(3)
Erin balanced the stack of files she was holding in her arm, making sure to be extra careful not to spill any coffee from the Starbucks cup she was holding in the other hand. It was just one of those morning where she already knew that it would be her first of many cups of caffeine for the day. She had gotten in late last night, back from her one week work trip from Boston, and she had only gotten about 3 hours of sleep before making her way into the office.
"Morning," Rachel greeted her when she saw Erin making her way in. Erin was about to respond with a 'good morning' of her own but all that came out when she opened her mouth was a big yawn.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly before another yawn followed. Rachel chuckled.
"Yeah, I'm feeling it too," Rachel said, holding up her own cup of coffee to show Erin. "Thank god for coffee right?"
"Tell me why I had everyone come in at 7 this morning?" Erin asked, regretting her decision to have everyone come in at an early hour. Really, her team should've been catching up on their sleep right now. The trip to Boston had them running ragged, collaborating with another team in the FBI field office there.
"Something something about wanting to remain productive and the shitty bureaucracy of the FBI that had us filling out more paperwork than doing actual field work?" Rachel replied, mimicking Erin's words that she had used on her a day prior.
"Yeah, something like that," Erin retorted, laughing along with her teammate. Erin was fond of Rachel and was one of the first agents that Erin handpicked herself to join her task force. She was a no-nonsense, capable agent who obviously wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Erin respected that. She wasn't sure where Rachel and Atwater were at in their relationship but she hoped that Kevin appreciated what a good woman Rachel was. "Well, I guess back to the paperworks," Erin groaned, tossing her head back. "I'll see you in about five hours. If you need me for something, I'll be the one buried underneath the mountain of papers," Erin joked, already dreading the amount of paperworks she needed to do. But as the leader of the team, filling out the report for the case and for each agent on her team fell upon her shoulders.
"Oh, don't sound so sad," Rachel replied with a smirk on her face. "I think there might be something in your office to cheer you up."
Erin's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she headed to her office, Rachel's knowing smile urging her on. Erin gasped when she saw a huge bouquet of daisies waiting for her on her desk. She turned around, knowing that Rachel was following behind her, with a look of question on her face.
"Yeah, the delivery guy was here about ten minutes ago and brought that," Rachel explained. Erin made her way further inside her office, putting her things down on her desk, before plucking the small white envelope that was resting in the bouquet. "Who's the guy that's sending you flowers?" Rachel asked, interest on her face. Rachel gasped and clasped her hands together. "Is it Harrison?"
Erin opened the envelope and pulled out the white card that was inside, reading the short but sweet message written on it. She smiled, clutching the card to her chest, lost in thoughts.
"So? Who is it from?" Rachel's voice broke Erin out of her thoughts.
"Oh, I forgot you were still here," Erin apologized, having completely forgotten about Rachel waiting for her answer. "Um, it's no one," Erin replied, keeping the sender's identity to herself. Rachel looked like she didn't believe Erin but she knew that as her leader, Erin was a private person and Rachel wouldn't be privy to private information like who was sending her flowers.
"It's okay," Rachel waved her apology off. "It's really pretty. Kinda surprised that whoever sent those chose daisies instead of typical roses."
Erin slid the card back into the envelope and put it inside her desk, sliding the drawer shut. She looked back at Rachel, who was waiting for an explanation.
"Um," Erin began, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Daisies are my favorite." Rachel nodded, accepting Erin's answer before going back to her own desk.
Erin sat down in her chair, her eyes still admiring the bouquet. It really was beautiful— pink, yellow and white daisies arranged harmonically in the vase, the sheer amount of flowers almost spilling out. Jay really did a good job with not only picking the bouquet out but with surprising her also.
'Erin, I hope you like the flowers. I know daisies are your favorite but did you know that daisies also symbolize new beginnings? New beginning like the one we're so lucky to get. I can't wait for tonight. -Jay'
Erin smiled to herself as she recalled Jay's message on the card. She wasn't expecting him to surprise her with flowers but she had to admit to herself that he did a very good job picking out the arrangement that he knew she'd love. New beginnings. That was what Jay said the daisies represented and Erin knew that he was taking what it meant seriously. So was she. They both knew that second chances didn't come around often and how fortunate they were that after everything that they had been through together and after everything they both went through alone, the two of them being at this place was almost unimaginable. But here they were, back together and looking forward to what the future held for them.
Erin took out her phone and sent him a text, thanking him for the flowers. Almost as if he was waiting by his phone, a reply came from him immediately.
'I'm glad you liked them. I missed you.' -Jay
Erin smiled, her heart skipping a beat, when she read his message.
'Me too. A week felt like forever.' -Erin
It really did. She had no idea that she would miss him this much. She felt like she hadn't seen him in forever which she knew wasn't true. They had dinner together before Erin had left for her trip, their sixth date at that point. Erin couldn't believe that she was counting all the dates they had been on like some lovesick teenager but she couldn't help herself. Jay wasn't the only one who was taking their new beginning and second chance seriously. She was too, being so careful with it like it was a fragile and delicate glass in her hands.
'I can't wait to see you. I can't wait for tonight.' -Erin
'Me either. I've been counting the days here.' -Jay
Erin smiled, feeling giddy after reading Jay's reply. She really couldn't wait to see him for their date tonight. They had talked regularly during their week apart but their conversations never really lasted too long. With Erin running around Boston by day and Jay's own important case in Intelligence, they could only facetime each other during the late hours of the night during the week. And by that time at night, they were both exhausted yet neither were willing to hang up to catch up on much needed sleep. At least not until Jay took notice of Erin's drooping eyes and poorly hidden yawns that he made her get some sleep, promising her that they'd see each other as soon as she got back.
And they would finally see each other again tonight.
Erin sent Jay one final message before putting her phone away and concentrating on her work. If she wanted to see Jay tonight for their date then it was imperative that she finished her reports. And there was no way she was missing their date tonight.
Erin's eyes were strained and dried from having to look at the computer screen all day as she worked on finishing her reports. But all that mattered was that she was done for the day and she organized her desk and turned off her laptop. Her team was already gone by the time she was done but it was normal that Erin was the last to leave. She yawned and stretched her arms before checking her watch. She saw that it was already half past six so she quickly stacked the files and cleaned up whatever she could on her desk. Jay was picking her up at eight and she would only have an hour to get ready by the time she got home.
She raced home, making it back in under 20 minutes instead of the usual 30 it normally took. She yawned as soon as she got inside her door, throwing down her briefcase on the counter and tossing her heels aside. She took off her blazer and threw it over the back of the couch and plopped herself down on the comfy and inviting couch. She was just so tired.
She glanced over the clock on the wall and saw she had ten minutes of extra time before she needed to start getting ready. Normally it wouldn't take her a whole hour to get ready but she was just really excited for the date. Jay hadn't seen her in a week and she wanted to knock his socks off when he'd see her again.
Erin wanted to scoff at herself for how ridiculous she was being. It wasn't as though Jay hadn't seen her in every state possible. He knew what she looked like without a hint of makeup on her face, knew how wild her hair could get when she woke up in the morning, and had seen her in raggedy sweats and messy lopsided buns on her head. But still, she wanted to impress him. After all, they were in the beginning stage of dating this time. Actually dating.
Since they no longer worked together and lived together, it allowed them to have the experience they didn't get the first time around. Where the anticipation of seeing each other would build up throughout the day, where they'd both count down the hours, the minutes, the seconds where they'd see each other, and where when she opened her door to let him in, he'd be breathless with how she looked. She wanted him to think that she just magically woke up like her hair was perfectly curled, her dress magically pressed, and her makeup impeccably applied.
Another yawn escaped Erin and she rubbed her eyes. She knew she should get in the shower and hoped that the cold shower would wake her up. But she felt like she was wearing weight across her waist and getting up was nearly impossible. Ten minutes, she promised herself. She'd take a short and quick nap for ten minutes then she'd get up and start getting ready. She closed her eyes and let her breath even out. Just ten minutes.
Rapid and frantic knocks woke her up, Erin moving her head in confusion before her eyes opened. For a second, she had no idea where she was or what she was doing. But slowly, she came back to the land of consciousness and realized that someone was knocking on her door. She looked at the clock again, her eyes widening in horror, when she saw that it was half past eight. She was thirty minutes late for her own date.
"Erin! You in there?" She heard Jay's worried shouts coming from outside, his fist pounding on the door. She sat up and quickly made her way over to the door and opened it. Jay was on the other side, dressed in a black button down shirt with a couple of top buttons opened. His blue eyes that were darkened with worry and concern flooded with relief when he saw her.
"Jay, I'm so sorry!" Erin apologized, wanting to smack herself on the head for falling asleep. "Shit, I was supposed to get ready like an hour ago but I fell asleep," Erin rambled on, feeling like shit for having fallen asleep.
Jay exhaled, his body deflating. "You scared the shit out of me," he whispered, shaking his head. "I knocked on your door earlier but I couldn't hear anything. I called you like twenty times but you didn't pick up. I thought you were still stuck at work but I saw your car in your spot. I was scared that something happened to you, like you've fallen inside your shower and hit your head and passed out or something."
Erin reached out to place her hand on his chest, calming him down.
"Jay, I'm alright," she reassured him. "I mean, other than feeling like an idiot for falling asleep. I was really looking forward to tonight. I'm sorry." Erin dropped her head, unable to look at him for messing up their plans for the night.
She felt Jay's hand take her hand that was resting on his chest, intertwining their fingers together. She brought her head back up slowly and before she could utter one word, Jay's mouth connected with hers. She was caught off guard by the sudden kiss initially but soon, she found herself melting into it. Jay backed her up against the wall, his hand coming up to brace the impact before his other one wrapped itself around her waist, pulling her closer.
Erin moaned as Jay ran his tongue slowly around her mouth, exploring every inch of it. Erin's tongue met his and they swirled together as Erin's hand came around the back of Jay's neck, pulling him in closer. She was no longer tired. All hints of sleep had gone away as soon as she saw Jay, felt him and tasted him. He let out a shuttered breath when they finally broke apart, both of Jay's hands coming up to gently hold her face.
"I'm sorry," Jay apologized, his eyes clenched shut as he rested his head against hers. He sounded breathless, slowly trying to take in deeper breath. She held him by his waist, holding him in a loose grasp. "I just really needed to kiss you. I missed you," he confessed as his voice slowly returned to normal.
"Me too," Erin admitted the same. 7 days felt like forever since she last kissed him. Jay's eyes opened and she saw the smile in them, matching the one on his lips. Slowly, he leaned in closer, seeking out her lips again. Suddenly, Erin was conscious of the fact that she had been sleeping for an hour already. She covered her mouth with her hand, Jay frowning in confusion. "I've been sleeping," Erin said, offering an explanation.
Jay slowly moved her hand away and kissed her deeply, quelling any and all doubts about her breath.
"You taste perfect," Jay whispered, his breath sweeping across her skin. "You taste like Erin," Jay continued, sounding completely sincere. Erin's face softened and she leaned forward to capture his lips again.
After they both got enough of a taste of each other to make them coherent enough for the next few minutes, Erin's contrition of making them miss their date returned. She knew Jay had made reservations for them at the new and popular tapas restaurant downtown and she knew that reservations at the place were hard to get. But Jay waved her apology off, not minding for even a second that Erin had essentially ruined their night.
"Who said the night is ruined?" Jay asked, not willing to make Erin feel even a little bit bad about what happened. He understood that Erin was a busy person with a demanding career. If anything, he felt bad that he was keeping Erin from getting much needed rest. Erin still looked sad so he kissed her pout away, wanting to see her smile again. "You should get some sleep."
Erin shook her head. "I'm awake now." She wrapped her arms around him. "We missed our reservation but maybe we could go somewhere else?"
Jay shook his head, Erin's face fell thinking that he was rejecting her. He held her in his arms and kissed her forehead. "How about you take a shower so you can wake yourself up more and in the meantime, I can cook for us. We can just stay in."
"You sure?" Erin asked. "You don't mind us staying in? I know you were looking forward to trying that restaurant. You've been looking forward to it all week."
Jay smiled, kissing her cheek. "The only thing I've been looking forward to all week is spending time with you. I don't care where we go or what kind of food we eat. All I need is you."
Erin's mouth split into a smile, her eyes softening as she gazed adoringly at the man holding her. This was Jay and she had missed him so much.
Half an hour later, Erin was freshly showered and headed to Jay's condo for dinner. She still wanted to put some sort of effort into her look for the night so she decided to wear the dress she had planned on wearing earlier anyway. It was a simple short black dress, held up by two thin straps criss-crossed across her back. She knocked on Jay's door and he let her in, his eyes looking at her hungrily. Erin preened under his lustful eyes, happy that she picked the right dress, judging by the look in his eyes.
"Wow," Jay breathed out, letting Erin in.
Jay's own black dress shirt was now rolled up at the sleeves, giving Erin the perfect view of the veins running up and down his strong forearms.
"Wow yourself," Erin said, always loving how well Jay wore a nicely fitted button down. He grinned, his arm coming around her waist to lead her to the kitchen.
"Dinner's almost done," Jay said as he resumed his chopping. "I hope you don't mind chicken alfredo. It was the quickest thing I could think of and I had the ingredients for it. There's wine. It's the red wine that you like," Jay continued, pointing to the bottle of red wine he had put out on the table. But Erin was too distracted, her eyes were glued somewhere else. "Erin?"
She snapped her head up at Jay calling her name. "Huh?"
"Are you okay?" Jay asked. "Where'd you go?"
Erin made a strangled noise, the answer stuck in her throat. She blushed, feeling the heat rise up her neck. So she was just caught checking out Jay but could anyone blame him? He just looked so good with his rolled up sleeves, the veins on his forearm bulging with every move he made with the knife, looking perfectly at home in the kitchen.
"Uh, nowhere," Erin finally replied, hoping that she was convincing enough. But the knowing look and the half smirk that took over Jay's face told her that he knew. Erin turned around and poured herself a glass of wine to distract herself, hearing Jay's low rumbles of laughter behind her. She wanted to smack him, preferably on his ass that looked so perfect in the dark jeans he was wearing. She gulped down the glass of wine quickly, feeling herself getting heated up.
Erin had always known that Jay was a hot guy. Anyone with one working eye could see that he was handsome, fit and had striking eyes. He was attractive and charming and as Erin watched Jay work his magic in the kitchen, looking perfectly domestic, all she wanted to do was to jump his bones. She turned back around, fanning herself discreetly. She was about to pour herself another glass of wine when she felt him wrap his arm around her behind. He kissed the outer shell of her ears, Erin shivering at the sensation. His lips trailed from her ear to her neck before landing a few soft kisses on her shoulder. Erin closed her eyes, getting lost in the feeling of Jay's lips on her bare skin. He tightened his hold on her and Erin's hand came up to hold his that were around her. They swayed slowly side to side, like they were dancing a slow dance to a song only they could hear. Jay returned his mouth to her neck, Erin leaning her head to the side to give Jay more access to her skin. He nipped and sucked lightly, tasting her sweet skin, only to pull apart when they both remembered the dinner that was about to be burnt in the background.
They managed to save the dinner before it got burned and they did eventually managed to sit down and enjoy Jay's hard work, even though their minds and thoughts were occupied with something else. There was tension between them, not awkward but stifling all the same. The sexually charged electricity that was buzzing them was getting too much to ignore. They didn't even really taste the food, instead spending that time exchanging heated and furtive glances at each other across the table. Erin knew that Jay was letting her set the speed of their relationship and was letting her take charge in terms of how slow she wanted to take it. Erin knew if she wanted things to go further between them tonight, she'd have to make the first move. Because Jay cared and respected her enough to not rush her, to put the control in her hand, until she was ready. And Erin knew she was.
After they finished their dinner, Jay grabbed her plate along with his own, taking it to the sink. He scrapped the last few unfinished bites into the trash can and started to soak the dishes. Erin watched his back as he did so, his tone back muscles jumping with every move. She wanted him and she knew he wanted her. She was ready for them to take the next step.
She approached him slowly, her hand reaching over to close the faucet and she turned him around by his waist, Jay looking down at her with nervousness and barely concealed anticipation. Her hand reached up to cup his jaw and the other hand coming up to lay against his chest, right over his heart. She felt his heart raced underneath her palm and she smiled before she got up on her tiptoe to slowly capture his lips.
The kiss was slow and tender at first, like they were testing out the water. Like Jay still couldn't quite wrap his head around what was about to happen just yet. Erin kissed him harder, both of her arms coming down and winding around his waist. That finally seemed to spur him on and his arms came around her, his hands coming up and down her back.
He rested his forehead against her when they broke apart to catch their breath, his normally bright eyes now darkened with lust and want. The question of 'if she was sure' was clear on his lips so Erin answered wordlessly with a searing kiss on his lips. Their lips remained locked on each other as Jay slowly led her to his bedroom that was encased in a warm glow from the lamp he had on his night stand.
Jay's mouth traveled down to Erin's neck and sucking her skin, Erin closing her eyes in pleasure. Her fingers began working on the buttons on Jay's shirt, slowly undoing each button one by one. When the shirt fell open, revealing his hard and smooth chest, Erin leaned forward to kiss his skin, her hands pulling the shirt off of his body until it fell to the floor. Then it was her turn as Jay slowly turned her around, his finger coming up to play with the thin straps on the back of her dress. His lips joined the part as he kissed the expanse of her back, teasing Erin until she had goosebumps all over her body.
Almost agonizingly slowly, he looped his finger around the straps and pulled it past her shoulders until her dress fell down to the floor in a soft swoop, leaving Erin's chest completely bare. His hand came up to her shoulder and turned her around so she was facing him again, both of them bare chested, taking each other in. Erin reached for his belt next, unbuckling it and pulling it out and tossing it to the floor before working on the button of his jeans next.
Jay's hands came up to cover hers and he bent his head down to catch her lips again. He unzipped his jeans and pulled the material down his legs, stepping out of it and kicking it to the side. His hand returned to Erin's side, touching and kneading her soft skin.
Jay got down on his knees, his fingers slowly pulling down her lace underwear down her leg. Erin stepped out of them and Jay threw the thin material over his shoulder. He kissed her thigh, Erin's breath hitching as he traveled from one thigh to another, slowly inching up to her core. He laid the faintest of kiss over it, Erin inhaling at the feeling, before Jay stood up. He laid her down gently on the bed, Erin completely bare to him. His eyes took her body in hungrily yet all Erin saw when his eyes met hers with a look so tender and so loving that she felt her breath being taken away.
He quickly got rid of the last article of fabric that remained on his body before he joined her on the bed, hovering over her. She brought her head up to kiss him, her hands coming up and traveling across the planes of his back. Jay was careful not to put his whole weight on her but she still felt him, pressing up against her thigh. Erin moaned when Jay found the familiar spot on her neck, one that Jay had spent hours kissing before. She felt him smile when he realized that it was still the spot that had her gasping and writhing in his arms with pleasure.
"Jay," she rasped when he began sucking at the spot, her toes curling in absolute pleasure. She bucked her hips up involuntarily and Jay smirked, loving to tease her. After kissing that spot until she was sure she had a hickey, he trailed his mouth down her neck to her chest, his mouth finding home on her breast. She clenched her eyes shut when he licked her nipples before moving his lips slowly down her stomach. Erin was aching for him and she needed him inside her. So she reached down until she felt him in her hand. He was hard and was aching for her just as much as she was for him. She ran her hand up and down his length, hearing Jay's sharp breaths in her ears, as she worked him up even more.
She guided him to her entrance, Jay stopping her before he entered her. His eyes were gazing down at her like he wanted her to be absolutely sure about this. She kissed him hungrily, letting him know with her lips that she was more than ready for this. She wanted this. She wanted him.
Erin felt her breath hitch as Jay slowly entered her, the feeling of him being inside her both familiar and exhilarating. Jay laid pecks all over her face, over her closed eyelids, and her forehead as she welcomed him in completely.
Only when he was sure that she was ready did he begin to move, setting a slow pace at first before steadily increasing the speed. He snapped his hips, sliding in and out of her, as Erin clenched her eyes shut, holding on for the ride. She let out a moan as he made love to her, his hands caressing her as he did so. He was so careful with her like she was a China doll that could easily break. But Erin wasn't. She was far from it.
"Jay," she gasped out his name as her hips bucked up to meet his, demanding him to go harder and faster. Jay was ready to comply, holding her leg up so he could hit an angle that he knew drove Erin that much faster to the brink. Erin shouted out his name in pleasure, her hands clutching his bedsheets as he continued pounding his hips in and out of her. She felt herself getting closer and closer to the edge, like a spring coiling tighter and together until it snapped and released. Jay grunted as he continued pounding his hips, getting closer to the edge himself.
Erin shouted out Jay's name when she reached the peak, shattering around him as she came. Jay's name fell from her lips like a prayer and all Erin saw was fireworks all around her. She was barely coherent enough to realize that Jay was still chasing his own release until she felt him still. Jay let out a guttural groan as he buried his face inside her neck as he came, trembling.
Erin wrapped her arms around his back, feeling the sheen of sweat that covered him, and she held him through his climax. He made to move off her, not wanting to crush Erin with his weight, but Erin held him tighter.
As they slowly came back down to earth, Jay propped himself on his elbow and he looked down at her, Erin staring back up at him. His eyes held nothing but affection and tenderness and his finger came up to brush her sweaty hair away from her forehead before he kissed her on the same spot.
Then their lips met in a languid kiss, opposite from the hurried and frantic kisses from earlier. But it was just as nice; felt just as good, if not better because their bodies were still connected in the most intimate way.
Jay slowly pulled out of her and laid down next to her, his arms immediately pulling her into his side. He kissed the top of her head, resting his lips there for a moment.
"You're amazing," he whispered into her hair, one hand playing with her hair while the other rested on her hips. She burrowed herself into his arms more and she tangled their legs together, hugging him across his waist. She closed her eyes as her head rested on his chest, listening to his heart return to its normal rhythm.
She felt him kiss her head again and Jay tugged her closer to him before burying his face in her hair like she was his safe haven. She smiled, letting the soft and soothing strokes of his thumb on her hips lead her slowly into sleep.
AN: I hope everyone is doing good and staying safe. With everything that is going on, I hope that my stories can give you guys at least a moment of distraction or a break. I'm glad to have this outlet for myself and I hope you guys enjoy reading it also.
Back to the story, anyone wants to guess who'll be the first one to find out about Erin and Jay getting back together? You guys will find out the next chapter and the correct guess gets a virtual cookie.