dreamed about dying again - about being shot -"
"You are fine, baby, right here -" he soothed her. "I told you all that time ago that I will protect you every day of my life - and I meant it."
"I feel so silly," she admitted wiping her tears on her sweater .
He wiped some tears with his hands. "It's ok, really."
He turned the light on to open the bed. He tried not to look at her, the thoughts that were running through his head still were not of a PG variety, they were more Nc-17 or xxx. She was there for comfort, nothing else. He ushered her into bed beside her and held her until she fell asleep.
And he knew he'd have to explain this to her girlfriend - that wouldn't be pretty.
