Andy's nose is pressed into Sharon's hair just above her right ear. He's filling his lungs with her scent, and his mind with erotic thoughts of her. His lips graze the shell of her ear as he speaks to her in a low, hypnotic voice. "Sharon, I want you to get up from this booth, go into the ladies room and remove your panties."

Her sharp intake of breath makes him chuckle softly. He knew she would be shocked. That's exactly what he's going for ... shocking. He is tired of the slow pace of this relationship; tired of feeling like he is walking on egg shells around her, around their team, around Rusty, around Taylor. He has been more than willing to follow her lead the last three months; more than willing to do this the old-fashioned way, but it has been over 90 days since they officially started dating and enough is enough. Tonight is the night she is going to see the real Andy Flynn. It's a gamble on his part; a gamble he could lose, but he doesn't intend to lose.

"Andy, you're crazy. I'm not going to do that." Her cheeks are tinged with pink and she sounds breathless.

Andy's slightly moist lips are still lightly touching her right ear, and his left hand is softly stroking the silky skin between the bottom of her skirt and her knee under the table. As they sit side-by-side, his touch is so soft and his breath is so warm it makes her shiver. Before Andy can say another word, their waiter approaches with dessert menus. Andy doesn't even look at his menu. His eyes are glued to Sharon's face, and his hand continues stroking her leg. "I already know what I want for dessert," he says with a smirk. Sharon nervously fumbles with her menu and almost drops it.

"I'll give you some time to decide," the waiter tells her before walking away from the table. She really would like dessert, but she's having a hard time concentrating on the words in the menu. Her mind feels fuzzy, and her skin is tingling. She knows exactly what she wants, but it's not on the menu.

This intense craving for connection is not a new feeling for her; although, she can't pinpoint the exact space in time when she became aware of the longing. It has been smoldering within her for a while, but it's getting harder and harder to ignore. She hasn't always felt this way. By the time her biological children were raised, her career was well established and Jack was little more than a bad penny turning up occasionally she had no need for intimacy. She felt like that part of her life was over. Intimacy was replaced with rules, structure and order, and she was just fine with that. The walls she built around her heart protected her. The walls made her impervious to the snide comments and ugly treatment she often times endured in her employment with the LAPD. Andy Flynn has patiently been chipping away those walls, and now it seems his patience is running thin.

Setting her menu aside she slides out of the booth and tells Andy she will be right back.

"Sharon, are you okay?"

"Yes, I just need some fresh air," she answers over her shoulder as she heads for the front of the restaurant on shaky legs.

Andy instinctively stands up to follow her, but then decides to give her some space. "Damn," he thinks, "I've pushed too hard and now I've blown it."

Sharon feels drunk which is ridiculous because she only had one glass of wine with dinner. She's not totally sober, but she is far from drunk; however, she is not steady on her feet, her face is flushed and her heart is racing as fast as the thoughts in her head. It would probably be a really good idea to walk outside and just breathe for a few minutes in the evening air, but that's not what she does. She ducks into the ladies room, wets a paper towel and presses it to her neck. She feels like she's burning up from the inside out as she glances in the mirror to study her own image. The idea hits her as she is staring into her own eyes. Not giving herself a chance to change her mind, she tosses the paper towel in the trash and enters an empty stall. Is she really going to do this? Yes, she is. Reaching under her skirt, she slides her panties down and steps out of the silk with a huge smile on her face.

Andy stands as she approaches their table and asks her how she is feeling.

"I'm feeling like I want dessert," she replies with a grin on her face as she slides into the booth next to him.

"Good, because I just ordered you key lime pie," Andy says.

"That sounds delicious," she tells him as she reaches into the pocket of her blazer. He glances down just in time to see her pull the red panties from her pocket. He's confused for a few seconds, but quickly realizes she's handing him her panties. "You get panties and I get pie," she whispers in his ear. Her lips graze the shell of his ear as she speaks to him in a low, hypnotic voice. "That seems like a fair trade to me," she says with a smirk.

His sharp intake of breath makes her chuckle softly. Now it is he who is shocked. He's the one with a flushed face and racing heart. He didn't believe that she would actually do it. Andy nervously fumbles with her panties, and almost drops them before he manages to shove them in his pants pocket. "Sharon, forget dessert. Let's get out of here."

She's having way too much fun torturing him in public; she just shakes her head no and tells him she's still hungry. A soft smile lingers on her lips and he can't help but stare. It feeds the desperation he already has to part her lips with his tongue, and kiss her like there's no tomorrow. Instead, he settles for stroking her leg again, but this time he inches his index finger higher up under her skirt causing her to squirm closer to him. The waiter suddenly appears before them with one piece of pie and two forks. Andy doesn't even like key lime pie, but he takes huge bites in order to help her finish dessert quickly. Sharon is laughing so hard at him she starts to snort and that makes Andy laugh which temporarily releases the tension in the air.

"God, this woman is adorable," he's thinking while handing the waiter his credit card. She is his boss. She is his friend, and before this evening is over she will finally be his lover. This was the biggest gamble of his life, and it looks like he's going to walk away a winner.