The Monday after the incident came and went. Then the entire week slipped by. The new couple hardly noticed because they were quite busy. When they weren't working, eating, or talking, they were busy dragging each other into the bedroom given any spare moment. They still had themselves fooled that they were keeping their activities under wraps, but their roommates were running out of reasons to not be home. Initially Miles was happy he no longer had to watch the two of them passing like ships in the night. After a day or two he changed his mind. The walls in the house were thin and he was pretty sure he was ready to ship them both off the island.
Jin seemingly had no qualms with the happy pair and was happy to steer clear of the house on their behalf. The only exception was today because when he stopped by the house to grab a spare shirt he was quite shocked to find the kitchen in use for much different reasons than cooking. He didn't see much, but he was pretty sure he was going to have to clean the counter a few times after what he did see. He quickly grabbed his shirt and left. The pair never even noticed his presence.
And so the couple, completely oblivious to the plight of their roommates were greatly surprised by the events that happened later that evening. Horace showed up after dinner to find them all there. Juliet and James were in their usual reading spots. Jin, having cooked a meal for everyone after spending a considerable amount of time cleaning, was resting in the living room with them. Miles was in the kitchen eyeing the pair of lovebirds with contempt and plotting how he might fix this terrible living situation. And when Horace announced that as an apology for the way they had treated him, Jim (and of course Juliet too) were to be offered a house of their own, Miles was the first to respond. "Oh thank God! Yes, they'll take it!"
Jin quickly chimed in with an encouraging, "Ah, good idea!"
Juliet hadn't even put down her book initially, but now that her fate was being decided by the likes of Miles and Jin she suddenly became interested.
"Wait, what?"
James, being completely enamored with Juliet and only thinking about how much more sex they could be having in a house of their own quickly agreed as well. "Yeah, great! Thanks Horace."
"No problem. The house should be ready by tomorrow. It's Ralph's old house on the other side of the quad. It seems like you all have plenty of hands to help here, but let me know if you need anything else." And with that he bid them goodnight.
Juliet was staring a hole in the back of James' head (who had never even stopped to look at her during any of this conversation). It was a good thing she didn't have telekinetic powers because his head would be on fire otherwise. When he finally did turn to look at her, he wasn't sure why she didn't seem as happy as he was. He silently questioned her, and got a sharp reply.
"James, can I talk to you for a minute."
"Sure."
She looked around to signal that they were not alone. The two other men took the hint; Jin politely offering, "we leave you to talk."
She cut him off, "No, you stay! We can talk in the bedroom." Miles smiled mischievously at James who was clearly in trouble. He just hoped she forgave him quickly because he really did want them out of the house. She grabbed James by the hand and led him down the hall to her bedroom and shut the door.
"What are you doing," she questioned.
"What do you mean? We got our own house. This is perfect."
"We haven't even been together a week and you want us to move in together?" she exclaimed.
He looked at her, trying to understand why she was throwing on the breaks. "Well first off, it has been a week! It was last Friday when you jumped my bones on the beach. And secondly, why the hell would you want to stay here? And third…you already told me you love me! You taking that back now?"
His last question shook her out of her own worried thoughts. She didn't want him to think she had changed her mind about him and tried to reassure him, "No James. I do love you…I just." She paused with a pained expression on her face before continuing, "This is all happening so fast…I just think moving in together is a big step."
He was understanding her more now. For someone so sure about a lot of things, he was quickly realizing her own self-doubts were quite crippling. "It will be good, you'll see," he said while kissing her to try and lighten the mood. He could tell she wasn't having it and continued to argue her unspoken thoughts. "What, you want me to write Dear Abby and ask her how many dates is acceptable before cohabiting, while stuck on an island in the twilight zone?"
She smiled in spite of herself and rolled her eyes before replying, "No. I just…I'd like you to at least involve me before making decisions for the both of us."
He looked at her realizing she was right. He felt a little embarrassed now. He wasn't sure he knew how this relationship thing worked, but he really wanted to figure it out quickly. "I'm sorry. You're right. Next time something like this happens…you got it. We're a team!"
She looked down, still feeling unsure. She couldn't understand how he was ready to jump into this monumental step without a second thought, like it was as a simple as deciding whether or not to have a dessert. The last time she made a rash decision it landed her on this island. And now here he was hypnotizing her with his dimples and asking her to take a huge leap again. If he weren't so cute she would be mad at him.
"Juliet," he cooed. "This is a good thing. What do we have to lose? Why not be happy for once?"
She paused not knowing what she was actually trying to argue at this point. Why did he always have to be right? He tried to make her feel better. "Look, if you get tired of me I'll move back here and you'll have the house all to yourself."
"I don't think I'm going to get tired of you," she offered sheepishly.
"Well good, cause me neither. Plus, think of it this way, if that geek ever shows back up, he's gonna need a place to stay. We're just making room."
She smiled again and he could see he was winning. And then she scowled at him in the most loving way possible, before finally giving in, "Alright. Fine. You know you really are insufferable."
"Oh yeah? Why's that?" he asked grinning at her.
"Because I'm pretty sure you could convince me to jump off a bridge against my better judgement."
"Well, I'll never ask you to do that. I'm just asking you to take a little leap into something good with me."
With that she gave in, pulling him into a kiss. He interrupted her with a second thought, "Course there is one drawback…we won't have Jin to cook for us all the time."
"I can cook for you," she offered.
"Oh no!"
"I can actually cook you know!"
"If you insist," he said teasingly.
"Well…maybe Jin will let us come for dinner still," she said realizing she would miss his excellent culinary skills.
"I hope so," he said a little too eagerly.
"Just for that I'm cooking dinner for you tomorrow!"
"And what are you going to make me?"
"Spaghetti!"
"You choose that because Miles showed you how?"
"Maybe."
By now their flirting reached the point where they were both resisting the urge to push each other to the bed. Juliet was the first to return to her senses, "we should probably go back out there."
"And do what?"
"I don't know. Read?"
"I wasn't reading."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't remember the last time I actually read. I thought I'd be able to finally read again after we got together, but I still can't focus with you sitting across from me. I've just been pretending to read."
She started to chuckle, but it grew into an uncontrollable laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"I haven't been able to read either!"
"Wait? Really?"
"Yes! For months! I just end up reading the same page over and over half the time because I'm thinking about you."
He laughed now remembering all the times he had tried not to get caught watching her. Then he remembered one book he had no problem with, "I only made it through Carrie because it was your favorite. And even then I was still always wishing I was holding you while I read it. "
"Aren't we a hopeless pair."
"It's pretty pathetic. I think this islands making us both go soft."
She smiled at him shyly again before she was hit with an idea. "Maybe we should read in here instead. Then you can hold me all you want."
"Well, hell. That's the best idea you've ever had!"
"We probably should go tell them we are moving though."
"Right," he agreed, suddenly realizing they had just finalized their plans to move in together…tomorrow. He followed her silently down the hall as she broke the news to the guys before wishing them a good night. It was like everything was moving in slow motion suddenly: she grabbed their books and led him back to bed. They climbed in and he felt a comforting weight as she settled in next to him. A calm washed over them both and for the first time in a very long time they read.
