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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:
That after-sex glow.
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Lizzie and Spencer lay there, tangled up in the sheets for what felt like an eternity together. They talked—about everything and nothing. Spencer had kissed the scars on her stomach and she had kissed the ones on his upper wrist. Neither of them wanted to leave the comfort of the hotel room—where they had finally given in to what they had been feeling for months. But it was inevitable, they had to get back to Quantico.

After a while, Lizzie had been the first one to move, insisting they had to head out. The pair had dressed themselves, smiling the entire time as they did so, momentarily stopping what they were doing to give each other pecks on the lips as they laughed. It took a little longer to get dressed because of that. But eventually, they were both fully clothed and ready to head off—ready to leave where they had chosen to be intimate together.

They were on their way out the door, Spencer holding Lizzie's hold-all bag when Lizzie caught his hand, stopping him, "Hey, Spence," She said softly and Spencer could feel his chest swelling twice it's size by how she said his name. It felt different now. She fiddled with his slender fingers, looking down, "Can this stay between us for now? I'll tell my dad eventually. I just don't want it to interfere with work for either of us. But I—I do want this, Spence. I really do want to see where this goes... if you're okay with that." She said, her voice small, hoping he would understand what she was saying, but feeling afraid that he wouldn't.

Spencer turned to fully face her and dropped the hold-all. He reached out, cupping her cheek and she looked up to see that he was smiling at her, "That's okay, Liz. All of this is new and the co-worker relationship thing can be tricky, at least so I've heard. But I want this too—I want you, Liz. There's a difference between keeping things a secret and making things private and that's what we're doing—choosing to make this a private thing between us," He told her softly. He tucked a strand of hair behind her air, "And besides, it's a lot of paperwork." He playfully added, knowing how much she despised paperwork—having no idea that she had also said those very same words not too long ago.

Lizzie beamed up at him before leaning on her tiptoes to place a kiss against his stubbled cheek, "Thank you, Spence."

               It had been three days since Lizzie and Spencer had slept together and they had managed to spend every waking moment together since then. They hid themselves away in each others apartment whenever they had the chance. But on that third day, Lizzie found herself in a storage cupboard in the BAU department. How exactly? She had grabbed Spencer in passing and yanked him inside after they had been separated all day doing paperwork.

                     Lizzie's back was to the wall, a dimly lit lightbulb swinging from the ceiling above. Spencer was in front of her, his hands tangled through her hair as he kissed all over her neck, mumbling sweet nothings to her as he went. Somehow, within the last three days, Lizzie had managed to bring Spencer out of his shell—and now, he couldn't keep his hands off of her when they were well and truly alone. He had only been slightly concerned when she had pulled him into the closet, muttering about the dust. But the moment her lips met his, he had stopped his string of worried complaints.

                    "You smell so good." Spencer mumbled, his lips moving against her neck, hands tugging at her hair, twisting the strands through his fingers.

                     Lizzie's face was buried in his neck as she played with the ends of his hair, "Back at you." She said, inhaling sharply against his neck. He did smell good. Really, really good.

                    Spencer brought his lips to hers again, moving his hands to clutch onto her face. He kissed her with such intensity and desperation that it made her head spin and her legs go weak. She grabbed onto him for support, kissing him back feverishly as she hummed against his lips.

                     "Can we just," She kissed him, "Stay in here," She kissed him again, "Forever?" Another kiss.

                   Spencer laughed against her lips before pulling back, smiling at her as his forehead rested against hers, "I've never wanted to hide out in a dusty closet more in my entire life." He said before kissing her forehead, and then her cheek, and then her lips.

                    Lizzie sighed in content against his lips, pushing her hands back through his soft hair to caress the back of his head, "Do you want to come over tonight? We can watch a movie," She suggested before lowering her face to kiss his neck. She slowly moved down to his exposed chest from when she had unbuttoned the first three buttons on his shirt. She glanced up at him, "Or we can not watch the movie at all?" She suggested before placing a long and lingering kiss to his skin.

                    A shaky breath escaped Spencer's lips as he momentarily closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of her lips on his skin, "I'd love to, but I promised Morgan I'd go see this new action movie with him tonight," Lizzie let out a groan as she frowned, pushing her forehead against his chest. Spencer cupped her face, bringing her face upwards to look at him, taking in her adorable pout, "You could come with?" He suggested, his eyes lighting up at the idea. Spencer hadn't had the chance to take her out anywhere yet and he craved it, even if it was to see a movie with his friend and co-worker.

                   Lizzie rose a brow, "You want me to third-wheel you and Derek?"

                   Spencer chuckled, "Technically, he would be third-wheeling us. He just wouldn't know it." He told her in a smart-ass reply that made her smile.

                    "Well, when you put it like that." She said with a grin, leaning in to kiss him. That's when the door to the closet opened.

                   The pair sprung apart, Lizzie turning her back and grabbing the first thing she could find. Which happened to be an old type-writer. The janitor stood there, staring at them. Lizzie gulped, "Found it!" She exclaimed, shoving the type-writer into Spencer's confused hands. She grabbed onto his shirt, "Let's go!" She dragged him out of the closet, ignoring the stare from the janitor. She didn't know what he had seen, but she didn't exactly ask. And it wasn't like he was about to run around and tell everyone anyway.

                    "Liz, what am I supposed to do with this?" Spencer's words made her come to a stop as she turned to look at him, standing helplessly with the type-writer in his hands.

                   She reached up, scratching the back of her head, "Um, give it to someone? I have no idea. Put it in a different closet?" She suggested, giving him a small smile. She laughed slightly, approaching him. She looked around first, making sure no one was in the hallway before putting her hands on his chest, "Limme fix this." She mumbled, doing up the buttons she had previously undone. It felt agonising, buttoning him up instead of buttoning him down.

                  Spencer stood there, holding the type-writer in his hands when all he wanted to do was hold her. Just before Lizzie could turn on her heels, Spencer caught her wrist, "Liz, you might want to fix your hair." He said to her, giving a bashful smile, nodding towards her hair that had knots in it.

                   Lizzie tried smoothing it down a little, "Good idea. Text me the details for the movies and I'll see you later, alright?" Spencer nodded and Lizzie gave him a big smile before turning her back and heading to the bathroom.

                   Once she was inside, she splashed her cheeks with some water and stared herself down in the mirror. Her cheeks were red, her eyes glazed over and her previously straight hair had some kinks in it. She sighed heavily, using her wet hands to smooth out her hair, trying to flatten it down.

                   Lizzie jumped when Emily entered the bathroom. The dark haired woman paused, looking at her in confusion, "Why does Reid have a type-writer?" She asked her before moving to stand in front of her, adjusting the collar of the black blazer she was wearing.

                   Lizzie racked her brain, "Uh, we just found it lying around. You know Spencer, he's into weird stuff like that." She lied, pulling her hair over one shoulder, turning to face herself in the mirror, hoping the colour in her cheeks had gone down slightly. It hadn't.

                     "What's this?" Emily suddenly asked, her voice rising in pitch. Lizzie turned to face her but Emily grabbed the side of her face, examining her neck.

                      "What? What is it?" Lizzie demanded. Emily used her hands to turn Lizzie's head, a smile slowly breaking out onto her lips. Lizzie's jaw dropped when she noticed the hickey on her neck in the mirror.

                      "Well, well, well," Emily sang, her face lighting up in amusement. "You never told me you were hooking up with someone." Her voice was teasing, but it was obvious it surprised her that Lizzie hadn't told her if she was seeing anyone. Which wasn't surprising. Lizzie had found a good friend in Emily and had began to tell her a lot about herself and her life—they were close, very close. And friends typically discussed who they were hooking up with. It was then that Lizzie realised she had made a big mistake in not telling Emily, because now it was obvious she was hiding something who it was.

                  Lizzie panicked, "I, uh, I'm not! I—"

                  "Wait a minute," Emily spoke over her, holding her hand up, silencing Lizzie. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Why wouldn't you tell me who you were hooking up with? Unless it was a secret—or forbidden. Oh my god, Lizzie, are you and Reid hooking up?" Lizzie immediately grabbed her, trying to hush her. Emily was not being as quiet as she would have liked her to be.

                    "Shhh! Someone might hear you!" She exclaimed, her eyes wide.

                   Emily's jaw fell loose, "You are hooking up with him! Lizzie, you sly dog!" She gushed. She hit her friends arm, "Tell me everything, right now." She insisted, looking like a kid on Christmas Day eager to open her presents.

                   Lizzie knew there was no arguing nor denying Emily—and so she had to tell her. She inhaled sharply, "Okay, so, after the last case Spencer came to my hotel room and it just kind of happened," Emily gasped and Lizzie grabbed onto her, "But we decided to keep it between us for now! We didn't want to tell anybody because it's so new. I hope you're not too mad." Lizzie said, a frown working it's way onto her lips.

                   Emily laughed, "Mad? Lizzie, I'm happy for you—and Reid," She told her, "I mean, it's about god damn time. You two have been fawning over each other long enough. I just didn't think Reid had the balls." Lizzie felt herself begin to blush. She had thought that too—not that he didn't have the balls, she didn't want to diminish him like that. But she certainly didn't think he had the confidence to do what he did three days ago. And now, they were spending all of their time wrapped around each other.

                   Emily put her hand on Lizzie's shoulder, "Liz, I mean it. I'm so happy for the both of you," She said, a smile on her lips that made Lizzie begin to smile too. Emily smacked her arm, "I knew you had that after-sex glow! I knew it!" Lizzie chuckled, dipping her head.

                  "It has been pretty good—really good, actually. I mean, Em—he's all I can think about, like, all the time," She told her, gesturing wildly with her hands, "When I'm not close to him I feel like I can't breathe. That's really corny, isn't it?" She said with a bashful smile.

                  "Corny? Yes. But also very adorable," Emily chirped before she pulled Lizzie into a hug, "I'm so, so happy for you." She said, rubbing her back as Lizzie put her chin on her shoulder.

                    "Yeah. Me too."

( authors note )

               i honestly just update this book whenever i feel like it, sorry guys hahaha 🥹

               — taylor xx