"Catch the Wave" - Hobbs/Raydor Fic
Title: Catch the Wave
Co-Author: sharon_ray
Pairing: Hobbs/Raydor, Rusty
Rating: T
Word Count: 3, 088 words
Disclaimer: Not our characters or television show.
A/N: Many thanks to my co-author, who makes writing for this little pairing so very fun and wonderful; we hope you get the same enjoyment out of reading as we did out of writing this. This is a fluffy, stand-alone piece totally not related, but just coincidently posted between chapters of our other ongoing fic.
Summary: So, this is what happens when rococoms gives you prompts. She wanted Andrea, Sharon, and Rusty at the beach, with Sharon in a big floppy hat.
“Got your latte, skim milk, no foam.” Sharon looked up from her mountain of paperwork to see Andrea Hobbs, clad in a smart navy pinstripe suit; her very favourite outfit on the DDA.
Sharon sat up a little straighter in her chair. “Thank you,” she said gratefully, gesturing for Andrea to take a seat across from her. “I didn’t know you went on a coffee run.”
Andrea blushed. She hadn’t gone on a coffee run for the rest of the team, or even herself, she had seen how tired Sharon looked today and had used her lunch break to visit Sharon’s favourite cafe in the hopes that it might perk her up. “It’s nothing,” she said easily, but blushed a little deeper when Sharon flashed her another sincere smile.
Sharon took a sip of her coffee and peered down at the cell phone sitting in the center of her desk. It had buzzed three times since Andrea had entered her office. “Sorry Andrea,” Sharon muttered, slightly embarrassed as she typed out a brief, but blunt message back. “It’s Rusty.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Andrea assured her, “Is everything alright though?”
Sharon sighed. “Everything is fine. Mr. Beck has decided that his latest passion project is to harass me several times a day about going surfboarding. He is under the impression that if he bothers me enough about it, I’ll finally say yes.”
Andrea smirked. “Sounds like my nephew, Justin.” At Sharon’s questioning glance Andrea elaborated. “Justin’s a year younger than Rusty, and he’s been surfing for two years now. He pestered my brother and sister-in-law for months before they finally caved in. He goes for lessons on Saturday afternoon at Malibu Surfrider.”
Sharon leaned forward. “How did he manage to convince his parents?”
“My sister-in-law insisted that he take lessons, when he initially asked her, he wanted to teach himself and that was an absolute no. And if his grades slip, she’s made it very clear that the first thing that goes is the surfboard.”
“Sounds like my kind of woman,” Sharon laughed. “I am concerned about Rusty surfing,” she admitted, “it’s a dangerous sport, no offence to your nephew or his parents, and I worry about him getting carried away with it. I don’t want him engaging in potentially destructive activities,” she said honestly.
Andrea nodded her understanding. “It is dangerous. My sister-in-law felt a lot better knowing Justin was out there with an instructor by his side at all times. It was a good compromise. Between school and other activities, he doesn’t have much time to be out there alone outside of lessons, anyway. It works out well.” Andrea paused for a moment, watching Sharon fret as she checked her phone again. “I know you’re concerned, but if you’d like to let Rusty try it while supervised, that could work out for both of you. I have my nephews visiting me this weekend and I have to take Justin to his lesson tomorrow. Rusty is welcome to tag along, on one condition.”
Sharon looked up from her phone and narrowed her eyes at Andrea, suspicious of her conditional invitation. “What is this one condition?”
Andrea smirked as she sat back in her chair. “You have to come with him.”
Sharon lifted her eyebrow. “Oh? Trying to get me on a surfboard, Hobbs?”
Andrea chuckled. “I would pay to see you try and work a surfboard.”
“Are you implying that I couldn’t do it?” Sharon asked in mock offense.
Andrea rolled her eyes and stood up as she checked her watch. “As much as I would love to sit and argue about your coordination, I have to get to court. If you’d like to continue this discussion, there are other ways I’d like to test your coordination later, Sharon Raydor.”
Sharon let a wicked grin cross her face as she stood to show Andrea out of her office. “Oh? Did you have something else in mind for me to ride, Andrea?”
Andrea blushed a deep crimson as Sharon opened the door for her. “I will see you later, Sharon, enjoy the latte,” she said, suddenly timid; she hoped the older woman would in fact join her at the beach over the weekend. She couldn’t respond otherwise at the moment, for fear of embarrassing herself.
As she was stepping into the elevator, her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket.
You’re on. Pick Rusty and I up on Saturday morning? - Sharon
Andrea grinned to herself, and typed out her response without thinking twice.
Be ready for 9am. - Andrea
***
“Rusty, are you ready?” Sharon called out to her foster son as she gathered her purse and house keys. She was dressed for a day at the beach; on top of her modestly-cut black one-piece she had a deep red sarong tied around her waist. On her head, she wore a floppy, grosgrain straw hat to protect her delicate complexion. It was perhaps a bit too on the oversized side of things, but she liked it nonetheless. It made her feel like Sophia Loren; she could only hope the look translated to “Sunbathing Italian Beauty” and not “Pale LA Idiot”.
“Yeah!” Rusty called as he all but ran into the living room, bag swung over his shoulder and sandals in one hand. “Whaaa?” He stopped in his tracks when he saw her. “Um, Sharon, what are you wearing?”
Sharon tugged at her sarong. “What?” she asked defensively.
“No, your outfit is totally cool, just, what is with the massive hat?” he asked, smirking. He walked over to her and playfully tapped one side, knocking it over slightly.
“Watch it Mister, I can still change my mind about this whole thing,” she said as she readjusted the hat on her head. “I burn easily, and I can’t wear heavy sunscreen on my face, as I have very sensitive skin. It’s practical and effective,” she said simply.
“Right, okay,” Rusty said, obviously trying not to laugh.
Sharon closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. Pale LA Idiot it was. Still, she liked the hat and she was going to wear it no matter what her foster son said. “Are you all set? Do you have everything? And you’ve put sunscreen on?” she inquired after him, counting the towels on the table and taking one last inventory of the sunscreen, lip balm, and sunglasses in her handbag.
“Yeah,” Rusty called after her as he went to answer the knock at the door. “Hey Andrea.” Sharon heard him greet their guest. Stuffing the last of their things into her beach bag, she met them at the door, and her jaw instantly dropped. Andrea was standing at her door, wearing khaki shorts over a dark blue tankini, sunglasses which were tangled in her thick blonde hair atop her head, and an easy smile.
“Andrea,” Sharon said, remembering her manners finally.
Andrea smirked as she watched Sharon look her up and down. “Good Morning.” She smiled brightly at Sharon, unable to help herself from taking the older woman’s attire in as well. “Are you and Rusty ready to go?”
Sharon nodded somewhat nervously and grabbed the handful of towels off the dining room table. “Here, I’ll grab the cooler,” Andrea muttered, running her hand along the length of Sharon’s bare back as she moved behind her to grab the small container off the floor. Andrea’s touch sent a chill straight up Sharon’s spine, causing her to jump a little. She could either handle Andrea half undressed or she could handle Andrea touching her; handling both of those things at once was proving to be extremely challenging.
“Thanks.” Sharon smiled as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, moving away from Andrea. “Rusty, grab the door please.”
Doing as he was told, he couldn’t help but smirk as he noticed his usually unflappable foster mother appear slightly thrown off balance in the presence of DDA Hobbs. He noticed more and more how Sharon seemed to simultaneously soften, yet tense, when she was in Andrea’s presence. And he certainly wasn’t blind to the lingering looks between the two women, nor was he deaf to the teasing and subtle flirting that they engaged in when he was around. As they got into the elevator, he noticed how closely Sharon stood next to her, and how Andrea kept sneaking glances at Sharon; today was certain to be all kinds of interesting.
***
“Oh God...” Sharon gritted her teeth as she watched a large wave crash over the boys and their instructor.
Beside her on the towel, Andrea grinned. “Sharon, they’re fine,” she said softly. Sharon shot her a stern glare. “That look doesn’t work on me, not while you’re wearing that.”
“Don’t start with the hat. I already heard it from Rusty,” she said irritably. Did Andrea think she looked ridiculous? Andrea was lounging in the sun, khaki shorts now discarded, leaving her long, legs bare. Andrea seemed to glow in the sun, her blonde hair shone brightly, and her limbs began to turn a subtle bronze. She looked radiant; carefree, relaxed, beautiful. And Sharon suddenly felt utterly foolish sitting next to her. She tugged self consciously at the brim of the oversized hat and turned away from the younger woman. Sharon felt a tentative hand on her arm.
“You look adorable in the hat,” Andrea said softly, “I was referring to your bathing suit,” she said, shrugging shyly. “I’ve never seen you in, uh, such casual wear before. And that’s your Captain Raydor Glare; it doesn’t work when we’re not in the office,” she explained.
Sharon’s entire demeanor softened as she melted into Andrea’s touch. “That’s very... well. I don’t know what that was. Sorry.” She laughed, countering her body back to Andrea.
“Look-look!” Andrea called out as Rusty successfully stood on the board for the first time. Sharon rested her hand on the towel against Andrea’s body, watching her foster son as he rode a small wave. For a moment the women rested comfortably against each other in silence as they watched their younger loved ones succeeding and bonding, almost like they did this every weekend; like this intimacy was a natural occurrence for them.
After a moment a new wave came crashing over Rusty and he was pulled under and out of sight. Sharon’s free hand came crashing to her mouth to cover her gasp as soon as he fell. Andrea rested her hand on Sharon’s thigh to reassure her in the few tense moments while they waited for him to resurface. “He’s fine, Sharon,” Andrea cooed, squeezing her leg. And indeed, a few seconds later, Rusty surfaced, laughing and high-fiving Andrea’s nephew. Sharon let out the breath that she had been holding and relaxed against the hand on her leg. Andrea made to remove it, but Sharon was quick to cover it with her own, securing it on her leg.
Andrea raised an eyebrow at Sharon and smirked, but didn’t question it. She kept her hand on Sharon’s thigh and looked back out at her nephew as the surfing lesson dragged on. She didn’t mind; at this point, she never wanted the surfing lesson to end.
“So do you think this is something you’ll let Rusty do again, or are you too close to a heart attack, Sharon?” Andrea joked, trying to relieve some of the tension between them.
“As much as I would prefer that Rusty pick up a less dangerous sport, he’s having so much fun, and he and Justin seem to have hit it off. How could I deny him?” Sharon fixed her gaze on Andrea. “And, there are other, perks, to his lessons,” she said cryptically.
Andrea shifted on her towel, daring to inch just a little bit closer to Sharon. “And they would be?”
“Staring at pretty women in very little clothing.” Andrea gulped. Leave it to Sharon to catch her off guard by being totally blunt. And totally honest. And totally Sharon.
“Well, the beach does tend to attract a lot of very beautiful women,” she said, nodding her head at the gaggles of young women in tiny bikinis all around them.
“No,” Sharon said seriously, looking Andrea dead in the eyes, “I’m not talking about them.”
Andrea was startled by wet hands on her back as her nephew leaned on her. “Aunt Andrea, did you see that?!” he exclaimed as he lounged against her carelessly, soaking her. She was at once completely thankful for and totally furious at his presence. She had been so concentrated on Sharon she hadn’t even heard the boys come up.
“Yes, Justin, you did so well,” she smiled at him, “But get your wet, dirty head out of my lap!” She lifted his head up and threw a towel at him, rolling her eyes affectionately at him as he wiped away the sand and salt water.
“Boys,” she muttered at Sharon playfully, wrapping her hands around her knees and pulling them to her chest in an attempt to calm her rapidly beating heart. She and Sharon had been so close to...she wasn’t sure what, but she was sure that whatever it was it was not something she wanted her nephew or Rusty to witness.
“Rusty, I am so proud of you,” Sharon said, hoping that she sounded like her calm and collected self, and not like the completely flustered mess she currently actually was.
“Sharon, can we hang out for a little while? Justin said there’s a cool burger joint at the end of the pier. Maybe we can grab lunch there?” He looked at her hopefully.
Sharon looked at Andrea for an answer. “I have nothing but time today,” Andrea said cheerfully.
“Wicked,” Justin said, nudging Rusty in the arm. “Hey, you two have to come in the water with us!”
“Oh no honey,” Sharon said politely, “that’s alright-”
“Yeah, come on Sharon,” Rusty chimed in, “the water’s great. The waves have calmed down so you and Andrea can come in.” There was a hint of mischief in his tone, in the exchanged looks between himself and Justin.
Sharon sighed. She had always quite liked the water; she just wasn’t sure going in with two teenaged boys and Andrea was the best idea. She looked over at her younger counterpart, who shrugged.
“I’ll go in if Sharon goes in.” Andrea smiled innocently, knowing her nephew all too well. He was up to something. Something she was probably going to like, and potentially thank him for later.
“Thanks, Andrea,” Sharon said pointedly, already standing up to pull her sarong off. She knew she was hosed after that. She untied the knot that held her cover up in place and discarded it on the ground, revealing her slender legs to Andrea’s hungry gaze. “Well? Are you people coming or what?”
“Lose the hat Sharon,” Rusty said.
“Hmph. I’ll have you know that Andrea happens to find it adorable,” she said.
Rusty nudged Justin. “Well, if Andrea finds it adorable...” he trailed off, smirking at both women.
Andrea rolled her eyes at the boys and moved closer to Sharon. “I do find the hat and the woman underneath it completely adorable, yes. But...” she grinned, “you’re going to lose it in the water. And I can see your adorable face better without it on,” she said, softly; the words were for her ears only.
“Fine.” Sharon pouted as she took the hat off and stuffed into her beach bag. “Better?” She asked the boys as they approached the shore, trying not to stand too close to Andrea.
Andrea placed her hand on Sharon’s lower back. “Yes, I can stand close to you without getting poked in the eye,” she joked.
Sharon glared at her and crossed her arms as they moved deeper in the water. “You know, I actually thought I liked you ten minutes ago, Andrea Hobbs,” she teased as they watched the boys splashing around.
Andrea caught Sharon’s hand as she was testing the water out, entwining their fingers together. “You still like me,” she laughed, squeezing her hand.
Sharon laughed, shaking her head. Andrea could be insufferable sometimes. “Yea, I gue-” Sharon didn’t have the chance to finish her sentence before she toppled over onto Andrea, the force of a wave pushing both of them under water. She did her best to catch herself without pushing Andrea to the bottom or groping her too much, but she failed miserably. After a few moments, both women resurfaced, tangled in one another, soaked.
“Are you okay?” Andrea asked, checking Sharon’s arms and shoulders for cuts.
Sharon looked at Andrea and burst out laughing, wrapping her arms around her. They both looked ridiculous, but it totally broke the tension. “I’m fine, honey.” She hadn’t meant for that term of endearment to slip out, it just, did. It rolled off her tongue like she’d been calling Andrea ‘honey’ every day for the last twenty years, and it felt good. She squeezed Andrea a little tighter, reveling in what it felt like to finally be in her arms. “Are you okay?”
Andrea let her hands slip down Sharon’s back and come to a rest on her hips before she lifted her head to look at her. “Okay? Yes. I’m okay. I’m perfect, in fact,” she smiled softly at the older woman, admiring the way she looked as she stood in the middle of the ocean, hair soaked with no makeup on. Even like this, she was beyond stunning. Sharon tilted her head upwards, anticipating Andrea’s kiss moments before the blonde’s lips brushed against her own. She caressed Sharon’s hips more firmly, drawing her body closer.
Sharon giggled softly as they parted. Both women had ridiculously wide grins on their faces.
“You owe me $20,” Rusty muttered to Justin, who was slapping the water in disappointment at losing their bet. “Told you they were totally into each other.”
“Not cool dude, you spend way more time with them both. I like totally just met Sharon today,” he grumbled.
Andrea swung an arm around Sharon’s shoulders, laughing softly at the two teens who despite their efforts, were not as inconspicuous as they hoped. “I think we have an audience,” she whispered into Sharon’s ear. “And I think my nephew just lost a bet to your foster son.”
Sharon snorted softly. “I always knew that boy was too observant for his own good,” she joked, planting another soft kiss on Andrea’s lips. “Come on, let’s go feed those rascals before they cause us any more trouble, honey.”
Co-Author: sharon_ray
Pairing: Hobbs/Raydor, Rusty
Rating: T
Word Count: 3, 088 words
Disclaimer: Not our characters or television show.
A/N: Many thanks to my co-author, who makes writing for this little pairing so very fun and wonderful; we hope you get the same enjoyment out of reading as we did out of writing this. This is a fluffy, stand-alone piece totally not related, but just coincidently posted between chapters of our other ongoing fic.
Summary: So, this is what happens when rococoms gives you prompts. She wanted Andrea, Sharon, and Rusty at the beach, with Sharon in a big floppy hat.
“Got your latte, skim milk, no foam.” Sharon looked up from her mountain of paperwork to see Andrea Hobbs, clad in a smart navy pinstripe suit; her very favourite outfit on the DDA.
Sharon sat up a little straighter in her chair. “Thank you,” she said gratefully, gesturing for Andrea to take a seat across from her. “I didn’t know you went on a coffee run.”
Andrea blushed. She hadn’t gone on a coffee run for the rest of the team, or even herself, she had seen how tired Sharon looked today and had used her lunch break to visit Sharon’s favourite cafe in the hopes that it might perk her up. “It’s nothing,” she said easily, but blushed a little deeper when Sharon flashed her another sincere smile.
Sharon took a sip of her coffee and peered down at the cell phone sitting in the center of her desk. It had buzzed three times since Andrea had entered her office. “Sorry Andrea,” Sharon muttered, slightly embarrassed as she typed out a brief, but blunt message back. “It’s Rusty.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Andrea assured her, “Is everything alright though?”
Sharon sighed. “Everything is fine. Mr. Beck has decided that his latest passion project is to harass me several times a day about going surfboarding. He is under the impression that if he bothers me enough about it, I’ll finally say yes.”
Andrea smirked. “Sounds like my nephew, Justin.” At Sharon’s questioning glance Andrea elaborated. “Justin’s a year younger than Rusty, and he’s been surfing for two years now. He pestered my brother and sister-in-law for months before they finally caved in. He goes for lessons on Saturday afternoon at Malibu Surfrider.”
Sharon leaned forward. “How did he manage to convince his parents?”
“My sister-in-law insisted that he take lessons, when he initially asked her, he wanted to teach himself and that was an absolute no. And if his grades slip, she’s made it very clear that the first thing that goes is the surfboard.”
“Sounds like my kind of woman,” Sharon laughed. “I am concerned about Rusty surfing,” she admitted, “it’s a dangerous sport, no offence to your nephew or his parents, and I worry about him getting carried away with it. I don’t want him engaging in potentially destructive activities,” she said honestly.
Andrea nodded her understanding. “It is dangerous. My sister-in-law felt a lot better knowing Justin was out there with an instructor by his side at all times. It was a good compromise. Between school and other activities, he doesn’t have much time to be out there alone outside of lessons, anyway. It works out well.” Andrea paused for a moment, watching Sharon fret as she checked her phone again. “I know you’re concerned, but if you’d like to let Rusty try it while supervised, that could work out for both of you. I have my nephews visiting me this weekend and I have to take Justin to his lesson tomorrow. Rusty is welcome to tag along, on one condition.”
Sharon looked up from her phone and narrowed her eyes at Andrea, suspicious of her conditional invitation. “What is this one condition?”
Andrea smirked as she sat back in her chair. “You have to come with him.”
Sharon lifted her eyebrow. “Oh? Trying to get me on a surfboard, Hobbs?”
Andrea chuckled. “I would pay to see you try and work a surfboard.”
“Are you implying that I couldn’t do it?” Sharon asked in mock offense.
Andrea rolled her eyes and stood up as she checked her watch. “As much as I would love to sit and argue about your coordination, I have to get to court. If you’d like to continue this discussion, there are other ways I’d like to test your coordination later, Sharon Raydor.”
Sharon let a wicked grin cross her face as she stood to show Andrea out of her office. “Oh? Did you have something else in mind for me to ride, Andrea?”
Andrea blushed a deep crimson as Sharon opened the door for her. “I will see you later, Sharon, enjoy the latte,” she said, suddenly timid; she hoped the older woman would in fact join her at the beach over the weekend. She couldn’t respond otherwise at the moment, for fear of embarrassing herself.
As she was stepping into the elevator, her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket.
You’re on. Pick Rusty and I up on Saturday morning? - Sharon
Andrea grinned to herself, and typed out her response without thinking twice.
Be ready for 9am. - Andrea
***
“Rusty, are you ready?” Sharon called out to her foster son as she gathered her purse and house keys. She was dressed for a day at the beach; on top of her modestly-cut black one-piece she had a deep red sarong tied around her waist. On her head, she wore a floppy, grosgrain straw hat to protect her delicate complexion. It was perhaps a bit too on the oversized side of things, but she liked it nonetheless. It made her feel like Sophia Loren; she could only hope the look translated to “Sunbathing Italian Beauty” and not “Pale LA Idiot”.
“Yeah!” Rusty called as he all but ran into the living room, bag swung over his shoulder and sandals in one hand. “Whaaa?” He stopped in his tracks when he saw her. “Um, Sharon, what are you wearing?”
Sharon tugged at her sarong. “What?” she asked defensively.
“No, your outfit is totally cool, just, what is with the massive hat?” he asked, smirking. He walked over to her and playfully tapped one side, knocking it over slightly.
“Watch it Mister, I can still change my mind about this whole thing,” she said as she readjusted the hat on her head. “I burn easily, and I can’t wear heavy sunscreen on my face, as I have very sensitive skin. It’s practical and effective,” she said simply.
“Right, okay,” Rusty said, obviously trying not to laugh.
Sharon closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. Pale LA Idiot it was. Still, she liked the hat and she was going to wear it no matter what her foster son said. “Are you all set? Do you have everything? And you’ve put sunscreen on?” she inquired after him, counting the towels on the table and taking one last inventory of the sunscreen, lip balm, and sunglasses in her handbag.
“Yeah,” Rusty called after her as he went to answer the knock at the door. “Hey Andrea.” Sharon heard him greet their guest. Stuffing the last of their things into her beach bag, she met them at the door, and her jaw instantly dropped. Andrea was standing at her door, wearing khaki shorts over a dark blue tankini, sunglasses which were tangled in her thick blonde hair atop her head, and an easy smile.
“Andrea,” Sharon said, remembering her manners finally.
Andrea smirked as she watched Sharon look her up and down. “Good Morning.” She smiled brightly at Sharon, unable to help herself from taking the older woman’s attire in as well. “Are you and Rusty ready to go?”
Sharon nodded somewhat nervously and grabbed the handful of towels off the dining room table. “Here, I’ll grab the cooler,” Andrea muttered, running her hand along the length of Sharon’s bare back as she moved behind her to grab the small container off the floor. Andrea’s touch sent a chill straight up Sharon’s spine, causing her to jump a little. She could either handle Andrea half undressed or she could handle Andrea touching her; handling both of those things at once was proving to be extremely challenging.
“Thanks.” Sharon smiled as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, moving away from Andrea. “Rusty, grab the door please.”
Doing as he was told, he couldn’t help but smirk as he noticed his usually unflappable foster mother appear slightly thrown off balance in the presence of DDA Hobbs. He noticed more and more how Sharon seemed to simultaneously soften, yet tense, when she was in Andrea’s presence. And he certainly wasn’t blind to the lingering looks between the two women, nor was he deaf to the teasing and subtle flirting that they engaged in when he was around. As they got into the elevator, he noticed how closely Sharon stood next to her, and how Andrea kept sneaking glances at Sharon; today was certain to be all kinds of interesting.
***
“Oh God...” Sharon gritted her teeth as she watched a large wave crash over the boys and their instructor.
Beside her on the towel, Andrea grinned. “Sharon, they’re fine,” she said softly. Sharon shot her a stern glare. “That look doesn’t work on me, not while you’re wearing that.”
“Don’t start with the hat. I already heard it from Rusty,” she said irritably. Did Andrea think she looked ridiculous? Andrea was lounging in the sun, khaki shorts now discarded, leaving her long, legs bare. Andrea seemed to glow in the sun, her blonde hair shone brightly, and her limbs began to turn a subtle bronze. She looked radiant; carefree, relaxed, beautiful. And Sharon suddenly felt utterly foolish sitting next to her. She tugged self consciously at the brim of the oversized hat and turned away from the younger woman. Sharon felt a tentative hand on her arm.
“You look adorable in the hat,” Andrea said softly, “I was referring to your bathing suit,” she said, shrugging shyly. “I’ve never seen you in, uh, such casual wear before. And that’s your Captain Raydor Glare; it doesn’t work when we’re not in the office,” she explained.
Sharon’s entire demeanor softened as she melted into Andrea’s touch. “That’s very... well. I don’t know what that was. Sorry.” She laughed, countering her body back to Andrea.
“Look-look!” Andrea called out as Rusty successfully stood on the board for the first time. Sharon rested her hand on the towel against Andrea’s body, watching her foster son as he rode a small wave. For a moment the women rested comfortably against each other in silence as they watched their younger loved ones succeeding and bonding, almost like they did this every weekend; like this intimacy was a natural occurrence for them.
After a moment a new wave came crashing over Rusty and he was pulled under and out of sight. Sharon’s free hand came crashing to her mouth to cover her gasp as soon as he fell. Andrea rested her hand on Sharon’s thigh to reassure her in the few tense moments while they waited for him to resurface. “He’s fine, Sharon,” Andrea cooed, squeezing her leg. And indeed, a few seconds later, Rusty surfaced, laughing and high-fiving Andrea’s nephew. Sharon let out the breath that she had been holding and relaxed against the hand on her leg. Andrea made to remove it, but Sharon was quick to cover it with her own, securing it on her leg.
Andrea raised an eyebrow at Sharon and smirked, but didn’t question it. She kept her hand on Sharon’s thigh and looked back out at her nephew as the surfing lesson dragged on. She didn’t mind; at this point, she never wanted the surfing lesson to end.
“So do you think this is something you’ll let Rusty do again, or are you too close to a heart attack, Sharon?” Andrea joked, trying to relieve some of the tension between them.
“As much as I would prefer that Rusty pick up a less dangerous sport, he’s having so much fun, and he and Justin seem to have hit it off. How could I deny him?” Sharon fixed her gaze on Andrea. “And, there are other, perks, to his lessons,” she said cryptically.
Andrea shifted on her towel, daring to inch just a little bit closer to Sharon. “And they would be?”
“Staring at pretty women in very little clothing.” Andrea gulped. Leave it to Sharon to catch her off guard by being totally blunt. And totally honest. And totally Sharon.
“Well, the beach does tend to attract a lot of very beautiful women,” she said, nodding her head at the gaggles of young women in tiny bikinis all around them.
“No,” Sharon said seriously, looking Andrea dead in the eyes, “I’m not talking about them.”
Andrea was startled by wet hands on her back as her nephew leaned on her. “Aunt Andrea, did you see that?!” he exclaimed as he lounged against her carelessly, soaking her. She was at once completely thankful for and totally furious at his presence. She had been so concentrated on Sharon she hadn’t even heard the boys come up.
“Yes, Justin, you did so well,” she smiled at him, “But get your wet, dirty head out of my lap!” She lifted his head up and threw a towel at him, rolling her eyes affectionately at him as he wiped away the sand and salt water.
“Boys,” she muttered at Sharon playfully, wrapping her hands around her knees and pulling them to her chest in an attempt to calm her rapidly beating heart. She and Sharon had been so close to...she wasn’t sure what, but she was sure that whatever it was it was not something she wanted her nephew or Rusty to witness.
“Rusty, I am so proud of you,” Sharon said, hoping that she sounded like her calm and collected self, and not like the completely flustered mess she currently actually was.
“Sharon, can we hang out for a little while? Justin said there’s a cool burger joint at the end of the pier. Maybe we can grab lunch there?” He looked at her hopefully.
Sharon looked at Andrea for an answer. “I have nothing but time today,” Andrea said cheerfully.
“Wicked,” Justin said, nudging Rusty in the arm. “Hey, you two have to come in the water with us!”
“Oh no honey,” Sharon said politely, “that’s alright-”
“Yeah, come on Sharon,” Rusty chimed in, “the water’s great. The waves have calmed down so you and Andrea can come in.” There was a hint of mischief in his tone, in the exchanged looks between himself and Justin.
Sharon sighed. She had always quite liked the water; she just wasn’t sure going in with two teenaged boys and Andrea was the best idea. She looked over at her younger counterpart, who shrugged.
“I’ll go in if Sharon goes in.” Andrea smiled innocently, knowing her nephew all too well. He was up to something. Something she was probably going to like, and potentially thank him for later.
“Thanks, Andrea,” Sharon said pointedly, already standing up to pull her sarong off. She knew she was hosed after that. She untied the knot that held her cover up in place and discarded it on the ground, revealing her slender legs to Andrea’s hungry gaze. “Well? Are you people coming or what?”
“Lose the hat Sharon,” Rusty said.
“Hmph. I’ll have you know that Andrea happens to find it adorable,” she said.
Rusty nudged Justin. “Well, if Andrea finds it adorable...” he trailed off, smirking at both women.
Andrea rolled her eyes at the boys and moved closer to Sharon. “I do find the hat and the woman underneath it completely adorable, yes. But...” she grinned, “you’re going to lose it in the water. And I can see your adorable face better without it on,” she said, softly; the words were for her ears only.
“Fine.” Sharon pouted as she took the hat off and stuffed into her beach bag. “Better?” She asked the boys as they approached the shore, trying not to stand too close to Andrea.
Andrea placed her hand on Sharon’s lower back. “Yes, I can stand close to you without getting poked in the eye,” she joked.
Sharon glared at her and crossed her arms as they moved deeper in the water. “You know, I actually thought I liked you ten minutes ago, Andrea Hobbs,” she teased as they watched the boys splashing around.
Andrea caught Sharon’s hand as she was testing the water out, entwining their fingers together. “You still like me,” she laughed, squeezing her hand.
Sharon laughed, shaking her head. Andrea could be insufferable sometimes. “Yea, I gue-” Sharon didn’t have the chance to finish her sentence before she toppled over onto Andrea, the force of a wave pushing both of them under water. She did her best to catch herself without pushing Andrea to the bottom or groping her too much, but she failed miserably. After a few moments, both women resurfaced, tangled in one another, soaked.
“Are you okay?” Andrea asked, checking Sharon’s arms and shoulders for cuts.
Sharon looked at Andrea and burst out laughing, wrapping her arms around her. They both looked ridiculous, but it totally broke the tension. “I’m fine, honey.” She hadn’t meant for that term of endearment to slip out, it just, did. It rolled off her tongue like she’d been calling Andrea ‘honey’ every day for the last twenty years, and it felt good. She squeezed Andrea a little tighter, reveling in what it felt like to finally be in her arms. “Are you okay?”
Andrea let her hands slip down Sharon’s back and come to a rest on her hips before she lifted her head to look at her. “Okay? Yes. I’m okay. I’m perfect, in fact,” she smiled softly at the older woman, admiring the way she looked as she stood in the middle of the ocean, hair soaked with no makeup on. Even like this, she was beyond stunning. Sharon tilted her head upwards, anticipating Andrea’s kiss moments before the blonde’s lips brushed against her own. She caressed Sharon’s hips more firmly, drawing her body closer.
Sharon giggled softly as they parted. Both women had ridiculously wide grins on their faces.
“You owe me $20,” Rusty muttered to Justin, who was slapping the water in disappointment at losing their bet. “Told you they were totally into each other.”
“Not cool dude, you spend way more time with them both. I like totally just met Sharon today,” he grumbled.
Andrea swung an arm around Sharon’s shoulders, laughing softly at the two teens who despite their efforts, were not as inconspicuous as they hoped. “I think we have an audience,” she whispered into Sharon’s ear. “And I think my nephew just lost a bet to your foster son.”
Sharon snorted softly. “I always knew that boy was too observant for his own good,” she joked, planting another soft kiss on Andrea’s lips. “Come on, let’s go feed those rascals before they cause us any more trouble, honey.”