Chapter Text
“You looked like you needed another.”
Hailey slightly jumped as a new bottle of beer was placed in front of her. Kim slid into the booth across from her, a sympathetic smile on her face.
Hailey quickly took a long sip. The refreshing taste of a cold beer was a welcomed distraction. “Thanks.” She told her co-worker. Her eyes however were elsewhere, particularly on a booth on the other side of Molly’s.
Where her partner Jay Halstead was sitting. And not alone. He was with a gorgeous woman. They looked like they knew each other well too, as when the woman arrived they embraced in a tight hug.
She had feelings for him, she’s known this for awhile now. During work it was easier to manage, putting her focus into cases.
Interacting with him outside of Intelligence was difficult at times. She tried to avoid him at first, but that proved to be impossible. He was her closest friend. Not only was she unable to keep her distance, he made it difficult as well. His texts about grabbing a bite to eat, watching tv, or having drinks.... they seemed to have heightened ever since he was shot.
Realistically, she knew nothing has changed in that regard. He was contacting her the same amount as he always has. Reminding herself of this did nothing to ease the thoughts and feelings she was experiencing though. It was impossible to go back to how she was with him before.
So far she’s been managing it well. But with a front row seat of Jay interacting with another woman.....she wasn’t sure how much more she could take.
Kim reached out and touched her arm. “You should talk to him.” She was clearly referencing Jay.
Hailey feigned nonchalance. “He looks busy.” She couldn’t keep the bitterness fully out of her voice.
Kim rolled her eyes. “He’s never too busy for you.”
The way Jay was leaning forward and smiling said otherwise. With a sigh, Hailey got up from the booth, unable to stomach the sight any longer.
“I’m heading out.” She told Kim, pulling out some cash despite the protests. “Thanks for the drink.” She took the bottle with her, planning on throwing it out as she left the bar.
If she was in the front of Molly’s, her escape would have been simple. But no, she was in the back. And more concerning, Jay was in the front.
She was tempted to ask Stella if she could head out the back door reserved for employees, but felt silly. She was a grown woman and a Chicago cop for Christ sakes, she could walk past Jay. Instead she put her head down and headed towards the doors with a considerable amount of pace. Maybe he would be too distracted and not notice her walking by.
Of course he looked up as she was going past. He reached out and grabbed her elbow before she could escape to safety. “Hailey!”
The easy-going smile on his face was the nail in the coffin. Her mind couldn’t help but point out that she was usually the one who caused that smile to appear.
But she attempted to mirror one back. She wasn’t sure it worked, but he seemed unfazed.
“I was just talking about you,” It was pathetic how her heart soared at the flippant comment. “I want you to meet an old friend of mine, Allie.”
Allie flashed a smile of her own, wide and blinding with pearly white teeth, and held her hand out eagerly. “I’ve been waiting to meet the woman who keeps Jay in line.”
Waiting? Despite the confusion whirling around her brain, Hailey took the offered hand. “Nice to meet you.” She said as casually as she could.
Before she could voice a flimsy excuse for her departure, Jay slid further in his booth and gestured to the empty space. “Come on, join us.”
She did. She took the spot next to her partner, mindful of their legs being pressed against each other as she got situated.
Once she did, she made sure to keep her distance as much as possible. A feat that ended up being unachievable, as the booths at Molly’s have always been a tight fit. Feeling Jay’s shoulder and leg against her own was not a good distraction.
At least she had her drink to keep her company. After taking a sip of courage, Hailey attempted to be cordial and asked Ally a question. “How did you two meet?”
“Junior high.” Allie said with a chuckle. “You should have seen Jay’s mohawk he tried to pull off back then.” The fond glance she gave him reared the green monster inside of Hailey.
“No, she can never see that!” Jay protested, his laugh eliminating any seriousness of his statement.
She tucked this information in the back of her mind for later. When she saw Will next she would definitely be bringing up the mohawk.
Externally she forced out a laugh, knowing the situation called for it. Hell, under normal circumstances she would have found it extremely comical.
Get it together, she told herself, mindful of the concerned glance from Jay. She knew he would notice her atypical behavior at some point.
Grasping for a display of normalcy, she found herself questioning Allie again. “What brings you to Chicago?”
Allie’s smile dimmed. “Uh, it would have been my little brother’s birthday yesterday. Just in town to see my parents.”
Before Hailey could even react, Jay leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Ben.”
The name of the boy whose case still haunted Jay sent her into a tailspin of emotions. Sadness, concern, and to her dismay, more jealousy. The reason why the case was so close to Jay was because Allie was his high school sweetheart.
This only made Hailey want to leave more. Selfishly because of how envious she was but she also felt incredibly intrusive. She didn’t know Dylan at all, and they were probably honoring his memory.
“I should probably go,” She gestured to her empty bottle, beginning to stand up. “It’s a sign.”
They didn’t need to know her actual reasons for leaving.
Jay frowned slightly. She tried to ignore how adorable he looked when he was upset. “No, stay. I’ll get you another.”
Hailey shook her head. Even though she wanted another she had to drive home. “I drove here.” She could hold her alcohol well, but she knew she over did it tonight. Before Kim had gave her her current drink she had already consumed a beer and bourbon.
“I’ll take you home.” Before she could protest, he was out of the booth as well, stepping past her and heading towards Stella.
Which left her alone with Allie. Hailey desperately scraped her brain for anything to talk about, anything that would depict normalcy. This wasn’t a random woman, this was someone who was important to Jay.
At least it was enough to make her jealousy background noise. Still lingering, but not at the forefront.
“Must be nice to see Jay again.” Was what she came up with, and a more genuine smile at Allie. She could do this. She was Jay’s friend, not his girlfriend. She had no claim over him.
But she couldn’t help but notice how big Allie’s smile got when Jay was mentioned. “Yes, really nice.”
While Hailey panicked over what to talk about next, Allie began to talk herself. She took on a serious tone, immediately capturing Hailey’s attention.
“He really likes you.”
Hailey blinked, not expecting those words to come out of Allie’s mouth.
Everything was turning out to be different from what she originally observed. Jay wasn’t interested in Ally, and it appeared Ally wasn’t interested in him either. They were truly just two friends catching up.
And now Allie was trying to open Hailey’s mind to the possibility of Jay having reciprocating feelings?
This was simultaneously better and worse than anything her jealous thoughts had come up with. Believing she had a chance was more dangerous than any Intelligence case she worked on.
Knowing her silence was getting suspicious, Hailey forced herself to talk. “That’s good to hear,” She wished she had a full bottle of beer in front of her. “Good for our partnership if we like each other.”
Allie looked like she had more to say, but Jay was back with drinks. He placed three beers on the table, unaware of the topic of conversation.
Hailey had to leave. Get back to the comfort of her home and try desperately to forget this night ever happened.
Like she did earlier with Kim, Hailey burrowed through her wallet for some dollar bills to cover the drink Jay bought. But all she could find were a few tens and a twenty.
She put a ten down anyways. “I have to go,” She lamely said with no reason at all. “It was nice to meet you, Allie.” She managed to force a smile at the woman before practically jumping out of the booth.
The cool night air was a welcomed change from the congested and humid filled Molly’s. Hailey couldn’t help but stand outside for a brief second to close her eyes and take a deep breath, letting her mind rest.
“Hailey.” Her eyes jolted back open at the sound of Jay’s voice. She internally cursed at herself, she knew that he would follow but got caught up in her relief of escapement.
She began walking towards her car parked less than a block away. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jay.” Short and firm. She would have to main her composure for a little while longer, as Jay won’t back off right away. And if he saw any sign of something else brewing beneath the surface, he would only push more.
It was how their partnership and friendship worked. When she was trying to control her strong feelings for him however, it felt like he was dangling a carrot in front of her.
“Hailey, stop.” He reached out for her, taking her hand into his. Another tease, although she knew the act was intentional.
She yanked her arm back towards herself, wrapping both of them across her chest. “What?” She feigned confusion, tilting her head to the side. If she acted like nothing was wrong maybe he would leave.
The alcohol she imbibed definitely was affecting her judgement. Because there was no way in hell he was leaving. “You’ve been acting weird all night, from the moment I walked into Molly’s—“
She interrupted him. “You were watching me?” He had to have been in the bar for at least 15 minutes before she joined him and Allie.
He stopped talking, clearly flustered. This was not a normal sight with Jay. It was too bad she was in her own particular state because she would have definitely taken the opportunity to make fun of him.
“I haven’t been feeling good all night.” She shrugged, once again trying to deflect. But she was treading dangerous territory because her statement was true. And if she was starting to be honest with him, who knew what secrets would end up revealing themselves.
“Why?” Jay stepped closer. If Hailey wanted she could extend her arm out and make contact with his chest.
(She hated that she did want to do exactly that.)
“Was it Allie?”
God, if it was just Allie she would still be at Molly’s. Allie brought everything into fruition.
Hailey had two reasons in denying her feelings for Jay. One was work, the second was her belief in him not having reciprocating feelings.
Entertaining the possibility of him being in love with her was a door she never before allowed herself to open. But now it was bursted open, and she was desperate to find away to shut it.
So she needed to get away. Now. But with every second that went by, every second she was with Jay, the urge lessened.
He took another step. “Hailey.”
God, why wouldn’t he stop saying her name? And especially how he was saying it, as if he was reaching out and caressing her cheek. The intimacy packed in a single word was too much.
That combined with his brief but noticeable glance down at her lips finally broke her. Her body overtook her. Arm wrapping around his neck, hand in his hair, and her mouth on his.
He overwhelmed each and every one of her senses. She first registered the taste of alcohol on his lips, the pleasantness of it making her toes curl. The potentness only increased as they both opened their mouths to introduce their tongues to each other.
His hands were firmly on her hips, and although she had a layer of clothes in between, she swore her skin was burning.
In the haze of passion, she let herself go. Consumed completely by the man in front of her, whose lips were as sweet and addicting as she had imagined them to be and small gasps only increasing the pool of heat in her stomach.
It was only when they broke apart, for the necessity of breathing, that panic fully made its way through Hailey’s system.
She ruined everything. The most important relationship she had, both work and friendship wise, tarnished. How could they come back from this?
“That never happened.” She stupidly spluttered out, regret filling her as hurt crossed Jay’s face. “This can’t...”
She attempted her original trek down the sidewalk, and when Jay tried to gain her attention, this time she was successful at evading him.
She’s at her car when he yelled out to her. “There’s no way I’m letting you drive.”
She rose her hand in the air to shoo him away, too angry and embarrassed to give him an automatic response. She only realized the ridiculousness of it as she lowered it back down. “I’ll get a ride.”
She slid into her car hastily, letting out a huge gasp of air when she shut the door behind her.
There was one person she knew who wasn’t at Molly’s right now and Hailey desperately hoped she would pick up the phone. When she heard a greeting from Vanessa, Hailey couldn’t hold back a sigh of relief.
“I need you to come pick me up.” She said into the phone, clutching it closely to her ear. She couldn’t resist looking back behind her.
Jay was still there, watching her. Thank god she couldn’t see his face though. She slinked lower in her seat, paranoid he could see her despite how late it was. But no matter how low she sunk, she still felt his eyes. Although they only kissed, it was as if he saw her entire body, inside and out.
Vanessa displayed clear confusion on the other side. “I thought you drove?”
“I, uh, drank too much.” Hailey could have left it at that, but knew somehow and someway Vanessa would find out what happened. She was notorious at figuring out Hailey’s feelings and thoughts. So she squeezed her eyes shut and forced the next words out, knowing when she voiced them aloud there was no going back. “.....And I kissed Jay.”
Hailey didn’t need to see physically Vanessa to know her jaw dropped. “Shit.” Was all her roommate said.
Hailey pressed her hand to her forehead with a loud groan. “Shit indeed.”