Title: Getting To Know You
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Spencer Reid
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Spencer Reid, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.***
"You don't look like the kind of guy who would be hiring an escort," Greg blurted out before he could stop himself. Almost immediately, he looked down at the ground, wishing that he hadn't let his tongue run away with him. It was a bad habit that he had to curb.
Before his eyes focused on the ground in front of his feet, he had caught a brief glimpse of the expression on Spencer's face; the other man hadn't looked annoyed at his words, but rather bemused. As long as those words hadn't angered or upset him, that was the important thing.
"I've never done it before," Spencer admitted, sounding somewhat embarrassed by his own words. "But I've been feeling kind of lonely, and I'm here for a few more days, so I thought I'd .... treat myself," he finished, his voice soft and a little husky.
"You're only here for a few days?" Greg felt his heart sinking into his shoes; he had hoped that Spencer would say he lived here in Vegas. The last thing he needed was to lose his heart to someone who he would more than likely never see again after tonight.
"Yeah, I'm just here visiting my mom," Spencer explained, going to the small couch near the window of the hotel room. "I have to go back to DC in four days. Maybe sooner, if I get called back. There's no telling if that could happen, but I'm hoping that it won't."
"Sounds like you've got a pretty important job, if they call you in a lot when you're taking time off for your family," Greg commented, sitting down in the chair near the couch. He would know in a few moments if Spencer preferred him to be sitting on the couch by his side.
Every nerve in his body was attuned to Spencer's movements, to the least flicker of expression on those handsome features. Greg desperately hoped that Spencer would move over on the couch, do anything to indicate that he should move over and sit there.
"I work for the government," Spencer told him, those dark eyes searching his face. "Speaking of jobs, it's hard for me to see somebody like you being happy as an escort. Don't you want to do something more? You don't seem like the kind of person who'd do this all their life."
"I haven't been doing it for very long," Greg said, suddenly feeling defensive. "I have another job -- a day job. I just switched from one place to another, and I took a major pay cut to do it. So I kind of had to find a way to make money that didn't interfere with that."
Spencer nodded, as though the explanation made perfect sense to him. "I just hope you don't run into any people who give you trouble," he said softly, his gaze still intently focused on Greg's face. "I'd hate to think of you getting hurt by somebody who oversteps the boundaries."
"There aren't a lot of boundaries," Greg said with a shrug. He didn't want to go into all of the things that had happened to him since he'd become an escort -- that would take all night, and besides, he had the feeling that Spencer wasn't really interested in hearing about that.
"There should be," Spencer told him, sounding a little annoyed. "If the agency you work for doesn't protect their escorts, then they shouldn't even be in business." He regarded Greg with a slight frown on his face, finally shaking his head. "But talking about that isn't why you're here."
"I was going to ask you about that," Greg murmured, wondering if Spencer would turn out to be one of those guys who only wanted to go out somewhere, to have a guide around Vegas. No, that was ridiculous. He'd said that he was here visiting family.
That meant that he more than likely knew his way around the city. That would mean that he was probably only interested in the sex; that thought came as a disappointment to Greg, but wasn't it what was pretty much expected from him any time he met a client?
He'd wanted Spencer to be different, but he should have learned by now that men only thought about one thing when they hired a male escort. They wanted a warm body to lose themselves in for the evening, nothing more. They weren't looking for a partner.
It was stupid to think that he could ever be anything more to anyone he met in this line of work but just another body that they took for a night, or even for a few nights. He wasn't a person to them; he was only someone they spent a few hours of pleasure with and then forgot.
With an effort, he brought his thoughts back to what Spencer was saying, trying to concentrate on the other man's voice. What he heard made his eyes widen; no one had ever talked to him like this before, at least not as sincerely as Spencer seemed to be.
"You're too good for something like this," Spencer said softly, leaning forward and reaching for Greg's hand. "Don't ask me how I know that -- I can just tell. You should be doing a lot more than letting random guys use your body. You should be with somebody who loves you."
"I wish I was," Greg whispered before he could stop himself. "But I've never found that person. And I don't think he exists." He was shocked that he'd let a part of himself out so easily that he usually kept deeply buried -- and shocked that Spencer could reach inside him and pull it out.
"I wish I could be that person, Greg," Spencer murmured, his grip on Greg's fingers tightening. "But I'm not here for very long. I can't be what you need on a permanent basis -- but I can be there for you when you need me. I'll try to be, if you want that."
"Why do you care so much?" Greg asked, unable to stop himself. "You're not going to see me again after tonight, are you? Just enjoy me while you can and then forget me when I walk out of the door later. It's what everybody does. I'm used ot it."
Spencer sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "I care because I felt something for you the second I opened the door and saw you standing there," he admitted, opening his eyes again to fix his gaze on Greg's face. "I don't know why. It just .... kind of happened."
"I felt the same way when I first saw you," Greg managed to say, feeling his throat start to close. "I don't know why, either -- it's not like I expect to find somebody to love me from being an escort. But you just seemed -- I don't know, different from all the others."
He stopped, not knowing what else to say. It sounded silly, now that he was putting his feelings into words -- how could an escort who was only here to service a client let themselves fall head over heels for a man they didn't even know? But he'd apparently done just that.
It was crazy. It didn't make any sense whatsoever. But it had happened -- and he wasn't fighting those feelings. He couldn't. There was something about Spencer that drew him, and he knew that he was going to have a hard time forcing himself to pull away.
"This can't last more than a few days, Greg," Spencer said, his voice heavy with regret. "I wish I could promise you more than that, but I'd be lying if I said I could. I can be your friend, from a distance -- but the two of us having a relationship isn't really in the cards."
Greg nodded, blinking to keep back sudden tears that had risen behind his eyes. He knew that there was no way he and Spencer could have any kind of a lasting relationship, but it still hurt to acknowledge that fact. They would just have to take what they could get.
He was determined to enjoy what time he could have with Spencer -- and maybe they could see each other again the next time he was here. It wasn't much, and he knew they both wanted more, but it was better than nothing. And it was all they had.
"We'll just make the most of the time that we've got, then," he said, clearing his throat and hoping that the other man didn't notice the catch in his voice when he spoke. "You've got a few days and nights, right? Let's spend as much of them together as we can."
"My thoughts exactly," Spencer said with a smile. Greg couldn't help thinking that his smile still carried a melancholy sadness; why couldn't they have met when Spencer still lived here, when they could have had a future? Why did fate have to bring them together, only to tear them apart?
Well, he intended to get started on making the most of their time together by making the first move. Greg stood up, one hand on his hip, the other unbuttoning the top button of his shirt, then the next one. He didn't take his gaze from Spencer's face, wanting to see the other man's reaction.
Was it just his imagination, or did Spencer look .... stunned? Greg had to fight back a smile; he was in control now, giving the client what they wanted -- and maybe something they didn't realize they had wanted until they realized that he was going to take his clothes off.
Leaning forward, he placed one knee on the couch, bending over Spencer and finally letting the smile that had been building up break out. "What do you say we forget about going out and spend tonight getting to know each other a lot better?" he whispered, his gaze holding the other man's.
He almost moaned aloud as Spencer reached up to cup his face with both hands; a moment later, their lips met, the kiss searing into Eric's very soul. This might not be something that could last forever -- but it was going to be a part of his life that he would never forget.***
- Criminal Minds - home page
- New stories
- Reid/Morgan
- Reid/Hotch
- Reid/Gideon
- Hotch/Rossi
- Hotch/Morgan
- Hotch/Gideon
- Prentiss/JJ
- JJ/Garcia
- Prentiss/Garcia
- Morgan/Garcia
- JJ/Reid
- JJ/Morgan
- Prentiss/Reid
- Hotch/Prentiss
- Morgan/Prentiss
- Other pairings
- Gen stories