Neighbors (S. R.)

August

Monday, August 2

Day 140

Spencer leaned over, his spoon quickly dipping into your pint of ice cream before popping it back into his mouth. You looked over at him, pretending to act offended as he smiled at you. The both of you were snuggled up on the couch, so you grabbed a fistful of the blanket you were sharing and yanked it away from him.

"Hey!" he gasped. "I'm cold!"

"You should have thought about that then, huh?"

Spencer leaned forward to quickly set his ice cream down on the coffee table before his hands were at your sides. He tickled you, grinning as you writhed underneath his touch.

"Stop it!" you gasped between laughs. You were holding on to your ice cream for dear life, trying not to let it fall onto the floor. But it left you defenseless, and quickly you were lying down on the couch, Spencer straddling you as you clutched your pint in one hand, the other helplessly grasping at one of his arms.

He stopped suddenly, the both of you staring at each other breathlessly with goofy smiles on your faces.

"You're cute," he stated with a small smile. "Did you know that?"

-

Wednesday, August 11

Day 149

"No, she's actually in Nevada."

"Oh, that's nice! Maybe she could come and visit."

"Yeah..." Spencer replied vaguely. You could tell that he was wringing his hands underneath the table, his gaze wandering elsewhere.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

His attention snapped back to you.

"Yeah. I just... She lives in a medical facility out there. I try not to make her travel too often, it can get overwhelming for her."

"Oh... I'm sorry. Maybe we can go visit sometime."

What else could you say?

-

Saturday, August 21

Day 159

You could hear Spencer's heartbeat as you laid your head on his chest, his arm around you as the both of you watched a movie on his couch. It had been a rough week for the both of you, and it was nice to just have a reason to forget about things. A knock on the door startled the both of you, and you sat up to look at him. He seemed just as confused as you were, yet he paused the movie and got up to check the door.

"Give me one second," he sighed. He opened the door halfway and stepped into the empty space so that you couldn't see whoever was standing there. That being said, whoever was standing there wouldn't be able to see you either.

Your suspicions were only raised further when you heard a woman's chirping voice, her sentences quick and almost breathless. You couldn't quite make out what she was saying, but it seemed like Spencer couldn't get a word in edgewise. You weren't a jealous person, nor were you possessive, but something about the situation almost irked you. Who was she?

Spencer mumbled something to her and suddenly her voice got low and urgent, barely raising above a whisper. You had half a mind to get up and see who it was when Spencer opened the door a little wider so that you and the guest could see each other a little more clearly. She was a little older than Spencer with blonde hair, glasses, and colorful clothes, a bottle of wine in hand. She made eye contact with you immediately and waved enthusiastically.

"Hi!" she called. "I'm his coworker, Penelope!"

Oh, was that the one he called Garcia? You waved back at her hesitantly, suddenly aware of the fact that you were lounging on his couch in pajamas with no bra on. Not that it mattered, but this wasn't exactly a good look for first impressions. Before you could say anything to her, she was forcing the bottle of wine into Spencer's hands, whispering something quickly to him again in an excited tone before waving at you one more time and leaving.

The second that Spencer closed and locked the door again, he sighed.

"I'm sorry about that," he said, setting the bottle of wine on the kitchen table before heading back over to you. He flopped onto the couch, holding his arm open so that you could lean against him again. "They get excited about this kind of stuff. I don't usually talk to them about things outside of work."

"Oh... okay," you replied, settling back into his arms. You were waiting for him to start the movie again, but he didn't.

"They want to meet you, you know," he said nonchalantly.

"What?"

For some reason, the initial thought was almost terrifying.

"They're like family, they can't help it. I told them they needed to wait a little more. I don't want them to scare you away," he chuckled.

As dumb as it was, his words made you feel better. Spencer wasn't a cheater, nor was he a liar, but it still felt good to know that it really had been his coworker at the door.

"I would be okay with meeting them," you replied hesitantly.

"Really?" he said incredulously. "We'll see what we can do, then."