Juliet's eyes blinked open as the morning sun shone on her face. She yawned and cuddled further into her pillow, not ready to be awakened just yet. It was then that she realized she wasn't at home in her room, nor was she alone. She sat up suddenly, holding the covers over her naked body as she looked around the luxurious hotel room, hers and Shawn's clothes scattered all over. She looked over at Shawn, who was still in a heavy sleep next to her.
"Oh, God…What have I done?"
She replayed the events of the previous night in her head.
They were on a case, working undercover as a couple vacationing at a Palm Springs resort. There had been a series of armed burglaries recently in the Santa Barbara area, and the suspected perpetrators were a married couple whom the SBPD now believed was hiding out at the resort under aliases. Chief Vick had ordered Shawn and Juliet to go there and weed them out. Normally, detective O'Hara would have gone on such an expedition with her partner, detective Lassiter, but the Chief insisted that he was needed to stay and complete another open case…plus she never really trusted Carlton to go undercover anyway. Juliet knew it was a bad idea, but what could she do? She pleaded with the Chief to change her mind and allow Lassiter to come with her instead, but the Chief wouldn't budge. "I'm sure you and Spencer can conduct yourselves as responsible adults…or at least you can," was Chief Vick's response.
How was this going to work? They couldn't share a hotel room…not with the sexual tension that was continually hovering between them…not after Juliet had finally admitted her feelings for him only to be turned down for "the one that got away." Shawn had a girlfriend, and it wasn't her. Juliet could hardly be around him anymore without things getting incredibly awkward. How was she going to spend…who knows how long…with him at a romantic location, pretending to be his wife? Did Abigail even know about this assignment? If she did, Juliet was sure she wouldn't approve. She guessed that Abigail had probably sensed the ever-present tension between herself and Shawn. In the end, Juliet insisted that she and Shawn get adjoining rooms. At least they could pretend to be coming and going together, but they wouldn't have to sleep in the same room.
They were involved in an evening of dinner and dancing, that for them was intended to be more of a scouting mission. They mingled with the other couples, trying to determine if any of them were acting suspiciously. Who might have had a stash of stolen cash and credit cards hidden somewhere? In order to blend in, they didn't turn down that glass or two of wine. They weren't drunk, but enough affected by the alcohol to let their inhibitions fall a bit. Shawn didn't stop himself from flirting with her like he used to do before Abigail, and she allowed herself to enjoy it. She allowed him a slow dance and soon her head was resting on his shoulder. He stroked her hair and leaned his cheek against hers, and before she even realized what was happening, their lips were locked in a passionate kiss….an amazing kiss…a kiss filled with an outpouring of four years of pent up feelings for each other…the kind of kiss that made your knees weak, your heart skip a beat, and your stomach flutter.
They separated, suddenly aware of what they were doing. "Oh my God!" said Juliet, her face flushed red. She turned and sprinted out of the ballroom. Shawn stood with his hand over his mouth, for a moment unable to say anything until he could figure out for sure if that had actually just happened. When he decided that it was real, he took off after the blonde junior detective.
"Jules? Wait!"
He caught up to her at the elevator.
"Jules, I…" He actually didn't know what he intended to say.
"Shawn, you cheated on Abigail!" Juliet was horrified at the thought of herself possibly ruining their relationship. If only Shawn wasn't with Abigail this night might have ended happily. But it couldn't. "This shouldn't have happened!" she said getting onto the elevator, Shawn following her. "This can't happen! We need to just go to bed and pretend this never happened!"
"But, Jules…" Shawn began to argue, though still no words followed. They exited the elevator and Juliet walked at a quick pace toward her hotel room, not looking back at Shawn who followed, trying to keep up with her.
"Good night, Shawn!" she said as she reached her door. Shawn stopped. He was now standing in front of his own door but still facing Juliet. She didn't look at him. "I'll see you in the morning. We'll get back to the case in the morning." She entered her room, leaving Shawn standing dumbfounded in the hallway. She closed the door and leaned against it, tears beginning to spill from her eyes.
Two hours later, Juliet lay awake, unable to get her mind off of the kiss. For those few moments that her lips were touching his, she felt like she was in heaven. She had had a lot of kisses in her 28 years, but none of them ever felt quite like that one. She wanted more.
In the next room, Shawn was in the same boat. For four years, he had been chasing her, and for four years she turned him down. He was with Abigail now. They were happy. Weren't they? He thought they were…but yet…he never could quite get Juliet off his mind. And that kiss! He had never felt that way with Abigail…ever.
Almost at the same time, both of them rolled out of bed and approached the door adjoining their rooms. Shawn opened his side of the door and was going to be polite and knock on hers, but Juliet had already inserted the key and turned the knob. The door swung open and their eyes met.
Juliet looked into his longing hazel eyes and knew that he had been up all night too.
Shawn looked into her piercing blue eyes and melted.
They couldn't resist anymore. Their bodies intertwined and their lips met again. One thing led to another and eventually they were both in Shawn's bed.
That was six hours ago.
"Oh, God…What have I done?"
Juliet gathered her clothes from the floor and, as carefully as she could, returned to her room and locked the adjoining door behind her. Shawn was still asleep.