When we walk through the glass doors I can tell his team is trying to do anything but stare at me. I see a few of them exchange looks as Spencer leads me to a coffee pot. He pours himself a cup, hands me an 'FBI' mug, and fills it with the black bitter liquid.
"Cream or sugar?" he asks,
"Both please" I reply as he passes the sugar packets and carton of half and half over to me. I empty three sugars into the cup and add approximately four tablespoons of cream. We sit down at a small round table next to the coffee station, and silence falls yet again.
"So uh- you said you have an eidetic memory?" he asks and I nod my head.
"I'm not nearly as smart as you are, though" I shake my head, "an IQ of 187 and graduating high school at 12? I can't top that" I say with a chuckle in my voice. The coffee has calmed my nerves immensely; I am no longer on the verge of tears.
"I uh- I see you did your research" he replies with grin.
"A lot of it" I laugh back. "I know you went to Caltech AND MIT, and I also know you hold PhDs in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering, with additional BA's in Psychology and sociology" I rattle out- "and that you joined the BAU at 22, which is practically unheard of" I continue spewing information. "Wow, that came out a lot creepier than I thought, sorry" I apologize and my toes curl inside my shoes.
"No, not creepy at all" he grins. "So, what drew you to this?" he asks with his eyes narrowed.
"Well- at first I ran into you on the metro" I begin explaining, "you dropped your things and I helped you pick them up" I continue with my eyes analyzing his features and comparing them to mine.
"That's right- you were the one that commented on my copy of Dragons of Eden" he realizes and his eyes bulge a bit.
"Mhm" I nod, "Then I heard you and some of your team speak at the lecture you gave at Georgetown. Ours last names were the same, so I went home and looked into it." I clarify and cross my left leg over my right.
"When did you figure this all out?" he asks curiously.
"Well you gave the lecture on Saturday, so I guess I figured everything out by the end of Sunday" I recall, and Spencer's eyes widen.
"You're quick" he grins. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Lia Reid" Spencer announces and puts his left hand out.
"The pleasure is mine, Spencer Reid" we shake hands as though we're being introduced for the first time, both of us grinning. We brake the hold and let out a chuckle.
"So are you looking into any schools for next year? He asks politely.
"Not so much" I shrug and take a sip of my coffee. "I think I'm going to take a year off to figure things out" I explain further, leaving out the part about me staying home because my mother can't function properly alone.
Silence falls yet again and I glance at my watch, realizing its pushing 6pm. Ethan is still in the car and I have yet to hear from my mother- no surprise there. I bounce my leg nervously and stare into my coffee cup. I take a deep breath and let out a small sigh.
"I-Is something wrong?" Spencer asks as I begin to stand up.
"No-no, I just have to get home to my mom, I didn't exactly tell her where I was going" a let out a nervous laugh and take the final gulp of my coffee.
"Wait- here" he replies and slides me a slip with his phone number on it. "Is it just you and your mom?" he asks, and a pit forms in my stomach.
"Yeah, for the most part. Us and the cat" I grin and try to avoid eye contact. "you have my number- so call whenever you want" I smile and brush my hair out of my face.
"Will do" Spencer reciprocates on the balls of his feet. We both wave awkwardly, saying our nice goodbyes, and I head out the big glass doors down to the parking lot.
"So, how'd it go?" Ethan asks tiredly .
"Well, it went well"I say with a grin. I start the car,put it in reverse, and drive the whole way home with a smile on my face.
I arrive at my doorstep at exactly 6:37, and I can hear the television from outside. I walk in to find my mother passed out on the couch, I cover her with a blanket and shut off the tv. Penny is waiting for me at the top of the stairs. She follows me into my room, where I turn ony my sound system and flop onto my bed- the sweet sound of Mozart's 8th symphony bleeding into my ears.