CHAPTER 133
WOW, YOU REALLY ARE A FREAKING NERD!
Emily was unsure how this would work. She had planned a weekend – Friday, Saturday and Sunday; with Richard. That was surely as much free time as he could have gotten, from work. And it was already the end of the weekend now, as she was just getting on a plane that would take ten hours to get her to Paris. JJ had reassured her that everything was fine, but what did she really mean? She never told Emily exactly which best friend boundaries she had overstepped. She kind of just summed it up as: all of them.
Weirdly, Emily found it easy to relax on the plane. She only spent the first hour of the flight, worrying about that moment when she had frozen, on the field. That was surely something she had to work on, but not today. And not for the next few days. She could go to therapy as soon as she would be back home; she could stress about it and lie to her colleagues some more, when she got back. Right now, she was on her way to Paris. That was good enough for her, for the moment.
The landing was fine, a little bumpy, but she had been through way worse. Both literally and metaphorically.
Her luggage was among the first ones to pop out on the line and she sighed with relief - less time before she'd be able to see Richard, this was a good sign. Maybe everything would get better, from this point on. Maybe Emily Prentiss was finally healing, finally able to fight some of her inner monsters. It was surely a slow process, but she could feel it was happening. The mere fact that she wasn't curled into a ball, crying her eyes out over that freezing situation on the field, was evidence enough that she was doing the right thing. She was healing and she knew it.
"Emily!"
The moment she walked through the Arrivals doors, she heard a voice call out her name, in the sexiest accent she could pinpoint.
Without thinking twice, she let go of the suitcase handle and she took the extra three steps forward, suddenly feeling a warmth all around her. When had he managed to wrap his hands around her? When had he managed to…
"Mhh." She moaned a little, their lips wasting no time in finding their way to each other.
"God, it's so good to see you." He whispered against her lips, but it wasn't enough. How dare he break off that kiss?
She leaned in for more, making sure she held him just as tight. Weirdly, there wasn't any urgency or desperation in her act. It was pure and spontaneous, she chuckled against his lips before she kissed him one more time and then she figured it would look a bit too weird, if people were staring. Which, they were.
"Hi." She said shyly when she finally mustered enough strength to actually speak. And yet, she barely spoke.
"Hi." He said back, his thumb making small motions against her chin.
She loved it when he did that and she loved the way he looked at her when he did so.
"How did you know I was landing now?" Emily raised an eyebrow.
She had no plan of action, had he not turned up at the airport. She had traveled overnight and it was early Monday morning at the moment of landing. She had no idea where he lied, where he worked or where to find him. She only had his phone number, but she didn't have the luxury of having internet connection during a commercial flight, so she hadn't contacted him. And she had forgotten to do so even right after the plane had landed.
"I-…" He started to reply, but found it hard to do so when her lips made a move one more time.
It was cute how much she wanted this closure, this intimacy.
"So, I-…" He started again, but she did the same thing, interrupting him with another kiss.
"Okay, do you actually want an answer or does it not matter what I say?" He chuckled once her kiss attacks were done.
"Oh, with that accent, it really doesn't matter what you say anyway. Just…keep talking…" She trailed off playfully, placing her hand on his chest.
"Come on, there is so much I want to do with you. Let's get going." He said, grabbing hold of her suitcase and looking towards the exit that lead to the parking lot.
"Is that so?" Emily smirked.
"Does everything have to be sexual with you?" He raised an eyebrow at her response.
What he had meant with his previous words was that there were places he wanted to take her, things he wanted her to see and experience, in Paris. And yet, she had taken it to a whole new level.
"Pretty much. Yeah." Emily replied cheekily.
It wasn't entirely true, though. She had never been this person, but somehow with him and that damn accent of his, it was hard to get her mind off the gutter, especially when she didn't even want to.
"Awesome! How lucky for me." He grinned in appreciation.
Oh, he did not mind her dirty mind, not even a tiny little bit. She was about to meet her perfect match in him – a worthy opponent in the sexual innuendos game; and she didn't even know it.
They got in the car and he couldn't help but point something out.
"You actually packed this time. Like, real luggage. I'm impressed!" He said while placing his safety belt on.
"Oh, don't be. I didn't pack. I was going to do it in the last minute, as always, but then I got sent off to a…uh, for work. And all I had with me was work clothes, which got ruined…because of uh…work. This suitcase here is courtesy of my amazing best friend. I have no idea what's inside, but I sure hope it isn't just lingerie."
"Yeah, who would need that?" He winked at her before starting the car.
Emily sunk in the seat, blushing a little bit. Yes, she wanted that kind of a weekend, or rather mid-week-get-away, but this was not all she wanted their relationship to be based on.
In attempts of stopping herself from overthinking his words, she started thinking about the car, instead. It was the same sports car he had driven the day they had first met, nearly two months ago now. It was the car she hadn't even remembered being in, due to the alcohol, or rather – the side effects of whatever Garcia had previously drugged her with. Well, she would remember it now – it was a damn nice sports car.
"So, where do you want to go?" He asked when he was entering the city center.
"Like you really need to ask." There was only one place she wanted to see first.
He kind of knew, which was why he had strategically taken the second entrance to the city, from the highway that connected the airport to Paris. It was the closer exit to where he was sure Emily would like to go straight away.
As he got near the Jardin du Luxembourg – their now favorite park; he left the car in a place that was surely not okay.
"Uh, Richard, there's a 'No Parking' sign here." Emily pointed out.
There wasn't a sign. There was a total of three signs, prohibiting all kinds of motor vehicles from parking or remaining on those lines on one side of the street.
"Sir, you can't park here. I'll have to ask you to leave." A police officer said, spotting Richard's obnoxiously shiny car smack in the middle of the restricted zone.
Emily smirked at him. She didn't even have to say 'I told you so' - her eyes were practically screaming it.
The policeman seemed quite angry. Maybe he was having a bad day. Maybe he was just an angry man. Whatever the reason, this man was now walking towards them, with his hand on his badge, walking like he owned the city.
Richard walked forward, meeting the policeman halfway. With his back to Emily, he pulled out his wallet and opened it, turning it sideways, for the policeman to see properly.
"Sir, I'm sorry, Sir. It's okay, Sir. Have a good day, Sir." The policeman nearly bowed to Richard's feet instantly, stuttering and acting the complete opposite way, as soon as he saw whatever it was that Richard had just shown him.
He returned to Emily with a blank expression on his face, as if this was all normal to him.
"Holy crap, what are you…God?" Emily's jaw dropped.
She had never seen a big, muscular man, with a badge and gun, bow down to someone and lose all kind of authority, so quickly. This was impressive and borderline scary.
"I can tell you what I am, in just two seconds. And I have no problem saying it. You know that." Richard looked back at her, with a serious expression.
It was becoming more and more evident to Emily that the truth had to come out. It was hard to cover it up and it seemed like there were unintentional little lies, on both sides.
Without saying a word, she crossed the street and walked over to the park entrance. A few minutes later she stopped by the Medici Fountain, with him walking just a step behind her.
"I have to confess to something…" Emily blurted out when she felt his hands hold her, as he stood behind her.
He was quiet, giving her all the time she needed, to start speaking.
Turning around so that she could face him, she started talking.
"When we met, I told you it was my first time here. But the truth is, I've actually lived in Paris before. Well, I was barely alive anyway, but my point is – I lied. And I don't even know why I did that. I guess I was just desperate to run away from who I really am, so I started creating a world in which I was someone completely different. I can't explain it, not even to myself. I just wanted you to know, I've lived here before and I'm actually fluent in French."
Her words made him smile. He already knew how fluent she was since he had heard her speak to those two Interpol guys, the week they had spent together. But it felt good to hear her come out and admit it. It felt like she was maybe ready to spill some truths and possibly to even hear some truths.
"Emily, there is something way bigger that I need to confess to…"
Her hand instantly prevented him from saying another word. With two fingers pressing against his lips, he knew this was not happening. Not just yet.
"I know…" He said while gently pushing her fingers away from his lips.
"Which is why I'm giving you this." He added, placing a large sealed envelope forward, for her to hold.
She eyed it curiously and came to the conclusion that the only reason he would give her an envelope would be if there was a letter inside. And she wanted none of those, from him.
He shook the envelope lightly, urging her to take it.
"No, thank you. I had quite the kick after your last literary masterpiece." She cringed, thinking of that letter he had written her, after that night, spent with her.
"Emily, take it. Please?" He pleaded. "You don't have to open it or read it now. Do it on your own terms."
"Why?" She asked.
What was the point of it?
"Because I know you don't want to hear it from me. And because you know it's killing me inside, having to hide such a huge thing from you. And also, because the later this comes out, the more damage it would do to us. And I don't want that. So, please, take the damn thing and keep it."
Emily gave it one more look. It seemed like there would be multiple papers inside, as the envelope was quite large and chubby. More papers meant more words and more words meant more truths, which inevitably meant more pain. Emily was not ready for any of it.
On second thought, though…the profiler in Emily realized how this was quite the compromise. He had put it all into words, in his own way taking that burden off his shoulders. And she didn't even have to deal with it until she was ready. Smart move, Richard.
He fingers brushed against the envelope for a brief moment before she finally took it.
"What's inside?" She asked hesitantly.
There was no doubt she wouldn't be opening or reading it any time soon, but she just needed to know what to expect.
"My business card, along with a letter, explaining everything, from the beginning. All of it. The truth."
"The truth about what?" She asked again.
"About me. About why I feel the way I feel, about you. About us…about everything."
"And one week of truths required so much paper?" Emily was finding this suspicious.
"This is about so much more than that one week, Emily. I won't say anything else now. Just know that inside that envelope, there is 100% of Richard's truth about all of it. You will find all the answers, to all of the questions that you don't even know you have yet. And I didn't hold back, I put it as it is. I'm not going to lie, some of it you won't like. It won't be pretty and it won't be easy to understand. But it is the whole truth and it is everything I'd want you to know."
Emily gulped, hearing him say that. Why did she think this was light and fun? It sounded like a trap.
"Hey, look at me." He whispered and she complied. "Emily, none of this changes who I am and how I feel about you…how I've felt about you for a long time now…"
She bit her bottom lip, shyly looking away. It was weird to look him in the eyes, not knowing who he really was. But, couldn't the same be said about him, looking at her? And yet, he wanted nothing more than to get lost in her eyes.
"What is your gut telling you, about me?" He asked.
"That you're a good guy and that it wouldn't matter what's inside this envelope, because it ultimately would not change the way I feel for you…" Emily whispered quietly, afraid to say it any louder than that.
"Good. Trust your gut then. And trust me, Emily. You could always trust me. I've never let anything or anyone harm you…"
She finally looked at him again, studying his eyes. It somehow felt like this was really about more than just that one week. The way he spoke, those pauses and the trailing off, it was all a way for him to say things, without saying too much. He withheld all the information that Emily had begged him not to tell her yet.
"Okay. I'll keep this, but I don't think I'll ever read it. I want the truth to come from your mouth, when I'm ready to hear it. But I appreciate what you did with this…" She looked at the envelope briefly before looking back into his eyes. "It's very thoughtful of you. And I know it's unfair of me to ask you to keep quiet, but you have to understand, my life is a mess and everything is complicated and I'm going through something really personal right now, plus, my job is so demanding. I just don't think I'm ready to face anything else right now. I want to be with you and I want to enjoy it. And no, I don't mean that in a way that indicates that you are just a toy for me to play with and toss aside…"
Her hand caressed his cheek and her eyes never broke contact.
"That's not what I want, not with you. Okay? I just need time, I want to take it slow. And I'd be lying if I said I've ever felt this way, about anyone else I've been with." She ended her impromptu speech.
God, he loved her speeches. She had this way of sounding broken, but strong and determined at the same time. She was dramatic, but also very much poetic. She was insecure, but in a very kick-ass kind of way. She was a living contradiction and he loved that about her. She wasn't an easy one to figure out, for sure. And that challenge intrigued him even more.
"So, uh, I actually was interested in the answer…" She changed the topic before their little holiday would turn into a nightmare from the get go.
He was smart enough to figure out she meant the question she had asked him, at the airport, earlier.
"Alright, here is another truth that you probably won't like…" He laughed and found a place for them to sit before he continued.
"Check your burner phone." He said.
"What? Burner? Pff, no…" Emily said, a bit too defensively. It was cute how quickly she jumped to deny the obvious.
Richard just raised an eyebrow at her. He was smart, he knew.
The first time she had texted him from her actual phone. And then, as their texts got a bit spicier, she had informed him that she had switched phones and gotten a new number. Usually, when people switch phones, they kept their old number. So, Emily clearly had a secret sexy burner, only for him.
"Okay fine, it's a burner. But it's a classy one. It's touch screen and it has apps. And Angry Birds…" She blushed, taking the phone out of her pocket.
"Now check our chat history." He said, shaking his head and laughing. Angry Birds? He would definitely tease her about it later on.
"Yeah, what about it?" She turned the phone towards him and he saw the last messages he had sent to Emily, the actual Emily.
"Oh, she's smart!" He grinned and grabbed his own phone, from his pocket.
"Wait, who?" Emily questioned. It didn't make sense.
"Here, read…" He let her hold his phone and read a series of messages that had been sent between him and her phone, after the last message on her screen had been sent.
"Hey, this is weird and I'm sorry, but there is no other way I could do this without contacting you. Hi, I'm a creepy stalker named Jennifer, I'm Emily's best friend. She's bummed out that your weekend plans got ruined because of work. I want to surprise her and book a trip when we are done with work, but that would also include weekdays and I needed to check with you, if you could take them off. Or if you even want that? Here's my phone number, if you want to reply there. If Emily knew I'm messaging you here, she'd kill me! Ok, let me know."
Emily felt a sudden urge to shed a tear. This was the cutest thing she had ever read. Apparently, this was what JJ had done when she was in the hospital, when she had walked off, gripping Emily's bloody blazer. She knew that Emily kept that phone in the pocket, so that nobody would ever have access to it and she could keep it near her at all times. JJ was also smart enough to figure out Emily's password. She'd had ten minutes on her hands and luckily for her, Richard had replied right away, straight to Emily's phone. After that, JJ had wiped that part of the conversation from Emily's chat history before returning to the team. Richard clearly still had the texts on his phone.
Emily kept on reading what had been said. Richard had replied a minute after JJ had sent her text, letting her know he appreciated what she was doing for Emily and that there would be absolutely no problem for him to take days off, whenever he pleased. JJ had then texted again, letting him know about the flight she had just found and he had confirmed that he would be there, to pick Emily up when she landed on Sunday morning.
"Please, don't be mad at her!" Richard was now the one biting his lower lip nervously.
JJ had crossed the line, especially since Emily had gone through the trouble of having a secret phone, so that nobody would ever know. This was way too much and way too private and JJ had no right to invade Emily's privacy like that.
However…
"Mad at her?" Emily raised an eyebrow, raising her voice as well.
She gave Richard a whole bunch of long seconds, to get all tense and worried. Would she be mad at him, instead?
"I'm mad about her!" She then said, bursting in laughter.
"You don't understand. JJ is my lifeline. She's crazy and spontaneous and she's always had my best interest at heart. So, mad? No, I'm not mad. How could I be? I'm here, with you. And I'm alive, most importantly…" Her eyes almost rolled, with that last addition to her words.
"Yeah, about that. Just how tough are you?" He had been waiting for the right time to bring it up. His finger brushed against her chin and down her neck.
All these hours after the fight in the park, had led to some pretty visible bruises on her chin and neck. She was sure Richard would find more bruising, later that day, when she would be, well, less clothed.
"Oh, you have no idea." She smirked.
Emily loved being tough. She had lived her entire life, being tough. She knew no other way of living.
"Well, someone got you good." He pointed out.
To him those bruises looked painful and they looked like more than what a normal person would end up with, in a normal fight. Not that at their age it was normal to even be in a fight, but still.
"You should see the other guy." Emily used a line from every cheesy action movie. She hated that line, but it was fun to use it, given the current circumstances.
"Broken jaw? Ribs? Oh wait, busted lip and dislocated shoulder?" He suggested.
"Dead, actually." Emily said with a completely serious facial expression.
It sent chills down Richard's spine. The way she came out and said it was a bit disturbing. She didn't even try to laugh it off afterwards. It was as if she was dead serious and not ashamed to admit it.
"Damn, there must be something seriously wrong with me, because this was the coolest, most disturbingly sexy thing you've said so far!" He said, pecking her lips right after that.
"Hah, plenty more where that came from…" Emily muttered to herself.
If only he knew…
"Hey, you must be hungry. Want to go grab some breakfast?" He suggested, checking out the time.
It was already half past nine in the morning and she had, after all, spent the entire night on a plane. She must be hungry and exhausted.
Naturally, he brought her to that same bar where he always got his coffee after his morning run.
"Bonjour, Richard!" A busy bartender greeted him when she saw him enter.
It was the same woman that usually worked the early morning shifts, the one who had once asked him if there was someone in his life and he had told her it was complicated.
And there he was now, entering the bar, holding the hand of a beautiful woman.
"Oh, wow, Richard!" The bartender looked up from the cups of coffee she was preparing, and straight at the two picture perfect people right in front of her, the second she noticed Richard was not alone.
She sounded surprised, but mostly – impressed. She eyed Emily up and down, twice, before she grinned approvingly.
"This is Emily. Emily. And these are…" Richard started to introduce them, seeing how two more employees had now found their way to where he was standing, with Emily next to him.
"Wow, French people sure are a curious nation!" Emily thought to herself while shaking hands with everyone and smiling politely.
"Breakfast is on the house. What can we get you?" The female bartender said cheerfully.
She had seen Richard with women, with bimbos that weren't quite a match for him. And there she was now - Emily…standing tall, as tall as she could look next to the big guy next to her; speaking perfect French and being genuinely happy to meet the people that Richard knew. Emily wouldn't care if they were bartenders or the owners of big international companies. She would treat them the same.
They sat outside, overlooking the beautiful Boulevard Saint-Germain. Emily had always liked this side of the city - she loved the buildings, the little shops, the cafeterias, just like the one they were sitting at. Everything was beautiful, peaceful, easy on the eye.
Soon they got served with coffee and some pastry, including croissants. Emily would never admit it, but she was a sucker for the 'French croissant for breakfast' cliché.
The same female bartender had served them their breakfast and she lingered around for a second. Emily was a good enough profiler to figure out that there was something this woman wanted to tell Richard, but she was contemplating whether it was a good time to do so.
"What is it?" Richard asked her with a smile. Maybe he was a profiler, himself.
"My son recorded something for you and wanted me to show you, the next time I saw you." She said shyly, handing Richard her phone.
He hit Play on the video that was on the screen and he smiled wide.
The video was of a boy, about ten years old, kicking a football for a few seconds until he walked to the screen and started talking. He said to Richard that he had been practicing that thing that he had taught him and that he wanted to play with him again, asking when Richard would be available.
"Your son is adorable! I mean, just look at those cheeks and that big smile, oh my God!" Emily pointed out.
Her eyes had been glued to the screen and both Richard and the bartender noticed that.
The kid reminded her of Henry, they were about the same age. This one, however, had dark, curly hair, that he kept on pushing away from his face as he spoke to the camera. He was so adorably French-looking, Emily could not deny his cuteness.
"Thank you." The woman smiled.
She already liked Emily, but after she said those words about her precious son, she liked her even more.
Emily looked good, next to Richard. And the way the bartender caught Richard, catching glimpses of Emily when she wasn't looking, sure was evidence enough that he was beyond smitten. The bartender had never seen him act like that, with any of the other women he had brought there.
"Can you record my reply to him?" Richard requested and the woman switched to video.
"Oh no, I meant a voice recording." He pointed out, suddenly feeling and acting a bit awkward.
Emily eyed him, wondering what was the big deal if he let someone record his face on video?
The woman switched to an audio recording and let him talk for a few seconds. He let the little boy know that he would be free on Saturday and he wanted to go play football with him at the field, near where the boy lived. Richard knew where their apartment was, because after that picnic he went to, with all the bar employees, he had given them a ride back home: the boy and his mother and father.
It was the first time Emily heard this voice of Richard's. It was soft, he over-pronounced a few letters and he raised his voice at a few words. It sounded like he was doing a dramatic reading of some fairy tale. She could not help but chuckle. She had no idea Richard had this soft side to him, being so big, with his muscles and his authoritarian look.
"What?" He asked when he saw Emily all girly and chuckling.
"Nothing, you just reminded me of someone I know." Emily said softly.
"Oh, do tell…"
"She loves kids and she also has a different voice when she is around kids. And she is the biggest drama queen I know."
"She? Emily, do I remind you of a woman, in any kind of way!?" He faked offense, only to get her a bit worked up.
"Oh, trust me, you're the biggest man I've ever been with…" She trailed off cheekily, allowing him to start wondering if that comment was directed to his character…or to something else he owned, physically.
It didn't help that Emily's hand ventured down from his chest, right after she said those words. Yes, she most definitely meant it the way Richard had suspected. He tried hard not to blush. How was it so easy for her to come out with statements like those? He had never met a woman who was so comfortable, speaking such things.
"Change of topic. Now!" He requested, swiftly removing her hand from his stomach.
He had actual plans for the day – things to do, places to go see. And Emily was giving him more reasons to want to scratch those plans and to go straight back to his apartment.
"Alright then. I was thinking, we could go to Harry's New York Bar tonight, for some drinks." He said, wondering if she has ever heard of it.
"Harry's!? It's the top favorite Paris bar for U.S. expats, including Gershwin, Hemingway and James Bond. And I mean – James-freaking-Bond! Hell yes!" Emily squealed, looking not a day over the age of sixteen, with all the enthusiasm oozing from her.
"What? I told you, I've lived here for a while. A few times, actually. Long story. Point is, I love that place. I've been there only a few times, but each time I felt like a foreign Spy, sent on a top secret Government mission. It's amazing. Plus, I love dressing up in the most dramatic way. I picture myself wearing a little black dress, no straps. And pearls, oh my God, I have to buy fake pearls for tonight. And one of those small black hats. This is going to be awesome!"
Richard kept on looking at her in disbelief. Who was she? She certainly felt comfortable, fantasizing about playing a Spy. And he wouldn't mind seeing her dressed the way she had just described.
Emily smiled brightly. Oh, if only he knew that the few times she had been at that bar, she had been an actual Government-hired Spy. Like, for real.
"Oh, I want to show you something cool! The Duluc Detective Agency, it's not far from here. It's on the other side of the river, just at the corner of the Louvre and rue Rivoli!" Emily could not help the inner geek.
"Wow, uh…"
"It made an appearance in Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris' movie! It's one of the oldest private detective agencies in France! It's family-run, now by Madame Duluc, who inherited it from her father, who in turn inherited it from his father who was a former policeman in the "La Sûreté Nationale". That was the detective branch of the civil police force in Paris at the time. Just, for the record!" Emily kept on talking and he could tell how interested she was in these kind of things.
He found it beyond adorable that she felt the need to enlighten him about what that meant. Oh, she had no idea…
"What? I warned you that I'm a geek, like, the day we met. You insisted on pursuing me, so I'm sorry, but you're stuck with my little geeky outbursts now. You'll get used to it." She patted his shoulder lightly.
She was in a great mood. Clearly, being there, with him, was exactly what Emily needed.
"Wow, you sure know your detective and spy vocabulary." Richard teased her, holding her hand up and kissing the palm of it.
"Mhm. You have no idea…" She smirked.
She lived for the day when he'd find out who the Hell she really was. However, she wasn't too keen on the moment in which she'd have to explain her entire working history to him, including the less pleasant things she had been forced to do, while undercover.
And then there was the Doyle story…
Emily gulped, as she thought of that. How was she ever going to justify that?
She saw the way Richard looked at her, like she was precious. He made her feel worthy. But what would happen when he learned that she had slept, repeatedly, with a dangerous criminal, wanted internationally?
Even from his grave, Ian Doyle was still inflicting pain on Emily Prentiss. It sucked.
"I'm diggin' it. Emily, the detective…" He said dramatically. "No even better – Emily, the Spy!"
"You do realize that if I were a spy, I would surely not be using my real name right?" She teased him.
"Yes, Lauren, I know that." Richard's voice went a pitch lower as he spoke, still dramatizing this moment.
Emily froze for a second. He must have had no idea how close to home that comment had hit.
"Okay, now that you know my wildest fantasies, what else did you want us to do?" She changed the topic, smiling a bit, so that he wouldn't detect just how uncomfortable he had made her feel.
"I also thought you might like Parc Monceau." He suggested.
"Oh, I know that one. It's close to my home." Emily shared, without thinking about her words.
"You own a place here!?" He asked in surprise.
"Uh, kind of. But not exactly." Emily shrugged.
It was more than complicated to explain what she meant, not without mentioning her days at Interpol and the fact that Secret Services had provided her with an apartment, free of charge, that she had later on requested to buy off of them. Nobody knew about that. Emily herself had forgotten about it. This opened wounds that she was not ready to open, so she had forced herself to stop thinking of why this apartment had felt like home for her, when no other place ever managed to.
Everything circled around the truth, around who Emily really was, what she had done. No matter what topic they discussed, it all ultimately tied to her past.
"Speaking of that. I kind of assumed you'd want to stay with me…uhm. But if that's not the case, I can arrange an apartment for you, or a room at a hotel." He said awkwardly.
It was all new to him. She had made it very clear that she didn't want to rush this relationship, so he had this doubt that she might not like spending every second with him. Maybe she needed her space?
"I'd love to stay with you. If that's okay with you…" Emily took a bite of her croissant.
She had slept in the same bed as him pretty much from the day after they had met. She's never had a problem with it. But it was nice that he was asking now, making sure she was comfortable with whatever arrangement.
"It's more than okay with me." He said while finishing his coffee.
They stood up and Richard tried to make a gesture for the bartender, but the woman insisted once again that their breakfast would be on the house. After all, Richard was there almost on a daily basis, paying four times his bill each time. He had never waited for change. Plus, he was nice to her son, so offering him a free breakfast was barely any inconvenience for the woman.
"I'll see you on Saturday then. I'll pick him up at around ten, is that good?" Richard asked the bartender before he left with Emily.
They walked down the street, just for the sake of walking around and soaking in the beauty of the city. Richard had lived there for so many years and he was still not used to seeing all of its beauty, on a daily basis. And Emily, well, Emily missed Paris more than she would like to admit.
"What is it?" He asked at some point.
He figured Emily must have something on her mind. He had never seen her be so quiet for longer than…a few seconds.
"It's just…" She started off. "Nah, it's nothing. You'll think I'm weird if I said anything."
"I won't think you're weird!" He said defensively. "I already do think that!" He added with a smirk.
"Fine. It's just that I've tried to give myself a reason, any possible reason, to dislike you. And I could never find one. You seem like a really good guy. How do I know that? Well, any guy who feels this strongly about children, is a good guy. Well, or a pedophile, but yeah, I'd rather think of you as a good guy." Emily smiled.
"Yeah, I like to think all the women I've been with were of legal consenting age, but then there were these Czech twins and I've always had my doubts. But then again, they kept on reassuring me they were eighteen…three Summers in a row. Wait…what?" He dramatized.
Emily stopped in track and gave him a stern look.
"And my friends say that I am a weirdo with a geeky sense of humor! Oh, I can't wait for them to meet you!" She burst out in laughter, subconscious letting slip something that she wasn't even aware she wanted – for the team to meet Richard. It didn't sound that bad. JJ had already, sort of, met him. Plus, she had reassured Emily that the BAU fam would end up liking the guy she liked.
"Oh yeah?" He challenged.
He knew it was way too soon to even talk about that, but the fact that those words rolled off Emily's tongue with such ease made him feel special.
"You'll love my team! And most of them would love you, too." Emily spoke, picking up the pace again.
She wouldn't admit it, but she was dragging him to a store that she really liked.
"Most of them? Woah, what would the rest of them do to me?" He asked, but Emily did not reply.
"Wait up!" He called out, walking faster so that he could catch up with her. "I wouldn't end up like…like that guy who gave you those bruises. Right?"
"Hmm, that depends." Emily said cheekily.
She loved playing with Richard. He was so much fun to tease and the best part was that he always teased back. He wasn't some boring dude with money. He was basically the male version of Emily Prentiss and she had no idea yet of how similar they really were.
"Depends on what!?" He asked breathlessly. For a small woman, she sure walked fast.
"If you pass the test when you meet them."
"Wait, so there's a test? Good, I'm great with tests! I love tests!" He grinned.
"Jesus, you sound just like Angela." Emily smiled, remembering the way Angie always spoke when she heard the words 'test' or 'quiz' be spoken out loud.
"Angela? Are you comparing me to a woman again?" He laughed. He wasn't yet over that comment from earlier.
"Relax, she's this girl that I…" Emily trailed off.
Once again – how was she going to even begin to describe it?
"Woah, whose dating underage girls now, eh?" He teased.
"Eww, oh my God, Richard! It's not like that, at all! Eww. Ugh, she's like my…" She trailed off again.
She was a bit shaky and emotional, but she would not let some truths slip off her tongue, not even with a stranger who didn't know her and who wouldn't even care about who that 'Angela' person was.
"Relax, I'm just joking. I'm known to take my jokes way too far sometimes. You have been warned. And oh mon Dieu, ice-cream!" He ended off so casually, his eyes fixated on a window shop.
"Alright, it creeps me out how similar you are to that kid. What now, you're also obsessed with ice-cream and can be lured with it in any occasion?"
"Pretty much. Although, on some occasions I'd rather be lured in with something else that I like to eat with my tongu-…"
"No! No, you're not going to pronounce that. Nope!" Emily put her hand on his mouth.
Yes, he definitely liked to take those jokes a bit too far.
Emily blushed profoundly. She thought she was the notorious naughty-speaker, but what if Richard could actually keep up with her? What if he was even better at it? That was something she'd like to find out. Challenge was on. That title was going to stay with her, the crown belonged to her – the Queen of innuendos and inappropriate comments. No way was she going to give it to Richard! The crown, that is.
"Well, I sure don't lure them in with pretzels." Emily muttered.
Richard wouldn't understand her little throwback to something she had once said to Reid, while on a case. It had remained in the history of the BAU as one of Emily Prentiss' best one liners ever.
They walked in the shop and walked out with ice-cream cones in their hands.
Emily kept on walking in direction of the boutique that she liked. She always bought herself something from there, when she was in Paris. This time, she wanted to buy something for Angie and JJ. She would have loved to get both Tara and Garcia a present as well, but she couldn't possibly justify that, if they didn't even know about her Parisian escapades yet.
"Tell me about this girl I remind you of. In what way do you find us similar?" He asked curiously.
The second Emily's ice-cream started to drip, she made a stop and found the nearest bench to sit on. This yummy thing was not allowed to ruin her outfit, as plain and boring as it might have been. She needed to sit down and relax while finishing her sweet treat.
"Well, she's very young, she's in the Acad-…" Emily cut herself off.
Yes, once again, it all circled around her truth.
"She's learning to do my job." Emily masked it up, pretending like her ice-cream was about to drip again, like this had been the reason she had cut herself off.
"Is she any good?" Richard asked.
"Yeah, she's really good. Okay, so…the place I work at has many different…sections. It's like a bank, so every employee has a different skill set and gets assigned to a different section of the…the place I work at." Emily shrugged. This was the best she could do in describing the situation without giving out the actual information.
"Funny, a sexy bank woman is something I've already pictured you as, in my dream-…ouch!" Richard earned himself a slap on the shoulder again, before he could even finish his statement.
"For the record, that list also includes a semi-naked flight attendant, a nerdy anatomy teacher, a Russian masseuse, a disgruntled nurse, a top chef, a sweaty fitness coach and my most favorite - a rogue law-enforcement officer." He grinned.
"Holy crap, Richard!" Emily looked at him in disbelief. "You've put quite some thought into it."
"Mhm, that and a few sleepless nights." He added to her statement.
"Why is it that I sound absolutely terrifying in all of your fantasies?"
"Because maybe, just maybe, I like thinking of you as a kick ass woman with some sort of superpowers. Like, Catwoman, but maybe with a gun…"
"You missed 'a stripper' by the way."
"No, I didn't." He licked the side of his ice-cream cone and gave her an innocent look. "In all of my fantasies, I'm the only one who gets to enjoy you, the way I picture you to be. A stripper is too out there. I don't like the idea of sharing you with someone else."
Oh, he was cute. But Emily had an idea of how to bust his balls.
"That's too bad, because I had just the right girl to ask, you know, if we ever considered that option…"
Did this woman just suggest…?
"Call her!" Richard said immediately.
Clearly, he was joking. But it was funny to play along.
Emily shook her head. "Maybe I will…" She muttered to herself.
Oh, she had just come up with a plan to tease this man and he had no idea what was coming for him, if he stuck around, for the long run.
"Back to Angela…" Emily switched back to their original topic. "So, she is now studying to be a…say, bank employee. But she clearly has to choose a department, a section or whatever you want to call it. Now, she has a very specific…and kind of disturbing interest that is borderline obsessive and unhealthy…"
"She sounds like a psychopath." Richard laughed.
"No, given the circumstances she'd totally be a sociopath. And I'm almost sure she is one…" Emily was doing a lot of trailing off. While speaking out loud, certain thoughts were going through her mind.
"So, my point is, she has chosen to do the job that I do, within the bank, so to speak. And she's really good at it. She is almost done with her studying…" Emily trailed off yet one more time.
"Why the frown? If she's good, she'll get the job she wants." Richard said naively.
"Yeah, that's not how my 'bank' works, unfortunately. She's already been denied the job she has worked so hard for. And it has taken her years to get to where she is now. I'm telling you – this girl is super smart and capable and she deserves to be part of my team!" Emily was a bit worked up and it showed.
"Oh, so she is pining for your team?" He asked curiously. "Wait, why can't she join you? I mean, you speak highly of her, so you surely must think she is worthy. And, aren't you…like, the boss?"
"Yes, it's all she has ever wanted." Emily nodded. "Well, it's complicated. Our 'bank' has some issues that, ironically, have to deal with our budget. So my team just got a huge budget cut and we are now struggling. We're already eight people on the team. Remember how I told you we had to check into some sleazy motel these days? Well, we couldn't afford anything else. And yet, we had found a way to welcome Angela on our team, because all eight of us really want her to work with us, but my Superiors shut our proposal down. And then there's this document that someone sent on my behalf, without my permission, stating that I was waving my rights to welcome new team members. So, yeah. Actually that's a big part of the reason why when we met, I was so keen on pretending to be someone else. I was incredibly pissed off and I didn't want to live in the reality of my life, at least for a week. For the record, I'm really sorry I lied."
"You didn't lie. Technically, you withheld the truth."
"Spoken like a true Detective!" Emily grinned.
"Wow, you really like all this Spy, Detective kind of stuff!" He pointed out one more time.
Each time Emily had mentioned something about that, she had grinned. It was obvious how into it she was.
"Oh, I really, really, really do!" Emily kept nodding her head. She could not do a nerdier thing if she had planned it in advance.
"Alright, you might think I'm crazy, but I have a little suggestion to pitch…" He said, waiting for her to finish the last few bits of her ice-cream. "But just so we end the topic about this girl – is there anything at all that could convince your Superiors to let her join your work team? Anything, even if it sounds supernatural or absolutely weird."
"I don't think so. I mean, unless my team gets our entire budget back and maybe a little extra, so we can pay the expenses of nine people. And even then, my Boss is not an easy guy to convince. He's pretty high up the…the 'bank' ladder. Not even a top Politician could convince him to cave in and, trust me, I've tried." Emily scoffed.
That complaint she was about to file, had been signed by Ambassador Prentiss. That made the piece of paper so much more powerful than just a complaint. And yet, it had not worked. The FBI Director could not be bribed and she now knew it.
"Ha, politics suck. When have they ever been the solution to any problem!?" Richard rolled his eyes. His hatred for politics was evident.
"Oh God, I think I like you even more now." Emily whispered.
He was beyond perfect already, but hearing him speak badly of politics was…well, Emily would not tell him that, but it turned her on.
"So, it all boils down to money?" He summed it up.
"And convincing him to wave that falsified document that he thinks I sent. It's the only legal way to have her on my team, yes." She nodded. "I've tried my best so far. I just don't see it happening, unless some miracle strikes from the clear blue skies."
"Hey, who are we if we don't believe in miracles!?" Richard said jokingly.
"Oh, don't tell me you're a hopeless romantic! I'm nothing like that. In fact, I hate romance."
"Really?" He raised an eyebrow, challenging Emily to follow his eyes.
They laid on her hand, which was on top of his knee, as they were sitting on a bench, overlooking the River Seine, with one of the most beautiful and romantic Boulevards behind their backs, in Paris for God's sake – Paris, the city of LOVE!
"Okay, I may re-think that statement, but you should know I've never been a gushy-mushy lovey-dovey type. I find it nauseating." Emily admitted.
"If you like to play rough, all you need to do is ask, ma chérie." He let his hand top hers.
Screw what she was saying. She could try to fool him, Hell, she could try to fool herself for days. What mattered was what her actions were telling him about her. She could lie to his face for hours and he wouldn't care at all. He knew her, the real her, by her body language. Wasn't that why Emily had gone against her better judgment, jumping on a plane just days ago, going to tell a man she knew nothing about, that she liked him and that she wanted a relationship with him? Wasn't his body language the reason why they were together?
"I'll surely let you know when this would be the case." She smirked.
Oh, he had no idea the naughty games Emily liked to play. She'd start off shy and ordinary, but sooner or later, she'd show Richard her true colors. And she wouldn't mind wearing a few of the costumes Richard had mentioned earlier. Just, maybe not a cop – it was way below her paygrade. But she would not mind the handcuffs.
"What am I doing!?" Emily muttered to herself when she realized where her thoughts had taken her. She felt her cheeks warm up.
"Oh, that's a question I'd love to hear you answer." He was smug, in the sexiest of ways.
He wouldn't back down and there was not a moment with him when he wasn't fun, or funny, or challenging, or smart. Diverse. Versatile. Emily was so attracted to that.
"Maybe later." She stood up, still keeping that boutique in mind.
"Maybe? What do you mean, maybe? Hey? Hey, wait up! Hey? You walk fast for a small woman! Hey?" He found himself having to catch up with her, for the second time today.
He did not mind. Running after Emily had been something he'd fantasized about, metaphorically.
"What's that suggestion you were going to make earlier and does it involve wine?" She asked curiously.
"Oh, yes. Well, I've heard of this…weird thing…it's like a real life action game or whatever. A friend of mine sent it to me, actually. He said I'd love it." He pulled his phone out and let Emily browse the website as they walked slowly.
"Woah, a real life Spy game!? That is the coolest thing in the world!" Emily was stoked.
He hadn't expected her reaction to be this enthusiastic.
"Wait, how come your friend thought you'd like this nerdy crap?" Emily raised an eyebrow.
As amazing as this game sounded to her, she was well aware that to any sane person out there in this world, this would be the nerdiest, most stupid leisure activity ever.
"Surprise, I'm a geek too!" He said dramatically, once again.
"Oh, oh! Check this out! They're starting a new game tomorrow morning! It's about CIA Spies who go against the Russian Mob, in hopes of retrieving useful information against them. And the objective is to get a hold of a diamond bracelet that belongs to the Mob Boss. Oh my God, wait. Tools at their disposal? Tools! They're giving us spy tools? Like, cameras, equipment, oh yes, there's an earpiece included. Wide range, at that! How cool is that? And fake guns and…"
She stopped talking when she realized Richard was seconds away from bursting into laughter.
"Damn, woman, this whole spy thing really gets you going." He commented. It was fun to see her so into it.
"Gets me going? Are you joking? It's everything to me!" Emily smiled.
He had no idea how much of those words were true. It was everything, it was her whole life, it was life as she knew it.
"I'm getting the vibe that I should be signing us up right away…or else you may be very upset…"
Emily nodded at his words.
"Well, I could turn into that disgruntled nurse from your fantasies. By the way, why disgruntled? Nurse? What could she possibly be so mad about?" She asked.
"Because her patient, Mr. X, who by the way is me; has been having an affair with her for the longest time, but she just found out that he is actually married and she is now onto him and trying to kill him, but she learns that his wife wants to leave him, so she stops plotting, but that's only until the wife turns out to be pregnant and she would be using the child to get money from Mr. X, so she decides against a divorce, but then the nurse flips a switch and in a fit of rage she cuts Mr. X's throat and sits on top of him as he bleeds out." Richard explained, as if this story had been in his mind way before Emily even asked about it.
"Wow, this is wrong on so many levels…" Emily could not help but laugh. "Okay, first of all, the wife could get alimony for the child even if they get divorced. If he hates the wife, he won't pay a dime more than what the court sets, for the child, so it wouldn't matter if she stayed with him or not. Plus, since she is carrying a baby, she would get the house if they divorced. Unless there is a prenup, of course. Then there's your nurse theory…you see, women's weapon of choice is rarely a knife. It is too bloody, too messy and way too violent. Women tend to be clean and methodical, they plan it out and they wait. Their preferred murder weapon is poison, especially if it is a crime of passion. Then again, 59% of women kill for money, with only 7,6% of women who kill for a sexual motive. And she wasn't getting any money from him, being his mistress, so it would make sense if she waited for him to get divorced, then marry her, and then kill him, but only if she avoided the prenup. Plus, if he died and he was a patient at the hospital, his charts would start beeping at the lack of pulse, so doctors would barge into that room immediately, to check in on the patient. And they'd find the nurse, with the blood soaked murder weapon in hand, on top of him. By the way, what's the point of imagining her on top of you? Would it matter? I mean, you're dead by the end of the story anyway."
"Yeah, she's naked. Forgot to mention that. So yeah, it matters…" He smirked, his eyes closing for just one second and there was no doubt in Emily's mind that he was picturing her as that nurse.
"And wow, you really are a freaking nerd!" He added in dismay after hearing her well-structured academically on point destruction of his little fantasy.
It wouldn't be Emily Prentiss if she didn't profile and analyze everything about anything.
"Oh, you wouldn't believe it if I told you." Emily smirked.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad when, one day, he'd learn that Emily was actually a serial killer hunter. He might even like it.
"Stop wasting time and get us two spots as Spies for tomorrow. Come on!" She urged him, acting all impatient.
"Fine, but you owe me. Big time!" He was surely going to do it for free, but it was so much more fun to turn this into a game.
"Do you own an apartment?" She asked and he nodded.
"Do you have a bed? And a steady kitchen counter? Maybe a fireplace, too? Wide window frames?" She asked again and he nodded to all. He liked where this was going. And damn, this woman sure was not vanilla…
"Do you have a flatmate? Thin walls? Nosy neighbors? See through curtains?" He shook his head to all of those. "Although, that last one might actually be fun…" She added with a naughty smirk.
"Great, then consider it paid." She winked at him and kept on walking.
Damn this woman and the things she said, the things she did to him!
REVIEW REPLIES:
"rmpcmfan" Hey :)! In order to avoid any spoilers for other readers (even though everything I say is super vague!), I've already replied to your latest review via a private message.
"sweetkid45" Emily's patience is definitely being tested with this internship thing, lol! And thank you again :)!
"Ducksdragonfly" True, lies are not always a bad thing. They are sometimes hurtful, but certain lies need to be told, so the other person won't hurt even more if they knew the truth. And Angela's lies are a mix of white lies and borderline 'I'm a pathological liar with a cute smile and the occasional obvious display of clear sociopathic tendencies' kind of lies, lol! As for Emily, she knows how to keep the truth from coming out and she is fiiiiiiierce when it comes to protecting someone else's truths and backing up the lies the other person chooses to tell. In a way, so is Clara :)! As for JJ - don't we all need one of her kind!? Lol! At this point, it is safe to assume that Clara is not the fierce keeper of ONLY Emily's deepest, darkest secrets (ones that not even JJ or Morgan know about!)...but also of Angela's. Wink wink :)!
