Chapter 7: Talking

Sharona stood facing her mirror in her bedroom, contemplating what had just happened. 'I kissed Adrian,' she thought to herself. 'And he didn't insist on gargling like mouthwash like that time at the marriage counselor's.' She laughed, thinking about the craziness of her life since she had met Monk.

The sound of the front door creaking open made her stop laughing and remember that Monk was still there.

"Sharona?" she heard him call to her. She smiled to herself. She couldn't believe how much the tables had changed in the past few minutes. Up until then, Monk was Sharona's boss, and her patient. She did everything for him. She just never realized that he would do anything for her, too.

A light knock on her bedroom door startled her out of her thoughts. "What's wrong, Adrian?" she asked, but she sounded concerned this time, not annoyed, like she usually was.

"Uh…" Monk stammered, fumbling around for something to say. He grabbed the first random complaint he saw and said, "Your front door is kinda squeaky. I noticed it when I came in…" He trailed off when he noticed that Sharona was watching him, a barely detectible smile on her face. "What?"

"You're so obvious," she said. "Don't forget that I spend practically all my time with you. I know you inside out, and I know exactly what you'll do next." She crossed her arms over her chest smugly, looking very proud of herself.

"Well, I bet you weren't expecting me to do this," he said, trying to surprise her by kissing her. He leaned in, straightened up again, then moved to the right, then to the left a little…

Sharona rolled her eyes and waited for him to kiss her. "If you're going to kiss me, do it already. I have other things to be doing, like, I don't know, eating breakfast."

Monk chuckled nervously. "How…did you know I was going to kiss you? Maybe there was something on your shirt."

Sharona shook her head. She grabbed his head and forcefully planted a kiss on him. "See? It's that easy." She walked into her kitchen, leaving Monk in a daze in her bedroom.

"How can you do that?" he asked her incredulously.

She shrugged. "Easy. I just put my hands on your head and kiss you. Do you want me to do it again?" she asked slyly.

Monk was completely red. "Uh…uh…"

Sharona laughed. "Calm down. I won't do anything you don't want me to." He breathed a sigh of relief and Sharona suddenly turned thoughtful. "Why me?"

"What?" Monk was a little confused, but he had an inkling of what she was talking about.

"Why move on from Trudy with me?" she asked softly. "Is it because I was the nearest female or because I'm the only woman that's been in your life since she died or would you have made that choice on your own?"

"Uh…" Monk faltered, imitating his previous reaction.

Sharona waved the question away. "Forget I said anything. That would just make things awk…"

"It's because you're you," he blurted out. "I don't know why. It should bother me that you yell at me constantly or that I can see your roots showing, but it doesn't."

Sharona fingered her curls. "I don't color my hair, Adrian."

He laughed nervously at her. "That's funny, Sharona. That's also something I find irresistible about you – when you try to lie to me about unliable things. That's just so adorable."

"Suddenly I'm not finding you so charming anymore," she scowled.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm not any good at telling people how I feel."

"Hey, that's okay," Sharona assured him. "I'm not so good at it myself. But the important thing is that you did tell me how you feel. That took a lot of guts, Adrian." She went to kiss him on the cheek, but before she could, Monk suddenly kissed her on the lips. When they pulled away from each other, Sharona looked shocked.

"Bet you weren't expecting that," Monk said wryly.

Sharona smirked and shook her head as she placed another lingering kiss on Monk's lips. "I wasn't expecting any of this," she said once they broke away. "But you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way."

Monk smiled. "I think I love you, Sharona."

"You said that already," Sharona stated.

"I know," he responded. "But it's true. I think I love you."

"Adrian, you don't have to keep repeating yourself."

The two kept arguing back in forth, their disagreements occasionally being interrupted by kisses and laughter. There was no doubt: He might love her.

THE END