Much to Jay's relief, his ankle had returned to its normal size by Friday and he was back to work as if nothing had physically happened to him. He knew that mentally, something had for sure shifted between him and Hailey, but he figured it was best to push past that and just work. So he did, and, today, that included running through the streets of Chicago with her on his tail.
"I'm just asking you to slow down," she huffed once he'd helped the suspect he'd just caught into the back of a patrol car.
"If I would have slowed down, I'd never have gotten him," Jay said with a smirk as he walked backwards straight into Adam.
He laughed and grabbed Jay's shoulder, "Watch it."
"Yup," Jay stepped to the side. "You know, I'm feeling so good, I say we all go out tonight. It's a Friday."
"Yes!" Adam laughed, "All right! Hailey?"
"Um, I…" she trailed off and pulled her phone from her pocket with a shrug.
Jay bit his lip because he knew what she was thinking and what was going through her mind. While they had talked at work about cases, they hadn't talked about much personally since Tarik gave her the bracelet days before. Deep down, he knew it wasn't the bracelet that created an awkwardness between them, but it was all he could think about. Something about it didn't sit right with him, and that was easier to think of than almost kissing her on his couch.
"It's okay," he said softly once she looked up at him, "We'll have a beer for you."
"Whoa, what?" Adam asked and looked between the two of them. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Hailey broke Jay's gaze to say, "I have plans with Tarik tonight."
"Tarik?"
Kim bounded over with Kevin who added, "Are we finally gonna meet this guy?"
"Oh, no," Hailey tried to laugh and shook her head, "No, it's okay. He wants to go out for steak, that's too much and not a bar place."
"Steak?" Jay asked. He could specifically remember Hailey saying fancy dinners wasn't their thing for dates - something about preferring to relax and save money. It gave him the impression Tarik was pretty cheap, but he didn't want to assume even if he personally would be more than willing to spring for a nice meal with Hailey once in a while.
She avoided his eyes when she nodded and lightly played with the bracelet hanging from her wrist. The silver T glinted in the sun and suddenly Jay wasn't thinking it was some cheesy gift, but some sort of collar.
She got it the night she'd turned down Tarik to spend time with him. He'd also given her a pretty intense mark on her neck, and he would have put money down that she had bruises on her waist as well. His vision seemed to turn red at the thought of someone putting a claim on Hailey just because she'd spent time with him. It was pizza on the couch. They hadn't kissed. Nothing more than pizza and cookies had happened, and yet here was some bartender marking her as if he owned her.
That was not okay.
"Why don't you meet us after?" Kim begged, "I can't hang out with these guys all night."
Adam laughed, "What's wrong with hanging out with us?" Throwing an arm around Jay's shoulder, he added, "We are some quality people."
Kim rolled her eyes and said, "Please."
Hailey cracked a smile and met Jay's eyes. He relaxed for her despite the burning anger searing through his veins; he teasingly winked and mouthed, 'Please,' followed by a joking pout.
She finally laughed and said, "Okay. I'll talk to him."
"Perfect," Kevin clapped his hands together, "We'll get there at seven-"
"Get a solid buzz," Adam teased.
"And you can show up whenever dinner's over," Kevin finished.
"This'll be great," Kim smiled.
"Upton, a second? Actually, bring Atwater too," Voight called.
Hailey nodded and walked over with Kevin to see what was going on.
Kim's smile then faded and she turned to face Adam and Jay. "You two behave tonight," she said, "No getting a 'solid buzz.' No pouting-"
Jay put a hand up and said, "Sorry, what?"
"Yeah, that was directed at you," Kim smirked and poked his chest, "You have a thing for her. Let her be happy, okay?"
"I…I do not…I'm not," Jay sighed then rolled his eyes at Adam trying not to laugh. "Oh, shut up," he mumbled.
"Mhmm," Adam laughed and walked away.
"Maybe after this guy," Kim whispered, "But let her have this."
Jay shook his head and followed Adam.
It wasn't that he didn't like Kim, but her 'advice' right now felt…unnecessary. He'd never imagine putting himself between Hailey and Tarik no matter how much he didn't like the guy.
But thinking of what Kim had said, part of him did understand. Could he really definitively explain why he didn't like Tarik? Besides saying he seemed boring and that he didn't like that bracelet he'd suddenly given Hailey…no. He knew he had that pit of jealousy deep down, and he was dealing with it.
He dealt with it all day. He couldn't stop thinking of Hailey and Tarik and spending the night at the bar with the two of them. It didn't make him uncomfortable, he just wasn't looking forward to watching them be together. Hailey wasn't exactly shy to a friendly touch here or there, so he didn't know what to expect when she was around the guy she liked - he wasn't sure how he'd feel if he had to see them holding hands in front of him.
By the time he'd gotten to the bar that night, he'd considered leaving after just one or two drinks. He didn't want to make Hailey feel awkward. He didn't want to feel awkward himself.
Jay was still on his first beer when he spotted Will walk in with a couple other doctors. He waved him over and made room for him at their table.
"Dr. Halstead," Adam teased as Will approached.
"Hey, Will," Kevin said and shook his hand.
Kim smiled at him as she sipped her drink.
"So," Will cleared his throat and leaned against the table, "Where's Hailey?"
"With Tarik," Jay said under his breath.
"Uh-huh," Will nodded. He looked over his shoulder at his coworkers then said, "Coral's here."
Kevin choked on his beer then coughed out, "Coral?"
"She's this girl I want to hook Jay up with," Will explained, "She's a newer nurse at Med, little older than him, black hair, Canadian - I think she's a good fit."
"Uh, she doesn't sound like any girl Jay's ever been with," Kim laughed.
Will tapped his head then said, "Exactly."
"Which one is she?" Adam asked while standing up to lean over the table for a better look.
Will glanced over his shoulder then said, "The one next to Natalie."
"She's cute," Kevin nodded.
Jay shook his head and sipped his beer.
"As the only girl here, I say go for it," Kim said.
"What does you being a girl have anything to do with Jay going to talk to Coral?" Adam asked.
"As a girl, I'm better at relationship advice than any of you," Kim smirked.
Jay scoffed, "Okay."
"That's bold," Will laughed, but then turned to Jay and said, "However, I agree with her. Come on. I'll introduce you."
"Really, I'm okay," Jay replied and sipped his beer.
Kim cleared her throat and waited for him to look at her to raise an eyebrow. He breathed in then barely shook his head. Kim tapped the table and nodded.
"It'll be good for you," she hissed.
"I'm fine," he whispered back.
Adam weakly laughed, "What is going on here? What's with the whispering and glaring at each other?"
Kevin tuned in to the quiet conversation then glanced at Will and smirked, "I know."
"What?" Adam asked, "Someone, please."
Jay waved him off and said, "It's nothing. They don't know anything."
"We know you like Hailey," Kim stated.
"And that you're jealous of Tarik," Will added.
"What?" Adam repeated, but this time with a hint of a laugh, "You and Upton? Are you serious?"
"You're ridiculous." Jay finished his beer in one gulp then stood up. Still shaking his head, he walked over to the bar without another glance back at them. He ordered a whiskey and sat on a stool in an attempt to make it clear that he wasn't going to return to their table until they shut up.
He knew he definitely liked Hailey, but now he was realizing that he wasn't quite jealous anymore of Tarik. He was still angry at him for trying to put some claim on her, and just knew that he was going to try and make it very clear that Hailey was his tonight.
When Jay was handed his drink, he slowly sipped it while internally debating if he could have a hand in reducing the amount of PDA Tarik was sure to display just to deal with his own insecurities.
"I'll have what he's having."
Jay glanced to his left at the woman's voice and quickly realized it was Coral. Suddenly, he felt as if he understood the saying 'kill two birds with one stone.' He could prove to Tarik that there was no need to be worried about his own friendship with Hailey while also showing his friends that he wasn't caught up on the girl he wished he could go after…all it would take was this one girl.
Quickly finishing his drink, he put a finger out and said, "Make it two and put them both on my tab."
The bartender nodded and walked away.
Coral smiled at Jay and said softly, "Hey."
"Hey," he cleared his throat and nodded over his shoulder at Will, "My brother said you're new at Med. Coral, right?"
She laughed and blushed, "Yeah. It's been a couple months, but it's great. He's great too. Really nice."
"Ah, so he hasn't been an ass to you yet," Jay teased, "I'm Jay, the younger, nicer Halstead."
Coral laughed again, "No, he has not, Jay. I think I can hold my own against him, though."
Jay hummed and pretended to size her up before saying, "Yeah, you could take him."
"Two whiskeys," the bartender said as he placed the glasses in front of them.
Jay passed one to Coral and fought back the urge to imagine she was Hailey.
"Thank you." She held up the glass toward him then sipped it.
"Not a problem," he replied, "Anyone who works with my brother deserves a strong drink every once in a while."
Once again, Coral laughed and Jay hated that it sounded so different from Hailey's, but still plastered a smile on his face to encourage it for the image it was providing their friends.
He moved one seat closer to her before asking, "Have you always lived in Chicago?"
"Just moved from Canada at the beginning of the summer," Coral replied, "I'm here for a fresh start. I didn't have many ties up there anymore, so I figured why not?" Her brown eyes met his and she tilted her head to the side as she debated her next words.
She was naturally pretty with a kind face, but she wasn't Hailey. In a way, she almost looked too put-together. Personally, he was a fan of when Hailey's hair would fall into her face or when he'd catch her putting mascara on in the locker room because she'd run out of the house too fast to get ready there. She never felt fake to him. She was real.
And yet here was Coral with her hand inching toward his arm. And over his shoulder he could feel his friends watching him as they debated his feelings for Hailey. And somewhere at a restaurant in Chicago was Hailey on a date with another man.
So he let Coral's hand grab his arm just as she whispered, "Have you been in Chicago your whole life?"
He nodded and answered, "Yeah, born and raised."
She swirled her fingers along his skin below his rolled up sleeve and asked, "What was that like? Did you like it?"
He knew what she was doing. It was a line if he'd ever heard one. She was trying to get him to open up, and even though he had no desire to share information about his family and growing up with this stranger, he did want to entertain the idea of getting over Hailey if it was only for his friends' enjoyment.
"It was something," he replied softly, "There were a lot of kids on our street, so that was nice."
Coral nodded and slowed her fingers to gently wrap them around his arm.
"What about you?" he asked, "What's life like in Canada?"
She laughed and shrugged, "Cold."
He smiled to say, "Well, you're in luck. It gets pretty damn cold here too."
"Looks like I'll need someone to keep me warm then," Coral whispered. She sucked in her smile when he chuckled in reply and squeezed his arm.
Pushing down any last thoughts of Hailey and remembering that this was to prove to everyone he was okay and even dull his own anger toward Tarik, Jay leaned forward to press his lips to hers. He let go of his glass of whiskey so he could wrap his hand around her bare thigh peaking out from her sundress. She moaned softly against him and parted her legs giving him more room. His thumb pressed further into her jeans before slipping up to tease along her waist. In turn, she dropped her hands between them to slide along the buttons on his shirt until they reached his belt.
A quick knocking on the bar interrupted them going any further and Jay remembered where exactly they were as he pulled away from her.
"Public place, keep it PG," the bartender said, "First and last warning, you two."
Coral laughed softly and shook her head, "I'm sorry."
Jay glanced at her and smiled slightly, "No, don't be. I started it."
"I wish you didn't have to finish it," Coral whispered.
Jay bit his bottom lip then stood up and grabbed her hand, "Come on. We don't have to finish it right now."
Coral raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Jay nodded and tugged her to stand up noticing that she was a good three or four inches taller than Hailey was.
Hours before, he'd been wanting to avoid this bar altogether at the mere thought of Hailey being on a date while he was here. Now, he was avoiding it by being in it and making out with someone who was very much not Hailey. It wasn't perfect, and he wasn't quite looking forward to it, but Coral was nice so far and it couldn't have been a bad thing to even do.
Before they could get any further than the hallway that led to the bathroom, though, he heard the door to the small bar open and turned to see Hailey walking in with Tarik. He stopped leading Coral away and just stared.
Wearing a leather jacket and a plain white t-shirt over a pair of black jeans, Hailey was standing there searching the room for their friends or maybe even him, and he thought she looked beautiful. It was the exact opposite of Coral's green summery outfit and just proved his earlier thought that Hailey's relaxed style was a much better fit for him.
She spotted the table with their friends at it just as Jay realized what he was doing.
He couldn't let her see him with another girl.
He knew they weren't dating and were just friends, but he still didn't like the idea that he was about to slip away in the dark with a girl he'd just met. Just because he wanted Tarik to get the wrong idea of his feelings for Hailey, didn't want mean he wanted her to get the wrong idea.
"I'm sorry," he said as he dropped Coral's hand, "You were right, I think I do need to finish this now."
She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you serious?"
"Yeah, I…" he took a deep breath and nodded over his shoulder, "A good friend just came in and-and we're supposed to be meeting her boyfriend. I want to put my best foot forward." Coral looked skeptical, so he added, "Plus, I don't want to get kicked out."
She let out a breath then shrugged. "Okay, but only if you give me your number."
"I can do that," he said with a nod and accepted her phone to do as she asked. A small part of him told him to fake it to avoid any awkwardness in the future, but it felt too dirty for him and much too like a "post-army Jay" move. He may not be interested at all in a real relationship with this girl, but he really didn't want to be an ass toward her - especially after he'd joked about Will.
"I'll see you around," she said softly once her phone was back in her pocket. She kissed his cheek then turned to walk back toward the other doctors and nurses near the bar.
Jay took a deep breath and straightened out his shirt before heading over to meet Hailey and Tarik just as they arrived at the table with the others.
"So?" Will whispered.
Jay rolled his eyes and brushed him off to put his hand out in Tarik's direction. "Jay," he said, then, as an afterthought, added, "Halstead."
Hailey blushed bright and her mouth gaped slightly.
Tarik shook his hand and tried to smile as he said, "Nice to meet you. Again. You were the one that introduced us, weren't you?"
"Uh," Jay weakly laughed, "Yeah, yeah, I guess I was."
Hailey pulled herself together and just raised an eyebrow before putting a hand on Tarik's arm and gesturing toward everyone else: "Will, Kim, Adam, and Kevin. Everyone, this is Tarik. My…"
She blinked slowly as the word seemed to form on her lips but never exactly come out.
Tarik glanced at her then said, "Boyfriend. I'm her boyfriend." He shook hands with everyone while still keeping an eye on Hailey who couldn't quite meet his gaze. In fact, she was staring straight at the table: definitely not at him and definitely not at Jay – something Tarik noticed by the glare he then shot toward him.
"Well, welcome," Adam chuckled, "I used to date her too, so-"
Kim elbowed him then turned to Tarik to say, "So nice to finally meet you."
Tarik seemed to be waiting for the usual 'we've heard so much about you,' but it never came because it would have been a big lie. The only person who ever heard anything real about Tarik was Jay, and by the looks of his intense stare, the only person Tarik ever heard about from Hailey was Jay.
Instead, he cleared his throat and looked at Hailey, "Red wine?"
Kevin chuckled, "There's no red wine here, at least not anything good. Hailey usually gets a beer or whiskey."
"Oh," Tarik weakly laughed, "Of course. I…will be right back." He walked away leaving Hailey to glare at everyone.
"What the hell?" she hissed, "You do not bring up that we used to date or correct him on my drink order."
"Idiots," Kim breathed and shook her head as she sipped her drink.
"I'm your favorite Halstead right now, right?" Will asked.
Hailey ignored him as she rounded on Jay, "And using your last name? Why? Just why?"
"So he knows who I am," Jay said with a shrug.
"Just don't be an ass," Hailey whispered and poked his chest.
"I am not an ass," Jay scoffed, yet everyone then turned to face him in disbelief. "All of the time," he added, "And not to you. You're my friend, remember? As long as you're happy."
Will hid his smirk in his beer as Hailey softened and said, "Yeah, and I am happy. I am."
"Was dinner good?" Kim asked before Jay could think of replying. Whether her quick question was to purposely prevent him from saying something more, he didn't know, but he sort of appreciated it because he didn't want to get any more vulnerable in front of their friends.
"Actually, yeah," Hailey said while sliding onto the barstool next to Kevin, "I had wine there which is why he suggested it now." She finished talking with pursed lips and a raised eyebrow in Kevin's direction.
He shrugged, "Sorry?"
Will laughed, "Well, as fun as this awkward encounter is going, I'm going to head back to my other friends. Kim, text me if this all burns down."
She winked at him and nodded as he walked away.
Jay let his eyes follow Will so that he could steal a glance at Coral. She looked up as Will sat across from her and waved over at him. He tried to smile and just barely waved back.
"Do you know her?" Hailey asked.
Jay turned back toward her and said, "Huh?"
"That girl over there, do you know her?" Hailey repeated.
"No, no, not really," Jay shook his head before lying: "Just someone Will introduced me to earlier."
That I then planned on kissing in the back of the bar to prove to everyone I don't have a thing for you, but that all went downhill the second I actually saw you because, yes, I really do have a thing for you.
He sipped his beer and shrugged.
"She's cute," Hailey said simply.
"I'm definitely interested if you're not," Adam chuckled.
"Have at it," Jay nodded.
Hailey then smiled at him before facing Tarik who was returning to the table with two beers in hand. "Thank you," she said and accepted one of the bottles.
"Uh-huh," he said as he leaned against the table. "So," he cleared his throat and took a sip, "Anyone else date Hailey that I need to know of?" It could have come off as a joking question, but his eyes were rather hard as they darted around the table even stopping to linger on Kim for a moment too long causing Adam to put an arm around her shoulder.
"Um, no," Kevin finally said, "No…just Ruze."
"Ah," Tarik nodded, "And that other guy?"
"Is my brother," Jay answered.
"I haven't dated any of the others," Hailey whispered, "Can you stop?"
Tarik glanced to her then nodded again, "Okay."
Hailey's face flushed, but there was no way it was from any of the alcohol she'd consumed that night. In fact, everyone's face looked a little red. Jay felt as if even he was experiencing second-hand embarrassment, though it was certainly mixed with an incredibly weary feeling toward Tarik.
Hailey had said he was pretty insecure, but he wasn't expecting those insecurities would be so front-and-center right off the bat in front of people he'd just met. It was unnerving in the weirdest way.
That feeling continued throughout the night with each pointed question about Hailey (that usually involved some aspect of her relationship with anyone ever) and hand he'd place on her. Tarik did seem very pro-PDA like Jay had suspected, but it wasn't in an overly romantic way - it was very much like he was making it clear she belonged to him. His hand would make its way to her wrist or slide down to her waist, and he'd look around almost daring someone to say something to him.
Jay kept his eyes trained on Hailey at all times. Not once did she move or flinch away, but she also didn't lean into the touches or return them. If anything, she looked embarrassed.
Jay wasn't even the only one to have noticed. As they were buying another round of beer for everyone, Kevin whispered to him, "Weird dude, right? Like it's not just me?"
Shaking his head, Jay replied, "Not just you."
"If they broke up, wouldn't be the worst thing," Kevin breathed as he led the way back to the table.
Jay silently agreed. He wanted Hailey away from this guy he was partially responsible for her seeing.
Somehow, that thought was clear on his face because Tarik turned to him about an hour after he'd arrived when Hailey took a bathroom break with Kim to say, "Do you have something against me?"
Kevin and Adam froze at the direct question.
Jay cleared his throat and put his beer bottle on the table, "Sorry?"
"Just wondering," Tarik said much quieter now. He even shifted on his chair as if he was slightly uncomfortable.
"I don't have anything against you," Jay stated, "If you think that, I'm sorry, but I'm only ever looking out for Hailey. I'd hope you respect that."
Tarik stared at him then said nothing and nodded before looking away as he sipped his drink.
Jay set his jaw and shook his head.
The question itself bothered him, but what bothered him more was how easy Tarik backed down. To him, that just showed how much of a pushover Tarik was.
He knew in his gut that Hailey deserved better, yet he didn't say anything to her the rest of the night. She became more and more relaxed with each drink that passed her lips which, in hand, led to her finally leaning further into Tarik much to his delight.
Jay personally disliked it, but the grin on Tarik's face made it clear that he was getting what he wanted. It almost prompted him to say something to Hailey as they all filed out of the bar. Instead, though, when she stopped at his voice, all he could muster out was, "Text me when you get home?"
"I'll take care of her, man," Tarik interrupted, "Thanks, though."
Hailey smiled between the both of them, "Yes, thank you. Bye, Jay." She reached out to him only for Tarik to intercept her hand and squeeze her fingers. "Hey," she said and yanked her hand away, "What're you doing?"
Jay glanced to her eyes and noticed that any of her buzz was now fueling a bit of anger.
"Just wanted to hold your hand," Tarik said quietly, "Come on, Hailey, let's go home."
She breathed out a huff then looked at Jay before saying, "See you," and leading the way to a silver Malibu.
Kevin whistled softly once they were out of earshot.
Kim hit his arm and whispered, "We need-"
"To get her to break-up with him," Adam finished.
Kim looked as if she was going to fight him then sighed, "Yeah." She glanced to Jay as she said, "I'm sorry."
He shook his head and mumbled, "See you later." Ignoring their goodbyes, he made his way to his truck and wished he would have stepped up more.
The thing he knew too well about Hailey, though, was that she liked to take care of business on her own – especially if that business directly involved her. There would have been even more of a scene, if that was even the right word, had he stepped in.
He just prayed he wouldn't regret being a bystander tonight.
A/N: Happy Monday! I'm hoping this one will answer a couple questions you may have about Tarik and Hailey's relationship, and I also hope you like it! Hearing what everyone thinks of him without knowing too much has been a ride, so let me know what you think now :) Next one's a big one, so hang in there! Talk soon!
