wasted times- s.r

THIRTEEN

About a week after the whole ordeal with Tristan, you take it upon yourself to take three vacation days and fly out to visit Nate. You're not ashamed to admit that you have a tendency to flee whenever things get bad, which is exactly what you did after finding out you were being cheated on. After the last case ended particularly horrible, after five days of working it, you were desperate to escape for a few days.

This leads to where you are now, standing in front of the familiar oak door, bringing your knuckles up to rap against it, your suitcase in tow. Nate swings open the door on the other side, wasting no time before wrapping his arms around you, taking your suitcase and pulling you into the apartment you've missed dearly.

"You're here earlier than I was expecting," he remarks, carrying your bags into the bedroom. "I know, I ended up catching an earlier flight." You situate yourself on the couch in the living room, adjusting your position to you're sitting crisscrossed on the sofa. You hear the sound of sock-clad feet thumping into the living room, Nathanial taking a seat on the other end of the couch, both of you catching up.

He's in the middle of telling you about one of your former teammate's girlfriends when you decide to chime in. "What about you? You like to talk about everyone else, but you haven't told me if you're seeing anyone?" He glances over at you sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders. "Come on! There has to be some girl here who's caught your attention. Tell me," you probe his side softly, and she shifts away with a smile.

"Well, there is this one girl," he trails off, a small blush rising up his cheeks. "I don't think she knows I like her, but I'm not sure how much more obvious I could be."

You nod along, wondering who the hell this girl is that's making him so smiley and giddy by only talking about her. "Tell me some more."

"I'd rather not if you don't mind. I'd like to keep those thoughts to myself," he rubs the back of his neck softly, his foot tapping on the hardwood floor anxiously. "That's fine," you respond, "But I think you should tell her."

He scoffs in disbelief, "I know for a fact she doesn't like me." You roll your eyes, kicking him in the thigh, "Have you told her or even asked her out?" He shakes his head and you throw your arms up, "Well then how could you possibly know?"

"I don't want to make things awkward," he mumbles softly. "It takes two people to make a situation awkward. The worst thing that could possibly happen is that she says no." Nate nods in understanding as if he's contemplating your words. "You'll regret not telling her if someone comes and scoops her up before you get the chance."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Always am," you reply cheekily. He keeps his gaze on you for a minute, and you're about to ask him what he's thinking about when your phone rings loudly in your pocket, startling you slightly. You give him an apologetic look, "Excuse me, I'll be back." You grab your phone and walk down the hallway and into his bedroom, shutting the door behind you.

"Hello?"

"You moved your key." Your brows instinctively furrow, Reid being the last person you'd expect to call you on his own accord. "What?"

"Your spare key," he clarifies, "You moved it. It's not under the mat anymore."

"Well yeah," you state matter-of-factly. "Aren't you the one who told me to move it?" You mock him slightly. "Besides, if you're breaking into my apartment, I don't think you should be calling me prior."

"I'm not breaking into your apartment." He clarifies, and you can hear him growing slightly annoyed. "It's okay if you are, I don't have anything remotely valuable. Unless you like stale cereal and takeout that's probably gone bad, then, in that case, go nuts."