A/N – I really hate that I've become one of those authors who constantly have to be nudged to finish what they've started. The truth is, I haven't forgotten this story – I think about it almost every day – but I've just gotten out of the habit of writing, for whatever reason (and there are many). But, where passion dies, discipline must take over, so here goes. Thanks so much for sticking with this story. Sorry I haven't done a better job of sticking with it. :(

Emily dabbed the white, starched napkin up to her lips, not to wipe her lips there, but to hide her smile. She couldn't help smiling. She was happy. After all the ups and downs that she and Paige had had since - well, high school, after all the times she'd taken Paige for granted (and vice versa), after everyone who came in between the first time they were together and that night that found them in a fancy restaurant, enjoying a fine meal, there they were: Solid as a rock.

Paige looked gorgeous in her glittery deep blue dress. It wasn't as short as the dresses Paige had worn back in high school; it didn't show off her legs the way the dress that she wore when she stopped by the brew and left with two coffees (and Emily's heart) did. Paige wasn't a kid anymore, and she wasn't pretending to be. She had matured into a strong, self-assured woman. And a hottie. "MILF" would have been the better term to describe her, if she'd had any children. Either way, there was definitely going to get – uh – loved when she finally got out of her dress later that night.

Emily couldn't hide her smile at that thought. Paige smiled back nervously, knowing that there was some kind of joke going on, and that she wasn't in on it. "What?" she mouthed cautiously, still smiling.

Emily shook her head and then stared deep into Paige's eyes, biting her lip. With that look on her face, there was no mistaking what was going through her mind. Paige dipped her head. Emily's thighs squeezed together. Sometimes, she wondered how much of Paige's head-dipping was spontaneous, and how much of it was just because she knew how much it turned Emily on. Emily crossed her right leg over her left. Paige was feeling the faint swish of air as Emily's leg swung back and forth under the table. Paige's own legs began to quiver. It was sort of similar to the way that she used to shake out her arms and legs as she stood, ready to dive into the pool before a big race. She didn't do it as a warm up, either back at the pool or there in the restaurant. She was already warm. Rather, the quiver was anticipation, like a bull getting ready to burst out of the stall.

It was Emily's turn to dip her head, under the intensity of Paige's stare. Paige had a way of looking at you, as if you were the only person in the world. As if she were seeing you for the first time. Emily's heart skipped a beat. As she stared back into Paige's eyes, continuing their silent conversation, she saw Paige's eyebrows furrow in concern. Her eyebrows mirrored the gesture, and she tilted her head, silent asking what was the matter.

Paige raised her chin in the direction of the bar. "Creepy old dude over there," she said. Emily stole a quick glance. "I don't know whether he's the religious type, staring because he wants us to burn in Hell, or the pervy type, who just wants to see us kiss." Emily started to reach for Paige's hand, to calm her down and, if possible, get them back to that sexy place they'd been in moments early, but she peeked over at the creep and realized that a public display of affection might not have been the best idea.

Paige tightened her lips and tossed her napkin on the table in disgust. "I swear! I'm so sick of either being someone's fetish or someone's filthy sinner! Why can't we just fucking be?"

Emily lowered herself closer to the top of the table. "Paige," she pleaded softly, "don't let it ruin our night."

"I won't. I won't," Paige said unconvincingly, waving her hand. "I'm sorry. It's just…" She grunted. "I mean, people talk about how small-minded people are in small towns, but I tell you one thing about Rosewood. Sure, it was Hell on earth, and we were constantly being traumatized, but at least people just let us love whom we loved, you know? We weren't the oddball lesbians, we were Paige and Emily, the kids everyone knew since pre-K. I mean, in a small town, everybody knows everybody's business, yeah – but the fact that you know everyone –" Paige trailed off.

"I know," Emily said with a soft smile. After a pause, staring at her spoon, she added, "Although, I wonder how accepting people would have been of Caleb, if he'd come out as bi back then."

Paige nodded with a sad look in her eye. "Yeah. There did seem to be a different level of acceptance for men." She laughed, despite herself. "Rosewood was a great place to be a lesbian, but I don't think I know of one queer guy who was publicly out." She took a sip of her wine and shrugged. "And, don't get me wrong," she added, shaking her head quickly. "I'm not suggesting we should leave LA. Or, God forbid, move back to Rosewood." She scowled, bitterly.

Emily's emotions were mixed. On the one hand, Paige had just implied kind of implied that they were living together. On the other hand, as hard as living in Rosewood had been for Paige, it was still Emily's home. And she still had family there. "I know," she said softly, "how hard it was for you to go back to Rosewood." She paused. Paige tried her best to give a reassuring smile, knowing that there was more to come and that Emily was struggling with it. "I still have family there, though, you know?" Emily pleaded. Paige shrugged in agreement, nodding her head quickly. "And – they're kind of expecting me to come back. For Christmas." She smiled apologetically.

"Oh, yeah! Of course, Em!" Paige waved her hands at the obviousness of what Emily had said. "I know that you always spend Christmas at your parents' house."

Emily smiled, only slightly relieved. Looking away from Paige, she said, "I know they'd like to see you, too."

Paige raised her palms and scrunched her face, confused that Emily would think that she wouldn't be there, too. "Of course I'm going to spend Christmas in Rosewood with you. Why would I – where else –" Paige couldn't really finish her thought. She didn't have to. Emily's eyes grew wide with delight, and she bounced a bit in her seat. Without thinking, she leaned across the table and gave Paige a quick kiss. Paige glanced over at the bar, where their creepy friend was engaged in an animated conversation with a woman, presumably his wife. There was no way to make out what she was saying, but she was obviously not pleased. She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him from the bar, barely giving him a chance to grab his glass off of the bar and quickly drink it down.

"I would, uh, I would hate to be that dude later tonight," Paige said, a weak attempt at humor, to break the tension.

"So would I," Emily said, sliding her foot up the inside of Paige's dress, "because he doesn't get to go home with you tonight."

"Yes!" Paige pumped her fist and showed Emily the picture of their Uber driver, Angelique, in the confirmation pop-up on her phone. She was jokingly exaggerating her enthusiasm, but, the fact was, it was just so much easier with a female driver. They could be themselves without having to spend the entire ride answering a lot of stupid questions about how lesbianism works.

Angelique was only six minutes away, but the wait felt like a lifetime. Soon enough, though, Paige was holding open the door and holding Emily's hand as she helped her into the back seat of the car. Emily wedged herself into the corner of the car, angled towards Paige and smiling as she watched Paige climb beside her. Once the door was closed, Emily shifted positions, her back to Paige, and rested her head on Paige's chest.

Paige rested back against the seat and closed her eyes. It was perfect. She loved the feeling of Emily's head on her chest. It just felt so – connected. Emily was carrying more weight than she had back in high school – a "post-swimmer's body," as Coach Fulton used to call it. When they were actively training and competing, they used to have a hard time getting enough calories every day, since they burned off so many in the weight room and the pool. And, as so often happens with athletes, as they get older, the body slows down, but the appetite does not. Not that it mattered. The post-swimmer's body suited her. It accentuated her curves. Emily was still that woman who stole everyone's attention whenever she walked into a room. But nobody got to see her the way that Paige did. Emily could be playful, mischievous, sensual, intense – all in the time it took to blink an eye. It was a pity that people wasted their time on her physical beauty and missed so much else that made Emily the woman she was.

Paige had been strangely silent. Emily tilted her head back and rolled her eyelids back, to see what was going on. "What?" she asked coyly.

"What?"

Emily turned on her side a bit, her hand replacing her head at the top of Paige's chest. "What are you thinking?" she asked with mock-seriousness.

Paige looked up at the moonroof and tried to think of how to say it. It would have taken too many words, so she settled for only three. "I love you."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Good answer," she deadpanned.

"No." Paige put her hands on Emily's cheeks and gave her an intense stare. "I love you." The words came out slowly and deliberately, and Emily's breath hitched.

Why the hell did I choose a restaurant so far from Paige's apartment?

"Paige," Emily whispered in Paige's ear, "I don't think I'm going to make it till we get back to your place." Paige panicked for a moment. They hadn't really been drinking, but she dreaded the thought of Emily feeling embarrassed about throwing up in the back seat of an Uber. That panic was gone in the next moment, as a chill went down her spine when she felt Emily's tongue tickling the inside of her ear. Paige let out a moan, and Angelique, on reflex, took a quick glance into the rear view mirror. Immediately, the music on the radio got louder; Angelique's way of giving them a little privacy.

Emily was barely upright, lying with her back on Paige's chest. She was deep in thought, but she didn't want to speak the words that were going through her mind. It would only ruin the moment that she and Paige were enjoying. Also, she worried that it might be a bit manipulative, to talk about it there, in Paige's arms, when they were so emotionally connected. She let out a sigh, without even noticing.

Paige noticed Emily's sigh, of course: The slight rise of Emily's chest, followed by an escape of breath through Emily's lips. "You okay?"

"Yeah. No – I." Emily sighed again. This time, it was more pronounced. "It's just –" She cleared her throat. "Well, sometimes, I wonder why I even bother paying rent on my apartment." She forced a laugh. "I mean, I always end up spending the night at your place, you know what I mean?" She quickly glanced at Paige's reaction and quickly looked away.

Paige sat up abruptly, having shifted into problem-solving mode. "I'm sorry, Em. I didn't think. Of course, we can spend more time at your apartment!"

"Oh, my God!" Angelique quickly clapped her hand over her mouth, surprised and embarrassed that she'd said those words out loud. "Sorry, sorry," she said with a wave in the direction of the back seat. "I wasn't really eavesdropping; you – you guys are just so damned cute." She curled up her nose as she made that point.

Emily, embarrassed by the reminder that they weren't alone, shrank into Paige's body.

"Did I – did I just miss something obvious?" Paige took a breath and continued. "I mean, I just assumed that that always we hung out at my place because it's bigger. But I have absolutely no problem – "

"Paige, I was just saying." Emily's voice softened, and Paige had to lean in to hear her. She let out a sigh and continued. "Yeah, my place is smaller, you know? And I like hanging out at your place. I was just saying –" She took hold of Paige's hand and started playing with her fingers. " – maybe we could – think about – you know, moving in together. I mean, I know that, in high school, you were always the one who wanted to move faster and, you know, skip steps, but – "

"Wait, what's this now?"

"I'm just saying that I think we should – "

"No, not that, part. The part about me always wanting to rush things?"

Emily waved dismissively. This wasn't the point she wanted to spend her time convincing Paige about. "Oh, come on, Paige. Everybody knew it!"

"Everybody?"

"All my friends. Hanna. Spencer. Caleb. My Mom. Your mom!"

"Wow. I mean – just – wow."

"Anyway, my point is." Emily shrugged nervously, still worried that the idea wasn't going to go over well. Why else would Paige try to change the subject? "I think, maybe it's time that I – moved into your place."

Paige took a quick breath and tilted her head. "Or – "

Emily sat up and put her hands on Paige's lips. "Oh, God, Paige! Please don't!" Emily had forgotten to speak softly.

"Please don't what?" Paige was genuinely confused.

"Please don't do that thing where you try to make me feel better about myself by saying that you actually like my apartment, and maybe we should move there. I hate that place, Paige. It's tiny, the neighbors are loud, it always smells like fish and cat pee, and the only reason I took the stupid place was that I knew that I wasn't going to have to live there for too long. Although it took longer than I thought. For you and me to get together."

"Okay, well, I actually do like your place," Paige said in a semi-condescending voice. Emily made a disgusted face. "What? It's cute!" Emily opened her mouth to speak, but, before she could, Paige cut her off, with a wave of her hand. "But that's not what I was going to suggest." Emily shook her head no, questioningly. "I was going to suggest that maybe, instead of moving to my place, we get our place – a place that we can build together."

Emily perked up at that, smiling and nodding.

"Maybe, for now, we could move you into my place, just because real estate is crazy, and it'll probably take us a while to find someplace decent."

"Yeah!" Emily was quickly onboard. "– And we could save up some money for a new place, since I won't be paying rent!" She nestled back into her spot on Paige's chest and smiled up at her, to confirm that Paige was smiling back.

Paige turned her hand over, swiped her phone awake and started typing something. Emily craned her neck to see, but Paige quickly jerked the phone away, hiding it from Emily's view a bit too playfully. Emily rolled her eyes as Paige, occasionally looking at her, kept on typing. When she had apparently hit "Send," she stared at Emily, trying not to to keep a neutral expression on her face. Emily's phone chirped and she shook her head knowingly as she swiped it unlocked and checked the text. She let out a gasp when she saw what Paige had texted, looking quickly up at Angelique, worried that her shocked response hadn't gone unnoticed. Angelique had to have heard it, but she didn't react, and, soon, Emily was typing away on her own phone, angling her shoulder away when, this time, Paige tried to peek down to see what was going on. Paige's phone chirped, but Emily kept typing away, her lips silently mouthing the words as she typed them. Paige had to clear her throat to keep from gasping at what Emily had written, and her face started to flush as Emily kept sexting. Angelique had to have known that there was something going on, the way that the phones kept chirping and her passengers kept giggling.

Next time, remind me to turn my ringer off! ;)

:) :) :) Right? – have we learned nothing from all that sneaking around we did in Rosewood?

The car slowed to a stop, and Angelique unlocked the doors from the console in the front seat. "Thank you," Paige and Emily said almost in unison, both with embarrassed smiles on their faces, as though their texts had somehow been on display and Angelique had read each one of them.

"No, thank you," Angelique replied. She wanted to hug them. "It's so refreshing to know that love like yours still exists in this world!"

As Paige and Emily strolled hand-in-hand towards the door to Paige's building – their building – Angelique rolled down the passenger side window and yelled, "I hope I get to see you guys again in a couple of months! I really want to see how it's going!" Emily turned around and shot her a wave and a smile. Paige turned Emily back around and pulled her close, wrapping her arm around her waist, still holding her hand.

Emily was breathing heavily as she carted a large box down the hall towards the apartment. She wasn't in swimming shape anymore. To make it worse, her shoulder had never really been the same after the accident. Also, the box was a little too large for her to grip it comfortably, and she had packed way too many things into it. She and Paige were supposed to move her things into the apartment on Saturday, but she had wanted to surprise Paige, so she started packing on Thursday night and took Friday off from work, so that she could get most of the stuff out of her old place and put away in the new place by the time Paige got home. That way, they'd have more time on the weekend to do fun things.

Emily almost lost her grip on the box about halfway between the elevator and her apartment, so she took a break, resting it on her knee, braced against the wall. She blew a puff of hair towards her forehead an waited for her heart rate to go down.

"Let me give you a hand with that!"

Emily turned towards the voice with a weak smile. She didn't want to be the damsel in distress for some knight in shining armor to come along and rescue. Still, she had to be polite. He was, after all, going to be her neighbor, so they needed to get along. "That's okay," she told him, as cheerfully as she could manage. "I'm fine. Just taking a quick break!"

"Come on," the guy said jovially. "Just let me be a gentleman. I'm headed that way, anyway!"

Emily gave in and stepped aside, letting him grab the box. "Um, not that way," she called after him, as he headed off in the direction of the elevator. "That way, actually." She gave an embarrassed look and pointed in the opposite direction. The guy looked confused. "Apartment 501," she said softly. The words kept tumbling out, because the guy didn't seem to be getting it. "I'm your new neighbor. Emily Fields. Hi." He was still giving her a blank stare, but at least he was had turned around and was moving in the right direction. "I'm – uh – moving in with Paige," She finally admitted, nodding her head to confirm it. "Paige McCullers." Emily braced herself internally, not really looking forward to explaining that, no, they weren't just roommates; they were living together.

"Oh!" he said, his head recoiling a bit. "I – um – I thought you and Paige were already living together." He chuckled slightly. They both did. "Well, good!" he said, nodding vigorously. "Paige has been so much – I don't know – nicer, since you started moved in. Or, slept over. Or – whatever!."

Emily smiled, but not as widely as she was smiling on the inside. "Good to know," she said, not knowing quite how to respond to that.

"Okay," the guy said, dropping the box in front of the door. "I'll let you take it from here."

Emily was relieved. She really didn't want him to see the apartment in its chaotic state, with her half moved in.

"I'm Alan, by the way," he said, extending his hand. "I've got to jet, but, just so you know, if you've ever got any more boxes, you can always borrow a cart from the guys at the loading dock."

"Oh! Actually, I didn't know that, but that's good!"

"Yeah." After an awkward pause, he added, enthusiastically, "Well, welcome to the building! I'm sure I'll be seeing you around." He gave Emily a quick wave as he turned and headed for the elevator.

"Thanks so much, Alan! And thanks for letting me know about the carts!"

Alan turned around and nodded a, "You're welcome."

Emily had her elbows on the table, using her fingers rather than her fork to feed herself pieces of salad from the bowl in front of her. She kept looking at Paige with a mischievous grin and shaking her head slightly when Paige looked back.

"What?" Paige finally half-shouted. Emily smirked and waved off Paige's question. "Come on. Something's going on. You've been – " Paige circled her finger in front of her, vaguely forming the outline of Emily's face – "sketchy like that all evening."

"I met Alan today," Emily said, nonchalantly chewing through a bit of kale.

"Alan," Paige mused with a nod. "He's a good guy."

"Yeah," Emily said, holding another piece of kale up in front of her face. "He helped me carry a box. Well," Emily laughed, "first, he started carrying it to the elevator. He thought I was moving out, because he thought that I was moving out of your place. He said he thought we were already living together!"

Paige threw her head back in laughter. "Okay," she said with a nod. "I can see where he'd get that idea."

"Yeah," Emily said, still smiling as she chewed.

"And?" Paige leaned her head over the table, knowing there was something more.

"And, apparently," Emily said with a wicked smile, "he was glad that I wasn't moving out, because you've been a lot nicer since I've been here."

Paige dropped her fork and laughed heartily. She shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, I can't really argue with that!"

Emily reached for Paige's hand and leaned across the table to give her a kiss. When she tried to pull her hand away, Paige tightened her grip. "What?" Emily yelled, pretending to be annoyed.

"I'm just looking at you," Paige said. "Sometimes, I can't believe we're together."

"Careful, Paige," Emily said with a wink. "Remember what happened the last time you used that line on me?"

"I fought off some creep in a dress who was trying to kill Spencer on the train?"

Emily pulled her hand away and gave Paige a playful slap. "After that."

"Oh. I guess you must mean the acrobatic sex in that cramped compartment?" Paige was underselling it, as if it hadn't been some of the most mind-blowing sex in her life.

"Yeah. But I don't think either of us is as flexible as we were in our teens."

Paige chuckled. "Well, good thing for us, they don't have old-timey trains in LA."

"And good thing for us your bed is a lot bigger than the bed in that compartment."

Paige took Emily's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Our bed," she corrected.

Emily smiled as Paige moved in for a kiss. "Our bed," she echoed.