Chapter 38

9pm rolled around when Amanda called Spencer back. They had decided to meet for coffee as the café would close in an hour. She was already there when he came in. She had a coffee waiting for him at a small table for two. "Welcome home, Spence."

"Thanks. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing pretty well, if I may say so, myself. If all goes accordingly, I'll be in some serious hock soon."

"How is that pretty well? Being in debt is usually a pretty bad thing."

"It's all towards the business. I'm hoping to expand. I'll be in New York for the week of the 5th because of it."

"So you'll be home for Valentine's Day?"

"Yes. It's a huge working holiday in my business. What can I say? Women like getting dolled up for their men. Never celebrated it, myself, though. Too much bloodshed. There was, of course, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. I walked past the site many times. Then there was the Roman priest who defended the Christians and beheaded by Claudius II on February 14th, 269 AD. Why did you want to do something?"

"Uh… not particularly. I was just wondering."

"Okay. Did you want to go over to my place? I'm in need of shower and jammies and I'm sure Reed is getting cold sitting outside."

He took a large gulp of his coffee. "Yeah, we can do that."

"Don't hurt your back, jumping for joy like that," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh… sorry. I, uh, didn't mean for that to sound rude."

She got up and as she passed him she mussed his hair with her right hand as she rolled her eyes. He didn't know why, but it felt good. Maybe it was just her touch, or the spoon ring on her index finger, or that she spends a majority of her days washing hair.

He quickly got up and followed her. "Did you walk or drive?" she asked getting Reed off of the D-ring hook outside. He nuzzled Spencer's shin.

"I had time so I walked. Diesel gas gets really expensive these days. Um, you probably know that already, though."

She chuckled as they walked to the car, "Yes, I do." Reed kept looking up at Spencer. "I think he missed you," she smiled, as they all piled into her car.

She downed the last of her coffee and tossed the empty cup onto the floor in the backseat. "I assume you know what the blood-brain barrier is. Well, I read this article over breakfast this morning. It said that researchers recently found evidence that the caffeine in coffee may, in fact, help to protect the coating, repair damage and ward off harmful invaders. I really never had a reason to drink it as much as I do, other than I'm a Swede who started drinking coffee at age seven or eight. I'm happy I now have science backing me up."

"I honestly don't know what to say to that."

She just smiled and batted her lashed at him before turning into their apartment complex parking lot. Once she parked in her usual spot, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she grabbed her purse. Before he knew what hit him, she got out of the cat and grabbed Reed out of the back. He touched his cheek as he exited the car, making sure it was locked behind him.

"Make yourself at home. What's mine is yours. I shouldn't be more than fifteen to twenty minutes," she said as she tossed her purse onto the dining room table.

He sat down on the couch, not comfortable to make himself at home. Reed, however, made himself right at home on Spencer's lap. He had curled up there, his head on Spencer's thigh, and fell asleep. the small dog jerked in his sleep, as if he was starting to run. Spencer didn't want to be kicked, nor wake Reed, so he cautiously him into Amanda's bedroom and set him on the bed.

He sat down next to Reed and looked over to Amanda's nightstand. There wasn't much there; there was laying there a table lamp, and two books with her cellphone on top. As he grabbed the phone and the top book, "Collected Poems 1934-1952" by Dylan Thomas, he unknowingly hit the unlock button. He hit it again, to fully see the wallpaper, to see if his eyes were deceiving him. It was the picture she had taken several months earlier of him and Reed. He smirked to himself. When he saw the bottom book was "Dining Posture in Ancient Rome: Bodies, Values, and Status" by Matthew B. Roller. The smirk became a full blown smile.

When he turned back to Reed, after putting everything back precisely how it originally lay, he had noticed she had left the bathroom door open. He could barely make out her silhouette behind the Chicago CTA map shower curtain. As quickly as he could, he walked out through the living room and to the kitchen, where he got a glass of water.

He had made his way back to the dining room as she exited her bedroom, with her pajamas on and her hair wrapped in a towel. She cupped his face in her hands. "You look so tense. More so than I've ever seen, at least. Is something the matter?"

"No, not at all."

"If you say so."

"Oh, I brought you something back. I got it when we were out on the last case. I left it in my apartment though. I'm going to go get it. Don't go to sleep just yet." He spoke as quickly as he could, backing away from here and towards the door.

"Absolutely adorable," she chuckled to herself after he had gone, turning to go back to the bedroom. She put her towel back and then sat on the bed petting a still sleeping Reed.