CHAPTER 10

Emily's POV

"Em, what are you doing here?"

I felt my body shiver slightly in betrayal as I reacted to the sound of my voice on her lips. "Nothing I was just leaving," I say as I slowly try to get to my feet but I stumble and before I can fall flat on my ass, small hands grab mine and balance me again. I feel a slow lick of heat spread across where our skin is in contact, I know she feels it too. I look up at the hands' owner and we both pull our hands away, not daring to look at each in the eyes or acknowledge the fact that I also felt tiny electric shocks course through my body at the contact, or that my breathe hitched…no I'd rather ignore that and leave with any pride I might have had left. But I'm not going to lie though, because getting down Ali's- Alison's- steps looked as though it was going to be hard, even if there only was like five. But before my feet could carry me to the first one I felt her hand, on my wrist.

"Em, please wait, I can't let you drive home like that, please just come inside for some coffee, or tea, or water? I can drive you home."

I dared not to make eye contact; I couldn't look into those bright blue eyes that were filled with worry and concern. "I'm fine, besides what do you care?"

I approached the stairs but stumbled again because the world was moving to damn fast, where the hell was my phone? Where were my keys?

Alison's POV

I watched as Em tried to walk down the stairs, stopping only to feel along all of her pockets, and I couldn't help the feeling I got in my stomach as I watched her rake her hands across the front of her thighs or behind her to her butt pockets, I couldn't pull my eyes away as she continued her serach…probably for her keys…or her phone.

Then I heard her long sigh in defeat, when she found neither and she turned slowly towards me, one hand on her hip and the other pinching the bridge of her nose, eyes looking down. I could tell she wasn't too excited about what she was going to say next, "Ugh, fine, one coffee and then I'll walk home, okay?"

I tried to hide my small excitement and not smile as I said okay back, opening my house door and motioning for her to come inside.

I can't believe Em actually said yes! My thoughts rushed to my plan, this might be a little less hard than I had thought.

Emily's POV

I'm pissed that I couldn't find my phone or keys but I sure wasn't going to walk home feeling this crappy, I just can't believe that I agreed to come inside with her, I haven't been alone with her since I yelled at her for throwing us all under the bus or before that, that night she let me kiss her and it felt so right to hold her in my- holy crap Fields, get it under control. I walked absentmindedly into her house towards her kitchen…don't go anywhere where you can get too comfortable I told myself. Alison was already in the kitchen by the time I caught up.

"Em? Em? Are you okay? I said how many sugars do you want?"

"Um, I'll take it black; it might sober me up quicker."

"It's okay, there's no rush, I-"

But I cut her off, realizing this was probably her first time back in Rosewood since she left, "Wait, where have you been, the girls have been worried and they were practically going to throw a search party for you today, do they even know that you're back?"

Alison looked up with the smallest of smirks playing at the corner of her mouth, "Well I'm glad at least they miss me…but yes Em, I seen them at school today and I told them that-

" Why do you sound surprised, of course they miss you, they actually care about the people in their lives ( I had hoped she'd catch on to that double meaning) and…holy crap, I forgot all about school, what time is it?" My mom would kill me.

Alison's POV

I can't believe Em would think I didn't care about the people in my life, she was in for a surprise later, but it still hurt as I caught the double meaning she laced so subtly into what she said

"Calm down, Killer, it's already 2, school's over in 30 minutes, so just relax."

I could see the way she stiffened at the use of her nickname I had given her a while ago and I quickly turned my attention to the coffee in my hand, not daring to look at the way the afternoon sun was coming in from my kitchen window, catching every feature of her face perfectly.

"And I'm not surprised that they miss me, it's just I was sure you wouldn't seem so concerned too but…" I couldn't continue, she still seemed so distant.

I couldn't dare to look into the brown eyes that looked hard but I knew were capable of being so warm and inviting, and I couldn't possibly dream of looking too closely at the outfit she had on, the tight black skinny jeans that were nothing short of sinful and her low-cut white top, framing her strong swimmer's shoulder and complimenting her perfectly tanned skim, with her favorite black sneakers, nope, I wouldn't dare.

Emily's POV

I stiffened at the use of the nickname Alison had given me, I hadn't heard it in so long, and it caught me off guard, so I looked the other direction into her living room where we used to always have sleepovers. Hanna snoring on the floor, Aria and Spencer tangled and battling for space on the love seat and Ali and I, snuggled up together on the pull out bed. I used to inch my way closer to Ali when everyone else had fallen asleep, careful not to wake her and then gently rest my hand on top of hers, or drape my arm across her stomach, marveling in the way even the slightest of touches heightened my heart beat and set a million butterflies loose in my stomach. I also couldn't ignore or deny the fact that our bodies molded perfectly, like we were made for each other…but that would be too good to be true, she would never want that, yet some nights I pretended she was awake and was holding me back. I snapped out of those happy turned painful memories when a mug of black coffee slid across the counter to right in front of me.

"Um, thanks," I said taking a sip and releasing a slight moan at the taste, as the hot liquid slid smoothly down my throat, unaware that I did so until I looked up at blue eyes that were staring at me and seen her mouth slightly ajar. Shit…again!

Alison's POV

I looked over at Emily who was intent on staring at living room so hard. I wondered what she was thinking. I wondered where her mind drifted and where she went. I would've asked but maybe another time, we aren't exactly on the terms I'd like us to be on yet. After I poured the black coffee in a mug, I slid it across the counter, next to her hand and started to put sugars and cream into my coffee when the sexiest of noises escaped the perfect lips of Emily. She had moaned at the taste of the coffee and that little noise did what many would think inappropriate, things to my body. Her eyes were shut, eyelashes casting shadows across her cheeks and her lips were closed around the brim of the coffee mug. I bit my lip slightly as I watched her swallow and when she realized what she did, her eyes flew open to mine and all I could do was stand with a gaping mouth and eyes.

I quickly snapped my mouth shut and turned to the sink to wash out the coffee pot. I didn't want her to see the power she had over me. She couldn't see the way my cheeks turned a bright red, not yet anyway. I wanted to show her how it would feel if she let me take the lead again. Then, I'd let her do whatever she-

"Um, Alison?" I heard Emily say as she cleared her throat.

"Yeah Em?" Oh no, maybe she had seen me and the look on my face when she-

"Thanks for the coffee, but I should go now, I should let the girls know I'm ok and I need to find my phone and keys, I've had a rough night. I'm never doing that again." She paused and I could see her mentally cursing herself for admitting so much to me.

I looked up at her and heard the shakiness when she tried to laugh off her hangover and drunken night with bottles of liquor that she spent on my porch, which in due time, or maybe now, I'd ask her about.

"Em, why do you do that to yourself," I asked before I had time to process that I did. Yup now, definitely now.

"What?" She snapped her head in my direction, defenses on full power, "do what Alison?"

I gulped, I shouldn't have opened my mouth, again, I should have kept it shut and not said a word but oh, her it goes again, "Why do you drink like this when you're upset, I thought maybe after Hanna," but that was still somewhat a touchy subject, "I just thought you'd know better." And there it was, I was past the point of no return. No going back now.

"Who said anything about me being upset? I'm not, I wasn't. Seriously, do you think you're the most qualified person to be giving me a lecture about how I should act? You, of all people? Hah! You know, I'm tired of everyone telling me what I should do, and how I should act, okay?! You want to know why I drink? Yeah? Why, when shit gets tough I turned to alcohol?"

I knew it was a rhetorical question.

And this was it, this is what I mentally prepared myself for, the yelling and pain and anger, maybe she would get violent, but I didn't care, all that mattered was that Emily got to speak her mind, talk to me, yell, hit me, it would be okay with me, I deserved it.

But everything that happened next, I didn't anticipate.