Good night! :) The Sunday update is here, folks! I can go to bed now, I feel fulfilled. :D Thank you for all your reviews, they really make me day. I'm not joking, it feels really good to realize that you like something I created. And it's even more satisfying when I think about the effort involved in writing in a foreign language. I hope you enjoy this one and have a nice week you all! ;)
PD: I stopped proofreading 'cause I don't have time for that, so you'll have to get used to my mistakes. ;)
Herhers: Paige clearly has a problem to open up to her girlfriend. I know this is annoying, but just wait for the result. ;) You'll know more about Ali soon enough. :D Thanks for you review! Have a nice week! :)
liekedk99: LOL It was the first name that came to mind and I didn't realize it was her mom's name too until you mentioned it. Emily was just carrying on with her game to make Paige jealous or at least trying to make her react. Thank you for your nice words! ;)
CaliGrlFoLife: Hahaha. I guarantee everything will be fine. xD It's not just her dad, she's overwhelmed by different reasons. Anyway, she's being an idiot. :D Pam is going to add something to the story, if you know what I mean. Muahahaha. :D
siophiefandom: Jason is so sweet. :) She was just teasing Em. It's a shame Paige was right there to hear him say that :D I won't say if she did or will do something stupid, you'll need to keep reading to find that out. ;) Thank you!
Tns729: Thanks! I hope you like this one too! :)
Guest 1: LOL
MJ: I love how you all agree on Paige being a little bit insufferable. :D I know Emily doesn't have to put up with her problems, but she has a lot of things in mind. I knew adding Pam was going to be a good idea. ;) You were asking for a cliffhanger, right? :D Have a nice week you too! :)
Guest 2: You'll even love Emily more after reading this chapter. ;)
Enjoy the chapter, guys!
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE
: Chapter 23 – Hidden In Plain Sight:
I can see the rage inside her eyes. I wait for the elevator door to close before I say something, I don't want Jason to hear our fight. I know there's going to be a fight, even if nothing happened last night. However, she breaks the ice and she's really pissed off.
"So… last night… did you…?" She can't even finish the sentence, but I know what she's asking, so I answer before she accuses me of something.
"Come on, Em," I say, trying to use the sweet version of my voice, trying to soothe her. I corner her and put my hand on her cheek, but she rejects me. "Do you really think I'd do that to you?"
"That's why you told me you love me. You were feeling guilty." I can't help but laugh at her stupid comment. I'm starting to get furious.
"If you really think I'm like that, then I don't know why we're together, honestly." I've been patient for the moment this trip started, but my patience is not going to be last forever. I don't know why she's acting like this, even before Pam showed up, she has been treating me like shit for no reason. "You know what? I'm sick of your childish behavior." She doesn't say a word, but she's not frowning anymore. I leave the elevator and leave the hotel. I need some alone time. I'm not hungry anymore, but I don't want to make the presentation with an empty stomach. I need to eat something before, so I walk for about five minutes and I find a little café that looks nice. I enter the place and I sit down on the first table. I order breakfast and read a newspaper that's on the table while I wait for the food. The newspaper is not working though. I mean, I just need to think about something else, even the presentation, but my mind won't stop thinking about Paige. I hold my tears, I need to be strong. In about an hour I 'm going to be lead of the project that we've been working on for the last few months, so I need to have the guts to face that and forget about her. I gobble down the whole plate, pay and leave the café. I want to wash my teeth before. I leave the hotel room fifteen minutes before the time the presentation is supposed to happen. I take my laptop and head the meeting room where the magic is about to happen. I turn the computer on and open the file that contains the presentation, then plug the computer to the projector. I look at it and everything is working fine. I take a seat, look at my watch and sigh. I'm always a little bit nervous when it comes to this kind of presentations where I'm supposed to explain something in public. Even if I know I have it under control because I've been working on it for a long time, I can't get rid of the nervousness that implies talking in public. I take a sip of water and I suddenly see the door opens.
"May I come in?" the blonde says, winking at me. I nod at her with a smile on my face.
"Of course you can. How was the night? I mean, after I left…" She interrupts me.
"I'd prefer if you were there. I mean, Jason is nice, but you're something else."
She makes me blush, I can't help it. She smiles at me and I look away, although I know she realized she made me redder than a tomato.
I hear a knock on the door and suddenly Paige enters the room. She looks at me, but I ignore her. I'm still angry at her. Not just because she accused me of saying I love you because I cheated on her. I mean, that was really hurtful, but she's been an asshole since we got here for no reason and that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
"We can have dinner tonight, if you're not busy." The moment she proposes that, Paige looks daggers at her.
"Probably," I add, making Paige sigh. It's not like I'm trying to torture her, but she deserves a little bit of this in order to make her apologize about her shitty behavior.
She is making me feel more nervous, but when Mr. McCullers and the others enter the room, my heart starts beating really fast and I feel hot. I take my blazer off, I will feel better if I only wear a sleeveless blouse. I realize Pam's eyes are fixated on my arms while she grins at me. I have to avoid looking at her if I want to nail this presentation. I look at my girlfriend and she has this straight face on. She's obviously not in the mood, but looking at her actually helps. 'You can do this', I say to myself. I grab the mouse and I realize my hand is shaking. I remember the advice one of my professors gave me when I was in college. 'There's no reason to panic if you made your homework." Of course I made my homework, everything is going to be fine. I look at the audience, they're silent, that means I have to start. I say good morning and I start speaking. The first minute is the harder part, but after I build confidence, everything seems easier. I just try to avoid looking at Pam and her constant grin and concentrate on the others. Whenever I look at my boss he smiles at me and gives me a thumbs up. I guess that means I'm doing a fine job. The time flies, by the time I realize I get to the last slide. I stop talking and take a deep breath.
"And that's all. I hope I didn't bore you till death," I joke.
They all start applauding and I instantly blush. Jason is the one that's making the most noise. I smile at him.
"Thank you!" I add, shier than ever. I look at Paige and she's clapping too, but she doesn't seem so excited about it because she's looking at Pam from the corner of her eye. "If you have any questions, I'd love to answer them." One of the youngest women raises her hand. I answer a lot of questions, maybe for a few hours, not skipping any detail. The British seem excited about the project, they seem interested about every tiny detail, I guess that means they loved the project. Nick is the last person that leaves the room. He looks at me and I suddenly feel nervous. His sole presence provokes that reaction on me. "I'm really proud of you. That was just unbeatable."
"Thank you, chief," I reply, my red cheeks about to explode.
"I have a meeting with their boss now. Now go get a rest and we'll meet later, okay?" He smiles at me. After the way my day started this feels really nice. I turn the computer off and gather up my stuff. This was a boost of energy that didn't involve caffeine.
"So, Italian then," Jason says, before we enter a cosy restaurant that's a few blocks from the hotel. When he told me to join him for lunch I didn't hesitate for even one second. The alternatives were really sad. I didn't want to order some food and eat alone at the hotel and I'm not in the mood of eating at a restaurant alone. So here we are, with the intention of eating a huge pizza.
"The presentation was just impressive, Em."
"Thanks, Jason," I respond, right before taking a bite of the big slice of pizza that looks delicious.
"By the way, this is not a date or anything like that. Just want to be clear," he teases me, bursting into laughter afterwards.
"Hahaha. So funny," I joke.
"I thought about inviting Pam too, but I didn't want to be excluded once she started flirting with you." He laughs hardly. I blush. "I invited Paige, but she told me she was going to have lunch with her dad. I think she doesn't feel comfortable around me yet," he adds. He couldn't be more wrong. It's me who she's avoiding, and it doesn't look like this is going to change if she doesn't apologize. I've had enough.
"She had plans, that's all, Jason," I say, trying to make him feel better.
"Anyway, what about Pam?" He likes gossip more than Hanna, and that is saying something.
"What about her?" I say, ignoring his grin. I take another bite with the intention of avoiding his gaze.
"You know what I'm talking about? She's basically stalking you and you seem impassible. She's really hot. Isn't that your type?" I sigh and smile at him.
"I'm not single, Jason," I admit. "Are you happy now?" He nods with a smile on his face. I hope this revelation makes him stop talking about Pam.
"Okay, I knew something was up." He grins at me. "That girl must be gorgeous if you reject the stunning blonde that keeps hitting on you. Besides, you're out of the country."
I frown at him. "Are you really saying that I should cheat on my girlfriend just because she wouldn't find out I cheated on her. You're full of surprises," I tease him. Besides, she would find out because she's right here. Not that I was thinking about doing that though.
"I wasn't implying that. I just…" I interrupt him.
"It's okay. I love her. It is that simple."
"That's nice," he admits. "I hope I find that soon enough."
"You will. You're not that bad," I tease him, provoking a loud laugh on the blonde guy.
I take a hot shower and get ready. I'm going to have dinner with Jason. He's actually become a good company and I have fun with him. Besides, I don't want to be alone all night because that means thinking about her and that would be a torture. I lay on the bed after realizing I have thirty minutes before we meet at the hall. I close my eyes and try to rest. I'm a little bit tired because of the presentation. Those three hours were so intense that they drained my energy. However, I won't stay at the hotel when I have a whole city right behind my eyes. That would be foolish.
A knock on the door startles me. I jump out of bed and frown. It's way too early, but I guess Jason was ready and he wants to explore the city. I walk towards the door and open it. The person that's standing in front of me looks at me shyly.
She finally opens her mouth. "May I come in?" I don't say a word, I just nod at her.
"I have plans, so you need to be fast," I add. I was probably harsh, but she's been doing the same thing and I didn't deserve that.
"I'm really sorry." She's looking down.
"Could you please repeat that and look me in the eye this time?" She raises her head and stares at me.
"I'm so sorry, Em. I was an asshole."
"That was better," I add, trying to make things a little bit harder for her. It's not that I want her to suffer, but I need to vent off after she made me go through hell.
"What do I need to do to earn your forgiveness?" She seems a little bit annoyed.
"I don't know. There are few things that could make me feel better," I say, a grin on my face. She smiles at me and I realize she's blushing. I missed her sexy smile.
"Something like this?" she playfully asks, taking a step forward and reducing the gap between our bodies. I close my eyes and when her lips touch mine I suddenly feel like I'm in heaven. I don't know if I make her feel like this, but I sometimes have the feeling I love her way too much. I know the feeling is mutual, but my feelings kind of feel more intense and that makes me wonder if I could live without her.
I open my eyes and lightly push her towards the wall. She bites her upper lip, sexier than ever. I lean on, ready to taste her again, but she moves her head and brings her mouth closer to my ear. "I love you too," she says with her hot and husky voice. I grin at her and kiss her, our tongues getting into a battle until we're both breathless.
"Oh, God! I've been dying to do this since this morning," she admits.
"What are you talking about?" I ask, eager to know why she said that.
"You looked so sexy with that sleeveless blouse showing your toned arms. I mean… And the confidence you had when you started explaining everything. So hot." I grin at her.
"I was trembling, I was a bundle of nerves." I laugh at her words. "You must really love me." She grins at me.
She stops kissing me for a brief moment. "You said you had plans."
"Yeah, I did. I will cancel that. I have more important things to do," I tease her. She smiles at me and I suddenly feel happier than ever. I grab my cell and sit on the bed. Paige sits right next to me. I text Jason, saying I won't be able to meet him. "Done." I leave the phone on the bedside table and look at her. She looks more beautiful than ever.
She starts kissing my neck, sending shivers down my spine.
"Paige…" I add with a trembling voice.
"What? Don't you like it?" she teases me, while she caresses my arm.
"Of course I like him, dummy. It's just that… I think we need to talk."
"What if we order some food from the room service and then talk? I'm starving."
I nod at her. I know that she can't deal with a serious conversation on an empty stomach.
"You're a sexy genious," I joke. I kiss her and then grab the phone. We order the dinner and wait while we watch TV, laying right next to each other. I rest my head on her belly and her breathing feels so good. About ten minutes later, a knock on the door makes me leave the bed and walk towards the door.
"That was fast," Paige says. We ordered a few sandwiches, nothing so elaborate.
I open the door and I see it's not room service. It's Jason.
"We forgot about the french fries, honey!" Paige shouts from the bed.
Jason frowns at me and I don't say a word.
"Is that Paige's voice? Did she say honey?" He obviously realized that was a weird way of calling a friend, even more if that person is the shiest person on Earth.
And awkward silence fills the room. I need to think fast if I want to solve this problem.
To be continued…
Stay tuned! ;)
