| Jamie Ross chuckled as she headed back to her office. Jack was certainly in a good mood today, much better than the last couple of days. If she didn�t know better, she�d swear he was falling in love. She�d caught him after lunch just sitting there in his office with that goofy smile on his face. She wondered who the lucky lady was � Well, whoever it was, she was glad for him. For almost two years, she�d seen him grieving over Claire. It was about time he got over it and moved on. Long overdue, in fact. Jack kept glancing at his watch, waiting for the day to end. The morning had gone fast enough, with a long meeting taking up most of it, but the afternoon was dragging. Worse, it was Friday, so he was doubly reluctant to start anything new that he didn�t have to. And his mind kept wandering back to last night. Having Lennie fall asleep in his arms had touched something deep inside him. Not to mention turned him on something powerful. When he had gotten home � He shook himself out of it; he didn�t want to go there right now. He sighed and got up, thinking that he�d kill some time by walking across the street to the coffee shop. On his way out, he stuck his head in Jamie�s office. �I�m going for some real coffee. You want anything?� She looked up and saw the playfulness in his eyes. �Playing hookey, huh? I could use a break. Mind if I tag along?� He laughed. �Sure.� They came out to another one of the rare nice spring days. Jamie decided to see if she could get him to spill. �OK, I give. You�re in a good mood today � what�s up?� He couldn�t help grinning at her. �What makes you think anything�s up?� �That stupid grin you�ve been wearing all day, for one thing. Who is she, Jack?� �What makes you think it�s a woman?� �You�ve got lovestruck puppy written all over you.� �That bad?� �That bad.� He winced. �OK, you win. I had a � date last night.� �You�ve gone on a couple of dates before, Jack. You never looked like this the next day.� �This is � different. Special.� // oh, if you only knew HOW different � // �So? Who is she?� �I don�t kiss and tell.� That got him a searing look. �Oh ho! So you kissed?� He felt the redness rising up his neck. �Well, yeah. Just a simple goodnight.� Jamie watched him closely. There was definitely something going on here � she swore he was blushing! She laughed and shook her head. �You aren�t going to tell me, are you?� �Not just yet, Jamie.� �You have plans for the weekend?� He nodded. �I�m going over there again tonight.� She raised her eyebrows. �And the rest of the weekend?� He shrugged, laughing. �We�ll see �� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lennie was surprised by the knock at his door at a quarter of six. He opened it to find Jack standing there, grinning like an idiot. �Hey! Wasn�t expecting you so soon!� Jack laughed and walked into the apartment. �It�s Friday. Even workaholics like me want to get out on Friday afternoons. Especially when they have somewhere special to go.� They looked at each other, suddenly unsure. This time it was Jack who made the first move, reaching out to cup Lennie�s face in his hands and leaning in for a quick kiss. He pulled away before a very startled Lennie could respond. They ended up just standing there, smiling at each other, until finally Lennie took his hand and led him back to the couch. This time Lennie carefully sat on the left so he could put his good right arm around Jack. �So how was your day?� �Too long. Kept thinking about last night. And tonight.� Lennie smiled. �Me too. Couldn�t read a damned page of the book today.� �Jamie knows something is going on. Said I looked like a lovestruck puppy.� That got an all out laugh. �You going to tell her?� Raised eyebrow. �I�d have thought you�d want to keep this quiet?� Lennie nodded. �I do. But that doesn�t mean absolutely. I trust Jamie, and it would probably be good for you to have somebody to talk to.� �Oh.� Lennie laughed again. �Don�t worry about it, Jack. If you do decide to tell her, I just wanted to let you know it�s ok with me. Come on, let�s order dinner.� He leaned over to the end table and grabbed a menu. Dinner details taken care of, they settled back on the couch, just holding hands again. �Lennie? Who do you talk to? Cragen?� Lennie nodded. �Don and I have been friends forever, Jack. Went to the academy together. He was the one who pulled me out of the bottle six years ago. We�ve been � have you heard the term �fuck buddies?� Ever since.� Jack was confused. �Isn�t he married?� Lennie nodded. �Yeah. Back then he hadn�t told her yet. Thing is, they really love each other. When he finally told her, he expected her to ask for a divorce. Instead she sighed with relief for getting it out in the open. She�d figured it out long before he told her. She also had a friend on the side, didn�t like the feeling of cheating. But if it was out in the open, she had no problems if their marriage was everything BUT the bedroom.� Jack was stunned. �That�s one understanding woman �� Lennie gave a soft laugh. �Love does funny things, Jack.� He gently squeezed Jack�s hand, lifted it to his lips. Jack blushed, feeling an equal reaction below the belt. And it was still early � They sat there looking at each other, their hands entwined, almost afraid to move, until a knock at the door startled them. Lennie took a deep breath and got up. �Dinner�s here.� He went to the door, paid the delivery guy, and took the bag over to the kitchen table. Jack joined him, unpacking the bag while Lennie dug a couple of sodas out of the fridge. A hot pastrami sandwich and a whole kosher pickle for Lennie, hot ham and swiss on rye for Jack, and a big container of potato salad on the side. Lennie got some plates and forks, and they settled down to dinner. Jack had one more pressing question. �So, did you tell Cragen?� Lennie nodded. �Had to. He was worried he�d messed everything up by letting you know.� Jack smiled. �Actually, I think we owe him our thanks. I wouldn�t be here right now if it wasn�t for that �slip.�� �Yeah. Who�d have thought?� Jack laughed. �Does anybody else know? Your partner?� �Rey? He knows I�m gay, haven�t really been involved with anyone since � since we became partners.� That hesitation tripped something in Jack�s brain. Curtis had become Lennie�s partner after Logan decked the councilman for � �Logan?� Lennie looked decidedly uncomfortable. �Uh, yeah. Look, Jack, that�s not exactly my idea of light dinner conversation �� Jack sensed that there was something important here, but now wasn�t the time. He reached out and squeezed Lennie�s hand. �OK, I hear you. Whenever you�re ready to talk about it �?� Lennie nodded. �Thanks, Jack.� Baseball turned out to be a nice safe dinner topic. Lennie couldn�t understand for the life of him how Jack could still be a Cubs fan after living in New York all these years. Once again they found the relaxed, comfortable familiarity that made this friendship special. After finishing his sandwich, Lennie reached for the pickle. He licked it rather lasciviously, finally sucking it into his mouth. Jack�s voice trailed off in the middle of a sentence as he noticed what Lennie was doing. It gave him a mental picture he probably wasn�t quite ready for yet, which had the twin effects of freaking him out and turning him on at the same time. He couldn�t take his eyes off Lennie sucking on that pickle. He had a feeling he was never going to be able to look at a pickle the same way again. He finally found his voice. �Lennie, what are you doing?� He removed the pickle to talk. �Eating a pickle.� �You�re not eating it, you�re making love to it.� �You�re imagining things.� �You really have no idea how that looks?� Jack groaned. �Listen, just because YOUR libido is asleep doesn�t mean MINE is. In fact, mine is in hyperdrive right now �� �Yeah, obviously.� Jack sighed. �Just eat the damned thing already, will you?� Lennie laughed. �Ok, ok.� Jack got up and wandered back into the living room, chuckling softly. He settled on the couch, waiting for Lennie who finally gave up on the pickle and came to join him. �I am sorry, Jack.� He shook his head. �It�s OK, Lennie. I just have to accept that I�m going to be a bit frustrated for a while.� Lennie�s hand rested over his, fingers dovetailed, gently stroking back and forth. �I still can�t believe you feel that way. I really never dared hope �� Jack sighed. �I sort of can�t believe it either. How long did it take you to get used to it?� �God, I don�t know. Everything was so interconnected back then. I was a mess, ready to call it quits entirely the night Don found me in that bar. Then I was getting sober, discovering feelings I�d been repressing all my life, trying to rebuild my life. I can�t really say I noticed when I got used to it.� Jack suddenly realized how difficult it had been for Lennie. He felt strangely protective, wanting to keep the detective from ever feeling so lost again. He slipped his arm around Lennie and hugged. Lennie smiled and leaned into the embrace. He felt so safe and comfortable he decided this might be a good time to finish the story he�d put off during dinner. �You guessed right at dinner, Jack. The one I wouldn�t talk about was Mike Logan.� �Lennie, you don�t have to tell me if you don�t want to.� �I want to. Really.� He sat for a moment gathering his thoughts. �For a long time after Don brought me into this, I was happy just occasionally getting together with him. It was something entirely different from what I was used to, and frankly after two failed marriages, I really wasn�t interested in anything serious. It was nice, perfect just as it was. �I had no clue about Mike until we busted Fr. Joseph.� �The priest? Abused his altar boys?� Lennie nodded. �I don�t remember if it came out publicly during the case, Jack, but Mike was one of them.� Jack shuddered. He�d done his turn as an altar boy back in Chicago � The more he learned about the church these days, the more distant he felt from it. Lennie kept talking. �He finally told me that night that he had just been figuring out that he might be gay when it happened. And since it was such a �hush hush� scandal back then, it just kind of choked him off. So for 20 years, he kept it all inside. I finally helped him let it out. �I told him up front that I wasn�t looking for a relationship. That this game had different rules. Well, you know Mike and rules. Oil and water. We were such good friends to start with. We fell hard, and we fell fast. It was the most intense two months of my life, Jack.� Jack was more than a little surprised to find himself feeling quite jealous of Logan. // But it didn�t last. // He forced himself to ask the question. �What happened?� Lennie sighed. �Mike always was a bit of a hothead. After that thing with Councilman Crossley, we fought. He has so much anger inside, Jack. He wouldn�t admit he screwed up. Yeah, the idiot deserved it, but we�re cops. Higher standard and all that. He accused me of not supporting him through the crisis. And when he got transferred down to Staten Island, and we weren�t together every day anymore, it just got worse. After about a month, he just stopped returning my calls. Wouldn�t even talk to me. God, that hurt. I really did love him, you know. Even if he wouldn�t believe me �� Jack repositioned in the corner of the couch and gathered Lennie closer to him, both arms wrapped around him. He could see how much that relationship had meant to Lennie. Jealousy and anger toward Logan for hurting Lennie started a slow burn in his veins. �He�d better not cross my path again, Lennie. I�ll tear him apart.� �No, Jack, please. Don�t get caught in this. There�s been too much anger already.� Jack sighed. �OK. I�ll try. But I can�t make any promises if he pulls that attitude with me.� Lennie nodded and pulled Jack�s arms closer. Jack leaned forward and gently kissed his temple. Lennie smiled and turned to face Jack, his hand reaching out to caress the rough cheek. Their eyes met briefly before he leaned in for the kiss. Just a gentle touch at first, then pulling back to gage his reaction. On seeing the smile, he leaned back in, this time letting his tongue brush against those lips, feeling them open for him. He felt Jack�s hand sliding up his back to hold his head, pulling him closer. It was tender more than passionate, although he knew Jack had to be feeling it. Over and over, soft, gentle kisses as arms caressed backs, necks, hair. Finally Jack released him. �Are we falling, Lennie?� He nodded. �Yeah. But not hard and fast. More like floating �� Jack smiled. �I like that.� �Me too.� He settled back into Jack�s arms and couldn�t suppress a yawn. Jack bent down and kissed his temple again. �You tired already?� Lennie shrugged. �Had trouble sleeping again last night.� Jack looked worried. �Lennie?� Lennie gave a soft laugh. �Don�t worry, Jack. I�m fine. When I first got out of the hospital, I had trouble sleeping; I guess it finally hit me how close I�d come. Don got me over that. Last night had a much simpler explanation.� �Such as?� �Couldn�t stop thinking about you.� �Oh!� Lennie couldn�t resist asking. �How did you sleep?� Jack blushed. �Like a baby.� Lennie caught the embarrassment. �AFTER you had another one of your little fantasies?� �Well, yeah.� Lennie laughed. �Don�t be embarrassed, Jack. You�re going to be ahead of me on that curve for a while. I�ll just have to live vicariously through you.� Jack still felt embarrassed. Lennie caressed his cheek again. �I�m guessing you�re pretty wound up after tonight?� �Kind of. But it�s more like a slow burn now, not demanding, just � nice.� Lennie grinned. �Well, we�ll have to stoke that fire before you leave, then.� Another yawn snuck through. Jack smiled at him. �Looks like that�s not going to be long now.� �I guess. I just hate for this to end.� Jack�s turn to touch Lennie�s cheek. �Me too. But tomorrow�s Saturday. You up for a movie or something?� �Get out of this apartment? Oh hell yes!� �Getting a little stir crazy?� Lennie nodded. �This is going to be the longest month of my life.� Jack laughed. Lennie definitely wasn�t the �sit at home and rest� type. He reluctantly let go. �Come on, Lennie. Time for me to head home.� Lennie very reluctantly got up and walked Jack to the door. Jack smiled at him. �So why don�t you call me when you�re up and around tomorrow.� �Um, I don�t have your home phone �� �Oh, yeah.� Lennie grabbed a notepad and pen from the end table, and Jack wrote down the number. They again looked awkwardly at each other until Lennie reached out and pulled Jack in for a kiss. But this time he didn�t hold back. His intention was to fuel the fantasy he knew Jack would have when he got home. The kiss became quite passionate, and he let his left hand move in the direction it preferred these days � down. He heard the surprised moan as his fingers made contact with the hot hard bulge behind the denim. And felt the first twinges of something in his own groin � Finally, he let go, enjoying the look on Jack�s face. �Sweet dreams, Jack.� Continue to "Chapter 7" Return to the Story Index Send me some feedback Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Unexpected Song (by Andrew Lloyd Weber, from Song and Dance) I have never felt like this, For once I'm lost for words, Your smile has really thrown me. This is not like me at all. I never thought I'd know the kind of love you've shown me. Now no matter where I am, no matter what I do, I see your face appearing. Like an unexpected song that only we are hearing. I don't know what's going on, can't work it out at all, whatever made you choose me? I just can't believe my eyes, you look at me as though you couldn't bear to lose me. Now no matter where I am, no matter what I do, I see your face appearing. Like an unexpected song that only we are hearing. |
| Unexpected Song |
| Chapter 6 |