"Dinner tonight?" Paige asked, sidling up next to Emily at her locker.
Emily smiled and leaned over to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek. "Absolutely. But not at my place. My parents are having their running club friends over and they can be a bit intense."
Paige smiled, reaching her arm around Emily and into her locker to tape a photo of them together on the inside of its door.
"Hey, where is that from?" Emily inquired, admiring the photo. It was cute, but she didn't remember that particular moment.
"Last summer. Swim camp. I purposely snuck into the photo beside you. I may have had to put my cropping skills to good use for this, though. I'm hoping this will be the first of many."
Emily smiled and nodded. "So, should we go to The Grill then? Spencer and Toby are going there tonight too."
"A double date with your friends, huh?" Paige said, nodding.
"Is that lame? We can go somewhere if you'd rather. I just thought that-…"
"No, babe, it's not lame. I'd love to. Spencer and I used to play field hockey together but never really talked outside of the ritualistic 'good game' exchange. I want to get to know your friends."
Emily grinned, linking arms with Paige as they walked down the hallway to their last class of the day, chemistry: something they had plenty of.
"So, tell me about your friends. I'd like to meet them too," Emily said. They had reached Paige's locker to pick up her books. As she opened it, Emily noticed the absence of decoration inside. Paige swallowed hard and chewed nervously on her bottom lip.
"Yeah, I'm kind of a lone wolf, I guess…" Paige began. "I don't get along well with other girls, to be honest. I mean, except you. And it's strangely hard to find guys to befriend who don't want in my pants."
Emily laughed. "I can't say I blame them." Paige nudged her playfully and gasped. "Sorry. But, it's cool. Maybe you, Toby, and Caleb can start up a bromance or something."
Paige laughed but the prospect was tempting. She had never felt like she fit in anywhere. The closest she had come to making friends were a group of slightly older teenagers she had met at church. They were all really nice and always made her feel welcome despite their age difference but she knew she would have a harder time getting them to understand her relationship with Emily. In fact, her fear of making friends had always stemmed from questions about her sexuality. She had been afraid of spending too much time as 'one of the guys' in case others caught on, and she worried that spending too much time with other girls would bring on suspicion as well.
"Besides, who needs friends when you have an amazing girlfriend like moi?" Emily said with a grin. Paige nodded. She knew the girl was joking but it was very true. Emily understood her and made her felt special. Both qualities were what had been missing from her life.
When the girls arrived outside of the classroom door, they found a crowd of students mulling around, pushing each other to try and read a note on the door.
"What's up?" Emily asked one of the girls; Brittany from the swim team, who was standing off to the side, texting.
"No class. Looks like we have a spare." The girl didn't once look up from her phone while she talked. Emily shrugged and thanked the girl for the information.
"Care to walk me home?" Emily asked Paige. "We could take the detour and kill some time."
Paige nodded, smiling. She helped Emily on with her jacket and zipped up her own sweater as they walked down the front steps of Rosewood High. Paige turned for a moment and looked back at the school. She turned and looked at Emily. Despite the hard times and bullying she had endured in her years so far at Rosewood, she could be thankful for one thing. She was pretty sure she had met her highschool sweetheart.
Emily sat down on a bench, crossing her one leg under and facing sideways. She patted the seat in front of her, inviting Paige to join her.
"Phew, I was just about to say I needed a break from all this walking. Who knew it took so long on foot? I'm so used to riding my bike," she said, sitting down and facing Emily.
"You're cute," Emily said. Paige blushed and shook her head. "You're not used to accepting compliments, are you?"
Paige shook her head again, this time her smile fading.
"You better get used to it."
The two sat in silence for some time, their fingers intertwined and brushing against each other's soft skin.
"So… can I ask you a question?" Paige said.
"I'm pretty sure that was a question… but, yes." Both girls laughed. Paige lifted her head and looked meaningfully into Emily's eyes.
"What is it that you like about me?"
Emily squeezed Paige's hand gently in both of her own. She saw the way Paige carried herself; her lack of confidence caused her to keep her arms crossed against her chest at all times, afraid to let anyone see her vulnerability. But that changed when she was with Emily. She was still a bit shy and a bit closed off, but the light in her deep brown eyes shone just a bit brighter.
"Honestly?"
Paige nodded.
"I like your hair, and the way you tuck it behind your ears when you're nervous. I like your eyes and the way you dip your head when you're feeling shy. I like your smile, and the way it gets a lot bigger when we're together. I like the way your voice sounds. Especially over the phone when we talk late at night and I can tell you're getting sleepy because it starts to get a little raspier than usual. I like how smart you are but that you don't brag about it."
Emily stops when she notices a tear quivering on the tip of Paige's chin. She reaches out to catch it with her thumb before it drops.
"Paige, why are you crying?"
The girl shrugs and rubs the moisture from her eyes. "Like you said, I'm not using to accepting compliments. I think this is the part where I'm supposed to say thank you."
Emily chuckles, leaning forward to kiss Paige softly on the lips. The kiss, albeit innocent and brief, makes Paige weak in the knees and causes Emily's hands to tremble with exhilaration.
Back at Emily's house, Paige sits on the bed in her sock feet, legs crossed and reading a magazine. She waits patiently while Emily gets changed for dinner.
"Are you sure it's okay for me to go to dinner like this?" Paige asks, looking down at her plain t-shirt and ripped jeans.
Emily emerges from her closet, clad in just a pair of dark pants and a navy blue bra. Paige tries not to stare or drool. Emily smiles in her direction and nods, yanking a black tank-top over her head and adjusting it over her torso. "Totally. You look great." She winks as she slides her arms into the sleeves of a sheer, light-blue blouse.
"Seriously? How did I get so lucky?" Paige says, a thought that began in her head but somehow escaped from her lips.
Emily sits down on the bed beside Paige and leans forward, planting a long kiss on her lips. "I'm pretty lucky too, ya know?"