Thanks for all your feedback on the previous two chapters; I kind of wanted to play Emily's reaction to learning about Paige's past based on your reactions to Anna. And thank you for your reactions in general, they are such a nice little boost to my day, especially when I am so close to yet another Monday morning.
Thanksgiving Break.
"So when are you going to transfer?" Paige asked. I could tell she was smiling into her phone. She never failed to ask me this, even though we talked on the phone nearly every day.
"To Stanford? Never. Even if they would let me in, which they would not…" I quietly argued in a playful tone.
"That's debatable." She said, talking over me. I waited a beat.
"And I have a life here in Rosewood. The sharks need me. I'm probably going to finish my degree a year early. And I like being at home; I missed my dad most of my high school career. And my mom too actually…largely thanks to A…" I explained. Despite everything I had going on; I did miss Paige so much I often checked flight prices to San Francisco as a form of relaxation.
"I understand. I just…miss you." She said, almost a pathetic need in her voice. And that wasn't an insult; I knew that pathetic need well.
"I know." My voice was thick, stuck in a melancholy. "I get to see you for Christmas break right?" I had already asked her before, but still liked hearing it.
"Yes. Once my parents loosen their iron grip on their star student-athlete I will be spending as much time as possible with you. I'll even make time for Pingy, Wingy, and Snowy." She even remembered their names.
"I seriously love you." I breathed. I imagined seeing her for the first time since I visited. I liked to fantasize she would get home before Aria, so she could kiss me senseless. And we could hook up risk free of parents walking into the room like it would be in high school.
"I love you too." She said quietly.
"Alright I should go. Spencer and Hanna are meeting me up soon." I explained.
"Tell them I say hello." Paige added.
"I will." Without a push from my friends, we might have never gotten back together.
When I got to the booth they were both seated at, Spencer already looked exhausted. She was pinching the bridge of her nose and wincing against Hanna's wedding plans monologue. She looked up and saw me, relief washing over her face.
"Emily! How was seeing Paige and California?" Spencer yelled over the music as I walked up, trying to steer the conversation to something different.
"I already told you…oh I see. It was wonderful…except for meeting her ex-fiancée." I added, knowing just a mention of Anna would distract Hanna from her latest idea for floral arrangements.
"Don't even get me started on that again." Hanna warned. When she had found out Caleb had known about Anna and all the other girls, I was concerned about Caleb's well-being afterwards for days. But I had discreetly told him I understood why he hadn't told us. It wasn't his secret to tell, and he was protecting Paige. If he had told me before we had connected again, we might not have gotten back together.
"It sucks she can't come home for Thanksgiving." Spencer said. It was the reason I had Hanna and Spencer around. Aria and Paige both said they would be back for Christmas but they couldn't afford two roundtrips that close to one another.
"Well I'll take what I can get."
"If you catch the bouquet, tell her she was to go through with it this time." Hanna explained. Spencer stared at her hard.
"Too soon." I told Hanna.
"Speaking of too soon…have you talked to Alison at all?" Hanna asked. At least this was a break from wedding talk. Spencer gestured a server over and order us all shots.
"No I haven't in at least a month…whoa Spencer shots?" This seemed like an extreme departure from Spencer's usual play it safe behavior. Spencer nodded.
"Because I know where this line of questioning is going. Trust me we are going to need them."
"Um okay…" I added, looking back and forth between her and Hanna for explanation. The shots arrived. Tequila with salt and lime. Jesus.
"Well apparently I didn't even have to worry about inviting or not inviting her out of politeness…because she is dating Lucas. So she is coming as his date." Hanna said. I felt hot blood rush to my face. I felt blindsided.
"Wait last time I ran into her, I ran into Jake going over to her house."
"Apparently that was just for self-defense training." Spencer explained. I responded by grabbing my shot, eager to blur my mind a bit after that news. I wasn't jealous…not exactly. Just confused. And a little sad that after two years, Alison and I had both moved on so quickly.
"In a way I'm not surprised at all. Seems like something Alison 2.0 would do." Hanna off-handedly added before drinking her shot and grimacing a bit.
"Yeah well…to each their own." I added quietly.
"Alright back to these floral arrangements." Spencer and I pouted at each other from across the table.
Christmas break.
I parked my car in the garage and ran inside, scanning the crowd for the one familiar face. I saw her in the distance, standing next to the luggage conveyor. I walked over in long, purposeful strides. Then she looked past her shoulder and saw me coming, a smile breaking across her face.
"Em." She whispered in a reverent tone, kissing me softly. One of her hands cupped my face, and then lightly traced my jaw.
"Paige. I've missed you." I admitted, pulling her into an embrace.
"I've missed you too. Everyday. You were supposed to move out to California, remember?" She asked, tilting my chin up to kiss me again before I could answer. "What is it with us and airports?" She added.
"Come on. If we hurry we might beat Aria back to her apartment." I explained.
We wasted no time once we got back. As soon as I opened the door I pushed Paige against it, kissing her roughly. Our hands roamed, mine grabbing her ass while she let hers drift my shoulders to my chest. When we broke apart, breathing hard, her eyes looked focused and purposeful.
"Take your clothes off. Now." She commanded, as we both started pulling clothes off, leaving a trail till we managed to make it to the couch. I pushed her down and landed on top of her smooth, strong body. I started to lick and bite a trail down her torso, eager to show her exactly how much I had missed her.
"You want it that bad huh?" Paige said, grinning. Her cocky comment didn't have a follow up as I pulled her panties off and licked her once, slowly and deliberately, up and down. Instead she emitted a loud moan of pleasure and surprise at how fast we had gone. We had been parking the car less than five minutes ago.
"Oh God Em." She managed to whisper. I roamed her body with one hand while I used the other to spread her wider. She stopped talking except for the occasional curse. I moaned, turned on from the simple act of servicing her. As I started to repeat a certain pattern with my tongue, her legs began to shake. Soon after that she was completely undone.
Instead of taking time to rest, she flipped me over and began to go down on me, taking detours to pay special attention to my chest and calves before moving in on the place I needed her most. Just as her mouth began to administer pressure where I needed it, a small sound came from somewhere else in the apartment.
A split second later I recognized the distinct sound of a bolt turning after being unlocked.
"Shit!" I hissed. But it was already too late.
"Oh GOD!" Aria said, her luggage clattering to the floor as she covered her eyes. "Don't get me wrong…I'm really happy you two got back together. Hey Paige."
"Hey Aria. Nice to see you again. If you just keep your eyes closed an extra moment, we will get dressed as quickly as possible." Paige said in a shockingly nonchalant tone. I didn't even want to know if this was similar to any previous experience of hers.
After we washed up and dressed, I enveloped Aria in a hug.
"How are you?" I asked, hoping she would eventually let me live down this discretion.
"Exhausted but happy. It was amazing." She said, pulling away from me. "Here let's have a drink and I can give you both the short of it." Aria walked over to the fridge, grabbing out a few beers.
"Actually I should get going…the excuse of traffic and waiting for my luggage isn't going to last too much longer with my parents. " Paige said nervously, her hands in her pockets.
"So you guys created a bunch of excuses just to have an…encounter…before seeing your parents? I'm kind of impressed right now." Aria commented.
"Yeah I'll just drop Paige off and we can talk all about your stories." I said, not at all eager to drop Paige off but knowing I had to.
Once we got back into the car I decided I should broach another subject. One that I wasn't really worried about, but felt I needed to bring up anyway.
"So I saw Anna posted congratulations on your wall. About swimming nationals." Trying to keep my tone neutral. I could tell out of the corner of my eye Paige was trying to gauge my feelings about the subject.
"She just did that to get a reaction out of you. And to be nice. We are still on speaking terms." She explained.
I slowed to a stop in front of her house.
"Em. You never have to worry about anyone. I can't control how other girls act around me, but I only have eyes for you." I smiled a bit, and she leaned forward over the center console.
"Don't be jealous. Though for the record, it is sort of a turn-on in doses to know you care that much. Stalking my Facebook wall and all." She whispered before caressing my jaw and pulling me into a kiss before I could think of a retort. She tried to deepen the kiss, her tongue moving against mine, but I pulled away before it could get more intense. It was hard to say no to those brown eyes, but I had to.
"Don't get me riled up again. You don't get what you are doing to me right now in your relaxed, post-coital state. And I am not jealous for the record, just letting you know I have my eyes on you." I explained, getting out the car to help her carry her luggage in. She was smirking at me.
"Sure you're not. I will make up for that… disruption to our activities as soon as possible." She said, chastely kissing me before walking up the driveway to her parent's place. I shook my head before getting ready to drive back to Aria's and hear all about all the old, dead writers she studied overseas.