The black dress would have to do. She didn't exactly have time to go shopping tonight, and she did genuinely like the way it looked on her. She almost always donned it with a slip, a camisole to help with the plunging neckline, and respectable heels.
Not tonight.
Tonight, she was attempting to accomplish something very far from 'respectable.' They had spent three days being cordial with each other. Cordial! She's had sex with this man, she thought, and today she apologized three times! for bumping into him in the elevator. It wasn't the end of the world. People move. People take other jobs. Relationships end. She would be fine; he would be happy. And things would go back to normal.
It was only today she came to terms with how desperately she hated the idea of normal. She loved having Andy in her life, professionally and romantically. He was a talented detective, and a generous, proud, hot-headed, sweet, and compassionate man. A man she had grown to know quite well over the last few years. No, she didn't want him to go. She knew she didn't totally have the right to ask him to stay, but she decided maybe there actually was a certain level of commitment between them. Unspoken, but surely acknowledged by both parties. She wanted him to stay, and she needed to let him know that.
That's what the dress was for. She put on a black push-up bra and pair of black lace underwear. It wasn't racy, per se, but she thought it got the message across. Then came the dress. It was black, so it slimmed her middle and thighs. And it was knit, so it clung…everywhere. To her thin arms, to her breasts, to her ass. And then it floated away, like every good dress should. The wrap front created a deep v-cut, showing off her clavicle and some pretty serious cleavage. She finished tying the front closed and assessed whether this was the best pick or not. She really wasn't used to wearing it without her work-appropriate underwear. The amount of skin showing on her chest and legs was, though intentional, startling. What's he going to do, she mused, turn you away?
The thought reassured her, and she dove back into her closet for a very specific pair of high heels. They weren't flashy, but they were tall. Black suede would compliment, and not distract from, her dress. And her legs would look phenomenal, if she did say so herself. Her hair was loose and wavy, her makeup only a touch darker than usual. All she needed was jewelry. She donned a thin gold chain around her neck with a small white diamond resting in the valley of her breasts. She also put on a thin gold bracelet that, when paired with clinging three-quarter sleeves, looked delicate and pretty. Satisfied with the result, Sharon grabbed her cellphone and purse, and headed for the garage.
Upon pulling up to Andy's house, she shut the car off and stayed sitting in the driver's seat for a few minutes. In her head rang every argument she'd had with herself over the last seventy-two hours. You should be happy for him. This is a huge opportunity. If he didn't want you're input, he wouldn't have told you until he'd made up his mind. What if you keep him from something he might really love? Does he really want to retire? Was he telling you because you're his boss, or because you're his girlfriend? Does your vote really count? No, she thought, you love him and you want him to stay. The least you can do is let him know that much. She stayed just a moment longer, gathering the gumption to do what she had decided to do.
She certainly wasn't shy around Andy, but she wasn't really used to putting herself on display, either. She's never gone so out of her way to look…well, to look like she was trying to convince a man not to move away. It was liberating, if not wildly uncomfortable.
"Ugh," She said aloud, "this is it." Leaving her purse in the passenger seat, she got out of the car and walked the ten feet to Andy's front door. The lights were on, though she couldn't see him inside. She knocked three times. She could actually hear her heart beating in her ears. And then she heard his footsteps, and the lock flipping, and the knob turning.
Andy opened the door and immediately stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened at the unbelievable woman in front of him, wearing what looked like the sexiest dress in the history of the planet. His mouth went dry and his breathing faltered. He slowly, achingly slowly, let his eyes trace her figure from head to toe, and then toe to head. She felt every gaze. She would have been embarrassed if it weren't for the stormy black color that had taken over his eyes.
When he finally drug his gaze high enough to look at her face, she said what she had come to say.
"I'm here to give you second thoughts."