29. Chapter 29

Last bit of this chapter is rated M for…well you know ;)

Chapter 29

He felt Hailey nearly slam on the brakes and tried to hold back a smirk, even though he was a little scared that he just put that out there. Maybe that was too far.

"Yet", she said calmly, trying not to react too much either way, he saw her small moment of surprise before she reigned herself in though. He had to admit she was good at keeping a poker face, just given the nature of her job title. But he knew her so well. That made him smirk even more.

"Ya Hailey Halstead has a nice ring to it don't you think?" Jay replied testing the waters.

She quickly recovered and gave him a sultry smile, it made him want to pull the car over right then and there.

"Who says I'm taking your last name", she grinned cheekily, batting her eyes, and raising an eyebrow in his direction.

Now it was Jay that was at a loss for words. His mouth practically hanging open.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue Jay?" She bit her lip, holding in her own laughter.

He shook his head and smiled, a slight blush in his cheeks.

"Nope, just good to know where you stand on that Hailey Anne", he said shyly.

She nodded knowingly, finishing with a wink, "We're always on the same page Jay Alexander."

They left it at that, the remainder of the car ride filled with a comfortable silence.

Kohl was so excited when they stopped the car in front of Hailey and Vanessa's place.

"You've never been here before huh buddy", Hailey pet him as they got out of the car.

Vanessa opened the front door and called him over right away, Kohl running around in circles, wagging his tail and begging her for belly rubs.

"He's really shy as you can tell", Jay laughed as the two women gave Kohl all the attention that they could.

"He is so cute Jay I cannot", Vanessa could not stop staring at their new furry friend.

"He's a good dog, it will be nice to have him here", he replied.

"So is it official?" Vanessa asked.

"Is what official?" Jay asked as him and Hailey carried bags in.

"Are you moving in?" She asked innocently. "Like…for real."

Jay grinned and looked back at Hailey, "It's my two week trial run apparently."

Vanessa's expression went from smug to shocked in a hot second.

"Okay then, I mean I was half kidding…But you guys are clearly way ahead of me", she smiled, pleasantly surprised at this development between the two of them.

"And his first test is making dinner", Hailey joked as she passed Jay in the hallway.

"I suppose I can do that, you've both taken care of me the last few days", he said.

"About time", Vanessa muttered under her breath.

"Huh?" Jay asked her.

"Nothing", she said angelically, Hailey heard though.

"Where's Kev?" Jay changed the subject.

"He had to go home…something with Jordan. Not sure, it sounded serious. I don't think he's coming back tonight. We're going to reconvene tomorrow…depending I guess", Vanessa vaguely replied.

"Hmm, okay. Did he seem alright?" Hailey asked concerned.

"He did, his brother I'm not sure to be honest…I'll let you know if I hear anything", Vanessa said.

The three of them were quiet for a second before dispersing, not pushing further with that conversation. Jay brought his stuff upstairs and Hailey put Kohl's leash on to take him for a quick stroll around the block.

She came back in the house to the smell of bacon cooking on the stove.

"Mmm what do we have here?" She asked curiously as she snuck up behind Jay, who seemed to not hear her come in because he jumped out of his skin.

"Sorry", she quickly apologized, she was trying to be cute but forgot Jay didn't like being snuck up on.

"It's alright", he brushed it off, but when she wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her cheek on his back she heard his heart racing a mile a minute.

Her right arm came up from under his and she gently put her hand on his chest, his hand followed and rested on top of hers. He calmed down almost immediately.

"Thanks", he whispered.

"You're welcome", she replied, also noticing that he had changed into comfortable clothes. A simple black hoodie and grey sweat pants…but he wore them well.

"I love when you wear those", she said dangerously low, sneaking around to his side view, giving him the look.

Jay seemed to catch on to what she was implying, looking over his shoulder. "If Vanessa wasn't home right now…", he trailed off biting his lip. His eyes tracing Hailey's body.

She felt a primal urge rise in lower abdomen. Feeling bold, she moved closer to him, her fingers just barely grazing the top of his waist band.

He let out a low moan, "Hailey…"

There was a fire behind her eyes that made him want to clear her kitchen counter and continue this right here and now. She smirked when she felt him grow at her touch.

"Later…", she whispered in his ear, sneaking a piece of bacon from his other side.

Jay smiled and went to smack her hand away, "That's for dinner", he pretended to scold.

"Mmm, I could go for some dessert right now", she said tempting him even further.

"You know I haven't um properly welcomed you home…on account of you having a cold and me having strep…But I think we're both over that now wouldn't you say?" He teased.

"I would say so yes…", Hailey flashed her dimples at him.

"Breakfast isn't going to be the only thing I'm eating for dinner", he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ears, sending a shiver down her spine. The corner of Hailey's lip curled into a devilish grin.

Their faces were moving closer and closer together, Jay's hand cupping the back of Hailey's head, when they heard a bark at their feet. They both jumped and then separated, quickly laughing at the fact that Kohl had moved in between them, wanting some attention.

"You jealous buddy?" Jay laughed and knelt down to pet him. Kohl sitting and looking at Hailey, almost giving her a goofy smile, with his tongue hanging out. She snuck him a piece of bacon, to which she received a big sloppy kiss for.

"Guess we'll have to pick this up later", Hailey grinned.

"Oh definitely", Jay immediately confirmed.

"Go grab Vanessa, foods ready", Jay told Hailey.

Vanessa came into the kitchen a few minutes later, completely unaware at the hook up that was about to happen.

She smelled the bacon and greedily filled her plate with the breakfast spread.

"Breakfast for dinner, okay Halstead, I'm a fan", Vanessa chimed in once they were all sitting at the table.

"It's Hailey's favourite", he smiled, looking towards his partner.

"You passed the test", Hailey mumbled with a mouth full of food.

They finished their dinner, cleared the table and the dishes and went to the couch to relax and digest their food.

Jay still couldn't drink because of the antibiotics so he had a tea instead as the girls had a glass of wine to unwind.

Kohl hopped up on the couch, immediately curling into Jay. He seemed a bit sad after dinner, maybe missing his dad. Jay stroked the top of his head, the dog was a calming presence for him too.

They were interrupted by a Facetime from Will. Hailey picked up right away in case something was wrong.

"Hey Will", Hailey said into the phone, Jay giving her a why didn't he call me face.

"Hey Hails", he replied.

"Everything okay?" She could tell he was at work.

"Yeah everything's all good. Was just checking in about Kohl", he said.

As soon as the dog heard Will say his name his ears perked up and his tailed wagged.

"Oh he's been a total rascal, chewing everything, barking loudly", Hailey said with a semi serious face.

"What really? I'm so sorry that's really unlike him, I'll pay for whatever he wrecked", Will said sounding shocked.

Hailey immediately started laughing, "Will I'm just kidding. Look at this", she turned her camera to Jay sitting beside her who waved to his brother. Kohl was curled up practically in Jay's lap, half asleep but half excited to hear his dad's voice.

"He's a big suck", Jay said, accompanying his statement with a very appreciated ear scratch.

Will chuckled, "Your poker face is good Hailey. Scared me for a second."

"Will I am a Detective", she said with a sarcastic eye roll.

"True. Must be the nerves talking", he said somewhat solemnly.

"How's it going Will?" Jay asked, the three of them carefully eyeing the tired doctor.

He exhaled, knowing he couldn't hide much from them. "It's hell. But we're doing our best."

"We're proud of you Will", Vanessa said, easing the silence in their living room.

"Thanks Vanessa, try to keep these two in line okay", Will joked.

"Always", she laughed.

They ended the call and returned to their movie, Jay eyeing Hailey as soon as the credits ended, feigning a yawn.

"Bed time?" Hailey asked, trying to hide a smile from Vanessa.

"Hmm ya, still catching up on sleep", Jay said, really playing it up, even though he was feeling fine.

"Okay, I'm going to let Kohl out once more and meet you upstairs", she said, getting their plan rolling. Vanessa didn't seem to catch on.

"Night Jay", she said as he started up the stairs, too into her phone to notice what they were really sneaking off to do.

"Night V", he replied, winking at Hailey before disappearing up the staircase.

They did not go to sleep right away.

The next few days and nights were much of the same. Hailey and Jay had settled into a domestic bliss, a new routine, which they were quite enjoying. Jay would get up first, make them coffee and breakfast, Rojas was usually on lunch and snack duty and Hailey loved making dinner. They filled their time in between with puzzles, movies and games. They walked Kohl every morning and night, and did yoga in the living room for exercise. Jay was finally able to have a drink since he was finished with his antibiotics, and he was definitely enjoying that again. They usually spent their evenings by the fire with a whisky as the early spring days were still chilly.

Hailey didn't say it to either of them, but this was the closest thing to family time that she could dream of. Jay "moving in" wasn't that big of a production at all, he fit in no problem. That wasn't a surprise to her, they spent most of their waking hours together anyways. But putting a label on these sorts of things sometimes came with insecurities.

Vanessa had been suspiciously quiet for the past few days, Kevin never came back over. She told them it was because he had been with his brother and was being mindful of quarantine, which they both understood no problem. Hailey and Jay had been in touch with him, and the rest of the team and nothing seemed to alert them to anything. Vanessa just couldn't shake this feeling though, that something wasn't right.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Hailey yelled that dinner was ready.

"If being a detective doesn't work out for you, I think you'd have a chance in the restaurant business", Vanessa praised as she inhaled the seafood and pasta spread on her plate. Jay quickly seconded that, just as he got up to fill his plate with seconds.

"Thanks guys, years of practice", she smiled and sipped her wine.

After dinner they went into the living room where Jay was working on sorting through old photos of his and putting them in albums. Vanessa snorted when she found out about that.

"Showing your age huh Jay. Having actual photos and albums", she giggled.

"Something about having old pictures, I don't keep as many with just having them on my phone these days", he replied with a smile.

"It's true. I used to print so many and now I hardly have any current ones", Hailey added.

Jay grinned and pulled out his phone. "Okay, the two of you get in."

He started taking a few of the girls, acting as their photographer.

"Your turn", Vanessa got up from the couch, getting Jay to switch with her. The two partners smiled bashfully at each other.

"Your first couple photo", she stated. They both gave her a look.

"Well first official one anyways", she laughed as they cracked smiles too.

Jay grabbed his phone back from her and got the three of them in a selfie. Another with Kohl as he wanted in on the action too and managed to jump on the couch and wiggle his way into the frame.

"Cute", Hailey smiled as he showed her and Vanessa. "Send that to Will."

They continued on with their night, Hailey trying to respect his privacy and not rifle through his old photos. He showed her a few from growing up, his army days and early Intelligence shots. He was surprisingly open about all of it, which was a huge step from when she first met him.

"What?" He asked with a smile as he caught her staring at him.

She shook her head and smiled back, "I wish we would have told each other sooner."

He made eye contact with her, completely understanding what she meant by that.

"Me too, but we're here now. And I plan on enjoying every second of it with you", he leaned over to give her a kiss.

"Wanna go upstairs?" He whispered in her ear.

She looked around, realizing the Vanessa coast was clear.

"Yes", she laughed as he went to race her to the bedroom.

A few hours later, after they had gone to bed, Jay rolled over to find Hailey staring at him.

"Round 2?" She whispered as she let her hands wander underneath the waistband of his briefs.

"Mmmm", he groaned as she gently ran her index finger along his very inner thigh.

"Hailey, are you trying to kill me?" He joked. He couldn't exactly lie to her, he knew she felt his excitement, it was even hotter that she was touching him as she was looking right in his eye.

"Well?" She said coyly.

"Well"… Jay maintained eye contact while reaching under the blankets, instantly growing in size as he realized she wasn't wearing any underwear at all.

"You're wet already babe", he said with a yearning.

"I know, I've been waiting for you", she replied.

That was all it took for him to flip her on her back as he got on top, kissing his way from her neck, over her collarbone, pausing to spend some time at her other sensitive areas. She giggled and moaned, throwing her head back as he pleased her there too.

Jay licked his lips, his eyes shooting up to her, grabbing her leg and throwing it up over his shoulder.

This was a new position, she thought. She liked it.

A few minutes later as she was nearing the finish line all she could think about was how much she really liked this position. "Jay!" She screamed as she bit her lip, coming undone around him.

Jay collapsed next to her, panting as he finished in sync with her.

"We're getting pretty good at this", he said confidently.

"Mhmm", was all Hailey could say, still trying to catch her breath and come down from the intense pleasure she just felt.

Like all other aspects of his life, Jay was an overachiever in the bedroom too. He was a gentle, but thorough lover. Which Hailey had no complaints about, she was enjoying exploring his body too, learning what made him tick. Taking their relationship to this stage wasn't awkward at all, they fell into place and bed with ease. It helped that they already knew each other so well, now it was just up to them to figure out the physical side of it. Which they were doing a lot of lately.

"Okay now we have to go to bed for real", Jay laughed and kissed her again before rolling over and closing his eyes. Hailey came back from the bathroom and curled up against him, thinking about how perfect life was at this very moment, and that not much could change that, even through all of the uncertainty.

Her footsteps were quiet, yet quick. She raced down the hall, not bothering to knock on the door. It was late, there was no way they were awake.

She tried Hailey first, with no luck. She was out cold, and a normally deep sleeper. She was surprised Jay wasn't awake, but she knew how to be quiet around him while he was asleep.

"Jay, Jay", she gently said in the darkness.

"Mmm, Hailey…again?" Jay mumbled, half asleep, sounding confused and slightly annoyed. His internal clock knew it wasn't time to get up yet, it had to be around 5 in the morning.

"No, it's Vanessa", she said panicked now, the reality setting in and her initial shock wearing off.

"Vanessa?" Jay sat up sounding more alert, turning a lamp on, rubbing his eyes.

"What's wrong", he quickly added, after taking in the distraught expression on her face.

"Kevin called", she took a deep breath in.

"Okay…", Jay said encouraging her to continue, nervous by her calm yet emotional silence.

"Jordan's dead", she said, bursting into tears.

Another cruel cliffhanger, I can't help myself! Thank you for continuing to read and support this story, I love seeing all of your reviews. - K