it was vanessa's idea to have a girl's night.
she's young, full of energy and looking for a good time. this particular girl's night could have gone many ways, as literally everyone had different ideas in how to spent their night. eventually, vanessa's idea received the most votes and it was decided they were going clubbing.
so hailey pulled out a little black dress from way deep in her closet (honestly, when was the last time she dressed up?) and a pair of strappy matching heels and allowed vanessa to drag her to a nightclub. the other first responder ladies were also in attendance (it was amazing that their schedules all coordinated for once). due to vanessa's connections to the club, they were able to score a luxurious booth with bottle service in the vip section of the club; the drinks are flowing and they are all clearly and obviously, very inebriated.
"i'm so glad we got to do this!" sylvie exclaims, a fondness in her eyes. "god, i haven't had an enjoyable night like this in forever. i love you ladies," her eyes are glistening and hailey is sure she's about to start crying in the club.
stella takes her empty glass from her hand and replaces it with a full one. "no tears tonight, brett!"
sylvie takes a hearty gulp from her glass. "sorry. i'm probably drunk."
"you definitely are," natalie laughs. "what do you think the guys are up to?"
kim snorts and all eyes land on her. she's ditched the glasses and opted for the bottle instead (it's been a year). "is that even a question? molly's, obviously."
"since we're on the topic of men," april says with a glint in her eye. "kim, what's going on with you and adam?"
kim chokes on her bottle. "what?"
hailey hides a smirk in her gin and tonic.
"when are you guys getting back together?" natalie adds, looking at her expectantly. "honestly, we've all been waiting forever!"
sylvie nods. "you two are endgame."
"end-what?" kim sputters, feigning confusion. she isn't surprised they're wondering though; adam and her have a long history and they always keep coming back to one another.
stella rolls her eyes, "not everyone speaks tween, brett."
"it means 'meant to be together' obviously!"
kim hides her smile with another gulp from her bottle. "i'm not saying anything definite, but we are progressing along slowly," she pauses so the ladies can squeal in delight. "we've been through a lot recently and i just can't jump into anything right now."
emily nods in solidarity. "that makes perfect sense. you do you, girl."
"but since we're on the topic," kim adds, smirking in hailey's direction. "how about you and jay?"
hailey nearly drops her glass.
"oh my god, yes! we've all been wondering the same thing!" april exclaims.
suddenly, all eyes are on hailey and she's overwhelmed, like a deer in headlights.
"jay and i?" like the flick of a switch, hailey's undercover skills jump in and she's schooling them all with a perfectly stoic expression. "i'm not sure what you guys are talking about; we're partners."
if it wasn't for kim and vanessa, she might have actually fooled them all, but they know her too well.
"bullshit!" vanessa yells, "i don't believe that for a second. have you seen the way he looks at you? the man has heart-eyes all the time!"
"forget about that!" natalie interrupts, "we all saw your reaction in the hospital not that long ago."
hailey swallows deeply. "that was… different. i wasn't sure if he'd make it."
"and what did that make you realize?" vanessa prompts with a mischievous smirk. hailey refuses to answer and instead downs her drink, following a particularly nasty glare thrown in vanessa's direction. she's unphased of course and says, "she's obviously in love with him!"
"vanessa!" hailey snaps in utter mortification.
emily pats her knee from her seat beside hailey in the booth. "oh honey, it's alright."
"embrace it," sylvie adds with a giggle, tipping back a bottle. stella smirks and hastily pulls it away from her.
"i'm so done with this conversation," hailey mumbles, sliding down in her seat. compared to all the alcohol she's consumed, she feels oddly sober in that moment.
"i have a crazy idea!" vanessa interrupts excitedly. "let's go hit up molly's?"
emily grins, finishing her glass quickly. "i'll go anywhere i can get out of these shoes."
"oh god, me too," april agrees.
hailey is just dying to get away from conversations about herself and with everyone distracted at molly's, she can make a quick escape.
stella makes the final decision as she stands up with a wicked grin. "plus, i have an in with one of the owners. free drinks, ladies!"
it only takes them twenty minutes to call ubers and arrive at their favorite modest bar. it only takes hailey seventeen minutes to realize how truly tipsy she is and how much of a terrible idea it was to wear heels. but then it only takes two minutes upon arrival to spot jay's truck parked across the street and a small smile spreads across her features.
the ladies enter the bar in high spirits and loud cheers. the men of chicago's first responders are scattered around the bar, smirking pleasantly at the sight of their drunk coworkers.
hailey finds jay's heated green gaze easily. he's sitting on a stool at the bar counter and shooting her an amused smile. her plan to sneak away has already failed before it's even started. kevin and adam are nearby and kim and vanessa gravitate towards them on instinct. when hailey doesn't move, vanessa doubles back and drags her blonde partner so she doesn't attempt an escape.
"how was the night out ladies?" adam questions with a smirk.
vanessa is nearly vibrating with excitement. "amazing! god, i missed clubbing."
"i'm still offended we weren't invited," kevin adds, pretending to be annoyed, "ruzek and i know how to bust a move."
kim orders a water from herrmann as she laughs (she drank one too many bottles and it's starting to hit her hard). "i can attest to that. it's something everyone deserves to see before they die."
"no doubt," kevin smirks, nudging his brunette best friend. "what about you, hailey? enjoy yourself?"
hailey's neck snaps up to make eye contact; she was once again deep in her thoughts. "oh yeah, it was great."
"she says with limited enthusiasm," jay narrates sarcastically.
hailey feels oddly sober.
"sorry," she shakes her head, avoiding eye contact. "i'm just really tired. think i'm going to call it a night."
vanessa instantly frowns. "do you want me to head home with you?"
hailey can see how much vanessa doesn't want to end the night; this entire night was her idea in the first place and she can see stella and sylvie setting up the karaoke machine. this night was definitely far from over.
"no, no, i'm okay!" hailey reassures her with a forced, bright smile. "i'll see you all tomorrow morning!"
she catches adam's disapproving eye, as if he knows more than she does, but she ignores it.
"i'll drive you home," jay offers, just as she is about to leave the bar. he's hurriedly draining the remainder of his beer bottle and grabbing his jacket.
hailey frowns (but notices kim and vanessa's identical grins). "no jay, i'm okay. i'll call an uber."
jay scoffs. "you are not calling an uber," he replies with distaste, "and you are not arguing with me about this."
hailey promptly closes her mouth and shoots him an annoyed glare instead. "goodnight you two," kim bids goodbye with a cheeky smirk, "be safe out there!"
the blonde detective rolls her eyes at her friend's antics and silently follows jay to his truck parked across the street. he usually doesn't drink more than one or two beers specifically so he is still sober enough to drive home and not have to leave his vehicle overnight. and it always helps to be able to drive his coworkers home whenever they need to unwind with a few extra drinks.
jay can tell that hailey is unusually quiet, especially with her silence during the car ride home. it seems like the girls all had a good night, so he isn't sure what is up with all her mysteriousness.
"did you have a good night?" he asks again for the sake of conversation. they aren't far from her place but the silence is killing him.
hailey steals a glance at him and his passive expression. "yeah, it was nice."
"why so quiet?" he eventually asks. "did something happen?"
she lets out a dry laugh. "no, not really." he doesn't look convinced in the slightest. "no, it's just girl talk. they were teasing me about you."
"about me?" jay smirks. "what about me?"
hailey rolls her eyes at his childishness. "something about the way you look at me; heart-eyes or some weird shit like that."
to her surprise, jay doesn't give a visible reaction. he seems to almost agree. "you are pretty amazing and sometimes i can't help myself."
jay pulls into her driveway.
"what else did they say?"
now hailey is blushing and finding it hard to meet his eyes.
"something about my feelings for you."
he places the truck in park and looks at her with hopeful green eyes.
"is there?" he asks. "are there? feelings, i mean."
hailey notices his body language and mentally decides it's most likely safe to be completely honest with him. "yes," she replies, hardly even thinking about it. "i mean, there's something."
a smile spreads across jay's features. "that's good. i say that because i really do look at you with heart-eyes."
"what are you saying?"
"i'm saying i like you hailey, and i think you like me too."
it's hailey's turn to smile and she feels the rush of alcohol rise back up into her head.
"everyone else seems to think so too. looks like we're the last ones to know it."
ok i apologize.. the ending sucks! i've had most of this written for a while, i just didn't have an ending and i absolutely hate this ending so i might definitely rewrite it eventually but i really wanted to post something new!
i'm running low on ideas & i really want to try my hand at more upstead au's so if you have ideas (and anything you want to read), please drop them below! i'd appreciate any inspiration to write some more
also, i apologize if the lowercase annoys anyone; that's mostly just for preference and convenience so, yes, i'm sorry if it annoys you but it won't be changing!
don't forget to follow me on tumblr: ruzek-halstead! :)
stay safe everyone xx