✓ 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐃'𝐒 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋, 𝘴. 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘥

CHAPTER NINE.

chapter nine — sharing is caring
"Your worst battle is between what you know and what you feel." — unknown

———

EDITED: December 8th, 2020
Spencer's POV

"BUT—"

"—I'M SORRY, MA'AM," THE woman repeated herself for what seemed like the twentieth time, looking at Tessa with a sympathy filled expression.

Am I that bad she wouldn't want to share a room with me?

"It's alright..." Tessa stated, her tone of voice soft, and she hooked her fingers around the handle of her suitcase while sneaking a glance over at me—signaling to grab the two keycards the woman had laid carefully on the desk in front of us. "Thank you, anyway."

"I can sleep on the couch," I suggested, also snatching up my suitcase and quickly following after Tessa as she took off down the hall, not giving me much of a chance to walk side by side with her. "You can get the bed."

"No, it's fine. I can take the bed, or else I'll feel bad for making you sleep on the couch," Tessa replied, showing me an awkward cringed up expression as she pressed the elevator button.

"No, I insist, I'll take the couch."

"No, I'll have the couch," Tessa commented, and I could tell there was a shift in her voice, from awkwardness to a more playful tone now. We both stepped into the elevator at the same time, our shoulders brushing up against each other's for a moment. The doors moved to a slow crawl shut, and I have a flashback to the time Morgan and I got stuck in one of these.

"How about tonight I get the couch, and tomorrow night you can have it? So it's a split? And if we stay any longer, we'll just keep it even," I suggested, making eye contact with Tessa, who nodded slowly in agreement.

"Okay, sounds good."

•••

After I took a quick, refreshing shower, I walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my lower body. Water glistened on my chest, and I could feel the occasional water drop landing on my shoulder from my shaggy wet hair.

When I heard the hotel door swung open and closed while I was in there, I only expected Tessa had left to be with JJ, Garcia, and Prentiss. So, when I saw her on the bed, curled up with her knee's buried underneath her while reading a book, I nearly screamed.

Tessa glanced up from being heavily distracted by her book once she heard my steps, and her eyes scan me up and down with a surprise expression, and her cheeks flushed a bright red.

"Oh, uh..." Tessa trailed on, her eyes still trained on me, until she finally noticed that she's been staring. So, she glanced back down to her book, but I could still see her pink cheeks in the low light. "Sorry."

I quickly jogged my out of shape body over to my suitcase, throwing it on the soft cushioned bed, unziping it rather swiftly. I hadn't realized that it was incredibly rude of me to not reply to Tessa, but I couldn't quite muster up any words.

I hooked my fingers around my favourite pair of grey sweats, and a plain black t-shirt, and raced back to the bathroom before I could meet eyes with Tessa again — fearing I would double over in embarrassment.

I came back into the room a few minutes later, to find Tessa in the same spot as before, and I took a second to observe her. She had her fawn strands of hair tied up into a mess bun, which still looked absolutely beautiful, and she was still in her work clothes, waiting for the shower, I assume. She had her legs pulled up under her, and her book is resting on her lap, her emerald green eyes quickly scanning over every word and she licked her finger while she flipped to the page, and that was when she noticed me staring at her.

"What?"

"You look beautiful," I blurted, and instantly my pink lips fall open as to how I could possibly say something so dumb. I did not. I did not just say that. I only said it in my head. That's all. I said in it my head. I definitely didn't say it out loud.

"You...you think I'm beautiful?" She blinked a few times, her eyes not leaving mine, and her cheeks turning that same red as before when I was basically naked.

"I-I do," I gulped awkwardly, waiting for her to possibly call me a weirdo or something among those lines — it was something I had grown accustomed to.

"Well, I think you're beautiful, too," she grinned, causing me to do the same as well in a burst of relief. "I'm getting in the shower."

And with that, she left me all alone with my big, stupid brain as she entered the bathroom.

"She only called you beautiful, it's not like she confessed her love for you," I mentally scolded myself as I took a seat on the bed, careful not to sit on her book.

I sat there for a few, just thinking about all the other things I could've said inside of just blurting out 'you're beautiful' like an absolutely idiot.

"Good one, Spencer," I hit my palm against my forehead, resting it there for a moment to try to figure out how to save the moment.

"Hey, did you say something?"

Tessa was the one who spoke up, who had now exited the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around her small frame. Her fawn hair had droplets of water falling on her shoulders, and her makeup free face made her look fresh and even more beautiful. God, am I happy she can't see my lower half now that I've covered myself with a blanket.

"Earth to Spencer?" She repeated, perking an eyebrow over at me, since she clearly must've seen I was just staring at her body. And that was when I tore my eyes from her gorgeous body and curves, and realized I've been staring at her for way too long.

"S-sorry," I stuttered, fiddling with my hands as they rest on my lap, not knowing what else to do in the moment.

"It's fine," she reassured me as she gently placed her suitcase on the bed, completely unlike me. She fisher out a pair of blue and red pajama pants and a white tank-top, and then says something under her breathe. "Crap."

"What is it?" I questioned immediately, raising my head back up to glance at her.

"I didn't bring, well, a big shirt. I like sleeping with baggy shirts," she fiddled around with her suitcase looking once more for a baggy shirt. She knocked a shirt or two out of it, and let out another groan as she did so.

"You...you can have mine," I suggested, already tugging at the ends of my shirt, although it takes me a few seconds since it got caught on my head. I handed it over to her, and my fingers grazed her soft skin, and I felt sparks echo throughout my skin.

"Uh, thanks," she took the shirt quickly and practically raced back to the bathroom.

Sparks. Body. Shirt.

What?