Chapter 7

On the bus ride home, Paige became a ball of nerves. She talked incessantly about little tidbits of nothing. Alex listened for a long while, finding it rather endearing, before placing her hand on Paige's thigh. "Relax," she said, smiling warmly in an attempt to calm her down.

"Relax? I can't relax. You're about to spend the night with me. God only knows what will happen."

"You call the shots tonight, ok? Nothing happens unless you want it to happen." She pulled away her hand, conscious that she had overstepped her self-imposed boundaries.

Paige looked at Alex with open gratitude before turning to stare out the window. "We're almost there." She was silent the rest of the trip.

However, as soon as they arrived, her chipper mood reared its ugly head again. She rambled away about how her parents were sleeping and her brother spending the weekend, as per usual, at school. She talked about the mirror in the hallway, the TV, and the new carpet as she led her guest to the kitchen.

"Do you want anything to eat? There's granola bars, fruit snacks, bananas. Or I could make you a sandwich. Or if you want something deserty, there's ice cream."

"Paige, relax."

"Or something to drink? You look thirsty." She rummaged hurriedly through the kitchen. "Water, milk, tea, coffee, orange juice…"

"Relax. I'm fine. You should try breathing some time."

"Sorry, I'm nervous."

"I can tell. Let's just go to bed."

"To sleep, you mean? Nothing else, right?"

"Nothing else."

Paige ducked her head down bashfully and led Alex upstairs to her room. They didn't touch and they didn't talk on the way, which only served to make them both more nervous than before.

"Here, you can sleep in these," said Paige, breaking the silence by offering Alex a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

"I'm not wearing that," she declared.

"Why not?"

"Besides the fact that it's purple? It's got cheerleader written across the ass." Alex held up the shorts disdainfully.

"Fine," Paige smirked. She dug deeper into her drawer and managed to dig out a pair of flannel boxers. "Are these better? They were Dylan's…for all of 30 seconds before I stole them."

"Much better." Alex began to pull off her top, and was amused when Paige blushed and spun round.

"Ok, then. I'm going to go brush my teeth."

Alex sat nervously on Paige's bed after dressing. She looked around the room, her girlfriend's room, and tried not to think about how tonight's events would transpire. But inevitably her thoughts always returned to where they ought not. One moment she was concentrating on a picture stuck to the mirror, the next minute she was imagining her mouth on Paige's breast. Concentrate on something else, she told herself. She stared at the fabric on the headboard, trying to pick out the patterns, only now she wondered how it would be, her hand between Paige's legs, feeling parts of her that she'd only felt on herself.

Paige's return snapped her out of her reverie. "I put out a new toothbrush for you. And if there's anything else you need, help yourself to it."

When Alex returned from her trip to the bathroom, she found Paige looking through her CDs. "I was thinking we should listen to something mellow, but I wasn't sure if you would like that, and I'm not sure that I have anything that would appeal to you. But you can look to see if there's anything. I just don't –"

"Paige, forget the music. Let's just go to bed. It's late." Alex climbed into bed.

"I just thought –"

"For the umpteenth time, relax. Remember, nothing happens unless you want it to happen."

Paige, clutching a CD case, stood there still, afraid to turn around and face Alex. "But," she said quietly, "what happens?"

"What do you mean?" asked Alex, who pretty much knew what she was asking, but still wanted her to say it first.

"What happens…when it happens…with two girls?"

"I'm not sure…exactly. I figure a lot of it's the same as with a guy. Honestly, though, I'm not an expert. But we don't need to worry about that yet, right?" There was a hint of uncertainty of the unknown in her voice. Paige picked up on it and turned around.

"You're scared too?"

"Maybe a bit unsure."

"Oh my God, I'm so relieved!"

"I'm glad my fears bring you pleasure," said Alex sarcastically. "Can we sleep now?"

"Yes, yes, of course." Paige slipped under the covers, careful not to touch Alex, and leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek. "Good night," she said before rolling over and clinging to her side of the bed. Alex had to content herself with staring at Paige's back, trying to take comfort in the fact that at least they were both there and the world hadn't come to an end.