"Hey there, beautiful."
"Shane."
"You okay now?"
"I'm a little bit better."
"You'll feel even better once you finally let those walls come down. Quit trying to brace them back up with your shoulders."
"Look…"
"Honey, you don't have to explain anything to me. I've been through it before. I know what its like."
With that Shane dove into the pool. When he came to the surface, Lulu was right there beside him. She wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could possibly get them. She had a look on her face that was unknown to Shane. However, he was about to find out what it meant.
"You know, I could definitely fall in love with you."
"That's the plan, beautiful."
Lulu leaned up, caressing Shane's face. She then proceeded to kiss him. Shane cradled her head close, not wanting to let go. When they separated, Shane ran his thumb over Lulu's freckles, almost as if he was playing connect the dots. What Shane didn't know, was that Lulu had pretty much already fallen for him. With Owen's blessing, it was just like sealing the deal. Lulu removed herself from Shane's arms, and got out of the pool. She then proceeded to head towards the steam room. She wanted some time to herself, but secretly hoped she wouldn't get any. Not even 5 minutes after she got in there and had lain down on the bench facing the wall, the door opened, and she felt arms go around her waist and a body behind hers. She turned over to face Shane. Neither one said a word, but the look in both of their eyes said everything that needed to be said at that moment. After a long silence, Lulu finally broke it, her voice barely above a whisper.
"You are so beautiful Shane Brandon McMahon."
"Not as much as you, Tallulah Alizabeth Perkins."
"I do beg to differ."
Lulu closed the distance between the two of them, and they kissed each other for the second time in less than ten minutes. This time, neither one of them wanted to pull away. In fact, when one of them came up for air, the other was so anxious to have the other back, that there wasn't a moment where they were separated for more than 10 seconds. Lulu finally pulled away, her heart racing. She had been used to feeling these things with Scott, but it actually came as a surprise to her that her feelings had developed for Shane so fast. In front of her was a man who loved her with everything he had, and even though everything in her told her to grab at the opportunity, she didn't want Shane to be just a rebound from Scott. She thought too much of Shane to do that too him. They both flew back to their respective homes in the morning, and she didn't want to do something that she would regret later. Although, Shane however was the first to say something.
"You know, as much as I would love to take you right here, and make every part of you mine, I want you to want it too. From the look on your face, I can tell you are fighting a battle within yourself."
"Shane, I just don't want to hurt you. I don't want you to be a casualty in all this. I want to love you, and am pretty damn close already. But I want to be sure that I love you for you, not because you were there as a rebound."
"Do you know how much respect I just gained for you?"
"Hopefully about as much as I have had for you since the moment we met."
"Lulu, you don't understand. I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for you, considering the way you have basically came from the ground up. Being raised in the hell you were, and here you are now: a classy, intelligent, and absolutely beautiful woman."
"Shane…"
"Why do you think it was so easy for me to fall in love with you? Those many a nights when I held you in my arms, as you spilled the pain from your heart, made me love you even more. Then, last night, when you held to me like I was a life preserver as you cried tears that had been hidden behind those hypnotizing eyes for years."
"I didn't realize that I was actually crying. In my dream I was, but I didn't know you were there until Jade told me this afternoon. It was kind of ironic, considering the fact that you were in the dream. You were there holding me as I cried, as I poured out my soul. It all seemed to fit into one little glass. That's what Scott doesn't understand. Yes, I may have many accomplishments, but my world does exist beyond San Antonio, TX. There are dreams I want to go after, places I want to see. He's been there, done that. He's lived life and accomplished goals he set for himself when he was my age. I can't just sit here and not do anything. As much as I love him, my world cannot be centered on him. Yes, I would give my life for that man in a heartbeat, and never regret it cause I love him, and live for him that much. But, when I am old and gray, and hopefully sitting on a back porch that's covered with grandkids, I want to be someone who's able to say I'm proud of what I've done with my life. Look back with no regrets and not have to say what if? I want to say "My cup runneth over"."
"Baby… the only thing I hope is that you'll let me along for the ride."
"It may be bumpy, it may have plenty of twists and turns, it may even have a few dead ends, but if you can hang on, I'd be more than glad to have the company. Just make sure you have your seatbelt on tight."