Chapter 9

Reid felt restless at take-off and a five-hour flight awaited him. A disturbing statistic had entered his brain and he couldn't get rid of it. A good kiss can elevate a woman's pulse to 100 beats per minute. He saw it in a stupid magazine at the lobby while waiting for the team to have breakfast. And it was really bothering him: that women kiss and tell enough to produce quantifiable data. Statistics, for God's sake, on the quality of a lover's kiss. He was maddened by the thought that Dr. Alison Montgomery might not enjoy a kiss from him. The team sensed Reid's dark mood and left him alone. Even Morgan backed off, waiting for a good opportunity to ask him what was wrong.

Reid thought about the women he had kissed in the past. Less than the number of fingers on one hand. They seemed to enjoy him, but then again they were good people. He didn't think they would want to hurt him by saying, "Hey, Spencer, you really need to take kissing lessons!"

Kissing lessons! That was brilliant. If he could kiss someone, then she could tell him if it was good or not. But who?

Emily noticed that Reid was staring at her and started to grow uncomfortable.

"Reid?"

"Huh?"

"You're staring at me."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Is there anything you needed?"

"I was just wondering." Here goes nothing. "Do you think Hotch would mind much if I kissed you?"

Hotch tore his eyes from the file he was studying and turned his intense gaze at Reid. The rest of the team also stared in disbelief. Reid, as usual, was oblivious to the fact that the situation was socially awkward.

"You want to kiss me?" asked Emily. She knew it wasn't a joke. This was Reid. There was a purpose to all this.

"I'll kiss you, Reid," offered J. J. in an attempt to relieve the tension.

That was out of the question. Spencer had a crush on J.J. for the longest time and he just didn't think it was appropriate to kiss her. It would feel like he was taking advantage of her. So he said, "No, I thought of you J. J., but discarded the idea. It has to be Emily."

Morgan exploded in laughter and immediately covered his mouth to mute the sound. This was weird, even for Reid. Weird, but funny as hell!

"What's this about, Reid?" asked Hotch, more worried about the kid than anything else. Maybe he had finally lost his mind.

Reid looked around and noticed everyone's expression. "Forget it," he said. "It was just a thought."

But then Emily realized the point. "Oh, you're thinking about kissing someone. And you want to practice with me first, right?"

"If it's okay with Hotch."

The team burst into laughter while Reid started to get defensive.

"What about this?" offered Hotch. "Why don't I kiss her and you watch?"

"No, that's not as effective as doing it myself."

"Well, that'll be over my dead body, kid," replied Hotch with a smile. And Emily playfully slapped her husband on the arm.

"So who do you want to kiss, Reid?" And the endless questions and teasing came. Reid finally decided to put some headphones on. It took a long time for their mouths to stop moving and for the laughter to fade from their faces. Okay, so maybe requesting kissing lessons hadn't been such a good idea.


Author's Note: I absolutely love this chapter!