Locum Tenens

by snowballs

Locum Tenens – place holder, substitute. Paige & Emily have been connected through only one girl. Jai has been Emily's girlfriend for almost 3 years & Paige's best friend for 7. When she died, the dynamic between the two drastically shifted. As Emily slowly comes to grips with her loss, she enters into a tentative relationship with Paige. But has Emily truly let go? Paily AU.

16. sic infit : chapter vi

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.

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Longest chapter yet! So I'm sorry for the late post again.

Thanks for all the reviews/comments here and the fan-made video, gif sets, and photo on Tumblr. You're all so awesome and the enthusiasm about this story has been overwhelming.

EyeOpener16, iowahawx, PamyNovaes, Nae10, TheShawmeister and Harukaskye... Thanks for the PM.

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PART TWO: "Sic Infit"

~ So it begins. ~

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CHAPTER SIX

"Kayla, come on. I'm sorry." Paige repeated as she knocked on the girl's apartment door for the tenth time on a Saturday morning. "I know you're awake and you're probably standing on the other side of this door scowling. That's bad. You're going to get wrinkles all over your pretty face at a young age. So come on. Open the door and stop scowling. Please?" She begged, knocking again.

When there was still no response, Paige sighed and leaned against the wall beside the door. Her left arm was starting to get sore from carrying a coffee holder with two coffees and cradling a paper bag with two muffins inside but she can't exactly carry the paper bag because she needed her other hand to knock on Kayla's door. She screwed up big time last night when she forgot to return to Girard for Kayla so she understood why the girl refused to open the door. Kayla was really mad at her. Unless...

"Kayla you did get home, right?" Paige called out, knocking on the door frantically this time. "Okay now I'm really worried. Please open the door or say something? Just give me a sign that you're in there or I'm going to call missing persons. I'm serious." She said, knocking again. "Kayla!"

Paige didn't care if she woke up her neighbors at this point. Jai would find a way to rise from the dead if her best friend found out that she forgot to pick up Jai's sister from Girard when she promised that she'd come back for Kayla...

...because I was busy perfecting the art of first base with Jai's girlfriend all night...

Paige elicited a groan when that thought occurred to her. Yeah. Jai is probably halfway digging through her grave right now. She's going to come back then take me with her. Paige was about to head back to her apartment to make the call when she heard the lock click, followed soon after by the sound of the door being slowly pulled open. She turned around and exhaled in relief when she finally saw Kayla in her pink cotton pajamas.

"Oh thank god." Paige muttered, walking forward and giving the girl a tight one-armed hug before stepping back. "I'm so sorry."

"I waited for you until one in the morning to come back before I finally accepted that you forgot me." Kayla revealed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "When I got here I was seriously tempted to barge inside your room and wake you up but I was too exhausted and sleepy and cold so I went to bed instead."

Paige's eyes widened in panic when she remembered that the girl has a key to her apartment. "You promised to use that key for emergencies only." She reminded Kayla.

"Yeah, well you promised you'd come back for me last night but you didn't. I came close but at least I didn't break mine." Kayla shot back. "I thought I was going to turn into a human popsicle standing outside my school building. You didn't even answer your phone and I called you several times. Where the hell were you?!" She asked, irritated.

"I know. I'm sorry I forgot. I lost track of time." Paige confessed.

"I know you're sorry. You keep saying that but I'm not hearing the reason why you forgot to come back for me. I'm a human being, Paige. Not some object you forgot you were carrying around." Kayla pointed out. "I was okay even if my dad kept ignoring me and pretending that I don't exist. Keeping me at arms' length. Because I know you're still there for me. But last night for the first time I felt like I had no one." She admitted, staring at the ground.

Paige ran a hand through her hair, guilty that she left Kayla alone and now she was going to have to lie to the girl. "I'm really sorry. I just got caught up doing something. It won't happen again." She promised.

"What was so important that you bolted out of Girard?" Kayla asked, refusing to forgive Paige until she was satisfied with the reason.

"I had to go back to UPenn for Reese." Paige lied.

"Why would you come back for Reese?" Kayla asked, confused.

"I'm her slave for the week." Paige explained. "I borrowed something from her recently and I lost it. And until I can replace it I'm at her beck and call." She continued. "There's this 5K run on Tuesday and our team has been busy preparing for it. It's an annual activity that we hold with the men's track team and the Alpha Chi Omega sorority and I'm supposed to help Reese with the details of the event. Like making the rounds on campus last night to put up last minute flyers and teasers but I forgot. When I saw the rain outside I remembered that I promised her I was going to drive her around campus that's why I bolted. I'm so sorry." At least some parts of that story were true…

Kayla frowned. "You forgot about Reese too? Paige..."

Paige shook her head adamantly. "I'm okay." She promised, realizing that now she made Kayla worry about her instead because of her lie. "I just have a lot of things on my mind right now that's why I forgot. Here." She said, handing Kayla one of the two coffees before taking out a chocolate chip muffin from inside the paper bag she was cradling on her arm. "I know it's not enough of an apology but it's a start. I'll make it up to you." She added, handing the muffin to the girl.

"So I can ask you for anything?" Kayla began, looking at the girl with gleaming blue-grey eyes as she took the muffin.

"Um..." Paige uttered knowing she was going to regret this. "Yeah..."

"Good. 'Cos I wanna go to a club next Saturday." Kayla continued casually, waiting for Paige to protest but the girl was serious about making it up to her.

"Okay. Let's go to a club." Paige agreed reluctantly, making Kayla's eyes widen in surprise and eagerness. "But don't get drunk. I don't want you puking in my car." She said firmly.

"No drinking." Kayla promised, already in a better mood.

"Now I need to ask for a favor." Paige said, suddenly changing the subject. "Do you happen to have a concealer lying around?"

"Why?" Kayla replied, studying Paige's appearance. "What do you need to hide?"

"It's just a bruise on my thigh." Paige lied, thankful that she was in her black Capri compression pants. "I'm going running again this afternoon with the rest of my teammates and I have to wear my track shorts. I'm not exactly comfortable with the bruise being in plain sight."

"How did you get the bruise?" Kayla asked suspiciously.

"Accidentally bumped my thigh on the coffee table a few nights ago. It's almost healed now but it's still visible." Paige explained, amazed by how quick her mind came up with lies. "So can I borrow a concealer?"

"Okay. Wait here." Kayla instructed before heading inside.

Left alone, Paige began bouncing on the balls of her feet, eager to return to her apartment. She risked a glance across the hall at the closed door, turning around when she heard Kayla's footsteps. She struggled to seem relaxed when the girl came into view with just the cup of coffee in her hand and smiled once Kayla handed the tube of makeup to her.

"Thanks. I'll just buy you a new one." Paige promised as she pocketed the concealer, adding it to the red umbrella she planned on buying for Reese at the mall tomorrow. She turned around to leave when Kayla spoke up.

"Since when do you drink coffee?" Kayla asked, eyeing the other coffee Paige was still holding.

Paige slowly turned around to face the girl, ready with a new lie. "This?" She said, pointing to the steaming beverage. "It's not for me. It's for my dad." She explained, nodding her head slightly towards the direction of her apartment.

"Wow. He's early. Usually he visits you on Sundays." Kayla pointed out.

"I know. But I think he's just eager to check out the car with me." Paige lied, hoping tomorrow when her dad does visit Kayla won't see him.

"Well say hi and good morning to him for me." Kayla said before she took a sip of the coffee Paige gave her.

"Will do." Paige promised, waving a hand at Kayla before the girl closed the door behind her.

Paige sighed when she was finally alone and rubbed her temple wearily as she headed for her apartment, stressed out with all the lies she just told.

---

Emily slowly opened her eyes and for a moment, felt confused. Getting up into a sitting position, she looked around her and frowned. This isn't my room. That's for sure. She thought as she studied the wide space that was supposed to be a bedroom, and looked at the bed she just slept on. Not my bed either. She added when she noticed how her bed and probably Spencer's can fit on it. She looked down and stared at the loose, gray UPenn track and field t-shirt she was wearing before resting her nose on her arm, inhaling the scent of the shirt sleeve. The smell of citrus made her smile and her pulse began to race. She knew where she was.

After a couple of hours of making out in Paige's car, the rain finally let up and reluctantly, Paige returned to her side of the car and said that she was taking the girl back to Harrison. Emily just nodded, unable to find her voice, her lips swollen from all the kissing they just did but for some reason it wasn't enough. They had been kissing for a couple of hours but it wasn't enough.

When Emily's eyes fell on the dashboard clock of Paige's car, she groaned. And when Paige asked what was wrong, she pointed to the time and Paige's eyes widened in surprise. It was already past midnight. They weren't making out for just an hour or two. They've been making out for four.

Paige profusely apologized and suggested that Emily sleep at her place since the museum is nearer to her apartment, hurriedly adding that Emily can take her bed and she will sleep on the couch. Emily agreed, her heart pounding all the while but she knew she had no other choice. She didn't want to wake up Spencer when she comes back and she knew she will do just that since she had to take a shower once she got out of her wet clothes.

Once they got to Paige's apartment, Emily stood just outside of the girl's bedroom while Paige hurriedly sifted through her clothes in the dresser, looking for a clean shirt and sweatpants and offered it to Emily, pointing her towards the direction of the bathroom. After a quick shower, Emily timidly went to the living room and found Paige with a makeshift bed for herself. She offered to take the couch or sleep on the floor in the bedroom but Paige insisted that she sleep on her bed. Emily finally agreed and told Paige she was turning in. Paige nodded, bid her goodnight and said they'll talk in the morning.

Now, Emily dreaded facing Paige and having the conversation because she didn't know what to tell the girl. What happened between them last night in that cramped space was intense... torrid. She knew that. And as she got up to study her reflection in the full length mirror, she saw just how intense it got as she touched the various love bites Paige left on her neck, counting the marks to three, no four, she thought when she lifted her hair to the side and saw another mark on her collarbone. She headed back to Paige's bed and sat on the middle of it, biting her bottom lip anxiously.

Emily didn't mind the love bites. They weren't that big so she could easily hide them with a concealer and a turtleneck or a scarf since it was cold out. What she couldn't hide was her intense, undeniable attraction to Paige McCullers. Something was happening between them but she wasn't ready to define it. She wasn't ready for anyone to ask her about it. She wasn't ready to let go of Jai and she doesn't know if she ever will.

She didn't know what to do. Being with Paige made her feel giddy and breathless but she didn't want to hurt the girl when she tells Paige that she's not ready to start something and commit to it. Although Paige isn't someone who commits anyway so really there's no other choice but to...

A sharp knock on the door made Emily look up abruptly. Time to have the talk. She thought, her pulse beginning to race.

"Em? You awake?" Paige asked from behind the door.

"Yeah." Emily replied, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

"Are you decent?" Paige continued.

Emily looked down and fixed the shirt she was wearing, grabbing the comforter and pulling it over her legs even though she was wearing sweatpants before running a hand through her hair several times to comb it. "Yeah." She finally answered.

"You sure? I'm coming in, okay?" Paige called out.

"Okay." Emily repeated, her heart starting to hammer as she anticipated seeing Paige enter the room.

"Hey." Paige said in greeting, giving the girl a dazzling smile once she stepped inside her own room.

"Hey." Emily replied, smiling herself. Paige was in her usual running attire but the girl didn't look like she went for a run. Which was a good thing considering she was already having a hard time trying to fight her attraction to the girl.

"I was planning to go for a run but changed my mind at the last minute. I didn't want you to wake up and find me gone. I bought you breakfast instead." Paige explained when she saw Emily looking at her outfit. She moved a little closer to her bed and handed Emily the cup of coffee and the blueberry muffin in the paper bag. "The guy at the café I bought this from said their blueberry muffin was the best so I decided to try it."

"Thanks." Emily said, extending her hand towards Paige to take the food from the girl.

"Careful. It's hot." Paige warned her but Emily heard someone else's voice. Jai's.

Careful. It's hot. Emily mentally shook her head. Now's not the time to think about Jai. Especially when she was this attracted to her girlfriend's best friend.

"How was your sleep?" Paige asked, oblivious to the memory she triggered just now.

"Good." Emily answered, placing the muffin and cup of coffee on Paige's bedside table before returning her attention to the girl.

"My clothes fit you okay?" Paige continued, studying Emily.

"Yeah." Emily said, starting to feel silly for replying to Paige's questions with one-word answers.

"I washed your clothes earlier. They're almost dry but you don't need to change into them. You don't have to get out of my clothes." Paige explained, thinking to herself that she definitely liked seeing Emily in her clothes.

"Thanks." Emily said, glad that Paige gave her an excuse to keep wearing the girl's clothes. She didn't want to get out of them just yet.

Paige took in the appearance of the gorgeous girl sitting on her bed in case it was for the last time. It was rare to see someone look this amazing having just woken up but by now she knew that Emily can never look bad. When her eyes traveled to the girl's neck and she saw the hickeys she gave Emily last night, Paige took out the concealer from the pocket of her running jacket and handed it to the girl.

"Here. Sorry for giving you those marks." Paige said, her eyes traveling to the hickeys again. "I figured you'd want to hide them once you step outside of my apartment so I borrowed this from Kayla. And by borrowed I mean it's now yours and I'm going to buy her a new one tomorrow."

"She knows I'm here?" Emily asked as she took the concealer, starting to panic. "Paige..."

"No. She doesn't." Paige interjected. "She doesn't know anything. I didn't tell her anything because it's still none of her business and I'm already in enough trouble as it is with her."

"What do you mean?" Emily said, staring up at Paige in confusion.

"I mean last night, when I told you that I was at Girard, I was with Kayla." Paige began, moving closer to Emily. "I just got the car from the dealership and I remembered that she had this after-school thing. She's like this chef guru in her school and her club is doing these cooking shows everyday which airs during lunch time. They were filming a week's worth of episodes last night so when I got there I was supposed to wait for her to finish. But then it began to rain and I remembered that it hasn't rained in days so you probably went to that seminar without an umbrella. I checked the time and I knew I just had to come back for you. I ran out of there as fast as I could without any explanation but I promised that I'd come back for her..."

"But then you didn't." Emily concluded.

"Because you kissed me. And then I kissed you. And then we kissed some more..." Paige trailed off, her cheeks growing warm as she held Emily's gaze, aware that the girl was blushing as well. She took a deep breath. "So."

"Paige..." Emily uttered, knowing what the girl was going to say next.

"Can we talk about it now?" Paige asked before Emily could cut her off. "Last night. What happened in the car… please tell me that wasn't a mistake." She said, her voice hoarse.

"I don't know what it was." Emily admitted helplessly.

"Then what do you know?" Paige asked gently.

Emily exhaled. "That I like you. And that I can't stop thinking about you too." She confessed, meeting Paige's gaze.

"That's a good start." Paige said, encouraged by Emily's admission. Maybe there's hope. "What else do you know?"

"I know that I really like kissing you. Enough to kiss you for four hours without knowing it." Emily added, smiling timidly. She was aware that her cheeks were probably beet red by now but she also knew that the one person who could help make sense of things was standing in front of her.

"Well I am a pretty great kisser." Paige said offhandedly, trying to make the mood light but felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Emily blush an even deeper shade of red, not contradicting what she said. "I really like kissing you too." She admitted as she slowly approached the bed and finally sat beside the girl.

"You do?" Emily asked, seemingly uncertain.

Paige laughed. "Why does that surprise you?" She asked, fighting the urge to lean forward and kiss Emily again. "Yes. I do. I think kissing you back twice is proof of that. And kissing you for four hours without knowing it further supports that proof. I've wanted to kiss you for a while now." Paige lied, not wanting to admit to Emily exactly how long she's had feelings for her. The last thing the girl needed to hear was Paige's heartfelt confession so she decided to tell her a half truth. "And with your permission... if you'd let me." She said, feeling like she was being too formal but she didn't care. She wanted to do this right. Say the right things to the girl. "I'd like to keep on kissing you." Paige continued, her gaze shifting to Emily's lips.

"Okay." Emily finally managed to reply, her voice barely above a whisper as she stared at Paige's lips.

"Okay?" Paige repeated, slowly starting to grin as she looked into Emily's eyes, moving closer.

Emily nodded. "Okay. But... I don't want anyone to know about it yet. I mean, I don't know what this is." She emphasized, pointing to Paige then herself. "And I just don't want people asking me to define it or start talking about it..."

"Okay. We can take it slow." Paige told the girl reassuringly.

"It's still Jai. I still love Jai." Emily admitted helplessly, starting to feel guilty again.

"It's fine, Em. I can wait." Paige promised.

"Okay." Emily said, still unsure about what she just agreed to with Paige.

Paige leaned forward, her lips almost brushing Emily's when the girl pulled away.

"And we can see other people. And no one can know." Emily added. "I think I said that already." She added, getting embarrassed.

"You did." Paige confirmed, looking at Emily in amusement.

"Just making sure. You can't breathe a word to anyone. Especially not to Kayla, not even Reese." Emily rambled.

"Noted." Paige swore, leaning forward again. She just wanted to kiss Emily so badly that she would say yes to anything the girl asked.

"The Quaker Takeover tournament!" Emily suddenly exclaimed, confusing Paige.

"What?" Paige asked, getting frustrated that she can't seem to make Emily stop talking so she can kiss the girl already. "The what over what?"

"Quaker Takeover. It's this college house cup that's held every year. Last night before I left for the seminar Reese cornered me and forced me to join the tournament tomorrow... today. And it starts at seven. I have to go." Emily said, moving to get up but Paige held her arm, stopping her.

"It's almost nine." Paige said, pointing to the alarm clock on her bedside table.

Emily groaned. "Is Reese going to kill me?" She asked, giving Paige a worried look.

Paige shook her head. "No. She's just going to give you this speech about responsibility and time management but you'll live." She told the girl reassuringly.

Emily gave Paige a dubious look before reaching for her phone on the bedside table to check if she got any messages. Twenty-five missed calls and seventeen text messages. All from Spencer. Great. She quickly hit the call button, gesturing for Paige not to say anything as she waited for her friend to pick up.

"Hey. I know. I know. Sorry." Emily said, cringing when Spencer launched into a diatribe without letting her explain. "I know. Yeah. I get that. Yes. I know. I'm alive. I'm okay. You did not just call the morgue! Spence I'm fine. I'm sorry. I'll explain everything later." She promised, her mind already trying to think of a plausible lie. "Yeah. I'll be there soon. Thirty minutes? Yeah. Okay. Bye." She said before ending the call and looking at Paige. She didn't want to leave. She'd rather spend the entire day here with Paige but she knew she had to face Spencer and at some point, Reese as well.

"Thirty minutes, huh?" Paige said, her eyes traveling to the girl's lips. "When can we see each other again?" She asked, looking into Emily's eyes. She didn't want the girl to leave without kissing Emily.

"Well it's a weekend. And neither of us is going home to Rosewood. I think we're supposed to see a movie at the revival theatre tonight." Emily answered. "But... because of the whole secrecy thing... we can just rent an old movie and then I can come over tonight. Maybe we can have dinner?"

Paige nodded. "Dinner and a movie. I'll take care of dinner, you bring the movie." She suggested.

"Okay." Emily agreed. "I'll be here around seven."

"Seven? It's just nine o'clock." Paige complained, frowning. "I have to wait ten hours to see you again? I don't know if I can wait that long." She admitted before moving forward. "If I offer to drive you back to campus can you stay for a few more minutes?"

"Maybe." Emily replied, her heart pounding. "Yes." She added, changing her answer.

"Just so we're clear, I'm about to kiss you. On the lips. Most likely with tongue." Paige added, making Emily blush profusely. "And in order for me to do that you have to stop talking. If you have anything else you want to say it can wait. Because I really want to kiss you right now. So may I please kiss you?" Paige asked as she leaned forward closer, her lips hovering a few inches near Emily's. "I promise not to leave any marks this time. I just want to kiss you in the light of day for a change."

"Well if you have to." Emily answered, smiling coyly. When Paige didn't move, Emily leaned forward ever so slightly. "Please kiss me now." She asked, her voice hoarse as she cradled Paige's cheek, meeting the other girl's lips with hers when Paige finally did.

The instant Paige's lips touched hers, Emily's brain shut down. All she could think about was Paige's soft lips moving against hers and she parted her lips, allowing Paige's tongue to meet its mate. Emily held Paige by the neck, pulling the girl towards her as their lips hungrily parted and met, like last night wasn't enough.

"This is insane." Emily breathed out when she and Paige briefly came up for air, touching their foreheads together as she brought one hand to cup the girl's cheek. She felt Paige gently push her to lie down on the girl's bed and Emily let her, their eyes never breaking contact.

Paige softly captured Emily's lips on hers again as she positioned herself on top of the girl, still unable to believe that she was holding Emily in her arms. And that they were making out on her bed. She was so elated with that thought that she didn't know when it happened and she suddenly found herself lying underneath the raven-haired girl, Emily's eyes sparkling mischievously as the girl sat on top of her.

"What?" Paige asked, starting to get nervous.

"You gave me four hickeys last night." Emily answered, pointing to her neck.

Paige blushed. "Sorry." She said as she lightly touched each love bite she deposited on the girl, making Emily's skin tingle.

"Don't be." Emily whispered, shifting from her position to make herself comfortable, unaware that Paige was fighting to keep her hormones in check as she moved on top of the girl.

Paige bit back a moan. She didn't want to show Emily how much she wanted to do more. The girl just agreed to see her in secret. Distracting herself, she brushed a strand of hair away from the girl's eyes and smiled. "How can I make it up to you?" She asked, hoping her voice didn't betray the lust she was feeling at the moment.

Emily glanced at the clock on Paige's bedside table. "Let's see how many love bites I can give you in thirty minutes." She suggested, moving to bury her head on the crook of the girl's neck.

Paige's eyes widened in panic. "Maybe you can do them somewhere else? Like on my wrist or something?" She added, squirming underneath the girl.

Emily grinned. "Why? Are you scared I can give you more than four?" She asked teasingly.

"No. No." Paige repeated, her pulse racing as she shook her head adamantly.

"Then what?" Emily asked before burying her head on the girl's neck, waiting for Paige's reply. She breathed in the girl's scent, her pulse racing when she deposited a kiss on Paige's soft skin.

Paige bit her bottom lip when a moan escaped from her lips. "Em." She uttered breathlessly.

"What?" Emily said, lifting her head and smiling when Paige blindly found her hand and intertwined it with hers.

"It's just that... I have an activity on Tuesday. A 5K run. I'll be wearing track shorts and a sleeveless shirt... no room to hide a hickey... hickeys." Paige corrected when she saw that Emily was about to protest. Unless you put it somewhere else that is… She thought, biting her tongue to keep from saying those words out loud.

"Can I give you one after?" Emily asked boldly.

"Yeah. You can give me more than one after." Paige promised, smiling at the beautiful girl sitting on top of her.

"Okay." Emily said, leaning forward and letting her silken hair frame around their faces.

Paige's smile widened when Emily's hair tickled her cheeks. "Okay?" She repeated, staring into the girl's twinkling brown eyes.

"Yeah. Now kiss me before you have to drive me home already." Emily commanded, leaning closer.

"With pleasure." Paige whispered, raising her head slightly to capture Emily's lips on hers.

---

Forty-five minutes later, Emily was biting her bottom lip to keep from grinning like an idiot as she alighted from the elevator and made her way to the room she shared with Spencer. She was still wearing Paige's sweatpants and track and field t-shirt, the hickeys the girl gave her now hidden by tons of concealer courtesy of Kayla. Good thing it was almost winter. She could wear a turtleneck or a scarf around her neck whenever she went out. She knocked on her door and smiled at her floormates who passed by her while she waited for Spencer to open the door.

"Where did you sleep?" Spencer sharply asked in greeting once the girl pulled open the door.

Emily looked behind her and saw that some of their floormates were staring at them in surprise. She gave them an apologetic smile, pushed her friend back inside their room and locked the door behind her before turning around to face the girl.

"Well?" Spencer asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"At Kayla's." Emily finally answered, hoping Spencer doesn't have Kayla's number.

"Why did you sleep there?" Spencer continued, making Emily sigh in relief that her friend didn't call Jai's sister last night.

"Okay this is what happened." Emily began, walking over to her side of the room and sitting on the edge of her bed. "The seminar was done. And it was raining hard. Just when I thought I was going to be stranded I spotted Paige across the street from Franklin Field so I crossed it, getting drenched and everything just to ask if she could give me a ride back here."

"In her bike?" Spencer asked, confused.

"No. Her dad bought her a car yesterday." Emily explained. "Anyway, last night my phone was malfunctioning. Probably because it got wet several times. And I couldn't make a call, not even send a text. So I couldn't call or text you to tell you that I'm going to be late getting home or even ask you to come get me. Then Paige said she can't drive me back to Harrison as she's on her way to pick up Kayla in Girard so I decided to come along for the ride instead rather than wait for the rain to stop."

"And then?" Spencer said, urging Emily to continue.

"Once we picked up Jai's sister we headed back to their apartment and then had dinner at Kayla's. By the time we were done it was really late and I didn't want to ask Paige to drive me back here. I didn't want to commute by myself so I decided to spend the night at Kayla's instead. I swear I sent you a text before I slept but apparently my phone was still malfunctioning." Emily lied. "I'm sorry. I just assumed you got my message and didn't reply because you were already asleep."

"So why are you wearing Paige's clothes if you slept at Kayla's?" Spencer asked suspiciously. "Because unless Kayla goes to UPenn and runs track, that shirt belongs to Paige."

Emily looked down on the clothes she was wearing. "I asked Paige if I could borrow some of her clothes since mine got drenched again when I ran across the street. I tried borrowing from Kayla but Paige is more of my size so in the end she lent me her clothes." She explained.

"And where are your clothes now?" Spencer asked, looking pointedly at Emily's empty hands.

"Still at Paige's. She let me wash it there but it hasn't dried. I wanted to get back here so she drove me and told me she'll just give my clothes back when they're dry." Emily replied, feeling guiltier with each lie she told her friend.

"That's the least she could do for refusing to drive you back last night instead." Spencer commented, finally sitting down on her bed, done with giving Emily the third degree.

"Spence, it wasn't Paige's fault." Emily said, now guilty for unintentionally making the girl look bad in her friend's eyes. As if Spencer didn't hate Paige enough before.

"Yes it is. She has a car. It's just a few minutes back to Harrison and she couldn't have been bothered to swing by here?" Spencer said disbelievingly. "She's never going to change. Just when you think she will, she pulls something like this."

"Kayla was waiting. Can you please not blame her?" Emily pleaded.

"Why are you defending her? Just because she gave you cupcakes and your favorite horror movie on DVD for your birthday don't mean she's changed." Spencer pointed out. "You said Kayla had to remind her just for her to remember that it was your birthday." She added, making Emily realize that she's been lying to her friend about Paige for months.

"It's not like Paige was throwing a party for me in high school whenever it was my birthday. She didn't really have a reason to remember." Emily replied. "I'm just saying." She hurriedly said when she saw Spencer frown.

"Enough about Paige. Have you had breakfast yet?" Spencer asked in an effort to change the subject.

"No. I haven't." Emily lied despite being full from the muffin she ate in Paige's car while the girl drove her back. "I'll just take a quick shower then we can head downstairs for breakfast. Brunch." She corrected when she noticed the time on her clock before getting up.

"Okay. You take a shower; I'll go throw the trash." Spencer said, getting up as well. "I've been cleaning nonstop since I was so worried about you and I needed a distraction."

Emily smiled and moved to retrieve her bath towel from the back of her chair when she heard a knock on the door. She and Spencer exchanged a look and being nearer to the door, she decided to see who it was.

"Are you capable of telling time?!" Reese exclaimed the second she saw Emily. "I seem to recall telling you last night that the tournament's at seven in the morning. Did I not make myself clear?"

"I know. I'm sorry." Emily said, dying to ask the girl how she found out where her room is. Last time she checked Paige didn't know. But asking Reese that question was irrelevant considering the girl was fuming.

"Where have you been?!" Reese asked, irritated. "Did you oversleep or something?"

"No. Well yeah. But not here. I just came back. I slept at a friend's apartment last night." Emily explained vaguely.

"You mean you slept at Paige's." Reese guessed when she saw the shirt Emily was wearing.

Emily shook her head. "No. She just lent me her clothes but I slept at another friend's apartment." She corrected, sticking to her story.

Reese studied Emily suspiciously, her eyes narrowing when her gaze landed on the girl's neck. She was about to ask why Emily's lying when the door opened wider and she found herself staring at a tall, thin girl with sharp features.

"Reese, this is Spencer. My roommate and one of my best friends. Spence this is Reese, Paige's team captain and... friend." Emily added for lack of a better term. She still didn't know what the real score between the two girls is.

"Hi. I would shake your hand but I'm on my way to take out the trash." Spencer said, pointing to the black garbage bag in her hand.

Reese stepped aside. "By all means, throw it. We can shake hands some other time." She replied, letting the girl pass before returning her attention to Emily who looked like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. "So did you remind Paige about the umbrella?" She asked when she and Emily were alone.

Emily shook her head again. "No. We didn't get a chance to talk..."

"I bet." Reese interjected, smirking.

"About the umbrella." Emily continued, ignoring Reese's remark. "But we did talk." She added defensively.

Reese shrugged. "If you say so. I'll let this one slide. But you're gonna have to make it up to the others. We had to forfeit today. Practice your dodge ball skills. You're gonna play in December." She told the girl. "Do you have any plans today?"

"Why?" Emily asked. "Are you going to invite me to a dodge ball practice or something?"

"No. I was gonna suggest that you go to the mall and buy a concealer that actually matches your skin tone. You're not deceiving anyone." Reese said in a low voice. "Unless someone else gave you those marks last night, I'm guessing you really slept over at Paige's." She said smugly before walking away.

---

Paige glanced at the time on the wall clock in the living room, fighting the urge to start a habit of biting her nails as she waited for Emily to arrive. The past ten hours have been the longest wait of her life and she had been busy cleaning her apartment all day and checking her phone in case Emily called or texted telling her that she just changed her mind in the past few hours that they spent apart. Like maybe being back in Harrison with Spencer would make Emily realize that she made a mistake. But it's almost seven and so far, no calls or texts.

A knock on the door made Paige's stomach flutter and she took a deep breath before making her way towards it. She glanced around her apartment one last time, dimming the lights before peering into the eyehole and biting her bottom lip to keep from grinning when she saw that it was indeed Emily. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she finally pulled the door open and gave the girl a smile.

"Hey." Paige said, trying not to seem too excited to see the girl again but terribly failing.

"Hey." Emily replied, smiling timidly.

They stared at each other for a moment, realizing for the first time since what happened that things between them have changed. Paige took in Emily's outfit for the night, form-fitting jeans and a white turtleneck that clung to the girl's curves, the girl's lips glossy and her cheeks pink either from the cold or from blushing, she couldn't tell but she liked it.

Emily willed her pulse to stop racing as she stood in front of Paige, reminding herself that the girl knows that she likes her so there's really no need to pretend she doesn't. When she was in Harrison preparing to leave, she didn't know what to wear tonight. It's not like they were going to some fancy restaurant so there's no need to dress up. And it's not like she's sleeping over again so there's no need to wear pajamas or bring one. So she finally settled on something casual. A pair of jeans and a form-fitting turtleneck to hide her hickeys plus she knew she looked great in it. Paige's reaction just confirmed it.

"Unless you just plan to stare at me all night I think this is the part where you ask me to come in." Emily managed to say teasingly despite the pounding of her heart.

Paige felt her cheeks turn several shades of red. "Ri- uh, right, yeah." She stammered, stepping aside to let the girl in. She took a deep breath, mentally telling herself to try acting a little cool before closing the door behind her and facing Emily. "So."

"So." Emily repeated, waiting for Paige to continue.

"Movie?" Paige asked hesitantly.

Emily nodded and handed Paige the DVD she rented, her breath hitching when Paige's thumb brushed against hers when the girl took it.

"Okay. Movie night tonight." Paige declared as she walked towards the living room with Emily close behind.

Emily watched Paige head to the player, using it as her opportunity to study the girl. Paige could've just worn sweatpants and a loose shirt since they weren't going out but they both knew tonight was special so the girl chose to wear a denim skirt that showed off Paige's shapely legs and a green sleeveless top that showed off her toned arms. Emily looked around and saw that the coffee table was already set with dinner. Several table napkins, two glasses, a choice of water, juice, or soda, and a box of Hawaiian pizza with all of the pineapples placed on the other half already. She smiled, amazed that Paige remembered.

Paige took out the disc from the box and popped it in the player, glancing at the cover to read the title. She looked towards Emily to ask the girl something when she saw that Emily was staring at the dinner on the coffee table. "Should I have bought Chinese or Italian?" She asked instead, getting nervous.

Jai usually spent hundreds of dollars on dinner with Emily. Paige saw the receipts lying around on her friend's desk in her bedroom whenever they hung out and her best friend was so fluent in speaking several foreign languages that Jai had no trouble taking Emily to a five-star French or Spanish restaurant. Maybe she should've bought something along those lines tonight instead of ordering pizza that she didn't even bother to transfer to a serving plate.

"No." Emily said, shaking her head. "I was just surprised that you remembered how I liked my pizza." She explained, looking at Paige. "I think the first time we ate one was during the fair."

"You ate yours. I gave mine to Chloe as a peace offering." Paige reminded the girl. "Is this a horror film?" She asked, looking at Emily suspiciously.

Emily shook her head. "Why would I want to scare you tonight?" She replied. "It's a silent comedy film. I'm not really in the mood to watch a horror film right now."

I'm not in the mood to watch anything. "Right." Paige said, placing the box on the coffee table. "Just checking. I don't want to scream until your ears bleed or pass out on you. I have my dignity, you know?" She said lightly.

"I know. That's why I didn't rent one either." Emily shot back, smiling.

Paige walked past the girl and took a seat on the couch, waiting for Emily to do the same but the girl just stood there. She extended a hand for Emily to take, her stomach fluttering when Emily did and sat next to her. Ever since the girl stepped inside her apartment tonight they haven't touched each other. Unless of course you count the accidental thumb brush earlier when Emily handed the DVD to her. So Emily can't really blame her if she held on to the girl's hand for a few minutes. Paige stared at their hands, still in awe that she was sitting next to Emily without having to hide her attraction to the girl. That she can hold the girl's hand and enjoy doing so without wondering if she was making Emily uncomfortable.

"Did Spencer give you a hard time this morning?" Paige asked, looking at Emily with concern.

Emily took a deep breath and nodded, trying to steady the beating of her heart when she felt Paige's thumb rub the back of her hand gently. It still felt weird sitting this close and knowing they're attracted to each other. "Yeah. She did. A little. Spencer asked why I was wearing your clothes. I told her you lent them to me when I slept over at Kayla's." She finally answered. "The entire conversation I was lying to her."

"Sorry." Paige said, swallowing hard.

Emily tore her eyes away from their hands to look at Paige. "What? Why? What for?" She asked, giving Paige a confused look.

Paige reluctantly removed her hand from Emily's. "Because. You won't have a reason to lie if I didn't ask you to try things with me." She explained.

"Paige, I've been lying to Spencer ever since I first kissed you. Probably even longer." Emily admitted. "I'm not saying it's your fault."

Paige nodded. "I know. But if I hadn't asked this morning, if I just let you go home without talking about it..."

"Then we won't be sitting here. I'll be dodging you and not answering your calls and messages again." Emily finished for the girl. "I don't like lying to her." She admitted. "But I can't stay away from you either."

Paige let out a relieved sigh. "I know you're taking a risk. So I promise I won't be a burden to you." She said earnestly. "I won't cause you problems. You won't hear me complaining."

"Then can you help me out with Reese?" Emily suddenly asked.

"Why? Did you see her?" Paige asked, her eyebrows creasing in concern.

Emily nodded. "Yeah. She somehow found out where my room is and asked why I wasn't able to make it. I gave her the Kayla excuse but she could tell I was lying. She knows I slept here." She added, getting anxious. "Unlike Spencer, she noticed that the concealer I was using this morning wasn't the same skin tone as mine. She saw the hickeys and the shirt I was wearing and she just knew I spent the night here."

"Okay. I'll take care of it on Monday." Paige promised. "She won't suspect a thing."

Emily sighed. "I just want to forget everything that happened today outside of this room and just focus on the movie, dinner... and you." She admitted, smiling faintly.

Paige nodded and got up, turning off the lights so it would seem like they were in a theatre. She sat back down and leaned forward to grab the remote control from the coffee table, pressing play and focusing her gaze on the TV screen. Paige tried to enjoy the movie for a few minutes but began to grow restless. She really wanted to kiss Emily ever since she saw the girl standing outside her door but she didn't know how to initiate it. She can't just kiss the girl out of nowhere. Paige started stealing glances at the girl who seemed to be fascinated with the movie before turning her body to face Emily completely. She waited for her to react but Emily's eyes kept glued to the screen. Paige watched as the lights flickered on Emily's exquisite features, resisting the urge to touch the girl.

"You're blushing." Paige said softly when she saw Emily's cheeks start getting red despite the faint source of light and she finally moved to fix Emily's hair so it was out of the way when she decides to kiss her any second now.

"You would too if I kept staring at you." Emily replied, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

"True." Paige answered, leaning forward and depositing a soft kiss on the girl's smooth cheek, the faint smell of vanilla reaching her nostrils.

"I'm trying to watch the film." Emily insisted, resisting the urge to face Paige.

"Really." Paige said, kissing Emily softly on the cheek again. "Don't you mean you're pretending to watch it?" When Emily didn't say anything, she continued. "Then don't mind me at all." She whispered on the girl's ear before depositing a light kiss on Emily's earlobe. She let out a low laugh when she heard Emily's breathing hitch. "Something wrong?"

Emily shook her head, her pulse racing as Paige kept depositing tiny kisses everywhere. On her cheek, on the side of her jaw, on her earlobe, on her neck, on her temple, on her chin, on the corner of her mouth... everywhere but on her lips. She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from saying anything.

"If you want me to kiss you somewhere else just say so." Paige said teasingly. "I accept requests."

Emily swallowed hard and finally met Paige's gaze, unable to pretend any longer that she was interested in watching the film when all she wanted was for Paige to kiss her ever since the girl opened the door.

"Finally I got your attention." Paige whispered, kissing Emily on the lips this time. "You still want to watch the film?" She asked, her lips mere inches away from Emily's.

"What film?" Emily managed to ask before Paige's lips met hers again and she felt herself gently being pushed to lie down on the couch.

Paige moved so she was lying on top of the girl, deepening their kiss as she placed her hands on Emily's slim waist, pulling the girl closer to her.

Emily wrapped her arms around Paige's neck, letting her hands run through the girl's soft hair as she parted her lips ever so slightly, enjoying Paige's lips moving languidly against hers. They had the rest of the night to do this and like her; Paige was trying to take things slow this time.

"This is better than watching a silent movie." Emily whispered when they briefly came up for air, cupping Paige's cheek as the lights from the TV screen flickered on the girl's face.

"This is much better." Paige agreed, smiling when Emily pulled her closer, their eyes drifting close as she captured Emily's lips on hers again.

---

"So how are all of your classes?" Nick asked before taking a bite off his burger, wiping the corners of his mouth with a tissue as he chewed. "The semester's about to end. How are you faring so far?"

He and Paige were sitting opposite each other on one of the tables in the food court of the King of Prussia Mall, enjoying a late lunch of burgers and fries on a Sunday afternoon. Nick chose to pay a visit to his daughter rather than ask Paige to drive to Rosewood since the girl was still trying to familiarize herself with her new car. Once he arrived at his daughter's apartment, Nick told Paige to drive them to the mall so the girl will have a chance to use the car longer than driving to and from campus, leaving his car on Paige's parking spot at the garage of the apartment building.

"Okay. I'm getting all the help I can get from Reese. It's a good thing they have that study group in our track team." Paige admitted before taking a sip of her orange juice.

"Reese?" Nick inquired, looking at his daughter curiously.

"She's the captain of the track team." Paige supplied. "Sorry. I seem to have forgotten to tell you about her."

"It's fine. So long as she's just the captain of your team and you're not seeing her seriously." Nick said after taking a sip of his soda. "You aren't, right?"

"No. I'm not. Dad she has a girlfriend." Paige revealed, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Well are you seeing anyone seriously?" Nick asked, studying his daughter. "Because you know the rules. This is college and we agreed you can see girls so long as…"

"I don't get too involved. I know the rules, dad. But I'm not serious about anyone right now." Paige lied. "I'm not even seeing anyone because between school and sports I don't have time for it."

"Just checking. I won't be able to visit you as often as I'd like in the coming weeks since I need to be in California. And I know how much you hate Kayla checking up on you." Nick explained. "That's why I want to make sure that you're okay before I leave."

"I'm fine." Paige promised. "I'm not even losing sleep."

"Good. That's good to hear." Nick said, smiling at his daughter. "You're coming home for Thanksgiving next week, right? I don't have to leave for California until the day after so we can have Thanksgiving dinner."

Paige nodded. "Yeah. I wouldn't miss Gwen's cooking. And Logan invited me and Emily to the post-Thanksgiving dinner we usually have. Even if Jai isn't around anymore he thought it would be nice to continue the tradition." She explained. "I'll probably give Kayla a ride back to Rosewood. Swing by Girard first."

Nick's expression suddenly changed to one of disbelief. "Speaking of Girard. You'd never guess who I ran into the other day on my way to work." He said, leaning forward on his seat.

"Who?" Paige asked, wondering why her dad seemed glad.

"Hank Thomas." Nick revealed. "You and his daughter were good friends back in Girard, right? What was her name again? Celia? Celine? Cecile?"

"Cesca." Paige said hoarsely, feeling like she was going to faint.

"That's right. Cesca." Nick repeated, oblivious to his daughter's sudden distress. "Well Hank and I managed to catch up. Turns out his daughter is studying in UPenn as well. She's on the swim team."

So I wasn't imagining it. It really was her. Paige thought, remembering catching a glimpse of the girl when she was waiting with Reese for Emily outside of Pottruck Center last week. "Did you tell Hank I go to UPenn as well?" She asked, her stomach churning. Please say no, please say no.

"Of course I did." Nick answered, making Paige's blood run cold. "I told Hank to give Cesca your number. Maybe it'd give the two of you a chance to catch up. She was friends with Jasmine too. Right?"

"Right." Paige managed to reply before she tuned out the rest of what her father was saying to her.

---

Emily emerged from her Calculus class at the Cohen Hall on a Monday morning, descending the steps while composing a message on her phone to send to Spencer, asking where her friend is so they can have lunch. She actually wanted to ask Paige but she didn't want to risk being seen in public with the girl too much. People seeing Paige hang out at the café was normal since the girl and Reese have been visiting the place even before she and Paige hooked up. But people seeing her and Paige spending time beyond the normal café scene… pretty soon people would start asking. So it's best if she and Paige met for dinner instead.

Pocketing her phone, Emily walked the pathway between Williams and Houston Halls, exiting on Spruce Street so she can cross and head for the Quadrangle where she and Spencer usually met for lunch at the Café at McClelland. She was about to head for the pedestrian crossing when she stopped in her tracks. There, parked a few steps away from her, leaning against the passenger door of her brand new SUV, was none other than Paige.

Emily considered turning around and taking a longer way to the Quadrangle but Paige already saw her and when the girl waved, she waved back in return when she saw how eager Paige seemed. She reluctantly headed towards the girl, looking around her to see if anyone was staring.

"What are you doing here?!" Emily asked urgently when she was standing in front of the girl.

"Picking you up. I was hoping we could have lunch at my apartment since this is your last class for the day and my classes don't start until one." Paige explained, oblivious to Emily's paranoia.

"You should've called or texted me first." Emily said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

"I wanted to surprise you." Paige admitted, shrugging as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Well you did." Emily said in a tone that made Paige realize that Emily didn't appreciate the gesture. "I already made plans to have lunch with Spencer today. I'm actually on my way to meet her now."

"Tell her something came up and have lunch with me instead. I promise to drive you back to Harrison before I head to my class later." Paige added, aware that she was making Emily choose right now but she wanted to spend time with the girl even if it's just for an hour.

Emily ran a hand wearily through her hair. "Paige..."

"Please?" Paige begged.

Emily looked around them and saw that the people passing by are starting to stare. They had to leave. "Fine." She answered, making Paige grin. "Don't." She warned the girl when she saw that Paige was about to open the door for her. "I can open it myself."

"Okay." Paige said, walking over to the driver's seat of the car to get in.

Emily opened the passenger door and got inside the car, placing her books and shoulder bag on her lap once she was settled. She stole a glance at Paige as the girl started the car and felt guilty. The girl's face was beaming. Emily knew that Paige really wanted to spend time with her and the girl probably didn't understand why she didn't appreciate Paige's surprise. Because other than telling the girl last Saturday to keep what they were doing a secret, all they did that day was make out. She forgot to set ground rules like aside from not saying anything to people; they can't be seen in public all the time. As she reached for the seatbelt, Emily's gaze wandered outside her window and though the glass was tinted and they can't see inside, she saw people staring at them. One of them could know someone Emily knew from Rosewood and eventually, that someone she knows would ask her and she wouldn't know what to say.

"Ready to go?" Paige asked, but Emily heard someone else's voice again. Jai's.

Ready to go? "Just drive, Paige." Emily replied, eager to get away from the curious stares of the people outside.

---

"So tomorrow Coach Steve wants everyone to be here before five AM." Reese said, giving Paige a pointed look. "We need all hands on deck for this one. A lot of athletes and students are participating this year and while the AChiO sisters are doing what they can to help us out, this is our event so we need to be in full force. Are there any questions or problems any of you want to address now?"

Paige looked around the room as she stood beside the open door of her locker. Since she was a freshman, she was new to the whole 5K Ribbon Run event but from what Reese told her, it's an activity that both the men and women's track and field teams hold every year in cooperation with the Alpha Chi Omega sorority which is apparently the go-to sorority of women athletes in UPenn.

"Okay then. So just a reminder, the awarding of the winners will be done at the post-run party tomorrow night at the AChiO house on Spruce Street. Now let's all get one thing clear. You can't show up at the party if you didn't show up to help during the run. I'll be taking attendance together with the captain of the men's track and the president of AChiO. We all agreed that it's a fair rule to set. Everybody understand?" Reese asked, looking around the room.

Paige nodded with the rest of her teammates, making a mental note to set her alarm clock and the alarm on her watch and even on her phone to make sure that she does wake up in case she fell asleep late tonight.

"I'll see you ladies tomorrow." Reese said, signaling the end of the meeting.

Paige closed the door of her locker and waited until the rest of their teammates have left the room before she made her way to Reese, taking out of her duffel bag the red folding umbrella she bought.

"I am officially out of your service." Paige declared, handing the umbrella to Reese smugly. "I got around to buying you a new umbrella yesterday. I went to the mall. In my car." She added, grinning.

"Oh so that's why you're so smug. You finally got your car. I guess now it's my turn to ask you to drive me around town in case I needed to buy a rare to find DVD and a box of cupcakes or even tickets to a dance for the girl I like." Reese shot back, taking the umbrella and putting it inside her duffel bag before zipping it. "Perfect timing by the way. My car's in the shop this week. Which means I get to be the first girl to ride in your car."

"Yes you are." Paige lied.

"Café Prima?" Reese guessed, giving Paige a knowing look.

Paige nodded and they exited the locker room in silence. She was trying to rack her brain for a way to segue the conversation to what Reese said to Emily since she promised the girl that she'd take care of it. But she can't seem eager to talk about it or Reese will figure out that Emily told her.

"You going to invite Emily to the party tomorrow night?" Reese asked as they headed outside the football stadium.

"I thought the party was for those who ran in the morning?" Paige replied, giving Reese a confused look.

Reese shook her head. "It's not an exclusive party for the participants. When the AChiOs throw a party most if not all of the athletes come. And since Emily is in the women's swim team you can invite her." She explained. "What I said earlier was for the team. It's not fair if we get up at four in the morning to facilitate this run and then one of us ends up missing it but then she shows up at the party later. If they want to join the celebration, they have to do their share in the hard work too. So are you planning to invite Emily?" She asked again.

"I don't know..." Paige answered, a little hesitant. Emily might not want to come with her.

"I'm inviting Billie. And she's from Drexel." Reese emphasized. "If she can come, so can Emily. Don't you want to spend time with the girl you're crazy about?"

"I'll think about it." Paige replied. The truth was she did want to invite Emily. When she heard that the party was for athletes her thoughts immediately drifted to the girl. But during their lunch earlier Paige knew that Emily was annoyed at her for showing up unannounced outside the girl's class and she didn't get a chance to apologize for it. She was hoping now she can.

"Why do you have to think about it?" Reese asked, giving Paige a confused look. "I was under the impression that the two of you already decided to start seeing each other since last Saturday."

Paige breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Reese finally broached the subject. She nodded. "We did. For all of two seconds. Emily came to my apartment later that night and told me that it's too soon. She said she wanted to go back to us being purely platonic so I agreed." She explained, feigning disappointment.

Reese stared at Paige dubiously. "That doesn't sound like you. You're stubborn. You can't have agreed to what she wanted that easily." She pointed out, following Paige as the girl headed for the parking lot.

"I didn't. I tried telling her we can make it work. But she still said no. I figured I was going to lose her either way and being her friend is better than nothing so in the end Emily got her way." Paige said, sighing.

"And I even gave her a pass for flaking out on me." Reese revealed, annoyed. "Emily didn't show up for the college house cup tournament so we had to forfeit competing in the Minute-To-Win-It challenges. When I finally found out where her room was after asking around, I knocked on her door to give her a lecture and she told me she just got back that's why she didn't make it. I decided to let it go when I realized she was with you then you tell me you already crashed and burned?" She ranted, side-eyeing Paige. "She slept over at your apartment, didn't she?"

"Yeah. She slept on my bed and I slept on the couch." Paige admitted, knowing there was no point in lying about it. "But she doesn't want anyone to know so please keep that a secret. I mean her friends aren't really mine so..."

"Oh now I get why that Spencer chick was trying hard not to glare at me when Emily mentioned that I was your friend when she did the introductions." Reese interjected.

"You met Spencer?" Paige asked as she unlocked the doors of her car.

"Tall chick, long hair, sharp face?" Reese described as she placed her duffel bag on the backseat of Paige's car. "Yeah. I did. I was going to ask why Emily was lying about sleeping over at your place since she's wearing your clothes. Then I saw her friend and it all made sense."

Paige nodded. "That's part of the reason why she said we should just go back to being friends. Her friends hate me." She admitted, starting the car and buckling her seatbelt.

"Well can you blame them? They're her friends and you said you were horrible to Emily for years." Reese reminded the girl. "If you want to change Emily's mind about the whole platonic thing, you should start spending more time with them. You'll see. In no time Spencer will rally your cause." She promised.

"I'll keep that in mind." Paige said as she shifted the gear into drive. Reese just gave her an idea. Maybe if she did that, Emily would consider making things public between them. "Hey no eating!" She exclaimed, slamming on the breaks when she saw Reese pull out an energy bar from the pocket of her running jacket.

"What? But I'm starving." Reese argued.

"I don't care. Let your big intestine consume your small intestine or some other organ. I have two rules when riding in my car." Paige declared, grabbing the energy bar and throwing it on the backseat of the car. "One, no eating inside unless it's absolutely necessary. And even if I allow it, you can't drink juice, coffee, soda or any other beverage that isn't water. And you can't eat messy foods or foods that leave an 'aftersmell' like noodles, burritos, tacos, burgers, and subs. And two, no touching the stereo."

"Man you're strict." Reese said, making a face. "There's no way around those rules? Like if I offer to pay you a hundred bucks or something?" She asked, looking behind her to see where her energy bar went.

"Well there are two ways." Paige admitted as she resumed driving. "I only told Kayla this since she constantly rode in my dad's car and I applied the same rules there. But I guess if you plan on hitching a ride with me you should know as well. One, you have to be god."

"Duh. That one's out. What's the other one?" Reese asked, waiting for Paige to continue.

"You have to do something. The one thing that would make me care more about you than the car." Paige said, stopping at a red light. "You have to make me fall in love with you." She revealed, giving Reese a smug grin.

---

Emily emerged from the back room of the café just as she heard the front door open and close and felt her lips curl into a smile when she saw Paige enter, her smile disappearing when she saw Reese in tow. Of course. It's not like Paige was going to stop hanging out with Reese just because she and the girl decided to see each other in secret. She kept her focus on Paige and released the breath she was holding in when the girl nodded, indicating that she already talked to Reese. Emily made her way over to them despite knowing what the two girls were going to order, making sure she was acting normal so Reese won't get suspicious again.

"Hey." Emily said in greeting, looking at Paige.

"Hey." Paige repeated, grinning at the girl.

"Hey." Reese chimed in, making the two girls look at her. "Oh I'm sorry. Was two the limit to the number of 'hey's we can say around here? Did I just violate some sort of secret code? Is that your thing? Or can I also say hey?" She asked sarcastically.

Paige rolled her eyes, looking at Emily apologetically. Reese was probably cranky because she didn't let the girl eat inside her car earlier.

"So Kit told me that you changed shifts with her again this week. Well aren't you little miss fickle-minded." Reese commented, staring at Emily. "Don't worry. I didn't tell her the reason why you kept changing shifts. Your secret's safe with me."

Emily ignored Reese's comment, knowing if she got defensive the girl would know something's up. Best let her think she's right. "Kit probably wants to kill me right now." She said, embarrassed.

Reese shook her head. "Kit's used to the late shift. She prefers it actually. So don't worry about it." She told Emily offhandedly. "So. Do you know about the party at the AChiO house tomorrow night?" She asked, ignoring Paige's warning look.

"I've heard of it. Yeah." Emily admitted. "Some of my teammates are joining the run tomorrow morning then going to the party."

"What about you? Are you coming to the party? 'Cos Paige here could use the company." Reese said, nudging lightly the girl seated next to her on the loveseat. "You don't have to join the run to go to the party. You should come. Keep Paige entertained. I'm gonna be busy."

Paige inconspicuously shook her head when she saw Emily's panicked look, trying to tell the girl that Reese was just messing with her head and that she doesn't know anything. "Where's the bathroom?" She suddenly asked, getting up. "I haven't had the chance to use the bathroom here. Reese?" She said, looking at the girl seated on the couch. "Mind pointing me to where you spend most of your time here?" She asked with a straight face, getting back at the girl for her comment.

"The one for customers is out of order right now." Emily answered, hoping Reese doesn't decide to verify her story. "You should probably use the one the employees use at the back. I'll show you." She said, leading the way.

Paige glared at Reese before following Emily, knowing the girl probably knew that she wasn't really going to use the bathroom but talk to Emily in private instead. But that's the least of her concern right now.

"I swear she bought the story." Paige said once she and Emily were inside the cramped space in the back room.

"What did you tell her?" Emily asked, looking past Paige towards the front of the café to check if they were alone.

"The truth. That I did give you the hickeys and that you slept over in my apartment. She knows about that. There's no going around that one. But I said that we met later that night and you decided you didn't want to try and left with no choice I went along with it." Paige explained.

"Now I get why she called me little miss fickle-minded." Emily said wryly. "She thinks I keep changing my mind when it comes to you. First with my shift, then with our relationship."

"Well you did change shifts last week to avoid me." Paige reminded the girl. "Which isn't the point right now." She added when she saw Emily frown. "I figured you'd rather she think that than know that we're sneaking around." Paige admitted. "So do you want to come to the party tomorrow night? Like Reese said, it's for athletes."

Emily shook her head. "First you show up outside my class unannounced, now you're trying to show me off to your teammates." She said in an accusing tone.

"What? No. I'm not trying to get us caught. I'm sorry about lunch. I promise it won't happen again." Paige said earnestly. "I just want to see you at the party and you can even invite Spencer to come. It'd give me the chance to hang out with your friend."

"Why would you want to do that?" Emily asked, confused.

"I thought it'd be easier if Spencer and I sort of become friends." Paige admitted.

"Easier for whom? Paige I don't want her to know. The last thing I want right now is for you to spend time with her." Emily explained, starting to panic.

"Oh. Okay." Paige said, hiding her disappointment. "Then I won't bring it up again. Now about the party?" She asked, going back to a lighter topic. "It's a popular event among athletes because it's tradition. No one would think you came for me."

"Little confident, aren't you? Thinking I would come to the party just to see you?" Emily said, starting to smile.

Paige shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Come on. Please?" She begged, taking Emily's hand.

"Fine. I'll think about it." Emily finally answered, her pulse racing when Paige began playing with their hands.

"Good." Paige said, grinning. "So are we alone?" She asked, looking past Emily to see if there was someone else inside the room.

"Yeah. They're all outside." Emily replied, nodding her head towards the front of the café.

Paige focused her attention on Emily and leaned forward, depositing a soft kiss on Emily's lips. "I've been dying to do that since I walked in and saw you looking gorgeous in this apron of yours." She revealed, tucking a strand of hair away from the girl's eyes. She leaned in close again, her lips just mere inches away from the girl. "Are you sure we're alone?" She asked again.

"How long does it take for you to use the bathroom?" Emily asked, her arms wrapping around Paige's neck.

"Five minutes tops." Paige admitted, her arms moving to Emily's waist to pull the girl closer to her.

"You need a bigger bladder." Emily managed to say before Paige claimed her lips once more.

"I can't wait until your shift ends." Paige said in-between kisses. "I wish we were back in my place so we can do this without having to worry about getting caught."

"It's still a few more hours." Emily said as she leaned her body closer to the girl. "And your five minutes are up."

"Already?" Paige complained, frustrated. She forced herself to stop kissing Emily, depositing a kiss on the girl's lips before pulling away. "To be continued later." She promised.

Emily nodded. "You go back first. I'll follow you soon." She said, fixing her apron and her ponytail.

"I need a bigger bladder." Paige muttered, kissing Emily on the cheek before turning around and heading back to Reese reluctantly.

Emily sighed, smiling as she watched Paige head back to the front of the café. She bit her bottom lip to try to wipe the smile off her lips as she headed back to the counter, wishing her shift would end so she and Paige can go back to the girl's apartment.

---

"I know. I know." Spencer repeated, continuing to browse the magazine on her lap as she sat cross-legged on her bed, talking on the phone with Connor. "Yeah. Well I'll try asking her but I doubt she'll want to go so don't get your hopes up. I barely convinced her to go to that sorority party last week."

Spencer looked up when she heard the door open and close, smiling at her friend when Emily came into view.

"She didn't enjoy it, Connor. She barely talked when she was there." Spencer pointed out, watching as her friend headed to the bathroom to change, closing the door behind her. "Well you shouldn't have promised your friend's friend that you're going to introduce her to someone tomorrow night at the party. Then we wouldn't have this problem." She pointed out, rolling her eyes. "I know you meant well. I just wished you told me first. I'll do what I can. Yeah. I'll call you again later. Bye."

"Trouble in paradise?" Emily asked as she exited the bathroom and closed the door behind her, now in her cotton pajamas and the shirt Paige lent her last Saturday.

Spencer shook her head. "No. Just Connor unable to resist meddling in other people's business." She said, trying to figure out how to broach the subject of inviting her friend to a party tomorrow night. "You seem to be in a good mood." She observed. "Something good happen?"

"Just had a good day." Emily admitted as she sat on her bed. "Oh. Hey. Do you have any plans tomorrow night? I just got invited to a party at the AChiO sorority house and I'm thinking of going. Want to come?"

Spencer felt her jaw drop. "I was just talking to Connor about that!" She exclaimed incredulously. "He invited me to go and he asked if maybe you'd like to go as well."

"Well considering I brought it up before you did, I think it's obvious I want to go." Emily pointed out.

"Who invited you?" Spencer asked, closing the magazine she was browsing.

"What?" Emily replied, trying to come up with a name. She mentally berated herself for not thinking ahead that her friend would pose that question.

"You said you just got invited. By whom?" Spencer repeated.

"Well it's a party for athletes." Emily began. "The entire swim team was invited by one of the AChiO sisters earlier today. Why does it matter?" She asked, starting to get worried.

"Connor wanted you to come because he wanted to introduce you to someone. I was just checking to see if you're going there with a date." Spencer explained.

"I'm not. But I don't want to meet anyone at the party. I don't want to have to make small talk." Emily added.

"Just meet the girl. Please? Then find a way to blow her off or something if you're really not interested. Connor won't stop bugging me about it. And honestly, you're doing this for me." Spencer admitted. "But I mean, what's the harm, really? It's not like you're seeing anyone. Right?"

"Right." Emily repeated. Technically she isn't. She told Paige they're free to see other people anyway. "Yeah. Okay."

"Great! I'll tell Connor you're in!" Spencer said, starting to dial her boyfriend's number.

Emily looked down on the shirt she was wearing, tuning out Spencer's conversation with her boyfriend as she contemplated what to tell Paige tomorrow.

---

"What time's your first class?" Emily asked breathlessly as Paige's lips began making their way to the crook of her neck.

"Not until one thirty." Paige answered before capturing Emily's lips on hers again, their lips meeting and parting hungrily like the past three days that they've been sneaking around didn't happen.

Last night when she came over for dinner, Emily finally managed to set the ground rules. And rule number one was that Paige would never wait for her outside of her classes unless there's an emergency or a life and death situation of some sort. Emily agreed to have lunch with Paige as often as she can so long as she goes to the girl's apartment and that they leave separately, unless, of course, there's an emergency or a life and death situation of some sort. That rule was effective starting today. After her last class, Emily immediately took the bus to Paige's apartment where the girl was waiting for her with boxes of takeout and a gorgeous smile on her lips. And after finishing their lunch, they went straight for dessert.

"Do you have to be somewhere else?" Paige asked as she slowed down their kisses and stared at the girl lying underneath her on the couch.

"No. Just asking." Emily said, touching a lock of hair that made its way to Paige's eyes. She tucked the strand of hair behind the girl's ear, glad that she's finally able to do something she's been longing to.

"So are you coming to the party tonight?" Paige asked, kissing Emily's wrist briefly as the girl continued to play with her hair.

Emily shook her head. "No." She lied, wanting to see what Paige is going to do about it.

"What? Why?" Paige asked, frowning. "Come on. I want to see you there." She said, bringing her lips to the crook of Emily's neck and beginning to kiss it, telling herself not to leave another mark as the ones she did are still healing. She began trailing wet kisses from Emily's neck to her jawline, to the corner of her mouth. Kissing the girl's cheek softly before bringing her lips to Emily's ear. "Please?" She whispered, kissing Emily's earlobe playfully, making the girl laugh.

Emily was about to answer but Paige wasn't done. "Please? Please? Please?" She begged, kissing Emily on the lips each time she said the word.

"Fine! I'm going! I'm going!" Emily blurted out, laughing with the girl. "I really decided to go with Spencer last night. I just wanted to see how much begging you're willing to do to get me to come." She admitted.

Paige laughed. "God you're such a tease!" She exclaimed, moving to kiss the girl again but Emily pulled away. "What?" She asked when she saw the girl's expression turn serious.

"I'm not a tease." Emily said quietly, getting up into a sitting position and running a hand through her hair. She focused on trying to fix her clothes as she fought to hide her embarrassment at being called a flirt by Paige.

"What? I was just kidding." Paige said, wondering why Emily looked hurt. "It was a joke. I didn't mean it to sound as something negative." She explained, trying to tuck a strand of hair behind Emily's ear but the girl pulled away. "Em..."

"Then what did you mean?" Emily asked, unable to meet Paige's eyes.

"When I said you were a tease? I meant you led me to believe that you're not coming to the party when you really were." Paige clarified. "That's it."

"I didn't lead you on." Emily argued.

Paige let out a short laugh. "Uh, yes you did. But in a good way. Not in a deceitful way." She added hurriedly when she realized Emily was starting to get annoyed. "Em, you were just showing affection and being sweet. You played me but it's not something bad. I would've done the same thing if I wanted you to convince me to come to something just to see how bad you want me to be there."

Emily still felt embarrassed but now it's for a completely different reason. She finally understood Paige's comment. It's just that she never had to do that with Jai. Whenever she told her girlfriend she wanted her to come to something, Jai didn't need her arm to be twisted. She always said yes straightaway. So she did the same thing when Jai asks her to come to social gatherings and family reunions with her. There was no need to play games. But the same thing can't be said when it came to Paige. She really wanted to know just how much Paige wanted to see her tonight because she wanted to make sure that the girl wasn't playing with her.

"I'm sorry." Paige said, bringing Emily out of her reverie. She moved closer to the girl to see if Emily was going to still pull away from her, feeling relieved when the girl didn't when she took her hand. "I want to see you there tonight. Are you still going?" She asked, looking at Emily anxiously.

Emily stared at Paige then at their hands, unable to answer the girl's question.

---

Paige entered the AChiO house on Tuesday night, the knots in her stomach wound so tight she thought it was going to snap. Emily never answered her question so she didn't know if the girl was going to show up tonight. She pulled closer the leather jacket she was wearing over her shirt, smiling at random people as she made her way around the room.

"Billie!" Paige called out when she saw Reese's girlfriend. She made her way over to the tanned beauty, relieved that she found at least one person she knew. "Hey!" She said in greeting, giving the girl a warm smile. She looked around the room, still trying to look for any sign of Emily.

"If you're looking for Reese she's in the den in the middle of a game of truth or dare." Billie said, nodding her head towards the direction of the spacious room where a crowd has gathered.

"Thanks but I'm not really looking for Reese." Paige admitted, placing her hands inside the front pockets of her jeans.

"That's surprising. Considering the two of you seem inseparable these days." Billie commented.

"Well not tonight. Tonight Reese is all yours." Paige said lightly.

"Am I supposed to be grateful?" Billie muttered, glancing around the room impatiently. "If my girlfriend isn't busy coming to your aid all the time she's playing a game with a bunch of people. I don't even know why she invited me to come in the first place." She complained. "Do me a favor and tell her I went home. I have an early class tomorrow." She said, leaving the house before Paige could hold her back.

What the heck just happened? Paige asked herself as she stared at Billie's retreating form. Seems like Reese's relationship is in more trouble than the girl was letting on. She decided to make her way to the den to tell Reese that her girlfriend just bolted, all the while on the lookout for Emily. When she finally reached the room, she stood near the staircase leading to the bedrooms upstairs, leaning against the wooden panel of the archway as she studied the group of people seated in a circle in the middle of the room. Reese was nowhere to be found. Her pulse raced when she suddenly saw Emily seated in the circle, the girl's hair combed to one side and her lips glossy. The girl was wearing skinny jeans, a plain gray shirt that showed off her curves and a colorful scarf around her neck, most likely to hide the hickeys. Paige couldn't take her eyes off Emily. She forced her expression to remain neutral, aware that the girl would get mad at her if she saw her smiling.

Emily looked up when she felt someone's eyes on her, her stomach fluttering when her gaze met Paige's from across the room. She tried to look away, but she couldn't take her eyes off Paige. She knew what the girl was trying to tell her. That she's glad Emily showed up and that she wanted to be alone with her. Now. Emily's elation over seeing Paige was replaced by mild panic when she heard Reese's voice, reminding her that the girl was sitting with her in the circle.

"Truth or dare." Reese repeated, giving Emily a mischievous grin. She saw the girl staring behind her and she knew, without having to turn around, that Paige just arrived and was currently staring at Emily.

Emily bit her bottom lip, contemplating her answer. "Um, dare." She finally replied, managing to tear her eyes away from Paige to look at Reese.

When she arrived with Connor and Spencer earlier, she was expecting to surprise Paige but the girl was nowhere to be found. She thought Paige decided not to come to the party, thinking Emily wasn't coming after all, and she felt disappointed. She was on her way out to find Spencer and Connor and tell them she's heading home when Reese grabbed her by the arm and announced to the room that she found the last player for the truth or dare game, muttering under her breath, just loud enough for Emily to hear, that the girl owed her and that Paige isn't there yet but she's coming. Emily said she didn't come for Paige but Reese just dragged her towards the den, saying something about taking acting lessons because she's not fooling Reese. And now she's playing a game with a bunch of people she didn't know, just waiting for Paige to arrive. And when the girl did, of course it was her turn and Reese was the one she got to ask her the question.

Reese smirked. "Okay. I dare you to tell the truth then. Who do you have the hots for in this room?" She asked smugly.

Emily rolled her eyes at Reese's lame attempt to ask her a truth question before looking around the crowded room, her eyes immediately meeting Paige's again. The girl hasn't taken her eyes off her ever since she set foot inside the room and while Emily felt a little self-conscious, she couldn't deny that she liked the attention. There was something about the way Paige was staring at her. Like she wanted Emily to know that she's interested and she wasn't trying to hide it. Right now Paige's stare was one of daring. Silently asking Emily to answer the question Reese posed.

"No one. I can't find anyone interesting enough in this room." Emily answered, not taking her eyes off Paige.

Emily saw the smirk the girl gave her when Paige heard her answer, knowing Emily was flat-out lying. She felt exposed. Paige knew how attracted she is to her and that made the girl confident and a little arrogant. She didn't like that Paige had this effect on her.

"That is such a copout not to mention an extremely boring answer. There are lots of guys and girls in this room. Are you telling us you don't find anyone appealing at all?" Reese asked dubiously.

Emily averted her eyes from Paige and smiled at the attractive junior apologetically. "What can I say? The kind of girl I like isn't in this room." She replied, her eyes gravitating towards Paige again.

Paige smirked before finally moving from her position near the doorway, subtly nodding her head towards the direction of one of the bedrooms upstairs.

Emily swallowed hard and inconspicuously shook her head, refusing to go with Paige. She knew what would happen once they were alone but Paige wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. The girl threw Emily a challenging look before turning her back and heading upstairs.

You don't have to follow her. Just stay here and let her sit in that room by herself. Emily tried to go back to pretending she was enjoying the game but she found herself growing restless, her mind already inside that room with Paige. The whole reason she stuck around anyway was to wait for the girl to arrive. Now that Paige is here...

Cursing inwardly, Emily hastily stood up. "I'm out." She said without any explanation to the people she was playing the truth or dare game with and hurriedly crossed the room to follow Paige upstairs. She didn't care if Reese just threw her a knowing look. She just wanted to kiss Paige again.

---

Emily knocked on another bedroom door, the fifth one since she made her way upstairs. She could've sworn Paige was just a few seconds away from her but she can't find the girl anywhere. I swear if she isn't inside this one I'm going back downstairs.

"Paige?" Emily whispered when she opened the door of the last bedroom, starting to get frustrated. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. "Paige?" She called out again.

"Don't make any sudden movements." Paige whispered from behind her, making Emily jump in surprise.

Turning around, Emily moved to hit Paige on the arm. "Don't do that!" She scolded the girl. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Ow!" Paige exclaimed, rubbing her arm. "You still hit like a girl." She said while using her other hand to grab Emily by the waist. "What took you so long?" She asked, pouting playfully.

"It's not like you left a trail of breadcrumbs or hung up a flashing sign that said this way to Paige McCullers." Emily shot back, staring into the girl's eyes.

"Aww. Did you just make a joke?" Paige said teasingly, her heart racing. She couldn't believe she was alone in a dark room with Emily. She tried to pull the girl closer to her but Emily struggled, refusing to move. "What?"

"You're cocky. And so arrogant." Emily said, pulling away from the girl.

"What?" Paige asked, confused.

"Downstairs. You kept smirking when you heard my answer." Emily explained, walking a few steps inside the room.

"I was amused. You were lying in a game of truth or dare." Paige pointed out as she followed Emily.

"And you're taking pleasure in knowing that I'm attracted to you." Emily continued, studying the room.

Paige walked over to the girl, standing in front of Emily. "Well you are, aren't you?" She asked, trying to catch the girl's eyes.

"You don't have to be so arrogant about it. You're making me feel like I'm just one of the girls you see casually." Emily said, still refusing to look into Paige's eyes.

"They weren't that many. And you're not one of them." Paige promised. When Emily still looked hurt, Paige touched the girl's chin, forcing Emily to look at her. "Em, I'm not playing you. I really like you. I guess I just like knowing that you feel the same way about me. I'm not trying to be arrogant and I don't want you to feel like I don't care."

"You're frustrating." Emily said quietly as she stared into Paige's eyes.

Paige smiled. "You're frustrating too." She said before kissing Emily lightly.

"You locked the door right?" Emily asked, looking behind her.

"No. Where's the fun in that?" Paige replied, making Emily face her in disbelief.

"Paige!" Emily exclaimed, starting to panic.

"Kidding. Of course I locked the door. Now come here, you." Paige said, grabbing Emily by the waist and firmly pulling the girl towards her, smiling when Emily didn't protest this time. "You look insanely gorgeous by the way." She whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind Emily's ear as she stared into the girl's eyes. "I can't take my eyes off you."

"I noticed." Emily managed to say, aware that her pulse was racing. She wrapped her arms around Paige's neck, caressing with her thumb the girl's smooth skin. The way Paige calls her beautiful made her knees weak.

"Huh." Paige uttered, her arms tightening around Emily's waist.

"What?" Emily asked.

"You do know you just admitted that you've been checking me out too." Paige pointed out, amused.

"Might've noticed you a little bit. Thought of wanting to kiss you when I saw you." Emily said teasingly.

"So why are we still talking?" Paige asked, leaning forward before Emily could answer and capturing the girl's lips on hers.

Emily slowly pushed Paige towards the bed, the girl stopping when the back of her legs hit the edge. Paige sat down, pulling Emily with her and the girl ended up on her lap, straddling her. Emily leaned her body closer to Paige, her hand cupping the girl's cheek as she deepened the kiss, her other hand resting on Paige's neck, pulling the girl closer to her.

Paige parted her lips, welcoming Emily's tongue as her hand held the girl by the waist, her other hand resting on the girl's thigh. She slowly let her other hand travel upwards, from the girl's thigh to her waist, wanting to feel Emily's smooth skin on her palm. She rested her hand on the hem of Emily's shirt, lifting it ever so slightly, her heart hammering. She let her thumb graze a small portion of the girl's skin, just the side of her stomach, and felt Emily tense when she let her thumb brush it again.

"Paige..." Emily whispered, moving her hand from Paige's neck to stop the girl's hand from lifting her top.

Paige took Emily's hand and intertwined it with hers, aware that Emily told her to stop. She began kissing Emily's neck, her lips traveling to Emily's cheek then to her ear. "It's okay. I heard you." She whispered reassuringly before kissing Emily on the lips again, trying to keep her hormones in check.

Emily nodded, parting her lips when suddenly; there was a knock on the door. She stopped, panicked.

"It's fine. I locked it." Paige whispered, eager to continue kissing Emily but the girl's attention was on the door.

"Em!" Spencer's voice came from the other side as the girl knocked again.

Emily's eyes widened and she looked at Paige. "What are you doing?!" She asked in a low voice when Paige moved to get up, grabbing her hand as she led the way to the door.

Paige placed a finger on her lips. "I'll handle this." She promised before cracking the door open, Emily choosing to stand behind it. "What do you want?!" She asked Spencer impatiently.

"Paige? What are you doing inside with Emily?" Spencer asked, confused.

"What?" Paige said, giving the girl a bewildered look. "Why the hell would I go inside a room with Emily? I don't know where your friend is." She replied, adding a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

"Don't think you can fool me. I saw Emily get inside this room." Spencer insisted. "Em, come on. Come out here. Faye is going to arrive soon."

"Faye?" Paige repeated, glancing at Emily subtly.

"Yeah. Connor set up Em with a girl tonight." Spencer explained impatiently.

"Well she's not here. How many shots of tequila have you consumed?" Paige asked when she smelled the alcohol on Spencer's breath, an idea starting to form in her head.

"I'm not drunk!" Spencer exclaimed indignantly.

"And I'm straight." Paige retorted. "How can you be sure which room Emily went inside? Even the bathroom has the same door as this one. I'm busy. Go away! Find someone else to bother." She ordered, moving to close the door.

"I know Em's inside." Spencer insisted.

"Sorry. Wrong door. Try the bathroom. Bye now!" Paige said, shutting the door on the girl's face. She leaned her head against it, trying to listen. "Close call." She finally said when she was sure that Spencer was gone, smiling at Emily faintly. "Where were we?" She asked, moving to kiss Emily again but the girl pulled away.

"I should leave. Spencer's looking for me and she won't stop until she does." Emily explained, trying to fix her shirt before running a hand through her hair wearily.

"Okay." Paige said, fixing the scarf the girl was wearing just to have an excuse to touch her. "Em?"

"Yeah." Emily replied, looking at Paige.

"Faye. Is she the real reason why you came to this party?" Paige asked softly.

Emily shook her head. "I told Spencer I wanted to go to the party. Not the other way around. I was going to come even before she told me about Connor's attempt to set me up with someone tonight. I came to this party just to see you." She said, tucking a strand of hair away from Paige's eyes.

Paige grinned widely. "Then let Spencer look around." She pleaded. "I want to be alone with you."

"I can't." Emily said apologetically. She moved to kiss Paige on the cheek. "Goodnight." She whispered before opening the door and leaving.

Paige sighed as she stared at the closed door. She knew she had to wait for a few minutes just to make sure no one would notice she and Emily came from the same room. She reluctantly headed back to the bed and lied face down, closing her eyes and groaning in frustration.

---

The next day, Paige, still fresh from a morning run, made her way to the Sheerr Pool, eager to see Emily. She knew it was against the ground rules but she couldn't wait for lunch or dinner to talk to the girl. The entire time she was running around campus her mind was on Emily and Faye. Whoever she was. She wanted to ask Emily if Spencer gave her a hard time last night and find out what happened with the girl her friend introduced to her. She pulled the door open when she reached the pool area and looked around the room, suddenly missing being able to compete in swimming competitions when her eyes drifted to the Olympic-sized pool.

No one's around. Emily's probably still in the locker room. Maybe she can offer to walk with the girl to her class while they talk. Not walk her to class. Walk with her. There's a big difference. She knew Emily wasn't keen on letting people see them together all the time but maybe just this once Emily won't mind. She made her way to the bleachers and sat on the bottom row to wait for Emily to come out, glancing at her watch to check the time.

"My, my. If it isn't leech." Paige looked up when she heard that word said with such disdain. It's been a long time since someone called her that and there was only one girl who did. Well at least in her face. Cesca Thomas. She stood up, unable to believe that someone from her past was really here in UPenn. Short, curly brown hair; smooth, chocolate skin, and a face that could be in the cover of a fashion magazine.

"Cesca. I thought I recognized you a couple of weeks ago." Paige said, trying to act indifferent.

"My dad told me you were going here. Small world." Cesca replied. "I heard what happened to Jazz. Wasn't able to make it to her funeral since I was in Madrid at the time but I called Logan and Kayla to offer my condolences." She said when she was standing in front of the girl. "I knew it was a bad idea for Jazz to leave Philly but she wouldn't listen. And now she's dead. All because she chose to follow you to Rosewood. You just keep bringing grief to people's lives, don't you?"

"I didn't know Jai was going to switch schools and follow me." Paige responded, refusing to let the girl get to her. She was feeling guilty enough as it is.

Cesca scoffed. "Oh come on, leech. Everyone knows Jazz would gladly take a bullet for you. Just look at the lengths she went to. The lengths she made us go to. Just to cover up what you did so you won't get in trouble." She pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Paige asked, staring at Cesca in confusion. "You weren't there. How would you know?"

Cesca narrowed her eyes, gauging the girl's answer. "Oh my god. Jazz never told you." She said in surprise when she saw Paige's reaction. "All these years and she never told you."

"Told me what?" Paige said, fighting to control her temper. What was Jai keeping from me?

"So who did you attach yourself to this time, leech?" Cesca asked, ignoring Paige's question.

Paige looked past Cesca when she heard the door to the locker room swing open and felt her stomach drop when she saw Emily walk out. This wasn't a good time for the girl to see this but Paige saw Emily's bewilderment as she approached them.

"Paige. What are you doing here?" Emily asked, trying to keep her expression neutral as she tried to figure out what's going on.

Cesca laughed dryly. "Of course it would make sense for you to attach yourself to one of UPenn's star swimmers." She said, her attention still focused on Paige.

"It's not like that. Emily and I went to the same school. She's Jai's girlfriend." Paige explained defensively. "I knew her before we went here."

"Well at least you didn't ruin that for Jazz. Glad to hear something good happened to her when she left Philly for you." Cesca commented. "Are you friends with leech?" She asked Emily.

"You mean Paige? Yeah. I am. Is there a problem?" Emily asked, wondering why her teammate seemed to loathe the girl.

"Not yet. But I suggest running for the hills. Paige destroys everything she touches. I should know. She ruined my life." Cesca said bitterly before walking away.

"Care to explain why my teammate seems to hate you?" Emily asked when they were alone.

"Not really. No." Paige replied. She should've just stuck to Emily's ground rules. Maybe this wouldn't have happened.

"Paige. Come on. You can't expect me to just forget about this. She's my friend and this is the first time I've seen her mad." Emily pointed out.

"Cesca and I never really got along in Girard." Paige lied. "I guess she's still holding a grudge against me."

"Because Jai left Philly and moved to Rosewood for you?" Emily asked. That seemed like a weird reason. She didn't really know the story of how her girlfriend came to live in Rosewood. All Jai told her was that her family moved from Philly to the same town where her best friend happened to live. "Is that... I mean... why did you leave Girard anyway?"

"My dad wanted me to study somewhere closer to home that's why I transferred to Rosewood High." Paige answered.

"And Jai?" Emily continued.

"I was surprised to see Jai on my first day of school. She kept the move a secret from me." Paige admitted, her mind back to the moment she saw Jai standing next to her.

"So it's true then. Jai really left Girard and Philly for you?" Emily asked.

"I didn't know Jai would follow me. I didn't want for any of this to happen." Paige insisted, feeling like Emily was taking Cesca's side.

"I'm just asking, Paige. No need to get defensive." Emily said, wondering why Paige seemed so upset right now.

"Sorry." Paige muttered, avoiding Emily's eyes.

"Mind telling me why Cesca's calling you 'leech'?" Emily asked, trying to make Paige look at her.

Paige shrugged. "Just kids name-calling. You know how it is. Some people never grow up. I mean, up until a few months ago I was calling you Sniffles. Right?" She said, wishing Emily would just drop it.

"Right." Emily repeated, wondering why Paige was lying to her. "Well what are you doing here?" She asked instead, deciding to change the subject.

"I just wanted to check up on you after that party last night." Paige admitted. "Did Spencer introduce you to the girl?"

"You couldn't wait until later to ask me that?" Emily said disbelievingly. "Yeah. She and Connor did." She answered as she fixed the strap of her duffel bag.

"Anyone I know?" Paige asked hesitantly.

Emily shook her head. "No." She lied. "If that's all I have to go. I'm going to be late for my Econ10 class." She explained, feeling like the atmosphere between them just changed.

"I can walk with you." Paige offered.

"Why? Are you going to tell me about your life in Girard? Or are you going to keep asking me about Faye?" Emily asked, frustrated. "Because I think neither of us wants to talk about those things right now. I'll just see you later." She said before walking away.

Paige stared after the girl worriedly as she stood frozen in place. Just like that it felt like she was about to lose Emily. She really should've just stuck to the ground rules. Now Emily was slipping away and her past was creeping up on her.

---

Eight years ago...

"I don't know about this. Maybe it's not such a good idea." Paige said, avoiding the puddles on the ground while trying to catch up to Jai as they made their way past the playground and headed to a pathway hidden behind some bushes, careful not to soil her uniform.

"Trust me. It's a great idea. These girls are my friends and I want you to be friends with them too." Jai insisted, stopping to wait for Paige. "Come on." She urged, leading the way inside a wooden lodge.

Paige timidly stepped inside, the heat coming from the fireplace instantly warming her up. It was a welcome relief to the heavy rain and cold weather outside and she felt some sensation return to her hands. She looked around the room, feeling self-conscious as seven pairs of eyes studied her.

"These are my friends." Jai said, grabbing Paige's hand as they walked further inside the room. "Everyone, I want all of you to meet my roommate and friend, Paige McCullers. Paige, this is..."

Paige nodded her head and smiled politely as Jai introduced all of the girls but only one name registered to her.

"And last but not the least, Cesca Thomas. Ria's new roommate." Jai revealed. "Speaking of. Where's Ria?" She asked the group, looking around the room.

"Running late as usual. But she'll be here." Cesca promised. "So you're Ria's former roommate. Well she wasn't lying." She said, moving closer to Paige. "You are gorgeous. Kinda understand why she was bummed to part ways with you. Welcome to the group. Any friend of Jazz is a friend of ours." She declared, extending a hand with a warm smile on her face.

"Thanks." Paige replied, smiling as she shook Cesca's hand.

"Sorry I'm late." A voice from the door said in greeting. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing much. We just had the pleasure of finally meeting your former roommate." Cesca revealed, stepping aside so Ria could see the girl.

Ria stopped wiping the water droplets from her skin and looked up in surprise. "Paige." She uttered, looking around the room as she approached the girl. "Uh, what are you doing here?" She asked anxiously.

"Hey." Paige said, waving her hand awkwardly. "Jai thought it was a good idea for me to meet her friends. Which obviously included you."

"You did." Ria said, looking at Jai in confusion. "Jazz..."

"I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. This way is better. Trust me." Jai promised.

"Then welcome to the group I guess." Ria said, giving Paige an incredible smile.

"Thanks." Paige said, smiling enthusiastically at the girl.

"Ria I am going to steal this former roommate of yours for the rest of lunch break." Cesca stated, grabbing Paige's hand. "Come on. Let's sit together. I want to know everything about you." She said as she led the way to one of the couches. "I can see it now. You, Jazz, Ria and me, the four musketeers..."

---

Present Day...

"You know, I think the owners of this café should consider making us partners." Reese said mock seriously as she sat on the loveseat with a cup of coffee, handing Paige a bottle of apple juice. "We are here practically everyday, even the regulars fail in comparison to us."

Paige wordlessly grabbed the bottle, her eyes never leaving the girl who was currently going about her job around the room. She and Emily made plans to have dinner tonight so she's waiting for the girl's shift to end. Lunch was spent mostly in silence. She knew Emily's mind was still on what happened earlier and she appreciated that Emily wasn't asking her questions about it. But because the girl was preoccupied, all they did was eat lunch. She was planning on changing that tonight.

"Newbie, she said no to dating you. Why are you still lingering here? You should be out going to clubs, trying to meet other girls. There are other girls out there. You know?" Reese reminded the girl before taking a sip of her coffee.

"I don't care. I only want her." Paige admitted, looking down and staring at the bottle of juice in her hand miserably.

"Apparently so does she." Reese suddenly said, making Paige look up.

The two of them watched as the girl Emily spilled coffee on entered the café, heading straight for Emily with a smile on her lips. Emily glanced at the girl and nodded her head, acknowledging the girl and telling her she'll be with her in a sec.

"What's going on?" Paige asked Reese, trying to catch Emily's eyes but the girl didn't even look at her.

"I don't know but I strongly suggest not doing anything rash. They're probably just going to talk." Reese said when she saw Paige's reaction. "You and Emily are just friends." She reminded the girl. "Paige sit down!" Reese whispered urgently, trying to grab Paige's hand but the girl was stubborn.

Paige slowly made her way towards the counter when she saw Emily stop in front of the girl and the two began to talk, increasing her pace when she saw the girl try to hold Emily's hand and saw Emily pull it away.

"Is there a problem?" Paige asked when she was standing next to the girl.

"No." Emily answered, staring hard at Paige to tell her to stay out of it but the girl wouldn't take the hint.

"Rude much? We're having a conversation here. Who are you? Emily's girlfriend?!" The girl asked, studying Paige up and down.

"No. She's not." Emily answered, her eyes on Paige. "She's not my girlfriend." She repeated.

Paige felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment when she remembered her place. "Sorry. I just thought... I'm sorry." She repeated, turning around to head back to Reese.

"Not your finest moment, newbie. Let's go." Reese said quietly, handing the girl her duffel bag.

Paige grabbed it wordlessly and followed Reese out, wishing the earth would swallow her whole right now as she averted her eyes from the handful of customers inside the café. She was beyond embarrassed by what she just pulled even if no one was probably paying any attention. Emily is going to kill her for sure.

"Hey. Can I talk to her for a sec?" Emily asked once she caught up to Reese and Paige before the two girls could head inside Harrison.

Reese nodded. "Come find me when you're done." She told Paige, giving the girl a pat on the shoulder. "Don't be too hard on her." She asked Emily before walking away.

"This way." Emily said, leading the way towards a spot beside the café that was hidden from view.

Paige followed wordlessly, biting her bottom lip as she steeled herself for the lecture.

"What the hell was that?" Emily asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Sorry." Paige repeated.

"Paige, we're not exclusive. You can't act like a jealous girlfriend everytime a girl comes up to me especially when you're not. Jai didn't even act like one when we were together." Emily pointed out.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just thought she was harassing you again." Paige explained.

"She's not. But even if she was, I can take care of myself." Emily reminded the girl.

"Then what did she want?" Paige asked, finally meeting Emily's eyes.

"She's Faye." Emily confessed.

"The girl Connor and Spencer introduced to you? You said I didn't know her!" Paige exclaimed accusingly.

"Well based on what you did back there can you really blame me for not telling you?" Emily asked wryly. "I wasn't going on a date with her. I was going to tell her that I'm not interested once and for all."

"Oh. I'm really sorry." Paige said, feeling her cheeks flush in embarrassment.

Emily sighed. "I thought you promised you won't give me a hard time?" She asked warily.

"I did. And I mean it. I'm trying." Paige promised. "Are we still on for dinner tonight? I'll make it up to you."

"I don't know. I have some reading to do." Emily replied, not really in the mood to be with Paige tonight.

"Then bring your books over. We can study together. I'll be on my best behavior." Paige added, raising her right hand to swear.

"Okay." Emily finally said.

"Okay?" Paige repeated.

"Yeah. But don't wait for me here. I'll just come over to your place." Emily said before walking past Paige.

Paige bit her bottom lip anxiously. She was screwing up big time lately. She had to find a way to fix things or she's going to lose the girl.

---

Later that night, Emily found herself distracted as she sat on Paige's couch, struggling to keep her legs from bouncing as she tried to focus on the book she was reading but her mind kept reliving the scene Paige caused earlier at the café. The past few days sneaking around with Paige have been amazing when they were alone. But outside of these four walls, when they were around other people... it wasn't working.

Paige was impulsive. And while a part of Emily liked it, a bigger part of her was scared that their secret would come out because of it. It was also obvious that Paige had a past that seemed taboo because even her girlfriend refused to talk about it when she was still alive.

And that thing with Cesca earlier. What did she mean when she said Paige ruined her life?

Emily had to admit, it still felt weird. Being around Paige. Yeah they've hung out lots of times but back then she was trying to hide her attraction for the girl because she thought Paige would make fun of her if she found out. And that Paige will probably never feel the same way about her. So yeah. It still felt weird that she and Paige decided to try and be something. Now she was seriously considering backing out. Maybe agreeing to what Paige wanted was a mistake.

Yeah she was attracted but she still had misgivings about the girl. It's Paige. There were a lot of reasons why she wanted to back out. For one, she's Jai's best friend and somehow it felt wrong to feel this way about Paige even if Jai's dead. Then there's the fact that a part of her still saw Paige as the girl who made fun of her in high school and made it her personal mission in life to get on Emily's nerves everytime. Who's to say Paige isn't making fun of her now? Playing with her feelings because in the end it would be such a laugh for the girl to tell anyone who would listen that Emily has the hots for her.

Emily felt sick. Maybe that's what Cesca meant. If that's what Paige is doing then it would really hurt. She suddenly felt uneasy. Maybe I should go. She thought, figuring out a way to make up some excuse about why she wanted to leave and never come back.

"They didn't have egg rolls so I got dumplings instead. I hope that's okay." Paige said as she got off the phone after ordering their dinner. She sat down beside Emily and faced the girl. "What do you suggest we do while we wait?" She asked, grinning mischievously. She really wanted to try and make it up to Emily.

"I don't know. Study?" Emily suggested, moving to put some distance between them.

"Or..." Paige trailed off, scooting closer to Emily with a playful look in her eyes.

"Study? I really need to study." Emily said, pulling away.

Paige furrowed her brows in confusion. "Em, are you okay?" She asked, studying the girl closely.

Emily nodded. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" She replied, not meeting Paige's eyes.

"Well you look constipated and about to hurl your lunch." Paige replied teasingly.

"Why are you always making fun of me?!" Emily exclaimed.

Paige stared at Emily in surprise. "Wha- I wasn't making fun of you. I was just trying to say that you don't look fine." She explained.

"Then just say it. You don't have to insult me everytime you open your mouth." Emily snapped.

"I'm sorry." Paige said sincerely. "I wasn't insulting you. I didn't mean anything bad by it." When Emily didn't say anything, she continued. "What's going on? Is this about Cesca? Because I told you. She and I never got along."

"Why? What did Cesca mean when she said you ruined her life? Was she one of the girls you strung along?" Emily asked accusingly.

"What? No. Cesca's straight. And I was never a player. Not now and certainly not when I was in Girard! I was a kid trying to make sense of being different. Of liking girls among other things. I was never a player. Why won't you believe me?" Paige asked, the frustration evident in her voice.

"You're not giving me reason to." Emily pointed out.

"Em, you've known me for years." Paige reminded the girl.

"I was around you for years." Emily corrected. "I didn't know you. You refused to let me in. You were just Jai's best friend who treated me horribly for years..."

"And I've been trying to make up for it." Paige interjected. "I'm telling you the truth. I was never a player." She repeated firmly. "Yeah girls liked me. But so did Jai. And Jai's had more admirers."

"So now you're saying Jai's just like you?" Emily asked, looking at Paige incredulously.

"What? No. I'm saying Jai has had her share of admirers in the past but you didn't think she's a player." Paige explained.

"Because she wasn't." Emily pointed out. "Even if you say girls liked her, she still waited for the right girl to commit to. She didn't go around kissing random girls."

"Unlike me?" Paige said, hurt. "Well I'm sorry I wasn't as lucky as Jai when it came to love. It's not like I didn't try. But I'm trying now. With you."

"Paige..." Emily sighed. "I just think I made a mistake. Agreeing to this thing. I think I shouldn't have said yes. It's too soon." She admitted.

"Oh." Paige uttered softly. This wasn't how she wanted the night to go. They've barely started and Emily already wanted out. "Um, what did I do?"

"Why do you assume it's something you did?" Emily asked, giving Paige a curious look.

"Well you want out. That means I did something to make you think twice." Paige explained.

"You don't think there's something wrong with me?" Emily said, surprised. "Why I want out?"

Paige shook her head. "Not really. You said you're attracted to me. So that means you like me. So you wouldn't want out unless I did something to make you unlike me." She said matter-of-factly. "Which, now that I've thought about it… is probably everything I've done in the past three days."

"I still like you." Emily admitted.

"But you're not sure if I like you." Paige guessed.

"It's not like I have no basis for it. For years you kept making fun of me every chance you get. Who's to say you're not making fun of me now?" Emily asked quietly.

"I'm not. I don't know how to convince you that I genuinely like you. If you won't believe anything I say I can keep going in circles until I'm blue in the face but in the end if you're convinced that I'm just messing with you I can't do anything about it." Paige said, her voice hoarse.

"So what are you trying to say?" Emily asked despite knowing the answer.

"I'm saying if you want out, okay. Let's stop this before things get more intense. It's obvious that you don't trust me, Em. And I really can't blame you." Paige said, smiling faintly. "I don't want you to force yourself to be with me because you think it's the only way we can spend time together. I don't want you to sit beside me with one foot out of the door. So if you want to end this it's fine."

"Really?" Emily said, not knowing whether to feel relieved or disappointed that Paige didn't even try to convince her otherwise.

"Yeah." Paige answered, nodding her head.

"I'm sorry." Emily uttered sincerely.

"It's okay." Paige said, forcing herself to smile, hoping her disappointment wasn't showing. "Let's just study until the food arrives then I'll drive you back to Harrison." She offered, turning to face the coffee table cluttered with books.

"Yeah. Okay." Emily agreed, going back to reading her Econ10 book.

Paige stared sadly at Emily for a second before grabbing her book in Sociology to start her reading as well. She jumped up when Emily turned the page of the book the girl was reading and accidentally brushed her skin against Paige's.

"What's the matter?" Emily asked, looking up at Paige worriedly.

Paige tried to control the racing of her pulse. "I, uh, forgot something in my room." She lied, swallowing hard as she forced herself to forget the feel of Emily's skin against hers just now. "I'll go get it." She said hoarsely, turning her back to Emily before the girl saw the devastation written all over her face.