Chapter 1
To say they were an odd couple would be an understatement. If you had told either woman a year ago that they would be sharing a room, they would have laughed in your face. And yet due to circumstances beyond their control, Spencer and Paige found themselves sharing a room at Radley during an extended stay in Rosewood due to a freak snow-storm that blocked off the roads and kept the planes on the ground, delaying both Spencer and Paige's return home from their annual Christmas visits.
Paige and Spencer have known each other since Junior Varsity. On the field they got along just fine, even engaging in a little friendly rivalry at times, but off the field they barely spoke a word to one another. Things hadn't improved much by the time they'd left for College, and they completely fell out of touch, Paige heading to Stanford and Spencer getting into Dartmouth. Neither girl thought she'd see the other ever again, but alas, fate works in mysterious ways.
When Spencer found out her room was double booked she was furious. She came this close to creating a scene. She'd had no intention of staying with her mom and dad ever since they remodeled the place and turned her room into a second home office. Her sister's room was converted into a spare bedroom which her sister herself often occupied and the barn she'd refurbished and converted into a studio had been rented out for the year so there was literally nowhere for her to go.
Likewise, Paige didn't want to stay with her parents either. Things were kind of tense with her father after the accident that robbed her of her Olympic dream and he had never really quite forgiven her for 'robbing' him of the time and effort he 'wasting' trying to turn her into a champion. What made things worse were all the questions about her girlfriend. They kept hounding her about her. Where had she been and why hadn't she been there for her when she was hurt? When had she left and when was she coming back? Would she be helping Paige or would they need to stick around any longer? She found herself lying through her teeth and sending everyone away, facing the challenge of recovery and rehabilitation all on her own. It would've been easier to tell the truth but she respected Shana's privacy and she wouldn't guilt or shame her over leaving. She just wanted her to be safe and healthy and happy. She didn't want to be a burden to her. That's why she never picked up the phone. And now it was too late to do so anyway, she thought dejectedly as she limped through the front door of Radley with her cane in her hand and her luggage in tow.
When Spencer turned around it was as if the whole world slowed to a halt. Confusion marred her face as she took in the sight of her old rival and teammate limping through the lobby with an air of serenity and expertly veiled discomfort. She smiled politely as she passed her, barely remembering the fellow brunette, and when met with stunned silence she redirected her attention towards the check-in attendant and started inquiring about her reservation. It turns out however that her room had also been double booked and with the snow storm brewing overhead the hotel was booked out for the next few nights so they advised her to stay with friends or relatives if she had the option, or, if both occupants agreed, share the room with the other person that booked the suite.
Paige and Spencer looked at each other from across the table. Without field hockey they had virtually nothing in common. Spencer, was a lawyer who lived in Boston and had an extremely ambitious personality, having recently been made the youngest partner in her firm. Paige had unwound considerably when she came out of the closet and had become a much calmer and more mature and serene adult. She was a phenom on the field but her real passion was swimming. She made it to Nationals and was a shoe-in to get picked for the Olympics when her dream was tragically stolen by a drunk driver who sideswiped her bicycle as she was riding home from a party one early morning. She finished her degree in a leg cast and returned to the water as a coach as soon as she took the damned thing off. She started teaching toddlers on the weekends but before long she had worked her way up to High School seniors and now she was head coach in the university of Iowa. And while her own dreams were dashed, she gets to live a little through her students.
They caught up over their meal. It was comped, just like all their meals would be. The hotel offered to comp their meals and half the nightly rate if they decided to share in an attempt to placate them. Paige was about to turn the offer down, feeling like she was taking advantage of them but just before she could speak, Spencer opened her mouth and started arguing their case and before they knew it the cost of room service and everything in their mini fridge had been comped, two free massages had been booked by the in-house masseuse, and two tickets to the Christmas night cabaret had been procured for them, on the house.
Spencer would've kept going, talking about how she was going to sue their pants off if Paige hadn't physically attempted to drag her away. Spencer looked guiltily at the cane she almost knocked out of her hand and sobered up, thanked the manager and had the bellman take their luggage up while she and Paige received those complimentary refreshments at the lounge.
Everything was going pretty smoothly until an extremely unprofessional passing bellboy recognized Paige and asked her for an autograph. This off course set Spencer off and in order to subdue her Paige suggested they take advantage of some of that free room service and eat dinner in their room. To her surprise, Spencer agreed and led the way to the elevator and through the hallways like this had been her second home, instinctively taking off her heels and tossing them aside mechanically as soon as she entered the room.
Spencer dropped down onto the queen bed and shut her eyes as Paige dialed. They ordered, changed and watched tv before it actually occured to them that they would have to share a bed.
Although Spencer had an older sister she'd never let her sleep in the same bed as her, even as kids and Paige's parents believed in strengthening her character and wouldn't let her in their bed, even when she had had a nightmare so both women were inexperienced in sharing and the social conventions that went along with it. While Spencer had been to sleepovers, they'd all been sleeping-bag-on-floor type sleepovers and she never had to wake up next to anybody else and Paige herself had never been popular enough to be invited to any sleepovers at all apart from the ones her extended family threw and even then she'd never had a chance to share with anybody, usually taking up a couch or the floor, so when it hit them, both girls felt a sudden giddiness as this was something they never thought they'd get to experience, thinking they'd both missed their chance when they were kids.
They both tried to act aloof about it but the truth was they were excited to share a bed with someone else.