Chapter 3.

Molly's

The rest of the week passed by faster than I thought it would. Work was pretty calm after that call on Tuesday, so I was pretty happy about that. I didn't think I could handle another one that week. There was also one more call of Tammy and Bill, a few days after I had the privilege of talking to her. Thank god, I wasn't the one who answered that; I don't know how I would have handled that one either. I knew I would have said what I thought of the whole situation and probably would have gotten fired.

I worked from five p.m. Friday till five a.m. Saturday – the shift was pretty slow – which meant I could sleep till at least three in the afternoon. I would have slept longer if my brother didn't wake me up. He was very good had doing that.

"Hey Roe," Adam whispered.

All I did was groan and roll away from his voice. I needed my sleep and I wasn't going to get any with him around. Soon I felt my brother jump on my bed and I rolled back over to cuddle with my body pillow.

"Come on Sis," he muttered, shaking me, "wake up."

"You try to shake me awake one more time," I mumbled with my eyes still closed, "and you'll pull away without an arm and a bloody stump in its place."

"Why do you have to be so grumpy?"

"If you had the schedules I did you'd be grumpy too, with the lack of sleep. I'm not you with the boss who sends you home at night so you can sleep in your own bed. I'm not that lucky."

"Maybe you should ask for a set schedule."

"Naw, I like my hectic life. It keeps things interesting. Now leave me alone. Let me sleep some more."

I heard Adam laugh as I tried to go back to sleep, but that wasn't going to happen. He started shaking me again, this time more violently and I ended up smacking him in the face. I heard him groan in pain and I rolled over to look at him, laughing. He was holding his hand over his right eye.

"Why'd do you do that?" he exclaimed.

"Because you woke me up after a long night," I told him. "I did warn you not to bother me anymore."

"You've been sleeping for almost ten hours."

"Again, you try working the hours I work, after that being woken up by your sibling then, and only then, can you really know why I sleep so much."

"You need to get a hobby."

"I can't. I work all the time and I don't have time for a hobby. I eat, sleep, work, and repeat. Sorry."

Watching as he rolled his good eye, I gave him a smile. He couldn't help but smile back, but groaned and pulled his hand away from the eye I smacked. Blinking a few times he considered everything was good. Seeing that he was okay I rolled back over and closed my eyes.

"So, are you still coming to Molly's with me?" he asked.

"Of course, Bubba," I answered him.

"Okay good. Now get up and get dressed. We're going to eat there to. We're meeting everyone over there at four thirty."

"Why so early?"

"Just get up. Do you need a shower?"

"No."

"Well I do."

I felt him roll out of my bed and heard him walk to the door. I shoved my head into my body pillow and sighed. Maybe I could get a few more minutes of sleep; sadly, life hated me.

"I'm gonna jump in," he informed me. "If you're still in bed by the time I get out, I'm gonna dump cold water on your head."

"You do," I mumbled into the pillow, "and you might not live another day."

"Whatever you say, Princess Roe Roe."

Without warning, my eyes flew open, I grabbed one of my pillows I wasn't using and threw it as hard as I could at Adam's face. He was lucky it was the only thing close enough for me to throw. I watched it make contact with my mark, but saw it didn't do anything. Groaning I fell back onto my bed, looking up at the ceiling, hearing him chuckle at my big, epic fail.

"Try throwing something harder next time Roe," Adam laughed as he walked out my door. "It might be better than a pillow."

"Go to hell Adam," I yelled.

"You'd miss me too much."

"You know, you say that all the time, but I don't really feel it."

"Whatever, just get ready. We don't want to be the last ones there."

I didn't answer that, just kept looking at the ceiling. About ten minutes after Adam left the room to take a shower, I got out of bed and picked out an outfit for that night. For a shirt, I decided on a black spaghetti strapped blouse – with a black strapless bra – the straps came together just over my collarbone. It was flowy and comfortable and I knew it was going to help me stay cool while I was in the bar. I put on some faded tight jeans to show off my long legs, with flip-flops. It looked classy casual, but also sexy at the same time.

Once I was done getting dressed I looked at myself in the mirror and wondered what to do with my hair and makeup. My hair was still kind of curly from my shower yesterday so I decided just to enhance that. I wetted it down a little bit before putting some moose in; running my hand through it, helping it dry. This helped it show off the curls and it looked kind of like a hot mess, but in a good way. I contemplated on using hair spray, but thought it looked good the way it was.

As for my makeup, I was certain – just like the rest of my look – I was going to go with a classy casual look, but with a sexy twist. I put a little foundation on with some toner, making my skin look flawless. When it came to my eyes, I used some shiny tan shadow, with some black around the outside of my eye. I put some eyeliner and mascara on, happy with what I had done; seeing it made my eyes pop. I went with light pink lipstick that toned down the color of my lips.

Stepping back to look at what I'd done with myself, I was happy with how everything turned out. I looked casual, like I was going for, but looked a little mysterious and sexy at the same time. Everything I did tonight wasn't something I normally did. I usually wore comfy clothes and just mascara for make-up, but it was a refreshing thing to do something different. Hopefully my look wasn't sexy enough to have my brother pitching a fit, either way I worked hard on this look and I wasn't going to change it.

After making sure I had my gun permit in my wallet, I put that in my back pocket along with my phone. Next I grabbed my Beretta out of my purse and its holster off my closet door knob. It was silver with a metallic green pearl handle; my brother got me for my birthday when I turned eighteen. He said he always wanted me to be safe, and he also got me a permit to carry it in the open or in my purse – if I had one – at all times. I attached my holster on my belt and holstered the gun, putting my shirt over it – I felt safer with it around. I wasn't really sure if anyone in Molly's were going to be carrying their guns, but I was more than happy to carry mine. It help keep most of the men away.

Just then my brother knocked on my bedroom door – perfect timing.

"Come on Roe," he called. "You take forever. We have thirty minutes to get there."

"We don't always have to be on time you know," I sighed. "Not everyone has to be there right at four thirty."

"Well I do. Now come on, let's go."

"Alright, I'm coming. Just hold your horses."

I walked over to the door and opened it. My brother was still standing there and his eyes were about to pop out of his head when he saw what I was wearing, which meant here comes the hissy fit. I could see his protective side coming out, and I was already annoyed.

"What's your problem now?" I questioned, putting my hands on my hips.

"Why must you wear that?" he groaned, looking frustrated.

"I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Every guy in that bar is going to be looking at you tonight."

"Yea so? Everyone there either works for the Police Department, Hospital, Fire Department, or dispatch. They're not going to do anything to me. If a guy did anything that made me uncomfortable they would be beat to death by everyone else in the bar."

I could see he knew I was right, but he didn't want me to be. He really wanted me to change, and I let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Do you really want me to change?" I asked.

Adam looked down at his watched and groaned again really loud. Knowing him, he rather be on time than have me change and be late. I had won the battle and the war, and we both knew it. I smirked as he grabbed my hand and drug me out of the apartment to his car.

~J&M~

By the time we got to Molly's we were ten minutes late and were the last ones there from the unit. The facility was packed; like I thought it would be. The people from the fire department, the police department, the hospital and a few women from dispatch were there, having a good time. There was no way in hell something was going to happen with all these people here.

Adam wasn't very happy with me as he parked the car a few buildings down from the bar. The look on his face showed he was irritated and I rolled my eyes once more. There were times my brother acted like a two-year-old boy rather than a twenty-eight-year-old man. Whoever said women mature faster than men hit the nail right on the head in my opinion.

"You seriously can't be upset right now," I stated to him. "We would have been here earlier if you wouldn't have been worried about what I was wearing. Besides we're here now, there's really no use in acting pissy about it."

"Just get out of the car," he muttered. "I'm hungry."

I did as I was told, stepping onto the sidewalk, and waited for him to do the same. Meeting him at the end of the vehicle he put his hand on the small of my back and walked me to the door of Molly's. He opened it and let me go in first. It didn't take us long before we found his unit. There was Voight, Antonio, Kevin, Al, and Erin; there was also Kim, and Trudy all sitting at the same table they usually did. Oddly enough, I didn't see Jay there at all. I just figured he wasn't coming and thought it was best to just forget him.

Everyone waved when they saw us and we both returned the gesture. I got a hug from everyone – including the desk Sergeant – and Adam went to get us drinks and some food after he greeted everyone. It was nice to let loose and be around friends.

"What took you two so long to get here?" Voight asked, when my brother got back with our drinks.

"This one right here, takes too long to get ready," Adam grumbled.

"That's just what we do," Kim stated, "you should know this by now. You've lived with her for how long now. Even your girlfriend takes a long time to get ready, I bet."

We all started laughing. Kim was right; most of the time it didn't take me long to get ready, but when I wanted to look nice I could take a while to get my look just right. I'm sure I wasn't the only woman that was like that.

Adam and I hadn't been there for more than an hour when I felt someone staring at me. I looked around the crowded building, as I started to panic. I was really starting to freak out about this feeling. Finally looking behind me, my eyes landed on a familiar pair of blue ones. I relaxed when I realized the person staring at me was none other than Jay. He was sitting at the bar with someone who looked a lot like him, so I had to say it was a relation of his – maybe his brother. They both had food in front of them.

When Jay saw I was looking at him he looked away. I could see his lips pulling up at the corners. Considering he looked away, there really wasn't a reason to worry about it, so I went back to the conversation in my group. I could feel someone staring at me for another hour, and every time I glanced back at Jay he was starting to look away from me. I was on my third drink when this was happening and I was finally getting irritated. Letting the liquid courage take over and I excused myself from the table, to go ask Jay what he was playing at.

He just happened to look up as I was walking over to him and I watched his mouth drop open as his eyes got wide, observing my every move. I was going to be bitchy, but he looked embarrassed and was too adorable to be bad at. When I got to where I was going, I leaned against the bar and I smiled softly at him.

"Hi," I told him.

I watched him as he closed his mouth and blinked as he shook his head. It was kind of cute. The man sitting on the other side of Jay looked at him and kind of laughed before going back to his food.

"Hey," Jay muttered back, looking back at me.

"So, question," I said, jumping right into it.

"Yea?"

"I've noticed you staring at me for the past two hours. Mind telling me why?"

He was silent; it was like he couldn't form the words. I could see the wheels turning in his head. Trying to hid my growing smile, I bit my lip and looked at him through my eyelashes. I watched as his blue eyes darken when he looked down at my lips. I don't know why, but my heart started raising; it felt like it was trying to get out of my chest.

It was quiet, but then I could hear a good song come one; The Man I Wanna Be, by Chris Young. He was one of my favorite country singers. I looked at the dance floor and saw there were people starting walking out to it. Glancing back at Jay, who was still staring at me.

"Do you want to dance?" I asked, changing the subject.

"What?" he questioned, finally tuning back into the conversation.

"I said: do you want to dance?"

The man glimpsed towards where people were dancing, then turned back towards me and nodded his head. I held out my hand and he took it; an electric shock went through my arm, spreading a warm feeling throughout my body. Not letting go of each other's hand we both looked down at them. When I glanced back up at him he was looking at me and had a smirk on his face. I didn't get a chance to say anything because he got out of his seat and gently hauled me towards the dance floor.

When we got there, he turned around, still keeping his hold on my hand. He put his right one on my lower back and pulls me close to him. I gasped, putting my free hand on his shoulder. He kept smirking at me and started to lead us around in a circle to the beat of the music. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, and it seemed like he couldn't take his off me.

"So," he said, breaking the silence between us, "you're one of Adam's sisters."

"Yea," I nodded.

"I didn't know he had any siblings."

"Not a lot of people do. He has two: me and Kate."

"I get it; he's a private person. I am too."

I smiled up at him and he smiled back. So far this was going better than I thought it would. To be honest, I didn't even know what I was doing. This really wasn't something I did when I was out. I mostly stayed around someone I knew to stay safe, and I really didn't know this guy I was dancing with. I decided to blame it on the alcohol.

"And," Jay finally said after a few seconds of silence, "we really didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves Tuesday evening."

"No, we did not."

"Well mine is Jay Halstead, and you are–"

"Monroe Ruzek."

It came out kind of like a snap. I remember what my brother told this man who I was, just using my middle name instead of my last. I was still a little angry about that. I was also kind of upset of the mention of my older sister Kate, even though I was the one who had brought her up. She and I weren't on really good term right now – to be honest we never were – and I really didn't care of the mention of her name.

Jay looked taken aback for a second before letting out a chuckle. His laugh made me weak in the knees, but I was lucky enough to keep me up right.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Nothin'," he said, shaking his head. "It's just you and your brother are so different yet so much alike. He can get pretty defensive too."

"I'm not being defensive."

"Yes, you are. I bet you anything you would get mad if I told you what how Adam told me who you were."

Of course, he didn't have any idea I knew already how Adam let Jay know who I was, but I wasn't going to tell him that. That would lead me to explaining I didn't leave right away to go to work on Tuesday.

"I'll take that bet."

"Oh, you will, will you?"

"Yes."

He softly smiled as he looked my face over. I just stared at his eyes; I could get lost in them. Sadly, I couldn't. We were in the middle of a conversation that I was going to win.

"How did he tell you who I was," I questioned him. "What names did he use?"

"You really want to know?" he muttered.

"Yes."

Jay hesitated, but I gave him a look telling him to spill the beans. My eyebrows were lifted and I also batted my lashes a little. He was going to say it whether he liked it or not.

"Monroe Grace," he finally admitted.

"I knew it," I grumbled.

"What's wrong with that?"

"I don't like my name, especially my middle name."

"Grace? What's the matter with that name?"

"It means elegant and refined. I'm anything but those things."

"Now that doesn't seem right to me."

I just stared at him, as his words sank in. By that time, the song had ended and the we stopped dancing, but he didn't let me go. We were out of the way of the other dancers so we didn't have to move. The man before me, let go of the hand he was holding and moved it to my hip, but he really didn't get that far. His hand landed on my gun instead; he looked down, with eyes wide, and lifted up my shirt just enough to see the gun in its hostler. He got a small smile on his face letting my shirt fall back to hide my weapon.

Looking back at me his smile got bigger, and there was a twinkle in his eye. His hand went to the small of my back to meet his other one, while my hands wrapped around his neck. Jay didn't hold me close though; he gave me enough room to pull away if I needed too, but I didn't. The alcohol was still coursing through my veins and I was glad it was or who knows what I would be doing right now; probably hyperventilating

"Do you have a permit for that?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do," I informed him, proudly. "My brother insisted I get one when I turned twenty-one. He's very protective."

"Well if you don't know how to you use it, I can help you with that. We could go to the shooting range sometime and I could teach you."

To be honest, I didn't have the heart to tell him I already knew how to use one. I always would go to the shooting range with my brother and dad when I was younger. The truth was – even though I didn't want it to be – I wanted to see him again; I wanted to be around him. But my brain was telling me to watch out for whatever this man was capable of. It told me to never get close to a man, especially this one. Who knows what he's libel to do.

Between my brain and my heart, I usually listened to my brain. This was one of those times where I listened to my heart instead, hoping I wouldn't regret my decision somewhere down the road.

"Yea," I told him. "I would like that."

"Okay," he said. "Well as you probably already know I have this whole week off. If you like to do it then that would work, unless you're busy."

"I'm off tomorrow and Monday."

"Okay, how about Monday then?

"That would be perfect."

"Great. How about ten? I'll pick you up around nine thirty."

"Sounds good to me. Should I give you my number?"

Jay nodded his head and let me go. I already felt cold, but I tried not to show him letting me go out of his arms bothered me. I watched him as he took his phone out of his pocket and put it into my right hand.

"There you go," he stated.

"Thank you," I smiled.

I navigated my way through his phone until I got to his contacts and put my number in it. Then I handed it back to him.

"Great," he acknowledged. "I'll text you in the morning."

"Perfect," I nodded.

Just then my brother came out of nowhere. By the look on his face I could tell he was happy. I knew what his problem was and I rolled my eyes at his behavior.

"Hey Roe," Adam greeted.

Then he looked at the man I was talking too.

"Jay," he muttered.

"Adam," Jay nodded.

Once that exchange was over my brother looked over to me again.

"Are you ready to go Sis?" he asked

At this I rolled my eyes again, for felt like the hundredth time that day. I really didn't understand why he was like this, but there was nothing I could do about it. He was just being my brother.

"Sure, Adam," I shrugged. "Why not?"

"Okay good," he stated. "I made plans with Wendy tonight so yea."

"Of course, you do," I muttered.

As I watched him he seemed to be a little nervous, and that could only mean one thing. I would know in the morning if I was right or not; something I wasn't looking forward too.

"Shall I walk you two out?" Jay asked.

"No," Adam said shaking his head.

"Yes," I nodded.

Adam and I said these at the same time. We looked at each other and glared; this was becoming ridiculous. I turned my attention back to Jay, putting a smile on my face. The look on his face told me he didn't know what to think or do.

"Yes," I told him. "That would be fine."

He smiled at me and we started walking towards the front door, with Adam behind us. I could feel glaring at me and knew he was brewing. If I could I would have smacked him, but didn't. I thought about this as the three of us walked to the car. My brother didn't hesitate to get in. Again, I rolled my eyes and sighed, turning to Jay I smiled.

"Sorry about that," I muttered.

"Don't worry about it," he told me. "I understand. That's what older brothers are supposed to do. It's good to know he cares about you."

"True, but it does get old sometimes."

"I don't doubt it."

"Yea."

The horn honked from behind me and I jumped ten feet into the air. Jay grabbed my arms and steadied me; I could feel the electric shock run through my body again, leaving a tingly feeling in its wake. My eyes met his and I was lost again. As he looked at me it looked like he was feeling the same way. I could feel a blush spread through my cheeks. The man in front of me smiled softly and slowly let go of my arms.

"You better go," he stated stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Or your brother is going to beat my ass for keeping you."

"I think you could take him," I said breathlessly.

"I'm sure you're right but I don't want to risk it."

"You're probably right."

I turned to walk to the car, but turned back around when I got to the door. He was still standing there, watching me, with his hands still in his pockets.

"See you Monday?" I questioned.

"See you Monday," he repeated. "I'll text you."

"Okay."

Smiling as I opened my car door, I got inside and not even two seconds after I closed it my brother sped off. Looking in the passenger mirror Jay was still standing there, and I couldn't help but think I couldn't wait till Monday.