Smitten

Chapter 6

Eliza and the gang soon spot JJ and Penelope inside another giant booth close to the bar, just like the restaurant. Aaron and Dave soon catch up.

"You guys!! Did you rent a booth for the night?!" Eliza asks.

"You got that right! You have so much to celebrate! AND the booth comes with cocktail service," Penelope beams as Eliza spots the champagne bottle in a bucket of ice on the table.

"I literally love you all so much!!! Thank you! I wouldn't want to be here with anyone else. Now CHEERS, BITCHES!" She says as she pops the cork on the bottle and starts to pour into glasses as everyone cheers. She then enjoys her share straight from the bottle. Aaron is quiet, just smiling to himself and enjoying his surroundings. Everyone else is still sipping their drinks when "In Da Club" by 50 Cent starts to play. Eliza turns to Derek, who's already looking in her direction.

"Awwwwww shit...Derek, baby, do you know what time it is??" Eliza asks.

"Hell yeah mama, let's hit it!" After Eliza polishes off the rest of the champagne, Derek takes her hand and leads them toward the dance floor. Everyone but Aaron, Dave, and Spencer follow them.

Derek and Eliza start to dance together, and the rest of the gang circles around and dances too. Derek and Eliza get pretty close, and he's making her laugh quite a bit. About halfway through the song, Eliza starts dancing up on him. This is just how they act on any other night out with the whole crew, but Aaron doesn't know that and clenches his fists without realizing.

"Whoa Hotch, are you alright?" Spencer asks innocently after seeing Aaron tense up.

Aaron realizes what he's doing and blushes. "Oh uh—yeah, I'm fine." He cracks his neck and gulps down the rest of his champagne before leaving for the bar to get something stronger.

Dave turns to Spencer. "He's got it bad," he says. Spencer nods in agreement.

"Did he forget we have a waiter for the night?" Spencer asks.

"I'd say his mind is *elsewhere* at the moment, kiddo," Rossi replies.

A little later, the gang returns from the dance floor to order more liquor—1942 for the girls, Jack and Coke for Morgan. By then, Aaron has returned with his second scotch.

"Hey heyyyyy, stranger," Eliza says to Aaron, second tequila in hand, definitely tipsy at this point.

"Hey yourself," Aaron says.

"Is someone grouchy?" Eliza asks.

"N-no," Aaron replies.

"You know Aaron, I may not be a profiler, but I know a jealous man when I see one. You know, you can just come and dance with me. Or, dance on me..." she says into his ear, trailing her hand down his back. She then struts away with her friends, but not before finishing her tequila and playfully slapping Aaron's ass on her way back to the dance floor. Aaron's jaw drops. Dave notices Aaron staring into space and walks over to him.

"Aaron? Aaron? Earth to Aaron?" He says, waving his hand in front of Aaron's face and scoffs. "Not smitten my ass."

"Actually, I think a better word is enamored," Spencer pops in before heading to the dance floor to join the others. They return a little later for more drinks. Eliza walks up to Aaron and Dave, draping her arms across both their shoulders, having had another tequila and taken two more shots.

"So," she starts, slightly slurring her words. "When are my favorite G-Man and the Italian Stallion coming to dance? Because this bitch hopes it is SOON!"

JJ comes over to the three of them. "Alright sis, come back we have more drinks!!" she says, slightly drunk herself.

"Duty calls," she says, leaving the men to themselves.

"Well?" Dave asks Aaron.

"Well what?" Aaron replies.

"No offense Aaron, but you've been a stick in the mud ever since we've gotten here. You know we don't care if you have some FUN, right? RIGHT?" Dave says, nudging him toward the dance floor. "Go, G-Man, go!!!"

Aaron downs the rest of his scotch, rolls up his sleeves, and heads straight toward Eliza, who's now back dancing with the others. At this point, Trey Songz's "Say Aah" is playing, and Eliza and Derek are getting close again. He taps Derek's shoulder and takes his place behind Eliza, grabbing her hips with a very tight grip—enough to leave a bruise or two.

"What the fuck?!" Eliza says, before glancing up to see who's got a hold of her.

"Ahhh, took you long enough," Eliza turns around and whispers up to his ear. She can absolutely tell he's into it, and it doesn't take long for the rest of the gang to notice.

"Atta boy," Dave says, hanging in the booth with Spencer, who's since returned and has switched to water.

"Fuck, I've been replaced," Derek says from the dance floor, playfully hanging his head in sadness.

"Oh baby boy, don't act so sad," Penelope says. "I'm always available—and by always, I mean ALWAYS," licking her lips.

"Is this just WEIRD for anyone else??" Emily protests.

"Awww Emily," JJ says with sympathy. "Wanna take a shot to forget about it?"

"You read my mind," she says as they head for the bar.

"Wait for us, wait for us, wait for us!!!" Penelope shouts as she grabs Eliza away from Aaron to head to the bar, a new song playing as they run away to join the other girls. Aaron just laughs softly from where Eliza left him.

That song ends, and Megan Thee Stallion's "Girls in the Hood" comes on. The girls quickly down their shots at the bar before running back to the dance floor to prove that they know their Megan. Derek just laughs and shakes his head. Aaron has no idea what just happened, and he heads toward Derek for clarity before seeing the girls spitting all of the lyrics. They all know the words, but it's clear that Eliza is the star, the others having made a dance circle around her. She glances back at Aaron several times.

"It's like a code the way they ran over here. It's adorable," Aaron says with his arms crossed, having since gained more liquid courage.

"Nah man, you think THAT one is adorable," Derek says, pointing to Eliza singing and dancing like nobody's watching.

"You got me," Aaron says as he continues to watch the girls dance and scream the lyrics.

"I know you're my boss Hotch, but if you hurt her, I do think I'd have to kill you—or at least help Prentiss do it," Derek says.

"Consider me warned," Aaron says.

"You really like her, don't you?" Derek says, with a small smile on his face. He's surprised to see his boss so...relaxed. He can tell it's not just the liquor.

"I do...it's crazy, we just met but—"

"Hey hey man, don't question the heart. Just—enjoy it. You deserve it," Derek says, patting his shoulder.

Aaron just smiles as a reply. They head back to join the rest of the men when the girls come back over, a tray full of shots in their hands.

"Did you girls forget that we PAID somebody to do that for us?" Rossi insists, shaking his head.

"Yeah well, we got impatient. We have insatiable thirsts," Eliza says drunkenly, sitting herself down next to Aaron and putting his arm around her shoulders, snuggling up to him. Aaron doesn't bother hiding his smile anymore.

"Alright, drink up y'all!! Cheers!!!" JJ say. Everyone grabs a glass, and Eliza drops hers.

"Aww fuck me," she says. "Hey, at least it missed my dress. I'm gonna grab another...anybody want more?"

"Ooooh me me me!" Penelope shouts, and they loop arms and skip over toward the bar. They see there are two bartenders working, so they split up across the large bar to get what they need faster. That's when a strange man tries to make a move on Eliza...