Jordan and Briana worked different shifts for a while. But after a few weeks, Jordan was due to work days again, with Briana.
Briana was not sure how she would handle working together again after Jordan's surprise visit three weeks back. But it turned out that her worries had been for nothing because Jordan did not show up at work on the day of their first professional collaboration effort. When she found out that he had taken a week off work, Briana knew that he had done so because of her.
When they had worked different shifts over the last three weeks, Briana had seen Jordan only a couple of times just before he left the precinct to go home. But the few times she had seen him, he had looked at her directly, which he had never done before, and when he spoke to her, the harsh tone in his voice disappeared.
After Jordan's visit to her appartment, Briana tried to forget what had happened. She welcomed each morning that she had to get up to go to work; first of all because it was certain that Jordan wasn't working the same hours, and secondly because she could concentrate on her work and not think about him as much.
But at night, when she was home, there was no way she could forget his naked body and his hands touching her. There was also no way she could forget the twenty minutes he had spent in her appartment. When she thought of that scene in her mind and re-lived the memory of how he had revealed quite a bit about himself, she desparately wanted to pick up the phone and call him.
She did not call, however. No matter how strong the impulse and the longing was, Briana wanted a real relationship. And that was something she doubted Jordan was able to have.
Briana went out as much as she could at night. Sometimes she did not come home until 2am. She liked to be either at work or so exhausted that she could go to sleep instantly. Her friends tried to tell her that he might be capable of change and finally let somebody into his life after all. But Briana did not even want to entertain that possibility. She did not want to get hurt again.
Tonight, Briana was to meet Jacklyn and Dana at the local bar just a few blocks away from her new home. Determined to have a good time, Briana opened the the heavy wooden door to the pub and stepped inside, instantly being greeted by the warm air.
Spotting her two friends instantly, she made her way through the crowd to their table.
"Hey Bri, we've been waiting for you," said Dana, pointing at her watch. "It's almost ten already. There is nothing wrong with being on time every once in a while, you know." But her eyes were twinkling and she tried to hide a smile.
Briana looked from Dana to Jackie as she sat down. "What's up with you two? You look like your are about to burst."
Now Jackie and Dana exchanged a very meaningful look before Jackie leaned over and nodded towards the other room where people played pool. "Jordan is just around that corner with a friend. They came in half an hour ago."
"Are you sure it is him?" Briana asked, not knowing what was harder to believe: Jordan taking time to have a drink or the fact that he had a friend. All this time, she never once heard him hanging out with anybody. His private life was a total mystery at the precinct. And even though she knew she should leave before seeing him would make matters worse, she also had to see who he was with.
She got up, ignoring her friends' laughter, and walked around the corner to where she would have a good view of the other room. Her eyes found him in a second. His hair was untidy, his shirt was not tucked in, and he was halfway leaning over the table in front of him. He had to be drunk!
Across from Jordan, his back facing her, sat a man she had never seen before. The business suit he was wearing looked expensive even from the distance. Making up her mind without thinking too much about the consequences, Briana walked up to their talbe.
"There she is," Jordan said in a somewhat muffled voice before Briana could say anything. She looked at him, surprised. He had not even looked up. He could not be a s drunk as she had expected.
Ignoring Jordan's comment, Briana turned to his friend. "Hi! I'm Briana!" she said and extended her hand to shake his hand.
"I'm Daniel!" he said, smiling. "I've heard a lot about you the last couple of hours." He reached behind him to pull another chair over for her to sit on, but Briana shook her head.
"I'm here with some friends of mine. I just came to say hello and meet a friend of Matt's. So far I thought he did not have any."
Daniel laughed. "Well, Matt is more human than he lets on." He got up. "I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes," he said and headed for the restrooms.
Turning her head to look at Jordan, Briana was surprised to find him sitting upright on his chair, looking at her with that intent stare that was so characteristic of him. No trace of alcohol reflecting in his eyes. His stare was as intense as ever.
"I did not think you knew my first name," he said quietly, and Briana crossed her arms in front of her chest as if that could have put some distance between his words and her reaction to them.
She did not even realize that she had called him Matt when she talked to Daniel. They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds. Then, she thought she had better leave, but her eyes trailed off to his full lips. She could remember every kiss, every touch of his lips on her skin.
"Why did you take a week off work?" she asked, still looking at his mouth?
"I could not stand working with you right now," he replied quite honestly.
