Emily sits against her headboard reading a book in the early evening. She glances every so often at the now peaceful blonde lying down asleep next to her. Alison's face is tear stained, and her hair is a mess, but she's finally asleep again. When Emily had walked into the bedroom and seen Alison looking so upset, she hadn't understood why. She still doesn't, she doesn't get why the blonde thinks that she's the one who messed up, as if she's the one who drugged herself.
But all she managed to do was rub Ali's back softly and tell her it's okay, that she didn't mess it up, and to sleep. Gradually, the blonde had drifted off again after taking Advil.
The brunette isn't sure how much more time passes as she sits there reading but she becomes so absorbed in the book that she doesn't notice blue orbs finally staring at her, watching her carefully. When she glances at Alison to check on her, she's startled to see dead blue eyes fixed on her.
"I didn't realize you were awake," Emily apologizes as she puts her book down on the bedside table and Alison just nods. She looks defeated in every sense of the word. "How's your headache?"
"It's almost gone," Alison says quietly.
"That's good," Emily tries to say encouragingly but an awkward silence lingers between them. Emily's not sure why it's awkward but she has a feeling it's because Ali looks so empty.
"I think I should go home."
Alison avoids Emily's eyes and sits up, realizing she's wearing a pair of Emily's oh-so-soft sweat pants. But when Emily doesn't answer, she looks up and sees the brunette staring back with the saddest eyes. She looks betrayed and hurt, and Alison almost gasps because she's not sure how she could make one person care about her so much that it hurt to see her go.
"Don't look at me like that," Alison mumbles as she avoids eye contact once more. But her eyes find their way right back to Emily's big, brown ones that are shimmering with tears. "I don't want to cause any more trouble."
"We should talk," Emily tries but Alison immediately closes up, afraid of what Emily will say to her. She doesn't want to hear about how she shouldn't work at the strip club, how she's better than that, how she can probably get a better job- because she doesn't think Emily will understand. And, she can see the brunette offering her money and a place to stay, out of what she perceives as pity.
"Please just take me home," Alison softly begs and she hates how pathetic she knows she sounds. "That's all I want right now."
"Fine," Emily says quietly as she shoves the covers back and gets up out of bed, clearly hurt.
"Emily…"Alison tries to speak but she doesn't know what to say. The blonde just continues to sit there, completely still and silent.
Emily grabs a jacket and pulls it on as she slips into her shoes. She goes over to her dresser and takes a neatly folded sweater and pair of jeans off of the top. After she puts them into a bag, she puts it in front of Alison. Without another word, she shuffles and grabs her keys before heading out of the bedroom.
"Are you coming?"
x
Emily's knuckles are white from her tight grip on the steering wheel. Her shoulders are tense, and her eyes are focused on the road in front of her. She can't think about anything other than the blonde sitting next to her, and that alone drives her crazy. It doesn't make any sense to her how somebody she's known for barely three days can affect her this much, how she can feel this much of a draw towards the blonde.
Alison can see the brunette's tense body out of the corner of her eye. She knows she can't leave her like this because Emily is the only person that has truly taken care of her in years (aside from Cece). And that just wouldn't be right.
So she forces herself to bury her insecurities, her pressing thoughts, and to take care of Emily the way the brunette has taken care of her.
The brunette almost swerves when she feels a warm feeling on her thigh and realizes the blonde has laid her hand on her, right above her knee, squeezing gently.
"I'm not ready to talk about it yet," Alison says timidly and even though Emily isn't looking directly at her, she knows that the brunette is listening from the way her breath exhales immediately, relief painted across her face. So she lets her thumb stroke slowly and kindly as she speaks. "Or about anything really. I just need some time to myself okay?"
Emily nods, not saying anything.
"I don't work tomorrow. We could get dinner, it could be like a date, if you want?"
Emily just nods again.
"Will you please say something?"
"Okay," Emily simply replies. She pulls up and parks in the garage under an apartment complex. Alison doesn't want to just hop out of the car and leave. But she can see Emily doesn't want to invite herself up.
"Will you walk me to my door?"
The brunette complies and they walk silently up two flights of stairs to Alison's apartment and when they get there, Ali makes no move to open it.
"Look, these past few days have been…intense," Alison starts to say slowly as she leans against her back against the door. She sees Emily's eyes watching her carefully. "And I've loved spending time with you, I mean you gave me the best Christmas I've ever had."
"Really?"
"Really," Ali confirms with a small smile as she tugs on the brunette's hand and pulls her closer. The least she could give Emily is the truth of how wonderful it was. "Last night was just…it was a lot. I want to talk to you about it, but I need to think for a little bit. You understand don't you? I'm sorry sometimes I seem like I'm trying to run away."
"I'm just afraid you'll shut me out completely," Emily admits softly.
"I'm running away from my own problems, not from you. The truth is, I don't think I can stay away from you," Alison tells her with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She watches Emily finally smile a bit so she tugs on her even closer, satisfied that she's finally got the brunette back to an okay state of mind. Emily, who she's known for 3 days, matters more to her than people she's known for years. "Are you going to kiss me before you leave?'
Emily smiles fully this time- she can't help the grin that spreads across her face. Ali leans against the door and pulls Emily against her, tilting her head up to kiss the brunette and soft lips gently move against Alison's.
She feels intoxicated again, but in the best way possible. The way Emily's body is pressed against her and the movement of her lips, her warm tongue massaging her own- it makes Alison go dizzy and lightheaded. She doesn't even realize she whimpers as Emily kisses her harder and then pulls back, wistfully.
"So dinner tomorrow night, 6 o'clock?" Emily breathes as she leans back.
"Perfect, pick me up?"
"Already planned on it."
"Goodnight Emily," Alison says as she steps forward and hugs the taller girl. "Thank you for everything."
And so they split, both girls already thinking about the next night.
X
"Will you stay still?" Cece growls as Alison fidgets in the chair. The older blonde has almost burned Alison's head multiple times with the curling iron because the girl simply won't sit still.
"I don't want to be not ready when she comes," Alison says as she looks at her watch with such angst that Cece rolls her eyes.
"Alison DiLaurentis it's only four o clock, calm the fuck down," Cece says in a jokingly harsh voice as Alison sheepishly grins at her in the mirror.
"She's beautiful, I just want to be good enough for her," Alison tells her sincerely.
"Emily is gorgeous," Cece agrees. "She could be a model if she did her makeup properly and dressed up. But you're gorgeous too, Ali."
"Not like she is," Ali sighs. "She's beautiful on the inside and outside."
"Cheesy much?" Cece gives her a look in the mirror and Alison shrugs it off.
"She really sees me for me."
"What did she think about the whole Darren thing?"
Alison freezes and Cece looks at her weirdly. "What?"
"Why would I tell her about Darren?"
"Cause he's part of your past?" Cece explains with a confused look as she lets a section of hair bounce into a loose curl. "I thought you said you talked about the past with her."
"I told her vaguely about my family, and how many boyfriends I've had. Why would I even want to go into detail about that? How was that supposed to go? 'OH by the way Emily, my ex boyfriend Darren was a police officer who stalked me and almost kidnapped me?!'"
"You said she was abused! I thought maybe you tried to relate to her-"
"The last thing Emily needs to know is how fucked up that whole situation was," Alison says defensively. "Nobody needs to know about that."
"Well too late I already mentioned it to her," Cece says unapologetically and Alison stands up and whips around so fast that Cece has to reflexively swing the curling iron back so it doesn't burn Ali.
"What do you mean you mentioned it to her?!" Alison's eyes are piercing and she looks furious. But Cece is unaffected, used to dealing with Alison's antics.
"I mean I briefly mentioned it to her, I didn't even say his name," Cece says nonchalantly waiting for Alison to sit down. "All I said was something about how you're like my little sister because you came here and had nobody cause of some stupid ex. And that's all true."
"I don't want Emily to know about him-"
"Why? What the hell is so wrong with this nice, sweet, loving girl, who has been hurt too, finding out about your crazy ex? She clearly has one."
"Because it makes me look dumb, I put myself in a bad situation," Alison tries to argue.
"Sweetie you work at a strip club, that's already a bad situation," Cece reminds her dryly and Ali just glares at her.
"You know why I have to."
"You don't have to use your money like that. You choose to. We've gone over this."
Alison keeps a stormy face as she stares down Cece who rolls her eyes again and sighs.
"Look. I think you should talk to Emily. She seems like she'd understand. And I like how she's so willing to take care of you. Sometimes you should let someone take care of you babe. You haven't dated or gotten close to anyone since Darren, at least talk to her about it."
"She doesn't need to know-"
"She does," Cece counters firmly. She looks at Alison who has no more words left. "If you want this to work out between the two of you, you have to open up completely. I'm not saying bare your soul tonight, but you have to eventually."
X
"Hi."
Alison's soft voice jolts Emily out of her stare as she looks at the blonde wearing a very fitting black dress that clings to her curves with black tights underneath. She's holding a red peacoat in one arm and wearing heels almost bringing her up to Emily's height. Her blonde curls are cascading down her shoulders and she smells wonderful, Emily thinks.
"Sorry," Emily blushes as she finally makes eye contact with the blonde. She herself is wearing tights under a skirt with a plain but nice white top.
"Don't be sorry," Alison smiles and shuts the door behind her. "You look adorable."
Emily blushes and feels Alison grab her hand and lead her down the hall. They begin to walk down the stairs and get to the middle landing when Alison grabs Emily and pushes her against the wall.
Before the brunette can ask what's going on, Alison grips her face between both her hands and presses her lips to Emily's in a searing kiss that makes the brunette's knees go weak once more.
"I've been wanting to do that all day," Alison says sheepishly as she pulls away. But she's pleasantly surprised when Emily flips them and pins her against the wall, kissing her and pulling on her bottom lip.
"Me too," Emily whispers as she kisses Ali chastely before pulling back and grabbing her hand again.
The two of them make it to dinner, and Alison is stunned at the restaurant aesthetics. It's dark on the inside with dim lighting, and every decoration probably cost more than Alison could imagine. She has only seen menus like this in passing, and she has certainly never eaten at a restaurant like this.
"Sorry, is this too much?" Emily asks shyly, noticing Ali's amazement.
"I feel bad that you're spending all this money on me," Alison says gently. "But it looks wonderful."
"Well, actually, I have this gift card," Emily says with a smile pulling one out of her purse. "My friend Hanna's mom gave it to me a while ago for my birthday. It's for $150."
"Wow, that was generous," Alison notes.
"Order whatever you want," Emily encourages. "How about a glass of wine?"
"Wine's always good," Alison agrees and so Emily orders two glasses of red wine and the two make small talk while drinking slowly. By the time they order food, they're feeling warm and fuzzy.
"I have to go back to Rosewood this weekend. I'm driving back tomorrow," Emily tells her as they wait for their food.
"Where's that again?"
"A town west of here," she explains as she picks at the bread on the table. "My parents want to see me and are mad at me for not spending Christmas in town with one of them.
"Well you shouldn't have to pick sides," Ali says thoughtfully. "Who are you going to stay with?"
"Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to come. I don't want to face my parents alone, and if I bring a girl they'll be less inclined to fight right in front of me, or with me," Emily says sadly.
"Of course I'll come with you," Alison says warmly. "I know all about family drama, believe me."
"Yeah it sounds like it," Emily says sympathetically. "We can stay in a hotel near Hollis. That's the college most of my friends attend. It's less awkward than picking sides."
"You sure you're okay with that?" Alison asks in a low voice.
"I'd love that," Emily says quietly and Alison can practically feel the sexual tension building monumentally between them quickly.
"I have to take off work," Alison thinks aloud, distracting herself.
"Do you mind doing that, is it a problem?" Alison sees Emily's brows furrow, worriedly, and she shakes her head.
"No, not since it's for you."
They make it through dinner and back to Emily's place. But as soon as they shut the door Alison jumps into Emily's arms, kissing her desperately, wanting to feel all of the brunette's love. She almost knocks the taller girl over but Emily manages to steady herself and walk them into the bedroom before laying Alison down on the bed, her body following and landing on top of her. They kiss for an extended period of time- their tongues clashing and exploring each other's mouths, and their hands roaming up and down each other's bodies.
But Emily is the first to stop, panting, and pulling Alison close to her. "Ali," she whispers softly.
"Mhm?"
"I'm scared," she says softly against Ali's neck and the blonde's heart flutters.
"You have nothing to be afraid of," Alison says soothingly as she leans up to hover above Emily. "But we don't have to keep going."
"I want to," Emily says frustrated. "I'm just nervous."
"Of what, Em?"
"Of being…I don't know…" Emily struggles to say it out loud but Alison pushes a strand of hair behind her ear and caresses her cheek. She trusts Alison, the way she's looking at her makes her relax. "Of being bad at...you know."
"Oh, babe," Alison says gently as she strokes the soft skin on Emily's cheek. "You really don't have to worry about that. I swear. I can almost cum sometimes from the way you kiss me, I'm not even concerned about sex."
Emily blushes deeply and Alison finds it amusing how shy the brunette is about things like this.
"Trust me, you'll see, when the time is right," Alison says in a very low voice as she kisses her while sliding her hand up Emily's shirt and grabbing her left breast. She takes her time to tease the straining nipple with her fingers while she bites lightly on Emily's lip and sucks on it, the brunette suddenly moaning loudly.
"See how easy it is to just lose yourself in it?" Alison asks in a low husky voice. "I forget everything when you're with me like this except for how much I want you."
Emily nods hastily and Alison continues to tease her until the brunette is squirming uncontrollably, her moans becoming louder and louder, and so she decides to give her a break. They lay there in silence for a few minutes, Alison curled up into Emily's side.
"Are you still scared?"
"I don't think so," Emily replies, hugging Alison tightly.
"Good," Alison says kindly as she presses a kiss to her cheek. "Should I be nervous about meeting your family tomorrow?"
"My friends will probably be more intimidating, well, actually, both my family and friends can be pretty intimidating," Emily admits. "But I'll be right there. I won't let them do anything."
X
"Hanna shut your mouth you're going to catch flies," Spencer says dryly as the girl gapes at the two visitors. Alison feels awkward as she stands there holding the brunette's hand tightly, but Emily might be squeezing even tighter.
"Guys this is Alison," Emily says cautiously. "Ali this is Aria, Hanna, and Spencer."
"I know you said you were bringing a girl you were seeing but holy shit Em," Hanna bluntly says and all four girls look at her with incredulous faces. "What? You went from Paige to her, I mean damn girl."
"I hope that's a good thing," Ali says shyly as she leans into Emily's side. She's not used to being scrutinized like this by girls. Her only girl friends were the ones from the strip club, and they couldn't judge her.
"Oh it's more than a good thing," Aria chimes in. "Paige was so out of Emily's league."
"Where do you go to school?" Spencer asks curiously, and it doesn't escape the witty brunette the way the blonde's body tenses.
"I, uh, don't," Alison says nervously. Her and Emily hadn't exactly discussed yet what they were going to say but they hadn't thought it'd come up so soon. She looks at Emily who looks worried all of a sudden. "I just work."
"Where at?"
"I serve drinks, downtown," Alison replies smoothly and she feels Emily sigh. "Like cocktails and stuff."
It wasn't a lie, the club did have drinks.
"So you're a waitress," Spencer says with narrow eyes and Alison shrinks closer to Emily. "You look really familiar. Maybe I've seen you before, where do you work?"
"The Cellar," Emily jumps in, referring to the place they had ate at yesterday.
"No, I've never been there," Spencer says pensively. "But I swear I've seen you before."
"I'm sorry I don't think I recognize you," Ali says and she's still telling the truth- she has no idea who this girl is.
"Maybe you're losing it Spence," Hanna jokes and they all ease up a bit but as Emily begins to chat with her friends, Ali knows she's in for a long weekend. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees this Spencer girl scrutinizing her carefully. Alison has never seen Spencer before, but the way the girl is looking at her unnerves her. It's like Spencer really does recognize her, and Alison can't help the feeling that maybe, just maybe, her and Spencer have crossed paths before. She sighs, focusing on Emily- she's going to suck it up and endure this weekend for her.
Thank you all so much for all your lovely words. It was so nice to read all your thoughts and I really appreciate all the support from you guys. And honestly, I really do like reading what you have to say- I shift the story sometimes depending on what you guys want/think. And I really wanted to keep on writing for you all, and I did my best to keep it up to my standard but I'm still struggling a bit. So I hope you guys like this, let me know :) I really, really appreciate all of you, you guys make my day.
(I'm still trying to structure and plan the other 3 stories I have, to finish them off, so if you're reading them I am still working on those!)
xo