A/N: This chapter takes place at Nicole & Dean's sons' Nutcracker performance. Enjoy!
Chapter 11: Without Even Trying
Since both Nicole and Rusty were already assuming things about their relationship, Sharon had no qualms about holding Andy's hand throughout the boy's Nutcracker performance.
Once the performance was over, Sharon, Andy, Rusty, Nicole, and Dean meet them backstage to congratulate them on their performance.
One of the boys sees Sharon and Andy standing fairly close together and asked Sharon, "Are you Grandpa's girlfriend?"
Sharon directs her unhappy gaze at Andy for all of the confusion surrounding their relationship before Nicole told them, "Not yet," and directs Dean to take them so she can have a few minutes to talk with her dad and Sharon.
"I'm so sorry about that. They're very curious about things at their age. Always asking questions," Nicole apologized.
"Oh, don't worry about it. Ricky was just like them at his age. So, I completely understand," replied Sharon.
"It's okay, honey. I see why they might be confused," said Andy.
"You do?" asked Sharon as she glared at Andy for a moment.
"Well, I'm gonna let you two go and get on with your evening. Thanks for coming," said Nicole a bit at a loss as to what to say and feeling a little like an awkward third wheel at this point.
"Goodnight, honey. Drive safe," said Andy as he hugged Nicole.
"Thanks for inviting us," said Sharon as she too hugged Nicole.
"Oh, it was my pleasure. Goodnight," replied Nicole as she went to go find her family.
That left Sharon, Andy, and a very uncomfortable Rusty backstage, with Sharon covertly trying to glare at Andy while he just stared at her with a goofy smile on his face.
"Shall we?" asked Rusty in an effort to end the staring contest as he motioned towards the parking lot.
"Yes," replied Sharon as she stopped glaring at Andy and began making her way towards the exit.
"Yeah," replied Andy with that goofy smile still plastered on his face as he followed Sharon out the door.
Sharon was still upset about the whole relationship mix up thing tonight, but as they drove toward Los Feliz, her heart softened a bit.
She determined that she'd have to make her boundaries clear to him once they were alone, but had otherwise decided to have mercy on Andy for whatever he had or hadn't done.
After all, as she'd said to Nicole, Andy was just trying to be the kind of father that his kids could be proud of.
So, with that, Sharon asked Andy, "Wanna come up for coffee and dessert once we get back to the condo.
Nobody was more surprised by this than Rusty, who pulled a Provenza, and rolled his eyes at them from the backseat.
Andy caught the little show of attitude and looked in his rearview mirror before he replied to Sharon with a, "Sure."
After they get to the condo, Rusty immediately retreats to his room.
Not keen on being around these two lovesick idiots who couldn't figure out how to date properly.
As Sharon gathers the coffee, Andy opens the fridge and grabs a plate with a chocolate rolled dessert on it.
"What's this?" asked Andy.
"A hot chocolate cake roll," replied Sharon.
"Sounds delicious. We both know how much you love your chocolate," said Andy.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Sharon retorted.
"No. Just making an observation," said Andy.
As Sharon goes to get the mugs, Andy had already decided to go for the plates, which were in the same cabinet.
They end up bumping into each other as Sharon said, "Sorry."
All of a sudden, the air between them is thick with something and the small space certainly wasn't helping matters.
So, Andy decided to boldly grab Sharon's hips and shift her out of the way so he could get the plates and mugs.
As Andy touched her though, Sharon took a momentary sharp intake of breath until he let go and she let out a breath she wasn't quite sure if she was holding or not.
Next, Andy hands Sharon the mugs and goes about cutting the hot chocolate cake roll into pieces for each of them.
God, how he wished they were sharing this instead of eating it on separate plates.
After Sharon poured them each a mug of coffee, she stared at Andy for a moment and thought to herself how familiar he was with her kitchen cabinets. Almost like he belonged there.
After staring just a moment too long, Andy asks, "What?"
"Oh, nothing. You just seem really familiar with my kitchen. That's all," replied Sharon as she smiled goofily at Andy.
"Well, I have been here a few times," joked Andy.
"Yeah. Right. Shall we?" asked Sharon as she took their mugs of coffee into the living room..
"Yeah," replied Andy as Sharon led the way into the living room.
As they entered the living room, Andy admired the sway of Sharon's hips.
The same hips he'd had his hands on only moments ago.
God he was gonna need a cold shower later.
She drove him crazy without even trying.
Or was she?