Read my Lips

Chapter 5

Eliana could feel the warmth radiating out underneath Spencer's hand. His palm was resting against the bare skin of her lower back. Her arms were wrapped around her. Asking him to dance was one of the scariest things she'd ever done in her life. Over the years, she'd become more confident. That came naturally as she matured and gained new life experiences. But her old insecurities never really went away. There was still a chubby little girl that lived inside her head and made her afraid to let any man know she might be interested in him. Those nerves were still fluttering around inside her, mixing with the warmth sense of serenity that she felt the moment she relaxed into Spencer's body. Before this moment, she was always wary of getting close to a man she didn't know well. And she was surprised she didn't feel any of that trepidation when they touched. Somehow she just knew she was perfectly safe. Being in his arms felt like coming home.

When she asked Spencer to dance, Elaina was prepared for him to decline her offer. She was prepared to laugh it off and go back to what she was doing before she heard him come in the door. Like her offer was a joke and she didn't really want to dance with him more than she wanted anything else in the entire world. What she wasn't prepared for was the adorably awkward way he shifted his body from side to side as he tried his best to shadow her more practiced movements. Or the tug she felt on her heartstrings when he finally wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She knew she ought to step back and thank him for the dance. But instead, she found herself staring up at him, mesmerized by all the colors reflecting in his hazel eyes.

Objectively, Spencer Reid was a handsome man. At least in Eliana's opinion. He was tall and lean with broad shoulders and a sharp jawline. He had a head full of tousled curls and large expressive eyes. Eliana noticed all that the moment he opened his apartment door and started insulting her attire. But after he shut the door, Eliana may or may not have done a little research of her own. And while she didn't have the limitless resources of the FBI, Dr. Spencer Reid was easy enough to google. He was only a few years older than her, but he already had more college degrees that most people earned in a lifetime. And that was in addition to the hundreds of lives he'd saved by helping his team catch and put away some of the most frightening killers in existence. It made the PhD Eliana turned down another tour in Morocco to earn look like a major underachievement. And after her first twenty minutes of internet stalking, Eliana was solidly convinced that someone as accomplished as Spencer Reid would have no interest in her. Except maybe to bed her. Even men with genius level intelligence liked to have sex. Or that's what Eliana told herself when she swallowed down the hard lump in her throat and asked him to dance. At best, she was hoping for a brief fling to ease the pain of her most recent breakup. She wasn't expecting to completely lose herself the moment she had her arms around him. She'd never felt anything like it in all her life.

Time didn't just slow down, it ceased to exist. Eliana could feel the warm tingles in her lower back radiating throughout her body. He didn't take his gun off before he pulled her into his arms. It was pressing into her ribs, hard as the bulge in his pants that she was quite sure was not government standard issue. Eliana moved her hand, sliding it up the outside of Spencer's arm and over his shoulder until her fingers were twining into the curls at the base of his neck. His hair was softer than it looked. And the tip of her tongue flicked out to wet her mouth as she started to wonder if the same was true about his lips. Eliana was as terrified to kiss him as she was eager for it. But the pull between them was magnetic. And as he began to lean down towards her, she felt the heat building between them. Her desire chased away the last bit of nervousness inside her. Eliana's dark eyes fluttered shut. She was fully expecting the best kiss of her life. Fireworks and butterflies. Singing forest animals. Everything. In reality, what she got was a hard knock to the forehead.

The blaring beep of the timer on the oven broke the silence. The magic of the moment shattered. And since they were standing almost directly next to the oven, the loud noise startled the crap out of both of them. Their heads knocked together with an audible thunk. And Elaina quickly found herself shoved behind Spencer as he reached for his gun and prepared to shoot the chicken she was cooking them for dinner. A flutter of nervous laughter bubbled out of Eliana as she reached her arm out and silenced the oven timer.

Spencer loosened his grip on his pistol, shaking his head at himself. "I better put this away in the safe before I end up shooting the refrigerator," he joked. Eliana's giggle turned into a longing smile. And she followed him with her eyes, watching Spencer rub his forehead as he disappeared from view. She ignored the slight throb in her own head as she pulled the oven open and retrieved the large casserole dish she placed inside it a few hours earlier. After she removed the stacks of books from the oven and arranged them carefully on a nearby shelf, she was then actually able to use the kitchen appliance for its intended purpose.

The aroma of roasted chicken and cooked moroccan spices filled the apartment. Eliana was busy taking out the makings of a salad to go with her entree when she heard Diana's voice drifting out from the bedroom. Eliana wasn't sure if the oven timer woke the woman from her late afternoon nap or if Spencer disturbed his mother when he entered the bedroom to access his safe. But Eliana was more relieved than disappointed that their private time had been brought to a very swift halt. She wasn't sure what to say about the fact that they just almost kissed. And she wasn't sure if she should say anything at all. Now that Spencer's mother was awake, she had the perfect excuse to pretend that nothing happened between them at all. And even if her timing wasn't spectacularly convenient, Eliana was starting to grow fond of the woman. She enjoyed the time she spent with her so far. Diana Reid wasn't her typical home care patient. For starters, the woman spent a large portion of her adult life institutionalized for schizophrenia. Which was odd for someone so highly intelligent and well educated. At one point in her life, the elder Dr. Reid was obviously able to hold down a sought after job at a private college and maintain a personal relationship long enough to get married and have a child. She must have hundreds of stories. And Eliana was looking forward to hearing them once Diana warmed up to her enough to start telling them.

Eliana shifted her body, turning so that Spencer and his mother wouldn't see the amused smile on her face. She noticed already from the few times she'd seen them interact that there was a lot of genuine affection between them. Still, that didn't stop Spencer from treating his mother like a child. And it also didn't stop her from getting irritated by his constant hovering.

"This smells amazing," Spencer said. He glanced down at the cooling chicken before he took a step closer to Eliana. "You know only about five percent of the chickens sold in America are sold whole. The most popular portion of meat is the breast. That accounts for almost seventy five percent of sales." Eliana smiled and nodded her head. She didn't know that. And she wasn't sure if she cared to. But she was starting to enjoy Spencer's habit of blurting out random trivia style facts. He'd make a good Jeopardy contestant, she thought with another smile.

Leaning towards Eliana, Spencer reached around her to pull a glass from the cupboard. His body barely brushed against hers. But the brief contact was still enough to send a tingle of heat back up her spine. Eliana pretended she was focused on her salad as he filled the glass with ice and cold water from a pitcher inside the refrigerator. The necktie he arrived home in was gone. He must have taken it off when he removed his gun holster. And the top button of his shirt was undone, revealing a tiny sliver of exposed skin. Eliana let her eyes linger there for a moment as she imagined what it might feel like to thread the rest of his shirt buttons open. Then she swallowed hard and actually turned her attention back to finishing the salad.

"I guess I got used to buying my chickens whole, when I lived in Morocco," Eliana explained. "Not only do they sell them whole, they're still alive when you pick out the one you want at the market. The electricity isn't always dependable there. Not like here. So unless you want food poisoning, you learn to buy your meat fresh."

Eliana bit her bottom lip to keep herself from running her mouth any more than she already had. Percentages of chicken sold. Picking out a live bird and paying to have it killed. Food poisoning. They were having a weird conversation. One that would have certainly resulted in her ex looking at her like she'd lost her mind if she tried to have it with him. However, Eliana noticed that Spencer didn't seem bothered in the slightest by her blurting commentary. On the contrary, he handed his mother the glass of water he filled her and bustled himself back into the kitchen like he wanted to hear more.

"How long did you live in Morocco?," he asked, not waiting for an answer before he peppered her with another question. "Did you like it there? It is the most popular tourist destination in Africa."

Eliana's smile widened. And she might have leaned into Spencer a little more than necessary as she moved past him to get the salad dressing out of the fridge. Once she had it in her hand, she answered his questions. "I did two almost back to back two year tours. So four years total. And I loved it there… Until I didn't. But that had nothing to do with Morocco. It's a beautiful place." Eliana paused, unsure if she wanted to say more or if she should even if she felt the urge. Then she reminded herself that the man she was talking to was an FBI agent. When she showed up on his doorstep, she was a total stranger to him. And he was leaving his ailing mother alone with her. There was no way he didn't background check her within an inch of her life. Spencer Reid probably knew more about her than Eliana knew about herself. And he didn't need government access to know she and Riley broke off their engagement. Anyone with an instagram knew that.

"I was engaged to another corps volunteer," Eliana admitted. She lifted her hand and tucked her hair behind her ear, shifting her eyes downward towards the salad bowl on the counter. "But things didn't… uh… it didn't work out between us."

Eliana wasn't sure what sort of reaction to expect. She supposed that most guys would probably offer some sort of mostly insincere condolence. Then change the subject. But Spencer wasn't most guys. She didn't know him well but she'd determined that right from the moment they met. But what he said still took her by surprise.

"They say marriage is the greatest adventure of them all. It's filled with pitfalls and setbacks and mistakes. But it's a journey worth taking… because you take it together. Maybe your fiance just wasn't the right traveling companion…"

Eliana froze in place, her fingernail rubbing against the edge of the label on the salad dressing bottle. There was a sad smile on Spencer's face. And Elaina could tell that the empathy he felt for her was nothing but sincere. It pulled at her heartstrings, making the center of her chest ache slightly. But her focus was on what he said. She knew she heard those words somewhere before. It took her a moment. The knowledge was there, it was just out of context with the rest of what was running through her mind. Then suddenly, it was like someone flicked the light on inside her head. Her face lit up.

"Well I know he never quoted Star Trek to me while I was making dinner…," she teased, her smile widening when she saw that her call out on his quote was making Spencer smile along with her. She surprised him. And she had the feeling he wasn't easy to surprise. He was starting to part his lips. But Eliana held up a finger, motioning for him to wait. "Just give me a second," she requested. The fingers of her other hand were drumming against the plastic dressing bottle as Eliana searched her extensive mental star trek encyclopedia for the rest of what she was sure she knew about the lines he just quoted to her. "Chief O'Brien. Deep Space Nine. Season Two. Episode fourteen…"

"Episode thirteen," he corrected, laughing when Eliana let out a very overly dramatic groan of frustration. Her eyes rolled so far back in her head, he wondered if she could see her brain. In theory, he knew there were girls out there that liked Star Trek. He'd just never encountered one before. At least not in person. And certainly not in his kitchen.

"In my defense," Eliana huffed with a shrug of her slim shoulders, "...Deep Space Nine isn't my favorite."

Turning, Eliana grabbed the salad bowl off the counter. Spencer took it, and the dressing, when she handed it to him. He watched as she used two folded towels to pick up the large casserole dish with the chicken in it. The dish was hot. And probably heavy. Spencer mentally chided himself for not offering to carry it for her as he trailed after Eliana towards the dining table with a million and five questions already forming in his mind. He asked the most obvious one first.
"What series is your favorite?"