Chapter Text
In hindsight Tim can see it very clearly. The path that led him here, outside the bar, backing Lucy up against his truck at the faraway corner of the parking lot. A spot he may or may not have purposely chosen, even when he tells himself it’s because he was last to arrive and he hadn’t had much choice but to park all the way over here. (He had plenty of choice.)
It’s a path paved with a year’s worth of looks and wants. Almost touches. More than borderline flirtatious behavior. And fantasies of doing the exact things he’s doing now. Especially with his one hand, bunching up layers and layers of excessive fabric from her long skirt.
He knows of at least six defining moments in these past two hours where he could have made a different call and steer clear from crossing the line he has been fiercely defending for months. Starting with answering her text in the first place, followed by deciding to meet up for just one drink. Harper and Lopez were there. It was not that big of a deal. Yet, here he is, searching for every part of Lucy he can get his hands on.
The thing is, part of him has been hell-bent to complete the path they’ve been paving. Somehow that part was in charge tonight, turning that one drink into several. Not keeping his usual distance. Purposely moving closer. Touching her briefly. Letting those touches linger. Telling her about the fucking loophole. That was his crucial mistake, he thinks.
He knows.
He should never have told her. Truth is: he shouldn’t even have come up with it. But he did. For the better part of a week, he’s been mulling it over and he couldn’t make himself stop thinking about it. From the minute their shift ended, he knew the countdown started and the window was closing. He purposely stood by and let it close in the parking garage, choosing to just shake her hand and give her his final words of encouragement.
He almost made it sound like the words of any other TO to any other rookie. (Almost. The difference was noticeable to him. He had never given that much praise before. And he had never felt that awful, sinking feeling in his gut, like he was about to lose something precious.)
He almost slipped when he held her hand too long. When he looked at her and felt a sense of pride he can’t recall ever feeling for a rookie, even the best ones he trained. He came dangerously close to crossing the carefully constructed distance between them by pulling her in and… doing something monumentally stupid. Because there was a loophole. Which he shouldn’t have been giving any thought at all. He really, really shouldn’t have.
He let it pass, swallowing down the feeling he’d been denying all week, but did put in writing in her final evaluation. He was going to fucking miss her and right then, it hit him harder than he thought it would.
He was thankful for the prank she pulled. He felt relieved even, for her discharging the moment like that. ‘It’s been a blast. Sir.’
That face of hers.
‘See you tomorrow… Lucy.’ Because she was Lucy now. Not his boot. She’d never be his boot again, which shouldn’t make him feel this weird sense of loss. Of time slipping by too damn fast. Of her moving on, away from him. As she should.
This was a good thing, after all. She’d worked so hard for this. She earned her place.
Come tomorrow she’d be P2. Which meant tonight… she was just Lucy.
And he wasn’t officially in her chain of command until roll call next morning. Which meant all of his reasons – well not all of them, but the most pressing one – for not acting on the fucking urge he was feeling all the goddamn time didn’t exist until tomorrow morning. A loophole.
Which he didn’t tell her about. He didn’t. Because…
Complicating things any further was a bad idea;
Her confession had been fake. She was proving a point. She didn’t actually have that kind of feelings for him;
Even without him being in her chain of command, he should be ashamed of lusting after her like some kind of power tripping creep. It’s such a fucking cliché, wanting his gorgeous, young, sexy as hell former rookie like that;
She didn’t feel the same. Yeah, he already listed that one. And he was doing it again, because she laughed in his face when she realized he was buying it.
The whole idea was laughable to her.
He needed to keep reminding himself of that, because his mind was constantly going back to before she burst out laughing. He knows Lucy. He knows her like the back of his hand. In a way he has never, ever known any rookie. He knows her better than he knows the people closest to him. And he knows – deeply, undoubtedly feels it in his bones – that the fragility and vulnerability she showed when she started out wasn’t fake.
Maybe she’s a far better liar than he gave her credit for. Maybe he was wrong about her not being cut out to do UC. But somewhere deep down, he knows the lie wasn’t in what she told him. It was the part where she turned it into a joke. And that made this loophole thing all the more dangerous.
So, he let her walk away to go celebrate with Jackson. It took him a second before he turned and headed back inside. He wasn’t going to drive around covered in baby powder, and he certainly didn’t want the stuff all over the interior of his truck like he just fucked up a major drug deal.
He was lucky enough to get to the locker room without running into anyone else. Since he already showered after shift, he didn’t feel like jumping right back in, so he cleaned up best as he could. Drove home. Fixed some dinner for him and Kojo. Took the dog for a walk. Was just about to hit the shower for the second time that night to get rid of the diaper smell.
Then a string of texts popped up.
So, here’s the thing.
This place is swamped with TO’s,
buying their rookies drinks.
Even Nolan is covered, and he still has another month to go.
But here I am, paying for my own.
What should I make of that, Tim?
Go ahead and have one on me, Chen.
I’m sure you’ll find a way to stick me with the tab.
Hard to do when you’re not here.
Are you telling me I should stop by later
and collect?
No!
Sounded like an invitation to me.
It wasn’t.
So, you’re coming then?
Maybe I should.
To cut you off.
Sounds like you had enough.
I’m celebrating, Tim!
Can’t I have one night?!!!
You do that.
I got you covered.
I’ll settle it with Lopez. You have fun.
He would have left it at that. He really would. But then the selfie came. Big pleading eyes. Full bottom lip, all pouty. Long, wavy hair all thrown to one side of her face. He could smell her shampoo, just by looking at the damn picture.
I should be celebrated by you, her next message said.
It’s on him. All that happened next. He should have known better than to go see his hot, slightly inebriated, former rookie in a bar, to celebrate her in the middle of a loophole. He knew what he was getting himself into and he tells himself it’s not just because of the things he wanted to do to that bottom lip she had sticking out, like she just wanted him to come and get it. It’s also – mostly! – because she really did deserve to be celebrated. Thinking of her sitting idly by while even Nolan got showered with praise, well… he couldn’t let that happen, now could he? So, that’s why he was in his truck in a matter of minutes. Not the lip thing. He was barely even thinking about her lips.
It was perfectly safe. Just what any TO would do. Lopez and Harper were right there and they certainly did not want to fuck their rookies. There was nothing inappropriate about it.
It's not like she knew about the loophole anyway.
And if she did, it’s not like she’d want to do anything about it. She’d probably laugh again. At the whole notion of them hooking up for one night.
He was not thinking about hooking up with her, so he was totally fine when he walked into the crowded bar, filled to the brim with police people, and spotted her at the table. She leaned over, swatting at Jackson who was in the middle of some kind of story she didn’t seem to want him to finish.
He certainly wasn’t thinking about what that position was doing for her tiny waist and beautiful ass, lifted off her stool ever so slightly. She turned to him then, like she could feel his eyes on her body and she practically bolted from the table, making her way over to him.
For a second it looked like she was about to throw herself at him. He was already bracing himself to catch her, but she held back in the final moment, stopping right in front of him.
‘You came!’
‘I did.’ Suddenly, his arms felt useless, unoccupied. Like they were supposed to be wrapped around her right now. He had only ever held her once, and the memory of it is a dreadful one, but his body remembers it differently. It remembers relief. It remembers the way she fits there perfectly, like it’s her place and she should always come back to it. It remembers feeling complete, and thinking: she’s home. I found her. He didn’t realize it then, that it felt like it wasn’t just about the barrel.
He tried to ignore how the expectation of her pulling him down to her height still lingered. It was the weirdest thing, being this aware of a weight he wasn’t feeling. He felt the need to physically shake it off. ‘Would have been here sooner, if I hadn’t been attacked with a powder bomb.’
‘I think you missed a spot right… there!’ She grinned and reached for him, aiming for a spot near his ear.
He dodged her, stepping back. ‘Pretty sure I’m fine.’
She laughed. ‘No, you’re not!’
He had to shove his hands down his pockets now. He was itching to get rid of the space between Lucy and him. It felt like something massive. Tangible. Something he needed to push past. He shouldn’t though. He really, really shouldn’t.
‘It’s still in your hair, too.’
It’s because his hands were stuffed in his pockets that she moved quicker than him. Which made the simple act of putting his hands in his pockets the second defining moment that would ultimately lead him outside, to the parking lot, with his tongue down Lucy’s throat.
Because he just stood there and let her touch him.
She reached up, brushing his hair with her fingers and he’d swear he could hear space and time tear as a separate universe was born right that second. One where he hoisted her up and pushed her up against the nearby wooden beam and just had his fucking way with her in front of everyone.
He’d kill to be that Tim, instead of the lame one in the universe he was stuck in, keeping himself in check as desire pulsed through him like he just got struck by lightning. The little hitch in her breath told him she felt it, too. She paused, her hand still halfway through his hair, their eyes locked and her lips slightly parted in surprise. He deserved a fucking medal for his self-restraint.
‘I was about to take a shower when you texted.’
‘Don’t worry, you look good with a little icing.’ She smiled, giving him innocent eyes, like she hadn’t just made him picture her with a little icing. She leaned in then, sniffing him. ‘Ooh! You have that nice baby smell, too. So cute!’ And he had to draw the line somewhere, now, didn’t he? He grabbed her wrist, using it to keep her at a distance.
‘I’m here to buy you some booze, Chen. So, what’s your poison tonight? Don’t say tequila.’
‘Of course it’s tequila. Make it a double. You’re late and I have some catching up to do.’
He used his grip on her wrist to twirl her around and give her a nudge towards the table she’d been sitting at, while he turned to make his way over to the bar. He pushed his way through the crowd, grabbing an abandoned stool as he waited for the bartender to take his order. Just chill as fuck, since he was not still stuck on giving Lucy some icing in ways that absolutely, positively did not involve powder bombs.
He took a couple of breaths, thinking of groceries, house chores, his truck needing an oil change, and roughly estimating how many push-ups he needed to make himself do later to burn off his excess energy. Couple of thousand should do the trick just fine.
One drink and get out, he told himself. He ordered Lucy’s drink and a beer for himself, feeling his grip on reality return just enough when she showed up next to him again, placing two empty pitchers on the bar.
‘We kind of need refills on these too,’ she said pleadingly, smiling sweetly like she just knew that face would get her anywhere. Fuck, when did he become her plaything?
He rolled his eyes and waved the bartender over, gesturing to fill up the pitchers too. ‘Hope you enjoy this. Since it’s a one-time-thing.’
‘I’m enjoying it quite a bit.’ A little shoving was going on behind her and she ended up closer, stepping into the space between his knees. ‘Looking forward to meeting your new rookie, soon?’
She had that look she gets when she tries to play it casual but is actually anything but.
‘Nah,’ he said. ‘Pretty sure I’ll be bored out of my mind with whoever I end up with.’
‘At least I wasn’t boring, huh?’
‘I really don’t think you have even an ounce of boring in you.’
The bartender was bringing them their drinks, taking the pitchers away. Tim took her glass right out of his hand and handed it to her. ‘Here’s to you. My least boring rookie in a decade.’
Then she got shoved again, almost making her spill her drink all over him. She steadied herself with one hand on his thigh.
‘Hey, watch it,’ he told the dude behind her, but he really didn’t mean it as literally as the guy seemed to take it. Maybe it didn’t help that Lucy was just licking some spilled drops of tequila from the back of her hand. Tim sure hoped his reaction was a little more subtle than that guy’s was; his tongue nearly hit the floor.
‘Sorry, pretty thing,’ he said, practically undressing her with his eyes. ‘Did I make you spill? I’ll buy you a new one.’
‘No, thanks. I’m good,’ she replied. ‘It’s fine.’
‘You sure are,’ the guy said, keeping his eyes on her as she turned her back to him. It didn’t escape Tim’s attention that her hand was still placed firmly on his thigh and she was inching closer to him.
‘You okay?’ he asked.
‘Yeah, just… Can you tell me when he stops staring?’
He nodded. ‘Don’t worry about him. When it comes to a fist fight, my money is on you.’
Her laugh sounded a little too shaky, and he could feel the tremble of her body through her hand. She sipped her drink. He noticed it took her too long to swallow and she reached to put the glass down. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t be drinking this.’
He stopped her movement, gently guiding her hand with the drink in it back to her. ‘Yes, you should. Or, I guess you’re right, if what you really mean is you shouldn’t be drinking tequila. In case your questionable tastebuds suddenly evolved, then yeah: stop drinking that and I’ll order you something good. But either way, you should definitely be drinking. If you want to.’
At least he made her laugh for real now, but then he realized she actually looked completely sober. Maybe she hadn’t felt comfortable drinking all night. Was that why she had wanted him to come? To make her feel safe?
‘It’s okay, Lucy. I got you,’ he said, desperate to reassure her. ‘I won’t let anything happen to you.’
She breathed out, smiling faintly. ‘Okay.’ Her voice sounded tiny.
‘Here, wait a sec.’ He got up, and for a brief moment he felt her entire body pressed to his, as he made them switch places. The guy was still checking her out, and he was getting on Tim’s nerves too, now. For ruining Lucy’s night.
‘Stop making my girl uncomfortable,’ he ordered, angling his body between Lucy and him, making the man back down instantly.
‘Woah, didn’t know she was your girl, man.’
‘Come on,’ Tim said, cocking his head in a laid-back way, but still making sure his eye-contact meant business. ‘What does it look like?’
He turned to Lucy fully, then, dragging her stool closer and using his body to shield her as he rested his forearm behind her on the bar, creating a little space just for them.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked. She had to tip her head back to be able to look at him. He had her so close, he could feel her words sweep across his face as she spoke, making him practically taste the tequila on her breath. First time he liked it.
‘Making this look convincing,’ he said, moving his thumb ever so slightly to brush against the fabric of her top. Not her. Just the shirt. It felt soft.
‘Aren’t you worried it might be looking a little too convincing? In front of everyone we work with?’
‘Are you?’ He took a swig of his bottle and clocked her following the liquid down his throat.
‘Well…’ She followed his lead, taking a sip too. ‘We could probably sit here making out, and they’d think we’d be pranking them. Right?’
He raised his brow at that. ‘You do have a track record.’
‘Right.’ She nodded. ‘And you know… Tim Bradford making a move on his subordinate? Who would buy that?’
‘Right,’ he replied. And here comes the third defining moment. Maybe the most irreversible one and he knew it. He knew exactly what he was doing, telling her. Knowing had kept him from doing so all week long. But here she was, talking about making out. Brushing his hair, touching his thigh and looking at him like she was doing right fucking now. And the window was closing on him. He could let it, and spend the rest of his life wondering. Or he could take a leap. ‘Except you’re not.’
She laughed. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Technically, you’re not my subordinate. Just for this one night.’
‘How do you figure that?’ She sipped, keeping the glass pressed against her bottom lip and running her tongue over the rim to catch a drop. ‘I might not be your rookie, but…’
‘And you won’t be P2 before roll call tomorrow.’ He stared at her, waiting for it to sink in. What he was saying. What he was actually saying.
‘Oh.’
‘Like I said: just a technicality.’
‘Yeah. Sure. So, technically…’ she prompted, moving the glass over her lip by rotating it in her hand. Fucking tease. ‘Technically I’m…’
‘Just Lucy.’ He took another swig and moved his bottle between the two of them. ‘Just Tim. Just one night.’
‘One night.’ She watched him with eyes even bigger than they usually were. ‘Okay… so…’ She held out her hand to him. ‘Hi Tim…’
He looked down at her hand, then back up, locking eyes with her, as he leaned in to put his bottle down on the bar, effectively boxing her in with both arms for an agonizing couple of seconds. He moved back slowly, still watching her carefully for any sign of discomfort. She was smiling though, dark eyes sparkling with mischief.She wasn’t laughing now.
He took her hand in his, but didn’t really shake it. He just kind of swallowed it in his, drawing half circles with his thumb over the back of her hand to her wrist. ‘Hi Lucy.’
All of a sudden, she blushed furiously and he drew her hand in to cradle it against his chest. She watched in awe as his thumb continued to caress her. ‘Are we…’ Her voice gave way and she had to try again. ‘Are we still trying to… convince people?’
‘Yeah, sure. If that’s what you want.’ It was a ridiculous thing to say. Holding her hand like this, couldn’t be for anyone else but them. The way he was hovering, kept her out of sight from everyone but the bartender. ‘It’s all up to you, really.’
‘Is it?’
Defining moment number four.
‘It always is, Lucy.’ He loosened his grip on her hand, not releasing it, but dropping it a little to let her decide.
She didn’t pull back. ‘Will you buy me another drink first?’
First. The word jackhammered through his brain, reverberated in his chest, leaving him breathless for a second. ‘That’s why I’m here, aren’t I? To celebrate you.’
‘Mhm.’ She looked at him contemplating, then finished the rest of her drink in one gulp. ‘Buy me another one of these, then come join me and my friends over there. Tim…’
Jesus motherfucking Christ, he was ready to leave with her right fucking now. ‘Okay,’ he said casually as she put her glass down and jumped from her seat. Her hand was still in his and she pressed it to his chest, fumbling with a button on his Henley, before turning to take both pitchers from the bar.
He watched her make her way back to the table, then turned to place her order, smiling to himself like an idiot.
‘You got really lucky with that one, man.’
Tim looked up to see the guy from before leaning on the bar next to him. ‘Yeah,’ he replied. ‘I did.’
Defining moment five, of course, was him actually joining her at the table. They could have left it there, at the bar, both aware of what could happen. Kind of knowing they both wanted it to. At least on some level. Just pretend neither of them was serious about it. Leave it at that.
It would have been the easiest thing, you’d think. To bring her her drink and leave. Or bring her the drink and stay the fuck away from her for the rest of the night. But even when he was waiting on said drink, he already knew he wasn’t going to do that. He could feel her eyes on him from where she was sitting, and he liked being watched by her. And even though in theory nothing had happened yet, things were already set in motion and couldn’t be stopped. Like some tiny little pebble shifting on top of a mountain, creating an avalanche.
Maybe that’s why he didn’t even try to fight it when she’d saved him a seat next to her. He just put her drink in front of her and sat down at the high top like he didn’t think it was the cutest fucking thing of her to do. He didn’t actually look at her, even turned away from her a little, facing Lopez on his other side, who didn’t waste any time going for the kill. ‘Two of you looked very cosy over there, Bradford.’
‘Yeah?’ He kept his features in check, mustering the right amount of scowl. ‘Well, good. Some guy was bothering Chen.’
‘What? What guy?’
‘Over there. White shirt, blue jeans. It’s taken care of, though.’
‘I’d say.’ She looked around and tipped her head to the side. ‘Think that one was about to go for it too, when you walked in. You scared him off, as well.’
‘Chen can make her own moves if she’s interested,’ he countered easily. ‘Didn’t train my boot to sit back and wait for things to come her way, now did I, Chen?’ He turned just enough for her to catch on to that last part, making sure he sat a little wider than necessary, pressing the whole length of his thigh to hers and feeling her lean into him in return.
‘No, sir. You did not.’ She sat up straight, like the eager to impress boot in her just couldn’t help it, and he wanted to do things to her. Starting with putting his hand under this table top and drop it in her lap. He could imagine several interesting scenarios from there, none of which he could do anything about, at this time. He couldn’t risk touching her. He could however talk.
‘Looks like I won again,’ he told Lopez, in an obnoxiously smug voice, even for him.
Harper butted in, taking some nachos from the plate in the middle of the table. ‘Won what?
Angela already knew where he was going and rolled her eyes. ‘You didn’t win.’
‘Clearly I did.’
‘What did you win?’ Lucy asked, sounding really excited for him and he gave her a look, telling her: You’ll see.
‘Nothing!’ Angela insisted. ‘You can’t just call the win.’ They were drawing the attention of the whole table now, which served his purpose even better.
He shrugged, crossing his arms casually, knowing full well he was annoying the crap out of Angela. ‘Don’t have to. This win speaks for itself. Best TO ever. Unbeatable.’
‘Shut up, Bradford. My legacy definitely beats your hotshot.’
Nyla pointed her nacho in his direction. ‘Tell me I’m not witnessing the two of you fighting over this like I’m not even in the race.’
Here, Tim and Angela found common ground. ‘You’re not!’ they shouted in unison.
He leaned in, giving her his well-practiced Bradford stare-down. ‘Your rookie has another 30 days to go, Harper. We’re not even talking to you right now. And you… Detective Lopez…’ He made sure to emphasize her new job title. ‘… have abandoned your legacy mid training. You’re an abomination of a TO.’
West came bouncing over, wrapping Angela in a bear hug from behind. ‘Lopez rocks! She even got back in uniform for me, today. Couldn’t have wished for a better TO.’
‘Ah,’ she said, leaning into him while he kissed her cheek. ‘You weren’t half bad yourself, boot. See? I clearly win. My boot loves me.’
Nolan tried to make a case for Harper, always a sucker for lost causes. ‘Just because I haven’t finished my training yet, doesn’t mean Nyla isn’t an excellent TO. In fact–’
Lopez shut him up. ‘Not in the race!’
‘Listen,’ Tim said, putting his hand up. ‘You did a decent job with West. I’d go as far as to say it might have been your best work yet. Just didn’t cut it. Can’t beat this.’
Lucy’s laughter rang bright and clear in his ear as he gestured between them. He looked at her as he continued: ‘She made her first arrest before even reporting for duty.’
‘Didn’t think you were impressed by that, sir,’ she replied. ‘I thought I was just picking up some low-hanging fruit on my way to work.’
‘Be quiet, boot,’ he said, seizing the opportunity to call her that one more time. ‘Don’t make this about you. This is between me and Lopez.’ He leaned towards Angela. ‘Let me remind you that my hotshot runs circles around all of you at the range…’
‘Including you,’ Angela snarled.
‘Yeah, which is a testament to my training, student surpassing the master and all. Also: she passed all, well most, okay some of my tests.’
‘Hey!’ Lucy pouted, and it was all soft hair and curvy goodness as she grabbed his arm to get his attention and pressed her breast against his bicep as he turned her way. He wasn’t sure she knew she was doing it. He didn’t really know how she could miss it, but he also couldn’t imagine her acting all innocent while making all his blood rush south instantly. ’The fact that I’m sitting here, says I passed them all!’
‘You passed some. Which is more than most.’ He addressed Angela again: ‘I trained her perfectly. She knows every street in LA blindfolded. You can quiz her on penal codes in her sleep and she won’t miss a single one. She jumps three stories down to catch her guy when she needs to. No hesitation, no fear. She always has her head in the game. She takes direction, but can make her own decisions. She has no quit. Never backs down.’ He glanced at her, wanting to see the way his praise affected her. ‘I took her to a gang fight and she barely even flinched. She takes on guys twice her size, easily.’
‘Thanks to my training!’ Harper tried to claim.
‘Please, I had her take down Ghost Head on her second day. Nice try, though.’
‘What the hell is a Ghost Head?’ Harper asked.
‘The fact you have to ask is why you’re not even in this competition, Harper. I’m not having this discussion. Let’s face it: Chen’s the best and it’s all because of me.’
He felt Lucy shift against him, her knee bumping into him as she crossed her legs underneath the table. Then her hand was on his thigh, inching up and okay… so… he supposed he wasn’t getting up from his seat any time soon.
‘Yeah, well…’ Angela watched him like she was making some kind of assessment. She was perceptive for sure, but he was pretty confident she couldn’t see right through the table and they were all jammed closely together around it. The very notion of Lucy languidly rubbing his leg while sipping her drink, with those innocent eyes watching him over the rim of her glass, should be as ridiculous to her as it was to him before it just happened. (Was it really happening?) So, he managed to exude an air of nonchalance while he waited for Angela to gather her thoughts and say: ‘At least my legacy will be my actual legacy! You’re just moving on to the next one right away.’
Shit. That was a low blow he had not seen coming. He’d said it earlier today. It’s a job, not happy hour. Soon there’ll be another rookie sitting in that seat, annoying the crap out of me twelve hours a day. All true, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. He would go as far as to say he felt repulsed by the very idea of it. Not having Lucy by his side. Having her place taken by someone he already couldn’t stand to be around and he hadn’t even met them yet. This new rookie would be in for a treat. He gritted his teeth. ‘That’s how it works.’ It was. So why did he feel the need to catch Lucy’s hand, that was slipping away from his leg? Fucking Angela. Ruining his perfect rant like this. He practically had Lucy glowing.
Angela hopped of her stool. ‘The best rookie I ever trained, will be my last one. Isn’t that just the perfect way to end my perfect career? Sounds like a win to me.’ He knew this move. She was trying to get the last word in and saunter off before he could give his counterargument. Her last-ditch effort to claim victory, which was not going to fly today.
‘Not nearly enough of a point.’
‘Just agree to a tie,’ Harper suggested. ‘At this point you’re just exhausting all of us.’
‘No way,’ Tim simply stated while Lopez huffed in pure offence.
‘Obviously, there’s only one way to settle this,’ she offered. ‘We play for it.’
‘Play for it, how?’ he asked. ‘And why should I play for something I already won? It’s a done deal.’
‘We could also just take votes. Everyone likes me better anyway.’
‘They do not,’ Tim countered, then noticed Harper and Nolan staring back at him and asked again: ‘Play for it, how?’
Lopez shrugged. ‘Game of pool. Me and West against you and Chen. One game. All or nothing.’
‘Seriously? You’ve played so much in your rookie year, you’re a semi-professional from that alone. This all seems pretty desperate to me, Lopez.’
‘Well, if you think you can’t take me…’
It was Lucy who made the call, eventually. ‘Oh, we can take you!’ She slid from the stool, pressing herself all up against him once more as she got to her feet. ‘Let’s do this, Tim. Get up! We have to claim this win for you, don’t we?’
She walked around him, subtly trailing her fingers along his lower back and made her way over to the pool tables.
‘See that?’ he smugly said to Lopez. ‘That, right there, is exactly why I’ve already won.’
‘We’ll see about that.’ She punched his arm before stalking off. ‘Let’s go, boot!’
West skittered after her. It took her a couple of more steps to notice he wasn’t moving.
‘Coming, or not, Bradford?’
‘Right behind you,’ he called out, pretending to want to finish his drink first. He needed just another second. Or two.
They won. Because, of course they did. It didn’t seem like it was going to be an easy win at first. Lopez made practically every shot she called and West could keep up nicely. But Lucy was at it with the precision of a sniper, and once they got into the game, they worked together naturally. She lined up every shot for him perfectly and halfway through the game, they were pocketing ball after ball, making Lopez and West just stand there while they cleared the table.
Lucy was vibrant and beautiful, and sexy as hell in her determination to win. He had never thought of pool as a particularly sexy game, but then again, he never played with Lucy before. Somehow everything about her was turning him on. It had been that way ever since he first thought of the loophole, like merely acknowledging the possibility of having sex with her made it impossible for him to keep her squared away in the safe space he somehow created for her. There was nothing safe about what he was feeling now. And even though, rationally, the only sane thing to do was to hit the brakes, he knew he’d take the risk to crash and burn any time if it meant he could have her for a night, or an hour, or a couple of minutes, even.
He never touched her during the game. He was even careful with how he looked at her. But his mind buzzed with awareness of her every movement. Every word she spoke, breath she took, every whisk of hair, rustle of skirt, every laugh.
All or nothing turned into two out of three and they had only needed the third game because Lucy apparently liked to play with her dinner first. He knew for a fact she scratched on purpose twice. Both times, the balls were in a tough position, but he had seen her make similar shots before with ease, so by the second time he was sure she was just making Lopez and West think they stood a chance. He still wasn’t sure if she was being cruel or kind.
Maybe she just wanted him to know his fate was in her hands.
The third game was a pretty even one, but in the end, he watched Lucy pocket the eight ball, in one fluent motion and that was it. They high-fived. Not even close to what he really wanted, but he took it as the next best thing. She took the water he switched to a while ago from him and finished it in a couple of big gulps, handing him back the empty glass.
‘Finally ready to concede?’ he asked Lopez, just barely putting some distance between Lucy and himself. ‘Or do I need to come up with even more ways to establish what was already clear to begin with.’
‘Fine…’ she sighed. ‘Whatever, Bradford.’
‘Such a sore loser,’ he quipped, placing his cue on the table.
Nolan stepped in to get it, holding the cue out for Harper to take. ‘Seems like our time to shine, now.’
‘Alright. I have the babysitter for another forty-five minutes, so let’s make this count.’ She started setting up a new game, with Lucy taking over for West, who tapped out to go talk to a guy he’d been eyeing for the last two games.
Tim hung back for a little while, deciding on his strategy here. Easiest thing would be to leave and tell Lucy to meet him at his place. But part of him, maybe the part that felt like they would reason themselves out of this if they left separately, didn’t want to leave without her. If he could only have this once, he wanted the thrill of taking her home with him, too. So, there were two ways to go. First was to make sure they were the last ones to leave. Or he could leave first and take her away in plain sight. Those were the options, and to him they both seemed to scream Tim Bradford’s gonna fuck his rookie.
The fact that he wasn’t even considering the other option – not fucking his rookie – made him whip out his phone and shoot her a text. She was just making an excellent shot, squaring the striped green ball away in the corner pocket, as he made his way back to the table.
‘I’m going to close the tab and then I’m out of here.’
‘You’re leaving?’
‘Yeah, boot. Think we had as much fun as we’re gonna have around here, don’t you?’ He made a bit of a production stuffing his phone back in his pocket, communicating to her she should check hers. ‘Need another drink, or what? Last chance.’
‘No.’ She sounded a little confused, so he touched his phone in his pocket once more, seeing her track the movement and catch on. ‘I’m okay. Think I’ve had enough.’
‘Big day tomorrow,’ he said. ‘Get some sleep.’
A wave of noise from the bar – voices, laughter, music, and the sound of glass shattering – came pouring out as Lucy stepped outside. He pushed away from the wall. ‘Jesus, took you long enough.’
‘You said: Meet me outside, don’t make it obvious,’ she hissed, walking up to him. ‘So, I finished the game and waited until they started a new round.’
‘Me still being here when Harper takes off, would be kind of obvious, don’t you think?’
‘Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?’ She looked nervous, fumbling with the sleeves of her jacket.
‘Yeah, you are.’ He smiled. ‘Good.’
She relaxed visibly, lips curving up slightly and looking impossibly pretty as she moved closer. Then, suddenly something shifted back, worry edging her face as she asked: ‘Wait. Is this payback?’
‘Payback?’
‘The things you said in there… The loophole. Paying me all those compliments. You never give me as much as a thumbs up and now you’re gushing like–’
‘What kind of payback would that be?’ he asked, half laughing.
‘You know… For today. For what I said in the shop…’ Her voice got all small and quiet in a way that made him hurt a little. ‘Is all of this… Are you pranking me, Tim? Because if you brought me out here to make fun of me, it’s a really shitty th–’
Fuck. ‘No! I’m serious. I’m so fucking serious, Lucy, it’s not even funny. At all.’
‘You are?’
‘I wouldn’t pull a prank like that on you.’
‘You totally would if you’d thought of it,’ she said.
He watched the wind catch on to her hair. ‘Well, I didn’t. I’ve been a little pre-occupied thinking other things.’
‘Yeah?’ She cocked her head to the side, daring him. ‘What kind of things, Just-Tim?’
‘Getting you in my truck,’ he stated. ‘Taking you home with me. Is that what you want, too… Just-Lucy?’
‘And tomorrow… We’ll just act like it never happened?’
‘Basically. Not in a bad way, though. We’ll just go back to how we are now.’
She nodded, chewing on the inside of her cheek. He could practically feel the nerves vibing off her. ‘Look Lucy, if this makes you uncomfortable in any way, I apologize and w–’
They started talking at the same time, and he shut up halfway to let her finish. ‘This loophole-thing, is it common knowledge I somehow missed out on? Like, some rite of passage that everyone’s aware of? Did you use it before? Shit, you pro–’
‘No! I haven’t done this before, Lucy. Never wanted to. It never even crossed my mind until now. Until you. I made the whole thing up for you. And once I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, even though I tried to shut it down.’
For once, he had trouble reading her. She was obviously processing, and it had him panicking.
‘But I can shut it down,’ he quickly tried to assure her. ‘And I will. Are you okay? Are you still okay with me driving you home, or do you want to go back in–’
‘Are you backing out on me, Just-Tim?’
‘Wh–’
And before he could say anything else, she grabbed his face with both hands and pulled him down to her. He froze for probably two whole seconds while he tried and failed to make sense of having Lucy’s lips pressed to his. It felt like an eternity went by without him being able to do anything but just stand there, feeling the soft fulness of her mouth and his mind buzzing with Lucylucylucy. Because it was. It was Lucy’s mouth and he had wondered about it more times than he liked to admit, and now he knew.
The taste of her.
The softness of her.
And he couldn’t move until – thank god – some kind of muscle memory kicked in, making his body respond. He leaned into the kiss and felt Lucy melt against him, her hand coming down his neck to rest against his chest. And now, he couldn’t stop.
His hand was on her waist, pulling her into him, while the other one went from her shoulder, to the side of her face and into her hair. He felt the slightest touch of her tongue on his bottom lip, and he opened his mouth, sucking in her top lip as she tipped her head back, giving him the exact right angle as she whined desperately.
That noise. It made his brain crash. It made him want to do crazy filthy, absolutely lewd and forbidden things to her. But also, he wanted to treasure her, cover her with kisses, wrap her in his arms and hold her close while he smelled her hair and whispered things to her like perfect, and sweet and beautiful.
And they were still standing right in front of the bar where someone could walk in on them any second now, so he forced himself to separate from her just enough to be able to look at her. ‘Come with me, baby.’
He didn’t mean to call her that. It just slipped out. But he liked it. He almost liked it as much as calling her boot.She seemed to like it, too. She nodded, staring at his lips, while leaning back in for more. He grabbed her hand and dragged her away. He was gonna give her more, for sure.
So that’s how they’ve reached defining moment six where he is backing her up against his truck, in a faraway corner of the parking lot, with their co-workers right there, inside the bar where their game of pool could end at any time and they would get caught. He should be getting her out of here already, but she’s looking at him like that, like she wants him to do things, and he can’t drive when all he’s thinking about is doing those things to her, right fucking now.
He's leaning in more, cupping her face. His nose brushes hers and he can feel her breath on his face, coming out in tight little gasps as she trembles in his grip. ‘It’s okay,’ he says. ‘You know you’re safe with me, right?’
‘Yes,’ she breathes against his lips, curling her fingers in the fabric of his shirt as she pulls herself up to him. ‘Please Tim, just don’t…’
He hears that word, don’t, and he steps back to check on her. ‘Lucy, if you’re not sure...’
Her eyes are glazed over as she drags them from his lips up to his eyes. ‘Just don’t pull the plug on this,’ she finishes. ‘Please don’t kiss me like that if you’re gonna change your mind.’
Jesus, that’s what worries her? He pushes closer immediately. ‘I’ve pulled the plug countless of times, tonight. And I re-plugged every single time.’
She laughs, dropping her head back against the window of his truck. ‘I like how you re-plug.’
Fuck, how does she make that sound so dirty? He tilts her head back a little further, pushing her chin up with his thumb. ‘Only you can make me change my mind. If at any point you want this to stop, it stops. No matter how far we got.’
‘I want this, Tim. Kiss me agai–’
He swallows the last word, covering her entire mouth with his. She has been fearless tonight, in letting him know what she wants. And he’s going to give her all of it and more.
He might regret all of this in the morning, but it’s nothing compared to the regret he’d feel at not knowing this.
Not knowing her like this. Cause she’s fucking perfect.
If tonight’s a mistake, it’s the best one he’ll ever make. And if he could have a redo, he would happily make all the goddamn mistakes he made this night all over again, because they have led him here, pressing Lucy Chen against the door of his truck, licking into her mouth. He would do it all again to hear that soft moaning thing she does as he drags his lips over hers. To have her hands slip around his waist, underneath his jacket, running over his back.
He has imagined her making this kind of sounds numerous times, every time his self-control slipped and he broke his absolutely-no-thinking-about-Lucy-policy while jerking off in the shower. A policy that has been wavering for quite some time. It’s like the more he tells himself not to, the more images of her his mind seems to conjure up.
But everything he could have imagined pales in comparison to the real thing. To her opening her mouth and letting the sweetest, freaking delicious sounds fall from her lips. He can’t help wanting to catch them. Licking them right out of her mouth, off the tip of her tongue, from those gorgeous parted lips as she comes at him for more, bringing one hand up to his neck, holding onto him for dear life.
He has one hand in her hair, supporting and guiding her as he devours her completely, while his other hand is working on her skirt. He’s thankful his hands are big, so he has no trouble bunching up all of that excessive fabric. There’s loads of it, but he’s pulling it up and suddenly his hand is on searingly hot, endlessly soft skin and he’s sucking her delectable bottom lip as he works his leg between hers.
‘Fuck, Lucy…’ he whispers hoarsely, releasing her lip and moving up to catch the other one, having his hand full of her wonderful ass, tracing her curves, kneading her flesh as he slips his fingers under her panties.
She grinds into him, sinking her teeth in his lip as he sucks hers. It’s the sting of her biting him, that brings him some clarity.
‘We need to leave,’ he says, resting his forehead against hers. He can’t resist grinding into her, making her moan. ‘Need you in my bed.’
‘Yes,’ she agrees, crashing her lips onto his again. ‘God, yes.’
He turns her away from the door, so he can open it for her. She’s swaying on her feet, and he can’t make himself stop kissing her, not even as he’s helping her up in the seat. ‘You won’t be getting any sleep tonight,’ he warns her.
‘That’s okay,’ she says. ‘My hard-ass TO won’t be there to scold me if I’m half-assing it tomorrow.’
‘Do I need to remind you, Lucy… Whether I’m your TO or not, I’ll be there judging you every minute of the day.’
‘Sounds like you’ll be pretty busy, looking at me all day long and training your new rookie.’
‘Mhm… Guess I’ll have to find a way to multitask.’
She bites her lip, trailing her fingers over his chest. ‘Get me out of here, already.’
‘Yeah.’ He shakes himself out of it, closing the door. He walks around the truck, and as he gets in on the driver’s side, he sees Lucy sitting there, looking absolutely ravished. 'Looking good, Just-Lucy,' he says, drinking in the sight of her as he starts the truck. And he knows he’s screwed. Because for all the reasons he shouldn’t be doing this, he somehow forgot about the most important one.
How the fuck is he ever going to stop?