David stands in the shower and lets the water run cold as it sluices down his body. It took everything he had and then some to drag himself out of her apartment and even then he could feel her eyes on him as he descended the stairs. Outside her building he looked back to see her standing in the window. Their eyes met and for a moment his resolve completely slipped as he took a few steps back towards the door.
But he stopped himself, took a deep breath then spun around and quickly walked to his SUV. Once inside, he sent her a text. You're going to haunt my dreams tonight.
She replies - It's not too late to come back inside.
Temptress. You know the rules.
The rules suck.
He started up the SUV and headed for home.
Drive safe, I miss you already, she texted.
She then sent him a picture of herself in a very short, sheer black nightie. From the angle of the picture, he could see she wasn't wearing anything else. Hence, the cold shower, which wasn't helping. He gave in to himself and jerked off to the memory of that picture. His orgasm came quickly but it did nothing to relieve the need he felt for her.
He shut off the water, toweled dry and padded naked to the bedroom. Picking up the glass he had left by the bed, he downed the contents and climbed into his cold, lonely bed. He picked up his phone and saw that she had been sending him messages.
Just got out of the shower, he replied.
I thought you were ignoring me.
Never. Why are you still awake?
My vibrator died. I'm looking for more batteries.
He laughed. Wish I could help you.
You could, come back over here.
I'm already naked and in bed.
Send pics or it hasn't happened.
I am not sending you pictures of me naked.
Damn! I tried.
Go to sleep, Kitten. I'll see you in the morning.
Good night, Super Agent.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Penelope couldn't tame the smile on her face as she walked through the glass doors into the BAU bullpen. She quickly looked around and noticed that she was among the first to arrive. Both Hotch and Dave's office doors were open. She toyed with the idea of stopping in to see Dave but decided to let him come to her.
She wandered into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.
"Good morning, Bella," Dave greeted her from where he sat at a nearby table. In front of him sat two cups of coffee, bagels, cream cheese and an assortment of fruits.
She smiled and wandered slowly over to him. "Good morning, handsome. Are you expecting company?"
He stands and takes her face into his hands. He kisses her gently for several minutes. Her hands settle on his waist to balance herself. He breaks the kiss and settles her into the seat across from his own.
"Did you sleep well," he asks.
"Not really," she replies. "I kept having naughty dreams about a sexy Italian."
He slips into his seat and picks up his coffee cup. "Really? Anyone I would know."
She smiles and winks at him.
Hotch walks into the room. "More breakfast," he grumbles.
"It's the most important meal of the day," Dave tells him. "You want a bagel?"
"I don't want to take your food," Hotch says as he pours himself a cup of coffee.
"I bought extra. They're over by the toaster," he explains. "And there's cream cheese in the refrigerator."
Hotch grins. "You're going to make a great wife one day."
Penelope picks at the fruit. "I can't argue with that," she murmurs.
Dave gives her a mock frown as she grins at him. She reaches across the table and touches his hand. He grabs hers, gently rubbing his thumb across her wrist. They sit like that as the team begins to file in.
She loves the way he focuses on her without regard to whomever may be watching. It's exhilarating to know that he cares more for her than for the opinions of those around them.
"Do you have plans for lunch," he asks softly.
"It's Friday," she states. "I always have lunch with Em and JJ on Friday."
He sighs. "And you're having dinner with…"
"Yeah."
He nods. "Any chance that I will see you this weekend?"
She pretends to think about it. "I think I can squeeze you in."
He reluctantly releases her hand and begins to clean off the table. She grabs a bagel and another piece of fruit.
"Thanks for breakfast."
"Anytime, Kitten."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The morning passed by quickly. Much to everyone's surprise, the team had yet to pick up a case for the week. Penelope, JJ and Emily managed to escape a little early to head to their favorite restaurant for lunch.
They settled in and gave the waiter their food and drink orders.
"So…" Emily started. She gives Penelope a wicked grin. "You and Dave are getting cozy pretty fast."
JJ jumps in. "Breakfast two days in a row, huh?"
Penelope shrugs, a slight blush tinges her cheeks. "He's just being sweet."
"Did you guys go out last night," Emily straight up asks.
"We did," Penelope replies.
"Well? What happened," JJ presses.
Emily leans in. "Don't leave out any details."
Penelope laughs and shakes her head. "It was… it was amazing."
"Enough about his dick, how was the date," Emily teases.
JJ laughs as Penelope looks horrified.
"Emily!" Penelope squeals.
"I'm teasing," Emily defends. "You don't have to tell us about the date. But the other thing is a definite. Did you have sex with him?"
"You are horrible," Penelope chastises.
Emily nods. "I know. I'm sorry. So tell us what happened. Where did he take you?"
Penelope smiles softly. "We went to the carnival in DC."
Both women raise their eyebrows. "The carnival?!"
She nods her head. "It was so sweet. I never imagined a date at a carnival could be romantic but it was. He must have kissed me a half a dozen times or more. And he couldn't keep his hands off of me. I've never been with a guy who touched me so much."
Emily and JJ shared a look.
"Sounds like someone is developing feelings," JJ mused.
Penelope eyed both of her friends and sighed. "Oh hell yeah," she confirmed. "I didn't know I could feel this way."
"What about Kevin," JJ inquires.
"That's a good question," Penelope ponders. "I have no idea."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Penelope checks herself in the mirror once more. The dress she wears is a little more conservative than she usually goes for but she knows that Kevin gets upset when other men look at her. The knock at the door startles her. She checks her phone, it's seven twenty.
She peers out the peephole and is startled to see Kevin standing there, normally he texts her as he waits in the car. She unlocks and opens the door.
"Hi," she smiles. She takes in his tuxedo. "You look great."
"You're wearing that," he replies ignoring her greeting. He stands in the hallway, hands behind his back.
She looks down. "What's wrong with it?"
He shrugs. "I just thought you would dress a little more fancy considering how much money I'm about to spend."
"We can go somewhere else, Kevin."
"No," he says sharply. "I made reservations and we're keeping them. Besides, we're celebrating your birthday and I want it to be special."
"Okay. Let me grab my wrap," she states.
He continues to stand in the hallway as she heads for the bedroom. "You can come inside, Kevin," she throws over her shoulder.
He steps over the threshold but doesn't close the door. She returns with a beautiful multicolored wrap draped over her shoulders.
"Here," Kevin says as he awkwardly thrusts a large, wrapped package at her. "I got you something."
Penelope grasps the package as she smiles at him. "Oh my God."
She places it on the coffee table and rips the paper off unveiling an x-box gaming system. She gives him a questioning look.
"Now we can play online together," he smiles a her. "And when I come over to hang out, I'll have something to do while you cook."
"That's a wonderful idea," she replies with a hint of sarcasm that goes unnoticed by Kevin.
"I can help you find some games online, really cheap," he tells her.
"It doesn't come with a game?"
He laughs at her. "No. You have to buy them separately. We'll set it up later. Come on, we're going to be late."
He turns and heads out the door.
Penelope puts the present on the coffee table and follows Kevin. She closes and locks it behind her as he descends the stairs without waiting.
"It's going to be a long night," she mutters to herself.
The restaurant is beyond fancy, decadent would be a better word to describe it. A maitre'd escorts them to their table. He holds out Penelope's chair and tucks her in before placing her napkin on her lap.
Wide eyed, Penelope takes in her surroundings. She recognizes several people around them as movers and shakers in the political world. She glances at her dress and thinks that Kevin was right, she is a little underdressed for the place. The sommelier stops by their table.
"Good evening. I am Paul. Do you have any questions about the wine menu," he asks.
"We're not having wine," Kevin says abruptly before Penelope can speak. She looks at Kevin and blinks. "Thank you."
Paul nods and walks away.
"I'd like a glass of wine," Penelope tells Kevin.
"Not at these prices," Kevin grates. "We can pick up a bottle after dinner from the grocery store. Hell, we can get two and still be saving money."
A younger man stops by and fills their water glasses. He removes the wine glasses from the table. Penelope stems a sigh and opens her menu.
"Ooh, I could go for some salmon," she says excitedly.
Kevin lowers his menu and frowns at her. "I had to borrow money from my parents to pay for this, try not to spend it all."
He hides behind the menu again. She glares at him then goes back to looking at the menu. 'What the hell happened,' she wondered. 'She was perfectly happy with Kevin three days ago. She would have been offering to pay half for this meal and she still would, except she had a feeling he would be upset if she did.'
The waiter appears at their table. "Are you ready to order? Or can I answer any questions?"
"We're ready," Kevin says without consulting her. "I'll have the chicken caesar salad and she will have the house salad with vinaigrette."
"And for your entree," the waiter asks.
"That's it," Kevin announces as he grabs her menu and hands both of them to the waiter. The man looks slightly perplexed but only smiles and walks away.
"Kevin, what if I didn't want a salad?"
"We don't have all night," he sighs. "I'm being the man and ordering for you."
She lets the comment slide. "How was your day?"
"Fine," he answers shortly. "How was yours?"
"It was good. At least the team isn't out on a case," she says.
He nods and takes a sip of water. "Does Rossi know that you're out with me?"
"He does."
"Was he upset? Nevermind, I don't care," Kevin says with some bravado. "Where did you guys go last night?"
"Do you really want to know?"
He hesitates as he studies his water glass. "I'm not sure," he says finally. "Was it better than this?"
She looks around at the fancy people and the waitstaff and all the decadence. She chuckles and shakes her head. "I guess that would depend on your definition of better. We went to the carnival."
He stares at her like he's not certain if she's telling the truth. "Really?"
She nods. "We ate junk food and played games and rode on most of the rides."
His shoulders relax. "That sounds like fun."
"It was," she agrees. "I was surprised. I never expected him to take me there. I never expected him to take me anywhere actually."
"Me either," Kevin says softly. "I thought you were scared of him."
She frowns. "I was never…"
"When we first started dating, you said he yelled at you," he reminds her.
She hugs herself as she recalls the memories. "After the shooting… that was a long time ago. I've gotten to know him since then. He only did that to get the answers he... the team needed. He's never yelled at me since then."
"He better not," Kevin says defensively.
The waiter comes to their table and sets down the salads. "Would you like some cheese," he asks with a polite smile.
"Yes, please," the answer simultaneously.
The waiter begins to grate fresh parmesan onto their salads.
"Could you ask the sommelier to come back," Kevin asks suddenly. "It's my girlfriends' birthday and I think we do need to have a glass of wine."
"Certainly, sir." The waiter nods and scrambles off to find the wine steward.
"Are you sure," Penelope asks.
Kevin smiles. "Absolutely. You're worth it."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As they exit the restaurant, Penelope reaches for Kevin's hand. He pulls away and tucks both hands in his pockets.
"That was a nice dinner," he states amicably.
"Yes it was," she agrees. "Thank you."
"Do you want to get some ice cream," he blurts out.
"I'm down," she smiles.
They drive to a place near Penelope's apartment. Kevin parks in a no parking zone. They get out and hustle to the ice cream shop.
"I hope I don't get a ticket," he says worriedly.
"We'll get our cones to go," she suggests.
He smiles and nods. There is no one else in the shop, so they are able to order quickly. She gets a double scoop of green tea and mint chocolate chip, he orders two scoops of vanilla. They lick at their cones as the head back to the car.
"What would you like to do next," he asks as they climb back in the car.
"Do you mind if we have an early night," she asks. "I didn't sleep very well last night."
"Okay," he agrees. "I actually brought some of my games. We can set up your x-box and I can show you how to play a few of them."
She glances at the clock on the dashboard; it nine forty five, not late at all. "Okay," she says reluctantly.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Penelope stifles the third yawn in a row and glances at the clock in the kitchen. It was nearly midnight and Kevin was completely engrossed in a game. He had stopped "explaining" it to her about an hour ago.
"Kevin, it's getting late. I need to go to bed," she tells him.
"So go," he says as he focuses on the game. "I'll join you as soon as I finish this level."
"You're not staying the night," she laughs.
He looks at her. "What? Why not? I always stay over on Friday night."
He turns back to the game.
"Because I don't want you to," she replies. He turns to her again and his character on the game get annihilated.
"I thought we were good," he says. "Are you kicking me out because Rossi is waiting to come over?"
She laughs and shakes her head. "Oh yeah. He's sitting on the curb waiting for you to leave. It's midnight Kevin. I'm tired. Kind of like you were on my birthday."
"Seriously, you're going to bring that up again? I had just finished a seven hour marathon of World of Warcraft," he counters.
"I just want to go to bed."
"Fine," he replies. He turns off the X-box and the television. "Lets go to bed."
He gets up and stomps into the bedroom. She doesn't really want him to spend the night but she is too tired to argue. She gets up and makes certain the door is locked. She turns off the lights and walks into the bedroom. Kevin has already stripped to his boxers and crawled into bed.
She grabs a few things from her dresser and goes into the bathroom. Almost as if in slow motion, she goes through her nightly routine. Hair brushed and put up for the night. Teeth brushed, flossed and rinsed with mouthwash. She carefully removes her makeup and cleanses her face with a scrub and a mask and tea tree oil. Finally, she changes into her night clothes. For tonight, she has chosen an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts. It's more sensible than sexy.
After a second check to make certain she removed all the makeup and facial cleaners, she shuts off the lights and exits the bathroom. Kevin lies sleeping on his side facing the bathroom. She pads around the bed and carefully slips under the covers.
She picks up her phone and sees a message from Dave. Are you home and alone?, he asks.
Yes… and no, she replies.
Several seconds go by before he texts back. Good night.
Good night, David, she responds.
She scrolls through their messages, stopping on the pictures she sent him. She stares at the one of them kissing. Kevin snorts behind her. She glances over her shoulder at him and sighs.
With one last look, she shuts off her phone and closes her eyes.