I own nothing of MC. I just let the characters out of my head to dance across the screen from time to time.
This story is the third in a trilogy following Moving On and Dearly Beloved. It takes place about three weeks after Jack's wedding. While Sharon and Andy have been meeting for a casual dinner or lunch occasionally, this is the first time they have had an actual date. Even though they haven't realized it yet.
Undatable
It was 6:45 pm on Friday night. The division had left early. Sharon and Andy decided to take advantage of a free evening for their long awaited dinner at a new restaurant. He said he would be by at 7pm to pick her up.
Sharon was putting the finishing touches on her hair and makeup when a ruckus at the front door sent her running down the hallway. There were alternating doorbell rings and knocks along with Andy shouting "Sharon, open up!"
"Andy, what's wrong?" she exclaimed as she swung open the door.
"Quick, let's get out of here." He said as he motioned wildly for her to hurry. "We haven't been rolled out. You aren't buried under a mountain of paperwork, and none of our kids need anything. We might make it to dinner …finally."
"You nearly scared the life out of me," she said still wide eyed and breathless. "I guess third time's charm on the dinner." It was true. They had rescheduled due to a Friday afternoon murder, a stack of reports that Taylor had to have finished, and Nicole's babysitting emergency. She threw her gun, badge, and cell phone in her purse. Andy helped her on with her jacket as they made a hasty exit out of her condo.
"Are you driving the getaway car or am I?" she asked.
"I'll drive. You can be the lookout," Andy laughed.
"So you haven't eaten at this restaurant yet?" Sharon asked as she pushed the buttons on the car stereo.
"No, but Provenza took Patrice there. He said it was excellent." Andy stifled a laugh over her music obsession.
"Provenza? Hmm. We should trust him as a restaurant critic?" She shook her head.
Andy shot her a quick glance as they pulled in the parking lot. "The way I see it, Provenza hates everything. So for him to have a good word, it must be great."
"Point well taken," she said as he helped her out of the car.
It was a classy place, but not stuffy. It had the ambiance of a summer beach house. The décor was light and airy with an instant feel of sunshine and ocean breezes. A sidewalk led from the parking lot to the beach, which afforded a magnificent view of the sailboats cruising along the coast.
The waitress brought their drinks and took their orders. Andy wouldn't have minded if she had ordered wine, but Sharon said she was in a raspberry tea kind of mood. Andy ordered the tea also rather than his usual cranberry soda. It seemed like a good evening to try something new. Throughout their dinner, the conversation flowed easily as it always did. Provenza had been right, everything was excellent. Sharon got quiet as she studied the diners around them.
"Is something bothering you?" Andy asked, worried that he had said something wrong.
"How do they do it?" Sharon asked quietly.
Puzzled, Andy shrugged, "who do what?"
"This." She waved her hand. "Dating. They make it look so easy."
Andy studied her a minute." That's simple." He paused. "They're not us."
A serious look crossed her face for only a moment before she burst out laughing. "Oh that's right. I forgot. We're undatable."
"Just look at that couple over there." Andy motioned across the room. "Could you imagine being out with one of them and talking about the blood and gore of a case?"
She giggled. "Or cop humor. We're a sick and twisted lot."
"You have to have some coping mechanism. Besides, you are hardly ever sick and twisted." Andy smiled.
"I have to keep it under wraps, but it's not as if I'm not thinking it." Then she whispered ,"that's between you and me."
He loved her funny side, the side she only shared with him.
"It might be fun to watch the reactions if The Wicked Witch started whipping out some one liners. Don't you think?" she smirked.
"Uh, about that, somebody should really apologize." He took a sip of tea, "somebody, but not me."
She let out a hardy laugh. "Nice touch adding the house being blown away, Lieutenant. Perhaps you can be an artist in your next career."
He gave her a wink.
"Do you need to get home?" Andy asked as he held the restaurant door for her.
She smiled, "no curfew tonight." As they got to the car, Andy said," I thought it might be nice to take a walk and then get ice cream. There's a stand at the far end of the beach."
Sharon was already taking off her shoes. "Ice cream? How can you be hungry for ice cream already?"
"You're taking off your shoes?" He looked at her perfectly painted red toenails, ignoring the ice cream comment.
"Of course, you don't waste perfectly good sand on shoes." She laughed as she threw her things into the car.
"What was I thinking? That would be almost criminal." He said as he removed his shoes and socks. "Do you run barefoot here too?"
"How did you know I ran here?"
He shrugged. "I remember you mentioning it once."
She shot him a sideways glance as a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, "Yes, I do, but I haven't had time to come here lately."
Sharon stood at the water's edge. The ebb and flow of the tide washed across her feet. Her life had felt a lot like this same tide. The ebb of life with Jack. Her old dreams being washed out to sea. The flow of the incoming tide ushering in new dreams, washing the slate clean. The sun was beginning its descent into the ocean. The golden red rays of day's last light reflected off of her auburn hair. Andy stood beside her, about a foot away, lost in the perfection that was her.
He finally broke the silence," Are you thinking about jumping in?"
She was thoughtful for a moment," I like to dance at the edge. I like to dabble my feet a little at a time. I'm a test- the -waters kind of person."
He knew she was talking about more than the ocean.
Without thinking, he extended his hand out from his side, and to his amazement, she entwined her fingers in his.
"If you ever decide to wade in, I'm here. If you decide to swim out to sea, I'm here. I won't leave you to tread water."
She knew he wasn't just talking about the ocean. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
They reached the ice cream stand. "I'm still full from dinner, can we share one?" She asked as she studied the menu.
"Fine by me, what do you want?"
"You pick, since I don't want much," she said looking down at their still entwined hands. It had been a long time since anyone had held her hand let alone her heart.
"Chocolate cone, with extra napkins. I've got a messy one here," he said to the girl taking the order.
"Andrew Flynn, you're incorrigible," Sharon said in exasperation.
He gave her a shrug and a crooked smile. "Maybe, but you can't say I'm boring,"
He looked at the nearly empty ice cream cone, "I thought you weren't hungry."
She sighed." I'm sorry. I lose all perspective where ice cream is concerned." They began the walk back to the car.
Maybe it wasn't just ice cream that made her lose perspective, she thought as she reached for his hand. She was amazed at how perfectly her hand fit into his.
They were about half way back to the car when they stopped to take in the last of the sunset. As the purple rays faded into the night sky, she looked up at Andy over the top of her glasses.
"You've got ice cream there." She pointed her index finger along the top of his lip and reached for the extra napkins in her pocket.
Andy gave her an ornery grin," It's such a shame to waste perfectly good ice cream on a napkin."
She stood on her tip toes, her lips almost touching his, and whispered, "what was I thinking? That would be almost criminal."