Chapter 3

Crossing the Line

Woody answered his cell phone but not before a long sigh. It was Jordan, he knew that she was aware he'd worked a day shift and would be free that night.

"Hoy," he answered flippantly and pulled on his suit coat as he was heading out for a late lunch.

Jordan was going through things on her desk distractedly because that was always the best way to keep the conversation short, not get into any dangerous territory of conversing about anything deeper than a case or the weather.

"Hey, Woody, what's up? You sound like you're on the move, headed out to a case?" Jordan asked innocently and Woody looked up and down the hallway, deciding whether to answer truthfully.

"Uh..no, I'm actually on my way to lunch, I was out on a case all morning and most of the afternoon, so I though I'd grab some pizza fast," he said nodding to Seely who was on his way into their office with a stack of papers and a confused look on his face.

"Ooo..pizza? Mind if I join you? I'm done for the day," Jordan asked reaching for her purse and coat, knowing it wasn't in him to turn her down for a chance to be seen in public rather than hidden behind the walls of Woody's little apartment.

Woody put the phone to his shoulder and looked pleadingly at Seely. "Cover me for like an hour man, I'm just getting around to lunch and Jordan wants to meet me for pizza," he said with big eyes, knowing he had the sympathies of his office mate on his side.

Seely sighed and looked at the stack of folders in his hands, holding them up for Woody to see. "But there's….and these cases'll take a week with TWO of us going through.." he stopped at Woody's pleading look. He knew that look, he'd given it to Woody himself several times over the past year or two when an opportunity to meet up with Lily came about.

Woody knew the answer before Matt even said a word. "Thanks Seeley…" Woody started and Matt just nodded shooing him off.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, ya owe me one.." he started and shook his head watching Woody stride off down the hall on yet another obstacle course for Jordan's heart. "..or like, 12.." he sighed stalking into the office and tossing half the stack on Woody's desk.

Woody saw her sitting in their usual booth at the pizzeria already talking up the young bus boy whom had an obvious crush on her. He couldn't help but stop at the corner of the street, just out of her line of sight and watch her leading the boy on just enough to make him feel special.

His smile turned to a frown when he started to wonder if he WAS that kid to Jordan and just wasn't really aware of it. He shook the thought away, determined to make overanalyzing this….whatever it was….with Jordan for at least just the amount of time it took to eat half a small pizza.

"Hey," he smiled giving her an awkward hug and kiss on the cheek before sitting down across from her. "Chatting with your boyfriend I see? Should I be jealous?" Woody asked nodding towards the bus boy.

Jordan gave him an uncomfortable smile and a short laugh in return. It was hard to see where the boundaries of a joke could go when they really had no idea of the true boundaries this relationship they had.

"So…pizza.." Woody said returning her uncomfortable laugh. "You look a little…off, you doing okay?" Woody asked while they waited for their drinks and Jordan looked distractedly around the room, talking about nonsense and trying to fill the empty spaces between nonsense with casual banter.

"Me? Okay?" Jordan asked trying to sound casual and waved a hand over the table. "Yeah, just more hungry than I thought I guess, sorry." She said and then touched her forehead with a simple laugh.

Woody nodded. "No problem.." he said slowly and offered her what he hoped was a genuine smile. They ate their pizza, discussing their day's events and noticeably avoiding any talk of their plans for the night but something in Jordan's eyes told Woody that he'd be sharing his bed with her later that night.

They parted ways outside of the shop, with no little more than a casual promise to see each other around and a wave.

The rest of the afternoon Woody paid Seeley back for that time he'd taken to see Jordan but found his mind wandering off in the middle of nearly every case file he picked up and this didn't go unnoticed by the man sitting across the room from him.

Seeley stood suddenly from his desk somewhere around the sixth or seventh case file Woody had daydreamed his way through and walked over to pick up his notepad.

"What? What?" Woody asked snapping out of it and sitting up in his chair looking at Seeley.

With a smirk Matt gave the legal pad a once over before tossing it back into Woody's arms. "I was just making sure you weren't writing yours and Jordan's initials in little hearts all over the back, we DO have real work to do here ya know," he said going back over to his desk and sitting down with a thud.

Woody ignored his comments and glanced out the window before swiveling his chair around with a sigh. "You ever feel like you're the punch line of a joke and you're the only one who doesn't know it?" he asked with a frown.

Seeley sat back and regarded Woody for a long time. He was from a rich family who didn't see the value in an honest hard day's work.

"….I…MAY know what you're talking about, yeah, why? This…whatever…you're doing with Cavanaugh?" he asked and Woody nodded silently, still looking out the window.

"I mean…" Woody started and shook his head with a sigh. "It's not like it should be all that tough anymore," he shrugged. "Pollack is out of the picture, me and Jordan made up…kinda.." he said softly. "We're both doing good with work and we've got nothing to stop us really, so…so why can't we seem to just….let it go and be together? This casual shit is for the birds.." Woody mumbled flicking a piece of lint from his shirt.

Seeley felt compelled to lean over and check under Woody's desk to make sure his balls hadn't fallen off at some point during the past five minutes.

Woody caught his little move and sat up quickly. "Oh, okay NOW what asshole?" he asked, exasperated and tossed the file on top of his desk.

Matt leaned back putting his hands up defensively. "Hey hey, I was just doing the friendly thing and checking to see if your nuts were still attached…" he said shaking his head. "CASUAL sex with a gorgeous woman and you're twirling your pigtails around one finger and dreaming of being Mr. Jordan Cavanaugh…get a grip man, you got a good thing going on…" Seeley started with an authoritative nod. "So..so either you're bat shit insane or…or head over heels for that woman," he stated, making what he hoped would be his final statement in this tirade of sage advice.

Woody nodded, barely listening as he continued his hard stare out the window. When he realized Seeley was finished his speech he turned towards him again and frowned after catching the last part about insanity and love. "Aren't they pretty close to the same thing?" he asked.

Seeley at least had the good sense to think on it a moment before shrugging in defeat.

The late night knock on his door had become familiar as her honey sweet voice over the past half year and change.

Woody stared at the door for a long moment, contemplating when it would all finally end and the late night rendezvous would finally give way to holding hands in the park, dropping each other off at work in the morning, hell, he'd even take her staying for a bowl of Frosted Flakes and a quick shower over the covert affair they'd been locked into.

But while she'd finally conceded to spending the night, Jordan took that promise only as far as the first rays of light peeking into his little bedroom reached.

"The light's only at the foot of the bed…" he'd mumble one morning, pulling her closer and holding her tighter.

"No, look Jordan.." he'd weakly protest after the next tender encounter. "It's only at the dresser today, you can stay longer.." as he pulled her back down into the covers.

But still she went, every morning before the automatic coffee pot could fill to the 6 cup line, leaving him cold and annoyed, more at himself for having let her in again than at Jordan for coming to him.

He opened the door wordlessly and just as she had every night before Jordan offered him a gentle smile and touched him softly as she stepped in and shut the door behind her.

But unlike previous nights, Jordan did not drop her things in a trail headed for the bedroom. Instead, she hung up her coat, tossed her bag by the chair and opened her arms to Woody from where she sat on the couch.

Woody watched her wordlessly for a moment but he went to her. He always did.

"Hey.." he whispered lowering his lips to hers. Lovers lips met as friends hadn't earlier that day and the awkward hug at the pizza place was replaced by confident, tender caresses.

"Hey.." Jordan smiled and uncharacteristically of their previous encounters took the reins with a passionate force that surprised Woody. It wasn't just that she wanted him, she needed him.

Even as surprised as he was Woody knew that questions and commentary were off limits for this part of the night. Besides that he needed her just as badly. If not for his precarious position Woody would have laughed. In all the months they'd been engaged in this night time dance this was the first time they were completely on the same page.

Clothes were removed less frantically than previous times and the focus of the night seemed to be less on the act and more on the two people involved.

Gently, Jordan pushed Woody back onto the sofa and climbed on top of him, laying out so that their whole bodies were touching and she had access to his now bare chest and he could reach down to stroke his hands over her bare backside or run his fingers over the fabric of her thong if he wanted.

"Jordan…" he moaned softly between deep, wet kisses. "Bed.." he grunted when she slipped one smooth knee between both of his legs and gently began to rub it against his shaft through his boxer shorts.

Jordan's only answer was a quick nod and a tug of his wrist as she stood and pulled him with her to the bedroom.

They held each other then, making love, even though they both tried to pretend that it was nothing more than scratching a physical itch.

There were tender touches, soft but passionate kisses, and they moved in a dance they hadn't realized they'd been rehearsing for since the Lucy Carver Inn. And then they did it. They crossed the line they'd had drawn in the sand and there was no way either of them could take the words back once they tumbled softly from their lips.

"I love you." Woody breathed as he collapsed on top of her. Jordan was quick to follow in both respects and arched into him with a long sigh, maybe from the release of her orgasm but maybe also a little from the release of the words she'd been waiting to tell him for so long.

"I love you." She whispered back and held him close in her arms as they caught their breath.