Breaking the Rules: Chapter Three
The morning in the patrol car had been quiet, no excitement on the beat to speak of, which of course had to be just their luck, considering this was their first ride on patrol after spending the night together. It wasn't exactly simple to go on pretending that nothing had changed, when in fact it had.
Jamie looked over at Eddie, struggling with whether he wanted to say anything.
"Do you want a new partner?" she asked, finally breaking the silence between them.
He glanced back for a moment, all the while trying to keep his eye on the road. "I didn't say that."
Maybe he hadn't exactly said the words, but she knew they were entering the danger zone if they continued down this road. Did they want to risk their lives in the process? Or someone else's? Or, what if it wasn't lives as stake – what if they were risking the jobs that they had worked hard to achieve?
"No, but maybe you should have."
Once he went through the stop light, Jamie pulled over into a parking spot on the side of the road. It was lunch time anyway, so they had an hour to hash this out or until they received a radio call, whichever came first.
Eddie didn't exactly turn to him once the car was in park; although, she could feel his burning stare right through her, which left a bit of anxiety around whether he could sense every single emotion she was feeling in that moment.
"We agreed that if we went down this road we couldn't turn back," Jamie reminded her, turning slightly to meet her eyes and hope she did the same. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, as she continued to stare straight ahead, fixated on a couple that was walking down the street hand in hand. "Eddie."
She was hesitant to meet him square in the eye.
"See that couple, Jamie?" she nodded forward, until he acknowledged that he had seen the couple. "That can never be us, not if we remain in the same precinct and continue as partners. Is that what you want, to hide whatever this is, knowing it can't go anywhere?" She finally turned to him.
He knew she was right.
He hated it, but he knew it.
Before either one of them could speak any further and force a decision, they heard a voice across the radio, calling them to a domestic disturbance down the road, in the middle of the street, with the suspect possibly waiving a gun around and scaring the public.
"12-David responding."
Jamie took one last glance at Eddie before flying out of the parking spot on the street, in pursuit of the call they had just received, but also knowing they both would have preferred just about any other call that day.
After a long day, receiving a little action in the afternoon on the beat, starting with their domestic disturbance, Jamie and Eddie returned to the precinct. The day wasn't over for the two of them, as they now had to put on their evening attire for their undercover assignment, as a couple no-less.
The two of them quietly made their way through the halls of the 12th precinct.
Before they separated and headed into the men's and women's locker room respectively, Jamie turned to Eddie. "I'll meet you out in front?" he asked, and then Eddie nodded in silence, no smile in sight.
He knew their sleeping together was bound to cause problems in the future.
Hanging back for a moment as she entered the women's locker room, Jamie wondered how the night would go for them. Could they keep their emotions out of it and just do their jobs? After all, they were cops, and this was their assignment.
In frustration, Jamie grumbled under his breath while entering the men's locker room.
Opening the door to the restaurant, Jamie found himself taking in the way Eddie looked, but also knowing it wouldn't be an easy night, since it was obvious that she was still irked by their short conversation in the patrol car. It was true and a valid point, they'd have to keep their relationship as a secret if they wanted to continue working in the same precinct, unless one of them was willing to transfer out, and so far, neither seemed to be willing to make that sacrifice.
Eddie felt his warm breath on her neck from behind.
"See them?" she asked, trying to avoid the tingling in her body due to his proximity. But instead of answering from where she stood, she felt him take another step closer. "Remember why we're here tonight."
The couple saw them, and then the man rose to his feet, clearly fixated on where Eddie stood.
Jamie nodded and was about to take a step, but stopped when he noticed Eddie wasn't moving. "Are you sure you're up for this? You, and this dress of yours, grabbed his attention. Are you—"
Without so much as a warning, Eddie turned around to face him, barely leaving a few inches of space between them. She felt the electricity once she reached for his hand, interlocking their fingers together and forcing a smile at Jamie. "We have a job to do, so let's do it."
His arm was stretched across Eddie's chair, as he sat back slightly and watched the way this man was eating up every word coming out of her mouth. Even Jamie had a difficult time keeping his eyes off her, despite the woman of this couple sending a flirtatious smile his way.
"Mark-may I call you Mark?" Eddie asked with a smile, clearly gaining the man's trust.
The man glanced at his wife, a look that wasn't lost on Eddie or Jamie, and then turned back and smiled brightly. "Absolutely."
Eddie pulled her chair in a bit, causing Jamie's arm to drop down and away from her. A part of him wondered if that was deliberately done in anger toward him or if this was part of her plan. Either way, this Mark Jacobs guy seemed to be eating it up.
The man glanced down at Eddie's cleavage as she leaned forward slightly, clearly distracting him.
"Great," Eddie said with a smile. "I hear everything you are saying, and while it sounds like something we'd like to be involved in, I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me first…"
Again, the man and his wife exchanged a mutual look.
Mark Jacobs stood from his chair, requesting Eddie join him on the dance floor.
When the wife didn't object, Eddie turned to Jamie and flashed him a smile that took his breath away. She leaned in his direction and placed a soft peck on his lips, to prove to this couple that they were in love, at least that was the front they wanted to portray for the moment.
Jamie's free hand found it's way up to her back, pulling her to him for just a second longer. Once their lips parted, he gave her the signal that he would be watching her out there. The last thing he was going do was sit back and allow this slime ball to be all over Eddie.
He'd break their cover if it came to that.
Eddie slipped from his grip, shifting her legs to the side and slowly standing to her feet, with the help of their target. Again, she had to remind herself that this was her job, and for now, Jamie's job was to sit back and let her handle anything that took place on the dance floor.
Reaching for his drink, Jamie stole a glance at Eddie, trying not to let what was happening affect him.
Before he knew it, the wife of this man slid into the chair next to Jamie, blocking his view of Eddie and Mr. Jacobs. This made him uneasy, but he had no choice to go with it, and convince himself that Eddie could handle herself out there; after all, she was a trained cop.
Mrs. Jacobs placed a hand on Jamie's leg.
"Uh—" Jamie fumbled, trying not to challenge her on the fact that her hand was a little too close for comfort. "Your husband seems to have several ideas for this business venture." The woman nodded, letting her fingers work their way further up his leg.
The woman then stopped, glanced over at her husband with Eddie, and then back to Jamie.
"Your girlfriend is quite beautiful."
Jamie nodded, agreeing with that very statement. "Yes, she is."
The woman then did something he didn't expect, she removed her hand and let out a sigh, almost as if she seemed a little irritated around where the conversation was headed. Like she gave up on the game playing.
"If you really love her—"
Jamie glanced around the woman, focusing on Eddie, but listening at the same time.
"If you love your girlfriend in the way I think you do, then you'll get her away from my husband as quickly as possible. He has a gun, and he's not above using it on your girlfriend or wife, whoever she may be to you, to get what he wants from her."
His eyes squinted, looking at this woman a little sideways.
"And I should believe you because…."
The woman stood up, blocking Jamie's view once again, as she turned her pencil skirt a bit and tucked in the top that was starting to appear a bit crooked. "Don't believe me, but if she ends up in the hospital because one of you was too hell bent on rolling in a wad of cash, don't blame either one of us for the trouble that comes your way. Consider this your first and only warning."
Jamie focused on Eddie and Mark Jacobs, moments after the wife way excused herself from the table; and while he wanted to get up and drag Eddie out of there, he knew that was undermining her as a cop who could handle herself.
I can't.
The problem was, he couldn't stand to sit back and watch this man's hands on her.
It was killing him.
Slowly.
Another minute went by and the damn song still wasn't over – what did this guy do, request the longest song he could think of to avoid her returning to the table? And what was he whispering in her ear?
None of this sat very well with him at all.
None of it.
He breathed through his nostrils, and then as the man turned, his eyes met with Eddie's in what felt like the longest gaze they'd shared in quite some time. He was done with this game; done with the pretending, at least when it came to each other.
Just as he put his hand on the table and pushed himself to his feet, the song ended.
Eddie returned to the table, while Mark made his way to the bar where his wife was standing.
"What's with the look?" Eddie asked Jamie, returning to her seat.
He sat there for a split second, just watching her, debating on whether he wanted to take her out of the restaurant and back to her place. He didn't want to subject her to anymore of this guy, knowing what he knew, and just as he was about to do just that, their targeted couple returned to the table.
The wife was a little cheery, "My husband and I had the greatest idea…"
Jamie and Eddie both turned, waiting for the next phase of the operation to be laid out for them.
The second night, the second time the two of them returned to the door of her apartment – together.
Eddie unlocked the door, allowing him to make the choice of stepping inside with her or leaving, and truthfully, she wasn't sure which option he would take this time.
Once the door closed, she knew he had chosen to come in.
"I—I'll go get your t-shirt."
He didn't stop her, mostly because he needed a few moments to decide on how he was going to approach the subject of the two of them, and what they were going to do about what happened the other night, what it meant, and which direction they wanted to go.
She returned, not only with his t-shirt, but also with the one he had given her.
A part of Jamie wondered if she was planning on giving it back to him.
"Here you go," she said in a soft voice, handing him only his own shirt.
The other shirt, the one he hoped had meaning to her in the way it had him, was held against her chest with her arms folded. It was not easy taking his eyes off it, knowing darn well that he hoped to see her in it – and nothing else.
"Thanks," he responded, not sure what else to say when it came to that. "Eddie, about what we talked about earlier…"
Eddie shook her head, not really in the mood to get into a conversation about how he's ready to chalk up their night together as a mistake. So much had happened over the past – too many weeks to even count. They'd contemplated being together; they'd dismissed the idea and tried to move on from the other, but for some reason they kept ending right back in this same spot.
"Just admit it – this is not what you want, stop with the mixed signals."
He licked his bottom lip as he pressed them together, knowing that was not what was going on at all.
She waited long enough for him to say something, but since he didn't, she decided to be the one to initiate wherever this was headed. "I guess I shouldn't have started things the other night – or, maybe it was just the alcohol."
"I don't believe that," he finally spoke, taking a few steps toward her. "Neither do you."
It was true, she knew that wasn't her reason for letting things happen the way they did.
He stopped, leaving a bit of distance between them. "A part of me wants to forget all the rules and just be together, a big part of me wants that." It was clear that she was treading lightly as he spoke. "I also don't want to risk walking away from us as partners on the job."
Her eyes shifted downward, understanding what he meant.
They both did.
It didn't take long for him to see the sadness in her eyes, maybe making the wrong assumptions on where this was going. After all, he didn't even understand where it was going. All he knew was, there wasn't a chance they could go back and pretend they were nothing more than partners.
That was over.
They crossed a line that made that option no longer possible.
Eddie made it easy on him in that moment as she spoke, "We need to walk away from whatever this is – date other people, continue on our own path. I guess what you're telling me, you believe the risk of what we'd be giving up is greater than the reward of being together."
Jamie didn't move, he was frozen by her words.
Was that what he was telling her?
In that moment, Eddie took several steps toward him, closing the gap as much as possible, and then placing both hands against his chest. Walking away was going to be difficult, maybe even impossible, given the fact that they'd already broken all the rules between them.
He then placed his hands over hers.
Their foreheads slowly shifted forward until they were touching, and Jamie found himself unable to stop what he did next, which was cup her face in his hands and kiss her deeper than ever before. He wanted to be sure that he still felt this kiss for days, knowing that he had to be OK with this decision they were making, even if it wasn't really what he wanted.
Eddie could feel an intensity coming from him that was electrifying.
Breaking free of their kiss meant more than just a temporary pause, which is why neither one of them cared about the fact that they were barely able to catch a breath as their kiss continued, somehow becoming deeper and deeper with each passing second.
Jamie's hands wrapped around her body, finding their way upward until he reached the zipper of her dress. They both knew what they were doing wasn't exactly the right thing, but they had already tossed aside the 'right thing' the other night, and even though they were saying all the right words now, their actions told a different story.
The heat coming from her body knew the dress couldn't come off her fast enough.
Their lips parted, just as his fingers pulled down the zipper on her dress, and as his eyes darted to hers, he let her make the decision in that moment, to pull back and go down the path of what was right versus wrong in their head, or continue to let their hearts do the talking for them.
Eddie held her fingertips against the strap of her dress, contemplating the next move.
...