Chapter 51

Once they were inside, Amanda made a beeline to the abstract sculptures; they were her favorite. Spencer could barely make heads or tails of a large portion of the sculptures. At every piece that they stopped to look at, Spencer stared at it curiously, then read out loud the paragraph explaining the sculpture in the pamphlet he was given.

After the third time this happened, Amanda took the pamphlet and put her finger to his mouth, quieting him. She put the pamphlet in her purse and took his hand. She leaned in and whispered, "Spence, I love when you go all 'fact man,' but this is abstract art. There's no real right or wrong to a lot of it. Everybody views it different. That's the beauty in it. One person can see Pollock's Enchanted Forest and see a mess. Others may see a fairy tale. Some people see a fun time with chocolate. Come with me. I have a better idea." She winked at him and began to walk away.

Spencer sighed and thought, 'Again she walks away from me.' He shook his head and followed with his hands stuck in his pocket. He found her at a counter. "What's going on?"

"We're going to ice skate out front, while it's still a rink and not a fountain," she beamed.

"Ice skating?"

"Yeah. It'll be fun. Don't worry and tell the man behind the counter your shoe size."

Spencer looked utterly confused as he obliged. He turned back to Amanda and said, "I've never ice skated before."

"I told you we'd be experiencing new things together. You just have more new to experience than I do." She put the money on the counter for the rentals and took her skates over to a bench to lace up. Spencer grabbed his skates and went over to her.

"Just… don't laugh at me."

"I won't. There was a time I was skating for the first time, too, ya know? Granted, I was maybe five years old. I'll help you out. We won't be out there too long." She stood up and extended her hands to him, to help him stand and walk. "Trust me."

He did trust her, but he was still nervous. He was nervous that he'd look like a fool in front of her, that he would fall, that her would fall and bring her down with him, and that one or both of them would get hurt. He took her hands and carefully stood up. He gripped her hands tightly as they stepped out onto the ice. He wobbled but with her help and instructions, he didn't fall.

They had only taken a few steps when a woman called out, "Spencer? Spencer Reid? Is that you?" Spencer looked up in curiosity. The instant he stood straight up, the woman's arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Spencer and Amanda let go of each other's hands. The woman went on saying, "I thought that was you! It's been too long. I've missed you. I can't believe I come to DC to do this charity event and here you are. That's so amazing." She grabbed his face and planted a long hard kiss on him before pulling him back into a hug. Amanda crossed her arms and looked away, angry. She shook it off, but felt it was the best option to just let them be and leave. So, with a sigh, she skated off of the ice and went to gather her things.

Spencer kept looking back to Amanda but the woman wouldn't let go of the hug so that he could go after her. He had been so shocked by this random meeting that he had been unable to speak for the short few minutes they had been on the ice.

By the time he broke free and got his shoes on, Amanda was nowhere in sight. The woman had come back up to Spencer, "I'm sorry that I didn't get to introduce myself to your sister. But, um, here's my number at the hotel. I'll be in town for a few days so call me and maybe we can get together soon."

Spencer took the number but quickly responded with, "I have to go." He then ran off, leaving the woman behind, shocked and confused. He looked all around the garden for Amanda, which was to no avail. He tried calling her, but still no luck. At that point, he ran out to his car to look for her.

He found her at as she was walking into a tea house. She was sitting at a small table when he came in. He pulled up a chair and sat across from her. "I'm not in the mood to hear it right now, Spencer. I just want to sit here with my tea, read the paper, go to see the show, and then go home. If you still want to go, then fine. Doesn't mean that I'm ready to talk about it or hear anything you have to say."

All he could do was sit there and nod as she opened up the business section. She knew that she needed time to calm down before she would be ready to talk about what had just happened.

After she had finished her tea, they walked back to his car. He had wanted to take her hand, but stuffed his hands into his pocket until they had reached the car. He did, however, open the door for her. She thanked him and told him where they were going. They stayed silent for the drive.

They saw the National Symphony Orchestra playing Strauss and Beethoven. During both numbers, they focused more on the symphony than each other. Any moment that they did not have the orchestra to distract them, there was an uncomfortable, awkward silence between them. Amanda looked as if she was going to cry during the Beethoven piece. Her eyes had welled up, but the tears never came.

It was on the way home when Amanda spoke up, saying that she was not angry at him, but the other woman and the situation. She was, however, disappointed that he did not speak up to the woman and let her hug and kiss him like she had. He sincerely apologized and stated that it was a surprised to him as well. He had only wanted her last night before she left for New York to be wonderful. She said that she knew this, and that was why she was not mad at him. Though that did not mean she was happy.

He walked her to her door. She apologized for her reaction and said she would miss him while away. He said that he would miss her as well, and pulled her into a tight hug. He thought the safest best was to not tell her who the woman was or that she wanted to meet him within the next few days. Amanda kissed his cheek and he wished her well on the trip. She sighed and gave him a long, sweet, and passionate kiss before she went inside.