The Edge of a Dream
by Kadi
Rated M
Disclaimer: This is not my sandbox. I only enjoy playing in it.
A/N: Remember there are 19 chapters written as of this posting. A lot is already set in stone for this story, with much more to come. Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Sharon woke the next morning to an empty bed, but the smell of breakfast being made. She wasn't really sure what she expected to wake up to. Their relationship certainly wasn't built on romance, and the night they spent tangled together was not mired in some deeper, emotional yearning for each other. It was sex, very good sex, she thought, and smiled as she stretched. Her sheets smelled of it, and when she turned her face into her pillow, she smelled Andy there, in the faint traces of his cologne, and the smell of sand and ocean that had also clung to his skin the night before.
Sharon sighed. She was not unaccustomed to waking to the smell of sex and man lingering to her sheets. She rolled on to her back again and stared at the ceiling. Her body ached in ways that reminded her just how wonderfully used it had been. She had enjoyed it. She wouldn't say that she hadn't, but in the bright morning light, she had to remind herself that she spent the night with a man that was not her husband. Jack might be out of the picture, but they were still married. If she was sleeping with Andy, how was she any better than Jack? She wasn't an idiot. Sharon heard the rumors. She knew that he was sleeping around before he left.
She groaned as she rolled out of the bed. Suddenly her mind was trying to complicate something that, quite frankly, she needed; something that was enjoyable, and could be as simple as sex between friends.
Sharon combed her fingers through her mussed hair as she looked around the floor for her t-shirt and shorts. She found them, laying near the wall, where they had been tossed the previous night. She wriggled into her shorts and pulled the t-shirt over her head as she left the room. She made a stop in the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth and pulled her hair back before making her way to the kitchen. She wanted to at least look halfway presentable before broaching the subject of the previous evening with Andy.
Breakfast seemed to be more or less ready. Sharon spied a plate of bacon and a bowl of eggs on the counter beside the stove. Andy stood at the opposite counter, spreading butter on toast while Emily sat on the counter beside him. Sharon stood, watching for just a moment. He would hand each slice of toast to Emily when he was finished, and she would place it on the plate beside her.
He had showered, she noticed. He had also gone back to his own apartment, at least for a few minutes, long enough to clean up and change his clothes. Sharon smiled as she crossed the small living room. "Look who's up."
"Momma!" Emily lifted her arms and smiled brightly.
"Good morning, baby." Sharon lifted her, careful of her greasy fingers. She peppered her girl's face with kisses before setting her on her feet. She took just a second to wipe her hands before turning her toward the other room. "Go play for a sec, then we'll eat." While Emily toddled off toward a box of toys in the corner of the living room, Sharon turned to Andy. "You didn't have to do all this."
"All of what?" He licked butter off his thumb. "We have breakfast together all the time," he pointed out. She frowned at him, and he leaned over and kissed her. "Good morning," he rumbled quietly.
"Andy." Sharon placed a hand against his chest. She sighed. "I don't want Emily getting confused by this." In the cold light of morning, that was ultimately what mattered most to her. She didn't know if they were making a mistake or not, but whatever it was, she couldn't allow it to have an impact on her child. "She's used to having you here, but not like this."
"Sharon, she's not even two." He pulled her over in front of him. He pressed her against the counter, and let his hands settle against her hips. "She's already used to me being around. She's not going to know the difference." Andy wondered if she had expected him to just use her body and walk away? Whatever this was between them, that was the last thing that he had in mind. He turned his face into her neck and let his lips wander her skin. He knew what she sounded like now, how she tasted, and the sounds she made when he was buried inside her. Maybe she was right to be cautious, maybe it was a bad idea, but he still wanted more. "She's not gonna know that we spent all night doing dirty, nasty things to one another."
"She will if she sees you doing that." She moaned quietly when his hand slid up her side to cup her breast through her t-shirt. "Andy." She hissed his name when his teeth scraped across her collarbone. "I don't want her to get hurt by this." It could burn out, last for a few weeks, surely, but eventually fizzle and die. They were damaged, and what they were seeking together was an escape from all he hurt that damage had caused. "I get it. You were in a bad place last night, and being here with me was preferable to what you could have been doing. I'm not bothered by it. I enjoyed myself." A few times, but she wasn't going to stroke his ego, at least not yet. "You needed to feel something, and I'm glad that I could help with that."
He lifted his head and frowned at her. Andy picked her up and set her on the counter in front of him. He moved between her legs and let his hands slide up her thighs to her hips. "Let's call it what it is,"he said. "We can't say we haven't been headed toward this for a while. Yeah, maybe I was an asshole last night for using you like that. The thing is, it's not just about last night, but I think you know that. This..." His hand slid along her thigh again, "whatever it is, it's not about the kid. I like you both, and whatever else happens here, hurting Emily is the last thing that I will ever do," he promised her.
Sharon stared back at him. She believed that. She knew that he was fond of her little girl. "I know," she whispered.
"Good." He kissed her. His hand slid behind her head while he captured her mouth. His tongue danced across her lips, teased them open. When her legs wrapped around him, he curled his other arm around her and lifted her off the counter. He let Sharon slide slowly down his body as he put her back on her feet. His hands cupped her bottom and he drew her against him with a suggestive thrust of his hips. "You get the Monkey and the table, and I'll finish up here," he told her.
Her tongue swept across her bottom lip. Sharon hummed. "We're going to talk about that more later," She promised. She slipped out of his arms with a smirk and sauntered over to get the table set.
"You bet'cha." Andy finished up with the toast, and then carried it and the bowl of eggs to the table. Between the two of them, they had set the table set within a couple of minutes.
They had breakfast together, just as they had on any number of mornings before. Just as Andy said, Emily didn't seem to know that anything had changed. It wasn't at all odd for her to have Andy as a playmate while her mother cleaned up after they had eaten. Andy left around mid-morning, just as he normally did, and went back to his place to take care of his usual Sunday chores. The only thing that really changed between them was that Andy came back, later in the day, while the kid was down for her nap. Normally he would have waited, shown up to watch Emily while Sharon went to the complex's laundry room. He knew their schedule now almost as well as he knew his own. He came back early, however, and while Emily was napping in her bed, he distracted Sharon away from the weekly dusting that she was doing. They were still friends; they just had a few more enjoyable ways of spending time together.
It took about a week for things to settle down between them, for the immediate awkwardness of the change in their relationship to wear off. Quiet conversations on the sofa, after Emily had gone to bed, became hushed talks in Sharon's room. Andy lay on his stomach, a sheet bunched around his hips and a woman straddling his backside while her hands worked the stiffness out of his shoulders. He didn't feel at all out of place, even with how new this part of their relationship was. The room was lit by the lamp beside her bed. They had started the evening by watching the game together, but when it was obvious that the Dodgers were going to lose, they retreated to the bedroom.
"Do you really think I should do it?" He asked, and grunted when her fingers dug into a particularly sore spot. "Call Sandra and see if she'll let me see Charlie?"
One rough night and a shift to becoming lovers had not chased away the heartache that he felt. Sharon was keenly aware of that. He had gone to three meetings that week, where he usually only went to one, two if work was particularly difficult. Sharon hummed while she kneaded his shoulders. He had gotten into a scuffle with a suspect the previous day. There was an especially nasty bruise across his left shoulder blade. "I do," she told him. "No one wants what's best for your son more than you two. I think it will speak a lot to how much you're willing to work with her if you reach out beyond the lawyers. I can't believe that she really wants Charlie to not have his dad."
"What would you do?" Andy lifted his head. He waited for her weight to shift before he twisted and moved on to his back. Sharon resettled herself across his thighs and he laid his hands against her hips. She was still wearing a t-shirt, but there was nothing underneath it. "If it was you and Jack," he asked, "what would you say?"
"It's not me and Jack," she reminded him, "and I'm not Sandra." It was important that they both keep that in mind. That said, her head tilted and she considered his question. "If it was me, I would hear you out. How I feel or what I think wouldn't be important. I would want what is best for my child." She shrugged a shoulder and smiled sadly at him, "that's all I ever wanted."
Jack had left her, accused her of being a controlling nag. Andy sat up and wrapped his arms around her waist. His hands slid under her t-shirt, moved up her back. She hadn't told him everything, but she said enough. What he knew of the other man was plenty to fill in the blanks. It was always on the tip of his tongue to ask her just how bad it had gotten, but he didn't. Sharon was still pretty private about that part of her life, and Andy hated seeing her sad. "I'll call her tomorrow," he decided. "Maybe… I don't know, maybe she will want to have coffee or something. She's pretty pissed off at me."
"At some point that has to stop," Sharon told him. "Anger doesn't do anyone any good, and it's not good for Charlie. Make sure when you talk, that you keep it about him. It's not about how you feel, or how she feels, but what's best for him."
"You're keeping me sane, you know that?" He was pretty lucky, and not because he was about to have his hands all over every part of her. He couldn't talk about the problems he had with Sandra at work. Those guys, his old drinking buddies, even his partner, none of them really got it. They placated him by calling his ex-wife names, and that wasn't what he wanted. Sandra hadn't done anything wrong, he had. He tried talking to his mother about it, but she told him to go home and make things right. His sisters just reported everything back to his mother, and often echoed her opinion on the matter. He tried talking to his dad about it once, but shame had filled him, closed up his throat and made the words impossible to form. The way he acted, the things that he did. That wasn't how a man behaved. It wasn't how he was supposed to take care of his family. Andy knew that he had disappointed his family, especially his father, and one day he would have to hear it, but he wasn't ready for that just yet. Sharon got it; she was living it, to an extent. She didn't know who he was before the bottle, and she wasn't there for all his screw-ups. That made her infinitely easier to speak to.
"I'm just returning the favor." Single parenthood was hard as hell. She had other friends, and a regular sitter, but it was great to have someone who really got what it was like to both be a parent and have their job. He helped out whenever he could, whenever she would let him. It was important to Sharon to be independent, but she appreciated all of his help and efforts. A slow smile curved her lips. Sharon pressed a hand against his chest and gave him a shove. When he lay back down, she shifted against him. Sharon stretched across him and reached into the top drawer of her bedside table.
Andy picked up the square, foil packet that landed against his chest. "Shit, I hate these things." He huffed a sigh, even while she bent over him and pressed her mouth against his chest.
"I know." Her hand slipped down, past his waist and beneath the sheet to curl around him. Her eyes glittered with mischief as she began to slowly stroke him. "But unless you want to go home and take a cold shower, you're going to put it on," she drawled. She had been on the pill and still managed to get pregnant with Emily, so she wasn't taking any chances. That was the last thing that either of them needed.
"Yeah, I know." He wasn't about to screw things up for them. He tore it open and she sat up again. Andy smirked while she took off her t-shirt. He wrapped an arm around her waist and flipped them, so that she was on her back. He pressed her legs apart and moved between them. He pulled the condom out of it's wrapping and gave her a bland look. "Pink? Really?"
The corners of her mouth twitched. She stretched her arms up and over her head. Sharon watched his eyes move to her breasts and smirked. "You were the one that bought the variety pack. Don't complain to me because you didn't read the fine print." She lifted her legs and laid them over his hips. Sharon wriggled against him. "Are we going to talk about colors, or are you going to show me that real men wear pink?"
"Trouble." Andy shook his head. "I knew you were going to be trouble." He rolled the latex on and leaned over her. "Forget keeping me sane," he grumbled, "you're drivin' me crazy."
"Am I?" She lifted her head and nipped at his lips. "Prove it."
They made enough noise that night that Sharon worried that they might have woken Emily, but the baby slept on, oblivious to the goings on down the hall.
Andy slipped out of the apartment at sunrise to go back to his own place and get ready for work, while Sharon got herself and Emily ready for the day. They saw each other again in the parking lot, while they got into their respective cars. They might see each other later in the day, or it might be evening before they were together again. It could even take a day or two for their paths to be able to cross. The pair of them were not spending all of their off-duty time together, but enough of it coincided.
He thought about her advice that day, and almost let his own uncertainty and fear change his mind, but Andy called Sandra while he was on his lunch break. She sounded surprised to hear from him, despite their running in to one another the previous week.
"What do you want, Andy?" Sandra watched Charlie playing from inside the patio door. There was a small deck, but Charlie was running around the backyard, chasing the dog. She had gotten it for him after his father left. It had provided a much needed distraction at a crucial and painful time in their lives.
"I was hoping we could talk," he told her. Andy spoke quietly. He was at a payphone down the street from Parker Center. This was not a conversation that he wanted his partner or any of the other guys in his division to overhear. "It was good seeing you the other day."
Sandra sighed. Part of her had expected this, but when a week had gone by and she hadn't heard from him, she decided that she was wrong. "Andy, it was nice to see you looking better, but that doesn't change anything." They were still divorced, and she wasn't interested in going back to the way that things used to be.
"I know." He leaned against the side of the payphone. Andy lowered his head as they spoke. "That's not why I'm calling. I know we're done, Sandra. I'm calling about Charlie. I'd like to see him again." He hated begging, it burned in his gut that he had to ask permission to see his son.
"You know what the judge said." Her brows drew together in a frown. "We go back to court in a couple of months. Andy, I know you petitioned for an earlier hearing, but—"
"Sandra…" Andy sighed heavily. "I was there. The judge told me to dry out, and I did that. I've been clean for months. The social worker has been to my place several times. I've passed all the screenings they hit me with. I'm going to meetings and I've got a sponsor. I'm good, Sandra." He raked a hand through his hair. "None of those people know me. They don't know you." When she didn't say anything, he lifted his gaze toward the sky. "Charlie didn't even know me. Is it really good for him to wait? Why are we letting lawyers figure out what's best for our son?"
"We're doing it because I asked you to stop drinking dozens of times and you wouldn't. It took a judge taking Charlie away from you before you finally listened. You're stubborn, Andy. You've always been that way." She bit back any further retort before they devolved into an argument. "How do I know that you're really staying clean? You've always been good at putting on a show when it was necessary. That's how you've managed to keep your job."
"I think you know me better than that," he replied. "I haven't had a drink in months. That doesn't mean that I haven't wanted one. It's hard, Sandra. It's hard every damned day, but I'm doing it. You're right, I'm pretty hardheaded, and I didn't get cleaned up when you told me to. I'm doing it now. I'd really like to see my son… our son. I know I messed up, I'm not saying that I didn't, but doesn't he have a right to know who I am?"
He had always been good at getting under her skin. Andy always knew all the right things to say. Sandra leaned her head against the sliding glass door and closed her eyes. She drew a breath. "I'll think about it," she told him. "That's all I've got, Andy. Give me your number and I'll get back to you in a couple of days."
At least she hadn't hung up on him, he decided. Andy rattled off his home number, and made sure she had his desk extension too. "We can do this better than the damned lawyers," he told her.
"We'll see, Andy. Goodbye." Sandra hung up quickly. Even though she could see every move he made, she didn't want to leave Charlie unattended for too long. She stepped back out onto the deck and waved when he called out to her.
Andy placed the phone back on its hook when the line went silent. He leaned his head against the booth and sighed. He had done his best. The rest was up to Sandra. He was going to have to wait, and that was nothing new. The waiting was just the worst part.
He headed back inside after another minute. His lunch break was almost over, and he spent most of it convincing himself to call Sandra. Andy decided he would grab something from the vending machine later, if he got hungry enough. He was surprised, and pleased, to see a familiar figure sitting at his desk. "Hey." The grin lightened his features, chased the sadness out of his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
Sharon stood as he approached. "I was in the neighborhood." It wasn't often that she got downtown while she was on duty. "I had a meeting with Internal Affairs," she explained. She picked up the bag that had been waiting on him and shook it. "I brought lunch."
"IA?" Andy winced. "What the hell do the vultures want with you?" He took the bag from her and opened it. He grinned. "Onions?"
"Of course." Sharon folded her arms across her chest. She had picked up a patty melt from the café a few blocks over. She knew that he liked them, especially with grilled onions and mushrooms heaped on top. "I hit a drunk. He swung at me first; I was only defending myself, but you know how it goes. Every I has to be dotted, and every T has to be crossed."
He made a face at her. "You like rules entirely too much." It was disturbing. Andy sat down behind his desk. "Did you eat yet?"
"Yeah," she shrugged as she leaned against the edge of his desk. "Your partner said you had to step out for a while, so I didn't wait." Her brows lifted in askance. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah." He shrugged. "I just went down the street to call Sandra, that's all. I didn't want to do it here." Andy pulled the sandwich out of the bag and began unwrapping it. She had gotten him fries too. They had started to cool, but still looked great. His mouth watered at the aroma of deep-fried potato.
"How did it go?" Sharon didn't want to sound too concerned. He didn't seem overly upset, but he wasn't elated either. Andy was a moody creature. He wore his emotions on his sleeve. She was sure that she would know by now if it had gone really well.
"She said she would think about it." Andy sighed. "It's not a no, but…" He shook his head. "I just wanna see my kid. I'm getting kind of tired of people asking me to wait around until they decide that I'm worth a shit."
"I know." She laid her hand against his desk, near enough that her pinky could touch his hand. "You're right, though. She didn't turn you down, and I think that is probably a very good sign, Andy. If she's willing to think about it, then I think she might be open to the idea."
"Maybe." He didn't want to get his hopes up, but they were already pretty high. "I guess we'll find out."
"Hey, Flynn!" A voice yelled from across the bullpen. "If you're done messing around with your girlfriend, maybe you can get back to work. Those reports aren't going to finish themselves!"
Andy leaned around her to scowl at the owner. "Back off, they'll get done when they get done!" The old sergeant waved him off with a grumble, and Andy shook his head. "I really don't like that guy," he muttered.
"Who does?" Sharon smiled down at him. "Provenza's attitude problems are as much an institution around here as our uniforms." She pushed away from his desk. "I should get back anyway. Come by after work," she said quietly, "we can talk about it more then, if you feel up to it."
"Yeah," He nodded. "If I get out of here at a decent hour, I'll drop by." He wouldn't come over too late. He didn't want to risk waking up Emily, and they both had pretty demanding jobs. He didn't want Sharon having to wait up for him.
"I hope you do." She flashed a smile. "I'm making a pot roast."
"God almighty." Andy groaned. She had only made the pot roast once, in the time that he had known her, and it was a thing of dreams. "Go back to work, Officer, so I can get this done. Sounds like I've got plans later."
She laughed as she walked away from him. Andy was really so very easy to please. It was one of the many things that she liked about him. "Have a good day, Detective."
Andy looked up when movement at his desk drew his attention again. His brows drew together in a frown. "What?"
Sergeant Provenza was scowling at him. "How the hell did you get her to go out with the likes of you?" More than one had tried since Raydor's husband had split. She had turned them all down cold. He was not, thankfully, one of them. Women were nothing but headaches, as his third wife was proving only too well.
"Who said we're going out?" Andy rolled his eyes at the older man. "We're just friends. We've worked together a few times, that's all." When the other man snorted, he scowled. "Maybe she likes me because I don't treat her like a piece of meat? Any of you jerks ever thought about that? Now, if you don't mind, I'm trying to get back to work like you said."
"Friends?" He made a face. "Uh huh." He didn't believe that for a second. Provenza walked away shaking his head.
Andy watched him go. He grunted before he dropped his attention back to the reports in front of him. He took a bite out of his sandwich and flipped pages while he chewed. They were all gossiping teenagers, he decided, the whole lot of them. He and Sharon were going to have to be a little more careful if they didn't want rumors circulating about them. The last thing he wanted was anyone getting the wrong idea about her.
As it turned out, Andy managed to get out of the office at a decent hour. It was a couple of hours past the scheduled end of his shift, but it wasn't too late. He went back to his place first and showered off the long day before changing in to a pair of comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. He hadn't heard from Sandra again, and there were no messages waiting on his machine, but Andy wasn't surprised. She said she would call him back in a couple of days, and he figured she would use up all of that time before finally telling him her decision.
He put it out of his head as he made his way across the courtyard. He knocked quietly on Sharon's door before pushing it open. It wasn't late enough for Emily to be in bed, but he didn't want to risk waking her if she had gone down early. "Hey, it's just me," he called out, and let his gaze sweep the interior of the apartment as he stepped inside.
"Kitchen." Sharon leaned across the counter and smiled at him. "Hey. It's still in the oven. I got held up on a call." Sharon was an hour late picking Emily up, and had still needed to go to the store. "I hope you don't mind waiting?"
"Damn." He made a face at her. "I was expecting a hot cooked meal the minute I walked in the door." She was wearing a short, denim skirt and a red halter-top. He decided it was his new favorite look. He leaned against the counter across from her. "If it's not on the table when I get here, what kind of girlfriend are you?"
"Oh?" Her brows rose toward her hairline. They both knew he was teasing. It was what kept her from pushing him out the door and down the stairs. Sharon's lips pursed as she leaned toward him. "Girlfriend?" Her voice dropped an octave, but her eyes continued to sparkle. "Is that what I am?"
"Well." He shrugged a shoulder. "Why the hell not?" He dropped a kiss to her lips. "You cook for me. We go out. We're sleeping together. Yeah, I think so."
"Mmhm." Sharon drew back from him with a smile and turned to finish rinsing the dishes that she had been washing when he got there. "Whatever would your mother think?" She asked him.
Andy snorted. "Probably the same thing that yours would." He rounded the end of the counter and stepped into the kitchen. "Hey monkey girl." She had Emily contained in her high chair with a couple of toys. Andy unclasped the straps that kept her from climbing out of it and lifted her.
Sharon's head tilted while she considered his response. "There's some truth to that. It's probably best if we don't tell them."
"Good thinking," he said, and bounced the baby in his arms.
Sharon glanced back when she heard Emily squeal. "She's already had dinner. I wouldn't get her too excited right now if I were you." She had known the roast would take a couple of hours, so she had given her daughter soup and a half a sandwich. Emily had eaten her dinner while Sharon had worked on getting the roast and vegetables into the oven.
Andy lifted Emily over his head. "You wouldn't puke on me, would you?" She reached for his bearded cheeks and squealed when he tossed her toward the ceiling.
"Andy!" It drove her insane when he did that. He always caught Emily, and it wasn't that she didn't trust that he would, but it made her stomach drop every time. "Okay, that's enough." She dried her hands off and began shooing them toward the living room. "Out of the kitchen. Go play somewhere else."
"Come on, Em." He tossed her over his shoulder. "Let's go find some toys. Maybe we'll figure out where mom hid the tea set."
"If I catch you in that tiara again, I'm taking pictures," Sharon warned. "They will be posted on every bulletin board, in every precinct in the city. I'll even give Mike a copy of the negatives."
"Mom's just jealous because I accessorize better than she does," he told Emily.
"I heard that." Sharon went back to the dishes, so he couldn't see her grinning. "You are not as cute as you like to believe you are, Flynn."
"I think I am." He sat down on the sofa with Emily and pulled the box of toys close. "More importantly, I know that you think I am." He could hear her snorting at him and winked at Emily. When she wanted down, he let her go. The two of them spent the next hour half an hour pulling toys out and destroying the living room.
After Sharon finished with the dishes, she checked on the roast. It was browning up beautifully, but would remain in the oven for a while longer. "Okay, kiddo." She joined Andy and Emily in the living room. She didn't think that Emily had a single toy that wasn't currently scattered across the room. "Say goodnight to your friend. It's time for your bath."
Emily let out just a small whine when her mother picked her up. "No bath. Play cars."
"You can play with the cars tomorrow." Sharon settled her daughter on her hip. Andy had brought her twirling princess a pair of police squad cars and a racecar for them to chase. She absolutely loved them, even if she only played with them when he was around.
Emily frowned, and looked like she was gearing up to throw a fit. Andy stood up and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "Night monkey girl. I'll see you later, okay?"
She pouted at him. "Night-night." Emily waved as she was carried away.
While Sharon was getting Emily bathed and down for the night, Andy picked up the mess they made in the living room. When he was finished, he set the table. The roast was beginning to smell wonderful, and he checked on it before getting comfortable on the couch with the television remote.
He had settled on watching an old movie by the time that Sharon joined him. "She almost fell asleep during her bath." She sat down on the couch beside him and drew her legs up. "So, want to tell me about that call with Sandra?"
"There's not a whole more lot to tell," he shrugged. "She wasn't all that enthused, but she said she would think about it. I don't know what she's going to do. I stopped being able to predict anything where Sandra is concerned a long time ago, probably around the same time that I crawled into a bottle."
She reached out and ran her hand down his arm. "I think you're being too hard on yourself. A lot of time has passed since Sandra asked you to leave. Give her time to realize that she's not angry anymore. Even if she says no this time, you can ask again. I think the fact that she's thinking about it is a good sign."
"I hope you're right." Andy shrugged. "I'm not gonna know until she calls me." He could say that he wouldn't worry about it until that happened, but they knew that wasn't true.
"Well, until then," Sharon stood up. "Let's get something to eat, and I'll give you something else to think about."
"I thought you'd never ask." He tossed the remote aside and followed her to the kitchen. Andy leaned against the counter and watched her put the finishing touches on dinner. "You know, I was joking earlier. We don't really need to have any labels, and I'm okay with that, but I'm glad you're around. I don't know that I would've thought about talking to Sandra like this if it was just me."
"I think you would." Sharon smiled at him. "You don't give yourself enough credit, Andy. I don't have any magic solutions. It's common sense, that's all. Sooner or later, the two of you have to stop communicating through lawyers and start talking to each other."
"Maybe," he shrugged, "but I can be pretty stubborn." He smirked at the sound of her laugh, ringing through the kitchen. "You could disagree, you know."
"I don't like to lie if I can avoid it." Sharon served slices of roast up on a platter along with the potatoes and carrots that she had cooked with it. The platter was lifted out of her hands and Sharon turned toward him. She watched him carry it to the table and followed after a moment with two glasses of water. "As for what you said earlier, labels aren't terrible. As long as there's some truth to them."
"Yeah?" Andy took the glasses out of her hands and placed them on the table. He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him.
"Yes." Sharon shrugged. "I think you highlighted enough reasons earlier. As long as your sponsor doesn't give you too hard a time about it, I think it's okay. I don't have time for romantic entanglements, Andy. I've been through enough of that. I like having you around. We obviously have a very good time together, and you're very good with Emily. I can't imagine that it would be easy to find all of that if I were actually dating."
His lips pursed. "So then… you're saying that I'm convenient?"
It was the smile that had gotten her into all of this. Sharon rolled her eyes at him when he flashed it at her. "Well, you know what they say. Location, location, loca—" He shut her up with a kiss. Sharon wrapped an arm around his neck and leaned into him. She smiled against his mouth. "Dinner before dessert, Andrew."
"Yes ma'am." He let go of her, only to pull out a chair for her.
Sharon sat down, and watched as he pulled up a chair beside her. He wasn't exactly the boy next door, but he wasn't a terrible person either. He had gotten a little lost, as so many of them did, but seemed to be finding his way back. He treated her well, and wanted to do right by all of the people in his life.
She had no way of knowing or predicting what might happen between them, it could still burn out in a few weeks, but for now, she decided that what they had was enough. He wasn't attempting to sweep her off her feet with grand gestures and romantic overtures. Their relationship was real, and for the moment, it was working. She decided that was all the definition that it really needed.
-TBC-
