"How about this one?" Emily held a dress in front of herself. Paige nodded less than enthusiastically. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere. "Not good?"

"It's fine," Paige assured her.

Emily lowered the dress and her shoulders. Her expression dropped, too, and she half-pouted. "You're not backing out on me?"

"Don't make me go," Paige whined, hunching over and pleading with her eyes.

" 'Make you go?' You don't want to go dancing with me?"

Their sophomore year was almost over. They were both finished with finals and only had the end of the year team meetings between them and the summer. It had been a good year: The team had done well, they had both done well in their classes - and in their relationship - and Emily wanted to celebrate.

"Em, you know I'm no good at dancing!"

"And you know," Emily explained impatiently, for the thousandth time, "that it's not about being good. It's about having fun!" Emily put an enthusiastic smile on her face and busted a couple of moves, using the dress that she was holding as her dance partner. Her enthusiasm was not contagious. Paige was unmoved.

"See? I can't move like that, Emily!"

Emily, still dancing, offered, "I could show you some moves!"

Paige stepped close to Emily, their noses almost touching. "I bet you could," she intoned suggestively. Emily shoved her away with a laugh. "You know my body doesn't work like yours," Paige lamented.

"Are you kidding me? You're a highly trained athlete! Your body is a finely tuned instrument!"

"Well, if you want me to do the swim" - Paige mimed a couple of freestyle strokes - "or the fish" - she hollowed her cheeks and shook her tail - "or the dive..."

"That's not a dance!"

Paige, undeterred, joined her hands over her head and pretended to dive. Emily rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, any of those would be fine," Emily pleaded, hanging the dress up again.

"I'd look ridiculous."

"Well, what about field hockey? You had have had some sweet moves to play field hockey!"

"Yeah, right," Paige mocked. "I could body-check you!" She pulled Emily's towel out to the side and checked her body, gawking eagerly, with her eyes wide and her tongue hanging out of her mouth.

"Paige!" Emily crumpled into herself, hiding her body from Paige, as if Paige didn't already have every inch of it memorized. Paige let the towel drop. Emily didn't bother to pick it up. She turned her attention back to the closet. "It'll be fun. I promise."

Paige was silent. When Emily turned to check on her, she saw a look of genuine dread on her face. Emily rolled her eyes and went back to the closet, shifting the hangers around as she tried to find something to wear. "You know, you remind me of this kid in the swimming program, when I taught the six-year-olds at the community center last summer." Emily explained that there were always some kids who took to the water immediately, some who were neutral, and some who were absolutely miserable. By the end of the summer, once they learned how to swim, all of the kids moved into the group that loved the pool. "Except for Eric," Emily said. "He looked just as miserable in the water at the end of the program as he did at the beginning."

"Wait - you swam with 'Eric' behind my back?"

Emily chuckled and played along. "It was before we were together... He means nothing to me, I swear! He's in my past..."

"Did you show him some moves?"

Emily whipped her head around and gasped in shock. "Paige! He was six years old!"

Paige threw her hands up. "Oh, God - I wasn't... I didn't... I didn't think that through! Erase that! Erase that!"

Emily drew close to Paige, grabbing her by the collar. It was kind of surreal for Paige; Emily was obviously trying to be tough, but Paige couldn't get past the fact that the most beautiful woman in the world was pressing her naked body against her while trying to appear threatening.

"I'll forget what you said on one condition," Emily rumbled.

"I take you to bed right now and we forget all about this dancing nonsense?"

Emily narrowed her eyes, glaring straight into Paige's.

"Okay, okay!" Paige put her hands up. "I'll go! I'll dance!"

"Not just dance," Emily half-whined. "Promise me that you'll at least attempt to enjoy yourself."

"I will," Paige conceded. She could never possibly say no to Emily.

Emily kissed her softly on the lips, her voice just as soft as she muttered, "Thank you." Squealing in delight, she twirled around, holding hands with Paige above their heads - as if Paige were twirling her - and got back to the business of finding an outfit.

"Oh, come on," Emily said as she locked the car and took Paige's hand. "It's dancing. It's not as if I'm asking you to give me a kidney or something."

"Do you need a kidney?" Paige offered. Anything to get out of dancing.

"Paige!" Emily was half-whining. She knew that Paige was only joking; still, she wanted it to be something fun that they could both enjoy. "I swear, I'm not this whiny when you make me watch those horror movies with you!"

"Well, first of all, those are classics of the American cinema, and you should be thanking me for exposing you to them…"

"Uh huh. And, second of all, you know how much I hate being scared, and you only make me watch because you want me to cuddle up next to you for protection."

It was true that Paige liked the feeling of being Emily's protector; her safe place. But she wasn't willing to concede. "No, actually, I like to laugh at the way that you scream at the TV, giving a running commentary. 'Run, fool!' 'You'd better get out of that house!' 'What's wrong with you? You're not going to be able to escape in those heels!'" Paige put her hand on Emily's cheek and kissed her.

When they got to the club, Paige opened the door, and they entered. Emily took a look around, to get the vibe. "Oh, no!" She pointed her chin at the opposite side of the room, where Ashley was standing with her back against the wall. Emily moved herself behind Paige. "Do you think she saw us?"

Paige shook her head. "Do you want to go?"

There were plenty of parties going on at Drexel that night, but Emily wanted to go off-campus and get away from their fellow students. For one thing, she thought that Paige might be able to relax and enjoy herself more if she didn't have to worry about having people she knew see her on the dance floor. But, apparently, she wasn't the only one with the idea of getting away from campus for the night. And she definitely wouldn't be able to relax if she had to deal with Ashley. Her eyes lingered for a moment. She nodded. "Yeah. I'm really not up for that tonight."

Paige turned around, putting her arm around Emily's waist, and guided her through the door. "Maybe she's waiting for Shana," she joked. "That would be kind of funny if our exes ended up…" Paige noticed the icy glare that Emily was giving her. She closed her mouth and put her hands up, realizing that it wouldn't be so funny after all. "So, shall we just go home?"

Paige was joking, but Emily was tired of fighting to have a good time when everything seemed to be working against it. She sighed heavily. "I guess," she said sadly. "I guess it's just not in the cards for tonight."

Paige pressed Emily against the wall of the building that they were walking by and gave her a kiss – just one, but it was the kind that made Emily's knees weak. In a low, sensual voice, she told her, "You look way too hot tonight to sit at home and watch Netflix." She put her hand on Emily's cheek. "We'll find a place."

Emily smiled as she took Paige's hand and started walking again. "I actually know a place."

"What's so funny?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you have that big smile on your face."

"Huh? Oh, nothing." Paige wasn't really aware of the fact that she was smiling on the outside, but she definitely knew why she was smiling on the inside. She ran her free hand through her hair. "I was just thinking – I love this city. I mean, the fact that you and I can walk around in public… like this." – she held up their clasped hands to show what she meant.

"Yeah," Emily said, agreeing. "Although, I'm sure there are some places in Philly where it wouldn't go over too well."

"Yeah, I guess. Still – compared to living in a small town. I mean, did you have any problems with Rosewood?"

Emily took a second to think it over. "No, not really. I guess Rosewood's a small enough town, you know? It's not that everybody knows everybody, but it kind of feels that way. So, when people saw me with a girl, they either knew me or the girl, so…"

"I get that." A few paces later, Paige said, "Well, it definitely wouldn't go over so well where I'm from. And not just the lesbian thing, but the fact that you're…"

Paige trailed off, so Emily filled in the blank. "Asian?"

"Canadian, actually," Paige said, keeping a straight face. "The Asian thing, wouldn't be an issue."

Emily pushed herself away from Paige. "See? This is why I don't tell you things!"

Emily's father was posted with the US consulate in Canada early in his Army career, and the fact that Emily was born in Vancouver technically gave her dual citizenship in the US and Canada. It was a fact that Paige liked to use to taunt her from time to time. Emily very few recollections of Canada; she was less than two years old when they moved back to the US. Still, Paige insisted on teasing her for her supposed Canadian accent and Canadian ways. Emily had never heard of poutine until Paige brought it up.

The club that Emily had in mind was on that she and her friends used to sneak into with their fake IDs when they headed into the city and and pretended to be sophisticated urban ladies. The place had a different feel about it when she and Paige entered; there were a bunch of kids there, who looked as if it was their first trip into Philadelphia, and who all seemed to be trying very hard to look like natives. Emily couldn't help laughing at the realization of how silly she and her friends must've looked.

"This place has changed since I used to come here," she said apologetically as she led Paige by the hand to a table in the corner.

Paige gave her a genuine smile. "I like it!" It was just good to be out – in every sense of the word – with Emily.

The DJ was actually half-decent, and she had Emily swaying to the music as she and Paige sat on their tall chairs around a round, narrow table for two. Paige kept waiting for Emily to ask her to dance, but Emily seemed content just to sit there and sip their drinks. Finally, Paige hopped off of her chair and offered Emily her hand. "Let's do what we came here for!"

"Oh, Paige," Emily said, not stepping out of her chair, "we don't have to. I'm having a good time just being here, really." It was true. She appreciated the fact that Paige had gone to the club with her and was willing to dance, but she didn't want to force her.

"Well, I am, too. But we came here to blow off some steam, so, I say we do it!"

Emily smiled, stepping out of her chair. "Well, if you insist!"

"Hey! You've been holding out on me!" Emily said, shouting over the music.

Paige feigned innocence. "Huh?"

"How come I never knew you could dance like this?"

Paige laughed. "You like?" Emily linked her wrists behind Paige's head and swiveled her hips, the expression on her face giving Paige her answer. "Well," Paige shouted, aiming her lips at Emily's ear, "I couldn't dance like this. Not before. But I've been working on it."

Emily laughed. "You little sneak!"

Paige shrugged. "Surprise!"

"You made me drag you out, kicking and screaming, but you couldn't wait to show me your moves, could you?"

"Couldn't let all of Hanna's hard work go to waste!"

"Hanna?" Paige nodded."Your new bestie? What's that all about?"

"I know, right? She's been really chummy ever since you and I started..." Paige let the thought trail off.

"Dating?"

"Sleeping together."

Emily's head snapped back in shock. When she recovered, she started laughing. "Well, that's..."

"Weird, I know. Like, she hasn't been this friendly to me since you and Ashley were going out."

"Why do you think that is?"

"I guess it's like... I broke through the barrier, you know?" Emily's head snapped back again and she cocked an eyebrow. "Metaphorically, of course!"

"Of course," Emily teased.

"But, you know... Once you... let me in - " Paige quickly added, "to your HEART -" concluding, with a shrug, "I guess that meant I was okay."

"You should've come to me, though! You know, I taught Hanna everything she knows about dancing!"

"Yeah, right!"

"I'm serious! She was trying to get a scholarship for a college out west - She didn't tell you? - and she wanted to do a dance audition and…" Emily shook her head. It was too much to try to explain on the college dance floor.

"I know," Paige said. "She told me. She told me about the audition, and that's when she learned the most important thing about dancing."

"Which was?"

"Have fun, be yourself."

Emily groaned. "That's exactly what I've been telling you about dancing – like, forever!"

Paige smiled and shrugged. It was different, when the advice came from an impartial friend, and someone who wasn't just trying to get her out on the dance floor.

Emily looked at Paige, as if she were going to say something, but she didn't. They were taking a break from the dance floor, back at their table in the corner. Emily shook her head.

"What?"

"It's just weird - you being friends with Hanna."

"Why? Because she's so..." The look Emily gave told Paige to choose her words carefully. She was talking about Emily's best friend, after all. "... unlike me?"

"No, not that, it's just - you being friends with my best friend. I mean, how am I supposed to complain about you to Hanna when you're friends with Hanna?"

Paige dropped her jaw in mock-shock. "Have I ever given you anything to complain about."

"Yeah - have you got an hour? That would get me through page one of my complaints." Emily squeezed Paige's hand. "No, but seriously, though. I think it's great that you get along with my friends. That wasn't always the case with my girlfriends. But still... you don't think it's weird? Like, what if I were friends with Pru?"

Paige laughed. "So, you're telling me I have to break up with Hanna?"

"Yeah," Emily teased. "Break up with her. But I'll let you have Caleb."