It took the better part of two weeks for Paige and Emily to be able to settle down their urges and just sleep together - without sleeping together - again. Paige's fears proved justified, as it turned out to be harder to put out the flames of passion, once they had been lit, than to avoid igniting them in the first place. As Paige explained it, it's easier to say no to smoking if one has never smoked than to stop smoking, once one has started.
"So, Emily's like your cigarette?" Vicki joked.
"Yes, yes she is. She's smoking hot, and I can't wait to wrap my lips around her and. . ."
"Okay!" Bob interrupted. "I believe that you've painted a sufficiently detailed picture, Paige!
It really was difficult setting limits when Paige and Emily spent so much time together. The fact that they were so physically attracted to each other, coupled with the fact that their sport was swimming – parading around each other in skimpy, wet swimsuits that clung to their curves – only added flames to the fire. If that had been all that there was to life at Stanford – rooming together and swimming – they would have had no problem: Swimming in the mornings, sex in the afternoons, workouts in the evenings; lather, rinse, repeat. However, there was much more to college life than that, and their late-night make-out sessions had the dual effects of taking away from their study time on the one hand, and making them too tired to concentrate in their classes on the other hand.
So, they had to put limits on themselves. They resolved to work things out in a manner that would still allow them to sleep in the same bed. They knew that their unbroken string of nights together would have to end eventually, so they wanted to enjoy the experience for as long as they could. They set up a schedule: Two hours of study time after dinner; all romantic activities had to end by midnight.
They allowed themselves one cheat-night per week.
They also thought that it would help them to cool things down if they got out of their own private bubble. They started actively planning time with other people. This is how they found themselves at dinner with Vicki and Bob on a Friday night.
"Well, the cabin sounds great," Vicki said. Turning to Bob, she added, "Wouldn't it be great if we could get a weekend away?"
"I'm sure that my cousins wouldn't mind if you two wanted to use the cabin! It doesn't seem to be getting a lot of use, from the state that we found it in when we got there." Paige gave Emily a confused look. Emily had put her hand on Paige's thigh when Paige started making the offer, as if to keep her from saying the wrong thing.
Emily spoke up, "When you're ready, of course." Emily knew that Vicki and Bob cared for each other, but they hadn't been together that long. She and Paige had been immersed in each other: swimming together, living together, spending holidays together, and meeting each other's family and friends. She didn't want Vicki and Bob to think that they had to rush things to match Paige and Emily's timeline. Emily wanted both of them to be as confident and content about the next step as she and Paige were.
Emily grabbed Paige's hand on top of the table as a visual indication of the connection that she was about to discuss. "Paige and I knew that we loved each other long before we decided to take that step. We both knew that it was coming, but we waited until it felt right to both of us. When the time was right, we both knew that it was right. So, just saying, the cabin's going to be there, right Paige? You guys don't have to rush."
"Relationship advice from Dr. Em!" Paige gave Emily a kiss, to show how proud she was of her good advice.
"Right," Bob said, "We wouldn't want to come back chainsmoking!"
Vicki tilted her head and looked at him cross-eyed. "Robert, you know that I'm a swimmer! And, even if I weren't, smoking is just about the worst thing that I could do to my body!"
"I know, V! I was referring to Paige's cigarette analogy!"
"Ohhh!" Vicki replied, still not really getting it, but admiring the way that her boyfriend's mind worked.
After dinner, they headed over to catch the "4Ever Deen Hunger Games Marathon" at the Film Society. The society was running the movies on continuous loop from Friday night through Saturday afternoon for $10, come and go when you please. The two couples decided to hang out and watch for as long as they could take it. They walked in during the Jabberjays scene from Catching Fire. Vicki, seated between Emily and Bob, turned out to be quite the film geek, to everyone's surprise, and she supplied behind the scenes commentary and technical insight into the special effects. Bob was rather impressed.
Paige was trying her best to get into the marathon, but she was distracted. She and Emily hasn't had their cheat night this week, and Paige's body was missing Emily's. After a while, her hand found its way onto Emily's thigh, where it began rubbing circles with slightly increasing intensity. Emily looked over at her with a smile; a no-nonsense, shut-it-down smile. So, Paige put her hand back into her lap. She couldn't stop her foot from slipping out of its shoe and working its way up and down Emily's calf muscle. Emily tried to placate her girlfriend with a quick kiss on the cheek and a whispered "Later!" in her ear. She cocked her head towards Vicki and Bob to remind Paige that the whole purpose of the night was to spend some time with other people so that they could cool down their hormones. Paige rolled her eyes and slumped down dejectedly in her chair. She stared down at her fingers as she idly tapped them against each other. Emily looked over at her, sitting there like a scolded puppy. She was so damned cute. Emily decided to throw her a bone, reaching around to the far side of Paige's face and turning her head so that she could give her an innocent kiss. That was the plan, anyway. Paige misread or deliberately disregarded Emily's signals and pulled her in to kiss her harder. Emily opened her mouth and allowed Paige to deepen the kiss, enjoying the taste of cappuccino on Paige's tongue. They soon lost awareness of everyone else around them, including the couple that was sitting right next to them.
Vicki and Bob, on the other hand, were very aware of Paige and Emily, and it wasn't long before they found themselves catching fire. Both couples quickly lost track of the time and of their surroundings. They couldn't tell you how much of the trilogy they had seen,nor did they notice how many people started down the row that they were sitting in, only to turn around when they realized that it was the make-out row. It's a safe bet that the backs of their heads showed up on someone's Instagram that night.
There was much buttoning and zipping up to be done by the time both couples decided that they needed to take their activities to a more private locale. There was an unspoken agreement to settle down and watch more of the movie before they got up and left, to give at least some pretense that they weren't going to do what each couple knew that the other was going to do. As they waited for a good point at which to leave, Paige whispered into Emily's ear, "I'd better give my cousins a call about the cabin!" gesturing with her head to how Vicki and Bob were entertaining themselves. Emily smacked her playfully in the chest, but she knew that Paige was right.
Later that evening, Vicki and Bob, without the other's knowledge, each texted Paige and Emily, thanking them for a great couples' night.
"I hope that we didn't corrupt them," Emily said, as she and Paige crawled into bed. Paige laughed, but Emily was actually worried. "I mean, I'd hate to think that we pushed them to do something that they're not ready for yet."
Paige rubbed Emily's shoulder to reassure her. "They're adults. They're not high school kids. I don't think that they're going to jump into anything. I mean, we didn't. We had some hot and heavy times, but we knew that it wasn't the right time. Vicki's got a level head. They'll be okay."
Emily rolled over to face Paige. "God, Paige, what were you thinking tonight?" she asked, wide-eyed, with an impish grin on her face, as she teased her finger up and down the center of Paige's torso. "I mean, we were in a public place, and we were there with another couple!"
"I was thinking, 'If she doesn't kiss me, I'm going to explode!'"
"Yeah?" Emily asked and Paige nodded. "Well, we can't have you exploding, can we?" Emily gave her a searing, passionate kiss. "Not yet, at least," she added, as her hand meandered down Paige's side.
Paige grabbed Emily's ass, pulling her in tight and rubbing circles on her cheeks. "I need you so much right now, Emily!"
Emily stared intensely into Paige's eyes as she reached under Paige's clothes and between her thighs. "Shit! You're so fucking wet, Paige!"
"I told you – I need you, Em!" Emily let out a moan. Paige's wetness – and the way that she had said "Em" – were driving her crazy. While her hand kept up its rhythm, she locked lips with Paige, feeling Paige's moans in her mouth. Soon, their pajamas were off, and Paige was shamelessly groping Emily's ass with one hand, pinching her own nipple with the other. Emily rolled Paige onto her back and straddled her pelvis. She reached up to let down her hair, knowing how much that turned Paige on. Paige didn't miss a moment of the spectacle: the rise of Emily's ribcage and the swell of her breasts as she reached her hands behind her head, the way she swished her head back and forth, her eyes closed, as she unleashed her locks, the cascading bounce of each of her curls as they landed on her shoulders and back, the look of pure lust in Emily's eyes as she returned her gaze to Paige. Paige was biting her lip and looking up at Emily as if looking up at a vision of angels. She reached both hands to Emily's bosom, and Emily threw her head back and started rocking herself forward and back atop Paige, moaning in ecstasy. Just that movement was stimulating Paige, but Emily kicked it up a notch, reaching behind herself and adding her fingers to the mix. It was a sensation that Paige had never experienced or imagined, and it caused her to squirm uncontrollably. Her grip on Emily's breasts became painfully tight, and Emily screamed out, "Yes!" as she plunged deeper into Paige.
As wave after wave of pleasure crashed upon Paige, she did her best to keep her eyes open. The view of Emily coming undone was getting Paige off almost as much as Emily's movements on top of her and inside her. She grabbed Emily's hips, pulling her body down more forcefully on top of her and increasing the pace of her movements back and forth on Paige's pelvis. Emily lost control. She gripped both of Paige's wrists, holding on for dear life as her abdominals tightened and she came, moaning and screaming. Paige, still needing release, put her hands around Emily's back and pulled her down on top of her, holding her while she recovered. As Emily's breath started to even out, she leaned back from Paige a little and gave her an apologetic pout. Paige brushed the hair away from Emily's face and gave her a half-smile to let her know that it was okay.
Emily moved onto her side, with Paige's arm around her. She started kissing the side of Paige's neck and sucking on her earlobe. Her hand was running the loop around Paige's breasts and up and down from her ribcage to her navel. Paige was pulling Emily in closer, savoring the feel of her girlfriend's soft, warm skin. Emily's fingers finally wandered down where Paige needed them, slipping easily inside her. Emily's mouth moved down to Paige's nipples. The smell of Emily's shampoo, as her hair teased up and down under Paige's nose, stoked memories of the first time they had spent the night in bed together, the first time that Paige had been the one whom Emily came running to, the first time that she had experienced the feeling of being Emily's rock. A thought came back to her that she hadn't been able to admit to herself at the time, and that she still couldn't admit to Emily. But the thought rang out in her mind, louder and clearer than it ever had before.
I'm going to marry this girl someday.