"Can you just..." Paige begin, turning her face toward Emily's. "Um... hold me?"
Emily smiled, nodded and nuzzled her chin between the edge of Paige's face and her shoulder. Their bodies pressed closely together, each radiating warmth despite the cool temperature inside the pool house.
"That was close, huh? What do you think your dad would have said?" Emily asked, chuckling.
Paige's jaw hardened after letting out a deep sigh.
"Nothing. He would have said nothing. He would have murdered me right there on the spot. I don't even want to know what he would have done to you."
Emily squeezed Paige tightly from behind and let out a deep sigh of her own.
"Guessing your folks don't know, then?"
Paige shook her head, her fingertips gently tracing circles on the back of Emily's hand pressed against her torso.
"I can't tell them."
"Paige, they love you. They'll under-" Emily began.
"Ever. I can't tell them ever. You don't understand how NOT understanding they are."
Emily propped herself up onto her elbow, her hand drifting up and onto Paige's bare hip. She softly stroked her skin, up past her waist, along her arm and finally to her cheek.
"I do understand. My parents still don't really get why I can't be like Hanna, or Aria. Why I can't just have a boyfriend like all the other girls. But wouldn't you rather tell them the truth than live a lie? I mean, one day I'd like to meet them. As your girlfriend."
Paige smiled, a hint of sadness still lingering behind her eyes. "I envy you, Emily. For being so brave and just not caring what other people think about you. I've always been so terrified of being different."
Emily nodded, leaning down to place a soft kiss on Paige's lips. "Different's not always a bad thing," she said, her breasts resting against Paige's ribcage.
Paige nodded, turning to lay on her back. She rested her arm flat on the bed and invited Emily to come closer. Emily placed her head on Paige's chest, her hand resting gently on the girl's stomach.
"So, how are we going to get back in the house? We can't exactly go and ring your doorbell like this," Emily asked.
Paige pondered, scrunching her face as she did so. "Good question. Are you any good at picking locks?"
Emily laughed. "Seriously? No. What do you think I am? Some sort of criminal?"
Paige squeezed Emily tight in her arms and planted a comforting kiss on her forehead. "Getting back in the house is the last thing on my mind, Em. Let's just stay here for a while and we'll figure it out in the morning."
Emily nodded, closing her eyes. She hadn't felt tired in the pool but suddenly she could hardly keep her eyelids open. She felt comfortable in Paige's arms; safe. Safe was something she hadn't felt in a long time.
"Em?" Paige said quietly, hoping not to wake the girl if she had already fallen asleep.
Groggy and barely awake, Emily let out a small sound.
"This isn't a dream, right? I'm not going to wake up tomorrow without you here. You're just so amazing and this feels like a dream, and if it is, I don't want to wake up."
Paige could hear Emily's breathing quicken and become heavy. She lifted her hand from Emily's shoulder to brush a piece of the girl's hair from her sleeping face.
Paige squeezed her eyes shut tightly and then open again, as if taking a mental image of this moment just in case. If it were a dream, it was the best one she had ever had.