#mchastings

There are whispers. A couple of girls on the hockey team are practically buzzing with excitement as they spend most of the practice gossiping before the coach finally has enough and makes they run laps. Spencer tries not to listen. But on the fourth lap she overhears a snippet of conversation between Jonelle and Simone and she finds herself slowing.

“Apparently she told her dad last night,” Jonelle says and the two of them glance at Paige.

Spencer glances too. She’s in the middle of the pack, instead of at the front where she and Spencer would normally be. Her head down, hair obscuring most of her face. She's slumped, like all of the fire and passion that hockey normally inspires in Paige (and in Spencer herself) has been sucked out and all that's left is nothing but a look of defeat.

“I could hear the screaming from our side of the street.”

They run another sixteen laps before the coach dismisses them with a look of disappointment and they trudge into the dressing room.

Spencer takes her time getting changed. She spends most of it watching Paige, who sits on the edge of the bench tucked in a corner away from other girls and their whispers. She's taken her shirt off and nothing else. It just hangs in her hands as she stares down at the floor.

When the last two leave - Jonelle and Simone – she approaches.

“How did it go?” She asks.

Paige looks up at her and Spencer is sure that she can see a hint of tears in her eyes, but then Paige blinks and it's gone.

“What?”

“With your dad? How did it go?”

“Fantastic.” Paige stands. She throws her locker open with a bang and chucks her shirt inside. Sarcasm and anger scream through the word. But underneath Spencer can hear the hurt and the sadness.

Emily told Spencer a lot about Paige, but it was in confidence and so Spencer has always pretended not to know about Paige being gay. But she likes knowing. She likes the possibility, because Paige is gay and Spencer is... Well she doesn't know what she is, she's still figuring that out, but there's a part of her that's always wanted Paige and the knowledge that maybe she could have her, if only for a night has been a source of satisfaction for her and more than a few fantasies.

Paige sighs and slumps against her locker.

“He's not happy,” Paige says. Her muscles are tight. Spencer can see the tension in her shoulders and she reaches out. Her fingers brush against Paige's arm. There's a moment where Paige is perfectly still and Spencer can feel the heat that comes from her skin.

“Why do you care?” Paige asks. There's a hostility in her tone, Spencer can hear it loud and clear, but Paige doesn't push her away, doesn't do anything to remove Spencer's hand. Spencer hears that, as well. She steps forward and gently brushes the hair away from Paige's neck.

“You know why.” She kisses Paige's neck and feels her shiver.

Paige spins round and the contact between them is broken. But Spencer's not deterred. She closes the distance between them fully. She kisses her. There's a moment of hesitation before Paige kisses her back. Spencer groans as Paige's hands grasp at her hips, spins her around and slams her back against the lockers. The kiss deepens.

There's always been something between them. An unspoken, not acted upon attraction that morphs into hostility on the hockey field, but Spencer has never felt it as strongly as she does now; with the cold metal against her back and Paige's tongue in her mouth.

She pulls Paige closer and her legs spread as she takes Paige's hand from her hip and places it between her thighs. This time there's no hesitation. Paige stokes along her, once and then twice before her fingers dip into the waistband of her knickers.

Spencer's hips roll as Paige cups her pussy.

“Jesus,” Paige whispers. “You're so wet.” Paige sounds surprised and Spencer laughs. Paige is flush against her. Their hips and breasts pressed together. Spencer's hands drag down Paige's back  and lifts up her skirt. She grabs her arse.

“I've never...” Paige says.

“I know.”

Spencer hasn't either, but she doesn't feel the need to say it. Instead she kisses Paige. Hard and fast and with lots of tongue. She rolls her hips again. It's an invitation and one that Paige willingly accepts. Her fingers slide into Spencer's pussy slowly, achingly so in fact and Spencer's thighs clench. Everytime she's thought about this, dreamed about this, it's been hard and fast, like their kiss. Paige treats her rough like she does on the hockey field and when it's over Paige leaves her behind with nothing but bruises and satisfaction. But now they're here, now it's real and not just a fantasy, slow seems appropriate. It's first time nerves, Spencer knows that. But it's a chance to savour it, the moment, the feel of Paige's fingers moving inside her inch by glorious inch.

Rough can wait for another time.

------

They don't talk about it. Despite everything that happens; through Paige's relationship with Emily which causes so much jealousy to rise in Spencer's chest that all she can do it accuse Paige of being A in what she realises later is a futile attempt to sabotage their relationship; through Spencer's  reconnection with Toby after seeing him in that black hoodie and radley, and the way the love she feels for him twists into something bitter in her chest as the betrayal they never talk about seeps through them like a poison that Spencer doesn't know how to expel. They just don't acknowledge it, this profound moment, this explosion of passion and longing, and when Spencer is alone and lonely and cold on the inside she thinks maybe love, that happened between them. But Spencer doesn't forget and on those few moments when she catches Paige staring out of the corner of her eye, Spencer knows Paige hasn't either.

And then Alison returns. Both from the dead and to Rosewood.

Paige and Emily's relationship ends faster than Spencer expects. It's like a gut punch. Paige is single again, it's the one thing she's wanted and the one thing she thought might never happen because Paige and Emily have had their problems, problems caused by lies and A, but underneath all that she always considered them to be solid. But with Alison's return she can see the cracks. The cracks in their relationship, the cracks in Paige. Cracks that mirror her own and then it's over.

Emily and Alison hold hands in the corridor. Paige sees them and Spencer is sure she sees Alison throw her a smug look before Paige flees from the corridor. She doesn't even close her locker. It reminds Spencer of an episode of the Simpsons she watched with Melissa once; you can actually pinpoint the second when her heart rips in half, except Spencer doesn't really see it, it's more like she feels it. As if the moment Paige's heart breaks Spencer's own takes a dent, a blow so hard and unexpected it seems to knock the wind out of her and even though Emily is in the middle of asking her a question, Spencer follows Paige.

She closes Paige's locker as she passes.

It only takes Spencer a few minutes to find her. She sits on the side of the pool, her trousers pulled up around her knees and her legs in the water.

“Are you...” Spencer stops, because Paige is crying and asking if she's alright seems nonsensical. Of course she's not. She's places her bag and books onto the floor, and takes a seat next to Paige. They sit in silence. Spencer's hand rests just a few inches from Paige's and as the seconds tick by she moves it closer until her thumb brushes against Paige's.

Paige looks up. There are tears on her cheeks and Spencer wants to say something, but there's nothing that she can say. Instead she places her hand on Paige's chest. She can feel Paige's heart beating as she leans in and kisses her.

Spencer pushes Paige back. She straddles her hips and squeezes her breasts. They're in public. The locker room wasn't exactly private but they were tucked into a corner and if anybody was to walk in they'd have time to pull away, to cover themselves up, but here they're out in the open and Spencer just doesn't care.

“Let me taste you,” Spencer says.

Paige lifts her legs out of the water and shifts back, gives Spencer the room to kneel between her thigh. Spencer pushes down Paige trousers, and her knickers.  

She's never done this before. She's wanted to. She's more than wanted to. But she's a little nervous and her first lick is hesitant. It's soft and gentle, and it's just the tip. It doesn't get much of a response. She tries again. She drags the whole of her tongue along the length of Paige's pussy and this time it goes better. Paige moans. It's low and quiet, but Spencer hears it. It's encouraging. She licks again and again and again, and then she finds Paige's clit. It's an accident. But the response she gets from Paige – her body jolts and she lets out a groan that echoes through the room – lets her know she's on the right track. She decides to focus on it. She licks it again and there's another groan. She wraps her lips around it and starts to suck.

“Fuck!” Paige says.

Spencer smiles against Paige's pussy. She's been crushed by the weight of A for so long that it feels nice to lose herself in Paige again, despite the recklessness of it. All she can smell is Paige – chlorine with a hint of rose petal shampoo – and all she can feel is Paige, and with Paige's thighs in her hands and clit in her mouth all that matters is the sound of her gasps and the taste of her pussy.

When Paige cums her hips buck and Spencer rides the wave. She keeps licking and sucking unti Paige's orgasm passes. She places one final kiss against Paige's pussy, gets one finally taste because she's unsure of when she'll get another and then pulls back. The taste of Paige is on her lips and on her tongue, and her cunt clenches. She's wet and aching. Spencer slides up Paige's body, kissing up her stomach, her chest. Her neck. She straddles Paige's thigh and rolls her hips, she's desperate and aching, and she needs some sort of relief. She places her arms on either side of Paige's head and uses her elbows to support herself as she continues to rub herself against Paige's thigh, pushing herself closer and closer.

The friction is nice, but Spencer needs more and a few moments later, when Paige comes down from her orgasm and slips a hand between her thighs she gets it. She grinds down against Paige's hand. Spencer feels grateful that she wore a skirt today when Paige pushes aside her knickers and thrusts into her. There's no hesitation this time. No first time nerves and Spencer is struck by the thought that Emily and Paige have had sex. Probably more than once. Probably lots and lots of time, and she grabs Paige's head and kisses her, hard, losing what she feels in an orgy of tongue and teeth, and pain. Paige continues to thrust into her, her thumb finds Spencer's clit and presses down. Spencer cums. Her moan of pleasure lost inside Paige's mouth.

They collapse against each other. There's remnants of a tear still on Paige's cheek. Spencer tries to brush it away with her thumb but the stain stays on Paige's skin. She kisses her instead.

Paige leaves first. A muttered goodbye followed by the sound of a door closing and Spencer sits by the side of the pool, invading what had until now been Emily and Paige's space for a little longer as she waits for the text from A to come. She's been so brazen about it, so public it almost seems inevitable and yet the text doesn't come, the threat doesn't come. It surprises her. Maybe, on some level, it disappoints her and after a while she picks up her things and follows Paige out.

----

Alison and Emily last less than a month. Spencer doesn't know why they ended, and she'd never say it out loud – at least not to Emily – but she's not surprised that it didn't work out. She always knew that if Alison ever got all of Emily she'd get bored, or if Emily ever got all of Alison she'd realise the fantasy didn't live up to reality.

They're in english class. Mr Fitz is at the front rambling on about the themes in Shakespeare's Othello and Spencer isn't listening. She's done the reading and the homework, she just doesn't care what he has to say, not after what he's done. Aria may choose to forgive him, but Spencer doesn't.

Emily and Hanna aren't listening either, but for a completely different reason. They're talking. Ezra glances at them a few times, but he doesn't chastise them and they don't notice his looks. Emily is talking about Paige. She's using words like mistake and loss, and love. Spencer is suppose to be a part of this conversation, but she dropped out about ten minutes ago and has just been listening, and she wonders if Emily knows what she's doing to Paige. It's probably the same thing she's doing to Toby.

Spencer's bored. Very, very bored and then Mr Fitz puts them into pairs. Emily and Alison – he's trying to be nice but the tension is obvious as Emily collects her stuff and takes a seat by Alison – Hanna and Mona, Lucas and Jenna, and Spencer gets Paige. He keeps Aria back for himself. Spencer doesn't have time to be disgusted by that thought because Paige walks towards her and gives her a look that just isn't neutral and just isn't friendly, before she drops into the seat next to Spencer. The seat Emily just vacated.

Spencer tries a smile, but Paige doesn't return it she just holds her gaze and then their legs touch underneath the desk.

The lesson continues. For ten long arduous minutes the lesson continues and Spencer can feel the heat from Paige's leg as she gently brushes their thighs together. Emily keeps looking. She glances over her shoulder every couple of seconds, unable to keep her eyes off Paige. Eventually Hanna looks to, but not at Paige, at Spencer. She mouths: 'talk to her. For Emily.'

Spencer turns and looks at Paige. Her elbows are resting on the desk and she looks as disinterested in what Mr Fitz is saying as Spencer feels.

“Hey,” Spencer says.

Hanna is still looking. Spencer turns in her seat and for a moment their legs aren't touching and she doesn't like it.

“Do you...” Spencer places her hand on Paige's thigh and gives it a gentle squeeze. Paige looks at her. Their eyes meet and Spencer's hand move a little higher. “Do you want to get out of here?” She gives Paige's thigh a little squeeze before she grabs her books and stands up. Ezra calls out, but she ignores him. Spencer doesn't have to look to know that Paige is following her.

Emily stares at them as they leave.

The corridor is empty, class doesn't let out for another thirty minutes. Paige catches up and she falls into step with her.

“Where are we going?” Paige asks.

The fact is Spencer isn't sure, right now all she wants is to feel Paige's body against her own and she isn't too fusy about the location, even though she probably should be with A lurking behind every locked door, hidden in every shadow.

After a few minutes Spencer finds an empty classroom, an old science lab that hasn't been used in at least a year and they slip inside. The moment the door closes Spencer grabs Paige's collar. She pulls her close. Their lips collide as Spencer pushes Paige back against the nearest counter. She grabs Paige's shirt and pulls it up just above her breasts, then does the same with her bra. It's not the place to get naked but Spencer wants to see her.

Spencer climbs into Paige's lap. She unbuttons her own shirt and presses their bodies together as she goes in for another kiss.

“Take me,” Spencer says. She grabs Paige's hand and shoves it down the front of her trousers. Paige is quick to oblige. Her fingers start to move through Spencer's folds. “Yes.” Spencer utters. She presses her lips against Paige's once again, as she tries to slide her own hand into Paige's trousers. But she's wearing jeans and the button is awkward. It takes Spencer a few attempts before she gets it open and cups Paige's pussy.

“Do this with me,” Spencer says, as she drags her fingers along Paige's cunt, once and then twice. She circles Paige's clit and then presses them against her entrance. Paige follows her lead and does the same.

They kiss.

Their tongues touch just as they push their fingers into the other. They're in time and it's better than Spencer thought it would be. Spencer thrusts hard and fast, and Paige manages to keep pace. They're bodies move together.

They don't cum at the same time. Spencer knows that it would be a little too much to ask but it might have been nice. Spencer's hand is restricted, she can't put as much force behind her thrusts as Paige so she cums first. Paige is only a few seconds behind. They keep kissing. Long after their orgasms have passed, long after their fingers have stopped thrusting. It's just them and their bodies pressed together.

Spencer wants to savour it. The feeling of sitting in Paige's lap, their mouths moving together, their hearts beating together. But it can't last. None of niceness, the goodness last, not for Spencer. The bell rings and she can hear the stream of voices enter the corridor.

Spencer pulls back. She redoes the buttons on her shirt and rearranges her clothes, and Paige does the same, and by the time the students are walking past the room they're in they're both fully dressed. It's like nothing ever happened. But Spencer can still feel the ghost of Paige's lips against her own and the wetness between her thighs even as Paige goes to leave.

“Paige,” Spencer says.

Paige stops. Her hand grips the handle and Spencer can see the students moving through the corridor over her shoulder. She's sure she'll see Emily at any moment. She sighs.

“Emily broke up with Alison.”

There's a pause. Spencer holds her tongue for a second and tries to gives Paige a moment or two to digest the information.

“I know.”

That's not what Spencer was expecting.

“I'm pretty sure the whole school knows.”

“Oh.” There's another pause. This time Spencer is giving herself time to digest. “I think... No, I know, she wants to get back together.”

“Yeah. I know that too. I'll see you around.”

------

Spencer doesn't see Paige for days. Nobody does actually. It's like she just dropped off the face of the earth. Emily calls her, multiple times and everytime she does Spencer listens closely, and everytime she gets her voicemail Spencer feels a little relief, even as Emily's messages get more desperate.

After four days without Paige and countless unanswered voicemails from Emily, Spencer herself starts to worry.

Her foot taps against the coffee table. She tries to focus on the TV. They're watching some movie, a romantic comedy, maybe, Spencer really hasn't been paying attention. She's on the sofa. Toby's arm is wrapped around her shoulder and every a couple of minutes he shifts closer and she's forced to pull back. She can't stop thinking about Paige, about the last time they had sex and about her response to Emily and right now she feels smothered by him.

“I need another drink,” she says and grabs her glass. It's only half empty but she heads into the kitchen anyway. Emily stares at her. Her eyebrows are furrowed and Spencer deliberately avoids her gaze.

She tips her water away. There's a couple of beers in the fridge – her dad's – and she contemplates grabbing one. Instead she goes for the juice.

“Are you okay?” It's Emily. She leans against the kitchen counter and Spencer continues to avoid her gaze as she pours the juice.

“Yeah, I'm fine.”

“You seem a little... I don't know, off.”

“I'm fine. I'm just a little tired.”

“Are you sure?

“Yeah.” Spencer forces herself to smile.

“Because if you weren't, if there was something bothering you and you needed to talk then you could talk to me.”

Spencer almost scoffs because Emily is the last person that she can talk to about what's been happening, but she manages to swallow it down.

“Emily, I'm fine. Really.”

It must be a little convincing because Emily quietly nods her head.

“Okay. If you're sure.”

“I'm su...” Spencer's phone beeps. She takes it out and sees Paige's name on the screen. A lump wedges itself in her throat. She freezes. Emily must notice because she takes a step forward and tries to see the screen. Spencer pulls it back.

“Is it 'A'?” Emily asks.

“No. It's just my mom.” Spencer forces herself to put her phone back into her pocket, despite every molecule in her body screaming at her to open the message, to see what Paige wants. “It's not important.”

“Okay.”

Spencer takes her time putting the cartoon back into the fridge as she waits for Emily to head back into the living room. She takes a swig of her juice and then downs it completely before she gets the cartoonback out and pours herself another glass. Her phone vibrates in her pocket, a reminder of the message. Part of her is afraid to look. Afraid that this is the moment that Paige ends whatever it is that they have, because why wouldn't she. It's Emily.

She decides to rip off the bandaid.

'Can you come over? I want to see you.'

I want to see you. Not I need to see you or I have to see you. I want. It means something. Spencer can feel it in her chest. A shift. She glances into the living room.

Emily is in the armchair, her legs tucked up under her as she stares at the screen and tries not to look at her phone, even as she wills it to ring. She's still convinced Paige will call, eventually. Toby is sitting on the sofa, waiting for Spencer to come back.

Spencer leaves quietly out of the back door.

Paige's father opens the door. He's not an intimidating as Emily's discribed, his thick woolen jumper taking some of the edge off his image as an overprotective, overbearing father.

“She's upstairs,” he says, as he lets Spencer past.

In a way she's surprised that he's so willingly lets her go upstairs. Emily's told her all about the rules he had whenever she came here, but then she's not Emily. Emily was Paige's girlfriend and whatever they are Spencer's sure Paige hasn't told her father

It's the second door on the right. Spencer pushes it open and sees Paige lying on her bed. She's perfectly still. Her eyes are closed as her chest gently rises and falls. For a moment Spencer thinks Paige is asleep and she wonders if she should go.

“You came,” Paige says.

“You asked me to.” There's a pause. Spencer doesn't know what to say and Paige still hasn't opened her eyes. She clears her throat. “Emily's been calling you.”

“I don't want to talk about Emily.” Suddenly Paige sits up. She steps off the bed and brushes past Spencer. “I want you to take your clothes off.”

Spencer's caught off guard.

“What?”

“I want you to take your clothes off,” Paige says, as she sits back down on the bed. Paige stares at her. There's an intensity to her gaze, a passion maybe, or desire that causes a sly smile to appear on Spencer's face. She grabs her shirt and pulls it over her head. Spencer hopes that Paige isn't expecting some sort of show because she just drops it onto the floor, then pushes her trousers down and steps out of them. Paige's hand touches Spencer's hip. Her fingers stroke along the skin as Spencer undoes the clasp on her bra and allows it to fall.

Paige pulls her close. Spencer stares down at her, watching as Paige leans in close and kisses just below her bellybutton. Her thumbs dip into Spencer's knickers and she pushes them down.

“I'm going to fuck you now.”

It sounds so ridiculous that Spencer almost laughs, but then Paige's arms are around her waist and she's being lifted up off the floor. She's thrown onto the bed. Before she can say anything, Paige flips her onto her front and she can feel herself shiver. There's a thrill as Paige presses herself against her back, the roughness of Paige's clothes against her naked skin.

“Spread your legs,” Paige says.

Spencer does and before she has a chance to realise what's happening, before she has a chance to prepare, Paige thrusts into her. Three fingers, not two.

“Fuck,” Spencer says. She reaches behind her and tries to grab Paige's arm just to anchor herself, but Paige intercepts. She grabs Spencer's wrist with her free hand.

“Stay still,” Paige says, as she takes Spencer's other arm and pins them both above her head.

Spencer moans. She can't move, she pinned down by Paige. All she can do is grasp at the pillow with her fingers as Paige thrusts harder and faster. She wants to push back against Paige's fingers, to get more friction, more force, more Paige, but all she can do is lie there and feel it. Paige has complete control of her and it's so much better than she ever imagined.

It doesn't take long for her to cum. A couple of flicks to her clit with Paige's thumb and her orgasm hits her hard. Lights flash before her eyes and Paige keeps thrusting. Over and over, hitting the same spot until a second orgasm hits, and then a third.

“Paige,” Spencer says, her words muffled slightly by the pillow. Her body aches. The muscles in her thighs feel like they're burning and her clit throbs. “Paige, please.”

Paige's fingers start to slow and her grip on Spencer's wrists loosens.

“Kiss me,” Spencer says. Paige has given her just enough room that she's able to turn onto her back. “Kiss me,” she says again.

Paige smiles. She lets go of Spencer's wrists and cups her cheeks, as she leans down to kiss her. It gentle, almost chaste, completely different to what's just happened and Spencer's head is swimming. Her brain foggy as Paige's tongue brushes lightly against her own and then she's gone. She pulls back and all that's left is the ghost of her on Spencer's lips.

“Paige,” Spencer mutters, but Paige is already moving down.

Paige's hands are on her breasts. She massages and Spencer's back arches, pushing them further into Paige's palms. Her nipples are hard and Paige pinches. She uses her thumb and forefinger to squeeze so tight it feels like a vice and Spencer hisses. It hurts. But it hurts so good.

Paige's fingers are replaced by her mouth. Her tongue presses down against Spencer's nipple, stroking it gently and soothing the pain. She repeats the action on Spencer's other breast and Spencer sighs, her hand threading into Paige's hair as she moves down, biting and kissing along Spencer's stomach.

There's ringing in the distance. Her mobile phone still in her trouser pocket, now on the floor. Spencer ignores it.

She parts her legs with little reluctance. She's still sore but whatever Paige has planned she wants. Spencer feels Paige settle between her thighs. She closes her eyes. Paige's lips are on her skin, gentle kisses on the inside of her thigh. Spencer sighs. She almost feels relaxed and then there's pain. Paige's teeth in her flesh, hard and sharp, so far from the gentle nips on her stomach. First the left and then the right. Spencer looks down and when Paige pulls back she can sees the marks that have been left. They're deep and obvious, they won't be fading any time soon. Spencer looks down, watches as Paige places her lips just under her bellybutton. Her teeth brush against the skin. Spencer knows what's about to happen and she holds Paige's gaze, their eyes locked on each other as Paige bites. Spencer hisses. It hurts more than the bites on her thighs. Maybe it's the anticipation or maybe Paige digs in a little deeper, all Spencer knows it that she's wetter than even.

She's been branded.

Her phone is still ringing. It's incessant and it must be killing the mood for Paige, because she pulls back, even though Spencer doesn't want her to and glances over her shoulder. She grabs Spencer's phone.

“It's Toby,” she says.

Spencer knows that she should feel something, contrition maybe, or guilt. Instead all she feels is annoyed. Paige was building to something and now the moment is gone, and Spencer isn't sure she can get it back.

“He's probably wondering where I am. I left him for you.” The words hang in the air between them, the tension palpable. To leave somebody and to leave somebody are two different thing, and Spencer chooses not to explain which, she wants to see Paige's reaction to the second. Paige stares at Spencer for a moment and then she cancels the call. Spencer doesn't try to stop her as she switches the phone off and drops it onto her bedside table.

“Come here,” Paige says, with a slight growl.

Spencer doesn't have to do anything. Paige grabs the back of her head and pulls her in for a kiss, and their lips crash together. Paige dominates. Her mouth moves against Spencer's, her tongue in Spencer's mouth. All Spencer can do is try to keep up.

“Paige,” Spencer whispers. Her lips brush against Paige's with every syllable. “I want you.”

“I have me,” Paige replies, with a chuckle.

“No. I want all of you.” Spencer grabs the hem of Paige's t-shirt and starts to pull it over Paige's head. She tosses it aside.

“I'm just suppose to forgive her, right?”

It catches Spencer off guard. Her fingers are trying to work the clasp on Paige's bra, but she stops.

“Emily,” Paige says.

Spencer pulls the bra down over Paige's shoulder, slowly revealing her breasts.

“I need to just forget it. Put it down as a mistake she made, a simple mistake and put it behind, then we can back together. Then we can be happy again.”

Spencer drops Paige's bra onto the floor and kisses Paige's chest.

“What if I don't want to take her back? What if I don't want to forget? What if I don't want to forgive?”

Spencer knows what she should say, knows that this is the moment that she should really go to bat for Emily. That she should defend her friend.

“Then don't,” Spencer says. Her hand fiddles with Paige belt. She undoes it and pushes Paige's jeans down over her hips. They work together to pull them off completely.

“I love her. But right now, I don't think I like her very much.”

Spencer's thumbs are hooked into the top of Paige's knickers. She hesitates. She's not ready to pull them down until she has the answer to her next question.

“Do you like me?”

“Yes.”

Spencer leans in and kisses Paige gently. She pushes her knickers down and they fall down onto the bed, their naked bodies entangled.

They spend the night having sex, moving together in a thousand different ways. Rough and hard, soft and gentle, and even tender at times. On the bed, the desk, the floor. They fuck on almost every inch of Paige's bedroom and then start all over again. With the curtains drawn and the door shut it's just the two of them together.

In the early hours of the morning they collapse back onto the bed and Spencer falls asleep with Paige's arm tossed over her waist. It's been a long time since she's slept so peacefully.

There are no nightmares. No restlessness. No tossing and turning. There's just peace.

That peace lasts for just a couple of hours. Spencer is woken from her sleep by the sound of the door opening and somebody laughing.

She sits up. Her vision is a little blurry and she rubs at her eyes. When she gets a clear look her stomach drops.