Emily shifted her weight from one foot to another, trying not to look impatient while the couple in front of her decided which dessert they would take.

It was Friday and she has less than twenty minutes left to finish her shift. The next day she would have to work again and, from experience, she knew it would be the hardest day of the whole week, but being on the verge of the weekend still generated some excitement inside of her, an effervescence that she had probably acquired in her high school years and that still lingered in her body.

Also, she wanted to see Alison.

Things were going pretty well between the two girls, they had been in Paris for a month, and they had been together for a month. How amazing was that? It was true that sometimes the strong character of the blonde emerged to the surface of her beautiful self, and that the brunette's doubts were forcing her to maintain the physical contact within limits, but, other than that, both of them were just fine.

Although… they thought that the brief moments they could share in the room were a little scarce, and even more so when that strange woman interrupted them almost every night. Alison had the theory that she was a pervert and that there were cameras in each of the wall's holes, because whenever things got interesting the lady appeared and didn't leave till they give her some attention, actually, there had been a particular night when the disruption was too blatant…

Flashback

It was almost midnight and it looked like the sky was falling apart. Thunders shook the flimsy walls of the room and lightning were like the shrill light of a projector, focusing directly inside the room, intermittently, showing snapshots of the gentle movements that were happening under the covers dressing the bed.

And there, on that mattress, between those sheets, a blonde and a brunette enjoyed a quiet moment, oblivious to the storm that was raging on the outside.

They were now used to each other and the hands were no longer hesitant to cross the barrier of clothing. In their tongues burst the known chemistry of other mouth's taste and they began to recognize the kind of stimuli that made their bodies react immediately.

Alison felt the usual pressure of Emily's hand over her own when she went too close to her chest, rising through the abdomen of the brunette with light caresses. The blonde suppressed a sigh of exasperation as she run her fingers down her stomach to anchor them on her waist, to avoid future temptations.

A knock was heard, loud and curt, above the roars that came off the sky and Alison didn't bother to avoid a growl of frustration.

- Does she have a radar? – The blonde whined, still straddling Emily. She felt the brunette's body shook when she laughed and she went back to stick to her figure. – We're not here, okay? – She kissed her again and, for a moment, for a brief wonderful moment, she thought that the infamous woman was finally gone.

That night they had taken the precaution of turning off the lights of the room once the brunette had showered and gotten ready for sleep. The storm made it impossible to hear anything but the impacts of thick drops of rain against any external surface. No one could say whether or not the room was occupied. Besides, it wasn't time for visits.

But the knocks didn't cease. Gradually, they even acquired a steady pace.

- Ali, she knows we're here, she sees us come and go every day. – Emily managed to whisper when the blonde chose to occupy her lips with the curvature of her neck.

- In that case, we are sleeping. – Alison said against her dark skin.

Then they heard the unmistakable jingle of keys.

- Is she trying to open the door? – Emily was horrified, she held the blonde's hips, trying to sit up.

- Fuck! – Alison exclaimed.

The blonde got out of bed quickly, turned the light on and opened the door.

There was the lady, holding some keys in her left hand and a plastic bag in her right. She opened her eyes a little more than usual at the sight of Alison, who hadn't bothered to fix the mess that the brunette's fingers had made of her hair, and she was also wearing those extremely shorts that she had been sleeping with lately, no matter how cold the night could become.

- Je peux vous aider à quelque chose? – Alison asked, letting the door wide open for the woman to see Emily in the bed. The brunette covered herself further, what was Alison thinking?

- Le dîner. – The woman returned her attention to the blonde and handed her the bag.

- Nous n'avons pas demandé rien. – Alison said, without making any attempt to approach the bag.

- Je sais déjà. – The lady shook the bag in front of her.

- Mais nous n'avons pas… - Then the woman took the blonde's hand.

- Tu le prendre. – She opened the palm of the girl and put the bag handle around it, walking away as fast as her short and tired legs allowed her, before Alison could say a word.

- What did she want? – The brunette asked her as she closed the door.

- She brought us dinner. – The blonde said, observing the bag that she was holding to certain distance from her body.

- But we didn't ask for anything.

- That's what I told her.

- And… what is it? – Emily sat up in the bed, looking curiously how the blonde opened the bag and peered inside.

- I think it's soup. – Alison replied, watching a couple of spoons on top of two plastic containers covered with droplets of condensed water vapor.

The brunette's stomach rumbled, the girl swore that she could smell the soup from where she was. She hadn't eaten anything warm since leaving Rosewood.

- Didn't you have dinner? – The blonde asked her, raising a disapproving eyebrow. Lately Emily seemed to be losing weight.

- Actually I didn't – The brunette confessed.

- Why didn't you say anything?

- I wasn't that hungry. – She lied. She should have eaten at the restaurant but it had been a pretty busy night, even deluging the place was almost totally full.

- I don't know if we can trust her. – Alison sat next to the brunette and pulled one of the containers, uncorked and sniffed it. – Maybe she poisoned it.

- Or… maybe she's just trying to be friendly. – Emily offered, now she could perfectly smell the usual essence of chicken broth, she felt that tension in the pit of her stomach so characteristic of hunger.

At the end the brunette convinced Alison that the woman couldn't want to kill the only two clients who took almost a month paying a room, so both of them had dinner and went to bed, with their bodies tempered by the heat of the soup. They huddled and shared a few kisses, but within minutes they were completely asleep. Maybe the soup really had something in it.

End of Flashback.

Emily smiled at the memory. From that day on the hotel lady passed by their room every night, later or earlier, to leave them some food, and the truth was that it came in very handy, because Emily didn't have to worry about lunches and the blonde didn't have to worry about dinners, but… it was very odd. Will they be charged because of it? What were the motives of the woman to do it? She didn't look like someone who would give so much for others. Along with who they assumed would be her husband, she had been looking at them suspiciously since they appeared in the hotel. They didn't even know her name!

- Natalie. – George, the Irish guy who served with Chloe and her in the salon approached her. – There is someone looking for you on the landing.

- Who?

- I don't know, I didn't ask for a name. – He shrugged and kept walking towards the table he was attending.

- I think we're gonna need a little more time. – The boy from her table said, drawing her attention.

- No problem, I'll be back in a couple of minutes. – Emily said, and making sure that Nicolette wasn't around, she went to the door of the room.

On the landing there was no one to be seen. When they were about to close the kitchens they didn't allow any more customers in, so the person who used to sit behind the high table between the gates of the two first floor rooms wasn't no longer checking reservations or accompanying customers to their tables.

The light illuminating the small place had dropped intensity, giving more force to the red in the walls, lengthening the shadows that were born in every corner.

The brunette scanned the place until she noticed a figure leaning in the corner beside the stairs. She hadn't seen her before because of the lack of light and that dark attire she was wearing: a long black coat that covered her body till her knees. But the blonde hair had betrayed her. Alison stepped forward and Emily could clearly see her smirking.

- I like how you look in that uniform. – The blonde said, getting closer to the brunette.

- Ali. – Emily whispered, looking around, making sure anyone had come out of the salon. – What are you doing here?

- Is it a bad time? – The girl stopped about ten inches from her. She had put on high boots and black pants. The coat covered whatever shirt she was wearing, but the golden curls falling over her shoulders so accurately and that perfect dark line bordering her eyes said that she had taken her time getting ready before going to see the brunette.

- No… is everything okay? – Emily asked her, still shocked for seeing her there.

- Yes. – Alison looked down and clenched her fists into her coat pockets, nervous. It had taken some courage for her to go in there. Emily and she had only been alone in the hotel, mostly because of their schedules. Going to the brunette's working place, appearing there as her partner… it was a big step for the blonde. – I just wanted to pick you up and… I dunno, take a little walk on our way to the hotel, for a change. We're always stuck there and… I thought it would be nice to do something different.

Emily softened her expression and approached her, encircling her waist with her arms, it wasn't very common to see Alison hesitate that way. The blonde looked up and relaxed when she saw a smile spreading on the brunette's lips.

- Thanks for coming. – Emily leaned slightly while Alison placed her hands on her arms and kissed her.

- I didn't know if it would be okay for me to come here without warning. – The girl confessed, getting a little closer to her. Emily smelled the perfume she had on, the one she knew the blonde kept in a tiny vial. It seemed that Alison had prepared herself for a date.

- You can come anytime. – The brunette said, and at that moment the door of her salon opened.

Emily turned quickly, fearing it was Nicolette, but she only found the head of Chloe, who was peeping, and blushing, through the door.

- Sorry, George told me someone was looking for you and I thought that… I don't know, I… I'm sorry I interrupted you. – The girl apologized awkwardly, willing to return to the salon.

- Wait. – The brunette stopped her, she threw a quick glance to Alison before grabbing her hand and walking towards Chloe. – Chloe, this is… Estella. Estella, this is Chloe.

She did it without thinking and for a second she thought she had gone too far. They hadn't had to "report" their relationship to anyone, but there Chloe was the closest thing the brunette had as a friend and she wanted her to meet the blonde, what she wasn't sure was if the blonde wanted to meet Chloe.

- Nice to meet you. – Chloe said, making herself completely visible and closing the salon's door behind her. The girl smiled and extended a hand as a greeting.

- Nice to meet you too. – Alison replied, showing that smile that charmed everyone and shaking her hand. Emily sighed with relief.

- Natalie is always talking about you. – The brunette's cheeks turned red. – And… wow, you're definitely as pretty as she said.

- Thanks… - The blonde said, taking her hand away slowly.

- Have you eaten? – Chloe suddenly asked her.

- Yes… - Where did that question come from?

- I say this because surely there must be some leftovers in the kitchen, in case you were hungry or…

- Ah, no, don't worry, I just came to pick up Natalie.

- I have fifteen minutes more, actually… I was attending a table. – Emily said, thinking that the couple had had to make a choice by now, they hadn't too many possibilities for dessert.

- The couple in table ten? – Chloe asked her.

- Yeah, they still had to order dessert and…

- George is taking care of them. – The girl said. – You can go now if you want to.

- No. – Emily said firmly. – I have to finish my shift, if Nicolette…

- Nicolette isn't in the restaurant today, I think she isn't even in Paris. – Okay, Emily didn't know that, it explained why she hadn't been stalked during the night. – Look, you're almost finished and the tables are almost all served, nothing will happen if you go out a little earlier tonight.

- But…

- I'll cover you. Seriously, don't worry. – With that and a quick hand wave directed to Alison, Chloe turned, going back to the salon, without giving her the chance to say anything.

- Thanks. – Emily said to the closing door.

- She's nice. – Alison commented.

- Yeah. Well… will you wait here for me while I change? – The brunette asked her.

- Sure. – The blonde answered, still thinking how strange that girl had seemed to her.


They left the restaurant and when Emily turned her steps along the way she used to take to get to the subway, Alison stopped her, took her hand and asked her to let her guide her through the city.

The streets began to empty at those hours. The yellowish lights of the street lamps illuminated the asphalt and the cold winter breeze, which had almost been completely installed in those first days of November, made them blink more than usual.

- Well, and how was your day? – Emily asked to the blonde, after having explained her why the uninhabited café she had crossed to enter the local had become, in minutes, a luxury pub.

- Boring, very boring, as always. – The girl complained. – I don't fit in that place, at all. The people seems to become more stupid every day and… I don't know, I don't like it.

- I thought it wasn't that bad, that it could be worse? – The brunette said, recalling the words she had said after her first day at the bookstore.

- Yeah, well, now it is bad and worse. Seriously, I'm trying to… behave, but I don't feel like myself when I'm there. – She had to bite her tongue so many times a day that she was afraid it would start bleeding from one moment to another. She didn't control the situation, thus she get defensive, so it was more difficult to repress herself and don't bring the DiLaurentis vein she would always have beating in her body. – They are all so… annoying, and I'm afraid to say or do anything, so I keep quiet, holding the urge to tell them… everything! But one of these days I swear I'm going to burst and they'll kick me out and I'll screw…

- Ali, Ali… - Emily stopped her before they reaching the next intersection. She placed her hands on her shoulders and waited for her blue eyes to meet her browns. – It's been a huge change, we still have to adapt to all this, you can't expect things to be perfect after such a short time.

The brunette was right, and Alison knew it. They had a place to live, they hadn't need to go without food for a single day and they kept much of the money that the blonde had been recruiting for the trip. They weren't doing it so bad.

However, even after being in hell, for Alison it was pretty disheartening to know that the place where she lived was an ordinary hotel, the food she ate was always the cheapest she could find and the job she had was in a bookstore.

- I used to adapt quickly to new things, it didn't matter where I was, after two days I had everyone eating out of the palm of my hand. – The blonde said, with her view unfocused. – But now I don't know why… I can't. – She looked at the brunette's eyes. – And that bothers me. I'm not comfortable at any time. – She saw Emily's jaw clenching. – I'm… I'm trying to not make the mistakes I made in the past, but doing it I don't feel like myself and… I don't know, I just want to scream and run.

- Ali, you're doing the best you can. – The brunette assured her, still with a tense expression on her face.

She was being unfair, throwing to Emily all her doubts and discomforts because, even though she hadn't to, the girl was there, and maintaining her composure way better than her. Wasn't she supposed to be the "expert" in the running away field? What was wrong with her?

- I'm so glad you're here. – Alison said suddenly, and she hugged the brunette instantly. – I don't know what I'd do without you. – Emily wrapped her in her arms and inhaled the scent of her hair. – I should say it more often. – The blonde pulled back a little and looked at her eyes. – I should say so many things more often, but… I don't… - All of a sudden she was on the verge of tears and she didn't want to even think why.

- Hey, hey… it's okay, it doesn't matter… - Emily still wasn't used to those strong mood changes she suffered.

- Of course it matters. You deserve to have everything you want and I should be able to give it to you and…

- And you give it to me, Ali… what is it all about? – That was more than a huff for a bad day at work, there were many things they hadn't spoken yet, maybe they should start to.

- I… - She stared at her with glassy eyes and, for a second, the brunette was afraid she was going to break into tears, but Alison just swallowed, let her eyelids shut for a moment and recovered. – Tonight was supposed to be quiet, just the two of us, and I've only been able to annoy you with my nonsense. – She smiled weakly. – Sorry.

- You don't need to apologize. – She put one of her hair locks behind her right ear and the blonde shivered, more because of the simple contact than by the fact that her hands were cold. – I'm enjoying the evening. – Alison raised an eyebrow in disbelief. – I really am.

- We could do it some other night, if you want to. – That happened sometimes, not very often, because usually the blonde communicated with her through gestures instead of using words, but sometimes, when they spoke and the girl wanted to ask for or just say something, she gave off a kind of shyness and insecurity that had never existed before, it was when the brunette realized she was as lost in the relationship as her.

- Of course I want to. – Emily took her hand again and urged her to keep walking. – By the way, where are we going?

- To the river.


They went through a long street, passing by just five people, each walking at their own pace and in their own direction. Who knew that Paris was a city so quiet at night? Maybe it was the cold, or that November had just began, or maybe in Europe people didn't hit the streets at night, not even on Fridays.

They walked hand in hand, the drama of minutes before apparently forgotten, talking about trifles, they felt like a normal couple, having a normal date. And that was what made everything worth the trouble: to walk together, casually, down the street… sometimes the simplest things end up being the most special.

- I can't believe I hadn't seen the river yet. – Alison said, leaning against the stone wall that prevented what would surely be a fatal fall to the icy waters of La Seine. She looked like a little girl on Christmas Day, Emily smiled. – Promise me we'll take a day off just to see the city.

- We will. – The brunette said, not wanting to get too close to the wall. As a swimmer she loved the water, but not the water that was at -10 °C.

- Let's go down. – The blonde said, happy and excited, Emily's eyes bulged.

- What?

- Let's go down to the shore. – She asked her, grabbing both her hands.

- Ali, it's cold enough up here, we'll freeze if we go down there.

- Don't worry, I'll keep you warm. – She gave the brunette a light kiss on the lips and drove her to the nearest stairs.

They went down the steps, carefully, trying not to slip with the mildew that covered them and reached the level of the river. Definitely, the temperature had dropped at least a couple of degrees. Emily hugged herself while Alison looked up and down, taking in the details of the place. There were boats anchored to the shore's edge, with small headlights on, hanging here and there along its structure, giving them a ghostly appearance. Small banks in which only two people would fit were sheltering in open notches on the stone wall that stood behind them. The river meandered winding and calm, like a black cloak waving in the stillness of the night. There wasn't a single person in sight.

- What do you think? – Alison asked the brunette, pushing her arms to be her the one wrapping her body.

- I think it's a little scary. – The girl confessed, staring at the nearest boat, who knew if there wouldn't be someone in there, ready to attack anyone who was naïve enough to go through that place at that ungodly hour?

- Scary? – The blonde repeated, as if considering the word. – I think it's beautiful. – She turned around, standing behind her, pressing their bodies together and placing her cheek against the brunettes, something she could do thanks to these boots she was wearing, eliminating the difference in height that used to be between them. – The lights of the city reflecting on the water, the noise of cars in the distance, the moon shining in the sky, even the cold that seeps into your bones… and the feeling that we are the only ones here.

- You could be an amazing writer. – Emily said to her.

- I think I abandoned that idea a while ago. – Alison broke the embrace and entwined the fingers of her right hand with the brunettes left, making sure to keep their bodies close while returning into motion.

- And what would you like to do? – The girl asked, with genuine curiosity. That was something they had never discussed, not even in the past, at least not seriously.

- Act, perhaps. – The truth was that, with all that had happened in her life over the years, Alison didn't allow herself to think about the future, surviving each day was enough.

- You would be good at that as well. – Emily said, with some discomfort in her voice. She decided that she didn't want to go back to the intense atmosphere they'd been before, so she tried to focus on it otherwise, avoiding the memory of the "great performances from Alison DiLaurentis" that had done so much damage, because in the past, between the two of them, all had been performances, right? Well, the blonde said the opposite and… She was going to that path of dangerous thoughts so easily… she felt Alison's hand against her own and shook her head slightly. – I can almost see you surrounded by cameras and fans, going on the big screen.

- I think I would try theater first. – She commented to the girl, absently.

- Oh.

- And then I would do some of those lousy movies that everyone loves to become a freaking millionaire. – Emily laughed. – What about you? What would you do?

- I guess I would be a swim coach at some school until I could train competitive swimmers.

- Ummm… you'd spend all day in a bath suit, surrounded by overly-hormonal teenagers… I don't know if I would like that very much.

- Is not like the bath suit is the sexiest thing in the world, Ali.

- Em, don't underestimate yourself, you are the only person who can make a swimsuit look sexier than a bikini. – Emily detected the suggestive tone in the blonde's voice and felt how her body started to get warmer, the girl was doing her part of the deal.

- Are you flirting with me? – The brunette asked her, playing along.

- I'm always flirting with you, it's something I can't help. Although it doesn't work too much. – She whispered the last words without any intention in the voice, she almost seemed annoyed.

Emily moved slightly away from her, still holding her hand, uncomfortable, it wasn't what she was expecting from the conversation, they had been doing it pretty well until then! Alison sighed.

- Em… I told you that I had never been like this with anyone before and… lately I don't know if I'm doing things right, if this is… enough. – The blonde said, with her eyes fixed on the ground.

- It's more than enough. – Emily said, expressing in those words some of the tension that began to run through her body.

- Too much? – The other girl asked, worried.

- No, no, of course not. – Alison looked at her in silence, the insecurity covering her face. The brunette tried to choose the right words to explain herself. – It's just… I don't want us to… rush it.

- I'd say it's a little late to be worried about that. – One corner of the blonde's mouth couldn't help but rise. – Em, it's not like we just met. Things had already happen between us. All things that could really happen.

- Yeah, but… now it's different… and… - Why was it so hard for her to talk about that?

- What? – Alison encouraged her.

- I should have had more control when… well, when we were in my room. – She knew that she was furiously blushing, and that, even though they were passing under a bridge where there was no light at all, the blonde could see it.

- Do you regret what happened? – Alison asked as naturally as she could.

- Yes, - The blonde couldn't avoid the painful leap that her heart suffered. – no… it's… - Emily took a breath praying for the oxygen to clarify her ideas. – I regret how it happened and why it happened.

- Emily…

- Our first time should be now. – She dropped suddenly, knowing that her face couldn't shine anymore. – I… I wanted it to be special.

Alison would think that she was so stupid, idealizing sex like that, but the thing was, that if she ignored all the doubts that were hiding inside of her about the feelings the blonde could have for her, that desire, that fantasy of actually having done things right with her and actually having had a normal relationship, with its slow and progressive onset and development, broke her inside out. And perhaps it was absurd and childish, but it really hurt her not having that with the blonde.

- What makes you think that it wasn't? – Alison made Emily stop, leaving both of them between two bridges, then she searched for her eyes. She didn't know that all the reluctance from the brunette was because of that.

- I practically forced you to do it. It was your first time with a girl and I… well, I guess… - Now that she thought about it, how was she so sure that during her years of disappearance Alison didn't…? – I guess it was your first time with a girl…

- It was. – The blonde assured her. It was weird that the conversation had led them to that topic, but it had to be talked, sooner or later. After spending a month together in the same bed, it was quite incomprehensible and unnecessary that they still were keeping distances. – And I wouldn't have wanted it to happen with anyone else. – Emily managed to look her in the eyes. – Em, no one has ever touched me the way you did that night in my life, with so much… care. And I assure you that for me it was special and meant… everything.

Listening those words coming from those lips staring at those eyes made the brunette's heart beat like crazy. Never, ever, not even in her wildest dreams, would she have thought, would she have believed, that moment as a possibility of reality. The blonde was confessing to her that she, Emily, was all she wanted. And maybe she hadn't say it with those words, but that was what the girl felt.

They kissed, and it was the brunette who started it. A long, strong and intense kiss.

She would no longer hesitate about anything else. No more hesitation. No more hours wasted torturing herself, repeating again and again that this would be something finite that would end as soon as the blonde got tired of her.

Not everything had been spoken, not everything had been resolved, and maybe, between the two of them, that would never happen, but the brunette wasn't going to allow more nonsense painful thoughts.

Alison led her to the endless Pont neuf and they crossed to the other side of the river, towards the subway station that shared its name with the bridge, on their way to the hotel, to their home.

That night they fell asleep into each other's arms. They didn't do anything, it wasn't the moment. The blonde wasn't in a hurry anymore, because now she knew that the prudence of the brunette wasn't due to her not wanting her like that or to their first time being so awful that she wasn't even considering doing it again, it wasn't anything like that. Now she knew that when it had to happen, when they wanted it to happen, it simply will.