Paige learned, from that weekend, to be more sensitive to Emily's needs. Paige herself may have grown up a loner and an outsider, but she realized that Emily needed more. And, in fact, she learned that it wasn't a chore to be more attentive to Emily; rather, it was something that she enjoyed. Never in her life would she have imagined that she would look forward to a nightly phone call with anyone, but there was no denying that her mood elevated as the time got nearer for her to hear Emily's voice, and she usually hung up the phone smiling and sighing to herself like a love-struck fool. Emily was responsible for that.

Emily, too, had developed a sensitivity for Paige's needs. When Paige had an exciting day, Emily was content to be an active listener, and let Paige go on and on, getting it out of her system. But on those nights when Paige was too exhausted to talk, Emily learned how to carry the conversation; to talk about everything or nothing, with some corny jokes thrown in here and there, to help Paige relax and decompress. And then there were the nights where Paige was exhausted, physically and emotionally, and just needed to crawl into bed. On those nights, their conversation was nothing more than a quick check-in: Hey, how are you? You sound exhausted. Well, I'll let you go. Get some rest. I love you.

I love you.

That had become a part of their conversation somewhere along the way. Paige said it first. She had been thinking about Emily all day, about how her life had changed since the two of them got together, and about how much she was looking forward to sharing a few moments on the phone with her that night. She hadn't planned to tell Emily that she loved her; in fact, the thought that she loved Emily hadn't entered her mind until they were about to hang up, and, before she had a chance to think about whether or not she should say it, the words came tumbling out.

"I love you." Her voice was soft and sincere, and Emily could almost see the earnest expression on Paige's face; the way the skin on her forehead just above her nose crinkled together when she was saying something sincerely, from the heart.

Emily almost dropped the phone, letting out a silent squeal of delight at the surprise admission that she had just heard. To Emily, it felt like an instant later when she responded, but, for Paige, it was an eternity. When the phone went silent, she second-guessed the wisdom of admitting her feelings to Emily; admitting something that she'd never said to anyone before in that way. The fact that Emily wasn't saying anything, not even acknowledging it or making a joke about it, struck Paige as bad news.

Just as Paige was about to apologize and back away from what she'd said, Emily found her voice. It came out as a breath – a whisper – and the smile behind it was unmistakable. "I love you, too, Paige!" Immediately, Paige understood why it had taken Emily so long to respond, as she, too, was overwhelmed at hearing those words.

"Okay," Paige said, chuckling nervously.

"Okay," Emily echoed, chuckling too.

"Well, I should probably…"

"Yeah." Emily couldn't help chuckling again. It was the most awkward conversation they'd had since high school, but in a good way.

Paige loped down the hallway of yet another hotel, with a backpack slung over her left shoulder, dragging her suitcase behind her on the other side. All of the hotels were starting to look alike. She would be glad when recruiting season was over. She jammed the keycard into the door and turned the handle, but the door didn't open. The lights above the lock were flashing red. She exhaled heavily and tried again, but she couldn't get the timing right. She let out a frustrated grunt, dropping her backpack to the floor, and tried again. This time, she got the green light, and she kicked the door open, bracing it with her foot as she dragged her belongings inside.

The room was cool. That was a pleasant surprise. She usually had to run the air conditioner for a while, to get the room to a livable temperature. She set her bags down and headed towards the bedroom, pushing open the door, which had been slightly ajar. She saw a body on the bed and let out a startled scream before she realized that it was Emily, lying on her stomach with her feet in the air, interlocked. She had her airbuds in as she leafed through the hotel's welcome magazine, so she didn't hear Paige until Paige screamed. Emily screamed, too, and clutched her heart, in a reflexive reaction to Paige's scream.

Paige was full-on smiling by the time Emily saw her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, in delight and disbelief.

Emily had collected herself, too. She stood up, with her hands coyly behind her back, swaying slightly from side to side. "I told you I wanted to facetime tonight," she said playfully, as she drew near to Paige and intertwined her fingers behind Paige's neck. "So, here I am!" She gave Paige a kiss. "Having some face-time with you!"

"How did you get in here?" Paige's voice was full of wonder.

"Oh, Paige," Emily said, going in for another kiss. "I have my ways!"

"No, seriously."

Emily just wanted to reconnect with Paige, but she realized that Paige wasn't going to be able to move on until she got an answer. "I still have connections at Pomona. One of my coaches' girlfriend is the event manager here."

"What if I'd stayed at another hotel?"

Emily rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe that they were still discussing when they could be kissing. "Every visiting coach stays at the Marriott," she droned. "And, besides, if you'd stayed somewhere else, Christina would've found out." Emily shrugged her shoulders. "She would've made a couple of calls and gotten me in there."

"You flew all the way out from Rosewood?"

"Yeah," Emily said softly. Looking off to the side, she added, "I mean, I know you've been on the road all day, and you're exhausted…" Emily picked up on the troubled look on Paige's face. "What's wrong?" Slightly panicked, she added, "Oh, no. I shouldn't have come! I didn't want to stress you out, I swear."

"No, it's not that, it's just..." Paige bit her lip. "I'm supposed to meet Miranda for dinner tonight."

"I know," Emily said, determined not to make a big deal about it. "You told me, remember?"

"Yeah, but, well, it doesn't seem right, now that you're here."

"Why not? Why would it be different with me here than if I were at home?"

"I just... it doesn't feel right for you to stay here by yourself, when I'm going out to dinner with Miranda."

Emily moved closer and rubbed Paige's shoulder, giving her a kiss. "Paige, it's fine, really. I didn't come out here just to keep you from going to dinner with your ex."

Paige tightened her lips. She hated when Emily called Miranda her ex. She and Miranda had only been together for a short time. But she didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

Emily backed away and sat down on the bed. "I'm just going to hang out here, maybe watch some Netflix," she said pleasantly. "And, when you get back, you can tell me all about it."

Paige scrunched her face. "Well, would you... maybe... want to come with us?"

Emily smiled. "Are you sure?" Paige didn't sound very sure. She nodded. "Is Miranda going to be okay with it?"

"Of course she is," Paige said confidently as she reached for her phone. "I just didn't want you to be uncomfortable after the... " Paige cringed at what she almost said.

"After the what?"

Emily knew what Paige meant. She was just messing with her.

"Well, you know... the.."

"The... the..." Emily prodded.

"I mean, not to resurrect bad memories, but..." - Paige switched to a whisper - "the facetime incident?"

Emily snorted, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, thanks for not resurrecting that!"

"Sorry."

"It's fine, Paige. Really. I'd really love to meet her."

Paige smiled weakly and finished punching up Miranda's number, to let her know about the change of plans.

Paige was holding Emily's hand when they got out of the elevator. When Miranda saw them from across the room, she stood up and put her phone away.

Emily took a second to size Miranda up. She was cute; she obviously had a swimmer's body, although it seemed she hadn't been in the pool for a few years. Or the gym. Not that Emily was judging.

Paige let go of Emily's hand when they got closer to where Miranda was waiting. She used her newly free hand to gesture towards Miranda. "Emily, this is Miranda. Miranda, Emily."

She was wearing flats, but she still had about an inch and a half on Emily. Maybe that was to her advantage in the pool, but Emily didn't think that tall was necessarily Paige's type.

"Emily," Miranda said with a warm tone and a warm smile, spreading out her arms. "So good to meet you!" She kissed Emily's cheek when they parted. Emily's eyes went wide with surprise. "And Paige!" Paige gave a welcoming smile as she leaned over for the hug.

No kiss on Paige's cheek, though. Emily noticed that.

"Did you scout out a good place to eat?"

"The restaurant here looks pretty good," Miranda said. Winking at Emily, she added, "It's late, and I don't want to keep you kids out all night."

Emily raised her eyebrows and looked at Paige. Paige smiled uncomfortably. "There's that Miranda sense of humor we all know and love," she said weakly.

Miranda locked arms with Emily and headed towards the restaurant. "So, Emily. I feel as if I know you already. You know, when I was rooming with P-Mac, she must have told me a million stories about you." Emily looked back and mouthed "P-Mac?" at Paige, but Paige was hiding her face. "But, I'm guessing you don't know very much about me at all, because Paige wasn't nearly as obsessed with me as she is with you."

Emily laughed - a real laugh. She knew what Miranda was doing - trying to position herself as just a friend, to defuse any jealousy - and she appreciated the gesture. But, as dinner went on, it became clear that Miranda was telling the truth. She was finishing the stories that Paige told about Emily, as if she'd heard them multiple times. And she even brought up some other stories, asking Emily to tell her side, since she'd only heard Paige's side before.

Miranda was charming. There was no denying that. And she had been a good friend for Paige, when Paige really needed one. That was also true. Also, it was becoming clearer from story-time that Paige wasn't exaggerating when she told Emily that she'd loved her for a while, before she even realized that it was love that she was feeling.

Emily was trying not to smile, because she didn't want to look like a goober. But Paige caught her and rubbed her shoulder. "What's so funny?"

Emily squeezed Paige's hand under the table and kissed her cheek. "I'm just happy I came," Emily said softly.

"Awww! Where's my phone?"

"Miranda," Paige said with warning in her tone.

"See? There it is! There's that look! Those rosy cheeks! Paige McBlushers! And, when she talks about you, it's Paige McFlustered! Every single time!"

"So, did you have fun teasing me all night with my ex-roommate?" Paige said, once they were alone, safely in the elevator.

Emily didn't reply. She just turned on Paige, wrapped her arms around her waist, and started kissed her. "I've wanted to do that all night," she whispered, wiping some of her lipstick off of Paige's lips. It had been longer than that. She'd wanted to do it for a while. She played with Paige's collar a bit and then turned, facing the elevator doors, with her hands behind her back as if nothing were going on.

Paige was starting to blush again, and not just in her cheeks.

When they got back to the room, Emily leaned against the wall and smiled at Paige. "I know it's been a long day for you, and you've got another long day ahead tomorrow..."

Emily had planned to say something about keeping things low-key that night; letting Paige get some rest and then spending some time together after Paige finished up with her high school visit, but she never got the chance. Paige had somehow grabbed her by the shoulders and was kissing her desperately.

Finally!

Paige had come out of nowhere. Emily had no idea how it had started. She knew what it must have felt like to swim in a relay race against Paige, starting with a big lead and thinking you're in control of the lap until, all of a sudden, she's way ahead of you.

Paige couldn't help herself. It had been a long day, and she had been thinking about how much life sucked, how much it sucked being on the road all the time, and how much it sucked being so far away from the woman she loved. As much as she liked Miranda, she really wasn't looking forward to dinner with her - not when all that she could think about was having dinner with Emily. And then, out of the blue, Emily was in her hotel room, apparently missing Paige as much as Paige missed her. And dinner turned out to be fun. And then Emily gave her that incredible kiss in the elevator. It was all a little much.

When Emily let out a moan, Paige realized that her hands, which had been lovingly caressing Emily's back, had wandered farther south, where they were lustfully massaging Emily's ass. She backed away guiltily, asking, "Too soon?"

Emily put Paige's hands back where they had been. "No, I was just thinking, I wish I'd worn some sexier underwear." Emily cringed playfully, not sure that she hadn't gone too far. She tried to kiss Paige, but Paige backed away.

"Em, there's nothing you could wear that's sexier than you, right here, right now." Emily couldn't help giggling when she heard that. Paige crinkled her nose. "Did that sound too cheesy?"

"No, not at all," Emily said reassuringly. "I was just thinking about all those times in high school when I tried to look sexy, and you never noticed."

Paige tilted her head. "Oh, I noticed." She started fondling Emily's ass again. "Believe me, I noticed!"

Emily threaded her fingers through Paige's hair, pulling her in for a kiss. She started to lose herself. It had been worth it. She'd had to work some extra shifts at her second job at The Brew and borrow some money from her parents to pay for the trip, but it was worth it. Knowing that Paige wanted her so genuinely and so desperately was priceless.