Pairing: Sharon/Andy
Prompt: Speed Dating
A/N: Some of you have messaged me about continuing my TC/MC fics and starting new ones since I haven't uploaded anything recently. I've answered all questions and directed y'all to the my Tumblr because I have been posting fics up there. I was asked (very nicely) if I would transfer my fics. So, thanks to the lovely person who knows who they are, I'll be uploading the things I've worked on the past few months.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything
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Sharon was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, green eyes focused on the way the red sheath dress looked on her. There was no denying that she looked great, which she was sure had nothing to do with the dress and everything to do with the weight that had been lifted off her shoulders. The hue of her eyes was even different, a brightness to them that had been missing over the last few months. Along with the normal stress she dealt with, Sharon had been sorting out the last of her finances and connections to Jackson Raydor. The ink had barely been dry on the divorce papers when Sarah, Sharon's daughter, had insisted she do something to get herself out there.
At the sound of a knock on the opened bathroom door, Sharon turned. "Do you need to get in here?" Sharon asked Rusty, who was leaning against the door frame.
Rusty shook his head in the negative. "No, I just wanted to tell you-" Rusty shuffled his feet, looking down at the floor for a moment before meeting her questioning gaze. "I'm happy that you're doing something for yourself," he admitted sincerely. "And I think it's a good idea, you know, with everything that's been going on lately."
Sharon nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe you're right," she said. It was the same thing Sarah had said, and it was the only reason she had actually looked into the speed dating event Sarah had found out about through old friends. "A few hours out can't be that bad."
"Yep. If anything, you can always leave and come share a pizza with me," he said with a smile.
Sharon liked that he enjoyed spending time with her, even if it was just his way of trying to get some unhealthy food out of her. "Tell you what, you and Lieutenant Provenza can order a pizza for dinner." Rusty grinned enthusiastically. "Maybe you can save me a slice," she added.
"Of course," he said, turning around to head back into the living room. "By the way, you look nice."
"Thank you." Sharon smiled warmly at the space he vacated before turning to the mirror.
Sharon exhaled deeply, running her hands over the sides of her body, smoothing out her dress. She had another ten minutes or so before she had to leave, but each second that passed felt like minutes, hours. The tightness in her stomach wasn't because of nervousness; she wasn't nervous about meeting new people. There was a part of her that knew she wasn't going to meet anyone that interested her, anyone she would even consider dating. So she knew what she was feeling wasn't about the men she would be meeting, but she still couldn't figure out what it was.
The doorbell rang and Rusty called out that he had it. Sharon looked at herself one last time in the mirror, ran her fingers through her hair, and then made her way out to the living room. Expecting to see Lieutenant Provenza, who had said he would be staying with Rusty through the night, she stopped frozen at the end of the hallway, instead looking into a different set of brown eyes. Her heart pounded in her chest and loudly in her ears when she saw Andy Flynn looking back at her with a grin growing on his lips.
Rusty looked from one silent person to the other, trying to read what they were both thinking. He had seen these looks before - lingering eyes that made it seem like neither of them noticed that people were around them. He had an idea what this was about, but he would keep that to himself for a while - especially when he was sure neither of them knew themselves.
Rusty cleared his throat and Andy straightened his back. "Uh- Something came up with Provenza," he answered her silent question.
"Oh." Sharon cleared her throat, flicking her eyes to Rusty before going back to the lieutenant.
"So," Andy said, wide hand gesture towards Rusty, "you're stuck with me, kid." Andy winked. "And you," he started and turned back to Sharon, catching her smile as it brightened, "you can head out without worrying."
"I wouldn't go as far as to say that," she said, making his grin grow.
"Fine, fine," he said with raised hands. "Worry less. Better?"
Sharon hummed, smirking at him. A warm sensation moved up her spine as he put his hands down and licked his lips. Exhaling deeply, Sharon walked past them and towards the kitchen. "I really should get going. I don't want to be late."
"Yeah, wouldn't want to waste all of this-" he gestured toward her and her body hugging dress "-on me." This was a side to her that he hadn't been given the chance to see much of lately. And, as he moved from shapely legs, over the curve of her hips, and the rest of the back of her body, he wished it was something he was able to see more often.
Sharon looked over her shoulder, catching his eyes rake over her. Her eyes twinkled slightly, a smile saying more than she was."Well," she purred.
Rusty cleared his throat. He had a feeling they had once again forgotten they weren't alone. "You two want me to leave," he joked.
Sharon flushed slightly and turned back around, gathering her keys and purse. "No, no. I'm going to get going." She threw her keys in her bag, checked to make sure her wallet and everything was in her bag, and then she turned to face them both. "If either of you need me, you can-"
"We'll be fine, Sharon," Rusty assured her, leaning against the edge of the sofa with his arms folded.
"Yeah," Andy said. "I told you, no worrying."
Sharon patted Andy's shoulder as she walked by him and towards the foyer. "Telling me not to worry will only make me worry more," she told him.
Rusty tuned them out, grabbing the phone so he could order the pizza. Andy followed Sharon to the door and watched as she stepped into her heels, leaning one hand against the wall as she slid on one shoe with the other, then switched. When finished, she turned to him, sliding her bag over her shoulder. She reached for her light jacket and threw it over her arm.
"You really do look good," he said in a low voice.
His voice washed over her like a soothing wave, making her skin prickle in a familiar way that she enjoyed. She only smiled at him, holding his eyes for a moment. She didn't need to say anything to him; she was sure he understood everything she was saying with only her eyes.
Andy slid his hands into his pockets and rocked slightly on his shoes. "Don't forget to enjoy yourself, Sharon."
She nodded and reached for the doorknob. "I'll try my best," she told him. And she had really meant it. But she wasn't prepared for the guys she was going to meet while speed dating.
Sharon took another sip of her wine, her eyes trained on the fourth man to sit at her table. The first guy (a dentist, Sharon recalled) had been all right, respectful and kind, which was more than what she could say about the man who followed. The next man had barely been able to focus on her face, rudely staring down at her chest instead. A few uncomfortable seconds and she cleared her throat and made sure he knew just how rude he was, her voice staying in a low, dangerous tone that surely made him think twice about inappropriately checking her out. The third man hadn't been much better. Now - Sharon looked at the name tag on the white button down shirt the man across from her was wearing - Ryan was smiling at her as he situated himself in his seat.
"Hi," Ryan said as he held his hand out for her, "I'm Ryan," he told her, smiling.
Sharon took his warm hand into her own, firmly shaking it. "Sharon," she said as he nodded and released her hand to run it quickly through his dark hair.
"So. Sharon," he said, gray eyes staying focused on her face as he thought of what to say. "Tell me about yourself."
Sharon crossed her legs under the table and clasped her hands on top of it. "What would you like to know?"
He shrugged his shoulders like he didn't really care what she told him - which could be either a good or bad thing. "What brings you here tonight?" he decided to ask.
"You know-" She leaned in and so did he, a smile making the small wrinkles on his tanned face show more clearly. "I don't really know," she admitted with a slight laugh.
He smiled like he understood. "I appreciate the honesty." Sharon only hummed, not yet backing away, and he didn't make any move to distance them more either. "I don't know why I'm here either. It's rare that I meet a woman who can actually handle the job I have, so it's always a waste of time."
"Oh. What do you do?"
"Doctor," he said with a 100 watt smile. "Surgeon to be exact. The hours are ridiculous, but it's worth it when you help save someone's life."
Sharon smiled, nodding her head, thinking that maybe he wasn't going to be so bad. "Did you always want to be a surgeon or-"
"From the moment I saw my father practicing sutures in the living room. He may have influenced my decision more than anyone, especially since he had me studying to be a doctor since I was old enough to clearly grasp what he was teaching me." Sharon smiled and nodded, listening intently. "I could even properly suture up a chicken by the age of twelve," he said with a wink.
The pride in his voice was something Sharon was enjoying. "Overachiever even at such a young age."
"Aren't we all?"
Sharon hummed. "In a way, yes. My daughter has told me many times that I have influenced her to become the overachiever she is."
"Wait, wait, wait. Your daughter?"
"Well, yes," she said, sitting back in the seat.
"You have a child?"
Sharon furrowed her brow as she answered him. "Three. I have three. Two who are grown and one that lives with me still," she answered, not leaving Rusty out. She had started looking at Rusty as one of her children long ago, and from the look on Ryan's face, almost disgust, she knew there was no way they were going any farther than these few minutes they just shared.
After Ryan, Sharon was sure the night couldn't have gotten any worse. She'd had one guy looking at her like she was a piece of meat, another who wasn't that interesting, one who lost interest as soon as she brought up she was a cop, and then Ryan, who had looked at her like she had two heads as soon as she brought up she had children. So much more couldn't go wrong, right?
Wrong.
"So you're a cop?" Alex asked, his head leaning on his fisted hand.
"Yes," she said, already preparing herself for a similar conversation to the one she had with the second man she spoke with.
"Hmmm," he hummed and nodded. "So... Ever use your handcuffs for anything other than arresting the bad guys?" he asked, suggestively waggling his eyebrows.
Sharon managed to stop her eyes from getting wide, instead glaring at the man who didn't even bother to look sorry for asking it. Sharon looked at her watch; one minute more. Was this really what dating was like now? She brought her wine glass to her mouth, avoiding direct eye contact until the bell rang and he got up, leaving his phone number behind. She didn't give him hers.
"Hey there," the next guy said, bringing her attention from her watch and to his russet eyes.
Sharon forced a smile and sat up in the seat. "Hello..."
"Greg," he supplied, putting his name tag back on his red sweater. "And you're Sharon," he said, dimpling smile as he read her name quickly.
"Yes," she said slowly.
He nodded enthusiastically. "Such a beautiful name for such a beautiful woman."
And maybe if she wasn't already regretting this entire night, that wouldn't have felt like a line full of bullshit. She just wasn't having anymore, even if it was sincere. And the conversation didn't improve much, especially once she found out the forty-seven year old man still lived at home with his mother. A free-spirited musician down on his luck easily translated into a man Sharon couldn't even believe she was on a date with - even if it was a date that was technically lasting no more than five minutes.
The only guy to top this man was the one who was still wearing his wedding band. Much to Sharon's surprise, he didn't hide that he was married. No. This man leaned in closer, lowered his voice to a whisper, and then pointed to a raven-haired woman six tables away and told Sharon he was there with his wife. Now if that wasn't the perfect date, Sharon didn't know what was. By the end of the night, speed dating was added to her list of things never to do again.
Sharon let herself into her apartment, the disappointment of the night clear on her face. She closed the door behind her, removing the light jacket as she went into the living room. Andy looked up at her before sliding over on the sofa, patting the space next to him. She slumped down ungracefully; but after the night she had, having grace was the last thing on her mind. She noticed Rusty had already made his way to his bedroom, which she wasn't surprised by since she had been gone longer than she expected.
"I'm guessing you don't want me to ask," Andy said, turning the television off with the remote. She looked up, glaring at him. "Okay, I won't ask."
Sharon reached down to her foot to remove her shoe, but was surprised when Andy took her foot into his hand instead. This time when she looked up into his eyes, her face softened. "Some people just aren't meant to date," she said, turning as he pulled her shoe off her foot. It was weird, but not because she didn't like it. They had grown a relationship between the two of them that often made her think of him as more than a lieutenant on her team, but even this felt like more than that; she liked it.
Andy grunted and placed one leather pump down on the floor before going to the other. "Don't tell me you think you're one of them."
Sharon sighed stretching out her feet before smiling at him. "If tonight's any proof..." Sharon trailed off as she brought her feet up onto the sofa and tucked her dress under her legs.
Andy rolled his eyes. "Tonight's only proof that you're dating the wrong type of guys."
"Twenty-five," she said. "There were twenty-five of them," she explained. "It's not them." She pulled a pillow to her chest and let her fingers grip tightly on the edge as she looked at him for a long moment. He patted her thigh and she smiled at him, leaning her head to the side so it rested on the sofa. "It can't be them, right?"
"Men are idiots," he said, glad to see her smile deepen.
"All of them?"
"All of them but me."
Sharon laughed. "Yeah?"
Andy nodded and moved closer to her, his arm leaning on the back of the sofa. "Who else would wait up this long for you to get home, and on top of that actually take your heels off for you so you can get comfortable?"
Sharon didn't say anything at first, her expression blank until she softly cleared her throat. "Well if that's what I have to look forward to..." Sharon licked her lips and tilted her head to the side, a warm feeling in her belly as she smiled at him. "Only thing missing is a good foot rub and maybe some music, then we'll talk."
For a second that was only a thought, something Sharon was saying. But then Andy got up, went over to where she kept her CDs and picked out one that was in a worn case, showing how much she listened to it. Andy put the CD in and Sharon instantly smiled, the smooth Jazz music relaxing her more. Andy searched her eyes for approval and then came back to the sofa.
He patted his own lap and watched as her eyebrow climbed up her forehead. She looked hesitant at first, but then changed her position so her back was against the side of the sofa and she could comfortably place her feet on him. They were both silent for a long while, the music covering up the awkwardness they should have been feeling. But as Sharon watched him, his strong hands skillfully rubbing her aching foot, she knew that she wouldn't have found it as awkward as one might think she would.
Andy let the silence sit between them for a while, enjoying the small hums of appreciation Sharon made with every stroke of his fingers against her smooth foot. He would have been okay with things going on like that, but when he looked up at her he couldn't stop himself from thinking about something he had been wanting to talk about for months. There was something about the way she let her guard down with him, the way she stopped shielding so much of herself when they were alone. Andy couldn't possibly not think about it - it was what he thought of most of the time when Sharon came to mind.
"You remember that talk we had?" Andy asked, his thumb pushing into the arch of her foot.
Sharon barely heard what he had said. Between the pleasurable feeling of his hands and the soothing sound of the saxophone, Sharon was having a hard time not falling into a pool of complete bliss. She lifted her eyes and caught him grinning at her, that boyish grin that made her feel tingly and warm inside.
"Which talk?" she finally asked. There had been many talks, many things he could have referred to.
"You know which one," he said, his thumb pressing harder, making her curl her toes and moan softly. She tried to stifle the moan, but he did it again, not breaking eye contact as he felt the shock of pleasure move through her.
Sharon's heart hammered in her chest, her blood boiling beneath the surface. "I remember," she said, because she knew exactly what he was talking about.
"So..." He stopped massaging her foot, chuckling a little when she whimpered. "Have you thought any about what I said?"
Sharon could hear the seriousness in his voice and realized that they were going to talk about what they had been avoiding since summertime. With a drawn out sigh, she moved her feet from his lap, instantly missing the connection of their bodies. From the look in Andy's eyes, he missed it just as quickly as she had.
"Andy," Sharon softly said.
"I feel like I'm not going to like what you say next," Andy said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Sharon hovered her hand over his shoulder before finally settling there, tilting her head and smiling at him, hoping it conveyed what she was feeling. She didn't want to admit how much she had thought about the conversation they had after his daughter's wedding, but she also had a feeling he already knew. There had been more flirting since then, perhaps because they had come clean about how they felt about each other. Who would have known a few dances and an hour sitting in his car was all it really took for them to admit what they had both been trying to hide over the year?
"You know you don't have to think so hard about it," Andy said in a teasing tone that he was trying to use to hide that he really wanted to know what was going on in her head.
The corners of her mouth turned upward. "You said you understood why it was best for us to continue the way things were."
"Because, like you said, you were a married woman. I wouldn't..."
"I know," she said, not even needing him to finish what he was saying.
"You're not married anymore," Andy said.
Sharon pulled her hand back and rested it in her lap as her eyes dropped down for a second. "No, I'm not married anymore." She brought her gaze back to his slowly, looking through thick lashes.
They were silent, looking at each other, unable to get the words out that were running through their minds. There was so much to say, so many things they felt, but neither of them could string together the right words to make the other understand. Even so, they felt content sitting together, music playing in the background. It wasn't exactly what they expected would happen when she was finally divorced, but they had both learned long ago that things don't always happen as you expect them to. And even though it was unexpected, both of them were enjoying the company of the other.
When Andy realized how much time had gone by, he smiled and patted Sharon's thigh. "I should get going," he said as he stretched his legs out.
Sharon nodded her agreement after glancing over to the time. She walked him to the foyer, her arms folded as she stopped at the door. "Thanks for everything," Sharon said as she placed her hand on his upper arm, lightly stroking his bicep.
Andy shrugged slightly. "Don't mention it." When Sharon pulled her hand away, Andy reached for it and held it in his own. The tips of her fingers were cool against his palm, but the look in her eyes provided all the needed warmth. "If you're up for it, you should let me take you out next Friday."
"You don't have to."
"Doesn't mean I don't want to," he countered. "Besides, I still owe you." Sharon's eyes crinkled as she smiled. "This time it will be a date, though. And don't worry, I'll make sure you enjoy yourself."
"You know what?! That sounds lovely," she breathed.
"Good," Andy said, stepping a little closer.
Sharon tilted her head up when she realized he was about to kiss her. His breath was warm against her face, and she could feel the tension between them as he stayed there, ghosting his lips over hers, not yet kissing her. She'd only kissed him once before, but that had been a kiss that she hadn't forgotten. But she didn't need to relive that kiss, not when Andy finally leaned forward to kiss her.
Sharon's eyes slowly fell shut as his lips pressed against hers. It was gentle and a little tentative, making her sigh against him. Softly he kissed her lips, letting his mouth linger against her own as she squeezed his hand and silently asked for him to kiss her harder, longer, anything that would keep him right where he was. And he did, sliding his free hand up to the base of her neck so he could hold her mouth to his own. His lips parted and he sucked her lower lip into his warm mouth, making her hum in the very back of her throat.
Sharon felt Andy's teeth against her lip and groaned, desire coiling in her belly. Andy grunted lowly into her mouth, parting her lips with his strong tongue. His tongue caressed her own, moved against the roof of her mouth, made her pull him closer to her. She kissed him harder, her hand at the nape of his neck, fingernails moving against his scalp.
Andy grunted and ended the kiss, resting his head against her own, watching as she slowly opened her eyes, her lips curling up into a smile. "I've been wanting to do that all night," he whispered, "ever since I saw you when I got here."
Sharon hummed in her throat and leaned forward to brush his lips with her own slowly. "I'm glad you did." She licked her lips. "Really glad." She put a little space between them, just enough so she could breathe properly again.
"I guess it's time for me to get going, huh?" Sharon gave him a half-nod. "I'll call you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Andy," she said as she opened the door for him. "Thanks for staying with Rusty, and-"
Andy leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips. "I told you, don't mention it," he said against her lips and then left with a final goodbye.
Sharon watched him as he walked to the elevator and then closed the door, a smile on her lips as she went back to the sofa, sitting down and closing her eyes. The night hadn't gone as she planned, but she had done what everyone had wanted her to do. Sharon had enjoyed herself, even if it wasn't in the way everyone expecting her to.
The End!