They didn't like the idea of typical, separate bachelor and bachelorette parties. The notion that it's their 'last night single' is ridiculous to them because they haven't considered themselves single in a long time - no matter what society says. And when they walk into their favorite neighborhood bar, he's glad that their closest friends and family went with the plan to have a fun night together in one place - the very place Jay and Erin were reintroduced after his last tour four years ago. It was actually the meeting place for Hailey and Kevin's parties the night prior to their wedding before they went off in groups - the men and the women.
"There they are, the soon-to-be newlyweds have arrived." Adam announces as Jay keeps his hand on the small of Erin's back and gently guides her toward the table.
"We already got you both a drink to start you off, and then we have a surprise for the groom." Kevin states after everyone greets them. Jay raises his eyebrow in bewilderment and looks over at his fiancée who just shrugs at him with a slight pout on her face, giving him the impression she doesn't know what's up the guys' sleeves.
He tries to stall by taking his time with his drink, but it doesn't last him as long as he would have liked as the amber liquid quickly starts getting too warm for his liking. The last sip is swallowed and he goes to get another - hoping his friends won't notice as they're occupied with their conversations, but Adam moves to stand in his way and shakes his head at him.
"You can get another drink when we get to where we're going." The younger man says as he points to the side door of the bar.
"I'm not going anywhere, we agreed to hang out here, together." Jay shakes his head and the hold his friend had on his arm to go back by Erin.
"We did, but we'll be back here before you know it." Antonio argues as he looks at the couple before him. Jay looks into Erin's eyes, silently asking her to help him out of this.
"You're alright with this?" Jay questions when she seems just as lost as him.
"It doesn't seem your friends are leaving us much of a choice." She gives him a sad smile, and he knows that she's right, his friends won't let up or let them have the night they hoped for if he doesn't just go with it. His eyes don't leave hers as he nods. Then he leans down to place a kiss on her lips.
"Alright, Lover Boy, we'll have you back in no time." Adam tugs at his friend's arm and then they're leaving out the side door without Jay even noticing his sister and his bride quickly making their way to the front door.
The sight of the club makes Jay roll his eyes. He stops in his tracks and goes to turn around, but his friends prevent him from sitting back down in the Uber they drove here in. Antonio closes the door and then leads the way while Kevin and Adam push Jay towards the club.
They tell the bouncer Jay's name while Jay goes to get himself something to drink. Just being here makes him uncomfortable even after shooting back a couple shots.
"C'mon." Adam says excitedly as he eyes up the dancers closest to the bar and stops in his tracks. Kevin shakes his head at their friend and points towards the hall.
"I tried talking him out of this. Kev even told him it wasn't your thing, but you know Adam. I think he just wanted another excuse to come here." Antonio explains before stopping in front of the door halfway down the hallway.
"Have fun, man." Kevin adds before handing Jay a beer and opening the door.
He shakes his head and steps inside, prepared to give away all the money in his clip if it means the poor girl that's stepping onto the small stage on the other side of the glass wall in front of him, doesn't have to dance or strip for him.
It's primitive in his opinion - to have women carry out such performances for money, just so some drunk, lonely, and most of the time, sleazy guy can get their rocks off. He thinks about walking back out of the room and leaving, he even says it out loud, hearing a faint hum in acknowledgment from the woman as he sets some money into the opening at the bottom of the glass dividing the two of them. The quiet noise is short, and not much to go off of, but it's familiar and it has him looking up at her silhouette. Even through the tinted glass and almost non-existent lighting, he can tell exactly who the woman in front of him is. He's seen her body fully clothed and completely bare - both in the light of day and under the dark of night countless times before. A smile pulls at his lips as music starts playing and her beautifully raspy voice suggests that he stay as she turns up the lights and makes her way over to him. He nods in agreement as his eyes travel over her as her robe falls away and he takes in the outfit underneath - having never seen the light colored lingerie before. His tongue subconsciously wets his lips as he moves towards the center of the room. He was about to sit down before remembering where they are. He actually shivers as he looks at the worn furniture around the room for a split second and opts out of having a seat before focusing on her as she opens the hidden door at the side of the stage.
"If Adam would've told me that you were my surprise, I wouldn't have been so hesitant to leave the bar."
She hums again as she places her hands on his shoulders and gives him a kiss. "He doesn't know that I'm here - none of the guys do actually, except maybe Kev."
Jay just nods as he kisses her back for a minute, and he then looks down between them - admiring the silky ribbon and lace that make up the outfit she's wearing up close. He offers her the beer in his hand while his free hand starts roaming her body.
"When we found out that Adam was planning this, I knew I had to do something."
"You didn't like the idea of me being here with another woman? Don't you trust me?" He mocks offense - knowing she does, in fact, trust him, and she just reiterates that when she glares up and gives him a pointed look.
"Before you knew it was me in here, you were about to give away all your money just to leave, Babe. I know you and knew that this would just make you uncomfortable." She tells him before taking a pull from the beer he handed her.
"You know me so well." He murmurs against her skin before pressing his lips to her forehead.
"I'm glad it was you here, but how'd you pull this off?" He smirks as she looks up at him through her lashes.
"Nads talked to an old friend of hers that works here and then she talked to the girl that usually has this room asked if I could rent the room from her for two hours. She agreed, I went and got this new outfit and here we are." She shrugs and he nods while lifting her up and moving her legs to wrap around his waist.
Every time he comes here, he thinks of her that night and the hour they spent together in that room. He smiles thinking of how he traced every part of that outfit, and how he straightened it out when they were finished and their time in the room was almost up. The smile on his face widens just a little as he recalls how she looked perfectly put together - not a hair out of place when he and the guys made it back to the original bar with the rest of the party.
He tries to let the memory anchor him as he finishes the walk through the desolate parking lot and steps up to the spray painted doors. It stays with him up until he steps inside and then he snaps out of it because he doesn't want the memory tainted.
It smells - the distinct odor of the strip joint wafting his nostrils as soon as the door is opened. He rubs his nose to try ridding himself of the stench, even if only momentarily. The predicament he's found himself in is not one he'll ever be proud of - no matter the reason. He hates the arrangement in it's entirety, but at the top of the list is how he left the woman he loves. Right below that, however, is having to come here for any meeting or all the planning whenever his bosses or colleagues choose. The establishment is old and dingy, it reminds him of the place he's now living at. It's cold, it's eerie and worse than that it reeks of cheap perfume mixed with stale alcohol and body odor. Even though the club isn't open at this time of day and hasn't been since earlier in the morning, the smell of the girls who work here and the men that frequent here to see them lingers - making it seem as if they're still around. Jay visibly shakes as he finishes the walk to the so-called office in the back.
He steps to the side of the door and takes a moment to himself before dealing with these guys. They have another gig planned for today, and it has him on edge. He continues to look forward to the day he's done with them and with this. He can't wait to get back home and be with his girl again.
"Jay, let's go." A voice yells through the door, breaking him from his thoughts. Jay sighs as pushes the swinging door open.
All eyes are on him as he takes up his usual spot against the wall so he's closest to the door for a quick getaway. His head is leant back as he looks up at the ceiling - waiting for the other men to start talking.
"If you're getting cold feet, let us know now Pretty Boy." The boss' nephew quips and Jay scoffs at that.
"I'm here aren't I?" Jay says back.
"Yeah, but you're the last one here." The kid shoots back.
"Is there a point to this conversation?" Jay's getting increasingly frustrated with the line of questioning and his body tenses - his chest puffing up as he pushes himself off the wall.
"I'm just saying if you want to back out, we can go back to the original plan."
Jay shakes his head before the smaller, younger man even stops talking.
"I'm in until the debt is gone." Jay slams his hands on the table separating him from the rest of the crew.
"Are you two done?" One of the older guys ask and Jay raises an eyebrow in annoyance as he looks at the twerp that's been interrogating him. Jay nods after the blonde kid across from him stays quiet.
"Good." Their boss announces as he sets out the plans for the route they're intercepting today. He starts talking about when they'll be hitting the truck and Jay immediately zones out. This time his mind goes to his friend that was killed just over a month ago and how there was likely a plan set out that similar to now.
"Jay!" Someone yells to break him from his daze, causing him to roll his eyes again.
"This is the last stop on the route today." Another guy adds as he points at the map that Kevin had sent to Jay on his way over.
"Ok...?" Jay draws out - waiting for them to finish what that means to him and his role for today. Then he looks at the image closer, and he tries to hide the worry he quickly starts to feel inside. His heart pounds as his new boss whispers something to the guy next to him. The suspense is killing Jay, making him want to throttle the men across the table, but he stays put and as calm as he can in the moment. His mind runs rampant as he thinks about leaving to call his family to warn them while he waits to hear if it's the place they're hitting by the end of the day.
She groans as she sits back on her heels and presses the lever to flush. Her hands shake as she reaches up to comb her hair back as she sighs.
"I know you're going through it and the thought probably won't make it any better."
"Hailey what are you getting at?"
"Are you sure you're not pregnant too?" Hailey hands her some tissue from where she's sitting on the vanity, rubbing her own belly.
That makes Erin's heart ache and pushes her tears to fall - knowing the low probability of that scenario, but part of her wishes that were the case. As pathetic as she thinks it may sound, she can't stop the thought that maybe being pregnant would help bring her husband home, from going through her head. She quickly negates her silent thoughts and reminds herself of the specialists words.
Hailey apologizes when she sees her sister-in-law and best friend struggling with the idea of being pregnant and moves to give her a hug.
"I'm sorry for being so emotional." Erin whispers and Hailey shakes her head at her.
"Don't be, do you want to head home?"
Erin sniffles with a sad smile on her face, but she declines seconds before she's leaning over to puke into the toilet again, and Hailey exits the restroom. After a few minutes Erin stands up and moves towards the sink again. She washes her hands and sticks her head under the faucet just long enough to gather some water in her mouth to rinse and spit.
She looks up at her reflection in the mirror - taking in her pale, sweaty skin and the bags under her eyes as she redoes her hair to look a little more presentable. Her nostrils flare as she takes several deep breaths when her earlier thoughts return to her. She blinks back her tears and leaves the bathroom too - hoping that the rest of the work day goes by quickly and without the need to throw up anymore.
He's nervous and even scared - more than he's ever been. The way he's feeling isn't expressed verbally but it shows as his knee bounces causing the keys in the ignition to jingle incessantly. He doesn't notice it, but Mouse does and while it didn't bother him at first - knowing that he has his own struggle with fidgeting even when he's not anxious - the noise has started to give him a headache.
Mouse knows why this particular gig is getting to his friend, so he's calm and quiet as usual when asking Jay to stop.
"Sorry." Jay mumbles rather insincerely, but Mouse accepts it all the same when the keys stop clanging and the pounding in his head eases just a little.
"At least they said we'll be laying low for a bit after this." Mouse adds, trying to look for a positive spin on this.
"That doesn't make me feel any better - just means this shit sentence is getting dragged on longer." Jay argues with a certain bite to his voice. He knows Mouse isn't at fault and that he doesn't deserve for this to be taken out on him - especially when his friend is doing him a solid by helping out with this whole thing.
"Right." Mouse agrees before he disengages from the conversation and focuses in on the screen in front of him - cutting off all camera feeds within a mile radius when he's told to.
Jay tenses more and sits forward when he sees his brother-in-law drive past in the armored van and then they hear a loud crash followed by gun shots. The commotion doesn't last long - ending with the squealing of tires and sirens of cop cars approaching in the distance. Jay closes his eyes for a moment before opening them as he pulls away from the curb where they were parked and drives to the end of the block before turning. He takes a second to look in the direction Kevin was headed in before the crash - hoping to see that he made it out of the ordeal alright. His blood runs cold - seeing a man in the familiar grey courier uniform laid out near the crash site. Jay's just about to step out of the vehicle when he can't indentify the person on the ground, but then he's sitting up and Jay can breathe a little easier.
"We got to go." Mouse shakes his Jay's shoulder, getting him to close the driver side door and speed off just in time to avoid the cop cars closing off the streets surrounding the scene of the crime.
The two of them go back to their apartment to wait for the next text or call. But when hours pass without so much as a word, Jay decides to go to the hospital - telling Mouse that's going to get some fresh air before heading out.
Her blue eyes look from her husband to her best friend - the latter of which looks seconds away from falling asleep. "Are you sure you don't want to just get checked out now?"
"Yes." Erin replies and Hailey raises an eyebrow at her.
"Yes? As in you want to get checked out?" Hailey pushes as she stands from her seat.
"No, I meant yes to being sure about getting checked out." Erin shakes her head.
"You might as well get seen now Erin, you know she's not going to let it rest or either of us, until you do." Kevin grumbles with a warm, tired smile on his face as he reaches for the Styrofoam cup on the table next to him.
"I'm fine, Mom and Dad." Erin jokes and Hailey rolls her eyes at her best friend's sass.
"If I don't feel better in the next few hours then I'll go to the appointment you set up for tomorrow." Erin states as she looks back at her.
"I guess that's good enough for me." Hailey concedes and Erin nods in appreciation just as a nurse comes to inform them that visiting hours ended a few hours ago, and while they made an exception earlier, there can't be more than one person spending the night with the patient. Erin nods and bids them a goodnight before leaving the room and immediately focusing on the phone in her hand so she doesn't notice her husband duck into the supply closet across from Kevin's room.
He leaves the door open a crack and listens as she softly, and sadly says goodbye to the man standing in the hall. His eyes stare longingly at her figure as she retreats down the hall after that and even as she disappears from his line of sight. He sighs as he steps out of the small space and checks that he can't see her anymore.
"Don't know how you could let that one go." The older man standing guard at the door of Kevin's room shakes his head at Jay.
"I can't and I don't plan to, but I'll do anything to protect her." Jay pledges - knowing that if it came down to it. If he had to let her go in order to keep her safe, then that's what he'd do - no matter how much it'd hurt them or badly it'd break his heart and soul.
"What are doing here?" Hailey inquires as soon as Jay steps foot in the room. .
"Is that the only thing you have to say to me now?" Jay counters with a smug grin on his face, but to his surprise his sister doesn't reply.
"I just wanted to make sure my brother-in-law was ok." He adds, but Hailey doesn't acknowledge him any further.
"I'm good, just a through-and-through in my side." Kevin points to the covered wound on his side.
Jay looks down at the floor, still feeling guilty that Kevin was even mixed up in this mess and was hurt in the process. He's just about to say that out loud when the same nurse from a little bit ago walks in.
"Excuse me, you can't be in here." The petite brunette says to him and Jay just nods. He apologizes to his sister and her husband before he leaves without another word.
He feels drained when he gets back to his truck. It's tempting to just spend the night there and he thinks about it for a minute before someone's sitting in the seat next to him. He prepares himself for a lecture, but it doesn't come. There's a sadness, and maybe a hint of disappointment in his sister's voice as she talks. But she's gone in under a minute - only having followed him out to give him a quick message. Her words leave a ringing in his ears and his head spins as he processes the information, leaving him to operate on autopilot. He drives home and not to the old apartment building that he's been living in for the last few weeks but his actual home. His feet hit the pavement in loud thuds as he jumps out of his truck. He looks up at the windows and sees that the lights are off, but the thought that she's most likely sleeping does nothing to stop him from moving towards the lobby of their building. He's just about to walk into the elevator when his phone rings, he doesn't look at the phone before answering and he regrets that as soon as he hears the voice on the other end. The doors open with a ding from the elevator that signals the arrival and he can see their door - can practically see the numbers 310 on the little metal circle, but he remains on the lift. He reluctantly presses the button that takes him back to the lobby and he rushes out of the building - giving the windows of their place one more glance before driving away again.