Guest, Yeah. A big step. Or, maybe more of a stumble, in the case of Emily/Paige.
siophiefandom I have to admit, I'm not a huge Maya fan. But, I am a big Bianca Lawson fan. I've had a crush on her since her Buffy days, so even though the writers never really got me to care much for Maya, I feel like any character played by Bianca Lawson deserves my respect. I couldn't bear trashing her. And, I wanted to show the early stages of Emily's coming out in a different light, sure there was some definite homophobia from Pam, but I think the larger issue was the changes she was seeing her daughter go through, and the association she made with Emily being gay, and that behaviour. And I'm glad you enjoyed the sexting. It was fun to write.
Dragoncila Thank you.
Guest Thank you.
Guest, Thanks.
Myriddin I'm glad you enjoyed it.
jhas I'd agree with that assessment. For all the steps they've taken, there are still many more left for them to take. And yeah, Pam's approval and acceptance is going to play a big role in the progression of their relationship, and in helping Paige with her issues. I think she needs a parental figure to have faith in her, and tell her that everything is going to be all right. Agree, Emily changed for the partners she was with, though there were also other things that motivated the changes. Yes, this chapter starts off with some McHastings. And, I will definitely try some Chicken Adobo. If I can find it somewhere (Like Paige, I am a disaster in the kitchen.)
Ren-McCullers- Thanks. I hope that you enjoy the bit of McHastings in this one as well.
Tzei Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And I'm sorry to have made you wait. :(
ponderhouse Writing the scenes between Emily and her mom have become one of my favorite things about writing this story, which honestly has come as a surprise to me. So I'm glad that you appreciate it, and that it adds to the story and the characters. I don't want to linger too much on Maya, but I feel like her being the first real relationship Emily has had is very relevant to how she's grown, and how her relationship with Paige has developed. And, I wanted to show how easy it is to get caught up in the physical side of the relationship, before your heart catches up with your body, without having them actually do anything they couldn't take back and would regret. I'm glad it worked.
Pll12paily I'm glad you decided to give it a shot. And that you're enjoying it.
Whealtea I love the character of Emily, but I am very much team Paige when it comes to their relationship. I agree, that Emily on the show, displays some very selfish behaviour and doesn't, at any point, treat Paige very well. I wish that a lot of things had been done differently, and this is my answer to that. Lol. I love your nickname for Ezra. It brings to mind the conversation with Spencer about baby squirrels and nuts (not that I want to be contemplating Ezra's nuts.) I'm not a fan of Aria. Or Ezra. But, Aria is one of Emily's friends so I'm trying to include her. Even if I don't think I'll be able to feature her as easily as Spencer or Hannah. I like that they're into each other, but still a little nervous and tentative, I think it makes them sweet. And, the sexting, well I have to keep everyone on their toes, and give you a little something to make you want to come back and keep reading.
Yay, another Xena fan. I don't seem to run into too many of them online these days.
Author's Note: This chapter is for Ren-McCullers, who requested some McHastings. It's brief, but it's in there. The rest of if it just some good ol' Paily fluff.
Chapter 26
Coach called an early end to practice, at this point in the season, with the state championship rapidly approaching, she was concerned about over training. She ran a few drills, offered up some critique on form and technique going forward and then dismissed the team. Some of the girls opted to stay and do a bit of conditioning. Normally, Emily would have followed suit, but the opportunity to watch Paige at practice, running around the field in that short skirt, was just too tempting to pass up. She showered and changed quickly, gathered up her books for the morning, and headed outside to the athletic fields.
Practice was in full swing when she got there, the team divided into a scrimmage game, in the female version of shirts and skins, Emily realized as she made her was over to the bleachers and took a seat on the bottom row. Half of the girls were still in full uniform, the other half, in sports bras. Emily's breath caught in her throat as a quick scan of the field revealed that Paige was playing "skins." Her gaze fixated on the other girls' lean torso, the black of her sports bra contrasting with the creaminess of her skin, and immediately drawing her eye to the swell of her breasts. When she realized she was staring, she averted her gaze, blushing as she glanced around to see if anyone had noticed her leering. Luckily, nobody seemed to have. There weren't very many people standing idle nearby. Early morning girl's field hockey practice apparently wasn't much of a draw. The only ones other than Emily and the team out here at the moment were the coaches, both of whom had their backs to Emily, their eyes on the game.
She returned her attention to the field just in time to see Paige spring into action. She stole the ball from one of the girls on the other team near the net and began powering her way down the field. The girls on her team doing their best to block for her as she made her way to a scoring position. Though it was only a practice, the outcome completely inconsequential, Emily's heart leapt into her throat as she watched, willing the other girl forward through the maze of players. She had made it about three quarters of the way across the field when out of nowhere, a player from the other team appeared in front of her. Their bodies collided with an audible thud that had Emily wincing. The other girl went down, and Paige kept on going, closing the distance between herself and the net in a few long strides and taking the shot, the ball sinking neatly into the net just out of reach of the goaltenders extended stick.
A chorus of cheers, and groans, went up as one of the coaches blew their whistle. And Emily's eyes went from the celebrating Paige, who was amidst a circle of her teammates, accepting their pats on the back in congratulations, to the girl she had mowed over. It was as the other girl sat up and shook her hair out of her face that Emily realized it was Spencer.
Paige had just plowed right through Spencer.
She held her breath, waiting for the explosion. She had seen Spencer go off on competitors for lesser slights than that.
Across the field, Paige shook off the attention of her teammates and stepped towards Spencer. Emily stood, getting ready to rush the field if necessary, as Paige came to a stop in front of Spencer and held out her hand. Instead of brushing the hand aside and springing to her feet, like Emily expected, Spencer clasped Paige's hand and let the other girl haul her to her feet. Slowly, she sank back into her seat, watching in shock and awe as the two girls exchanged quiet words, their heads bent together. The coach called for them to hustle up and they broke apart, bumping each other's shoulders before taking their positions.
Emily watched the rest of the practice in a state of disbelief. Paige and Spencer went at each other, hard. Knocking, jostling and shouldering each other out of the way. More of than not their plays ended up with one of them on the ground. And each time, without fail, the other was there to pull her up, brush her off, and send her back into the game with a pat on the back or a fist bump.
Despite the apparent comradery of their competitiveness, Emily couldn't help but wince every time they collided, certain that one or both of them were going to end up injured. By the time their coaches called an end to practice, both girls were still standing, and able to make the way off the field under their own power. But, as they approached the sidelines, Emily noticed that Spencer was walking with a distinct limp and Paige had a cut above her eyebrow that was bleeding slowly down the side of her face. And both were, surely, sporting an assortment of new bruises.
Emily didn't know whether she should laugh, or chastise them.
Spencer caught sight of Emily first, offering a smile and a wave before nudging Paige and nodding in her direction. The smile that lit up Paige's face when their eyes met was wide, and unmistakable. Emily couldn't help her own lips turning up in an answering smile. Though it faded quickly, as Paige's next reaction was to glance around and see who might have noticed.
Most of the team was already making their way across the field towards the school building, eager to shower up and change before the first bell rang, which apparently made Paige feel safe enough to approach.
"Hey." She came to a stop in front of Emily, who was still seated on the bleachers.
"Hey." She tried to meet Paige's eye, but was distracted from doing so by the near-nakedness of the girl standing before her. She had not yet put her shirt back on, using it instead to wipe her face and neck before draping it across her shoulder, as she stood there in a sports bra and a barely there shirt, sweat glistening across her skin. Emily watched, mesmerized, by a bead of moisture that dripped from the edge of her ponytail, and down, between the valley of her breasts. The image sparking more than a few fantasies. Especially in light of what had occurred the night before, sparked by the wearing of that very same skirt.
"Did you like what you saw out there?"
Spencer's voice pulled her out of her reverie. She glanced up to find her friend smirking at her, and she gawked, unable to formulate a response aside from glaring. Of course she'd liked what she'd seen. What was not to like?
"Think we'll be able to crush it, in the state finals?" She slung her arm around Paige's shoulder, her smirk only growing as Emily's eyes grew wide at the clarification.
She knew that this was the part where she was supposed to respond, but she was distracted by a flare of irrational jealousy that Spencer got to touch Paige so casually. And at the fact that her fingers dangled against exposed skin, inches away from areas that Emily had only dreamed of touching.
"It looked like you two were trying to kill each other out there." She finally managed to find her voice.
"Our opponents aren't going to go easy on us, we have to make sure we can take it," Spencer said with a shrug.
"Yeah, but, is it worth it to risk hurting each other so close to a big game?"
"Its okay, Em. Neither of us were in any danger of hurting the other," Paige said softly.
"No? You're bleeding. And you're limping. I can see bruises forming….all over…" She blushed and averted her eyes from the most prominent ones, one which was forming up high on Paige's rib cage, just below the elastic of her bra, the other along her upper thigh, creeping up beneath the hem of her skirt. She stood, slipping into fussing mode as she reached into her bag for a pack of tissues.
"Sit down, both of you." She pointed at the bench, daring either of them to protest. Neither did, both of them docilely seating themselves. She glanced back and forth, trying to assess who needed her attention first. Paige's injuries were more visible, but Spencer's ankle might be the more serious.
"Apply pressure," she told Paige, handing her a handful of tissues and gesturing to her eyebrow.
"Yes, Ma'am." Paige smirked at her, a leering look crossing her eyes briefly. Emily faltered for a moment, ignoring the way her heart picked up its pace, and she shook her head, kneeling in front of Spencer. She gripped the back of her leg and gently peeled her sock back, trying to get a sense of the swelling before pulling it off completely. Seeing nothing alarming, she pulled the sock off completely and examined her ankle and foot, relieved that there was no visible damage.
"I don't think it's injured. I must have just tweaked it a little on that last fall."
That may very well be true, but Emily wasn't about to just take Spencer's word for it.
"Does this hurt?" She gently rotated Spencer's ankle, watching her face carefully for any indication of pain, knowing that her friend was unlikely to actually voice any discomfort.
Spencer shook her head. "No."
She didn't wince at any of the movements, and Emily didn't feel any heat or swelling beneath her hand, so she let Spencer's foot down and turned her attention to Paige.
"Let me see that cut." She gently pulled Paige's hand away from her face and leaned in, examining the damage. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, and the cut itself seemed small, and not very deep. She doubted it needed stitches. Some soap and water, and a bandage and it'd be fine. She traced her finger gently along the length of the cut, just beyond its edges. Unable to resist, she dipped her head, brushing a soft kiss against it.
She heard Paige's breath catch in her throat. Blushing, she pulled back.
"How hard did you hit your head?" She rocked back on her heels and peered into Paige's eyes. She was concerned by how dilated her pupils were. "Close your eyes for me."
"I'm not concussed, Em."
"Humour me."
Paige rolled her eyes, but complied, her lids drifting shut.
"Open them."
She watched the constricted pupils dilate, seemingly evenly, but also more rapidly than she was comfortable with. "Paige, I'm worried about your head-"
"I'm not concussed," Paige said firmly, then dipped her head, bringing her lips close to Emily's ear to whisper. "But, I am pretty turned on right now."
Emily pulled back, stunned by the confession, and Paige grinned sheepishly at her. She wasn't really sure what to do with those words. Her gaze flicked over to Spencer, who was watching the exchange in amusement. The big grin on her face telling Emily that her friend knew exactly what the deal was.
"I'm going to head inside to shower and get ready for first period," she said, pushing herself to her feet. "If you two are going to continue to play doctor, I suggest you find somewhere a little more private."
With that, she left, striding across the field without a backwards glance.
Emily's cheeks heated in a blush, and Paige ducked her head, her hair falling in a curtain around her face, but not before Emily caught sight of her face a flaming red. Despite her embarrassment, Emily couldn't help but admit that it was a tempting thought.
They hadn't gotten much alone time, since getting together. Aside from the first night, when they'd admitted their feelings for each other and decided to give this a try, there had always been other people around. Paige's mom, her mom, their friends, teammates, the entire school. Even when they had found a few moments alone, there wasn't a whole lot of privacy. There was always the possibility of being walked in on when you resorted to making out in school bathrooms, or Emily's mother was just in the other room.
"My Mom's at work all day," she said softly, unable to believe that she was actually entertaining the thought.
Paige turned to her, gaze questioning. "You'd really…."
"Skip class to finally have some time alone with you, without my mom, or anyone else hovering? Yes. Absolutely. But, if you don't want-"
"No. No. I definitely want," Paige blurted, then blushed at her own eagerness. Emily thought it was endearing. She reached out, laying a hand on Paige's cheek and smoothing her thumb across the red, heated skin.
"So, are we really doing this then?"
As much as she wanted this, she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Just last night, she and her mom had a conversation about Paige being a good influence, and here she was thinking about ditching class to be with her. It felt a little like a betrayal of the trust that her mother had bestowed up on her. But, she really, really, wanted this alone time with Paige.
"It looks like we are," Paige said, a grin tugging at her lips. "I need to go and get changed. Meet me at my car in ten?"
Emily nodded, though she was reluctant to part with Paige even for that brief amount of time.
Paige squeeze her hand and then was gone, striding across the field with long, easy steps. Emily watched her go, eyes glued firmly to her ass, until she was nothing more than a blur in the distance, then turned and made her way in the opposite direction, heading towards the parking lot.
Emily tried not to appear conspicuous as she waited for Paige. Everyone else was heading towards the school, even the stragglers were lingering by the doors, not leaning against their cars. All it would take is for one teacher to walk by and she'd be busted. She kept glancing around, fearful that someone was going to notice, but there was nobody around, the parking lot was still and quiet. Even so, she silently willed Paige to hurry up so they could get out of here. And, she breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the other girl hurrying towards her.
"So, I told Coach that I was feeling a little woozy after practice. After rolling her eyes and telling me to lay off of Hastings, she suggested I go get checked out and signed me out for the day," Paige spoke in a rush as she unlocked her car and ushered Emily around to the driver's side with a guiding hand on the small of her back. Emily, confused, allowed herself to be guided, and accepted the keys when Paige handed them to her.
"And, I got her to sign you out too, seeing as how you're the one who's going to drive me to the doctors," she continued as she slid into the passenger seat and presented Emily with two absence slips.
Emily stared down the papers in Paige's hand, touched that she had gone to such lengths for her. "Paige, that's…Thank you." She felt a little better about skipping now, at least she was legitimately excused. Even if they weren't actually getting Paige checked out.
"No problem. You ready? Sure you want to do this?"
Emily nodded. Her attendance record so far had been good, one day wasn't going to do any damage. She would catch up on any work that she missed. And, her mom would never know she'd skipped. She tried to ignore the flash of guilt. She was just starting to repair her relationship with her mom, she didn't want to damage it now by going behind her back.
"Did you want to call her mom, give her the same spiel I gave coach?" Paige asked softly, as they pulled out of the lot. "You can tell her that you want to keep an eye on me, don't want me to be alone, yadda yadda."
Emily bit her lip, tempted, even though she knew she shouldn't. What if her mom said no? Or worse yet, rushed home to check up on Paige? She knew how her mother could get when it came to injury and illness.
"Give me your phone?"
"What?"
"Give me your phone."
"Why?" Emily fished into her bag and pulled it out, without actually waiting for a response.
Paige didn't answer. Instead, she scrolled through Emily's contacts.
"Hello? Mrs. Fields, its Paige….No. No. Emily's fine."
Emily listened in on Paige's side of the conversation, still on pins and needles about whether or not this was a good idea.
"Yes, I'm sure. She's perfectly all right. She just can't talk right now, she's driving." Paige sent Emily a wink. "I took a blow to the head in practice this morning-"
"No. No. I'm okay. I think it's nothing. But Emily's worried it's a concussion. Coach signed me out for the day. Emily's driving me-"
"Are you sure about that? ...Yes. Of course. Thank you, Mrs. Fields. I'm sorry. Pam. All right. Thank you, again. I'll see you later." She hung up the phone and dropped it back into Emily's bag.
"Your mom insisted that you take me to your house and keep an eye on me. She doesn't want me left alone with a possible head injury." Paige's smirk was smug, and unfairly sexy, as she glanced over at Emily, who was staring back at her in stunned silence. She couldn't believe what had just transpired. Not only did they have her mother's blessing, she had practically arranged the situation herself.
She also couldn't believe how easily Paige had lied to her mother. She wondered if that was something she should be concerned about.
"What? I thought you'd be happier about this."
"It certainly makes it easier, but…I can't believe you just lied to my mom like that. Just, blatantly-"
"I didn't. Not a single word of what I just said was untrue. I did get hit on the head at practice. You are worried it's a concussion. Even though I know that it's not. And Coach did sign me out for the day."
Emily paused at Paige's words, considering them. Technically, it was true. And, her mom, knowing that they would be alone in the house together, had insisted that Emily stay with her.
"You're an evil genius." She finally allowed herself to feel impressed by the turn of events.
"It was nothing." Paige blew on her knuckles and brushed them against her shoulder in a show of nonchalance.
Emily shook her head and rolled her eyes, trying, and failing, to hide the grin she could feel tugging at her lips.
Traffic was light at this hour of the morning. They made their way through town in record time. Before Emily knew it, she was pulling Paige's car into her driveway and shutting off the ignition. Her stomach fluttered, in nerves, in anticipation, she couldn't tell which, as she cast a glace up at the vacant house and then over at the girl sitting next to her.
"What about your parents?" She asked, the question just now occurring to her.
"What about my parents?"
"Well, how are they going to feel about all this?"
Paige shrugged. "They're never going to find out. Come on, let's go." She unbuckled her seat, then pushed open the car door and climbed out. Emily stared after her, before climbing out more slowly. She didn't know whether to push the issue or not. Emily knew that Paige's relationship with her parents was miles different than the one she had with her own. She knew that their relationship was going to require a fair bit of lying and sneaking around, but she wasn't sure how she felt about Paige's parents not having any idea where their daughter was right now.
"Hey. What's wrong?"
Paige was at her side, squeezing her arm gently and peering down into her eyes, concern written all over her features.
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. Let's go inside." Emily pushed the feeling aside and stepped around Paige, leading the way up the steps to the front porch. After a moment of digging through her bag for her keys, and then fumbling them in the lock a few times, Paige's presence at her back being so distracting, Emily managed to let them in.
She tossed her bag and keys onto the table just inside the entrance and tugged her jacket off. She hung it, and Paige's,over the coat rack and tucked their shoes away on the mat, then turned to face Paige, suddenly at a loss over what to do.
They had come here to make out. Of that much she was certain. But, now what? Did they just, go at it? Should she offer Paige a drink first? Make some small talk?
"Hey, Em. You okay?"
"Hmm? What? Oh, yeah, I'm all right."
"Uh-huh. Where'd you go just then?"
"Nowhere. It was nothing." Emily dismissed it with a wave of her hand, but Paige wasn't easily deterred.
"Tell me what it is."
Emily shrugged and offered up a sheepish smile. "I guess I got so focused on getting us here, that now that we are…I'm not sure what to do next."
"We don't have to do anything you don't want to. You know that right?" Paige asked, in an odd role reversal.
Emily nodded. "I know. And I want to. I just...how do we start? Do we just…start kissing?"
"How about we start by getting comfortable? On the couch or…"
"Or?"
"Upstairs. In your room?"
Emily's breath caught in her throat and an array of images flashed through her mind, all of them involving Paige in her bed, laid out against the pillows, hovering over her, kissing her, touching her. And she remembered what they had done last night. She swallowed hard, clearing her suddenly dry throat.
"Whichever you prefer." She knew what she wanted, but wasn't sure it was prudent.
"Let's go upstairs." Paige laced their fingers together and gave Emily a tug towards the stairs. "I like your room. It's comfortable. And, it'll give us a little bit of a warning in case your mom decides to come home early."
Emily wasn't sure how Paige was thinking so clearly right now, when her thoughts were a mess, but she nodded her agreement, and allowed herself to be led up the stairs to her room. Her heart picked up its pace with every step, anticipation making her nerves tingle.
Paige crossed the threshold first, turning as she walked, her free hand finding Emily's and tugging her close enough to brush a soft kiss against her lips as, as she continued propelling them towards the bed. At the last minute, she turned again, pushing Emily backwards onto the bed, she landed with an oomph, and a laugh, barely having time to get settled against the pillows before Paige was climbing up after her
"How you doing? Comfortable?" Paige asked, looking entirely way too smug for Emily's liking as she hovered over her, knees resting on either side of Emily's hips.
Emily felt the need to wipe that smug smirk off Paige's face, so she reached up and cupped the back of Paige's neck, tangling her fingers in Paige's hair, as she tugged her down and captured her lips in a kiss, her tongue immediately sweeping past Paige's lips, into her mouth.
Paige whimpered softly into the kiss, and Emily took it as a point of pride, unable to help the smirk on her own lips as Paige pulled back, panting a ragged breath, before dipping her head once again.
Paige kissed her eagerly. Enthusiastically. Her lips insistent, her tongue probing Emily's mouth until they were breathless, only to pull away and press kisses along the column of her throat, before dragging her lips back up to meet Emily's lips once again. One hand slid beneath Emily's head, supporting, and gently caressing, the back of her neck. The other, she braced herself with against Emily's hip, the kneading grip causing the hem of her shirt to ride up, and the waistband of her pants to roll down, leaving Paige's fingers to press rhythmically against her bare skin. The contact, along with Paige's subtly rocking hips holding her in place, sending shivers rolling down Emily's spine.
For as wonderful as it felt, however, she was cautious about letting herself get caught up in the sensations. What had happened last night still weighing heavily on her mind. As she had told Paige, what they had done wasn't wrong, it wasn't something to regret. But, she didn't want to make the same mistake twice, didn't want to once again go further than they were ready for.
Paige pulled back and peered down at her in concern. "If you're not into this-"
"I am. I'm into this." Emily craned her neck and cut her off with a kiss. Paige allowed it for a moment before pulling away.
"Something's clearly the matter," Paige said, easing off her, shifting to the side and propping herself up on one elbow, the other arm draped loosely across Emily's stomach. "Why don't you try telling me what it is?" She traced gentle patterns up and down Emily's side.
"I'm just worried, after last night, about getting carried away," she admitted softly, reaching up and brushing a lock of hair out of Paige's face, her fingers lingering against Paige's temple before falling away. "It feels so good, when I'm with you. And we said we would take this slow, that neither of us were ready for…more…but last night just proves how quickly things can get out of hand. I don't want us to do something we end up regretting because it feels right, in the moment."
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, them being alone together like this. Not with last night still so fresh in her mind. Maybe it would be better if they gave it a few days, let the dust settle, so to speak.
"Okay. That's fair enough," Paige said slowly. "But, I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, things have gotten…heated, numerous times, but you've always pulled back before it got out of hand."
Emily considered her words, knowing there was some truth to them, but still not sure she trusted herself. Not after last night.
"And, you can't blame yourself, entirely, for last night. It takes two to tango, and all that."
Emily wanted to believe her, she did. But, she just couldn't quite wrap her head around it.
"I could have put a stop to it at any time. And I didn't. And, just as I spent most of last night beating myself up over it, thinking I'd taken advantage of you, you need to stop beating yourself up over it. You didn't push me into anything I didn't already want. And, it's not entirely up to you to set the pace here."
Emily frowned, not quite sure what Paige was getting at.
"I know how your mind works, Emily Fields. You think that because you have the most experience, out of the two of us, it's up to you to, I don't know, protect me, or keep things steady. Well, I hate to break it to you, babe, but that's partly my job too."
"Babe? Really?" Emily scrunched up her nose, not sure what she thought of the term.
"No? Baby? Sweetheart? Doll?"
"You're such a dork."
"Snookems? Sweetie? Honeybunches." Paige peppered her face with kisses between various nicknames, her fingers digging into Emily's side, exploiting her ticklish spots. Emily shrieked and shifted away, batting at Paige's hand, until finally she managed to get a grip on it, lacing their fingers together, rendering it useless in its attack.
Paige collapsed, breathlessly, against her. The two of them laying quietly for a long moment. "I'm just saying, trust this. Trust us." Paige broke the easy silence with a whisper. "I don't think anything that we do could ever, truly, be a mistake."