"All right, folks. That's it for tonight. Hope y'all had a great time."
The phoney southern accent rang out through the microphone, people starting to head for the exit. Emily's eyes closed as she released a small sigh, slumping backwards against Paige, not willing to move just yet. She could feel Paige's safe and reassuring warmth radiating into her back, could feel her breath against her hair. She wanted this moment to last forever.
Emily felt Paige nuzzling into the side of her neck, a slow smile spreading across her face. She'd almost forgotten what it felt like to smile; truly smile. Not like the fake one she'd been wearing for weeks. Paige still held her hands in hers, running her thumbs softly over her skin.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt…"
Emily reluctantly opened her eyes to see Spencer walking towards them, the red coat they'd found in the back of the truck still in her hand. Emily gave a subtle shake of her head, warning Spencer not to start with the Cece stuff again. She'd had enough of that for one night; she'd reached her breaking point. Thinking back on it now, it was hard to believe how easy it had been for her to pick up that hoe and plough it into the mass of hay that Red Coat had been hiding in. She could have killed someone tonight. She could have killed someone else tonight. The fact that she was only slightly shaken by the incident disturbed her.
Thankfully Spencer seemed to share her sentiment, shifting the coat from view slightly, giving a small smile and saying, "Toby came back, we're leaving." Emily opened her mouth to reply but Spencer guessed what she was going to say. "He's fine," she nodded. Emily saw Spencer glancing past her, obviously looking at Paige before asking, "You need a ride back?"
"Uh…" Emily started, feeling slightly awkward. Paige released Emily from her grasp, coming around to stand beside her, meeting her eyes hesitantly.
"I can drive you? If you want?" It was like Paige was expecting Emily to blow her off again, Emily mentally slapping herself. This was her fault; it was her fault that Paige felt this way. She slid her hand down the smooth skin of Paige's inner forearm, intertwining their fingers.
"Okay," she smiled tentatively, looking back to Spencer. "I'll see you later?"
"Okay, see you at home. Bye, guys." She gave them a small wave before making her way out of the barn, Emily tugging on Paige's hand to lead them outside.
"You're staying at Spencer's now?" Paige frowned.
As if Emily couldn't feel any worse; she had all but ignored Paige today, aside from their brief conversation beside the printer, and therefore she hadn't updated Paige on her living situation. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, Ali's wasn't really working out; too creepy."
Paige nodded once, looking down at the ground as they walked. "When did this happen?"
"Today."
Paige didn't say anymore. Emily could tell that she'd hurt her, her stomach knotting with anxiety, shivering in the cold night air. The serenity she'd felt when dancing with Paige was slipping away and she didn't know how to get it back.
They reached Paige's car, Paige wordlessly letting go of her hand, fishing her keys out of her pocket and walking around to the driver's side, Emily's hand feeling empty without Paige's in it. Emily heard the locks clicking out of place, reaching for the door handle and getting into the car. She couldn't help but smile slightly as Paige's hat hit the car roof and got knocked off of her head as she sat down, having to lean out of the car to pick it up from the ground.
Paige pursed her lips in a small grin, handing the hat to Emily to hold, Emily suddenly realising that she had lost her own at some point during the night. She honestly couldn't remember; the night was a blur of Paige and Red Coat. She studied Paige from the corner of her eye. Her smile had vanished as quickly as it had come, a serious expression settling on her face. Emily could feel the space between them growing, desperately wishing they were back in the barn, Paige holding her in her arms.
She chewed her lip nervously, wanting Paige to say something, anything, but all she did was turn the key in the ignition, pulling out of the parking lot without so much as a glance in her direction.
Emily turned the hat over in her hands sadly, her thumbnail scratching at the material absent-mindedly. "So, you looked like you had a good time tonight?"
Paige sighed heavily, still looking straight ahead. "I tried to. Although, feeling you staring at me for the entire night kinda made it difficult." Emily wasn't surprised she'd noticed. She hadn't exactly been subtle. When she didn't reply, Paige finally looked at her, raising her eyebrows. "So? Are we gonna talk about this? Or are you just gonna keep freezing me out whenever it suits you?" Emily didn't miss the way Paige's voice cracked, seeing her throat working against the tears.
Emily felt a stabbing pain in her chest. She had to fix this. She had to fix this now, before their relationship was ruined for good. "Pull over."
"What?" Paige frowned in confusion. "We're in the middle of nowhere."
Emily reached out, gripping Paige's thigh pleadingly. "Just please, pull over." Paige relented, checking her mirrors before the car slowed, coming to a stop on the rocky roadside beside a dark and sinister looking forest. Paige was right; it probably wasn't the best place for them to stop but Emily couldn't wait.
She quickly reached up to flick the light on the roof on so she could see Paige clearly, taking Paige's hand, bringing her left leg up underneath her right so she could turn to face Paige properly. Paige looked forlornly at their hands, sniffing slightly. "Are you still mad at me because of the party? Because I lied to Dominic?" Paige met Emily's gaze, her eyes glazed with tears.
Emily shuffled closer, shaking her head sadly. "No."
"Then why won't you talk to me?" Paige looked so small and lost, Emily opening and closing her mouth as she tried to decide what to say. Explaining her feelings had never been her strong suit; she internally cringed at her earlier attempt. She'd been so nervous about approaching Paige that she'd ended up spouting out rubbish that most likely made no sense, but then Paige had taken her hand (after a horrendously long moment of overwhelming fear that she wasn't going to, fear that she'd already missed her chance) and it didn't matter.
But it mattered now.
"Because I'm terrified," she finally admitted, realising that that was the only way to describe it. Paige's brow creased, waiting for her to continue. Emily swallowed. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't really have a whole lot to smile about these days." She gave a short, hollow laugh, looking down at where her fingers were playing with Paige's. "Everything's a mess."
She sighed, trying to gather her thoughts, Paige waiting patiently for her to continue. "Nothing goes right for me anymore; every time I feel good about something, it gets snatched away. It gets destroyed by A." She felt stupid and naïve now when she thought back to that day in her room when Paige had asked her to go to Stanford with her. She'd been insanely happy at the thought of their future together, but she should have known that it couldn't be that easy, could never be that easy, not for her.
Paige was studying her intently, hanging on her every word. "I guess I've given up. I've been letting A win." Emily felt a tear rolling down her cheek, having to force the words past the lump in her throat. "But then there's you." She looked at Paige, shaking her head in wonder, love flooding her veins. "So full of hope, so full of positivity." Emily bit her lip to stop herself from sobbing. "I don't know how to deal with it. I can't allow myself to feel that, because it's getting harder and harder to get over the disappointment when things don't work out. I guess that's why I've been pushing you away recently; to postpone the inevitable."
She sniffed, a shaky breath escaping her. That was the easy option. She could just sit there and let their relationship crumble away; let the world rip them apart; let another thing slip from her grasp.
Paige was crying now too. "Em, what are you saying?" she whined, frustrated. "Are you saying that you want to break up?"
"No," Emily choked, her voice thick with emotion. She ran a hand over her face, annoyed with herself. She wasn't even doing this right. "No," she repeated, taking in a deep breath. "What I'm trying to say is that today I realised something. I realised that it's only inevitable if I let it be. I realised that I still have one good- one great- thing in this world that makes me happy." She held Paige's gaze. "You," she stated softly, taking in Paige's wonderfully expressive eyes, her slightly parted mouth. "You make me happy, and you're the one thing I want. I don't know what's going to happen next year, but I don't want to take the easy option. I don't want to lose you. I want to fight for us. I want to fight for us if you do."
Emily could feel her heart racing in her chest as she waited for Paige's response, the silence deafening her ears. Please forgive me. Please don't give up on me.
Paige's lips twitched in a small smile. "Em, I'll always fight for us. I'll always fight for you." Emily slumped forward in relief, releasing the breath she'd been holding, dizzy with relief. She hadn't screwed things up; Paige was giving her another chance.
Suddenly she was enveloped in Paige's arms, pressing her nose into the side of Paige's neck. She closed her eyes, gripping her tightly. "I love you," she murmured against her warm skin.
"I love you, too," Paige sighed, placing a kiss to her bare shoulder.
Emily pulled back, cupping Paige's cheek, searching her eyes, leaning in slowly. Paige met her half-way, their lips brushing softly. Paige's hand was warm on her neck as it slid around to bury into her hair, Paige opening her mouth to deepen the kiss, their tongues meeting.
It was like Paige was breathing the air back into her lungs, the crushing weight lifting from her chest. She could finally breathe again. She was kissing Paige properly for the first time since her birthday and she could finally breathe again.
She dropped Paige's hat down onto the floor as she shifted, trying to get closer to Paige but grumbling slightly as the handbrake between them dug painfully into her thigh. Paige laughed against her lips, pulling back to rest their foreheads together.
"I was gonna ask you earlier at school, but you know…" Emily ran her hand up and down Paige's arm in a silent apology for overreacting when she had teased her about Zoe's letter. "My parents are out of town for a few days, and I was wondering if you wanted to stay with me? Or I can just take you back to Spencer's, it's up to-"
Emily cut her off with a kiss, pulling back with a grin. "Yes, I wanna stay with you."
Paige smiled. "Okay, good. We can swing by Spencer's on the way and pick up your stuff."
"Um, how about we just do that tomorrow?" She quirked an eyebrow, letting Paige know that she didn't want to wait a moment longer to be back at her house.
Paige smiled wider, giving a nod of her head. "Okay, let's go."
Emily gave a final peck to her lips before turning to face the front of the car again, pulling her phone out of her back pocket to let Spencer know she wouldn't be coming back tonight.
They made their way up Paige's stairs hand in hand, Emily's heart fluttering madly at the looks Paige kept throwing her way. Paige was wearing the cowboy hat again, and now that the air had been cleared between them, Emily could fully appreciate how great she looked; the hat; the vest; the chaps. The outfit was certainly doing something for her.
Page kicked the door closed as soon as they entered her bedroom, neither of them bothering to turn the light on, their lips attacking each other with an intensity that hadn't been present in the car.
Emily turned them around, beginning to push Paige backwards in the direction of the bed as she gripped the collar of Paige's denim vest tightly, not allowing their mouths to break contact even for a second.
The back of Paige's knees gave way when they hit the mattress, Emily not wasting any time in straddling her lap, reaching up to make sure Paige's hat didn't fall off. She felt Paige smiling against her mouth, making her smile too. She'd missed this. She'd missed them.
Paige's hands roamed up and down Emily's back as she nipped at her lip, tugging her shirt out from where it was tucked into the back of her shorts, Emily sighing into Paige as her fingers slipped inside it, stroking over her back. Emily's own hands slid down Paige's neck and inside Paige's vest, pushing it off of her shoulders. Paige released Emily momentarily to shrug out of the garment, her hands moving instantly to Emily's waist once she was free, her lips trailing heatedly across Emily's jaw.
Paige's fingers skated up her arms, coming up to undo the bandana around her neck, Emily shivering at her touch. Paige threw the bandana off to the side, her lips moving down Emily's neck, Emily cupping the back of Paige's head to hold her close.
"I don't know if anyone told you," Paige murmured, placing a kiss to her sternum before pulling back to look at her with a smirk. "But you missed a few buttons on your shirt." She trailed a finger slowly down the centre of Emily's chest for emphasis, coming to rest on her bra.
"Ha, funny," Emily stated, failing to suppress a smile as Paige laughed quietly, her eyes shining with happiness. Emily leaned in to kiss her softly, her stomach flipping as she felt Paige's hands smoothing over her front, gently squeezing her breasts.
Emily let out a quiet moan, Paige moving to undo the rest of the buttons on her shirt, her hands stroking up Emily's stomach when her shirt fell open. Emily leaned even further into Paige, pushing her back flat onto the bed, feeling their bare abdomens come into contact as their bodies pressed together.
Emily pulled herself up again, sitting back on Paige's thighs as she straddled her waist, her eyes taking in the sight beneath her. The western style halter top Paige was wearing didn't exactly conceal much, which Emily was thankful for. She ran her hands over Paige's toned stomach as Paige reached up to tug the open shirt off of her, watching as Paige's eyes roamed openly over her almost naked torso. The way Paige looked at her never failed to make her breath catch.
Their eyes connected, both of them caught in the moment, the room filled only with sounds of breathing and racing hearts. Without looking away, Emily slowly reached behind her, unclasping her bra, Paige audibly swallowing as she let it drop down her arms, Paige's thumb twitching against her side where her hand was resting.
Paige surged upwards, their lips crashing together, Paige's hands sliding confidently upwards to palm her breasts, both of them groaning. Emily flicked her tongue playfully into Paige's mouth, her teeth grazing her lip as she moved to untie the front of Paige's top.
Paige began to kiss down her neck again, Emily's head tilting sideways to give her better access as Paige's thumbs rubbed over her nipples. Emily unconsciously rolled her hips into Paige, a throbbing sensation developing between her legs.
She growled with frustration when after a minute she still hadn't made any progress with getting Paige's top undone. She leaned back, Paige's open mouth left hanging in mid-air as Emily began to yank at the leather string aggressively. Paige's glazed eyes came back into focus, looking down at Emily's hands. "Um, that's just decorative. It unties from the neck."
Emily stilled for a moment, snorting, giving a slight shake of her head at Paige's complete lack of awareness as to what she'd been attempting to do for the past minute, but hurriedly moving to undo the tie at the back of Paige's neck.
Then she had the task of peeling the tight top upwards, it taking far too long for her liking. Paige lifted her arms into the air so that Emily could get it over her head, almost tumbling backwards off of Paige's lap when the material finally came free. But then Paige's arms were around her back, keeping her securely in place, her mouth latching onto her pulse point as Emily threw the top behind her onto the floor.
Emily swiftly unclasped Paige's strapless bra, managing to pull it out from between their bodies, sighing with relief when she finally felt Paige's naked breasts brushing against her own. Paige's mouth was warm and eager on her neck, kissing down, her hands moving from Emily's back to grip the back of her thighs, pulling her upwards into a kneeling position.
Paige peppered soft kisses across her chest, a low moan escaping from the back of Emily's throat as she took a nipple into her mouth, her hands moving up to run over her ass, squeezing. Emily kept one hand on Paige's shoulder to keep her balance, using her other to rake her nails over one of Paige's nipples lightly. Paige hummed against her breast in response, softly sucking Emily's nipple further into her mouth as she ran the flat of her tongue over it, Emily gasping.
Paige kissed her way over to Emily's other breast as one of her hands moved from her ass, running up and down the top of her bare thigh before slowly moving to the inside of her leg, Emily moaning when she touched her through the denim of her shorts. Emily ground down into Paige's fingers, Paige meeting the action, pushing back against her firmly.
Emily cupped Paige's face, bringing their mouths back together, her hips bucking as Paige continued to rub against her. Emily was about to object when Paige removed her hand, but then she felt her tugging her belt loose, felt her undoing the button of her shorts and sliding down the zipper.
Emily quickly shuffled back off of Paige, standing in front of her, breathing heavily. She reached down to take off her boots, but then Paige quickly said, "Leave them on." Emily raised an eyebrow in her direction, but followed the order. She moved her hands to slide her shorts and underwear down her legs and over the boots, looking back at Paige to see her biting her lip, eyes blazing.
Emily smirked, moving to stand in front of her, Paige's hands instantly ghosting up the back of her thighs. Emily kissed her briefly before pushing her backwards, Paige using her elbows to shuffle more fully onto the bed with a grin on her face.
Emily climbed on top of her again, moaning as she felt the cool air hitting the wetness between her thighs. Paige gripped her ass as she leaned down to kiss her, her hands on Paige's breasts again, biting down lightly on Paige's bottom lip before kissing across her cheek, nipping at her earlobe.
Paige's head lolled sideways as she kissed down her neck, Emily's tongue darting out to taste her skin. Paige squirmed beneath her as she nibbled along her collarbone, sighing, "Emily," as she moved her hands to smooth over the warm skin of Paige's stomach, her mouth eventually replacing her fingers on Paige's nipple.
Paige arched up into her, her fingers tangling in Emily's hair, Emily's tongue swirling around the hardened bud as she rolled the other nipple with the palm of her hand.
She became distracted when she felt Paige's hand between her legs again, groaning as Paige ran a finger through her wetness, brushing against her clit ever so lightly. Emily's eyes fluttered closed at the sensation, moving back up to Paige's mouth, gasping against her lips as Paige pressed two fingers against her clit, Paige smiling teasingly into the kiss.
Emily pulled herself back up into a sitting position, locking eyes with Paige as she rolled her hips into her hand, biting her lip to suppress a moan. Emily trailed her hands down to grip Paige's belt, her thumbs coming into contact with the cool metal of Paige's belt buckle. She looked down at it, properly noticing the image for the first time that night. It was a naked girl; well, almost naked girl. She was only wearing boots and a cowboy hat.
Oh.
Smirking, she reached over to grab Paige's hat that had fallen onto the bed some time ago, placing it on top of her own head, grinding down into Paige's hand again and hearing Paige make a choking noise beneath her. Emily snorted lightly, realising that this was obviously some sort of fantasy of Paige's that she was now fulfilling.
The smile was wiped from her face however when Paige sat up, gripping her hip tightly as she slipped the hand between her thighs lower, her middle finger easily sliding into Emily, the heel of her hand pressing against Emily's clit. Emily cry was absorbed by Paige's mouth as she kissed her deeply, a second finger quickly joining the first.
Paige moved slowly, allowing Emily to find the rhythm she was setting. Emily hips rolled up as Paige pulled her fingers back, rolling forward again when Paige pushed her fingers in, whimpers of pleasure filling the room.
She gripped Paige's shoulders tightly as they began to pick up the pace, her thigh muscles tight as she held herself off of Paige, repeatedly grinding against her, the heel of Paige's hand slipping against her clit with every movement.
Eventually she couldn't even focus enough to kiss Paige; she panted against Paige's lips, sweat forming on her brow under the hat. She was burning up, completely consumed by Paige. She looked deeply into Paige's eyes as she began to thrust against her quickly, riding Paige's hand, feeling the tension building low in her stomach.
Paige grunted with effort, her hand working furiously to match Emily's pace, bumping Emily's clit again and again and again.
A string of moans escaped Emily as she began to shake, her hips jerking wildly to push her over the edge. A high pitched noise caught in her throat as something exploded within her, ending with a long, drawn-out sigh as ecstasy washed over her, feeling herself contracting around Paige, her core pulsing.
Paige's hand slowed with Emily's hips, both of them breathing raggedly. Paige pulled her fingers from Emily gently. Emily grinned, clumsily placing a kiss to Paige's mouth as her body slumped into her, her heart thumping loudly against her ribcage.
Paige lifted the hat from her head, throwing it to the side, smiling widely. "That was like, the best thing ever," she murmured, kissing Emily softly.
"I haven't even touched you yet," Emily pointed out, shaking her head slightly in amusement.
"Watching you was enough, trust me," Paige joked, causing Emily to laugh loudly, Paige throwing her sideways onto the bed, the mattress bouncing beneath them as Paige flopped down beside her.
"We'll see about that," Emily said, her hand trailing up Paige's side as she shuffled in closer, their smiles slowly fading into one another as things began to heat up again, Emily kissing Paige hard, her hand cupping Paige's breast roughly.
After a few moments, Emily pushed Paige's shoulder backwards so that she was lying flat on the bed, kissing down Paige's body as she moved to undo her belt. Her mouth was open and hot against Paige's stomach, Paige bucking upwards towards her mouth.
Emily sighed in frustration when she encountered another issue with Paige's attire; the tie of the chaps was caught in the belt buckle, Emily yanking aggressively at it but getting nowhere. She was still too shaky and weak from her orgasm to concentrate properly. "Paige…" she whined.
Paige batted her hands away, frantically trying to loosen the knot of the tie. "Try getting the other ones undone." Emily was momentarily confused before glancing the rest of the way down Paige's legs, seeing there were several more knots keeping the chaps in place.
"You've got to be kidding me," she mumbled, moving to fumble with a knot on the inside of Paige's thigh. "How tight did you tie these?" she asked incredulously, trying to dig her nail into the string of material to pry it loose. It was going to take forever before they could get Paige's jeans off.
"I had to make sure they stayed on properly," Paige explained, Emily hearing the scraping of metal, glancing up to see Paige finally undoing her belt before hastily opening the front of her jeans, looking exasperated when Emily still hadn't even managed to pry the first knot loose. She lifted her hips from the bed, attempting to push her jeans down. Emily reached up to help, tugging them down along with her underwear as far as they would go, which as it turned out was only midway down her thighs before all the material started to bunch together, but it was good enough.
Paige pulled Emily back up to her, their lips meeting hungrily, Emily not keeping Paige waiting any longer, instantly pressing into Paige's warmth, her fingers gliding over her clit. Paige sighed into her in relief, gripping the small of Emily's back as Emily rubbed quickly against her.
It didn't take long. Paige came with a gasp, shuddering against Emily's hand before her body went limp, Emily falling onto the bed to lie beside her.
They lay in the darkness while their heart rates calmed, Emily brushing Paige's nose with her own before burying into her neck, her eyes closing in contentment. This was where she was meant to be. This was where she belonged.
She felt Paige placing a kiss into her hair, her hand stroking soothingly up and down Emily's back. "I'm really glad we talked," she whispered, Emily gripping her tighter.
Emily moved her head back up to look at Paige, cupping her face tenderly. "Me too." She mentally promised herself to try and be more open with her feelings. Allowing things to fester certainly hadn't done them any good.
Paige gave her a small smile, looking like she wanted to say something but stopped herself. "What?" Emily asked. Paige glanced downwards, her hand moving from Emily's back to play with a piece of her hair that was lying on her chest. "What?" Emily repeated when Paige didn't answer, wanting to know what was on her mind.
"Okay, don't get mad at me for having hope or whatever," she muttered, still not meeting Emily's eyes. "But I just have this feeling that everything will work out for us, in the end." She finally looked back up, Emily seeing the certainty Paige felt reflected in her eyes.
"How can you be so sure?" Emily genuinely wanted to know, wanted to feel that same feeling.
Paige stroked a finger down the centre of her chest, coming to rest on top of her heart. "I just feel it," she stated simply, her lips twitching with a smile.
And then Emily found herself smiling too. Paige was her balance, she realised. Paige's optimism and love for her was strong enough to compete against all the crap that invaded Emily's life on a daily basis. Paige helped to keep her negativity at bay. Pushing Paige away had let her become disillusioned with life, and Emily didn't want to let that happen ever again. She needed some hope in her life. She needed Paige in her life.
"Okay," was all she said, kissing Paige softly, cuddling into her again, feeling Paige's smiling against her forehead.
Emily was almost dozing off to the comforting sound of Paige's steady breathing when Paige suddenly spoke. "Em, what's mushy squash?"
Emily grinned into Paige's neck.
Not you.