Hey guys! Again this is a slow burn romance story, so they won't be together for awhile, but this chapter also is a bit shorter, hence the shorter update time. I'll try to make the next one longer but I am typing these on my iPad for the most part and its dying so I rushed it for the most part. I still hope you enjoy though!
"Can you just not tell my mom that I swam?" Emily begged. Maya chuckled. "Nope, sorry, but I promised her you wouldn't go in the water at all, and I don't want you swimming either. You have a broken finger. I'm not about to let you get hurt," the musician chuckled. The swimmer groaned and let her head fall. The two girls were sitting in the stone bleachers on the Philadelphia YMCA pool area watching the swim meet that was currently in progress. Maya's legs were draped across Emily's lap, and the taller girl had her arms wrapped around the artist.
"I do apologize sweetheart, but I gave my solemn vow of honor," the musician chuckled. "Well pardon me miss, but I do recall you saying before that you never vow anything," the swimmer challenged. Maya grinned and pecked her friend under the ear softly. A blush spread across both their faces and they agreed through eye contact to watch the meet for awhile. Emily pulled the shorter girl a bit closer and leaned back, running her fingers through Maya's hair gently. The musician forced herself to contain the butterflies she felt at the touch.
She knew that she should just tell the athlete how she felt, but she could never find the right time, or when she did she always chickened out. Of course the girls and Pam knew about her crush, but all of them had said that the swimmer had yet to admit she felt the same way. However, Emily was lost in pretty similar thoughts as well. She knew she should tell her friend about her crush, but she cared about Maya too much to risk loosing her friendship if she didn't feel the same way, or even worse, if she was freaked out by it.
"You guys are cute together," the voice of a little kid broke the girls out of their thoughts and they looked down to see a little boy who couldn't have been older than four years old smiling up at them. "Oh, uh..." Maya wasn't sure what to say to explain that they weren't a couple. "My mommies told me that when people don't hide who they are or what they feel it makes the world a better place," he grinned. "Well, they've taught you very well," Emily was too lost in the boy's smile to say anything else.
"Luke? Luke! What are you doing sweetie!" another voice caused them to look up and see an older woman making her way towards them. "Mama!" the boy giggled, rushing over to her. "I'm so terribly sorry," the woman apologized. "Really, it's fine," Maya smiled as she watched the two walk away, both of the girls returning their attention to the meet. At least, their physical attention. Their mental attention? Well, if it wasn't on each other before, it definitely was now.
The only light on the dim Philadelphia roads was provided by the soft lights from the occasional street lamp. The city was nearly empty at this hour, aside from two teenage girls who walked along the sidewalk, arms and hands linked. "I feel like I've been here before," Maya observed, looking around at the buildings as they walked. The sky was a bright shade of redish purple- on account that the lights from the city blurred out any stars that would have been visible.
"We should probably be heading back, the team will be wondering where we are soon," Emily noticed the time on her phone. Even though she couldn't swim, she was still allowed to tag along and cheer the team on, and of course she had brought her best friend with her. Maya nodded and the two started the walk back to the hotel, when the artist noticed something that made her realize why she recognized the specific part of the city they were in.
"Wait a minute, I wanna show you something," she smiled, pulling her confused friend through the streets and into the woods. "Not to sound nosy or anything, but where are we going?" the athlete questioned. "You'll see, it's a surprise," the shorter girl answered. "How do you even know where to go?" Emily looked around at the trees that all looked the same to her. "I came here once on vacation a few years ago, and Luke and I found this spot. Come on," Maya continued to lead her through the forest until they stopped just outside a clearing with a small hill in the center.
"Close your eyes," the musician instructed. Although still confused, the swimmer did as she was told and shut her eyes, allowing the raven haired girl to lead her as she walked slowly. Eventually Maya stopped and helped Emily lay down on her back, settling down beside her. "Alright, open your eyes," she whispered softly in the taller girl's ear, causing her to shudder at the feeling. She blinked her eyes open and stifled a gasp- staring her in the face was the most beautiful, clear, sparkling starry sky she had ever seen. "Maya... This is... I don't even know what... This is incredible..." she stumbled over her words, smiling over at the girl beside her.
"This is on of the few things I loved about living in California. You could go outside and sit in your yard and see stuff like this anytime you wanted," the musician smiled. For awhile they lay motionless, but eventually Emily's hand found the shorter girl's and they instantly linked on contact. "Hey.. Uh, Em?" a nervous tone took over the artist's voice as she rolled over and face her friend. "Yeah?" the swimmer asked, meeting the musician's gaze. "I just wanted to tell you that I... I hope your finger heals quickly," Maya finally sighed, internally kicking herself for bailing out again.
"Oh, uh, yeah, right, thanks," Emily smiled and rolled back to her original position, but she couldn't help the sinking feeling that continued to build up in her chest as she lie so close yet so impossibly far away from the girl she had fallen for so hard.
When Maya woke up that morning she was alone- the space beside her cold and empty. A feeling of disappointment filled her chest, but she forced herself to sit up and stretch. "Em?" she called, not seeing her friend through the darkness of the room. "In here," a voice from the bathroom answered her, followed by the sound of running water. The musician smiled, glad to know where the athlete was, and snuggled back down into the warmth of the bedsheets.
After about fifteen minutes she heard the water shut off and saw the taller girl walk out soon afterwards, dressed in sweatpants, a Sharks hoodie, and her hair in a damp ponytail. The swimmer leaned over the shorter girl and kissed her cheek softly. "Morning," she whispered. "Morning," the artist yawned, blinking her eyes open again and smiling through the shadows. "What time is it?" she asked, sitting up and stretching her arms over her head. "3:37," the athlete informed her. "And you are up why?" Maya chuckled.
"The bus leaves in half an hour, so you gotta get up. If you're still tired you can sleep on the way home, it's a seven hour drive," Emily giggled. The artist stood up and pulled on a pair of socks, as well as her coat and shoes. They took a few minutes to carry their bags out to the bus and pack before lying down beside each other in the hotel room for a little while. Within 45 minutes they were on their way back to Rosewood, Maya's head was rested in Emily's lap, the swimmer running her fingers through the shorter girl's hair gently as she fell further into sleep.
Just before she was completely asleep, the athlete kissed the musician's head, linking their hands together and resting her head against the window, eventually drifting off into a sleep just as deep as the one her friend was already in.
Maya blinked her eyes open at the feeling of hitting her head. "Em?" she grumbled, her vision clearing enough to see that she was under a blanket, her head still in her friend's lap, as the swimmer watched a movie on her laptop. Emily smiled down at her, kissing her forehead softly. The musician relaxed and snuggled back up to the athlete, but she wasn't able to fall back asleep.
She was glad she wasn't asked to move though. She didn't really expect the taller girl to ask that anyways, but things were getting to be a bit awkward between them. However, her cravings were coming back, so she knew if she didn't tell Emily how she felt soon she was bound to start again- and Maya wasn't about to let that happen.
So here's the thing- I'm too lazy and panicked about my iPad dying to do individual shoutouts, so thanks to everyone who read and I hope you'll stick around!