It started out with a kiss. A long, languid kiss. Her fingers raked through his short hair, the tip of her thumb gently grazing the shell of his ear, her lips ardently devouring his. He tightened his arms around her waist, and a thought he's been pushing to the back of his mind for quite a while was whispered against her lips.

"Marry me." It made her move away from him, her lips tearing from between his made him regret the two words immediately.

"What?" she seemed flustered.

"I know we haven't discussed it, and it may be uncalled for, but I love you, and when I think about the future, you are always in it," Andy explained. "Don't you feel the same?"

"Of course I do," Sharon replied. "It's just that… you're probably only proposing right now because it's the New Year's Eve and you thought it would be romantic."

"Isn't it?" Andy wondered.

"It would be, but we are sitting in the car and making out like teenagers, and it just feels…"

"Cheap?" Andy asked. Sharon hummed affirmatively. "Well, it's not my fault that we didn't make it to the party in time." Andy offered her a silly grin. They had worked their latest case until late in the evening but wanted to attend Nicole's New Year's party anyway. A minute before midnight, Andy parked his car in front of Nicole's house. When he realized that they wouldn't make it into the house in time for the traditional New Year's kiss, he pulled Sharon for a kiss that turned into a long make out session that lasted several minutes after 2017 began.

"Don't get me wrong. Kissing you in the car is turning me on, but…"

"Look, Sharon. I get it. It feels cheesy and cheap to you – proposing on New Year's Eve and I don't even have a ring to give you –"

"Andy," Sharon tried to interject, but he went on.

"2016 has been a difficult year for us – "

"Andy, would you st– " Sharon tried again.

"First with Hickman, then the white supremacists and Taylor's death. I thought, 'why not start 2017 with a happy occasion', but if you're not into it…" he felt the heat of Sharon's lips on his.

"I love you. Of course, I'll marry you, even if you propose in the city dump," she said when they pulled apart. "I don't need a ring. The occasion you choose doesn't matter."

"Then why did you say it was a cheap proposal?"

"I just thought it was a slip of the tongue, but if you're serious about it, so am I," Sharon explained.

"It was a spur of the moment proposal, but not a lapse. I've been thinking of this for weeks," Andy admitted. "I should have mentioned it before." Sharon shook her head in response.

"It doesn't matter now, Andy. What matters is that we have just got engaged."

"So that's a yes?" Andy's eyes widened in surprise.

"Of course it is!" Sharon replied and captured his lips in a deep kiss that contained all their hopes and fears, their fantasies and desires, their love and devotion. It was a kiss that would make 2017 a year to remember.

THE END

As always, I would love to know what you thought of this story, so feel free to leave a review or send me a PM.
Also, I'm wishing you all a happy new year.