Counting Sheep

two

"Juliette." He'd spoken the name out loud for the tenth time since he'd gotten under the covers. It was such a pretty name that rolled off his tongue so well and he found that if he could, he'd like to speak her name every chance that he got.

It hadn't even been an hour since he'd learned her name and he was already crazy about it, crazy in that 'I'd really like to get to know you' way. Who knew that something as simple as a name could be so...addictive.

He'd lie awake in his hotel bed for hours, the plush mattress and sheets not enough to quell his racing mind into a peaceful sleep, the last thing she'd said to him playing on a constant loop in his head.

It was clear that she didn't live in the area, her accent gave her away, but could she really be that difficult to find?

He thought about it for a good minute or so, yeah, she definitely could, billions of people in the world and all that jazz.

Oh, but what he would give just to see her again.

The funny thing about it all was that he had no idea as to why, they'd barely spoken two words to one another and yet, she already had him craving more. There was just something about this mysterious woman that reeled him in, like a fish on a line.

It was absolutely and positively baffling.

...

Carter. Her last name was Carter.

He'd found himself smiling as he stared at his phone's screen a moment longer, the text from Steven permanently ingrained in his mind.

Well, he'd found some part of her, that had to count, right?

He figured that he would wait a few days before trying to friend her on Facebook, that wouldn't be too creepy would it?

Five minutes. Five minutes had passed before he'd gone back on his own plan. He needed to know more or he might not ever sleep again.

The barista calling his name had him jumping in his skin; he really did need to start paying more attention to his surroundings.

Coffee now in hand, he went back to his phone, struggling to type in her name because his fingers were too big and his phone was much too small.

He was getting frustrated at having to press the delete button every three seconds and it didn't take long for his hand to make wild, angry gestures and knock his scalding hot coffee all over the table and his jeans.

"Fuck." He swore a bit too loudly for his liking and was out of his seat in seconds, rushing to find napkins to clean up the mess he'd just made.

God, he was so embarrassed!

An employee rushed over to help and he apologized while actually cleaning up most of the mess himself, he always felt bad when someone rushed to his aid when the person at fault was really him.

It had taken around two minutes for him to realize that he'd spilled coffee all over his phone.

His hands were frantic, wiping the dark and cooling liquid from the screen and repeatedly trying to get the password to go through only for every number he hadn't pressed to be entered instead.

"No, no, no, no! Please work..." He wiped at the screen again and let out a deep breath before trying his password again, praying that it would work only because he wanted so desperately to see what this girl was up to and without a phone it would be slightly more difficult.

The lady, who had come to help him, was now standing directly behind him, "She's really pretty, is she your girlfriend?"

Alex jumped again, mentally cursing himself for having a one-track mind.

His thumb now hovered over her icon, "No, she's just a friend of a friend."

The girl nodded and flashed him a smile before disappearing through the door she'd come out from earlier.

Alex looked back to the profile on his screen and wow was that girl right. He'd thought her beautiful before but, in all honesty, the lighting really wasn't so bright and it certainly didn't do her justice.

"My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound."

"Romeo and Juliet, good choice."

Alex hadn't been paying attention, as usual, and by the time he'd registered who the voice belonged to and had looked up from his screen, Juliette was already gone.

He fished a random bill from his pocket and rushed out of the shop, fumbling to shove his phone into a random pocket as his eyes scanned the mass of people that lined the street for the girl with dark hair and light eyes.

He'd spun in three complete circles before he'd realized that finding her in this crowd was like finding a needle in a haystack; impossible.

...

"Where are you Juliette Carter..." Alex found himself mumbling as he morphed into possibly the creepiest person he could be, searching for her on every social media he knew of in a stupid attempt to "find" her like she'd said.

All day, it had bothered him that she had been so close yet, she'd slipped away so quickly, almost as if she were never really there in the first place.

To make things even more interesting, she'd even spoken to him before she'd done it again!

He only wished that she'd given him some type of clue to find her with. She was certainly something else.

He'd been seconds away from giving up his search for the night when a notification caught his attention.

* JC1990 posted a new photo! *

There was a sudden tightness in his chest, his lungs weren't getting enough oxygen, he needed to breathe.

Depending on the picture, and, in all reality, her location settings, this could be the clue he needed to find her with.

It felt like he was moving in slow motion as he clicked the notification and his phone took him to Instagram.

As luck would have it, her location was off and her selfie did little to give away where she was. However, it did have some affect on him, his bright smile being more than enough evidence to give him away.

There was just something about Miss Juliette Carter that drew him in inexplicably from every possible angle. Now, if only he could find her...