AN: Ahem, ahem...Bacon, sweet tea, and butter. Cotton candy, cheesecake, and collard green. Pancakes. Bacon. Are you hungry yet Sweet-T? (Insert dirty joke here)
I posted this chapter right away because Saii79 said it was her favorite chapter. And since Saii79 has always been a loyal reader and reviewer I go out of my way for her.
nein sie wird sich nicht andern
12
Emily
The big day had arrived, Homecoming. Despite the fact that I wasn't going to the dance with the person that I wanted to be going with I was still excited for an evening of dancing with my friends.
The days after the fight had been rough. I explained to Paige what Maya had requested in order for her to finally leave me alone. Paige reluctantly agreed to keep her distance from me, but I was struggling to keep my distance from her. Seeing her in class, in the halls, at swim practice, but not being able to even talk to her was torture. Maya had started going to my swim practices, feigning interest, but she was likely just keeping an eye on me. The daily coffee didn't stop though. Every morning Hanna would deliver a coffee to me from Paige. Each one had a note written on the backside of the sleeve. "2 more days until I get to be near you. 1 more day until I get to miss you a little less." Then today's, "Can I take you home right after the dance or do I have to wait until midnight before you can sneak me into your room?" Obviously Paige wasn't making it any easier to stay away from her.
Paige
I never thought that I could ache for someone. I had just always assumed I was above doing things like that, like I had too much control over my emotions to subject myself to pinning over someone. Nobody warned me about Emily Fields though. There is simply no way to prepare yourself for a girl like her. So, here I am, pinning, aching, drooling, fixating over this girl with a megawatt smile. We haven't said much to each other since Tuesday. She explained her situation and even though I was angry about giving into Maya's demands I agreed for Emily's sake. Figuring the relationship was coming to an end I decided not to tell Emily about Maya's cheating. Like I said, it was a form of rejection that I didn't want Emily to have to experience.
It was Friday, the day of the dance. The day Maya's time in Emily's life expires. It was also the day that Emily decided to wear jeans to school. Now, I appreciate everything Emily wears and I would be lying if I said I hadn't run into a few things watching her walk away instead of watching where I was going. That girl cannot go wrong; even in a potato sack her legs would still be on display. However, there was something special about Emily's long, toned legs wrapped tightly in denim. My eyes always explored a little more when she was in jeans. They followed the material's path over her gentle curves until they reached what they really wanted to shamelessly ogle. Bless her heart for lingering a little longer in front of me in English class instead of sitting down right away.
When she did sit down - far too soon for my liking - I leaned over my desk so I could speak softly to her. "Are you going to leave your window unlocked for me tonight?" I heard her gasp at my question, causing the butterflies in my stomach to take flight. I could see the corners of her mouth pull into a grin. Now the butterflies were really wreaking havoc on my boldness. I always tried to keep my cool around Emily, but she always managed to disarm me.
"Not a chance. I have to keep the undesirables out."
"That's fine. I'll just ring the doorbell and explain to Mrs. Fields how I can't possibly stay away from her daughter for another minute and no one is going to stop me from seeing her," I said, only half joking.
"I'll unlock it," she said with a shy smile. "I wish you would change your mind about going to the dance."
Before I could respond, Noel walked into the classroom, thus signaling the end of our conversation. When Emily had asked before if I was going to the dance I told her that high school dances weren't really my thing. I would make an exception if she needed a date though. Enduring a few hours at a corny dance would be a small price to pay to spend the night dancing with Emily. Instead, Maya, someone so completely undeserving of Emily's time, was getting the privilege of being with Emily tonight, while I was stuck having to work. I would rather be working, though, than spending the night at home fretting over what was happening at the dance.
While everyone's face was buried in their copy of To Kill A Mockingbird, Emily took the opportunity to subtly hand me a note. If I told you my dress is short, tight, and strapless would it change your mind? Of course it would, because I would be going to the dance to threaten anyone that dared looked at her. Deciding to forgo the note so I could be close to her again, I made sure Noel wasn't watching and leaned forward to whisper to her again. "How about a private viewing after the dance?"
She turned her face towards mine so that Noel wouldn't be able to hear her response. "Am I really going to get to see you tonight?"
"Just try to stop me," I replied before leaning back in my chair.
Work was going by painfully slow. Hanna's text message earlier in the day explaining to me how stunning Emily looked and how I better "scoop Emily up before someone else does" didn't help. It was almost time for the dance to start and I wanted so badly to be there with Emily. I considered sending Hanna another text asking how Emily was doing, but I decided against it. Just a few more hours and this will all be over.
When I heard the bell above the door chime, I looked up to greet the new patron. I smiled in recognition of the now familiar face. "Hi, Shana."
"Well if it isn't my favorite bartender. Have you changed your mind about my offer," Shana asked bluntly.
"Sorry, the answer is still no. Are you on the prowl by yourself tonight?" Maya was at the dance with Emily so I assumed Shana was by herself unless Shana had multiple girlfriends too.
"No, Maya is parking the car."
I immediately felt sick as all of my air left my body. Maya was here, with Shana, meaning Emily is alone. The image of a gorgeously made-up Emily sitting alone flashed in my head and I was furious. Maya was never planning on going to that dance, she just wanted to get the opportunity to stand Emily up. "Un-fucking-believable," I snapped as I grabbed my jacket. "Red I have to go. It's an emergency."
"Do what you gotta do, Girly. We're fine without you tonight," Red replied.
As I rushed for the door I ran into the girl I suddenly despised more than any other person in the world. "How could you do this to her Maya?" I squeezed my eyes shut in an effort to calm myself before I did something I would regret. I've never hit a girl before, but at that point I wasn't even sure if Maya qualified as human, much less a woman deserving of any sort of respect.
"Please, Emily got what she deserves. Now she's sitting alone feeling rejected and it serves her right for breaking up with me," Maya twisted her face into a nefarious smirk.
Before I could respond, Shana was next to me. She seemed to feel the tension immediately and chose to stay by my side instead of Maya's. It was odd, but angry look Maya gave Shana had me feeling a little pleased. I put my arm around Shana and she nuzzled into my neck. It was innocent, but I think we were both done with Maya and wanted to put her in her place. Maya's eyes were burning with anger now. Yet another girl was rejecting her. "Don't feel too bad, Shana has been looking to replace you for a while," I said to Maya with my own smug smirk.
"It's true, I have." Shana nodded.
Maya let out a forced, fake laugh. "You think I care about her. I've already outgrown her." Shana laughed in amusement at Maya's attempt to brush the rejection aside.
"Well I would love to stay and chat, but I have a dance to get to. And thanks Maya, because now I get to be Emily's date and from what I heard about her dress, I'm in for quite the treat," I said, then made my way towards that parking lot.
"Good luck with that, you would need the jaws of life to pry that girl's legs apart. She's such a frigid prude." I'm sure Maya meant that as an insult to Emily, but it made me happy for two reasons: one, Maya had never enjoyed Emily and two, I had more ammunition against Maya now.
"You know, Maya, whenever a girl won't give it up it's not their fault, it's yours. Let me guess, you tried to rush her, didn't make her feel safe. She probably sensed that you are over compensating for a lack of self-confidence. My guess is that you are not as skilled in bed as you want everyone to believe. Am I right, Shana?" I looked to Shana waiting for her answer.
"It's true. She can't take direction and she doesn't have any instincts," Shana replied with a big smile. I can tell that she was enjoying getting this off of her chest.
"Ouch, that's the worst combination, Maya." I turned my attention to Shana. "I'm so sorry, how did you deal with that," I asked with an exaggerated concerned tone.
"It was tough, but I have other girls that took care of me. I would have drawn a map for Maya if I thought that would help. She's a lost cause though," Shana said with a laugh. "But you're not, are you Paige?"
"I'm not. I have killer instincts, can take directions, and I can read a map," I confirmed.
"Oh the trifecta," Shana said with a wink.
Maya stood in front of us for a moment, effectively silenced. The silence was starting to get awkward as Shana and I watched as Maya desperately try to come up with something to say to save face.
"Well, Emily isn't going to twirl herself so I should get going." I continued towards the parking lot.
"You're a bitch," Maya yelled to me. Five minutes of think time and that's all she could come up with. Pathetic.
I overhead Shana's response to Maya, "Yeah, but you're the only one going home alone aren't you? She's got your girl and she's hotter than you."
Emily
Maya had texted me and told me that she was going to miss our pre-dance dinner, but she swore that she would be on time for the dance. My friends were gracious, of course, all of them choosing to sit by me instead of sitting next to their dates. It made it less obvious that I was alone. Except an hour into the dance I am sitting at a table by myself. The girls were taking turns keeping me company, but a slow song was playing and I told them to dance with their dates. A few people had asked me to dance, but, truthfully I wasn't in the mood to dance. I felt so foolish. Maya had probably been planning this, she likely wanted to ruin my night and I let her. Not only did I let her ruin my night, but also my week. I couldn't believe that I let someone so manipulative have so much control over my happiness.
Deciding to just go home and wait for Paige to get off work, I scanned the crowd looking for at least one of my friends. When my eyes found her, I couldn't look away. Paige. The lights were flashing around the room offering broken glimpses of her. Once I finally got enough pieces I realized that she looked stunning. The loose waves of her auburn hair were falling passed her shoulders. She was dressed in a women's cut, pin-tuck tuxedo shirt. The shirt was pressed neatly and tucked in, but the cuffs were rolled up to just above her wrists. I noticed that she was wearing a bow tie, but instead of tying it, she let it hang loosely around her neck. Of course Paige would show up casually looking like she has already been here for hours. A light moved across her chest and I noticed that her shirt was unbuttoned to the top of her black bra. I wasn't sure I was going to get my mind to stop spinning after seeing that. The only reason I was able to look away from her chest was because I wanted to see the rest. Working my way down the rest of her body with my gaze, I admired the tight black pants she was wearing and her ankle high boots. Always in her boots...I couldn't help but smile.
When she found me we held each other's gaze from across the room until she slowly started to make her way over to me. A little too slowly. Since I was not feeling patient I took matters into my own hands and rushed to meet her. When our bodies met with a thud, I grabbed onto her like I never wanted to let go. It felt so good when she did the same.
"What are you doing here," I asked, but didn't really care. All that mattered was that she was here.
"I'm here for you. I didn't want you to be alone," she offered a slight smile to me. I could tell that she had something to tell me and she was worried how I would react.
"Spill, Paige," I said just wanted her to get it over with.
"Maya was at my work with another girl. I couldn't stand the thought of you being here alone, especially when I knew you would be the most beautiful girl in this place. I left work and now here I am. I know that you are probably hurt, but if you let me keep you company I promise you'll have a good time ." She looked at me with her slightly cocky grin.
Duh, I want you to keep me company. "Oh, yeah? How good," I teased.
"I'm going to dance with you, be charming, and bring you a drink when you get thirsty." She did a little arm roll that made me laugh.
I wasn't hurt about Maya. I felt relief instead. Besides Paige was more than enough to make up for any pain I might have felt. Perfectly complicated Paige. She was always doing little things for me: looking out for me, bringing me Cliff bars because she knows that I'm hungry before swim practice. After practice she would wrap my towel around me first before drying herself off with her own towel. Even though I knew she was far from ready for a relationship. She was still holding back a lot, I knew that she was giving me all that she could give me right now. Just this small amount was so much more than anyone had given me before. I had to be patient with her from now on. I had been pushing her out of her comfort zone and she was doing her best to not back away. I just wanted her to feel safe around me like I do around her. This was a turning point for us. It was clear that we cared about each other and now Maya wasn't in our way; we needed to start building.
"Paige," she was staring towards the dance floor. Nodding her head the music with a goofy grin on her face. My smile widened.
"Hmm..." she hummed not even looking at me.
I pulled her face towards me, needing to make sure she was listening. "I'm sorry that I've been pushing you for something you are not ready for." She shifted her body so she was facing me. "I would like us to be friends. Just friend. You can talk to me...or not talk to me about anything. I'll be there for you. I want us to take our time with this. Let it happen when we are both completely ready. But I also want you to know that you are the one that I want to be with."
The smile she gave me made me melt. "Just friends is perfect. I'm trying, Em. I just don't want to mess anything up with us again. Not after we got off to such a disastrous start. And if you need anything you can always come to me," she winked and it made my stomach flip. Dammit Paige, do you not understand what friends means?
"I need something right now actually."
She leaned closer to me. "Oh yeah, and what is that," she asked.
"To dance." I grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. I had no idea what to expect from Paige in terms of dancing, but what I saw shocked me. She was good, moving her body perfectly in time with the music. She was gracefully and sexy. While most girls became something for their dates to dry hump, my date was actually dancing with me.
"Where did you learn to dance," I asked into her ear so she could hear me.
"YouTube," she responded with a wink. I pulled her into a hug and laughed. The fact that she was still dancing in our hug wasn't lost on me. Taking hold of my waist, she slid her leg in between mine and rocked side to side. It was innocent enough, but it driving me crazy. I used her bow tie to pull her face closer to mine.
"Seriously, where? Because you did not learn how to do this from a video."
"Haven't you ever heard of Double Dream Hands?" Paige thinks she is hilarious. "I started taking dance lessons when I was little. The lessons were my mom's idea. She wanted me to be her little ballerina. When we had to move to Philly I learned other forms of dance as a way to cope, since I no longer had the right body type for ballet," she explained. It was the most information about her past that she had willingly shared with me so far. I wanted to know more.
She broke away from our hug and started to glide around me in a circle. I wanted to watch her feet, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her face. She bit her lip in the cutest way while she was doing it, like it was part of the dance. Her head was still bobbing the beat. When she was in front of me again she took hold of my hand and twirled me away from her. Then she moved towards me and wrapped her arms around me mid-twirl, pressing my back into her front. My breath hitched when I felt her start to roll her body against mine. If this is what it felt like to be "just friends" with Paige then I was perfectly okay with being her friend. Although, I couldn't stop myself from imagining how good it must feel to be more than a friend.
Without warning, she wasn't holding me anymore. I looked behind me, but she was gone. I jumped when I felt one of her hands on my calf; her other hand was sliding my heels off.
"What do you think you're doing? The shoes go with the dress," I protested.
She looked up at me with a mischievous smile that made my knees weaken. Okay, I don't even need to know the reason. Just please keep looking at me like that. She stood up again, keeping her face dangerously close to my body. When her face was level with mine she whispered in my ear.
"Trust me, you're going to want them off." She threw my shoes over by the chair. "And I don't want you stabbing me when you step on me with your clumsy feet." She laughed playfully.
"Umm excuse me, I am not clumsy," I pushed her away, but she grabbed me and pulled me into her hard. She was holding me impossibly close to her with distinctive intensity in her eyes. When she undulated her body against mine I let out an involuntary moan. I closed my eyes and let myself get lost in the feeling of her body. My lips lingered right above the skin on her neck; not enough to be considered a kiss, but enough for her to be aware of how close I was to her. Her breathing was shuddered; her hands tightened on my hips. Just friends, just friends just friends, I silently repeated to myself. Getting carried away would be too easy right now. I needed to stop this, but she just felt so...damn...good. Maybe just until the end of the song.
The sound of someone clearing their throat brought me back to Earth. "May I cut in?" I rolled my eyes when I realized it was Spencer.
"No," I groaned into Paige's neck. Laughter vibrated through Paige's body.
"Emily, it's customary for Paige to answer that question."
"Sorry Spencer. There is no way I'm letting Emily go tonight unless she tells me that's what she wants," Paige spoke with confidence and resolution. It was the kind of tone that both impressed and annoyed Spencer. I finally turned my head to look at Spencer and she gave me a small, approving smile. Deep down I think she was happy that I found someone who wasn't afraid to stand up to her for me.
"Fair enough," Spencer shrugged. "You better take care of her," she cautioned Paige.
Paige gave Spencer a charming smile. "I will," she said.
Spencer left us to return to a waiting Toby. And I returned to nuzzle Paige's waiting neck.
"She's terrifying," Paige said in mocked fright. "I mean, I wasn't planning on taking care of you before, but now I'm afraid not to," she teased.
"She'll be very happy to hear that," I murmured, focused more on the sensation of Paige than trying to speak clearly. "Paige, we need to stop," I said reluctantly, still clinging to her body. "We are supposed to be just friends."
"I know. Friends. Best, best friends," she said with a sigh, slowly increasing the space between us. Suddenly, the song changed and Paige's eyes lit up.
Can't count the years on one hand
That we've been together
I need the other one to hold you
Make you feel, make you feel better
It's not a walk in the park
To love each other
But when our fingers interlock
Can't deny, can't deny you're worth it
She moved away from me gracefully swaying her hips. Gesturing for me to come get her with her fingers, biting her lip through a smile. I really couldn't resist an offer like that. When I reached her she twirled me again, and again, then she twirled herself, before dipping me. It was amazing seeing her like this, being so carefree. She was a good dancer, but wasn't afraid to make a fool of herself. In rhythm, of course, she had standards. I made a mental note to get Paige to dance more. For her sake and for mine. I couldn't remember the last time I smiled this much. She followed through on her promise, I was having a great time.
Sometime during the last hour of the dance, my friends and I all migrated back together. Hanna seemed to be stealing any chance she could to dance with Paige. I couldn't really blame her for her enthusiasm, Paige was a treat to dance with and she kept Hanna laughing. Soon I was having to compete with Hanna and Aria, but when it was time for the last song I made sure I had all of Paige's attention.
If I lose myself tonight
It'll be by your side
"Can I give you a ride home," Paige asked as we swayed together slowly.
"On your motorcycle? I'm in a dress."
"I bought a blanket so you can cover yourself and I'll let you have my jacket so you don't get cold," Paige grinned.
"Yes please, I would like that."
Paige
I drove a little slower than necessary to Emily's house, not wanting the night to end. Feeling Emily's arms wrapped around my waist while the wind whipped around us, squeezing me tighter when we went around curves, it was easily my new favorite feeling. When we arrived at her house I kept her arms in place with mine for just a moment longer, trying to commit the sensation to memory.
We walked to her door hand in hand, but I was lost in thought. Emily was willing to wait for me. She was excepting what I was giving her, allowing me time to heal and grow. I don't know what I did to deserve this exquisite woman, but I had to take the opportunity she was giving me. No more pushing her away when things got to honest.
"Can I see you tomorrow," I asked, not really having a plan other than wanting to be around her.
"You better," she said with a megawatt smile.
I stood at the bottom step waiting to make sure she was safely in her house.
"Emily, wait please," I called out. She turned back to me as I jumped the steps to her porch. "I know we said just friends, but I have this overwhelming desire to kiss you. I feel like a girl like you should not be without a goodnight kiss on a night like this." I took her face in my hands and studied her, waiting for permission. When she put her hands on my hips and closed her eyes I smiled, knowing she was accepting. The kiss started out tender and lingering, but when I pulled away Emily shook her head and whispered "more". My hands wrapped around her waist and bringing her body closer to me as I captured her lips again. Her hands gripped the back of my neck trapping our lips together. When she softy nipped my bottom lip I couldn't contain my need for her anymore. I found her tongue with mine and walked her backwards towards the door.
Kissing someone really takes a toll on a person's memory, like the memory of the door being opened a crack. When I pressed her against the door it unexpectedly swung all the way open sending us crashing to the floor. I moved my hand just cradle her head just before it hit the floor, but she took the full weight of my body. Panicked, I quickly tried to get off of her, but she started to laugh and held me close to her.
"Paige, I thought you were smooth. What happened," she teased through laughter.
"Hey, when I'm kissing you, a door is the last thing I'm thinking about." We were both laughing now when a light clicked on in the upstairs hallway.
"Emmy, is that you," Mrs. Fields called out.
"Get up, get up." Now Emily was the one panicking. We scrambled to our feet and smoothed out our clothes just as Mrs. Fields walked around the corner. She eyed us suspiciously before focusing her eyes on me.
"I don't think we've been introduced, I'm Pam, Emily's mother," she said as she extend her hand towards me. I shook her hand and introduced myself.
"Mom, I was just saying goodnight to Paige. She drove me home," Emily explained.
Mrs. Fields peeked out the front door and pointed to my motorcycle. "On that," she questioned.
"Yes, ma'am, but I can assure you I was very careful getting her here," I said.
"Too bad you weren't as careful kissing her goodnight," Mrs. Fields smiled softly. I noticed Emily blush before she buried her face into my shoulder. "Emily, I'm going back to bed. You should probably get to bed soon...alone. Goodnight Paige, it was nice meeting you. Get home safely."
"Nice meeting you, Mrs. Fields," I replied.
Once her mom had gone upstairs Emily started to laugh again. "I'm so sorry about that."
"You're sorry? I'm the one that pushed you through the door," I teased. "But at least I got to meet your mom."
Emily laughed, "not the way I intended you to meet her."
"Spontaneous is better anyway. I better get going. You have to get to bed...alone," I nudged Emily with my elbow.
"Text me and let me know you got home, please."
"I will," I said before giving her a chaste kiss.
I started my bike and looked back to see Emily standing the doorway looking at me. My heart fluttered in my chest seeing her standing in the only light breaking through the darkness. The significance was not lost on me. No more holding back I thought as a rode off.
