It was the sound of the waves crashing and the sight of the birds that made Karen relax. Everything was so peaceful in the grayness of the morning. The sun was behind the mountains and also being hidden by the clouds. Karen was curled up in a wicker chair, dressed in her silk robe, wrapped up in her fleece blanket, and her head resting on her arm.

There was no one there on the beach, which wasn't surprising, since it was barely six o'clock. She had been at the hotel for a week and despite the fact that she hated the hotel itself, there was an exception. She loved being there with Will, a person who she knew she could count on. It was a strange friendship that they had and despite its oddness she enjoyed it every moment. But it was the night before when everything had changed.

It might have been the hand on the small of her back as he led her through the small gift shop or the light touch to her shoulder when she was reaming the stupid woman who was already burnt, for not putting sun blocker on her son; it triggered something. Whatever it was, she found herself in the moonlight kissing Will, and she didn't mind at all. For once she wasn't caring what the rest of the world was thinking. And it was nice.

Her normal affairs, she'd wake up alone, with either a note or a phone message; apologizing for not being there when she woke. There was always an excuse. Their wife would be home and the house needed to be clean. Or the note that read 'I need to go pick up my kids by eight.' Whatever it was, they were always there. Not this time though. It was the strong arm around her waist and the light breath that tickled her ear that made it different. At first it was a surprise that there was someone next to her, but it was the pleasantness that caused her to melt into his embrace, causing her to drift back to sleep.

"Kare?" His voice broke her train of thought. She looked up from the bird digging in the sand below her and saw Will standing in her doorway, in a black and white checkered shirt, his horrible tan shorts that she continuously mocked, and his sandals hanging off his finger. For a moment she was breathless. He seemed perfect. He looked like he had been chasing something. The way his shirt was wrinkled and the way his shorts were stained. "You want to go for a walk into town?"

"It's six fifteen in the morning Will," She informed him, surprised that time had passed by. "What stores would be open?"

"There's a coffee shop I think. Or the little jewelry shack." He said offering his hand to her. "Or we could just take a walk."

"I think I may like the walk better. But I just need to-"She said pointing at her robe. "Change."

It was ten minutes later when Karen and Will found themselves on the beach barefoot. Karen dressed in a pair of summer pants that still looked stylish and a white blouse the clung to her curves. She had no makeup on, with the exception of some lip gloss, but everything else wasn't needed. She was so lost in her thoughts; she hadn't felt Will's hand take hold of hers. It was when she felt the familiar warmth did she notice. "We're going to have to talk about it."

Karen simply shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms over her chest. "Not right now okay." It wasn't her pleading. It wasn't her begging. It was more of a promise. A promise that said they would talk about their first night together, when she was ready. When that time would be; neither of them knew.

It was some time later when Will had guided her onto a cobblestone pathway. There were small houses that lined it; each different colors. Karen smiled at the sight of the little stories that each one told. One house had children in it; that much was known by the small toys the littered the small front lawn. Another one belonged to a mechanic, which was told by different car parts and a spare tire leaning against the side of the house. Everything seemed so perfect in its emptiness.

There was no sign anyone had lived there. It was empty. Something Karen knew a lot about. The feeling that there was nothing in front of her, nothing that needed to be taken care of. She felt that way a lot until recently. Eight days to be exact. Eight days since she stepped out of the ferry boat and onto the hotel property. The man by her side was capable of making her forget everything.

Will had stopped and Karen realized the cobblestone path led them up a hill. The hill overlooked the ocean and the town that they had passed through. "See that yellow building?" Will asked pointing just above the town. Karen nodded. "That's our hotel."

She wasn't surprised that he would show her something like that. He had a knack for landscapes she had learned. From the position they were standing she could see the hammock that was on their balcony. "When did you find this?"

"The second day we were here." He admitted. "You were asleep, so I took a walk."

"It's beautiful." She said with a smile. "I love this place, just hate the hotel."

"So I've been informed." He teased, elbowing her in the side. "When I was a kid I told my mom I wanted a house on the beach. A house with a cobblestone pathway and some French windows."

"You're such a Queen Wilma," She said out of habit. But the moment she said it again in her mind, she instantly regretted it. And he knew it. He took her hand in his and she instantly tried to pull back, but he wouldn't let her.

"Just know that last night wasn't a drunken mistake. We may have been a little tipsy, but I knew exactly what I was doing and I enjoyed it." With that he pressed a kiss to her temple and let go of her hand, leaving her at the top of the hill. She turned to look over her should and watched him walk away.

She made her way as quietly as she possibly could to his side. But when his hand reached out behind him for her, her presence was known. She took his hand quickly, almost as if she thought it would disappear and put herself in his side. "Of all the people in the world, why me?"

"You're addicting." It was a simple, yet loaded answer. After being with her for a week, he noticed things he would have never noticed in New York. Whether it was the way her eye color changed when she got angry or was on the verge of picking a stupid fight with him. Or the way the corners of her mouth curved when she was getting ready to con him into doing something. It was the littlest, yet most important thing about her that he picked up on. It was the maternal glow that she had whenever she was around children. She would never have admitted to wanting children and he knew that.

The day before when they were watching the children play in the body of water, Karen had seen a small boy fall face forward in the sand. It was the small gasp that escaped Karen that drew Will to the conclusion of her wanting children. It was the shy smile that she gave him when he caught her smiling at the children. She didn't try to hide her happiness like she would do with other things. It was a smile of pure hope.

For the rest of the day and most of the week they had not left their room. It was two weeks that they had spent together. At the end of the second week as they were on the ferry to go back, her head rested on his shoulder and the faint whisper of affection escaped her. He smiled and kissed her lips, not even caring that they had an audience. Nothing really mattered to him but the woman next to him.

After spending the two weeks with Karen Walker, it made him realize that she was definitely a mystery. It was the time that he took to get to know her, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. She would always open up to him, but not like the past week. He had found everything that made her tick. Everything that he learned fed into his addiction. Some say it's impossible to become addicted in just two weeks. But this wasn't a two week old addiction he realized; it was years. And the first step to recovery was to admit that he was addicted, which he was never going to do.