Good night, guys! :) I'm sorry about the delay, a lot of things happening in my life and I barely had time to focus on anything, even less the story. Anyway, there may be a few mistakes because I wrote this chapter faster than ever. New world record! xD I'm sorry about that. I hope you didn't forget about me and this story and you're still interested in reading this fanfic. Thank you, guys! :D

MJ: You were asking where the love was. Okay… so… keep reading. xD I understand you were frustrated about their relationship. This chapter is nicer though. :) Thanks for your nice words! Take care. :)

Alexzmc: I finally updated! Yay! I'm sorry, my life is hectic at this moment. Anyway, enjoy this one. Un abrazo! ;)

Enjoy! :D

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

: Chapter 7 – Don't Give Up:

I've been ignoring her for a few days, only talking to her about work stuff. I avoid looking her in the eye, making it easier for me to be serious about my decision to interact with her only when strictly necessary. It's getting harder though, she keeps being friendly and talking to me with a shy smile on her face. I, however, try to avoid eye contact and focus on work. Everyday has been like that since I stopped talking to her, already fed up with her attitude towards me. I feel she wants to make me change my mind about her, she's trying really hard. I have been determined and consistent with my decision to ignore her. But I have the feeling this morning everything will change when I see her enter the office. She has puffy eyes and looks exhausted. Our eyes meet, but I don't say a word moved by my pride. She takes a seat but doesn't even turn the computer on. She just sighs. Something is wrong.

"Are you okay?" I finally ask, breaking my silence towards her. I can't ignore her right now. She seems really hurt.

"I'm fine. Thank you," she adds, not meeting my eyes and obviously lying. I've known her for only a few weeks, but I already feel like I know her really well and I know she's too much pride to admit she's not feeling okay.

"Are you sure?" I insist. I'm actually worried about her. I know she's been crying just by looking at her eye redness.

"It's nothing. Thank you though." The tone of her voice is friendly. Even if she's not obviously feeling fine she's being nice, and that makes me want to know what's going on even more. She seems weaker than I have ever seen her, I would happily hug her. I continue with the project in hand, I don't want to push her, she needs her space. I look at her from the corner of my eye and realize she's just staring at the computer screen, although she didn't turn it on yet. All of a sudden, she stands up and picks up her belongings, her coat included. "I need to leave. If you need me just call, okay?" She hands me a little piece of paper with a cellphone number on it. I look at her, but she avoids my gaze, her sad eyes staring at the floor.

"Hey!" I say just a few seconds before she opens the door to leave the office. She turns around and now looks me in the eye. "Take care, okay?" She fakes a smile, but I appreciate that small gesture.

"Thank you, Emily."

After what happened with Paige, I can barely concentrate all day. I attended a meeting with the client and I missed her, because she's always there to make things smoother with the client's requests. It's like she has that kind of power on people. She hasn't been the nicest person with me, but I recently realized she is good with people when she has to deal with work stuff. That's why I've come to think she has a gift to make people feel good, although she doesn't apply those skills on her personal life. Even if her lack of presence at the meeting is a palpable difference, I handle every doubt and question reasonably well given the circumstances. Concentrating on the meeting was harder because of what happened early in the morning, but it went better than expected and it was a good thing in order to gain confidence. Nevertheless, once I return to my desk, my thoughts go to the girl that was supposed to be seating right next to me. I look at her desk and then take a look at my watch. Today I came one hour earlier because I couldn't sleep, so I can already leave the office. I will work on the documentation I have to prepare for the client tomorrow. I'm exhausted and my focus is elsewhere, so it doesn't make any sense to stay here. I grab my purse and coat and make my way to the door. I abruptly stop walking when I remember about the note she gave me. I would love to call her to ask if she's okay. However, I was only supposed to call her if something work related happened. She would probably take the call as an invasion of her privacy, but I can't help it. I keep staring at the piece of paper for a few seconds, and I finally decide to go back and take it. I grab the paper and keep it in my pocket like it was the most valuable thing in the world. When I get home, I leave everything on my bed and I take my phone and the note out of my pocket. I take a deep breath, press the number written on it and then push the 'Call' button. When I hear her voice words don't come out of my mouth and I get out of breath.

"Who is this?" she asks after hearing nothing but my silence.

"Paige… I… uhmmm…" I start saying, not being able to properly form a sentence. I hate that she makes me feel this way. I don't like feeling weak.

"Emily?" I sense a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Yes, it's me," I mumble. "I know I shouldn't be calling you, but I just wanted to know you're okay," I say, eager to know her reaction.

"It's okay, Emily. It's nice knowing that somebody takes care of me." I didn't expect this answer, and it's really satisfying. "I'm better. Thank you for calling."

"I'm glad you're okay. So…" After a brief moment of feeling hesitant, I ask her the question that's been on my mind since this morning. "Do you need anything? I mean, i there's anything I could do to…" She interrupts my sentence and I honestly feel relieved she did, because I was going to start to ramble.

"Actually… I would love to see you." I swear my heart stopped pumping. This is not happening.

"Really? Now?"

"If you feel like it. I mean…"

"Of course I want to see you." Shit, I couldn't be more obvious, but my feelings about her escaped from my mouth.

I hear a small laugh on the other side of the phone. "I was thinking about having dinner at my place. What do you think about that?" Okay, I'm going to die. She just invited me to her place. I can't think of any other plan that can make my day more perfect.

"That's great. What time do you want me there?" I'm going to explode from happiness.

"In an hour, if that's okay with you."

"That's perfect. I'll be there. See you, Paige."

"Bye, Emily." I love when she says my name.

Once I end the call, I leave the phone on the bed and start jumping joyfully like I was a teenager. Then I jump into the shower, I get dressed and I leave the apartment only five minutes before the agreed meeting time.

"So punctual," she says when she opens the door. She smiles at me. "Thank you for coming," she adds just before hugging me. I didn't see this coming, and her sweet perfume and touch makes my legs tremble. I obviously blush. "Come in."

"Thank you," I politely say. I take a look at the apartment and I realize I love it. It's really simple, with not too many colors on the walls, floors and decoration. But the place smells so good and it's so clean that makes me want to live there. It's not that Spencer's place is dirty, she's the most cleanliness obsessed person I've ever known, but I have to admit this is just perfect. I admit I felt in love with the place and the person that lives in it.

"You can leave the coat over there."

"Okay."

I take a seat on the couch and she sits next to me. She looks exhausted, but I can see she's not in that bad shape.

"I know you're curious about what is going on with me, and I get that you're worried. It's not that I don't trust you. I will tell you eventually, but I don't want to talk about that right now, okay?" I nod at her. I would agree to everything she said if she talked so close to me. Her smell and niceness are so mesmerizing that I can't keep looking at her.

"It's okay. I just want to help you, that's all," I admit.

She smiles at me. "I get it. Your company is everything I need right now. So you're actually helping me." I can't help but blush to her flirty comment.

She jumps from the couch and points at the kitchen. "By the way, I made dinner." A grin invades her perfect face.

"You didn't need to do that, Paige."

"Cooking makes my stress go away, so it was a win win situation."

"It smells great. Thank you."

She heads to the dining room in order to set the table. She took the trouble to cook a delicious meal. I don't think that because I like her, she's actually a great cook. After enjoying a perfect meal, we decide to watch a movie. She has a huge collection of DVDs, but we decide to watch a comedy because it's the kind of genre that will make her feel better. However, only ten minutes after turning the DVD on, she falls asleep, her head resting on my shoulder. I hear her breathing and her delicious smell fills my nostrils, making me want to cuddle with her. I put a blanket covering her body, turn the TV off and leave the apartment so she can sleep, because she needs it badly.

I get home with a huge smile on my face and I decide to go to bed. It's a little bit late and today was a day full of emotions that left me with no energy. Besides, I can't think of a better way to end this day.

The next day, when I wake up, I eat breakfast while checking my cellphone. There's a text that gets my attention because of who the sender is. Even if it's really early in the morning, I get the feeling today will be a great day just by reading the following words.

Morning! Thank you so much for everything. You made my day. I hope we can do this more often. –P ;)

To be continued…

Stay tuned! ;)