iv. it only took you like a year
—LOLA NOVAK
oct. 1, 2017
[🪐]
TODAY WAS PRETTY MUCH
uneventful as ever. This job was beginning to get more and more boring as time passed, mainly because all BJ wanted me to do was sew some costumes up, or organize the costume rooms. The biggest thing we ever did was a yearly cast measurement so that we could get some new costumes.
I had been doing AJ and Kirsten's characters costumes for about a year now, so I was pretty good friends with those two. Actually, the entire Criminal Minds cast was super nice and friendly—it wasn't at all difficult to get close and talk to them.
Well, minus Matthew, but he's a different story.
I still didn't know what was up. Whenever I was around Shemar or something, he went off to who knows where, and whenever I caught him looking at me, he merely just looked away. It was weird, and honestly I kinda just wanted to talk to him about it at this point. I mean it's been a year, for god sakes.
I was in a dressing room, making some new pieces with some people on BJ's design team.
"Garcia's costumes are tragic." Parker Lewis, one of the younger interns, said distastefully, holding up the colorful skirt.
"Excuse me, I was the one who picked that out." I deadpanned, rolling my eyes.
"And you did a good job. She's supposed to look like she shops from Justice." Parker snorted, and I rolled my eyes.
"That skirt is vintage, mind you." I said, picking at my fingernails.
"You're a hoe for that stuff." He said, "I've never seen you wear a brand name item."
"I have Gucci sandals at home." I said, winking at the man.
"Why am I not surprised?" Parker scoffed.
I laughed, looking up as BJ walked inside, meeting my gaze.
"I have to speak to the producers so can you do Matthew's measurements today?" She asked me, and I gulped, glancing over at Parker.
"Girl, don't look at me. Go." He said, smirking at me.
"Also, measure his feet. I wanna get him new converse." BJ said, patting my shoulder as I walked past.
"You spoil him, BJ." I scoffed.
"No, I spoil Spencer Reid." BJ winked.
"Where even is he???" I asked with slight annoyance.
BJ shrugged, "exactly why I'm making you do it, because I'm too lazy to chase him down right now."
I groaned, shaking my head and walking outside to where all the trailers were parked. I saw Paget Brewster standing outside and talking to some people, calling our her name and running.
"Lola!" She exclaimed, "what's up???"
"Where's Matthew?" I asked her, seeing her groomed eyebrows furrow.
"Probably in his trailer. Why? Is this a trailer hookup going underway?"
I grimaced at the thought, pretending to gag and puke. "Gross. And no, I need to do measurements." I said, looking at her wearily. Paget saw the look and burst out laughing.
"You don't look too happy about that."
"It's gonna be awkward. He's so quiet around me." I whined.
"Then talk." Paget deadpanned.
"It's not that easy." I rolled my eyes. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to be affiliated with me."
She raised an eyebrow, smirking. "I don't see how your so sure he hates you."
"Then tell me why he avoids me like some pandemic?" I asked her.
Paget pursed her lips together, "why don't you ask him?"
"Nah." I mumbled, "toodles." I said, walking off to Matthew's trailer. I drew in a sharp breath before the door, proceeding to knock on it.
"Shemar, I already said—" Matthew started, swinging the door open. The blood rushed to my face, seeing his entire torso bare. I proceeded to look him in the eyes, telling myself that I had at least some dignity and could look at him without feeling shy.
Matthew's eyes went wide, and he turned around immediately, running back inside like a terrified squirrel. I waited for him, feeling hot everywhere as I recalled his smooth skin and slightly toned muscles. I wasn't surprised he was fit, I mean he kinda had to be in order to be a model and all of that.
My face was stoic as he came back, wearing a sweatshirt now. He also put on his glasses, which I found weirdly attractive on the man. I felt somewhat satisfied seeing the pink blush on his cheeks.
"W-what's up?" He stammered, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I need to get your measurements." I said flatly, trying to not make it seem like I'd been affected by him. "For new orders." I clarified, and the man gulped hard, nodding.
"Do you wanna do it in here, or....? I can go wherever—" Matthew said, and I nodded at the man, lifting up the tape measure.
"We can just do it in there. It'll be quick." I mumbled, and he nodded, stepping back and letting me inside before closing the trailer door. I paused, glancing around. It was surprisingly messy in here, his desk covered in scattered scripts and his clothes lying all over the place. It...also smelled like pasta or something, which honestly could be worse. Shemar's trailer smelled like feet and sweat 24/7, so I wasn't complaining.
I said nothing, turning to him. Matthew was staring at me, and when I met his eyes he diverted his. He couldn't seriously still be shy over a newbie. No matter what, I couldn't understand why I flustered him so much. I mean, he was a celebrity and all, and I was literally just a woman with a middle-income job.
I let out a soft sigh, going for his arms first and measuring his bicep. I felt his gaze land on mine again, making me ten times more nervous as I wrote the measurements down on my phone. I looked back up and grabbed his wrist, trying to act all casual as I lifted it to measure the length of his arm. My cheeks grew warm and I heard Matthew clear his throat softly.
"I-uh, I've never met a someone with crazier hair than mine." He admitted nervously.
I glanced up at the man, raising my eyebrow. Matthew did have some crazy curls, although the stylists always straightened it out a little before shoots.
"Um...thanks?" I asked, not sure if he was complimenting me or not.
"You're welcome." Matthew said, his voice much lighter. "Wanna go out with me?"
I paused, nearly choking on thin air and meeting his gaze, which was now playful. "Matthew, you've ignored me for a year and the first conversation we have, you're asking me out???"
He smiled, suddenly not nervous anymore and in return, making me even more nervous. I felt my cheeks grow hot, letting go of his wrist and trying to act all casual.
"Look, I-I'm sorry about that. I'd explain to you why but it's a little complicated and I really don't think it's something you're interested in hearing, so—" Matthew said quickly, his ears pink as he gulped hard, cringing.
"Can we just start over? Hi, I'm Matthew." He said flatly, extending his arm to me.
A small smile made its way to my face, not being able to deny that charm he had. I always knew he was super cool to be around, by how he acted when I wasn't there, but Matthew actually talking to me felt...pretty good.
I took his arm and shook it firmly. "I'm Lola. Very nice to meet you."
"Very nice to meet you as well. By the way, the asking you out thing was a joke." Matthew explained, "I-I mean, unless you want to then it's not a joke." He said quickly, wearing a small smile.
I pursed my lips together, pretending to think. "I'll...get back to you on that." I said, hearing a breathy chuckle escape his lips.
"Great. Then we can get married afterwards." Matthew said, and I laughed.
"Where would our honeymoon be?" I asked the man, playing along as I measured his shoulders, awkwardly facing him and forcing myself not to meet his eyes because it'd be awkward as hell.
"I was thinking we get lost in the Amazon forest, make out a lot, and live off of edible fungi only." Matthew said, and I felt my cheeks grow red at the single thought of that, letting out an amused laugh. He was seriously charming.
"Too bad deforestation and the fact that it's on fire, exists." I said.
"We can put it out, I'm sure." He said lightly.
I glanced up at him, "just us?"
"Just us."
"I'd rather not spend my last moments burning." I shot back, "and with you, because you're just absolutely horrible to be around." I said dramatically.
"Hey! You've only spoken to me for probably like five minutes!" He protested, and I laughed.
"I'm kidding. I can tolerate you, I guess." I said jokingly.
"I think I can get you to do more." Matthew said flirtatiously, and I met his eyes, unable to keep the grin from spreading to my cheeks.
"I absolutely cannot stand you." I said, giving him a playful smirk before wrapping my arms around his torso to measure it. I felt Matthew tense up a little, again, not lifting my head because it'd make this ten times more awkward.
"It's only the first day and you're already all over me, Lola." He muttered softly, his voice close to my ear and making my heart jump in my chest.
"Sorry. I can't keep my hands to myself sometimes." I told him. I liked this whole flirty joking thing we had going on—it was honestly kinda fun.
"That's okay. I don't mind." Matthew replied, and I rolled my eyes, letting out a laugh before retracting and writing down his waist measurements.
"I thought you hated me this whole time, to be honest." I muttered, wrapping the tape measure around his hips now and ignoring how awkward this felt, especially now that I've entered the lower body region.
"Nah." He replied, "I don't hate you."
"Cool." I nodded, suddenly feeling awkward again. I wanted to ask him why he acted like he did, but since Matthew himself wasn't already justifying it, I assumed he just didn't want to talk about why he ignored me.
"Is your hair naturally like this?" Matthew asked me curiously.
I nodded at the man, "it's dyed a little lighter, but other than that, I was born with it." I told him.
"Cool..." He muttered, staring at it now, "I really like it."
"Thanks." I said awkwardly. "If I brushed it, I could probably fill this entire trailer with it." I laughed, and he chuckled.
"We should test that out."
"Absolutely not. It becomes such a hassle." I muttered.
"Beauty is pain, my dear." Matthew shot back, and I blushed at his statement.
I was about to reach down and measure his crotch to waistband area, then paused, awkwardly staring at his zipper. I glanced back at him, pursing my lips together.
"So uh...it's our first day actually talking and I'd rather not make things weird by measuring your crotch, so...." I paused, feeling my cheeks grow hot as I held out the tape measure, seeing him grin and laugh in amusement.
"You don't want to? How absurd of you to pass up an offer like this." Matthew said, taking the tape measure and measure the zipper area himself.
"Oh shut up." I rolled my eyes. "Measure your butt while you're at it, also."
"My—uh..." He furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "Like, the length of it?"
I snorted, shaking my head. "Like, all around." I said, drawing a circle with my index finger.
"Ah, I see." Matthew mumbled, doing so and then passing me the tape measure as I wrote everything down.
"Thanks." I said.
"Do I have a big butt?"
"No, I think Joe's is larger." I said lightly, and his jaw dropped.
"I find that highly offensive, Lola." He said accusingly.
"Oh shut up. Not that I look or anything, but you have a butt." I said casually.
"Wow, really? I had no clue." Matthew said sarcastically. "And you absolutely do look." He smirked cockily, and I rolled my eyes.
I went down on my knees in front of him to measure his long legs, already feeling the blush grow on my cheeks at how strange this felt, knowing what this would look like if someone walked in on us.
"Whoa there, Lola." Matthew said, his voice tinged with nervousness. I rolled my eyes, looking up at him with a blank face and seeing his cocky little smirk.
"I despise you." I shot back.
"All you had to do was ask." He said jokingly.
"Matthew," I sighed, rolling my eyes as I wrapped the tape around his thigh, and then his ankles.
"I feel like this weirdly personal activity is making us bond." Matthew said, and I snorted, biting back another smile.
"Yup. Because we're so close now." I said.
"I know. You should let me measure you." He said, and I chuckled.
"....I'll pass." I said, awkwardly patting his knee before getting up, brushing the hair out of my face. Matthew flashed me a small smile, and I felt my heart flutter the tiniest bit.
"Done?" He asked me.
"Yeah." I nodded. "Oh wait, I need to measure your feet."
Matthew scrunched his face up, grabbing my wrist as I was bending down. "Stop it. I'm not a child." He chuckled.
I lifted my head, grinning as I passed him the tape measure. "Yesterday you got your foot stuck in a gate and made five crew members bend it so you could get out. You're a child." I deadpanned.
"God, you saw that? How embarrassing..." he mumbled dramatically. "My ankle is still purple." Matthew said, taking off his shoe. A smile broke out on my face seeing his mismatched socks of the day.
"Cool sock." I told him, and his head snapped up, eyebrows furrowing.
"What?"
"I said cool sock." I repeated, and he laughed.
"I heard cock." Matthew grumbled, and I snorted.
"You're ridiculous." I said, "by the way, BJ wants to get Reid new shoes."
"Finally. I've been wearing those black converse for nine seasons straight." He rolled his eyes.
"I told her that she spoils Reid." I said, "I mean, it's practically like a set rule or something for you to have to look better than everyone else on set."
Matthew smirked at me cockily, "well, maybe it's because I always looked better than everyone else in general." He said jokingly.
"Ah, right." I nodded, writing down the last of the measurements. I looked back up at him, seeing the soft smile on his lips and his glimmering eyes. Matthew's eyes reminded me of a pug's eyes or something. So big and deeply set—it was really attractive. And his horribly dark circles added to that attraction, oddly enough.
"Well, I should probably leave you be." I said awkwardly, feeling myself begin to blush again.
"Thanks, Lola." Matthew nodded, running a hand through his hair and following me to his door. "So uh, wanna not ignore each other everyday from now on?" He asked me, and I turned to him, smiling.
"I would like that."
[🪐]
a/n:
the chapters from now on are going
to be unedited btw
i don't support mgg anymore
but I have pre written drafts for this
so i'll update until I run out—if the stuff
going on isnt clarified or addressed
this book is being discontinued bc
I don't fw what's happening, and i
can't write when I see him in this
different perspective now.
but spencer reid ≠ matthew so my
spencey books will all get continuous
updates :)