"Well, that was unexpected," Emily said, dipping her head and pressing her lips gently against the tip of Paige's thumb. She smiled upward with her eyes and snuggled closer.
Paige chuckled, her expression softening. "You're telling me."
"Are you tired?" Emily asked, nuzzling her head against Paige's chest and beneath her chin.
Paige shook her head and ran her fingers through Emily's long locks of hair. "Not really. I feel kind of restless actually," Paige admitted. She wiggled her legs, her torso, as close to Emily as physically possible.
A shiver travelled up and down her spine as she felt Emily's soft fingertips against her skin, tracing slow circles across her behind, along her thighs and carefully to the front of her body. As Emily's touch reached her belly button and continued to travel downward, Paige held her breath and curled her toes to her feet in anticipation.
Suddenly, she stopped Emily, placing her hand firmly atop the girl's just inches before it slipped between her legs.
"Are you okay?" Emily asked, lifting her head and facing Paige. Paige smiled at her, her lips slightly crooked and mischievous.
"Absolutely," Paige responded, climbing out from beneath the bed covers and holding her hand out to Emily. "Follow me."
Emily stood up but reached back to grab her clothes. Paige stopped her and took both of her hands, leading her out into the hallway. "Seriously? I'm totally naked." Emily's cheeks reddened.
Paige nodded and dropped Emily's hands, holding her arms out wide as she pointed to her own bare body. Her actions were self-explanatory. Emily followed her obediently down the stairs and through the kitchen to a door at the back of the house.
Paige slid open the screen door and stepped out bravely onto the wooden deck in her backyard. She looked to Emily and waved a hand, inviting her to join. Emily stood in a bashful stance, one arm held tight across her body covering her breasts and her other hand hovering between her legs. "Can your neighbours see into your back yard?"
Paige shook her head and held her hand out toward the girl. Emily removed the arm covering her breasts and took hold of Paige's hand. Once she stepped outside in the warm, evening air, her nerves calmed and she allowed her other hand to fall to her side.
After a few steps, Paige let go of Emily's hand and dived gracefully into the clear blue waters of her family's pool. She surfaced, leaning her head back to prevent any hair from getting in her view of Emily. She brushed stray droplets of water from her face and smiled as she swam over to the pool's edge. Playfully, she splashed water onto Emily's feet.
"Come on in. The water's great."
Emily smiled down at Paige but bit down on her lip nervously. She sat down on the pool's edge, slowly sliding the lower part of her body into the water between Paige's arms. Paige grinned at her, wrapping her legs around Emily's as she pulled herself closer.
The two exchanged a long, intimate glance before Paige pressed her lips against Emily's. She felt weightless - because of the water - but also because of the burden of her unspoken feelings for Emily being lifted. She felt like she was on cloud 9.
Emily wrapped her legs around Paige's waist and wrapped her arms around the girl's neck as they kissed, pressing their bodies close together. Paige floated to a shallower part of the pool supporting Emily's body weight until she could stand on both feet. Her hands rested beneath Emily's bottom as they moved together like the waves of the water.
"Paige..." Emily said, breaking from their kiss. "I've never wanted something so bad in my life before. I never imagined I would be here with you, like this."
Paige nodded, her eyes looking deep into Emily's. "Same here. Except, I have to be honest, I've been fantasizing about this moment since the first time I saw you in your black and blue bathing suit in the changeroom. Just having you in my arms right now is like a dream come true..."
Emily wrapped her legs even tighter around Paige's waist, her body lifting as their lips collided once again.
The sound of a door opening and closing inside Paige's house interrupted them causing them to separate quickly.
Paige heard her father's voice and she remained quiet, waiting to hear her mother's. She lifted a finger to her mouth as she faced Emily, glancing around in hopes that she had left a towel or two laying out to dry.
Finally she spotted a single towel and her team jacket. Carefully, she hopped from the pool and grabbed them, setting the towel by the edge of the pool for Emily and wrapping herself in her Rosewood Sharks attire. The two snuck quietly inside the pool house and sat close together on the plush day bed in the corner. Paige watched out the window as her father approached the screen door and looked outside. He closed it and lowered the latch to lock it as Paige lowered her head and sighed deeply. He shut off the lights in the kitchen and presumably went upstairs to bed.
"Did he just...?" Emily began to ask but refused to finish her sentence for fear her suspicions might be true.
Paige nodded. "Yeah. He did. We're locked out."
Emily shrugged and placed a reassuring hand on Paige's back. "At least we're not totally locked out," she said, looking around inside the sparsely furnished pool house. There was a bed, unmade aside from two pillows and a thin, folded sheet. "We have a bit more privacy here, too."
Paige smiled and turned towards Emily, lifting a hand to softly caress her cheek. "You're always thinking on the..."
"Bright side?"
Paige nodded and smiled, nodding her head towards the unmade bed.