People have commented Andy is clueless, and I wanted to point out, that while he appears that way, he's not. He knows Sharon better than anyone and is giving her some space right now. I also wanted to convey that Sharon isn't aware she tries too hard. She does just fine when she's not focused on flirting, as you'll see in this chapter. Enjoy!
"So, about tonight," Sharon said after she'd greeted Andy on the phone. She'd made it home from his house in one piece, still irritated at herself for her stupid comments. She'd even spoken to Rusty for a few minutes when she'd arrived at the house and hoped her scattered mentality tonight wasn't too obvious to him. After promising him to be home for dinner the next night, barring any call-outs, she took a shower and got ready for bed, which is now where she found herself, in bed and on the phone with Andy.
"Yeah?" Andy questioned wondering what Sharon was going to say.
"I'm sorry if I was in a strange mood. I'm working on that," she told him. "I do want to talk to you; it was just late already tonight."
"Sharon, it's okay," Andy told her. "No need to apologize. Thank you for driving all the way here with dinner. I appreciated it, both dinner and the company."
"I enjoyed dinner and the company too, Andy," she smiled as she stretched out in bed. "I might just take you up on your offer," she continued, still vague that he had to ask.
"Offer?" he inquired.
"The shirt," she told him. "You told me to just keep this shirt. I just might do that. It might be a hideous LAPD shirt, but it is quite comfortable."
"Oh," he teased. "I guess you are still wearing it if we are still discussing it."
"I was afraid of staining any of my own clothing," she chuckled. "I did not get any of my nighttime face cream on the shirt."
Andy chuckled and then changed topics, "So, this ride along I have to do Friday night. We briefly talked about it, but we won't be able to go to dinner or a movie like we've done the past few weeks."
"Andy, it's more than fine," she told him. "We're going to the baseball game on Saturday, and you need to do this for Buzz."
"Just wanted to clarify that," Andy told her. "Sorry it's on a normal night we go out and do something. I'm sort of surprised you hadn't mentioned wanting to do something for Buzz, knowing your sense of occasion."
"Hmm, see, we do think alike. I did think of that on the way home. We should have a cake or something before the ride along, a little party. It's a big evening for Buzz, and well, you need something to eat before you spend all day and then all-night working."
"I'll be fine, Sharon," he told her. "Don't worry about me."
"But, I will worry about you," she told him and realizing that sounded a bit heavy for where they were in their non-relationship relationship, she quickly amended, "I worry about the grease pit you will drag Buzz to for a patrol shift. Those never end well. If you end up not feeling well, that could ruin the baseball game."
Andy offered a small chuckle, "Okay, Sharon. I'll make sure to eat well, you know, so you don't worry about me."
"Thank you. I'll take care of ordering a cake, and I'll probably bring a bowl of fresh fruit," she told him.
"Sounds nice. You let me know where you order the cake, and I'll go out and get it during lunch on Friday," he told her.
"You don't have to do that, Andy," Sharon said. "I can go pick it up."
"Great. Done. We can go get it Friday during lunch, and while we are out, we'll get some lunch. Otherwise, Buzz will suspect something if we both leave for lunch and don't eat it," he explained.
"Oh, smooth, Andy," Sharon teased. "I see how that worked. Suddenly, I've been roped into lunch with you on Friday, where I'm guessing we'll argue about who pays the bill."
"There will be no argument," he told her. "Rule stands whoever invites, pays. I invited, so I pay, which also means that I pay for the cake since I offered to pick it up, and you just fell into that invitation."
"Andy! This is insane. You aren't going to pay for my lunch and a cake for my team!" Sharon exclaimed. She lowered her voice before Rusty came to see if something was wrong.
"Watch me," he teased. "Now, it's late. Are we really going to argue about a few dollars right now? I'm sure we could come up with other topics. Let's discuss dinner tomorrow. Plans?"
"Do I plan to eat dinner?" she teased him right back. "Yes, I do plan to eat dinner, but I already have plans."
"You do?" Andy asked, a bit surprised. "Oh, are you going out with Andrea again?"
"Rusty complained we hadn't had burgers in forever," as he told me when I got home. Now, keep in mind, the child has his own car and own ability to go out for burgers. I should have told him to call Provenza since he was also commenting on burgers earlier. Anyway, Rusty asked if we could have burgers tomorrow, and while I have no desire to go out for them tomorrow, I told him we could grill out here at the condo. I've just got to stop and pick up the meat on the way home, but he requested burgers and baked beans. I'll sneak in some healthy sides like maybe another fruit salad or something, but it will be a healthier burger option than we'd have anywhere else."
"Burgers with Rusty. That's tough competition for me," he teased.
"Well, you're welcome to come eat with us, but it doesn't scream vegetarian," she said.
"I'll come eat with you, that is, if you don't mind. Rusty said he wanted to talk to me about that Alice case soon, and since you've told me you're trying to stay away from it, consider it a close set of eyes on the case for you. Kid will want to play chess too, where I'm sure to lose. I always lose to him," Andy grumbled in defeat.
Sharon started to laugh, "Everyone loses to Rusty, Andy. You're a much better chess player than I am. I'm always glad you give him a bit of a challenge. I think you're the best player he plays against. Now, regarding dinner, of course you are invited. We'd love to have you join us. I'll get some of those vegetarian burgers at the store. I had some here, but I think Rusty even broke down one day and finished those off when he was desperate for food, and I hadn't been to the store."
"Sounds like a plan," Andy told her. "In fact, if we finish at the same time tomorrow, I'll go to the store with you on the way to your condo, and since I know you really don't enjoy grilling out, I'll happily volunteer my vegetarian chef services to grill your burgers."
Sharon burst out laughing, "Thank you. It does seem crazy I'm asking a vegetarian to grill my meat."
"Always willing to help, Sharon," he smirked.
"I so enjoy talking to you," Sharon said now in a softer voice. "You really just get me, Andy."
"I really enjoy talking to you too, Sharon. In my case, no one else wants to talk to me," he teased. Sharon chuckled at that too.
"I guess I should hang up now," she said. "Sleep well, and I'll see you in the morning."
"Sweet dreams, Sharon. Let's pray we don't catch a case the rest of the week. We could all use a break, and I've already got two meals planned with you in just the last few minutes, not to mention the party for Buzz on Friday, and the day with you on Saturday at the baseball game. I don't want to have to cancel any of that."
"I'm looking forward to all of that. Night," she smiled as she hung up.
Wednesday morning turned out to be a much-needed paperwork day. The team had a string of cases, and they'd had very little down time. Sharon had arrived to find her favorite hot tea waiting on her desk. As she sipped it, she realized she wouldn't have an opportunity to talk to Andy during dinner. Rusty would be home, so she would need to put her feelings and really, her flirting on hold. Trying to flirt around Rusty was recipe for disaster, so she told herself that no plans would be made to flirt. It would be a regular evening at home, and she'd act like her normal self. After working most of the day on paperwork, Sharon told the team to go home right at 5:00. They'd been working a lot of overtime, and really, she should have released them earlier than that. She made a mental note to do that the next day if they didn't catch a case. As she stood in her doorway telling the team to have a nice evening, she looked to Andy who was turning off his computer.
"Still up for the carnivore special at my house?" she teased him as he cleaned up his desk. He turned toward her and found her grinning at him.
"Of course," he flashed a huge smile. "Who wouldn't be up for that? Although," he lowered his voice and used his head to encourage Sharon to move closer. She did, putting her hands on his desk and leaning down to hear what he had to say, "you'd better watch how loudly you talk about the carnivore special at your house. Provenza might be lurking, and he has no problems inviting himself anywhere," he whispered. When Sharon started laughing, her hair fell in her face as she looked toward the ground. Andy moved it out of her face so he could meet her eyes. He shrugged at her, as if it shouldn't be a surprise.
"Thank you for the warning," she bit her lip as she smiled to him. "Perhaps, then, we should get out of here before a lurking Provenza follows us."
"Don't have to tell me twice," he winked. "Now, I have a proposition for you."
"Oh?" she stood up now and looked down to him as he sat in his chair, fingers folded on his chest. "Andy, I'm not that kind of girl," she smirked at his reference. He rolled his eyes and smiled back at her.
"One can try," he winked to her, "but, Captain Raydor, you are the one who went there," he pointed to her. "I made no such inappropriate reference. In fact, I was offering my services as an officer of the law to escort my captain home. I know she's had a long week, and I would be happy-it would be my pleasure to offer her a ride, just of course, as an escort."
Sharon crossed her arms and fought back a smile, "So, first you proposition me, and now you are calling me an escort?" she teased. Andy dropped his head in silent laughter.
"Yeah, that's exactly what it is," he looked up to her. "You know my reputation, Captain," he winked and stood. "Really, I was going to offer to drive if you don't need your car later. We can ride together, and I'll be happy to pick you up in the morning."
"You don't need to do that," she told Andy. "It's out of your way."
"And?" Andy teased. "Done. I'm going to pick you up. Just don't write me up, Captain, for the proposition or escort suggestion," he winked again. Sharon didn't argue, partly because she really enjoyed spending time with Andy, and now that she was moving past the Stroh mess, she realized she'd really missed doing anything with Andy. For once, she decided not to argue and accept his invitation instead.
"I don't know, Lieutenant," as she walked back into her office to get her things. Andy could still hear her, as he'd now moved to her doorway. "You might win the affection of most of the LAPD if you are written up for propositioning a captain, suggesting she be your escort."
Andy shrugged, "I hadn't thought of it like that," he grinned. "I'll file that for later. Might need it another time. Besides, I don't need the affection of the whole LAPD, just my favorite captain."
Sharon put her hand up, "Stop. This conversation is getting worse by the moment." She continued to laugh as she collected her things, not wanting to admit what Andy had said had been very sweet and almost made her blush. As she closed her office door, Andy snagged her briefcase from her. "Thank you," she nodded to him. "Let's start carnivore night."
The two walked into Sharon's condo an hour later, both laughing. Rusty turned from his seat on the couch. Sharon hadn't told him Andy would be joining them; Rusty was still asleep when Sharon had left for work.
"Oh, hey Lieutenant," he gave an odd glance to him. "You staying for dinner? It's not that it's a problem, but did Sharon tell you we're having burgers-at least I thought we were having burgers." Rusty turned his head slightly and looked to Sharon, almost checking to see if that was still the plan.
"Carnivore night?" Andy teased as he put Sharon's briefcase on her desk. Sharon moved toward the kitchen, a couple bags of groceries in her hand. Andy had the rest of the groceries in his other hand. "I'm in for carnivore night," he smiled.
Rusty looked to Sharon with another strange look, and then he looked back to Andy. "You two are just plain weird," he sighed.
"Hello, Rusty," Sharon smiled, as she put the bags down and moved over to pat him on the shoulders. He'd sat back down on the couch, and he looked up when he felt Sharon touch his shoulders. Andy was standing to the side, still, by Sharon's desk. Rusty looked between the two of them again, unsure what was going on.
"Is this like some intervention?" he asked, looking between the adults again. "Sharon, you need to tell me something, so you're both here as my morale support?"
"No, nothing like that," Sharon smiled, squeezing his shoulder and moving away. "Dinner, just a simple dinner. I invited Andy to eat. He told me he'd been practicing and was ready to beat you at chess."
Rusty hopped up off the couch, "Oh, that's not happening. Lieutenant, I'll get the board ready. Sharon, you do realize he hasn't beaten me yet, right?"
"Oh, I'm aware," Sharon sighed. "Andy has reminded me of that repeatedly. Andy followed Sharon into the kitchen where the two started working on dinner. Rusty reappeared and set up the chess board at the kitchen table.
"Crap, that means if you're here, Lieutenant, we're eating something like really healthy. Sharon, please tell me that you at least got real meat?" Rusty groaned.
"So, you're not wanting to eat these?" Andy said with a serious expression as he held up the box of veggie burgers.
Rusty made a disgusted face, eyeing both Andy and Sharon, "Please! What is wrong with you two? Growing boy here," he pointed to himself. "I ask myself all the time how I ended up here, stuck eating the stuff you two like and always make me eat. For once, could you not make me eat those?"
"I'm pretty sure I didn't make you eat these," Andy waved the box at him. "As memory serves, I had a box of those in Sharon's freezer, and they are gone. Sharon didn't eat them, but vaguely remembers you polishing off the box when the refrigerator was down to a 'Mother Hubbard Bare Cupboard' type of day."
"Who's Mother Hubbard?" Rusty made a face, trying to figure out the reference.
Andy rolled his eyes and glanced to Sharon. She covered her face with her hand and started laughing. She looked up to Andy and shrugged, "He didn't grow up with nursery rhymes." She turned to Rusty, "Rusty, you can stop the fit," she grinned as she held up the package of meat. "Yes, we got real meat. You and I can have this. Andy is going to eat the veggie burgers and apparently keep count of how many are in the box," she smirked as she looked to Andy.
"Hey! I would like to know that if I have dinner here, I have food, especially when I bought it," he commented. "Maybe I'll use a permanent marker to note the number left in the box and write 'Andy' on the box."
"Oh, don't start," Sharon pointed to him, as Rusty started to laugh. "You're the one who stuck his credit card in the machine before I could even finish unloading the groceries from the cart."
"I was doing something nice," he acted surprised. "I basically invited myself to dinner, so the least I could do was pay."
"Or not come," Rusty smirked, "just like we wouldn't be out of your food if you didn't eat here all the time." The two finally got on the same page, Andy and Sharon, and rolled their eyes at each other. They smiled and went back to preparing dinner, not another word exchanged.
"You two are weird," Rusty nodded to himself again. "I just don't get it. It's like the weirdness spreads. I've got to get out of this family," Rusty grumbled again, and both Sharon and Andy chuckled as they worked.
"Ready to lose, Kid?" Andy teased Rusty as he finished cutting the fruit.
"We'd better play now before your mind starts going for the evening. What do they call that for old people-sundowning?" he smirked.
Sharon put her knife down and covered her face again with her arm, "Stop!" she burst out laughing. "You two are terrible."
"Well, Mom," Rusty said for emphasis, "you're the one who brought both of us home," he said with a sense of pride at getting a jab in at Sharon. Andy started laughing now, and Sharon used her hip to nudge him.
"Legally, I can send you both packing, too," she enunciated her words. "You're over 18, even if you are legally my son," she pointed her knife, that she'd picked back up, at him. She turned to Andy, "You're, well," she gestured with her knife, "always here and my ride tomorrow, so you can stay, and I'll send you packing after dinner."
"What's wrong with your car?" Rusty asked, picking up on the ride part.
"Nothing," Sharon shrugged. "We just decided to ride together."
"Ahh, yes, of course, why not?" Rusty teased. "Lieutenant, we can play after dinner if you want. I need to take care of things on my computer." Andy nodded and Rusty disappeared. Sharon waited until he was out of sight, and she started laughing again.
"The two of you sound almost like you and Provenza," she turned to Andy.
"What?" Andy asked in defense. "It's easy to make jokes with him."
"I like that you joke around with him," Sharon smiled and nudged him with her hip again. "He's comfortable around you. You know how Rusty is. He retreats whenever he is uncomfortable. He doesn't do that when you are here. Did you see," she gestured to the chess board, "he got that right away. He is looking forward to playing after dinner."
"Well, your theory is off," he gestured. "Captain, one from your ranks has retreated."
She smiled, "No, he didn't retreat. If I had to bet, he's texting any of our other children-mine or yours, possibly all of them-letting them know we are here all having dinner."
Andy plopped a strawberry in his mouth and smiled to Sharon, "I don't think he is. Want to actually bet on that?"
"You're on," she smiled, taking a new strawberry out of his hands and eating it for herself. "What is our wager? You and the team bet all the time, so you are better at this than I am, at least determining the wager part. I'm going to win the bet. I bet that before the night is over we hear from one of our kids."
He nodded, "I'll take that bet. Okay, if you lose, you have to actually sit down and tell me what's been on your mind lately. You said it's not Stroh, so fine, but I know you well, and you're going to talk. I'll make you talk," he grinned.
Sharon rolled her eyes, "Fine, I'm not going to lose, so I'm not worried about the bet. What happens when I win?" she teased.
Andy looked up and thought for a moment, "Okay," he smiled. "You win, and I will wear my police uniform all day Friday, not just for Friday night's ride along. I remember a certain person, who shall remain nameless," he grinned, "once told me that I looked-what was it-dashing? I think I remember I was told once by my boss, nonetheless, that I looked dashing in it when I had to escort her to a charity event.
Sharon pursed her lips, "No, I believe I said you wouldn't be able to do much dashing in it," she tried not to laugh. "It was getting a little snug," she tugged at his waist area. Andy's jaw dropped open, and Sharon raised her hands in defense. "I'm sorry; I couldn't resist."
"Sharon Raydor!" he exclaimed. "I told you I could make you talk," he reached to her and started to move his hand along her neck. "I remember your odd ticklish spot, Sharon," as he continued to move his hand on the back of her neck.
"Oh, stop," she started to laugh as she squirmed her way around the kitchen. Andy followed and continued, as she kept laughing. "Uncle!"
"I'm not your uncle," he exclaimed.
"Oh, crap, is this some weird thing again?" they were interrupted by Rusty walking in and staring at them with an odd look. Sharon and Andy stopped and turned to Rusty, still laughing.
"I'll start the grill," Andy chuckled, and Sharon nodded in agreement.
"Why am I always in the middle of this?" Rusty shook his head, the disgust still on his face.
Sharon heard Andy's phone go off. He'd put it on the counter just by her. She picked it up as she called for him, "Andy, someone is texting you." She looked to the phone, and she didn't have to read anything after seeing the message sender said, 'Nicole.'
Andy walked back inside from the grill, and Sharon nodded to him as she handed him his phone. He gave her an odd look, and when he looked at his own phone, he rolled his eyes to Sharon. Rusty watched the interaction, not knowing what was going on, and when Andy smirked at Sharon about the text, Sharon just shrugged her shoulders and then started to chuckle before she spoke.
"Dust off the uniform," she smiled.
