checkmate , s.reid

004 » THE CASE

After grabbing my prepared go-bag from my car, I follow the rest of the team up the airstrip. Morgan hangs back a little as I catch up, slinging a muscular arm around my shoulders. "Excited for you first case, newbie?" he asks, smirking at me.

Shrugging, I smile nervously. "I guess so. Not excited about people being murdered, though," I respond, and he chuckles.

"Ah, one of the downsides of working this job," he laughs, shaking his head a little. "But, you know, there's good parts of working these cases. Like when you save the victims, or bring the families closure. It's great."

"Yeah, I think that's what I'm most looking forward to on this job," I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck, "helping people."

As I follow the rest of the team up the stairs onto the jet, my eyes widen in shock. I take a quick glance around, surveying the area. "Holy... shit," I mutter, and Prentiss laughs.

"Holy shit indeed, right?" she says, taking a seat on one of the lush, beige seats.

"And you all fly in this near enough all the time?" I remark. "Wow."

"You'll get used to it, kiddo," Rossi chuckles, patting me on the shoulder as I take a seat beside JJ.

She greets me with a welcoming smile, which I return gratefully. Feeling the sensation of eyes focused on me, I glance up to see Reid staring over, intently gazing at me. I offer a half smile, and his blank stare turns into a glare, before he pulls a book from his bag and opens it up. I frown; a million thoughts run through my mind. Why doesn't he like me? I haven't done anything wrong, right? Maybe I'm just a pathetic people pleaser craving attention and approval. Probably.

I watch him as he quickly flicks through the pages of his book, surely faster than possible. "Is he actually reading that, that fast?" I ask JJ.

"Yep. 20,000 words a minute: Spence is pretty incredible," she laughs with a shrug.

"Wow, oh my God. Holy crap. That is- that's fast. The average is only around 250 words per minute, and I've only ever met people who can read up to one thousand a minute, but twenty thousand? That's insane; wow," I say, completely shocked by his reading speed.

"Yeah, well, he's a pretty unique guy," the blonde smiles.

As everyone settles down, I can't seem to pull my gaze away from Spencer. I find myself staring at his hands as they quickly slide down and turn the pages of the book. Wow. His hands. Oh lord. They are, well, they're hot.

And I feel all the emotions, everything I felt that night and all the days since then, returning, like a harsh gust of wind slamming into my body. Tearing my eyes away from Reid, I silently scold myself, pinching the back of my hand harshly to ground myself. Fuck. Why does he have to be so damn attractive? I can barely even remember most of what happened that night, but I remember what I felt. I remember the excitement as he traced my body with his fingertips, his hands dancing across my skin. I remember the nervousness in his words as he asked for permission to pull off my shirt. I remember the feeling of his hands gripping my waist as I tossed my head back, yelling-

Nope. We're not going there. I can't think of that, especially not here, not now. He's my coworker now, for fuck's sake. That night was nothing. He more than likely wants to forget it and move past it, so I will too.

If I can, that is. Shit, I'm definitely crushing on this guy, aren't I? This is so fucking bad.

···

"Alright, when we land, Prentiss and JJ, you guys head to the ME. Reid, I'd like you and Y/L/N to go together to the club where Emma worked. Morgan, you go to Sarah's workplace, and Dave, go to Harper's workplace. I'll head to the local PD to set up and talk to the sheriff," Hotch instructs as we near the end of the flight. My body tenses up at the thought of having to talk to Reid, but I'll have to try to ignore my anxiety.