Coffee & Pasta || S.R. [DISCONTINUED]

Fifteen

"Ah! Hey, ack- Thats cold-!" Spencer yelped, still laughing as Natalia tried to wipe the ice cream off his nose. They had grabbed some dine-in dinner for their date, and then settled on walking through a park with ice cream cones afterward. She thought it was hilarious that she reached up and bopped the bottom of his cone while he was trying to eat, resulting in him getting ice cream all over his face. 

"You're so sticky!" Natalia giggled, wiping his face with a napkin from her bag. "Who did this to you?" she joked, lowering her voice and pretending to be mad.

"I dont know!" He cried, playing along with her as she finished cleaning his face. "I couldnt see over the ice cream, I just know the perpetrator was short-"

"Hey! I'm five...wait a minute five three isnt very tall."

"Especially when Im six one, Nat." Spencer teased, taking her free hand with his as they began to walk again. "You have to stand on your toes just to hug over my shoulders."

"I...am condensed cuteness. You shush."

Spencer laughed, continuing to eat his ice cream as they walked and talked. "Thats true. Rossi showed us a picture of your black cat halloween costume from a few years ago and I just about died."

"Now THATS over exaggerating. You mean the one with the black body suit and the eyeliner whiskers?"

"Mhm. You hand your hands curled like paws and you were pretending to hiss at Rossi. It was the cutest; especially when he explained to us that you were tipsy and giggling like a dork so you couldnt even hiss properly." he teased, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "I cant wait to see things like that for myself. There are so many things I want to do with you."

Natalia blushed and grinned, finishing her bite of ice cream before looking up at him. "Oh? Like what, Dr. Reid~?" The smirk that showed up on his face made her feel much warmer than she should while eating her frozen treat.

"Well, Dr. Hawthe, to start I'd love to visit an amusement park with you. I wanna see how many rides you arent tall enough to go on-"

"Hey! Rude!"

Spencer laughed, playfully squinting at her. "Not rude, only truthful; I believe its called 'brutally honest'."

Natalia rolled her eyes, finishing off her ice cream cone and swallowing. "Yeah okay, sure. So thats one thing; what other things do you wanna do with me?"

Spencer chuckled and took a moment to finish his as well, the two of them pausing a moment to dispose of trash in a nearby bin, and he gratefully used the hand sanitizer she offered from her bag. "I also want to take you to California to visit some diving spots; I think you'd enjoy the colorful wildlife in a reef. Who knows, might take you home to-" he stopped himself, his own thoughts surprising him momentarily.

Natalia picked up on his mood shift, looking at him in concern. "Spen? You okay?"

Spencer looked down at her; and it sort of overwhelmed him all at once. How much he wanted to do with her. How much he wanted their relationship to work. How much he cared for her and wanted to spend his...his life, with her. He stood there staring at her, unable to find his words as she gazed back at him. Her heterochomatic eyes were worried, her brows upturned in confusion at his silence. He didnt know what to say to her. "I..."

Natalia didnt understand what happened just moments ago; she just knew that he was suddenly very disoriented. "Are you okay love?" she asked, stepping closer to him and resting her hands on his hips. She felt the tension in his body ease slightly; and a small sense of ease took her as well. She could still calm him-

Spencer interrupted her thoughts by grabbing her up in a hug, holding her tightly against him and just breathing her in. He was so overwhelmed by his own feelings, but he didnt know if hers were similar. If she was having the same thoughts. So instead, he just held her. 

Natalia was confused; of course she was confused. Still, she accepted him completely, like she always did, and just let him have his moment. She smiled, and hugged him back, standing up on her tip-toes and kissing his cheek. "Is that a yes?"

Spencer nodded, turning his head to kiss her lightly. He loved the feeling of her lips on his. He loved the feeling of her in his arms. He loved...her. As he accepted that within himself, her smiled at her. "You know I've always been weird about hugs...but I like them, from you."

Natalia giggled, nodding. "I know Spen. Are you okay, though?"

Spencer smiled a little bigger, and nodded. "Yeah. I just got caught up in my own head." he hummed. He wasnt quite ready to tell her. So instead, he continued on, walking and talking with her on their way back to his car. He smiled at her wiggling in his passenger seat to whatever music she was playing, at every stop light. He kissed her at her door, and greeted Noodle, who barked at him in greeting. He bid her goodnight, and waited until her lights were off to drive home. And once he was home, he texted Morgan. 

As Natalia relaxed into her bed, and fell asleep for the night, Spencer spilled out everything he had realized that night to his best friend; who was in for quite the surprise the next morning, when he saw the text..

Spencer: Morgan, I love her. I dont know how to say it. I was just talking about the things I want do with her and it hit me. I wanted her to meet my mom. I want to bring her home to my mom. I want my mom to like her. I want to spend my life with her. It hit me all at once and I froze. Everything went fine, but...I've never felt like this. I dont know what to do. What if she doesnt feel the same? We've only been officially dating a few months, Morgan. I mean she's been around for about a year now but...I dont know. I need to talk to you, when we get a chance. You're the only one I trust, the girls would tease me more than I know you will. At least you can keep it a secret. Ive never been in love before. What do I even tell her? ...Night Morgan. See you at work.

seen 7:16AM