Emily was having trouble sleeping. It had been going on for three days, ever since the night at the movies with Paige. The days weren't so bad. In the daytime, work helped keep her preoccupied. It was at bedtime, with nothing to divert her, that she wrestled with her thoughts. She dreaded the weekend.

It wasn't the anxiety over whether or not Paige would call. She was pretty sure that Paige wouldn't. It had, after all, taken three weeks for Paige to call after the dinner incident with Aeryn. That was the way it was with Paige; she always found it easier to avoid confrontation than to reach out when she thought someone was mad at her.

Emily had been staring at the ceiling and the walls for a couple of hours before she finally broke down and picked up the phone.

"Em?"

"Am I a bad person?"

"What are you doing up? What time is it even, in California?"

"I can't sleep."

Hanna exhaled, sitting up in the bed. She slid on a pair of slippers and headed to the bathroom. She could tell that she was in for a long conversation, and she didn't want to disturb Caleb.

Emily didn't need to explain what she was asking about. She had given Hanna the "La La Land" story in all its gory details on the night it happened.

"No, you're not a bad person," Hanna said, sounding annoyed that Emily thought that she was. "And, even if you were a bad person back in high school – which you weren't – you're not the same person that you were back then."

"I feel like a bad person," Emily said, close to tears. "I feel horrible. I was horrible to Paige."

"Has she called?" Hanna's voice was small and tentative. It wasn't hard to guess the answer to that question.

"No," Emily sighed. "She's not going to call."

"Sucks."

Emily shrugged her shoulders. "Can you blame her?" Emily asked resignedly.

"I don't know, Em. It's not like Paige to hold a grudge. Besides, she was happy to be friends with you until you two talked, even with all your history. Why would she be mad at you now?"

"I guess you're right. But she's still not going to call. She hates confrontation."

"Maybe you should call her."

"What would I even say?" Emily closed her eyes and covered her forehead with her palm. "God – why did I have to ask her that stupid question?"

"Isn't it better knowing?"

Emily scoffed bitterly. "No." On some level, she had to think that it was good for Paige to get it off her chest. It was hard to think about that, though, when she was in so much pain.

Paige missed Emily. She missed the fun that they used to have. She missed being able to call her or text her about anything. Or nothing. She missed being able just to show up at her apartment and hang out.

This is exactly why she had always avoided telling Emily how she felt. It wasn't worth losing her – as a girlfriend, back in Rosewood, or as a friend in California. It was just easier for Paige to suck it up.

Emily had promised that it wouldn't be awkward after their talk, but there was no way that could be true. Paige really wanted things to be right between her and Emily again. She knew that it would take time. She pulled up Netflix on her phone and tried to find something to watch. It was taking forever. She didn't feel like watching something alone. It was always more fun to have someone to talk with while she watched – especially if it was a bad movie that they could make fun of together – or a sentimental movie that she could make fun of Emily for getting teary-eyed about.

She missed having Emily around.

"Em?"

Paige was surprised – and a little bit worried – that Emily had called her. She was so distracted, mentally going through all of the reasons that Emily might have called her, that she almost missed the call. In the end, she decided that Emily's most likely reason was to tell her off; to make her counter-arguments to everything Paige had said that night – and then, maybe, start listing her own set of complaints about Paige. And she decided that Emily had every right to give her side of the story, so she picked up the phone.

Before she could say anything, she heard Emily ask, "How's it going?"

She sounded happy. Paige was confused, to say the least. Then, she remembered Emily's promise: Things weren't going to be awkward between them. Paige was more than ready to move past it, if Emily was.

"So, I signed up for that Disney+ free trial," Paige announced.

They had reached that part of the phone call where there wasn't really anything to say, but they wanted to keep on talking.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Paige said. "I wanted to see whether 'The Mandalorian' was worth all the hype."

Emily laughed out loud. "And, here I thought you were going to say you got it for 'The Little Mermaid.'"

Paige rolled her eyes. "Well, I've got that on Blu Ray," she said sarcastically, "so I can watch it whenever I want."

"Ha ha," Emily mocked. "It's a good movie," she added, unconvincingly. After a silence, she continued. "So, was it?"

"Was it what?"

"Worth all the hype?"

Paige shrugged. "I don't know – I haven't watched it yet!"

"You haven't watched it yet?"

"No…"

"Paige!" There was a little scolding in Emily's tone. "Well, we have to watch it this weekend, then!"

"Emily… We… I…" Paige took a deep breath and focused her thoughts. "I chose the last movie. It's your turn."

"My turn? What is this, second grade?"

"No, it's just – I know you don't want to see 'The Mandalorian.'"

"Are you kidding me? I love Star Trek!"

"Star Wars."

"Whatever!" Emily said with a laugh. "Besides, you sat through 'Rudy' all those times with me, so I don't mind watching your thing with you."

We were together when I watched Rudy, Paige thought. The circumstances were totally different. But she didn't want to argue. And she really did want to watch "The Mandalorian" with someone else. With Emily.

"You know it's not a movie, right? It's a whole series."

"Friday night binge!" Emily announced excitedly. "I'll bring dinner."

"I can just order a pizza…"

"Yeah, right. Paige!" Emily laughed and declared, "I'll watch Star Wars with you, but I'm not letting you choose the pizza!"

"So, is he supposed to be the good guy or the bad guy?" Emily's head was on Paige's shoulder, and she was helping herself to popcorn from the bowl in Paige's lap.

"I don't know! I'm watching it for the first time, too."

"Yeah, but you know all the movies. You know all the history."

"Okay, well, this isn't part of the movie, though. It's like – it's in the Star Wars Universe, but I don't know anything about it except for…" Paige held her tongue, not wanting to spoil things for Emily.

"Baby Yoda?" Emily chimed enthusiastically, sitting up in anticipation. "Ooh – I wanted to see him!"

Paige laughed to herself. She loved seeing Emily so excited – even if she did miss having her friend's head on her shoulder.

"Oh, my God – I get it now!" Emily hunched up on her knees on Paige's couch, suddenly very animated. "You're the Mandalorian!"

"What?"

"Well, you were. In high school." Emily put her hands out, at the sides of Paige's face; then, at the top and bottom, as if framing it with a mask. "You never took off your mask and let anyone inside."

"Emily," Paige said wearily, "I came out in high school, too, remember?"

"Not that mask," Emily said, still smiling at her realization. "That… Paige McCullers bravado. You never let anybody see what was underneath it all."

"I don't know about that." You got to see behind it.

"Well, I mean, I got to see behind the mask." Emily giggled nervously. She didn't want to take things too far and look too desperate for them to get back together.

Emily woke up reclining on the couch in a dark room, with only the faint glow of a light bulb, somewhere off in the distance. "Paige?" she said sleepily, before she came to enough to remember that she was in Paige's apartment.

Paige shuffled closer, and Emily, startled, gasped, clutching her heart. She turned backwards, where the noise had come from, and saw Paige, who raised her arms to show the sweatpants she was holding in one hand and the t-shirt she was holding in the other.

"Sorry," Paige said softly. "I didn't know whether I should wake you or let you sleep."

"What time is it?" Emily's voice was still groggy.

"It's about 1:30."

"Oh." Emily shuffled into a sitting position, reaching quickly for her things. "I'm so sorry, Paige," she said, shaking her head. She got up and headed for the door, but Paige put two hands on her shoulders to stop her.

"Em, it's way too late."

Emily relaxed her shoulders in defeat. She knew that she shouldn't try to head home, at that point. Tilting her head submissively, she asked, "You don't mind?"

Paige tightened her lips and crinkled her forehead, as if confused that Emily would even have to ask. "Of course not," she said matter-of-factly.

Emily reached for the clothes that Paige had brought her with a soft, "Thanks."

"I've got a king-sized bed," Paige added, hoping to deflect Emily's guilt with humor, "so, even if you still do that crazy-legs kicking you used to do in your sleep, I'll be safe."

Emily rolled her eyes and slapped Paige in the shoulder a little harder than she'd intended. Paige fell back a half-step. "Shut up," Emily replied, unable to keep a straight face.

Emily looked at herself in the mirror after she opened the box on the new toothbrush that Paige had left for her on the side of the sink. "Not like this," she said to her reflection, her voice barely audible.

This wasn't the way that she wanted to get Paige back: Forced by circumstances to share a bed, cuddling up next to her in the night, and letting nature take its course. She wanted Paige back the right way; for the right reasons. She wasn't looking for a quick-fix. Those never really lasted. She watched her chest rise and fall in the mirror with the deep breath she took in.

Paige woke in the middle of the night holding Emily's hand. She wasn't sure how it had happened or who had initiated it. Maybe Emily was having a bad dream, or maybe she, herself, was feeling lonely – a feeling that she'd gotten reacquainted with since she and Emily started hanging out. They had been facing each other as they slept, and, somehow, their hands were clasped. Paige felt a little guilty for not letting go once she woke up. It wasn't as if she and Emily hadn't held hands since Emily moved out there. They often held hands casually – to get the other's attention when they were talking, for example, or to pull the other along, when she was taking too much time. Or just holding hands, the way friends often do. But Paige didn't think that she should be holding Emily's hand in bed. It didn't seem fair to Emily; Paige thought that it might give her the wrong impression and make her think that Paige was interested in getting back together. She sighed as she let go of Emily's hand, careful not to wake her. Why do things always have to get complicated?

The next time Paige woke up, Emily wasn't there. And Paige smelled breakfast. She couldn't help smiling. She made her way down the hall to the kitchen, where Emily was happily cooking away, swaying back and forth to whatever music was playing in her head. Something about the way Emily's hips were swaying from side to side reminded Paige of the last dance at the hoedown. She had been skeptical that night, when Emily asked her to dance, after everything that had happened, but when Emily pleaded with her eyes, all of her defenses crumbled. She smiled to herself at the memory of their dance as she tiptoed out of the room. It felt that she was intruding on Emily's private moment; a moment that she no longer had the right to be a part of. It would have made a cute girlfriend moment, but, as friends, it felt a bit creepy. She took a quick trip to the bathroom, letting the flush of the toilet alert Emily to the fact that she was awake.

When Paige returned to the kitchen, Emily turned to greet her with the warmest smile. "Good morning," she said cheerily. All those years after the hoedown, and Emily still had the ability to make Paige feel defenseless. Emily pouted slightly as she added, "I was going to surprise you!"

"Oh, I was surprised!" Paige assured her.

"No, but I wanted to make you breakfast in bed."

Paige chuckled slightly. "Well, in my experience, that doesn't work as well in practice as It does in theory."

Emily rolled her eyes. "I've gotten better at it," she said wryly.

Paige sidled up behind her and inhaled deeply through her nostrils. "Mmmm!"

Emily looked over her shoulder, smiling at Paige with the shy pride of someone who knew she had won the approval of someone she cared about. Paige clapped her hands , then rubbed them together. "What can I do?" she asked eagerly.

Emily pointed at a chair with the spatula she was holding. "Just have a seat," she said. "I've got this."

Paige opened her mouth to protest, but when Emily glared at her, she raised her hands, shaking them in surrender before she backed into a seat, grinning all the while. She wasn't used to being taken care of. It took her back to the time when Emily brought her lunch at school, when she was still terrified of going out after all that Rosewood drama. Those were different circumstances, though. She was fearful for her safety. She was fearful for Emily's safety. Those were the beginnings of her friendship with Caleb. Caleb. She lingered over the memory. She missed him; missed the friendship they had. It was a shame that they had grown apart, but, Paige supposed, it was kind of inevitable. Caleb was with Hanna, and Hanna was with Emily.

"Paige?"

Paige shook her head and came back to the present. "Huh?"

Emily laughed at Paige's absent-mindedness. "I asked whether you still don't do caffeine in the morning."

Paige grinned. "I guess I could make an exception," she said. "It feels like a special occasion." She was a little surprised that she'd said that part out loud.

"Hey, so, do you remember what you said to me at the hoedown? Something about mushy squash?"

Breakfast was over, but Paige and Emily were still sitting at the table; not really talking, but not wanting to get up and clean the kitchen.

Emily looked away. Paige assumed it was because she didn't remember. "You know – you came up to me, and I thought you were drunk…"

Emily interrupted her, stammering, "I… I remember." She couldn't look Paige in the eyes. "It was something that… a friend said to me." There was no need to name the friend. The fact that Emily couldn't look at her – and the way that she'd said the word – made it clear whom she was talking about. "Something about being indecisive at a buffet, till the only thing left is mushy squash."

Paige was shocked, but she didn't allow her expression to change. It wasn't a shock to hear that she was Emily's back-up plan; the safety net, when nothing else was available. She was just shocked that Emily was actually admitting it to her. She chuckled, as if she were amused rather than frustrated by the admission. She almost jerked away in surprise when she felt Emily's hand gripping hers. She looked down at their hands, and then up at Emily. It was different than the way they were holding hands the night before. Emily was gripping her hand with a desperation – which was confirmed by the look in her eyes. It was the desperation of someone who needed to be heard; who needed to be believed. Paige was very much acquainted with that kind of desperation.

"Paige," Emily pleaded, "I was… a different person back then." She looked off to the side as she continued. "I had a lot of growing up to do. I needed to learn what was real and what was valuable." Her face turned bitter. "And I was confused. About a lot of things." She took a deep breath. "About Alison." She looked up briefly at Paige, to see how she responded to that name. Paige's face was like flint. "She was… there, when I first started realizing how I felt. About my sexuality. And I confused what I was feeling – the forbidden feelings that I had for women – with the forbidden fruit of Alison. And she played on that. For years. She manipulated me. And I wasn't mature enough to realize what was happening, much less try to break the cycle." Emily tightened her grip again and stared into Paige's eyes. "But, Paige, I never thought of you as second-rate or a consolation prize." Emily's eyes were begging to be believed.

Paige shrugged her shoulder and tightened her lips. There really wasn't anything that she could say to that.

Emily let go of Paige's hands and looked down at her own fingers, grabbing them and releasing them nervously. "You know, she asked me to marry her."

Paige's back went straight. She definitely had not known that. "Really?"

Emily nodded. "I don't even know whether she was serious or not," she said flatly. "I… I think she sensed that I was slipping away from her, and she was trying to pull me back in." Emily shrugged, still playing with her fingers. "I'm sure she would've come up with some pretense to break it off before it got too serious."

"You said no?"

Emily looked at Paige, obviously hurt and disappointed. "Of course, I said no."

Paige stood up, clearing her plate and Emily's. "Well," she said wearily, "we don't have to talk about it."

"Yeah," Emily agreed, tightening her lips. She didn't know why she had brought up the proposal in the first place. Still, she was kind of glad that Paige knew.

It was a long afternoon for Paige. As much as she didn't want to think about Emily's confession, she was finding it hard not to. She had learned to repress a lot of thoughts and feelings back in high school – only later learning that it wasn't a healthy strategy. She knew that she should allow herself to process things, but it was rough. Part of her resented Emily for bringing back those painful memories. It had taken her so long to get past them, and it only took a couple of sentences to bring them all flooding back.

One thing was clear. Emily had changed. She wasn't the same person she had been in high school. High school Emily would never have been that honest with her – not when Emily wanted to be with her, at least. It was only when Emily was breaking up with her – or had broken up with her– that she could be so honest. So brutally honest.

I want to be with you, only you, away from this town.

Those times were great while they lasted. But they never lasted.

We go to the same school. We used to be teammates. Maybe we'll be friends.

It had taken Paige years to get over that kind of rejection.

It was true that Emily had moved forward since high school, and, maybe they were meeting for the first time, that would've made a difference. But there was too much history between them. Paige was ready to move on, but starting things up with Emily felt too much like moving backwards.

Emily called that night, just to check in. Paige was grateful that she didn't bring up their breakfast conversation at all. She was a good friend. Despite all of their history, Paige wasn't willing to throw their friendship away.

"So, what is this thing again?"

"Slamtastic Voyage," Paige said, as though it were a perfectly ordinary term. "It started with Aeryn and me just being bored and deciding to get a few friends together, and then it just kind of ballooned into a big, open-house, free for all."

"And there's no longer any poetry involved?"

Paige laughed. "It was never really about the poetry," she confessed. "More about the booze."

"And… Terry's okay with this?" Emily asked tentatively.

"Oh, sure! I mean, he enjoys his flaming shots as much as the next man!"

"No, I was talking about you and your ex… his current… still throwing this whole big – thing together."

Paige shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I guess," she said, her voice kind of screechy. "Don't forget, he and I were friends even before he and Aeryn got together."

Emily pursed her lips. It seemed a little fishy to her, but that was their business. She was just along for the party.

Paige was getting annoyed. She kept catching Aeryn sneaking looks at Emily across the room, with a flirty smile. Each time Aeryn did it, she shot a quick glance at Paige and, seeing that Paige was watching her, looked away guiltily. Paige looked at Emily, grateful that she didn't seem to notice what Aeryn was doing. She couldn't understand why Aeryn was behaving like that. It didn't seem like her. And it wasn't fair to Paige's best friends – to Terry or to Emily. Paige wasn't going to make scene, but she and Aeryn were definitely going to have to talk later.

Emily didn't pick up on the way that Aeryn kept looking over at her, but she did pick on something that Aeryn and Terry were doing. They kept mumbling to themselves, all secrecy and snarky smiles. She knew that they were talking about her. It made her uncomfortable. She didn't know why they would be making fun of her like that behind her back. She thought that they would be civil to her out of respect for Paige, if for no other reason. She really felt like asking Paige to take her home, but she didn't want to ruin Paige's big event, so she put on a brave face and tried her best to ignore them.

"Who was that?"

"Huh?" Paige hurriedly put her phone in her jacket pocket and concentrated on the road again, as she drove Emily home from the party. "Oh, nothing."

Emily could tell by the face that Paige made when she checked her phone that it wasn't nothing.

Paige had expected the three-word text from Aeryn: "We should talk."

Her defenses were up the next day, sitting astride her chair in the coffee shop as she waited for Aeryn to show up. She was trying to keep her cool and give Aeryn a safe place to explain herself.

"Hey," Aeryn said pleasantly.

"Hey." Paige was all business.

"I'm just going to…"

Paige pointed to the cup of coffee and the bagel on the table. She'd known Aeryn long enough to know what to order for her. "I got you one," she said impatiently.

"O…kay," Aeryn said as she slid cautiously into her seat. "I suppose you know what this is about, then. Or whom."

"Yeah, I know." Paige shifted in her seat, scowling, but trying not to look menacing.

"So, Terry and I were talking," Aeryn began, taking a sip of coffee. Paige was shocked at how cool she was about everything. "And we know someone who's just perfect for Emily."

"What?" Paige practically shouted, as much in shock that Aeryn and Terry weren't breaking up over Emily as she was that they were trying to fix Emily up.

"Oh," Aeryn teased. "That got your attention."

Paige shook her head as if shaking off Aeryn's comment. "What do you mean you found someone for Emily?" she snapped bitterly.

Aeryn scoffed, matching the anger in Paige's tone when she replied. "Is that a problem for you?"

"Yes!" Paige spread her arms out wide and shook them once, forgetting that they were in a very public place. "I just… you…" She grunted in frustration. "You don't know Emily the way I do. She's not ready to date anybody."

Aeryn shook her head, annoyed. "She's a big girl, Paige. I think she's big enough to make that decision for herself."

"I know she's a big girl," Paige said in a mocking tone, stalling as she tried to come up with a reason that this was a bad idea. "She's… she's just too polite to say… and, if you put her on the spot…"

"Look, Paige. The girl moved all the way out here to be with you…"

Paige jabbed her finger at Aeryn's face. "She did not move out her for me," she asserted, using the one argument that she always had at the ready.

"And you're not going to go for it," Aeryn continued, ignoring Paige's denial. "So what gives you the right to tell her whom she can and can't date?"

"Nothing! I don't own her. And I didn't say she couldn't date. I'm just saying – it's a bad idea. She's not ready. I don't want to see her get hurt." Aeryn was looking at Paige with a knowing smile. "Oh my God!" Paige half-shouted.

"What?"

"You already fixed them up, didn't you?"

"Well, what if I did?"

"Aeryn!" Paige was frustrated, almost to the point of tears. "This is… God – this is such a… horrible idea!"

Aeryn huffed, reaching for Paige's arms to try to calm her. "Relax," she said wryly, finally admitting, "I didn't fix them up. But it's kind of interesting how upset you are at the thought that I did."

Paige jerked her arm away. "I'm not upset," she said, as nonchalantly as she could muster, turning sideways in her chair. "Do what you want. We're all adults."

"Fine," Aeryn said, reaching for her bagel.

"Fine," Paige echoed, adding, a lot more softly, "I'm just saying it's a horrible idea."

Paige was sipping a Coke through a straw and carrying a bag full of McDonald's when she got back to the lobby of her apartment building. Emily was there in front of the elevators, walking in a circle. She looked in the direction of the automatic doors with a faint smile when she heard them close as Paige entered the lobby.

"Hello, Paige," she said softly, almost shyly.

"Hi." Paige forced a smile. She wasn't sure why Emily was there, but she had a pretty good idea where Emily had been. They hadn't talked all week, since Paige's conversation with Aeryn. Paige knew why Emily was avoiding her. She looked up and down Emily's date outfit, declaring, "It looks as if you had a better night than I did." She lifted her chin in Emily's direction and raised her McDonald's bag, in contrast.

"I… I guess Aeryn told you," Emily said, looking away.

"So, how'd it go?"

"I… I didn't go." Emily was surprised that Aeryn had told Paige about the set-up, but not about the fact that she declined. She chuckled nervously, trying to keep a brave face. She had used up almost all of her courage just showing up there.

Paige's eyes went wide and her head snapped back in shock. "You didn't?"

"No… I…" Emily dropped her shoulders and sighed. "Paige, can we go up?" she pleaded, leaning towards the elevator.

"Oh, yeah… sure." Paige fumbled for the button.

Paige only lived on the fifth floor, but it was the longest elevator ride in history. Paige, at least, could pretend to be taking sips of her soda. Emily just folded her hands and tried to find something to stare at.

When they finally made it into Paige's apartment, Paige dumped her bag and drink in the kitchen, having suddenly lost her appetite. "So, what happened?" she asked, as Emily took a seat. Paige had, apparently, lost her sense of decorum, too.

Emily tucked one leg under as she fidgeted with her fingers. "Well, Aeryn and Terry told me about this girl they knew." Emily's eyes were wandering all over. "But… ha" – something between a laugh and a sigh escaped from her lips. She slapped her hands nervously against her lap, shaking her head. "I told them that I just wasn't ready to date anybody yet." As she said that, she finally looked over at Paige.

It was all that Paige could do to avoid fist-pumping. She knew that she was right: Emily wasn't ready to date.

"Paige," Emily said soberly, "I moved out to California to be with you." Paige opened her mouth on reflex, about to spit out her standard reply that Emily didn't move out there to be with her, but Emily, assuming that Paige was going to remind her one more time that they were just friends, cut her off. "And I get that we're just friends. And, believe me, that in itself was worth the move." Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. "Even though I thought we'd be together, I don't regret moving out here." Emily nodded her head. "I'm glad that we can be friends," she said sincerely. "But I'm not ready to date anybody just yet."

Emily, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, stood up. Paige assumed that Emily, having said what she wanted to say, was getting up to leave, so she started to get up to see Emily to her car. Before she could, Emily was in her lap, facing her. Kissing her.

"You kissed her?" Aria's eyes were wide.

"Uh huh," Emily said, smiling coyly. "I figured, what did I have to lose, you know? And even if she got mad and pushed me off, I think I owe her at least one kiss out of the blue, after all the times she did it to me."

"And then what happened?" Spencer asked impatiently.

"She woke up in Paige's bed!" Hanna, who'd gotten the details from Emily before the Zoom call with Spencer and Aria, couldn't wait to spill the beans.

"You what?"

Emily giggled, enjoying the memory as much as her friends' reaction.

"Yep, big old Paige McCullers hoisted her up and carried her off to bed!"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Something like that," she said, hastily adding, "She wasn't with me. She slept on the couch."

"Why would she sleep on the couch?" Spencer asked, her face scrunched up in disbelief. "Didn't you guys share a bed the last time?"

"I don't know… I guess, it was one thing, sharing a bed as friends, but after we made out, maybe she thought it was too soon?"

"Wait, WHAT? You guys made out?"

Hanna hadn't heard that little detail. Emily hadn't planned to share it. It seemed more romantic her way – a single kiss; she fell asleep; she woke in Paige's bed.

She hadn't lied. She just hadn't told the whole truth. She woke up a little after midnight and instinctively reached behind her, surprised that Paige wasn't spooning her as she usually did. After patting the mattress a couple of times, she twisted up from her pillow and looked behind her, to find that she was alone. She tiptoed to the living room, where Paige was asleep on the couch, cuddling a cushion. She still had her clothes on, and Emily surmised that it was to keep her from feeling self-conscious about sleeping in her clothes.

Emily stared at Paige with a grin, her arms crossed in front of her for a second or two. The couch was big enough, she reasoned, for her to snuggle in next to Paige without waking her up. She lay next to her, trying her best not to fall asleep. She didn't want to risk embarrassing Paige or herself, if Paige woke up first. But it was hard staying awake. The low rumble of Paige's breath and the steady rhythm of her chest rising and falling against Emily's back were hypnotic. When Paige shuddered out of the blue, Emily grew wide awake and made a quick, quiet retreat back to Paige's bed. That part of the story, though, Emily managed to keep to herself.

Paige was in a daze for the rest of the morning, after Emily left. She wasn't sure why she had allowed Emily to keep on kissing her, or why she had kissed back. But she didn't regret it. She'd wasted too much of her life feeling shame or regret for doing the things that she wanted.

And she did want to kiss Emily. She wanted Emily in general. She wasn't sure whether that had been Aeryn's plan all along; that she had been playing an elaborate game of chess, knowing that Emily wouldn't take her up on the blind date and that Paige wouldn't want her to.

Whatever. Paige wasn't going to waste any more brain cells processing that enigma. She much preferred using her thoughts to replay that feeling from the night before, Emily in her lap, Emily's lips against her lips, Emily's breath in her mouth, and, finally, Emily in her arms, as she carried her off to bed, took off her shoes, and covered her under a blanket.

In her dreams, it got even better. In her dreams, Emily came to her in the night and cuddled up with her on the couch. It was the kind of dream that was hard to wake up from and find that it was only a trick of her subconscious mind. But there was no hurry. Dreams like that have a strange way of coming true.