DISCLAIMER: Pretty Little Liars and all its characters is the intellectual property of others. Some characters used in the writing of this fic belong to PLL. Events that transpire, will transpire and have transpired in this story are entirely of my own creation.
Longest chapter yet!
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sampledbeats, Nae10, bipbap and StagHen… Thanks for the PM.
PART TWO: "Sic Infit"
~ So it begins. ~
CHAPTER THREE
Maybe she won't notice. Emily thought anxiously as she served another table outside of Café Prima their coffee and pastries. After all, it's not like I'm gonna blush everytime she's around. Just... act normal. Don't stammer. Don't grin like an idiot. And don't laugh at everything she says. She's Paige. You can't like her. Not more than a friend. She reminded herself.
Emily went back inside the café and checked the time on the clock mounted on the wall behind the counter before placing another order on the tray she was holding. In a few minutes Paige is going to arrive and she had to find a way to calm her nerves before she sees the girl again. Last week their MGMT100 professor divided the class into groups of ten for their semester-long project and she and Paige ended up being in the same group. Of course she was thrilled when she found out that they were groupmates because that meant having a legitimate reason to spend more time with the girl. Unlike Reese who was resorting to classic movies like Casablanca just to get Paige to spend time with her.
That was seven days ago. Things changed for her two days ago when she stood under the pouring rain looking into Paige's eyes and since then she has been a nervous wreck just thinking about running into the girl.
But Emily knew that seeing Paige again was inevitable. After all, they do have one class together this semester. She was still going to see Paige tomorrow afternoon so she might as well face the girl today.
The members of her group all agreed to meet with their client, the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America organization, at their head office in 230 North 13th Street for their first meeting regarding the project. Since Emily had her shift at the café and Paige had track practice, the latter suggested last week that they go to the meeting together, with Paige offering to swing by the café once she was done with her training. Emily had no problem with the arrangement when they discussed it last Thursday. But when Paige called her earlier to remind her of it, Emily felt faint and her pulse began to race at the mere thought of seeing Paige again.
As she headed outside the café to serve the steaming cup of coffee on her tray, Emily thought about what she would say and how she would act around Paige once they were standing in front of each other again. Like last Monday night under the pouring rain. Emily thought, her stomach fluttering when her gaze drifted to the spot outside Harrison where Paige stood holding an umbrella to shelter them both from the rain. When the girl moved to tuck that strand of hair while looking into her eyes... just like Paige is doing now...
"Shit!" A voice in front of her cursed when Emily lost her grip on the steaming cup of coffee she was holding when she realized that Paige was standing on the same spot and that the girl was looking at her.
"I'm so sorry!" Emily blurted out while trying to clean up the mess she made, wiping the spilled coffee off the table with a dishrag.
Emily stole a glance at the spot outside Harrison to see if she wasn't imagining things and true enough, Paige was still standing there but this time with a worried expression on her face and Reese standing next to her. Of course. Those two seemed inseparable. She averted her eyes and instead focused it on the customer she spilled the hot coffee on, groaning inwardly when she saw that the girl was wearing a white shirt and the coffee stain was smack-dab in the middle of it.
"I'm so sorry." Emily repeated.
"This is my favorite shirt and you ruined it!" The girl exclaimed as she stood up, trying to remove the stain with a dry tissue but to no avail. "And you just drenched me in scalding coffee!"
"It was an accident." Emily said apologetically. "It's a coffee stain. I'm sure I can remove it."
"Now?!" The girl asked dubiously. "I have a meeting in an hour. I don't have time to change."
"I can clean it inside." Emily offered. "I know how to remove coffee stains. I just need to borrow your shirt."
"And what am I supposed to wear in the meantime?" The girl asked, giving Emily a lengthy onceover. "Your shirt?"
"The longer we stand here the harder it's going to be to remove that stain." Emily pointed out, ignoring the girl's rude innuendo. "Are you coming with me inside?"
"I'll be right back." The girl said to her friends before moving to follow Emily. "My coffee's all over me." She complained, just loud enough for Emily to hear.
"I'll get you another one." Emily promised as she opened the door and let the girl walk in first.
"Have one with me and maybe I'll forget this incident ever happened." The girl suddenly said.
Emily mentally rolled her eyes at the girl, unable to believe that she just used what happened to ask her out. Emily pretended that she didn't hear what the girl said and instead looked around the café to see where Paige went, her insides squirming when she finally saw the girl seated on one of the loveseats with Reese. She forced herself to wave back when Paige did and indicated that she'll be with her soon, pointing to the customer who was now walking in front of her.
"Where do you want me?" The girl asked suggestively when they were in the back room.
"Just go inside the restroom and give me your shirt." Emily instructed. "This won't take long." She added as she pointed to the unisex bathroom that's reserved for employees.
Once the girl stepped inside the bathroom and gave her the stained shirt, Emily headed for the pantry and got one egg and a bowl. She cracked the egg expertly and transferred the yolk into the bowl, beating it before adding some warm water. She rubbed the mixture on the coffee stain with a sponge and then rinsed it, walking over to the hand dryer when she was sure that the stain is gone. This is what happens when you let your mind wander. Emily reprimanded herself while moving the shirt to and fro under the dryer. Stop thinking about Paige and her stupid soft, brown hair and her stupid warm, brown eyes and her stupid gorgeous smile. Just stop.
Satisfied that the shirt is dry, Emily knocked on the bathroom door a few minutes later and handed the shirt once the girl opened the door a crack. She took a step back and waited for the girl to exit the bathroom before heading back to the front of the café with the girl close behind.
"So about that coffee..." The girl trailed off, significantly in a better mood.
Emily headed straight to the counter and poured the girl a new cup of coffee before facing her again. "Here. It's on me for the trouble I caused you." She said, sliding the mug across the counter towards the girl.
"Where's yours?" The girl asked, looking at Emily flirtatiously.
Emily gave the girl a thin smile. "I'm on the clock. Sorry." She politely replied despite itching to tell the girl to leave her alone.
"Then what time does your shift end?" The girl persisted. "I'm sure I can come back after my meeting. It's just across the street."
"Excuse me." Emily started when she heard Reese's voice near her. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I'm sure the two of you are talking about something life-changing like which sorority party to attend first tonight. But my friend and I have been waiting for a while now for someone to take our orders." She continued while giving the girl and Emily an impatient look. "Can either one of you do your job?" She asked, pointedly staring at the girl standing next to Emily.
"What are you looking at me for? I don't work here." The girl said indignantly.
"Then I suggest you step away from that side of the counter before I force you to make me a double tall, nonfat, half-caf, extra hot latte with whipped cream, vanilla, hazelnut, almond, raspberry, and toffee nut syrup, extra foam, two packets of sweet 'n low, one packet of sugar, half pack of equal and caramel sauce." Reese snapped. "People come here to drink coffee not flirt with the employees and you're ruining the service by being inappropriate."
The girl threw Reese a glare before grabbing her cup of coffee and stepping outside the counter to head back to her friends. Left alone with Reese, Emily struggled for something to say, aware that Paige's 'friend' just saved her.
"You're welcome." Reese finally said, deciding to start the conversation. "Assuming you wanted to say thanks that is."
Emily nodded. "Thanks." She uttered sincerely. "You're not serious about that coffee order just now, are you?" She asked, giving the girl a wary look.
Reese shook her head. "Way too many ingredients for my taste buds. I just made that up to save your ass." She admitted. "See? I'm not so bad. You don't have to keep making faces and giving me dirty looks whenever I'm with Paige. We can be friends. Any friend of newbie is a friend of mine." Reese declared enthusiastically. "You don't mind sharing your friend, right? I mean, I'm fine sharing Paige with you after all."
"I don't make faces." Emily said indignantly. And I met Paige first before you. Don't tell me you're willing to share her with me.
Reese laughed. "What did you think of newbie's surprise last Monday? Did you like it? We had a hard time looking for that film. I spent the entire day driving Paige around the city just so she could find a DVD copy of that rare horror movie of yours and give you your favorite cupcakes." She added, enjoying Emily's discomfort.
"You helped her?" Emily asked hoarsely.
That meant Paige was with Reese the entire time the girl was calling her and Emily suddenly felt disappointed. Of course Reese telling her that she and Paige were together the entire day last Monday sounded worse than a non-existent movie date. But her disappointment stemmed from the realization that Reese just ruined the idea she had that Paige did those things without the other girl's knowledge.
Apparently the two girls did everything together now. It was like Paige wasn't keeping what she did for Emily a secret from Reese because there wasn't anything special about it. She just remembered her birthday as a friend and asked the girl she was seeing to help give her friend a gift. Which was disappointing because Emily hoped that Paige's gesture meant something. That Emily meant more to her. Even if the chances of that happening are virtually nil.
"Like I said, I don't mind sharing newbie with you." Reese repeated, distracting Emily from her thoughts. "You two are friends and she wanted to do something special for you so I decided to help her out." She continued, observing Emily's reaction closely. "So did you like it?"
Emily nodded. "Yeah. Paige really surprised me." She admitted, her eyes involuntarily drifting to the girl who was sitting on the loveseat studying them. "Everything about that night was unexpected." She added, her pulse starting to race again.
"Ah. But that's the best kind of surprise! The unexpected ones." Reese emphasized, knowing Emily wasn't thinking about the gifts at all. "The kind that creeps up on you until it's standing right in front of you and you don't know what to do about it."
Emily returned her attention to Reese. "Do you want brewed coffee or something?" She asked, trying to change the subject before she ends up blushing again.
"That and a bottle of apple juice for newbie." Reese answered, taking out her wallet to pay for her purchases. "You don't mind bringing these to our table, right? I need to go to the ladies' room." She explained as she gestured to the two beverages.
"Yeah. I'll bring it over right now." Emily said, placing the bottle of juice and the cup of coffee on a tray.
"Thanks. Tell newbie she's welcome by the way." Reese added before heading for the bathroom.
Emily took a deep breath to compose herself before starting to make her way over to Paige, forcing her hands not to tremble as she got closer to the girl. Watch your step. Stop staring at her. Emily berated herself. One accident is enough.
Paige immediately got up when she saw that Emily was headed towards her, meeting the girl halfway to take the bottle of juice from the tray while Emily grabbed the cup of coffee to place it on the table in front of the loveseat.
"Where's Reese?" Paige asked, looking past Emily. "I can't believe she asked you to bring these over." She muttered as she looked at the girl again.
"It's fine. I do work here after all." Emily reminded Paige, grinning. Grinning? Why are you grinning?! Don't grin. There's nothing to grin about. "Reese went to the bathroom." She added when she remembered that Paige asked her a question.
Paige nodded. "Reese and her tiny bladder." She commented, shaking her head wryly.
"She said to tell you that you're welcome by the way." Emily said, taking a step back when she became aware that they were standing close to each other again. "What for?"
"Oh that." Paige uttered sheepishly. "I saw what happened earlier outside. The coffee spill on that customer? When I saw you two behind the counter I thought she might be giving you a hard time so Reese decided to come over and help you out." She explained before taking a seat on the couch again.
"She really did." Emily admitted. "That girl went from angry to flirtatious and she asked me to have coffee with her so she'd forgive me for the accident. I said no, of course." You had to say that?! Paige doesn't care if you said no!
"Of course." Paige repeated, her gaze drifting to the locket on Emily's necklace. "The girl who asked you out. Is she a regular here?" She asked, looking at Emily again.
"Sort of. Why?" Emily said, giving Paige a curious look.
Paige shook her head. "No reason. Just checking to see if there's a chance that she's going to bother you again." She explained. "So are you going to be done soon?"
"Just a few more minutes." Emily replied when she looked behind her and saw the time on the wall clock. "Sorry." She added, looking at Paige apologetically.
"Don't be. Track practice finished earlier than expected. So if you think about it, it's actually Reese's fault that I'm here early." Paige revealed. "But don't tell her I said that! She's going to make sure that I pay for it. Yesterday she made me do these simulated starts. It's the one where I have to stand and go into position when she calls 'on your mark.' Then when she yells 'set' I have to raise my butt in the air and assume position. Supposed to be she yells 'go' after that so I can sprint fifteen yards but instead Reese kept yelling 'on your mark' and 'set' at me." She complained, frowning. "I did that twenty times even if I nailed the first five just because I tried calling her Patrice. I'm starting to think that girl is a serious power tripper." Paige whispered conspiratorially.
Emily knew she's supposed to be annoyed at Reese for giving Paige a hard time but she couldn't help but laugh when she imagined the girl raising her butt in the air again and again whenever Reese yelled 'set'. "My lips are sealed." She promised when she finally managed to catch her breath. "Are you sure you don't mind waiting though? You can go ahead. I can go to the meeting by myself."
"Em, it's fine. Reese said she'll keep me company." Paige replied.
"Things with Reese seem to be getting serious." Emily commented, forcing her voice to sound normal despite the jealously she was feeling. "You must really like her."
"Banshee?!" Paige exclaimed incredulously. "She's cool but we're just hanging out." She added when she remembered that she still hasn't told Emily the truth yet.
"Is that what you're calling me behind my back, newbie?" Reese asked as she plopped down beside Paige. "'Coz if it is I have issues with that. I don't wail and I'm not an omen of death."
"Could've fooled me." Paige shot back. "You were close to wailing at me yesterday for trying to call you Patrice I thought I was going to die of laughter."
Reese glared at the girl. "Say that name one more time and tomorrow you're gonna do spinners until you're blue in the face." She promised, grinning when she saw Paige's eyes widen in horror. "She told you about the simulated starts yesterday, didn't she?" She guessed, looking at Emily.
"Yeah. She did." Emily replied, suddenly feeling like she was intruding just by standing there in front of the two girls. "Um... I better head back to the counter since I'm still on the clock." She said as she gestured to the wall clock behind her. "Thanks again for what you did earlier." She added, addressing Reese.
"Don't mention it. And don't worry about Paige waiting for you. She's used to it." Reese added casually.
Oh my god. Paige thought, wishing the earth would swallow her whole right now. You are so dead. She mentally told Reese before facing Emily.
"Don't mind her." Paige told the girl nervously. "Reese has a weird sense of humor."
"Yeah. Don't mind me at all. I'm completely harmless. I'm just here to keep newbie company." Reese said, scooting closer to the girl and placing an arm around her shoulders, making Paige flush in embarrassment.
Emily gave the two girls a faint smile and turned her back to head towards the counter. She glanced at the clock and saw that she still had thirty minutes left in her shift. Thirty minutes that she'd have to spend watching Reese and Paige laugh and talk in that loveseat. This is officially the longest thirty minutes of my life.
"Hold the elevator please!" Paige groaned inwardly when she saw the heavyset man stop the elevator doors from closing and got in, forcing the other passengers to move closer to each other in the already crowded space. She and Emily were already running late for their meeting thanks to an accident on Market Street that caused heavy traffic since all vehicles had to be diverted to Chestnut Street.
Paige reluctantly took a small step back. "Sorry." She muttered when she bumped into Emily, smiling apologetically at the girl who was standing next to her. She tried to move her arms and when she couldn't, Paige decided to change positions and turned her body towards Emily so they were standing face-to-face instead.
"It's fine." Emily replied, smiling tightly.
Emily stepped closer to Paige to make room for the pregnant woman behind her and found herself staring at the girl's seemingly perfect lips. She didn't notice it until now. Probably because other than that one time that she and Paige danced in her backyard on prom night, the two of them never stood this close to each other. But apparently she and Paige were almost the same height. That meant their lips were almost on the same level. Why should that matter?
I want to kiss her.
Emily felt her cheeks flush, her pulse racing at the thought that crossed her mind just now. Her breath hitched when Paige moved her hand to make herself more comfortable, unknowingly grazing Emily's hand. She closed her eyes for a second, praying that Paige couldn't hear the pounding of her heart despite their closeness. She felt flustered. Being this close to Paige. She can't even meet the girl's eyes, scared that Paige would notice something was wrong. Emily took a deep breath to calm herself but instead her nose caught the faint smell of citrus and she bit her lip in frustration. Being this near to Paige was making her insides squirm. When the elevator stopped, Emily pushed her way out of the car, apologizing to people without looking at anyone in particular.
"Hey. Hold up! Where's the fire?!" Paige called out after the girl, struggling to catch up to Emily. "Hey." She repeated, grabbing Emily's hand.
Emily felt a jolt of electricity course through her when Paige slipped her hand in hers. For some reason, Paige holding her hand now made her feel tingly all over. When she finally turned around, she was pleased that Paige didn't let go of her hand.
"What's the rush?" Paige asked, studying Emily worriedly.
"Sorry. It just got stuffy in there and I needed some air." Emily lied, looking everywhere but at Paige.
"Yeah that elevator was pretty crowded." Paige agreed, making Emily feel relieved that the girl bought her excuse. "Are you okay? You look a little flushed." Paige commented, her eyebrows creasing in concern.
Emily nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." She answered, looking down at their hands.
Paige followed Emily's gaze and felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. "Oh. Sorry." She blurted out when she noticed that she was still holding Emily's hand. She couldn't explain why but holding the girl's hand felt natural to her that she didn't notice she was making Emily feel uncomfortable. "I just wanted to catch up to you." She explained before releasing the girl's hand reluctantly. "We got off on the seventeenth floor. We're supposed to meet our groupmates on the twentieth." She reminded the girl.
Emily missed the contact but kept her expression neutral. "Right. Sorry. I must've spaced out." She told Paige apologetically. "Should we ride the elevator again?"
Paige checked the time on her watch before shaking her head. "We won't make it if we wait for the elevator to stop on this floor again. Let's just take the stairs." She suggested.
"I'm so sorry Paige." Emily said, berating herself because now they're going to be even later all because she couldn't stop herself from getting flustered around the girl. You're in college. Stop acting like you're in elementary.
"It's fine. Come on." Paige said, gesturing for Emily to follow her.
They were headed towards the direction of the stairwell when they came across a guy wearing a white shirt with a 'Z' slashed in front underneath his open leather jacket and Emily was suddenly hit with an idea.
"Hey Paige." Emily started, risking a glance at the girl walking next to her.
"Yeah?" Paige replied, looking at Emily.
"Have you seen the film the Mark of Zorro?" Emily continued as she followed Paige inside the stairwell and they began making their way up the stairs.
"Mark of Zorro?" Paige repeated quizzically. "Don't you mean Mask of Zorro?"
Emily shook her head. "No. This one's a silent film. It's the first Zorro movie." She explained.
"Oh. Then no. I haven't. Why?" Paige asked, moving to her left so Emily could climb the stairs next to her.
"I saw a poster for it at the revival theater yesterday. I wanted to ask Spencer to see it with me but she's busy." Emily said as she kept her eyes trained on the steps, hoping Paige would take the hint.
"Do you want to watch it tonight?" Paige asked just as they reached another landing. 18th floor. Almost there. "I'm not doing anything after this. We can head back to campus, grab dinner in one of those residential dining cafés, and then catch the last full show."
"Really?" Emily uttered, barely able to keep the excitement out of her voice. Calm down. It's just dinner and a movie. Between friends.
"Yeah. I mean, I'm assuming that's the reason you brought it up. You want to see it." Paige added as they continued climbing their way up.
Emily nodded. "I do." She answered, leading the way up the last flight of stairs to the 20th floor.
"Well then let's see it." Paige said gamely. "But are you sure you're up for it? You still look a little flushed. You might be coming down with the sniffles." She observed.
Emily's steps faltered, reminded for a split second of who she was walking next to. "I'm fine." She answered hoarsely. "I'm not coming down with anything." Emily added, gesturing for Paige to go in first when they were finally standing in front of the door with the number 20 on it, biting her bottom lip in frustration.
Once Paige's back was turned to her, Emily sighed and mentally cursed herself. No. This isn't happening. I can't have a crush on Paige McCullers. The girl who made your life miserable in high school. You're not supposed to like her this way. Okay. That's it. I'm done having a crush on her. She told herself determinedly.
Paige turned around to see what's taking Emily so long, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she stopped in her tracks to wait for Emily to catch up to her so they can enter the conference room together.
Why? Emily thought weakly as she walked closer to Paige, the girl's gesture bringing an overwhelming feeling of helplessness to her. Why won't it go away when I know that Paige would never in a million years feel the same way about me? I'm Sniffles. That's how she'll always see me. Are you really expecting something to happen?
"I'm not saying it was a sellout. I'm just saying that they could've gone with a better ending." Paige argued as they walked back to Emily's college house later that night from the revival theatre.
"I think it was done well." Emily insisted stubbornly.
"The hero gets the girl? That's totally mainstream!" Paige exclaimed, looking at Emily incredulously.
"Well Zorro was always coming to Lolita's rescue. She would've noticed eventually." Emily explained, glancing at Paige before looking away.
In the light of the moon, the girl's skin looked radiant and Emily felt that familiar flutter in her stomach again. Paige looked so beautiful and Emily chose to keep her hands inside the pockets of her jeans to refrain from reaching out and tucking a loose strand of hair behind the girl's ear when Paige dipped her head forward to look at the ground.
"Yeah but that's not how it usually happens." Paige said, looking up again and gently tucking her hair behind her ear. "There are no superheroes in real life." She reminded the girl matter-of-factly; oblivious to the inner turmoil Emily was going through.
"Okay one, Zorro is hardly a superhero. He doesn't have superpowers so don't call him that." Emily reprimanded the girl teasingly. "And two, what I meant was when someone comes to your rescue." She clarified, her pulse racing and her cheeks growing warm. "When they're there for you all the time. I think eventually you're going to notice. Shift your perspective. See them in a different light." She said as she studied Paige out of the corner of her eye.
"Well that hasn't happened to me. I've never experienced that sort of thing so I can't really say that I'm all for that hero-gets-the-girl-in-the-end scenario." Paige admitted, shrugging.
"What scenario do you want to play out then?" Emily asked as they rounded a corner.
Paige furrowed her brows in concentration, mulling over her answer before replying. "The bad guy gets the girl and changes for her. I like that better. More romantic." She admitted. "Not that the bad guy is a devious mastermind or someone who's beyond redemption." Paige hurriedly added. "Just... a regular, not so perfect guy who's made some mistakes in the past, atones for it then gets the girl in the end." She explained earnestly.
"Well I like the superhero version." Emily insisted.
Of course she likes the superhero. She was with one for three years. "Just one of the things we'll never agree on then." Paige commented, trying to seem unaffected as they reached the front of Harrison.
"This is me." Emily said once they stopped walking. She turned around to face Paige, fully aware that they were standing on the same spot where she realized she likes the girl.
Paige shifted her attention from Emily to the building behind the girl and smiled. "If my dad didn't rent that apartment for me I would've chosen to live here." She admitted, tilting her head up and wondering which of the lighted windows above is Emily's room. "This place is amazing."
Emily bit her bottom lip, not knowing what to say. A part of her wanted Paige to live here too so she could see the girl everyday without needing an excuse. She could casually bump into Paige every morning and they could say goodnight to each other before they go to bed at night. But she could barely think straight just being around the girl. If they lived in the same building she'd probably be a blushing, stammering mess twenty-four seven. Luckily Paige didn't wait for her to say anything.
"I guess I better head home." Paige said, her gaze returning to Emily.
"Yeah." Emily uttered, at a loss as to what to do next.
They stood staring at each other, waiting for someone to say or do something before Paige finally spoke up again.
"Okaythenbye." Paige muttered as she waved her right hand at Emily awkwardly.
Emily acted before she lost her nerve. "Wait." She blurted out, grabbing Paige by the wrist when the girl took a small step back. She mustered the courage to kiss Paige on the cheek even if the gesture meant so much more to her now. Emily could swear her cheeks were beet red when she pulled back but since it was dark, Paige didn't seem to notice it. "Thanks for tonight."
"No problem." Paige managed to say despite the racing of her heart. "Watching movies with you is actually fun. Maybe we can do this on a weekend basis. When we can't go home to Rosewood or something."
"You mean, like, a day reserved only for us spending the entire day together?" Emily asked hopefully, pleased to spend more time alone with Paige.
"Unless you don't want to. I just thought it'd be nice to go back to that revival theatre. I didn't know old films could be so cool to watch." Paige admitted. "We could watch a movie every weekend then grab dinner after." She suggested.
Emily nodded. "I'd like that. I guess it's a date then. Between friends. I mean." She added hurriedly, praying Paige won't see how red her face has gotten. Is there a shade darker than beet red?
Paige forced her expression to remain neutral. "It's a date." She repeated, refusing to shy away from the term even if she knew that the day will probably mean more to her than it will to Emily.
"But who says we can't watch a movie when we go home to Rosewood? I can come home with you then we can watch there." Emily offered.
"Really?" Paige asked, surprised.
"Yeah. Just tell me if you plan on going home for the weekend and I can wait for you until your class ends in the afternoon. And you know that I pretty much go home every Friday." Emily added.
"Right. For Jai." Paige mumbled, smiling at Emily faintly. "Okay. I'll give you a heads up in case I plan on going home. But for now you better head inside." She said, gesturing in front of her. "It's getting cold out and you're not wearing a jacket."
"Okay. Goodnight." Emily said, still reluctant to leave Paige's company.
"Goodnight." Paige repeated.
Emily smiled at the girl before heading inside her college house. She and Paige are going to start spending even more time together thanks to that revival theatre. And unlike with Reese, Paige was the one who suggested the idea. It's a date. Emily's smile grew bigger when she remembered Paige's words. A girl can dream, right? Maybe it is a date.
"I really can't today, newbie." Reese repeated for the fifth time apologetically as she continued fixing her things inside her duffel bag.
"But why not?" Paige whined as she stood next to Reese, one hand inside the front pocket of her jeans as she adjusted the strap of her duffel bag on her shoulder.
"I told you. It's my anniversary. I have a surprise planned out for my girlfriend." Reese explained patiently.
"But you said it's not until tonight." Paige reminded the girl as she moved to let one of their teammates pass.
Reese zipped her bag and tossed it over her shoulder, carrying it behind her with her left hand. "It is. But I have to prepare for it." She pointed out, moving to exit the locker room with Paige close behind. "Just go there by yourself."
Paige bit her bottom lip anxiously. "I can't do that. I won't have a reason to be there. She still thinks we go there because we're seeing each other casually. But if I'm there alone she'd ask where you are and why I'm there..."
"Then just tell her that you're there because of her." Reese interjected, giving Paige an exasperated look.
Ever since the incident with the obnoxious girl that Emily accidentally spilled coffee on, Paige insisted that she and Reese hang out at the café everytime Emily has a shift. Reese knew it was because Paige was worried that the obnoxious girl would continue harassing Emily for a date so she agreed to it. But she's trying to salvage her relationship and tonight this is her chance. Everything has to be perfect.
"But won't I be obvious if I tell her that?" Paige asked uncertainly.
Reese laughed. "Newsflash, newbie. You're already obvious. Emily is just so dense and clueless." She said wryly.
Just like you. Reese added, shaking her head. As much as it tempted her to play cupid, she didn't want to be the person who tells two people that they have the hots for each other just so they can finally get together. She didn't want to be caught in the middle and become the person they confided in. The last thing she needed right now was to be a mediator and a messenger. She had enough problems to deal with. And she has this nagging feeling that there's more to the story between Emily and Paige that's why they have to figure things out for themselves.
"Reese, come on. Just a few minutes. Please?" Paige pleaded, grabbing Reese by the arm to stop the girl from walking. "Just stay for a few minutes then make up some excuse as to why you can't stay and then leave."
Reese shook her head apologetically. She was tempted. Honestly she'd rather hang out with Paige and tease the girl nonstop while watching Emily get jealous from afar. But she had to try to fix things with her girlfriend. "I'm really sorry newbie but you're on your own today." She said, placing one hand on Paige's shoulder comfortingly. "You can do this. Just think of it this way. Would you rather risk Emily having a faint idea as to how you really feel about her when you admit that you're there because of her? Or would you rather that the obnoxious girl harass her again?"
"I'll be back with your orders soon." Emily said to the two guys seated outside the café on a Wednesday afternoon before heading back inside.
Emily headed straight for the counter and busied herself with preparing the orders, looking forward to when her shift would finally end. She had a paper to write and several readings to do and she wanted to finish those so she could turn in early and do some laps in the Sheerr Pool before her class tomorrow morning. When she heard the front door open and close, Emily looked up and felt her lips curl into an eager smile.
Again with the smiling?! What is the matter with you? Emily reprimanded herself as she raised a hand to wave at Paige. She held her breath, expecting Reese to follow close behind. The two girls have hung out at the café practically every afternoon since the coffee spill incident, always occupying the loveseat in the corner of the room. Reese with her cup of brewed coffee, Paige with her bottle of apple juice. Always.
Emily continued preparing the orders while studying Paige out of the corner of her eye, watching the girl's progress across the room as Paige headed to the usual spot she shared with Reese. For four weeks now, Emily has spent the rest of her shift watching Paige and Reese banter and laugh in that corner. Seeing them together made her want to sink in a corner herself but it was so she could sulk and wallow in misery at the fact that she still likes Paige and that she can't seem to stop herself from liking the girl. When she was finally done preparing the food and beverages, Emily placed everything on a tray and made her way outside, smiling at Paige when the girl looked her way.
"Here you go." Emily said as she placed the cups of coffee and plates of sandwiches in front of the two guys. "Enjoy your stay in Café Prima." She added, giving the guys a warm smile before heading back inside.
As she pushed the door open, Emily realized that she was dreading having to step inside knowing her gaze would automatically drift to that corner loveseat again and she'd see Paige and Reese back to their usual antics. She steeled herself and forced her eyes to keep looking forward until she was back behind the counter. Only then did she dare to look towards the loveseat and she felt flustered when she saw Paige look up from the books scattered on the table in front of her and caught Emily staring. Panicked, she raised her hand and gave the girl a small wave, feeling like an idiot. How many times do you have to wave at her?! She lowered her hand when she noticed that there's still no sign of Reese.
Emily looked around the place. The café wasn't teeming with customers at the moment and no one seemed to need anything. She grabbed a bottle of apple juice from the display fridge, deciding to use it as an excuse to come over to Paige before stepping outside of the counter. She discreetly checked her reflection in one of the windows as she got closer to the girl, aware that her pulse was starting to race again.
"Hey." Emily said in greeting, handing the bottle of apple juice to the girl.
Paige took the bottle and smiled. "Thanks." She said, placing the cold beverage on the table with her other things.
"So. Um... I couldn't help but notice..." Emily trailed off, glancing at the unoccupied spot beside the girl.
Paige looked at the empty seat next to hers then back at Emily. "You're looking for Reese?" She asked, dreading having to lie to Emily again.
"Not that I miss her or anything." Emily said hurriedly. "It's just that you two have been hanging out here practically every afternoon but today she's not here. Is she sick?"
Paige shook her head. "Nope. We're just not meeting today. She has to take care of something." She answered vaguely. "I'm just passing the time. I'm actually meeting Kayla here around six so she could help me pick an outfit for that dance marathon on Saturday."
"Here? Why?" Emily asked, confused. "Isn't Girard already on the other side of the river? You said you plan on buying your clothes in one of the stores in the gayborhood area." She reminded the girl.
"I told her that but when she learned that I was going to hang out here she asked that we meet here instead." Paige explained. "She said something about wanting to visit you in your place of work."
"No I get that. What I don't get is why you had to stay here instead of just meeting with her from your apartment if Reese isn't here to keep you company." Emily clarified.
Paige took a deep breath. Just tell her the truth for once. "I'm actually here because I want to make sure that you're okay." She admitted.
Emily furrowed her brows in confusion before realization dawned on her and she had to remind herself not to grin. "Paige I assure you I can handle that girl if she tries to ask me out again. But she hasn't bothered me since Reese told her she was ruining the service by flirting with me so you don't have to keep coming here." She told Paige patiently.
"Oh." Paige muttered, feeling her cheeks flush in embarrassment. She was so worried about her feelings being obvious to the girl when she should've asked herself first if Emily even wanted her there. "Okay. I'll tell Kayla to just meet me back in our apartment building." She said, getting up and averting her eyes from the girl as she busied herself with returning her books inside her bag.
Emily mentally berated herself when she saw Paige struggle to hide her embarrassment. Do something. Emily quickly closed the distance between them and firmly placed her hand on Paige's arm. "Don't leave. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound like that. Of course I like seeing you here." Even if it meant seeing you with Reese all the time. "I just meant that you don't have to worry about me. You don't have to keep looking after me." She added softly.
"Em, I know I don't have to. But I want to." Paige said earnestly. "Are you okay with that?" She asked, looking at the girl standing next to her.
Emily swallowed hard and removed her hand on Paige's arm. "Yeah." She answered, taking a small step back before she did something stupid like kiss the girl on the lips for being so sweet.
"Okay. So I'm staying here until your shift ends." Paige stated, sitting back down and taking out her books again. "I don't need Reese to keep me company. I have homework." She added. "I told Kayla to come over once your shift's done so you could hang out with us for a few minutes before we have to leave."
"At least order something to eat." Emily suggested. "It's just four in the afternoon and you're going to have to wait for me for another hour."
"Only if you agree to split an oatmeal raisin cookie with me once your shift's over." Paige said, leaning forward to grab the bottle of apple juice Emily brought her and twisting the cap open.
"Yeah. Okay. I'll bring one over later." Emily promised. She looked up when she saw a couple enter the café. "I gotta go. Duty calls." She told Paige apologetically.
"Go ahead. I'm not going anywhere." Paige promised.
Emily nodded then turned her back to the girl before grinning. Now she was looking forward to finishing the rest of her shift for a different reason. Paige was alone and the girl was waiting for her so they could hang out. Suddenly, the thirty minutes she spent watching Reese and Paige before seemed insignificant. Working for another hour knowing Paige is waiting for her is the longest sixty minutes of her life.
"When I was a kid, my dad used to let me take a sip of his coffee every morning and he would always make fun of me when I end up getting a mustache because of the foam." Emily fondly recalled as she took a sip of the latte she made.
Once her shift was done, Emily made a quick trip back to her room in Harrison to get some of her books so she could start writing her paper and spend time with Paige while they waited for Kayla. Jai's sister was supposed to arrive around six but it's almost seven now and there's still no sign of the girl. Paige suggested that they transfer to one of the tables outside the café so Kayla won't have a hard time finding them and Emily agreed. So armed with a new bottle of apple juice, a plate of oatmeal raisin cookie and the latte Emily made for herself, the two girls occupied one of the corner tables outside the shop.
Paige stared at the coffee Emily was drinking and made a face. "I'm not fond of coffee." She admitted.
"So you're not fond but you do drink coffee occasionally." Emily clarified.
Paige shook her head. "I mean I'm not fond so I don't drink coffee. I don't need to." She answered. She had to battle with insomnia since she was eight. Caffeine is practically her arch nemesis. "I used to get milk mustaches though." Paige added as she took her eyes off Emily to turn the page of the book she was reading.
When Paige looked up again, she saw that Emily missed a spot when she wiped the cream off her mouth. "Oh. Hey. You got some cream left." She said, pointing to Emily's upper lip.
Paige chuckled when Emily tried to remove the cream but kept missing it. "I got it." She said before taking one of the tissues that came with their drinks and folding it. "Don't move." She ordered as she pulled her chair closer and brought the tissue to the girl's upper lip.
Emily swore Paige heard her heart beating wildly but she forced herself to remain still. When Paige's thumb brushed lightly against her lips, the tingly sensation that coursed from her lips to her toes was too much and she abruptly dropped the pen she was tightly gripping to take the napkin from Paige.
"I got it." Emily muttered, the feel of Paige's thumb lightly grazing her lips just seconds ago still lingering in her mind. "Thanks." She said, managing to give the girl a small smile despite the racing of her pulse.
Paige shrugged and returned to the book she was reading, hiding from the girl how affected she was when she grazed Emily's lips for a brief moment.
Emily continued wiping the cream off her mouth and when she was sure that she got all of it, she balled the napkin in her hand to throw later. She picked up her pen to continue writing while absentmindedly playing with the soiled object in her other hand.
"Give me that." Paige suddenly said.
"What?" Emily asked, looking at Paige in confusion.
"The trash. Give it." Paige ordered, extending her hand towards the girl.
"Why?" Emily uttered, her hand tightening on the soiled tissue, refusing to give it to the girl.
Paige wordlessly leaned forward and forced Emily to open her hand, grabbing the tissue and standing up to throw it in the nearest trashcan before sitting down again. She then opened her bag and took out something, leaning forward again to take the hand Emily kept the soiled napkin in. Paige poured a generous amount of hand sanitizer in the girl's hand and then poured some on hers before returning the bottle inside her bag and going back to reading her book like what she did was no big deal.
Emily studied the girl closely as she rubbed her hands together. Paige is probably the sweetest girl she's ever met. Maybe even sweeter than Jai. And that was one of the reasons why she was having a hard time trying to ward of her attraction towards the girl. She wanted to come clean to Paige. Tell her she's attracted. But she's scared that if Paige found out the girl will stay away or things could go back to the way they were back in high school. Only this time it's going to be worse because Paige would never let her hear the end of it. Emily Fields crushing on Paige McCullers. The girl would have a field day and make sure that everyone knew about it. Still...
"Paige?" Emily finally said as she fidgeted with her pen.
"Yeah?" Paige replied, looking up from the book she was reading to meet Emily's eyes.
"Have you ever had, like, a friend tell you that she likes you?" Emily continued hoarsely.
Paige bit her bottom lip thoughtfully before answering. "Not really. Mostly it's just random girls coming up to me. Giving me their numbers." She admitted sheepishly.
"Right." Emily muttered, reminded that Paige never had a girlfriend before. "Must feel nice. Girls throwing themselves at you." She commented offhandedly.
Paige shrugged. "It's okay. It used to bother me a lot. I don't like the attention and I felt like I had to call them or something. But I got used to it eventually. Why do you ask?" She inquired, giving Emily a curious look.
"No reason." Emily answered, losing her nerve. She looked down on the book she was reading earlier, pretending she was engrossed in whatever's written on its pages despite reading the same sentence over and over again.
"Did someone come up to you and told you that she likes you? Is it Spencer?" Paige asked suspiciously, refusing to let the matter drop.
Emily looked up in surprise. "What? No!" She exclaimed hurriedly.
"Then why are you asking me that?" Paige repeated, staring at Emily expectantly.
"I was just curious. How you'll handle it if you found out that a friend likes you that way. Will you distance yourself?" Emily asked anxiously. Might as well continue the conversation.
"I don't know. I don't think so." Paige replied, mulling over the question. "I mean, of course it's going to be weird at first. But if we're really good friends I think we can get past it eventually."
"But... you won't consider trying to be with her?" Emily continued.
"I normally don't see my friends that way. But then again, other than Jai the only real friend I have is Kayla. And I never saw either of them as something more. So I guess the answer is no." Paige finally said. "I don't like getting involved with a friend. It could be messy if it doesn't work out and our friendship may not survive it. I don't believe that both of you will get over each other completely. There will always be that something between the two of you. It's going to be awkward. And if the friendship does survive it will never be the same. If she's my friend I'd rather spare her from the pain. I don't want to hurt her because I won't be able to commit to her anyway." She admitted. "I can't get too involved."
Emily felt faint. I can't believe I like her. "So it's true. In high school. What the girls say? About you playing the field?" She asked hoarsely.
"They're not that many!" Paige said indignantly. "You make it sound like I'm a player. I'm not."
"But you've kissed a lot of girls." Emily pointed out.
"Why are you suddenly interested in my kissing statistics?" Paige asked quizzically.
"No reason. Just forget we had this conversation." Emily said, her voice almost pleading.
"Do you like a friend of yours or something?" Paige asked, starting to get nervous. She thought Emily wasn't ready to move on but apparently the girl found someone new. Did I miss my chance again?
"I thought I did. But I just realized that nothing's ever going to come out of it." Emily replied.
"Why?" Paige asked, relieved to hear the girl's answer.
"I forgot who she really is. Talking to you reminded me of that because of the whole commitment thing." Emily admitted.
Am I supposed to feel happy about that or offended? "Suit yourself. But for the record, I think you can make anyone commit to you." Paige said earnestly.
Kayla glanced at the time on her watch and mentally face-palmed herself as she increased her pace. She hasn't been to UPenn since she and Jai went with their father to attend the memorial service the Penn Dance held for her mother when she died ten years ago. The campus looked a lot different now especially at night and because of that, she got off on the wrong bus stop. She got off near the Pottruck Fitness Center on Walnut Street when she should've gotten off near Rosenthal Building on Spruce Street. Perfect. I'm running late and those two are probably gonna kill me.
When she told Paige that she was going to meet her at Café Prima, Kayla was hoping to spend time with the two girls before she had to help Paige buy her clothes for the dance marathon on Saturday. She wanted to make it up to Emily for bringing up Jai when they had dinner last month and she was hoping that would be tonight. She was thinking of inviting Emily to come with them when they looked for seventies outfits for Paige then hang out in one of the gayborhood clubs after. But because she's running late, she had to make it up to the girl some other time.
Kayla finally rounded a corner and reached Spruce Street, almost breaking into a run when she saw the two girls sitting outside the café but something about them made her slow down. Huh. She thought, stopping in her tracks. She didn't really pay much attention to it before since it was rare to see the two girls getting along up until recently. And mostly because Emily was always beside Jai. But now that her sister is gone and she saw the two girls together without Jai... they look... good together. She didn't know why. Maybe it was because of how close the two girls were sitting right now or how they seem to look like they're together even if they're not. But they look really good together. She felt weird. She knows Paige will probably never see her as anything but a younger sister but she still wanted to have a shot. And even if she knew Paige has had feelings for Emily for years, the girl told her last month that she wasn't planning on doing anything about it since it was obvious that Emily isn't over Jai. She should've felt comforted with that thought. But as her gaze drifted to Emily, she realized that the girl was the reason why seeing the two together felt weird.
Something must've happened. Something huge. Because something was different with Emily tonight. Kayla couldn't put her finger on it until she saw Paige say something that made Emily throw her head back in laughter. She watched Paige return to reading her book but instead of doing the same, Emily kept her gaze trained on the girl, stealing occasional glances when Paige wasn't looking.
Kayla resumed walking. That's why it felt weird seeing them now. Because it wasn't one-sided anymore. With a sickening feeling, she realized that Emily likes Paige and she didn't know how she should feel about that. She wanted to be happy for Paige. And to some degree, for Emily too. But the girl developing feelings for Paige meant she'd have to keep hiding hers because it was only a matter of time before the two got together.
"I'm so sorry!" Kayla blurted out once she was within hearing distance of the two girls. She forced herself to act and sound normal despite the realization she just had as she got closer to them until she was finally standing in front of the two girls. "I got off on the wrong street." She explained apologetically.
"It's fine." Emily said, giving Kayla a warm smile and offering the chair opposite hers for the girl to sit on.
Kayla pulled out the chair and positioned it so she could study the two girls closely. "What did I miss?" She asked, staring at them expectantly.
"Nothing much. We were just talking about friends becoming more than friends." Paige explained, starting to fix her things so she and Kayla can leave. "Emily here asked if I would try being more than friends with a friend."
"She said no." Emily added, starting to fix her things too.
"Why do you want to know, Em?" Kayla asked, trying to read the girl's expression. "You having feelings for a friend or something?"
"That's what I asked her too." Paige said, looking at Emily as well. "She said she did but now she's having second thoughts about it."
"Why?" Kayla uttered, her eyes never leaving Emily.
"She's not big into commitment." Emily replied.
Now that Kayla is sitting in front of them, Emily realized that having feelings for Paige and telling her about it is complicated for a lot of reasons. Kayla likes Paige. Kayla is Jai's sister. Paige is Jai's best friend. Both of them are considered as part of Kayla's family. She shouldn't be feeling this way about Paige at all.
"I decided not to do anything about it. It's just a crush." Emily added, trying to sound casual. "Paige said you insisted on meeting her here." She said in an effort to change the subject.
Kayla nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to invite you to join us tonight then maybe we can check out the gayborhood after. But since I'm late getting here maybe after the dance marathon on Saturday you guys can hang out with me in one of the clubs. Neither of you are going home to Rosewood." She pointed out.
"My dad's coming over to visit on Sunday morning." Paige reminded Kayla.
"We're not gonna get drunk." Kayla told the girl exasperatedly. "Come on. It's about time you guys checked out some of the establishments there. It's just for a few hours. Think of it as a way to celebrate after the dance marathon."
"Just make sure we're not gonna do more dancing and I'm in." Emily said, curious to check out the gayborhood area.
"Fine." Paige agreed reluctantly when she saw Kayla and Emily look at her. "We better get going." She said, getting up.
"I guess we'll just catch up on Saturday." Kayla told Emily as she stood up. She knew she just got there but it was her fault she was late so she didn't complain to Paige.
"And I'll see you tomorrow for our lecture class." Paige said, looking at Emily when the girl got up as well. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Emily repeated before waving goodbye to Kayla.
Emily watched the two girls walk towards the bus stop near Rosenthal Building, studying Paige as the girl placed an arm around Kayla's shoulders. Right about now Kayla is probably blushing. Her pulse racing just by being near Paige. For the first time she knew how Kayla felt. But unlike Jai's sister who was finding a way to tell Paige her feelings, she was determined to keep hers hidden.
4:45 a.m. I think I'm too early. Paige thought, looking away from her watch and starting to fidget on the edge of the couch she was occupying in the lobby of Harrison on Saturday morning. It's not that she was excited to start dancing for twelve hours. She just didn't want to make Emily wait for her. But because she's too early, Emily is probably up in her room right now, running around to finish getting ready. Paige sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before looking down to study her outfit for today's dance marathon. She and Emily decided to wear outfits from the seventies and after a few minutes of bickering with Kayla over the girl's insistence that she wear a dress, Paige finally got her way and bought a seventies white suit that included a white jacket with mock black shirt, a matching white waistcoat and a pair of white flared trousers, an outfit reminiscent of John Travolta's character in the movie Saturday Night Fever. She was getting nervous just waiting for Emily to come down from her room and she had to remind herself repeatedly to act normal once she sees the girl.
"Newbie?" Paige looked up from studying her white shoes and stood up when she saw Reese approach her.
"Oh my god you look hot!" Reese exclaimed in greeting as she walked over to the couch Paige was occupying seconds ago. "Ready to knock 'em over? And by that I mean step on everyone's foot with your killer dance moves."
"I'll try my best to keep that from happening." Paige promised, running a hand self-consciously through her hair. "You going for a run?" She asked, gesturing to Reese's running attire.
"Yeah. I'm hoping to accidentally almost run over another hot freshman who needs a lesson on crossing the street." Reese answered as she zipped her green running jacket.
"So that's your M.O.? But I thought that was our thing?" Paige asked, pretending to be offended. "Go ahead. Try looking. I'm pretty sure you won't find anyone else just like me. I'm one of a kind." She said smugly.
"I sure hope so. I don't think I can take it if there are two of you." Reese shot back as she gathered her hair into a ponytail. "I'm guessing you're waiting for Emily. As usual."
Paige nodded. "She said she's going to be down any minute." She revealed.
"Well you better make me proud. And I might've told our teammates that you joined this dance marathon. We're counting on you to win." Reese said, her expression dead serious.
"You're kidding. Right? Please say you're kidding." Paige implored. "I won't hear the end of it!" She exclaimed, making Reese laugh.
"You'll be fine. Just remember to have fun. Come here. Let me fix your collar." Reese said, gesturing for Paige to move closer to her.
Paige stepped forward and let Reese fix the collar of her jacket, her eyes trained on the bank of elevators as she waited for Emily to step out of it.
"Will you relax?" Reese said, letting out a small laugh. "Emily is gonna swoon when she sees you."
"You think so?" Paige asked, looking at Reese nervously.
Reese nodded. "Trust me. She won't know what hit her." She said confidently.
Paige grinned. "Thanks." She said sincerely. She started when she heard someone clear their throat a few steps away from them and felt her pulse race when she saw Emily standing in front of her.
"You're drooling." Reese muttered under her breath, nudging Paige lightly.
Emily pulled down the hem of the go-go costume she was wearing; feeling like her entrance was ruined by Reese's presence. On her way down, Emily could barely contain her excitement when she imagined what Paige's reaction would be when the girl sees her outfit. She kept checking her reflection in the mirrors that served as the walls of the elevator, hoping the short, glittery pink and yellow dress with bell sleeves and cut out plunging neck with collar and cut out back she was wearing would impress Paige. But her excitement was replaced with jealousy when she walked out of the elevator and saw Reese fixing Paige's jacket collar while the girl grinned at her. She felt like she was intruding again and she was annoyed at herself for getting jealous upon seeing Reese be that familiar with Paige.
"Sorry it took me a while to get down here. I couldn't find the other boot." Emily explained, pointing to the pair of white, knee-high leather boots she was wearing.
Paige shook her head. "It's fine. I haven't been waiting that long." She replied, thinking Emily is most definitely worth the wait as she let her eyes take in the girl's appearance.
"Are you sure about that, newbie?" Reese whispered teasingly, earning a glare from Paige. "I live on the sixteenth floor." She told Emily when she noticed that the girl was trying hard not to give her a dirty look. "In case you were wondering what I'm doing here at this hour." She added, fixing her ponytail. "I'm not stalking Paige nor did I spend the night at her place."
Emily felt her face flush. Reese knows. She's sure of it. But for some reason the girl wasn't saying anything to Paige. "We should probably get going." She said, addressing Paige. She wanted to get as far away as possible from the attractive junior team captain.
"Yeah. Okay." Paige replied, stepping towards Emily. "Thanks for fixing my collar." She told Reese.
Reese nodded. "Good luck today." She said to Paige before looking at Emily. "Take good care of newbie for me. She's one of my best runners and she has two left feet in case she hasn't told you." She revealed, touching Paige on the shoulder lightly before making her way outside.
Once Reese was gone, the two girls stood looking at each other until Paige moved another step closer to Emily. "Let's go." She said, touching Emily on the elbow to lead the girl towards the front door.
Emily moved her feet towards the direction Paige was leading her, unable to think clearly since her mind was still filled with the image of Paige in her white suit. She promised that she was going to try to stop herself from liking Paige but the girl was unintentionally making it hard for her.
When Paige pushed the door open and stepped back to let Emily go out first, the girl's hand ended up on the cut out back of her dress and Paige's fingers grazed her bare skin, making Emily's skin tingle at the sensation. She took a deep breath, trying to control the racing of her heart and hoped that the darkness would hide her flushed cheeks.
"You look beautiful by the way." Paige said softly, making Emily's heart race faster. Paige knew she shouldn't have said that out loud. Reese telling her she looked hot was a lot different from when she said Emily looked beautiful. But she couldn't help it.
"Thanks." Emily managed to say when she finally found her voice. "You're not so bad yourself. You clean up really nice." You clean up really nice?! That's the best you could do? Tell her she looks hot!
"Here. Wear this for now." Paige suddenly said, making Emily look at her. "It's cold out." She explained, handing closer to Emily the white jacket she was wearing a few seconds ago. "Just give it back to me once we get there."
Emily nodded and took the jacket Paige was offering, wearing it while trying to avert her eyes from Paige now that the girl was just in her white waistcoat and trousers. She pulled the jacket closer to her body, enjoying the warmth the piece of clothing provided from when Paige was wearing it. Emily felt her cheeks grow warmer when she became aware that Paige was looking at her while the girl tied her hair into a ponytail.
"What's wrong? You're not having second thoughts now, are you?" Paige asked, studying Emily's face closely.
Emily shook her head. "Nope." She answered, her mind going blank when Paige suddenly reached out to fix the collar of the white jacket she was wearing. The girl's cool fingers grazed the skin on her neck when Paige gently lifted her hair to pull it out from underneath the jacket, sending shivers down her spine.
"Sorry. You were saying?" Paige asked, casually returning her attention to Emily like fixing collars of jackets on beautiful girls was something she did on a regular basis.
"Uh... I..." Emily stammered, still drawing a blank. "We are going to enjoy this!" She finally exclaimed a little too enthusiastically when she couldn't find anything else to say.
Paige gave the girl a dubious look. "If you say so. But you better watch out for my feet." She warned Emily as they resumed walking towards the Platt Student Performing Arts House.
"I need to rest for a bit." Emily blurted out as she and Paige continued dancing the Jitterbug.
"We might get disqualified." Paige managed to say as she concentrated on watching her steps, scared she might end up stepping on Emily's feet.
"We won't. We're allowed to have two breaks. We're using the first now." Emily insisted.
"Need I remind you that it was your idea to join this dance marathon? What happened to we are going to enjoy this?" Paige asked wryly.
"I am enjoying myself. I just need to rest." Emily confessed, finally stopping and leading the way to the side of the room.
"Are you okay?" Paige asked, watching Emily worriedly.
"Yeah. I just need to put my feet up for a minute." Emily admitted as she looked around the room for an empty chair.
Paige spotted two chairs and hurriedly pulled them towards the girl. "Here, sit." She said, pointing to the chair she placed in front of the girl. "Boots off." She instructed as she placed the other chair in front of Emily.
"What are you doing?" Emily asked, her heart starting to hammer for a different reason.
"You said your feet hurt." Paige pointed out, taking a seat in front of the girl.
"No. I said I just need to put them up." Emily clarified.
"And I'm offering my lap for you to rest it on. Come on." Paige said, tapping her thighs.
"Okay." Emily said when she couldn't find another chair she could use. She took off her boots and timidly placed her legs on Paige's lap.
"Now how do you feel about massages?" Paige asked, studying Emily closely.
"Why?" Emily replied, getting more nervous by the minute.
"Are you ticklish?" Paige continued, placing her hands just below Emily's knees.
Emily felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. "No. Paige you don't have to do that." She said hurriedly.
"Come on. Your legs are sore. Let me help." Paige insisted.
"It's icky. Touching my feet." Emily argued.
"I've touched far worse stuff." Paige pointed out.
"So you admit touching my feet is bad." Emily said wryly.
"No. Don't be silly. It's not a big deal." Paige said, looking at Emily expectantly. "Okay. I won't massage your feet. Just your legs. Come on."
"Okay." Emily uttered, willing her heart to stop racing.
Paige concentrated on massaging Emily's left leg, starting from the girl's ankle and slowly making her way to the girl's toned calf, unknowingly making Emily flustered with her touch.
Emily felt her cheeks flush as she tried hard not to look at Paige. She shouldn't be enjoying it so much. It was just a massage. But Paige was making her pulse race and she couldn't keep her eyes off the girl anymore. She was startled when Paige met her gaze and saw the look of concern that crossed the other girl's features.
"What's wrong?" Emily asked, her voice hoarse.
"Nothing. It's just. Are you okay? Do you want to go home?" Paige asked worriedly.
Emily shook her head. "No. Why?" She asked despite knowing the answer to her question. The girl probably thought she was harboring some sort of serious illness because lately it seemed like she was always coming down with a fever whenever she's with Paige.
"You look flushed. We could just concede if you're not feeling well." Paige offered. "And I can tell Kayla we can't make it tonight."
"I'm fine. I'm not coming down with something." Emily said dismissively.
"Are you sure? Let me just check." Paige said, gently lowering Emily's feet on the floor and getting up.
"What are you doing?!" Emily exclaimed, panicking when Paige approached her. She was well aware that her cheeks were getting redder.
"I'm just going to check to see if you have a fever." Paige explained patiently.
"I don't." Emily insisted.
"How would you know? You have, like, warm hands." Paige pointed out. "Mine are cooler. Come on." She said, moving to place the back of her hand against Emily's forehead.
"Paige I'm fine." Emily protested, swatting the girl's hand away.
"Why won't you let me check?" Paige asked, starting to get frustrated. She's really worried about Emily getting sick again but the girl won't let her help.
Emily stood up abruptly. "See? I'm fine. Let's just get back to dancing, okay?" She pleaded, putting on her white leather boots.
"Okay." Paige repeated, giving Emily a puzzled look as she followed the girl back to the dance floor.
"Oh come on. You guys didn't even make it to the nineties?" Kayla asked, looking at Emily and Paige incredulously.
"Hey I barely made it to the eighties and Emily here has been flushed since the fifties." Paige said, jutting her thumb to the silent girl seated next to her. "It's a miracle we lasted that long."
"You okay, Em? You still seem a little flushed." Kayla observed, looking at the girl seated in front of her worriedly.
"I'm fine." Emily answered, smiling at Kayla faintly. "It's just a little hot in here." She lied as she fanned herself and let her gaze wander around the crowded bar.
Since the two girls decided not to finish the dance marathon, they had time to freshen up and change into casual clothes before meeting Kayla at Woody's, a club in the gayborhood. Paige didn't even bother to ask how Kayla got in since she knew that the girl had a fake ID. She and Emily, however, didn't need an ID to get in since it was one of those '18 to enter' nights but they brought their fake IDs with them just in case they decided to get an alcoholic drink.
"But this place is great. Right?" Kayla asked, looking at Emily and Paige eagerly.
"Why do I get the feeling that you've been here before?" Paige responded, giving Kayla a suspicious look.
"I haven't. Jennifer Smith however... she might've been here a couple of times." Kayla admitted as she proudly showed the two girls her fake ID.
"Are you kidding me?!" Paige exclaimed, trying to grab the ID from the girl but Kayla moved it out of her reach. "What have you been up to when I'm not around?!"
Kayla rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Paige I'm seventeen. I don't need a babysitter. I go here because it's a great place to meet girls especially on a weekend." She explained, making Paige's eyes widen in shock. "Oh come on you two. Don't be such buzz kills. Look around. This place is teeming with cute girls. Who knows? By the end of the night one of us might even get lucky." She added, studying Emily closely. Kayla stifled a laugh when she saw the girl try hard not to look at Paige to see her reaction and decided to take matters into her own hands. "Hey Paige."
"Yeah?" Paige asked warily, tearing her eyes away from the crowded dance floor to look at Kayla.
"Could you grab us some drinks?" Kayla said sweetly.
Paige rolled her eyes. "I was up dancing for nine hours. My feet hurt. Get it yourself." She shot back, annoyed.
Kayla bit back a grin and looked at Emily. "Care for something to drink?" She asked innocently.
"I am a little parched." Emily admitted.
Kayla returned her attention to Paige and brought her hand to her mouth to hide her grin when she saw Paige immediately stand up. It seemed like the only people who don't know that they have the hots for each other are Emily and Paige. Something had to be done.
"What do you guys want?" Paige asked despite her attention being focused on the girl still sitting next to her.
"Just a soda for me." Emily replied, moving to get her wallet but Paige stopped her.
"I got it." Paige said hurriedly.
"Can I get a beer?" Kayla asked coyly.
"Yeah. When one of us orders one." Paige replied sarcastically. "I haven't forgotten that stint you pulled on me in California last year."
"Soda then." Kayla said, grinning at Paige sheepishly.
Kayla watched as Paige slowly made her way across the room to get to the bar until the crowd hid the girl from her view. That part taken care of, she turned her attention to Emily and sure enough, the girl's eyes were practically falling off their sockets as she tried to see where Paige went.
"Relax. I doubt she's gonna meet anyone between here and the bar." Kayla told the girl reassuringly.
"I don't care if she meets anyone." Emily said unconvincingly.
Kayla laughed. "Em, wouldn't it be easier if you just told her how you feel?" She asked, giving Emily a knowing look.
"What are you talking about? I don't feel anything for her." Emily lied, feeling her cheeks burn. Kayla was the last person she wanted to find out about her crush on Paige for a lot of reasons.
"Of course you don't. I also haven't been crushing on Paige since I hit puberty." Kayla shot back wryly. "You do know she likes you too, right?"
Emily shook her head. "I doubt it. We fought so much in high school she'd never see me the same way." She said, finally admitting the truth to the girl. She needed someone to help her figure things out.
"Em, I could barely ask her to get me a drink and I've known her for years. But when you said you were thirsty she got up in such a hurry I think she left her ass on that chair." Kayla pointed out, nodding her head towards the chair Paige was occupying earlier.
Emily felt her pulse race. Could Kayla be right? Could Paige like me too? They have known each other for years. Maybe Paige said something to her.
"Just tell her." Kayla insisted.
"I really don't know how." Emily admitted nervously. "I mean, it's not like I can just come right out and say it."
"Why not?" Kayla asked, looking at Emily quizzically.
"How exactly am I gonna do that?" Emily uttered helplessly. "'Hey Paige, how's it going? Good? Oh by the way, lately I've been fighting this strong urge to kiss you whenever we're together. How about you?'"
"Yeah." Kayla replied, smiling at Emily encouragingly.
"I'm not gonna say that!" Emily protested, the mere thought of saying those words to Paige making her palms sweat and her pulse race.
"Come on. You know how dense that girl is. She won't know how you feel unless you tell her." Kayla pointed out. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Emily stared at Kayla disbelievingly. "Oh I don't know. She laughs in my face and starts calling me Sniffles again?" She asked wryly.
"Or she could lean forward and actually kiss you like you've been wanting her to." Kayla shot back. "Look..."
"Paige!" Emily exclaimed nervously when she saw the girl return behind Kayla, hinting for Jai's sister to stop talking.
Paige returned to her seat beside Emily and placed three glasses of soda on the table. "They have those chips you like so much so I ordered one." She said to Emily. "But I couldn't carry it so the bartender offered to bring it over. She's right behind me."
"Thanks." Emily said, catching the pointed look Kayla gave her. She told Paige about those chips in passing last year. But apparently the girl remembered. Maybe Kayla had a point.
"Here she comes." Paige said as she waved over an attractive girl who looked like she was in college just like them.
"Here you go." The girl said, depositing two baskets of chips and several dips in front of them.
"Um, there must be some kind of mistake. I didn't order the other basket." Paige said, looking up at the girl in confusion.
"I know." The girl replied, smiling before sliding a table napkin towards Paige. "It's on me. Maybe you can find me later to pay me back."
Paige returned the girl's smile. "Maybe I just might do that. Thanks." She said as she took the table napkin with the girl's number and followed the girl's progress across the room.
Or not. Emily thought, staring hard at Kayla. Obviously the girl was way off her radar. "You know what? I feel like getting a drink with an actual alcohol in it." She said, standing up.
"What do you want? There are a lot of people at the bar. I'll get it for you." Paige offered, refusing to move to let Emily through.
"No thanks. I'll go to the bar myself." Emily insisted.
"But I can get it faster. I know the bartender." Paige pointed out.
"You don't have to remind me." Emily said curtly. "Just let me through." She pleaded, softening her tone when she saw Paige's surprise at her sudden outburst.
Paige gave Emily a confused look but let the girl pass. "Her name's Casey." She said, wanting to help Emily order her drink quicker.
"You're on a first name basis already? That was fast." Emily commented, annoyed.
Paige held up the napkin the girl gave her. "She wrote it down. I didn't know her name before." She explained.
"What do you want?" Emily asked Kayla, ignoring Paige's explanation.
"Hey she can't drink!" Paige reminded Emily.
"Unless one of us drinks and believe me I want to get that drink." Emily said tersely.
Kayla grinned. "Just whatever you're having." She told Emily as she handed the girl her fake ID.
Paige frowned when Emily nodded and left the table without looking at her. "What the hell is her problem?" She asked out loud as she followed the girl with her eyes. "I was gone for a few minutes and when I came back she's in a foul mood. What did you do this time?" She asked Kayla accusingly.
"Me?! God you're so dense." Kayla said resignedly. "Are you gonna call that girl?" She asked, nodding towards the table napkin Paige kept folding in her hand.
"Maybe." Paige said before using the table napkin to wipe the water droplets on the table from her glass of soda. "She's not really my type. I just felt I had to accept her number after she gave me that extra basket of chips." She admitted, gesturing to one of the baskets on the middle of the table before balling the table napkin, looking up to see where Emily went.
"I'm not surprised." Kayla muttered under her breath.
"What's that?" Paige asked, giving Kayla a confused look.
"Paige, we both know your type is sitting right beside you and you're not doing anything about it." Kayla explained. "It's been a month. Are you seriously still not going to tell her how you feel?"
"Yeah. And this is the last time you are bringing it up. I'm serious." Paige said before looking away.
Kayla frowned. "But..."
"Kayla." Paige said, giving the girl a stern look. "Stay out of it."
Kayla woke up to the insistent knocking on her front door on a Sunday morning, her head pounding. She didn't have that much to drink but the smoke from the cigarettes at the bar gave her a headache. She reluctantly got up and checked the time on her alarm clock, surprised that it was just eight in the morning. Whoever was at the front door better have a cup of coffee with them.
"Em?" Kayla uttered, giving the girl a confused look when she saw Emily standing outside her door once she opened it. "Please say that's for me." She added, looking at the cup of coffee Emily was holding in her hand.
Emily nodded and handed it to Kayla. She glanced behind her towards Paige's closed apartment door, hoping that the girl won't come out suddenly and ask what she's doing here this early.
"Can we talk?" Emily asked anxiously when she was facing Kayla again.
Kayla stepped aside to let the girl in, closing the door behind her while taking a sip of the freshly brewed coffee. "What's up?" She asked as she led the way to her living room. She took a seat on the couch and gestured for Emily to do the same.
"Nothing much. I just wanted to check up on you. When we left the bar last night you were complaining of a headache." Emily reminded the girl as she took a seat next to her. "Sorry if I woke you up."
Kayla shook her head. "It's fine. I'm not doing anything today so I have the whole day to sleep. As for the headache, my head still hurts but it's nothing an Advil won't cure." She told Emily reassuringly. "Now that we've dealt with the pleasantries tell me the real reason you came over."
Emily fidgeted with the hem of her pink running jacket, debating whether or not to tell Kayla what's bothering her. Last night the three of them left the bar past midnight but Emily couldn't sleep when she got back to her room. Good thing Spencer went home to Rosewood for the weekend or she'd have to lie to her friend as to what's keeping her up. She didn't want anyone to know about her crush on Paige. The only reason she was even sitting here with Kayla right now is because she started to grow restless.
Earlier today, when the first rays of the sun hit the window of the room she shared with Spencer, Emily decided to run around the campus to try to clear her mind of all thoughts of Paige. But the opposite thing happened instead. She began growing restless with each step she took, her mind going back to what Kayla said last night. About Paige liking her too, until finally she decided to pay Kayla a visit hoping Paige won't see her. She had to know. She wanted to continue the conversation she was having with the girl last night before Paige came back from the bar.
"What about you?" Emily finally blurted out.
Kayla stared at Emily in confusion. "What about me?" She asked, her eyebrows creasing.
"You like her too. Aren't you going to tell her how you feel?" Emily asked anxiously.
Kayla placed the cup of coffee on the table beside her before answering the girl's question. "I don't just like Paige. I love her, Em." She clarified. "That's why when I realized you like her I didn't know how I felt. But I let a few days pass and I realized that it's not news to me. I've known all this time that I'm not the girl she likes. And as much as I would like to admit to her my feelings, I'd rather be her friend because that's what she needs me to be."
Emily nodded nervously. "Okay. So you're saying I have no competition when it comes to you. But what about Reese? And Dominique?"
"Domi-who?" Kayla asked, confused. "That's the second time I've heard you say that name. I don't know any Dominique."
"She's the girl Paige liked in high school." Emily revealed. "I don't know if she still likes her now since she's seeing Reese and I kind of forgot about her until recently but..."
"Well her name doesn't ring any bells and I've known Paige for years." Kayla interjected, scratching her head in confusion. "Did she tell you what Dominique looks like?"
Emily bit her bottom lip, trying to remember Paige's answer. "Um, she said Dominique is gorgeous. She has brown eyes, long eyelashes, and black hair that flows like silk. And a perfect smile." She added reluctantly.
Kayla started laughing and grabbed her hand mirror that was lying on the coffee table. "Here." She said when she finally stopped laughing, handing the object to Emily.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Emily asked as she took the mirror from Kayla.
"Okay. I want you to describe Dominique to me again but this time look in the mirror while you're doing it." Kayla instructed.
Emily gave Kayla a puzzled look but decided to do as she was told. "Um, gorgeous, brown eyes, long eyelashes, black hair that flows like silk and a perfect smile." She repeated, looking at Kayla once she was done.
"You still don't get it? Em, there is no Dominique. You're Dominique." Kayla pointed out. "Did she tell you Dominique goes to your school?"
Emily shook her head. "No. She said she doesn't go there. Why would she lie?" She asked, confused.
"Well if she told you that Dominique goes to your school you won't stop trying to find this girl. It's easier if she told you Dominique goes to a different school." Kayla pointed out. "What else did she say about this girl?"
"Paige said she can't tell this girl her feelings because it's complicated but they've known each other for years." Emily continued, her heart starting to hammer. Could it be? Could Paige have liked me all this time?
"See? All the clues point to you. Just tell her." Kayla insisted as she took the mirror back and returned it on the coffee table. She knew Paige told her to stay out of it but the girl is going to thank her later for interfering.
Emily glanced at the front door then back at Kayla. "You mean now?" She asked, her palms starting to sweat.
"You're here. Might as well get it over with." Kayla pointed out.
"Get it over with? You make it sound so easy. It's not. It's really complicated." Emily admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before slowly getting up. "She might be sleeping." She suddenly said, trying to worm her way out of talking to Paige.
"She's awake. Trust me." Kayla insisted. "I want to be the first to know what happens after!" She called out to Emily before getting up as well.
Kayla grabbed the cup of coffee Emily brought her earlier, taking a sip before heading for the front door to lock it behind the girl when she saw Emily still standing just outside of it.
"What's wrong? Are you chickening out again?" Kayla asked, opening the door wider. She stopped short when she saw Nick McCullers standing outside Paige's front door, waiting for his daughter to let him in.
"Now's not really a good time." Emily muttered, just loud enough for Kayla to hear. She didn't want to admit it to the girl but she was relieved that she had an excuse not to talk to Paige right now. "I'll just go back later." She added, about to try to slip away unnoticed when Paige's apartment door swung open and she stopped in her tracks like a deer caught in headlights.
"Dad. You're early." Paige said in greeting before stepping forward to kiss her father on the cheek. She took a step back and felt her eyes widen in surprise when she saw Emily and Kayla standing just outside of the girl's front door looking at her. "Uh, hey guys." She said, making her father turn around to face them.
"Good morning, Mr. McCullers." Emily said politely in greeting. She tried to remind herself that she's with two other people but her eyes still drifted to Paige and she let herself take in the girl's appearance.
Kayla was right. Paige had been up all this time since the girl was still in her running attire. Fresh from a run. And of course her cheeks were flushed and her skin looked radiant. It was like Paige knew you like seeing her this way.
"Good morning." Nick McCullers' deep voice reminded Emily that she wasn't alone with Paige.
"Uh dad, this is Emily Fields." Paige said, making the introductions when she remembered that the girl hasn't met her father before. "And of course, you know Kayla." She added, giving Jai's sister a suspicious look. Last night she made it clear that she wanted Kayla to mind her own business when it came to Emily. But from the guilty look Kayla was giving her now, the girl just did exactly the opposite. Why else would Emily be standing in front of Kayla's door this early?
"So you're Jasmine's girlfriend." Nick said in recognition, eyeing the girl closely. "Paige forgot to mention that you're attending UPenn as well. Do you live here?"
Emily shook her head. "No. I live on campus. Harrison College House." She replied politely. Paige's dad had an air of authority around him and she felt like the man was sizing her up. "I was just visiting Kayla." She explained, looking at the girl standing next to her.
Nick gave Kayla a smile when the girl waved at him before returning his attention to Emily. "It's nice of you to keep in touch with the Hayes after what happened. It means a lot to them." He explained before glancing at Jai's sister. "They consider you as family. Logan always speaks fondly of you. He said you're like a daughter to him." He commented, unaware of the effect his words had on Emily.
"Dad why don't you come in? I'm sure you're tired, driving all the way here. You can rest while I freshen up then we can go grab breakfast." Paige said hurriedly, opening the door wider and pulling her father's arm to get him inside. She gave Emily an apologetic look and Kayla an accusing one before closing the door behind her.
"Em, it's not a big deal." Kayla promised. "We won't care if you want to be with Paige."
"That's the thing. I don't know what I want." Emily admitted, staring at Kayla helplessly. "I can't... I gotta go." She said, hurriedly making her way to the bank of elevators. You want to find a reason to stop liking the girl? Nick McCullers just reminded you of the biggest one.
"Ah the Halloween season is almost upon us again. My least favorite holiday." Paige declared when she saw the Jack-o'-lanterns and various Halloween decorations the second she and Emily walked out of their MGMT100 class on Thursday afternoon.
"What? Why? I love Halloween. It's right up there next to Christmas and Valentine's Day." Emily admitted, turning to head towards Café Prima for her shift with Paige in tow.
"I just don't like scary stuff." Paige explained, shrugging nonchalantly.
"What are you talking about? You said you love horror films!" Emily reminded the girl. She glanced at Paige and squinted her eyes suspiciously. "You hate horror films don't you?" She guessed. "Paige?"
"I'm sorry." Paige finally blurted out, caving in. "You think you've seen scared because you saw Jai scared? That was nothing. I freak out to the point of passing out. That's how scared I get watching horror movies."
"Then how come you didn't flinch when we watched the Evil Dead Trilogy at the drive-in theatre?" Emily pointed out, puzzled.
"Because I watched those films several times before I took you there." Paige confessed.
"Why?" Emily asked as they crossed a street.
Paige looked at Emily wryly. "I think it would be awkward if I just grabbed on to you and never let go, don't you think? Especially when we still weren't getting along at that time. I watched the films beforehand so I don't embarrass myself." She explained.
"Are you really that scared?" Emily asked, a plan starting to form in her head.
It's been four days since that awkward meeting they had outside Paige's apartment and Emily still hasn't found a way to talk to Paige. She didn't know if it's even a good idea now. She's still attracted to the girl but she didn't know what she wanted and meeting Nick McCullers made her realize that. Still. She wanted to find out if there was any truth to the things Kayla said to her.
"Yeah. Just ask Kayla. I have a vise-like grip and a kung-fu grip that cut off her circulation once. It's not funny!" Paige exclaimed when she heard Emily laugh. "Kayla was traumatized for a week. She thought I was trying to kill her. I'm serious!" She insisted when Emily continued laughing.
"Do you have plans tonight?" Emily asked when she managed to catch her breath.
"Depends. Why?" Paige asked suspiciously. She didn't like the way Emily's eyes were twinkling.
"I think it's time you showed me just how scared you can get. Watch Repulsion with me." Emily challenged.
Paige's eyes widened. "What? No! Em, I don't want to hurt you. If you want to watch a movie tonight can we just watch, like, Scary Movie one through five?" She suggested hesitantly.
"You want to watch spoofs? That's boring." Emily commented as they rounded a corner.
"Well better be boring than see you traumatized." Paige shot back wryly.
"Paige you won't drive me away. I promise. I want you to watch with me the film you gave me for my birthday." Emily admitted. "Besides. It's the perfect way to welcome Halloween tomorrow."
Halloween's tomorrow. That meant today was supposed to be Emily and Jai's anniversary. Paige studied the girl walking next to her, her eyes drifting to the locket Emily was absentmindedly playing with. That's the reason why the girl wanted to hang out with her tonight. She didn't want to be alone just like last year. Paige sighed. "Okay." She finally said reluctantly.
"Really?" Emily asked, trying to control her grin.
"Yeah. But we better sit a few spaces apart." Paige reminded the girl. "I'd rather the throw pillows experience my grips than you."
"If I promise to cover your eyes on the scary parts can we sit near each other?" Emily asked as they entered the café. Wow. Look who's using lame moves now just to be near the girl she likes. She reprimanded herself, but this was her chance to talk to Paige.
"I don't know." Paige said, looking at Emily worriedly. "Can we keep the lights on?"
Emily laughed. "Yeah." She answered. She stood with Paige near the loveseat the girl always occupied, waiting for Paige's final answer.
"Okay. You can cover my eyes." Paige said gamely, making Emily grin. "So I guess I'll just stay here until your shift ends so we can go back to my place together."
"Sounds like a plan." Emily managed to say when she got over her excitement. "I'm going to go work now." She said, pointing to the counter and starting to make her way towards it.
Tonight she and Paige are going to be alone at the girl's place for the first time and the thought of broaching the subject of her attraction to the girl made her feel nervous. But she needed to find a way to make sense of things. Maybe once everything is out in the open they would end up laughing about it because she'd realize that it's not a big deal after all. That she thought she was attracted to the girl because of Paige's sweetness but really she's not. She needed that scenario to be true. Because if it's not... if she's genuinely attracted to Paige... then she didn't know what she wanted to happen next.
Paige grinned when she felt Emily cover her eyes from behind again, enjoying the feel of the girl's hands against her skin more than the movie. If watching horror films meant she had to sit on the cold, hard floor for hours while Emily sat on the couch behind her, Paige would gladly watch horror movies all day. Emily's hands felt warm against her cold cheeks and for someone who was watching a horror film, her reaction when the scary parts come on the screen wasn't normal. Whoever saw a person grinning when a killer comes into view?!
But Paige has been enjoying sitting on the floor with her knees drawn to her chest, wishing the entire film was scary just so Emily will never have to take her hands off her eyes.
For her part, Emily was enjoying sitting cross-legged on Paige's couch and covering the eyes of the girl seated in front of her when the scary parts come on. She liked moving her hands across Paige's cold cheeks and it was all she could do not to lean forward and smell the girl's hair, maybe even steal a kiss on one of the girl's soft cheeks for no reason. She wished the entire movie was made up of scary scenes so she'd have an excuse to keep her hands over Paige's eyes. When another scary scene was over, Emily shifted from her position to adjust the blanket on her lap that Paige lent her earlier before leaning forward to cover the girl's eyes again.
"Ow!" Paige suddenly exclaimed, her hand flying to her right eye.
"What?" Emily asked worriedly as she moved to kneel on the floor in front of the girl.
"There's something in my eye!" Paige complained, trying to rub it with her right hand.
"Let me help." Emily said, touching Paige's hand. "Don't scratch it."
"Ow!" Paige exclaimed again, keeping both eyes closed this time.
"Come on." Emily coaxed, placing her hands against Paige's cheeks. "You're making it worse."
"You're making it worse!" Paige argued.
"Stay still." Emily instructed. "Now open your eyes. Paige, come on. Don't be so stubborn." She pleaded, worried.
"Okay, okay. I'm opening them now." Paige said before slowly opening her eyes.
Emily blew softly into the girl's right eye, trying to see what got into it until she moved her thumb and forefinger to remove the black speck near the girl's eye. "Eyelash." She muttered, throwing it away. She was suddenly aware that her left hand was still cradling Paige's right cheek and she found herself staring into the girl's eyes.
"What?" Paige whispered, her pulse starting to race when the girl began to caress her cheek. Emily was kneeling so close to her, she knew that if she leaned forward she could capture the girl's lips on hers.
"Nothing." Emily answered, pulling away. "I just... I didn't know you have brown eyes." She lied, trying to control the racing of her heart.
"Is that so odd?" Paige asked, confused.
Emily shook her head. "No. Not at all. I have brown eyes too." She admitted.
"Really? I haven't noticed." Paige lied. "Come closer." She said, holding Emily's left arm to gently pull the girl towards her.
"I'd rather not. I'm fine right here." Emily insisted, refusing to be so close to the girl again.
"But I can't see the color of your eyes from there. Come here." Paige coaxed, moving her hand from the girl's arm to her hand and pulling the girl firmly that Emily lost her balance, finding herself almost lying on top of Paige. "You do have brown eyes." She uttered, staring right into Emily's eyes.
"Paige." Emily whispered, her eyes traveling to the girl's lips as she leaned in a little closer.
"Yeah?" Paige said hoarsely, her other hand almost reaching out to brush Emily's hair away from the girl's eyes. She leaned in closer, her eyes almost drifting close when Emily suddenly pulled away again.
"It's hot. Right? It's not just me? It's hot in here?" Emily asked, disentangling herself from the girl. She was furious at herself for chickening out at the last second but she remembered that the whole point of the night was to know how Paige feels.
Paige studied Emily's flushed cheeks. "Um, must be the thermostat. I'll go check." She offered, getting up.
Now you made things weird. Paige reprimanded herself as she headed for the thermostat near the kitchen and lowered the temperature. Trying to kiss Emily on her and Jai's anniversary. That's really low, Paige. She thought as she walked back to Emily. She didn't know if she should go back to sitting on the floor or sit next to Emily on the couch but she finally chose to do the latter, making sure that there was some space between them.
"Can I ask you something?" Emily finally said, breaking the awkward silence in the room.
Paige nodded. "Yeah." She replied, turning to face Emily.
"It's about Dominique." Emily continued.
Paige sighed. "Em. Still?" She asked exasperatedly. She thought Emily had forgotten about that name. This is why she told Kayla to mind her own business but apparently the girl won't listen to her.
"No it's just that... you're seeing Reese but not exclusively since you still accept other girls' numbers. I just want to know if you still like Dominique." Emily explained.
Paige studied Emily before speaking, trying to choose her words. "To be honest, I don't know." She admitted. "She'll always be special to me but I like someone else entirely now."
"Oh." Emily uttered. Good thing she didn't kiss Paige or she would've made a fool of herself. "Do you mind if I ask why?"
"Why I like someone else?" Paige asked, giving Emily a confused look. "I guess I grew up. Realized there's no point pining over someone who never felt the same way about me." She explained.
"So she's too late?" Emily asked hoarsely. "If she tells you she likes you now, is she too late?"
"Yeah. She is. I don't want to be with her anymore." Paige said, looking away. "So if you don't mind I don't want to hear her name again."
Emily nodded, biting her bottom lip when she felt her throat constrict. "Okay. Let's just go back to watching the film." She said before handing Paige a throw pillow. "Cover your eyes. The next scene's scary."
"So what did you think of the film?" Emily asked as the credits rolled, turning her head to the left to look at the girl seated next to her. "Paige?" She whispered when she saw that the girl was resting her head on the arm of the couch with her eyes closed.
She fell asleep. Emily stood up and hurriedly pressed the mute button on the remote control before stopping the film. She returned the DVD in its case and turned off the TV before looking around for a pen and paper to write a note telling Paige that she went home. She dimmed the lights, bathing the room in a soft yellow glow and she grabbed the blanket she was using earlier to cover Paige's sleeping form. When she was done, Emily kneeled in front of the girl and stared at Paige.
Right now, without worrying that Paige might catch her looking, without worrying that anyone might catch her looking, she can stare at Paige all she wanted and Emily couldn't decide whether the girl looked like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty.
If I kiss you. And you woke up. Will you kiss me back or push me away? Emily asked as she stared at Paige's perfect red lips.
"Oh my god that is the worst way to die!"
"How would you know? You've never kissed me before!"
"And I never will. Because I have a girlfriend."
"Wrong answer."
"What? It's the right answer!"
"No it isn't! Because your answer means that if you didn't have a girlfriend you'd consider kissing me. That's what your answer meant!"
"Eew no. I didn't even consider that when I said I have a girlfriend that's why I would never kiss you. But if you want me to say it bluntly then I will."
Emily bit her bottom lip, leaning forward until her lips were almost touching Paige's.
"Don't forget to use lip gloss. Makes your lips kissable."
"Hey I don't need to use that. I have kissable lips."
Were you lying? Or were you telling the truth all along? Emily thought, her breath almost mingling with Paige's.
"She'll always be special to me but I like someone else entirely now."
"So she's too late?"
"Yeah. She is. I don't want to be with her anymore."
Emily pulled away in frustration and instead brushed a strand of hair away from Paige's forehead tenderly, her throat constricting again. She wasn't imagining it. She's genuinely attracted to the girl and it won't go away.
Paige… what am I going to do?