Juliet walked out and saw Henry's truck waiting for her, thankfully Shawn had actually listened to her about the motorcycle – or lack there of. She had gotten ready for her date with Shawn, all while dwelling on how close her and Carlton had been. If she wanted to she could have tasted his lips, if she wanted to…dammit she did want to. That wasn't up for questioning. One year ago she would have been giddy and excited about this dinner with Shawn, now she felt wrong.

As she reminded herself, yet again, this was worth a shot. Maybe Shawn would surprise her, maybe this growing infatuation with her tall, blue-eyed partner would fizzle over time and they could get back to how things used to be.

"Jules! Hi, wow, you look amazing – as usual," Shawn had gotten out of the car and walked around to the passenger door, opening it for her with a grand gesture.

"Thank you, Shawn, but really it's just jeans and a shirt– nothing fancy," She smiled at him. She got into the truck and settled in, noticing the sunflower he had pinned to his flannel shirt, "Nice flower," she pointed out as he got behind the wheel; not surprised that he had followed through with the detail.

"Why thank you, you know why I picked a sunflower Jules?" he didn't give her time to answer before answering the question for her, "because they remind me of you."

He took her hand in his and kept it there, she muttered, "That's really sweet of you, Shawn," they looked at each other for a moment longer before breaking apart. He cleared his throat and began driving. Juliet did appreciate how sweet he was being…maybe this date would be ok.

"Where are we headed to?"

"My dear, that," he held the pause, "is a surprise."

It was a surprise that didn't take too long to figure out. They pulled into a newly opened seafood restaurant that Juliet remembered briefly mentioning she wanted to try out a few weeks ago. Shawn must have caught on.

"I sense," he quickly moved his fingers to hover over his temple, "that you wanted to come here."

Juliet laughed at this and the psychic smiled as he lowered his arm.

"Yes, Shawn, I revel in your psychic abilities," she mocked, knowing full well he had simply listened to her. Her fears about the date subsided slightly as she thought about how much Shawn had made her laugh in the past, they had just been off for months now. He had dated Abigail; she had felt a little hurt by it too. They could get that back.

Right?

They talked a lot, Shawn made Juliet laugh many times, real laughter. She felt at ease and happy with Shawn. Those were good feelings, positive feelings. Feelings you want to feel when you are with someone.

Juliet had ordered salmon; Shawn had ordered 'the fanciest thing on the menu' which was the lobster. The two had also decided on ordering dessert to share, and so they sat, slowly picking away at a piece of cheesecake.

"Gus is currently chasing one of the baristas at this coffee shop we frequent," Shawn answered after Juliet asked what his best friend was up to lately, "I believe he thinks that if he buys enough coffee from this woman she'll decide she wants to get into his pants. He's been wired up on caffeine for days now."

Juliet could picture Gus trying to act smooth, but she knew his coffee order. A pumpkin spiced latte, if he could get it - with whole milk, extra whipped cream, extra cinnamon on top. This was not the most sophisticated drink one could order.

"He will find someone someday," Juliet smiled and thought about it, "and that woman is going be a lucky one." She truly meant it, Gus was a sweetheart, she knew whoever ended up with him would be treated like a queen for life.

Shawn laughed at this, "sure, sure – I had a feeling you were crushing on someone – I didn't realize it was Gus!" He joked.

Juliet laughed too, at the thought of being with Gus – that was a ridiculous thought, "No, no, Shawn. Trust me, it's not him who I've been crushing on."

As soon as she said it she regretted it, knowing how perceptive this man was. He suddenly became serious, his hazel eyes narrowed a bit at her, just as they did earlier at the station. Leaning into the table, he spoke softly, "Jules, what do you mean? You can't tell me that ignoring my texts and avoiding my eyes for weeks is your way of showing that you have a crush on me – this isn't high school," he stared at her, what he was thinking about could be detected by his expression, "I thought you just needed space, but are you seeing someone else?"

Juliet looked at Shawn, almost wanting to confide in him completely – about everything, but opted for her next choice of reaction. She scoffed and made a show of shaking her head, "No, no Shawn, you mistook what I mean, no," she steadied herself, realizing she was being a little too dramatic about this, "no, I mean, I'm crushing on no one," he looked at her skeptically, so she added an extra, "no one at all." She popped another bite of cheesecake in her mouth hoping this would suffice.

Shawn continued to gaze at her with that knowing look on his face. She chewed slowly to give herself more time to think about what to say next, but before she said any more he sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Ok, Jules, alright – I'm sorry. It's none of my business anyway who you may or may not have been seeing."

He looked a little hurt at this admission.

Juliet tried to ease the situation, "I just wanted to point out that Gus will find someone great someday – I know it. I care for him too, you know," Shawn let a small smile show through, "not nearly as much you two care for each other though," Juliet added, smirking at the man in front of her.

"Jules, you know it would never work between Gus and I, trust me, I've tried," Shawn joked about his bromance, "he said I'm not his type."

"It's a shame, you two would be cute together," Juliet quipped.

"Not as cute as we are together," Shawn took both of Juliet's hands in his own. Juliet was hit with the strong sense of how much she really did care for this man, but was it at all romantic, or was it something different? She wanted to keep him in her life. She wanted to be able to talk him and joke with him like this, she didn't want to hurt him either. But as he leaned across the table and moved his hand to her cheek, drawing her close, she knew how wrong this was. Shawn kissed her lips gently, she closed her eyes and all she could think about was how much she wanted a different set of lips on hers.

As they drew apart she could sense that Shawn somehow knew what she was thinking - at least to some extent.

"Juliet…" he looked at her for a short time, "things have changed, haven't they."

She swallowed, trying to push down the tightness that had settled in her chest, looking at him, she nodded.

"Who is he?" Shawn asked her, pressing the issue again, and he sounded defeated.

"It's no one, Shawn, really," she decided to just remain silent on this topic, "I just feel differently… I don't know why or when it changed."

He looked away from her, turning around to the waiter who was over at the bar, "Check please!" he turned back toward her and the tension between them made Juliet feel incredibly sad. She had loved joking and talking with Shawn all evening, she didn't want to lose him as her friend.

She didn't want to lose Carlton as her partner.

She felt lost.

The drive home was thick with their silence. This could not be how this night ended, she wanted Shawn to realize how much she did care, but maybe it was too soon for that. They pulled up to her house, he didn't get the door for her this time. He sulked in the driver's seat, Juliet didn't want to just get out and leave him, she had to say something,

"Shawn, I – "

"Juliet," he interrupted, "it's ok," he didn't look at her, "things change, feelings change, people change."

He looked at her then and she thought about the chance they might have had. But in the end, she didn't doubt, it would have ended. She cared for Shawn deeply, but she craved intensity; passion. She knew she wouldn't find these things with him. She got out of the truck and he drove away.

She felt the crisp night air against her skin as she slowly walked into her house, letting out a heavy sigh as she shut her front door behind her. She was relieved now that she was alone, she poored a glass of wine for herself. She just wanted to sit on her couch and relax, not wanting to think about all of these negative feelings going through her mind.

She did let her mind wander, however; wander into that territory she had been trying to suppress for months now. She gave into her frustrations. Tonight she said an audible, "Fuck it," to no one in particular – as no one else was in the room. She thought about that different set of lips. She wanted them. She wanted him; so badly. She ached to know what it would feel like to have all of that intensity and passion focused on her. She wanted to feel those strong and precise hands maneuver over and around her body. She somehow knew, without a doubt, that to have his full attentions in that way would be the most amazing thing in the world.

His figure was so enticing as she pictured him, tall and lean, in a pressed suit, bright blue eyes, brows furrowed until she walks into the room. He draws her into his arms and tilts her head up to face his, drinking each other in. He kisses her softly – brushing over her lips in a very uncharacteristically gentle way. She can't help herself, running her fingers through his hair and down his neck, holding him to her. Her tongue invites his to explore, kissing him deeply makes her head spin.

Somehow, they are in a bed now, his skin pressed to hers with no barrier of any sort between them. The weight of him on her body is intoxicating, she wants him to meld into her and take her – and then he is doing just that, their bodies moving together in the most pleasurable way –

Juliet sat up from the couch, "Fuck!" she spilled what was left of her wine all over herself, luckily missing the couch, "…me." That addition seemed appropriate given what she had just dozed off into. Her breathing was heavier than normal and she felt as if an electric current was running through her. She set the glass down on the coffee table and made her body stand up and walk to her room to get out of these, now wine stained, clothes.

She laughed at herself, and the fact that she had hoped the date tonight would have helped cure the feelings she was having for Carlton. On the contrary, they were now full throttle with the weight of denying Shawn out of the way.

"Fuck me," she muttered to herself.