Disclaimer:Monk belongs to the USA Network

Author's Note: Thank you for all the helpful reviews. I truly appreciate every bit of feedback that I get. I added a line to the last chapter, because it was pointed out to me that I described what Sharona was wearing, but not Monk. Here's what I added (so you don't have to go back through the last chapter): "Monk felt underdressed for the occasion after seeing Sharona. All he was wearing was a gray suit and a white shirt with grid lines on it. Just plain old everyday attire." Thanks for pointing that out to me, Mindy!

Randy Disher pulled into Sharona's driveway in his black 1999 Pontiac Firebird. He turned the engine off, stared out the windshield, and took a deep breath. "You can do this," he told himself. "Just walk up, and knock on the door. No big deal." Randy closed his eyes and took another deep breath before he grabbed the bouquet of daisies sitting next to him, opened the car door, and stepped out. He shut the door and took one last look at himself in the driver's side mirror. He fixed his hair, gave a toothy grin, and said, "Go get 'em stud," while he winked at his reflection. Very slowly he walked up the steps to the front porch. He could hear Sharona's hearty laughter just beyond the door, and this made him smile. He extended his fist to the door and knocked three times. The laughing stopped abruptly.

"Oh my god, he's here!" Sharona said excitedly. She started towards the door, but Monk jumped up in front of her and halted her steps by putting up his hand and shaking his head.

"No, wait, Sharona."

"Wait for what?" she asked, staring into his brown eyes.

What Monk wanted to say was, "Don't go with him. You belong by my side, not his," but what came out was, "He…he only knocked three times."

"Yeah, so?" Sharona asked, getting more annoyed by the minute.

"Three is an uneven number…he needs to knock again."

"Well, I'm not going to stand here waiting for him to knock again, Adrian! Now move!"

"No!" Monk said, moving to block her from going into the hallway. With all her maneuvering around Monk, the heel on her right shoe got caught in a groove in the carpet and she tripped. "Sharona!" Monk yelled as he reached out to catch her. She fell into his arms, her head landing on his chest. He could feel his heart start to beat faster. She was so close. He was actually touching her white, silky skin. He could feel her golden curls teasing his cheek. Her glorious scent was euphoria to his nose. The warmth of her body…she's so soft. Germs…she's full of them, but at that moment he didn't care.

It was an accidental embrace, but they both held onto each other a little longer than was necessary. Adrian's heartbeat was soothing to Sharona's ear, and it felt nice to be held. She couldn't help but feel that Adrian was actually enjoying having her body so close to his. No, that's ridiculous. He's just making sure she has her balance back. Adrian doesn't enjoy having anyone close to him…except Trudy.

The door creaked open and Randy said, "Hello? Sharona?" He had caught a glimpse of Monk holding Sharona, and he felt a sharp pang of jealousy. They awkwardly broke away from each other at the sound of his voice. "Hey guys, what's going on?" Randy asked with a suspicious look on his face.

"Nothing!" said Monk and Sharona in unison.

"Right," Randy said, not completely convinced. He was hurt…and shocked.

Sharona moved a little closer to Randy, and seeing the hurt on his face she said, "Randy, honestly. I tripped, and I fell on Adrian. You know he wouldn't voluntarily hug me."

She had a point. Monk never touches anybody. Besides, he's too hung up on Trudy to even think about other women. For the first time that night Randy noticed what Sharona was wearing. She was so beautiful…and sexy. He can't wait to gather her in his arms and dance the night away. "Well, we better get going or we'll make Benjy late. Oh! These are for you," he said, giving the bouquet to Sharona.

Sharona smiled. "Thank you, Randy, they're beautiful. By the way, you look great tonight," she said, admiring his black suit, blue shirt, and dark red tie.

"Thanks. So do you," he said, looking her up and down.

"I'll go get Benjy," Sharona said, giving Disher a flirtatious smile, and as she walked away she swung her hips from side to side more pronounced than usual. She knew Disher was watching her the whole way, and she could have sworn that she even caught Adrian's attention with her little walk. When she got to Benjy's room she said, "Come on, it's time to go."

"Okay," Benjy said as he leaped off his bed.

"And when were you planning on telling me that you invited Mr. Monk to come with us tonight, huh?"

Benjy answered with a nervous chuckle and bolted out the door.

Sharona smiled and shook her head. "Well, this should be interesting," she told herself as she turned out the light and left the room to go join the others.