Disclaimer: No characters mentioned below belong to me. This story is for entertainment purposes only, no profit is being made.

A sort-of sequel to my other fic: Waiting. Don't have to read it to understand this though.

For a moment his world stopped turning. He stopped breathing, his heart stopped beating, he couldn't move. Every fiber of his being was honed in on one sensation: Juliet's lips on his. It was something he'd dreamed of, longed for, so desperately hoped for. It was more than he could have imagined it to be. The sweetness of her lips, the warmth of her body…it was almost too much. His heart swelled with so much love, he stood frozen. Nothing else in the world existed. Nothing else in the world mattered. For that one moment, the world stopped turning.

He'd pictured their first kiss a thousand times, run through a hundred different scenarios in his head. Not one of them came to close to this. He never thought she'd be the one to surprise him with a kiss. He'd always pictured it the other way around. With him doing the surprising and her being too shocked to move. He was able to do nothing more than savor it. Any further advances would have ruined that precious moment. It wasn't until she pulled back that he became completely aware, though. Aware that she was horribly confused and in a difficult situation.

On the one hand was a great, rich guy who really liked her and was always honest with her; and on the other was a goofy, not rich guy who loved her and was never completely honest with her. He could see that she was torn. And he knew. He knew if he decided to come clean about everything she would choose him over Declan. Yet, he also knew that if he came clean he'd lose her forever. Because Declan had only lied to her for a few days. He'd been lying to her for five years. It was a chance he knew he'd have to take one day. But not today. No, today would be about her choice. If she chose him over Declan he'd suck it up and tell her everything. If she chose Declan over him, he'd keep it to himself…and Gus…and his Dad…and a handful of other people. Because he was selfish. If she didn't choose him then he'd have to settle for friendship. He refused to chance such heartbreak over friendship.

It was ironic, really. Now he's the one doing the waiting.