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“I don’t think I've ever had a coffee date with someone who doesn’t drink coffee.”
“I drink coffee once in a while but I do prefer tea. Anyway, this isn’t a coffee date; it’s a bike riding date.”
“I stand corrected.” Beth smiled and her dimples showed.
Wow, Hotch thought, now I know why there are people out there who find my dimples incredibly attractive. She’s beautiful.
“You kept up pretty well with me today. I think you're going to do better than you think.” Hotch said.
“I think there's a bathtub and some bath salts screaming my name.” Beth replied. “Take a deep breath and listen…I think you can hear it from here.”
Hotch took a deep breath. He blocked out all around him and just heard the wind and muted voices. Then he smiled. “Its coming from the NW; perhaps Alexandria.”
Beth laughed, sipping her coffee. God, he was cute and funny. And he was really, really cute. Something had to be wrong with him. She just did not care at the moment. There was plenty of time to be extremely disappointed. Most people wanted it over with quickly if it was going to be awesome. It had been so long since Beth had a nice time out…she wanted to enjoy every moment.
“How do you survive at the Justice Department without coffee?” she asked.
“Believe me, I know people who freebase the stuff. But tea has caffeine as well. Plus, I like it with honey, which is a natural stimulant.”
“Honey has a variety of very stimulating purposes, yes.” Beth laughed and Hotch laughed with her. “I said that out loud didn’t I?”
“Yes,” his dimples were in full bloom. “Yes, you did.”
“No more of this stuff for me.” she playfully pushed her coffee cup away. “What did they put in it?”
“I don't know but I have a feeling you're funny even without it.”
“I used to crack my dad up; but I don’t think that counts. Good dads always laugh when they're supposed to. I think it’s an instinctual thing.”
“I think you're right.” Hotch replied. His father never laughed with him. He hardly remembered his father laughing at all. “What convinced you to do a triathlon?”
“You first.” She said.
“I wanted something to focus on. I've been…scattered for a while. I work a lot, I go home; I wasn’t living. But my brain couldn’t seem to calm down. So a friend thought the discipline might help me focus again. And getting into better shape was an extra bonus.”
“I've definitely been getting into shape. I'm no slouch but I couldn’t touch my toes a couple of months ago without hearing something creak.” She laughed a bit. “I'm approaching the wrong side of 40; gravity isn’t going to be my friend for much longer. But my reason was more personal.
“My dad died of MS. He had it for a very long time and we watched it rob him of so much. It never took his spirit though. I wanted to do this for him and for the people in his support group. Just one last I love you before I had to let go.”
Hotch could hardly find the words to tell her how noble and wonderful he thought that was. Maybe he should say it just like that but something in him couldn’t get all the way there. He just smiled; he felt everything she was saying deep in his belly. Hotch hoped that she knew that his smile meant all the things words couldn’t convey.
“What's had you so scattered for a while, Aaron?” she asked.
“I lost my wife two years ago.”
There was no need to say anything more. Truthfully, Hotch didn’t even want to say that but he also didn’t want to lie. It was just an awkward conversation and while some would say those were best to get out of the way quickly, he didn’t know if he believed that. This had been a nice morning but who knew if it would lead to anything else. Beth didn’t need his whole sad sack history. He didn’t want to be pitied, even by a really beautiful woman.
“Oh Aaron,” she put her hand over his. “I'm sorry. Was she sick?”
“Do you mind if we don’t talk about it?” he asked, clearing his throat.
“Of course.” Beth nodded. She lost her train of thought for a moment, needed to pick it up again. She had her own sad story but it was nothing compared to that. Pick a new subject, her mind screamed. You didn’t mean to make this wrong turn but it’s your responsibility to find the right way. “Has the training helped your focus as you'd hoped?”
“It was working well.” Hotch replied.
“Was?”
“I find myself a little distracted at the moment.” he smiled.
She couldn’t help but smile too. Not really wanting to, Beth moved her hand and placed it back in her lap. With the other she finished drinking her coffee.
“Maybe if we trained together, when your schedule permits, we can find a nice balance of focus and distraction. Balance is very important.”
“I couldn’t agree more. But maybe next time we should see a movie or have a little dinner. It’ll be less pressure on your quadriceps.”
“It would.” She nodded, still smiling. “Do you like Alan J. Pakula?”
“I’m not entirely sure.”
“Georgetown University is doing a symposium of his work next week. Thursday evening they're showing Klute. Its one of my favorite films; I have a bit of a crush on Donald Sutherland.”
“My schedule is crazy; I travel for work so I don’t even know if I’ll even be in town next Thursday.”
“But if you are…”
“Then you have a date.” Hotch smiled. “And if I'm not, it'll be disappointing.”
“If you tell injustice to take the week off then I’ll do the same for events.” Beth said.
“What exactly does an event coordinator do?”
“It’s a fancy schmancy term for a party planner. I've pretty much been doing this my entire life but I must say that my current job pays a lot more than planning Mandy Rubenstein’s bat mitzvah did when I was 13. Still, all these years later Concord can't stop talking about it.”
“You're from New Hampshire?”
“Yes. I'm a New England girl through and through. I like winter, football, syrup, and know way too much about Colonial American history.”
“How did you end up in DC?” Hotch asked.
“I got my Masters from GWU in Political Science and I never left. Then I realized that political theory is much more compelling than actual politics. I don’t like things that leave bad tastes in my mouth.”
“I hate politics.”
“Something else we have in common.” Beth smiled. “It must be hard to do your job and not face that wall everyday.”
“It’s extremely difficult. I have a good team and they help.”
“I have a good team too. The commonalities keep stacking up.”
“What's your favorite song?”
“It’s a slightly obscure Hall and Oates song called So Close.”
“It’s not that obscure.” Hotch replied. “At least it’s not to me.”
“What's yours?”
“In My Life.”
“You're a Beatles fan.”
“Yeah.” he nodded. “I love all kinds of music. That was one happy staple of childhood. My mother loved music. Her moods changed a lot; the songs she listened to helped me gauge what kind of day she was having.”
“That’s funny because with my mom it was her silence. She’s a chatterbox.” Beth laughed. “When she wasn’t talking, I knew something was wrong.”
“Is she still in Concord?”
“Yes.”
“It must be hard to be so far away with your dad gone.” Hotch said.
“My brother is there. He teaches at Dartmouth.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.”
“He thinks so too.” she smiled. “He's a math professor so one of their children is an Ivy League genius.”
“What's the other one?” he asked.
“I’m good at a lot of things…math not being one of them. It took a while but I've found a comfortable place in this world.”
“I envy you.”
“Don’t.” she shook her head. “I had my share of ass kicker moments to get there.”
“I'm pretty familiar with those.”
“Then we’ll just fun.” Beth said. “You wanna have some fun?”
“Yes.” Hotch nodded. “It’s been a while.”
“I’ll ease you into it.”
“OK.”
He didn’t know what else to say. A conversation with a stranger was never easy and Hotch was just so used to holding everything close to the cuff. Of course since Beth approached him it was clear she already knew what she wanted. The fact that it might be him still boggled his mind. But he had a great morning with her.
The wind on his face, his heart pumping in his chest, the smell of her perfume in front or behind him made for an amazing bike ride. The feel of her hand on top of his was quite nice too. Hotch couldn’t remember when he’d felt like this the last time. It had been decades and that was a damn shame. He looked at Beth as she looked at her watch.
“I should probably get home, have a shower, and get my day started.”
“Oh, I don’t want to keep you.”
“I’d love to stay but I have a fundraiser on Wednesday evening. Last minute mania is an event coordinator’s nemesis. My cell phone probably would've gone off 50 times by now if I wouldn’t have turned it off.”
“Cell phones have an off button?” Hotch asked.
“Ouch.” She laughed. “OK, you definitely need to have some fun.”
“I did today.”
“I'm glad.”
“How are you getting home?” Hotch asked. “You're not going to bike are you?”
“No, I'm going to grab the train. I live in Georgetown.”
“I can give you a lift. I even have a bike rack on top of my SUV.”
“Maybe next time.” she smiled.
“I understand.” He nodded. He liked that she didn’t want to get in his car just yet. He could be a serial killer. His charm and conversational skills didn’t make him any less dangerous to a woman alone in a car. She was smart, he liked that.
They left the coffee shop together, going over to the racks where their bikes were waiting. Hotch helped Beth with hers before unlocking his own.
“Are you biking back to the park?” she asked.
“Yeah; I could use the practice.”
“Alright. So I’ll give you a call on Tuesday to see if you're available for the movie?”
“That’s a good idea. Now you just have to tell me how to end this. I haven’t been on a date in a really long time.”
Smiling, Beth gave him a hug and kissed his cheek.
“That’s how we end it.” she said.
“That’s a good way.” he smiled. “I had fun today.”
“So did I, Aaron. I’ll talk to you soon.”
He watched her walk away and didn’t turn to leave until she was around the corner and out of his sight. Should he have kissed her? Was this a real date or a not real date? Was there such a thing as a not real date? Thursday, if it happened, was definitely going to be a real date.
Maybe he should just call this a victory and prepare for the tougher test. Of course seeing a movie meant he wouldn’t have to talk too much. That might be a good thing. Hotch had done OK today though, better than OK. Other than the mention of Haley and the drop in his stomach when it happened, this morning with Beth had been very nice. He wanted to see her again.
He had no doubt about that. One of the perks of being the boss was that Hotch could declare it a paperwork week so long as no emergency came through. Climbing back on his bike, he smiled. They were taking it slow; having fun was essential. Hotch would stop having fun if he started to think too much. So he took a deep breath and had a leisurely ride back to the park where they met.
***