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Pizza and a Kiss

He was on the train again, only this time he was standing and hanging onto one of the straps attached to an overhead metal rod that ran the length of the car. This time, every seat was taken as was usual for the middle of rush hour. He couldn't hear anything over the sound of men and women chatting, a baby crying and a couple of kids fighting while their mother threatened to take their Internet for a month.

He looked around; unable to keep his eyes to himself because he'd always found the train to be a great place to watch people. It was nice to observe people that weren't all about aberrant behavior. His eyes flicked over a young couple in one seat. The young man was dressed in black leather with a metal rod piercing his eyebrow and a tattoo on his left temple of what looked like a small scarlet phoenix. He had his arm around and all of his attention on his girl, who had dark hair and a delicate face with a turned up nose. The young man kissed her and she laughed.

He turned his attention to a pregnant woman sitting in the seat right in front of him. She was knitting something that looked like a blanket made from yellow and white thread worked into a starburst pattern. She was laughing at something the woman sitting next to her was saying. She also looked like she was only days away from giving birth any minute. He fervently hoped she wouldn't go into labor until safely off the train.

He realized with a longing that irritated and frightened him that he really wanted to see Emily, but she hadn't got on the train with him. She'd said that she had to go see her mother that evening. He didn't like the fact that he missed her so much.

You're supposed to be mad at her.

He wanted to disagree with that little voice in his head, but found he couldn't quite do it. His anger and feelings of betrayal hadn't gone away as the team wanted. He couldn't just wake up one day and be fine.

You want to. You want to kiss her again, like you did all those months ago. You love her.

The train squealed to a stop, the stop of forward motion knocking him off his feet. Several people, including the pregnant woman and her friend, left the train. He sat down in the recently vacated seat and pulled out a book. It didn't matter what his internal voice said. He wasn't going to be fooled by Emily Prentiss again.

CMCMCMCMCMCM

He was deep into writing a paper for his philosophy class, and munching on some recently delivered pizza when someone rang his doorbell. He ignored it in favor of his schoolwork. Their last case had put him behind and he needed to catch up by the end of the week.

The person knocked again, a little harder this time. He looked at the door as if it had personally offended him. He was tempted to shout, "Go away," but the person would know he was there if he did.

He turned back to his Super Supreme Combination pizza with a thin crust and his paper on Nietzsche. He was on a roll and would finish in about ten minutes if whomever at the door would just go away.

"I know you're in there Reid."

He sat up so straight and fast at Emily's irritated voice, the muscles in his neck cramped. He yelped and reached up to dig his fingers into the flesh beneath his skull. "Damn it!"

He stalked to the door, yanking it open just as Emily was about to knock again. "What do you want?" He snapped at her.

Her eyebrows went up, but otherwise she was unperturbed. "I thought we had a coffee date."

"What are you talking about?"

He didn't let her by so she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "We decided that friends could have coffee together. Don't you remember?"

He noticed she had a bag over one arm that wasn't her purse. It looked like some kind of gift bag, but he couldn't see if there was a name of a store on it.

"Are you going to let me in?"

"I'm busy… I'm trying to write a paper."

"Smells good. Is that pizza?" She was staring past him into the apartment.

"I need to get back to my paper."

"Since we've been busy for the last week, I decided to bring coffee to you."

She held up the black paper bag. He knew he should tell her to go away, but he had to see what was in that bag. Emily smiled at him and he wanted to say that she couldn't bribe him, but apparently, she could because he backed up and let her into the living area.

"Fine," he said. "Come in, but make it fast because I'm busy."

She was still smiling as though she'd gotten the upper hand, which exacerbated his irritation.

"Thanks," she said brightly. "You won't be sorry."

She took the bag through the living area, stopping at his small round table with his writing tablet and a plate with a half eaten slice of pizza. "I'm starved. May I have a slice?"

He glared at her. She'd interrupted him, and now she wanted him to feed her. He found his head nodding at her before he could stop it.

She went left into his tiny U-shaped kitchen and put her bag on his spotless light yellow counter top. She reached in and pulled out what looked like a gift bag from heaven. "My mother got this from a friend, but she's not a huge fan of coffee so she thought you might like it."

She pulled out two quarter pound bags of Ethiopia Sidamo, three bottles of coffee flavoring - one bottle of Amaretto, one of Hazelnut, and one of Irish Crème - Nona's biscotti and a bar of Ghirardelli milk chocolate.

Emily was smirking at him when he made his eyes leave the wonderful coffee and chocolate goodness right there for the taking. He didn't like the way she was looking at him because she seemed entirely too pleased with herself at the moment. "Thank you," was all he trusted himself to say.

"You're welcome. I thought you'd like it. Can I have some of that pizza now?"

He pulled a dark red plate out of the cabinet over his head and lifted the cover of the pizza box. The appetizing aroma of cheese, tomatoes, sausage and onions wafted out to Emily. He removed a slice, and handed it to her. "Do you want a beer?"

"I better not. I'm driving. What about soda pop?"

He nodded and went to the refrigerator. "Do you want Coke, Dr Pepper, or Root beer? I don't like Sprite so I don't have any of that to offer."

"Dr Pepper is just fine."

He removed a bottle opener from a drawer filled with eating utensils, and even measuring spoons. "You cook." She asked surprised.

"I was intrigued by Rossi's lesson. I've been practicing a little. I'm not that great at it yet."

She took the bottle of soda and the plate to his little table. "Maybe you'll cook something for me sometime."

"I don't think so." He stated flatly. "I'm not that good yet." He repeated firmly.

She didn't reply until they'd both finished their pizza. "I really am sorry to drop in on you Reid. I wanted to see you."

He put aside his plate and sat back in his chair. "I'm glad you came by." He said honestly. "I guess I'm just out of my comfort zone. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel."

"I don't want you to feel any way." She assured him. "I thought we could talk about what happened that night."

He felt his face go hot. "I don't want to talk about it. It's over and done with," He said.

She stood up and went to his chair. He looked up at her as she ran a hand through his hair. Gooseflesh popped out on his arms and legs. Her fingers made tingles swarm in his gut every time she touched him. He raised his eyes to look at her face and saw that she was staring at him with a look he didn't recognize. She'd never looked at him in quite that way, not even when he'd kissed her on a night that felt like years ago.

"I'm so sorry I let you think that kiss didn't affect me."

"You don't have to -"

She leaned down and captured his mouth with her lips. His hands froze in his lap while his mouth tasted her lips. They had a sweet taste that reminded him a little of the maple syrup he liked on pancakes, and something else that was elusive and compelling. Her fingers raked his head and set more butterflies to racing around in his stomach. The kiss lasted until he heard a small sound of need. He broke off and pulled away from Emily who appeared to be startled.

"I think you should go." He said. "I'm busy and you're confusing me."

"I didn't-"

"I told you that I don't seduce easily." He'd left his chair to stand against the wall with his eyes pinned to her face.

"I wasn't trying to seduce you."

He stared at her until she dropped her eyes; which was a first for him. "I imagine you thought that all you had to do was bring me expensive coffee and chocolate, but I'm not that easy."

"I wasn't thinking that at all."

"Don't make me remind you that I know when someone is lying."

She reached for the black coat she'd shed after he let her in. "I think it's best if I leave you to your paper."

"I think that's wise."

When she left, he went back to his schoolwork with a smile on his face and wondering what she'd try next. He found the prospect so distracting he had to leave his schoolwork aside. He decided instead to grind up some fresh coffee. There was no reason not to enjoy what Emily's mother had refused. He certainly wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth or throw out perfectly good coffee. Maybe, if he were feeling generous, he'd save Emily a cup. It would be an excuse for another coffee break between friends and, if he was honest with himself, another chance for Emily to try her seduction techniques. But, he decided, he didn't always like being honest with himself.