Chapter 10

Paige's POV

Wes had asked if she'd like to go to the beach for their second date and Paige had not hesitated to agree. She loved the beach. There was something so satisfying about wiggling her toes in the sand and tasting the salt in the air as she listened to the waves crash onto the shore. There was just one problem and it was the person she was with. She had thought that she liked Wes romantically, but the more she sat on the thought...she began to realize that she only thought of him as a friend.

"The one person she would really like to be with on a date to the beach was Emily. She groaned, resting her head in her hands. How was she going to tell Wes? Their relationship was still very new yet Paige felt a connection to him. It just wasn't romantic. Putting a t-shirt and shorts over her bathing suit, she headed out to meet Wes.

"Paige," Wes greeted, a smile spreading across his face. "You ready for our amazing date?" She inwardly grimaced at the word 'date' but put on a smile for him."Yeah, totally." She walked with him to his car in total silence. "So I was thinking," Wes said as they were stopped at a red light, "maybe we could hit the boardwalk and take a swim in the ocean. It would be pretty romantic."

"Yeah..." Paige responded distractedly, staring out the window since she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes.

Wes noticed and worriedly glanced at her before turning his eyes back to the road. "Paige?"

"Hmm?"

"Are...you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired." She played with her necklace.

"Uh, alright. Just know you can tell me. I won't judge or anything." As he told her that, she winced. He was being so nice and it was making it even harder for her to tell him what she was feeling.

After a little bit, he shouted, "We're here!" Paige jumped a little, startled. "Oops, sorry babe," he gave her thigh a squeeze. 'Babe'? It was the second date!

"It's fine," she said as she stepped out of the car and wondered when the right time to tell him would come.

Emily's POV

Emily watched Paige get into Wes's car and Operation Win Paige's Heart was on. She had asked to borrow a friend's car so that Paige wouldn't recognize her car as she followed them. She saw Wes's black Camero with distinct flames on the sides and rolled her eyes. What a douchey car for a douchey guy. After the "couple" had parked, Emily made sure to get out of her car ten seconds after they had started toward the beach. She didn't want Paige to see her.

As she followed them, she put on her sunglasses, feeling like a spy...before promptly tripping over a kid. "Are you okay?" Emily heard a soft voice. She looked up to see the most beautiful girl she had ever seen, besides Paige.

"Oh, yeah. I'm okay," Emily laughed nervously, brushing herself off in embarrassment.

The girl smiled and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Samara!" Emily, realizing that she had lost sight of Paige and Wes, shook her hand distractedly. "Are you sure you're okay?" Samara asked again.

"Oh yeah. I'm just looking for someone," Emily responded.

"Oh, do you need some help?" The girl asked cheerfully. Emily snapped out of her daze and checked out her new friend. Hot, tall, fit, blonde...what a great way to make Paige jealous.

"That would be great," Emily smiled and added, "I'm looking for my friend. Her name is Paige McCullers and she's with an asshole right now." Samara looked very taken aback by the information but somehow a smile made its way back onto her face. Emily didn't know how one person could be so cheerful, but it was kind of rubbing off on her. They started walking in the general direction that Paige and Wes were heading.

"So what does Paige look like?" Samara asked casually, scanning her surroundings.

"She's pretty tall, maybe about 5'7" and she has dark brown eyes and long brown hair," Emily answered.

"She sounds pretty," Samara commented.

"She is...as a friend of course," Emily said awkwardly. "Oh look, there she is!" Emily gasped as her eyes fell on Paige.

"Oh yay! Let's go say hi!" Samara bounded over to them as Emily watched in horror.

"Samara, let's not..." Emily quickly followed her newly made friend.

Paige's POV

Paige was having a good time at the beach with Wes...that was until a bubbly blonde came over to them with a mortified Emily following. "Hi! I'm Samara!" The blonde greeted, thrusting out her hand. Paige gave Emily a bemused look before carefully shaking Samara's hand. What the hell was this pretty girl doing with Emily? Paige had never seen Samara before. Were they on a date?

"Um, hi, I'm Paige and this is Wes," Paige gave a tight smile and pushed Wes forward a little. He quickly nodded his greeting.

"Nice to meet you. Emily was saying that she was looking for you," Samara told her.

Paige quirked an eyebrow as she studied Emily, trying to figure out why her roommate was here. Her fellow swimmer was staring fixedly at the ground, wringing her hands nervously. "Would you like to tell me why you were looking for me?" Paige asked her friend. Emily muttered something under her voice. "What was that?" Paige was starting to become irritated. Hearing the annoyance clearly in Paige's voice, Emily clenched her fists and jerked her head up.

Surprised by the sudden action, Paige took a step back. "I need to talk to you," Emily's voice, which was usually soft, had a steely tone to it. She gave Wes a grumpy look as she said,"Alone." The Harvard swimmer grabbed Paige's wrist and dragged her off to a more secluded part of the beach where large cliffs hid them from the other visitors on the beach.

"What's up, Em?" Paige tried to sound light-hearted because Emily's demeanor was making her anxious. Emily looked her in the eye before taking a deep breath. "Are...you alright?" Paige's anxiety faded to concern for her friend/crush.

"I didn't know when to tell you this or if I should at all. It's probably really strange, considering our past, but I need to tell you. It's been bothering me for so long and even if you don't take it well, at least it's off my chest," Emily paused. "I...like you. And no, not just as a friend. Romantically. Like, want to be with you. Want to be a couple. Want to go on dates. Want to..." her voice lowered to a whisper,"love you."

Paige gaped at her. Was Emily telling the truth or just messing with her? Did Emily really feel the same way? What had caused her to say that? Why did Emily not tell her sooner? All these thoughts were rushing through Paige's mind like a coalition of cheetahs. And, of course, all Paige managed to utter in response was,"What?"