"The simple lack of her is more to me than others' presence."

- Edward Thomas

She lets herself soak in the tub in the dark of the bathroom until the water is tepid and she's warm and relaxed, and she manages to not think about much of anything for a few minutes longer than usual.

She's just stepping out of the tub when her phone buzzes, and she knows, because she'd just managed to not think about him for ten minutes, that it's Jay before she even looks.

Better yet, it's a picture of Jay, and Kim, Adam, and Kevin, out at Molly's. Jay's in the foreground, and there's room enough between him and Kev that she knows she would have been right there, warm and smiling against his side for the picture. .

Someone's missing.

She smiles and wraps a towel around herself before responding.

Yeah, Voight. He's gonna be sad he didn't get an invite.

Like she expected, her phone rings almost instantly, and she's already smiling as she picks it up.

"Clearly, I meant you," he greets her, and she laughs.

"Sure," she says, listening to the background noise of the bar quiet slowly.

"Still hungover?"

"I feel good, relaxed. I actually was just getting out of the bath when you texted," she tells him, shouldering the phone and tying her towel tighter around her. She watches her face in the mirror, flushed from the slight sheen of sweat the hot water and steam caused.

He's quiet for a moment, and she says his name softly.

"Sorry, my brain just short-circuited there for a sec," he says. His voice does sound a little rough, and it feels like the start to a dangerous game.

"Mhmm," she murmurs. "Are you all having fun at Molly's?"

The familiar jingle of the bell above the bar door and the way the call goes quiet at the edges tells her he's stepped outside into the fresh air, and she wonders if she was there, and not on the phone, would she have followed him out?

"Sure. Kim met us up here after the game. She and Adam are flirting in the corner and Kev has suspiciously had to go to the bar to talk to the new bartender four times, so," he trails off.

"And you didn't find someone to flirt with?" She asks, and she knows by the soft chuckle that floats over the line that he could have had his pick.

"I called you, didn't I?"

But he'd called her instead.

"I guess so."

It's quiet again, and this week has taught her their ability to sit in silence together is one of her favorite things about Jay and how they work together, even now, when the silence is charged with a tension she wants to relieve.

"So, tell me more about this bath," he says, "warm water, hot water, bubbles, no bubbles? Room for two?" and she laughs immediately.

"I'm sorry, is that you flirting with me?"

"Why? Not working?" He's laughing, the sound so husky and deep over the phone she wants to physically lean into it.

"God no. But I guess when you look like that, you don't usually have to try, do you? Your whole face is a flirt."

"God, how are you better than I am at everything?" He asks, incredulously.

"Now, that's better. Flattery will get you very, very far."

"Will it get me 800 miles closer to you?"

And there it is. This is the leap she's done very little but think about today. She's about to respond when his voice pitches quieter for a second.

"Hailey, hang on a sec," he says. In the background, she hears voices approaching. "Ruze!" She hears him call. "Are you two leaving?" Muffled voices respond, he calls out a "drive safe," and then his attention is back on her, his voice in her ear again.

"Sorry. Ruzek and Kim were leaving."

"Together?" She already knows the answer.

"Yeah. Is that… that's not weird for you, right?" He sounds hesitant, and she needs, she wants, to see his face.

Except. Well. "Hang on. I need to get dressed." She puts him on speaker in time to hear him groan.

"You're killin' me, Hailey."

She laughs, quickly pulling on a tee and shorts and picking the phone up to switch over to FaceTime. By the time he picks up, she can see the familiar cab of his truck, the quiet lilt of the radio in the background.

"I don't know if you're aware," he says in greeting, "but you're not supposed to put clothes on to FaceTime a guy." He's smiling, cocky, but she just rolls her eyes.

"Keep wishing, bud," she says, and the way he just shrugs, smirking, tells her he absolutely will.

"The Adam thing? it's not weird. We weren't willing to sacrifice or compromise for each other. It was never going to be more than it was. Kim and Adam are supposed to be together… it just takes some people time to figure it out."

"Think they will? Figure it out?"

"Adam and Kim?"

He hesitates and she watches him glance away for a second. "Sure."

She watches him for a moment, the easy way he can be vulnerable and so, so cautious at the same time, how she can read it all on his face. "Yeah," she says. "I think they both want to."

He nods, and the tiny smile that he tries to hide by looking out the window is exactly why she needed to see his face. "Good."

"Jay- " she starts, but his attention is pulled away from the screen by what sounds like a knock on the window.

"Hey, man," he says, and she hears the passenger door open as Kevin's voice fills the cab.

"Bro, can you give me a ride home? There's no universe in which I should drive right now."

She watches Jay nod, and the phone shifts so she can see Kevin settling in the passenger side.

It's her seat, most days. She's only a little jealous.

"Say hey to Hailey," Jay says, and Kevin smiles and waves and then glances between the phone screen and Jay.

"Are y'all just sitting out here FaceTiming? That's… not weird at all," he says, and Jay rolls his eyes.

"I'm sorry, dude, which one of us got sloshed trying to flirt with the new bartender? You know you don't actually have to keep buying drinks to flirt with her, right?"

"Yeah, well. Tell her that," he mumbles, and Hailey laughs.

"Just flatter her a little, man. I hear it'll get you pretty far. Right, Hailey?" Jay says, glancing at her, his smile teasing.

Hailey rolls her eyes, but smiles. "Flattery and a nice smile will get you just about anywhere with the right person."

Kevin just nods, glancing between them again. "Right."

Hailey laughs, and it turns into a yawn. "Jay, call me tomorrow? I'm gonna sleep." She still feels relaxed, and she wants to go to sleep with this floaty, flirty feeling still filling her.

He nods, Kev waves, and she hangs up.

Except, like she could have bet money on it, her phone vibrates with a text a little while later while she's trying to get comfortable.

So, just how far exactly will my nice smile get me?

I'm sorry, do you have a nice smile? That advice was for Kev.

Ouch. Guess I'll have to up my flirting game after all.

Your game is more than fine.

It's just too far away currently.

I know. We'll figure it out. Get some sleep, Hailey.

Sweet dreams.

You too.

She rolls over on her side and looks out at the lights of the city, still bright at the late hour, and thinks about Jay's voice, soft and flirty over the phone line, until she falls asleep.