Emily's POV
I woke up Wednesday morning with a sudden burst of happiness. I've always been an optimistic person but today it's on a whole new level. Last night with Paige was incredible. When you like someone that much and to find out they like you back, it's something else entirely. Dinner had surprised me, the way she was acting made it seem like a date but I couldn't be sure. I was baffled when she walked me to the door of Spencer's house last night and I couldn't keep myself from asking whether or not it was a date. Asking her was nerve racking but I felt like we were close enough that even if she was weirded out we would have moved passed it.
I never expected she would actually kiss me. And then say she wanted to be my girlfriend. Last night was perfect and now this morning, I'm up extra early because I just want to see Paige. It's really early but I just couldn't get back to sleep knowing I would see her today. I made sure I didn't mention anything to Spencer or my mom last night car because I wanted Paige to be comfortable and come out on her own terms. I would wait if that was what she needed. I couldn't resist the urge to see her any longer, so I got ready quickly and left my house to head for The Brew and surprise her with breakfast at her apartment.
I tapped lightly on her door, wondering if she would still be a sleep although I doubted it. She seemed like an early riser from the couple of times I saw her in The Brew. She opened to door and I saw the beautiful face I had dreamt about last night. She smiled at me and then a look of guilt crossed her features. I looked her up and down and noticed she was dressed in work out gear. She was so busted. The fact that I would have to keep an extra eye on her for the rest of the week annoyed me… who am I kidding I actually loved the idea.
"Going somewhere?" I asked her knowingly
"I—uh…no?" her lie was pretty shameful and she knew it.
"Paige, Paige, Paige. What part of no physical activity do you not understand? You, missy are terrible at following orders. I hope you weren't planning on joining the military because you wouldn't last a day at someone telling you what to do" I patronized her jokingly.
She groaned and opened the door wider, motioning for me to come inside. "I was just going to go for a light jog. You know keep my cardio up? I need to stay fit if I'm going to be missing practices this week" She explained.
"Stay fit? Seriously Paige it would take a lot more than a week of no exercise for you to fall behind" I rolled my eyes at her as a walked to her kitchen and placed her coffee and bagel on the counter.
"Fine. Let me go get changed" she grumbled, marching to her bedroom and slamming the door.
"Good morning to you to!" I called sarcastically.
She came out dressed for school in a simple pair of jeans and a black v-neck that hugged her perfect body nicely. I looked her up and down appreciatively and smiled at her.
"Much better!" I went to hand her the coffee but she pushed my hand back to the counter, leaning in to me and giving a soft kiss to my lips. She wrapped her hands around my waist and I returned the kiss with the same amount of passion.
"Good morning" She breathed. Smiling as she pulled away from me, grazing my arms as she did moved. She reached for her coffee and perched herself up on the counter, apparently no longer upset about being scolded by me.
"That's better as well" I joked.
We drove to school in my car, and I was suddenly very nervous about how to act with her in public. She never said she didn't want people to know but I knew how hard it could be to first come out. We pulled in the parking lot and by this point I had freaked myself out. What if I did something to upset her today while we were in front of everybody? She must have noticed my nervous behavior because she walked over to me and took my hands in hers.
"Em, I'm not worried, so you have no reason to be. I know who I am and there is no reason to hide it from anyone, to hide you from anyone. Actually if it's okay with you, I'd like to scream from the rooftop that you're mine" She joked. How she could go from so sweet to so funny in a matter of two sentences was beyond me. She leaned in, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek and we began walking towards the school, hand in hand. How had nobody else fallen for this girl before me? There was just no way that was possible, Paige must be quite the heartbreaker in Philly.
My morning went by painfully slow as a waited for lunch time. No doubts this time that Paige would be joining me and the girls for lunch. I couldn't wait to tell them about me and Paige, although I was sure I was going to hear it from Hanna for not calling her the moment we made it official. I smiled as the bell rang and I practically ran from the class to my girlfriend's locker to meet her, beating her there.
"excited to see somebody?" Paige asked me as she approached me.
"Well yeah there's this girl, she's pretty amazing and I want to show her off to my friends" I looked at her and raised my eyebrows.
She made a motion of looking around the hallways for this 'girl' and then looked back to me, pointing at herself and opening her mouth widely in shock. Again she was always so freaking adorable and funny. I burst out laughing at her and she joined in with her soft laugh. I took her hand and dragged her in the direction of the courtyard.
"Come on, cutie, let's go have lunch"
Upon walking towards my friends, hand in hand with Paige, the girls took in the site before them. Spencer looked surprised. She was always so observant except when it came to relationships. Aria looked at us happily and of course, Hanna was bouncing in her chair and squealing with joy.
"I knew it!" She yelled as we sat down. "I mean, I knew Emily liked you Paige and it was only a matter of time. Emily has a way with the ladies" I reached over hit her in the hand for her embarrassing comment but she dodged it and continued her ramblings. "Chill, Em. I would yell at you for not telling me whenever it happened but I'll give you a free pass considering Paige lives alone and I can only imagine what you two kids were doing last night"
"Hanna!" We all yelled, including Paige. Spencer reached over and gave her the usual swat in the back of the head.
"Yeah, yeah well I don't wanna hear you deny it because that is also only a matter of time IF it hasn't happened yet. She lives alone for crying out loud! Speaking of which, Paige, you live alone! That's awesome and we are having a girls night this Friday so don't make any other arrangements. The five of us at your apartment, I'll bring the Pizza and drinks"
Aria spoke up looking at Paige, "That's Hanna's way of saying we're so happy for you guys and we would love to hang out with you more sometime"
"And also Hanna, we've been dating since last night, I think around 8:30 it became official if you must know every single detail. We haven't even been together for 24 hours so can you cool it with your assumptions, you're embarrassing me" I huffed out.
Paige looked over at me and placed her hand on my thigh. She absentmindedly ran her hand up and down the length of my leg, driving me wild. "It's fine, actually thank you guys for being so welcoming, it's nice to know Emily has good friends like you. And I would love to spend more time with you so Friday night at my place sounds perfect. My friend Kelly should be coming for a visit and she would love to meet you guys" Paige smiled at them and I couldn't believe she agreed to let Hanna take over the apartment. I would have to make sure this didn't become a usual thing for Paige's sake.
Hanna squealed with excitement. "This is so awesome! You really have good taste, Em. Be careful because I might just steal Paige away from you" She winked at Paige and I rolled my eyes. The rest of the girls burst out laughing and I knew Paige would have no trouble fitting in to the group.
Hanna forced every detail out of Paige about what happened last night, squealing and sighing at every romantic thing Paige said. Hearing Paige explain it was amazing and I could help but reach over and give her a kiss on the cheek every so often, my way of letting her know she was torturing me with how completely irresistible she could be.
Spencer then asked about the situation on Monday night and I tensed as Paige explained the confrontation, mostly focusing on the fact that she couldn't participate in swim practice for the rest of the week. This launched her and Spencer into a conversation about sports and hating rest time after injuries. Their thoughts were on the same wavelength about the stupidity of it and they continued their animated complaints. Spencer better not encourage her to disobey the note or I would have to have a very meaningful conversation with her.
I was secretly grateful that Spencer liked Paige though. If Spencer had any doubts about her it would have made things very difficult so it was nice to have her approval. Aria and Hanna seemed to really like Paige as well, making me glad that I didn't have to worry about my friends anymore. The cat was out of the bag for me and Paige when it came to my friends, and it was great.
Paige's POV
Friday afternoon came much quicker than I expected, as the rest of the week went by blissfully. Aside from not being able to swim, I was really happy with my life. Being with Emily, even if it's only been a few days has been amazing. Of course, she's been going out of her way to meet me extra early in the mornings and texting me through the evenings to make sure I'm not sneaking in any work outs or going to the pool. I have been playing it up a little, threatening to go for early morning jogs everyday so each morning she would come to the apartment just a little bit earlier. Everything seems to be falling into place, and tonight is going to be a blast, especially since Kelly would be joining us. I really missed my friends from Philly and was glad that my best friend was making time for a visit.
We drove back to my apartment after swim practice to await Kelly's arrival and set up for 'Hanzilla takeover night' as Emily phrased it.
"So is Kelly alright with you being gay? Like do you think she will get freaked out if we like, hold hands or something?" Emily asked nervously. She was being fidgety ever since we got to the apartment.
"Uuuh.. actually, Em, I haven't exactly told her yet?" I was being a little bit mean considering I told Kelly yesterday over the phone. She was typical Kelly, nothing but accepting although she said she was very surprised. She couldn't wait to meet Emily and I really couldn't wait to show Emily off to my best friend.
"YOU WHAT?" Emily yelled. "Paige were we like, gonna keep this a secret from your friends? I mean I…well… if that's what you want it's fine but I think Hanna will let something slip, you know how she gets" If Emily looked nervous before it was nothing compared to how she looked now. She looked completely terrified.
"I figured she'd just see us making out tonight and catch on" I explained, hoping she would realise that I was completely joking.
It didn't work out that way. Emily's face dropped and she wandered over to the window in the living room. Damn. I meant it as a joke and she seemed pretty upset now. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms tightly around her waist. She tensed a little so I leaned in close to her ear, placing a few kisses on her neck.
"I'm just kidding" I whispered softly in her ear.
Emily elbowed me hard in the gut causing me to grunt. Damn she could really pack a punch if she wanted to.
"So not funny, Paige!" she pouted and walked away from me.
I laughed lightly and she turned to glare at me "Oh C'mon you have to admit it's a little bit funny! You should have seen your face" she stared me down so I tried to control my laughter.
"I've been freaking out all day about what your best friend is going to think about me and you're just making jokes? I want her to really like me Paige, she's a big part of your life"
"She's gonna like you just fine, Em. In fact, I'm a little worried she might try and steal you from me when she finds out how wonderful you are" I laughed again.
"PAIGE! Can you pretend like this is important for one second?"
"It is important, but I'm not worried because I know she will like you. But if you really want her to like you, work on that temper, she doesn't like it when people yell at me"
"Uggggh! You're so annoying" She turned to walk away again so I caught her arm and pulled her in for a hug.
"Em, relax. You're amazing there is nothing Kelly won't like about you. Kelly basically likes anyone that smiles and says hello so you'll be fine" she reluctantly hugged me back and I pulled back a little to give her a quick kiss.
"No joke though, I'm worried about her and Hanna being in the same room. I don't think any of us will be able to get a word in between the two of them" I poked Emily on the nose and she laughed. Everything was good and I think I finally calmed her down just as there was a knock on the door. She jumped out of our embrace and straightened up, fixing her already perfect hair. I rolled my eyes and went in for one last kiss before going and answering the door.
"Paaaaiiiige!" Kelly pulled me into a bear hug "I've missed you bestie!"
"Cant. Breath." she laughed and let me go. "I've missed you to, Kel" I smiled at her and led her inside.
Kelly took one look at Emily and dropped her bags, gasping and looking at me questioningly. "That's Emily? This is your girlfriend?" she looked flabbergasted. Great. And Emily thought Kelly would be the one to get weirded out.
"Yes, and you are freaking her out by talking like she's not even here so can you be normal for five seconds please" I begged
"Holy, shit Paige! She's gorgeous! How did you…?" Kelly stared and Emily began shifting awkwardly, not sure what to say
I slapped my hand to my forehead. "Thanks for the support, Kel. Now can you stop staring. I actually like her and she looks like she's about to bolt" I joked and Emily shot me a frantic look.
"Sorry Paige, but seriously? Good job. I'm pretty speechless right now" Kelly shook her head. "I'm Kelly, I'm sure Paige has told you all about me though. She tells me all about you. All the time. It's a little creepy"
Emily laughed "I'm Emily, and it's nice to meet you. Paige does talk about you…mostly nice things" Emily joked
"Don't believe any of the bad things, Emily. It's all lies." Kelly quipped back. "Don't think I didn't notice the giant ass bruise on your face by the way, Paige, I was just too busy admiring your girlfriend, but what the hell happened to you?" Kelly asked. Emily shot me a look but I ignored it.
"You should see the other girl" I joked lamely. "Just a little swimming incident, and before you ask, yes you can get injured in swimming. And Emily is a swimmer too so think again before you decide to tell me it's not a real sport because Emily will probably kick your ass before I do"
"Fine I won't even go there. But I can see why you what made you change teams, Paige. Emily I don't really know you but from everything Paige babbles on about you seem pretty cool."
"Kelly, you're making me seem like some kind of obsessed stalker!"
"Well the way you've been talking to me I assumed you were" Kelly retorted.
"You guys remind me a lot of Spencer and Hanna" Emily added.
Kelly turned her attention to Emily, "I'm actually already kind of mad at you, I mean you kinda stole Paige away from Philly and now I don't think I'll have a chance of getting her to move back with you here"
"Yeah I don't know if I want to give her back just yet" Emily joked. "Besides, Paige actually admitted to me that she liked Rosewood today so she might not even want to go back"
Kelly looked shocked "Traitor!" she yelled at me and hit me in the arm.
"I said no such thing!" I tried to defend myself but it was useless.
Kelly made a deal of ignoring me whilst she and Emily chatted about school and the city. They quickly bonded and I could see Emily relax more as she got acquainted with Kelly. As the afternoon went on I noticed Emily was keeping a careful distance from me, making sure not to touch me in anyway. I tried to hold her hand a few times but she kept moving away so I let it go.
"Are you sure you two are a couple?" Kelly asked suddenly
I shot Kelly a look and Emily looked up confused. "What?"
"I haven't even seen you guys touch each other and I've been here all afternoon. Now I'm no expert but usually new couples are all…couply?"
Emily blushed red in embarrassment. "I just.. well I know this is a lot to take in and I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable" Emily explained.
Kelly laughed and smiled. "You're a real sweetheart, Em. But it's going to take a lot more than seeing you two hold hands or whatever to make me uncomfortable"
I smiled at Kelly for relieving that tension and reached over and took Emily's hand. Even this small contact caused my stomach to flip. I smoothed my thumb over her soft skin and I couldn't resist leaning over and kissing her cheek softly.
"Much better" Kelly approved. "Now, what exactly are we doing tonight?"
"Knowing Hanna, it will be something involving alcohol and a lot of bad ideas" mumbled Emily.
"Sounds like my kind of Friday night!" Kelly smiled and right on time, there was another knock on the door. Kelly strutted over and opened the door like she owned the place and I rolled my eyes as she introduced herself to Spencer, Aria, and Hanna.
"Are you sure you're okay with them being here tonight?" Emily whispered to me
"Absolutely. Tonight will be fun, no more worrying" I whispered back as I stood up, taking Emily's hands in both of mine and pulling her up and walking with her to greet the girls.
"Party's here!" Hanna called to us, pointing to Aria holding 3 large Pizza boxes. Hanna reached into her large purse and pulled out two large bottles of tequila. "Hope you can hold your liquor Paigey!"
"Oh trust me, Paige will outlast us all, the girl can drink she's got a kidney of steel" Kelly joked.
"Liver" Me and Spencer corrected at the same time. We looked at each other and grinned. Me and Spencer had been hitting it off during lunches at school. I got on well with each of Emily's friends but me and Spencer had this sort of bond because of our competitive nature.
"Same thing!" Hanna defended Kelly. "Now where are your cups? We need to get started!"
The night was going by smoothly. By this point we were all getting pretty drunk and it had become clear to me that Emily was an extreme light weight. She was completely cute though, and a little clingy. She was not really participating in the conversation, too far gone for that but she had a ridiculously cute smile the entire time.
We sat on the floor with her leaning against the couch and I in between her legs. She was being pretty touchy feely, running her hands up and down my legs, over my arms, brushing her fingers along my neck and through my hair. It got distracting a few times, and the alcohol wasn't helping, but I remembered the four other girls in the room and tried to at least pretend to pay attention to their words.
"So Kelly! Tell us more about Paige! Got any good stories? She told us she didn't date but I'd like to hear your thoughts on that" Hanna slurred out. As I figured, they hit it off right away, even making plans to go shopping in Philly sometime over the next couple of weeks.
"Oh Paige'll have to tell you those herself. I've been sworn to secrecy. But she didn't…date much" Kelly smiled suggestively.
"C'mon Paigey! We've been talking about our relationships and stuff all night and you havn't told us anything!" Hanna whined.
"Actually, Hanna, you and Kelly have been talking about Caleb and gawking over boys, the rest of us are just trying to keep up" Spencer interjected. Seeing her drunk was kind of funny. She was very chatty and slurred her words a lot, although it was clear she was making an effort to remain proper.
"I told you there's nothing to tell" I added
Hanna looked to Kelly and she rolled her eyes. "Kelly looks like she thinks there's more to the story! C'mon Paiiigey. I'll tell you stuff about Emily!"
"Hey! S'you guys leave me out of this" Emily slurred out.
"Well I don't see you sticking up for me, babe" I responded. She hit me playfully and when I looked back at her she had that endearing drunk smile on her face. "Tell you what, Hanna. You tell me one thing about Emily, and you can ask me anything about my past. And Kelly will even confirm it for you" I was to drunk to realise what a bad idea this was.
Hanna smiled smugly. "Anything? Alright done deal! What do you want to know about Emily?"
"What's her flaw?" I was seriously curious and the question just sort of came out. I had known her almost two weeks and I could swear the girl was perfect.
"Oh, honey. Didn't you hear? Emily doesn't have any real flaws. She's actually to perfect, that's her flaw"
"That's not true! Theres lots'a stuff wrong with me" Emily tried to defend herself but we all kind of ignored her.
"Alright, alright. She's too trusting. You can't lie to her without feeling like you've murdered a bunch of puppies. It's awful. But flaws… hmmmm well I guess she is very sassy?" Spencer suggested
Aria and Hanna laughed and I joined in. Emily was definitely sassy. "And she's very controlling" Aria added. "But not like Spencer controlling. She can get you to do something and you won't realise it was her idea until after the fact" Aria was right about that. The more I got to know Emily the harder it became to deny her of anything she asked.
"Enoooouuuugh" Emily whined. I turned around in her arms and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She tried to turn to I would kiss her lips but I wasn't having that right now. I was enjoying her 'sassy' side and kind of liked teasing her a little.
"Alright so that answered your question about Emily, now its my turn" Hanna smiled devilishly.
"Fire away, Hanzilla"
"Have you ever had sex? And if yes you have to give us the story! And if no, I still want details about how far you've been" Hanna looked at me confidently. Yeah she trapped me with that one. Me and Emily still hadn't had that awkward talk.
Emily spoke up, trying to defend me "Paige, you don't have to answer that. Hanna that's not fair Paige and I have only—"
"No, Em. Its fine" I turned to look at her and saw burning curiosity in her eyes to I decided to just tell the truth. The truth was coming out a lot better because of the alcohol anyway.
"Yes, Hanna. I've had sex with a guy before" everyone was looking at me intently, expecting more. "it was last year and I was very drunk and it may have been the worst experience ever. I wasn't ready but I was to dumb and to impaired to be thinking that at the time. There isn't much I regret about my life but that has to be near the top of the list. Anyway it was just the one time and a hardly remember it." I explained. Emily's body tensed and I turned to look at her again, but she looked emotionless, deep in thought I assumed.
Spencer spoke, catching my attention, "Wow. I'm sorta surprised! Not that you've had sex but I never would have thought that you would be the girl to give it up at a party ya know?
"Like I said, it was a mistake. If there's anything I could take back it would be that night"
"Hold up a sec!" Kelly interjected. "Paige, you're making it sound like you've had one weird encounter with a dude and that's it. The truth is, Paige used to have a bit of a reputation as a party girl. She didn't date, but that doesn't mean she didn't… well…" Kelly trialed off.
"I wasn't a slut, Kelly" I yelled. "God! You're making it sound like all I had sex at parties all the time. I just kissed a few guys alright its no big" I spoke the truth. Well at least my embarrassing past was out there now.
"Well don't worry! Even if you'd only kissed a bunch of guys that's a lot more experience than Em!" Hanna said.
"Hanna!" Aria tried to stop her.
"Well Paige should know that Emily is a virgin in all that juicy stuff! I mean aside from kissing Maya and Allison she's got a capital 'V' written all over her" Kelly started laughing and the other girls just rolled their eyes, looking at me and Emily apologetically.
Emily rolled her eyes, grabbed the bottle of tequila and downed the rest of it. "Well, Han, we can't all be as 'friendly' as you used to be"
We continued on with our bickering for a little while longer until Aria and Spencer ended up passing out on the couch together. Hanna and Kelly continued talking about random famous guys they were 'in love' with and Emily pushed me away so she could stand up. I hurried up to help balance her as she made her way to the kitchen.
Suddenly, she grabbed me by the waist and spun me around, pushing me against the wall roughly. She wasted no time and began kissing me before I even had time to process what she was doing. She pushed her tongue along my bottom lip roughly, begging for entrance which I granted her quickly. The kiss was passionate and rough and she clearly dominated it, sucking and biting aggressively which was completely turning me on. She continued kissing me like this while leaning into me and groping my sides. Emily moaned and moved her kisses down my jaw and to my neck, causing me to let out a moan in return. I wanted to turn the tables on her and take control but she completely had me. She pushed me off the wall and stumbled us towards my bedroom quickly closing the door and pushing me down on the bed.
She looked at me and smiled and it was probably the sexiest thing I had ever experienced. It got even better as she slowly crawled on top of me and began kissing me like she did in the kitchen. Her body on top of mine felt amazing and I let my hands roam around to her ass and I placed my hands gently on her firm, perfectly toned cheeks, causing her to moan loudly into my mouth. She moved her lips down my jaw line again, making her way to my neck where she sucked and nipped, surely leaving her mark. Her hands were still roaming up and down my body, landing on my abs and around my waist.
She moved her lips up to my ear and began nipping and whispered, "I want you so bad"
If my stomach wasn't knotted enough, it sure as hell was now. I felt heat rush though my body as her words rang though my entire body. She began toying with the hem of my shirt with one hand and the button of my jeans with the other.
Suddenly, the earlier conversation about mine and Emily's previous sex lives entered my mind and I knew why she was doing this so suddenly. I pulled my face away from hers, I needed to end this before this night became her mistake.
"Emily, stop"
It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life but I pushed Emily's hands away from me, rolling her off me and on to her side, detangling our mess of limbs from each other in an attempt to gain some control of the situation.
A look of disorientation crossed her features and I remembered how drunk she was. That looked was quickly replaced by hurt and confusion as to why I stopped her.
"Don't you want me?" she asked weakly as her eyes began to water. This was breaking my heart even though I knew she would thank me in the morning.
I chuckled lightly. "Babe, more than anything. But you don't need to prove anything to me and I know that's what this is about"
"I don't wanna disappoint you, Paige. You're just going to be waiting for me to be ready now"
"Emily, stopping you was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. You, my dear, are very hard to resist and you use that to your advantage way too much. You havenothing to prove, trust me. I don't even count that… moment, last year because I barely remember it. I feel it with you, Em, and I want it to be like that. So even if you're ready, I don't think I am yet" I looked at her and she was staring at me in awe. She looked a little sobered up after my little declaration.
"It's all so new to me and knowing you have so much more experience scares me a little bit" Emily whispered.
"Ugh.. Kelly made it sound so much worse than reality. That's what I was afraid of last year, Em. And that's why I got so drunk and had a meaningless moment with someone. Because I was afraid. But it was a mistake, and Emily, I don't want you to wake up tomorrow morning and look at me as a mistake. I want this to mean something, and being drunk during our first time…"
"why are you so good to me?" Emily asked curiously. She leaned over and placed a soft kiss on my cheek. "Paiiiiige?" Emily looked at me with that same drunk smile again.
"What's up, Em?"
"I think I'm drunk" she burst out in laughter "And I think I'm ready to sleep" she closed her eyes and rolled over on the bed.
"Don't pass out just yet, we need to get you out of those jeans" I walked over to my dresser and grabbed a pair of cotton shorts for her. She moved to the side of the bed and began unbuttoning her jeans. I was surprised she was able to manage that much but she got them down to her knees and looked at me pleadingly. I sighed and pulled her jeans the rest of the way off, and placing her legs through shorts and pulling them up for her. She was really pushing my self control tonight.
I scooted into bed next to her and wrapped my arms around her as she nuzzled her face into my neck. I could feel her smile against my neck so I brushed my fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead softly. "Sweet dreams, Em"
"S'you too" she mumbled out, and we both drifted to sleep.
Emily's POV
My eyes shot open and the brightness was overwhelming. I squeezed them shut tightly again and groaned at the awfulness I was feeling. My head was pounding and my stomach ached as I tried to figure out where I was and what happened last night. It all came back pretty quickly, I was in Paige's bed, we were drinking last night.
Oh god last night! After hearing about Paige's history last year something just came over me. I really didn't want to be a disappointment for her so I basically threw myself at her. I must have been awful, sloppy drunk kisses and then trying to have sex with her? Did that really happen? What if I wasn't enough for her? That's I remembered thinking that last night.
Then I remembered her stopping me. I really thought she didn't want me but she explained herself so perfectly and it all made sense. I really was trying to prove something to her and she caught on. I remembered how she looked at me last night with nothing but care and understanding. Emily was right, there was no way I was ready and to try and push her while we were drinking? Ugh I was so dumb sometimes. I really did want Paige and it had terrified me to think she would just be waiting for more but to throw myself at her while I was drunk, and right after she told me she regretting getting her first time because she was drunk. 'I don't want you to wake up tomorrow and look at me as a mistake.'
I slowly opened my eyes and looked around the room to see that Paige wasn't there. I saw the water bottle and Tylenol on the table with a sticky note that had my name scribbled across it. I chugged the water and threw down the pills. I was pretty embarrassed with myself for last night, facing Paige was going to be a nightmare. I knew she would be completely understanding but I made a fool of myself and it was humiliating no matter how I spun it.
As I tried to pull myself out of bed, I got really dizzy and felt a wave of nausea deep in my stomach. I groaned loudly and pushed my head back down on the pillow.
"Someone feeling a little crappy this morning?" I looked up to see Paige leaning in the doorway looking at me with a teasing smile.
I looked at her in embarrassment and her teasing smile quickly disappeared. She walked over to the bed and scooted up next to me. My eyes started watering and she pulled me into a hug, knowing exactly what I needed.
"Emily don't you dare feel bad about last night. I'm not even a little bit bothered by what happened" she ran her fingers through my hair and looked me straight in the eyes. I knew she was telling the truth.
"I know that, Paige. And thank you for not letting anything happen. I'm more upset with myself for being so dumb. I mean you tell me this really sad story about how much you regret your first time and how meaningless it was because you were drunk and I throw myself at you while I'm drunk and its my first time? I don't know what I was thinking. I don't want you to think that I was trying to make our first time meaningless—"
"Emily, shh. Calm down alright? I don't need you to explain yourself. And if it makes you feel any better I think your advantage over me is a lot harder so deal with"
"What advantage?" I asked curiously.
"Well, you've been in real relationships before where you've felt something for the other person. I've never experienced that before you. Those kisses at parties or the dates I've been on never meant anything to me. Now dealing with all of the emotions of being with someone you care about… well I guess that's what scares me. You don't need to say anything about that, I just want you to know that's why I'm not ready yet" She looked at me softly.
I looked deep into her eyes and understood exactly what she meant. But then I remembered her words last night and I had to explain one more thing. "Paige, I didn't lie last night when I said I wanted you, I really do and I'm glad that we both agree that we're not ready. But what I'm getting at is that I can promise you even if… last night would have happened, I could never think of you as a mistake" I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, hoping she understood what I was getting at.
"Yeah well you're lucky I have some control when it comes to us because you are pretty damn irresistible, and I think I can add that to your small list of flaws" She joked. I playfully hit her arm and smiled, everything was good between us.
"C'mon drunky, let's go get you some greasy breakfast to cure that hangover" she pulled me up slowly and we walked hand and hand to the kitchen where the rest of the girls were already seated having breakfast. Paige fixed me a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and I noticed Kelly and Hanna were in about the same condition that I was feeling.
"Wow, Em, you look like shit! I'm serious I don't think I've seen you this bad since homecoming last year" Spencer joked. Paige shook her head as if to say 'I don't even want to know'
"This is exactly why I don't drink. Thanks for the amazing idea Hanna" I grumbled at her. I was pretty annoyed with her for making Paige talk about some pretty grim stuff last night, even though it didn't explain my reaction to it I still wanted to blame Hanna just a little bit. Hanna just grumbled in response.
We ate breakfast and Spencer, Aria and Hanna left after thanking Paige for the great night insisting that we do it again soon. I agreed last night was fun but I promised myself to never get that drunk in front of Paige again because if she thought I was irresistible last night she had no idea of the effect she had on me. Well I guess she had a bit of an idea considering.
Kelly was a little worse for wear than me so our grand tour of Rosewood was pretty short lived. As Paige had predicted, Kelly loved the town and all of the tiny shops, although she still insisted that Paige find a way to move back to Philadelphia. I tensed a little as I imagined Paige moving away from me, it had been less than a week but she was becoming such a big part of my life already and I wasn't ready to think about losing that.
We were sitting in the park and Paige insisted on getting us some ice cream, leaving me and Kelly alone for a few minutes.
"You know, I always wondered if Paige would ever find someone to date. She is always so selective about who she opens up with. I guess I always assumed it would be some sensitive, fun jock dude, but I like you a lot more" Kelly laughed lightly.
"So, you're okay with this then? Paige being gay doesn't bother you?" I asked.
"Well it was definitely surprising but I think you're exactly what Paige needs right now especially considering her family issues"
"Yeah, I have a feeling what she told me about her family was only just the beginning"
"She'll tell you more in time. Emily, Paige thinks she's good at hiding stuff from me but I can see that she doesn't like Rosewood. I'm guessing it's not just from the forced move?"
Kelly was a very intuitive person. "There's been some problems with a couple girls from school, but it's over now, I took care of it. I wouldn't let anyone hurt Paige, I promise" I spoke sincerely.
"I figured as much. Like I said, Paige opens up when she's ready. Emily, I do trust you but Paige is my best friend and I've seen her go through enough to know she struggles with herself more than other people. Even if things don't work out between you two I need you to promise me you'll look out for her" Kelly really cared about Paige, it was obvious. I was glad that Paige had a friend like this.
"Of course. I promise to look out for her no matter what"
"Thank you, it means a lot. And just because I'm her best friend I should probably mention that if you personally do anything to hurt her I will beat you to a pulp" She smiled at me and we burst out laughing.
"What are you two laughing at?" Paige asked as she approached us with our ice cream.
Kelly answered first "You, of course. It's getting pretty late, I should probably hit the road back to Philly. You two should come up together sometime though, I mean you can't hide Emily from your awful group of friends forever Paige"
"You're part of that awful group, Kel. But yeah I definitely want Emily to meet them eventually. Hopefully we'll take a journey to the city in the near future." I really liked the sound of that.
After Kelly left Rosewood, we went back up to Paige's apartment to have dinner together. She was a little useless in the kitchen I was noticing so I took it upon myself to make us some rice and chicken. "Paige I really don't know how you've survived a week living off of your cooking" I teased. She explained to me that she usually bought her lunch and dinner was a microwave meal, salad or a protein bar.
"It's not that bad!" she pouted. "And if you're so worried I guess you'll just have to cook my meals for me to, you know since you're already regulating my exercises"
"Oh let it go already! It's two more days then you can go run and swim all you want" I threw some rice at her and she made a show of ignoring me for the next five minutes. After a few minutes of heated silence she wrapped her arms around my waist from behind while I was stirring the rice. Her hands roamed up and down my stomach as she nuzzled her face into my shoulder, planting sweet kisses all the way up to my neck. I leaned back into her and let out a sigh.
"If this is my reward for cooking I'll be here every night" I tried to speak evenly but she was making it very difficult as she softly pecked along my collarbone. I completely forgot where we were momentarily as I reached my hand forward, setting it directly on the hot stove burner.
"OUCH! SHIT!" I jumped back and Paige quickly detached herself, startled by my sudden outburst. I cradled my hand and shook it frantically while cursing. "Damn it Paige! You made me burn my hand!" I turned off the stove and moved the sink, running cool water over my hand trying to relieve some of the pain.
"Oh my god, Em! I am so sorry" Paige grabbed her first aid kit from a cabinet and began digging through until she pulled out some burn ointment. "Babe, I am so so so sorry. That was really stupid of me" I shut the water of and she took my hand, wrapping it in a towel and gently patting it dry. I looked up at her and saw how frantic she was and she looked at me apologetically. Did she actually thing I was mad at her?
"Paige, chill, it's a small burn, happens all the time, no biggie" I pulled the towel away and there was barely a mark there.
"I should have known better than to do that while you were cooking. This is why I suck at relationships I'm no good at being romantic" She rambled on as she handed me the tube of burn ointment. I applied a small amount and continued on cooking.
"Why were you trying to be romantic exactly?" I teased.
"Oh…well actually. Hanna was mentioning something to me last night about some school formal dance coming up in a few weeks. She said you would love it if I asked you to go. She said 'make her dinner, get all sweet and ask her to the formal' well that just failed miserably so here's my 'Paige' way of asking, do you want to go to the dance with me?" She looked at me sweetly.
"Do you want to go Paige?" I asked seriously. I didn't want her to feel pressured by Hanna.
"Well I'm not much of a dancer but if I get to see you in a dress dancing I'm in. No I really do want to go Emily, I think it would be fun"
"Then of course I want to go with my amazingly sweet girlfriend" I replied. I walked over and kissed her passionately before she pulled away.
"No kissing while the stove is on, someone could get hurt" She joked before pulling me back for another kiss.
I went home that evening with a smile on my face. Paige and I were going really well already and I loved being this close with her. I walked in the door of my house to see my mom waiting with an expectant smile.
"How was your night with the girls?" My mom asked. I had told her that Paige lived alone and we were all hanging out there for the night and to my surprise my mom agreed to let me go. She had really come around about everything lately and it's been great to have her support. I couldn't wait for her to meet Paige because if there was any girl my mom would completely approve of I know it would be her.
"It was awesome mom! Paige's friend Kelly came from Philly and she is really great. We spent most of the day giving her a tour of Rosewood which surprisingly was fun" I explained.
"That sounds great sweetie. How is Paige adjusting to Rosewood? Those girls have stopped bugging her right?" I told my mom everything about the situation with Paige on Monday night after I called her. It was better to tell her the truth in that situation.
"Paige said she's starting to like it actually. Which is great! Those girls won't be stepping near Paige anytime soon, mom. I think we made it clear that Paige isn't going to get bullied. Plus she's friends with Spencer now and anybody in their right mind knows not to get on her bad side"
My mom laughed at that. "I'm glad everything is working out Emily. I can't wait to meet this girl she seems like a lovely person"
"Maybe I'll invite her to dinner here in a few weeks or something. I don't want to jump the gun to soon on that step mom. She has a lot of family issues of her own and I want her to feel comfortable with me first. Everything has been going so great I just don't want to push it" I explained.
I settled into my bed that night, deciding it wasn't as comfortable as being in Paige's arms. My mom was right, everything was working out. There was still so much I wanted to know about Paige but I felt like in time she would tell me everything about her family. I was looking forward to what our future would hold for us; her meeting my mom, me meeting her friends. Then is occurred to me. What was she going to tell her family? I could care less what they thought but I was worried what they might do if she told them she was gay. From everything Paige told me it sounded like they would ship her off to god knows where to try and 'fix' her. Maybe not telling her parents would be the best option because I was nowhere near ready to risk losing Paige. I guess it wasn't something I had to worry about for now though. Right now everything was perfect and I was content with living like this.