Chapter 50
Scarlett sat up quickly in bed, momentarily confused by her surroundings. She glanced over to the other bed where Penelope was still sleeping, and sighed.
The sun was just beginning to rise and burn through the morning mists. She moved to the window, watching as the world started to awaken. Quietly, she slipped into her jogging clothes and out the door. She knew the hotel's fitness room unlocked at six, so she figured she'd burn off some tension there, before getting ready to head to her mother's for the day.
She had seen better facilities, that was certain, as she looked around the room. Not interested in the plodding pace of the treadmill or step machines, she moved over to check out the heavy bag. It seemed in good enough condition, so she plugged her ear buds in and cranked up her music before beginning to take out her pent up aggression on the equipment.
After an hour of physically pushing herself, she felt half human and decided to grab a coffee and shower. Heading out into the lobby, she didn't even take any notice of the other patrons in various stages of getting breakfast or checking out. She headed directly to the coffee and over to the elevators without even looking around the room.
Reid watched her from where he'd sat to look over the morning's newspaper. She moved with an economy of motion, taking up a cup of coffee and leaving quickly. She hadn't noticed the heads that turned to watch her, nor had she made any eye contact. Spencer watched, noticing them, but also the tension in her body language.
She moved onto the elevator and he dropped the paper to catch up with her just as another man stepped into the doors.
Scarlett cocked her head slightly, listening to the stranger who was trying to engage her in conversation.
"What are you listening to?" the man asked, indicating her headphones. She pulled out the one side to hear him just as Reid stepped into the doors.
"Guns and Roses," she smiled at the man, more for Reid's benefit than anything. "Patience..." she said more specifically and looked up at Spencer.
"Dr. Reid," she nodded curtly, addressing him officially.
"Agent Ryan," he responded, returning the formality.
"Cool, so that's not just a novelty tee?" the other man stated, pointing out Scarlett's FBI shirt. "You're a real FBI agent?" he asked.
"Real as it gets, sugar..." Scarlett turned up the charm and smiled at the man.
He held out a hand to her and she shook it. "Jim Delmar..." he introduced himself. "You guys having a convention or is there something I should be worried about?" he joked.
Reid watched as Scarlett laughed and pulled her hair out of its elastic band and shook it out. "No worries, I'm here on vacation," she flirted. "So as long as you haven't done anything wrong..." she grinned.
"Not so much as a parking ticket, beautiful... not that I think I'd mind being arrested by you," Jim flirted back. "Maybe I'll have to find something..." he joked.
"Since our team actually deals with psychopaths and serial killers, I doubt you'd want to get on our radar..." Reid interjected himself into the conversation with a scowl.
Jim looked over to Spencer as if he'd just noticed he was there. "Well, there is that," he shrugged.
Scarlett laughed lightly. "Don't mind him," she said to the other man. "Dr. Reid tends to take things a bit too literally," she teased. She tossed a quick look over and met Spencer's eyes. When his frown deepened, she shrugged. "He's a bit of a downer..." she rolled her eyes.
Jim looked between the two as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. "Well, this is me," he said looking back over at Scarlett. "Will you be in town for awhile, Agent Ryan?" he asked lightly.
Scarlett grinned. "I actually was considering staying a bit longer, since I recently have found myself single..." she played up her tone of voice, sounding interested.
Reid sighed heavily and pushed the button to close the door. "We have to be back to work tomorrow," he stated angrily, watching the doors close. "And you are not single!" he snapped seeing a look of confusion cross the man's features as Scarlett gave a grin and a little wave.
"For Christ's sake, Scarlett... I get it. Okay? I get it. You can have any man's attention within minutes. Point proven. You didn't have to play with the guy..." he snapped.
"Who said I was playing?" she looked up at him innocently. "Maybe I thought he looked interesting," she shrugged.
Reid crossed his arms over his chest. "You're not single," he growled.
Scarlett raised an eyebrow at him. "And what are you going to do to convince me of that?" she asked.
"Convince you?" his voice squeaked into a break. "What can I do? Tell me Scarlett, I swear I'll do it- anything to fix this..." he stopped quickly, dropping his voice.
"I fucked up, I know it. Just tell me how I can make it right..." he told her.
Scarlett tossed her hair back over her shoulder and stepped forward as the doors opened. She looked back at him and shrugged one shoulder.
"I can't tell you anything, Dr. Reid," she answered in a cool tone. "That's something you'll just have to figure out for yourself..." she turned and walked away towards the room she now shared with Penelope. "By the way," she added before opening the door. "Until then, I am single. So are you..." she told him. "Consider that, while you are over thinking everything else..."
"Scarlett..." he called out as she shut the door behind her. "Damn it, Scarlett..." he scowled and turned back to open his own door.
Spencer slammed into the room struggling to hold himself from going back over and demanding that she stop behaving like this. He wanted to grab her and shake her or kiss her in even intervals.
Morgan watched Reid storm into the room and kick the door as he slammed it shut. He raised his brows and tried to hide his grin behind his hand quickly when Spencer turned around to face him.
"You talk to Scarlett, kid?" he asked.
"Your sister is the most infuriating, insane, stubborn... brat, I have ever had to deal with!" Spencer ground out as he stomped into the bed room and back out again.
"Brat, huh?" Derek chuckled softly.
"Do you know what she just did?" he turned to Morgan, who only shook his head. "She just hit on a guy, right in front of me, on the elevator!" he said incredulously.
Derek bit the inside of his cheek. "She hit on a guy?" he asked.
Spencer stopped pacing and looked at his friend. "Well, yeah. I mean, he started flirting with her, and she flirted back..." he clarified. "Still!" he snapped. "Then, then... she tells this guy she's recently single, as if I wasn't even there! He probably would have asked her out if I hadn't shut the damn door in his face..."
Morgan shook his head. "I think that you being there was the whole purpose of her saying those things, Reid. She's pushing your buttons," he grinned.
"I don't like it!" he said adamantly.
"So tell her," Derek shrugged.
Spencer opened his mouth, and closed it again. "I did..." he stated more quietly.
"And?"
"She told me if I wanted to get her back, I'd have to figure it out... Figure what out for fuck's sake? I can't figure anything out- I can't even think, because she's got me all tied up in knots- I don't know what to say... And then she parades around the lobby in spandex that leaves nothing to the imagination, mind you... and shoves it in my face that every guy within eyesight of her wants her... And..."
"Hey, hey... Kid, take a breath, it's okay..." Morgan stood up walking over to stand by Spencer. "It's alright..."
Reid stopped talking and took a deep breath and felt a pain in his chest. He rubbed the heal of his hand against his heart.
"You okay, lover boy?" Morgan teased and received a dark look from Reid.
"No. I'm not okay. Nothing is okay. I told her I wanted to fix this, and she left me standing there with nothing more than a 'figure it out' and 'don't over think it'..." he groused. "What does that even mean?"
Derek shrugged. "I think it means you have to figure it out, without over thinking it..."
Spencer rolled his eyes. "Geez, thanks..."
Morgan laughed. "Seriously, Reid. Just start over. You're one step ahead of the game already, because you know she loves you... now you just have to get back into her good graces, right? So start over... Ask her out, talk to her... I don't know, do something. Don't just let her flirt with someone else, make her flirt with you."
He watched Morgan warily. "I don't know how to do that. I can't flirt. I don't know those cues... it's not me."
"Then whatever it is you do, whatever you did before..."
Spencer collapsed in the chair. "I don't know what that was either!" he said darkly. "I didn't do anything... she came up to me," he rubbed his temples.
Morgan rolled his eyes. "Christ, kid. You had to have done something, because one of the reasons my sister chose to come to Quantico was because of you..." he told the younger man. "She wanted to get to know you, as much as she wanted to be a part of the team. Before she chose to come to Virginia, she already had a full blown crush on you. So you had to have said something or done something during the couple of times you two met..."
"She remembers too much," Spencer pushed up from the chair. "She thinks I'm some kind of white knight hero or something... I just keep telling her that I am not..."
"Reid," Morgan sighed. "What exactly is wrong with having the woman you love, look at you like you are her hero? Why do you think it's a bad thing? Some guys would give their left arm to have their girl look at them that way..."
"Because what happens when she finds out I'm not..." he felt his voice crack. "What happens if I let her down?"
Derek watched his friend struggle for a moment before he answered. "I'm sorry, but I have to agree with Scarlett on this one. You are letting your insecurities lead you, instead of your heart. She sees you how she sees you, just like I'm sure you see her differently than she sees herself, or even as I see her. As far as letting her down? You don't give yourself or her enough credit, Reid. She's not asking for you to be Superman... just be yourself. You can't let her down, she knows who you are..."
Morgan clapped a hand on Reid shoulder as he passed him. "I'm going to grab some breakfast," he told him. "We're heading over to mom's in about half an hour..."
Reid sat forward. "What time's the flight home?" he asked.
"Five..." Morgan answered, seeing Reid calculate something in his mind. He watched as Spencer suddenly stood up and pulled his cell from his pocket and became distracted. He shrugged and shook his head.
