Mr. Winter.

She walked slowly down the beach with a brown haired boy by her side. He was chattering at her about some stupid movie he had seen. She had been listening to him for about an hour. His name was Erin. He asked her on a date and she accepted because he was cute and she hadn’t been out for a while. She decided to at least give him a chance. That was her first mistake. Her second had been allowing him to pick the restaurant. If there was anything that she hated more than cold weather it was probably sea food. He picked one of the most expensive sea food restaurants on the beach. She forced down some grilled shrimp because she felt bad about not telling him that she didn’t like sea food. They had left the restaurant a few minutes ago and he had asked if she’d like to walk on the beach and she agreed because she absolutely loved the beach. This boy hadn’t shut up since they sat down to eat.

“Then there was this totally awesome battle scene at the very end, it was epic! He kicked this guy’s-” Erin rambled until she cut him off.

“Erin! I don’t really care about the movie ok?” she said getting a little annoyed.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to bore you. It’s just that I start to ramble when I get nervous and… I’m doing it again, sorry,” he finished looking at the ground. “Do you want me to take you home?”

“Look Erin, I had fun tonight and you’re really sweet. Thanks for the date, really. I don’t need a ride home but thanks for offering. I’ll probably stay here for a little longer,” she told him with a smile. She kind of felt bad but she didn’t feel bad enough to offer or accept another date. Tonight was disastrous.

“Ok, um, well I guess I’ll see you around,” he smiled back awkwardly and she nodded. He hugged her lightly and then walked back towards the restaurant where his car was parked. She let out a sigh of relief and started down the beach in the opposite direction. She walked for a few more minutes and then decided to sit down and watch the sun set. There were some guys out surfing since it was close to high tide and the waves were big. She couldn’t tell if she knew any of the boys but she watched them ride the waves. They made it look easy. One was a brunet, the other looked like a typical blonde surfer boy, and the third had a shock of red hair that hung to his shoulders. He didn’t quite have the build of a surfer yet he was good at it. She could tell he was an athlete; it was easy to see even from this distance.

She thought she saw one of the boys look towards, the brunet. He said something to the red head and then the blonde when he rejoined them after bailing on a wave. The other two boys glanced towards the shore but she couldn’t tell if they were looking at her or something behind her or what. The blonde shrugged and he and the brunet paddled out again. The red head waved at them and he turned his board and started to paddle in. He happened to catch a wave but she could tell he was just using it to get into shore. He got to where he could touch and started walking out of the water with his board in his hand. He was walking directly toward her. She kept her eyes on the horizon where the sky was turning every shade of pink until he stopped a few feet away from her.

“You mind if I sit with you?” he asked over the crash of the waves. She shook her head so he set his board down and sat down on her left side. “What’s your name?”

“Juliet,” she answered with a smile.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Juliet, I’m Shaun,” he said and held his hand out. She took it and shook his hand. “So what’re you doing out here all by yourself?” he asked a few minutes later.

“Just sitting, enjoying the beach and the sun set,” she shrugged.

“Your dressed a little nice to just be walking the beach. Date gone wrong?” he suggested.

“You’re a mind reader,” she laughed.

“Nah, I just saw some guy moping his way back up the beach,” he grinned. “What made it so bad?”

“Oh my god, he wouldn’t shut up! And he took me to get sea food which is god awful,” she complained and he laughed.

“Sorry your date sucked,” he said.

“It’s not your fault,” she told him with a smile.

“I know,” he shrugged. He looked out at his friends for a moment before turning back to her. She noticed that his eyes were green and she liked them a lot. “How about you let me take you on an awesome date?” he questioned with a smirk.

“You want to take me on a date?” she asked skeptically.

“Hell yeah, a pretty girl like you. Why wouldn’t I want to get to know the girl behind that gorgeous face of yours?” She blushed and looked away with a smile on her face. Her black hair fell like a curtain between them. “What do you say?”

“Alright,” she agreed as she looked back at him.

“Give me your phone and I’ll put my number in it. Just send me a text message and I’ll save your number when I get home. I don’t have my phone on me,” he told her. she handed him her black Sidekick and he put his number into it. “I’ll see you around Juliet,” he smiled.

“Yeah, I’ll see you later,” she replied. He walked up the beach and out of her sight. She stood with a smile still on her face and started the short walk to her townhouse down the beach.