Disclaimer: I own nothing; everything belongs to its rightful owners.
AN: Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read and/or review my stories, it really means the world to me! And a BIG special thank you goes to my amazing beta reader, the wonderful greeneyedconstellations!
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-Let Us Make A Deal-
(The Color In Anything/Haley & Emily talk)
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Haley shows up at her dorm room one Thursday morning in the middle of May.
"You're not what I expected," the blonde states, obviously surprised, and Emily steps back to let her in, because what else is she supposed to do?
She keeps standing next to the closed door, while Aaron's wife looks through her room, the way she wrinkles her nose a sign that she noticed the heavy scent of weed and patchouli right away.
"What did you expect to find here?" Emily asks, suddenly feeling like a petulant child instead of a nineteen year old.
"I don't know," Haley starts, slowly turning around to face her. "Someone older maybe. Someone dressed a little bit more..."
"Like you?" Emily offers flippantly.
"I guess." Haley admits, while scrutinizing Emily closely. "I definitely wasn't expecting to find this."
There's a flicker of amusement in Haley's eyes and Emily wishes she'd chosen a different outfit today. Her black skirt suddenly feels too short, her white blouse too tight, the studded belt and her fishnet stockings far too provocative and the violet streaks in her otherwise pitch black hair just a bad idea in general.
"Are you even old enough to drink?" Haley asks abruptly, a frown growing on her face, and it takes Emily a moment to realize that Haley must have spotted her hidden stash.
She doesn't bother with an answer though.
"Does Aaron know you're here?"
Haley shakes her head. "No, and I'd like to keep it that way."
Of course.
That's how you get a marriage to work.
Emily leans back against the wall, her arms crossed in front of her chest defensively, wondering why she felt like talking to her mother.
"Are you in love with him?"
The question comes not unexpectedly.
"No, I'm not," Emily answers, unblinking. "And he isn't in love with me either," she adds, holding Haley's gaze steadily.
"But it's also not just about sex, is it?"
"No."
Haley nods thoughtfully before finally looking away.
"I've known for a while now," she declares quietly, her eyes wandering over the things littering the black painted room. "He's changed since you two..." Haley stops, obviously searching for the right word, but coming away empty. "And I can't deny that I like the way he changed."
Emily frowns, not sure she heard the other woman right.
"He's never been more attentive then he is now," Haley explains, and Emily can hear the smile in her voice. "When he's home now, he really is home. He's not all that serious anymore, he's back to making me laugh and he even wants to go out for dinner after work. It's almost like high school all over again."
When Haley turns back around there's hope in her eyes.
"Whatever you did to him I have to thank you for it."
"I'm not here to tell you to stop sleeping with him, Emily," she continues after a brief pause. "Because whether I'd like to admit it or not, our marriage is working much better since you came around."
"Then why are you here?" Emily asks, and tries her best to hide her confusion. If Haley doesn't want her to stay away then what did she want?
"It looks like we complement what Aaron wants and needs perfectly. And if we agree on what's yours and what's mine, we might be able to keep this working for all three of us."
At first Emily's almost sure she got something wrong, did Aaron's wife just tell her to keep…?
The seriousness on Haley's face makes clear that she had.
"I have to admit you're not what I expected either," Emily states, unable to hide a smirk.
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Disclaimer: I own nothing; everything belongs to its rightful owners.