(1)

Erin had no idea why she was nervous. This was Jay. She had known him for years. She knew him inside and out, knew every freckle on his body and had mapped it with her fingers and lips countless times. She had no reason to be nervous. No reason for her heart to be beating out of her chest as she kept on glancing over at the clock. She was already sweating and that was always a bad sign. Erin did not sweat. Especially over a guy.

But this wasn't just any guy. This was Jay and even though she had known him and loved him for years, she didn't know this new Jay. This Jay that had grown and underwent changes in the three years she had no contact with him. And it wasn't as though she was the same exact Erin that he knew, having been through some major changes herself. She was excited to get to know him all over again and for him to get to know her.

She heard the knocks on her door and she stopped pacing back and forth, her hands resting by her side. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and the jittery butterflies in her stomach and tried to relax. She headed over to her door, checking herself in the mirror by the door one last time, before opening it. Jay was waiting on the other side, biting his lips as he often did when he was nervous.

"Hi," she greeted him, opening the door wider and taking the full sight of Jay in his suit. 'Damn, he looks good!' Erin thought to herself. He had his hands in his suit jacket's pockets and his jaw slightly dropped as he took her in.

"Wow," he breathed out, his eyes staring at her in her little black dress. "You look...amazing," he whispered, almost in awe. Erin flushed under the intensity of his stare, biting on her lips as she tried not to let him see her blush. Jay shook himself out of his own reverie and smiled. "Are you ready? I made reservations for us at Spiaggia."

"Wow, Spiaggia. Fancy," Erin remarked as she grabbed her clutch that was by the door and exited her place. Jay held his hand out, gesturing to her to take the lead, and he followed after her. They kept smiling at each other as they headed to his car in the underground garage and kept sneaking peeks at how good the other looked, glancing down in embarrassment when they each caught the other one staring. She felt like she was in middle school about to go on her first date with her crush. Erin had forgotten just how good Jay could look in a suit but he was reminding her tonight.

Spiaggia was one of Erin's favorite restaurants in Chicago. It was a Michelin-star rated restaurant, it was fine dining and it was expensive. It was one of those restaurants that Erin only came to for special occasions. The last time her and Jay were here was for her 31st birthday. Jay had spent a pretty penny as they splurged on the 8 course tasting menu with wine pairing for both of them and they both savored every last delicious bite of the spectacular food.

"You didn't have to do all this," Erin commented as the waiter took their orders and left, giving them privacy. "I would've been fine with going somewhere less fancy."

"No, I wanted to. I remember how much you love this place and besides, I want our first date to be special," Jay admitted with a blush.

"Our first date," Erin tried to words out on her tongue. The concept of a first date was Jay almost seemed ridiculous considering what they had been through.

"Yeah, I know it's not really our first date but it's a fresh start for us. A new chance for us to start over and get to know each other again. Do things right this time." Jay pressed his lips together as his eyes bore into hers across the table, a more serious look in them. "I've never got a chance to take you on a first date and I didn't want to miss my chance again."

Erin's face softened at his confession. The first time around, they had sort of just fell into being together. It just felt natural and almost inevitable to them at the time. Erin had left Intelligence for the task force and they no longer had Voight's rules holding them back so they just jumped on the opportunity. The second time around was almost similar. They reconciled almost seamlessly after she came back to Intelligence like they had been biding time until they were together again. She and Jay never had that first official date, where both of their stomachs were filled with butterflies and hearts pounding in their chests with nervous anticipation and excitement as they got to know each other.

Finally, they were getting their chance.

The food was even more amazing than Erin had remembered and the multiple courses of food had given them plenty of time to talk and get to know each other all over again. Jay had filled her in on some of the cases Intelligence had worked on, a few stories about Will and his on-going saga with Natalie and a few funny anecdotes about Ruzek being Ruzek. Erin told him about what it was like working in the FBI, how she first felt like an imposter being there until she settled in and found her place, and how much she really came to love her job.

"I didn't know what I was expecting when I first moved there and you know that New York doesn't hold good memories for me," Erin trailed off, Jay's eyes told her that he knew what she meant. New York used to be the place where she found Teddy and the place where Nadia got murdered. "But the more time I spent there, I came to really like it. It's big, fast paced and just real, I guess."

Jay gave her an understanding nod before his usual boyish grin came over his face. "Yeah but come on, it couldn't have been all that fun being surrounded by Rangers fans."

Erin chuckled, her hand covering her mouth delicately. "And Yankees fans," Erin added, shuddering for effect. "That, I didn't enjoy. I was the only Blackhawks and Cubs fan in my office. They tried to convert me many times but no dice."

"I guess that's because your heart was always still in Chicago," Jay mused, Erin hearing the unspoken double meaning behind his words. He slowly reached over the table to where her hand laid and covered her hand with his. Erin's eyes dropped to his larger hand covering her smaller one before looking back up to meet his eyes. His eyes smoldered in the dim lighting and the way he kept looking at her was so intense, like he could read every thought she had in her head.

"Yeah," she finally managed to utter, her voice soft like she was admitting a secret to him. "I guess it always was."

Jay's face slowly broke out into a soft smile as Erin turned her hand over so her palm was up, their fingers dancing until they slowly came together— fitting together like they were never meant to be apart. She felt Jay squeezed her hand tighter, like he didn't want to ever let go either.

Erin never realized just how thrilling and exhilarating just simple hand holding could be until she and Jay walked along the Michigan Ave, hand in hand. Before they weren't the typical hand-holding couple type, their need to appear professional at all times always taking precedence. But they no longer worked together, there was no professional boundary standing in their way. They could stroll down any and every street in Chicago, holding each other's hands, without a care in the world who would see them.

Jay insisted on giving her his jacket, even though Erin had tried to refuse and play off the chills she felt when they stepped outside. It was the beginning of July so Erin wasn't expecting a chilly night and didn't think to bring a coat. But Jay noticed her attempts to hide her shivering as always and he wordlessly took off his jacket and laid it over her shoulders.

"It's okay," she told him, trying to hand him his jacket back but Jay just rolled his eyes as he adjusted the jacket on her shoulders again.

"I know you always get cold easily. It's okay," Jay insisted, Erin giving him a grateful smile as they resumed their walk. Erin could smell his cologne from the jacket— Bleu de Chanel, the same one he had worn ever since Erin first got him a bottle for his birthday during their first year as partners. Smelling the familiar scent was almost comforting for Erin and she wrapped his jacket closer to her body. It was another way Jay still remained the same.

She found herself doing that throughout the night— taking notes of ways that he had changed yet still remained the same. She reveled in the facts that he still wore the same cologne and had the same wallet with a picture of his mom inside. He still smiled the same— a dichotomy of both boyish and handsome with a hint of mischief in them. His eyes still crinkled at the corners the same way and his eyes still lit up just like they did whenever he was genuinely happy. She relished all the ways Jay was still the same Jay.

But she also took notes of the ways he had changed. He preferred white wine instead of red now and took his steak medium rare instead of black and blue like before. He seemed to be less forthcoming with his words whereas before he seemed to blurt out every thought he had in his head. Erin knew that Jay went through a lot during the last three years and it had shown in his personality. He seemed more guarded and reserved yet she could see that he was trying to be more open with her as he let her in on some of the things that happened to him over the past couple of years.

"Where'd you go?" Jay asked, shaking her hand softly to get her attention. Erin didn't realize that she was lost in her own thoughts until he shook her out of it.

"Sorry," she told him, scrunching her nose because she missed the last question he asked her. "What was the question again?"

"I just asked what you think of the dessert. Are you okay?" Jay asked as he paused their stroll and gave her a concerned once-over.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Erin said, waving his concern. "Actually, I'm better than fine. I'm really good," Erin replied honestly.

Jay grinned at her answer, his hands coming to her shoulders and kneading the skin with his fingers. "Good. Me too." His grin got bigger as they resumed their walk to his car, Jay reconnecting their hands again.

They didn't let go of their hold on each other as Jay drove them home, their hands resting laced together on the center console of Jay's truck. They didn't let go of each other's hands as they rode the elevator up to their floor and their hands still remained laced together as Jay walked her to her door.

Erin rested her back on her door as Jay leaned on the wall, the tips of their toes touching with how close they were standing.

"I had a great time," Erin stated as their hands remained locked between them. "Thank you for dinner."

Jay nodded, his blue eyes sparkling as he leaned in closer. "I had an amazing time too," he whispered, his breath ghosting across her face. Her mouth parted involuntarily as soon as she saw his eyes dropped to her lips, like it was waiting to be kissed. She swore her heart skipped a beat, nerves filling her like she was anticipating the moment. He leaned in more, his face inching closer to hers, until they were just inches apart. Their noses were almost brushing against each other and all one of them would have to do was just lean in a tiny bit more and they'd be kissing. She saw Jay's eyes fluttered close as he started to do just that. All Erin would have to do was to just close her eyes and let Jay kiss her like she had wanted him to.

But instead, her hand shook free from his and it rested on his chest right over his heart, stopping him from leaning in closer. She felt how fast his heart was racing under her palm and she swore it stopped beating for a second as he pulled away, his eyes confused and lost as to why she stopped the kiss.

"I'm sorry," Jay muttered, dropping his eyes to the floor. "I didn't...I just thought…" he was beginning to ramble. Erin pressed her hand more firmly against his chest to get his attention.

"It's okay," Erin reassured him. "It's…okay."

"I thought that you wanted...and the moment seemed perfect," Jay continued to ramble, flustered by her sudden stop. "I didn't mean to push you."

"Jay, it's okay," she repeated, bending her head to catch his eyes. "You didn't push me."

The question was clear in his eyes and she could almost see the unspoken question on the tip of his tongue. He was clearly confused as to why she stopped him from closing the distance and kissing her good night.

"I meant what I said about me having a good time," Erin began to explain herself, to stop Jay from thinking that he was reading too much into the date. He wasn't. It went as amazingly as they both thought. "And I want to kiss you. I do. But what you said earlier at dinner about us getting this second chance and a fresh start?" Jay nodded, recalling his earlier words. "I agree with what you said. I want it too. A fresh start. A chance for us to do things right this time."

Erin knew just how precious second chances in life could be. She knew how rare the opportunities to fix mistakes of the past and start over again were. She and Jay had been broken and beaten down by their past and their demons. They crumbled and fell by the wreckage of their relationship but yet somehow, here they were. A new chance to rebuild it, from the ground up. It wouldn't be rebuilt in a day. It would take time, care and commitment. It probably wouldn't be easy or go smoothly 100% of the time. But Erin knew she wanted it, she was determined to give it her all and she didn't want to mess it up.

"I just think that we should take it slow this time," Erin suggested, hoping that Jay could understand where she was coming from. She didn't want to jump into another relationship with Jay without them taking the time to properly rebuild their foundation. A foundation that would be strong enough to last through whatever storms and tornadoes that would be in their future. They had a second chance and no one knew if they would have a third if they fell apart again from rushing into things too much. Erin didn't want to lose Jay again.

Jay's hand came up to take her hand that was resting on his chest and laced their fingers together again.

"Erin, I've waited for you to come back to me for three years. My heart has been locked up for that long and you're the key. I can wait. I can be patient. If you want to take it slow, we'll do that," he replied, agreeing to give her what she wanted. "All I want you to do is for you to take my hand just like this," he said, holding up their intertwined hands. "And just lead the way and I'll follow."

Erin felt a surge of affection for Jay, her eyes watering as he bent down to kiss her hand, his lips resting on it for a few beats. She should've known that Jay would never demand anything she wasn't willing to give or push her. That was another thing that hadn't changed about him— he was still putting her needs and wants first.

"Thank you," she whispered as she bent down to kiss his hand, mimicking his action. She smiled, her dimples showing just how much she appreciated him agreeing to taking things slow between them.

"You have work tomorrow right?" Erin nodded. "Then you should probably get some sleep."

"Yeah," Erin agreed, opening her door. Before she headed inside, she turned to face him. "Good night, Jay."

"Good night, Erin." He reached up to slowly brush her cheek with his thumb, the depths of his eyes pulling her in. She stepped closer to him and leaned over to softly brush her lips against his cheeks. Erin felt Jay's sharp intake of breath, clearly caught off guard by her sudden action.

"Night," she whispered one last time before stepping inside, her face blushing at having kissed him impulsively. Even though it was just an innocent kiss on the cheek, she felt the electricity between them, felt the charge as her lips made contact with his stubbly jaw. She leaned on the closed door, her hands coming up to rest against her chest. She willed her heart to stop pounding, trying to calm it down. But she couldn't stop it from beating rapidly against her chest. Just like she couldn't stop the smile from taking over her face as she thought back to just how well her first date with Jay had gone.

Suddenly, she found herself digging through her clutch for her phone and her fingers worked furiously to type a message before pressing 'send'. She clutched the phone against her chest and closed her eyes as she waited for a reply. She heard a chime just a few seconds later and Erin pulled her phone away so she could read the new message, a sappy grin on her face as she read the message.

'I think 24 hours is slow enough, don't you? Dinner tomorrow?'- Erin

'24 hours is practically a snail pace. Dinner tomorrow sounds perfect.' -Jay

(2)

Jay had been getting strange looks from everyone all day, Ruzek and Atwater looking over at him before exchanging looks with one another. Normally, Jay would be paranoid at why they were looking at him strangely. But he was pretty sure that they were doing that because he had a silly grin on his face the entire day.

He just couldn't help himself. He'd be doing the most mundane thing in the bullpen and his mind would trail off to his date with Erin last night and that silly smile would just take over his face. He was sure it looked very unsettling to outsiders, ones that wasn't privy to what had him smiling to himself like a crazy person. But they'd just have to guess as to why because Jay definitely wasn't going to clueing anyone in on the real reason for his smiles just yet.

There was this almost protective need to keep the new developments between him and Erin to himself. Jay wasn't ready to let the outside world in on their bubble just yet, holding the time he and Erin had to themselves without anyone giving their two cents precious and close to his heart. Besides, Erin was right when she said they needed to take things slow. They were not the same people they were years ago and they needed time to get to know each other fully again. And Jay preferred if the time they had together were left in peace for the two of them.

He didn't need or want to hear Voight's disapproval of him being with Erin again, or Ruzek and Atwater wondering why Erin had such a huge hold on him or Hailey looking at him with those eyes that said he would get hurt again.

He was happy— more than happy— and he wanted to remain that way. Besides, he had more important things to think about such as where he was taking Erin for dinner tonight. They had gone to a restaurant he knew Erin loved last night and he wanted to take her to another special restaurant again. One of the things he regretted when he lost Erin was how he never took the time or the opportunity to show her just how much he loved her. He knew Erin wasn't one for display of cheesy romantic gestures and she didn't want or need flowers every day. But he knew just how much of a softy Erin really was, no matter how much she tried to hide it. She deserved special things and gestures that show just how important she was to him and how much he loved her. He made the mistakes of not showing her that before but this was his chance to make things right.

He continued planning their second date in his head— maybe Purple Pig for dinner, Jay could stop by the flower shop a few blocks from his condo to get Erin her favorite flowers, and maybe stop by the ice-cream shop that opened up last year that he knew Erin would love.

He schooled his face into a more neutral expression when he saw Hailey looking at him curiously from her desk and he dropped his head to focus on the paperworks on his desk. He definitely didn't need Hailey asking any questions of why he kept smiling like an idiot today. He heard his phone buzzed and he picked it up as Erin's name came across the screen.

"Hey," Jay spoke into the phone, standing up and heading straight for the locker room to get away from prying ears and eyes. "I was just thinking about you. About tonight."

"Yeah?" Erin's raspy voice returned from the other end. "I was thinking about you too."

Jay smiled and he rolled his eyes at himself for acting like a lovesick fool. It was ridiculous just how much she had him wrapped around her fingers.

"But I'm really sorry, Jay," Erin apologized, Jay's face dropping at the unexpected apology. "But I don't think I can make it to dinner tonight."

"Oh," Jay replied, trying not to sound too disappointed as he felt. "What happened?"

"I thought I could get all the paperworks done before tonight but we had an unplanned raid earlier today and it just pushed everything back. I sent my team home since it's the 4th of July and they had their own plans. I'm really sorry, Jay." Erin sounded contrite and Jay knew she was feeling horrible for cancelling. But he understood the position she was in. She was the leader of her team and she was a good leader, sacrificing herself and putting the workload on her own shoulders so her team could keep their plans for the night.

"Erin, it's okay," Jay reassured her. He was disappointed but she already sounded so sad at their second date plans falling through. Jay didn't want Erin to feel more guilty or sad. "We could always reschedule."

"I just feel terrible," Erin voiced. "I was really excited to see you again tonight."

"Yeah, I was really excited to see you too," Jay whispered. "But hey, you'll see me." He tried to sound upbeat, wanting to cheer Erin up. "I live right next door," he added, hoping to lighten up the conversation. He got what he was after when he heard her soft laugh from the other end. "What time are you going to be done by tonight?"

"Hmm, not sure yet. I have a lot of paperworks left on my desk." He heard her sigh and he knew she was running her hand through her hair just like she did whenever she was frustrated. "I should probably go and get started on it. So I could actually get home sometimes tonight."

"Okay," Jay replied. "Erin, I'll see you soon okay? We're gonna have our second date, I promise."

"I'll see you soon," Erin whispered and Jay swore he could hear the smile in her voice. "Bye Jay."

Jay's good mood from earlier had deflated by the time he was back at his desk. He tried to bury his disappointment with paperworks of his own and he was so focused on them that he was finished before everyone else. He stretched his body, his back starting to hurt from sitting in the same stance for too long.

"Molly's?" Adam asked as he put his files away. "Get a beer to celebrate the 4th of July?" Murmurs of agreements rang out in the bullpen. All except for one person.

"Halstead? You in?" Atwater asked, noticing that Jay hadn't given his answer yet. Jay stuttered, debating if he wanted to join his team. But deep down, he already knew he didn't. There was only one person he wanted to spend the night with and she was unavailable, anyone else would just be a poor substitute at this point.

"Nah," he shook his head and stood up, shoving his phone in his pockets. "I'm not really up for it tonight. I'll just see you guys tomorrow."

He quickly strode out of the bullpen, knowing that if he was any slower Ruzek and Atwater would make it their mission to get him to come. He heard confused clamors and his name being called behind him but he pretended as though he couldn't hear and quickly left.

He sat in his truck, wondering what his night would look like now. He could always go to Molly's but quickly discarded that idea. He wasn't up for socializing tonight. He could just go home and just call it an early night. But every cell in his body was pulling him a certain way so he made up his mind and started his car. He knew what he was doing now.

Erin was in her office, trying to finish the mountain of paperworks she had on her desk as quickly as she could. She hated paperworks but it was all a part of being the leader of the team. She couldn't make her team suffer through the paperworks with her tonight, not when Jen had been through a lot the past month and the rest of her teams had families and plans they had to get home to. So Erin had bit the bullet and sent everyone home, leaving her alone in the office to suffer by herself.

She typed furiously across the keyboard, filling out pertinent information on the few busts they had made and the cases they had closed. She was moving at a fast pace and she was almost done. She looked at her watch and saw it was just half past eight. If she hurried, she could make it home at a decent hour and maybe she could even knock on Jay's door and spend time with him just like they planned to earlier. The idea of ending her night with Jay motivated her to type faster, Erin too caught up in her work that she almost didn't hear her phone ring.

She saw Jay's name flashed across her screen and she quickly answered it.

"Jay, hey."

"Hey," There was a strange tone to his voice. "So I know you said you couldn't make our date tonight."

"Yeah?" Erin asked, wondering what was going on.

"So I thought if you can't come to our second date, why don't I bring our second date to you?" Jay asked. Erin let out a surprised laugh.

"What?" she asked, confused at what he had planned. "Where are you?"

"Look outside." Erin immediately got up from her chair and ran over to her window, looking outside like Jay had instructed. She saw him on the ground, looking up at her with a huge smile on his face, holding up what looked like a bag of food in his hands. "You're here," Erin gasped at Jay's sudden appearance.

"Yep. So are you going to leave a guy who brought you food hanging?" He waved the bag of food over his head like he was enticing her. Erin laughed, shaking her head at his antics.

"I'll be right down," Erin said, hanging the phone up so she could go down to the entrance and let him in.

"I still can't believe that you're actually here," Erin exclaimed as she and Jay returned to her empty office. "I mean, I'm happy that you're here but I thought you would've made other plans after I called and cancelled."

Jay shrugged. "This is where I want to be. You're here and I know that you'd probably get too caught up in your work and skip dinner."

Erin couldn't even deny his guess. Dinner for one hadn't even crossed her mind but as she smelled the delicious scent of food wafting from the bags that Jay was holding, she was suddenly hungry.

"I hope you don't mind me coming here," Jay inquired, wondering if he was pushing her by coming here unexpectedly.

"No, of course not," Erin immediately denied, shaking her head. "I'm happy you're here." She gave him a genuine smile. "Listen, I'm almost done with my work so do you mind waiting just a few minutes? Then we can eat?"

Jay nodded, taking off his jacket and placing it on the back of a chair. "Take as long as you need."

Erin quickly finished off the paperwork and put her files away, cleaning up her desk. Jay gave her an inquisitive look, his surprise of her being so organized written on his face.

"I can be neat," she insisted, glaring at him. He laughed and soon enough, Erin was laughing along with him. She walked over to where he was sitting waiting for her and snatched the food bag from him.

"Is this any way to treat the guy that brought you Portillo's?" Jay asked, Erin's mouth dropping in happiness as she pulled out the hot dogs from the bag. "Do you know how long I had to wait in the drive through for the order?"

She just rolled her eyes in response and held the food in her hand, like it was a prize or a treasure.

"This smells so good," Erin groaned in happiness. "I can't believe it's been months since I've been back in Chicago and I still haven't had Portillo's yet." She looked back at Jay. "You're amazing for this."

"Oh yeah," Jay said knowingly, grinning.

Erin decided that even though it was the 4th of July and they were both stuck working on the holiday, they should do something special now that they were off. So she led him to the rooftop of the FBI field office with the food in their hands.

Erin laid a few newspapers on the ground and they sat on top of them, ready to dig into the food. Jay handed Erin a hot dog and Erin didn't wait to tear into it, groaning out loud in happiness.

"This is as good as I remember," Erin remarked in between bites. "They didn't have hot dogs like this in New York."

Jay laughed, watching her eat in happiness. This was just what he wanted— just the two of them together. Erin quickly polished off the food and took a few sip of water to wash it all down.

"Thank you, Jay," she said, scooting a bit closer to him and holding his arms.

"I had something else planned for tonight," Jay confessed, wrapping his arm around Erin.

"Yeah? Like what?"

"I wanted to bring you flowers for our date, take you to Purple Pig for dinner then we'd take a walk to this ice-cream place that I know you'd love. I wanted it to be special. I mean, more special than just hot dogs in a greasy bag."

Erin cupped his jaw and turned his face so he was looking at her. "Jay, this was special. I don't need you to take me to a fancy restaurant or bring me flowers to make our dates special."

"Yeah, I know," Jay replied, brushing away a strand of her hair and tucking it behind her ears. Now he could see her beautiful eyes clearly and he saw the sincerity and genuineness in her hazel orbs. "I know you don't need those things. You never did. It doesn't mean I don't want to give them to you though. I want you to feel special."

Erin's face softened and she slowly broke out into a smile. "I already do," she whispered as she rested her forehead against his.

Jay took a deep inhale, her sweet scent washing over his senses. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment between them. She was right. They didn't need to go to a fancy restaurant or have some elaborate plan. All he needed was him and her, here together.

He pulled his head away slightly so he could look at her better and as he opened his mouth to say something, he was interrupted by a loud boom followed by crackles as fireworks lit up the night sky, illuminating Erin's face, before the sparkles began to fall back down from the sky.

Erin laughed as the fireworks continued, brightening up the sky with the colorful pyrotechnics. Her eyes were watching the colors shift and shimmer in the sky with amazement as Jay watched the changing colors reflected back from her hazel eyes. She was the sight he wanted to watch, even the fireworks going off in the distance couldn't capture his attention. Erin held it, completely.

Erin felt Jay's eyes on her and as she turned to face him, she was half expecting him to look away and pretend as though he hadn't been watching her. But he didn't. Instead, he kept his eyes on her, intense and captivating, taking her breath away.

"Happy fourth of July, Jay." Her voice was barely a whisper, almost drowned out by the explosions of fireworks still going on. But Jay heard her loud and clear. She knew he was letting her take the lead and set the pace. So she slowly leaned in until their foreheads were resting against each other again. She placed her hand gently on the underside of his jaw and slowly lifted his head up until she could close the distance and capture his lips in a soft kiss.

Jay had dreamt of this moment countless times over the past years, yet never letting himself believe that it could actually happen again. He still wasn't completely sure if it was just another dream and he'd be waking up in cold sweats and disappointment alone in his bed or if it was actually real. But as the flutters turned more intense and the kiss grew more passionate, Jay let himself believe that it was real. That Erin was truly in his arms, her lips caught in his. She invaded all of his senses and everything else that wasn't her faded into the background. All he could feel was her, all he could taste was her.

He let out a shuddered breath as they pulled apart, their foreheads resting against one another again. Her warm breath ghosted over his face and he smiled, his fingers tangling in her hair like he was almost in disbelief that they were there in that moment. He needed to make sure so he leaned in and claimed her mouth again, hungry and desperate. Erin met the intensity of his kiss with a fervor of her own, her hands coming around the back of his neck to pull him in closer. Jay could've spent the whole night sitting there, kissing Erin and just let the world fall by the wayside. He was in heaven, one that he never wanted to leave.

The fireworks continued in the background but neither of them paid any attention to it, too caught up in the fireworks exploding between them. One that burned brighter. Fiercer.

AN: You guys, thanks for all the responses in the last chapter. I'm glad to see that so many of you are interested in me continuing the story. I have lots of great encounter planned so hope you guys stick with me through 23 more.

I also wanted to say that I'm sorry that I haven't been able to get out an update for my other stories these past few days. But to be perfectly honest, I haven't been too much in the writing mood with everything that is going on. I hope all of you guys are staying safe out there.

I do plan on getting updates out for all my stories this week. I'm not making any promises but I'm motivated so we'll see. As always, thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts!