Chapter 3: Interrupted

After burying himself in paperwork all day, it was finally time to leave. Reid wouldn't let himself focus on anything but work so his butterflies didn't start until he set foot into the elevator. And, without fail, Morgan stepped in right after him.

Neither of them said anything as they stood shoulder to shoulder until Reid cleared his throat. Then Morgan tipped his head to the right, toward Reid. "You know what I'd like to do right now?"

"What's that?" Reid didn't turn to look at him, but rather looked to the right front corner of the elevator.

"I'd like to hit that emergency stop button."

Reid's eyes moved to look at the red button on the panel in front of him. "Why's that?" Reid asked, trying not to sound too interested even though Morgan's velvet tone was sending signals right to his groin.

"So I can kiss you."

Reid cleared his throat again. He didn't want to admit that he liked the thought. "There's a camera in here."

"It'd take one phone call."

Reid gulped. He knew Morgan was pretty good friends with the Head of Security and he could probably get away with… a lot if he really wanted to, but could that really happen? Reid's fantasy started rolling immediately: He said the words, "Do it," and Morgan would make the call… then… 5… 4… 3… 2… Morgan would throw him against the wall of the elevator, the floor would shake beneath them and they would lose themselves in this epically epic lip lock as they inhaled each other's faces.

Reid cleared his throat a third time and exhaled just as the elevator doors open, purposefully sounding annoyed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Go get 'em," Morgan told Reid as Reid stepped out.

Though he'd called like he said he would, Reid had never taken Michael's phone call, so Michael had to leave Reid a message. He left his address and phone number so Reid could find his way over.

Reid brushed his hands down the front of his new black button up shirt. He straightened his belt against his black slacks and then loosened his dark purple tie just a little bit, wondering if he looked presentable. He cringed, moved his hair away from his face and then cleared his throat. He took a very deep breath and knocked at the door. When Michael opened it, Reid immediately felt his positive energy.

"You got my message! Come in, Dr. Reid."

Reid tried to fight against how big he was smiling. There was no mistake why he'd chosen to come. "Yeah, sorry. I was so buried today. I didn't even get to eat anything except a Kit Kat."

"You must be starving then. Come in, make yourself at home. Mi casa es tu casa!"

Reid could smell the spaghetti and garlic bread right away and it made his stomach growl. "That… smells really good."

"My Mother's recipe."

That made Reid smile inside. He could tell Michael adored his Mom, just like he adores his. He glanced around inside the small, single level home. Every bit of Michael's place was clean, uncluttered and color coordinated. It was all very tastefully decorated, in fact; not flashy, but colorful.

"Nice place," Reid said, meaning it.

"Thanks! Hey, have a seat. Do you want some wine?" Michael offered as he stepped into the kitchen.

Reid sat down on a stool at the breakfast bar and contemplated the offer. "Uhh, yeah." He removed his holster and gun from his waist, lying the assembly down on the counter, pushing it toward the wall.

Michael reached for the bottle and two glasses he already had set aside and brought them to the counter, opposite of Reid. "Tell me when?"

"Okay," Reid laughed nervously, not used to being catered to. He watched with bright eyes as Michael popped the cork loose and began pouring red wine into the glass closest to him. He signaled to Michael when the glass was almost three quarters full. Reid hadn't had a drink in a while and wondered how many of these he could have before he would start feeling it. He wanted to feel it though. He was pretty jittery with excitement and wanted to be able to relax just a little.

Michael filled his own glass and took a quick drink before heading back to his pasta.

Nothing formal or fancy going on here… Reid smiled with his eyes as he watched Michael work his magic, but after a little while, he felt guilty just sitting there. He took a couple swallows of his wine and slowly stood up, wiping his hands down the sides of his hips. "Would you like some help?" He rounded the counter into the kitchen and stood with his hands in his pockets under the fluorescent light.

Michael turned his head and smiled at Reid as he stirred the sauce. He looked Reid up and down and was wow'd at how sharp he looked. "Damn…" he whispered to himself as he turned his attention back to his cooking. "Dr. Reid, go sit down."

Reid let out a soft chuckle. "When are you going to stop calling me that?" He started to look at all of the things attached to the refrigerator doors. There were lots of pictures of Michael and his family; a Caucasian mother, a Mexican father and a gorgeous sister that might as well be his twin. There was picture of a long haired Siamese cat and a couple of other images of Michael with some guys… friends, boyfriends… Reid couldn't tell and didn't try to.

"Never, Dr. Reid!" Michael proclaimed in a silly, dramatic accent.

Reid laughed again and went back to his wine, only leaving one more swallow's worth in the glass. He ambled around the living room and dining room, looking at Michael's things, not being nosy at all… just looking. When he made his way back to the breakfast bar, his glass had been miraculously refilled. He took a large drink of it, wanting that buzz to hit. His stomach was empty; he knew it wasn't gonna take much.

In moments, Michael was setting the dining room table and brought the garlic bread over. Reid couldn't stop his mouth from watering. It had been a long time since he'd had a home cooked meal actually worth eating.

Reid saw right away that Michael had set the table so that they were sitting next to one another and not across. Michael was to sit at the end of the table and Reid on the side. Reid smiled to himself over that. Michael filled their glasses again and then they both sat down to eat.

"So, how was your day?"

Reid looked up from his plate and smiled at Michael. How very domestic… "We, uhh… a lot of what we do is paperwork… reports, case reviews and… and uhh, consultations," Reid took a bite of his piece of garlic bread, chewing most of up and swallowing before he continued. Michael just smiled, remembering the rundown from the seminar, but he didn't say a word. "Today I had to basically timeline this man's entire life on paper. Detail after detail… It's really tedious."

"Is it someone you're looking for?"

"No, he was apprehended years ago, but we're studying him, his behavior and why he made every single decision he made." Michael just smiled, not really responding and Reid questioned him. "What?"

"You're holding back." Michael was expecting more technical jargon than what he'd just heard. "I've seen you speak at lectures. I know for a fact that you can speak gibberish with the best of them and go on about statistics, genetics and brain abnormalities and the chemistry and mathematics of it all."

Reid was puzzled. "When have you ever seen me speak at a lecture?"

"You're on YouTube, Dr. Reid."

"YouTube? That's for peoples' videos on the internet, right?" He knew that much from work… and Prentiss, JJ and Garcia watching cat videos. Michael nodded at him with a grin. "I'm confused… How- How did I end up on YouTube?"

"It looks like a student filmed it."

"Oh…" Reid was pretty deep in thought over this bit of information, but he tried to laugh it off. Did he look like a big nerd for all the world to see? "Was I boring?"

"Not a chance, Dr. Reid." When Michael called him Dr. Reid, Reid gave him such a warm closed mouth smile. It was definitely a term of endearment coming from him. And he was starting to like it. "Even if I've got no idea what you're talking about, I really could just listen to you talk all day long."

Reid bashfully returned his attention to his food and tried to not smile as he ate. After another minute, he felt finally felt that buzz hit. He wasn't sure how long it would last since he was eating. "What about you? How was your day?"

"I didn't have to work, so I went to the gym. I had lunch with my sister and then went shopping for tonight."

When Reid looked up at Michael, expecting him to keep talking, he just saw Michael smiling at him again. "What?"

"I've been so nervous all day. I still can't believe we're here eating together."

"This is delicious," he told Michael just as he spun more noodles around his fork and took the bite. He couldn't believe it either. He also couldn't believe how good he felt being in Michael's company.

"Thank you," Michael smiled, so intrigued by the man beside him. He had this beautiful silence about him. He could tell Reid's brain was on a different kind of overdrive than when they'd met and he knew right away Reid had not had been on many dates or had that many lovers, for that matter. He wondered what Reid was thinking about and not saying. As he watched Reid finish off his wine, he announced, "I have another bottle." He didn't hesitate to get up and head into the kitchen to retrieve it.

As Reid watched him, he thought he'd speak up. "I would love some more." He knew Michael wasn't trying to get him drunk and besides, he was a willing drinker tonight.

When they were done eating, they remained sitting at the table, small talking, until Michael suggested they move to his couch. Reid walked with him and thought about how wide open his large living room was. Only end tables and couches along the walls. No coffee table at all. There must be a reason. They sat down and Reid let out a controlled sigh, trying to maintain eye contact. He had no idea what to expect next.

"Let's get it over with. Tell me about Derek Morgan."

Reid took a large drink of his wine. "There's nothing to tell."

Michael didn't believe that, of course. "Come on, Dr. Reid. You can tell me anything."

"It was a, uhh, a week-long mistake," Reid shook his head. "I-I mean, it was nothing. It all amounted to nothing," he sighed. "And besides, it was a long time ago."

"Something tells me it was more than what you're leading yourself to believe nowadays."

Reid turned his head and made very strong eye contact with Michael as he thought about that comment, but then dropped his gaze and took another drink of his wine. "If it's all the same, I don't want to talk about him right now. I'm here with you."

"Alright then," Michael smiled affectionately at Reid and gave his shoulder a squeeze before getting up. Reid watched as he walked over to his entertainment center and pressed a couple of buttons. Reid could hear songs being skipped and then silence. "You leave me no choice…. I'm gonna make you forget all about him."

Michael stood in the center of his living room and pulled off his shirt, tossing it toward the wall at his right. Reid's jaw hung open. "What are you doing?" He tried not to stare at Michael's rippled torso as he started stretching. He might as well been a smaller version of Morgan. His body was just as beautiful and mesmerizing.

"Tonight is the night, Dr. Reid! Are you ready?"

What's happening? His eyes darted around Michael's living room and he understood why it was as open as it was. He was instantly embarrassed and didn't know how to react. "Uhh…" Reid grinned nervously, watching as Michael pressed a button on the remote he had in his hand. He listened as the music grew and then took off. Michael began dancing along immediately. At first, his movements were very rhythmic and Reid couldn't take his eyes away, staring at Michael's hips. He couldn't pick up his jaw from the floor either. The music was fast and the singer was speaking his lyrics so quickly; Reid wasn't entirely sure what was being said, but he began to beam as he observed Michael make a handsome fool of himself.

The chorus was very catchy and enthusiastic. Michael might as well have had springs in his feet as he sang along. As his intention from the start, he began trying to make Reid laugh with deliberately silly dancing. He effortlessly transitioned from disco, to hip hop, to made-up dance moves with funny faces. It was so easy to feed off of Michael's good energy that Reid could feel the last of the tension inside finally break loose and he was so amused that he started laughing, leaning back onto the couch with a knee in the air as he clapped to help release his laughter. He was really feeling so good and happy. He hadn't laughed like that in a very long time.

When the song was over, Reid noticed his temperature had spiked, but he knew to blame that on the alcohol. Michael huffed and puffed as he watched Reid stand up from the couch. His bare skin was just beginning to sweat.

"Michael… that was…" he chuckled, trying to hold his laughter in, "I really liked that song."

"Is that all you have to say?" Michael teased breathlessly as his bare chest heaved.

Reid grinned at him with a certain look in his eyes, indicating he liked what he saw. A lot. "May I use your bathroom?"

Michael smiled back. "All yours."

Reid headed straight down the short hallway that was just right of the entrance. The bathroom was directly in front of him. He could see bedrooms down each end of the perpendicular hallway he passed through. After gently closing the door behind him, he made his way to the toilet. He did his business and then looked at his reflection as he washed his hands. His vision was a little blurry. He felt like he wasn't wearing his contacts. After he rubbed his eyes, he reached into his back pocket and pulled the condom out. He had no idea if it would be needed tonight or not; he just wanted to be prepared. Feeling a bit fuzzy, his eyes lazily blinked as he placed it back into his pocket. When he walked back into the living room, Michael had another song playing - a slower, instrumental song and he was holding his hand out to Reid.

"Dance with me?"

Reid gulped and walked up to Michael, taking his hand. Michael pulled them close together and Reid tried to breathe through the surge of electricity he felt. Michael's golden brown skin was so warm beneath his hands. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but then leaned back so he could look at Michael, reminded of their height difference. When they looked each other in the eyes, Reid blurted, "I'm really attracted to you." When Michael didn't say anything back instantly, Reid blurted again. "I brought a condom."

Michael smiled softly and began loosening Reid's tie. He untied it and Reid let him pull it off. "Do you know… how when… people first meet, sometimes they feel like they see fireworks?"

"I've heard of that." Reid pressed his lips together; just about ready to about to explain that it was just a chemical response in the bra- … but then Michael began unbuttoning his shirt.

"When I met you… I didn't see fireworks." Michael noticed that seemed to hurt Reid's feelings. "When I met you… I heard music." He pulled Reid's shirt from his pants and slipped his hand between Reid's shirt and his flesh, softly landing at his lower side. They continued to sway as the guitar played in the background. "Music is very important to me and when I met you, it was like feeling all of my favorite songs as if I was hearing them all at once. I felt… You took my breath away… I wanted to explode on the inside and…" Michael swallowed and tried to continue, but his words got hung up somewhere in transit and he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm so nervous."

Reid stared hard into Michael's dark eyes. This connection was getting more intense by the second and he knew exactly what Michael was feeling. "I knew from the moment I first saw your smile that I wanted to know more about you. It took everything I had to leave you in that break room. And I haven't stopped thinking about you since." He smiled a little bit at Michael. "I'm really happy that I'm here."

The look in Michael's eyes made Reid a little emotional. He had just validated Michael's feelings and he knew what a moment it must have been for him.

Reid slowly took Michael's face into his hands and kissed him. It was a closed mouth kiss that each of them held for several seconds. Then Reid whispered against his lips, "Let me taste you." They opened their mouths wide against one another and pulled themselves closer together. Garlic, sauce and wine lingered on their breath, but neither cared. Reid kissed Michael deeply, making Michael whimper as he squeezed at the skin of Reid's back. Reid could feel his own heart throbbing in his neck as his body heat continued to run hot. All that did was excite him more knowing he could be just moments from feeling Michael's sweat mingling with his own.

Ignore it, Reid told himself and Michael silently. He didn't want to have to interrupt this warm and soft kiss. He didn't want Michael's tongue to ever stop touching his. It had been too long and this felt so good. Ignore it, pleeeeaase.

"I felt that," Michael giggled between kisses.

Reid pulled back, frowning while reaching into his pocket. "I'm really sorry. I should have just turned it off." He looked at the Caller ID and pursed his lips. It was Morgan, but Reid knew he wouldn't call unless it was important. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "I need to take this."

"No worries," Michael insisted.

"Excuse me," Reid said as he headed toward to door answering the call. He closed it quietly behind him and stood outside. "Right now?" He listened to Morgan apologize multiple times for interrupting his evening. "Morgan, I can't really drive right now…" He held his shirt closed, feeling a little exposed to the cool night air.

"You been drinkin'?" Morgan asked.

"I've… I've had a few glasses of wine. It should wear off pretty soon, but-"

"Okay…" Morgan wanted know every single detail, but at the same time, hearing that Reid was drinkin' only made him feel like it was only the tip of the iceberg for Reid's night. Then he wondered, Is this Michael guy a bad influence? "I need to come pick you up then. See if he'll let you leave your car there overnight …or somethin'."

"Okay…" Reid sighed, halting himself from reacting verbally to Morgan's tone on that last word. He ran his hand down his face, dug the base of his palm into his left eye and then blinked a few times. He headed back inside and looked around to find Michael in the kitchen. "Hold on," he told Morgan and hit the mute button on the phone. "Michael?" Reid stepped into the kitchen, looking extremely apologetic. "I guess there's a crime scene we're needed at. Can I leave my car here overnight?"

Michael looked at Reid without saying anything for several seconds, trying to put what Reid was saying together, reading between the lines that someone would be picking him up. "Whatever you need," he offered.

Reid unmuted the phone and turned back around, walking into the living room. "I'll text you the address."

"I'm leavin' from home, so I'll be a little bit no matter where you are."

"Just honk when you arrive and I'll be right out."

Morgan hung up his end without saying goodbye.

Reid texted the address and then put his phone back in his pocket. He saw that Michael was cleaning up and immediately went to him. There was an awkwardness in the air and Reid wanted to kill it. "Let me help you."

"No way. You're my guest."

"Come on, I'd love to help you," Reid insisted, trying to find something to put his hands on to feel like he was helping.

Michael dropped what he was doing and wiped his hands with his dish towel. "Dr. Reid, follow me…" Reid followed him into the living room and watched as Michael pointed his remote to the stereo again. "Let's have another dance."

Reid smiled and took Michael's hand, standing close enough to him to feel the heat radiating from his body. Michael was still, very much shirtless and Reid was a little nervous of that suddenly, like Morgan's interruption had truly interrupted his comfort level with Michael. He pushed that feeling back and let his senses lead him. He had this beautiful man before him… He could smell Michael's cologne; he could smell his sweat… There was the most comforting heat beneath his fingertips from Michael's skin… He took a deep breath and caught Michael smiling at him and he laughed instead of sighing the breath away… That's better… Soft guitar and a soothing voice filled the room. "This is nice…"

"Girish. Diamonds in the Sun. One of my favorite songs."

"You're going to have to write these down. I want to listen to them all again."

"I'll do you one better and make you a CD."

Reid smiled. "You need to make it tonight."

Michael realized Reid was right. They weren't going to see each other for a week. He let go of Reid and ran to his computer. He fired up his iTunes and in less than thirty seconds, he was burning chosen songs onto a CD.

Reid laughed a little and they began to dance again to the Girish song, after Michael restarted it. They swayed back and forth as they looked into each other's eyes. After about three minutes into the song, Reid's heart began to swell with affection for Michael as he listened to the lyrics. This song represented what he was already seeing in Michael; that he had one of the biggest hearts he'd ever seen.

"It's just as well…" Michael suddenly decided.

"What is?"

"If something would have happened… and you ended up staying the night… I don't think I would be able to leave in the morning. I don't think I'd be able to get out of bed if you were lying next to me."

The song ended and there was nothing but silence. Reid held Michael's gaze for as long as could before he had to kiss him again. Michael kissed him back and soon enough, they were heavily making out in the center of the living room for a few minutes. At Reid's insistence, they moved to the couch. Something had absolutely ignited between them. Reid was quick to fall onto his back as Michael lay down on top of him and they continued their kisses. Reid groaned loudly when Michael began grinding their centers together. This was heavenly. Michael slipped off to the side just a bit and cupped Reid's bulge into his hands, making Reid moan into his mouth. Reid's hand had slipped down Michael's pants and squeezed his cheek, allowing his finger to slip inside Michael's ass crack, making him kiss Reid harder and deeper.

Reid could have sworn he heard the scratch of a needle on a record when they heard a knock at the door. They froze and stared at each other in surprise. "I didn't hear a honk."

Michael laughed. "Were you listening, Dr. Reid?"

Reid grinned and looked at his watch as they both stood up, not believing how quickly the time gone by. He grabbed his tie from the couch arm and began buttoning his shirt up. They gave each other one last heartfelt kiss and then went their separate ways; Reid went to retrieve his gun from the kitchen and Michael went to answer the door while pulling his shirt on.

After a pause to let Reid finish tying his tie, Michael opened the door, welcoming Morgan inside. Reid was standing next to them within seconds, having just finished tucking his shirt back in. Michael smiled at Morgan and extended his hand out for a handshake. "I'm Michael. It's nice to meet you."

Morgan wasn't introducing himself, so Reid did it for him. "You remember Derek… from the seminar?"

"Yeah… the seminar," Michael agreed, knowing Reid was avoiding mentioning the break room "incident".

Morgan's eyes squinted at Michael, but he reached out and shook his hand. Reid watched them carefully. "Nice to meet you too," Morgan told Michael.

"We better go," Reid suggested after the awkwardness began. Morgan wasn't being outwardly threatening, but there was something about his demeanor that Reid didn't like. He could only imagine what kind of vibe Michael was picking up.

Reid began nudging Morgan toward the door and Morgan opened it and stepped outside. He slowly began to head down the walkway until he saw Reid wasn't behind him.

"Thank you for a wonderful night. Everything was perfect."

Michael smiled bashfully. "Can I call you when I get home?"

"Of course," Reid grinned. "Uhh, let me give you my cell." Michael quickly found his own phone and entered the numbers as Reid said them. "Text me and let me know how it's going." Michael smiled, ridiculously happy to follow that suggestion. He dialed Reid's number and they let the phone call connect so that Reid had his number in his call log. "Oh, hey… Where's my CD?"

Michael grinned, very pleased that Reid didn't forget. He went to his computer, found a marker, essentially autographed the CD and then brought it to Reid. They took each other's hand as they had the night before and when Reid stepped outside, they reluctantly let go of one another.

The moment Reid's eyes saw Morgan standing on the walkway, waiting for him, he couldn't help but feel like he was waking up from a dream and stepping back into reality. It was hard to ignore how much it felt like home.

SURPRISE! Wanted to get this posted before the CM premier!

Chapter 4 is halfway done. I may take a little while to post it and I'm keeping the reasons to myself! LOL, Hope you had a good read! I know it's hard seeing Reid with someone else… Just hang in there my pretties!

I posted a couple new stories: Coming Undone [complete] (Morgan/Reid) and In Need of Assistance (Hotch/Reid). Maybe you wanna check them out?

To hear the songs mentioned in this chapter, go to my exonev tumblr and visit the "My Audio Uploads" link at the bottom of the right pane. Look for Tonight is the Night by Outasight and Diamonds in the Sun by Girish. There's only 1 page to sift thru at the moment. Also, there was song in between (during their first kiss) that I didn't name. It's called Of Southern Skies and you can hear it by visiting eversham dot tumblr and downloading their album! The link for that is that the right pane of their tumblr page and within their postings! Good stuff! PS: They're gorgeous! #ShallowMoment #DontJudgeMe

Love you guys! Happy Season 8! :D