Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 33

My alarm goes off at 7:00 on Saturday but I don't get out of bed for another twenty minutes. I stare at the ceiling, the covers tossed back to my waist. I sleep in shorts and a bra, my stomach now exposed to the morning chill.

Elle will be here soon. We're spending the whole morning together. Just us. There's no denying my nervous excitement, the butterflies swarming in my stomach. I finally get out of bed and take a quick shower. I stand in front of my closet and try to decide what to wear.

I pick out my sleeveless black crop top, the one I know she likes. I sigh and put it back, annoyed I care what she thinks. Then I put it on anyways with a pair of cropped teal leggings and a black track jacket with white lines on the sleeves.

I'm lacing my sneakers when I hear the buzzer. I let her up and unlock the door. She knocks a few minutes later. "It's open!" I shout from the kitchen.

She walks in wearing a tight navy blue tank top and full length black leggings. A light grey sweatshirt hangs from her forearm, a small black pocketbook in her hand. Instead of flowing around her shoulders like usual, her hair is pulled back into a ponytail, exposing her face.

"Hey, you ready?" She leans onto the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Almost." I fill my water bottle and try to ignore how the tank top frames her chest. I throw a couple granola bars with the water into a black backpack. Slinging it over my shoulder, I smile at her. "I got up early for you, you know. The least you could've done is brought me a bagel or something," I joke. I walk around the island and lean beside her.

She rolls her eyes. "We're stopping on the way. I didn't want to get you something you don't like." She walks back to the door, leaving me speechless.

"Oh," I whisper. I follow her through the door, and she waits patiently as I lock it behind us.

"I like that shirt," she comments.

I smile sideways at her. "I know."

---

After stopping to grab bagels and coffee, we sit in comfortable silence, eating breakfast. Her window is open, the slight rush of wind fluttering the paper bag.

I notice she gets on the highway heading to western Virginia. "Wait, aren't we going to the Academy track?" I tilt my head in confusion.

She scoffs. "No way. You want a real run, you go to the woods."

I smile at her. "Says Manhattan."

She laughs and elbows me in the shoulder.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?"

She keeps her eyes on the road as she switches lanes. Her side profile is beautiful; the slope of her nose, the curl of eyelashes, her tongue pressed against her bottom lip. She glances at me and I look away quickly, realizing I'm staring. 

"Nope," she responds playfully.

---

A short while later she pulls over into an empty dirt patch beside a back road in Virginia. 

"When you said the woods, you really meant the woods," I remark as I step out of the car.

She walks around the car towards me. "Yep," she smiles. She steps behind me and puts a water bottle along with her phone, badge, and gun into the backpack I'm wearing.

"Hey! This thing is heavy enough."

She grips my shoulders, leaning forward so her head rests on my shoulder. "We'll take turns. Come on, C, this'll be fun."