EMILY POV
The water in front of me seems to never stand still. One way or another, someone is breaking the surface. Whether they are in swim practice, or are cleaning the pool, or even if they are independently practicing, it doesn't matter to me. I become vaguely aware of the similarity between this pool and my own life. For the better part of…I don't even know how many years, someone or something has been making waves and has never been letting me relax back into sweet equilibrium. Into a point where I can float in peace.
When the "A" monsters were finally silenced and sent to prison, I fell back into the arms of an ex who knew just how to comfort me - Paige. But when she was passed over for the swim coach job at the high school, and realized how much time I'd be spending with Allison now that she had begun teaching again, we began to again fall back into the same patterns and fight over the same damn thing. When Paige put before me an ultimatum, I knew that we would never work as a couple. Anyone who really knows me, would know that I don't deal well with ultimatums, and would rather force you to make a choice on your own rather than pick anyone's side. But still she did it. She told me to choose between her and Allison. She took my silence as a sign that I was choosing Allison over her, even though I really wasn't choosing anyone, and broke up with me then and there. I had already mourned the failure of our attempt at a relationship once before, and I refused to do it again. Instead, I went on the prowl, and was swept up in a whirlwind current named Sabrina - yes, another ex. After dating Paige for two months after the sentencing, I began re-dating Sabrina. Everything was perfect. She made me happy, the sex was amazing, and we truly cared for each other. But then I had to ruin it. I was laying beside my sexy girlfriend one evening, and was trying to fantasize a future with her. I got as far as our next chance to be intertwined. For one inexplicable reason I could not see myself building a life with her. I pondered for the next couple of days till I had decided the right course of action. Two days later I ended our 4 month long second-chance with a long conversation and some mind-blowing breakup sex. I mean really. Her tongue was so active, even just thinking about it makes me wet. So here I am now, going on a year and a half of being wonderfully unattached. I cannot begin to explain just how many hot hookups I've had in that time. But… each morning, I wake up and feel a familiar sensation creeping in - loneliness. I long for a deep connection with someone, but I can't seem to make anything stick longer than 3 booty-calls.
The bell shocks me out of my mind, as I realize it's time to change classes. All the girls get out of the pool, and I am aware of my hands and mouth moving in accolades of their hard work, but my mind is still millions of miles away. Thank god the next period is lunch.
I walk into the teacher's lounge and head straight for the fridge where I've stashed my lunch. I had some pasta leftover from last night that I decided I would microwave and eat during lunch. After sufficiently heating up the cold pasta smothered in ground beef and red sauce, I turned around and scanned the faces for a particular one. At last I spotted her, and started heading over to each lunch with the one person who could always lift my spirits - Allison. I sit down and notice she is eating a salad and some grapes. "Why Miss DiLaurentis, I spy an unhealthy portion of meat in your meal! In other words, it's entirely lacking any meat whatsoever." I say and chuckle a little. She rolled her eyes and with a small laugh replied, "God, 'Miss DiLaurentis' makes me feel so old Emily." I laughed a little. "Well, I mean, you should receive just as much professional courtesy and respect as all the other teachers." She let out an audible "ugh", "No, that level of 'professional courtesy' should only be extended to anyone over the age of 60. Like our lovely librarian Mrs. Greenwich." Allison turned her head and gave a brilliant smile to the floral-printed, grandmother-styled hair, librarian of about 75 years of age. I held a burst of laughter in and settled for a chuckle. "Any plans for this lovely Tuesday evening?" I ask. Her face brightens as she says, "Yes! And I want you to come with me!", "What are we doing?" I ask excitedly. Her eyes widen with happiness as she says, "Apartment hunting! I am fed up with living in my old house. All the memories have saturated the walls and I no longer feel like looking over my shoulder when I turn in corner in my own house." I nod approvingly and reply, "Sounds great. Whatcha say we meet at the Brew at 5:30?" She beamed, "Sounds great! That gives me enough time to change into something comfier-" she said adjusting her pencil skirt, "and we'll still have enough time to enjoy a quick latte before we head out." We chatted for a while longer until the bell rang again and we had to go back to our respective classes.
That next period was my conference period, and I had no other classes afterward, so I piddled around my office checking the stats from today's in-school practice, until the bell rang and I was no longer required to be physically present in my office. Understanding that I still needed to put in 8 hours of work today and there was two periods left in the day, I decided to do some practicing myself. I changed into my swimsuit, and went to the pool. I set up a bluetooth speaker with my workout music, and got to work. I dove into the pool, and immediately I felt at home. Being in the water makes me feel like the most perfect form of myself possible. Using my body as a blade to cut through the water, clears my head of all thoughts, and makes me feel the most relaxed as I can be during the school day. I notice the last bell of the day ring, and I hop out of the pool feeling amazing. I shower off, get dressed in a spare set of street clothes I keep around, and make my way to the Brew to see Allison.
I got to the Brew and immediately spotted Allison already sitting down with two lattes in front of her. I went and sat across from her, and we drank and chit-chatted until 6:00. By that time we decided it was the perfect time for apartment hunting.
We window-peaked through a couple ground level apartments, and went inside others where Allison has previously set up a meeting with the landlords. There were a couple that stood out, and there were others that she would have had to been blind and deaf (you could hear the mice and creaking floor boards) to choose. All in all it was a very successful day. Since all the apartments we were checking out were in Rosewood, we decided to just walk everywhere. Allison was walking with me to my apartment. it was about 9:00 and the sun had already set. It was a cool night, and we were having a great time just walking and talking. Suddenly, I heard something, like someone kicked a can. I jumped and pulled both Allison and I into a nearby alley. She chuckled and whispered, "Emily? It's been two years since they were put in jail. Why are you still jumping at the small things? Are you alright?" I sighed and said in a low voice, "I honestly don't know." I shook my head. It was at that time that I realized I still had Allison pinned to the wall, and our bodies were incredibly close. I stared into her eyes for a second too long, and took a step back clearing my throat. She smiled at me and we finished our walk to my apartment. Allison gave me a hug goodnight, and I couldn't help but to notice how her breasts were pressing into me. We parted, and I went inside where a lovely cold shower was waiting to greet me. I finished my shower and laid in bed. I laid there wide awake, and couldn't help but to relive those special moments from tonight with Allison. They kept replaying in my head until I realized a cold shower wasn't going to cut it this time. I slid down my panties, and shoved two fingers inside my own vagina. I pumped furiously until a sweet release when I climaxed. I grabbed a tissue from my bedside and wiped off, and drifted off into a most peaceful sleep.