Reflected in the floor-length mirror in a dark red backless cross halter wrap dress, with a mid-thigh split stood Michonne examining herself in preparation for her date with Rick tonight. Her painted toes were encased in black ankle strap stiletto-heeled sandals.

She grabbed a silver bracelet from her box, along with similar color drop earrings. She braided her locs into a crown that wrapped around her head.

Michonne took a step back to admire her figure before going into her bathroom to touch up her minimal makeup. She reapplied her burgundy lipstick and checked her eyeliner and mascara. Smiling to see if her teeth were stained with her lipstick, Michonne paused as she noticed the glow on her face.

She had never been this excited for a date in her entire 33 years. Not even with her first boyfriend back in high school.

After Michonne had asked Rick out, he protested vehemently to her planning the date. He was adamant that he choose the restaurant, and he suggested using their second waltz class to complete the dancing portion of their date. Michonne readily agreed.

She heard her son's high-pitched squeal come from the living room, drawing her attention away from her reflection. She sent a wink to the mirror before exiting the bathroom. She quickly sprayed her wrist and neck with her perfume then grabbed her black shawl from her bed.

Andre sat between his pregnant Aunt Sasha and his Uncle Daryl on the couch, getting attacked by their wild tickling.

"Mama, help me!" He screamed, looking at her with mirth in his brown eyes.

Michonne stepped further into the living room, catching Sasha and Daryl's attention. Daryl whistled and Sasha howled like one of those cartoon wolves when they saw a pretty woman.

"Y'all get on my nerves!" Michonne rolled her eyes, smiling.

"My sissy is finer than wine in the summertime," Sasha said. She stood to walk over to Michonne. "Gimme a 360."

Michonne showed her sister the back of the dress and Daryl's whistled again from his spot on the couch. His long hair nearly covered his blue eyes but he could see his best friend just fine.

"Whistle again, Daryl Dixon, and I'm gonna kick your A-S-S," Michonne said through clenched teeth. He hollered at her hollow threat.

"You look so pretty, mama," Andre beamed, running in front of her. She bent down to pick him up and kissed his little cheek, making him giggle.

"Aw, thank you, peanut. Are you gonna have fun with your Auntie Sasha and Uncle Daryl?'

Andre nodded. "Uh huh. I want chicken nuggets and fries."

"Oh okay, we'll get you some chicken nuggets and fries. You want some apple juice?"

"Yeah."

"Anything else, my prince?" Michonne smirked, gripping him tighter on her hip.

"Cookies!"

Sasha chuckled, grabbing her nephew out of her sister's arms. "I told him we could make some cookies tonight. He won't stop talking about it."

"Sounds about right. I trust your husband won't be in my kitchen when y'all are doing this?" Michonne's eyes glimmered mischievously. "I'd like to come back to my house not burned down."

"Hey, that was one time! And I paid for the repaint," Daryl scowled, crossing his arms.

"Baby, it's okay. We know you didn't mean to put the ham on broil, that public school education can only do so much. Some kids do get left behind," Sasha tapped her husband on the cheek, cooing at him.

Michonne cackled loudly and went to find her clutch purse. Rick should be popping up any moment now.

Even though they all went to the same school, the Williams siblings loved to make fun of how Daryl was from the sticks. He knew they loved him regardless. Their parents loved him like he was one of their own long before he joined the family officially. Being the token white boy of the family was his description for the longest – he took it in stride.

Daryl sucked his teeth and took Andre out of her arms. "Whatever man. At least Dre is my friend, right?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Andre giggled and wrapped his arms around Daryl's neck. "You my best friend, Uncle Daryl."

"Dang right!" Daryl huffed at the women, carrying his nephew back to the couch, and turned on an animated movie. Sasha shook her head. Her husband was a fool.

"So what's the plan for tonight, Mimi?" Sasha asked, finding her sister in the kitchen.

"Well, Rick is gonna take me dinner, then we're heading to our waltz class," Michonne relayed.

"Let me rephrase that. Do you plan on getting some dick tonight?" She tapped her fingers on the counter.

Michonne gawked at her little sister. "N-No! Not that I know of." She then tilted her head to the side. "I mean, I wouldn't– Nevermind. Why would you think that?"

"I have never seen you dress up like this for a man before. Not even for he-who-shall-remain-a-sack-of-shit."

"Boy, Daryl has really rubbed off on you." She didn't bother defending the man who disrupted her life. She hated his ass too.

"I was always like this. My man has just brought it out of me," Sasha shrugged.

"Lord help us all," Michonne deadpanned. Sasha flipped her sister off, eliciting another cackle.

Michonne's phone dinged, showing her a text from Rick, telling her that he was about to pull up. Her eyes crinkled, and her lips pulled back to bare a wide smile.

"This Rick Grimes must be something if he's got you glowing like this and you ain't even kissed the man yet. I'm shook. Now I really gotta meet 'em."

She sent her little sister a look when the doorbell rang. Michonne's whole body descended into jitters. This was the first guy she had been out with in five whole years. And she had too good of a feeling about him which scared the living shit out of her.

"I got it!" Daryl yelled from the living room. Michonne began to protest but she already heard the door opening before she could make it out of the kitchen.

Rick stood at Michonne's front door, eyes sweeping over the front of her house. He liked how picturesque it was while also managing to look expensive. The quiet neighborhood she lived in also contributed to that image.

Carl had helped Rick pick out his outfit for tonight. He was very proud of himself. Had the option been left up to Rick, he probably would've just shown up in his blue jeans and cowboy boots but Carl said that was unacceptable. Especially for the place Rick planned to take Michonne for dinner. Hell, they probably wouldn't have even let him in the building with that outfit.

Rick wore a dark gray short sleeve polo and black slacks with black boots. His watch glinted off the sunlight. It was nearly 6 in the evening, the sun was still fairly high in the sky. The bouquet of tulips in his hand didn't stop it from shaking slightly.

Rick was expecting Michonne to answer the door but instead, a man with long shaggy hair and cargo pants opened it instead. The grizzly-looking man bore a frown as he stared at him.

"Sorry, am I… at the right house?"

"Yup."

Rick opened his mouth and then closed it. "Michonne Willaims' house?"

"Sure is." The redneck leaned on the door.

"Is she here? We have a date tonight." Rick smiled nervously.

"My Chonne? I don't know about that. She ain't told me about no date. 'Specially with no pretty boy like you." Daryl looked at his fingernails dispassionately.

This must be Daryl; he fit the description that Michonne gave him.

Rick scratched at his temple. Daryl smirked at him, wanting to say something else when Michonne literally knocked his body out the door frame. He stumbled to the side, tripping over his feet. He gave a quick yelp when he hit the ground. Sasha roared with laughter from where she sat at the kitchen counter.

"Go make yourself useful," Michonne growled at him then smiled sweetly at Rick.

Rick's jaw went slack as he let his appreciative eyes roam over her. He thought he might have been hallucinating because there was no way a woman of this caliber was giving him the time of day. Though the buttons of his shirt were undone, he felt like the collar was strangling him. A blush crept up his chest to his neck all way to his freshly shaven face.

At the same time, Michonne took in the sight of her date with widened eyes. Why was this man allowed to look so good? His bowed legs in those black pants and that tight shirt had to be illegal fitting him the way they did. Her stomach clenched, and she subconsciously licked her lips.

She saw the bouquet in his hands and directed her attention there. Lest she fuck him on her porch for all her neighbors to see. She felt it was bad form to have sex before the first date.

"Are those for me, cowboy?" She breathed huskily.

He shook himself out of his stupor, and nodded, handing them to her. He tried to swallow but his throat had gone mysteriously dry at the sight of the beauty in front of him.

"You– You, ah my God. You look breathtaking, Michonne," Rick scrambled for the words. His ears burned from embarrassment at his stumbling.

"I could say the same for you, Rick," she smiled shyly, sniffing her flowers. "You wanna come in for a second so I can put these up?"

He nodded, not wanting to humiliate himself again. He closed the door behind him. Rick followed her from the foyer into a dining room where she housed the flowers.

"Hi," a little voice said from behind Rick.

The sheriff turned around and glanced down. Stood there was a little brown-skinned boy with a lopsided smile. Her son. He was beautiful, just like her.

"Hello, you must be Andre?" Rick's eyes darted to Michonne where she leaned against the dining room doorway. She nodded slightly at Rick, telling him she was okay with him talking to her son.

"Mhmm. That's my mama," he said, pointing to Michonne. "She looks pretty today." Rick cracked a smile at the kid.

"Yeah, she looks gorgeous."

"Dre, this is my friend, Sheriff Rick," Michonne introduced, blushing at Rick's words.

"What's a sheriff, Sheriff Rick?" Andre's big eyes blinked up at Rick.

"A police officer. You know what one of those is?" Rick knelt down to be eye to eye with his date's son.

Andre nodded. "You have police car? With the lights?" He asked.

"I do. Maybe one day I'll let you see it, okay?" Rick smiled, poking Andre's stomach, he giggled.

"Dre, go see if your Auntie and Uncle are ready to make those cookies. I won't see you before you go to bed so gimme a kiss goodnight okay?" She had already explained to him that she was going to go out with a friend tonight. He seemed to understand just about as much as a 5-year-old could.

"Okay. Night, mama. Night Sheriff Rick." Andre kissed his mother on the cheek and bolted out of the dining room, very excited at the prospect of cookies.

"You have the cutest kid in the world," Rick gushed after Andre left the room. "Don't tell Carl I said that."

Michonne laughed, and Sasha appeared behind her sister, clearing her throat. Michonne sighed playfully and rolled her eyes. "Rick, this is my little sister, Sasha Dixon, wife of that idiot you met at the door."

A muffled "HEY!" sounded from another room in the house.

Sasha chuckled, holding out her hand for Rick to shake. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Does beauty run in the family?"

Sasha smirked at Michonne, who rolled her eyes again. "It does. You should see our mother. Anyway, I'll let you crazy kids have your fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." She turned out of the kitchen, grinning devilishly.

"That leaves a lot open for interpretation," Michonne muttered to Rick.

"I heard that heffa!"

The couple chuckled lowly to themselves.

"Ready?" Rick asked, holding out his arm and shivering when she took it.

"Hell yeah."

Using her chopsticks with ease, Michonne picked up a piece of her graduation sushi and popped it into her mouth. It was a California roll wrapped with salmon topped with tempura flakes, sprinkled with cream cheese, chili, and scallions. Across the table, Rick cut into his filet mignon with ease.

Michonne was pleasantly surprised when Rick pulled into the parking lot of Sosuke Steakhouse & Sushi Bar. This was a place she had wanted to visit but could never find the time. While she loved sushi, it wasn't something that she partook in often.

She listened to Rick relay a story from his early twenties. He was so animated and it only entertained her further.

"And I guess the guy was so loud that Carol was almost scared to go see what it was. Sounded like somebody was getting killed. She burst into Aaron's room and saw him giving some guy the works!" Rick covered his mouth with the back of his hand. Michonne gasped. "All I know is Carol didn't come back from school for the rest of the year." He sent himself into a fit of chuckles like he was reliving the moment.

"Oh my God. Was she embarrassed?"

"You kidding me? Seeing our little brother's naked ass putting the business on his boyfriend probably traumatized her!" Rick snickered, chewing his steak.

"And it wasn't because of y'know…?" Michonne cautioned.

Rick shook his head. "Nah, definitely not. We knew before he did. The closet was glass. Trust." Michonne slapped her hand over her mouth, stifling her scream. "No, she was traumatized cuz Aaron was her lil baby. He could do no wrong in her eyes. She never wanted to see him in that position."

"I can't imagine seeing my adult siblings naked. I'd probably have to pour bleach in my eyes if I saw Ty's ashy ass behind. I'll leave that to his teammates in the locker room." She shuttered at the image.

"You telling me. What was really funny was dinner that night. Mama and Daddy had no idea why Carol and Aaron were acting so weird. No one was saying anything and here was me, cackling like a madman, watching the chaos."

"Typical middle child behavior. I bet you were a menace growing up." She took a sip of her chardonnay, savoring the taste on her tongue.

"Oh, and you were the perfect middle child growing up?" Rick pointed at her, quirking one side of his lips.

"Tuh!" She scoffed. "I think not. I made it my mission to get Ty and Sash in as much trouble as I could manage. And I got away with it most of the time."

"Most?"

"Well liars– I mean lawyers," Michonne smirked evilly. "Gotta start somewhere. And besides, it would look suspicious if I was the only one not getting in trouble." She shrugged, eating another piece of her sushi roll.

Rick tilted his head back, chuckling. "Remind me never to get on your bad side, Michonne. You are devious," his eyes sparkled. His voice deepened when he called her devious and it had her clenching her thighs.

Michonne licked her lips, looked off to the side, and then inhaled deeply when she looked back at him and saw how he was gazing at her. The candlelight reflected off his deep blues that made them appear as if ocean waves were rocking in his eyes. She wanted to run her fingers across his sharp, smooth jaw when it twitched. She liked how pink and plump his lips were, which filtered many inappropriate first-date thoughts through her mind.

She swallowed a large bit of her wine so as to calm her nerves. This man was going to get her in trouble. She dug her heels into the ground to keep from jumping across the table and causing a public disturbance.

"So uh, how's Carl? What's he doing tonight?" She cleared her throat.

"He's having a sleepover at his friend Duane's house tonight. Said he wanted me to have the house to myself for once," Rick said lowly then grinned. "Whatever that means."

"Who's the parent here, you or him?"

"I ask myself that every single day. He's so mature for his age. I don't remember being so smart at his age, that's for sure. I couldn't be prouder of him. I don't know how I got so lucky."

"Well, he's lucky to have such a great dad who loves him with his whole heart," Michonne enthused, reaching across the table to squeeze Rick's wrist.

He nodded in thanks, then flipped her hand and pressed a kiss to her pulse.

She smiled at him in a way that had his chest tightening every second they were together. Since the moment he saw her in her doorway, he felt like his chest wouldn't expand all the way. He felt like there was something sitting in his throat. His clothes felt too tight and like his shoes were on the wrong foot.

Her rich dark skin glowed in the light. He fell into her brown eyes as they crinkled with mirth. He couldn't help smiling when she smiled at him. Everything else melted away when she talked to him and he never wanted it to stop.

Watching her tongue at the base of the glass, her heart-shaped lips wrapping around the sushi, and the long stretch of skin that was her neck when she drank was enough to make his pupils dilate. His dick hardened in his trousers. And Rick was finding it harder and harder not to say fuck it to the dance class and just take her back to his house to fuck her silly.

The night was still young of course.

"You ready for dessert?" She asked, searching his face. The heat that oozed from his expression made her throat dry.

He didn't answer immediately as his eyes trailed over her bosom, the length of her neck, the curve of her lips and jaw, and then finally her eyes. Michonne felt her breathing slightly quicken while her panties dampened.

"What kind?" Rick wet his bottom lip, staring at her.

"I-" She swallowed. What happened to her blushing cowboy? Sitting across from her, was a man who radiated sex and confidence. With her mouth mimicking the Sahara desert in dryness, she couldn't even get her words out.

Michonne saw sundown approaching which meant that they needed to head to class. If they stayed any longer, she felt Rick was probably two steps away from flipping the table.

"Oh, would ya look at the time? We gotta get going," she looked at her watchless wrist. She pushed the chair back and stood, "Let me go freshen up and we can head out, okay?" Grabbing her clutch, Michonne all but ran in the direction of the restrooms.

She wet a paper towel and pressed it to her pulse points, needing to cool her temperature. Hot and bothered didn't even begin to cover it.

After hearing her phone vibrate in her purse, she grabbed it to see what happened. She hoped it wasn't Sasha telling her something was wrong with Andre. It was her sister but the text had nothing to do with her son.

"If you don't come back tonight, I'll know why ;)" It said. Michonne scoffed, not dignifying her sister with a response.

She took a deep breath. "Get it together, Michonne. You're a grown woman, he's a grown man. Nothing has to happen if you don't want it to," she muttered to herself. But fuck, did she want something to happen.

Her ex never had her like this. She felt like she was outside of her depths with Rick. This attraction was lethal and she had only met the man a week ago.

She thought long and hard about the possibility of this man being her soulmate. He felt right. Almost scarily so. Each touch sent a shiver down her spine and she wanted nothing more than him touching her all the time. One thing Michonne knew for sure was that she did not want to pass up on a good thing if it had landed right in her lap.

Strong in her resolve, Michonne inhaled and exhaled, straightening her back, and left the ladies' room. She came back to Rick paying the bill and while she wanted to protest that since she asked him out, she should be paying Michonne knew it would be a fruitless argument. Though she made a mental note to remember to pay the bill in advance next time to rob him of the chance.

Rick stood up when he saw her approaching while also spying some men in the establishment eyeing her form as she sauntered up to him. He swallowed his smirk, knowing that the most beautiful woman in the world was here with him. And she smiled at him oh so sweetly.

"Ready to go, darlin'?" Rick whispered in her ear, wrapping her shawl around her, and caressing her forearms in the process.

She breathed at his touch then turned her head to meet his eyes. "Take me away, Rick."