Taking another piece of chicken into his mouth, Shawn sat back and chewed thoughtfully for a moment before speaking up. "I know we're not quiet eaters, either of us, but that's what we're being now. Aren't we usually gabbing about random crap even when we eat?" He coughed lightly and glanced around. Obviously, the silence was slowly getting to Shawn Spencer, as it had a habit of doing.
"Usually, yes. But I think our minds are on other things..." Juliet said with a soft chuckle. "But if it's the quiet that's bugging you, we can start a conversation if you would like." 'Of course, the sound of your voice would help in the instance of thinking about what you might say to me later...' Juliet thought and chuckled again. "What do you want to talk about?" Nibbling away at another piece of chicken, Juliet let her eyes lock onto Shawn's again.
"You know, I-" Shawn stopped himself and tilted his head to the side a bit. "I hadn't thought what I wanted to talk about. I just... wanted to hear your voice." He shrugged and smiled at Juliet. "I suppose, the best way to do that is to ask you a bunch of questions about yourself. So, for starters... What's your family like, Jules?"
Juliet thought for a moment, then smiled. "Well, I've got three nephews, Drake, Finn, and Isaac. They're adorable. A little hyper, but they're adorable. And my brother's a pretty alright kinda guy. The boys definitely take after him. Um, mom and dad... they're pretty laid back for the most part. Mom's an amazing cook. Y'know... I'm not too good with talking about family... or at least not currently." Laughing a bit, Juliet shook her head and smiled at Shawn. She knew why she wasn't having much luck with talking about family. He was sitting across the table from her. Juliet couldn't understand why the hell she was having such a problem talking now. She hadn't before...
Shawn shrugged. "Well, I'd talk about my family, but there's only so many stories about a tyranical father one can tell. He and I have not had the best family life." He closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat a moment. Opening his eyes slowly, he glanced around. "Dad's always trying to test me, make me better, always wanted me to be a cop. And it left a pretty big rift between us. So anything I have to say about him, it's not gonna be happy." That's a bold-faced lie, but I don't think Juliet would understand the complexities of mine and dad's relationship, so let's just leave it at that.
Juliet smiled softly at Shawn. "So your father more or less wants you to be better at what you can already do? That seems just slightly... harsh. But we won't continue on with that if you're not one for wanting to talk about your father at all." In truth, she really didn't want to dig around in spots of Shawn's life that might be a little too sensitive to talk about. It just wasn't something she could get herself to do. Letting her eyes catch with his, she set and upturned palm on the table for him. Juliet had a feeling that this 'date' was going to be a lot more fun that she had originally expected it to be.
Shawn took hold of Juliet's hand almost on impulse and smiled softly at her. "Thanks for understanding, Jules. I'd rather talk about you and your life than complain to you about mine."
Juliet smiled right back at Shawn and gently rubbed his hand with her fingertips. "It's not a matter of understanding really, it's more or less knowing that it's something you're not comfortable with talking about. And if you can listen to my life story, I can listen to yours as well. It's only fair..." she said in one of those reassuring tones of voice.
"Well," Shawn countered. "In telling me I didn't have to talk about it if I didn't want to, you're understanding it somewhat." He shrugged and tightened his grip on her hand. "You all done here? Wanna go walking around and stuff now? Maybe head to the Boardwalk before it closes down?"
Juliet smiled and shook her head lightly. "You're good... countering like that. I'm good here now... so that trip to the boardwalk does sound quite lovely now." Feeling his grip tighten on her hand, Juliet smiled a little more, and let her eyes catch in Shawn's. "Onward, it would seem." Brushing her hair back behind her ear with her free hand, she cast her eyes to her car for a moment, then to Shawn's bike.
Shawn caught her eyes and watched where she was looking. "You want to drive, or do you want to ride the bike?" he asked quickly, standing and picking up the check the waiter-person had put on the table.
Juliet grinned. "Let's go with the bike... if you promise not to go fast on it." Standing up herself, she kept her eyes on the bike. It'd be the first time she'd ridden on it... and she was hoping it wouldn't be the last. She was also hoping that maybe Shawn would make things a little fun with her on it, but it wasn't something she'd force on him. If he was going to do something with her on it, he'd do it on his own.
"Alright," Shawn nodded. He went to the front and paid the bill, then returned to Juliet and took her hand to lead her out to the bike. When they got out to it, he handed her his spare helmet and winked. "I know you probably don't want to muss your hair, but I don't want to risk you getting brain damage because some other driver wasn't paying attention."
"I'd rather be safe than sorry..." Grinning a little bit Juliet tipped her head to the side and studied Shawn for a moment. 'I wanna kiss him again... or have him kiss me...' she thought as she rocked the helmet between her hands. "And I'm not worried about the hair. It's the least of my concerns."
Shawn smiled and kissed Juliet's cheek softly. "That's good. I knew there was a reason I liked you. You don't mind getting a little mussed."
"I don't mind trying something new every now and then..." Which in a sense was true... because this 'dating Shawn' thing was something new. Grinning a little bit, Juliet kissed his cheek back for good measure. 'I'm hoping this'll be fun. It gives me a reason to hold on to you for my life...' she thought and chuckled a little.
Shawn chuckled and pulled his own helmet on. "Good. Hop on." He set himself astride the bike, glancing back at Juliet and waiting for her to join him.
Juliet smiled and hopped on the back of Shawn's bike, but not before putting the helmet on her head. This would be a new experience for her... motorcycles. But she trusted Shawn enough. Buckling the strap under her chin, she could feel the excitment in the pit of her stomach. "Hold on tight, right?" she asked, smiling a little. 'I think that's a no brainer. I just don't want you to jump when I put my arms around your waist...'
Shawn chuckled and nodded. "Don't want you falling off, so go ahead and hold on for dear life." If she listened really carefully, Juliet could probably hear the wink in his words. Shawn revved the bike engine once, smiling at the feel of his bike coming to life. God... I love this baby... and if I can get her to love it too... It'll be perfect.
Juliet did hear that wink in his voice, and instinctively wrapped her arms around his midsection. She already had that feeling of wanting to see what this motorcycle could do, but she thought it was entirely too soon for that. Resting her helmet covered head lightly against his back, she could feel a smile come across her face. 'I already like this feeling... being able to hold onto him like this...' she thought, and let her eyes close.
Shawn smiled at the feel of Juliet's arms around his midsection, feeling a slight tremor of joy at being close to her. Hope I can get her to feel the same way about me, he thought before revving the Norton Commando to life and pulling away from the curb, shocking himself that he still followed the rules of the road, even though he really wanted to show off.
For a split second, Juliet tightened her grip on Shawn, slightly nervous with the whole concept of being on the back of a motorcycle, but she quickly loosened it up a bit when he seemed to follow every rule of the road. 'I know you're itching to get crazy... and I want to see what you'll come up with... what you'll do. If you're careful and don't get us both killed, I'll support the idea of daredevilism.
Shawn sped up, just a little bit, and grinned. Still going by the speed limit and the rules of the road, he managed to take a turn pretty fast, still unsure of what he could do with Juliet on the bike with him. He wanted to mix it up a little, but he knew his luck. He didn't want to get her hurt. So, he only sped up a little bit more again, and kept it steady, though he did take a few more turns pretty fast, and speed between a few cars in a crowded intersection/ But that's just a perk of a bike.
Juliet continued to hold on, squeezing Shawn's waist a little bit when she felt a little nervous. She liked this whole ordeal. It was outside of her normal comfort zone, which was a change for her. Just the same though, she liked it. At one point, she closed her eyes... the part where Shawn sped through the cars at the intersection. Whoa! That's slightly crazy... but in a good way... she thought, letting her eyes flutter open again.
As much fun as he was having, Shawn sort of was happy to see the beach and Boardwalk up ahead. It was a beautiful sight and he stopped at the top of a hill, killing the engine of the bike and pulling off his helmet. "Wow," he whispered softly, staring at the sunlight reflecting off the water.
Juliet carefully unbuckled the helmet and removed it from her head. Taking a gasping breath in pure astonishment, Juliet smiled and rested her head back against Shawn's back softly. "That's such a beautiful sight..." Juliet said breathlessly, as she tightened her grip around his waist. 'It's even better that I'm seeing it with you...' she thought.
Turning ever so slightly on the bike, just enough to partially face Juliet, Shawn wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, placing a soft kiss to her lips. "Not as beautiful as the sight I'm looking at now," he said, pulling back to gaze at Juliet properly.
Juliet could feel her cheeks blush slightly. That little kiss was something she had not been expecting at all. Nevertheless, the butterflies that had hit when she'd felt his lips against hers fluttered about, giving her that whole little 'Wow...' feeling. Letting her eyes wander to his, Juliet smiled. "You're too sweet Shawn..." she said, then kissed his cheek lightly.
"Use me to sweeten Lassy's coffee and he might just consider not adding all the stuff he adds on a regular basis." Shawn chuckled at this and turned back around. "Come on, babe. Helmet back on. I wanna walk the Boardwalk while it's still open." He chuckled at that, then stopped, hands paused above his head, helmet clutched between them. Did I just call her... babe? He smiled slowly and let the helmet slide down his head and into place.
Juliet chuckled a little bit and slipped the helmet back on her head. "Alright. Sounds like a plan to me..." Grinning a little at his words, Juliet let her eyes close for a moment. I think I could get used to hearing that from you... she thought and repositioned herself on the motorcycle so that when he gave the go-ahead, she could wrap her arms back around him. Although, she didn't feel the need to wait on his words, so on her own accord, she placed both arms back around his mid-section and held on.