JUST GOOD FRIENDS

chapter 2

by Stands With A Fic - Camima

Thanks everyone for the encouraging reviews! To Thegreatshipper: thanks for the lovely review I really appreciate. You completely get my feelings about Sharon and her inner evolution. My main priority is to depict her as realistically as possible. I really love her and need to respect her completely. I already wrote many chapters and more are coming to life :) The writing is completely pouring out of me actually but I'm not an English-native speaker so I need the precious help of my Beta to refine and polish my work before publishing :) Hope you'll enjoy

"Are you going to finish that?" asked Andy, looking at Sharon's half eaten pizza. His appetite for her presence had since been whetted by her company, after three weeks of separation.

"Oh, no I'm completely full," Sharon grinned, a hand on her stomach and the other waving meaninglessly in front of her. "Oh! Please!" she added, pushing the dish containing her leftover towards Andy.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Absolutely," she answered, swallowing hard. Her eyes were wide open, and her brow had begun to furrow – in fact, the very idea of another bite had her feeling sick. He bent the half pizza so as to make a sandwich and took a huge bite.

"You're not on a diet, are you?" he asked, after swallowing it down, the high pitch of his voice clearly indicating that he sincerely believed that she didn't need it.

She giggled and said, "No I'm not, I'm just not very hungry," she finished, shrugging. He felt his heart sink "Sharon, are you ok? I mean, you said that you were concerned about me but well…I was just wondering, how about you? I know I've upset you..." he said shaking his head and looking at her with a serious expression.

She let him finish then said, "Andy, if you think you can handle this…situation, I trust you and I'm with you. I can't hide the fact I'm feeling weird about it but, I'm not feeling strange about you," she continued, her voice soft but resolute. "All I ask of you is sincerity, and to allow me to help you, because I'm your friend and I care about you." she said, her eyes watering slightly but her lips curving.

"Thank you Sharon..." he said heartily. "I know I've repeated this every time we've spoken but...I'll owe you one." he said, grinning. She smiled sincerely her stare easier now.

"You don't owe me anything Andy, nothing at all..." She reached for his hands and held them both, squeezing them for a moment while looking straight into his eyes. "Alright then, do you mind if I do the washing?" she asked, standing up.

"Of course not," he answered, "but let me do it anyway," he said finishing off her pizza.

"Oh no, it's nothing really, just two dishes and two glasses. You can make some tea, if you'd like," she suggested, tilting her head so that her chin pointed at the kettle on the counter.

"Sure" he said, grinning. He stood up and plucked the kettle from the counter, taking one quick step towards the basin to fill it with water. In the same instant, Sharon turned towards the basin carrying dishes and glasses. It took a fraction of a second. The kettle, dishes and glasses collided, falling down to the floor and breaking into pieces.

"Oh f- I'm sorry Sharon!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands before him and looking down at the debris on the floor. He then looked up at her. She stood there, astounded, and covered from head to foot in the kettle's contents – a few drops even littering her glasses. Still with her hands in the air –miming the act of carrying – she stopped, still as a statue, with her eyes and mouth wide open.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Then, he saw her eyes get narrower, and her lips press together and curve. A breath rushed from her body, and she suddenly bent down with her hands on her knees, letting out sharp laughter. Slowly, she regained her composure; giggling and pressing her lips together again as she drew herself up to full height. Attempting to prevent any more laughter, she pressed raised a hand to her hip and pressed another to her forehead – shielding her eyes from Andy's stunned expression. Andy roared with laughter at her reaction, and because no laughter could ever be more contagious than hers. He took a step towards her bent figure, and saw her coil down to the floor – her bottom against her heels as her torso and arm were supported by one thigh, the other arm at her forehead again. He bent down and grabbed her by the elbows, pulling her up. She was laughing so hard that she inadvertently leaned towards his chest, and he put his arms around her – holding her with one arm as the other rubbed her back gently, both of them still laughing. He felt overwhelmed by her laughter, by the sound of her voice, by the softness of her skin against his neck and by the shakes of her body into his. His laughter stopped and his eyes closed. He breathed in the scent of her hair and skin. She stopped laughing, realizing that something had changed about Andy. Looking up into his open eyes, she pulled away from him. Her hands left his chest but he reached for them and held them in the space between their bodies. She was looking at him, dreading his actions. Looking at her lips, he slowly breached the distance between them. Then, shifting his gaze back to her eyes, he lifted her hands up to his lips and pressed his lips on the backs of her hands, progressing to her palms. She felt her knees weaken. "Sharon..." he whispered, in a low and warm yet rough voice, "oh Sharon..." he closed his eyes, still holding her hands and brushing her knuckles with his lips once.

She could not move, paralyzed at the sight of him melting for her.

"I can't remember when I last laughed myself away like this. You know…" he hesitated, "I love to see and hear you laughing." he admitted with a fond smile. She felt it clearly. He was in love with her, really. Till the point to be able to show his feelings for her, hug her, hold her and kiss her hands, to be two inches from her lips and yet to not do anything other than tell her how much he loved her laughter. She felt grateful for the genuineness of his feelings and his respect for her. He wanted to stay with her and have her, accepting her and her feelings for him the way they were. If this wasn't love what else could it be? "I'd better get going now," he said, letting his breath out whilst slowly releasing her hands,

"But not before helping you to clean all this mess up," he continued, grinning and shaking his head. Then, looking at her clothes he added "You'd better change, I'll clean."

"Oh no, Andy really." She returned to the world around her, looking down at the ground and at the smashed pieces "it's my fault, I was distracted..." she stopped, looking at him with obvious concern. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't because of his feelings for her – but because of him, but she didn't know how.

Andy smiled and said, "Well it's been quite a tough day, hasn't it?" She nodded, her lips curving slightly. "You sure you don't wanna change?" he asked, his eyebrows arching.

"I'm sure," she whispered with a smile. It took them too little time to clean and tidy up. Sharon began to feel strange as the time of his departure drew closer. As Andy threw the last pieces into the garbage, Sharon stood beside him, watching his every move. She surprised herself by looking at his hands; surprised she hadn't noticed them before but as yet still unaware of why she was observing them so closely now. They were big and strong, but also gentle and well-shaped, his nails large. She found Andy looking at her with his arms folded against his chest, his head tilted slightly with a grin painting his face. She looked awkward for a moment, her fingers no more entwined before her lap nor her elbows against her hips. The situation became somewhat awkward, and Sharon instinctively searched for the rim of her blazer to tug on, as she would habitually do in this sort of predicament. She had taken it off as soon as she had entered her apartment, and now had to settle for folding her arms over her chest instead. One of her hands now against the point where the jaw meets the ear and the neck, her lips curved.

"So..." Andy spoke after a leaden pause, "what did you think?" he continued "do I pass the test?"

Sharon looked at him, puzzled and trying to find a meaning to Andy's words. Then, realization dawned in her eyes and she grinned widely nodding her head

"Yes," she said, her voice very soft, "of course you do"

"Glad to hear that," he smiled, "So, d'you think there could be other tests that are, you know...like this?" Andy asked, waving his hand in the space between them.

"As a matter of fact Lieutenant, I had a pleasant time tonight. So, if you are trying to obtain information from me as to when we might repeat this test, then I must inform you that the only possible answer to your question is, well, whenever you would be willing to," Sharon said, her voice silky and barely audible.

"Well," said Andy, clearing his throat as his eyes widened,"I'd say, the sooner the better, Captain." He smiled brightly at her. "Sharon," his voice was now low and warm again "I really love your company." He drew nearer to her, and put his hands on her arms, pressing his lips softly against her cheek. Her cheek lifted in a smile under his lips.

He took his suit from the coat rack and reached the door, Sharon right behind him. As he opened the door he turned to look into her eyes.

"Goodnight, Sharon," he whispered, winking.

"Goodnight, Andy."

She rubbed her arm while he was entering the corridor. He grinned, turned, and walked away. Watching him walk down the corridor, she jolted as though she had done something inappropriate by doing so. She closed the door and put her back against it, lifting her chin as taking a deep breath.

"Bath," she told herself, and tugging her shirt out of her skirt's high waisted hemline, she slipped off her pumps and walked down the hallway to enter her bathroom. Turning both the hot and cold taps so as to get a nice, warm temperature, she tested the gushing water with her fingertips. When she found the water to be hot enough to suit her taste, she added some bath cream. She heard her cell buzz, and smiled at Rusty's message, 'Sleeping at Provenza's. Good night Sharon, Love, Rusty.' She hit reply and tapped in, 'Good night, Rusty. Thank Provenza for me. Love you.'

Sharon pinned her hair up, then took her robe off - letting it fall down to the floor as stepped into the tub. She let her body slide on the tub bottom, her head on a cushion on the edge of the tub, sighing as her body and mind surrendered to the warm, bubbly comfort of the water. Closing her eyes, she heard The Sugar Plum Fairy melody playing in her mind. She remembered the night of the ballet, when Nicole had welcomed her with such affection and Andy had been so thrilled and glad she was with him. She hadn't understood then. Even when he remained stunned by the sight of her, and complimented her for being "gorgeous" - as if he had realized for the first time that she was a woman. And then there were her feelings about him. To her, he was no more than a skilful and bright cop and a dear friend. She cared for him as his Captain, but as his friend, she also wanted to support and be there for him, to be sincere and understanding. He had proved to be able to deal with the situation, and they both were grown-ups in their sixties, they should be perfectly able to deal with each other. If ever there were issues to be discussed, they would do it sincerely and calmly to find the solution.

Then why was she feeling so odd?

Andy couldn't sleep either that night. But he now knew why he had been so uncomfortable, and for the first time in three weeks he had something concrete to focus on. He thought back over the day, allowing the memories of him holding her when crying - and of his shock and her subsequent laughter, her body shaking against his – to fill his mind. He allowed himself to think of her; her eyes, tears, smile, (gorgeous) hair and her scent. Andy took one deep breath and then let it out. Gazing up at his bedroom ceiling in semi-darkness, he promised himself that he would keep the right behavior to face this new situation. Under no circumstances did he want to lose her, even if she did not feel the same way about him. He was not a boy anymore and he was not the man he had been before her friendship. Her friendship and presence in his life had softened his rough, hard side, letting his tender, sensitive and calm side prevail. He smiled at the thought of his Sharon.

Despite all that had happened, he still felt hopeful of their future together.

I only want to take it slowly to depict Sharon and Andy the way we know them to be, at least as far as we know them at present, but I don't wanna take it too slowly either. Trust your comments and criticism...all welcome to me.