This story was originally supposed to take place during Valentine's day. But since Chicagogirl13 requested a birthday story, I made some alterations. Hope you all like it.
"Happy 32," a far too cheerful Jay was standing in front of Hailey's door holding a birthday cake and a bottle of tequila.
The blonde detective just growled and let him in completely ignoring the cake in hands.
"Oh, come on," Jay pleaded. "I went over to Greek Town to get you this. The least you can do is blow the candle. "
Hailey just glared at him, blew the candle without breaking eye contact and then grabbed the bottle and headed towards the kitchen. This was definitely not art of her plans. Her ideal birthday included sweatpants, pizza and Netflix.
"Man, you really hate birthdays don't you," Jay kidded as he followed her and placed the cake on the counter.
"No, not all" Hailey shook her head. "Just mine. "
"Why? For people in our line of work, birthdays should be celebrated. They mean that we made it out alive for another year," Jay said as he took off his jacket and sat.
"It doesn't have to be my birthday to celebrate that. New Year's does just fine," she bluntly responded as she sat opposite to him.
"Come on partner, be honest with me. Why do you hate your birthdays so much? In three years now you have never celebrated it with us."
Jay was right. His partner was awfully secretive about her birthday. She had no problem sharing her age so that wasn't the issue.
"My birthday was never fun," Hailey sighed. "For my dad it was just another excuse to start drinking early in the morning, at least for the first few years. After I turned 10 he wouldn't even remember it. As you get older, you kind of lose the excitement of celebrating to mention that each birthday is yet another reminder that I am getting older but I am still without a family of my own."
It was obvious that she was fighting off tears as her eyes were starting to lose their blue color. Jay hated seeing her like that. Every time she cried in front of him he fought the need to hold her tight in his arms. Every time though, he just stood there and let his presence calm her down. In their three year partnership she had never initiated any form of physical contact.
He slowly reached his hand to hold Hailey's, but immediately regretted the idea and withdrew it.
"Look," he just said. "The past is in the past. What matters is that you no longer have any reason to feel disappointed or scared. I am here with you and I am not going anywhere. I promise you I will never forget your birthday and always knock on your door with a cake in hands. Even when you are old, wrinkly and have no teeth to eat it, I will still bring you cake."
Hailey couldn't help but chuckle. Her partner always had that magic way of bringing peace to her soul. It was that weird effect he had on her since day one.
"Will you pour me a drink?" Jay asked eyeing the bottle of Tequila.
Plan A, was to get her out of those sweatpants and go clubbing. Since that wasn't the case, it was time for Plan B. Get hammered at home. But that plan seemed to fails as well as Hailey placed a single glass on the counter.
"Are you not drinking?" Jay asked disappointed.
""I don't drink on my birthday!"
"Why?" Jay gave her a wicked smile. He knew there was a good story behind that.
"Let's say that I don't make smart decisions when drunk and celebrating," Hailey hoped he would drop the topic. There were far too many embarrassing stories for her to share.
"Look, we are staying home. The only person here with you is me so what could possibly go wrong?"
Trust me, a lot," Hailey filled his glass.
Jay took a long sip and looked straight into her eyes hoping her eyes would find his. But she was too preoccupied staring at the counter top.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.
Finally, she turned her gaze and stared at him intensely. "I am fine."
"No, you are not. You can lie to the whole world, you can hide behind your smile, but I can feel you. You can't keep any secrets from me."
"Really?" Hailey raised her eyebrows. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me."
"Just because you haven't told me, doesn't mean I don't know,"Jay confidently said taking another long sip of tequila.
Without a warning, she suddenly took his glass from his hands and took a sip. That simple motion felt oddly intimate and for a moment he could feel his heart skip a beat.
"Screw this, if we are doing thin, am drinking," Hailey finally caved in.
The petit detective stood up, took another two small glasses out of the cupboard, a lime and salt.
Jau just stood there looking at her puzzled. "So we are switching to shots now?"
"Yes," she gave him a creepy smile that he had never witnessed again. "I'll ask the questions. If you are right, I'll drink. If not, you'll drink."
And just like that, the quick fire round started.
"What's my favorite colour?"
"Blue, because it reminds you of Greece."
A shot for Hailey!
"Favorite food?"
"Simple, Mac and cheese."
A shot for Hailey!
"Favorite drink?"
"When you are happy, you drink beer. When you feel the blues you turn to Scotch but can't resist to the occasional Cosmopolitan."
A shot for Hailey!
"Favorite movie?"
"You claim it's Silence of the Lamps but it's actually Pretty Woman. You actually own the vhs, dvd and bluray!"
A shot for Hailey!
"Favorite song?"
"Again, it depends on your mood. You start the day with something upbeat like Don't Stop me Now. When you are angry you switch to Metallica but when you feel sad, the drama queen in you surfaces in the form of Celine Dion."
A shot for Hailey!
He was on fire. If this was a game he was definitely winning. She was getting frustrated and he loved every minute of it.
"Here's a difficult one," her eyes squinted as she licked the tequila from her lips. "What's my greatest fear?"
"You call that difficult?" Jay's raised his head in absolute confidence. "You are scared of cockroaches."
Hailey smiled in victory. "You are wrong! Yes, I do hate cockroaches – those suckers from hell can fly – but that is not my greatest fear."
A shot for Jay!
She bit her lips for a second, debating whether or not to come open about the little secret.
"So, greatest fear, " she continued. "My greatest fear is you."
Jay stared at her sad eyes in shock. "What do you mean?"
"I don't ever want to feel the way I did when you were shot. I have never been more scared in my life before. One minute you were standing in front of me and the next you were laying on the ground bleeding. I could feel your skin turn cold. Your heartbeat fainting with each second that went by. Your blood soaking my hands. I thought you were going to die and there was nothing I could do to save you."
She could feel the tears, hot and welcome stream down her cheek. Before she could wipe them away Jay reached his hand and cupped her face, gently wiping the tears with his thump. He had never touched her like that again. His palm warm and soft against her skin. Hailey unconsciously closed her eyes and leaned her head against his hand. So, that's how he felt like.
"I am sorry you had to go through that," his voice almost like whisper.
Hailey could feel the tears building up. For months she had been burying all those feelings seep inside. Fear, frustration, anger. She wanted to yell at him, hit him and hug him, all at the same time. She wanted to promise her that he would never put his life in danger again.
No, that wasn't the time for a meltdown. She raised her head and wiped what was left of her tears.
"I am sorry," she said sniffing he nose.
"No,I am sorry," Jay run his hand through his hair. "I've been selfish.I never considered the impact it would have on you."
"Just promise me, no more secrets."
"The same goes for you!"
"The same goes for the both of us. No more secrets, no more lies."
No words were needed. Their silence was their unspoken pact!
The atmosphere in the room had turned very heavy. They needed to lighten things up so they spent the rest of the night coming up with every possible drinking game they could think of.
One bottle of Tequila and two bottle of whiskeys later they were still standing. Well, almost standing. Both of them had crushed on the couch side by side. Her head leaning against his shoulder as his hand was wrapped around her, their thighs brushing against each other. That had to be the closest they had ever sat.
"Do you think you will ever get a happy ending?" Hailey asked staring at the ceiling.
Jay frowned at her unexpected question.
"I am not sure Happy Endings even exist. Am I cynical to believe they are just a myth? A fairy tale fed to us from the moment we are born so that we will always have faith. Do you?"
Hailey hesitated for a moment but finally brought herself up to face her partner. Both their pupils clearly dilated from all the alcohol they had consumed.
"I don't know if it's the Tequila or the whiskey talking. Then again, maybe it's just me. I secretly hope my happing ending will be you! I want you!" her eyes never leaving his.
"Ok, no more drinking for you tonight. I think it's time for you to go to sleep," Jay joked as he tried to stand up but Hailey pinned him down.
"I mean it," she whispered in his ear and then began to trail kisses down his neck. Her cheeks were flushed, he skin hot.
Jay swallowed hard in embarrassment. Before he could process the situation Hailey was already standing in his lap, both hands cupping his face.
Her lips were only a breath away from his. He was fighting so hard the urge to touch her, but soon the fight was lost. He tangled his hands into her hair and pulled her in for a kiss. A soft gentle kiss that soon turned into passionate and gasping for air.
Soft moans of pleasure escaped their lips as he rolled on top of her, his hands exploring her whole body. He wanted to remember every part of it. The feel of her lips, the taste of her mouth, the tremble he thought he felt as he held her.
But not, he had to stop before there was no going back and finally found the strength to break the kiss.
"Hails no, we can't do this," he sighed out of breath, his forehead still leaning on hers.
"Yes, we can," she nodded, her voice barely audible as her hands started unbuttoning his t-shirt.
"Please, no," Jay placed his hand on top of hers in order to stop her. "This is wrong, we can't do this. Not like this."
Hailey let out a deep breath in disappointment. "Even when you are drunk, you are sober."
Jay stood up out of breath and helped too. He looked at her and he felt amazed at himself that he was able to stop.
"Don't get me wrong," he carried on sensing Hailey's frustration. "I want you, God I want you so much. But not like this. You only want it because you're drunk. What happens when you wake up in the morning and realize this was all a mistake? I will be crushed, and I don't know if I can take another hit."
Hailey stood closer to him and run her fingers through his hair. "Trust me, I've wanted this for a very long time. As a matter of fact, I think I am falling for you. Hard! "
Jay's mouth dropped at the unexpected confession. All this time he thought his feelings were one sided. He never made a move because he was afraid of rejection. Yet, there she was saying what he was too scared to even utter. She loved him.
"I love you too," Jay smiled at her relieved and brushed his thumb on her lips. "That is exactly why we have to wait. I want to remember this moment. I want to be sober when I hear those words from you. If we wake up on the morning with nothing but a strong hangover, then that's a sign that we'll have to wait. Otherwise, it's game on!"
Just like that, they laid back on the cushions sharing one last kiss before they fell asleep into each other arms.
Hailey woke up in bed with her head pounding. Her mouth was dry and her vision impaired. How much did they drink last night. She leaned up on one elbow and tried to open her eyes. She squinted at the clock. Damn it, it was already 9 am. She brushed her eyes with her finger to get a better look at her surroundings. Yeap, that was definitely her bedroom.
Something felt very odd though. With blurry vision, she spotted another figure laying right next to her. Suddenly her eyes opened wide up. That was Jay!
Oh crap she muttered and she checked under the covers to see if they were still wearing clothes.
"Don't freak out," Jay said yawning and stretching his arms. "We were both too drunk to try anything."
"Oh thank God," Hailey head dropped back in complete relief. "Last think I wanted was another Birthday day mistake."
Jay leaned up against the pillows and looked at her as she got out of bed and into her robe.
"Mistake?" he asked with a hint of pain in his voice.
He was right after all. What hurt him the most was the fact that he remembered every single bit of the previous night. The taste of her lips, her intoxicating scent, her soft touch, her declaration of love. And yet, there she was labeling it a mistake.
Hailey turned around to look at him sensing his wounded pride. "Nothing good comes out of drunken night. I went through this with Adam. I won't make the same mistakes with you."
"So, does that mean I have a chance with you?" Jay joked to defuse the tension.
"By now you should know Detective Halstead. If anyone has a chance with me, it's you," She gave him her wickiest smile and walked into the bathroom.
Jay smiled to himself. It wasn't the booze talking. Those words last night, were all Hailey. The truth was out and it was game on!