Best kept secret | Spencer Reid

Strip poker? Weird topic, but okay

S P E N C E R ' S   P O V

"He shoots, he scores!"

I scoff, grabbing the crumpled up piece of paper Derek just hit me in the back of the head with, aiming and firing it towards him.

"Ha!" I laugh, clapping my hands together at the way his face drops when it bounces off the center of his forehead.

He purses his lips, throwing the ball in the air and catching it. "This isn't over."

Rolling my eyes, I focus back on the paperwork scattered across my desk, knowing there's no way I'm going to get this all done tonight.

"You coming to Rossi's?"

"Yeah," I nod, pushing the files aside and checking the time on my phone. "Averie's meeting me here."

She got done with work a little while ago so she should be here any second. As if on cue, the bullpen doors open and Averie comes walking through. It's late so the team and I are basically the only ones left in the office at this hour, struggling to get paperwork done before we head to Rossi's for dinner.

Averie stops to talk to JJ, Emily and Penelope who are all huddled a few desks over. But despite the fact that she's laughing and smiling with them, when her eyes meet mine over Emily's shoulder, I can already tell that there's something bothering her.

"Speak of the devil," Derek grins when she makes her way over to us. He must notice the look on her face as well because he asks, "You good?"

She sighs, giving him a small smile when she drops her bag by my feet. "Just a long day."

"Is that code word for make sure there's a glass of white wine waiting for you at Rossi's?" Derek chuckles.

"A bottle," She corrects, shooting him a teasing look.

He clicks his fingers, retreating away from my desk. "Got it."

When Derek leaves us alone and saunters over to the girls, Averie perches herself on my lap. I place one hand on her hip and the other on her thigh to hold her against me. She's looking at me with her eyebrows scrunched and that cute little pout on her face.

"I'm grumpy."

"I can see that," I chuckle lightly, sweeping her hair over her shoulder and pressing a small kiss to her neck. "Want to tell me why?"

Her shoulders slump and her eyes fall to where she's toying nervously with my fingers. "I got my period."

My eyes soften and my heart aches for her at the sadness in her tone. She got so excited last night when I mentioned her period was two days late. One late night trip to the pharmacy and a negative pregnancy test later, she was sobbing in my arms. And I was crying because she was crying. It was a whole ordeal.

But she was still holding out hope until she got her period, and that flicker of hope that was behind her eyes last night is now gone.

I swivel us around in my chair so we're facing the wall rather than everyone in the room, and hook my finger underneath her chin to lift her gaze to mine.

I touch my lips gently to her's. "It's okay. We've only been trying for a month."

Her shoulders lift in a shrug, but she keeps her eyes downcast. "I thought it would happen by now."

I know how much she wants this, how much we want this. And I hate that she's putting this pressure on herself. It's probably going to take a few months and I don't want her to beat herself up every time it doesn't happen.