Paraddicted I'm glad that you enjoy my take on Paily, and the development of their relationship. I agree, I think it's definitely Paige to act and then second guess her actions and then freak out about them a little, to worry about the consequences and whether or not people will now know. Pam and Emily's relationship is going to move progressively forward, but it won't always be easy. :) I didn't think anyone would mind, but well you never know. :p Thank you, for the thoughtful review of both chapters.

jhas Don't you worry, Paige might have had a little setback here, but she has some moves of her own, which will be on display soon. I like the idea of a Paige/Caleb friendship. so I will be developing that, to some degree over the course of the story. And of course, Paige and the rest of the girls as well.

Guest Yeah, I like the idea of Paige and Caleb being friends. I think they have a lot of similar traits and probably some common interests. lol. Yeah, she's a bit of a bad-ass, wrapped up in a shy-girl persona. She does have a car, but I have no idea what kind. I'm clueless when it comes to automobiles.

Guest Yep, now comes the tough stuff. But, Paily will prevail. :)

saii79 Yeah, communication will be key at this point. And, I think they'll do a pretty good job of it. I'm glad that you can see both sides of it. :) I wanted it to be fairly even, not a clear case of right vs. wrong but somewhere in the middle for both of them. And, I'm glad that you found it realistic, relatable. Thank you. :)

ponderhouse Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed them. It's important for them to talk things through, but I think they're going to be okay in that department. It won't be easy for them, but they're solid.

Author's Note: I doubt very much that I will get a chance to update again this week. As much as I'd love to be able to have another chapter for you in a few days, real life demands some time and attention this week. So, I want to wish all of you who celebrate it a Happy Easter this coming weekend. :)

Chapter 19

For the past two days Emily had been lamenting at the fact that she and Paige didn't share any classes but now, as she made her way through the second half of her day she was greatful for that fact. It was easier to forget that the other girl freaked out in her very presence when they weren't actually face to face. Not seeing Paige meant that they could spend the time apart texting, exchanging that flirty banter that came so naturally to both of them, that had become such an integral part of how they interacted. She felt like it was helping get them back on an even keel after the upsets of that morning.

As the afternoon wore on, however, she started to get worried about swim practice. It would be pretty hard to avoid each other without being obvious about it in such a contained space. And after the weekend, the other girls would notice if Emily and Paige were suddenly not speaking, not even looking at each other.

By the time pratice rolled around, Emily's nerves were taut with tension, her stomach rolling uneasily as she made her way from her locker down to the natatorium. She thought about bailing, telling coach that she was going home sick. It wouldn't even be that much of a lie, her nerves were making her feel nauseous. But with the state championship coming up in just a few weeks she couldn't afford to be skipping practice.

Before stepping into the locker room, Emily paused just outside the door and took a couple of deep breaths, pressing a hand to her stomach, trying to calm the upset. When that didn't work, she shoved the door open with her shoulder and strode through, keeping her eyes down as she made her way across the room to her locker. She did not look up, making a pointed effort not to look for Paige. She didn't know if she could see her right now, even if it was just a fleeting glimpse across the room.

The conversations swirled around her but Emily paid no attention to her team mates as they laughed and joked. She changed quickly and made her way out to the pool. She found a quiet corner of the deck and began working her way through her warm up stretches.

The rest of the team began to trickle out of the locker room and spread out around her, working their way through their own stretches in pairs or small groups. Slowly her quiet corner became overrun with laughing, chattering girls.

Despite her desire, and her best efforts, not to, Emily's gaze kept running over the crowd, seeking out Paige's familiar, lithe form. Every time a figure stepped out of the locker room, Emily's eyes darted over, her breath catching in her throat and her heart seizing for a moment, until it was revealed to be someone other than Paige. Then she'd let out a sigh that was an odd mixture of relief and dissapointment and go back to her stretching until the next time someone entered. It went on again and again until it seemed like the entire team was on deck, except for Paige.

She wouldn't skip pratice to avoid Emily, would she? The thought caused her to stumble in place as she was stretching. She barely caught herself before falling forward and then glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Nobody had.

"All right, Sharks. Huddle up." Coach Fulton blew her whistle, commanding the attention of her gathered team and they all drifted across the deck towards her, crowding around where she stood in front of the bleachers.

Emily sensed the moment Paige stepped out onto the deck, the hairs on the back of her neck raising, her skin prickling as the other girl slipped into the group, directly behind Emily. Her breath was hot against Emily's skin as it washed across the back of her neck and her stomach lurched at the sensation. A warmth spread through her torso and out across her limbs.

Coach was talking and Emily tried to concentrate, but it felt like her brain was short circuting at Paige's proximity. She felt a faint pressure at the small of her back, a light, fleeting touch that could have been an accidental touch if not for the fact that it returned a moment later. It took Emily's addled brain a moment to realize that Paige was stroking the small of her back, her fingers dancing lightly against the dip at the bottom of her spine. She sucked in a loud, audible breath through her nose, which she tried to cover with a cough, but still earned her a sidelong glance from a couple of the girls standing to her right. Paige's nails scratched lightly against her hip and Emily held herself rigid, trying to suppress a shiver.

She bit back a moan just as Coach clapped her hands, ending her talk and directing the girls into the pool. Emily realized that she had no idea what it was that Coach Fulton had just said. She cast a glare over her shoulder at Paige and then stalked away, slipping into the first available lane and starting her warm up laps.

She could feel Paige's gaze on her throughout the practice. Emily knew that if she spared the other girl a glance she'd see a wounded look on her face and that pained her. But, she was afraid of what her own face would reveal if she caught a glimpe of Paige right now. Her body was buzzing with adreneline, her neck still tingling from the warmth of Paige's breath against her skin, her back still felt the ghost of Paige's fingers. The combined effects of arousal and frustration spurring her on as she powered her way through the pool.

She wanted Paige, so much, right now. It was taking everything she had not to slip under the lane dividers and take Paige, right here, right now, in the pool against the wall, with all of their team mates looking on.

And she was so mad at Paige for putting her in this state. For riling her up when she knew that neither of them could act on it. For ignoring her all day, but touching her like that when they were surrounded by twenty other girls.

As soon as Coach called an end to practice, Emily was levering herself out of the pool and making her way towards the locker room. She didn't even bother grabbing a towel and barely acknowledged Coach Fulton as she fell into step beside her to compliment her on having beat pretty much all of her personal bests. She managed a quiet, strained "thanks coach" before ducking into the locker room and hurriedly changed back into her street clothes without even taking the time to dry off properly. Her skirt clung uncomfortably to her legs and her hair satured the shoulders of her shirt and dripped down her back, but she didn't even care. She didn't want to be in the locker room when Paige walked in, water dripping off her skin, wet swimsuit plastered to her body, cheeks flushed and muscles tight from the workout.

She pulled her hair into a messy bun at the back of her neck, shoved her feet into her shoes and fairly sprinted from the locker room before any of the other girls had even made it back in.

She hurried down the hall and stopped only once she'd turned the corner and was out of sight of the locker room doors. She leaned against the bank of lockers and let out a shaky breath, unnerved by the force of her body's response to the other girl's touch, and by the surge of anger that accompanied it. She sank down until she was sitting on the cold, tile floor and dug into her bag for her cell phone, knowing that it wouldn't be long before Paige was texting her, asking her where she was, what was wrong.

Sure enough, not even a full minute had passed since Emily had sat down when her phone buzzed and lit up in her hand.

Where are you?

Are we still on for tonight?

She felt a little bad that she had made Paige be the one to reach out to her, when she had been the one to just take off. But she'd needed a moment to collect herself and even then, she didn't trust herself to set the tone of their conversation.

Yes, we're still on she texted back, ignoring the first question. She wasn't ready for Paige to come find her just yet. She needed a bit more time before she either exploded at Paige, or pushed her up against a locker and kissed her senseless. Neither one a safe course of action in the not crowded but far from deserted hallway. Are you ready to go? she added.

Yes. Um...what are we doing?

Emily remembered then that they couldn't go to Paige's house like they'd originally planned. And they couldn't go any of the usual after school places, like The Brew, or The Grill or Lucky Leons.

My place? While her mother wasn't exactly on board with their relationship, she was at least aware of, and mostly accepting of it, unlike Paige's parents. She would have rather spend this afternoon like they had yesterday but apparently that wasn't in the cards.

Ok. Do you need a ride or am I meeting you there?

Ride, please.

I'm parked at the side, over by the shop classes. Meet me there?

Of course she was parked there, in the little used, over-flow lot. Less chance of anyone seeing Emily getting into her car.

OK. She sent the text and shoved her phone back into her bag before standing and making her way through the maze of hallways to a side entrance. She made it there before Paige did and leaned against the hood of her car, staring off into the distance, her gaze travelling over but not really seeing the athletic fields and various practices taking place. She didn't notice Paige exit the double doors or make her way across the lot towards her. She only became aware of her presense when Paige stepped in front of her, so close that the tops of their thighs were touching.

"Hey," Paige said softly, uncertainly.

Emily turned her head to face her full on, taking in the hesitant smile on Paige's lips and the tension in her body. She gripped the strap of her backpack in one hand, her knuckles white with the pressure of her grip, and bounced a little on her toes. She was an endearing, frustrating bundle of nerves and energy and Emily didn't know whether to kiss her or yell at her.

She gripped the lapels of Paige's jacket and pulled her forward, crashing their lips together in a hard, bruising kiss. Paige moaned into her mouth and surged forward, pressing her hips against Emily's, pinning her against the car, even as she put her hands on Emily's shoulders and pushed her away.

"Em, what are you...we can't..." She pulled back and glanced around them, her eyes darting nervously towards the fields behind them and then back towards the school and it's several stories of windows, any one of which someone could be watching them from. "Let's just go." She pushed herself off Emily and made her way around to the passenger side of the car, where she pulled the door open and then turned to look expectantly at Emily, who was still leaning against the hood of her car, dazed and fuming.

"Em, c'mon."

Paige's voice broke her out of her stupor and she rounded on the other girl. "You can't do that," she hissed, closing in on the other girl and infringing on her personal space. Paige blinked at her then her eyes went wide. "You can't ignore me all day and then do that sneaky, flirty shit. Okay? It's not fair. And I just can't take it. God, Paige." Emily threw her hands up in frustration. "Do you have any idea what you do to me? How hard it is to keep my hands off you at any given time? And then you go and pull something like what you did today at practice?" She wanted to hit something. She wanted to scream. She had never been so aroused like this and not been able to do anything about it.

"Emily..." Paige reached out to her but she jerked away.

"Please don't touch me right now," she snapped, then felt immediately guilty as Paige's face fell. "Oh, Paige, I'm sorry." She sighed softly as she watched the other girl blink away tears. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just...really wound up right now. And if you touch me...I'm liable to do something stupid, like push you into the backseat and have my way with you."

She couldn't help but chuckle lightly as Paige gulped audibly at her words and her eyelids fluttered a little, probably as she pictured it. "Tempting, is it?" she husked.

Paige closed her eyes and took a series of deep breaths, nodding emphatically as she did so. When she opened her eyes, they were a signifigantly deeper shade than they usually were. "Maybe we should get out of here," she said softly. "Continue this conversation somewhere a little more-"

"Remote?"

"I was going to say private. But, I guess remote would work." She flashed Emily a teasing grin. "If I ask you to get in the car, can I trust you to keep your hands to yourself?"

Emily rolled her eyes but stepped past Paige, making a show of keeping her hands raised and out to the sides as she slipped into the passenger seat. Paige pushed the door shut behind her, closing it with a firm click, before passing around the front of the car and sliding into her seat. She placed her hands on the steering wheel, gripping it tightly as she turned to look at Emily, that same smirk still playing on her lips. Emily felt her lips curve up in a smile of their own as she tucked her hands under her thighs.

"We're pathetic," she said, shaking her head at the both of them.

Paige hummed softly. "We? You're the one who can't keep their hands to themselves."

"You forget it was you getting handsy during pratice that started this mess in the first place."

Paige's smile faded and she nodded once. "Yeah. Right. Look, Em I'm sorry about that. I really didn't even mean anything overt by it. I just...with everything that happened this morning, I just needed to feel close to you for a moment. To touch you and know that you were...real?" She let out a sigh. "I'm not even explaining myself very well. But, I didn't realize that it would effect you like that."

"Not effect me?" Emily scoffed. "How in the world could you think that it wouldn't?"

Paige stared down at her hands instead of looking over at Emily and shrugged. Emily reached out, breaking their no-touching rule to cup Paige's cheek and turn her face towards her.

"Do you really not understand the effect you have on me?" she asked softly. "How insanely attracted I am to you?"

Paige's gaze met her own, her eyes widening as Emily's words sunk in. A blush colored her cheeks and she offered up a bashful smile.

"I want you, Paige. Pretty much all the time. And I'm trying really, really hard to respect your boundries when we're in public. But you've got to work with me on that."

Paige nodded. "I know that I should say I'm sorry," she said slowly. "But, that kiss was really, really hot."

Emily shook her head and laughed. "You know what, just drive." She patted Paige's cheek and then pulled her hand back.

"Yes ma'am."

Emily relaxed in her seat as Paige started the car and pulled out of the school lot.

Emily played with the radio to keep her hands occupied until, when stopped at a red light Paige reached over and laced their fingers together and then rested their joined hands on the console between them, completing the rest of the drive one handed. From that point on, Emily occupied herself by playing with Paige's fingers, unable to keep herself from staring down at the point where they were linked.

Her mom's car was already in the driveway when they pulled up in front of the house, something that Emily was not sure whether to upset about, or pleased. It would have been nice to have some alone time with Paige. She knew that they would be lucky to get as much as a kiss in, with her mom around. But considering how frustrated Emily had been earlier, and how intense their make out sessions had been yesterday, it was probably a a good thing that they weren't being left to their own devices. She didn't want them to rush into anything.

She reluctantly let go of Paige's hand to get out of the car and walk up to the house, but as soon as the door swung shut behind them, she reached for it again, lacing their fingers and gently tugging Paige along behind her as she made her way through the living room ino the kitchen, where she knew her mother would most likely be.

"Hey, honey, how was your day?" her mom asked, without looking up from her laptop, which was open on the table,

"It was good. Had a guest speaker in sociology today, some really interesting stuff about social working." Paige loosened her grip on Emily's fingers and tried to pull her hand free, but Emily wouldn't let her. "And swim pratice was intense. I beat a few of my personal bests."

"What? You didn't tell me that."

Emily quirked an eyebrow at Paige, wondering when, exactly, she was supposed to have told Paige.

"Oh, right," Paige mumbled.

Her mom's gaze lifted at the sound of Paige's voice, shooting a raised eyebrow glance of her own at her daughter before turning her attention over to the other girl. "Hello, Paige," she said, smiling warmly. "I didn't expect to see you back here so soon," she added. "I thought you guys were studying at your place today."

Emily and Paige exchanged glances. "Uh, change of plans," Emily said after a moment, not really sure how much Paige really wanted to get into it. "We're going to study here. Can Paige stay for dinner?"

Pam's brow furrowed and she glanced back and forth between the two of them. "Of course you're welcome to stay for dinner, Paige. We're happy to have you."

"Thank you, Mrs Fields."

"Anytime, dear."

"Uh, I really am working on a chem project with Spencer. And she'll kill me if I don't have my part done for tomorrow," Paige said, turning to Emily. "Do you mind if I go ahead and get started?"

"Sure thing. I'll be in in a minute. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Whatever you're having is fine." Paige gave her hand a gentle squeeze before pulling free and turning to walk out of the room.

"What?" Emily felt her mother's eyes on her as she watched Paige's departure, and then follow her as she moved across the kitchen to the fridge to grab them each a bottle of water. She spun around and leaned against the counter, waiting for her mother to speak.

"You said that Paige's parents aren't around very often, did you not?"

"Yeah."

"And I take it the McCullers house is empty right now?"

"Yeah."

"So, I'm just trying to figure out why you came here, rather than take advantage of having the place to yourselves."

"Apparently, Paige's mom wasn't exactly thrilled to find me over there yesterday. They're not really comfortable with the idea of us being friends." She tried not to let that fact sting, nor let on that it did. "Thought it would be best to avoid being over there."

Her mom's brow furrowed and she pursed her lips, clearly unsettled by Emily's words. She couldn't help but find it odd that her mom alwasy got so affronted when other people exhibited the same behaviour as she often did. She knew that her mom was not pleased with the fact that she was a lesbian. And was uncomfortable with the fact that she was dating again.

Although, she did seem to genuinely like Paige.

"I'm going to go get started on my homework," she said, pushing herself off the counter.

"All right. I'll call you when dinner is ready."

She left her mom to whatever it was she'd been working on before they'd interrupte and headed out into the living room, where she found Paige sitting on the floor in front of the couch,a notebook on her lap and her laptop on the coffee table. She spotted her backpack leaning against the side of the couch, unopened, but ready for her and smiled at the sweet gesture.

She took a seat on the couch behind Paige and the other girl didn't even glance up. She leaned over, waving one of the water bottles in front of her face, which made Paige let out a squeak of surprise and jolt in place before snatching the bottle from her hand.

"You were really concentrating huh?" she asked, putting her own water bottle down on the end table beside her and laid her hands on Paige's shoulders, digging her fingers in firmly as she massaged them. "You shouldn't sit like that. You're going to kill your back. And you're going to go blind with your face so close to the screen like that."

"Okay, Mom," Paige teased, easing back into the touch with a soft sigh, her head lolling against Emily's knees.

Emily smacked her shoulder and then went back to her massage. "What are you working on so intently, anyway?"

"I told you, chem project. With Spencer."

"Poor girl." Emily kissed the top of Paige's head and then released her grip, leaning back to settle more comfortably on the couch. Paige whined at the loss of contact, then hoisted herself up onto the couch beside her, letting out a groan as she did so.

"Oh, man. You were right about my back," she said, piteously. Emily just rolled her eyes as she pulled her backpack onto her lap and unzipped it. She felt Paige's eyes on her but ignored her gaze until the other girl sighed and reached for her laptop.

They worked together in companionable silence. It had taken awhile for them both to get comfortable, some shifting and repositioning had occured until eventually they had both settled and gotten down to work. Emily had some reading to do for English and an outline for a history paper, as well as some worksheets for french and math and Paige was working on her project with Spencer, whatever that was.

There was something so easy, so comfortable about being with Paige, even like this, just sitting there quietly together, engaged in their own tasks. She didn't feel the need to fill the silence with conversation. And, though the urge to kiss Paige was still strong, she was content to simply be in her presence for awhile.

"Hey, girls, I'm just about to start dinner." Her mom's voice reached the room before she did, probably trying to give them a chance to pull apart in case they were kissing. As accepting as she had been about having Paige over, Emily knew her mom was not ready to see that. "And I just wanted to see if there was anything that you can't eat, Paige."

She rounded the corner into the living room and pulled up short, a look of surprise crossing her features at the sight of her daughter laying on the couch, her feet in Paige's lap as she read the assigned chapters from her novel for English while Paige sat cross legged on the opposite end of the couch, her laptop balanced on one knee, a notebook on the other. Clearly, she had been expecting something more...provocative. Emily hid a smirk behind the pages of her book as Paige looked up at the sound of her mother's voice.

"Uh, no. Mrs. Fields. No allergies to speak of. And, I'm not really a picky eater. I like just about everything."

"Yeah, not exactly something to brag about, McCullers," Emily said, rolling her ankle to pinch Paige's leg with her toes. "And, it's only because you have horrible taste buds anway."

"My taste buds are just fine." Paige swatted Emily's foot away, then let out a yelp as she almost upended her laptop. "You're the one who's got an affinity for weird food combinations."

"Uh-huh."

Her mom made an odd sound, somewhere between a chuckle and clearing her throat. "Right. I just wanted to check with you directly, Emily can't always be trusted to relay all the pertinent information."

Was that a joke? Was her mother seriously joking about the mishap that had happened at dinner with Maya? Emily gaped at her mother over the top of her book, but her mom was oblivious. "So, is peppercorn steak and loaded baked potatoes okay?"

"Sounds delicious. Would you like any help in the kitchen?"

Her mom laughed lightly. "I think I will politely decline, if you don't mind. I happen to like the backsplash and cupboards that I already have."

"Mom!"

But Paige just laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Fair enough."

Her mom dissapeared back into the kitchen, without so much as a raised eyebrow or a thinly veiled warning, much to Emily's surprise.

Dinner itself passed pleasantly, her mom made polite conversation with Paige about her classes, swimming, the other sports she participated in and a handful of other topics. Emily found herself staring incredously across the table at her mother on more than one occasion, wondering if she had been replaced by a pod person.

When they finished eating, Emily and Paige offered up their compliments. Dinner had been delicious, as it always was.

"Thank you, very much, for having me, Mrs Fields," Paige said as she stood and began gathering a stack of plates and serving bowls.

"You're welcome, dear. It's always lovely having you over." She sounded so sincere that even Emily believed her.

They cleared the table quickly and Emily loaded everything into the dishwasher, while Paige assisted and mom packed up the leftovers.

"I'm going out for a bit," her mom said once the kitchen was clean. "Coffee with the girls."

Emily spun around so quickly she almost tripped over her own feet. It was only Paige's hands at her waist, steadying her, that kept her upright. Was her mom really leaving her and Paige alone in the house? Or was this the part where she politely kicked Paige out? She bit her lip, awaiting her mother's next words.

"I won't be late. Probably about ten. Homework first, all right?" she ,lifting her jacket off the hook by the side door and pocketing her keys

Emily nodded. "Of course," she said, somewhat breathless at what was happening. At the trust that her mother was granting.

"See you girls later." She brushed a kiss across Emily's cheek and with that, she was gone.

Emily watched the door close in her wake as the reality of what had just happened settled around her.