Chapter 5:

"Why do you always enter my apartment looking so nervous?" Flynn smiled after he opened the front door and let Sharon in.

"This is only my second time here... And this situation is stressing," she said, trying to justify herself.

"I have a completely different opinion on this situation," Flynn said in an insinuating tone.

A little smile appeared on Sharon's lips, but she still looked nervous. Flynn put his hands on her shoulders from behind and led her to the living room.

"Would you like to drink something? Tea?" he asked, trying to make her feel comfortable.

Sharon wanted to say wine, but she knew Flynn was a recovered alcoholic. There was no way he'd have anything alcoholic in his house, so she asked for coffee.

Flynn muttered "sure" and went to the kitchen. Sharon's eyes examined the living room. It was clean and neat and it made her wonder if Flynn was always this organized, or did he just organize the apartment for her visit. She hoped it wasn't the latter since she really liked organized people.

"There you go," Flynn said as he came back with two mugs and sat down next to her. Sharon thanked him and sipped carefully from the hot coffee. "Is Rusty okay with you being late?" he asked.

She looked up from her mug and found his eyes. His interest in Rusty was endearing. "He's fine," she said briefly. She remembered that the last time she was there, she was the only one who talked about her private life. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, "tell me about your ex-wife."

Flynn arched his eyebrows. She took him by surprise, but he reacted after a second. "My ex-wife? We didn't get along after a while," he said evasively.

"Why?" she insisted. She had her suspicion, but she wanted to confirm it.

Flynn smiled. "Are you interrogating me?" Sharon smiled back, but didn't answer. "Okay…" he said after a few quiet seconds. "When I drank, I wasn't myself," he said hesitantly and paused for a moment. Sharon could tell it was hard for him to talk about his addiction. "Anyway, I have no recollections of the night before, but one morning I woke up in a bed with some woman. I didn't even know her," he said quickly, as if he was trying to get it over with. It sounded like he was disgusted with himself.

"And your wife found out?" Sharon asked, her voice low and soft.

"I told her," he said to Sharon's surprise. "I also promised to go to AA meetings, but I guess she'd had enough…"

Sharon touched the back of his hand with hers. She couldn't help but think about her husband and what she went through with him when he was still drinking. It was the darkest time of her life. No one but her parents knew about it.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Flynn asked suddenly.

"What? Nothing," Sharon stuttered. She tried to smile but her mouth wouldn't obey her brain.

"Your face changed… you look sad," he pulled his hand from under her grip and put it on her shoulder.

"I'm just… sorry for you," she muttered, hoping to sound credible enough.

"Don't be. It was a long time ago," he smiled. "I'm into someone else at the moment," he said jokingly. Sharon stared at him for a moment. It took her a few seconds to realize he was referring to her, and then she smiled.

"I know what you mean," she tried to look serious as she said it in her slow, quiet tone, knowing that Flynn loves it.

"How much time do you have?" he asked, considering their options.

"Enough, hopefully."

Flynn looked at Sharon's legs for a moment. "You should have worn a skirt again," he smiled. Sharon cursed her black suit pants in her heart.

He turned his body toward Sharon's and put his free hand on her thigh. He bent forward and she closed her eyes as his lips touched her neck. He inhaled her perfume as he moved up her neck to her jawline and then cheek. She moved her face toward his and her lips found his lips. She opened her mouth just enough to let his tongue in as her arm traveled to his shoulder and half-surrounded his neck. She put her other hand on his chest and pushed him backwards gently, until he leaned against the backrest.

Sharon got up for a moment, and stood between Flynn's sprawled legs. He watched her, trying to figure out what she was thinking. Just when he opened his mouth to speak, she moved forward and sat in his lap, straddling his thighs. Flynn put his hands on her thighs and moved them up slowly. He looked at her with intrigue as she watched him for a moment in silence, determined to take control.