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Brenda had been to Fritz's office a grand total of twice. The first was when he was moving in and he explicitly asked her to help him with his boxes. The second time was when she'd arrived back from Atlanta after Willie Rae's funeral and she would have gone just about anywhere to avoid going home.
Brenda didn't hate her new job at the DA's office but she didn't love it either. Sometimes it bored her stiff. Today, to break up the monotony she thought she'd surprise Fritz at work.
She didn't recognize any of the agents that milled around her as she marched toward the office. She felt pretty pleased with herself; Fritz would be so surprised that self-centered Brenda did something for someone else for a change.
Brenda reached for the door but paused when she heard voices inside. She wanted to surprise him but she didn't want to bust in on a meeting. She looked at her watch; maybe she'd give it five or ten minutes before giving up.
She heard a woman's voice but it wasn't just a woman's, it was familiar. The woman let out a laugh and Brenda realized it was Sharon Raydor.
Brenda gathered up her extra large purse; she could bust in on a meeting with Sharon Raydor. She knew that couldn’t be super classified FBI business and Sharon knew Brenda well enough to not be too offended by the intrusion.
Brenda threw open the door and was about to drawl her greetings when she skidded to a halt. Fritz and Sharon separated hastily. Fritz had Sharon’s conservative lipstick smudged on the corner of his mouth and Sharon’s hair was slightly disheveled as she worked quickly to smooth it down.
Brenda let out a shaky breath, her eyes wide. She expected to feel the sting of tears but instead she just stared in disbelief.
Neither brunette was saying anything - they were going to make her speak first.
Brenda wetted her lips. “Captain Raydor, would you please excuse us?”
Sharon looked visibly relieved and gladly took the opportunity to flee the office. Surprisingly, Brenda felt some sympathy for the older woman, recalling her own experience with Will’s wife.
Fritz looked suitably ashamed and Brenda wasn’t ready to put him out of his misery. With Sharon gone now he looked even more nervous and upset waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Just…” Brenda sighed with annoyance, “why, Fritz?”
“I don’t know, I…” He stuttered.
“I’m not the one who talked you into this marriage.” She took a few steps closer, her voice raising as she continued. “I’m not the one who’s always talking about compromise and working things out and all o' that."
"I know..." Fritz shrugged helplessly.
"What does Captain Raydor do for you that I don't?" Brenda demanded.
“It’s… not that you don’t...”
"Just give me one reason, Fritz!" Brenda snapped.
,
"I don't know!"
Brenda turned for the door.
"Where are you going?" Fritz asked in surprise.
"I have to get back to work. You better have an answer by the time you get home or make one up."
**
It was late when Brenda walked through the door. Fritz had been dozing on the couch and sat up when he heard her enter. He didn’t think he’d fall asleep but he supposed it was true what they say: the guilty sleep.
“What time is it?” He asked, looking at his watch.
“It’s late.” Brenda dropped her purse on the table. “I wasn’t about to sit around waiting for you so I got some work done.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Brenda, I’m sorry.” Fritz sighed.
Brenda sat down on the coffee table across from him. “Tell me how it started.”
“You don’t want to hear that.”
“I do. I want you to tell me everything.” Brenda said stubbornly. "Start from the beginning."
**
Fritz hung back in the murder room as the major crimes officers filed out. The light in Sharon's office was still on and Fritz recalled seeing his wife behind that same desk.
He knocked on the door frame and Sharon looked up, when she saw that it was Fritz she smiled and took off her glasses.
"Hey," she greeted.
"How has your first month been?"
Sharon chuckled sardonically. "Oh, you know, the honeymoon phase." She shrugged. "I'm adjusting. They're adjusting... but I'm no Brenda."
"No, you're not."
Sharon furrowed her brow, a little hurt.
"This squad needed a Sharon."
Sharon smiled, "well, thank you."
“I should let you get back to your paperwork.” He announced.
“Actually, I’m done with all that. I’m just playing solitaire.” She said, turning her monitor around to show him.
He laughed, “so why don’t you just go home?”
Sharon sighed a little. “Rusty stays late after school on Wednesdays for chess and chemistry tutoring. There’s no reason to go all the way home just to come all the way back to get him.”
“Care for a little company?”
“What about Brenda?”
He smirked. “You know that new position that was supposed to have less demanding hours?” He shook his head. “Well, she figured out a way to make it more demanding - apparently revamping the whole department.”
“By all means.” Sharon gestured to the chair opposite her desk.
“Thanks.”
**
There was a knock on the doorframe and Sharon looked up, smiling at Fritz. “Do you like Ethiopian food?”
“I can’t say I’ve ever had any, to tell the truth.”
“Me neither. Up for giving it a try?” He held up a bulging paper bag.
Sharon laughed, “you brought dinner this week!”
“Brenda won’t eat anything other than Chinese. I’ve wanted to try this place for years but it’s no fun trying new things by yourself.” Fritz started to unpack the food as he spoke.
Sharon moved a few items from her desktop to make room. “I agree. That’s one of the nice things about having Rusty living with me - I have motivation to try new recipes again.”
“I feel like I haven’t cooked in years. I mean, I was never that good at it but I’m considerably better than Brenda.” They shared a conspiratorial laugh.
“Well, everyone has their strengths. Brenda is an incredible investigator.”
Fritz pulled the lid off one of the containers. “I can’t argue with that.”
**
Over the course of the next couple of months Sharon and Fritz sampled Cajun, Mongolian, Mediterranean, Taiwanese and whatever else struck Fritz’s fancy on the way to the LAPD. Then there were two weeks when Fritz was conspicuously absent.
Head leaning on her arm as she restarted another solitaire deal she sat at her desk bored out of her mind. When there was a knock on the door frame she smiled from ear to ear.
Fritz smiled warmly, unable to remember the last time anyone had been that happy to see him.
“I missed you the last couple of weeks.” Sharon moved her things to the edges of her desk.
“I was out of town on a case, just got back in this morning.” He set the takeout on the blotter.
“What’s for dinner?”
“Nothing exotic, I got a couple of flatbreads.”
Sharon picked up her purse. “Let me give you some money.”
Fritz shook his head firmly. “How many times do I have to tell you? Your money’s no good here.”
“I have to pay you something, you’ve been feeding me once a week for months now.”
Fritz smirked playfully. “You pay me back with your radiant company.”
She waved him off with a laugh.
“Cheesy?”
“A little.” Sharon nodded.
"How are things with Rusty?"
After finishing chewing a bite of pizza, she nodded. "Good. Yeah, things are a lot better. It’s taken him a while but he’s opening up to me a lot more and he’s doing really well in school. The tutoring is just so next semester he can take physics with the rest of his class and not be behind.”
Fritz watched the expression on her face as she spoke with an affectionate smile. “You look very proud when you talk about him.”
“I am, I really am.” She smiled. “He’s really such a good kid, and I obviously can’t take credit for it, but I’m really glad that I was able to take him in and make sure he got the proper support to succeed. I mean, you should see him play chess!
“It’s really a beautiful thing: watching someone do something that they love and are amazing at. My daughter’s the same way with her ballet. You know, they’re just in the zone and they don’t see or hear anything else. It seems like magic sometimes.”
**
“In the mood for Thai tonight?”
“Spring rolls?”
Fritz laughed, sitting down at her desk. “Do you really think I’d forget your spring rolls?” He pulled a small container off the top. “I believe these are them.”
Sharon pulled one out and took a big bite. She recoiled, her hand flying to cover her mouth. “Oh my god, that’s hot!”
Fritz stood up, “do you need a glass of water?”
“I’ll get it.” She laughed at herself a little. She pushed her chair back and stood up, heading for the door.
Fritz caught his eyes wandering down to her bum, her tight skirt stretching across the well toned muscles.
“Do you want a water?” She turned around in the doorway and his eyes snapped up.
Fritz felt his cheeks get hot. “Uh, no, thanks.”
She smiled, “I’ll be right back.”
There was no way she hadn’t seen him, his eyes drinking in her curves. Mercifully, it seemed like she was going to let him off the hook.
Honestly, he wasn't sure why he'd done that. Certainly anyone with eyes could see that Sharon Raydor had a magnificent posterior but to blatantly stare was quite another thing. He was a married man. His wife had a great bum. Though, he hadn’t seen much of her or it in a long time.
He was still counting the past six months’ infrequent sexual encounters with Brenda when Sharon returned with two glasses of water.
She set them both down. “I brought you one anyway.”
“Thank you.” He picked it up and took a big gulp.
She laughed as she sat back down. “Good thing I did.”
“My mouth’s just a little dry suddenly.”
“How’s your week so far?” Sharon asked, picking her spring roll back up and blew on it before taking another bite.
“Oh, the usual.” He shrugged. “It’s been pretty quiet at the FBI. Brenda started this big investigation so I haven’t really seen much of her lately - she seems happy though.”
“Good.” Sharon nodded. There was a silence for a while as Fritz took a bite of chicken satay and Sharon chewed and swallowed another bite of spring roll. “Are you?”
Fritz furrowed his brow and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Am I what?”
“Happy? You always tell me when Brenda is or isn’t happy but you don’t ever say if you are.”
“Oh. Um.” He stopped to consider his answer.
“Is it a hard question?”
He chuckled. “It really shouldn’t be, should it?” He shrugged, “no, I’m happy. I am.”
Sharon nodded, not wanting to pry further at the moment.
**
As Fritz finished his falafel wrap, after a companionable silence, he announced. "I was offered a supervisory special agent position in D.C."
Sharon held her hand in front of her mouth to avoid him seeing the food in her mouth. "Congratulations!"
"Two years ago." He sighed.
"And you didn't want it?" Sharon blinked.
"I never even told Brenda." He admitted. "For a week I planned how I would tell her, all the reasons why it was a good idea, how to refute any objections she might have."
Sharon listened supportively.
"In the end I just turned down the job." He shrugged. "I know Brenda didn't want to leave the LAPD and I just figured I'd be less unhappy staying here than Brenda would be starting over in D.C."
Sharon nodded a little.
"And maybe a little bit of me was afraid she'd just tell me to go on my own."
Sharon leaned back in her chair a little. "When I was with Jackson there were a lot of things I never said just because I wanted to avoid the argument.
"But your situation is different." Sharon added quickly. "You and Brenda have a solid marriage."
"Yeah." Fritz nodded.
**
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I had lunch with Rick on Friday last week."
Fritz grinned, "did you finally get to meet his girlfriend?"
"I did and I really like her. She’s a pediatric surgeon and she’s really sweet and they have exactly the same sense of humor.” Sharon sipped her diet Coke. “I’ve never really worried about Ricky though; he’s sensible. Rosemary, on the other hand, inherited my knack for picking the wrong men but of course I can’t give her any advice because she thinks I’m being a hypocrite.”
“Was there more than just Jackson?”
Sharon laughed, “oh there were more than Jackson. I’m sure you don’t need all the gory details.”
“Well now you’ve got me curious.” He grinned.
“I dated my former training officer. I dated my partner once. I dated a beat cop from Long Beach for a while - that was my cougar phase.” Sharon smirked.
Fritz laughed.
“Last year I was dating this man that seemed perfectly stable and reasonable but I invited Rosemary to dinner with us so she could meet him and he hit on her when I stepped away to take a call.”
“You’re kidding.” He shook his head.
Sharon shrugged a little. “I think that’s it for me and dating - at least for the foreseeable future.”
"I'm sure there's someone out there who is stable and responsible and would treat you right."
Sharon shrugged again. "Well, I'm not holding my breath."
**
“Rusty’s school year is ending on Friday.”
Fritz put a dab of wasabi onto his sushi. “I bet he’s excited for a break.”
Sharon shrugged, “it won’t be that much of a break because he’s receiving tutoring over the summer and because of his new schedule I got him a used car.”
“Wow, I bet he’s excited about that.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think I can do Wednesdays anymore.” Sharon said quickly. “Because Rusty’s not going to be going to chess club and I like to be there for dinners with him whenever my schedule allows. I think it’s important and I really enjoy having and making dinner with him.”
“Oh.” Fritz nodded, trying not to let his face betray his disappointment.
“So I was thinking we could start doing lunch… on Saturdays?” Sharon smiled, almost nervously.
Fritz’s eyebrows went up.
Sharon said quickly. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sure you spend your weekends with Brenda. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No, actually Brenda goes in to the office on Saturdays so that’s perfect.”
“Oh good!” Sharon beamed. “There’s a little cafe just up the road from my apartment that I’ve been eyeing for a month. The menu on the internet says they mostly have paninis and salad and Rusty politely declined - well, as politely as a teenager can decline anything.”
Fritz laughed, “sounds great.”
“Okay, good.” Sharon nodded emphatically, smiling from ear to ear.
**
“I’ll be honest, I was skeptical about street food.” Sharon admitted, “but this is probably the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had.”
“It’s not street food, it’s a food truck.”
“Tomato-tomahto.” Sharon teased around a bite of food, laughing when she nearly lost the food. She apologized, covering her mouth as she finished chewing.
“Very classy.” He teased, also talking with his mouth full. A diced tomato fell out of his mouth, stained his shirt and then fell to the ground.
Sharon doubled over laughing, drawing a hearty laugh out of Fritz as well.
“That’ll teach me to wear white, huh?” He chuckled, wiping at the stain with his napkin.
“Karma’s a bitch, Special Agent Howard.” Sharon said playfully. “That’s what you get for making fun of me.”
“Mea culpa.” He tossed the napkin into the trash and turned to catch Sharon smiling at him sweetly. He smiled back, having to tear his eyes away from her.
**
Fritz hurried forward, “let me get that,” he said, pulling open the door to the Italian restaurant for an older woman who was struggling with her cane.
“Thank you.” She smiled gratefully. She looked to Sharon, “your husband is such a gentleman.”
“He…” Sharon hesitated for a moment before hooking her arm through Fritz’s. “Yes, he is.”
“Hold onto this one.” She winked.
After the woman was out of sight Sharon let go of Fritz’s arm. “It was just easier than correcting her and going through that whole thing.” She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “I’m sorry if that was out of line.”
“I didn’t mind at all.” Fritz said honestly. “If you ever want to link arms in the future, feel free.”
Fritz closed his eyes, feeling his cheeks get hot, not believing he’d actually said it out loud when it was meant to be an inside thought. He was stunned when he felt Sharon’s arm link with his again, her hand curling up to rest on his bicep.
He gave her a gentle squeeze.
“There’s an exhibit at the Getty that’s closing next week, Gardens of the Renaissance, maybe we could do something a little different?”
**
“Do you like the paintings?” Sharon asked suddenly.
Fritz turned to her in surprise. “Yeah, I do. Don’t you?”
“You just haven’t really said anything; I wanted to make sure I wasn’t boring you stiff.”
He chuckled softly, “you’re not boring me.” He shook his head, “I just don’t think I have a lot to add to the renaissance that hasn’t already been said.”
“Fair enough.” She smiled. “I really love coming to the museum. I don’t come as often as I’d like to but when I’m here I just feel so connected to the world. We’re in the same room with pieces of art that were created in the 1400s. There are things that are even older than that in the antiquities wing and we’ve amassed these all in one place where we can see a beautifully woven tableau of what life has been like through the ages.”
“It’s astounding the things that humans have been able to create.” He agreed.
“I feel more connected to humanity in here than I do at church.” Sharon continued. “It’s awe-inspiring.”
Fritz watched her face as she spoke enthusiastically. Before he could think better of it, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He pulled back, taking in Sharon’s surprise and bit the inside of his lip. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
Sharon cupped his cheeks and pulled him in for another kiss. Their lips touched chastely at first, getting used to the feel of the other’s lips. Sharon parted her lips invitingly and Fritz ran his tongue along her upper lip and she took in a shaky breath.
Fritz wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her tightly as their kiss deepened. Sharon’s thumbs stroked his cheeks, feeling the short stubble, very gently raking her fingernails against it.
A docent cleared his throat behind them and they separated embarrassedly. Wordlessly, Sharon took Fritz by the hand and led the down the hall, down the steps, out through the gift shop and finally out into the parking garage.
They reached for each other simultaneously, Fritz’s hands gripping fistfuls of Sharon’s blazer as their tongues met again. Sharon’s hands slipped under his polo shirt, splaying her fingers over the bare skin of his back and moaned softly into the kiss. This time the kiss was more insistent, gone were the deep, languid ministrations before.
When they finally separated Sharon wiped the corners of her mouth and they both panted, trying to get their breath back.
Sharon smoothed down her blazer and nodded curtly. “Meet me at the falafel truck in the park next weekend?”
Fritz nodded, still stunned. “Sure.”
“Okay. See you then.” Sharon gripped the strap on her purse as she turned on her heel and made a beeline for her car.
**
Fritz stood up quickly from the cafe table when he saw Sharon approaching.
“Did you order yet?” She asked tightly.
“No, I was waiting for you.”
“Okay, I’m starving.” Sharon stepped into line and Fritz stepped in next to her.
“Do you think we should talk about what happened last week?” He asked softly.
She shrugged her shoulders. “No, I don’t think we need to.” She paused. “We’re friends, it’s not a big deal. It was just a thing that happened and it doesn’t have to mean anything.”
“Right.” Fritz nodded.
The first patron at the window stepped away and the whole queue shifted forward and Sharon’s hand brushed Fritz’s. Sharon bit her lip; Fritz’s heart pounded. Sharon reached over and threaded her fingers through his. Fritz stroked Sharon’s hand with his thumb as they stepped forward in line.
**
Sharon and Fritz were seated near the back of the darkened movie theatre as the lights from the movie danced over their faces.
Their clasped hands tightened as the sex scene started. Fritz's heart pounded as he thought of Sharon; Sharon squirmed in her seat, she was having similar thoughts.
Sharon brought their hands up and placed soft kisses to his knuckles. Fritz had to fight to remain calm; he found the simple act to be unbelievably erotic.
What was supposed to be an action packed movie about the Balkan war had turned out to be a passionate love story. Fritz wetted his lips, his mouth very dry. He turned to look at her and she turned to him as well.
Fritz brushed the hair away from Sharon’s face, pushing it behind her shoulders. Sharon tilted her head to the side and Fritz’s thumb ghosted over the apple of her cheek. Sharon’s lips parted and her eyes fluttered shut.
Fritz leaned closer until his lips hovered centimeters from her ear and whispered. “You’re beautiful.”
**
Fritz’s fingers rubbed Sharon’s scalp as he watched the expression of bliss on her pretty Irish features.
She opened her eyes and blushed when she saw the look on his face. “What?”
“I just can’t get enough of you.” He admitted.
She winced a little and reached up and pulled his hands from her hair.
“Did I say something wrong?” He asked earnestly.
“No, you didn’t.” She sighed as she got up off the park bench. “You never do.”
“Sharon… what just happened?”
“It’s… it’s fine. It’s nothing but I think I have to go.”
“Wait.” Fritz furrowed his brow. “Where should we meet next week?”
“I’ll call you.” Sharon insisted as she walked away.
“Sharon…” he called helplessly. Something prevented him from running after her. Maybe it was because he knew what would happen if he did; he knew he’d make declarations that he couldn’t take back. If he followed after her everything would change, even more than it already had.
**
There was a knock on the doorframe of his office and Sharon smiled apologetically. “Is it alright if I come in?”
“Of course.” Fritz nodded emphatically. “Close the door?”
She took a step inside and shut the door softly. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.” Sharon sighed.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about, Sharon.” Fritz shook his head.
“I do.” She nodded. “I’ve been doing a lot of things… I know better than this. I should be better than this.”
“It’s not all on you, Sharon.” Fritz stood from his desk and crossed the room to stand in front of Sharon. Sharon made no move to rebuff his advances. “I don’t want to lose you though.”
“I don’t want to lose you either.” Sharon agreed softly.
Fritz put his hands on her elbows and she laid her hands on his chest. “I hadn’t heard from you for a month, I thought maybe you weren't going to call - I wanted to give you your space."
"I... I don't know what I'm doing anymore... but I want you to be in my life."
"I want that too." Fritz pressed a kiss to her forehead and she laid her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her.
**
While the frequency of their Saturday dates became erratic, Sharon began visiting him at his office with some degree of regularity. He liked when she visited him at his office because they had the opportunity to be completely alone.
Sometimes Sharon would bring coffees, sometimes they would just sit on opposite sides of the desk and talk and other times they would cuddle and kiss on the little government-issue couch.
Sharon was on her back on the couch with her eyes closed and legs draped over Fritz’s lap as he massaged the ball of her foot. “That feels good.” She murmured.
Fritz watched Sharon’s expression as she enjoyed the ministrations. His heart started to pound as his fingers rubbed further up her leg until he reached her calf muscle. She pointed her toes, flexing the impressive muscle as his thumbs pressed into it.
She bit her lip but made no effort to pull away. His fingers slid up to tickle the underside of her knee and she smiled.
“Other foot?”
Sharon crossed her left leg over her right and presented her foot. He repeated the foot rub and then transitioned to her calf. This time she let out a soft moan between parted lips.
He wanted to say something, something that would let her know how special she was to him, exactly how much she meant to him. He was deterred from doing so when her phone rang.
She groaned, turning on her side and looked at the display on her cell. She sighed and put it to her ear, “yes, lieutenant?”
Fritz’s eyes travelled up the back of her calves up the back of thighs to where the creamy skin disappeared underneath the pencil skirt. Sharon saw the trajectory of his gaze and winked at him when she caught his eye.
“Okay,” she sighed into the phone. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” She listened, “no, I didn’t get a chance to eat actually. No, I don’t need you to pick me up anything. Okay, see you in a few.”
She hung up the phone and managed to get into a sitting position. “I have to go.”
“Yeah, I heard.” He chuckled.
Sharon looked from his eyes to his lips then back before pressing her lips to his. When she pulled back Fritz grinned. “You’re an amazing kisser. You always leave me wanting more.”
“That’s the idea.”
**
Fritz was leaned against his desk and Sharon was nestled snugly between his legs. His hands held onto her hips as the kiss deepened. She moaned softly against his mouth as he broke the kiss to kiss down her neck.
Sharon let out a surprised laugh as his breath tickled the sensitive spot behind her ear.
“Hey y’all!” Brenda called, bursting through the door, her face falling immediately as Sharon and Fritz hastily separated.
**
Brenda blinked at Fritz.
“And that’s the whole story.” Fritz said guiltily and softly.
“Are you tellin’ me that you never slept with her?”
“Of course I didn’t.” Fritz shook his head. “I couldn’t do that to you.”
Brenda leaned back against the couch. “You fell in love with her...”
“I…” He struggled for the words.
She squeezed her eyes shut and a couple of tears rolled down her cheeks. “You fell… in love with Sharon Raydor.”
“Brenda…”
“And you didn’t sleep with her… you courted her... for over a year.” She snapped. “And you didn’t sleep with her because of me.”
Brenda wiped the tears away with the back of her hand, her brow furrowing in anger. “Well consider yourself released from your obligations.”
“Brenda!” Fritz called helplessly as she grabbed her purse and slammed the door on the way out and something prevented him from running after her.