"Chase," you call out as you walk through the door, Emily apprehensively tailing behind you. "Come here, boy."
You hear the pitter-patter of paws running on hardwood, and from around the corner, the large Golden Retriever comes barrelling at you. You crouch down and when he gets to you, he immediately lays down for you to give him belly rubs.
"Did you have fun with Maddie today?" you ask, your voice jumping a couple of pitches up.
"Maddie?" you hear Emily question under her voice.
"My dog walker," you say as you look up at her. You see a look of relief come onto her face and you can't help but laugh.
"Were you just jealous?" you ask as you stand up and face Emily.
"Of course not," she says with a roll of her eyes, "Why would I be jealous?"
"Hmm, I don't know Emily Prentiss, why would you be jealous?" you question with a smirk.
Chase gets up off of the floor and walks over to jump on the couch and lay in his favorite spot. With a wink to Emily, you turn and follow after him. You pick up the remote as Chase lays his front paws and head in your lap.
You scratch behind his ears and look back up at Emily, who is still standing in the same spot by the door. She is looking around the room and you know what she is thinking. It's what everybody thinks when you invite them over. They expect leather couches, dark walls, and skulls for decor. What they actually get is something you could probably find on Pinterest.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
* ^^ I actually did find this on Pinterest, and this is what I picture the living room to look like, but you can picture it however you want! Oh and I also included a picture of what Chase looks like, that's the pic up top.*
"Are you gonna just stare all night?" you ask her, causing her gaze to settle on you. "Or are you going to come over here and help me pick out a movie?"
"I'm just taking it in," she says, as her eyes wander again.
"What?" you ask.
"You, Chase, your house," she says.
"What, just because I have tattoos, like leather, and ride a motorcycle means I can't like plants and cute dogs?" you ask, as you cross your arms over your chest.
"No it's not that at all," Emily says panicked, "I just..."
"I'm kidding Em," you say with a laugh, and you visibly see her sigh a breath of relief. "Now seriously, come over here."
She walks over to the couch and sits next to you. Chase picks his head up from your lap and moves closer to Emily to sniff her.
"He doesn't bite, I promise," you say with a giggle, as you look at Emily's frowned face. You reach over and grab her hand, and place it on top of Chase's head. "He loves being scratched behind his ears."
Hesitantly, she starts to pet him, as you scroll through the tv to find something to watch.
"I really don't know anything about you," Emily says after a few moments.
"Sure you do," you say back to her. "If anything, I don't know anything about you"
"I thought you said I was an open book?" she questions.
"Yeah, but half of the pages are blanked out. You only let people see what you want them to see." She gives you a guilty look.
"Well then we should get to know each other better," she suggests. "All I know is that you're a dog person."
"And you're a cat person," you counter.
"You drive a motorcycle."
"And you hate them."
"Hey," she says, "I don't hate motorcycles."
"What was it you said when I drove it to work one day? You said it was "sexy, but statistically stupid" you remind her with a laugh.
"Ok, so I'm not the biggest fan, that doesn't mean I hate them," she says as you roll your eyes.
"Ok, ok let's move on. I know that you speak, what, five different languages."
"Et je sais que tu ne parle que l'anglais," she says, and you reach over and poke her in the side.
"I don't know what you just said but if it was something bad you're gonna be in trouble," you say. She just laughs at you.
Emily scoots closer to you, to the point where if you were any closer, you would be on top of each other.
"I know about your past," she says quietly as she looks into your eyes. "With your dad."
"And I know about yours with Doyle," you say, matching her tone. "See, we know more than we thought."
Emily gives you a light smile and you smile at her back. You catch her eye, and subconsciously you bite your bottom lip. Emily leans forward and places her hand gently on the side of your face. Your eyes drift closed as she pulls you closer, and your breath hitches in your throat.
Your lips are centimeters away from hers, when suddenly Chase, who had been calmly laying on the couch for the last few minutes, bolts up and starts barking. The two of you jump apart, the moment permanently broken.
"Chase," you say as you walk over to calm him down, "It's just the neighbors, buddy."
Once he calms down, you turn back around to Emily, and give her a nervous smile, as you try and shake off the tension in the room.
"Now what movie did you wanna watch?"
*Emily's POV*
I am woken up the first time when I feel somebody moving next to me. Opening my eyes, I look over and see that (Y/N) is tucked into my side. We must've fallen asleep because the tv is playing the credits of the movie we were watching.
If only Chase hadn't started barking, I think to myself, as I look down at her sleeping form. But if I had kissed her, would that have been a good thing or a bad thing?
I start to move to get up and clear my head, but as I do, she tightens her grip around me. I feel a tug at my heart and know there is no way I am getting up now.
With minimum movement, I grab the remote and cut off the tv, before getting back comfortable, and allowing myself to drift back off to sleep.
The second time I am woken up is when I feel something wet drag across my cheek. My eyes shoot open and the only thing I see is golden fur.
"Chase," I say with a groan, and try to gently push the retriever off of me. He doesn't seem to want to budge until we both hear humming in the kitchen. He immediately gets up and follows the noise and I get myself oriented before doing the same.
As I follow Chase, I walk into the kitchen to see (Y/N) cooking, as she hums a song I can't recognize. I stand in the doorway and just admire her for a second. I watch as Chase patiently sits next to her as she takes a piece of bacon and throws it to him. He catches it, and she does a little dance of excitement. The (Y/N) that I am seeing now, definitely is not the (Y/N) I see at work.
How is it possible that I am falling for her so fast? I think to myself.
"Oh hey Emily," she says as she notices me, "I didn't realize that you were up."
"Yeah, your dog decided to give me a bath," I say, and she laughs.
"That's just how he shows his love," she says as she grabs two plates to put the food on.
"I didn't know you could cook. I just keep learning new things about you," I say as I sit at the kitchen table. She puts the plates of food down and sits next to me.
"Stick around and maybe you'll learn a little more," she says with a wink.
