When you are in love you can't fall asleep, because reality is better than your dreams.

– Dr. Seuss

"Ahhhhhhh!" Pru squealed into the phone as soon as Paige picked up. Paige knew that it wouldn't be long before she heard from her friend, once she had texted her. Pru wasn't much for texting. She needed to hear and, ideally, to see the person whom she was talking to.

Paige filled her in on the conversation with Emily.

"That's so great, Paige. I'm really happy for you – for both of you. I'm just so glad that Emily finally gets to meet this terrific girl."

"Thanks, Pru." Paige was too giddy to argue about the "terrific girl" thing.

"Promise me one thing, though, Paige."

"What's that?"

"Promise me that you'll be yourself. If you two hit it off, that's great. But you don't want her to fall for a make-believe Paige."

"Okay, Pru." Paige had been tempted to say, "Okay, Mom," but Pru was being sincere, and Paige appreciated her advice.

"And it's okay to be nervous. She'll be nervous, too. Just don't worry. No pressure – just enjoy yourself, okay?"

"Okay, Pru. Thanks. I will. I'll try."

"Okay. I'm going to come by at 4:00 and help you figure out what you're wearing."

"Thanks, Pru. You're the best." Paige was grateful that she didn't have to ask.

A little over an hour later, Paige was dressed, casual and simple, for her – whatever it was – with Emily. Not a date. Just coffee. Pru had her in a vise-tight hug, swaying them back and forth. Finally, she released the girl, preening the hair at her forehead a bit and offering one more piece of advice before letting her go.

"Paige, just remember that she's not a goddess. She's a person, just like you."

"I know she's not, Pru," Paige asserted meekly.

"I'm just saying. You've built her up so much in your mind. Just let her be her. Don't be let down when she shows that she's human. Just – you be you, and let her be her."

"Okay, Pru." As much as Paige trusted and appreciated her friend's advice, she just really needed to get out of there. The anticipation and her nerves were killing her. She pulled her friend in for another, quick hug. "Thanks so much for everything, Pru! I need to get going!" Paige glanced around at the rainbow of rejected outfits strewn across the floor of her room. "Would you mind if I leave you to tidy up?"

"Of course not! Go do what you have to do!" Pru kept calling out advice as Paige hurried down the hall. "Have fun! No pressure! Just be yourself!" Then, just before Paige made it to the stairs, Pru yelled out, "And do that thing where you dip your head! It's adorable!"

This statement stopped Paige in her tracks. She turned around and shot her friend a confused look. Pru put her arms in front of her and flicked her hands, shooing Paige onward, "Go! Go!"

Paige's plan was to get to the coffee shop first, to give her body – and her mind – time to calm down before she saw Emily. She was successful. She kept repeating Pru's advice in her head: "Not a goddess. Be myself. Have fun."

Then Emily rounded the corner.

Emily was perfect. Her long, black hair was billowing in the slight breeze, her lean legs, seemingly endless in those black capris, swaying sensually with her every stride, her upper half hugged by an off-the-shoulder skin-tone top under a maroon leather jacket, and Paige could swear that there was a spotlight, somewhere, focused on Emily's radiant face, following the girl as she drew nearer and nearer. Emily was all confidence, assurance, and presence. Paige could feel her own self-confidence melt away with every step that the goddess took.

When Emily saw her standing there, she broke into the warmest smile that Paige could ever imagine, and it was for her, Paige McCullers. Paige could breathe again. It was at that very moment that she realized that she was going to be all right. Emily's smile made everything all right.

"Hi!" Emily said the word with two syllables, casually drawing Paige into a one-armed hug as she did. Okay, she's a hugger. Paige wasn't surprised. She was definitely pleased. As they released, Emily dragged her arm down Paige's shoulder and squeezed her bicep lightly as she added, "Thanks for coming out on short-notice. Shall we head inside," she asked, tilting her head to point inside.

Paige found herself following Emily – through the door and up to the counter – and, because she couldn't think straight in time to form words when the barista looked at her, she followed Emily's order, as well: "That sounds good. I'll have the same." Emily laughed lightly and cocked her head towards Paige as she told the barista, "Great minds think alike!" When it was time to pay, Emily pulled out her wallet, and, before Paige could offer, pulled out a loyalty card and handed it to the cashier, telling Paige, "I have a freebie! Yours is on me."

Paige just nodded with a closed-mouthed smile. She really wanted to say, "Okay! Next one's on me!" but she could never be that bold.

Emily picked up the tray, and Paige followed her to a booth.

Paige had still not gotten over how unbelievably beautiful Emily was. She couldn't help staring out of the corner of her eye at the way that Emily's chest heaved a bit as she shrugged off her jacket. Paige ducked her head immediately and began focusing on lining up her muffin and cup just right on the table, not wanting to get caught staring.

They sat in awkward silence for what, to Paige, seemed like forever. She picked at her muffin and chastised herself for not having drawn up a list of things to talk about. Emily got the ball rolling. "So, Hanna – my blonde friend? – wanted me to tell you that she's really sorry about the other day."

"It's okay," Paige said weakly, not yet looking up.

"I hope you'll give her a chance," Emily continued, leaning in a bit. "Hanna is probably my closest friend, and she really means well. She just looks at the world differently."

"It's okay. I'm not mad," Paige assured her, eyes still focused on the muffin in front of her.

"Really," Emily probed?

"Really," Paige confirmed, finally looking Emily in the eyes, with a slight smile. "How could I be mad at Hanna? If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be sitting here with you right now." Paige just threw it out there, and then she dipped her head before Emily could respond. Oh – so that's what Pru was talking about!

Emily tilted her head back and laughed lightly. "Yes, I suppose you're right," she said, reaching out and squeezing Paige's hand in the middle of the table. Paige warmed at the contact. She knew, from watching Emily and Hanna in Sociology on Wednesday nights, that Emily was a touchy-feely kind of girl, but, still, she couldn't get over the fact that she was sitting at a table with Emily Fields over coffee, and Emily's hand was on top hers. "Thank you, Hanna!" Emily laughed.

"How did you two meet?"

"Oh, I've known Hanna all my life. We grew up together in a small town in the Philly 'burbs. She's always been there for me – when I came out, when I broke up with my ex, when I trekked out here to college."

"She sounds a lot like my friend, Pru."

"I could tell that your friend has your back. We're lucky to have good friends like them, aren't we?"

"Definitely." Paige paused. "Sometimes, it takes a friend to give us that push when we don't even know that we need one," she mused.

"Whoa. Paige McCullers, I think you may have just blown my mind!"

This time, it was Paige reaching across the table to squeeze Emily's hand. It just felt natural. The conversation flowed freely over the next hour or so until, inevitably, the evening had to end. Paige walked out in the direction of Emily's car with her, and Emily, when she realized that Paige hadn't driven, offered her a ride back to the dorms.

Emily pushed the button on her key fob to unlock the doors. She opened the passenger door and began wildly tossing parking stubs, old coffee-cup lids, and random papers into the back seat as she apologized for how messy her car was. She's human! Paige put her hand on Emily's back, because they did that sort of thing now, and assured her that it was fine. Emily stood up and took a quick breath to center herself before turning around to face Paige. Then, without realizing what she was doing, she raised her hand to Paige's cheek and leaned in for a quick kiss.

"Oh, God! I'm so sorry! I have no idea why I did that! I swear that's not who I am, Paige!"

Paige could see that Emily's lips were moving, but she had no idea what the girl was saying. All she could think was that she wanted those lips on hers again. She leaned in and, slowly, nervously, reconnected their lips, feeling Emily's widen into a smile. Paige's hands moved behind Emily's neck as Emily's moved to Paige's waist. Both girls were smiling when they pulled apart. After a few moments of grinning like schoolgirls at each other, Emily broke the silence. "Come on," she said, punctuating her words with a quick peck, "Let's get you home."

The ride home was a blur. Paige remembered holding hands across the console, exchanging giddy grins, and stealing a kiss at a red light. All too soon, she was in front of her dorm, leaning through the window on the driver's side of Emily's car to give her a kiss goodnight. The next thing she knew, she was outside her room, trying to stop her hands from shaking with nervous energy as she aimed the key towards the lock. Once inside, she leaned her back against the door and crumpled to the ground, overwhelmed with joy.

The gray in the walls seemed somehow brighter in the residual glow of Emily Fields.

"You did not!"

Emily was too excited to be sheepish or coy. "I did," she affirmed confidently.

"Emily Fields! You took advantage of that poor, defenseless freshman! What will your mother say?" They were sitting cross-legged on Emily's bed, and Hanna was having fun teasing her best friend.

"It wasn't like that, Hanna! I was freaking out because my car was a mess, and she was going to think that I'm a total wreck, so I was frantically trying to clean it up, and she just said it was okay, and, then I turned around and saw her smiling so sweetly with those lips I'd been staring at for the last hour and a half, and..."

"You kissed her."

"In the moment, it felt right."

"So, what did she do? Give you her impersonation of a cherry lollipop again?" Hanna asked wryly.

"She kissed me back," Emily said softly, hiding her face behind her hands after she got the words out.

"She. Did. Not... Emily!" Hanna let out a squeal and grabbed her friend's hands so that she see her eyes. Emily bit her lip and smiled. "Then what happened?" Hanna prompted.

"I drove her home, and she held my hand the whole way. Then, we stopped at a red light, and she just reached over, turned my head to face her - and kissed me."

Hanna pulled Emily in for a warm embrace. "I'm so happy for you," she whispered into Emily's hair.

Emily had to wipe a tear from her eye. "I'm so happy, too."

"It sounds as if Paige is just what you need."

"Yeah, Han. I think she really is."