"Did Vicki talk to you? She told me that she wanted to do some off-season workouts with us," Paige commented as she and Emily headed to the gym to start their off-season training.

"Yeah, I think that it's a great idea."

They walked a little farther, and something occurred to Paige. "I wonder how Bob made out with her family this week."

"I know – he was so nervous about meeting them. You weren't that nervous when you met my parents were you?" Paige laughed out loud. "Oh, yeah, I guess you were."

"God – it seems like forever ago."

After a while, Paige wondered out loud, "Do you think that they've slept together yet?"

"Vicki and Bob?" Emily asked, although she knew whom Paige was referring to. "They haven't. They're taking it slowly."

"Good for them. No need to rush."

"Paige," Emily stopped in her tracks. She was concerned by that comment. "Do you think that we rushed?"

"Oh, no, Em! God, no. No, we waited until we were both ready. It was perfect. The timing was perfect."

"It was, wasn't it?" Emily started walking again.

"Remember when we got to the cabin? I was freaking out at the state of it." Emily chuckled at the memory. "Remember what you told me?"

"Chill out, it doesn't matter?"

"You told me that, whatever happened, it was going to be perfect, because it was the two of us. You have no idea how much that helped me to relax. And you were right. None of that other stuff mattered. It was us, together, and it was perfect."

"I wouldn't change a thing," Emily agreed.

Even though they were still training almost every day, Paige and Emily found themselves with a little more free time now that the season was over. Of course, they were still spending a lot of time in the gym and the pool, and they were attending one of the top schools in the nation, so it was by no means a cake walk. They did, however, find that they had more time for each other and other pursuits.

Paige decided to take motorcycle classes. She wanted to be sure that Wayne Fields would have no reason to object to letting her ride his bike when she visited Rosewood in the summer. Classes met on a Saturday morning at a driving school a few miles from campus. There were several hours of classroom sessions before the students were allowed to get near the bikes.

The driving school had a store where they sold gear and accessories. After the first class, Paige took a selfie in a leather motorcycle jacket, holding a helmet under her arm. She sent it to Emily, asking "Still think that me & a bike is such a bad idea?" Emily had to admit that Paige was making a very convincing case.

A couple of weeks later, when the lessons finally moved out of the classroom, they started small, doing pre-ride checks, braking, putting one's foot down, laying the bike down, and basic maneuvers. The students were all itching to get on the track and get up to speed, but the instructors – and the school's insurance policy – were adamant about putting safety first.

When Paige finally got to get onto the track, it was so much better than she could have imagined: The power, the speed, the agility; the feel of the wind, the rush of adrenaline. The only thing missing was Emily, behind her with her arms encircling her waist, holding on tight.

The driving school had cameras mounted around the track so that they could show the students anything that they did wrong. They also offered copies of some of the better pictures for sale. One of the cameras captured a great shot of Paige, all in black, leaning into a turn as her hair flew behind her. She bought a copy to post above her desk in the room. She took a picture of the picture and texted it to Emily with the words, "The only thing that's missing is you."

Paige found a frame for the 8x10 picture and put it on the shelf above her desk, so that she could look up and see it when she got frustrated as she studied. Somehow or another, though, the picture kept finding its way over to the shelf above Emily's desk.

On the last day of class, Paige got a certificate, which was supposed to get her a discount on motorcycle insurance. She also took and passed the test for a Class M1 license.

The deadline to sign up for room draw for the 2015-2016 academic year was approaching fast, and Paige and Emily's discussion was growing tense.

"Don't you want an apartment off campus, away from everybody, with showers that we don't have to share with the entire floor – and with an adult-sized bed?"

"Paige, there's no way that my parents would let me move into an apartment with you."

"Why not? We've been living together all year!"

"In a dorm, Paige. It's different."

"How is it different? What can we do in an apartment that we can't do in the dorm room?" The smirk that Emily gave in reply said, "Puh-leeze."

"Wait, your parents don't know that we've – you know... done stuff?"

Emily laughed. "As far as my Mom's concerned, I'm still a virgin. And this whole lesbian thing is just a phase. You know, she expects me to pull an Anne Heche any day now."

"Didn't you once tell me that you could never put anything over on a Filipina, because they're very intuitive?"

"That doesn't mean that we can't also be in denial!"

"Well, if you've been able to resist temptation when we're bumping up against each other in this cramped little room, why wouldn't you be able to resist in an apartment?"

"It doesn't do you any good for you to convince me, Paige." Emily was more weary than annoyed of this discussion. "Pam Fields is the one whom you have to convince. And she's a much tougher sell. Do you want to call her?"

Paige paused to think it over. "What if we were married?" She asked, mostly joking. She was excited enough at the thought of getting a place with Emily to make the idea almost seem reasonable.

Emily glared at her. "I'm not getting married just to get an apartment off-campus. And I love you, Babe, but I'm not marrying anybody before I finish school!"

"Well, how about this: I can get an apartment, you get a room on campus, and you can just "unofficially" move in with me."

"First of all, my parents would never fall for that, and second, you wouldn't be able to afford an apartment by yourself."

"I could get a roommate!" Emily smacked her arm and gave her a death glare. "Well, we've got to do something, Em!" Paige whined. "The deadline to sign up for room draw is Friday!"

"I've got it! I've got it!" Paige shook Emily awake in the middle of the night. "You and Vicki can get a room in the dorms, and Bob and I can rent an apartment. That way, Bob can move into Vicki's dorm room, and you and I can share the apartment!"

"What time is it?" Emily asked, groggily. She found her phone and saw that it was about five minutes to three. "You woke me up for that?"

"It's brilliant!"

"First of all, why would Vicki and Bob agree to take the dorm? Wouldn't they want the apartment, if he's paying rent, too?"

"I can make him a deal – 60/40 split on the rent. My Dad will pony up – I'll just tell him that it's better for my swimming and my studies. Too many distractions on campus!"

"Second," Emily continued, not even taking the time to refute that argument, "who says that Bob and Vicki even want to move in together? That's a huge step, especially when it comes to living in a cramped dorm room, as you so wisely pointed out the last time we discussed this."

"But, it worked for us!"

"We're different."

"How are we different?"

Emily looked at her as though she had never heard a more ridiculous question. "We're soulmates," she replied, her expression adding Duh!

Paige pursed her lips and tilted her head, acknowledging Emily's point. "I will not be deterred, Emily Fields! I will find a way to make this happen!"

"Oh, fuck it. Let's just get some sleep. I'll call my Mom in the morning."

"Really?"

"The worst that she can do is say no."

"No, the worst that she can do is pull you out of Stanford and send you to a monastery."

"Nunnery."

"Whatever."

"... And that's why Paige and I were thinking," Emily had her eyes closed, and she was biting her finger. Paige stroked her thigh for support. Emily agreed to let her in the room only after she promised that, no matter what, she wouldn't make a sound. "… that we should get an apartment together. Off campus."

The phone went silent. After a while, Emily held it away from her face, looking at it to ensure that the call hadn't been dropped. Finally, she heard her mother's stern voice on the other end. "Don't you lie to me, Emily Fields. Are you and Paige sleeping together?"

Emily closed her eyes again and dug her fingernails into Paige's arm. Paige kept her word, though, and didn't make a sound. "Mom, we've been… sharing a bed for a few months, now." Emily paused, to allow her mother to freak out, but the line remained silent. "But we weren't sleeping together, not at first. After the holidays, we decided that we both loved each other and that were both ready, so we slept together. We're… sleeping together"

Pam Fields winced into the phone. Emily could only imagine the facial expression that she was making. "Well," she said at last, in a soft voice, "Thank you for not lying to me, Emmy. You know how your father and I feel about that. It has nothing to do with Paige or with the fact that you two are…" Emily rolled her eyes at her mom's struggle to say the word. " – same-sex. But how we feel is not the point here. You girls have made that decision, and there's nothing that your father and I can do about it. We're not going to try to monitor your every decision from way out here. And you're adults. So, we're just going to trust the way that we raised you, and trust that you girls have enough discipline and maturity to handle this situation."

"Of course, Mom. We wouldn't even ask you about it if we hadn't discussed it ourselves and agreed that we can handle it responsibly."

"Your father and I agreed to let you go to school on the other side of the country because we trusted you for the young lady that you've become, and, even though we don't necessarily agree with your decisions, we trust that you're making those decisions based on what's best for your future, not just what feels good right now."

"Yes, Mom."

"I mean, I know that it's going to be fun to have your own place, and that you're going to feel as though you're all grown up, but, just remember that you're not on your own yet. Your father and I are still paying your bills. And we're doing that as an investment in your future. We'd like to think that you're investing in your future, too."

"I know, Mom. I am. And I appreciate the sacrifices that you and Dad are making."

"Okay, Emmy. You know that we love you and we trust you to behave responsibly."

"I love you, too, Mom."

"Okay, Honey. Is Paige there?"

"Yes, she's here," Emily said with a quizzical look towards her girlfriend. When Paige heard those words, she started uncrossing her arms in front of her stomach, mouthing the word "NO!", and miming locking her lips with an imaginary key to remind Emily of her vow of silence. Emily handed her the phone. Paige prepared herself for a dressing down.

"Hello, Mrs. Fields?... I'm sorry – 'Pam?' Yes… Yes… Oh, we had fun in Rosewood, too… No, I'm not sure about this summer. Emily and I have talked about volunteering at Rosewood High's swim camp… Yes, that would be great. I'd love to see you, too… I do, I love her very much… I will, Mrs. – Pam! Yes, thank you… Okay, here's Emily" Paige let out a deep breath once the phone was back in Emily's hands.

Emily said a quick good-by to her mom before she hugged Paige enthusiastically. "I can't believe it!" she squealed into Paige's ear. "So, what did she want to talk to you about?"

"Just chit-chat, actually. No death threats. No, 'My husband's got a gun.'"

"You were expecting that?"

"Kind of. I was expecting some kind of warning about cohabiting with her daughter. I guess she figured she covered it all with you."

"I guess so. Ahhhhh! Paige! We're getting our own place!"

"Um, Emily?"

"Yeah, Paige?"

"Does he have a gun?"

"Of course, he does, Paige! But you don't…"

"All right!" Paige couldn't contain her excitement.

"… have to worry?" Emily completed her thought, somewhat puzzled. "Why does that excite you?"

"Rosewood. Summer. Motorcycles. Gun ranges."

Finding a good apartment was proving to be more difficult than Paige and Emily had anticipated. There were many students – graduate and undergraduate – competing for scarce resources: affordable, clean apartments near campus with landlords who weren't crazy.

It was the sort of undertaking that required knowing somebody. They tried their friends on the swim team, but those apartments were passed down from seniors to juniors, with little or nothing left over for freshmen.

Finally, out of pure desperation, Emily thought that it couldn't hurt to call their friends the Herndons, and, sure enough, they knew somebody; – a mechanical engineering professor who used to fly in the same club as Fred. He and his wife had an investment property that they rented out only on the basis of personal recommendation; consequently, it had gone empty for the past two school years. The Minters didn't really need the money, and they had a soft spot for students, especially ones whom Fred and Gloria thought so highly of, so the rent was way below market value. It turned out to be the perfect solution.