It was a fun night out for sure. Sharon didn't remember when she had last enjoyed herself this freely. They had gone to Linda's place, drank some wine and giggled about girly stuff on the couch. Sharon wasn't one to normally giggle, but Andy's parting comment had her feeling happy and carefree.
After downing a bottle of wine at Linda's they caught a cab downtown and went to the Irish place that Linda had talked about. It was a Friday night, so it was pretty crowded as they got there just before the band started to play. Sharon found the wine they ordered to be excellent and the music surprisingly ok too. Sharon was sure to hold her wine glass with her left hand so that her old wedding ring was clearly visible at all times. There were some men who offered to buy her a drink, but she politely declined, as she didn't want to encourage them.
Linda on the other hand, let a guy buy her a glass of wine, and seemed to be getting pretty comfortable with him the closer midnight was getting. They had been on the dance floor several times and Linda's hands had seemed to get braver every time.
Although Sharon didn't want to drink at anyone else's expense, she did not turn down any invitations to dance, so she danced with six different men during the evening. She didn't want to encourage them either though, so she left it at one or maximum two dances with each guy. Despite enjoying herself immensely, she started getting a bit tired when the clock was nearing one.
She told Linda that she was going home and texted Andy to see if he'd still be up. She actually texted to tell him that she'd be getting a cab home soon, but Andy replied immediately and told her to wait for him to come and pick her up. Sharon smiled to herself. It was sweet that he was willing to come and get her in the middle of the night. She knew that Andy knew that she would have no problem taking a cab by herself, but it was the gentlemanly thing to do to come and pick her up.
About 10 minutes before Andy was due to arrive she made her way outside and waited near the road, knowing that it would be nearly impossible for Andy to find a parking spot with all the people being dropped off and picked up by different people. She was quite tired, but happy. It had been a really nice night with Linda. Her feet were sore from all the dancing she had done, and her ears were ringing a bit because of the loud music, but she could not remember the last time she had let go like that and enjoyed herself so much.
"Hey you beautiful" someone commented from behind her.
"Oh hello" Sharon said without smiling at the tall man who had approached her. It was one of the guys she had danced with. She was fairly sure he had introduced himself as Lee.
"Waiting for a ride home?"
"Yes, my husband should be here any minute" Sharon replied, using the word husband on purpose.
"Ah yes, the husband who let this beautiful a woman come out by herself tonight. He should be put behind bars for that" Lee continued. "Did you enjoy your night?"
"Yes, I did" Sharon said, not really wanting to continue this conversation, but not seeing the harm in it either. Lee was just being friendly as he waited for his own ride and they had shared a few dances so she had no reason to be rude to him. He wasn't aggressive or anything and seemed to just want to have a chat with her.
"Oh, my husband is here" Sharon said somewhat relieved that she had the perfect out from this. Andy stopped the car where she was standing so that she could get in, and Lee was polite and opened the door for her.
"Have yourself a good night Shannon, it was a pleasure meeting you" he said in parting and closed the door once Sharon was inside.
Andy was gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were completely white. He didn't know what to say to Sharon. He had no right to her, yet here he was, burning up with jealousy. At least the ring was still on Sharon's finger, although that did not mean that she hadn't taken it off some time during the night.
"Who was that?" Andy wanted to bite his tongue off for sounding like he was interrogating the worst criminal that had ever passed through their interview room.
"Oh I think his name was Lee or something. We danced" Sharon answered, seemingly oblivious to his tone.
"I see." Did he touch you, was all that Andy was thinking. There was an awkward silence while Andy tried to get a grip on himself and his feelings to continue. "Did you have fun?" It was one of the hardest things he had ever done, but Andy forced himself to soften his tone. In his mind's eye he could see that Lee guy standing over Sharon, asking her to dance and escorting her to the dance floor with his hand on her back⦠He wanted to get out of the car and beat the crap out of him.
"Mmmhhhhhh" Sharon hummed in response, leaning her head against the headrest and looking at him. She was feeling quite relaxed, although she could hardly even be described tipsy at this point anymore. It had been a few hours since she'd last drank any wine. She had made sure that she would not be coming home under the influence with a recovering alcoholic in the house. She had felt that it would not be fair on Andy if she did.
Andy didn't want to know the rest, so he didn't ask. The jealousy that bubbled up when he thought of Sharon in the arms of Lee was something that he did not want to feel. He had gone to a meeting that night right after Sharon had left, and actually sat through three of them, just listening to others talk. He had started talking to some of the familiar faces a bit more frequently after meetings when he lingered for a minute or two. It was good to have support since he couldn't contact his sponsor while in the witness protection program.
Sharon looked at him, but was completely oblivious to the fact that Andy was very tense since she was feeling so relaxed herself. She wanted to say something to break the silence, but words eluded her. She wanted to bring up his parting comment, but didn't know how and she wanted to be sober for that conversation anyway, so it was not a good time. She closed her eyes and let her mind linger on the events of the evening.
Andy drove them home in silence.
SSSSSSSSSS
It had been a long and tense few days since Sharon's night out with Linda. Andy and Sharon had still not discussed Andy's parting comment at all, since neither one of them really knew how to bring it up in a natural way. Sharon found herself feeling shy and even nervous around Andy. And Andy was feeling a bit embarrassed by his actions and words. He wasn't sure if it was appropriate for Sharon to know that he did not like the idea of other men flirting with her. After all, Sharon had made it clear on more than one occasion that they were only friends. While he was now able to admit to himself that he felt more than friendship for Sharon, he wasn't sure if Sharon was ready to hear it.
Linda on the other hand, kept telling Sharon that night and later at work on Monday and Tuesday that she was positively glowing. Sharon had a silly smile on her face quite often and found herself reliving the intense feelings that she had felt the moment Andy had asked her not to take the fake ring off. Even Peter had noticed that she had been a bit distracted at work that week, although he had not known the reason for it.
When Andy had come to pick her up in town after their night out, Sharon had recognized the fact that she had had a few glasses of wine, so she had been extra careful not to say or do anything out of the ordinary. She did not want Andy to think that she was behaving differently towards him because she was a bit tipsy. When she closed her eyes in the car though, she could still feel Andy's hands on her waist under her coat, and his warm breath on the skin of her neck, asking her to keep the ring on.
Then there had also been Sunday night when she had been making a sample batch of cupcakes that she was planning on making again on Friday to take to Ann and Bill' house for their coffee evening.
"Hey, how was the meeting?" Sharon asked without looking up from the cupcake dough she was making when she heard Andy come home.
"You know how those things are. It was ok."
Sharon just hummed in response. She knew that the meetings could get pretty intense sometimes. Andy didn't usually discuss them with her, which was ok. If he wanted to keep that part of his life private it was fine with her.
"What are you making?"
"We are going over to Ann and Bill's for coffee on Friday, remember? I wanted to just make cupcakes to see how they turn out in this oven of ours "
"Oh yeah. We did agree to go over on Friday, I'd completely forgotten."
"Hey could you do me a favor and taste this?"
Sharon held a spoon up with a bit of dough on it, aiming at Andy's mouth.
"Sure" Andy said, as he let Sharon feed the dough to him on the spoon.
"Oh that's really good Sharon" Andy said closing his eyes and enjoying the sweet taste.
Satisfied with the result, Sharon turned around to look for the chocolate chips that she still wanted to add to the mixture. "Ah, there" she thought, as she spotted the small bag up on one of the higher shelves of one of their kitchen cabinets. She reached for it and was surprised to feel a warm body touch against her gently from behind.
"Here, let me" he said as he took down the bag that he had put in the cabinet while unpacking their groceries earlier that day. Suddenly he became aware of how close he was to Sharon, and how still she had become. She was still facing the cabinet, and he was hovering behind her, feeling her body heat through the t-shirt and yoga pants that she was in the habit of wearing at home. Things had been tense between them these past few days, and Andy really wanted a way to defuse the situation. Without giving himself any time to overthink the situation, he slipped his hands around Sharon and pulled her close. A part of him was afraid that she'd stiffen and pull away, but a bigger part of him was hoping that she might let him hold her.
Sharon inhaled deeply, and then just let herself enjoy Andy's warmth as he pulled her close. She felt her body melting against his, and turned her head a bit towards his neck to breathe in the smell of his cologne. His hands were wrapped around her, and she covered them with her own, content to be so near Andy for a moment. She closed her eyes and just let herself feel him near while breathing in his scent.
Andy could feel Sharon relaxing into him, and thought he had died and gone to heaven. It had been a very long time since he had last held a woman like this. She was warm and soft, and her hair smelled the same it had on Friday night. Suddenly the memory of the comment he had made on Friday about the ring made him acutely aware that Sharon was pressed against him, and that he could feel her breathing against his neck. If he just turned her a bit, and his head a bit he'd be able to kiss her. The thought of that set Andy's pulse racing, and all of a sudden he needed to get some distance between them so that he would not embarrass himself by doing something that Sharon would not welcome.
"I'm going to go and, uh, shower and change" he said awkwardly. He let her go, although all he wanted was to press himself against Sharon more tightly.
She only hummed in response, her face hidden from him by her hair and her hands busy with opening the small bag of chocolate chips. And with that Andy made his way upstairs and missed the flustered expression on Sharon's face.
On Thursday night, Sharon had wanted to get something from the mall while Andy was in his AA meeting. They'd agreed that she'd come and pick him up after his meeting since they only had one car. Sharon was a bit early in the parking lot, waiting for Andy to finish his meeting. She had that silly smile on her face again, because she had had a good feeling about this week. That hug on Sunday while she was baking had really defused the awkwardness that they had felt in each other's company since Friday night. There had been some casual touches this week that had definitely not been there before, and sometimes Sharon could have sworn that she felt something shimmering in the air between them.
She saw Andy exiting the building and heading towards the parking lot. She was just about to start the car when she noticed a woman hurrying after Andy. From her body language it was clear that she was calling his name and when he heard he turned and smiled at her. She was beautiful. This time not what Sharon thought to be his type at all, but still stunning. She had long black hair, olive skin, and a very shapely figure. Sharon could see even from the car and in the poor lighting of the parking lot that she had a beautiful bone structure with high cheekbones and she was wearing a very short dress and dark boots that accentuated the shape of her legs.
Was this why Andy had been going to AA meetings every day for the past week? Was he interested in someone who kept showing up at the meetings? Stop it Sharon, she scolded herself mentally. It is none of you business. You are friends with him and that is that. If he wants to pursue a woman then who are you to stand in his way? But still, if she was completely honest with herself it stung a little bit to know that she was not his type. Sure Andy had noticed when she had worn that dark red dress, and he'd told her to keep the ring on in the bar, but at the end of the day he was not interested in her and that was that. This whole marriage was make-believe and they had no relationship other than being friends. Something in Sharon's stomach clenched painfully when she saw the woman squeeze Andy's arm and give him a beautiful smile as they parted.
He made his way to the car and greeted her, but she was not in the mood for small talk after seeing Andy with the woman and so after a few futile attempts at conversation he left her to her thoughts. Why can't it be me that you look at like that, was the only thought in Sharon's head that kept repeating over and over as she drove them home. By the time she got to her room and changed into yoga pants she was ready to burst into tears.
