Paige woke up not long before midnight. She thought that she had heard crying in the bedroom. She was sure that it had been her imagination, but she crept to the door just in case. She was being as quiet as she could, not wanting to wake Emily if the cries had just been a dream. Standing outside the door, she listened for a moment. There was definitely some soft sobbing coming from inside.
"Emily?" Paige said softly, knocking gently on the door. Shana sleepily headed over, to see what was going on. Paige eased the door open and Emily sat up, ashamed of the fact that she'd gotten so emotional and had awakened Paige.
"I'm okay," she said, sniffling slightly.
Paige rushed to the side of the bed. "What happened?"
Emily let out a deep breath. "It's stupid," she said, gesturing in the air. "I just…" She sighed. Reaching out to pet Shana, she explained, "Playing with Shana today reminded me of the dog we used to have when I was growing up, and how much I missed him. And I had a dream about him, running around the park with us… and Shana" – Emily quickly added the part about Shana, thinking that it was probably too soon for her to be dreaming about Paige – "and," she continued, "it was just hard waking up and realizing that it was only a dream."
Paige put her arm around Emily's shoulder and hugged her. "What was his name?"
"Zingy," Emily said. She waved her hand, letting it fall against her thigh. "Long story… I had a thing for names like that – Pingy, Wingy… – and he used to zing around the backyard, so…"
"I know it must be hard," Paige whispered, rubbing Emily's shoulder.
Emily just nodded. "I'll be okay," she assured Paige.
"I know you will." Paige pulled her closer and kissed her cheek.
Paige sat patiently, holding Emily, and Emily sleepily let her head fall on Paige's shoulder. She jerked it up immediately, feeling guilty for making Paige worry – and a little silly for crying over her childhood dog in the first place. "Hey – I know you need to get some sleep," she whispered, " 'cause you've got to get to work in the morning."
Paige put Emily's head back on her shoulder. "I'll stay with you until you fall back asleep."
"Thank you," Emily said softly. She pulled the sheet back and lay down, smiling gratefully as Paige settled behind her. They lay in silence for a while before Emily said, "Paige?"
"Yeah?" Paige's breath brushed the back of Emily's neck as she said the word.
"You can stay… even after I fall asleep."
Paige nodded and kissed Emily's neck, squeezing her waist a little tighter for a second.
Emily had been joking before about wearing Paige's jumpsuit to bed. The stiff, rough cotton fabric was much too uncomfortable to sleep in. But something that provided full body coverage might have seemed a safer choice, had she known the way their sleeping arrangements would have ended up. When it came down to it, though, didn't feel awkward or inappropriate – to either of them – lying in bed with their bare legs intertwined. It felt natural.
Paige remembered some very lonely nights, not very long ago, that she had spent cuddling Shana in bed. As much as loved Shana, she was just a substitute. Paige never thought that she would get the real thing. This is real, she thought to herself and gave Emily another kiss.
"Emily…" Paige's voice was serious, but her face was lit up like a child's. "I'm going to be late!"
Emily collapsed, sitting on the bed with a fake pout. "Are you sure you can't skip work today?" She knew that she was being greedy. She and Paige hadn't been apart in the past 36 hours. Still, she couldn't be blamed for wanting a little more time with her.
"I wish," Paige said with a sigh. "But my uncle's counting on me."
"I'll make it worth your while…" Emily said seductively, reaching up to squeeze Paige's butt.
Paige, surprised, let out a yelp. "Emily!"
"What?" Emily stood and put her arms around Paige again, this time, letting both hands come to rest inside the back pockets of Paige's jumpsuit. "Do you know how many times I've wanted to do that, when you were puttering around my house in that cute little blue suit?"
Paige gasped in mock shock. "Oh, my God, that's such a violation!"
"Well, why do you think people call the plumber in the first place? Haven't you ever seen a porno?"
Paige almost doubled over laughing at that statement. It was just about the last thing she ever expected to hear out of Emily's lips. She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Have you ever seen a porno?"
"Yes!" Emily blurted out defensively, adding, softly and embarrassed (knowing she would lose any street cred for admitting it), "at my friend Hanna's bachelorette party."
"So, are you going to tell me you were intentionally breaking the plumbing in your house just to get me to come over?"
"No, of course not!" Emily asserted. "Although…" Paige tilted her head when Emily let the word hang there. Emily lowered her gaze and sheepishly played with Paige's collar. "Once I found out that you did electrical work after hours, I… sort of… researched how to break something electrical and make it look like an accident."
Paige chuckled and pulled Emily's head against her chest. "Great plan," she admitted. She rubbed Emily's back for a moment before kissing the top of her head. "I've really got to go," she said apologetically.
Emily sighed. "All right," she said. "I'll just hang out with Shana." Shana, hearing her name, came over, and Emily began petting her. "You'll never leave me, will you, Girl?" All of a sudden, Emily realized that she had just invited herself to stay over at Paige's apartment while Paige was at work. She looked up at Paige in a panic, but Paige was smiling. "I… If you don't mind, I mean," she said, focusing her attention on Shana again. "I just don't want to face reality yet, you know. I've got all those contracts to look over from the publisher when I get home."
Paige, as much as she liked the idea of Emily hanging out in her apartment, was still a little disappointed. She had been planning to offer Emily a ride home, and she really wanted to see Emily's face when her Mustang roared to life. Still, in the scheme of things, she really couldn't complain that a beautiful woman wanted to make herself at home in her apartment. There would be plenty of time for her to show off her car to Emily.
"You can stay here as long as you want," She said in her sexiest voice. "Whenever you want." Emily smiled up at her. "And, if you want," Paige said to relieve the tension by changing the subject, "I can get my uncle's lawyer to take a look over those contracts sometime? You know, just to make sure you're not getting taken advantage of."
"Oh, thanks!" Emily said sincerely. She didn't want to appear ungrateful. "Actually, I have a good friend from high school who's a lawyer and…"
Paige put her hands up. "Say no more! I'm glad you've got it covered. I just didn't want you to be in over your head."
Emily nodded. "No, I appreciate it."
"Okay," Paige said, leaning over to give Emily a kiss good-bye. "I really should get going."
"Bye," Emily said wistfully.
Emily found some food for Shana and some toast and coffee for herself. She watched a bit of TV and looked through some of the books on Paige's shelf. She and Shana played a bit.
Emily really didn't feel like going home. She really felt like texting Paige, to see how her day was going, but that seemed a bit too clingy. So, she decided to take Shana for a walk instead. That way, she could send Paige a picture, and it would be about Shana and the fact that she'd gone out, rather than about Emily and her neediness.
She got undressed, certain that Paige wouldn't mind if she took a shower and borrowed some clothes. Once she figured out how to work the shower and got under the spray, she let out a moan. The water felt so firm but soft; it was like a Swedish massage. Emily let out a chuckle when she realized: Of course, a plumber would have an amazing shower. She reached for the shampoo, which Paige must have bought in the bargain bin at a department store. They would definitely have to work on that. Emily didn't really need to wash her hair, so she put it back. Paige's body wash was acceptable, but not something Emily could've showered with every day.
Emily stepped out of the shower and into an oversized white towel that smelled like Paige – or, Emily realized – maybe she was the one who smelled like Paige. She really needed to brush her teeth, but using Paige's toothbrush seemed a bit too much. She took a quick look inside the medicine cabinet, somewhat relieved that she didn't find a spare toothbrush there. It was just easier to think that Paige didn't have a spare toothbrush for her overnight guests. There was some mouthwash in the cabinet, and Emily decided it would have to do.
She opened the bathroom door slowly and looked around, afraid that Mikey may have come over to take Shana out. Not seeing anyone, she dashed to the bedroom and set about trying to find something she could wear. Shana came in and followed Emily around. Emily scratched her between the ears. "What should I wear, girl?"
Emily found a jersey and a pair of shorts from Hallahan High School that fit her well enough, and were an appropriate match for the jogging shoes that she had worn on the walk from her house the day before. Shana, having picked up on what was going on, fetched her leash and carried it to Emily, shyly walking back and forth to her tennis ball, as if subtly suggesting to Emily that she wouldn't mind going to the park for a while, as long as they were going out. "Go get it, girl!" Emily said, much to Shana's delight.
As soon as Emily got out of the apartment and onto the sidewalk, she started to second-guess her decision to take Shana out. What if Shana ran off – or got hit by a car – or got into an altercation with another dog? She knew that she was being irrational. She'd never seen Shana misbehave. Then again, she'd never seen her without Paige before.
As if on cue, to stoke Emily's fears, Shana started to get very animated. Emily looked up and saw a man with a large dog (though not as big as Shana) walking towards them. The man's dog was also getting jittery. "Easy, Girl," Emily said, stroking Shana's neck. She contemplated crossing the street.
"Lightning," the man said to his as he got closer, "it's Shana!" He let go of the leash, and Lightning headed over to Shana. The two of them playfully pawed and nuzzled each other for a bit, their tails wagging behind them. The man got down to Shana's level and pet her for a while. "She's a good dog," he said, and, with a smile and a wave, he was gone. No introduction, no explanation; that was that. Dog culture…
They made it to the park and tossed the ball around for a while. When they took a break, Emily got her phone and took a picture of the two of them and sent it to Paige with the caption, "Hey – we're at the park."
When Paige saw the picture, she almost dropped her phone. To her, the caption might as well have read, "Hey – I'm wearing your clothes!" Her thighs suddenly clenched together. She texted back, "Beautiful."
She knew what she meant. Emily could interpret it any way that she chose to.
It wasn't until the walk home that Emily realized what she had forgotten. She didn't have a key or any way to get back into Paige's apartment. She couldn't believe that she hadn't thought of that before she left. She didn't want to keep bugging Paige at work, but she had no choice.
"Hey," she texted, "Funny story… we're locked out of your apartment. :("
A few seconds later, Emily's phone rang. "Hey – you okay?"
Emily sighed. "Yeah, just feeling a little stupid."
Paige chuckled. "Yeah. I didn't even think about that when you sent me that picture. But are you guys going to be okay for a bit? I'm on the way to a job right now, and Mikey's at work, but…"
"No, we're fine. We can get some lunch, and just hang out in the park."
"Okay. Well, I can swing by and get you at lunchtime. I should be finished on this next call in about a half hour? So, see you in… 45 minutes?"
"Okay. But don't rush, Paige, seriously. You don't have to, just because I'm… a moron."
"No, I'll come get you," Paige said reassuringly. "I can't wait to see you again."
Emily smiled to herself at that. "I can't wait to see you, either."
Emily heard the rumble of an engine behind her as she and Shana waited for Paige on a bench near the entrance to the park. She turned around and saw Paige pulling up in her red Mustang. Paige lifted her aviators onto the top of her head and rolled down the window.
At that moment, Emily realized that Mikey was wrong. Mouche. Paige wasn't the fly. She was Batgirl.
Emily leaned over and poked her head in the window, trying to keep Shana settled. "I thought you'd be in the truck," she said, slightly loud, to be heard above the idling engine.
Paige chuckled. "I don't take it everywhere, you know"
"Is it okay for Shana to get in your car?" Emily scrunched her face apologetically. She was really making a mess of things.
"Are you kidding?" Paige stretched across the seat to open the door, and Shana jumped in, wriggling her way into the backseat. Paige reached back and scratched between her ears. "She's my ride or die bitch," she said on autopilot, repeating the phrase she had gotten used to telling people. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she cringed. She hated sounding like a crude plumber in front of a lady like Emily. "I… I mean… you know." Paige chuckled nervously. "'Bitch' as in 'female dog.'"
"Yeah, I had heard that term," Emily said sarcastically, with a smile, before she climbed in the car and gave Paige a kiss. "I'm just surprised she doesn't ride shotgun!"
"Well, she usually does," Paige admitted, "but she knows you're special." She put her hand on Emily's thigh but removed it immediately. Skin on skin contact was one thing the night before, when she was there for Emily. But, in the cold light of day, with hormones at play, it didn't feel quite as appropriate.
When Emily was buckled in, Paige gunned the engine for effect before she put it in gear and pulled off. Emily would have rolled her eyes at that, had it been anyone else but Paige.
Paige, feeling Emily's eyes on her, looked away from traffic for a second and saw Emily staring with a big smile on her face. "What's so funny?"
Emily tilted her head in the direction of Paige's phone, in its cradle on the dashboard. Paige had already changed her phone's background to the picture that Emily had taken with Shana earlier in the day. "Nice picture," Emily said coyly.
"I thought so." Paige looked over again, with a smile of her own. "I'm glad you found something to wear."
"I hope you don't mind?"
"Are you kidding?" Paige looked Emily over and gave her a thumbs up.
Emily placed her hand on Paige's leg as she drove, and Paige put her hand on top of it, intertwining their fingers. "How long do you have for lunch?"
"A while. My next call is at two, so…"
"Oh, good." Emily lifted a paper bag that she'd been holding in her lap. "I picked up some cold cuts. I figured I could make you a quick lunch."
"You guys haven't eaten yet?"
Emily shook her head. "We wanted to eat with you."
"Aww… That's so thoughtful."
"… and a little bit greedy," Emily said. "I know we got to spend the whole weekend together, but… I wanted more." Emily's voice got softer; less self-assured as she finished the sentence.
Paige turned to Emily and smiled. "You read my mind." She gave Emily's hand a squeeze before she returned her hand to the steering wheel for a moment, to make a turn.
Emily, her face was a mixture of jubilation and relief, lifted Paige's hand to her lips and kissed it.
Back at the apartment, Paige took a few minutes to play with Shana before she set out some food in her doggie dish. Emily, meanwhile, busied herself in the kitchen. "I'm not really sure what you like," she said, when Paige came in to wash her hands.
"Oh, I like everything," she said reassuringly.
"Like kale?" Emily asked with a wink.
"Yeah, like kale." Paige dipped her head.
"So, basically, you're going to pretend that you like whatever I make?"
"That's the plan," Paige said coyly. "At least for the first couple of months." She wrapped her arms around Emily from behind and pressed her cheek against Emily's. "No, seriously, I'm not very picky." Emily quirked an eyebrow. "Except when it comes to women, of course," Paige added quickly.
"Well, you probably need to get going, don't you?" Paige nodded reluctantly. "Don't worry about this," Emily said, starting to clear their lunch. "Go. I'll clean up before I head home."
"No, just leave it," Paige insisted. "I have time to take you home."
"Paige," Emily said with a smile, "You don't want to come home to dishes in the sink, do you?"
Paige laughed at that. "I think I can manage." She took the dishes from Emily's hand and put them in the sink. "Come on. I don't want you walking home by yourself."
Emily liked the thought of Paige dropping her off at her house, waiting to make sure that she made it in the house safely, and then waving good-bye before she gunned the engine and headed back to work. "Okay," she conceded. "I just need to get changed."
"Don't bother," Paige said casually. "I can get my clothes back from you sometime."
Emily smiled to herself and gave Paige a kiss, holding her hand underneath Paige's chin. She was pretty sure that Paige wasn't going to get those clothes back. And she was pretty sure that Paige would be just fine with that.
Paige gave Emily a kiss before she got out of the car. Even though it was uncomfortable leaning across the center console, they weren't in a rush to end the kiss – or their time together.
Emily found herself wishing that one of her neighbors would walk by and see her in that car, with that girl, their lips locked. She could have stayed there forever, but Paige's phone interrupted them.
Paige groaned. She knew without looking that it was Uncle John, confirming the 2:00 appointment.
"I need to let you get going," Emily said with a pout.
Paige nodded. "Can I stop by after work?" Her face was angelic. "I'll bring dinner."
Emily's head told her that she needed to slow things down. She didn't have to spend every evening with Paige. And, if nothing else, she should do the polite thing and tell Paige that she didn't have to bring food. But her heart made the more persuasive argument.
"Okay."
"Should I bring Shana?"
Emily nodded, leaning over the console to kiss Paige again. As she made a quick exit from the car, she added, "And your toothbrush."
Emily took her time walking from Paige's car to her front door, certain that she had Paige's full attention. After she retrieved her keys from her handbag, she turned to wave at Paige, who waved back and gunned the engine, just as it had gone down in Emily's imagination.
Once inside the house, Emily called Spencer and postponed their plans to meet that night and go over Emily's contracts. Spencer was annoyed. "Emily, I know you're trying to put off adulthood for as long as you can, but you need to get this taken care of."
Emily sighed impatiently. It wasn't the first time that Spencer had condescendingly given her the "adult" lecture. Part of it, Emily realized, was that Spencer never really considered writing a legitimate career alternative. "Writing's fine as a hobby," Spencer loved to tell her, "but let's face it: Your last name is Fields, not Brontë." And then, as if Emily, a comp lit major, didn't get the reference, Spencer spelled it out. "Emily Brontë, yes. Emily Fields, no."
"Spencer," Emily whined, "Paige is coming over tonight, and…"
"She's coming over again?" Spencer was suddenly very excited. She and their friends had been dying for Emily to find someone ever since she moved away from her home and family in Rosewood.
"Yeah," Emily said, slightly embarrassed, but glad that she was, apparently, off the hook. "She's coming over again."
"Well, when's she coming?"
"I don't know. She said after work."
Spencer looked at the clock. "Okay. I can duck out of here right now. It'll only take a couple of hours to go through those contracts. I'll be gone before Paige knows I was there."
Long after Spencer had gone over all of the documents, explained all the jargon to Emily, and assured her that it was a good deal, she was still milling around the house. It was obvious that she was in no hurry to leave. And it was obvious why: She wanted to be there when Paige came over, to give her the once-over and the Hastings seal of approval. Emily understood that, and she wouldn't have minded ordinarily. But she couldn't help thinking about the last thing that she had said to Paige before Paige headed back to work. Emily wasn't keen to have Spencer see Paige show up there with her overnight bag. She didn't need the rumors that would inevitably follow; plus, she didn't want Paige to feel embarrassed. But Spencer had done her a huge favor in helping her go through the contracts. She didn't want to give her the bum's rush.
Emily sighed resignedly when she heard the unmistakable hum of Paige's engine out in front of her house. Spencer broke into a smile – as excited to see Paige as Emily normally would have been – once she caught on that it was Paige's car that had pulled up. She positioned herself in the window seat and subtly pulled back the curtain.
Emily opened the door and stood fidgeting with her hands. She saw Paige open the back door to let Shana out and close the door behind her. When she didn't open the trunk to retrieve the food or her suitcase, Emily thought that their plans must've changed.
"Hi," she said, drawing out the word as she gave Paige a hug, which she followed with a kiss as they separated.
Spencer, who had quickly gathered her things, met them in the doorway, behaving much like a thirteen-year-old girl who had just found out about her best friend's secret girlfriend.
"Hi," she said, extending her hand to Paige with her biggest possible smile. "I'm Spencer Hastings. You must be Paige McCullers." When Shana stepped up to introduce herself, Spencer reached down to pet her. "And you must be Shana…" Before Paige could get out a "Pleased to meet you," Spencer moved on to "Well, I was just leaving," and cooed excitedly into Emily's ear as she hugged her good-bye.
"So, that was Spencer," Emily said, somewhat overwhelmed.
"Hi, Spencer," Paige teased with a smile and a wave, though Spencer had already floated off to her car and buckled in, undoubtedly eager to share the news with the rest of the gang.
"Apparently, she had places to go," Emily noted philosophically.
"Sorry," Paige said. "I didn't mean to rush her out."
"Oh, no," Emily replied quickly. "We were finished long ago. I think she was just hanging around because she wanted to meet you."
"Okay."
Emily suddenly realized that they were still awkwardly standing in the doorway. "Well, listen, come on in," she invited.
"Oh. Okay." Paige looked over her shoulder and, seeing Spencer pull away, she gestured towards her car. "I just need to get the rest of my stuff out of the car."
"Okay. I was wondering if the plans had changed."
Paige smiled shyly. "Well, when I saw a car in front of your house with a 'Rosewood Estates' parking tag, I thought it might be better to wait on that."
Emily put her hand on Paige's shoulder and thanked her with a kiss. "Good decision!"
Emily followed Paige and Shana out to the car. Paige opened the trunk and handed Emily a small overnight bag, taking the cardboard box from the trunk herself. "Is it okay to leave the car there?"
"Oh yeah," Emily assured her. "The neighbors are pretty alert. They keep an eye on everything that goes on around the block."
"That's what I meant," Paige explained, as the car beeped to signify that it was locked. "I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation if they see that my car's still here in the morning."
"They're pretty alert," Emily repeated with a smirk. "I'm pretty sure they all know that you spent the night here Friday."
Emily was interested in what it was that Paige had brought for dinner. She had expected take-out, but the box made it look as if Paige had cooked.
"It's nothing fancy," Paige told her. "Just some soup, bread, and a salad. You know, something that could travel well."
"And something vegetarian, because you've never seen me eat meat," Emily deduced.
Paige shrugged. "I used my grandma's recipes. My aunt – my Uncle John's sister – passed them down to me. They didn't have a lot growing up, so my grandma learned to do most of her cooking without meat."
Emily rubbed Paige's shoulder and kissed her cheek. She really did appreciate Paige's thoughtfulness.
"So, you and your aunt were close, too?" Emily asked, as they ate in front of TV in the living room.
Paige nodded. "Until she moved to Florida."
"So… your dad was the only one who didn't…" Emily pushed the words out haltingly, not sure how comfortable Paige was talking about it. "… who wasn't…."
"Exactly," Paige replied, adding, "Evidently, he's always been kind of the…" She exhaled deeply, unable to come up with a better word. "...asshole of the family." Emily, looking sad, hugged her. "But, you know. He's still my Dad."
Emily scooted closer to Paige, putting one leg up on the couch. She rubbed Paige's stomach sympathetically. Paige, remorseful at having put a downer on the evening, changed the subject. Pointing to the TV, she said, "I can fix that, you know."
"Fix what?" Emily asked, looking in the direction where Paige was pointing.
"That hazy spot, in the corner of the TV?"
"Oh, yeah," Emily replied, waving it off. "It's an old TV. I've had it since college."
"Yeah, but it's not the TV. It's the signal. The cable probably just needs to be grounded."
"Oh." Emily wasn't quite sure what that meant. "So, I don't need a new TV?"
"Probably not." Paige stood up and headed for the TV.
"Don't worry about it, Paige!"
"I'm not worried," Paige joked. "It'll take ten minutes."
"Well, do you have to do it tonight?" Emily groaned.
Paige stopped and turned around. "Why? Was there something else that you wanted to do tonight?" she smirked.
Emily pulled her forcefully back onto the and straddled her, pressing her shoulders against the cushions. "Don't pretend you don't know."
A/N - So, I totally stole the "batgirl" line from lifelongloveforlindsey's review... :)
I'm going to start publishing my multi-chapter next week, so I don't know when I'll update this story again. But I will finish it - I promise!
