Part two

Better In Time

Chapter IX

Quickly I'm learning to love again,

all I know is imma be okay

(Better in time, Leona Lewis)

"I miss you already."

You smile and say you miss her, too. Not even three hours have passed since you last saw each other, but it's always been like this between the two of you and lately it even got worse. In the final rush to the wedding, you haven't managed to see each other very much, there was always something that needed to be fixed or reorganized and you were also too busy with your jobs. You've managed to squeeze all your appointments in this week, so you could spend your two weeks honeymoon in Hawaii with your beautiful soon-to-be wife in a complete bliss. You can't wait for tomorrow to come, you can't wait to officially spend a whole life by her side. You never expected to get this chance, when five years ago she ended your short fling you didn't even expect to see her again. But you did. Two years later you met her again and the connection between you was still there, it didn't fade. And now, another three years later, you are about to marry her and can't wait for the rest of your life to start. Just one more day.

"You two are gross, really."

You roll your eyes when one of your best friend, Quinn, pretends to choke and you simply raise your middle finger in response, as you tell your fiancée to have fun, "Not too much though", and you smile again when she tells you she loves you, you're never going to get tired to hear her say that, you're never going to get tired to remind her how much you love her. As soon as you hung up, Quinn wraps an arm around your neck and announces you are already late and as she drags you out of her apartment, you can't help but worry about what she organized for your bachelorette party. Your original plan was to let Zoey and Bianca handle it, but when you heard that Quinn was coming back from Afghanistan, you just knew that was something she should have done. You sigh and slightly shake your head as you see that you were right about being worried. A strip club.

"Amazing, isn't it? Sometimes I surprise even myself with my ideas!"

"Quinn…"

"Don't be a party pooper and enjoy your last night as a free woman."

You shake your head again, but you follow her inside, covering your eyes when red lights hit them, you never got used to those lights, no matter how many times you went clubbing over the course of the years, they always give you an headache. If you didn't know about her fear of getting attached to someone due to her career in the army, you would argue with her that having a stable and loving relationship, being married, is not a cage, but you know that's her defense mechanism against the loneliness she feels, so you let go.

"Hello, sis."

You stare in shock at your sister and you're unable to say something, so you just kneel down and wrap your arms against her neck, you missed her so much. You can't believe she's here. You look up behind her shoulder and you see Bianca, Quinn and Zoey smiling at you and you realize this is all their doing and you smile back widely as you tighten your grip around Shannon. It's been so long, months, since the last time you saw her.

"Why are you so surprised? Did you really think I was going to miss my little sister's wedding?"

"It's just… I'm so happy… How?"

"Who would be a better question", she smiles, "Mom and dad, those three idiots and your lovely fiancée."

"Oh no, you shouldn't have brought Emily up. Now she is going to have that goofy smile all night."

You ignore Bianca's comment and smile happily as you hug your other best friends, thanking them for the surprise. She's right. You're going to have that goofy smile for the rest of the night. You quietly take your phone while they order something to drink and send Emily a 'Thank you, honey, I love you so much xx' text before they catch you violating the only rule they set: no mobiles. You reach out for Shannon's hand and you join the conversation, mostly listening and laughing at your friends bickering as little kids about the stupidiest things ever. You turn towards your sister and you chuckle and nudge at her when you see her staring at one dancer and she turns to you with a speechless expression on her face, you laugh when she murmurs amazed, "She winked at me". She lightly shoves you when you don't stop laughing, but then she joins you as she shakes her head a little embarrassed. She changes topic, mostly to stop being in the spotlight, something she never liked, and asks you if you're ready for the big day. A wide smile appears on your lips as you unconsciously play with the ring on your finger. You definitely are. You ignore the sound of a whip that she makes as you feel your phone vibrating on your pocket. You look at her guiltily and she recreates the sound she just made and laughs as you simply roll your eyes. Yes, you're whipped. No, you're not ashamed. They can laugh as they want. 'I'm happy we made you happy, love. Just keep eyes and hands to yourself, it would be a shame if I had to remove them xx'. You laugh quietly, Emily is all you can see, all you want to see. And she knows it, she just loves when you remind her, so you do.

"What did we say about mobiles? Hand it over."

"You sure are gross. You can't even spend a few hours apart."

"I'm putting it away. Just, don't take it."

"I tried to cover you, sis, you shouldn't have laughed."

You look hopefully at Bianca, the only who didn't say anything, but she just puts her arms up, as she is asking you not to put her in the middle, and you shake your head. Traitor. You then look at Quinn's still extended hand and you slowly hand your phone, in the vain hope they're going to change their minds. You sigh when that doesn't happen. You don't even know why you are friends with them – you do, you've been together through thick and thin and you can't imagine a life without them. You and Quinn met in second grade and you immediately became friends, she's the first person you ever came out to and you were her anchor when her mother passed away, you never left each other's side. You were sixteen when you met Zoey and you clashed immediately, you loved to hate each other, but she was the one that, when you found out your girlfriend was cheating on you, punched the girl for you and you were the one she came to when her father left her mother and she just needed to break down. You and Bianca met in college, in a period of your lives where everything was a mess. She was broke and too much proud to asking for help, even reaching the point of almost dropping out of college because she couldn't afford it, not when she had to look over her two younger brothers on her own and you helped her as much you could. You also almost dropped out, in a very short amount of time you found out that your father was sick and that there was no way to cure him, but only to slow his illness down, Shannon was caught in the middle of a shooting, losing her ability to walk, and Quinn almost lost her life in service. You couldn't understand how they could ask you to continue focusing on your studies, when all you wanted was to stay by their side. All the stress became too much, but Bianca stayed by your side, she never left, even when you pushed her away. You couldn't ask for better friends.

"You used to be fun", Quinn teases, "What did she do to you?"

She simply made you happy, "Hey, I'm still fun."

You take the shot from her hand and you quickly drink it, winking at her as she shakes her head. Never separate Quinn from her drink. You laugh as she orders an huge amount of alcohol and challenges you just like the old good times, you laugh because she has the lowest tolerance to it among all of you and she never gives up, insisting that one day she'll beat one of you. Something she never accomplished in the last twelve years, since your first time drinking together. As predicted, she soon begins to slur her words and hitting on Zoey – something she always ends up apologizing for the day after. If only she didn't closed off from love, they would be happy together. You think that Quinn doesn't understand her feelings either or that, maybe, she doesn't want to acknowledge them because it's easier that way, not realizing that she's making them both miserable. Zoey will never stop waiting for her. You wish Quinn would understand that.

When they're both distracted, Bianca quietly hands you your phone with a mischievous smile on her lips and you thank her happily as you mouth a "You're the best", she simply give you a knowing look. Your smile dies as you read the text Emily sent you, 'We met Paige and they all kept on looking at me, I didn't know what to say so I asked her to stay. Does it bother you?', and you try your best not to show it, but your sister always knows when something is up, cue the concerned look she wears right now. You simply shake your head as you reply, 'Does it bother you?', and then smile at Shannon, she doesn't need to worry. She simply nods, because she knows that it's useless to try and push you, letting you know that she's here if you need, and then moves her attention to Bianca, to give you some kind of privacy. Emily's answer is a simple 'No' and you bite your lip, you know it's not the complete truth. The simple fact that she felt overwhelmed by her friends' looks is a proof of that. 'It's okay if it does, love'. You know how much Paige meant to her and, in some ways, still means. Some things remain part of you even if they're long gone. You don't feel jealousy, you're way past that, you're just a bit worried for her. The last time they saw each other was four years ago, so you can understand how she must be feeling right now. 'It's just strange'. A second text arrives immediately after, 'You didn't answer', and you smile softly. Sometimes Paige came up during your conversations, mostly when you were getting to know each other. At first, she was the reason you said no when Emily asked you on dates – you perfectly remembered what happened years before and didn't want it to happen again. Then, when you finally gave in and went out to get an ice cream together, she became the reason of your jealousy: you couldn't stop wondering if everything you and Emily did together was better than what she did with Paige. It is different, she would always say, and that answer wasn't enough at the time. Paige was the ghost of her past that haunted you in a way Emily have never experienced and you felt silly, because she made peace with her past, but you couldn't let go of something that wasn't yours to deal with. When Emily told you she loved you, that she was in love with you, you finally managed to let go. She loved you and you loved her, nothing else mattered. You realized that the importance that Paige had in Emily's life didn't diminish your own. The answer which wasn't enough before now was. Paige didn't haunt you anymore. 'I understand. I'm okay with it as long as you are, too'. You don't wait for an answer, you know it won't come. Paige doesn't haunt neither of you anymore.

"So, have you behaved properly?"

You look up from your book and smile at her, slowly putting it down as she gets closer to the bed. You didn't hear her coming, too engrossed in your book, she is really stealthy when she wants to. You nod and she smiles, saying she missed you before kissing you softly on the lips. You missed her, too.

"I need my eyes and my hands to stay where they are."

"Oh, really? What do you need them for?"

"A few things", you shrug, "To lose myself in those beautiful eyes of yours, for example."

"Is that so?"

You hum as you kiss her again. When you first saw her in that pub years ago you were frozen. She was so beautiful and all you could do was staring at her. Your best friends kept on encouraging you to go and talk to her, but you only did when her best friend of that time, Hanna, winked at you in passing. You were stunned for a moment, but then you understood she noticed your staring – you blushed really hard in that moment – and was giving you the chance to talk to Emily. So you did. And you froze again when you looked at her in the eyes. She made you smile and laugh, she told you she was a swimmer, confirming your initial guess, and she kept on staring at you in the eyes. Then she kissed you and all you could taste was tequila. Her lips were oh, so soft and you didn't want to pull apart. It was like you found yourself.

"And if I didn't have my hands, I couldn't touch you."

You lay an hand on her back, pulling her close and intertwining your legs together, and the other on her cheek, stroking it as you deepen the kiss. When you met again two years later, you touched her even before seeing her. It was a Leona Lewis's concert and the place was packed, people were pushing to get a better view and you crashed into the person in front of you. You began to apologize when you realized it was her and the words just got stuck in your throat. She was still so beautiful. She smiled when she recognized you and it was so warm, she seemed genuinely happy to see you. You and Bianca spent the entire night with her and friend, Aria, and then she only let you go when you promised you would catch up soon. You called her the day after and you started to see each other everyday. As friends, you were adamant about that. One month had passed when she started asking you out, other one before you finally accepted. You were falling, hard and fast, and there was no landing zone in sight, crashing was a risk, but one you would have only taken with her. One you're glad you've taken.

"Now that you pointed it out, I couldn't live without them either."

You chuckle and you slip an hand under her shirt, slowly grazing her spine up and down with your fingers, and you feel her shivering under your touch, you feel her now shortened breathing on your lips. She bites her lip to suffocate a moan and you smile. Her back is one of her weaker spots, if not the weakest one. You ask her if she had a good time and she nods, quietly explaining in great detail how the evening went. You laugh when she tells you how much Spencer yelled when Leah lost her balance and fell on the cake she prepared for the occasion and how she made her go out to buy one, telling her not to come back if she didn't find it. You smile when she says how nice it was to reconnect to some of her friends, they always keep in touch, but most of them have their lives somewhere else and they barely get to see each other. She doesn't say much about Paige, she simply tells you that they spoke briefly and that it was a bit awkward, but good nonetheless, and you nod, Emily doesn't seem troubled as before and that's positive. Back to when you were sending the invitations for the wedding, she was unsure about whether Paige would come and was surprised when she got the positive answer in reply, but you never had any doubt she would.

She asks about your evening and you thank her again about the surprise. It was completely unexpected. You usually know when she plans something to surprise you, but not this time. And that made it even more fantastic. She shakes her head smiling when you tell her about Quinn and Zoey, saying that it was predictable. She smiles when you tell her that Bianca and David finally chose the name for their second baby. She sighs happily and you know where her mind is drifting to – you talked many times about having kids, you want them to look like her and she wants them to have your eyes – and you softly peck her lips. She laughs when you tell her that your sister got asked out by one of the dancers of the club and that Jennifer, that's her name, was going to be her plus one at the wedding – you were confused when it happened, but Shannon was smiling and you didn't care about anything else.

"I bought some ice cream on my way back. Let me go get it."

You shake your head and you bring your lips together, "It can wait", you undo her bra, "This can't."

"I like the way you think. I knew I wasn't going to marry you only for your good looks."

"You had me worried for a moment there, I thought you were going to say feelings were involved."

You both giggle before she captures your mouth in a passionate kiss. You play with the hem of her shirt and she glares at you impatiently, taking it off herself. You chuckle as you help her to completely remove her bra by taking the straps and slowly pulling them down, your fingers brushing as slowly as you can on her skin, making her shiver again. You love to tease her, especially when she's as impatient as she is now, and you know she loves it, too. She lays both of her hands on your cheeks and pulls you in for another kiss, your nails dig on her back and you feel her breathing in your mouth, then she proceeds to take off your shirt, immediately reconnecting your lips together, smiling when she sees you're not wearing your bra. Her lips move to your neck and you quietly remind her not to leave any marks there, she just grunts and moves lower, where she stops. You look at her confused, then you understand that she's listening to your heart beat. She's never done it before, not in a moment like this. She smiles at you, widely and happily, and takes your left hand, she brings it to her chest, to her heart and simply looks at you as you feel her heart beating, it is almost like you actually have it in your hand. You look amazed at her and she smiles again.

"I really love you, Samara."

Author's note: Hey, I am back. Hopefully, I didn't make you wait too much.

Five years foward, pure coincidence, I swear. I'm promoting Samara to a main characther, I said months ago she was going to be very important. She just has to share the point of view in this part with someone else. I wonder who that is going to be (hint: it's not Emily). So I'll change the point of view every chapter, writing about the same moment from two different point of view. Saying this now, so when you read the next chapter you won't be confused. Updates should come twice a month.

To the guest of the last chapter: I think Emily thought the same that you did.

I think I said everything. If you have questions, you know where to find me (here or on tumblr).

See you soon,

Meek.