ii. tequila and fierce women
Watching Andrea relax across from her in the booth, Sharon nods along to what the other woman is saying. From the moment they sat down, they had been talking about the double homicide and the way the Major Crimes team handled themselves solving what had first appeared to be a messy OIS. They haven't even been seated for five minutes and Sharon's lost track of the amount of times she's laughed out loud; the blonde comparing the men to children let loose in a playground had actually made her clutch at her stomach, a fit of giggles escaping and surprising her. Andrea doesn't hold back, and Sharon finds it refreshing.
The other woman shakes her head as she says, "No, there's no denying that Chief Johnson is a firecracker," in response to something Sharon had said.
"I think even that might be putting it lightly," the captain says in all seriousness, leaning back against the comfortable cushioning behind her. The laughter is still playing in the blue eyes that are watching her, and she feels her own joy vibrating in the air around them, tingling her flesh.
"Maybe so." Andrea shrugs. "But don't let that fool you into believing you aren't just as fierce as she is. Both of you handed that man his balls in that interview room, and you know it."
It's said seriously, with a firm finger pointing towards the brunette. Andrea gets this look in her eyes when she's trying to make Sharon see something her way - her eyebrows rise and she looks meaningfully at Sharon, not breaking eye contact for even a second. It's something Sharon first noticed a few weeks ago, and now that she knows what that look means, she can't stop the rush of warmth it causes. Andrea's not trying to make a point about a case, which is typically what warrants this particular look; she's recognizing the fire that burns within Sharon for what it is, and she's making sure Sharon not only sees it herself but notices that Andrea does.
Before she can respond, the waiter comes over to their booth. He places the two shot glasses on the table, makes sure they don't want anything else, and then leaves them alone. Andrea had ordered them both a shot of tequila, checking with Sharon first to see if it that was okay with her. Sharon preferred a glass of white wine at the end of the day, but like she said to Andrea, there was nothing wrong with trying something new sometimes. Andrea had smirked a little once the waiter left, responding with an, "I like the way you think." Sharon's stomach has yet to settle from the swooping the blonde's low tone had caused.
"Normally, this would be where I share the story of how I met Pete and how he taught me the difference between what he calls lighter fluid and tequila." Andrea smiles fondly, and Sharon raises an eyebrow. "It's become a silly tradition of mine. I tell the story whenever I take someone new out," she explains shyly, sliding the shot glass across the wood table.
"Well it must be a tradition for a reason," Sharon says with a gentle smile, her hand reaching out to clasp over Andrea's before she realizes what she's doing and stops herself, hovering awkwardly above the table a few seconds before bringing her hands to her lap. She's caught herself doing that twice already, and both of those times she's noticed how easily she's warming up to Andrea. "Please, share the story."
Blue eyes lift up to look at Sharon, and for a moment it looks like Andrea is going to say something unrelated to this Pete guy. There's something deeper and more meaningful in her eyes, like she's coming to some sort of conclusion and is surprised by it. The smallest of smiles appear on her lips as she shakes her head, sitting up properly and running her fingers through her hair. She bites her bottom lip, and without noticing it, Sharon licks her own.
"Pete was the first friend I made when I moved out here," she says. "I remember mentioning how I hadn't known anybody when I decided to come to California."
"I do recall you saying that, yes."
Andrea nods. "Just a woman with big dreams and something to prove," she says with an eye roll. It was what her father had said to her when she told him about her plans, Sharon remembers Andrea sharing. While she says that he's very supportive of her, she also admits that hadn't always been the case. "I had worked a few different jobs to support myself, but, like my father said, I had something to prove. I wanted to practice law, and I wanted to stay true to myself while doing so.
"While volunteering for a campaign, I met Pete. At the time I hadn't known anything about him, but I had loved his energy and how dedicated he was when he believed in a cause. He was determined and hardworking - everything I wanted to be."
"Everything you are."
Andrea pauses, running her fingers through her hair once again as she flashes Sharon one of those beautiful smiles that makes the brunette's skin flush with heat. "He said the same thing a month later when I sat across from him during an interview for a job at the DA's office in San Diego. Not once did he mention his part in hiring new ADAs, even after I shared with him - numerous times, I might add - that I was applying for a job at the DA's office."
"Would that have changed anything? If you think about it, you were given a rare opportunity that most likely helped you a lot more than you had noticed back then. Anyone can go in for an interview and say how committed they'll be, how outspoken and great with people they are." Sharon wets her lips and tilts her head a little, gathering the proper words to explain what she's trying to say. "But it's rare that an employer gets to witness that for themselves beforehand. You're a very ambitious woman, Andrea, and I don't doubt that's a trait you've had most of your life. I'm sure he noticed that."
"Well if you've noticed it in the - what's it been? - thirty, forty minutes we've been together, I guess he must have seen it, too," she says with a laugh that doesn't hide the emotion in her eyes as she looks at Sharon.
"Don't you even try to laugh it off, Andrea," Sharon responds with her own low chuckle, barely registering the feeling of a hand on top of hers. "I meant what I said. We may still be getting to know one another, but I know enough about you to see that."
"How did we go from me telling you about tequila to you making me feel all - -" Andrea purses her lips and looks down at their hands, bringing Sharon's attention there as well.
"All what?" she questions cautiously, refusing to pull her hand away from the other woman's.
Andrea strokes her thumb over Sharon's knuckles and hums thoughtfully, her eyes meeting Sharon's gaze. That contemplative look she had given the brunette in her office is back, but it doesn't stay long this time. She gives Sharon's hand a squeeze and pulls away, shaking her head and reaching for her shot glass. She doesn't answer the question - Sharon's not sure if it's because she doesn't have an answer or because the answer is one she doesn't want to share.
"The reason I brought Pete up was to tell you why I ordered us the tequila."
Accepting that the moment is gone, Sharon clears her throat and folds her hands together on her side of the table. She's learned that with some people it's best to wait things out and let everything fall into place on its own. Watching Andrea pull away - both literally and figuratively - she gathers that is what's best to do with her. If the tables were turned, Sharon knows it's what she would want. There's obviously something going through the blonde's mind, but Sharon can tell it's not something she's ready to share. So Sharon's not going to push.
"Tequila and not lighter fluid," Sharon muses, remembering what Andrea had said earlier, her tone light.
Andrea's smile is back, and it relieves the tension Sharon hadn't noticed she was feeling until it was dissipating. "A group of us had gone out for drinks to celebrate one night, and Pete had said: "You always start off with a round of tequila." Not only did he tell us that, he told us you're supposed to sip tequila. Good quality tequila should be enjoyed, savored."
"And lighter fluid?" she questions, her tone full of amusement.
"Never, ever buy it," she says with the best serious tone she can fake with her laughter and the imitation of what Sharon guesses is supposed to be Pete's voice. "Pete was… He was something else."
Sharon takes in the sight of the blonde laughing, and then hums slowly, lifting up the shot of tequila. "So…"
"So," Andrea parrots, lifting up her own glass. "This one you're not going to sip, though. This one is to celebrate."
"And what, might I ask, are we celebrating, Andrea?"
"New beginnings, of course." She licks her lips and tilts her head, her voice lowering like it did earlier. "And to trying new things."
Sharon swallows slowly, her stomach swooping once again. She holds her glass up and close to Andrea's. "And to fierce women," she adds.
Andrea looks impossibly pleased with her when she clinks their glasses together. "To fierce women," she repeats, and then tosses her head back and swallows the shot of tequila.
From there, the night flies by. Andrea loves to talk - about everything - and Sharon's never wanted to just sit back and observe as much as she does with Andrea. They have an unspoken agreement to leave work out of their conversation for the remainder of the night, discussing instead things they're discovering they both have a lot of interest in. Sharon briefly mentions her love for the ballet and the conversation somehow leads to Andrea telling Sharon about the horrible movie she went to see a few weeks ago, her expressions and funny comments making Sharon laugh more than she can remember herself ever doing with someone she's known for such a short amount of time.
By the time Andrea's on her third drink, she's invited Sharon out again and is working on a second invitation. Sharon doesn't say anything, though, not this time. She's watching Andrea too carefully to process what's being said to her. Body language, smiles, habits, brow raises… Sharon's only allowed herself that one shot of tequila because she knows how much slower it makes her brain work, and she's been letting herself indulge on something else entirely. She's making mental notes of things to remember about Andrea, reading into what the blonde's said to her, processing her own thoughts and feelings.
Andrea had said they should try this hidden gem close to where she lives, swore they had the best red velvet cupcakes she had ever tasted - and since they're her favorite dessert, Sharon's mentally noted, she's willing to bet they're delicious. It feels like spending time with an old friend, not getting to know a new one. Whatever nervousness Andrea had been feeling earlier is gone, and now the younger woman is full of life and excited and - - It's beautiful, Sharon realizes. She's beautiful, she then corrects herself, her heart fluttering in her chest as she traces the lines of the blonde's face with her eyes. She's been thinking it for a while, little moments here and there where something would catch her attention. But now it's more than noticing the way Andrea's smile makes her warm all over, the blonde's happiness bringing her her own personal joy, and it's more than that voice in the back of her mind that tells her the other woman is attractive. It's seeing all of Andrea, not just her looks but her personality, and it's hearing stories about her past.
It's the sudden silence around her that makes her look up, blue eyes focused on her. The brunette clears her throat, her heartbeat a little faster than normal. She's been caught staring. She had given herself one rule when she first noticed her interest in the other woman: no staring. Now to have been caught doing exactly that… Sharon feels an embarrassed flush trying to work its way up her neck and to her cheeks.
"I was staring, wasn't I?" she asks needlessly, fingers twisting together under the table with her nerves.
Andrea takes a moment to answer, her eyes still locked on Sharon's. While Sharon tries to keep her blush off her own cheeks, Andrea's spreads beautifully across hers. "Yeah, you might have been staring for a little while," she says with a one-shoulder shrug, tucking blonde hair behind her ear.
Sharon inwardly groans. "A little while," she repeats - which means Andrea had noticed and hadn't even said anything about it. "I'm so sorry. If I made you feel uncomfortable - -"
Andrea waves her hand dismissively and tucks her hair behind her ear, again: a nervous habit, Sharon thinks. "Whatever it is that you were thinking about sure has been making you smile a lot. I didn't want to interrupt or make you stop." She chuckles a little and let's her eyes finally move away from Sharon's. "You didn't make me uncomfortable, trust me. Letting someone know their attention is unwanted has never been difficult for me. If anything, I'm flattered."
Sharon's at a loss for words, her stomach in knots and her skin prickly. Flattered. Sharon watches the blush on Andrea's cheeks deepen and can only imagine what she looks like right now, her own face feeling heated. Flattered. Sharon smooths her hands down her lap as she breathes out slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. Flattered.
"Oh." Sharon slips her tongue between her lips to dampen them. "Well, I…" Sharon searches her brain for something to say, but she comes up with nothing. "Oh," she repeats.
Andrea laughs under breath and shakes her head at herself - Sharon's lost track of the amount of times she's done it tonight and wonders, again, what's going on in the other woman's head. "What I meant was…" Andrea leans her head back, breathing out slowly. When she straightens up, she waves her hand across the table, as if to clear it. "You know what? Let's forget I said that."
"Said what?" she asks with a playful quirk to her eyebrow. She refuses to let a choice of words unsettle her.
Andrea sinks back into the cushioning behind her and bites back a smile. Sharon leans back as well, posture loose, knowing Andrea's probably as good at reading her body language as she is everything else.
"More tequila?"
And because Sharon's sure she's done more than enough thinking for the night, she nods and licks her lips. "Yes, please."
To be continued...