His breathing had even out finally, a sign to her that he was asleep. She knew she really should wait another 15 minutes at least to make sure he was truly asleep, but she'd already been waiting for what felt like forever, and she wanted to go home before she fell asleep herself. A loud snore or almost snort almost made her jump, and then, she had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. He was really snoring, definitely asleep now. Gingerly, she folded back the comforter and tried to gracefully get out of the bed without making any noise or sudden movements. This whole thing felt absurd at her age, yet, she had to smirk, almost exhilarating. Clutching her glasses, because she'd already located those on the nightstand several minutes prior to deciding he was asleep, she stood and tried to tame her hair. It had to look awful; she could feel it going in a thousand directions, but right now, that was the least of her worries. She needed to find her clothing too, but thankfully, that would be easier. She knew were that was-most had been discarded in the hallway, and thankfully, the door to the hallway was still open. Sharon tiptoed toward the door, pausing when the floor creaked in one spot. When he didn't move, she continued, bending down to try and find her undergarments. With the tiny bit of light shining in from the small light that had been left on in the kitchen, she located her things and then moved as quickly as she felt possible out of the room. She did the same in the hallway to find her dress, and after she scooped up her things, she made her way down the hall to the guest bathroom. Thankfully, she'd been given a small tour and knew it was there.
Less than five minutes later, she was as presentable as she could be, thankful at this late hour, presentation didn't matter too much. She just needed to drive home. It was late, but she could handle that. She needed to drive, park, get in an elevator, and then, let herself into her condo. Easy. At least she wasn't tired. No, at least Rusty wasn't home; that was the total blessing in all of this. She'd have to thank Provenza later for keeping him, mindful she could never tell him why she was so thankful.
She knew there was no home security system, just the normal front door locks. She paused and bit her lip again, not wanting to sneak out and leave the deadbolt undone overnight. She was a cop, and even though she did want to sneak out, she wasn't going to leave him that vulnerable. Sharon turned around and surveyed the place. It was a nice, cozy home, not exactly what she'd expected, but it somehow just fit. It was a lot more modern than she had expected; that had been a surprise. Her survey of the house had her pause at the back door. It went out onto a deck, and she knew she'd seen a fence enclosing the yard too. Yes, she could do that. She'd leave a note too so there was no sort of awkwardness, well, there was, but at least this way, she didn't look like a horrible person. She walked to the kitchen and spotted a notepad.
"Thank you for the lovely evening. It was just what I needed. I didn't want to make this more awkward or even problematic in the morning, so I decided to go home. I'll see you in a few hours. Let's just keep this what it was, a lovely evening," and she signed her name. As an afterthought, she added, "I didn't want to leave the deadbolt unlocked, so I am leaving through the back door. Just check it in the morning."
Quickly, she moved the notepad over to the coffee maker. She knew he would need that; she needed some right now. It was then she noticed it was 4:12 in the morning. Sharon shook her head; she hadn't been out this late, other than work, in years, decades really. As she briefly thought about that, she smiled, realizing the almost all-nighter, okay, would be the all-nighter had been well worth it. As she turned back toward the door, she spotted her clutch on the table. She checked it to make sure she had her keys and phone, grateful she hadn't done anything with them; at least they were easy to locate. With her things in hand, she unlocked the back door and slipped out of the house. A quick calculation of time told her she would just have enough time to drive home, shower, and fix herself something to eat before she'd have to head into work. Of course, maybe if she got ahold of her friend, Diane, they could catch breakfast. After everything that had gone on over the last 12 hours or so, she needed to talk, and really, she needed to eat. Yes, she'd text Diane when was home and showered. Diane was an early riser and would certainly be excited to hear about this. Sharon had slept with someone, a one-night-stand, really even if she knew the man well, something Diane and even a couple other friends had been encouraging her to do, and she felt more alive than she had in a very long time.
It didn't take her long to get around to the front of the house. She paused to put her shoes back on her feet. Her heels had started sinking in the grass, and she'd pulled them off in the yard. Now, with shoes back on, she walked to her car. Sharon quickly glanced up and down the street, grateful no one seemed to be watching her walk of shame. The next few moments were almost a blur as she got into the car, started it, and backed out of the driveway. Yes, she'd had her fun, and now, it was time to get back to her "normal" life so to speak. Hopefully, things wouldn't be awkward.
As she drove through the dark streets of LA, Sharon put her head back and rested it against her headrest. She smiled at the memory of the evening before, the much earlier evening before she'd found herself in a man's bed. The wedding had been beautiful, so classy and tasteful. Things had gone smoothly, even though that had been the main concern. She was glad she'd offered to go, even if she possibly had ulterior motives, not that she would ever admit to that. She'd needed the evening, and it seemed to work both ways. Andy had needed the support too; it was what it was. Two friends needed each other for different things, and they'd been able to be there for each other. Oh, it had been a great evening. She sighed and smiled to herself, realizing she would have to school her features before work in now, just a few hours. The evening was over. Mission accomplished on both fronts. Andy's daughter was married, and well, Sharon got what she wanted too. She'd been looking for just the right man and just the right opportunity to have a little fun herself.
"Have a little fling, a one-night-stand," her friend Diane had told her on several occasions. Most of her friends could not understand her reasoning for staying married to Jack. It was in name only, if it was even that. He was long gone from her life, had had not one, not two, probably not even five affairs during their marriage, but she'd still stayed married. It was a joke; she knew that, but for many reasons, she was still married. She'd argued with her friends about that, about staying faithful to Jack, but honestly, in the end, she knew that the legal separation years ago was really the first stop on the way to divorce. She just hadn't wanted to deal with it. Still, her friends had been right. She would feel better; she did feel better after her night of fun. She'd almost forgotten the feeling. Yes, this had happened once before, not with Andy, of course not, but with a friend of Diane's, an orthodontist to be exact. That had been several years ago now, just after Ricky had gone off to college. It hadn't lasted more than a few, five maybe, times, but now, she remembered the freeing feeling she'd felt. She'd thought about divorcing Jack then, but she'd talked herself out of it, telling herself that no man was going to be the reason she got divorced. It hadn't been that with the orthodontist, not romantic at all, just two people needing that release. They'd drifted apart, which was fine. It wasn't like she'd had some spark with him. Since then, life had been life. She'd been busy with work, and it seemed easier to bury herself in work than it did to analyze her personal issues. Sharon would always prefer to untangle other police officer's messy lives than deal with her own.
Recently, Diane, along with two other mutual friends, Wendy and Abby, had encouraged Sharon to get back out there. She'd pushed back, telling them she wasn't going to get divorced and start dating. The three, all friends of hers from the kids' school years, had told her to just find a guy who could provide a fun evening. She'd filed that away in her mind, not sure she would ever act on it, at least until today.
Well, not exactly today, but yesterday, rather, she'd acted on it. Seeing Andy so torn about his own daughter's wedding had struck a nerve with her. She knew he needed to go; he was being stubborn and really, in the wrong, trying to talk himself out of going. Sharon had tried to put herself in Emily's shoes-wondering what her own daughter would think if Jack tried to do something like that. Sharon knew that it would devastate Emily, not to mention, make Sharon want to kill Jack. With all of that, she felt right about gently nudging Andy to go. Offering to be his friend, buffer, okay, really, date, she thought and rolled her eyes, that was the support she knew he needed. Sharon had briefly discussed her plan with Provenza, explaining that one of them needed to go. Knowing Provenza would be horrified at the suggestion of going to the wedding with Andy, she offered up herself as long as he could watch Rusty. The plan had worked perfectly, and she was grateful Andy didn't fight her on the idea either. She knew Andy didn't see it coming, Sharon's plans for the night, but that was fine then. It wasn't like he disagreed with the plan once it was finally set into motion after the wedding. He'd been a more than willing participant.
"I like weddings," she said to herself in the car, grinning as she said it, remembering back to yesterday in her office when she'd told Andy that. She knew then she had almost been blushing, hoping he would accept her invitation to tag along, all the while she was thinking about her plans for the rest of the evening.
Now, as she drove, she realized she was grinning like a fool. She shook her head and let her mind wander back to the evening. Sharon had met Andy at his house because they were already short on time to get to the wedding. Not many worked up until the last minute of their daughter's wedding. Of course, not many considering cancelling on it at the last minute either. So, she had raced home from work, changed into a navy-blue dress perfect for the occasion, and she'd driven to meet up with Andy. Nicole was getting married closer to Andy's house anyway, so it made sense for Sharon to make her way to that part of town. Andy, being the gentleman he was, had driven, and at the wedding, he'd made all the introductions, sticking to their agreement the two were friends. Sharon had felt eyes staring her down throughout the wedding and reception, but she didn't care. She'd been truthful earlier; she did like weddings, and she was having a lovely time. It helped her to get through the evening, too, with the plans she had for later.
It was after midnight before the two were driving back to Andy's house, both quiet after the long, but enjoyable evening. Andy finally broke the silence only a few minutes from his house.
"I can't believe my daughter is married. Wow," he shook his head. "She's married and has a family; she's a mom. She certainly grew up. I've made so many mistakes in my life," he paused and sighed. "I don't even know where to start."
"Hmmm, you didn't make a mistake tonight. The wedding was amazing, yes. She really looked beautiful. The whole wedding was wonderful. I'm glad I was able to see it, more importantly, that you were able to see it," she turned and smiled at him.
"I'm an idiot; I know," he raised his hand in defense. "Once again, you were there to save me from myself. At least I'm learning, and no yelling was involved," he chuckled and looked to her. "Thanks for being such a good friend."
"You're welcome. I am glad I could repay the favor. You've helped me quite a bit with Rusty over the past year with him, "she explained.
"None of that is a favor," he shook his head and frowned. "I know you have custody of him, care for him, but we all do; we all care. Sure, you're putting in the time at home with him, but the whole team sees Rusty as a group effort. Nothing I do with Rusty is a favor. It's just," he waved his hand, trying to find the right word, "just raising Rusty. We are all helping in that department. It's like we, as a team, are like a family. Each person has a particular skillset to offer Rusty."
"I like the way you described that," she smiled back at him. "I only heard from him once tonight, about 11:00. He was settled in at Provenza's place. I'm sure the two ate more junk food tonight than I eat in a month."
Andy chuckled and nodded, "That would be an understatement. I don't know how Provenza eats like he does."
"Neither do I," Sharon shook her head. "I look at a bowl of Rusty's ice cream and put on five pounds."
Andy glanced to her and raised an eyebrow, "Are you kidding? No way that is true. You've got a great figure, Sharon, I mean, Captain," he corrected himself.
She shook her head, disagreeing, and then, feeling a bit awkward, ran her hands down her dress to smooth it, "Andy, Sharon is fine. We are not at work," she teased. "I was certainly glad you didn't introduce me as 'Captain' all evening."
"Thanks," he nodded to her. "I enjoyed the evening with you too. It's nice to see a different side of you, you know, other than just the work side. That's why the team likes to hang out some together. Work is work, but sometimes, it's great to just hang out." Andy pulled into his driveway, and as he did, he glanced at Sharon while he turned off the car. "Can't believe all that planning, all that time-it's over. She's married," he sighed.
"She is," Sharon nodded to herself. "She's going on her honeymoon and will return to start a new chapter, a new life almost."
"Yeah," he sighed. "Say, it feels a bit weird to just send you on your way right now. I know it's late, but would you like a cup of coffee or something?"
"I would," she responded quickly. "I've enjoyed spending time with you too," Sharon reached over and patted his arm. "You looked very distinguished walking her down the aisle in your suit."
"I'm surprised you could see me," he grumbled, looking over to his house. "Still irritated I had to share that with the stepfather."
"It's about what Nicole wants, as you and I discussed earlier," Sharon explained. "You really looked great. You were so proud."
"It's probably the same expression I see on your face when Rusty does something right," Andy chuckled. He gave Sharon a quick glance, and the two broke into a quiet chuckle. Andy then opened his door, "Let's get that coffee." Sharon nodded, and he moved quickly to open her door, where he helped her out of the car. The two walked to the house, Andy in front of her as he dug out his keys. Sharon waited, holding her clutch in her hand.
After they were in the house, Andy moved into the kitchen and turned on a light. Sharon followed and put her clutch on the table. He gestured around, "Home sweet home. I can give you the tour now. Sorry we were rushed before."
"It's very modern," Sharon nodded as she surveyed the house. "Cozy, though, and I like it." Andy flashed a smile at that, and he quickly showed her the small bungalow. When they returned to the kitchen, Andy gestured to the coffee pot.
"Still interested in coffee?" he asked.
Sharon glanced down at her feet and then up at him, her eyes meeting his. She shook her head, "No, not really. I just-," she paused and pursed her lips. She cleared her throat, "You were saying earlier you have made mistakes in your life."
"Yeah," he nodded. "I mean, everyone has, sure, but I just regret so much. There's so much people don't know, and I feel like I carry these dark secrets. I'm not proud of myself, of the man I am. Looking back, I screwed up too many times, ruined too many lives."
Sharon nodded in agreement, "There's a lot I'm not proud to admit about my life. There is," she gave a small shrug. "I'm also trying to not beat myself up about everything. It's too short; life is short, and I am realizing I need to enjoy it more."
"I mean, yeah, sure," Andy gestured with his hand. He rested his elbow on the counter to face her, "It's not about that, the regrets," he paused. "I'm just not the man people think I am, want me to be."
"You need to stop beating yourself up with that kind of talk, Andy," Sharon said, giving him a hopeful smile. "You've worked so hard to get your life together. People notice; I notice." With that, her hand reached for his on the counter. She didn't grab it, but her hand grazed over the top of his. She met his gaze, "I think you are a kind, caring, wonderful person and am glad we have become friends." She met his gaze; she'd been a little flirty, but nothing completely out of sorts at the wedding. They had danced. She had brushed her arm over his. She'd looped her arms through his, and she'd even held his hand during the ceremony, all things a friend would do, but now, she was hoping he was catching on to her ideas for the rest of the evening. "Maybe we discuss that favor, now, I scratch your back, you scratch mine?"
Andy briefly eyed her hand contact, and then, he stood up more, careful not to pull his hand away completely. He shook his head at Sharon, "Is that how a favor works?" he said, a little surprised, but still with a smirk. "As I was telling you earlier, I continue to be amazed by you." When she didn't move her hand away, he moved his, but he moved it to put his hand on hers, their eyes now locked. "I enjoyed having you with me at the wedding, a good friend, a beautiful woman very beautiful," he gave her a nod, "by my side."
She looked directly at him, "This could be a tricky situation, or we could be adults about this and let it just be a satisfying way to end our evening. I can't be here as your boss, and I haven't specifically suggested anything. I just know that well," she said a bit nervous, "from rumors, you have had experience with satisfying evenings such as this."
"Satisfying," he nodded and eyed her, making sure he was understanding her correctly.
"I mean, I hope," she said with a nervous chuckle. "If that's not a possibility," she trailed off.
"No, no, no," he said quickly, his eyes almost sparkling now. "It's possible, I mean, I can totally satisfy an evening; that's no problem. I am just maybe surprised. You have been so upfront about being married, and this is definitely crossing a line."
"I have," Sharon let out her breath and nodded. "I am married in the legal sense, and yet, I still can want this. You and I both know my marriage was over years ago, really decades ago. Legally separated is at least something in my book; it's a step."
"Look," Andy said, glancing to their hands, where they were still piled on each other, "not that I'm complaining about this proposition-quite the opposite, but won't this be awkward? We've come a long way in the last year, but this?"
"I think we are grown adults, mature-age and mind-" she clarified, "and can handle this. My friends keep telling me to get back out there. I've just been looking for the right opportunity, the right man even. I feel I can trust you, at least to keep this between us, and to trust that we will both leave ahhh, satisfied," she nodded and added, "in more ways than one."
"So, umm," Andy changed his stance, shifting, and that pulled him a little closer to Sharon, "what are your intentions?"
"Intentions? I intend to enjoy the night," she told him. "Look, I don't have opportunities for this. Rusty is in my life, and I'm not about to parade strange men, even men I know," she gave him a glance, "in and out of the condo. He's not going anywhere anytime soon. I've had kids in my life most of my adult life. I don't have time to search this out with random men, and I'm not even looking for something that requires a commitment."
"Just tonight?" Andy asked.
Sharon batted her eyes at him and shrugged, "I suppose we could discuss that later."
"Oh," he smirked, "so, like a trial run? Is this a tryout?"
Sharon's eyes widened, "I don't mean it like that, just that we see if things go well. If they do, and if it's not too awkward, maybe we can do this again, sometime when Rusty isn't around. If it's just too strange for us, that we need to just focus on our work relationship, fine. We are still two consenting, mature adults, and we have to work together. If that's a problem, I'll go home now."
"You think you can separate work and a physical relationship?" Andy asked.
"Why not?" Sharon questioned. "You and everyone else at the LAPD has said how cold I can be."
"I didn't mean it like that," Andy looked to her.
"I know," she nodded. "I only mean that yes, I can handle it. I'm not looking for some long, drawn out affair, some huge moments of passion. Right now, I am just looking for one night, and I thought that you, as my friend, might understand."
"Just to be clear," Andy said, as his hand started to run up her arm, "my story is that I came on to you. This is no police matter, no work issue, and I'm guessing it's not against some rule of yours."
"I am completely off the clock and seeing this as two friends enjoying an evening. We attended a wedding, and that is all that has to be said," she nodded.
Andy grinned, and with that, he leaned toward her, tugging her elbow as he did. Their lips met, and briefly, Sharon thought about pulling back, about running away, but the split second she started to think that, his lips crashed into hers, and she instantly found herself kissing him back frantically. Technically, he might have kissed her first, but she definitely found herself quickly lost in him, sure that this was everything she needed out of her evening.
Sharon's memory of the evening had her smiling as she pulled into her parking spot at the condo. Sure, it had been a little awkward at first; they were friends, and this would forever change that. It had, and while the two hadn't yet had to deal with the 'day after' awkwardness, Sharon was confident things would be fine between them. She was satisfied with the evening's events, more than satisfied, she grinned to herself. She glanced at her clock, just after 5:00 AM now, and while she hadn't slept all night, she wasn't tired. She might pay for her indiscretion later in the day when she was ready to crash, but it was so worth it. Before she got out of the car, she sent a quick text to her friend, Diane, "Just getting home for the night. Is there such a thing as a drive of shame? Breakfast at 6:30? Call me, obviously," she sent.
She quickly glanced in her rearview mirror and pulled back in horror. Her makeup was smeared, her hair was disheveled, and she was in desperate need of a shower. Yes, she'd made a good decision to come home. Andy was probably still snoring, and no one needed to see her like this in the light of day. She'd catch up with him later at work, make sure they were okay after their friendship had changed. Maybe, just maybe, if she was feeling gutsy enough, she'd tell Andy that she'd enjoy another evening like that again sometime, just minus the family wedding part.