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Paige's POV

When I wake up today, I can feel my head pounding. Is it possible to get a hangover without getting drunk? Ugh. I'm sure I went home tipsy, not drunk. If I was, I'd probably be waking up in Sadie's bed right now. I'm the worst drunk ever. Falling all over myself, being extremely loud and brutally honest, and for some reason, I get weirdly addicted to coconut cupcakes.

I get up. My head feels like a brick. I remind myself to quit with the drinking or at least to drink less like a truck driver. I suddenly feel too old for the alcohol and decide to go for wine next time. I always said I wanted to be more sophisticated. I laugh at myself while I put my running attire on. The best way to get rid of all this alcohol in my system is exercise. Yes, even with a major headache. I have learned and relearned this too many times to ignore it. Alcohol is a toxin and my body is full of it. What better way is there to flush out toxins than exercise and lots of water.

Twenty minutes of intense running on the treadmill and I feel brand new already. Sweaty, yes, but brand new. I usually run outside. But waking up with a headache, I'm not up for the morning hustle and bustle of New York City. I continue my workout for the rest of the hour. When I hear my phone ring, I decide I'm done for the day. I answer the phone, still catching my breath.

"Hello?" I breathe heavily.

"Hi, good morning." There was a long pause.

"Hello? Are you still there? I'm sure you didn't just call to greet me a good morning." I don't mean to be rude but I don't know who this guy is. I'm pretty sure there's something else he wants to say other than good morning because like I said, why call a random person just to greet them a good morning?

"Oh yes. Yes." He clears his throat. "Um, I-I'm sorry. I got distracted for a while. May I please speak with Ms. Paige McCullers?" He seems hesitant.

"Speaking. May I know who this is?" I'm starting to get annoyed.

"Oh! Good morning again, Ms. McCullers! I'm Gregory Geith. You can call me George. I got your number from Ms. Angelinette Winters." I can hear Angel in my head. Wait for his call, okay angel pie?

"Yeah, she told me you might call. Any chance we can meet up today? Show me the space I will be working with and talk about what you want it to look like?" This is how I work. I instantly immerse myself in it. I want every client of mine to feel that they are my priority.

"Okay. Sure. That would be great! We can meet at Café Diem. Do you know that place? My place is a bit hard to find. I'll bring my car." What a small world. How fortunate that Sadie and I fixed things only yesterday. Café Diem is becoming quite the meet-up place.

"Yeah, I know Café Diem. What time should I be there?" I hope I have time to take a shower.

"How about 12 noon? We can talk over lunch then drive over to my place afterwards." Despite his stuttering a while ago, I'm starting to like this George guy. I find the best clients are those who are eager to get into things as soon as possible.

"Okay. See you at 12 then." Before I put the phone down, I suddenly remember one important thing. "Oh, wait! How will I know what you look like, by the way?" I ask, smiling sheepishly to myself.

"Don't worry. I know what you look like. See you!" I can hear him grinning. I don't know whether to feel creeped out or not. He doesn't sound like a stalker, does he? I'm probably just being paranoid, I think as I walk towards the bathroom.

I arrive 30 minutes earlier than I expected. I hug Sadie and order a cappuccino. She's wearing a dress again today. Maybe her fashion style has changed since we broke up. She used to wear jeans all the time, regardless of how many times I tell her how beautiful she looks in dresses.

"On the house. An apology for how I treated you yesterday. What are you doing here, by the way?" She sits down on my table, leaving Riley to man the café for a while.

"I'm here to meet a client. You don't have to do this. If anyone should apologize, it should be me." I look down. I suddenly feel shy and nervous. How could she possibly think that making me feel unwelcome yesterday can equate to what I did 2 years ago?

"Hey." She touches my hand. "We're good now. Just drink your coffee. I know you don't really need it, judging by how awesome you look, but I also know you can't function well without your coffee." She gives me a warm smile.

"I'm more of a tea person now, actually. Healthier choice." I take a sip of my cappuccino.

"And yet you drank how many cups of coffee yesterday?" She raises one of her eyebrows at me.

"Yeah, well.. That was a coffee binge. I miss coffee too, you know."

"Just the coffee?" She winks at me.

"God, Sades. You're flirting with me already? Can't you pretend for a little while that you're over me before you start throwing yourself at me?" I smirk while she stares at me silently.

"Crap. Too soon? I'm sorry. I did miss you though." I say awkwardly, squirming in my seat.

"Oh Lia, after all these years." She looks at me with her big eyes and a frown. I go through ways I can redeem myself when her tone changes. "You never learn. I just LOVE seeing you squirm!" She walks away, laughing her head off as I sit there, stunned.

"I'll get you for that one, Sades! You better watch your back!" I shout as I recovered, my face turning red as a tomato. That girl, I swear. She really hasn't changed much. If she wasn't flirting, she was playing pranks on me to get me to flirt with her. It's one of the reasons we clicked. She likes to keep things fun. She doesn't like talking about anything serious or any of her problems, in general. She'd rather flirt her way through life. She's not one of those girls who literally flirts with everyone though. I mean, she kinda is, in a way. Most of it is harmless flirting. You'd know she's into you when she starts taking you out. She'd still flirt with other people though but once you have her heart, she drops everyone else and focuses on you. She is one of the most faithful and honest people I know. Once we became a couple, I never even heard her say as much as a one-liner to anybody else. That's how faithful she is. I got jealous a couple of times when someone flirts with her but I was never worried and she never flirted back.

"Ms. McCullers, hi!" I look at the outstretched hand in front of me, confused. "It's George. Gregory Geith? We talked on the phone a while ago?" I was so distracted by Sadie, I completely forgot why I was here! I shake his hand.

"Y-yeah! Hi! Have a seat." I point to the chair in front of me and brush my hair behind my ears. "Sorry, I was a little distracted." I see Sadie glance our way, obviously curious.

"Happens to the best of us." I remember his own incident a while ago when we were talking on the phone. Sadie walks over.

"What are you guys having?" She says nonchalantly, holding out her pen. Her posture right now reminds me a waitress at a diner, trying to hide her interest.

"Give the guy a menu, Sades." I tell her. What is up with Sadie?

"Georgie here doesn't need a menu. He's a regular. A shy one." She says to me then turns to George. "Glad you finally decided to sit down and have a meal here rather than order take-out, Georgie. What changed your mind?" The poor guy is clearly intimidated by Sadie and she knows it. She's taunting him.

"Uh. I-I was just having a meeting with Ms. McCullers here." Is he sweating? For real?

"Ms. McCullers? You mean, Lia? Georgie boy, you're finally getting that house of yours an overhaul?" Sadie is enjoying this. Too much, actually.

"Okay, that's enough, Sades! Leave him alone. Get him his regular order and I'll have the smoked salmon garden salad. Go. Shoo. Get working." I roll my eyes at her.

"You're no fun, McCullers. Hmph." She walks away with a pout. I forgot how she can be such a child, sometimes. I shake my head.

"Sorry about that. Are you okay?" I ask George.

"Y-yeah. I'm sorry. Sadie is.. well.." He blushes.

"Aw how cute! You have a huge crush on Sadie!" He sinks lower in his seat.

"Shhh. Not so loud! She might hear you. I don't get it. I'm a swimming coach. I train professional swimmers. One of my best swimmers is a close friend of Sadie's. That's how I met her. I'm usually confident and sure of myself but when Sadie is around, I don't know what happens. I just turn into a blubbering mess." He wipes beads of sweat on his forehead before he gives me a nervous smile.

"Uh, George? You do know that Sadie's a lesbian, right?" I try to let him down easy, in case he doesn't.

"Yes, I do. But you know, feelings. You can't just turn them off." He looks around anxiously.

"Don't worry, she's in the kitchen. I'll handle it when she gets back." I smile at him. I'm sure Sadie is aware he has a crush on her. "Well, since we've skipped the what's-your-favorite-color part in the getting-to-know-you area, you can call me Paige. Sadie stubbornly calls me Lia, my second name."

"Paige Lia McCullers, right. Hi Paige. Sadie calls me Georgie instead of George." He seems like a sweet guy. If Sadie was straight, I'd totally set the two of them up.

"Yeah, that's her thing." It's true.

"The names?" George is sitting casually on his chair now.

"That and being stubborn." We both laugh. We stop and try to put on a straight face when Sadie comes back with our food.

"Well, don't stop on my account. What are we laughing about?" She hands us our plates. George and I look at each other, grinning, hardly able to contain our laughter.

"You." I say, before we both burst into laughter again.

"I hope you both choke on your meals then. Seriously though Georgie, Lia will do wonders for your house. Just look at Café Diem, this is all her." She twirls around with open arms. George is speechless.

"Okay, time for you to go. George and I have to talk business now." I push her away gently.

"Careful, Lia. That's the second time you've pushed me away today. Keep doing that and I might think you'd walk out on me again." She holds my hand in hers and bats her eyes at me dramatically.

"Sadie! You're unbelievable!" I push her away with more force, something I should have done earlier. She giggles, finally walking away.

"Wow. You guys are really close." He talks in between bites of his chicken kiev.

"Sadie used to be my ex-girlfriend." I wait for his reaction. He isn't the least bit fazed.

"That's explains it. Wait, do you know Emily? She's one of the swimmers I train and she's Sadie's friend too. I think they have something going on." Who in the world is this Emily? I keep hearing about her. She always manages to pop up in conversations I have with people.

"I don't know her. But yeah, I heard Sadie likes her. Any chance this Emily likes her back?" My snooping skills suck, I know.

"I have no idea. Maybe she does and she's just too busy crying over her ex-girlfriend. That girl has some serious issues." His forehead creases and his expression changes to one of worry. Emily must be one lucky girl to have so many people care about her.

"Oh yeah, the ex-girlfriend who passed away years ago. Sadie also told me about that. I don't mean to sound insensitive or anything, but I'm pretty sure Sadie is better than a dead ex-girlfriend." I chew on some greens.

"I agree with you. She's great most of the time. She just gets messed up around this time of the year because of her ex's death anniversary. She's usually back to her normal self after a month, give or take a few days." He talks about her like he knows her so well. I guess if you're going to train somebody, you should get to know all their flaws, in swimming or otherwise. Before I can respond, George steers the conversation back to what we are really supposed to be talking about.

"That's why I think now is the best time to get my house fixed, with Emily on her hiatus and all." He spreads his arms out, palms open and pointing up. "You did this? I don't know what made me speechless a while ago, Sadie's twirling or the fact that you did this. I'm impressed! Everytime I come here, I swear to myself I'll ask Sadie who designed Café Diem and get that person to do my house. I never got around to asking her though. Did you do Angel's house too?" It's hard not to get pulled into his excitement.

"Thanks for the compliment. I did Café Diem years ago when Sadie and I were still together. Anyway, I didn't do Angel's house. She's my best friend. How did you meet her? She said she met you during one of her recording sessions?" I like building rapport with my clients. Sometimes I get to meet introverts and it's more of a challenge to talk to them. It's a good thing George only turns into one when Sadie's around.

"Well, how about that? The owner of the recording studio is my best friend. When I told him about wanting to transform my house, he told me about Angel who knew an interior designer. She showed me your picture on her phone, by the way. That's why I know what you look like. I was intent on getting Café Diem's interior designer but I decided to give Angel's friend a chance. I couldn't be any happier that they are one and the same. Taking chances really pays off." He smiles at me, as if already thanking me for a job well done. Knowing Angel showed him my picture lets me breathe easier. At least he's not a stalker.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that." I smile back. I decide that I like George. I can't wait to see his space and what I can do with it.

We drive to his house as he tells me about what he wants and how he wants things to look. I'm glad he had enough sense to ask me to meet him in Café Diem instead. I would have gotten lost had we decided to meet in his house. He parks his car in front a small Victorian house with a lawn and a white picket fence. I get out the car, trying to take everything in.

"You live HERE?" I can only stare in awe. The light blue house even has a tower. "It's so beautiful. I think I'm having a house-gasm." I get that tingly feeling that usually comes with goosebumps. He laughs and leads me toward the house.

"It used to be my grandparents' actually. Then it became my parents' and now it's mine. I love the architecture. It's the interior that I'm not so keen on. When I moved into an apartment, I thought I was finally rid of all the old furniture. But when my parents died in a car accident, I just couldn't bring myself to sell the place." He explains as we walk towards his home.

"I'm sorry to hear about your parents." I say in condolence.

"It's okay, it's been years. They loved the interiors, I don't. I won't sell the furniture because they're considered family heirlooms, I guess. I'm willing to keep a few as long as it ties with the new design. The others will go to storage. I think it's a little too aged and stuffy for me and my 5 year old daughter." This guy is just full of surprises. As he opens the door, I get a glimpse of the inside. It's true to its name, all right. Everything is Victorian, from the layout to the furniture, down to the wallpaper.

"DADDY!" A little girl with pigtails wearing a plastic crown runs over to George.

"Hi baby. Did you have fun at Cynthia's?" George waves at an elderly woman standing outside the house next to his.

"She made me pancakes, daddy." She says as George picks her up. "I like her but she smells like a carrot." She whispers in her dad's ear.

"What did I say about smelling people, Sophia?" George looks at her sternly, trying to hide the smile forming on his lips.

"Don't tell anyone what people smell like unless they smell nice." She points to me. "She smells like vanilla, daddy. I like her." I smile at her. George opens the front door and puts Sophia down. She immediately bolts upstairs towards her room.

"I'm sorry about Sophia. She's in a phase where she likes to smell people."

"It's a good thing I smell nice then. She's so adorable, George." I tell him, giddy at having met his daughter. I love kids. I always thought that if I don't have a wife by the time I'm 35, I'm adopting one of my own.

"Tell me that when you're so engrossed in a TV show and you blink then suddenly you're watching reruns about a sponge living inside a pineapple under the sea."

"You don't like spongebob?" I tease him. It's so easy to talk to George. I already feel like I've known him for a long time.

"He is not timeless. FRIENDS, on the other hand, that's timeless. But Spongebob? No." He says indignantly.

"I doubt Sophia's old enough to watch FRIENDS." I smirk and look around. "So let's get to work. Show me your home." I take out my camera, ready to take videos and pictures. "You don't mind, do you? I like to take videos of what the space looks like, what the client has to say about it, and what they envision the space to be. I also like to take pictures of the rooms. If that's all okay with you, of course."

"Yes. Sure sure, go ahead. Maybe we should start with Sophia's room since she's still awake. She might be asleep by the time we're done with the whole house. Her room isn't really age appropriate." We walk upstairs towards Sophia's room. George knocks a few times before Sophia opens her door, wearing a pink tutu now.

"Is the vanilla lady here to fix my room?" She looks at me shyly, hiding her hands behind her and swaying her torso side to side.

"She doesn't talk to people I haven't introduced to her yet. I'm sorry she keeps referring to you in the 3rd person." George kneels down and pulls Sophia gently towards me. "Sophia, this is Paige McCullers. She's here to fix the house and make it just the way we like it." She widens her big hazel eyes in excitement.

"You can call me Paige, Sophia. I didn't expect to meet a pretty princess today." I extend my hand out but she ignores it. She runs to me and hugs me instead.

"I like you, Paige! And your smell too. Wanna see my room?" She pulls me inside. It's age inappropriate, alright. It looks like a master's bedroom for an old English couple. Everything is fluffy and quilted. Not to say that that's a bad thing. It's just not for 5 year old girls. I turn my camera on and start to take a video. I go through the room once then turn to Sophia.

"So tell me princess, what do you like about your room?" I ask. She giggles at the camera.

"I like this chair. Can I keep it in my new room? Daddy reads to me here. Grammy too before she went to heaven." She sits on a chair that's too big for her. It's white, Victorian of course, with pink floral cushions. It's actually a very nice piece.

"Okay. Anything else you want to keep?" I smile at her, showing her she's doing great.

"Uhm.. Can I keep my toys and my clothes?" She asks in a soft voice. Her forehead crinkles with concern. George laughs and picks his daughter up. He sits on the chair, placing her on his lap.

"Of course, honey. Your toys and clothes aren't going anywhere. It's the room we're changing. Now tell Paige what else you want in your new room." He kisses the top of her head.

"I want it to be pink because princesses look pretty in pink. And blue because I like swimming and I want to swim like Emily." There's her name again. It seems like she's everywhere. So many people love her. It's either the world is just a small place or she's just that lovable. Is it even possible to be that endearing? Does she have any enemies at all? "Paige, do you like girls too?" I was temporarily lost in my thoughts that Sophia's question catches me off guard. Before I can reply, George starts to lecture his daughter.

"Watch your manners, young lady! You don't ask people those kinds of questions. You wait for them to tell you themself. Now, I want you to apologize to Paige." Sophia looks like she's about to cry.

"It's okay, George. I don't mind, really. I was just caught off guard by how smart Sophia is. Not many 5 year olds know what being gay means." I smile at Sophia before she bursts into tears. I use my eyes to ask George if I can hold Sophia for a while. I sit down on the floor and gesture for her to come closer. She approaches me, still in tears.

"I'm sorry for being rude." She sobs, covering her face in my neck. George disappears into the hallway.

"It's okay, princess. To answer your question, yes, I do like girls. Why do you ask?" I smooth her hair and wipe her eyes with my hands. She looks up at me, eyes still red from crying. She sniffs.

"Because I think you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen." I find myself blushing. "Emily is really pretty too. Maybe you can make her happy? I don't want her to cry anymore. Daddy says broken hearts are really hard to fix but maybe you can fix hers." And here I was, thinking how adorable it is for a little girl to have a crush on someone much much older than she is, only to have her push me towards Emily. Why is everyone trying to fix her heart while all she does is cry all over New York, putting her broken heart on display for everyone to see? She's even got this innocent 5 year old worried about her.

"Paige?" Sophia whispers.

"Yes, princess?"

"Will you still fix my room?" She sniffs, once again teary-eyed.

"Of course! Let's make a deal. You tell me everything you want in your room and I promise to fix it up the best that I can. And no more crying. Okay?" I wrap my arms around her, giving her a tight hug.

"Okay!" She grins at me. She gets up and starts describing every detail she can think of. George comes back with some drinks and snacks while Sophia and I are busy talking about her room.

By the time we finish, it's late. George is kind enough to call me a cab. That was a pretty exhausting but fun-filled day. I check my phone, forgetting the whole time that I had it with me. There's a text from Sadie which I got at 6:30 pm.

"Hey Lia. Emily's eating dinner at Café Diem. Want to drop by? It'll give you a chance to meet her and see just how amazing she is." This Emily is really starting to get on my nerves. I don't know anything about her and yet, it's like everyone has made it their personal goal to get me to meet her.

"Sorry, just read your text. I'm on my way home from George's. I met Sophia. She's so cute! Taxi, 1T83. Text you when I get home." I don't know why but everytime I ride a cab, I make sure to text the medallion number to someone who knows how to contact my parents. I have safety issues, I guess. Angel makes fun of me sometimes, telling me my instincts still haven't adapted to New York.


I feel awful. My nose is stuffy and it's so hard to breathe. I grab some tissue but instead, I get hold of an empty box. I groan. I walk gingerly to the bathroom, using anything I can grab on to for support. I snatch a roll of tissue paper from under the sink cupboard before I get a glimpse of myself in the mirror. God, I feel AND look awful. My nose is so red I'd make Rudolph jealous and there are dark circles around my eyes. I hear the door open.

"Baby? Paige?" She sounds like she's panicking.

"In here." I say, breathing through my mouth at the same time.

"What are you doing?" She rushes over to my side and helps me back to bed.

"Dissues. Don't look ad me. I look terrible." I whine, curling up in her arms and covering my face. She feels so warm and comforting, like chicken noodle soup on a cold sick day.

"You look beautiful, Paige." She kisses the top of my head and runs her hand through my hair.

"You're jus daying dad 'cause I'm thick. I hade having a code." She hugs me tighter, laughing at my words.

"Maybe you should write down what you want to say. Your cold is messing with your speech."

"You're mean. I hade you." I make a futile attempt to throw a pillow at her. I barely even got to lift it up before it slipped from my fingers. "I hade weak Paige." I grumble. My head hurts and so does my whole body.

"Hey, no bullying weak Paige. Unlike strong Paige, she actually lets me to take care of her." She wraps her leg around my waist, almost pinning me down on the bed. She pulls me closer, as close as our bodies will allow.

"Bud all weak Paige can do is sday in bed." I whine for the second time before blowing my nose on a tissue. I turn my head to the side, placing it on top of hers. I feel sleepy.

"That's a good thing. We can catch up on our cuddling." She nuzzles my neck. I can imagine the smell of peaches wafting through the air. Damn cold, I can't even smell her.

"Hmm.. I was kidding. I don hade you. I love you." I mumble.

"I love you too." She murmurs. I feel her kiss me on the cheek before I fall asleep.

"Wake up. Wake up. Hey, wake up." She is shaking me vigorously. What is up? I just fell asleep. And why isn't she as gentle as she used to be? Her voice sounds a little gruff. Does she have a sore throat?


I open my eyes. I see the taxi driver with one hand on my shoulder, trying to wake me up.

"Sorry, maam. I tried to wake you up for a good 10 minutes before I started shaking you. We're here." His voice sounds tired. I look at my watch. It's 12:30am.

"Oh, sorry. Here. You can keep the change. Thanks." I hand him my payment and step out of the cab before he can say anything else. I was having such a nice dream that I can't help but feel infuriated at the driver for waking me up. I hurriedly go to my apartment, eager to go back to sleep. Once in my bedroom, I send a quick text to Sadie telling her I'm home. I take a very quick shower and get under the covers in my underwear, too tired to even put on my pyjamas and too impatient to see her again in my sleep.