Guest: I'm glad you liked it, even if it was a bit short.
saii79 I wish that there were more of Wayne and Pam on the show, especially in the early seasons. Especially Wayne, he's such an interesting character. And I really would have liked to see how they handled Emily dating.
jhas Yeah, I like the idea of Wayne being totally on board with who Emily is, once the shock of the discovery wore off, and being the one she turns to when she needs advice or to talk.
siophiefandom I'm glad you liked it as a standalone. I felt like it might get lost amongst the date stuff, if I posted the two scenes as one chapter.
ponderhouse Yeah, bittersweet. That sums up what I was aiming for. I'm glad you like the dynamic between the two.
ren-mccullers That sounds kind of awesome. Now I really want to write that scene.
Dragoncila I've always liked Wayne too. I wish there had been more of him on the show. I have some things planned for him in the future.
Guest Thank you.
Guest Yeah, skype is better than no contact at all.
UnguidedLight Thank you.
Author's Note: I literally stayed up all night writing this chapter, because tonight is my turnaround before I start night shifts this week, so I'm not even sure if some parts of this chapter makes sense. But, I'm so tired my brain literally hurts, so it is was it is.
Chapter 29
Emily jumped up from the couch as the chime of the doorbell sounded through the house.
"That's Paige," she told her mom, though the announcement was unnecessary. Paige had literally just finished texting her, asking if it was all right to ring the bell, because it was traditional, and she wanted to start their date off right "I'll get it."
She took a few steps towards the door then spun around. "Or maybe you should get it. And I'll make a grand entrance down the stairs. What do you think?"
"I think one of us should get the door, before Paige starts to think that she's being stood up."
Emily scowled at her mother, who merely chuckled.
"I thought you said you weren't nervous?"
"I'm not nervous." Emily paused in the entryway and triple, or maybe quadruple checked her reflection, tousling her hair and smoothing down her dress.
"Mmmhmm."
Okay. Maybe she was a smidge nervous. She just wanted tonight to go well. You only got one first date as a couple, and she wanted theirs to be memorable. And not in a horrible, everything that could go wrong did, we'll never forget way, either. She wanted it to be sweet and romantic and fun. She wanted one perfect evening, away from the pressures and stresses of being together and keeping it a secret.
She'd been eager and anxious, but not nervous for the majority of the day. Shopping in the city with the girls had been a great distraction. But as she'd started getting ready, the anxiety had started to creep in.
What if tonight was a disaster? There were so many things that could go wrong. The restaurant could be horrible, bad food, bad service, full of people who stared at them, or made snide comments. What if being out on a date, in public, even among strangers, made Paige uncomfortable, and caused her to withdraw into herself? As patient as Emily was trying to be, and as willing as she was to make this relationship work, there was only so much she could take. She didn't want the night to end in tension or fighting.
She tried to shake it off, telling herself that she was getting ahead of herself, creating problems in her mind. Taking a deep breath, she put her hand on the doorknob, and pulled it open.
"Wow," she breathed, as she got her first glimpse of Paige. She was wearing black dress pants that appeared to be tailored, by the way they formed to her legs, paired with a charcoal grey button down shirt, and a black vest. Her hair was done up in an intricate looking side braid, showing off a shimmery diamond studs in her ears, which matched a diamond teardrop necklace that nestled in the hollow of her throat. Her eyes were heavily lined and shadowed with shades of grey, her dark red lipstick the only splash of color.
She stood on Emily's front porch looking bashful as she held a bouquet of roses in one hand and a toy stuffed shark in the other.
"You look amazing."
Paige didn't seem to hear Emily, her eyes had gone wide as the door had opened, and she was now unabashedly checking her out, her gaze flicking up and down Emily's body,
She caught Emily's eye, a blush coloring her cheeks, as she ducked her head. So, maybe not so unabashedly. Emily bit back a smirk at having caught Paige in an unguarded moment of admiration.
"You look beautiful," she said softly, the rasp in her voice a telltale sign of both her nerves, and her arousal. "These are for you." She presented Emily with the flowers and the stuffed toy. "I know that flowers and candy is more traditional but I…" She shrugged.
"Thank you." Emily gathered the items into her arms. "The flowers are lovely." She held them to her nose and sniffed deeply. "And the shark is sweet. I love it." She reached for Paige's hand, gently tugging her forward enough to brush their lips together.
"Come on in for a minute. I have something for you as well."
Though Paige was the one picking her up, they had both thought it was better than Emily showing up on the McCullers doorstep, just in case her parents happened to be home this evening, Emily still wanted to feel like she was the one taking Paige out. So she had gone to the florists as well, and picked up a single red rose. She'd also burned Paige a cd, a mix of each other their favorite songs, as well as songs that reminded her of Paige, or ones they'd heard while driving in her car together.
She presented Paige with the flower first, enjoying the way her blush deepened and a grin lit up her face. "Thank you. It's beautiful." She clutched the flower tightly in her free hand.
"I also decided to go a little non-traditional." She held out the cd for Paige, who immediately flipped it over to scan the song lists. "Wow, Em. There are a lot of great songs on here." She raised her gaze to meet Emily's. "You must have put a lot of wok into this. Thank you."
It had taken her awhile to compile a list of songs, but once she had them, creating the actual cd had been fairly simple.
"We should probably get going." Emily put both her bouquet and Paige's flower into the vase on the side table in the foyer, they would be fine mingling with the arrangement of her mother's that currently sat in there, at least for a while. And she placed the stuffed animal delicately beside the vase, already thinking of a few choice spots for it in her room. Once her hands were free reached for her coat, but was stopped from actually putting it on by Paige, who took it and held it up by the shoulders for her to slip her arms into.
Emily wondered if Paige was naturally this suave, or if she'd spent some time researching how to impress a girl on the first date. Not that she minded the end result, either way. She decided not to tease Paige about it, lest she make her uncomfortable and cause the behaviour to stop.
"Bye Mom, we're heading out." She raised her voice slightly, though she had a feeling that her Mom was hovering just out of sight, eavesdropping on the whole exchange.
"Wait. Wait. Just one minute." Her mom came bustling out of the den, her camera in hand.
"Mom." Emily started to protest, but gave up, knowing that whatever she said would fall on deaf ears. Besides, as embarrassing was it was to have her mom crash their first date with her camera, it was also kind of awesome. It was just the sort of thing her mom would have done before she'd come out, that she never thought would actually happen once she had.
"Just a couple of pictures."
Emily rolled her eyes, but she had a feeling they all knew it was just for show.
"Trust me, you're going to thank me for this one day. Now, come on, get together." She waved them towards each other and snapped a photo. "It's your first date. Not a funeral. Try and look a little excited. That's better." She took a couple more. "Paige, put your arm around Emily. Em, lean into Paige."
The two of them exchanged amused glances, then obliged.
Her mom continued calling out instructions and snapping away, until Emily was starting to see spots from the repeated flashes.
"Ok. I think that's enough," she said, extracting herself from Paige's grasp and crossing the distance towards her mother. "We have to go or we'll miss her reservation. Thank you, for taking the photos." She brushed a kiss against her mother's cheek and squeezed her arm.
"Have fun, girls. Home by one."
Emily's gaze snapped over to her mother at the unexpected extension on her curfew. With the movie not ending until probably eleven, and then an hour's drive back to Rosewood, she'd been worried about making it home on time. She hadn't wanted to ask her mother if she could stay out later though, in case it drew attention to the fact that she and Paige were going to be alone in the dark, in a car, far away from home. She hadn't wanted her mother to make the same connection her father had made and put a stop to their plans.
"Thanks Mom." She tugged Paige towards the door before her mother could change her mind.
"Goodnight, Mrs. Fields," Paige called over her shoulder just before the door swung shut behind them.
"You know, I think it's driving her crazy that you still call her Mrs. Fields, after she's told you to call her Pam so many times," Emily said as they made their way down the front walkway towards her car, which she had parked on the road so there was room for Paige's car in the driveway.
"Really? Sorry."
"Hey, no. Don't apologize to me. I think it's hilarious. Ben, despite putting on all of his charms, never got that offer. And Maya…" She shrugged, not really wanting to get into it. She wasn't sure whether or not it was appropriate to talk about her ex in front of Paige. On one hand, Maya had played a significant role in her life, and would always hold a very special place in her heart. On the other, it seemed disrespectful to talk about their relationship, or compare it to the one she and Paige were building.
"But you, she, by some miracle, actually likes you-"
"Hey." Paige slapped her arm.
"Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that." She shot Paige her most apologetic, pleading look, hoping that she wasn't too mad, that she hadn't messed the date up before it had even gotten started. "I'm sorry.
"I know, I'm just teasing. Go on." She waved her hand for Emily to continue.
Emily had to wait a moment while she opened the passenger side door for Paige and guided her into her seat, then circled around the car to climb in herself.
"I just mean-"
"I know what you meant." Paige reached out and squeezed Emily's hand. "Go on."
"Right. Thanks. I just find it amusing that my mom's come so far as to let you call her by her first name, and you just can't quite bring yourself to do it. It's cute."
Emily didn't have to look over to know that Paige was blushing, so she decided to let the subject drop.
An easy silence fell between them as they drove through the quiet residential streets of Rosewood. She wanted to avoid the Saturday night downtown traffic, choosing instead to take the long way around to the highway.
Her route, she could tell, was confusing Paige. Every time she glanced over in the review mirror, she could see her eyeing the street signs and landmarks as they passed, trying to figure out where they were going.
It was when they got on the highway, heading away from Philadelphia that she spoke up.
"All right, I'll bite. Where are we going?"
"Blakeslee."
"What? Where is that, even?" Paige turned in her seat. "Em, what's going on?"
"I just want us to have a good time tonight. I want this to be a real date, where I can hold your hand and….play footsie under the table and…and kiss you. And have you be comfortable with that. I thought that it might be easier that you'll be able to relax and not be looking over your shoulder all the time if we were somewhere far away from Rosewood, and not likely to run into anyone we know.
She glanced over, checking to see how Paige was reacting to her words, but it was hard to read her face in the dark.
"Paige?"
"Sorry. Em. That's very sweet," She reached over and squeezed Emily's knee, her grip lingering even as the pressure lightened. "I'm sorry, that we…that I, need us to go to such lengths just to feel comfortable on a date. But, thank you. I appreciate you making the effort."
Emily risked taking her hand off the wheel long enough to squeeze Paige's fingers briefly. "Of course, Paige. I mean it, when I say I want to be with you. And I'll make every effort to help make that happen."
"It means a lot to me, more than I can ever express." Paige's voice sounded thick, and when Emily glanced over she spotted her wiping at the corners of her eyes. "I know that it hasn't been easy for you-"
"Paige, honey, let's not do this," she said gently. Even though she knew that they weren't necessarily sad tears, she didn't want Paige crying on their first date. "We've talked about this before, we've both accepted that it's going to be tough at times. Tonight doesn't have to be one of those times. Tonight is just me and you, together. On our first date. Let's just focus on that, huh? Try and have a good time."
Paige nodded. "Yeah," she said, sounding like she was half laughing, half crying. "Yeah, that sounds good."
The hour drive passed quickly, the two of them talking, laughing, and sometimes, just sitting quietly, enjoying each other's company and listening to the music playing softly in the background, until they reached the town of Blakeslee, and Emily had to focus on following the directions from the GPS to get them to their destination. Before long she was pulling into the parking lot of the restaurant, a long, low stucco building reminiscent of an Italian villa from a painting.
"Wait here." She unsnapped her seat belt and slid out of the car before Paige could reply, then made her way around the front to the passenger side door as quickly as her heels would let her. She pulled Paige's door open for her, offering her hand to help guide her.
"Stealing my moves?" She took the proffered hand and let herself be pulled gently to her feet. "Not cool, Fields. Not cool."
Emily shot her a grin, but didn't reply as she used their still joined hands to lead Paige towards the building. She half-expected Paige to drop her hand, especially as they rounded the corner and had to pass by the outdoor patio, which was nearly full to capacity, on their way to the front door.
Paige's hand twitched in her own. Biting back a sigh, Emily loosened her grip, only to be surprised that, instead of pulling away, Paige's grip merely shifted, her fingers lacing through Emily's, and holding firmly.
She glanced over, catching Paige's eye as she was sneaking a peek as well. She offered up what she hoped was an encouraging smile and squeezed Paige's hand lightly. Paige squeezed back, a faint smile tugging up her lips in response.
They reached the doors and Emily pulled the nearest one open, awkwardly ushering Paige through without dropping her grip, both of them chuckling softly as they found themselves somewhat tangled as they stumbled to a stop in front of the hostess station.
The hostess, an attractive blond in her thirties offered them a smile, her eyes alight with amusement, as she had caught the whole thing. Her gaze flicked back and forth between the two of them, then down to their joined hands, and her smile only grew wider.
"Reservation for two?" she asked, pen poised over the book in front of her.
"Yes. Under Fields."
She nodded, checking them off. "If you would just follow me, I'll take you to your table." She grabbed two menus from the stack and turned, leading them through the restaurant to a table along the wall in the far corner.
Paige beat her to the punch, using her free hand to pull one of the chairs out and gently guide Emily into it. She scowled, and Paige grinned, sticking out the tip of her tongue before moving around to the other side of the table to take her own seat.
"You're server, Niko, will be along in a minute," she said as she placed the menus down in front of them. "Enjoy your evening,"
Emily caught the grin and the wink their hostess offered before she slipped away, her apparent approval setting some of her nerves about the evening at ease. At least the staff wasn't going to be an issue tonight, if the hostess' behaviour was any kind of indication.
"This is a nice place," Paige said as she picked up one of the menus for herself and opened it, but didn't bother looking at it, her attention focused on glancing around them.
Emily took stock of the place as well, agreeing with Paige's assessment. The interior was painted a buttery, muted yellow, wood framed paintings in earthy tones adding the occasional touch of color. Soft instrumental music piped through invisible speakers, and the smell of spices and baking bread permeated the air. The room itself was divided into sections by low, faux stone walls and lattices of creeping green vines, only a handful of tables in each section. And the lights mounted on the walls and hanging from the ceiling were turned low, illuminating the pathways between the tables but keeping the corners of the rooms cast in shadows. Flickering candles danced at each table, creating a small circle of light, giving each table a secluded, romantic feeling, despite the fact that they were in a crowded, bustling restaurant. It hadn't been something Emily had sought out when looking for the place, but it couldn't have worked out any better.
"How did you find it?"
"Google," Emily admitted, flipping her own menu open. "I looked for decent restaurants about an hour or so outside of Rosewood. And this place got a bunch of glowing reviews." She really hoped that the word of strangers could be counted upon to be accurate, that the food here was as good as advertised.
"Good evening, ladies. My name is Niko, and I'll be your server this evening," their waiter, a dark haired guy, probably only a few years older than them, appeared beside their table, smiling warmly at them as he placed two glasses of ice water and a basket of bread on the table. "Can I get you started off with something to drink?"
Emily had no idea what the offerings were, she hadn't even looked at the menu yet, so she ordered a soda, figuring that was a pretty safe bet. Paige did the same.
"I'll bring those right out for you." He gave a nod and then slipped away.
"You really put a lot of effort into planning tonight, didn't you?" Paige asked once they were alone again.
"I just wanted it to be special." Emily shrugged one shoulder.
"And it is. It has been." Paige reached across the table to take Emily's hand. "Thank you, Em. It's already the best date I've ever been on."
"Not really saying much if you haven't really dated anyone though, is it?" she teased gently, remembering their conversation about how many people they'd kissed. She doubted that Paige had been on many dates, if she had only kissed two people. "If you don't have anything to compare it to…" she grinned cheekily at Paige, who rolled her eyes.
"I have been on exactly….four dates. Before tonight. Two of those were grade eight school dances. One was a dinner date. We went to The Grille, and he spent most of the night talking about his free throw game. And then there was this guy who invited me bowling." She rolled her eyes and pulled face, letting Emily know what she thought of that particular evening. "Nothing special. I mean, I didn't even let them kiss me goodnight. Just sort of waved awkwardly on the doorstep and went inside. But, even if they had gone to even the slightest bit of effort, it wouldn't have compared to this. Being here with you, it means way more to me than the most extravagant of evenings." She squeezed Emily's hand, and Emily squeezed back, hoping that Paige knew she felt the same way.
Before she got a chance to say anything though, Niko appeared beside their table one again, and placed their drinks in front of them.
"Are you ladies ready to order?"
Emily glanced over at Paige, then down at her menu, realizing that they'd gotten so caught up in talking that they hadn't even looked at the restaurants offerings yet.
"I think we're going to need another few minutes," she said, giving him an apologetic smile, to which he grinned back and nodded easily.
"No problem. I'll be back to check on you in a little bit."
To her credit, while Paige had tensed at Niko's arrival, she hadn't pulled away, and her hand remained loosely linked with Emily's on the table, for all the world-or at least this little corner of it-to see. Emily squeezed her hand again, wanting to let her know she'd noticed, and appreciated it, without calling too much attention to it and making it a big deal.
She was so proud of Paige right now. What she'd done, it was no minor thing. And while it didn't mean that she was completely comfortable and secure, it was a big step.
Her head was dipped, and Emily couldn't tell if she was actually reading the menu, or hiding her face, attempting to conceal her discomfort. She knew she should be looking at her own menu before Niko came back, but she couldn't stop staring across the table at Paige. As if sensing her gaze, Paige glanced up.
"What?" she asked, a self-conscious smile on her face.
Emily stared at her for a moment longer before shaking her head. "Nothing."
Paige eyed her before shaking her head and returning her attention back to her menu. Emily's gaze flicked down, surveying the restaurants offerings before raising to take in Paige once again. Though her head was still ducked, she didn't appear to be trying to hide this time, Emily had a clear, nearly unobstructed view of her face, obscured only by a few locks of hair have come out of her braid and fallen across her forehead. Emily reached forward and tucked the strands behind her ear, caressing her cheek lightly once she had. Paige tilted her head into the touch, a soft smile gracing her features.
"You okay?"
Paige nodded. Yeah," she said, her voice soft and uncertain. "Yeah, I'm good." Her voice grew stronger with her words. She tightened her grip on Emily's hand as if to emphasize her point.
Content that Paige was telling the truth, Emily turned her attention, finally, to the menu laid out in front of her, debating her options.
"What are you getting?" After going through the various choices a number of times, her mouth was watering, her stomach was rumbling, and she was no closer to knowing what she wanted to eat.
Paige shrugged. "I don't know. The chicken parmesan sounds pretty good. But so does…well everything else, pretty much."
Emily chuckled. She was having the same problem. "You're no help," she accused, closing her menu in frustration. "What good are you?"
Paige huffed, flipping her own menu over as well. "Oh yeah, like you're any better. Maybe if you hadn't spent so much time staring at me like a creeper, you'd have some idea what you wanted."
"A creeper? Nice, McCullers. Real nice."
Paige's response was cut off by Niko, who appeared at her elbow. "Have you ladies decided what you'd like?"
Emily bit her lip as the two of them exchange helpless glances. She would suggest more time, but had a feeling that wouldn't help.
"What would you recommend?"
"Hmmm." Tapped his finger against his chin for a moment as he thought. "I really like the shrimp primavera."
"I'll have that."
He nodded, grinning faintly. "Okay."
"Any other favorites?" Paige asked.
"The fettuccini alfredo is also quite good."
"That sounds good. I'll have that."
"All right." He collected their menus. "I'll have your meals out to you shortly."
This time, Paige had barely even tensed at Niko's appearance, and once they were along again, she actually sat there stroking the top of Emily's hand with her thumb as the two of them chatted easily.
When their food arrived, Emily was actually a little disappointed, because it meant she would have to give up her grip on Paige's hand to eat. But, her stomach was starting to rebel, and the scent of the food on their plates was not helping matters any. She really had no choice but to release Paige's hand in favor of her fork.
"That does look good, Paige said, a few bites into her meal, eyeing Emily's dinner.
"It's amazing," she said between mouthfuls. "Want to try a bite?" She had already loaded her fork with a piece of shrimp and a few noodles before she'd even finished asking, and held it up to Paige in offering.
Paige leaned forward, her hand resting lightly on Emily's wrist, holding the fork steady as she closed her lips around it.
"Mmm. Yeah, that's really good," she murmured, bringing her hand up, covering her mouth as she talked around the bite she had taken.
"Finally, a meal of mine that passes muster with the refined McCuller's palate."
Paige rolled her eyes. "Fair's fair," she said without reply to Emily's comment, twirling some noodles around her fork before holding it up for Emily to try.
"Good?"
Emily nodded emphatically, and eagerly accepted the second offered bite. They sampled each other's meals a few more times before returning their attention to their own, conversation picking back up, flowing naturally between various topics and comfortable silences.
It was in one of such silences, when Emily was focusing on stabbing a stubborn piece of shrimp onto her fork when she felt something brush against the side of her leg. She jumped slightly, and shifted away from the touch, only to feel it slide more firmly along her calf. It took her a moment to register the sensation, and when it did, she felt her jaw drop as her gaze shot to Paige's, incredulous.
Paige quirked an eyebrow, the picture of innocence.
"Are you playing footsie with me?" she hissed, enjoying the sensation of Paige's foot sliding up and down the back of her leg, but unable to believe that Paige would initiate it in a public setting. It's not like anyone could see under the table, but that wasn't the point.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Paige said calmly. Then, grinned wickedly at Emily as she returned her attention back to her food.
A shiver coursed up Emily's spine as Paige's toes dragged along her leg, and she bit her lip to keep from sighing. She tried to eat, but her stomach was too busy fluttering, and after a few attempts she let her fork fall to her plate with a clatter and reached for her water glass instead, attempting to moisten her suddenly dry throat. Hiding a smirk behind her glass, she engaged Paige in her own game, her other foot curling around Paige's leg. The movement caused Paige to jerk in her seat, a blush coloring her cheeks as her hand to falter, her fork dropping precariously, almost spilling her food into her lap, before she recovered.
Their eyes met across the table, the two of them exchanging smirks. Emily finally recovered well enough to pick up her fork, though her progress in finishing her meal was slow, as they played footsie as they ate.
Paige's foot dropped away abruptly as Niko arrived some time later. "Can I get you anything else?" He asked as he collected their now empty plates. "Coffee? Dessert?"
Emily glanced at Paige, who shrugged, then down at her watch, seeing that they didn't have much time before the movie started.
"I think we're good for now," she said. 'Just the check please."
"Certainly."
He hurried away, but returned shortly with the check in a little black billfold, and a small Styrofoam take away container.
"Um, we didn't order anything else," Emily gently reminded him as she handed him her credit card to run through the machine.
"Oh, I know. It's on the house. Zippoli. It makes a great dessert to share," he said as he handed Emily the slip to sign. "You guys make such a sweet couple, I just couldn't resist," he said with a shrug. "Enjoy the rest of your evening ladies." He nodded at each of them and strode away.
Emily picked up the container and then stood, turning to offer her hand to Paige, but she was staring after their waiter, looking somewhat dazed.
Emily moved to stand in front of her. "Hey. You okay?" she cupped Paige's chin and gently turned her head to face her.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine," Paige said, her shaky tone making her words a little less than believable.
"Hey, talk to me."
Paige shook her head slightly. "It's nothing. It's just...he knew we were a couple."
Emily nodded. "Yeah. He saw us holding hands at the table."
"Exactly. And he didn't even blink. And the hostess saw us walk in together, and she didn't say a thing."
Emily could practically see the wheels turning in Paige's head as she processed this. She knew from experience it might take a while to wrap her head around it, to accept that there were people out there in the world, complete and utter strangers, who knew she was gay and wouldn't care. She'd spent so long expecting people to cringe away from her when they found out, that it was a shock when they didn't. She remembered the first moment it had happened, walking out of the theatre with Maya's hand in her own, expecting disgust and derision, and had gotten, for the most part, complete and indifference. Barely anyone had even glanced at their joined hands, the few that did had simply smiled indulgently, if they reacted at all. Except for the lady behind the counter at the pizza place they'd stopped at after, who'd told them they were adorable.
She hadn't been naïve enough to think that everyone in the world would accept her so easily. She had certainly gotten her share of flak at school, but the world at large was not as scary as she'd once believed.
Reaching for Paige's hand she laced their fingers together and gently tugged her to her feet, then guided her out of the restaurant in silence, giving her a moment to process this revelation.