Prompt: Sharon/Andrea - Sharon and Andrea run into each other somewhere neither would expect to see the other person.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Keeping Her Company
A bar stool was vacated just as Sharon Raydor approached the bar in the too-dimly-lit room. It was the end of a long day, a long week, and Sharon Raydor was in the mood for a nice glass of scotch. It had been over a year since Sharon went out for drinks, and even longer since she went on her own and without someone having to practically drag her out. Rusty had said she needed to do something, but she was certain he hadn't meant for her to go out drinking in a bar that was full of people half her age. But Sharon was there, and she was going to enjoy the upbeat music and scotch.
Andrea Hobbs had just finished dinner with a friend from work and was now walking down the block to where they had parked their cars. They were discussing a case the younger District Attorney was working on when Andrea stopped abruptly. Robin, the other woman, turned to look at the blonde DDA and to see why she had stopped.
"You okay?" she asked Andrea, who was bending down and inspecting her shoe.
Andrea moved from the middle of the sidewalk as she answered. "Just a rock," she groaned. She leaned against the side of the building she was next to, a loud bar, and shook out her shoe. Gravel from the path they had walked down not too long ago fell to the ground and out of her black pump.
"What is this place?" Robin asked with a wrinkled nose, looking up at the blinking sign above the opened door. "Is it really necessary to have so many 'r's in the word dirty?!"
Andrea cracked a smile as she glanced up to see the name, but halfway there her eyes landed on something-or, better put, someone familiar. She almost laughed at how absurd it was when she thought she could see Sharon Raydor sitting at the bar. As if Sharon Raydor would be spending her Friday night in a bar, especially one like this. But... Andrea squinted, leaning in closer. The woman leaned over slightly in her stool, and Andrea had watched Sharon lean over things enough times to know that move. That woman in the bar was Sharon Raydor.
"Andrea?" Robin questioned, a manicured hand landing on Hobbs' shoulder.
Andrea realized she had been staring and then turned to Robin. "Sorry. I thought I saw somebody I know," she said with a laugh. Whether that was Sharon or not, it was none of Robin's business.
"In there?!" Robin laughed, nodding her head for Andrea to follow her.
The entire way to their cars, Andrea's mind was bringing back images from the bar. She still couldn't believe that Sharon was in there, of all the bars in Los Angeles. Jean-clad and drinking an amber colored beverage, Sharon almost looked like a completely different woman. Andrea said goodnight to Robin and then got in her own car, let out a deep breath, and then put her key into the ignition. Thoughts of Sharon and how much Andrea had been wanting to spend time with the other woman outside of work prevented her from turning her key.
Looking down at herself, Andrea knew she would stick out in a place like that. Yet, she couldn't just leave. She didn't believe in fate, but she surely believed she had noticed Sharon for a reason. Removing her key, Andrea decided she was going to get out of her car, walk into that bar, and approach Sharon. First, she would remove her blazer and leave it in the car.
The stool Sharon was on started vibrating as the music was turned up, something unfamiliar and loud blaring through the speakers. It was the type of music her son used to blast in his bedroom that would give her endless headaches until she got used to it, and dare she say it, started to kind of like it. Sharon swirled her glass around, the liquor and ice swirling around before she drank from her whisky. She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly after swallowing, the tension in her shoulders easing a little.
Andrea stopped at the doorway, the smell of alcohol hitting her immediately. Her eyes scanned the room, taking in bodies dancing and moving together on the dance floor, people playing pool in the corner, and other various things before landing on Sharon. Andrea bit her lip and straightened her back, trying to feel more confident. What if Sharon was meeting someone? Andrea thought. This could all blow up in her face, she realized, and almost turned back around to leave. But Sharon shook out her hair and leaned over the bar, her black blouse rising with her, exposing a sliver of skin, and Andrea's feet were in motion. She would be so mad at herself if she didn't at least say hi to Sharon, especially when Sharon was sitting over there looking incredible.
Sharon settled back down on her bar stool after getting the bartender's attention and ordering another drink. With her heel hooked over the stretcher at the bottom of the stool, Sharon's foot tapped to the beat of the music. She could feel it vibrating through her bones, making her sway slightly in her seat to the music. Two men had come over so far - thankfully ones a lot closer to her age than the majority of the men that were there - asking her if she would like to dance, but she politely declined. She loved to dance, and the music wasn't all that bad, but she wasn't there to dance with strangers.
Andrea had something sarcastic and smart on the tip of her tongue to say to Sharon. But when Andrea stepped close to Sharon and she turned around and looked at Andrea, green eyes full of surprise and then something unreadable, all words on the tip of Andrea's tongue died. Her mouth went dry and her heart leapt from her chest. Gone was the confident attorney she had just reminded herself to be. In her place was the woman who had an impossible crush on a woman who was now looking at Andrea with intrigued, slightly-glossy eyes. And that woman, Andrea realized, was tongue-tied and full of nervous energy.
Sharon had felt the presence of someone behind and quickly turned around. Andrea Hobbs, of all people, was not who she was expecting to see. The first thing that popped in her mind was what Andrea must have been thinking about finding her in a place like this. Then, Sharon realized Andrea was there as well, so that little thought left her mind almost as fast as it had appeared. Sharon's eyes quickly raked over Andrea. With her arms bare, Sharon's attention wound up there, looking at Andrea's biceps. Sharon's tongue slipped out and licked scotch-flavored lips, and her eyes moved along Andrea quickly before going back up to her eyes.
"Captain," Andrea finally said around the dryness in her mouth. "Hi."
Sharon smiled and shook her head. For goodness' sake, they were in a bar. "Sharon," she corrected loudly so Andrea could hear her over the music.
Andrea could feel her cheeks warming. She had called Sharon by her name on multiple occasions, but this time felt different. "Sorry," she apologized, yelling.
Sharon reached out and pulled Andrea closer, her hand wrapping around Andrea's arm. She didn't want to have to yell over the music or the people around them to be heard. "I'm surprised to see you in a place like this," she said.
Andrea wanted to say she was even more surprised to see her here, because it was the only reason Andrea was really in there. Instead, Andrea shrugged her shoulders and came to stand next to Sharon. "I was having dinner a few blocks away," she said, turned into Sharon, who was receiving her drink from the bartender.
Sharon smiled and nodded. "Well, let me buy you a drink," she said, leaving no room for Andrea to say no.
"I'm driving," she told Sharon.
Sharon licked her lips and tilted her head as she leaned in so close to Andrea's ear that she could smell her shampoo and perfume. Before she spoke, she inhaled the scent. "Just one drink," Sharon said into her ear. "Keep me company for a little while."
When Sharon pulled back, Andrea's cheeks had flushed darker. "Okay, one drink." Andrea faced the bartender and ordered a glass of white wine. After receiving her wine, Andrea looked back towards Sharon. "Thanks for the drink," she said.
Swaying a little to the music again, Sharon nodded. She picked up her glass, swishing it around as her eyes once again moved over Andrea's body. She was leaning against the bar, her hip cocked out and being outlined beneath the fabric of her dark dress. With alcohol already in her system, Sharon felt a little more confident than she usually did around Andrea. Her attraction to the other woman was something she didn't think about too often, but it was all she could think about at the moment. Sharon couldn't keep her eyes off the other woman. And when she looked up at Andrea, she was glad the blonde was looking around them and not at her. It was bad enough that she couldn't stop ogling, she didn't need Andrea to notice it.
The woman beside Andrea bumped into her while shifting in her seat and pushed her closer to Sharon. "Whoa," Andrea breathed out quickly as she reached for Sharon, her hand grabbing Sharon's thigh.
Sharon's breath came out sharply and her hand covered Andrea's, her eyes looking up to meet mortified blue ones. Sharon laughed before she could stop herself. Andrea's cheeks only flushed deeper and she tried to stand up, embarrassment coloring her. Sharon held her where she was, watching Andrea's eyes narrow as Sharon moved closer. Sharon was hardly even close to being tipsy; she had only one drink. So she couldn't describe where this newly found boldness had come from - but she wasn't complaining.
"How about we find somewhere to sit?" Sharon asked, loud enough so she could still look at Andrea and be heard at the same time.
Or they could get out of there, Andrea was thinking. The bar was loud and full of twenty-something year olds. But the way Sharon was looking at her, and that feeling of Sharon's finger stroking the back of her hand... When had she even started doing that? Andrea looked down and then back up to Sharon, who looked at her through thick eyelashes and smiled, green eyes glimmering. Was Sharon hitting on her? Andrea shook her head. That was ridiculous.
Andrea licked her lips. "That sounds like a good idea to me," she barely got out. Forget the alcohol. The feeling of Sharon touching her was enough to make her dizzy and make her forget how to string words together to make sentences.
Andrea let Sharon lead her around the bar. She had to admit that that was mostly because the view was far better from behind Sharon. Andrea admired Sharon's body in everything she had seen her in, but the captain in jeans was quickly moving to the top of her list of favorites. Right under this black top, Andrea added, mentally smiling. It was appropriate, yet far sexier than it had any right to be on the other woman. The almost-sheer back ended right where her jeans started, and in the front it clung to all the right places. And there were buttons, and Andrea really liked Sharon in button-down shirts, because there always seemed to be one button undone more than there should be.
Andrea took a much needed swallow of her wine, gulping instead of sipping. They had stopped and Sharon was looking around. Andrea put her hand on Sharon's hip, moving before actually thinking of what she was doing. "Over there," she said, reaching over Sharon's shoulder to point to an empty space.
Sharon flashed a smile over her shoulder, not saying anything about the hand Andrea had placed on her. The fact that she hadn't, that she allowed the touch, made Andrea's woozy-head spin even more. No, alcohol had nothing on Sharon Raydor.
Somewhere between sitting down beside each other and Sharon laughing close to Andrea's ear, two things happened: Andrea received another glass of wine, and she realized Sharon was flirting with her. Despite previously being sure the feelings and attraction she felt were one-sided, Andrea was now convinced she was wrong. She knew when a woman was flirting with her, and Sharon, all laughs and lingering touches, smiles that made her eyes sparkle, and fingers running through all that thick hair, was flirting with her. The question was, was it just the alcohol?
"Okay," Sharon said, scooting over so she was closer to Andrea. "Why are you suddenly so quiet?" Conversation had been flowing nicely up until a few moments ago. She wondered if she had done something wrong. Maybe she was reading Andrea wrong. Maybe she hadn't been flirting with her and now Sharon had made everything awkward. Had it really been so long that Sharon couldn't even properly figure out if someone was flirting with her?
"I hadn't noticed," she lied, taking a slow sip of the wine she had said she wouldn't drink.
Sharon looked away from Andrea and straightened her back so it was aligned with the wall. She swirled the rest of her scotch around in the ice and then drank it, letting it linger in her mouth before swallowing it slowly.
Andrea noticed the shift in Sharon's mood and knew she was the cause. "Have you been flirting with me?" asked Andrea, seriously. She was past the age of playing games - they both were. It was either ask or go insane trying to figure out what was going on.
Sharon turned slowly to look at Andrea, who was leaning in closer to her than Sharon was expecting. The heat that crept up her cheeks had started much lower, from down in her belly. She inhaled slowly, the smell of lavender mixing with the overpowering scent of alcohol. Her eyes met dancing blue eyes, a shyness to them that Sharon hadn't noticed until that very moment. The brunette smiled.
"Yes," she answered honestly. "It's been a while. I must not be that good at if you have to ask," she joked, laughing lightly.
Andrea felt relieved, a heaviness from her chest lifting. She brought her wine glass close to her mouth, looking over it at Sharon. "Maybe you could use a little work," she said, and then winked. She brought her wine glass to her lips, sipping from it and smiling.
Sharon bit back a laugh, her bottom lip being dragged between her teeth.
Despite the feeling of liquid sliding down her throat, Andrea felt as if it was dry. Sharon Raydor was sexy while doing all types of things - really, the list was endless - but Andrea couldn't stop her eyes from following Sharon's lip as it disappeared into Sharon's mouth and straight teeth slid across it. It was the simplest of things that Andrea found attractive about Sharon, and the things she did with her mouth was one of them, Andrea admitted to herself. At the thought, Andrea flushed. She was even more honest with herself when she was drinking.
"So now that that's out in the open..." Sharon raised her eyebrow.
Andrea looked down to the glass in Sharon's hand. "Why don't you let me buy you another drink?"
"I have a two drink rule," Sharon responded easily, turning her body into Andrea's.
"Oh?"
Sharon hummed deeply and nodded. "One drink relaxes me just enough at the end of a long day," she told her, licking her lips as she paused. "A second drink is enough to get my pulse racing," she said, leaning in closer to Andrea, " my head spinning a little," she continued, eyes dropping down to Andrea's mouth, "and make me do things I might regret later." She finished, licking her lips again, slowly and without letting her eyes leave Andrea's dark-red lips.
Andrea slipped her fingers into the neckline of her dress and pulled on it. It was getting too hot, and Sharon was so close she could feel her. "And a third?" she croaked out.
Sharon smirked, her eyes taking their time to meet Andrea's gaze. Sharon reached over with the hand that wasn't holding her glass of melting ice and let the back of her fingers caress Andrea's cheek. As Andrea inhaled through her nose, Sharon tucked blonde hair behind Andrea's ear. Green eyes danced mischievously as she leaned in slowly, her hot breath against the other woman's skin as she moved to Andrea's ear.
"After a third drink..." she husked into Andrea's ear. Sharon tenderly brushed her lips against the lobe of Andrea's ear, closing her eyes. The smell of lavender flirted with her nose again before Sharon smiled. "After a third drink, I might end up doing more than that to you," she said very slowly into Andrea's ear, a shiver moving down her own spine when she realized how serious she was.
"Are you sure I can't get you a third drink?" Andrea joked breathlessly, laughing nervously. She could barely handle the feeling Sharon's lips moving against her skin had caused. The air was too thick. It was too hot. And Sharon was going to make her forget how to breathe if she didn't move back a little. Everything was spinning, but it had nothing to do with her wine or the atmosphere of the bar.
Sharon drank the water that had melted in her glass and then turned to Andrea. The music had been slowly changing throughout the night, one genre blending into the next. Currently Pop music seemed to be the focus, old and new, and mostly pumped up, make you want to dance mixes. A small smile made Sharon's lips twitch.
"Andrea," she dragged out. "Would you like to dance with me?"
"Dance?" Andrea repeated, glancing over to the dance floor.
Sharon placed her hand on Andrea's knee and brushed her thumb over the hem of Andrea's dress, getting the blonde's attention. "Don't worry about anybody else. You'll be dancing with me, and I've been told I'm quite the dancer."
Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was the way Sharon's hand had yet to leave her thigh, or maybe it was that irrational part of Andrea's mind that was jealous of all the people who had already had the chance to dance with Sharon while she hadn't. Whatever it was, Andrea agreed. She forgot that she hated dancing in public, and that she wasn't quite sure how to dance to the music they were playing. She let Sharon lead her to the area where people were dancing and she completely forgot where she was. Nobody existed other than Sharon at that moment.
"Are you nervous?" Sharon asked, taking in Andrea's barely moving body.
"Nervous, no," Andrea answered. "I don't dance much."
Sharon hummed, stepping closer. The song was unfamiliar, a loud beat and pounding bass that rattled her bones. She put her hands on Andrea's hips, already moving her own to the beat of the song and letting her feet move as well. "Stop thinking so much," Sharon said loudly to be heard over the music. "Just move to the music."
Andrea did just that. She surrendered herself to the music pounding through the speakers and let it move through her body. When Andrea had first met Captain Raydor, Andrea had been surprised by a lot of things. From what people had said, she was expecting someone a lot more uptight, and, if she was being honest, a lot less beautiful. She found herself surprised once again. Sharon Raydor was not only flirting with her, but she was also dancing with her, and not just dancing. Sharon Raydor was close to her, breathing against Andrea's neck while her hips brushed her own, and looking into Andrea's eyes when she pulled away and brought her hands above her, dancing like she didn't care about any of the people around her. Sharon Raydor was focused solely on Andrea, and Andrea liked it.
One song turned into two, and then there was a third, and soon Andrea forgot how long they'd been dancing. Sharon's laughter while dancing was joyous and Andrea was enjoying the feeling of it vibrating against her ear when Sharon leaned in. And Sharon's hands kept coming back to her hips, even though Andrea had moved out of her comfort zone already and was dancing on her own. Andrea was sure she could spend the entire night with music pulsing through her veins and Sharon dancing and flirting with her while doing it. But even amazing nights had to come to an end.
Back at the bar later on, skin lightly covered with sweat, Sharon passed Andrea a bottle of water. "I haven't danced like that since..." Sharon looked at her water thoughtfully before smiling. "I've never danced liked that," she admitted. There was no blaming it on the alcohol. Sharon enjoyed the feeling of Andrea's body moving with hers to the music, the feeling of dancing freely with someone she was attracted to. "It was fun."
Andrea, all reddened cheeks and glistening skin, gave Sharon a half-smile. "We should do this again," Andrea said with hope layered thickly in her tone. She was back to feeling like the woman who had an impossible crush.
"Somewhere else?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow. "This isn't really..."
Andrea shook her head. "Here is fine," she said, surprising them both. She admitted that it wasn't as bad as she initially thought it would be when she was judging it from the outside looking in. "Tonight I've been reminded not to judge a book by its cover," she said, flashing Sharon a smile before drinking from her water.
Sharon smiled.
Andrea stayed with Sharon while she waited for a cab. The cool air felt good on her skin after feeling so hot all night. Andrea was watching Sharon, who stood with her hands in her pockets and her eyes trained on the space in front of her. She looked as if there was something she wanted to say. Andrea smiled, because for the first time in the night, Sharon was the one who looked nervous. Maybe it really was the alcohol, Andrea thought, but quickly told herself not to even think such ridiculous things. Sharon had said it herself, she wasn't drunk, or even close to it. She knew what she was doing. Alcohol had only served as liquid encouragement.
"It works better if you just say what's on your mind?"
Sharon had been so deep in thought that she jumped slightly. "Excuse me?"
"If you have something to say, you should say it before your cab gets here."
Sharon came closer. There were a few people leaving the bar, laughing and clinging to each other while stumbling. Sharon brought her attention to the woman she was standing beside. "I'm not usually as forward as I was earlier," she said, smiling uneasily. Andrea responded with a small nod. "I just wanted you to know that."
Andrea smiled for a long moment before she moved to stand in front of Sharon. Impulsively, Andrea tilted Sharon's head back, looking into Sharon's eyes as she kissed her. She didn't close her eyes, too drawn in by the look in pools of green that were pulling her in. Sharon's lips were smooth and cool, the taste of scotch faint and almost no longer there. Sharon kissed Andrea back, her lips moving slowly across Andrea's. It was like thousands of butterflies being set free inside of her stomach, all of their wings fluttering all at once. She could feel the kiss all the way in her fingertips, the electrifying feeling making them tingle. She allowed a few more gentle caresses from Sharon's lips before she pulled away.
She stood back next to Sharon, grinning as she looked forward to the street. "I don't usually kiss women I run into at bars," she said, licking her lips, "even if they are beautiful and incredible dancers. Just so you know."
Sharon felt herself starting to blush as she kept her eyes focused on the car across the street from where they stood. "Good to know," she whispered with a smile.
Andrea smiled as well.
The End. Thanks for reading.