Oh my goodness! You guys are so, so lovely! Thank you for the kind feedback. Here is chapter 2...
Sharon was suprised he hadn't parked in the garage, but didn't question when he pushed the elevator button that would take them to the main lobby. When the doors opened, she was greeted by a knowing smile on the face of her favorite security guard.
"Good evening, Captain."
"Good evening, Hector."
"You both look very nice. Something special planned?"
She wasn't suprised to find Hector chatty; they always exchanged pleasantries, but this evening there was an extra playfulness on the part of the uniformed man.
"Dinner. We're having dinner downtown."
"Nice. Well, enjoy your dinner...and the ride."
Sharon glanced between the two men who were exchanging grins. "The ride?"
Andy gently took her elbow and led her out of the lobby and through the main doors. "This way, madam."
Cherry red and sporting a black leather interior, the 1965 Mustang convertible brought the phrase "sex on wheels" to Sharon's mind, and while she remained frozen, her jaw dropped and eyes opened wide with surprise as Andy passed her and leaned casually against the driver's door, his arms crossed and his eyebrow cocked. "So, what do you think?"
The rich, lush voice with which she normally spoke disappeared as a squeal escaped her lips, followed by: "Oh my God! This is ours?!"
He had hoped she would appreciate the gesture, but the sheer elation with which she was responding exceeded his expectations. "For the night."
"Seriously? We're...this...we seriously get to drive around LA in this car?"
"That's the plan. We can put the top up if you want, you know, if you are worried about your hair, but I do have this." Andy turned away and reached into the back seat from which he retrieved a shallow, rectangular box which was tied with a burgundy satin ribbon.
The sight of a second gift after the receipt of the gorgeous flowers and now the surprise of the car, was a bit overwhelming. Lifting her hands, she quickly made her way over to him, shaking her head. "The flowers and the car..you've done too much already."
"No, no. This is nothing. Really, it's nothing. I just thought with me springing the convertible on you, I should make sure you had something for your hair with the wind and all..."
"Andy..."
"It's nothing, look, just..." He slipped the ribbon from the box, pulled back the lid, and gently drew back a folded sheet of tissue paper to reveal a silk scarf featuring a screening of large-petalled blooms in various shades of pink, rose, burgundy, and red.
She instantly recognized the monogram on the tissue paper as that of an upscale Rodeo Drive boutique which she had never had the nerve to enter much less contemplate purchasing something from.
"Andy, it's beautiful, but it must have cost a fortune. This shop..."
Only inches separated their bodies as he reached out and gently pulled the scarf from the box. "I hoped one of the colors in it would match your dress and it suited my purposes. The cost is irrelevant. This is..." He draped the silky fabric over her hand, forcing himself to look into her eyes as he softly explained, "I'm wooing you, Sharon Raydor. The flowers, the car, the scarf, the dinner, and the rest..."
Her eyes widened as she looked up at him. "The rest?"
"Yes, well, you'll see, but anyway...Look, this is me, well, probably trying too hard, I mean, I hope I'm not, but, well, ...if it's too much, please tell me, but this...I just want...I just want to make sure that you know that this isn't...that this isn't us just being buddies anymore and if you don't...I mean I hope..."
"It's good, Andy," she interrupted his rambling in an effort to soothe his nerves, her voice soft as she assured him, "I like this. I'm good with the wooing."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Her eyes were moist as she looked into his, each registering the fact that they had turned a significant corner in the previous seconds.
"Good. Okay."
Her hands occupied with her clutch and the scarf, he quickly reached down and tucked the now empty scarf box under the driver's seat before taking her elbow and leading her to the far side of the car. Opening the passenger door, his eyes lingered on her legs as as she gracefully climbed into the seat before taking the scarf and folding it neatly into a kerchief which she effortlessly tied around her head as he made his way into the driver's seat.
Trading her regular eye-glasses for the sunglasses in her clutch, she gave a glance into the side mirror before turning to look at him.
"What do you think?"
She was a knock-out, reminding him of some 1950's movie star.
"Very glamorous. Audrey Hepburn, eat your heart out."
Delighted by the comparison, she thanked him before turning her attention to the immaculate and impressive interior of the Mustang. Her hand was gliding over the red stitching on the part of the seat between them when he threw caution to the wind and added, "But your legs are better."
His comment earned him another brilliant smile and she unknowingly added to his reward by slightly shifting in her seat which resulted in her dress raising a few inches up her thighs.
Facing forward, she still felt his gaze trained on her person as she noted, "It's seven-fifteen and we don't want to miss our reservation. Perhaps a little more driving and a little less wooing for now, Lieutenant."
"For now, Captain?"
Nodding, her lips curled up ever so slightly at the corners as she looked straight ahead and adjusted her sunglasses. "Yes. Just for now, Andy.
In a city whose streets were constantly filled with Maseratis, Jaguars, Bentleys, Rolls Royces, and every other variety of outrageously-priced and luxurious car, the fact that the vintage Mustang earned them turned heads and even a few shouts at intersections as they made their way downtown surprised Sharon.
"This is wild! The car is getting a lot of attention!" She lifted her voice to be heard over the wind and traffic as they approached central downtown Los Angeles.
"I don't think it's the car. I think it's the passenger."
Deciding she might not get another chance to enjoy such a ride, she pulled off her sunglasses and gave him a seductive look which included holding the end of one earpiece between her teeth before she began laughing. "You're right. I am pretty glamorous."
"Forget Audrey Hepburn. Now I'm thinking Sophia Loren." He offered as he briefly shifted his gaze from her face to her ample cleavage which was currently on display given the way the fabric of her dress was pulled taughtly between her bottom and the leather seat.
Placing the sunglasses back on her face, she reached over and gently pushed his chin with the tip of her index finger so that he was facing forward. "Eyes on the road, Andy. Eyes on the road."
The restaurant had a sleek, modern facade which didn't strike Sharon as particularly romantic as they pulled up to the valet stand, but once inside, both she and Andy immediately understood what all the fuss was about. Candles flickered everywhere and while the center of the restaurant was dotted with tables, there were a series of booths that lined that walls with high backs and horseshoe shaped seats that curved in such a way that the occupants were almost completely obscured from onlookers.
Scarf folded neatly and tucked into her handbag, along with her sunglasses, Sharon hesitated and made the unusual decision not to put her other glasses on, deciding her vision was adequate enough to allow her to navigate the restaurant. She didn't consider herself a vain person, but this also wasn't one of their typical outings. Grinning to herself she considered the fact that he was without his necktie gave her the liberty to also remove one of her own trappings. Her eyes adjusted fairly quickly, although she did have to gently reach out and grasp Andy's jacket cuff a few times as they made their way through particularly crowded areas like the bar as they approached the hostess stand.
"Flynn. Party of two."
A beautiful red-headed young woman in a fashionable black dress scanned the computer tablet in front of her, smiling as she spotted the listing. "Reservation for seven forty-five. Here we are. Your booth will be ready in about ten minutes. If you'd care to wait in the bar, I'll find you when it is ready."
Andy thanked the hostess and turned to look back at Sharon. "You want to...you aren't wearing your glasses."
"Astute observation, Detective."
"Can you see?"
She let out a chuckle. "Mostly. I'm not totally blind. My depth perception isn't the greatest, but I can see well enough."
"You just...you don't go without them much." He was staring at her, the fire-light around them allowing him to fully appreciate the flecks of gold shimmering in the pools of beautiful green.
"Andy?"
An embarrassed grin twitched on his lips. "Sorry. Your eyes are so beautiful."
The hostess interrupted the moment as she politely asked them to step aside so she could assist other patrons.
"Let's go to the bar." He took a few steps ahead of her only to be stopped as she reached out and grabbed his jacket.
"Wait. I might need a little help."
Her gesture at the sea of people ahead and the dim lighting around them allowed him to instantly understand her concern. "Sorry. Of course." Reaching out, he felt a thrill shoot up his spine as she not only took his hand, but allowed her fingers to slip between his.
Their hands remained clasped as they reached the bar and it was only after the bartender served her a glass of pinot grigio and him a tumbler of cranberry and soda on the rocks did he reluctantly let her go, although their hips were brushing given the overflowing capacity of the bar crowded around them.
Taking a drink, he found himself fixated once again on her glasses-free face.
"You're staring at me."
Caught out, he could only manage a shrug and a grin. "It's strange. Your face is..."
Swallowing a sip of wine, Sharon's eyes lit up up as she teased, "Oh, this should be good. What is my face?"
"Why do I do this to myself?" Andy threw his head back, closing his eyes.
Not letting him off the hook, she reached up and played with his collar as she implored, "My face. My strange face. I'm waiting."
"Ughh...You know I didn't mean it like that."
"You're not getting out of it, Flynn. Come on. My strange, strange face..."
He leaned forward, a gentle smile on his lips as he let his eyes take an appreciative tour of her face. "It's not strange. It's...I mean, you look like you, of course you do, but up close like this, without your glasses, it's like seeing a special you that not everyone gets to see and that's, well that's special in itself."
She had expected him to once again say her eyes were beautiful or wax poetic about their particular shade of green; things Jack or any number of other men would say, but this, she had not at all expected this. Overwhelmed, no retort would come.
A few seconds having passed without comment from her, he leaned in even closer and whispered in her ear: "Your face isn't strange. It's perfect."
The tickle of his breath on her ear still lingered as he pulled back to look at her and as taken aback as she was by his sweetness, she returned the surprise by lifting onto her toes and resting her hand on his shoulder as she placed a light kiss just to the right of his mouth.
He had experienced hundreds if not thousands of kisses during his sixty-two years of life, but he was certain that this one, this feather-light, pinot grigio-scented, tender brush of Sharon's incredibly soft lips was by far the most sweetest he had ever received.
"Flynn party of two?"
He was still basking in the feel of her lips when her fingers once again slipped between his and her gentle tug brought him back to the present.
"Our table's ready, Andy."
Taking the lead, he didn't miss at least six different men's heads turning and following Sharon Raydor in her liquid-like satin dress with her gorgeous legs as they approached and then passed their respective tables. Twenty years of sobriety before, Andy would have been jealous and territorial if his date was being so blatantly ogled as Sharon currently was, but a lot of meetings, therapy, not to mention a lot of Raydor-ordered sensitivity training over those past twenty years now allowed him to simply feel proud to have someone on his arm who was not only being obviously appreciated by others for her physical beauty, but whom he also knew to be incredibly funny, brilliant, and brave.
The booth into which he and Sharon were led was in the far corner of the restaurant, possibly the most secluded of all the tables, and unless he was imaging things, he was almost certain that the hostess gave him a wink confirming the fact that he had indeed scored the best table in the place after she handed out their menus and placed the wine list on the table.
The design of the booth with its high back and narrow entrance created unique acoustics which blocked out almost all of the surrounding noise, and each table also had its own sound system which pumped in a low soundtrack of jazz standards which were familiar, but not distracting.
"This is amazing," Sharon's voice was barely above a whisper, but Andy heard her clearly thanks to their setting. "Thank you for bringing me here."
"Saying it is my pleasure would be the understatement of the year."
Picking up her menu, a twist of her lips preceded her nonchalantly asking, "Has the wooing recommenced?"
"With a vengeance, lady. With a vengeance."
Continuing to focus on the menu she simply replied: "Bring it on, fella."
Each sporting grins, they let the flirting halt as he joined her in perusing the menu, although it quickly became obvious that the task was turning out to be fairly difficult for Sharon as she began squinting at the menu, then pushing it back, followed by pulling it forward, and finally tilting it upwards, but no matter what she tried, she couldn't make out the small, ornate font in which the choices were listed.
Her struggle apparent, he leaned over and offered, "You could always put your glasses on, you know?"
She pursed her lips and made a slight growl sound in the back of her throat.
"Or I could just read the menu to you?"
"Oh, shut up," she muttered under her breath as she pulled the menu within an inch of her face.
"Sharon..."
Sighing dramatically she finally relented with a grieved, "Fine," before bruskly digging out her glasses case, and within a few seconds he found himself looking at the familiar face of his Captain.
"Better?"
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before returning to the menu. "Yes...but less special."
He let a few moments pass, his focus back on his own menu when he tenderly nudged her knee with his own and whispered, "You're just as special and just as gorgeous as before, four-eyes."
He was rewarded with a wide smile breaking across her face and a returned nudge to his knee from hers.
Now able to read the choices, her eyes scanned over the columns and sections, but she was finding it hard to concentrate preoccupied as she was by how very sweet Andy was being to her. And not only was sweet, but funny and incredibly handsome and doing a formidable job of spoiling her rotten which was something that she wasn't remotely prepared for, and while she wasn't sure if she believed in the concept of perfection, as far as she was concerned, the evening had been as close to perfect as she could imagine and so it was with a great deal of hesitancy and trepidation that she chose this moment to possibly bring it all to an end.
"I am having a wonderful time, Andy."
The matter-of-factness-of her statement caught him off-guard, but he managed to return "I'm glad to hear it..." before she reached out and put her hand over his wrist and said the dreaded word:
"But..."
He grimaced. "Oh, no. Why does there have to be a but?"
She couldn't help but smile at him and the little boy pout on his lips.
"A quick "but," but also an important one."
Sighing, Andy's shoulders fell as he nodded.
"The flirting, the hand-holding, the wooing, this general wonderful time we're having..."
A grin replaced his pout as he gave another nod.
"Well, I like it. I wasn't sure if this was a wise move, our going out, but now, I'm so glad we're here..."
"Me, too! Oh, God, me, too, Sharon! You have no idea..."
She moved a gentle finger to the center of his lips. "Please let me finish. It's lovely. You've been absolutely perfect, truly, but, Andy, if this it to go on beyond tonight we need some ground rules."
He took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing as he turned his gaze to the candle in the middle of the table. Of course it was too good to be true. Darth Raydor had been lurking in the shadows all along.
"Rules. Of course there are rules."
She took a deep breath. There he was. Resistant hot-head Lieutenant Flynn had been lurking in the shadows all along.
"Not rules, Andy. Just, well...an understanding."
Calling on his better angels, Andy took another breath, this one cleansing, and made the split-second decision to keep his mind open as he turned back to look at her.
"Okay. An understanding."
Reaching over, she pulled both of his hands onto the table and covered them with her own. "This lovely, fun, good thing- and no matter what anyone else says, I think it could be a good thing- this lovely, fun, good thing can only remain lovely, fun, and good if we take our time and figure it out...and there will be a lot to figure out, which means we will need to take things slowly. I just want to know... are you okay with that? If we take things slowly?"
His silence was deafening and she found herself holding her breath, her chest tightening as she whispered, "Oh, shit." Her focus on their hands, she didn't raise her eyes until she felt the shaking of his shoulders vibrating into her grasp of his hands. "Andy?"
He was laughing! She couldn't decide if she was more shocked or offended by his reaction. "You're laughing?!"
"I'm sorry! I've just never heard you say "shit" before. I don't think I've heard anything more coarse come out of your mouth than a "hell" or a "dammit." Oh, Sharon, of course..."
"Good evening."
The couple was startled by the sudden appearance of a young man in a crisp dress shirt and black tie in the entrance of their booth and each instinctively pulled their hands from the other's.
"My name is Miles and I'll be taking care of you this evening." He proceeded to extend his reach with a carafe of water and filled the empty glasses at their settings before offering to get them fresh drinks from the bar which Andy answered with a nod and "please." The offer of an appetizer was also met with a polite request on Andy's part that they be given a few more minutes.
The young man's stepping away from the table allowed Andy to quickly return his attention to Sharon. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you hanging before, and I certainly didn't mean to laugh." Trying to convey his earnestness, he reached over and took her hand in his. "I thought you were going to ask me to take you home or something."
"What?"
"I thought you were going to say it wouldn 't work with the job or that you know you can do better..."
"Andy, no! Don't be silly!"
"I laughed because I was relieved, well, and at the fact that you said "shit," but mostly I laughed because I felt relieved that you weren't dumping me."
"Andy..."
"Look,Sharon, I don't care if we move at a snail's pace, or a sloth, or turtle or whatever other slow animal I can't think of at the moment, but yes, of course I am okay with it. I'm in. Your speed. Whatever your speed is, that's my speed."
Relief flooded her insides as she asked a soft, "You're sure?"
"More than."
A grin slowly filled her face and she pulled her hand from his and offered it. "Okay. Then we have a deal."
He took her proffered hand, but rather than shake it, he gently turned it and placed a sweet kiss to her knuckles. "We definitely have a deal."
