siophiefandom Thank you. I'm glad that you felt this chapter explained a bit about why S1 Paige was the way she was. I know that this story has veered away from cannon, but I tried to keep the esssence the character, if not the actual events.

Guest: Thank you.

ren-mccullers Less mean. But, still a little mean? Sorry. Well, mostly. :p I wanted to show Paige as a strong character. I mean, she'll still have her moments of self-doubt and uncertaintnty, but I wanted to show the growth that she's made, independently, before having her get together with Emily. In time, yeah, I think Mama Fields will come around and the house being a safe space for them is exactly what I was intending. Not sure the direction I'm going to take it with Paige's parents though, I'll see how it plays out.

jewelskins28 I'm happy to have redeemed myself. :)

(I sent you a PM, so check your inbox)

Guest: Thank you.

jhas :) Glad you enjoyed the timely update. And I'm happy that I could make you smile. They both still have their struggles ahead of them, but they're both willing to put in the work to make their relationship sthrive.

Shananigan lol. I know, right? I'm glad you liked the talk. And the attempt they're making at being mature and adult about a difficult situation. I agree, in the show Emily didn't handle it the best, but at the same time, Paige didn't really give her a reason to think that fighting was worth the effort. I'm trying to split the difference here.

SouthernStateOfMind I'm glad that I could finally illicit a response out of you. :) I'm happy that you're enjoying the story.

Guest Thank you.

Guest. lol :) Thank you.

CarmellaD'Winter Thank you. I agree, I think in the show Emily gave up to quickly. Or at least, that was the impression that I got. For a supposed "friend" she didn't seem to be there for Paige very much. This story is my remedy for that.

Guest :)

ponderhouse :) You didn't really think I'd leave you hanging like that for long, did you? Just enough to build up some dramatic effect. And to write the next chapter. There is something about Paily, to me at least, that is just so sweet and heartwarming. I try to bring that into the story as often as I can. I'm glad you're enjoying my attempts at adorable. For as much as Paige is struggling, I'm trying to avoid melodrama and freaking out, she'll have her moments for sure but nothing too extreme.

take-everything-and-more Yeah, I couldn't come up with a better solution either. Their attraction and feelings for each other would make just friends impossible so this was the only option I could think of. They'll face their challenges, but it's a Paily fic, and I'm not going to torture them too badly.

Rooonie I'm glad you liked it. Yeah, they will definitely face some complications. :) But nothint too bad.

Guest: I'm gald you enjoyed it.

Author's Note: Just a bit of Paily fluff before I return you to your regularly scheduled updates. I hope that you enjoy. :)

Chapter 14

The kiss grew heated quickly, with Paige surging forward into Emily and deepening it. What she lacked in finess, she made up for in fervor. Her hand slid up Emily's side and came to rest at the base of her neck, cupping the back of her head, drawing her in as she pressed her lips firmly against Emily's. Her tongue swept across Emily's bottom lip before slipping into her mouth, stroking against her tongue and coaxing her even further into the kiss, pushing forward all the while, trying to bring them closer. Her soft sighs and moans filled the air every time their lips parted and then re-connected.

Her continued straining forward had Emily slowly easing backwards until her back hit the couch cushion beneath her, Paige hovering over her, her lips hungry, insistant. Not that Emily was complaining. A delcious thrill coursed through her body as Paige settled herself between her legs, the rough denim of her jeans and the faint protrusion of her belt buckle applying pressure in just the right place. The weight of the other girl's body pressing against her, pushing her down into the overstuffed cushions as she kissed her senseless was a pleasant, heady feeling.

She slid her hands down Paige's back, feeling the muscles twitch and tremor beneath her t-shirt at the touch, before pressing her fingers firmly into the small of the other girl's back, gripping tightly to avoid the temptation of letting them wander any further as she fought to keep her body still beneath the other girl.

She refused to push things too far or to let them move too fast. For as eager and enthused as Paige was right now, this was all still very new to her. Emily doubted she had ever even kissed a girl before, let alone made out with one. And as much as Paige had taken everything in stride so far, there was always a chance that at some point very soon this would all hit her like a ton of bricks and Emily didn't want them to cross any boundries before she'd had a chance to really process this. To decide if this was really, truly, what she wanted.

Her resolve floundered as the hand that Paige was bracing herself with against Emily's hip began to knead lightly, whether the action was intention or unconcious was immaterial. Calloused fingertips slipped beneath the hem of her shirt and rasped against the soft, sensitive skin of her side and Emily gasped softly into Paige's mouth and her hands slid down, gripping the curve of Paige's ass and pulling the girl more firmly down against her.

When she felt the other girls hips start to move in a slow, subtle roll she knew it was time to cool things down. That was one of those boundries she wasn't willing to cross. She slid her hands up, cradling Paige's shoulders as she began to gently slow their kisses, calming the almost frantic pace into a deep, languid, almost lazy kiss that became a series of pecks before pulling away. Paige craned her neck, chasing her lips, trying to draw her back in. But when Emily refused to part her lips and grant her tongue entrance she let out a soft groan of protest and sagged against her, head buried in the crook of her neck for a moment before she propped herself up on one elbow and shot Emily the most adorable pout.

Her face was flushed and her lips were bruised and swollen. Tendrils of hair stuck to the faint sheen of sweat on her forehead. Emily reached up to brush them away, offering a soft smile as she did so.

"Hey."

"Hey." Paige smiled bashfully at her before ducking her head and laying it against her chest.

"How you doing?" Emily ran one hand gently up and down Paige's back, the other coming up to sift softly through her hair.

Paige let ouf a soft sigh of contenment and burrowed deeper into Emily. "This feels nice." Her voice a hushed, almost reverent whisper.

It wasn't a direct answer to Emily's question, but it was an answer all the same. "Yeah," she agreed.

She felt the steady rise and fall of Paige's chest against her, the faint rasp of her breath and a warm contentment settled over her. If someone had told her a week ago that she'd be in this position with Paige McCullers she'd have thought they were crazy, yet lying here, nothing had ever felt so right. She let her eyes drift closed and just soaked up the moment.

She wasn't sure how long they'd been lying there when she felt Paige stir above her. It wasn't to get up, however. The next thing she knew she felt the press of soft, warm lips against the side of her neck. A series of slow, sensual kisses followed by the flick of Paige's tongue against the hollow of her throat.

"Mmm, Paige." She couldn't help herself, her body's reaction was automatic as she arched up into the girl hovering above her, craning her neck to the side to grant her more access as she did.

Paige hummed softly against her throat, the vibrations running through Emily's extremeties and coiling pleasantly in her center. She gripped at Paige's hips as the other girl's lips plied their way along her neck and the line of her jaw, her movements very much exploratory as she nipped and kissed and licked and sucked.

Emily did her best to keep still, to not writhe under Paige's ministrations. It was a sort of delicious torture. One that she would happily withstand, even as it slowly drove her crazy.

"You...better...not...be...leaving a mark," she ground out as Paige seemed to be paying a particular amount of attention to the curve of her shoulder, just above her collarbone.

Above her, Paige paused and pulled back. She was silent for so long that Emily's eyes flew open in concern. She caught the other girl staring down at the side of her neck, lip between her teeth and brows drawn together in trepidation. Slowly she raised her gaze to meet Emily's.

"Paige." Emily let out a groan of protest, bringing a hand up to feel out the damage.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. I just got carried away. I've never done that before. I didn't...I mean I-" Emily cut her off with a quick kiss. Paige was adorable when she was panicked and rambling but this method of silencing her was both fun and effective.

"You've never given anyone a hickey before?"

Paige shook her head. "I've barely even kissed anyone before," she admitted. "Not like this, at least."

"Oh? Well, who have you kissed?"

Paige shifted above her, frowning at the question.

Emily reached up and smoothed a hand across her cheek. "You don't have to tell me, if it makes you uncomfortable. But, I'm not going to get jealous or angry if you do." She was just honestly curious about what kind of experience Paige had. If she'd kissed anybody, how far they'd gone. Not that she wanted the gory details. If Paige had slept with some guy, she wasn't sure she wanted to know that. But, just the basics.

"Um...Vince Gilarti in eighth grade. He was my first kiss. It was after a soccer game and he was all sweaty and his breath tasted like pepperettes. It was gross. And I made out with Sean Ackard. Before he and Hannah got together," she hastened to reassure. "In ninth grade. At some party. I was a little buzzed.. His lips were soft. And they tasted like wine coolers. It wasn't that bad. But it wasn't...it doesn't compare to you." Paige's eyes were wide and earnest. It would have been cheesy if the words didn't ring so sincere.

"Nobody I've been with quite compares to you, either." Emily was being honest. She hadn't felt anything for Ben, aside from a faint thrill of satisfaction that someone wanted her, was interested in her. Her first kiss, which had been with Alison, had been exciting and terrifying and had made her body tingle, but now that she had perspective on it, Emily realized that was more the forbiddeness of it than any genuine emotion. She'd loved Alison, for sure. Had been in love with her, but their had been no future there. Ali didn't see her as any more than a friend.

She'd genuinely loved Maya. And for the first time, her love had been returned. She would always hold a place in Emily's heart.

But there was just something about the way Paige made her feel, this warmth that blossomed in her chest every time the other girl looked her way, or smiled at her, or said her name. It wasn't better than with Maya, or more, just different. And Emily couldn't fathom ever giving that up.

"Yeah?" There was a proud smile tugging at the corners of Paige's lips, even as she tried to play it cool. "And, just how many "nobodies" have their been, huh?"

"Before you, I've only ever kissed three other people."

Paige didn't react to the number, or question who those people were. She supposed that two out of the three were obvious. And, it probably wasn't very hard to guess at the third. She simply nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer, and lay her head back down on Emily's chest.

"Would it have bothered you, if that number were higher?"

Paige was silent for a long moment before letting out a sigh. "I don't know if bothered is the right word. As much as, it'd make me worry about how I stacked up."

"Well, you don't have to worry, because you stack up just fine," Emily said, rubbing soothing circles along Paige's back. She felt the other girl sag into her at the touch and dipped her head, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head.

"I'm sorry," she said, reaching up and tracing a finger around the edges of the mark she'd made, the touch making Emily shiver.

"It's fine. I'll just wear a shirt with a collar tomorrow."

"And at swim practice"

"Um...Maybe the straps of my suit will cover it?"

"You know it won't."

"Not much I can do about that."

Paige sighed softly and Emily knew that she was beating herself up over it.

"Seriously, Paige. Don't worry about it. I won't be the first girl to turn at practice with a hickey."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts. It's not a big deal."

Paige nodded and Emily hoped that she had actually taken the words to heart and hadn't just decided to let the subject drop. Emily wrapped her arms around Paige's torso and cradled the other girl gently, hoping that would be enough to convince her that it really was all right. Paige burrowed into Emily, curling an arm along her side and settling more firmly againat her, a quiet murmur of contentment passing her lips as she did.

"This feels like a dream. Like I'm going to wake up at any moment and realize that none of this is real." Paige's hushed whisper broke the silence that had lapsed between them. She knew exactly what Paige meant. There was a small part of her brain that refused to believe that this was, in fact, actually happening. It was still settling in and until it did, this would all feel like a very vivid daydream.

"Ow. Hey." Paige jerked in place and batted Emily's hand away as she attempted to pinch her side for a second time. "Not even a full day togethar and already with the domestic abuse. Geez, Fields. What gives?"

"I was checking to see if you were dreaming," Emily said, catching Paige's flailing hand in her own. "They say you can't feel pain in your dreams. So, if you felt that-"

"You do realize what I said was just a figure of speech, right?" Paige laced her fingers through Emily's and guided their hands away from her side. "That hurt."

"I didn't even pinch you that hard."

Paige huffed in response.

"You big baby. Want me to kiss it better?"

Paige went still above her then let out an audible gulp before slowly pushed herself up onto her elbows to meet Emily's gaze, her eyes wide, her expression hopeful as she nodded emphatically.

Emily had only been joking. She hadn't even registered the connotation of her words until it was too late to call them back. And now her mind was overrun with the mental image of doing just that, of pushing Paige's t-shirt up and pressing her lips against the soft, toned skin of her side.

"You're such a dork," Emily teased as she wrapped her arms around Paige's neck and drew her back down for a kiss.

Paige went willingly, laughing lightly against Emily's lips. "I think that statement says more about you than it does about me," she said when they'd pulled apart. "I mean, sure, I might be a dork. But you're the one making out with me." She offered Emily a smug grin before bringing their lips back together in a slow, languid kiss. Her point well proven as Emily tangled her fingers in Paige's hair and held her head in place and deepened the kiss, her tongue probing it's way into Paige's mouth.

The room around them grew dim as night set in, the high, narrow windows casting absurd, dancing shadows across the walls. Emily barely noticed either the fading of the light or the passage of time as the two of them lay there, intermittently making out. The moments in between their heated exchanges were spent cuddled together, Paige's head resting on Emily's chest, tucked in beneath her chin, their arms wound around each other, sometimes in silence, sometimes talking quietly.

"It's going to be really tough at school tomorrow, isn't it?" Paige's question was a bare whisper, but Emily had no problem hearing it, or the uncertainty that laced her voice.

"Yeah." Her response was little more than a breath, as if afraid to shatter the stillness that had settled around them by speaking too loudly. Although, she had a feeling that it was going to be hard for Paige for reasons much different than her own, from the reasons that the other girl was now thinking.

"I don't know how I'm going to get through the day pretending to just be your friend," Paige continued. "To be so close to you and not be able to touch you or kiss you..."

Emily knew that it would be true in her case. It had been hard enough keeping her hands on Paige when they were just friends, but after everything that they had shared tonight, it would be next to impossible. The desire to kiss Paige, to hold her hand, to touch her and lean into her, it was strong. Resiisting it at every turn was going to be hard. The strain of keeping it a secret under the ever watchful eyes of their peers might just prove to be too much.

But, honestly, she less worried about that than she was about the possibility of Paige waking up the next morning and regretting everything that had happened tonight. It was one thing for them to feel close and intimate in the secluded darkness of this empty house and another thing for Paige to accept it in the cold light of day.

She remembered how exciting, how exhilirating it had been to kiss Maya that first time. The low, steady beat of the bass had been thrumming through her veins, as had the beer and a half she'd drunk before stepping into that photo booth. When Maya had leaned in to kiss her, eyes shining with desire and lips looking soft and inviting, Emily had been entranced. She hadn't been thinking about what her friends, her family, everyone at school might think. It hadn't been until later, once the beer and the enchantment had worn off that she'd been struck with the realities of what it meant. And the fear of being found out, of being different, of being cast out had far outweighed the desire.

She had pulled away from the other girl, afraid to even be seen with her in public, lest somebody might look at her and figure out what was going on in her head, what had gone on between them. It would crush her if Paige did the same thing to her, tomorrow.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Hmm?" The sound of Paige's voice stirred her back into the moment.

"You're being awfully quiet. What's on your mind?"

Emily hesitated, not sure how to broach the subject to Paige.

"Em?" Paige propped herself up so she could peer down at her, eyes shining in the darkness that shrouded them. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"You're lying."

"I'm not. I just...promise me something?"

"Anything."

The automatic, unwavering reply brought a smile to her lips.

"Will you just listen to what I'm asking before you agree?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"Promise me that you won't shut me out? If all this gets to much for you-"

"Emily-"

"Or if you change your mind-"

"I won't."

She laid a hand over Paige's mouth. "Shh. You're listening, remember?"

Paige nodded once, and then flicked her tongue out, licking her hand.

"Ewww. Hey." She jerked her hand back and wiped it across Paige's shoulder.

"What do you mean, ewww? You just had your tongue in my mouth, but a little lick of your hand freaks you out?"

"Hush, you."

Paige stuck out her tongue, but muttered a soft apology.

"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted." Paige scoffed, but didn't actually say anything, so Emily continued on as if she hadn't heard her. "If you have even the slightest bit of doubt that this...that I am what you want will you please, please talk to me? I can handle you saying you just want to be friends." At least, Emily hoped that she could. "But, I can't handle you shutting me out. Okay?"

Paige pointed to her chest, eyebrow quirked up in question.

"Yes. Your turn to speak now."

"Ah, thank you, your highness." Emily rolled her eyes and Paige smirked at her. "I'm not going to change my mind. I want this...you"

Emily wanted to believe Paige. She really, truly did. She supposed that the only option that she had was to just give in, to accept that Paige wanted this as much as she did and wasn't going to pull away. After a moment, she nodded.

"Thank you."

They lay there in silence for awhile longer until, much to Emily's dissapointment, Paige heaved a sigh and pushed herself up off of her.

"Hey. Where are you going?" Emily pouted and tried to pull Paige back down onto her. "Come back here."

"Believe me, I want to. But, my mom will probably be home soon."

"And, it's time for me to go?"

"What? No. Unless you have get home. But, you're more than welcome to stay. I just think it'd be best if my mom didn't come home and find us in a compromising position."

"Oh." Emily felt her cheeks heat in embarassment at having jumped to conclusions. "Sorry."

'Don't worry about it." Paige waved her off with a shrug as she stood. "But, we should probably head upstairs and make it look like we've been doing homework rather than making out all this time."

Emily pushed herself up into a sitting position. "You don't want your mom getting ideas about us, so you think we should go upstairs and... hang out on your bed?"

Paige just shook her head. "Ugh. You're annnoying," she said as she tugged Emily to her feet. "And heavy. Geez, Fields, what have you been eating lately?"

Emily swatted at her with a squeak of indignation. "Those burgers were your idea, McCullers."

Paige just laughed as she caught her hand and led her out of the room. Emily allowed herself to be towed along, the two of them stopping in the kitchen for two bottles of water before heading upstairs to Paige's room. She had the presence of mind to snag their backpacks from where they'd dropped them in the entrway, to lay credence to their homework ruse, even though she was preoccupied by the thought of being alone with Paige, in her bedroom.