Detective Jimmy Deakins was in a panic.
The bantam standing at the front of the briefing room had every right to punch Jimmy in the face, not that Sergeant Johnny Eames would know that. Jimmy went pale. He hoped Eames had no way of knowing it. The man was a good cop and from all Jimmy could tell a good man. If he knew Jimmy had kissed his teenage daughter…. Jimmy shuddered at the thought.
Eames was briefing them on a string of burglaries that crossed precinct lines. Now extending over five precincts, the men in the room were charged to design a taskforce to put an end to it. They'd been told frankly they had two weeks. Every one of them knew the deadline was insanity and would never be met, but they'd bust their asses to try.
When they broke to get lunch, Johnny Eames came over to him with an extended hand. "Deakins, right?"
Jimmy nodded and shook the man's hand firmly. Johnny led him to a quiet corner of the room and leaned in a little. "What do you think of our little assignment?"
Jimmy shook his head and sighed heavily, which brought a low laugh from Johnny. The men shared a quick look that said it all. They were fighting yet another losing battle, one more in the good fight.
Johnny glanced at the calendar on the wall. "Had to tell the wife she wouldn't see me for a couple weeks. That's the worst of it."
Jimmy nodded, closing his eyes for a moment to hide the pain. Angie would be just as glad to know he'd be busy that long. He wouldn't be hounding her for visits to his daughter. Even with the taskforce, he would make some kind of time to see her. When he opened his eyes, Johnny was watching him carefully. Jimmy gave him a sheepish shrug.
Johnny looked at Jimmy's hand where his wedding ring still sat, then back up at Jimmy's face. "Not seein' so much of her anyway?" Jimmy's answer was clearly on his face, because Johnny patted his shoulder. "It happens to the best of us. Don't put everything on this, though. The others'll expect you to let them go home and you won't even eat."
Jimmy nodded slowly. It was good enough advice, but he wondered why Johnny was giving it to him at all. The underlying panic of talking to Alex's father came to the forefront and he had to use all his skills to keep it from showing. There was nothing in Johnny's expression or bearing that suggested he held any animosity toward Jimmy, though. No tension around the eyes or mouth. Nothing in his shoulders or hands. Just one cop to another.
Before Jimmy could ask they were called back to the briefing.
For the first week, none of the men saw anything but each other and their work. Half of them were going over old ground and the other half was investigating two new burglaries. Jimmy worked alongside Johnny Eames more than often than not. If they hadn't been so busy the similarities between father and daughter would have been debilitatingly distracting. As it was the frequent mention of all the Eames children was maddening. Every time Jimmy heard Alex's name his heart stopped.
It would have been so much easier if only it didn't seem Johnny really had taken a special interest in Jimmy. Despite his concern at being found out and his natural reticence about his private life, Jimmy couldn't help opening up to Alex's father. Small details about his marital situation leaked out until he finally admitted he wasn't living at home. Jimmy let his confusion about the reasons show. Given everything else in his mind, it was all he could show.
Everyone got one weekend day off and when Johnny learned Jimmy had Sunday off, too, he immediately invited him to dinner. Dinner with Alex Eames and her family was easily the most terrifying thing Jimmy had ever considered. His first response, his smartest one, was to say no. Even if he could behave around the girl, there was now way to expect a teenager with a crush to hide that. He couldn't ask it of her.
This presumed, of course, that she still gave a damn. Teenagers changed their minds about these things as often as they changed their hair. Having kissed him she had surely moved on. Hopefully she hadn't bragged, or complained, about him to her friends. Even as he thought all that, he knew he was doing her an injustice. She wasn't a shallow kid. Remembering how she felt in his arms he had to remind himself she was a kid at all.
He was still going to say no. He wanted to see his daughter. The call to Angie didn't go well, though. She told him she didn't expect his call and they were going to her parents for the whole weekend. Under no circumstances would she change their plans when he was just going to get called back into work anyway. Just as he hung up the phone, Johnny also hung up his phone. His last words made Jimmy groan. "Alex, Alex, I don't know, okay. I'll find out. Yes, I promise."
When Johnny turned to him, Jimmy raised an eyebrow in question. He didn't really want to know, but it was expected. Johnny shook his head and leaned against his desk. He looked embarrassed. "My eldest wants to know if you are coming to dinner or not. It seems she's doing the bulk of the cooking and needs to know how much to make."
Jimmy put his hand over his face to cover his reaction. She was cooking? His stomach lurched and he felt dizzy. His beautiful fantasy was cooking for him. For him. His wife was keeping their daughter away from him and Alex was cooking for him. His mind formed the word 'no.' He would tell Johnny he couldn't make it.
"Yeah, I'll be there. I appreciate the invitation, Johnny." He hung his head to cover his shock at his answer. "Getting out for a day would be good and I'm damn tired of grilled cheese."
Jimmy did decline the invitation to join them at Mass. That would have been way more than he could handle. Alex dressed for church, going up to take communion, after everything he'd thought of doing to her would probably send him to Hell in a blinding flash. Instead he arrived about a half hour before dinner was due. He brought some expensive beer for Johnny, a bouquet of flowers for his wife and a single carnation for Alex. If he hadn't known Alex made dinner, he would never have brought her anything. It was beyond inappropriate otherwise.
He stood at their front door dressed in chinos and a button down feeling like he was going on a date. The rational part of him said again he should go. He should run like hell. Before he could turn, the door opened and a gangly boy with Alex's eyes stood there. He looked a couple years younger than Alex.
"He's here!" The boy called back into the house and then waved Jimmy in. He looked over the bundles in Jimmy's hands and laughed. "Oh, man, another old fashioned one. Where does Dad dig you guys up?" The boy didn't wait for an answer, instead he headed up the stairs, leaving Jimmy in the foyer.
A minute later, Johnny came out. He took the beer with a grateful grin and waved Jimmy toward the kitchen. He'd have to do the flower presentation himself. Walking into that kitchen was walking into a minefield and his stomach did flips with every step. He was thrilled his hands weren't shaking, but he didn't know how much longer that would last. Then he saw her.
Alex stood next to her mother at the stove. They were arguing about how much garlic to put into something. If the old adage that you should look at a woman's mother to see how she'd turn out was true, Alex would keep her clear skin and trim figure. Except for their hair color and the cut of their clothes it would have been hard to tell them apart from the back. When they noticed the men, Marian came over to greet Jimmy. She made a fuss over the flowers and said how glad she was he could be there.
Alex hung back, her eyes on the lone flower still in his hand. Once Marian went to find a vase, Jimmy turned to Alex and extended the flower. The feeling of being a suitor returned and he second guessed the choice of a carnation. Maybe he should have bought something more exotic. Certainly a rose was out. She looked from the pink flower to his eyes and back to the flower.
When she smiled and put her hand out for it, he felt a weight lift off him.
Alex took the flower and brought it to her nose, but she didn't inhale very deeply. Instead she brushed her lips against it. He came and he brought her a gift. Something just for her. Her mother was fussing about the meal and how Alex had done everything. Jimmy was nodding and saying all the right things, but she didn't hear them. She only felt the delicate petals against her lips and remembered how it felt to kiss him.
She knew the one time was all she'd ever get. Even when her dad told her that he'd moved out, she knew he wouldn't come to her. Once he started working with her dad, her last hope for that died. Still, she'd never forget how it felt. Cooking dinner for him would let her pretend, just for a little while, that he was hers.
He was polite to her while she finished cooking. He was even polite to her baby sister. He moved around in their kitchen like he lived there. Every minute in that kitchen felt like a lifetime with him. She thought that after kissing him he'd be nervous around her. The worst thing would have been if he'd shown embarrassment or shame. Maybe it was just because her parents were there, but he looked relaxed. He looked like he was having a good time.
He sat beside her at dinner. Despite being less than two feet away from her, he kept up an in-depth conversation with her parents about people they knew in common. Alex ate slowly, keeping her attention on him. She refilled his drink, offered him more lamb, and served him another portion of pie before he asked. He complimented her on the meal and thanked her graciously for everything, but otherwise his attention was on the other adults.
Just having him next to her was enough, though. She thought after kissing him that she'd never see him again; much less see him so intimately. If she dared she could put her hand on his thigh. Those thighs that had been so warm and strong under her ass were inches away from her fingers. She itched to touch him. At least she could smell him. And he smelled damn good. He smelled amazing.
She didn't think he wanted her, though. He only looked at her when he had to speak to her and he never touched her. Not even a tiny bump. Every cell in her body was drawn to him so strongly that she thought she leaned toward him all night. By the time he and her father headed to the workshop after dinner, she knew she'd never get to kiss him again.
Once the dishes were cleaned up, Alex went into the back yard. The swing set from when they were kids had never been taken down because her brother liked climbing on it. When she wanted to think she rocked on the swing, her feet never leaving the ground. The motion was comforting. Sometimes her mom came out and sat with her. They didn't talk often. They just rocked slowly on the swings.
Now she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the rope. She could still smell him as though he were in the next swing. If she put her hand out she would be able to feel his leg. Her hand twitched on the rope. She wanted to touch him so badly. That kiss kept her up at nights. It kept her up with her hand between her legs and her head thrown back. He'd been inches away and she couldn't touch him.
She could hear his voice. He and her father were talking about work. If they knew she was in earshot, they'd stop. It was one thing for her father to support her wanting to be a cop some day. It was another to actually let her be anywhere near it. After a little while she didn't hear her father's voice anymore, only Jimmy's. He was talking about 'she' and 'her.'
Alex shifted in the swing and decided she didn't care what her father thought. She didn't care what anyone thought. Some time soon she was going to kiss Jimmy Deakins again. Even if she only got to do it once. She had to know if he felt something for her or if she was just a pretty girl to play with.
Somehow she'd find him when he was alone and she'd put it to him frankly. She couldn't ask him to leave his wife forever or anything like that. She just wanted to know. She squeezed her eyes tight and took a long moment to imagine how she'd ask him. She'd be blunt. Did he want to fuck her? Did he want to touch her whole body with those broad hands? Did he imagine how tight she was? Or did he just imagine how she tasted?
Alex moaned and shook her head. That would never do. He'd be horrified to hear her talk that way. She'd have to show him. She'd go to the hotel he was staying in and use her body to ask. One kiss wouldn't do it. She thought he'd be able to dismiss that as a girlish pass. He could think she was still just a kid with a crush that way.
No, if she was going to do this, she'd have to do it right. First clothes shopping. A nice skirt and blouse over pretty underwear. He'd know she took the extra effort. When she sat in his lap again and unbuttoned his shirt, he'd know how serious she was. She wondered how far she'd get before he stopped her to ask what she was doing. Would she get to kiss his chest? Would he be so surprised that he just leaned back on the couch and let her take his shirt off?
She had to smile. At that point, even if he wanted to stop her, he couldn't. All she had to say was that she'd tell and he'd have to let her keep going. She'd do everything. He could just sit on the couch with his pants around his ankles and she'd show him how good she could make him feel. She really wanted to use her mouth on him. If she could just do that, he'd understand.
She swung a little faster, imagining pulling her skirt up a little so her bare knees were on the floor. Her slim, pale fingers would push his thighs apart and she would take her time licking his balls before moving her lips to his cock. If she could just get him to make that sweet, thick sound of surrender, she'd have him. Sometime between touching her tongue to his cock and wrapping her lips around the head he would make it. Or maybe after she'd stroked his cock deep into her mouth a few times.
Either way, he'd be hers then. Unable to stop her, she'd move her hands up to his belly, dragging her nails over him as she sucked on him. He'd put his hands on her head and direct her to go faster or take him deeper, but she'd do it in her own time. Only when he moaned in frustration would she give him exactly what he wanted. He'd know by then how much she enjoyed what she was doing because one hand would have gone under her skirt and she'd be rubbing her clit like mad.
When she sped up the pace for him, he'd hear her moans telling him that she was getting close, too. She knew they'd excite him, those soft noises she made right before she came, and she'd look up at him to see just how much. She wouldn't slow down though, or let up on the pressure. She wanted him to come when she had him at his deepest in her mouth.
She squirmed on the swing seat and her lips parted as her breathing sped. As soon as he left she'd have to go up to her room and take care of the need that built with every imagined thrust. He would get thicker in her mouth just before he came and she licked her lips as if she could really feel him there. Her hand dropped to her lap but she didn't press it against herself. Anyone could see her in the back yard.
Instead she let herself picture him tangling his fingers in her hair and holding her still as he thrust savagely into her mouth a few times. Then he came, grunting and emptying into her. His fingers would loosen first, then he'd sag onto the couch whimpering her name. She'd pull off him slowly and lay her head on his thigh. While he lay there recovering, she would go back to rubbing her clit. There was no way she wouldn't be insane for some release by then.
Would he notice right away that she was rubbing and pinching her clit? Or would it take her until she was right on the edge and moaning before he knew what she was doing? Either way, she wouldn't stop until the pleasure exploded through her, leaving her panting and shaking. She liked to think he'd pet her hair and thank her.
When she heard him speak, she couldn't separate it from her fantasy until he said her name a second time. She looked up to see him standing in front of her and blushed hotly.
When Jimmy came out to say goodbye to Alex, he found her swinging in the dark with her eyes closed. She looked so beautiful he didn't want to disturb her, but he couldn't leave without at least thanking her for dinner. He stood in the middle of the yard watching her for a long time. It took him a minute to realize what he was seeing, but when he did he was frozen to the spot.
Her mouth opened and her chest practically heaved. Whatever she was thinking excited her. Her hand clenched in her lap and she made a tiny sound of pleasure. He shuddered hard at how well he'd imagined what that sound was. He wanted to be the one giving her that.
Finally he shook his head hard. He started all this by listening in when she had sex. He couldn't keep eavesdropping on her life. It had to stop. Jimmy stepped forward and said her name softly. He had to say it again before she looked up at him. Her deep flush told him he'd been right about the general subject of her thoughts. The way she looked away quickly made him groan. If she'd been thinking of him he was in serious trouble.
Sighing deeply, he sat in the other swing and rocked for a while in conscious mimicry of her. He glanced over and smiled faintly. "I didn't think we'd ever have to talk about it, but maybe we do."
She nodded slowly, watching him carefully. Of course she'd want him to take the lead. With a groan he reminded himself he was the adult. He exhaled slowly. "When the taskforce shuts down maybe we could get a hot dog and talk." He shook his head. "Someplace well lit and public."
She nodded again and glanced back toward the house. He followed her gaze and when she was sure no one was watching them, he saw her hand shoot toward him out of the corner of his eye. She squeezed his upper thigh hard, just once, then bolted for the house.
Jimmy sat in the swing for a full ten minutes before finally getting up and heading for his car. He'd just committed himself to sitting down with a seventeen year old girl and talking to her about their sexual attraction. He was absolutely certain he'd lost his mind.
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