If I owned these characters, I would not be working a full-time job while finishing a full-time graduate program. I am just borrowing them for the evening…

Real life, aka the end of the school year and starting physical therapy for a sprained ankle, got in the way this week and left me with very little time to write. Now, I understand how amazing some of you are as I had never attempted to write dialogue before. A special thanks to gingersnapped907 for dealing with my random ramblings over the last two weeks as well as reading to make sure I wasn't missing words. Happy Shandy Sunday!

Chapter 3: Dinner & Conversation

About a week later

Emily and Ricky are flying in for Christmas tomorrow and Andy is picking me up in fifteen minutes for dinner. I know we need to talk about the assumptions made by Nicole and/or him. We need to get this straightened out before Emily and Ricky get here tomorrow. In the last week, I've started to realize exactly what Rusty was talking about when he was talking to me about having to go to the Nutcracker and when he was explaining our relationship – according to him – to Nicole. I run my hairbrush through my hair one more time and put the brush down on my dresser and take a deep breath.

I'm thankful that Rusty is working late tonight. I'm not even close to calm about this dinner. I'm sure that he would pick up on it. That would lead to him making some comment towards Andy as he picked me up and would make this even more uncomfortable. I take another moment to glance in the mirror – hair is in place, make-up is done, and I can't find any random fuzz on my clothes.

As I walk out into the kitchen, my thoughts drift back to the night of the Nutcracker where everything that Andy and I have done over the last year was brought to light by Rusty as well as his thoughts about our relationship. It was with his words here, as well as on the way out the door, helped me to realize that I was already dating Andy without knowing it. "We're not dating," I stated. "Several times a month," he replied. With that comment from Rusty, my feelings towards Andy became clear and I started smiling. I have feelings towards him that are significantly more than the friendship that I thought they were or I let him believe. Thinking back over the last week, I have begun to realize that Andy probably shares the same feelings that I have and that scares me.

The knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts. I take a deep breath and grab my bag for the evening. As I open the door, I hear Andy's gasp as my eyes fall on the beautiful yellow tulips in his hands and I echo him.

"You remembered," I whisper when my powers of speech return. "Please come in while I grab a vase for them." I turn and walk to the kitchen to grab the vase that I keep under the sink thinking that he will follow me. As I turn around, I notice he still has not entered the apartment, but is just standing at the door with his mouth slightly agape. "Andy, do you want to come in?" I ask. He doesn't respond. "Andy!" I repeat raising my voice. This seems to startle him out of wherever he just went.

"Hey," he whispers.

"Hey," I whisper back. "Do you want to come in for a minute?"

"Sure," he replies as he steps in the condo and shuts the door. He clears his throat and continues, "Are you ok if I say that you look absolutely stunning tonight?" He seems so uncertain about what is ok to say or do tonight. It is nice to know that he is as nervous about this as I am.

"Yes, you may."

As he looked me over, his voice dropped, "You look absolutely stunning this evening, Sharon. I thought you might enjoy these." He held out the flowers for me to put in the vase.

"Thank you. They are beautiful," I replied, as I reached for them. My hand accidentally brushes against his. I move it away quickly as the sparks shoot through my body. This is starting to really feel like a date.

As I put water on the vase and put the flowers on the counter, I notice that Andy has grabbed my trench coat off the back of the couch. He kindly helps me into it and pulls my hair out from under my collar.

"Where are you taking me tonight? All you told me was that I needed to dress causal and not wear heels."

"It's a surprise. You'll find out soon enough."

MCMCMCMCMCMCMC

As the car comes to a stop, I look out and notice where he has brought me. It's not a restaurant, but a quiet spot on the beach. This will definitely give us privacy to have the conversation that we need to have, but makes me even more nervous.

"Are you ok?" Andy asks. "If this is too secluded, we could go somewhere else, but I wanted to be able to not have to worry about anything or anyone interrupting us tonight. I knew you wouldn't be comfortable if we did this at your condo or my house."

I just look at him. He's taken so much time to think things through. What happened to the impulsive hothead that I have worked with for so many years? Slowly, I start to relax and grin at him which he takes as my agreement of his choice. He gets out of the car and walks around to open my car door. I don't even go to touch the door handle any more. I guess more has changed between us in the last year than I had realized.

As Andy guides me towards the beach, I notice a small gazebo with a table and two chairs set-up with dinner on it. As I shake my head, I wonder if this was the errand that Rusty had to duck out for this afternoon. Andy is not holding anything back tonight. Andy pulls out my chair and I notice the candles and my favorite cold pasta dish that he makes. I sit facing the ocean and let Andy dish my plate. As we eat, we engage in small talk. It's as if the events of the last week never happened. That helps remove the nervous feeling of this dinner. I keep reminding myself that no matter where the conversation leads us tonight, this is not a date.

"So is this an actual date?" Andy opens the conversation that we need to have.

"No, it's not. We have not filled out the appropriate paperwork for this to be a date," I reply smirking. "You know how I love the rules."

"But you have 48 hours to report it, so I wasn't sure." When did Andy start reading and paying attention to the policy handbook? flies through my head as I lift my brow at him. "Did you not think I wouldn't check it out? I know how much you like the rules and I wanted to be on equal footing with you regarding this part of the conversation."

"I care about you, Andy, but I was blindsided a week ago. We need to have several conversations before this moves forward, don't you think?"

He ducks his head down, "I'm really sorry about that, Sharon."

"I know you are, but you know enough of my history with Jack to understand why it would hurt me to be blindsided like that, correct?"

"Yes. I would like to make it up to you by being completely honest about everything tonight. I do not want to hurt you any further than I already have."

"How did Nicole come to think that we were actually dating?"

Andy gulps, "Well… I never stated that we were dating. After the wedding, she just assumed and I didn't correct her. She seemed to see me in a new light thinking that you were dating me. I didn't want to damage that and then I just couldn't correct it by the time we got to the Nutcracker last year."

"LAST YEAR?!" My ability to stay calm just went out the window. I need to reign it back in if we are going to continue talking through what we need to tonight. Taking a deep breath, I continue, "I'm sorry. I'm just a little surprised. You are telling me at no time in the last year you could have somehow thought to clarify things with your daughter or to at least warn me."

"I didn't really want to. Are you ready to hear what I wanted to tell you in your office last week when I tried to tell you that I didn't want to talk to Nicole or are we going to just ignore it again?"

I hesitate in my answer because I'm not sure that I am quite ready for him to say certain things aloud that I've only started to realize. "I'm not sure right now. I'm really scared about what could be happening between us. I'm scared of the feelings that I'm starting to realize. I haven't had them in a really long time. How about I ask a few questions and you answer them honestly instead?"

"Ok."

"What made you think that we could possibly be dating or that I might be interested in dating you?"

"Well, you did get divorced," Andy jokes. I'm half-tempted to pull out the Darth-ness just to get him to focus, but Andy wouldn't be Andy if he didn't joke when he was uncomfortable. This just confirms that he is as nervous about this conversation as I am. I decide to just shake my head a little bit. "I know that was about adopting Rusty. However, a small part of me hoped that Provenza was right when he confronted me about being the reason for your divorce last summer." I let out a small gasp. Andy had never shared that piece of information with me before. "Are you ok?" I nod, but keep silent as I let him continue. "Shortly after that conversation with him, I started reaching out to touch you more and I noticed that you were doing the same to me. Since the wedding, the first time you moved away from me either in the office or out of the office was the few days last week after you talked with Nicole. About the time I had that conversation with Provenza, you stopped telling me that our dinners and stuff weren't dates. That along with the realization that I cared more for you than a friend made me start to wonder if our relationship was moving forward, but you didn't want to verbalize it until after you were divorced. While I know that you have dated some since your separation, I don't know – nor should I know – exactly what that meant. That is not something that I want to know today – unless you think it will help clarify something for me."

I'm not even sure what to say. He has laid it out so clearly. If I look at it from his point of view, and that of a few others, we have been dating for over a year. As he reaches for my hand, I look up and meet his eyes. Part of me wants him to kiss me, but Andy is too much a gentleman for that. What he doesn't realize is that it is going to have to be him to make the first move. As his boss, I can't. We sit there in silence for a bit watching as the sun drops lower in the skyline towards the ocean. I let my thoughts drift back over his words where I realize that he is waiting for me to let him know that I care about him as more than a friend. "Andy," I slowly whisper. By now, I'm sure that my face has completely given away everything that I am feeling.

"Sharon, you don't need to say anything tonight," Andy reaches for my hand as I drop my head, breaking our eye contact as though he needs to be connected to me in some way. "I want to stay friends with you even if you don't want anything more. It's not going to change how I feel about you, but I respect you too much to force you into anything that makes you uncomfortable."

"Like this conversation?" comes out of my mouth without thinking. I immediately pull my hands out of his and up to my face. I hope he senses my embarrassment. It just came out without me thinking about the consequences. I sense him pulling back, so I pull my hands down and try to catch his eye. "Andy, I'm sorry. I know this is as uncomfortable for you as it is for me. I do not know what came over me. How about we just take the time to watch the sunset for a bit?" I put my hand back out and reach for his. He needs the break from talking as much as I do. I am happy when he grabs me hand and links his fingers through mine. As the sun gets lower in the sky, his thumb starts brushing mine. On previous dinners, I would have jolted out of my seat and left, but tonight I just sit back and enjoy the touch. Andy has gotten completely under my skin, but am I ready for the next step? Definitely not tonight, but maybe in the near future. I let my thumb brush his hand in encouragement as we watch the sun meet the water in silence. It seems to calm both of us as we take the time to watch the natural beauty that is out there. As the sun dips below the horizon, I notice Andy steadily watching me. This time, it does not make me feel uncomfortable like it has previously. I am falling very hard for this man, but I'm not entirely ready to start over again.

As the sun drops lower, Andy leans over and nonchalantly drops a kiss on my cheek. "Your hair is glowing making you even more beautiful, Sharon," he murmurs in my ear as his lips brush against it, sending a chill down my spine. I'm certain he knows what he is doing to me as I can feel the blush rising in my cheeks. As he grips my hand harder and moves back in his seat, I respond with a small hum.

As the last of the light leaves the sky, I turn to Andy saying, "Andy, I'm still hurting from everything over the last year – not you – but everything else. I care a great deal for you and I'm thankful that we're such good friends. Right now, I'm really scared of moving forward with anything. It has been many years since I have been in any type of dating relationship – much more if you count someone that I really cared a great deal about. There is a lot to think and talk about if we are going to take this further between work and Rusty. Can I have some time to figure out exactly where I want to go with this?"

"Of course, Sharon," he replies with a low voice. It makes the chills continue up my spine. "There is no pressure. I have told you before that I will wait for you. I have waited for over a year now and I am willing to wait as long as you need for me to. I will not bring up this up again so take as long as you need. Let me know when you are ready to continue this conversation."

"Thanks, Andy."

We continue to sit in silence holding each other's hands for what seems like another hour when I shiver. Andy immediately pulls his jacket off and puts it over my shoulders without saying anything. "Are you cold enough to want to go home or do you just want to stay here for a while longer?" he asks.

"We probably should call it a night. I want to get up early tomorrow to start the Christmas baking."

"Do I get to have any of this baking?" he smirks as he starts packing up the leftovers from dinner.

"If you are lucky," I jokingly respond as I start to help.

"Sharon, just sit back and enjoy. I wanted to let you have a completely stress-free evening. That includes not helping with dishes."

"But –"

"No, but, just sit and enjoy the waves or go take a short stroll down by the water."

"I'll stay, but I wouldn't mind a short stroll by the water before we go."

He finishes packing up and placing everything in the car as I pull my sandals off. We've been to the beach before, but this is the first time that I have wanted to just feel my feet in the sand. I don't know what has gotten into me tonight.

As we are strolling along the beach, Andy puts his arm around me and I easily just fall into being by his side with my sandals dangling off my fingers. I can smell his aftershave with how close he is holding me and it's making the chills more prominent as they go up my spine. There is no moon tonight so it is as though we are in complete darkness when we get to where Andy stops. He turns around and looks at me. I can see everything in his eyes, but I move my eyes away. "Sharon," he whispers. I swallow hard as I turn to start back, breaking whatever spell had entrapped both of us tonight. He senses the hesitation and continues to walk back with me. When we get back to the car, Andy holds the door for me and lets me slide in.

When we get to my condo, Andy insists on walking me to the door. I'm nervous, but he seems to think this is just like any other non-date that we've been on. It just doesn't feel like it to me. Something changed over the last week – particularly tonight – between us. As we approach my door, he hand reaches out and pulls the key from my hand. He wraps me in a hug and leans down to kiss my cheek. At the last minute, I move. I don't know how or why, but I do, and I slightly moan as his lips brush against mine. Andy doesn't startle, but pulls back quicker than normal as I duck my head in embarrassment.

"Sharon, I'm sorry. I meant to get your cheek," he rasps.

"Andy, it's ok," I reassure him. "I'm pretty sure that it was me who moved. I shouldn't have – I'm your boss – I can't make the first move." I move my chin even closer to my chest completely embarrassed.

"Sharon, look at me. You didn't do anything that I haven't wanted you to. It's ok. Don't be embarrassed. You are beautiful, sweet, and kind. I'll wait. As I said earlier, I want you to make the next move. You know how I feel about you. There is nothing you can do to me that I do not want you to. Can I kiss you again? Or are you ready to say good night?"

"How about another hug?" I state sheepishly. "As nice as tonight was, I am not ready to call tonight a date."

"Ok," Andy states as he wraps his arms around me. We stand there for several minutes before I reluctantly move from his embrace.

"Good night, Andy."

"Good night, Sharon."

He unlocks the door for me and hands me my keys. I lean up and kiss him on the cheek as I walk into the condo. After shutting the door, I notice that Rusty has left the one lamp on which means he has already gone to bed. I take a moment and take a deep breath as I collapse against the door. What have I gotten myself into?