Hello my beloved readers! Thank you for all the reviews and follows! Your reviews truly engrave a deep smile on my face. :)))) See? ;P I dearly appreciate them no matter how short or long. Thank you for the continuous support! Here's another chapter for the best audience! Hope you enjoy!
P.S.- If you don't the song L.O.V.E. by Nat King Cole, I suggest you listen to it when you get to that point in the chapter. ;) Parent Trap anyone? :D
Chapter XI
Paige POV
"I'm in love with her, and I don't know what to do about it." Paige confesses, exasperated with her situation with Emily.
It was the Sunday morning after Paige admitted to herself for the first time that she had completely fallen for her favorite swimmer, and here she was on the Rosewood High soccer field admitting it to one of her best friends.
They were casually passing the soccer ball between them as they were cooling off from the few practice drills they decided to do this morning since there was no official practice being held.
Karly couldn't help but beam brightly, "That's literally the most romantic thing I've ever heard come out your mouth."
Paige chuckles, "Shut up."
"Here's a thought, why don't you just tell her?" Karly states sarcastically.
Paige rolls her eyes, "I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Um are you forgetting? She's gunning for Samara, not me." Paige sighs forlornly.
Karly rolls her eyes, "Well maybe she'll choose you if just tell her."
"Karly. We almost slept together and she told me it meant nothing so casually, I could never even order a burger at a restaurant that carelessly. She's not in to me like that." Paige shot her best friend a pointed look.
Karly's jaw goes slack from disbelief, "Paige, were you born this dumb? Or is it brain damage from all the soccer balls that got kicked to your face in your lifetime? "
"I played goalie for one season, and I was 7! I told you that in confidence." Paige protests.
Karly rolls her eyes, "My point is…there has to be some kind of attraction there if she was willing to sleep with you."
Paige's eyes widen in disbelief that her friend wasn't understanding, "Well obviously there's an attraction. Just because you're attracted to someone doesn't mean they're the right person to spend the rest of your life with."
Karly scoffs, "Paige we're in high school, no one is thinking about that yet."
"Oh Emily will be, Mrs. Montgomery's engagement party is this Saturday."
Karly laughs, "Miss 'I'm Afraid of Commitment' is going to that?"
Paige shrugs, "Yeah, I'm good friends with Aria. She invited me and she wants me to go."
"Okay great, just woo her at the party with your charming self. Show her that you're what she's looking for." Karly asserts.
Paige winks teasingly, "You think I'm charming?"
"Shut up. Don't push your luck, McCullers." Karly warns playfully.
"I don't want to mess with her feelings when I'm not sure of my own." Paige reveals sincerely.
Karly sighs in frustration, "Paige, you're in love with her. What else is there to be sure about?"
Paige confides, "What if for some reason I bail on her? I couldn't live with myself if I put her through all of this just to leave her because I get a little scared."
"That's something you have to figure out. You're right, you shouldn't tell her you want to be committed if you feel like maybe you can't be. It wouldn't be fair to either of you." Karly admits.
Soon after her morning practice with Karly, Paige drives home to shower and change as she was going to pick up Hanna on her way to Emily's house.
Paige POV
"Hey." Paige smiles as she knocks on Emily's bedroom doorframe.
Emily smiles lazily as she puts her cell phone on her nightstand, "Hey."
"How're you feeling?" Paige asks as she walks to the side of the bed.
Emily mumbles, "Horrible. Don't come any closer, you'll get sick."
Despite Emily's request, Paige continues to saunter over to her.
Paige chuckles, "It's food poisoning Em, not the flu."
She sits on the side of the bed directly in front of Emily, curling up her inner leg so she could face the swimmer. She moves her right arm over Emily's thighs, resting her hand on the mattress next to the swimmer's tan limbs for support.
"That's the last time I let Hanna choose the restaurant." Emily mutters.
Paige chuckles, "Hanna's downstairs making you soup and she's never seemed better."
"Then the waiter must have just spiked my food. I knew I should've been more polite when I asked for that refill." Emily sighs only half joking.
Paige chuckles before changing the conversation, "So do you think you'll be able to make the engagement party?"
Emily shrugs, "It's not until the end of the week, so I'm pretty sure I will be."
Paige nods feeling a smile etch onto her face, "Cool."
After a beat, Paige poses the question that was nagging at her lips since she found out about the party, "Are you bringing Samara?"
Emily replies casually, "No, it's more of a private and intimate affair, not just another party, you know? Plus, I haven't even talked to her since you and I made up anyway."
Paige couldn't help but stir with happiness at Emily's response. Despite the contentment, she felt guilty that she didn't want Emily to move on with someone else.
"Are you bringing anyone?" Emily asks hoping Paige couldn't hear her heart pounding profusely as she awaited her answer.
Paige confirms nonchalantly, "Nope."
Emily releases a breath she didn't know she was holding, out of relief that she didn't have to witness Paige with another girl at a romantic affair.
"I was actually wondering if you'd be my date?" Paige asks confidently.
Paige elaborates as she notices Emily's hesitancy, "As friends… you know, so we won't be third wheeling with the couples."
Emily nods in agreement trying to brush off her nerves, "Oh yeah… sure. Good thinking."
"Cool." Paige smiles sincerely.
"Cool." Emily chirps shyly before smiling at Paige's infectious grin.
Hanna walks in carefully trying to balance the tray in her hands, "I come bearing soup."
"Hanna, I love you, but the last thing I want to see right now is food." Emily groans.
Hanna rolls her eyes, "Em, it'll make your stomach feel better…Oh crap I forgot your 7up. Paige make sure she eats this, I'll be right back." Hanna demands as she sets the tray on Emily's thighs.
"Sure." Paige chuckles at Emily's protesting face.
"Come on, Em. Open up, it's good." Paige coaxes tenderly.
Emily scoffs, "Oh really? Then why don't you try it first?"
Paige rolls her eyes, "Because I'm not the one who's sick."
"Just try it." Emily begs.
Paige exhales deeply, "Fine."
The soccer player takes a spoon full of Hanna's chicken noodle soup into her mouth only to stifle a cough.
"Mmmm… delicious." Paige winces as she swallows harshly.
Emily breaks into a hearty laughter at the athletic girl's reaction to Hanna's cooking.
"See? Hanna's choices of foods are the reason I'm in this mess in the first place." Emily giggles.
Paige swallows again, trying to get rid of the taste, stifling a laugh, "It's not that bad…it just has the world's supply of salt in it."
"Come on, at least try it once so you won't hurt her feelings." Paige wheedles the spoon by Emily's mouth.
Emily giggles, "The perks of being best friends is that we can be brutally honest with each other."
"And we will be, but you hustled me into to trying this, so now it's your turn." Paige laughs.
"Ugh fine." Emily sighs in defeat before letting Paige feed her the spoonful of soup.
Paige laughs at Emily's pursed face. "You were right about the salt." Emily winces.
"So how is it?" Hanna chimes as she shows up in Emily's bedroom with the 7up bottle.
Paige jumps from the mattress and paces over to Hanna stealing the bottle from her before taking a generous gulp of the bubbly transparent liquid.
The soccer player sighs in relief of the cold drink washing away the harsh taste, "Refreshing."
Hanna beams, oblivious to what Paige was actually referring to, "Yay! I told Caleb I didn't need cooking classes."
"She's talking about MY drink. And you do need classes…this soup is horrible, Han." Emily says pointedly as Paige brings her the rest of her beverage.
"Poor Caleb. If that's not true love, I don't know what is." Paige mutters to herself forcing Emily to stifle a laugh.
The fashionable blonde crosses her arms, "At least I tried."
Paige felt guilty that herself and Emily were giving the blonde a hard time, "You're right. We're sorry. It was made with 100% .E." Paige winks before kissing her blonde best friend on the cheek.
The blue-eyed beauty breaks into a wide triumphant grin, "Thank you."
Paige smirks charmingly before sitting in Emily's desk chair, "You're welcome."
Hanna moves to sit on Paige's lap as she drapes her left arm around the soccer player's neck to support herself, "So did you guys get the invite for the engagement party? The dress code said to dress in all white cocktail attire."
Emily felt ridiculous for feeling herself grow jealous over Paige kissing Hanna on the cheek, and now Hanna sitting on her lap. She knew it was just them being two comfortable best friends, but she couldn't control it, it was completely involuntary. She hoped that it wouldn't be an instinct for much longer, because it was just making it that much harder for her to move on from her feelings for Paige.
Emily POV
"Paige, come on! Practice is over!" Emily calls out as she walks onto the empty soccer field.
It was Monday afternoon and Paige and Emily agreed to meet Hanna, Aria and Spencer at the Decorative Center after their practices in order to help Aria with last minute decorations for her mother's engagement dinner.
Paige continues to shoot several lined up soccer balls into the netted goal, "My shots have been off lately, I need to work them."
Emily sighs as she makes it next to Paige, "You can work on them tomorrow morning. We have to go. The girls are already there, waiting for us."
"No I have- Hey!" Paige laughs as Emily steals the ball with her feet only to dribble it towards the opposing goal located closer to the girls' locker room.
Paige gives Emily a few seconds head start before she chases after her, "You're in trouble, Fields!"
Emily squeaks before laughing heartedly as she feels Paige tightly hug her from behind only to pick her up and swirl her away from the ball.
Both girls' hearts race at their newfound position. Emily senses a shiver run down her spine as the corner of Paige's smile brushed against her cheek.
The raven-haired beauty rotates to face Paige in the girl's tender hold, only to tease the athlete, "I'm pretty sure that isn't legal during a soccer match."
Paige feigns to ponder before chiming playfully, "Really? …Because I'm pretty sure this isn't legal either."
"Paige, what're you do-" Emily squeals as the athletic brunette lifts Emily over her shoulder, wrapping her arm across the back of the swimmer's thighs. She presses the front of Emily's thighs against her own chest so the bronzed beauty wouldn't fall as she began to walk them both towards the locker room.
"Are you freaking serious right now?" Emily laughs into the taller girl's sculpted back, in defeat as she realized Paige wasn't looking to put her down anytime soon.
Paige smiles in triumph, "Yup."
"You know, I think I'm feeling a little woozy from the food poisoning again." Emily teases, only to laugh at how Paige couldn't have put her down faster before she began jogging the rest of the way to the locker room.
Paige shoots over her shoulder, "Meet me at my car in 30!"
Paige POV
"Paige, which ones do you like?" Aria asks with a differently designed fork in each hand.
Paige glances up from the other silverware she was browsing, "I like the one in your right hand."
Emily pops up beside the soccer player, "Me too."
"Hanna? What about you?" Aria's voice muffles as she walks towards the blonde away from the two athletes.
"So." Emily chirps playfully.
Paige smiles at Emily's playful mood as she begins to walk down the aisle, "So."
"Can we get out of here? I'm exhausted… and we still have to finish our lab report." Emily whines as she tugs on Paige's wrist.
The soccer player chuckles while letting Emily interlock their hands as they continued to stroll around the store, "You agreed to this for the both of us. Plus Aria really needs our help. It's important to her and her family."
"Wow, who knew you'd be so supportive of weddings and engagement parties?" Emily teases.
Paige smirks, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, for someone that's against commitment, I would expect that you would think all of this is ridiculous." Emily squints her eyes teasingly.
Paige quirks her eyebrows, "Well I don't. I think it's nice." She smiles to herself as she browses the trinkets of the store.
Emily raises her eyebrows in disbelief as she stifles a laugh, "Really?"
The soccer player halts, forcing Emily to run into her. Paige turns to face her, squinting playfully as she whispers to the grinning girl, "Really."
Their gazes lingered until Emily's cell phone ring jerked them back to reality.
"Sorry that must be… Samara?" Emily scrunches her eyebrows together in shock of seeing her ex's name on the caller ID.
"You should get that." Paige says politely as she forces a tight smile, releasing her hand from Emily's before continuing to walk without her.
Emily POV
"Honey, I'll just see you at the party!" Pam calls from downstairs as Emily was running a little too late for her liking.
"Okay Mom, see you there!" Emily bellows back from her bedroom.
As Pam opens the front door, she spots Paige with her fist in the air appearing as if she was about to knock on the door, "Oh hi Paige, Emily is just upstairs. She's running a little late so I'll just meet you guys there."
"Hi Mrs. Fiel- Pam. Sure. Drive safely." Paige smiles kindly.
Paige knocks on the cracked open door, "Hey it's me. Your mom let me in."
Emily shoots over her shoulder, "Come in, I'm just finishing up really quick."
Paige's heart flutters at the sight in front of her. The soccer smiles flirtatiously, "I think you're finished…you look beautiful."
Emily was wearing a thin spaghetti strapped white sundress with matching white pumps. The top half hugged her waist, appearing as a modernized corset while the bottom half was designed as a subtle 'A' line, as it flowed away from her body.
The tan teenager throws her loose waves over her shoulder to look at her date before purring back flirtatiously, "You don't look too bad yourself."
Paige was wearing an all white women's modern paint suit. As always, it was exquisitely tailored to her toned and lean physique. It fit her like a glove, as her father had taught her having her suits fit perfectly was exceedingly important in appearing elegant and chic.
The top three buttons of her fresh white collared shirt were left open underneath her sleek fitting blazer that her straight flowing hair draped over. Her button down shirt's cuffs were rolled up onto the sleeves of her white blazer as the sleeves were pushed up, scrunching at her elbows.
Her matching slim white trousers tapered gradually the closer they fit to her ankles. She wore nude pumps that kept the ratio between Emily's height and her own the same as before.
"Thanks." Paige smirks confidently, despite the dip her stomach made at Emily's flirtatious tone.
As they make it to the soccer player's car, Paige opens the passenger's door for Emily, ushering her to seat herself in the vehicle.
The sexy swimmer deposits a peck to Paige's cheek before getting in the car, "Thank you, Miss McCullers."
Paige smirks before closing the door behind the girl and walking to the driver's side of the car, "Pleasure's mine, Miss Fields."
Both girls try to force the blush off their cheeks before Paige could take her seat in the car. Although, they had no luck in wiping off their matching beaming grins.
"So I just remembered…people are going to think we're back together." Emily points out sheepishly.
Paige replies casually, "Let them think whatever they want to think. We know the truth." Paige takes her eyes off the road just long enough to meet Emily's admiring gaze with her trademark warm smile.
"Sounds good to me." Emily smiles at the side of Paige's face.
Paige smirks while keeping her eyes on the road, "Good."
They finally arrive to Ella and Zack's engagement party. It was being held in a heavenly like garden of a large private estate. All the decorations were a tranquil and peaceful white color against the rich green landscaping with accents of lavender flowers.
There were several large rectangular glass tables with ten transparent seats with white cushions attached, at each table. The silky white drapes interwoven between the trees created an almost tent like effect over the seating area.
Facing the seating area, only few walks away was the dance floor with a DJ playing happy and easing instrumentals.
"This is amazing!" Emily gasps in awe of the breathtaking view as they make their entrance arm in arm.
Paige nods as she gawks at her surroundings, "Sure is."
"Wow, you guys look hot together!" Aria chimes as she appears in front of the girls.
Emily blushes as Paige replies for the both of them, "Thanks Aria. You look stunning. Incredible job with these decorations, by the way."
Emily finally pitches in, "Yeah Aria, this is gorgeous."
Aria beams, "Aw guys, you're too good to me! Plus you helped! Come on, I'll show you to your seats."
Paige pulls out Emily's chair ushering the tanned teenager to sit before whispering into her ear, "I'll go get us drinks."
"Remind me to go suit shopping with you." Caleb nudges his workout buddy standing next to the bar.
Paige chuckles, "What are you talking about? You look dashing, Rivers."
"Yeah but if there was a female James Bond, you would be her." Caleb affirms.
Paige raises her eyebrows at the idea, "Jane Bond maybe?" Both teenagers soon shake their heads in disapproval.
"So I thought you and Emily weren't pretending to be together anymore?" Caleb asks before taking a sip of his drink.
Paige sighs, "We're not. We're here as friends so we wouldn't have to third wheel with you love birds."
Caleb hums a sarcastic agreement into his glass as he takes another sip.
The soccer player eyes him suspiciously, "What do you mean, 'Mhm'?"
Caleb shakes his head feigning innocents, "Nothing, I was…nothing."
"Here you go, Beautiful." The bartender catches Paige's attention.
Paige politely smiles at him as she grabs the two glasses, "Thanks."
"We'll continue this later, Rivers." The slender brunette shoots him a pointed look.
Emily grins as Paige sits next to her, placing the beverage in front of her, "Thanks."
"Anytime." Paige smiles warmly.
"I'm really glad we're here together." Emily smiles sincerely.
"I mean you were right, it's much better than being the odd ones out." The bronzed beauty covers her slip nervously.
Paige chuckles as she spots the children's table, "Yeah, otherwise we'd be eating play-doh with a bunch of 5 year olds over there."
Emily giggles at the thought, "They're not so bad, are they?"
Paige transfer her attention back to Emily, "What? Kids?"
The stunning swimmer nods, "Yeah… would want kids later in life?"
The soccer player shrugs her eyebrows before replying, "I don't know if I'd be able to take care of them."
"Why not?" Emily asks intrigued.
Paige sighs, "My mom left my dad and I when I was little…and I guess I worry those kinds of decisions course through my own blood."
Emily frowns at how quickly the girl deflated and how someone could ever do that to a helpless baby, "You would never do that, Paige. I hope you'll realize that sooner than later."
Paige meets Emily's intense gaze, genuinely interested in her answer, "How do you know I wouldn't?"
Emily smiles, "Have you not seen yourself with all of us? You're always there for everyone you care about. Not to mention how protective you are of them." Emily nudges the striking brunette playfully, causing Paige to smile.
Paige shrugs her eyebrows flitting her stare back to her glass, "I don't know…"
Emily pecks the girl's cheek before their gazes linger, "Well I do."
Emily's heart wrenched at Paige's confession about her mother. She knew Paige hadn't told any of the other girls, as they would have already told her about it. Knowing she was the first to know made her feel special…it only further ensured her that Paige knew she could trust her just as she trusted Paige.
Dinner was served as the close group of friends ate at the same table. Soon after the main entrée, everyone gathered around the soon to be married couple as they sliced through the multi-tiered cake.
"Will you share a piece of cake with me?" Emily asks sweetly.
Paige chuckles, "I don't think Coach Duffy would appreciate her star player pigging out on cake."
Emily rolls her eyes as she teases the soccer player, "It's hardly pigging out, hence the word 'share'."
"Alright fine, make me a bite." Paige sighs in defeat before Emily's dimpled grin triggers a smile of her own.
Paige takes out her phone to read the message her father just sent her as they seat themselves back at the table.
"Paige." Emily coaxes the girl for her attention.
"Yeah?" Paige replies engrossed in her phone.
Emily ushers the taller brunette to open her mouth with the forkful of cake, "Open up."
Paige distractedly obliges, allowing Emily to feed her as she keeps her gaze on her phone, typing out a response.
Emily giggles, forcing Paige's attention on her, "What?"
The bronzed beauty removes the smeared icing off of Paige's lips with her thumb and index finger before notifying the girl, "You had icing on your lip."
Paige chuckles, "Thanks."
Emily began to wonder if Paige would purposely get something on her lips every time they ate together just so they would have an excuse to be that close and touch each other. She quickly shot down the idea as she thought it was completely bizarre and instead realized that the soccer player was just that adorable.
She couldn't help how natural it felt being Paige. How natural it felt to wipe her lip clean or hold hands, not to mention all the times it felt right to kiss her. It was like a magnetic pull towards the girl. The only time she felt out of place with Paige is when she would hold back all her urges towards the girl.
"I'll be right back." Paige chirps looking up from her phone.
Emily frowns internally hoping she didn't scare Paige off, "Is everything okay?"
Paige explains, "Yeah, my dad's just out front. He needs to give me the spare key to the house since he's going out of town for a couple days."
The tan teenager discreetly exhales in relief before smiling, "Oh okay, take your time."
Emily takes out her phone until Paige could come back since Spencer and Hanna were with their boyfriends and Aria was helping run the party.
Not longer than five minutes later, with her peripheral vision she could see a hand being offered to her. She smiles to herself knowing she already has a good idea of who the mystery person was.
She finally glances up, meeting those warm eyes she'd instantly fallen in love with, that were sparkling almost golden as the remnants of the sun's setting rays reflect upon them.
She wordlessly places her hand in Paige's before they saunter hand in hand to the dance floor.
In one fluid motion, Paige snakes her left arm around Emily's waist as she raises their already entwined hands away from their bodies that were now pressed together. All in the while, Emily drapes her right arm on Paige's shoulders.
"Did I mention you look beautiful?" Paige smirks next to Emily's right ear, as their faces were brushing side by side.
"Did I mention you're a really good dancer?" Emily flirts back as she follows Paige's lead to the song LOVE by Nat King Cole.
Paige smiles at the memory, "My dad taught me when I was little."
Emily giggles at the thought before teasing the taller girl, "I can just imagine it now… five year old Paige McCullers whisking away those lucky kindergarteners during nap time to dance the afternoon away."
Paige chuckles, "Actually, I only had my eye on one kindergartner."
Emily raises her eyebrows as she pulls her head back to look at Paige, "You mean you weren't always a player?" Emily gasps in mock surprise.
Paige smirks, "I guess not."
"What changed?" Emily asks gently.
"I don't want to dampen the mood, I love this song…see what I did there?" Paige winks with her trademark smirk.
Emily laughs at how endearing the soccer player was, before she returns her face next to Paige's, "I love it too, it's a classic."
"Ugh will you look at them? They're so freaking adorable." Hanna sighs like a proud mother as she watches her two best friends in their intimate bubble while herself and Caleb were dancing.
Caleb looks over his shoulder to see Paige brightly smiling at Emily as the stunning swimmer lolls her head back in laughter as they were dancing hand in hand on the dance floor.
"I've never seen either of them happier." Hanna adds after a beat.
Caleb raises his eyebrows, "They would make quite the couple."
"So tell me, what changed?" Emily pulls her head back to look at Paige again as the song was coming to an end.
Paige sighs, finally deciding to reveal her past love life to Emily, "Well…that one kindergartner broke my heart."
Emily frowns at the thought of someone having the audacity to hurt Paige. She didn't even know the girl and she already hated her.
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking." Emily asks gently not realizing she was still frowning.
Paige smiles meeting Emily's stare, "I don't." Her infectious smile forces most of the lines of Emily's creased brows to dissipate.
"We grew up together. Fell in love. And then last summer I had to go to a soccer training program. The distance was tough on us, her especially. So one weekend I flew out to surprise her…only to find her in bed with another girl." Paige confesses calmly.
Emily's frown instantly returns, only more intensely. "I hate her for doing that to you. How could someone do that?"
The swimmer didn't even realize she was thinking of Paige's mother as well as the soccer player's ex when she had blurted the sentence.
"Don't. I'm over it. I've realized now that what we had was just puppy love. I've realized that it was never the real thing." Paige soothes evenly.
Emily's face softens, "What made you realize?"
'You.' Paige thought.
Instead, Paige shrugs her eyebrows, "I don't know, I guess time teaches you everything."
"Do you ever see yourself being with one person forever, again?" Emily poses seriously.
Paige bores into the stunning swimmer's eyes, "Maybe…eventually."
"Eventually? People aren't going to wait for you forever, Paige. They'll have to move on with their lives." Emily confides.
Both girls somehow knew and understood that they were talking about each other.
Paige scrunches her eyebrows together in defense, "I know that."
"So why don't you try with someone? If you're apparently over her..." Emily urges as she feels herself becoming frustrated.
Paige opens her mouth to speak only for Emily to effectively have it closed.
"Let me guess, you just haven't found someone worth your time or someone who's good enough, right?" Emily points out irritated, thinking that was the reason Paige hadn't made a move to be with her.
Paige frowns, caught off guard, "What? No-"
Emily releases herself from Paige's hold as she makes her way to the indoor bathrooms, "Please excuse me."
"Emily!" Paige tries, as she sees her date flee from her. She exhales before going after her.
"Em?" Paige chirps as she opens the door to the seemingly empty public bathroom.
"I know you're in here." Paige sighs before she hears one of the stall doors unlock, only to see Emily pace out of it towards the sink.
"Emily?" Paige chimes as she saunters to the girl washing her hands.
The raven-haired beauty shakes her head as she distractedly rinses her hands, "I'm sorry. I don't know what got over me…I shouldn't have gotten frustrated with you."
The swimmer finally understood why Paige was afraid of commitment. It was never Paige not believing it on her own, it was the couple of rotten people who passed by in her life that influenced her to feel that way.
Paige smiles warmly as she rests her hand on the swimmer's lower back, "Em, it's okay-"
"I just don't want you to watch your life pass right before your eyes because of what a couple of idiots did to you." Emily confesses sincerely as she faces the girl.
Emily had seemed much more riled up than Paige had, causing the soccer player to smile at how endearing Emily indeed was.
Paige wordlessly leans in, to what Emily thought was her making a move but instead it was to turn off the faucet she left running. She completely froze as if she became paralyzed all of a sudden, while her heart instantly started to pound heavily. She finally releases a breath she didn't know she was holding as Paige leans back to her previous, safer distance.
Paige nods with the same smile, "I know you don't."
Their lingering stares falter as Hanna appears from behind the bathroom door. "Hey…" She wavers knowing she had just interrupted something between the two girls.
"What's up, Han?" Emily asks seemingly nonchalantly as she finishes drying her hands.
Hanna chirps, "Aria wanted me to tell you guys that they're about to do the toasts."
"Oh cool, let's go." Paige smiles as she takes Emily's hand with her own before tugging her along.
Emily POV
"Thank you for tonight." Emily chimes shyly.
The night sky had grown completely dark, cascading a silent cool breeze as the season grew further into autumn.
Paige glances up with a charming smile as they reach Emily's front door, "Of course. Thank you for being my date. I hope you enjoyed yourself."
"I did." Emily meets Paige's gaze.
The warmth in Paige's eyes destroyed as senses of chills she had from the night breeze.
Paige smiles, placing her hands in her pockets as she didn't trust them while she was alone with Emily, "That makes me happy."
'You make me happy.' Both girls thought.
"I'm glad you told me what you did, I hope you know that you can trust me…and that I'll always be here for you, just like you're always for me." Emily reassures the girl.
Paige nods as she clenches her jaw before smiling, "I know. And I do."
"Good." Emily squints her eyes playfully before pecking the girl on the cheek for the third time today.
Neither girl would ever get tired of the variety of delightful sensations they felt when either girl would so much as touch one another, let alone kiss.
Paige wanted to kiss Emily back more than anything, but she restrained herself after remembering Samara.
As a tense silence thrusts upon them, Paige takes it as her cue to leave.
"Anyway uh… Good night." Paige shoots her a small smile before she moves to descend the porch.
The soccer player only makes it down the five steps of Emily's porch before she hears the bronzed beauty's voice, "Paige?"
"Yeah?" Paige nonchalantly replies after she turns to face Emily at the bottom of the stairs.
The silence was suffocating. Both girls felt like they were holding their breath for several minutes underwater, and Emily's response was the only thing that could bring them to the surface.
Emily wanted to invite her up to her room. Not to necessarily sleep with the soccer player, but just to fall asleep with her. She craved a good night's rest and she couldn't forget how she had never slept better than she had when she was snuggled up with Paige. But she didn't want to overwhelm Paige after everything she confided to her today, so she settled for something else instead.
"Good night." Emily smiles shyly.
P.S.S.- I'd more than love any kind of feedback! No kidding, you guys make my day! Thank you so much for reading! :)))