Mr. Winter.

Two Weeks Later.

She had spent time with Shaun everyday since she had met him. They already knew so much about each other. He was coming over again tonight and they were going to watch a movie after taking a walk on the beach. Anytime he came over in the evening they would walk the beach and watch the sunset, sometimes from her balcony and sometimes from the sand, sometimes from the pier. She loved to watch the sunset. He loved to watch her watch the sun fall behind the horizon.

He knew there was something about the brown eyed girl. She was so different than any other girl he had ever met. He felt like such a cliché when he said it but it was true. She was stubborn yet quick to compromise. She was unorganized yet knew where everything was when she needed it. She was imperfect and yet he could find no fault. He knew he was falling for her. How could he not know? After just two short weeks he had become completely and utterly infatuated with her. He couldn’t deny it to himself or her anymore. He had fallen in love with Juliet.

{ [: - :] }

She heard his car pull into her driveway and waited for him to knock on the door. Then she would get up from her spot on the couch and try to walk at a normal pace to open the door for him. She would smile and hug him and he might kiss her cheek or her forehead and flash his beaming smile right back at her. Knock, knock, knock. She got up and walked slowly and purposefully to the door. She opened it and grinned like she always did when she saw him. He wore white skinny jeans and a black shirt. His red hair stood in contrast with his dark shirt. He met her eyes and smiled before wrapping her in a hug. He pressed his lips to her forehead for a sweet moment and then pulled her outside and down onto the beach. He kicked off his shoes and tossed them over to the side of her house. She hadn’t been wearing shoes. She was in shorts and a green tank top with her hair pulled back into a pony tail and her bangs hanging just slightly in her face.

“How was your day?” he asked as he took her hand in his and started down the beach. They walked towards the pier on the edge of the water.

“It was good. I went to the studio for practice around noon and got home at four. I took a much needed hot bubble bath and read on my back porch for a little bit,” she told him with a smile. He always wanted to know what she did during the day or when she wasn’t with him. He said that he wanted to know who she was and how she was and that knowing about her day would help to do that. “What about you?”

“Pretty uneventful… I slept until noon and then went for lunch with Lenny and he said I’ve got a competition coming up in about three weeks. It’s in Vale, Colorado so I’ll probably leave to start practicing on Monday,” he told her the last part without looking at her. He looked over the water instead. He wasn’t sure if she’d be able to come with him or if he would miss her dance recital. She had been so excited about him coming to the performance but she hadn’t told him exactly when they’d be. He had been excited too. He wanted to see her dance. She loved it so much and she was so passionate about it that it made him want to see her perform.

“Well, the recital is this weekend, on Saturday so you can make it. I can skip practice for a couple of weeks because we won’t have another recital for at least a couple of months. We won’t even start choreographing new routines until two or three weeks after the recital. I should be able to go with you. I mean, if you want me to you know…” she trailed off. He stopped and looked at her with a smile.

“Of course I want you to come with me. We’ll fly out and land in Vale and then drive over to Silverton,” he explained.

“Why Silverton? You said it was in Vale,” she questioned.

“Red Bull built me a half pipe up in the mountains and it’ll be the first time anyone’s been on it,” he answered.

“They built you a half pipe? Like a big half pipe? Why?” she asked skeptically.

“They wanted to build me a half pipe,” he shrugged with a laugh.

“You’re that good huh?”

“I guess,” he smiled. He looked over the water where the sun had started to set and he sat down in the sand and pulled her down next to him. She sat in between in his legs and he put his arms around her and pulled her back into him. He kissed her cheek and then looked out over the water. He felt her sigh and saw her eyes slip closed. “What’re you thinking about?” he asked her softly.

“This is nice,” she replied.

“What’s nice?”

“Being here… with you… like this,” she told him.

“Yeah, it is… There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you,” he began in a quiet voice. She sat up and turned around to face him.

“Go ahead,” she smiled softly. He took both of her hands in his and then looked in her eyes.

“I love you Juliet,” he said simply. “I didn’t want to keep it from you any more. I don’t know what it is about you that has me so wrapped up but whatever it is I hope it never goes away. I love this feeling, I love everything about you.” She was quiet for a moment but she never moved her eyes from his.

“No one has ever said that to me…” she finally said. “I never thought I’d say this to someone after only two weeks but… I love you too,” she whispered, and that was all it took. He took her face in his hands and captured her lips with his. He tried to convey his feelings through that one kiss. He put his whole heart into it. Their lips moved in sync and he pulled her ever closer. When they broke apart he pressed his forehead against hers and whispered that he loved her against her lips. They lay on the beach for at least an hour. He lay on his back with her head on his chest. It amazed how much time they could spend just talking and not realize the time passing. They went inside after a while though and sat down to watch a movie. They were soon cuddled up on the couch sleeping soundly.

{ [: - :] }

When Shaun’s eyes fluttered open there was light shining on his face and he was alone. He had a blanket draped over him and a pillow under his head. He heard sounds coming from the kitchen. There were pots and pans being moved and what sounded like a microwave. The sounds of cooking reached his ears. Then the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. There was an angelic voice singing the sweetest melody, one that had been sung a hundred times over but never as she sung it. Her voice was like nothing he had ever heard, it was perfection. He got up quietly and crept to the doorway that led to the kitchen, he listened. He peeked through the door way and saw that her back was to him so he leaned against the frame and watched her cook while he listened to her sing.

“And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight

And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am.”

She turned around then and nearly jumped out of her skin. He couldn’t help but laugh at her which earned him an impressive glare. He crossed the kitchen and took her in his arms.

“Don’t you laugh at me Shaun Roger White,” she scolded and he choked back another laugh.

“I’m sorry, but that was funny.”

“You shouldn’t scare me like that,” she said with a smile and playfully hit his chest.

“I’m sorry, I was listening to you sing,” he told her with a smile and then kissed her lips. “You have a beautiful voice.”

“Thank you,” she replied softly and then kissed him again. The rest of the day was spent walking around town and just being together, being a couple. They were happy to spend the entire day doing nothing as long as they could do nothing together. When ten o’clock rolled around it was time for Shaun to head back home. He had an early start tomorrow. He had two interviews and a photo shoot to do and she had one last practice before her recital the following day. Tomorrow was Friday and she would be at the studio all day while he ran the town all day. He had nothing planned on Saturday so he was coming over and staying with her Friday night and going to the recital with her.

They were both excited about the coming events. She was happy that Shaun was coming to see her dance and she was anxious for her recital. He was happy that Juliet was going to see him snowboard and he was excited for his season to start. He also knew that with the snowboarding season came a lot of time away from California and everything that he loved about it. He loved the cold weather in the mountains but California would always be his home and now it held another appeal. His love would be there waiting for him. It was comforting to have someone to come home to but upsetting having to leave that someone to begin with. He pushed the though out of his mind as he told Juliet goodnight and kissed her with as much passion as he could.

“I love you baby and I’ll see you tomorrow night,” he said and the way he said it made it sound like a promise, Juliet smiled.

“I love you too,” she told him and then kissed him one more time before he walked to his car and drove away. She watched his car until she couldn’t see it anymore and then went inside and fell on her bed. She got under the covers and fell asleep with a smile on her face.