𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄 ━━ 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐳𝐳𝐨

FORTY EIGHT | let him go

"Hey, honey."

His fingers run up the skin of my arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps. My lips curl up in a smile as he refills my cup of coffee.

"Jaiden, if you continue to give me caffeine, I'll never sleep."

"Well, isn't that point, Evaline?"

A chill runs down the narrow line of my back, and I push myself away from the table. He watches me down the rest of the cup and grab my purse.

"Can't be late for work, now, can I?" I place my hands on his chest, dusting off the lint. "Don't miss me too much."

He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. "I always will. Can't blame me, though. You're an unforgettable woman who runs through my mind every second of the day."

"I have that effect on people." My lips touch the corner of his mouth.

"I'll see you tonight, won't I?"

"Of course you will. I'll come straight to your place after I get off work."

I drive to work, luckily avoiding the mess of morning traffic. By the time I step onto the elevator, another occupant is already inside.

"Ev." Tony grins sweetly. "Have fun at your girl's night?"

"I did, yes. And I hope you enjoyed sleeping in an empty bed." I tug on the end of his tie, closing the space between us.

"Well, it was nice having the covers all to myself." His hands graze my hips. "But I missed having my cuddle buddy."

My back arches against the elevator wall as he lets his lips roam free. "If only Ziva and McGee heard you say that."

"My reputation would be over."

"You need to have a reputation for it to be over."

An hour or so passes with me, Ziva, and Tony trying to contact McGee, but to no avail. No matter how many times we try, he's still unreachable.

"Yeah. Gibbs." The boss pauses, listening to the caller. "Where?"

"Dead?" Tony assumes, earning a tap to the head from me.

"Sailor. Waverly campus. Gear up."

"We still haven't found McGee." I slip the telephone back into its headset. "I can drive by his apartment and —"

"That won't be necessary, Evaline." Jenny struts down the staircase. "He sent me an email. Woke up sick, laryngitis, won't be coming into work today."

Up until now, Gibbs had been ignoring the redhead.

"You know, I bet he sent you one, too."

It proves true when he's rendered silent. Of course, the attention is turned onto the three of us, who haven't already reached the truck.

"Get anything from the witness, Eva?"

"Yeah, uh, the jogger said he saw the body and called the police. Helpful, right?" The pen in my hand clicks. "He doesn't know how long the body was here."

"Five, six, seven, eight!"

Cheerleaders of the college practice on the green area across the street. The short-skirt uniforms and repetitive practice remind me of the college years.

"I have another body!" Ziva calls out from near the bushes. "Technically, ten of them."

Grabbing the camera, I charge towards her. "Don't you think we would've seen ten bodies piled on top of one another when coming in?"