Okay, I lied, I couldn't resist posting this chapter. I really need more self control. Oh well. Here's you guys another chapter. I've been getting idea's to make this story more interesting and I'm so excited to write them.

Thanks so much for the reviews! Love reading them. Last time I asked for some feedback, I want to know what you guys want so I can write it for you. Lenika08 gave some great input and I'm going to try and write that into this story more. I would love to know what you guys think.

Okay, enough of my boring rambling, hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Words: 2,214


"Hey, Reid," Morgan says as he walks up to his team member and friend, watching the younger man pack up for the night. "You up for drinks?"

"Not tonight, Morgan." Spencer tells him without stopping in his movements, having just texted Ryder to inform her he was leaving work.

"C'mon man, why not? You haven't been out with us in a while." Morgan groans, suspicious of the kid. He had been turning down all the offers for drinks and food after cases lately. At first, he had been worried, thinking his friend hadn't been doing well but that worry soon left his mind when he noticed Reid's behavior. The lack of bags under his eyes, his light attitude, smiling and joking around. Well, as much as Reid can joke.

"Another time, Morgan." Spencer says as he throws his messenger bags strap over his shoulder.

"Another time, what?" Emily asks as she approaches the two.

"Pretty boy here is turning down drinks, again." Morgan tells her as he sits on the edge of Spencer's desk.

"Again? Come on, Reid, I feel like we never see you outside work anymore." Emily tells her younger team member.

"Sorry guys," Reid shrugs apologetically. He was sorry, he enjoys his team's company and he feels guilty for not telling them about Ryder but he just wasn't ready yet. He felt that the moment the team knew about her it wouldn't be the same. She was his escape from work and everything connected to it. If they know, he's afraid it won't be the same. But deep down he knows that's not true, he just wasn't ready to tell them. "Next time."

"That's what you said last time." Morgan points out, grabbing Spencer's jacket before he can.

"Morgan." Spencer sighs, looking at the older man.

"He's right, Reid, you've said that the last two times actually," Emily says, coming to stand next to Morgan as they both observe Spencer with curious eyes.

"Yeah, he did, didn't he?" Morgan questions, holding Spencer's jacket behind his back.

"I've just been busy." Was Spencer's poor excuse.

"Uh-huh." Emily says in disbelief as Spencer tries to reach around Morgan to get his jacket.

"Not so fast, pretty boy. Just tell us what you've been doing." Morgan say, keeping the jacket from Spencer's reach. "Or who." He adds with a smirk, watching the heat rise in Spencer's cheeks.

"It's not like that." Spencer tells him after another failed attempt to get his jacket. Morgan's teasing is a small reason he wants to keep Ryder to himself.

"Oh, yeah? Then what is it like?" Asks Morgan, smiling at his younger team member.

"You know what? Keep it." Spencer shrugs, referring to his Jacket before turning and walking out of the office. He has to meet Ryder and he can't be late.

"Wait, Reid!" Emily calls after him, smiling as she watches Spencer enter the elevator. "What do you think that was about?" She asks Morgan, turning to look at him as he regards Spencer's jacket with squinted eyes.

"I'm not sure, but I'm gonna find out." He tells Emily, sharing a laugh with her, setting Reid's jacket on his desk.

And he was going to stand by those words. One way or another he was going to find out his friends secret.


"I'm so sorry I'm late." Is the first thing Spencer says when he sees Ryder. "You look amazing." He adds once he gets the chance to look at her properly.

Chuckling, Ryder moves away from the door, leaving Spencer to enter and close it behind him. "Don't worry about it, you're right on time. They're not even here yet."

"Good." Spencer mumbles, a sigh of relief escaping his lips as he looked at Ryder. She did look amazing - not that she doesn't always - in a short flowy, dark blue skirt, her legs covered by black leggings, her grey, V-neck top swooping down, showing the top of her chest.

"How was your day?" She asks while clicking on her last earing before coming to stand in front of him.

"Not bad. Got interrogated by Morgan." He informs her after a quick kiss, watching an amused smile come to her face. "He took my jacket."

"Aww, he's just curious." Ryder tells him as she straightens his tie. "You know, you can tell them about me." She states hesitantly.

"I know," He admits with a sigh as he looks at the ground. "Just not yet."

"Okay," Ryder nods, not voicing her thoughts on the matter any further. She was a little hurt that he didn't want to introduce her to his team but she also understood why he didn't. She wasn't going to push him on the matter, it would only cause more harm than good. "That must be them." Ryder says when I knock sounds at the door.

"Ah, don't you look beautiful." Natalie gushes with a smile when Ryder opens the door to reveal her and Steve.

"I could say the same about you but that's nothing new." Ryder grins at her friend. The model never looks anything but perfect. It must be exhausting, Ryder thinks.

"Oh, shut up, you always look great." Natalie lightly hits Ryder's shoulder before Ryder moves to let her friends enter.

"Hey, Steve." Ryder greets her friend with a short hug before turning back to Spencer, seeing him standing a little ways away, hands in his pockets as he shifts uncomfortably. "Natalie, Steve," Ryder starts as she walks to stand next to her boyfriend. "This is Spencer. Please play nice." She adds the last part as an afterthought, only half-joking.

"When have you known me to do anything but?" Steve asks as he approaches Spencer, sending Ryder a playful smirk.

"Oh, I can name a few occasions." She mumbles as Steve pats Spencer's shoulder.

"Oh, Spencer just so you know," Steve starts, looking the other man straight in the eye. "If you hurt her, no one will ever be able to find your body."

"Okay!" Ryder announces loudly, grabbing Spencer's hand. "That's enough of that. We'll be late. And I'm pretty sure it's against the law the threaten a federal agent."

"I wasn't threatening," Steve says defensively, taking Natalie's hand as they make their way to the door. "Just warning."

"Okay, well, either way, please don't do it." Ryder tells him with a smile, appreciating the thought. Steve and Ryder have known each other for years, he was like her second older brother, he was naturally protective of the younger girl.

From Ryder's apartment, the four of them walk to a restaurant nearby where they all sat down and talk, Ryder's friends getting to know Spencer, avoiding the topic of his work as Ryder had asked them too beforehand.

"He's cute, I like him." Natalie states as they walk together behind the two men down the sidewalk, watching them as they have a conversation about something.

"Yeah, he is cute, isn't he?" Ryder asks with a laugh without taking her eyes off Spencer.

"Oh man, you are in deep." Her friend tells her, drawing Ryder's confused eyes to her.

"What?"

"Oh come on, you make it so obvious." Says Natalie, not helping Ryder's confusion. "You're in love." She finally whisper shouts.

"What!" Ryder squeaks, momentarily drawing the two men's attention. "What?" She repeats, keeping her voice barely above a whisper.

"Well, it's not a bad thing." Natalie assures her friend, only slightly surprised by her reaction. "You guys are cute together and he obviously feels the same. He's barely been able to take his eyes off you all night."

"You're being ridiculous." Ryder dismisses, her eyes on Spencer as he walks ahead of her.

"Oh, I'm the one being ridiculous?" Natalie asks her friend with a smile, throwing her arm around the short girl's shoulders. "You're in denial, Ry."

Rolling her eyes at her friend, Ryder wraps her arm around her waist as they continue their walk, no particular destination in mind. "Thanks for coming out tonight, I appreciate it."

"Of course, I've been dying to meet your man."

"I'm just surprised Steve finally asked you out."

"Yeah, I thought he'd never do it. He said something about someone giving him some really good advice." Nat says with a smirk towards Ryder.

"Good advice, huh? Wonder who that could've been."

"Yeah, I wonder." Laughing, the two girls continue until they catch up with Spencer and Steve, pulling away from each other to stand next to their boyfriends. "Well, Steve, why don't we go on? Leave these two love birds by themselves."

"Great idea, Nat." He tells the beautiful girl hanging off his arm, smiling down at her before turning to his friends. "We will see you guys later."

"Thanks for coming out tonight, Steve."

"Anything for you, Ry." Steve tells the young woman he's come to know as a sister in the past years, giving her a quick hug and Spencer a fist bump.

"Bye guys." Waving their friends away, Spencer and Ryder turn their attention back to each other once the others are gone.

"Did you two just fist bump?" Ryder asks her boyfriend, wondering if she had seen what happened right.

"I think so." Spencer furrows his brows, sounding equally as confused.

"So you guys get along okay?" Ryder inquiries as the two start walking together.

"Yeah." Spencer says shortly. He had gotten along with Steve, he liked the guy but he was still his awkward self. Though Steve didn't seem to mind, willing to make small talk about anything. And he was someone who meant a lot to Ryder so Spencer would do whatever he could to get along with him.

"Yeah? That's all I get? What did you guys talk about?" Ryder asks, worried two of the most important people in her life weren't getting along.

"Different things, small talk mostly. I really did like him." Spencer assures her, knowing him meeting her friends meant a lot to her. "What about you? What were you guys talking about back there?" He asks, wondering what had gotten such a reaction out of Ryder previously.

"Oh, you know, just girl talk." Ryder deflects with a shrug. There's no way she was going to tell Spencer what Natalie had said. "I'm glad you could come out tonight."

"I almost couldn't getaway." Spencer says as he remembers Morgan and Emily trapping him back at the office.

"Yeah," Ryder chuckles. "It only cost you a jacket."

"It was worth is." Spencer tells her, placing a kiss to the top of her head as they continue to walk.

"You staying at my place tonight?"

"Um, uh yeah." Answers Spencer, causing Ryder to stop and look up at him with furrowed brows.

"Spence?" She prompts, a little worry seeping into her voice.

"I mean it's not that I don't want to, but I always stay at your place, I was just thinking..." He trails off, the worry leaving Ryder's face, replaced with a smile.

"Spencer Reid, are you inviting me to stay at your place?" She asks him, looking up at him with a smirk on her lips.

"Maybe I am." He responds, the previous nerves he had now gone as he looks down at Ryder's smile.

"Well, I think I would like that very much."

"Good." Spencer says, taking hold of Ryder's hand, leading them both back to her apartment upon request so she could gather a few things for her stay at Spencer's apartment.

"I expected nothing less." Ryder mutters upon entering Spencer's apartment, the cozy apartment smelling unsurprisingly of books and something else Ryder couldn't place, but she likes it. It made her feel at home as soon as she stepped inside. Large bookshelves line most of the walls, piles of books sitting around the living room, the dark hardwood floor going well with the dark-colored walls, giving the place a cozy, relaxing vibe.

"You didn't tell me you lived in a library." Ryder jokes with Spencer as she runs her hand across the spines of the books. She wasn't sure why she hadn't been here sooner but now that she was, she wasn't sure she wanted to leave.

"Funny." Spencer says with a sarcastic laugh, coming to join her after setting their things down.

"Do I get the grand tour?" Asks Ryder as she wraps her arms around Spencer's neck.

Giving a small laugh, Spencer leads Ryder around his apartment before they end up on the couch, watching tv. Ryder had talked Spencer into watching Friends, one of her favorite tv shows and he enjoyed every second of it. Watching Ryder smile and laugh more than he was watching the show itself.

And there they stayed on the couch until Ryder falls asleep on Spencer's shoulder. Smiling down at the girl, Spencer carefully lifts her petite body and carries her to his bedroom where he places her on his bed and covers her with his sheets before joining her, falling into a peaceful sleep.


Well, the team is onto Reid, they're suspicious of him but they still don't know. Maybe they'll find out soon. Also, Steve and Spencer met! They talked and got to know each other a bit. It was important to me that Spencer was able to meet Ryder's closest friend and I thought a cute little double date was the perfect way to introduce them.

Let me know what you guys think! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.


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