Emily drew in a deep breath as she stared at the shiny metal room number that hung on the door that lead to Paige. She had collected her tips from Ashley then headed right to the elevator. She knew that if she thought about it too much she would back down and probably avoid Paige for the rest of the weekend. So she hadn't let herself get distracted. But now as she stood outside the hotel room, key card in hand, she started to wonder if she really was doing the right thing.
She shook her head and let out a heavy sigh. She looked at the key card, then the door handle where she would have to put the key card to open the door, then to the card again. She lifted her hand and saw it was visibly trembling. Her heart was racing in her chest. She wasn't sure she could go in there.
Just as she turned to leave, Paige rounded the corner at the end of the hall. She was still wearing the white tux but had unbuttoned the top couple buttons of the shirt. When her eyes fell onto Emily standing at her door, her face brightened into a wide smile "Hey, stranger."
Emily bit her lip and gave a little wave. She pointed to the door she stood in front of and shrugged "I don't think my key card works."
Paige frowned at that and as she finally reached the door where she stood, she offered a hand out "Here, let me try."
Emily just nodded and handed over the key. She licked her lips and nervously watched Paige slide it into the lock. When the little light on the door turned green to indicate it was unlocked, Paige smiled up at her and handed the card back "There we go. Just needed a little finesse I guess."
Emily watched as Paige pushed the door handle down and drew the door open. She took one step inside the room then leaned back against the door to make plenty of room for Emily to pass by her. She looked back at Emily and when she didn't move, her brows creased together in concern "Are you coming in?"
Emily looked up at Paige and something inside her just clicked. Maybe it was the way Paige looked in that tux because, well, she looked incredible. Maybe it was the nice gesture of opening the door for her, and then holding it open for her. Maybe it was just the smile on her face. Whatever it was, it suddenly turned Emily onto auto pilot and there was no more thinking. It was now just action.
She lunged forward and cupped her hands around Paige's face, pulling her down into a fierce, hungry kiss. Their lips pressed together so hard at first both of them groaned out with a slight bit of pain. It faded quickly though and was replaced with that instinct that took over when someone kissed you.
Emily was relieved to feel Paige immediately return the kiss. Just like that, in that instant of their lips touching, all doubt and fear had been washed away. Nothing remained in her mind except the thought of Paige and the way her lips felt and how her tongue tasted as it swept through her mouth and the way her body curved as Emily's hands slid over her sides.
Paige shivered at the way Emily's hands hungrily roamed over her body. She stood pinned against the open hotel door but she didn't care. Her own body, her own instincts, were now in charge and everything inside her was screaming in relief that they were tangled together in this kiss. She scooped her long arms around Emily's back and pulled her until their chests pressed together so tightly it almost made it hard to breath.
Emily pulled from the kiss to draw breath and her eyes came open. When she was met with Paige's eyes opening in search of hers, she smirked and lunged in to capture her lips again. She pushed herself against Paige more, causing them both to push into the door until it swung as open as it could before slamming into the wall behind it, causing a hole to form. The thunk pulled them from the kiss again and they both looked behind Paige before letting out a laugh at the same time.
"My dad will pay for that" Paige whispered softly, her eyes bright with elation.
"Don't talk about your dad right now" Emily whispered huskily, licking her lips once before pushing them back against Paige's.
Paige let out another moan against the kiss, this one of pleasure and not pain. She moved her hands to Emily's waist, gripping there tightly and using her strength to push Emily's body away from hers. Her back left the door and she slowly guided Emily backwards toward the bed, not wanting to break the kiss as she did so.
Emily didn't fight it. She let Paige push her backwards, taking it as a sign that Paige's desire was coursing through her just as highly as Emily's was. She didn't even think about breaking the kiss and instead slid her arms around Paige's body fully now that she wasn't pinned to the door and held on until they hit the bed.
They didn't hit the bed, though. Instead, because Paige had her eyes closed and was leading Emily blindly backwards, one of Emily's legs was pushed into the bedside table. The force was just hard enough to buckle her knee and cause her to go crashing backwards. Her weight landed hard against the table and her arm, which had reached back in attempt to catch herself, swung into the lamp hanging on the wall near the bed and ripped it clean off it's screws. The two of them fell from the bedside table, onto the side of the mattress, before bouncing off of it and crashing onto the floor together with a loud thud.
Emily groaned as a sharp pain from where her ribs had slammed into the bedside table shot through her back. Paige's hands pushed up against the floor on either side of Emily's hips and she looked down at the girl with a panic on her face "Oh my god, Em, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-"
Emily lifted a hand to Paige's mouth to cut her off and she let out a laugh. She glanced at the lamp hanging out of the wall by just the wire and back at Paige with a smirk "Your dad will pay for that, too, right?"
Paige laughed and gave a quick nod of her head before leaning into kiss at Emily's forehead just once "Are you alright?"
"Never better" Emily whispered as her hand lifted to trace her fingertips gently along Paige's cheek. She watched the trail her fingers made and as they passed over Paige's lips, she smiled. She leaned up and placed a gentle kiss to the waiting lips before her eyes lifted and met Paige's gaze. They stared into each others eyes for a moment before Emily finally nodded and lifted her head again, this time capturing Paige's lips in another firm kiss.
That was the only communication either of them seemed to have needed. From that point on there was no more questioning or wondering about the other. They fell into a surprisingly comfortable and familiar rhythm without even trying. It really was like riding a bike, you never really forget how no matter how long it had been.
Soon shirts were unbuttoned and slacks unzipped. Neither of them seemed to be too concerned with fully undressing the other. That didn't seem necessary. What mattered was letting go completely of everything else and just being with one another in the moment. Paige's slacks were the first to be pushed down her legs and kicked away. She pulled back from the kiss and smiled down at Emily as she reached now for the waist of the black pants of Emily's uniform and started to move them down her long legs as well.
Emily simply lifted her hips to allow the material to pass off her waist and watched as Paige so carefully took the garment from her body and tossed it behind her. She bit her lip when Paige's hands returned to her now bare legs and slowly slid from her ankle all the way up to her hip. She shivered at the feel. No one had ever touched her the way that Paige does.
Paige knew the shiver wasn't because Emily was cold so she didn't ask. She simply moved back over her, letting her legs come to rest with one between Emily's and one on the outside of her thigh. She slid one arm into Emily's open button up shirt and pulled it around her waist until their stomachs and chests were once more pressed together. Her lips once more dipped and swept Emily's mouth up into a needing kiss.
Emily shivered again. Paige's hands were soft and though her movements were focused and strong they still held a bit of tenderness to them. In that moment, as their nearly bare bodies pressed together and their fingers went about exploring one another, she understood what Sabrina had been saying. She was home.
Emily's hand moved along Paige's back, under the material of her open tux button up top, and down to the waist of the panties she wore. Her fingers dipped inside without hesitation and she traced the waist around her back, over Paige's thin hip bones, and down the crease that lead from her hip to between her legs. Gently her fingertips pushed further, sliding now between Paige's warm, waiting folds. Emily groaned when she felt how wet Paige had become in anticipation of her touch.
Paige's back arched slightly at the touch from Emily. She let out a soft whimper of liking against the kiss but did not break it. Her hips instead pressed into Emily's hand, letting her know to keep going. She wouldn't hesitate now and she hoped that Emily wouldn't either.
Hesitation was the last thing on Emily's mind. When she felt Paige push into her for more, she granted her body just that. Her fingers moved through her folds once more before curling and pushing inside her fiercely. When Paige broke the kiss with a gasp, Emily laughed very softly and started to move her wrist in and out slowly.
Paige's eyes came open when she broke the kiss and she took a moment to compose herself. Her body tingled from head to toe at the feel of Emily inside her. When Emily's eyes finally came open to greet hers, Paige smiled down at her. Again, they didn't need words. The way their eyes locked together said it all. This was everything they had needed, had wanted, and had been missing in their lives. They simply needed one another.
Emily's hand did not speed up, not yet. Though they had started in a fiery hurry she did not want it to end in such. So her hand moved slowly, making each stroke in and out deliberate and precise, watching Paige's face each time her fingers found the spots that drove her wild.
Paige's chest was starting to heave now. Even if Emily was going slow, her body was moving at the speed of light. She didn't want to do this alone. She wanted Emily to come along this journey with her. No, she needed her to. So she quickly brought her thighs together tightly, stilling Emily's movements but not allowing her to pull from within her.
"Are you alright?" Emily breathed out heavily in surprise at the sudden movements from Paige.
"Totally" Paige said with a lick of her lips. She gave Emily a little smirk as her hand worked now to push the material of Emily's panties aside, allowing her fingers to find the heat that had gathered there for her. She bit at her lip and slowly moved the tips of her fingers up and down through Emily's folds a few times.
Emily's back arched up and her eyes snapped shut. She let out a soft grunt and shook her head slightly "You know I've been nothing but nice to you. You really shouldn't tease me."
Paige let out a laugh as she leaned down to place a kiss on Emily's chin before whispering "I thought you liked a little teasing."
"That can come later" Emily grumbled as her hips dropped and her head rolled forward to look at Paige now. Her eyes held a fire and she nearly growled her next words "Please, Paige."
Her name had never sounded so sweet coming off of Emily's lips and she couldn't hold out any longer. She fulfilled her wish and plunged her fingers inside Emily fiercely, jolting both of their bodies with the force of it.
Emily cried out loudly in pleasure as her back arched up again. She paused a moment, letting herself adjust to the feeling of being filled by Paige again before her eyes opened and she looked back up at the girl. Her lips curled into a little smirk and as if she hadn't stopped at all, her wrist started to move again, now with more purpose with each stroke inside of Paige.
A shudder slid up Paige's spine at the reanimation of Emily's fingers inside her. She bit at her lip for just a moment as the sensation washed over her. Once she regained her senses, her own hand went to work. Soon both of them were pushing in and out of the other at a fierce pace. Their bodies moved up and down along the floor where they laid together, their eyes locked on the other as determination mixed with pleasure.
Each thrust got a moan from Emily. Each push inside of Paige caused a heavy breath to be forced out of her. The only sound in the world, it seemed, was the two of them breathing and moaning, letting the other know that every sensation they were granting each other was exactly right. Their bodies were communicating perfectly and each one knew what the other needed to get them over that edge.
Paige trembled first. Her actions wavered just slightly as the chill slid along the back of her thighs and up her spine. She dropped her head against Emily's shoulder and let out a nearly growl. She was trying to focus on her movements and not the pleasure coursing through her veins.
"Breathe" Emily turned her head and whispered against Paige's ear. "Don't hold back for me, okay. I'm almost there."
"Please" Paige grunted as her head lifted off of Emily's shoulder and she stared down at her in desperation.
Emily nodded, giving her a soft smile as her hand continued to move inside her. She lifted her free hand to the back of Paige's head and held her there so she wouldn't look away. "It's okay, I'm right here."
Paige bit at her lip and as much as she wanted to close her eyes and succumb to the sensations coursing through her, she didn't. She held her gaze on Emily and let herself get lost in her eyes. She felt that familiar tingling starting to rise in her legs, her stomach, and her back. She twitched again and another groan left her lips.
There was something powerful about the way Paige was staring so deeply into her eyes. It was as if she were looking straight into her heart. It caused a shiver to move through Emily's body and she knew that if Paige's hand continued on like it was she wouldn't last much longer.
Paige smirked when Emily shivered. She licked at her lips before leaning down to kiss her just once, never breaking the eye contact she held. Her eyes were intense, yet still held a tenderness for the woman under her. Her hand started to move even faster, wanting to bring Emily with her.
Emily almost couldn't handle the way Paige was looking at her. Almost. It took everything inside her not to close her eyes but she didn't. She held on. As Paige's hand moved quickly, with determination, she felt her toes start to curl.
Paige groaned again. Her body was failing her. She wanted to hold on, to keep going, to be stuck in this moment forever, but she knew she couldn't. So she drew in a deep breath, licked her lips, and let herself go. Everything that Emily had done to her, everything she had thought about Emily doing to her, and everything she had been missing from Emily all whirled around inside her until she couldn't take it any longer. Her thighs trembled and her hips twitched as the sensations became too much and she toppled over the edge of pleasure.
Emily gasped at the rush of Paige's release. She let out a soft moan of liking and lifted her own hips up against Paige's, letting the girl ride out her pleasure pressed as tightly against her as she could be. The warmth surrounded Emily's hand, moved down her wrist, and even came to rest against her own hips. There was something about the sensation of that particularity from Paige that drove her absolutely insane.
As Paige's body trembled, her arm continued to move. She wouldn't let herself come down until Emily was with her. She used all the strength and willpower she possessed to push forward, curling her fingers into all of the spots that she remembered Emily liked.
It didn't take long for Emily after that. All of the overwhelming emotions that had been coursing through her since seeing Paige mixed with the sensation of being completely with Paige was all she really needed. It was only a moment or two after Paige's body gave in that her own followed suit. She felt her hips jerk slightly and that was when she finally let everything that had built inside of her go.
Paige still hadn't broken eye contact and when she felt Emily's body starting to topple she was surprised to see Emily keep her eyes open. But it seemed important to the two of them, that they hold that gaze as they lost themselves together. Paige bit at her bottom lip as she watched Emily's face twist in pleasure. She felt the way Emily's body gripped her fingers tightly, the way her hips jerked in no particular pattern, until they finally fell still.
Emily let out a soft, long moan before letting her body completely relax. She laid there just a few moments under Paige before she found strength again. Her hand finally slid from inside her and she lifted both arms around Paige tightly. She lifted her head and captured her lips in another intense kiss, this one softer and lighter than before but lacking absolutely no passion.
Paige moaned into the kiss, enjoying the lightness of it as their bodies slowly came down together. It was a minute or two later that the kiss was breaking and she was finally sliding her fingers from within Emily. She smiled down at the girl, lifting her other hand to gently brush some of Emily's hair from her sweaty brow. "Well that was unexpected."
Emily let out a laugh and turned her head to kiss at Paige's palm before looking back up at her. She gave her head a shake and let out a satisfied sigh "Was it really?"
"Unexpected can be good!" Paige said with a soft laugh. She kissed at her forehead then slowly moved to lower herself so she was laying on the floor next to Emily. She propped herself up on her elbow, holding her chin on her hand as her other hand slid up Emily's body and came to rest on her stomach. She stared down at her for a moment before biting her lip and laughing again.
"What?" Emily asked, unable to wipe the smile her face held.
Paige just shook her head as she grinned "Life is funny sometimes is all."
Emily gave a tired nod and rolled onto her side to face Paige now. She slid one arm into the dangling open shirt that still clung to Paige's body somehow and used the other arm to hold herself up. She didn't say anything. She simply let her fingertips moved gently over Paige's skin, soaking in the warmth as she re-familiarized herself with her body. Her eyes lingered on Paige's form in front of her as if she were trying to burn the sight of her skin into her brain.
Paige watched Emily looking at her. She held a soft smile on her lips as Emily studied her. It wasn't until Emily's fingers brushed over her hip bone that she finally made a noise that sounded like a soft laugh and reached down to stop Emily's hand from moving against her skin "You know I'm ticklish right there."
Emily bit her lip and looked up at Paige with as much fake innocence as she could manage "I forgot."
"Bullshit" Paige mumbled with an amused smirk on her lips. She pulled Emily's hand off of her skin completely and lifted the fingertips to her lips, kissing at them lightly. "I forgive you, though."
"If you didn't I would just pin you down and tickle you until you did" Emily said with a devilish smirk on her face.
"Good luck with that. You only have one hand!" Paige teased, nipping with her teeth at the fingertips of Emily's hand she still gripped onto.
"It's all I need" Emily growled out playfully before shifting her weight and using her body to her advantage. She used one long leg to wrap around Paige and shifted quickly so she was now sitting on top of Paige's hips, causing her to roll back onto the floor and effectively pinning her there. Sitting now on top of her with a triumphant smirk, she used her free hand to playfully push the material of the open button up shirt completely out of the way so Paige laid there with no protection around her stomach and waist. She wiggled her fingers of her free hand just above Paige's hips, her eyes locked on the girl in a challenging way "What are you going to do now, huh?"
Paige bit her lip, fighting off a laugh because Emily looked so completely adorable and totally not threatening sitting on top of her like that. The white button up uniform shirt had fallen now and gathered around Emily's elbows. If she straightened her arms the shirt would slide off her body completely. She absolutely looked like she had just had sex and Paige thought it was hysterical and was having a hard time taking her seriously. So she just gave a bored shrug and smirked "You don't scare me."
Emily almost looked offended at that. She gasped and sat up a little straighter, causing the material of her shirt to slide down her back and into her elbows even more. "How rude" She smirked and jabbed her fingers now into Paige's waist where she knew she was ticklish.
Paige howled out immediately. She bucked her hips up, trying like a bull would to toss it's rider from on top of it. It didn't work though and Emily giggled as she dug in further, wiggling her fingers around and tickling Paige even more.
Emily watched in delight as Paige squirmed and fought off laughter, trying to get away from the assault of her fingers. In the chaos of having been tickled, Paige had released Emily's other hand and that now moved to the other side of Paige's waist to join it's partner in the assault. That's when Emily's eyes fell to watch where her fingers dug into the skin and caught sight of something she had not expected. As quickly as she had started to assault, she stopped and pulled her hands away. She stared for a moment then looked at Paige, tilting her head to the side with a curious look on her face "What's this?"
Paige, who was able to quickly catch her breath once the tickling had stopped, looked up at Emily then followed her eyes down to where she was looking near her waist. She smiled slightly and sat up on her elbows so she could see exactly what Emily was seeing. She shrugged then looked back at the girl who was now sitting on her thighs "What does it look like to you?"
"It looks like a tattoo" Emily said with a laugh as her finger reached out to touch at the obviously inked skin.
"Look at you go. A regular Sherlock Holmes" Paige teased, watching Emily's finger trace the design that had been etched into her skin a few years prior.
Emily shook her head, letting out a laugh of disbelief as her finger moved over the colors that shone up at her from Paige's waist "I would have never thought in a million years that Paige McCullers would get a tattoo."
Paige shrugged and gave her a playful little smirk "I went through a wild phase in college, I guess."
Emily rolled her eyes and looked away from the tattoo for the first time since seeing it. She looked at Paige and gave her head a shake "It's for me, isn't it?"
"Uh" Paige's lips hung open for a moment as the sound left her mouth. She stared at the tattoo looking up at her and decided not to lie. What was the point of lying now anyway? The less she hid, the better. So she just nodded and looked back to Emily "Yeah, it is."
Emily's smile was shy but also flattered. She bit at her lip and looked back down at the ink. Her finger slowly traced over the design once more before she let out a soft sigh and looked back up at Paige "It's beautiful."
Paige smiled almost shyly now. She had definitely never thought Emily would be seeing the tattoo. If she ever did, she thought she would have more time to explain herself and why she had gotten it. She was glad, however, that even though it had come as a surprise to Emily that she didn't seem mad or put off by it at all. "You've always been my anchor, you know?"
Emily gave a crooked little smile and looked back down at the tattoo. Her finger traced the shape of the small anchor before following the lines that made out the ropes that wrapped around it. It was subtle and yet Emily had known without a doubt that the ink was for her. She didn't know how she had known. She just had. "Don't anchors hold things down?"
Paige let out a soft laugh and reached out now to grab Emily's hand that was tracing the tattoo. She dropped back onto her back against the floor and pulled at Emily until her body followed suit and laid on top of her. Once they were settled, Paige slid her arms around Emily's back and shook her head "It's a metaphor, dingleberry. You've always kept me grounded. Kept me in the place I needed to be. You never let me drift too far away. Plus..." She leaned up and kissed Emily's cheek softly before settling her head back against the floor with a smile on her lips "You were quite literally the anchor of every race we ever swam together so there's that, too."
"Oh god" Emily rolled her eyes at that with a laugh. Paige could be completely dorky sometimes and she absolutely adored it. She moved to slide off of Paige and lay next to her on the floor. Her head came to rest against Paige's chest and her hand once more moved down to the tattoo. Her fingers rested against the ink and her eyes closed as her body relaxed into Paige's arms. She let out a happy sigh then whispered very softly "I don't think I've ever stopped loving you. Not for a single second."
Paige's heart nearly jumped out of her chest when Emily's words reached her ears. Her eyes closed and the arm she had looped around Emily gave a tight squeeze. She wasn't even sure this moment was real. She had to squeeze Emily just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. The feel of their bodies pressing together somehow acted like a pinch and she knew she wasn't dreaming. That had really just left Emily Fields' lips. She licked at her lips and looked down at the top of Emily's head, nodding just once the best she could with how she laid against the floor "Me neither."
Emily shifted so she could lift her head just enough to find Paige's lips. The kiss was soft, tender, and almost so light it couldn't be felt. But it was enough. It was like a cherry on top of a perfect ice cream sundae. As the kiss broke and her head moved to rest against Paige's chest again, her eyes once more closed. In that moment, nothing could be wrong. Nothing was wrong. Nothing else in the world even existed except that moment. She wished she could disappear into that moment for the rest of her life. She had never felt more safe, more centered, or more complete than she did right then. Though she knew the feeling wouldn't last she would make sure to enjoy every second that it did.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
Emily let out a soft groan as her body started to stir from sleep. She didn't even remember falling asleep. But it was obvious now as the stiffness in her joints had set in that she had done so on the floor because she was definitely in pain. She let out a yawn and lifted her head from where it was still resting against Paige's chest and slowly opened her eyes.
The light from the window lent no real tell of what time it was. It was early, she knew that because of the gentle stream of sun through the curtains that hung in the hotel room but that was about it. She yawned again and pushed herself up until she was sitting and gave a look around the room. A smile came to her lips as her eyes took in the discarded pants, the broken lamp dangling on the wall, and the hole behind the door. The night before flooded back to her and she bit her lip to fight the smile from growing.
She turned now to look at Paige who still lay there peacefully sleeping on the floor. She leaned down to kiss her cheek before gently lifting herself now to her feet. She pulled the button up that she somehow still had on around herself tightly and moved to the bathroom. She had to pee and hoped she wouldn't wake Paige in the process.
As she finished up in the bathroom, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She looked like a complete mess. Her hair was in shambles and the mascara she had worn the day before was smudged all around her eyes. She laughed softly and gave her head a shake. She would just wash it off in the shower later in the day.
She moved out of the bathroom and was glad to see Paige still on the floor. She moved over to the bed and pulled the blanket off of it, maneuvering it until it covered Paige where she lay. She was chilly herself when she woke up so she could only imagine Paige must be cold as well. Once she was covered up, Emily moved over to the closet to once more rummage through Paige's clothing.
She found a hoodie and some shorts and slid them on before moving now to the bed. She lifted the room service menu out of the drawer and looked it over. She wondered if Paige was as hungry as she was. Her stomach was grumbling so loudly she was surprised Paige hadn't heard it and woken up.
As she perused the menu, she got up from the bed and walked over to where she had dropped her purse. She kept her eyes on the food choices the hotel had while her hand dove into her purse in search of her phone. Once she found it and pulled it out, her eyes left the menu and she looked at the screen. There were fifteen missed calls and several dozen texts from her friends.
"Shit" Emily dropped the menu on the floor, it landing with a thud near Paige's feet. She quickly opened her call log and hit redial of the last number that had tried to call her, which happened to be Spencer. She quietly opened the door to the room and slipped out into the hallway, closing the door lightly behind her as she waited for her friend to answer.
"Where the Hell are you?" Spencer answered with a growl at the other end of the phone.
"I'm sorry, Spence. I worked late last night and crashed at-"
"Whatever" Spencer cut her off, annoyance in her tone. "Just get over to the loft asap. We have a lot to discuss."
"Is everything okay?" Emily's tone now dripped with worry.
"No, obviously. Get over here" Spencer hung up after that.
Emily frowned and looked at the screen of her phone as the call ended. She rolled her eyes and gave her head a shake. How Spencer hadn't already had a stroke was beyond her. She was so damn high strung.
She turned now to go back into the room only to realize the door had clicked closed and she was locked out. She groaned softly and lifted her hand to knock. She had definitely not wanted to wake up Paige but now she had no choice. Her shoes and purse and keys were in there.
It took a few more knocks before Paige heard them. She blinked her eyes open and turned her head toward the source of the sound. When she realized Emily wasn't beside her, she sat up from the floor and yawned loudly "Coming!" She called out so the knocks would cease. That's when she realized she was still barely clothed and probably shouldn't answer the door like that in case her family was out in the hallway.
She wrapped the blanket that had been laid over her around herself tightly and moved to the door. She opened it just enough to peek outside and when she saw Emily there, looking disheveled and in her hoodie, she smiled. She let out a laugh and pulled the door completely open now "Well good morning, sunshine."
Emily rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile that came from simply seeing Paige. She moved into the room and over toward where her purse had been dropped the night before "I'm sorry I woke you up. How did you sleep?"
"Better than I have in years" Paige said honestly. She moved to sit on the edge of the bed, watching as Emily gathered her things in a rush. She frowned and gave her head a shake "Where you going? You weren't trying to sneak out on me, were you?"
"No, of course not" Emily breathed out in frustration as she slid the strap of her purse over her shoulder and stood upright from where she had been crouching to gather her things. She turned to look at Paige all wrapped up in the blanket and sitting there looking at her sleepily and her heart melted a little. She looked really cute. "Something has come up. Apparently Spencer and the girls have been trying to call me all night. I have to go meet up with them."
"Okay, but here's a thought" Paige stood now. She dropped the blanket that she had wrapped around her, leaving her standing in her panties and unbuttoned shirt. "You look like you're totally doing the walk of shame" She smirked, motioning to the state of Emily's hair and make up. "How about you take a shower first. I'll order us some breakfast. You can take it in the car with you and eat it on the way there. But clean yourself up a little. Do you really want to walk into the loft looking like that?" Paige motioned again to her and smiled "I mean I, personally, love this look but I'm sure your friends will have more questions than they have answers for you if you march in there looking like that."
Emily looked down over herself. Paige was right. She had seen herself in the mirror, she looked awful. Plus the last thing she needed was her friends scolding her for not being available in the middle of a crisis. She rolled her eyes at the thought. Spencer would scold her. Aria and Hanna would probably congratulate her for getting laid. She finally looked up at Paige and nodded "You're right. I can take ten minutes to shower."
"Good" Paige said with a nod. She moved to slide an arm around Emily now and pull her until they came to rest against each other. She leaned in and gently kissed at her lips "Good morning" She whispered before kissing her again.
Emily melted into Paige. Somehow in the midst of chaos and crisis Paige was able to swoop in and kiss her and make her completely forget everything else in the world. She really was the only one that could ever really make any sense out of anything for Emily. She let herself enjoy the soft kisses before finally pushing away and laughing "If you don't stop, my shower definitely won't be only ten minutes."
Paige smirked, her eyebrows dancing on her forehead suggestively "What if that was my evil plan all along?"
Emily rolled her eyes and gave Paige a light shove "Control yourself, McCullers."
"You look really good in my clothes, I can't help it" Paige said playfully, swatting at Emily's as she shoved by toward the bathroom. She watched her go, smirking at the fact that Emily didn't bother to close the door before starting the shower and beginning to strip out of the clothes she had borrowed.
Emily glanced behind her once she had shed the clothing. She saw Paige watching her and rolled her eyes. She kind of loved how easily she could get Paige's attention. All she had to do was show a little skin. She stepped one foot into the shower then paused and looked back at Paige "Well?"
Paige's eyes lit up. She nearly fell over her feet as she rushed into the bathroom. Her arms slid around Emily's naked body and pushed her into the shower in one swift motion. She didn't care that her panties and the tux shirt were still on. Clothes could dry, right?
Emily squeaked out as she was pushed against the wall of the shower. She let out a laugh and moved her hands quickly to start peeling at the shirt that was already sticking to Paige's skin after being soaked by the shower "You'll ruin your shirt."
"It's a rental anyway" Paige whispered, leaning in to capture Emily's lips in a soft kiss.
Emily giggled against the kiss as her hands worked and she was finally able to free Paige of the soaked shirt. She tossed it out of the shower then quickly worked on the panties that clung to Paige's legs for dear life. It was a task, taking off soaking wet clothing, but Emily finally managed and once the panties dropped to Paige's feet her hands moved to roam freely over Paige's completely bare form now. As they stood there under the water stream, lips tangled together in a kiss, their wet bodies pressed together tightly she knew the shower was going to be much longer than ten minutes. Oh well. Spencer and the girls had waited all night, they could wait a little longer, right?
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
When both Emily and Paige showed up at the loft together, forty-five minutes after Emily had called Spencer, the girls all fought off a knowing little smirk. Spencer fought off complete agitation at the situation but Aria and Hanna both kind of bit back a laugh and just kind of pretended like it was a normal get together.
The next hour or so was like a complete whirlwind of information. Spencer and Mona, who had made a special trip to the loft to share everything she had learned, went over the information they had. They had figured out what Noel was doing back in town, why he was working with Jenna, and where he had been going in the laundry truck. They had actually figured out a lot, mostly because Mona had a penchant for snooping, and was now laying it all out there for the girls.
By the end of it, everyone in the loft looked a little wide in the eyes. Paige stood in the kitchen of the loft, standing over the coffee pot. She had volunteered to refill everyone's coffee in preparation for what they all had to get done that day. Aria and Spencer were huddled over the coffee table going over some details and Hanna was leaning against the counter in the kitchen with all of the cups lined up, ready for refill.
Hanna waited until Emily had slipped away to the bathroom before looking over at Paige. She smirked slightly at the girl and waited until Paige realized she was being stared at. When Paige lifted an eyebrow at her in questioning, Hanna gave her a wide grin "So?"
"So?" Paige's eyebrow perked a little more and she let out a laugh as she moved to the fridge to get some creamer.
Hanna leaned her head onto her hand and held the grin on her lips as she watched Paige move back and start to pour cream into each cup "I couldn't help but notice Emily was wearing a Stanford hoodie this morning. Now, I only know one person here who went to Stanford."
Paige let out a soft laugh and her eyes rolled before she gave Hanna an amused smirk "Good to see you're still as subtle as always there, Han."
Hanna rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. She looked over toward the bathroom to make sure Emily hadn't returned. She looked back to Paige when the coast was still clear and shrugged "Come on, you have to dish! What is going on with you two?"
Paige glanced up at Hanna from where she was now pouring the steaming coffee into the cups and gave her a coy little smirk before shrugging "I have no idea what you mean."
"Oh, please" Hanna let out a soft laugh. "You both show up together, late, with wet hair?" She perked an eyebrow suspiciously at Paige "I might be blonde but I'm not an airhead."
Paige just shrugged. She looked up and noticed that Emily had come back out of the bathroom and was moving to settle on the couch next to Spencer. Emily looked up and caught Paige looking at her and immediately smiled. This made Paige smile too as she looked back at Hanna. She shook her head, fighting the smile on her lips before she lifted Hanna's cup of coffee toward her "It's whatever."
Hanna let out a frustrated sigh and took the cup of coffee from Paige. She also grabbed Aria's and turned to take it back toward the couch. She sat down the cups on the coffee table and plopped down next to Aria before shrugging "Alright, guys, Paige isn't spilling. I tried."
"What?" Paige let out a loud laugh as she moved over to the table with the cups of the remaining girls. She handed Emily her cup, then handed one to Spencer, before settling on the couch at the end and shrugging her shoulders. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Hanna."
"Oh please" Aria, Spencer, and Hanna all said at once. They glanced at each other when they did so and started to laugh before Spencer finally looked at Emily, then Paige, and shook her head "You two are so not sneaky!"
Emily blushed slightly and glanced at Paige over the top of her coffee mug where she had been taking a sip. Paige, on the other hand, just shrugged at the girls and smiled "Are you really concerned with what Em and I do in our spare time or are we focusing on Noel and Jenna?"
Aria waved her hand to the side and let out a laugh "You heard Mona, we can't do anything until she calls us. So what else are we supposed to talk about?"
Paige looked at Emily and let out a laugh. She motioned with her hand toward the girls and shrugged "Do you have anything to say or am I taking all the bullets here?"
Emily bit her lip softly, letting out a soft laugh as she settled her coffee in her hands. She looked at her friends and shrugged "I've learned that if I ignore their questions long enough they get distracted and move on."
"That's not true" Hanna said with a laugh. "Not when we have nothing else to talk about."
"If that's the case, plan B is to always change the subject" Emily said with a nod. She motioned to Aria and shrugged "Did you hear Ezra proposed to her?"
"Em!" Aria's eyes got wide and she looked panicked. Spencer and Hanna both looked surprised and it was obvious neither of them knew. She looked around and saw all eyes on her and let out a sigh. "I wasn't going to say anything until I knew what I wanted to say to him but, yeah, he did."
"Oh my god" Spencer lit up with a smile for her friend. "Congratulations!"
"Yeah, congrats" Paige said with a genuine grin on her lips.
"That's great" Hanna said with a nod. She then turned and looked at Paige and grinned widely "So do you think you'll propose to Em now that you two are back on?"
"Oh..." Paige dropped her face into her hand "...my...God." She mumbled, laughing softly.
Emily blushed and gave Hanna an eye roll "Will you stop?"
Hanna gave a playful grin and shrug, laughing softly "You can't distract me. I wanna know what's going on with you two."
"Fine" Emily threw up her hands in defeat and looked at her friends. She huffed out a sigh and nodded "Yeah, whatever..." She looked up at Paige and smiled "Something happened but now you've all gone and made it awkward because we hadn't talked about it."
Paige bit her lip and reached out to slide her hand over Emily's shoulder. "It's okay, Em. They just have your best interest in mind." She shrugged and gave a smile "We'll talk."
Hanna bit her lip. She now genuinely felt bad. She glanced at Aria and Spencer and frowned before she looked back at Paige and Emily "Sorry."
"It's fine" Paige said with a nod. "There are more important things going on, right?"
As if on cue, Spencer's phone went off. Her eyes went wide when she saw it was Mona and quickly she answered it. She listened intently at whatever it was the girl on the other end was saying and after a few minutes she nodded and hung up. She drew in a deep breath and looked at the girls with a slightly worried look. She licked at her lips and shrugged slightly "It's time to go."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
Paige tapped her fingertips against the steering wheel of the car. They had been parked in their assigned spot for what felt like days but in reality it had only been about an hour. She glanced over to Emily in the passenger side seat and smiled softly as her hand moved to take hold of Emily's hand gently "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Emily perked an eyebrow, surprised that Paige had broken the silence but it hadn't scared her. She smiled and turned her hand over so her fingers to slide through Paige's gently.
"For that really awkward conversation that happened in the loft" Paige let out a laugh but it held less amusement and more annoyance. She knew that her friends meant well but she definitely had wished that Emily and her could have talked first before being put on the spot like that.
Emily just shrugged and gave Paige's hand a squeeze "My friends mean well."
"I know" Paige said softly, her eyes still on the road that they were watching from where they were parked. "That doesn't mean it was right. Plus I would have really preferred we actually got to talk first."
"What do you want to talk about?" Emily asked with a slight smile on her lips.
Paige rolled her eyes and shook her head with a laugh "Oh, okay. Did I imagine last night, and this morning, or what?"
Emily smirked and gave Paige's arm a little playful nudge with her elbow "Trust me, you did not imagine that. What I meant, was, what is there to talk about really?"
The sound that Paige made was a mix of exasperation and despair. She shook her head and finally looked over at Emily with a slight frown "This is serious, Em."
"I know" Emily frowned at having upset Paige. She lifted both of her hands now and cupped at Paige's face. She leaned in and touched a kiss to her lips and when she pulled back and met her eyes with a soft gaze "I know it's serious, okay? But I thought you were all easy breezy now. I didn't want to put too much into this and stress the both of us out."
Paige nodded, letting out a soft sigh as she stared into Emily's eyes. Her touch, her tone, and her gaze was soothing in the moment. She licked her lips and whispered softly "I don't want this to just be a thing that happens and then we go our separate ways again. I'm kind of over that, Em."
Emily gave a nod. She licked at her lips but didn't interrupt. She wanted Paige to know that she was listening and understanding.
Paige drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. "Come to Colorado with me? I've been training at the Olympic center there. The games are at the end of the summer and I want you there. You can get a job anywhere, Em. You can finish college there, too. They have a lot of great schools in town." She smiled softly and reached out to grab onto one of Emily's hand, holding it tightly between the both of hers "Let's finally do this. Let's build the life together we've always wanted."
Emily's stomach was doing flips with each word Paige spoke. The intense look in her eyes, the steady tone of her words, and the way she never wavered in her words really touched Emily in a way she had never experienced. Her hand trembled where it was held between Paige's and she drew in a deep breath. She held it for a moment, her eyes never looking away from Paige's. She was serious. She really wanted to do this and she wanted Emily to come along with her. Emily suddenly felt like if she said no that this would be the end of all of her chances to make it right with Paige.
She finally released the breath she had been holding and licked her lips. She gave a very soft smile and nodded "I would love nothing more than to disappear with you and never have to look back to Rosewood, Paige." She bit her lip to fight off her growing smile at the thought "It's what we've always wanted. It's been all I've ever thought about since hearing you were going to Stanford."
Paige drew in a breath. She was trying to calm herself. She didn't want to get her hopes up but as Emily continued to speak she couldn't help but smile. It sounded like a yes.
Emily bit her lip and her smile faded a little. Her brows creased and she shook her head "But look at where we are, Paige." She motioned with her free hand around the car to the city that they sat in waiting to follow someone who was blackmailing them. She let out an exhausted sounded sigh and shrugged "I can't just leave right now."
Paige shook her head as her smile fell. She dropped Emily's hand from between hers and lifted her hands to cup at her face. Her fingers slid over her cheeks and she whispered now firmly "No, don't say no Emily. This won't be the case forever. We're so close to having it all be over. Just come with me when it's done. Leave it all behind and forget it all happened."
Emily couldn't help it as tears started to pour from her eyes. She had absolutely thought that Paige would be crushed but here she was putting up with the answer she was given and making it sound fixable. She was standing up for what she wanted, what they both wanted, and not letting Emily bury herself in excuses anymore. She bit at her lip and lifted a hand to grab at one of Paige's wrists, squeezing tightly "I'm so if this doesn't work out? What if we go to jail?"
Paige shook her head quickly again. Her thumbs started passing over Emily's cheeks to sweep up the tears that had started to stream down her face "We'll figure it out, Em, I promise. We've been through so much together that I can't, no I won't, let stuff like this keep us apart anymore." Her voice strengthened in conviction with every word she spoke "It's our time, Em. No matter how this turns out, no matter where you end up because of it all, it is our time to make it work and I will do whatever it takes."
Emily nearly broke down. She wasn't sure what she had done to deserve Paige in her life, over and over again, without her strength or love ever wavering toward her. She bit at her lip and drew in a deep breath and as she continued to fight off tears she managed to give Paige a smile "Are you sure about that?"
Paige let out a soft laugh and her face lit up in a bit of amusement and adoration for the girl sitting with her in that car. She nodded and leaned in to kiss at her lips just once before pulling back and offering her a wide, happy smile "I've been sure about that since I was twelve, Em."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
~Six months later~
Emily groaned as she pulled her scarf around her more tightly. The wind was blowing fiercely in her face as she walked from one class to the other. She had forgotten how much she hated winter. As much as she loved Christmas, she hated winter and that is why she had chosen warm places to live during her college years.
Just as she hit the door of the building where her next class was held, her phone went off. She stepped into the warm lobby and pulled off her gloves. She dug into the pocket of her big puffy coat and pulled out her phone. She smiled when she saw the caller and put the phone to ear "There you are."
"Hey, you" Paige said from the other end of the phone, the smile on her face could be heard in her voice. "How's school?"
"I had to leave my nice warm bed to come to class. You tell me how you think it is?" Emily grumbled playfully.
Paige laughed against the phone "Do I hear a little hostility in your tone? I thought you were a morning person."
"Says the girl that gets to wake up in sunshine and get pampered every day" Emily mumbled flatly.
"I wish I was in the middle of the blizzard with you, trust me" Paige said with a sigh. "But the tour is almost done."
Emily nodded as she moved down the hallway toward her next class "When you're done being a hot shot gold medal winner can we leave Colorado behind forever?"
"Absolutely" Paige said without hesitation. "I mean, until 2020, at least."
Emily smiled at the thought. "I will take three years of warmth where I can get it."
Paige smiled softly, nodding against the phone "You only have until this spring before you're finished with school, you know? After that we will go where ever you want to go."
Emily smiled, letting out a happy sigh. She stopped just outside her next class and glanced at her phone before putting it back to her ear "How about Greece?"
"That sounds perfect" Paige said with a nod.
"I have to go to class" Emily said with a frown.
"I know" Paige nodded. "My interview is about to start anyway."
"I love you" Emily whispered, smiling as she spoke. It still gave her butterflies that she and Paige were doing this. That they were actually succeeding and happy.
"I love you" Paige replied with a happy sigh. "Go learn something."
Emily nodded against her phone and bit at her lip "Call me when you're done?"
"Of course" Paige whispered softly.
Emily nodded against the phone before pulling it away from her ear. She looked at her screen and gave a dreamy smile. She missed Paige but she was more proud of her than words could say. She had won an Olympic gold medal and was now traveling around the country talking to every press outlet there was about it. She knew the excitement from the country would die down soon and Paige would be able to return to her normal life with her. They had waited since they were sixteen to have a normal life together, she could wait a few more months.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.