Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, followed, etc, this story! I appreciate it more than words can express! This is the fourth and final chapter of this little saga. I've once again enjoyed going along on this journey with all of you. As always, I welcome your feedback and thoughts.
I do not own Major Crimes or any of the fabulous characters. That honor belongs to James Duff and co. I just enjoy writing about them.
Chapter Four
Sharon stood in the entryway of their living room and collected her thoughts. She let out a sigh before taking a few steps into the space.
"I was going to tell you, Andy," she said quietly and inwardly cringed at how cliched it sounded. "But after I heard about your night, I just couldn't burden you with something that really wasn't that big of a deal," she explained. He stopped pacing and turned to face her.
"Not that big of a deal? Sharon, I saw how that asshole treated you tonight and that was with me there," Andy spit out.
"He wasn't like that last night," she said quickly, but Andy gave her a doubtful look. "He wasn't. I never would have stayed if he had been. In fact, he was completely fine until it was time to leave," she said suddenly averting her eyes from his piercing ones.
"What happened?" Andy asked impatiently. She looked up at him.
"I'm not a child you can scold for keeping the truth from you, Andy. And I will remind you that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she argued, crossing her arms in front of her. His tone was beginning to annoy her. Who did he think he was talking to? Her eyes landed on his face and he seemed to deflate.
"I know," he said softly. "I'm sorry, Sharon. It's not even you I'm mad at. There's just a lot of miles between Kurt and me, and many of them are bumpy," he explained, and it was her turn to deflate.
"I gathered that," she replied with a sigh.
"He's always had this stupid jealousy issue with me when it comes to women. It flares up especially bad when I'm seeing someone and he's not. Add in the alcohol, and well, you know the rest," he said shaking his head. Sharon studied him a moment.
"You know that I only love you, right?" She asked suddenly, moving into his space. Andy met her gaze, her eyes were seeking.
"Yes, of course. I don't doubt you or us. The guy gets under my skin, and I let him. I know you would never hurt me like that, Sharon. I'm just angry that he treated you like that," he explained, allowing his hands to caress the sleeve-clad skin of her upper arms. "You don't deserve to be treated like that," he added. She smiled dangerously.
"Andy-" she started, but he quickly interrupted.
"I know, you can take care of yourself. I don't doubt that either. You just shouldn't have to when it's one of my friends," he said, anger simmering once again. She allowed the rest of the hostility to leave her.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about last night. If I had we might have been able to avoid this whole mess tonight," she said contritely. He shook his head. "I didn't want to come between you and Kurt, so I convinced myself it would keep until he left tomorrow".
"You wouldn't have come between us, Sharon, because no matter what, I will always choose you," he whispered.
"And where would that have left you and Kurt?" She asked.
"Same place it has time and time again over the years. We wouldn't speak for a while, and then we'd somehow find a way to move past it," he replied. "Either way, it wouldn't have been your fault". She thought about it for a beat or two.
"Has he really always been like this?" She asked surprised. He nodded.
"Pretty much, which is why I don't know why I thought he had actually changed this time. Wishful thinking, I guess," he said. Sharon reached up and allowed her hand to softly caress the side of his face.
"I love you," she whispered as her lips moved closer to his.
"I love you," he replied right before her lips captured his completely. They shared a lingering passionate kiss before reluctantly pulling apart to settle on the couch.
"About last night..." Sharon began, but Andy stopped her.
"It doesn't matter," he assured her before closing the gap and once again melding his lips together with hers.
The next morning, Sharon and Andy shared breakfast together outside on their new patio table. It was a beautiful morning, and neither wanted it to go to waste. They had slept in after thoroughly enjoying one another the previous night. Neither had been in a rush, so they took their time and slowly, tortuously ravaged every inch of each other before finally giving into the physical connection they both craved. The earth-shattering release that followed left them sated, giddy, and sleepy.
When they finally woke around mid morning, they decided to throw on some clothes and enjoy brunch outside in the sunny warmth of the new day. They were just bringing their dishes into the kitchen when there was a knock on the front door. Andy set his plate down in the sink and went to answer it. He pulled the door open and found a very contrite Kurt on the other side. His surprise quickly morphed to anger and he started to shut the door when he heard the quiet timber of his best friend's voice.
"Before you rightfully slam that in my face, I've come only to apologize to you and Sharon," he said sincerely. Andy stilled his motion. "I didn't want to leave without at least doing that much".
"Say whatever is you want to say," Andy said devoid of emotion. Kurt focused on the ground as if willing it to give him courage or swallow him whole.
"I'm an ass. Even worse, I'm an ass that never learns. I'm sorry I said the things I said, and I'm even more sorry that I hit on your girlfriend," he said emotionally.
"Why," Andy asked simply. All these years he had never asked him why.
"She's beautiful, and I was attracted to her the moment I saw her that morning. And then I spent the evening with her and realized that I had feelings for her. That led to jealousy and that led to me deciding that I had to win especially since things ended between me and the woman I was seeing. You know how it goes with us," he explained. Andy nodded. "Like I said, I'm an ass".
"Yeah, you are. But you gotta realize, Sharon is not just some woman I'm seeing. I'm in love with her, and I plan to spend the rest of my life with her. What you did-" Andy said.
"I know," Kurt interjected. "I think that just made it worse". The two men were silent, neither sure how to proceed. Things certainly weren't fixed between them. That would take time and Kurt proving that he could respect Andy's relationship with Sharon. But he had said his piece, apologized, and there wasn't more he could do at this point. They both knew it.
"What about Sharon? Is she here? I owe her an apology as well," Kurt asked sheepishly.
Sharon was putting away the last of their brunch when she looked up to see Andy escorting a sullen Kurt into their living room. Both men settled on the other side of the bar, and she looked from one to the other to try to gauge the mood.
"Sharon, I just came by to apologize for my behavior," Kurt started. She met his gaze. "I'm truly sorry for the things I did and said. I was completely out of line. It won't happen again, I can assure you of that," he said sincerely. She nodded.
"Ok," she replied simply. "Apology accepted," she added. After all, it really wasn't her fight. Whatever this had really been about had little to do with her. It was between him and Andy. Things still seemed tense between them, but better. She hoped for Andy's sake that they'd be able to move past this eventually. Kurt said his goodbyes and Sharon watched as Andy walked him out. Yes, things seemed to definitely be better, even if they had a long way to go.
A little bit later, Sharon and Andy made their way upstairs and into their bathroom to finally get ready for the day. Rusty would be home at some point that afternoon, so they needed to make themselves presentable at least.
Sharon turned the water on in the shower and stripped down while she waited. A chill ran down her spine, so she quickly grabbed her rob and threw it on. Andy came into the bathroom wearing just his boxers after fetching clean underwear. He had been very quiet and subdued since his friend's apology visit earlier. She reached out and grabbed his arm, and he turned to face her.
"You alright?" She asked gently. He nodded.
"Yeah," he replied.
"And you and Kurt?" She asked concerned.
"I'm sure we will be at some point," he said dismissively. "But I don't want to think about him right now," he added a bit suggestively. Sharon could see the fire in his eyes as he raked them over her robe-clad body. When they settled on her lips, he leaned in and kissed her hard. Passion flowed between them and Sharon felt her body easily responding. She kissed him back with just as much fire. Hands began to roam as desire quickly built. As sensual and exciting sex in the shower sounded, neither felt like a trip to the ER today, so Andy broke the kiss briefly to lean in and shut off the water.
When he drew his body back to Sharon's, he gently, but firmly, pushed her against the countertop of the duel sinks. She could feel the edge digging into the flesh of her rear end as Andy pushed against her, bringing their lower bodies in delicious contact. She let out a moan as Andy lifted her up and sat her down on the open counter space between the two sinks. His hands fumbled for the sash holding her robe closed, and pulled it open. He dragged his mouth away from her lips to enjoy the sight in front of him.
The gap in her now open robe exposed the inner cleavage of both breasts, her soft curves, and the top of the apex of her thighs. The edge of the robe danced along the tips of her hardened nipples, and he couldn't help the physical reaction his body was having to the beautiful woman before him. He crashed his mouth onto her neck and licked and sucked the erogenous flesh. And then she wrapped her legs around his waist, and he was lost. Those perfect legs that did all sorts of things to him were pulling him closer to the exact place he wanted to be. Sharon's hands flew to the tantalizing mix muscle and flesh on his chest and began to caress sensually.
"This feels familiar," he breathed into her neck, recalling the previous morning when they had planned to enjoy each other in their living room. She hummed and he could feel his arousal rising at the sound.
"Yes, but let's make sure there's a much happier ending this time," she said suggestively.
"Oh, I can guarantee a happy ending this time," he boasted as he rolled his hips between her thighs. She moaned.
"First, you're gonna need to get rid of these," she said breathlessly, indicating his boxers.
"Yes, M'am," he said eagerly. And with that he dropped the final barrier between them as she used her legs to pull him right where she needed him.
Over the last few days, they had been tested, but both knew they had come out stronger. And neither had any plans of allowing anyone or anything to come between them again.
THE END
