SECRET LOVE, hotchniss

14

2X16

It was a Sunday night. Not exactly the most common night for a date but with their work schedule Emily figured she should make the most of the time they had been spending office bound. It was their last night before they were back in the rotation for active cases.

This should have been her 5th date with Chris, but she'd had to cancel dates 3 and 4 due to incoming cases. This particularly sucked because she hated 3rd dates, and now she was having to prepare herself for it for the third time. She hated the unspoken societal expectations of a third date, it changed the vibe of the evening, added a tension to the air that tended to have the opposite than intended effect on Emily.

Chris was nice, about 40 years old, and he had grown up right here in Virginia, a personal trainer at the gym she joined after settling into her new apartment. They'd spoken a few times as their workouts coincided, both getting to the gym around 5am to workout before their respective shifts started.

She would have been lying to herself if she said she hadn't been observing his workouts, his blonde hair falling onto his brow as he ran on the treadmill, or the way his muscles practically bulged out of his shirt as he lifted more than her body weight. It was hot.

So when their easy conversations turned into a date she was excited. He was nice, very attractive, and had been incredibly understanding at her need to reschedule.

She had told him she worked in law enforcement, it was a fine line that straddled the truth, it was close enough she thought. She had found from previous experience that when she had divulged the information that she worked for law enforcement it resulted in either her date running for the hills or asking a series of uncomfortably personal questions; "who was your favourite criminal", "what is the most gruesome thing you've seen", "how many people have you shot".

The first situation she saw as a blessing, and the phrase "law enforcement" was usually all it took, but if she had any doubts "FBI" really sealed the deal. It was a screening tool of sorts. If they ran, that was a sign that her date had secrets she didn't want any part of.

It was actually the second situation that Emily truly hated. The questions. They were always the same, and she never wanted to answer any of them. She knew they asked out of excitement, the 'thrill' of her potentially gruesome stories always bringing a gleam to their eyes, and a nauseating wave to her stomach.

The only people who understood not to ask these questions, not to push when she said the word "classified", were fellow agents. But unfortunately Emily had a strict boundary to avoid mixing business with pleasure, she had learned that lesson the hard way early on in her career. So that left her wading through date after date with people she had nothing in common with.

As she reigned her thoughts back in, she tried to remember that Chris had been great... Understanding. His uncle was a police officer, so he was used to him being called away or missing from family gatherings at short notice. Despite this she still had feelings of doubt, her previous partners' understanding usually only lasted a couple of months, it seemed to dwindle rapidly as she missed birthdays and christmases and anniversaries.

Emily jumped in the shower before her brain could end this relationship before it had even begun. She had given herself extra time, while she hated the preconceived idea that date number 3 held, she was also a woman with needs, and if things went well she knew Chris could provide a fun time.