Reckless

Chapter 25

Cocooned in the heavy blankets that covered Toni's bed, Spencer slept better than he had in years. This wasn't his first time falling asleep next to her, but it was his first time waking up next to her. It was his first time waking up next to anyone. Having Toni's warm body next to his all night was everything he expected it to be in all the best ways. Spencer always wanted someone to share his life with, but he never thought he would enjoy the physical part of a relationship so much. He usually didn't like having people in his personal space. But being with Toni was different. He found himself craving her touch. No matter how close she was to him, it never felt like it was close enough.

Spencer fell asleep with Toni tucked into his side with one of her long tan legs hiked across his thigh and her head resting on his chest. But at some point, she must have rolled away from him and repositioned her body. When he woke up, his body was still brushing against hers. But she was next to him on her back with a small pillow propped under her injured arm. Her long dark hair was fanned out under her head. Spencer could see her chest rising and falling at a slow even pace. Her body was warm and pliant next to him, still naked under the blankets. Spencer would have liked nothing more than to pull her back into his arms and wake her with the soft press of his lips on hers. But unfortunately, they weren't alone in her room.

Spencer awoke with a start, his body jerking abruptly into consciousness. He cringed back, away from the morning breath and wide curious eyes of Toni's son. The boy was so close to him, Spencer could feel Romeo's warm breath on his face. The fact that he startled his mother's guest with his staring didn't seem to phase the boy in the slightest. Spencer rubbed his eyes and assessed the boy. He was dressed in a pair of kung fu panda pajamas that looked a few inches too short for his tall, lanky frame. His dark hair was rumpled from sleep, leaving it mashed to his head on one side and sticking out on the other.

"I know you," Romeo announced, cocking his head slightly to the side. "You're that lame magician." Romeo paused before he added, "...Mamá got me a new chess board. Want to play?" A soft rippled of silent laughter shook Spencer's body. It was a little early in the morning for chess, even for him.

The combination of Spencer's jerky movements and Romeo's loud voice pulled Toni from her sleep. She yawned herself awake before she scolded her son. "You're not supposed to come in my room without knocking," Toni said, her voice still thick with sleep.

"He's in here," Romeo argued, pointing his finger towards Spencer as if his mother might not be able to determine who he was talking about otherwise.

"He knocked," Toni countered.

The snappy speed of her response made Spencer laugh. He pulled his arm out from under the blankets, reaching over to adjust the pillow that was keeping Toni's injured arm in place. When Spencer lifted his arm, it only exposed his shoulder and a small sliver of his chest. But it was enough for Toni's son to draw a conclusion about what they might or might not be wearing under the covers.

"Why are you naked?," Romeo asked, grasping the blankets and jerking them upwards in an attempt to peek underneath and confirm his suspicions. Spencer slapped the covers down, pinning them against the mattress with his arm to keep the boy from getting an eyeful.

"Spencer was showing me this new magic trick he learned," Toni explained. "...and he accidentally made our clothes disappear."

"Really?," Romeo exclaimed. "Can you teach it to me?"

Spencer was struggling to keep a straight face. The fact that he could feel Toni's body shaking with laughter wasn't helping. "You'll have to be a little older to learn that trick," Spencer suggested, making her laugh harder. As Romeo groaned in disappointment, Toni scrubbed her face with her hand in an attempt to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Alright mi amour," she said. "It's early, why don't you go watch some tv and let us get a little more sleep."

"But I'm HUNGRY!," Romeo whined. The sudden high pitch of his voice made Spencer cringe. While it hurt his ears, he was amused to see that the boy's eagle-like devil screech hadn't affected Toni in the slightest. He supposed she must be used to her son's antics.

"There's cereal in the cupboard," Toni announced, pulling her arm out from under the covers and pointing her son towards the bedroom door.

"I don't like any of that cereal," he argued. "It's NASTY!"

Toni grumbled under her breath, complaining that her son was the one that picked all that nasty cereal out. But she must have decided it wasn't worth an argument, because instead of pointing out his sudden change in cereal preferences, she asked Romeo what he wanted for breakfast instead.

"Bacon and sausage and waffles and pancakes and chicken tenders and eggs… and I want syrup all over everything," Romeo said, listing off his many breakfast demands. "And I want raspberries."

"Dios mío, are you sure there's nothing else you want?," Toni teased. "I think you forgot apple juice, orange juice, and hot chocolate." Romeo nodded his head, confirming that he wanted those things as well. In fact, he was dying of thirst in addition to his hunger and he wanted an iced coffee with extra whip. Toni laughed as she shooed her son from the room, telling him that if he wanted to be taken out to breakfast, he had to let her get dressed first.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, sliding across the mattress towards Spencer once her son was out of the room with the door clicked shut behind him. "I'm sure you'd rather sleep in on your day off…" Toni finished her apology by peppering gentle kisses along his jawline. Between the case and his extracurricular activities, Spencer hadn't found the time to shave in the last few days. His face was rough with stubble, but it didn't seem to bother Toni. On the contrary, she cupped his cheek with her hand, rubbing her thumb softly back and forth across the coarse smattering of hair.

"Don't be sorry," Spencer told her, minding her shoulder as he pulled her against him under the covers. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here with you. I want to be part of your life." Spencer paused a moment before he added, "...and I'd like to be part of your son's life, if you'll let me."

Toni answered him with her lips, pressing them against his and kissing him until he was breathless. She paused, hestating for a moment before she spoke. Her dark eyes locked on his as her expression suddenly turned from playful to serious. "That's something I need to talk to you about," Toni told him once she pulled back for a breath of air. "But maybe now is not the best time…"

Right on cue, Spencer heard a loud rapping on the bedroom door. Romeo shouted through the hollow wood that he was dressed and ready to go. Toni sent him off to brush his teeth before she climbed out of bed.

About twenty minutes later, Romeo was buckling himself in behind the driver's seat. Spencer would have preferred to drive. But Toni was being stubborn about driving her own car, insisting she felt fine. He quickly decided it wasn't a fight he needed or wanted to fight.

"HEY MOM!," Romeo shouted from the backseat. "Sensei said I'm ready to move up to the next class in my sparring session. Wanna see how hard I can kick?"

'No thank you," Toni replied, pulling over into the passing lane as she headed towards her son's favorite restaurant. "Not right now."

Spencer glanced back at the boy, his eyes widening when he saw Romeo slink down lower in his seat and lift his feet. Spencer would have attempted to stop him, but he was already too late. Romeo slammed both feet into the back of Toni's seat with as much force as he could manage in such a small space. The seat slapped against her back so hard she nearly flung forward into the steering wheel before rocketing back against the seat. Toni hissed in pain, jerking the wheel unintentionally towards her injured left shoulder. Spencer grabbed the wheel, righting the car before they drove head on into oncoming traffic.

"Hijo de puta," Toni cursed, adding a few more English swear words to the Spanish ones she uttered first. "Fuckin' son of a bitch."

"You said a BAD word!," Romeo accused, completely ignoring the fact that he was the cause of his mother's distress.

Spencer turned around in his seat, regarding the little hellion with a look of shock and what he hoped was intense disappointment. He wasn't sure what the rules were when it came to disciplining someone else's child. He'd never had a girlfriend before. And certainly never had one with a kid. He spent a lot of time with JJ's kids. But Toni's son seemed almost feral in comparison to Henry. And Michael was just a baby.

"Why would you do that?," Spencer asked, though he wasn't really expecting an answer. "That was not a nice thing to do. Your mom's shoulder is already hurt. And you could have caused a car accident." Spencer mustered up as much authority as he could before he added, "Do not do that again."

At first, Spencer thought his scolding had gone over well. Romeo sat quietly for a moment, staring at him as though he intended to listen. But then he furrowed his dark eyebrows together. "You're not the boss of me," he announced. "You can't tell me what to do."

"Romeo," Toni warned. "...don't make me pull this car over."

Toni sounded serious. But Spencer could tell by her son's absolute lack of response that pulling the car over was an empty threat. One that she probably made on a regular basis and never followed through on. Spencer watched as Romeo flashed a wicked little smile in his direction and lifted his legs for the second time. Thankfully, he didn't kick Toni's seat as hard as he had the first time. He just bounced his feet against it hard enough to prove to Spencer that he had no intention of listening to him.

"Romeo! Stop, this isn't funny!" Toni huffed. "I told you before, if you can't sit like a big boy in the car then you'll have to start riding in your car seat again."

"You already donated it," Romeo announced in a loud sing-song voice, bouncing his feet off the back of her seat with a little more force. Spencer fought back his laughter as Toni grumbled a few more expletives under her breath.

"If you don't stop," Spencer warned, "...I'll have to come back there and sit with you."

Romeo stopped the drum beat of his sneakers, regarding this new threat with curious interest. He cocked his head slightly to the side, taking visual measure of Spencer's tall wide shouldered frame and the small space between the two front seats in his mother's small sedan before he replied. "Your big ass won't fit."

Spencer's only response was the click of his seatbelt as he unfastened it. He turned, ignoring Toni's wild squeal of protest as he put his knee up on the console between the seats. For a moment, he thought he would make the climb without incident. But then his knee slipped. His legs shot out and he was forced to worm his way between the seats using his feet against the dash as leverage. Toni was laughing and hollering at him, fighting to keep some of her focus on the road. Romeo was screaming like it was the end of his young life. Spencer popped through the narrow space, ending up half upside down with his feet paddling in the air. By the time he righted himself, Romeo's screams had dissolved into wild shrieks of laughter.

Spencer buckled himself into the middle seat and swiped his hair back out of his face. Then he looked down at the tiny terrorist next to him. "Any more kicking… and I'll never play chess with you again."

Given what Romeo had just seen him do, he was smart enough not to call Spencer's bluff a second time. He straightened up in his seat and let his skinny legs dangle down where they belonged. He looked like he might even be having some regret over his previous naughty behavior. Spencer guessed that he probably hadn't actually meant to hurt his mother with his antics.

"If I'm good, will you play with me after breakfast?," Romeo asked, staring up at Spencer with worry in his dark eyes.

Spencer nodded. "If you're good the whole time we're at breakfast and on the ride home, I'll teach you the Queen's Gambit," he promised. When Romeo reached over, the sudden contact surprised him. But Spencer recovered in time to hug Toni's son back.

Thankfully, once they sat down for breakfast, Romeo was much more interested in shoveling food into his face than he was in making any further trouble. He ate more than Spencer would have thought someone his size was capable of consuming. And he ate it so fast, Spencer was concerned he might make himself sick. Spencer could remember eating like that as a kid. His mother used to scold him and tell him to slow down before it all came back up. Toni, on the other hand, didn't seem concerned about the situation. She drank her coffee and ate her garden vegetable omelet with one of her legs rubbing against Spencer's under the table.

"More coffee?," the waitress asked, smiling down at Romeo as she refilled both their mostly empty mugs. "He's such a cutie," she added. As Toni added milk to her fresh coffee and raised her mug for a sip, the waitress glanced back and forth between Spencer and Romeo. "I guess I know where he gets his looks," she teased.

Spencer turned towards Toni just into time to catch her nearly choking on her hot coffee. She plunked the cup down against the table, pounding on her own chest as she reached for her water. The waitress scurried off to fetch them some extra napkins, leaving Spencer to wonder what caused Toni to have such an extreme reaction to the waitress's seemingly harmless comment.

"What's wrong?," he asked. Toni shook her head as she swallowed down another gulp of water.

"Nothing…," she insisted, though it was obvious to Spencer that she was lying. But before he could press her for an explanation, her phone started vibrating on the table. Toni had most of her calls set to do not disturb. So there were only a few people it could be if the call was actually ringing through. Spencer was slightly disappointed, but not really surprised, to see that one of them was Luke Alvez.

"Hey Luke," Toni chirped, dabbing at the front of her shirt with a napkin as she greeted him. Spencer was sitting close enough that he could hear both sides of the conversation even though Toni didn't have the call on speaker. Luke told her good morning, but his tone indicated that it might not be such a good one after all.

"What's wrong?," Toni asked, repeating the question Spencer asked her only a moment before.

"I think you're going to have to come down to headquarters," Luke warned. "Someone saying he's your brother just walked in asking for you."

"My brother?," Toni asked. "What in hell?" She looked confused. Spencer didn't know everything about her family situation. But he knew she was close with her brothers. If one of them was in town and wanted to see her, they would have called or come to her apartment. Walking into headquarters and demanding to speak to her was not the act of a close family member. "Which one of them is it?," Toni asked.

"That's the thing," Luke explained. "It's not any of them. He says his name is Benjamin Ramirez, but this guy isn't your brother. He's shorter than me."

"I'll be right there," Toni lamented. She ended the call. But before Spencer could ask her anything, she was dialing another number. He assumed Toni was calling her brother Benny, the one that the strange walk in was pretending to be. The phone went straight to voicemail twice. After the second time, Spencer could see the panic bubbling beneath the surface of her calm demeanor.

"I think I'm going to have to go into the office," Toni said, giving Spencer an apologetic glance before she turned her attention to her son. "I'm sorry mi amor, but we've got to go."

Romeo glanced up. One look at his mother and the tears immediately started to form in his eyes. "I'm not done eating," he whined. "You said you didn't have to work today."

"I'm sorry," Toni repeated. "It's an emergency." Her apology did nothing to stop the flood of tears that were spilling down her son's face. Spencer could see that Toni's anxiety was rising. She was reasonably worried about her brother. And now her son was making a scene in the middle of the restaurant. "I could call uncle Luke back and ask him to come get you," Toni offered.

Spencer knew that Toni and Luke were close. But still, the thought of another man having to swoop in and help his girlfriend with her son when he was present and available didn't sit right with him. "I can stay with him," Spencer offered.

"What?," Toni asked, though he was sure she heard him. "...are you sure?" She glanced at her weeping son. "I mean… Spencer… you don't have to do that."

"We have plans anyway," Spencer countered. He glanced at Romeo, hoping that the prospect of spending time with him wasn't going to catapult the boy into another crying fit. "You wanted to play chess after breakfast… right?," Spencer asked.

Romeo stopped sniveling. He reached for his napkin, swiping at his face as he nodded his head. Spencer turned his attention to Toni, who didn't look like she was so sure about the idea. He supposed leaving her young son with a boyfriend that she hadn't been dating for very long probably wasn't something she would normally do. Actually, there was no probably about it. It wasn't something Toni would ever do. The fact that she was even considering it showed how much she trusted him. And it probably helped that they worked together at the FBI, so she knew he wasn't a total psycho or a kidnapper.

"It's fine, I watch JJ's kids all the time," Spencer added. Maybe all the time was a stretch. But he did spend a lot of time with them. And he had watched Henry before, so it wasn't a total lie.

"You want to go with Spencer?," Toni asked.

Romeo nodded his head again. "I wanna play chess," he confirmed.

Toni glanced back and forth between them one more time before she let out a heavy sigh. "Okay," she agreed. Toni handed Spencer the keys to her apartment with a soft press of her lips against his cheek and a whisper. "Don't let him have any candy. And thank you… for being you."