Chapter 27:

"Andy, what are you talking about?" Sharon asked when Flynn didn't answer. She took a step towards him and examined his face carefully.

"The other day… when I woke you up," he muttered, embarrassed. "Forget about it, you were sleeping," he tried to smile and look calm.

"I don't remember," she frowned and looked like she was trying hard to dig in her memory.

"Right, you didn't even mean it," Flynn chuckled. He wished he could just hide behind something until she left.

Sharon looked at him and scratched her head uncomfortably. "I think –"

"Don't worry about it. I'll just go on Friday and find some excuse to go home early," he said and started walking the other way after saying goodbye hastily.

"Andy..." she called after him but he didn't stop. "I think I did!" Flynn stopped walking and turned around. She swallowed hard as he came back to her, and felt her cheeks heating up.

"You did what?" he asked quietly, afraid that her answer won't be what he was expecting to hear.

Sharon looked down and adjusted her hair absent-mindedly. "Mean it… maybe," she added the last word, even though she didn't really doubt her feelings.

"Well… if I ever to say it…" Flynn said and Sharon looked up quickly. "I'll probably mean it too," he shrugged, as if they were talking about something as light as the weather.

"Good," Sharon nodded in a businesslike manner. The tone of the conversation was so casual, that she had to ask herself if they were really indirectly saying I love you to one another. Flynn's long, silent gaze embarrassed her. She tried to find something to say, but her mind went blank, so she just watched him as he closed the gap between them and grabbed her by the waist. She put her hands on his chest and let him kiss her slowly, taking in every moment of it. There was something different about this kiss. Something honest. There were no things left unsaid between them.

Eventually, Sharon stopped the kiss, but pulled him to her right away for a hug. "This is bad," she said and they both chuckled bitterly and pulled away from each other.

"Oh, you only say it because we can get fired," Flynn said sarcastically and smiled. Sharon gave him a little smile but he saw she was troubled. "Look, it's gonna be okay. We've managed up until now."

"Keeping this secret from the entire world is not going to get easier," she said tiredly.

"So tell someone."

"What?"

"Yeah, why not? You can tell Rusty and your daughter."

Sharon seemed to be considering it for a moment, but then Flynn put his hand on her shoulder and she remembered she had to go.

"Rusty and Cat are waiting for me with dinner," she said in an apologizing tone.

"Okay. I'll try to think of something for Friday," he said and she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Men…" she muttered and then suddenly added, "hey, why don't you come for dinner?"

"Now?"

"Yes. Or some other day," she said quickly, trying to save herself from feeling embarrassed again.

A few minutes later they parted after agreeing to meet again in a short while, when Flynn comes for dinner. Sharon drove home somewhat nervous as she was about to take a big step in telling Rusty and Cat about them.

She entered the apartment and walked to the kitchen after hanging her purse, since there was no one in the living room. Rusty was getting plates out of a cabinet while Cat stirred something in a pot.

"Hey," Rusty smiled at her when he saw her, causing Cat to turn and greet her too.

"Something smells really good," Sharon sniffed and smiled.

"Yes, I've put an extra effort into cooking today, because we're celebrating two things," Cat said happily and came closer to Sharon, who arched her eyebrows in surprise and waited for her to continue. "First, I'm going to sign a lease for the apartment down the hall!"

"Really?!" Sharon asked joyfully and hugged Cat when she nodded to confirm. "That's great. I'm so relieved that you'll be close to me," she smiled and caressed Cat's shoulder. "What's the other thing we're celebrating?"

"Well, I know you're not going to like it much… but Dad told me to start looking for a place for my daycare center. He's going to buy it for me."

"Oh… that's… great too," Sharon forced herself to smile. She wanted Cat to succeed with her plans, but she also knew Richard couldn't be trusted and might disappoint her deeply.