Good night, guys! :) First of all, thanks for your reviews. I was having doubts about the story and I needed to know if you thought this wasn't interesting enough. Anyway, I guess you want more, so here's the next chapter. I didn't have time to check on the mistakes I may have done, so sorry about that. Thank you so much for your support, guys! :D
BTW, in case you don't remember how last chapter ended… Emily had too much to drink and Paige walked her home. They bumped into Spencer and Hanna and it turns out Paige and Spencer know each other.
Enjoy! :D
sammyd11: Thank you so much! I know you will enjoy this chapter too. :)
Theartofkeepingcool: It's just like you say. I know the pace of the story is not the best for the reader, because people want things to happen faster. But I feel like this is more realistic, although it may be more boring. Anyway, I saw the response and I guess I was wrong. By the way, I'm glad I encouraged you to start writing. That's so cool. Thank you so much! ;)
MJ: so glad my #1 fan loved the last chapter. This one is even better, you'll see. xD I love cliffhangers, and I know you do too. BTW, there is probably one coming. LOL I won't disappear, but I don't have a lot of time to write and writing in English is way more arduous for me. That's why I don't post as frequently as I would like to. Thank you for your nice words! :)
An: I won't stop the story. Thanks for the support.
Ness: Thanks!
Guest #1: LOL You're the second person that thinks there is something between Spencer and Paige. It wasn't my intention to make you think that when I was writing the chapter, so forget about that. It's something completely different. :D
Anna: Thank you so much! Hahaha. It's so funny you really think that ending means something romantic involving Spencer and Paige. You'll just have to keep reading, but I guarantee you there's nothing like that in my mind, so you can sleep in peace. xD
Alexzmc: I love your passion regarding this fanfic. LOL And I'm so grateful about that, because that gives me strength to keep writing. Thank you so much! Enjoy this chapter! Un saludo. ;)
jofi: Hahaha. Thank you for hating me. When writing this last chapter, I tried to make your hate towards me even bigger. Just enjoy this chapter. :)
Guest #2: Thank you so much! I'm glad you all enjoyed the cliffhanger. ;)
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE
: Chapter 9 – Honesty:
Hanna and Spencer are staring at both of us. We're all standing next to the entrance door, silence is the only thing I can hear. I look at Paige and I see she's frowning. I don't get why she's not saying a word, neither does Spencer.
I finally break the awkward silence, all the alcohol that I had not so long ago being the main responsible of my boldness.
"Can somebody explain to me what the hell is going on here?" I ask, both hands on my hips. I'm a little bit annoyed at the secrecy the two girls are sharing. Hanna looks really nervous too.
"We should get going, Hanna," Spencer adds, grabbing Hanna's arm.
"Now? Are you serious?" she pouts.
"Yes, right now. They need to talk." She looks daggers at the blonde girl and gets her into the elevator.
"You're a party pooper, Spencer Hastings," I hear Hanna saying when the elevator's door is closing.
"So? Aren't you going to say a word?" I ask while Paige keeps looking at the floor.
She shyly raises her head and looks at me. "Can we talk inside?" She points at the entrance door and I nod at her. We take a seat on the couch. My head is aching now, I shouldn't have drunk so much.
"Why didn't you tell me you knew Spencer?" She takes a deep breath and looks me in the eye.
"Are you serious about that? I didn't know Dr. Hastings was your friend. Besides, I barely know you. Am I supposed to tell you everything about my life?" She looks mad at me. I don't understand why she's so upset.
"I'd love if you'd tell me everything, Paige. You can trust me." I hold her hand, it's trembling.
"You know what? I don't think this is the right moment to have this conversation. You had too much to drink." She stands up and I hold her hand. "Emily…" she quietly says.
"I don't want you to leave," I beg, alcohol kicking in suddenly.
"This is a conversation we should have when you're sober. Please," she adds, letting go of my hand.
"Just tell me why do you know her? I'll let you go once I know that. You can't do this to me." I smile at her and place my left hand on the couch, signaling the place she should be sitting on.
She sighs, but sits next to me.
"My mom is in the hospital. That's why."
"I'm so sorry," I say, holding her hand again. "Is it bad?"
"Could we please leave this for another moment? Please, Emily." She doesn't look at me, I can see a tear going down her left cheek. I can't stand seeing her so sad. I place my right hand on her cheek and wipe the tears that are ruining her beautiful face. She turns the head slowly and I see sadness in her eyes. I embrace her in a hug, it feels so good to comfort her. Her smell is so captivating that I don't want this hug to end. She pulls away from the hug and I look her in the eye, taking advantage of the short distance that separates our bodies. I slightly bend my head and get closer, waiting for her response. She doesn't move, so I bend to kiss her lips. She doesn't do anything at first, but then moves her lips and kisses me back. She suddenly gets away from me and jumps out of the couch.
"I need to go." And with those words, she opens the door and disappears.
Even if it was a chaste kiss my heart is about to explode. She kissed me back. That must mean something, right?
"Are you serious? Did you kiss her?" Spencer seems more excited than me about the kiss.
"Alcohol helped me do that," I joke. "I shooed her though." Spencer shakes her head.
"She kissed you back, she wants you too, Em." I smile at my friend, but I'm not so sure about that. "Did you talk about..?" She doesn't finish the question, but I know she refers to her mom.
"She told me her mom was at the hospital. She didn't want to share more." Spencer sighs. "What is wrong with her?"
"You'll have to ask Paige that. I can't talk about that. You know, patient doctor confidentiality," she says, a smile plastered on her face.
"Okay."
"Now drink this and go to sleep, okay?" She hands me a glass full of water and adds an effervescent pill into the glass. I don't feel like drinking that disgusting mix, but I guess she's a doctor and knows what is good for me given my condition.
"Thank you, mom," I joke, just before drinking her miraculous drink. "Good night, Spence." I wave at her and head my bedroom.
"By the way, Emily," she says, making me stop and turn around to hear what she wants to say. "I've known her for a few months and she's adorable." I blush and I hear her laugh.
"She's perfect," I add, a shy smile invading my face.
I've been working for a few hours already and I can feel the tension between us. She was late for work and I noticed she has bags under her eyes. She said 'good morning' when entering the office and she avoided eye contact. I don't know if that's a good sign or not. I mean, if she's avoiding me because she has feelings for me then it would be the best thing that could happen. However, if this means she doesn't like me and doesn't know how to handle the situation, it would kill me.
I know I should act professional and focus on my work, but I can't do that if there's this awkwardness between us.
"Paige?"
She takes her headphones off to look at me. I'm pretty sure she put those on to avoid me talking to her.
"We need to talk. Not now, because we're working, but this…" I point at us, "has to stop if we want to keep being work partners, okay?" She doesn't say a word. "Are you free after work? I could buy a coffee," I add, trying to be nice.
She starts writing something on a paper in order to avoid my gaze. "I'm sorry. I have something to do."
"What about later 'that thing'?"
"I don't know when I will be available, so…" I interrupt her, raising my voice a little bit.
"Then what? We don't talk at all? Is that what you're trying to imply?" I can't stand her couldn't-care-less attitude.
"I will call you later, okay?" she adds harshly. I shake my head, I hate when she behaves like a child. I'm so into her that this time it didn't bother me so much.
I hate waiting. I've always hated sitting alone on a couch with a big table in front of me because it looks like I'm drinking alone at the pub. This time is worth it, though. When I hear the vibration of my cellphone my heart stops beating for a few seconds. I'd hate if she'd cancel now. She texted me that she could meet me in about ten minutes. The minute I got the text, I grabbed the purse and left the apartment, even if I knew I would probably have to wait. I look at the screen of my phone a little bit concerned, but I calm down when I see that's Spencer.
'She just left the hospital. She was visiting her mom. You owe me a drink for the information. xD'
I smile at my friend's joke. Then that's why she couldn't meet after work. Now that I know that I push so much to meet her and she actually had a really important thing to do, I feel really bad.
My disappointment goes away when I see her entering the pub. She looks around, I guess she's looking for me. She changed her clothes. She's not wearing the jeans she had on earlier at work. She is rocking a pair of black leather pants and a tight white v-neck. She I feel heat all over my body. She's her hair down, and that's very unlikely about her. She is astounding. I'm practically drooling at the beauty that's approaching me. I look away, faking that I wasn't checking on her. I hope she didn't notice I couldn't let my eyes off her.
"Hi," she adds before sitting on the couch next to me. She didn't smile, she has a serious face. I guess she wants me to think that she's not 'so happy' to see me.
"Hi. I'm glad you're here." I smile, but she doesn't smile back. She seems nervous.
"I don't have a lot of time, so I'll get straight to the point."
I nod at her, but I have a feeling I won't like what she's about to say.
"I understand that you were drunk yesterday and we do stupid things when we have too much alcohol. Anyway, you don't need to explain yourself, okay? It doesn't matter. I don't want anything to change between us."
I didn't expect this. She really thinks I kissed her because I was drunk and wasn't conscious of my actions. This is outrageous.
"Okay," I briefly say. It's not okay though. She looks at me and I smile at her.
"I'm happy everything is good between us." She takes a sip of the beer and I realize she's hiding something.
"Is everything okay, Paige?"
"Yeah, sure, it is. I told you everything is fine," she insists. But I know something is wrong.
"Paige… tell me." I know her better than she thinks. "Is it your mom?"
"The doctors told me she is getting better, and that terrifies me," she admits.
"That's great news, Paige. May I ask what happened to her? I mean, if you don't want to…" I start saying before she interrupts me.
"Car accident. I was driving." She takes a deep breath and continues speaking. I'd love to hug her, but I don't know if she'd feel uncomfortable, so I decide not to. "Another car lost control and… Well… I had a few scratches and my mom went into a coma." I can see she's trying to control her tears.
"I'm so sorry, Paige." I hold her hand but she refuses it. I was right about that before. She doesn't want me to touch her. I will accept that, but I have a feeling she really wants it as much as I do. "But she's getting better. You said so, right?" I smile at her and she smiles back while she wipes the tears. She looks adorable. "It's good that we are actually in the right place to celebrate, don't you think so?"
"The next one is on me," she cockily adds.
"Are you trying to flirt with me?" I ask, making her facial expression suddenly change.
"Emily… I…" She's avoiding my gaze again.
"I was joking, you idiot!" I lie, knowing that I'd love if she really flirted with me. "Is there anything else about your life I need to know?"
She frowns at me and I grin at her. "I feel like you're interrogating me? We're always talking about me. What about you?" She defiantly asks, making me laugh.
"What do you want to know? I don't have secrets." Well, I just have a few secrets. One of them is about me falling for her, but I guess she doesn't need to know that.
"When did you know that you liked…?" Her shyness is making an appearance again, and I love it. I answer her question before she finishes it.
"Architecture? It's been my passion since I was born," I tease her. I know she was referring to my sexuality. She smiles at me and I practically melt. "I guess it was in high school. My friends were always talking about boys and I only had eyes for my biology partner." She nods at me, but she doesn't say anything until a few seconds later.
"Did something happen with that girl?" She's curious about it, and that makes me happier somehow.
"No, it didn't. She was straight. Love is a bitch, you know. I've always fallen for the wrong person." She suddenly gazes at me. It's like she is offended by my last words.
"I'm pretty sure you will find the right person, Emily."
"I already did." She didn't expect this. She looks down and I realize she's blushing. 'Well done, Emily!'. Those exact words would be the ones Hanna would pronounce at this exact moment if she was here while she clapped at me. I have to admit I'm on fire. After a few second in silence I decide to attack again. "Why did you ask me that? Are you having doubts about your likings?" I grin at her when I notice her cheeks are redder than before.
"You wish," she cockily responds. I laugh and she smiles a little bit. I look at the watch and I see it's almost dinner time. Spencer wanted to cook for me, so I need to go now even if I love hanging with her. Besides, I need to finish this meeting properly, and I already know what I'm going to say.
"I need to go. I loved this. We could repeat this plan in the future." She nods at me.
I grab my purse, look at her and say goodbye.
"Good night, Emily." I love it when she says my name.
I smile at her, turn around and start walking towards the entrance door. I abruptly stop, I turn around and approach her again. She looks surprised. I get so close to her that I can smell her sweet perfume.
"You kissed me back. Just give it a thought and we can talk tomorrow," I whisper to her ear. I know I made her feel uncomfortable, but I needed to do this. I really think she's curious about me. I kiss her in her right cheek and leave without saying any other word. Now I just have to wait to see if she reacts. There's nothing more I can do.
To be continued…
Stay tuned! ;)
