Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews for last chapter! :)

If you like this story, you might want to check out Matters of the Universe by dustytiger. She and I are following the same outline, and ending up with two very different stories!

The prompt for this chapter was 'Reid's Cooking Skills Examined.'

Enjoy!

~Angie

Every government unit she'd ever worked for had frowned heavily upon fraternization of any kind, so when Penelope had invited her to a gathering outside of work, Emily had been a bit surprised. But the fact of the matter was, it would be a chance to see Spencer outside of work again, and that was something she could hardly pass up.

They'd had one fantastic discussion about Comic-Con (maybe one day she'd tell him about the 'Wonder Woman' costume in her closet,) but they hadn't had a chance to speak much since then. Because the team spent so much time on the road, they'd fallen behind on their paperwork. And no paperwork meant no funding, so the team had been put on stand down in order to catch up. It had been four solid days of writing, typing, and scanning, and it was obvious they were getting antsy. When Garcia had mentioned a party, they'd all jumped on it.

She'd been introduced to the hostess, JJ, who had worked with the team until recently, when she'd been forced to take a position at the department of defense. Emily had been confused as to why she was attending a party being held by someone she didn't even know, but Penelope had assured her that the BAU was much like the mob…once you were part of the family, you were in it for life—like it or not. Plus, Garcia had explained with a grin, JJ had the best backyard out of the group.

"There you are!" JJ exclaimed, drawing Emily's attention to the latest arrival.

"Hey!" Spencer said, his face lighting up at the sight of her. He strode over and placed the bags on the picnic table, then turned and gave the young blonde a big hug. "How are you?" he asked.

Emily Prentiss wasn't usually a jealous person. In fact, she was a firm believer that it was a wasted emotion. So when she began seeing red at the sight of him surrounded by yet another blonde, she was a bit taken aback by the unfamiliar feeling. It wasn't like he had 'Property of Emily Prentiss' stamped on him…although she wasn't opposed to that idea.

"Oh, good. The drinks are here," Derek said, pawing through the paper bag. "You brought beer. Good job, Kid."

Emily still wasn't sure why Morgan called him 'Kid.' It was clear to her that Reid was a man; he had to be at least thirty. She hoped so, anyway! Any younger and she'd start to feel a little guilty.

"I could've brought a potato salad," Reid muttered.

"Umm…no, you couldn't," Garcia said with a laugh as she plopped down into the lounge chair next to Emily's.

"That was one time!" Reid insisted.

"Trust me, Reid. It's better this way," she informed him. "Don't you remember the infamous inferno debacle of 2009?"

Reid sighed. "That could have happened to anyone," he argued.

"But it didn't, Spence," JJ said with a laugh that grated on Emily's nerves. "It happened to you. And you were evicted because of it. We'd hate to see you and Ashley homeless because of your fire-starting infatuation."

Reid rolled his eyes, and then looked at Emily. "Word of advice…don't tell them anything. They'll never forget it, and they won't let you forget it, either."

"Thanks for the tip," Emily said with a grin.

Emily went inside to refill her iced tea and take a deep breath. She hated to think of herself as petty, but aside from the word of warning he'd imparted, it seemed as though Spencer was interacting with everyone but her. It was clear that he adored JJ's son. His Godson, Seaver had informed her. He was patient and tender with the little boy, and she enjoyed getting a glimpse of that part of him.

"Get a grip, Prentiss," she muttered to herself. It had been nearly two weeks, and he still hadn't called. Apparently she'd misread the signals. When she'd teased him about not calling her and he'd reminded her that it hadn't even been twelve hours, she'd assumed that meant he was planning on calling. Clearly that hadn't been the case.

Taking that deep breath, she decided it was time to move on. Emily didn't like feeling jealous of a woman who'd opened up her home to her, and she didn't like waiting by the phone in hopes that he'd call. Yes. It was definitely time to move on.

Spencer reached the front door just before she did, walking into the kitchen as she was walking out. "Excuse me," he said, walking past her without stopping. Instead of continuing outside, she turned around and watched as he stopped to get something from the refrigerator.

"Did you lose my number?" she asked when he finally he closed the door.

"No," he answered quickly, as if he was surprised she was still there. "It's on my nightstand." As soon as he realized what he'd said, Spencer blushed crimson.

Emily had to purse her lips to keep from grinning. "And…you have my work number, right?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "But we're not supposed to use our business phones to conduct personal matters."

"OK," she said with a nod. "So…if you're hanging onto my number, it's a safe bet to say you felt…some kind of a spark in the bar that night."

Spencer nodded, his cheeks still red.

"Right. So…why…haven't…you called?"

Reid cleared his throat. "Ashley said I shouldn't," he told her.

"Ashley said? And what do you think?" she asked.

"I…really don't know women that well," he admitted in a voice that was a bit higher pitched than his normal tone. "And…Ashley said I should wait for you to make the next move."

"Hmm…" Emily said thoughtfully. "And you don't think that me giving you my number was my move?"

"I…it could have been," he conceded with a shrug.

"Right, well…" She placed her glass on the counter beside her and then walked forward swiftly before she could change her mind. "Just in case there's any doubt in your mind…"

Emily placed her hands on his shoulders and lifted her face until her lips brushed softly against his. She was going to stop there, but when he tentatively parted his mouth and ran his tongue along her lower lip, she didn't want to take the chance that she might not get her point across.

So she parted her own lips to offer him entry, her tongue moving slowly forward until she got a faint taste of him. It was then she forced herself to pull away, eyes still closed. She exhaled with a little whimpering sigh. When her eyelids fluttered open, he was staring down at her, his eyes heavy lidded. With a grin, she turned and made her way back to the party.

So much for moving on.