Authors note:
Hey guys! Can you believe it?! Two chapters in two days.
I can't either! Again, I was without my trusted editor on this one, so please DM me with any issues you see!
Anyways, here it is… what I like to call the second half of chapter 5, or 5b, or let's just call it chapter 6.
Whatever you want to call it, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 6
DING
Emily walked through the doorway of the brew cautiously, attempting to hide the bouquet of flowers from the girl she was meeting. She looked around the cafe to see it was already empty now that it was 5 minutes before closing time. Glancing to the counter Emily noticed there was noone there either.
She took this as an opportunity to regain control of her nerves, and used her reflection in the window to try and fix her hair. As she was doing this, she heard a " Hey there" come from the direction of the counter.
" Oh hey! Sorry, I didn't even hear you come out" Emily chuckled nervously trying to hide her embarrassment of being caught checking herself out.
" I can be sneaky sometimes" the girl behind the counter said with a wink.
" You look amazing" she continued as she eyed the brunette from top to bottom as she approached the counter, her eyes settling on the flowers in the other girl's hand.
" Thank you" Emily responded barely finding her voice, feeling a slight blush rise to her cheeks.
The two girls stood awkwardly for about 10 seconds before Emily realized she was still holding the flowers.
"Oh" the girl nervously chuckled again.
"These are for you" Emily held the flowers out in front of her for the other girl to take.
" Aw, Em, these are beautiful. Thank you so much! Listen, I'm just about done here, would you mind if I lock up and quickly run upstairs to my apartment to throw these in water and fix myself up really quickly. I promise it won't more than 10 minutes. You can have this while you wait."
The barista slid a large americano across the counter to the brunette.
Hearing Sabrina call her "Em" made Emily's stomach twist in a way that was uncomfortable. She looked down at the coffee appreciating the fact the other girl had thought of her.
" Aw, thanks. Of course, that's no problem. I don't mind waiting. I didn't realize you were renting the apartment upstairs." Emily grabbed the coffee off the counter and took a small sip after she spoke.
"Oh, ya. It's only been for a bit. I'm not sure how long I will be here to be honest, I'm kind of a gypsy in that way." The girl flashed Emily a smile, the smile was nice, but Emily took notice how it didn't make anything magical happen in her body, not the way someone else's would.
Emily realized she had been staring and quickly smiled an awkward smile back, unsure of what to say.
" Have a seat. I'll be right back." Sabrina motioned to the sofa nearby.
Emily sat down and took a sip of her coffee. Glancing around the coffee shop. It was weird being there after hours. It was so peaceful and quiet. As she looked around, a particular area of the room caught her eye. Their table.
It bothered her that this date had barely started and already the other blonde has taken over her thoughts more than enough times. She tried desperately to push these thoughts away, the hardest part was trying to push away the feelings that came with those thoughts. The way her stomach would flutter when Alison would laugh or say something sweet. The way her body would react with goosebumps and a racing heart at the slightest touch.
" Stop it." she said to herself out loud.
" Stop what?" she heard a voice from behind her.
Emily looked over her shoulder to see Sabrina standing at the bottom of the stairs in a new outfit and her hair style changed with a smile across her face and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Emily quickly stood up, and turned to face the girl, wiping her now sweating palms on her skirt.
" Wow, you weren't kidding about being sneaky. Sorry, I was just… talking to myself. I promise it's not a regular thing… at least I don't think. Wow. Something is wrong with me. Are you sure you still want to do this?" Emily blurted out quickly without taking a breath, mentally scolding herself for being less than smooth.
Sabrina chuckled and rounded the couch to stand in front of Emily.
" I'm sure. Honestly, I think it's really quite cute" the other girl smiles again.
Emily returns the smile, wishing she could feel the way she knows she should be feeling at that statement.
" You look really nice." the brunette complimented the girl standing in front of her. Taking time to admire the other girl's outfit. She was wearing a feminine flowy black tank top, black skinny jeans, and a suede ankle boot. She had numerous bracelets on and a dangly necklace. From what Emily could tell Sabrina didn't wear much makeup, just a little mascara and her hair just fell loose around her face. Sabrina was a pretty girl, but she didn't exactly cause Emily's hormones to rage.
" Um, do you prefer french or italian food? I was thinking we could either go to Cafe Amore or Mama Maria's." Emily questioned.
Sabrina put her finger to her chin as though in thought.
" Hmmmm, well to be honest, I really don't care for french food. Is it ok if we go to Mama Marias?"
" Of course" Emily replied, only slightly disappointed they weren't going for french cuisine. She headed toward the door and held it open for the other girl to walk through, patting herself on the back for being such a "gentle lady".
As Sabrina locked the door to the brew, she looked to Emily as though she wanted to ask something but then looked away as though she was scared.
" Is everything ok?" the brunette asked cautiously.
" Oh ya, um, I hope this isn't weird, you know, since you asked me out and everything. But I was wondering... if you would be ok with me taking over the date after dinner? I mean, if you would let me plan dessert? That is unless you have something else planned."
Emily's eyes shot open, immediately wondering if Sabrina was expecting more out of this date then she was willing to give.
Sabrina laughed seeing the girl's shocked face, realizing what thoughts must be crossing Emily's mind.
" I don't mean like that, silly. I have something cool I want to show you, if you'd like?" the girl smiled nervously.
" Oh ya, of course. I'd love to." Emily squeaked out slightly embarrassed that the girl caught onto her thoughts.
The two girl's walked side by side, a fair distance apart, towards the restaurant. Emily couldn't help but notice how awkward and heavy the mood seemed between them, all she could do was hope it would lighten up soon or else it was going to be a long night. She felt bad also, knowing it was probably her fault that things have become so weird.
In an attempt to make things less awkward, Emily tried to make conversation with the other girl.
" So, have you lived here long?" She asked side eyeing the girl walking next to her.
" Um, I moved here about 2 weeks ago. I was living in New York and I got sick of the hustle and bustle. Needed to go somewhere a little more quiet. Somehow I found myself here."
The brunette nodded in understanding and smiled at the girl walking next to her.
" So what do you think of Rosewood so far?" she questioned.
The blonde looks up, takes a deep breath, and glances back at the brunette. Holding eye contact for seconds before answering.
" I think it's absolutely beautiful." she smiled, continuing to stare directly into Emily's eyes.
The brunette didn't miss the double meaning behind the answer and she could feel her cheeks glowing.
The nervous girl didn't even notice at that moment that they were already standing outside of the restaurant, until Sabrina walked over and held the door open for her.
" Shall we?" the blonde questioned with a smug smile on her, knowing she just had an effect on the brunette for the first time that night. Emily nodded and crossed the threshold.
Dinner went by without the heavy awkwardness that was in the air earlier that evening. The girl's enjoyed conversation, discussing the adventures of their past and future dreams. They laughed and also shared moments of comfortable silence.
It was in those moments of silence that Emily reflected on the situation she currently found herself in. No matter the discussion they had through dinner, somehow her thoughts always came back to one girl, and it wasn't the blonde in front of her. When she discussed the future, she saw only one person there, and again, wrong blonde.
Sabrina was funny, nice, and unique. Emily knew deep down that she wasn't going to be able to lie to herself and fill that void in her heart with Sabrina. And it scared her to think that her only other option could be to be alone, forever.
" Excuse me, I just need to use the restroom." The tanned girl informed the other as she stood.
Dinner had just finished and the bill had just been paid. Emily knew the rest of the night was going to be a mystery to her and that made her feel uneasy.
She pushed through the doors of the empty bathroom and rushed to the sink. She placed her hands on the cold marble countertop and stared into her reflection, searching her own eyes as though they had the answer.
" What are you doing, Emily?" She asked herself quietly.
Sabrina told Emily they would be heading back to her house for dessert, which didn't make Emily feel any less nervous. As the two girls entered the empty coffee shop, Sabrina lead her up the stairs towards the loft. She unlocked the door and stepped to the side to allow Emily to enter first. She noticed first how empty the room appeared, and how boxes still lie scattered across the floor. And then she noticed although the room was bare, Sabrina took the time to display some paintings and pictures from her travels.
" Come on." Sabrina interrupted her thoughts as she took her hand and led her to the window. Emily just looked at her with a skeptical look.
" You want me… to climb out there?" she hesitated.
The blonde just smiled and bit her bottom lip as she pulled the taller girl with her, up and out the window, onto a fire escape.
She continued to drag the girl up the fire escape until they hit the roof.
It was then that Emily felt a sense of wonder come over her. She had never seen anything like it.
On the roof, Sabrina had set up a bunch of cushions and lanterns. There were a variety of baked goods spread out, a thermos, and the part that amazed Emily the most was from where they were sitting they had a perfect view of Rosewood Drive In, which just so happened to be playing " Casablanca" that night.
"Wow" Emily couldn't help but be in complete awe at the sight in front of her.
" Sabrina, this is absolutely beautiful." she said as she slowly approached the area.
" I had no idea you could see the drive in from up here."
" I'm glad you like it. This is my favourite place to come. I don't have a tv, so when I know a movie is playing I'll come up here and watch. Have a seat. I made some cocoa and baked these."
Sabrina sat and Emily followed, keeping a friendly distance between them. Emily sat in wonder as she looked around at the beautiful set up, it was perfect. She glanced over to the girl sitting next to her smiling, and …. It wasn't right. It wasn't perfect. It should of been. But she couldn't lie to herself any more.
This was never going to work and she knew it, she felt awful that she had used the girl beside her to try and prove something to Alison and to herself. That wasn't fair and she felt awful about it.
Realizing she was once again getting lost in her thoughts, she decided she would make the most of the rest of the night, since Sabrina did go through all the trouble of doing this for her, but first thing tomorrow she would need to set everything straight, she wasn't the kind of person to use someone or take advantage of them for personal gain.
Emily looked at the plate of cookies in front of her and reached forward grabbing the biggest one on the plate.
" These look delicious!" she admitted excitedly as she took a huge bite, quickly brushing the crumbs off her face.
" Thank you, Sabrina. All this was so kind of you. No one has ever done anything like this for me before." She spoke truthfully.
" I'm glad you like it" the girl answered with a glint in her eye " I had a really great time tonight. Thank you for taking me out." She smiled before turning to look at the screen in the distance.
The girl's sat in silence as they drank cocoa and watched the movie play on the screen, never moving any closer to one another.
Before the end of the film, Emily announced she should be heading home as it was getting late and her mother might be worried. The girl's exchanged a hug and Sabrina walked Emily to the front of the Brew.
As Emily walked home she decided she wouldn't be texting any of her friends that night, especially Alison. First thing in the morning she knew she needed to tell Sabrina the truth, and as soon as possible after that, she needed to tell Alison everything.
She couldn't go on living this lie, even if it meant she could end up losing the one person she loves most in this world.
Authors note cont.
Ok, you guys can almost let out that breath you've been holding, the next chapter will change everything for Emily and Alison.
I can't wait to hear your reviews! Please check me out on tumblr, feel free to message me, anytime about anything!
Until next time! Xo