Frankie sat on the bed with the coroner's file spread out around her. Once the Valparaiso detective had dropped her back at the hotel, she immediately changed out of her leather pants and suit jacket in favor of a pair of knit shorts and a two sizes too big white cotton men's button down shirt. She pulled her hair up on top of her head in a ponytail and slid some socks on as she ordered room service.
Jake knocked on the door and then slid his key in. He came in to see Frankie reclined against the headboard with a pencil clenched between her teeth and a red pen tucked behind her ear. Some locks of her black hair didn't quite get caught up in her ponytail and those legs that were as long as his speeding ticket record were bare from shorts to socks. For a moment Jake stared at her legs, the file and box of Skinner's belongings forgotten.
"Darlin'?" Frankie laughed and put the file aside as she sat up. The white shirt slid off of her shoulder as she did and Jake got a good glimpse of her shoulder. She wasn't wearing a bra...
"You better put that file box down before you drop it on your feet." Just then there was a knock on the door and Frankie winked as she slid up off of the bed.
Jake turned and watched her. Her derriere was just barely concealed by the almost too tight shorts and as she walked... He dropped the file box on the bed; it slipped out of his hands even as his jaw dropped. When Frankie turned around with the tray of food in her hands, Jake blushed and quickly looked down. "I... I uhh... got a few things out of Nessa's apartment. Mostly phone records, her calendar, her personal organizer, address book, and.."
"Jake."
"Yeah Frankie?"
"Shut up and eat something while we look over these reports."
**********
Smiling at the amount of food he managed to consume, Shay could tell Frank was feeling much more at ease with himself. Getting that burden off his chest had to have done him a world of good. She made a mental note to thank Frankie; whatever she had said to him had to have made some impact on him. That, and the realization of how close he had come to losing his family.
She smiled wryly thinking of Frankie and the way Jake had spoken of her. She wondered if he knew how his eyes sparkled when he talked about her and she didn't miss the way he brushed his hand against Frankie's while they were going over the killer's MO. She would have to pin him down when this was over, or the first chance she got, and see if he would admit that he wanted Francesca Battles as more than just a friend.
"Full yet, Tiger?" she asked with a laugh when Frank finally pushed his plate away from him. Cody had gone back to the main room to run a broader background on all the victims to see if there were any common denominators that linked someone else between them and Frank.
He grinned sheepishly while he helped clear the table.
"Nice to see you eating again," she commented. "Um...Frank?"
"Hmmm?"
"About Frankie..."
He moved closer and stood before her. "Shay. She's a friend..."
Shay laughed at his immediate reaction. Had she been that jealous? "Whoa there big guy...I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that I overreacted." She stood on tiptoe and dropped a feather light kiss on the tip of his nose before leaving the room to make a call to Jake.
"Come on, Jake...pick up," Shay spoke to the ringing of the phone in her ear.
**********
An hour and two cheeseburgers with side orders of fries later, Frankie and Jake had gone through all of the personal belongings in the box from Skinner's apartment and Jake had the yearbook in hand.
"She was the prom queen."
Frankie pulled the cherry blowpop from her mouth. "I can imagine Jake. She was a pretty woman."
"Oh my God."
"What?" She sat forward, the lollipop in her hand.
"Jesus Christ Frankie!"
"What is it Jake?" She plopped the sucker back between her lips and sat back on her knees next to Jake.
He was momentarily distracted by the sight of Frankie's knees spread apart for balance and a cherry red lollipop sucked between her lips. "She... Frank.."
"Yeeessss?"
"Dated. She was the Prom Queen, Frank was the Prom King."
Frankie said something that sounded like 'you are joking' around the lollipop as she leaned forward to look. Jake blinked and turned his head just as she reached up and slowly pulled the sucker from her mouth. He shivered slightly as she did, the image itself enticing him beyond the lack of bra and her bare legs.
Frankie leaned over, her breasts just brushing his shoulder as she did and she felt a tingle run through her body as she looked at the photograph of Frank and Nessa at the Senior Prom. "This is unfucking believable! You know what this means? Frank is the thread! I'll bet my PI's license that he dated Miss Illinois too and that whoever is doing this ..... oh my god..."
"Wha... huh?" Jake's eyes were glued to the reddish lips that hovered mere inches from his. They were slick and shiny from the sugary candy she'd been sucking faithfully. The shiny round red hard lollipop hovered mere breaths from her lips and Jake found himself wishing that she were sucking something else instead of that lollipop.
"What is with you Jake? Get a full stomach and your brain just turns to mush! Listen to me!" She shifted around and sat in front of him, the white stick held in her fingers. "If this maniac is killing Frank's old lovers..."
"Jesus... that means Shay could be on his list too..."
"Bingo. We got to call Frank and let him know." Frankie reached for the hotel phone.
As she did, her shirt pulled open and Jake got a full glimpse of one of Frankie's breasts. He stuttered and reached out, putting his hand over hers.
"What..?" She looked back at him, only a breath from him... Jake was leaning close over her, their bodies mere inches from one another. "Jake..."
Without warning, Jake's lips clamped down on hers, his hand pulling the sucker from her hand and tossing it onto the room service tray. Frankie's eyes widened in shock for a moment then slid shut as she gave in. He was actually kissing her... for the love of God he was kissing her! She moaned slightly as she curled her hands around his shoulders and pulled him closer to her. She felt his chest crush up against hers as he pushed her down under him on the bed. Jake's hand pulled the scrunchie out of her hair, moaning softly as he felt the silky softness of it glide over his hand. With a gasp, he pulled her over on top of him, his hands gliding up and down her back.
"Jake..."
"Shh Francesca..." he murmured. He slid his hands up under her shirt to cup her breasts, his thumbs massaging over her nipples gently.
Frankie groaned, her eyes sliding shut again as she rocked against his hips. She could feel his hardness through his pants pressing against her inner core deliciously. "We... should... the case..."
"To hell with the case Francesca..." he growled as he rolled her over under him again and sat up. He quickly pulled his shirt off over his head. Frankie reached for the buttons on his jeans as he did so. Jake pulled her hands away from his pants and pinned them down over her head as he leaned over her. His mouth covered hers fiercely as his tongue pushed past her lips to stroke hers.
Deep inside her throat Frankie growled and wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him snugly against her. As she felt his erection pressed hard between her thighs, she arched her back with a gasping moan. "Jake....!" she whispered.
Just as Jake was about to rip her shirt open, his cell phone rang.
**********
