At exactly 5:45, there was a knock on the door.
"It's open!" Erin called, pulling on her shoes.
The door swung open and Jay stepped in. His eyes flitted around the apartment until they landed on her. "Almost ready, babe?" he asked, already in character as he looked her over appreciatively. Seeing her in that dress, it was going to be incredibly hard to keep his hands to himself tonight. . . which might be a good thing if they were hoping to sell this whole 'engaged' thing.
She smiled softly at him, trying (and failing) not to picture him saying that to her for real.
"Sorry I didn't have time to get that perm," he joked.
"You wish you looked like Mark Zuckerburg," she teased, swatting him playfully and he staggered backward, feigning hurt. "Come on, let's go."
An hour later, they sat in a top-floor restaurant by a window overlooking the city.
They'd gotten to the venue with time to spare but before they even went in, Erin changed her mind about going, realizing exactly how little she cared to associate with anyone she'd gone to high school with. They weren't worth her time.
So they'd gone out for supper instead. She told him about how Hank and Camille had taken her in, how they saved her. Now, she'd just finished telling him about high school and finding out who her real friends were and, even though it didn't make sense, how it still bugged her.
"Screw them," he said, and he scooted himself just a little closer to her and took her hand. "They don't know what they're missing."
She locked eyes with him. This is where she should say they can't, where she's reminded him every time before now that Hank has rules about dating coworkers, and she's no exception. This time, though, looking at the tenderness in his eyes, seeing want that matches her own, she can't bring herself to care.
"Come on," he says. "Let's get out of here." He's still waiting for the other shoe to drop, for her to shut him down like she's done every time before.
But she doesn't. Instead, she slides out of her chair without releasing his hand and lets him lead her back to the car. His heart leaps into his throat and a smile spreads across his face.
When they get to her apartment, he parks behind the building. Normally, this is where they say their goodbyes. Normally, he gives her a longing look as she gets out with an apologetic face and barely so much as a 'see you' before he puts the car back in gear and goes home.
Tonight, though, as she's reaching for the door, she looks over her shoulder. "Wanna come up for a bit?"
Rather than respond - he couldn't if he wanted to anyway, his voice is stuck in his throat - he smiles at her and unbuckles, trailing her into the building.
They've barely closed the door behind them when she pushes herself up on her tiptoes and kisses his cheek. "That's a thanks for having my back tonight, even though we didn't go to the reunion," she says as she drops back down, like a kiss needs any explanation.
He quirks an eyebrow at her. "Is that all it was?"
She starts to nod, but quickly changes it to a shake of the head. "Jay, just because I don't want to lose my job doesn't mean I don't care about you."
He knew he wouldn't be so lucky to get through the night without some pushback. This time, though, he's not giving up so easy. After all, Voight's more likely to fire him than his golden girl. "So we'll keep it cool at work," he argues, dropping a hand on her shoulder to keep her from backing away.
"If Voight finds out -"
"He won't." He wasn't really the sneak-around-behind-Dad's-back kind of guy, but if it meant Erin would give him a chance, he'd do it. Besides, Voight wasn't really her dad.
"You don't know that."
"Erin, I'm tired of fighting this," he sighs, slowly closing the space between them." Can we - just for one night - forget about Voight and what he might say and just be here, together?"
She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, staring up at him with her big, brown eyes. Finally, she gives him the smallest nod, and he swoops down and captures her lips with his.
It's every bit as sweet as he imagined.
He feels her relax into his embrace and soon, she's pushing his suit coat off his shoulders. It hits the ground and is the first of many garments creating a trail to her bedroom.
He wakes up the next morning on cloud nine. If it weren't for the familiar blonde and brown waves strewn across his chest, he would almost be convinced that last night was a dream. But it wasn't.
He's in Erin's apartment. He never left last night.
Better yet, he's in Erin's bed. He can smell her shampoo, her perfume, and it's all so perfectly her.
And the cherry on top of it all? They're both still stark naked, tangled up in each other from making love last night.
He feels her stir and tilts his head to place a kiss in her hair.
"Hey." The early morning makes her voice just a little raspier and he finds it hot as hell.
"Morning," he replies, dropping another kiss onto her head.
Despite not being a morning person, her eyes are dancing as she smiles up at him. "You're still here."
"After finally convincing the girl of my dreams to give me a shot? Why wouldn't I be?"
Her smile widens and she tilts her head up to give him a kiss. "Keep talking like that, I might never let you leave."
He quirks an eyebrow at her. "Is that a threat or a promise?"
In one quick motion, she's straddling him again. She places her hands on his chest and lowers herself so her face is only an inch from his. "Depends. You sleep well enough for round two?"
"Fuck, Erin," he gasps, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her the rest of the way down. He doesn't plan on letting her go any time soon.
He spends the entire weekend at Erin's, and they spend most of it wrapped up in each other. He leaves only when he has to swing by his apartment to get ready for work again on Monday.
They've promised each other to keep it cool at work, but there's a pep in his step when he walks into the precinct that morning and he doesn't care who sees it.
"You're cheery this morning, Chuckles," Trudy says when she spots him.
"Don't tell anyone. I've got a reputation to uphold," he calls over his shoulder as he bounds up the stairs.
"There's my girl!" he vaguely hears her exclaim as he reaches the top. A smile plays across his lips, knowing Erin is right behind him.
"Morning, Trudy," Erin responds, sending the desk sergeant a smile as she, too, makes her way to the stairs.
As she nears the top of the stairs, she can hear Ruzek pestering Jay: "Come on, man, who's the girl? It's pretty obvious you got laid since we saw you last. There's no other explanation."
"I told you - new mattress."
"Aww, Halstead, did you finally get a good night's sleep?" she asks, joining the teasing as she comes off of the stairs.
There's a mischievous glint in her eyes for only him, and it's all he needs to box up any remaining euphoria from their weekend spent together. "Not you too," he groans.
"It's pretty obvious it's no mattress that put that grin on his face just a minute ago," Ruzek insists. "You should've seen him, Lindsay. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning."
"Give'm a break, Ruzek," Atwater says, finally joining the conversation. "If it is a new girl, he'll make it our business when he wants to. We ain't all like you, airing our bedroom business to everyone in earshot."
She shows up at his apartment about a half hour after shift.
"Miss me already?" he asks.
"No," she answers in a tone that would convince anyone else, but not him. "You left your jacket at my place. I just came to drop it off quick." She tosses the garment at him and turns back toward the door.
He catches her by the arm and pulls her back to him. "And you're just going to leave without letting me say a proper thank you?"
She smiles as he starts backing her up. "I suppose I could stay for a little while," she responds as her back bumps into the wall.
"You suppose," he chuckles. He knows good and well that she came with the intention of staying… just like he left his jacket at her place on purpose so she'd come to his place tonight.
They hold each other's eyes for only a moment before he grabs her chin and she puts a hand behind his head and each pulls the other closer. Their lips come crashing together, battling for dominance as they make their way to his bedroom.
"New mattress, huh?" Erin teases when he tosses her onto it.
"Not even close," he answers, crawling on top of her, "but I think you'll find this one does the job too."
There was another teasing remark on the tip of her tongue, but it vanishes when he dives down to her neck and starts sucking on her pulse point.
"Fuck, Jay," she rasps when he works his mouth lower, disposing her of her pants.
"Do you want me to stop?" he asks, freezing with his thumbs hooked under the waistline of her panties.
"Don't you dare."
"Didn't think so," he says with a smirk before diving back in.