All right, dolls. I'm back! It took me a bit of time again, but here's the next chapter. Honestly, I intended this to just be the first half of the chapter, but I'm so busy, I figured I'd post this first part for you all and get the next part up when I can. Hopefully, this satisfies some of those withdrawal symptoms ;) And, I promise things will start moving faster in the story again too.
Also, thanks to all of you who left me a review! You all are great :) It makes me feel like I'm not writing into a void of space, which is so nice. It keeps me going!
Oh, and as for the few who took their guesses at the songs ;) I was thinking for Emily, Sade + Jay-Z - Moon and the Sky. And for Paige's Bon Iver, while I adore Skinny Love, I was thinking possibly Re: Stacks? I love that last line "and your love will be safe with me..."
Oh, one last thing, anyone have any idea how I can get my eyes on that Emily/Paige deleted scene from the Season 1 dvds? I'm dying to see it!
Chapter Twelve
When Emily finally stirred from sleep the next day, she knew it must have been at least late morning or even early afternoon, despite how dark the room still was. It was quiet, and Emily gently let her eyes flutter open, adjusting to the darkness as she noticed that the blinds had been drawn tightly. Across the room, she saw that Paige's bed was empty and made, the comforter pulled up neatly. Emily glanced around and saw that there wasn't any sign of the other girl anywhere. She found herself frowning, wondering where she had gone. She knew it was dumb, but they'd spent the last couple of days together and for some reason, it felt weird now that she wasn't there.
As Emily started to pull herself up, she felt an ache penetrating her body as the memory of the night before began to resurface like pieces of a puzzle. Realizing that she couldn't exactly remember getting home, changing, or getting into bed, she started to feel guilty that maybe she had let herself drink too much at the party, and Paige might have gotten annoyed. She chastised herself, hoping she hadn't done anything to push Paige away just when they were becoming friends. She wracked her brain back to earlier in the night, before everything started to become fragmented.
Early on, she had met Paige's friend Pru, who by all means, Emily realized was her best friend by the way they interacted. She'd been nice enough, but the entire walk over, she'd been running on about some boy named Jacob that Emily couldn't even remember if she'd actually ended up meeting. From everything Emily could note, the other girl was probably Emily's complete opposite in every way, and Emily had found it interesting that Paige seemed to get along with both of them so easily. It made Emily wonder if that's just how Paige was, if that was why it was so easy to be around her, to like her. She wondered if she wasn't the only one with whom she shared this ebb and flow, if she made everyone feel as good as Emily did when she was with her.
Luckily, when they'd arrived, Pru had made herself absent, and so she'd stopped thinking about it as she and Paige fell into conversation, spending the entire night side by side, laughing together, enjoying each other's company like they did so easily now. That is, until Collin had showed up.
Of all the moments of the night, Emily remembered that one clearly. From the times she had seem them together on campus, she recognized him instantly at the door. He was good looking, great looking even, with dirty blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and the chiseled jaw line of a model. In fact, Emily was pretty sure if Hanna had been there, she might have been drooling. It had made her strangely uncomfortable. For some reason, she had kept a watch of him out of the corner of her eye most of the night and had noticed how, even if he was across the room, his eyes kept flicking over to Paige, letting his gaze run over her face or her body. Emily had considered saying something to Paige about it, but Emily didn't know anyone else at the party and she was afraid that Paige might prefer the company of a cute guy over her. So when she had seen Collin approach them, before Paige even had, she felt an odd sense of dread setting in. As he came closer, Emily had let herself study his face up close, noticed the way his eyes lit up around Paige.
As Collin had sat down with them, Emily could remember all over again how it felt. It was undeniably awkward, even though Emily admitted there was no reason for it to be. Emily had felt this sudden urge to get out of there, as if she just needed to let them be, yet, something in her didn't want to give up Paige's attention. She didn't have a choice though. Paige had turned to greet him, they'd started talking, and Emily didn't really have a place to get in between it.
Emily didn't know why she had felt so uneasy at that moment. She had blamed it on being suddenly single for the first time in so long and realizing that there was no one who wanted her the way that Collin wanted Paige. It had made her breakup with Maya ache all over again. Over the last two days, Paige had made her feel less lonely, but seeing her with Collin had reminded her that, regardless, she was, in fact, still alone. When Emily had gotten upstairs, she had downed a drink right away, hoping it would calm whatever uneasiness was stirring inside her. Now, she realized that she must have had several more, because after that, everything was fuzzy.
And now, here she was, sitting in bed, shaking her head and wondering what else might have transpired. As Emily reached over, clicking on her lamp, she caught sight of something set on the nightstand beside her bed. It was a bottle of water and a few painkillers that Paige must have set out before she'd gone. Emily smiled, hoping this meant that she hadn't done any permanent damage. She took the pills and washed them down with a long swig of water before setting the bottle back down. As she did, her eyes caught a glimpse of a small piece of paper on the stand. She reached for it.
hey little lush :) I didn't want to wake you. I went to get a few laps in. call me when you wake?
- xo p
Emily felt a smile spread across her lips. Something about Paige made her feel good inside, different. She didn't know why, but it was unlike how things were with her other friends, even her best ones. Though Paige seemed to already have someone she was close to, Emily hoped that she felt a little bit the same about her. Nonetheless, even if her friendship with Emily wasn't anything special to Paige, Emily couldn't help but still be grateful to have her.
Considering Paige's request to call, Emily reached for her cell phone that was sitting nearby in order to ring her when she noticed she had a few text messages waiting for her. As she clicked through them, she realized they were all from Spencer, begging, or possibly demanding (it was all the same with Spencer) to call her "ASAP." The time on her phone showed that it was well after 2 in the afternoon, and Emily could hardly believe she had slept half of the day away. Even though she wanted to call Paige first, she figured she had better call Spencer before she exploded her cell phone.
Paige noted that it was warm outside for October, enjoying the way the heat of the sun felt on her skin, as she made her way from the Natatorium to the west side of campus to see Pru. Paige had texted her a couple of hours before to see if they could talk, and Paige had agreed to come over, knowing that the conversation about how Pru had acted the night before wasn't one they could have at Paige's dorm with Emily there, asleep or not.
As for her, Paige had woken up hours earlier, that is, if she ever actually fell asleep at all. After everything that had happened with Emily the night before, Emily touching her, hugging her, tearing up over someone Paige found herself resenting without ever meeting, she'd tried to fall asleep, but her mind had been racing. After a few minutes of holding Emily, the other girl had released Paige from her arms laid down on her pillow, letting Paige pull the sheet up over her body, tucking her in. Paige hadn't wanted to leave her side, and at first, she didn't. She lingered at the edge of Emily's bed, watching Emily's eyes close as she curled up against her pillow. Before she knew it was happening, Paige felt a few tears starting to fall down her cheeks just watching her. She wished more than anything that she could take away Emily's pain, that she could assure her that just because someone else didn't want her didn't mean she wasn't worth something.
Finally, slowly, Paige had started to rise from the bed, and just as she did, she felt something touch her hand. Looking down, she saw Emily's fingers grasping her own softly. Her eyes were just barely open, and Paige knew she was probably somewhere between wakefulness and dreams because she squeezed Paige's hand softly, and whispered one simple word: "Stay."
Paige had felt her heart heave. Between the touch of Emily's hand and the softness of her voice, she had considered it, had actually taken a moment to wonder what it would have felt like to lay down beside her, wrap her arms around Emily's body, hold her tightly as she slept. But she didn't have a choice. She couldn't.
After all, Emily had been drunk to the point where Paige was sure she wouldn't remember most of the night, and she couldn't imagine anything more painful than spending the night in Emily's bed, touching her, comforting her, smelling her hair and her skin, letting her lips graze the nape of her neck, and then to have Emily wake up the next day wondering why Paige was next to her.
So instead, Paige had sat back down, hoping her presence on the side of the bed would be enough. Emily didn't protest, and her eyes shut again. Soon, Paige knew she was asleep, and she lifted herself from the mattress and moved across to her own bed. Stripping off her clothes and sliding into her pajamas, she'd settled underneath the sheets. From her own bed, it had been easy to see Emily just a few feet across the room. Despite how hard she tried, however, Paige couldn't rest her mind, so instead, she'd simply let herself listen to the sound of Emily's soft breathing. She remembered the sun rising a few hours later and pulled herself out of bed to shut the blinds tightly to stop the sun from filtering in. Knowing it was her only day to sleep in, she crawled back into bed and shut her eyes tightly, willing herself to sleep.
When her eyes opened again, it was not much later, and she begrudgingly got up, knowing her hopes of sleeping any longer were futile. Quietly dressing, Paige decided to head to the pool, knowing the water might calm her.
Now, a few hours of laps later, she was showered and heading to Pru's dorm. Paige had to admit to herself that she was nervous about how things were going to play out after last night's clash between them. Sure, they had fought before, a multitude of times over the years, but there was something about this that was different. Paige wasn't sure how she would respond if Pru got defensive, got on her case about her sudden change of heart over her roommate, if she interrogated Paige about why she was suddenly sticking up for someone she was single-handedly responsible for putting down. What would she say? The truth was too much for herself to swallow still. She couldn't admit it to Pru, she couldn't put it into words, she couldn't say it. Saying it would make it real.
So instead, on the walk over, she had tried to accumulate a list of excuses and hoped that she wouldn't falter. Crossing her fingers now, she lifted her hand to Pru's door and knocked twice.
A few moments later, the door swung open, and behind it, Pru stood, unexpectedly dressed up with her hair perfectly done. She was frowning shamefully.
"I know. I know. I'm a huge fucking asshole," she admitted, throwing her arms up as if she'd already lost the argument.
Paige stepped inside, eyeing her curiously. "Okay. Who are you? And what did you do with Pru?"
"I'm serious. I'm sorry," Pru replied sympathetically.
Paige shrugged casually, but inside, she felt herself breathing a deep sigh of relief. They weren't going to have it out after all.
"That makes things easy then."
Pru shook her head, as if she couldn't believe how she had acted. "I was so out of line."
Paige nodded and laughed. "This is true."
"Look, I didn't mean any harm. You know that. I was just…"
"Jealous?" Paige asked, smirking.
"Why would I be jealous?" Pru replied, playfully rolling her eyes. Off Paige's doubtful look, she relented. "Okay, of course, I was jealous. She was like a shiny new toy, and you know how boys are about their toys."
Paige laughed nervously. Just the idea of anyone thinking of Emily that way made her uncomfortable. Paige was thankful that she had found Emily when she had, wondering if, in Emily's inebriated state, one of the boys might have tried to 'change her mind.' The thought made her nauseous, and she tried to push it away.
"What's with the hair?" Paige asked, changing the subject as she reached a hand out and flicked one of Pru's dark waves. "You look like you're going to prom or something."
Pru's eyes brightened, not even concerned with Paige's teasing. "I am going to lunch with Jacob," she told Paige, squealing in delight.
Paige laughed. "Finally, the plane is taking off. I was starting to think the engine was broken down," she quipped playfully.
"Trust me. The only rusty engine is mine," Pru replied suggestively.
"Pru?"
"Yeah?"
Paige shook her head. "Too much information."
"Well, you never give me enough, so that makes us even," Pru quipped back.
Paige just nodded. There was a reason she didn't share. For one thing, there was never much to say. No one had ever meant anything to her in the past. She had dated a few guys in high school and had always found a reason to break it off before it became anything serious, so she never had any juicy secrets to spill to Pru. In fact, she had never shared Pru's level of infatuation with another person. At least, not until now.
"So you and your roommate," Pru said, breaking Paige's thoughts.
Paige nodded. "Emily," she replied, letting the name roll of her lips like some kind of melody.
"You guys are cool now?" Pru asked, as if she was trying to keep up with Paige's Dr. Jekyll | Mr. Hyde routine. Paige was thankful that Pru's good spirits precluded an interrogation.
"Yeah," Paige answered, trying to stay casual. "She's actually really nice," Paige told her, hoping Pru would accept that there was nothing more to the situation than that.
"I know. I can tell. It's annoying," Pru joked.
Paige laughed. "Why is it annoying?"
"'Cause I can't hate her for being so pretty if she's nice," Pru replied, in mock exasperation.
Paige shook her head. "You're totally nuts."
Pru shrugged, smirking. "I know."
"Oh, so you are alive," Spencer rasped as soon as she answered the phone, which had only taken half of a ring. "I was starting to think she really had poisoned you," she added sardonically.
Emily laughed at Spencer's dramatics. She was still curled up in her warm bed with only the dim light of the lamp illuminating the room. "What are you talking about?"
"Nevermind. I called you last night," Spencer told her.
"You did? God, I don't even remember most of last night," Emily replied, shaking her head. She hadn't noticed a missed call amongst the text messages, but she figured it was probably better she hadn't answered.
"Sounds like someone's nursing a hangover this morning," Spencer teased. "Hope you didn't get into any trouble."
"Just having a good time," Emily insisted, but the truth was she didn't actually know for sure. "So why were you calling that late?" she asked curiously. "I'm surprised Spencer Hastings wasn't busy working on her bid for class president."
"That's today's agenda," Spencer replied facetiously, even though Emily was sure she wasn't entirely kidding. "No, guess who I ran into yesterday," Spencer added excitedly.
"Who?"
"Okay, it's no fun if you don't guess," Spencer whined back.
Emily laughed. "You want me to run through every person in our high school?" she asked skeptically. She wondered who Spencer could possibly be talking about. There were a lot of people from Rosewood who were living in Philly these days, either for school or work, but Emily couldn't recall a single one of them that would garner Spencer's fancy.
"It's not someone from high school," Spencer clarified.
"Then I really don't know," Emily told her with a shrug.
There was silence on the other end of the line, and Emily wondered if Spencer got disconnected before realizing she was just pausing dramatically for effect. This better be good, Emily thought jokingly.
"Wren," Spencer announced, barely containing her excitement.
"Wait. Your sister's ex-fiance, Wren?" Emily asked disbelievingly.
"Come on. They were hardly engaged," Spencer quipped.
"The fiancé you kissed?"
"He kissed me!" Spencer insisted defensively with a laugh. "And yes, him. I saw him at the market, and we started talking. And… I didn't get home until I called you," she added cryptically.
Emily smiled knowing how much this must have meant to Spencer. She had been single for a while, ever since the Cavenaughs had moved Toby out of state. They'd kept in touch, but both of them knew that they couldn't stay together when Toby was halfway across the country, so they had decided to just be friends and leave it to fate. Apparently, fate had other things in mind for Spencer.
"Whoa. So it was sparks?" Emily asked energetically.
"Big sparks."
"So is he like some big-shot doctor now?" Emily teased.
"Hardly. He's a resident, so he works crazy hours," Spencer explained. "But he asked, if he could see me again the next day he has off," she added with a touch of exhilaration in her voice that was subtle, as Spencer always was, but nonetheless obvious to Emily.
"That is so awesome, Spence! I'm really happy for you."
"It's not anything yet. It's just a date, but it's nice," Spencer replied gently, as if she were crossing her fingers hopefully that this wouldn't end before it had even begun as it had the last time. "It was getting old being the last single girl. I mean, Aria has Ezra, you have Maya, Hanna's practically in a relationship with her sorority."
Emily felt her stomach sink at the mention of Maya, knowing she couldn't just scoot this one over and pretend everything was fine. She had to tell Spencer, even if it was the last thing she wanted to do in her current state of being dreadfully hung over.
"About that, Spencer," Emily started hesitantly.
"About what?"
Emily swallowed hard. "About Maya and I."
"Oh god, Em," Spencer replied apprehensively. "You two broke up."
Emily froze. "How do you know that?" she asked nervously. Who could have told her? She hadn't mentioned it to anyone but Paige.
"I saw something on Facebook," Spencer replied hesitantly. "She removed her relationship status."
And all of a sudden, Emily felt like someone had just bulldozed her over. She let out a breath, feeling her eyes become glazed with tears.
"Wow," she replied softly. "That was fast."
Emily couldn't deny how much the knowledge of it stung, knowing that Maya had been so quick to sever all ties to her, to remove Emily from her life. It felt like salt in an open wound. It felt like being dumped all over again. How could it be that easy for her?
"I mean," Spencer started, as if she suddenly realized the weight of what she'd revealed. "It doesn't say single. It just doesn't say anything. That's why I didn't think anything of it. Until now."
Emily simply nodded, not saying a word.
"Em. What happened?" Spencer asked gently.
Emily released a long sigh. She couldn't, not now.
"Spence… I've got midterms starting tomorrow. I just don't think I want to talk about it yet," Emily explained. "Is that okay?"
"Whatever you need," Spencer replied sympathetically. "Have you told the other girls?" she asked, and Emily knew she meant Hanna and Aria.
"Not yet," Emily told her.
"I won't say anything," Spencer assured her sweetly. "Just deal however you need to deal. We'll be here when you need us, okay?"
"Thanks, Spencer," Emily said appreciatively. Just then, she heard a key in the door, and realized that Paige was home. It made her feel a little better after the heaviness of this conversation. "I should go, start studying," she told Spencer on the phone.
The two said their goodbyes just as Paige's face appeared in the doorway. She stepped inside and quietly crossed the room before looking up, Paige's eyes catching hers as she realized Emily was awake. Emily took a moment to examine Paige. She was swearing a pair of Lions athletic shorts and a tight fitted gray tank that showed off the muscles of her arms and shoulders. Slung over her body was her swimming duffle, and her barely damp hair was pulled up into a ponytail. Gazing at her, Emily was convinced she hadn't met a girl that looked quite so good in something as simple as athletic clothes. If she didn't know better, she'd think she was just jealous, but Emily was pretty sure that wasn't it.
"I was just about to call you," Emily told Paige with a smile as she tugged the covers off of her body and pulled herself up, leaning against the wall so she could face Paige.
"How are you feeling?" Paige asked gently as she dropped her duffle near her desk and took a seat on her own bed opposite of Emily.
Emily laughed. "I've felt better, that's for sure. And that phone call didn't exactly help," she added a little sadly.
"I didn't mean to interrupt," Paige replied apologetically.
"No, it's fine," Emily insisted, not wanting Paige to feel like she had intruded. In fact, she was glad she was home now. "It was just Spencer."
"Oh yeah. I meant to tell you that she called last night. I had your phone," Paige told her awkwardly. "I said I'd have you call, but it looks like that's already covered," she explained.
At the knowledge, Emily finally started to understand what Spencer had said when she had called her, about the poisoning business. Something must have been said between Spencer and Paige over the phone, something less than pleasant, and she realized Paige was being kind enough not to say anything.
"What happened?" Paige wondered cautiously, as if she didn't want to push if it wasn't something Emily wanted to share.
"Nothing. Just… Maya," Emily said with a shrug, trying to shake the whole thing off even though it left a bitter taste in her mouth. "Looks like she's already on to bigger and better things."
"What do you mean?"
"Spencer basically knew we broke up because Maya changed her stupid relationship status," Emily explained, feeling a mix of anger and sadness.
Paige winced. "Ouch."
Emily nodded. "It really is over," she said absently, as Paige flashed her a sympathetic gaze. "I mean, I knew it was," Emily added, "but this was the icing on the cake."
"Only if you really hate icing," Paige quipped with a smirk, and Emily laughed, knowing she was just trying to make her feel better. And it was working. "Speaking of, you hungry?"
Emily frowned, knowing her body was still a wreck. "I think right now the best idea is just to hydrate."
"You're in luck," Paige replied, pulling a giant bottle of Gatorade from her bag and tossing it over to Emily.
Emily caught it and opened the lid. "You are such a lifesaver," she said appreciatively before downing a big swallow.
Paige laughed. "I've had practice."
Emily smiled. "How was the pool?"
"Freezing!" Paige fussed with a grimace, drawing a laugh from Emily. "I think they're trying to save on electricity on Sundays or something."
"I know, right!" Emily agreed, shaking her head as Paige grinned and relaxed onto her back on the bed, her long legs sprawled across the comforter.
Emily was sure the two of them were probably the only ones visiting the place on Sundays. It reminded her that the whole swimming separately was something they still hadn't addressed. They were friends now, right? So they could swim together. It shouldn't be a big deal, but for some reason, Emily felt nervous bringing it up, wondering if maybe Paige wanted to swim alone regardless, and Emily would hate to put her on the spot. She decided maybe it was worth the risk to not have to endure hours upon hours of time in the water alone anymore.
"Hey," Emily said softly, drawing Paige's attention. "I was thinking, and it's cool if you'd rather not, but I was wondering, from now on, if you wanted, maybe we could just swim together?" she asked nervously, trying to give Paige an easy out if she decided to take it, even though Emily hoped she wouldn't.
Across from her, Paige nodded. "Yeah, okay," she replied with a smirk.
Emily felt her stomach flutter and reached for the Gatorade bottle again, just to distract herself. However, she found her eyes traveling back to Paige. She was flat on the bed, her hands tucked under her head, looking so at peace. Emily couldn't help but wonder what went on inside of her head most of the time. Even though they'd become friends, there was still this mystery about Paige, like she had been given all these tiny pieces and was still trying to put them all together. Emily wasn't sure why the challenge was so appealing.
Just as Emily's eyes were about to move, Paige shifted slightly and her shirt rode up just a touch, revealing just a hint of her stomach.
"You know, I should probably take a shower," Emily suddenly announced.
"Okay," Paige replied, looking up curiously. "I might pass out. Do you mind waking me?"
"Sure. What time?"
"Definitely before my mid-term tomorrow," Paige quipped sarcastically.
Emily grumbled playfully. "Right. Mid-terms."
Paige smiled sincerely. "Just get me up when you start studying."
Emily nodded in agreement before reaching for her towel. When she glanced back over again, Paige had shifted to a new position, her eyes shut, a piece of auburn hair already falling in her face. Something made her want to stay, but Emily forced herself to turn away and make her way to the showers.
Paige heard the door click shut, and let her eyes open again. She did plan to sleep, but right now, she was trying to analyze what Emily might have remembered from the night before. It was obvious it must not have been much because she had acted completely natural, not like she had tried to tug off Paige's pants or wrapped her arms around Paige's body or asked her, maybe, to sleep in her bed with her. Paige felt oddly relieved. Even though this small piece of her wanted Emily to remember just so she could gauge how she felt about it in retrospect, Paige knew that kind of thinking wouldn't be good for her. She couldn't let herself wonder whether Emily's actions meant anything more than they did. And clearly, they must not have. So she let her eyes close, hoping to get some rest after being up most of the night, hoping that when Emily returned, in nothing but a towel, she would at least be asleep.
"What kind do you want?" Paige asked as she leaned up against her desk, cell phone in hand.
It'd been a few hours of studying and the girls had both decided to order in pizza instead of venturing down to Findlay for dinner. Emily had woken Paige about an hour after she had fallen asleep with a soft touch on her shoulder, and Paige had stirred right away, opening her eyes to see Emily standing above her with a soft smile. Paige had noticed that she smelled a little like vanilla once again and wondered if it was the shampoo she used or something else. It was nice, but then again, anything other than chlorine would have probably smelled good to Paige. She'd pulled herself up, feeling even more tired than before, but she knew that she had to get some work done before her exam the next day.
Now, after several hours, they'd both felt like they deserved a break and agreed on pizza and a few episodes of Arrested Development before returning to the books.
"Mmm. Mushroom," Emily replied with a devilish smile. She was sitting on her bed, her legs curled under her body. Her hair was pulled off her shoulders into a high ponytail revealing the lines of her neck.
"Mushroom? You want a mushroom pizza?" Paige inquired, her brows furrowed. "Just mushrooms."
"Why?" Emily replied, smiling curiously. "Is that what you get?"
"Mushrooms? No," Paige replied vehemently. "Mushrooms are possibly not even food," she quipped.
"You don't like them?" Emily lamented with a frown, as if she'd been personally offended.
"I loathe them. I think there's actually a place in hell reserved for mushrooms," Paige continued with a smirk. She was hardly exaggerating, but at the same time, she was loving the reaction she was getting from Emily.
Emily laughed, her mouth agape. "Oh, and what do you get? Boring pepperoni?"
"Pepperoni is not boring," Paige insisted very seriously. "Pepperoni is classic. It's timeless."
"Well, your half can be classic, and mine can be modern," Emily replied with a smile as she lifted herself from the bed, setting her textbook down on her desk.
"What if one of them falls on my side?" Paige countered in mock earnestness.
Emily laughed again. "It's a pizza, not the War of 1812. If my mushrooms cross the treaty line, there's not going to be a skirmish."
Paige took a moment to consider before shaking her head. "No, I can't even support this decision. Pepperoni it is," she replied with a nod as she dialed the number for the pizza parlor.
"Oh my god, then I'll order it," Emily replied laughing, with a wide grin on her face as she moved closer to Paige.
"Hi. I'd like to order a large pepperoni pizza for delivery," Paige said into the phone.
Emily's jaw dropped a little, and she reached out to take the phone from Paige who turned her back to her and playfully tried to keep the phone on her ear and away from Emily's grasp. Paige made a few moves, dodging away from Emily, who kept reaching her arms around Paige's body.
Then, just as the guy on the line was asking if she wanted anything else, she felt Emily's palm pressing flat on the small of her back where her tank top had ridden up. Emily's hand was cold on her own hot skin, and her body froze from the sensation it sent through her, giving Emily a chance to take the phone from her hand. Emily smiled victoriously as she put it to her ear, and Paige just watched her, smiling.
"Yes, actually I'd like to order two pizzas for delivery," Emily said into the phone with a smirk as she plopped down right on Paige's bed like it was the most natural place to be.
As for Paige, she was still trying to catch her breath.
Half an hour later, the pizzas had arrived, and Emily had settled onto Paige's bed once again, dragging the other girl's laptop and the Arrested Development dvds with her.
"Is this your dad?" Emily asked after she had pulled Paige's Macbook onto her lap and flipped it open. There was a news article greeting her with a photograph of a smiling middle-aged man wearing a sharp suit. Emily looked up to Paige who had the pair of piping hot pizza boxes in hand. She set them on the ground beside the bed with the lids opened and crawled onto the bed beside Emily, setting down a couple of plates.
"Yeah. That's him," she replied with a nod. "You think we look alike?" she added curiously.
Emily leaned in closer, examining the image. Paige's dad had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, and while she could see a resemblance, Emily wondered if Paige got her brown eyes and auburn hair from her mom. She admitted she wanted to know all about Paige's mom, but she didn't feel like it was the right time to ask. Still, it was interesting to see this piece of Paige, knowing that her father must have a big role in her life considering that Paige's mom had passed. Emily wondered how long it had been just the two of them. In the photo, he seemed so charming, but considering how Paige had described him, she wondered what he was like when it was just the two of them.
"A little bit," Emily replied with a nod. "What's this from?" she asked, motioning to the photo.
"Oh, just some fundraiser for the campaign."
"He looks so," Emily started, searching for the right word, "diplomatic."
"He's very diplomatic," Paige replied with a touch of distaste that Emily couldn't help but notice.
Emily nodded understandingly as her eyes scanned Paige's face, wondering what this all was like for her, this other world Emily had only witnessed from afar, on television or movies, this as Paige's reality.
"Do you want him to win?" Emily asked gently.
Paige shrugged uncomfortably. "I mean, he's my dad."
"Exactly. It's okay if you don't," Emily told her, offering a small smile. "I'm not going to run to the papers," Emily teased.
"I know," Paige replied with a smirk. "Election's still a year away, so I guess I haven't thought too much about if he actually did," she said, taking a moment to consider before turning to Emily. "Is it horrible if I wish he wouldn't?"
Emily shook her head. "No. It's your life too."
"For it being mine, I don't think I have too much of a say in it," Paige quipped, and even though her voice was laced with sarcasm, Emily knew that it must have been the truth and that it must have hurt. "I mean, someone won't even let me order pizza," she added with a playful smirk.
Emily felt herself start to smile as she shook her head. "You don't even know what you're missing," she insisted as she set the computer down on the bed and reached her arm over Paige to grab a slice of her pizza. "I think you should try. For me."
"I think you're out of your mind," Paige insisted, flashing a disgusted look as Emily passed the slice in front of Paige and took a bite.
"You just haven't given it a chance," Emily insisted playfully, moving the slice towards Paige's mouth.
Paige leaned back, trying to get away, scrunching her nose in detest. "No way!" she insisted, but Emily continued moving forward, laughing.
"Come on. Just a taste," Emily teased, giggling as she leaned over Paige until her body was nearly hovering over Paige who, laughing, tried to keep Emily's pizza as far away from her as possible.
Paige's hand reached out playfully to stop Emily, and it came to rest on her stomach. The touch sent a rush through Emily's whole body as she paused suddenly, her eyes scanning Paige's face, who was looking at her a touch questioningly.
Just then, her phone beeped from her back pocket. She leaned away from Paige, set her slice of pizza on a plate, and pulled her cell out out, letting herself breath again. She clicked the message open and smiled when she read it before typing out a short response and sliding it away again.
"It's my friend Jessica," Emily explained, turning to Paige again. She just wanted to let me know she's at the airport in Charleston. She was visiting her boyfriend."
"Is she the one who dropped off the photos?" Paige asked curiously.
"Yeah," Emily replied with a nod before turning back to her. "You saw the photos?" she wondered, her brows furrowed in confusion.
"God, I sound like some kind of creepster from Creepstown," Paige replied, her face flushing with embarrassment as she shook her head back and forth. "I sneaked a peak. I'm really sorry," Paige told her, frowning apologetically.
"It's okay. Seriously," Emily insisted with a laugh. "It's not like I had my clothes off for them," she added sarcastically, thinking back to how Jessica had wanted to do that more racy photo shoot.
"What?" Paige asked, wide-eyed, a shocked expression on her face. "You took photos without your clothes on?"
"No," Emily replied insistently. "Jessica thought it would be a great idea. You know, to send to Maya. I thought she was crazy. Probably should have done it," she added, shrugging. "Who knows? Maybe she would have still been interested."
"I doubt that," Paige answered adamantly.
Emily's brow raised at her response, wondering what she meant by that because any way you read it, it sounded pretty awful.
"God, that came out wrong," Paige replied wincing. "Word vomit tonight. I just mean, I'm no dating expert, especially not when it comes to…" she started, her voice trailing off, like she didn't know the right words.
"Two girls?" Emily offered, thinking that would make Paige less uncomfortable than gay or even lesbian.
Paige nodded. "Yeah. But if she had half a brain, she'd be interested, photos or not. Plus, you didn't need to take your clothes off. Those photos? You looked great," Paige told her sweetly, still seemingly uncomfortable with the line of conversation, but Emily appreciated it. Even though Paige had insisted that Emily didn't freak her out, there was a part of Emily that still wondered if she was just being nice when she'd said that. Over time, she hoped it wouldn't be an issue.
"Well, that was all thanks to Jessica," Emily replied. "She's just really talented."
"I don't think it's just her photography skills," Paige replied cryptically.
Emily eyed her curiously. "What do you mean?"
"I think you inspired Pru into a bit of a monster last night. The green-eyed kind?" Paige answered.
Emily took a moment to consider what Paige was setting as she finally realized Paige meant that Pru was jealous.
"Come on. She knows I was obviously not looking at any of those guys," Emily replied in astonishment. The idea just seemed ludicrous, as if Pru had anything to worry about even if Emily was straight.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they weren't looking at you," Paige countered.
"Hardly," Emily said, shaking her head before proceeding cautiously, remembering how she had caught Paige and Pru in some type of heated discussion. "Is that what you two were fighting about last night?" Emily noticed Paige's face change, and she suddenly felt totally out of line for even asking. "Sorry. That's none of my business. I just. It looked like you were fighting. About me?"
"It wasn't you. Pru? She's just a little… frustrated, if you know what I mean," Paige explained with a playful roll of the eye.
"I see," Emily replied, smirking. "Jacob?"
"Yep," Paige answered with a nod.
"So last night. I have to ask," Emily wondered, wincing, having waited anxiously for hours, not even sure if she'd wanted to know. "How bad was I?"
"You weren't bad at all," Paige replied casually with a shrug.
Emily breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay good."
"Oh," Paige started. "Except for that whole thing where you decided to take your clothes off in the middle of campus," she added casually.
Emily's mouth fell agape in shock. "Oh my god. You're lying."
Paige smirked. "I didn't let you get too far though," she assured her.
Emily felt a sense of panic setting in. She had thought maybe she'd gotten a little out of hand, but this she hadn't expected. "What's not too far?" she asked carefully.
Paige released a laugh. "Don't worry. No one was around."
Emily's face fell into her hands in embarrassment. "Why would I do that?"
"You had this brilliant idea that you wanted to go swimming," Paige explained.
Emily looked up again, shaking her head. She could feel already that her cheeks were red. What was she thinking?
"But the Natatorium isn't even open that late," Emily replied apprehensively, wondering if she'd also hatched some elaborate break-in to go along with it.
"You were going to improvise," Paige explained. "You know that giant fountain in the quad?"
"No!" Emily exclaimed in shock. "God, I really owe you one."
"It's no big. You get dumped, you throw back a few, you decide to start stripping in public." Paige shrugged casually. "It happens to the best of us. I mean, except for me. Never happens to me," Paige quipped with a playful smile.
Emily grinned. "Is that right?"
Paige nodded proudly.
"Well, you'd have to be dumped first," Emily replied, "and I have this nagging feeling you're the one breaking hearts," she added, nudging Paige.
"Me?" Paige asked, surprised.
"Yeah, you. You're a heartbreaker, aren't you?" Emily teased.
Paige flashed an amused smile. "Why would you think that?"
What Emily wanted to say to her was that it was probably because she made everyone around her feel a little bit like they were walking on air, that when Paige looked at you it could make you feel like you were the only person in the room, but she didn't know how to say that.
Instead, she shrugged. "I can just tell. I mean, you're breaking Collin's heart," she teased.
"His heart is not broken," Paige insisted playfully. "I never even told him 'no.'"
Emily felt her body shift uncomfortably. "You didn't?"
"Not exactly. He asked me out a few weeks ago, and I don't know, I just said 'not now.' So I know he's going to ask again," Paige explained.
"What are you going to say?" Emily asked cautiously. For some reason, she had thought that maybe Paige was just being polite when it came to Collin. She hadn't sounded interested the last time he'd come up in conversation, and she'd never mentioned him otherwise. Emily had begun to think that maybe Paige just thought of him as some kind of puppy that followed her around. She realized now how ridiculous that sounded. Collin was, by all means, a hot guy, and maybe Paige was just waiting for the right time so she could date him properly.
When Paige didn't answer right away, Emily figured that she was right, that it was probably just a matter of time.
After a beat, Paige finally responded. "He's a good guy. He's funny, and you can tell he's not trying to use me or anything like that. Plus, he knows what it's like to live in the pool."
Emily looked up, surprised. "He's a swimmer?"
Paige nodded. "I didn't tell you?"
Emily shook her head. "Well, he seems pretty nice," Emily said softly, trying to sound normal, when she didn't even know why she felt so the opposite.
"Oh. Yeah, he is. You expected otherwise?" Paige wondered.
Emily shrugged awkwardly. "I guess I don't know what I expected."
Paige half-smiled. "I'm surprised you even remember meeting him."
As if she could forget, Emily thought, and she was surprised that it was the first thing that came to her mind, but she bit her lip and didn't say it. What was her deal? she wondered.
"Look, I'm sorry if I was a handful last night," Emily apologized, wincing.
"You were anything but," Paige insisted.
Emily rolled her eyes. "I doubt that."
Paige laughed. "Okay, so you were, but you were an entertaining handful."
"Oh, well, good," Emily replied, smiling shyly. "I'm glad I could amuse you," she added jokingly as she reached for her slice of pizza again and listened to the sound of Paige's laugh again.
As they started the dvd and settled in, they didn't say anything again about the night before, and Paige didn't mention anything else about Collin. Nevertheless, Emily couldn't remove him from her mind. Seeing them together, talking, knowing they must have had a lot in common, including swimming, made her feel like maybe she was going to end up losing Paige's company before they even had a chance to be friends. Emily had liked that Paige was single, seeing as now she was too, and it seemed like Paige was happy that way. Nevertheless, it looked like maybe Emily had been wrong. It appeared that Paige's singleness could change at any minute, that Paige was already considering saying yes to Collin when he hadn't even asked her out again yet.
Emily tried to tell herself not to be so selfish, that Paige should be happy with someone even if she wasn't, but it was hard. Something about Paige made her want to be selfish, but she knew it was better not to think about why. Instead, she decided she was going to have to get used to the idea that at some point or another, sooner or later, Paige and Collin was going to be a reality. And for some reason, Emily couldn't shake her dread.