"Em, you look... wow," Alison breathed out in astonishment as Emily opened the door for her. The blonde was speechless at Emily's pure beauty, she was surprised she could even form a sentence and get it out of her mouth. In front of her, stood the most angelic person she had ever seen.
Emily was wearing a light blue polka dot dress with a matching belt, and her hair was styled simply. She was wearing make-up, but kept a very natural look. Alison scanned her tanned body and bit her lip.
Emily felt like her whole body was on fire as the blonde scanned over it with her eyes blatantly. The whole world stopped when she opened that door. Alison was so regularly beautiful every day, but tonight, she looked especially gorgeous in her pink dress. Emily's jaw nearly hit the floor and her throat instantly constricted. There was no way around Alison's miraculous grace.
Alison was about a second away from walking in and kissing Emily until the world came to an end, when she heard a familiar voice coming from behind the brunette. "Oh, Alison, how are you, honey?" Pam Fields appeared beside her daughter.
"I'm great, Mrs. Fields, how are you?" Alison answered politely, the same way she always did when it came to Emily's parents, and Emily smiled at her approvingly.
"I'm quite alright, thank you. Where are you two going dressed so fancy? Special dates?" Pam smiled encouragingly at the two girls.
'God, if only she knew,' Alison joked to herself.
"It's just dinner with friends, mom," Emily reassured her mother, her face red from embarrassment, wishing she could just tell her mom the honest truth. It was Alison's and hers first dinner as a couple and it meant the world to both of them.
"Alright, have fun. Just don't be out too late, honey," Pam hugged Emily and stepped back into the house. "Oh, and remember, your father is supposed to come home first thing in the morning."
"Okay," Emily nodded and closed the door behind her. She looked around to make sure her mother wasn't watching, then smiled wholeheartedly at the blonde.
"Just dinner with friends, huh? You're a better liar than I thought, Emily Fields," Alison said flirtatiously as she wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist and pulled her close.
"Shut up," Emily giggled shyly before cradling Alison's cheeks with her hands and kissing her softly. Alison smiled into the kiss and pretty soon they were both giggling.
The blonde parted from Emily and they started walking towards Hanna's house, which was where Caleb was picking them up to the restaurant.
"This is one of the only times I've ever seen you in a dress, you know?" Alison pointed out, which made Emily blush hard. "You look beautiful, Em," Alison said as she smiled softly at the brunette. Emily lifted her head and looked into Alison's eyes. There was only sincerity and affection in the blonde's eyes and Emily found herself swooning.
She smiled brightly from ear to ear and looked at the ground. "You're the most beautiful girl in the world, Ali," Emily admitted in return and Alison smiled widely as she felt her heart swelling in her chest. She knew Emily thought she was beautiful, but hearing her say it like that, in that atmosphere, made it so much more special.
She felt her a knot forming in her throat and her eyes turning unwantedly glassy, which didn't go unnoticed by Emily. She tried to get the water in her eyes to subside but to no avail. "Are you crying?" Emily asked concernedly.
"I'm just really happy, Em," Alison let out with a silent giggle, carefully blinking away the tears, "you make me really happy."
"You make me really happy too," Emily answered back tenderly and grabbed Alison's hand, brushing her thumb over the back of the blonde's palm as they continued their journey to their friend's house.
They soon reached Hanna's house and were greeted by the sight of Ashley Marin. The second they saw it was Ashley who opened the door and not Hanna, they both let go of the other's hands in the speed of lightning.
"Hi, girls, come in, Hanna's upstairs," Mrs. Marin allowed them inside the house warmly.
"Thanks, Mrs. Marin," Emily answered kindly and both girls climbed up the stairs. They entered Hanna's room and saw her looking at herself in the mirror.
"Wow, Han, you really go all out for dates," Emily joked when she saw her friend.
Hanna was wearing a knee-high red dress, her blonde hair resting in soft waves on her shoulders. Hanna usually wasn't confident about her body, she was the opposite, in fact, which was why Alison and Emily were surprised to see her like that. But it was clear that these past few days had struck a chord in Hanna's heart - perhaps because Alison was treating her kindly and had stopped making comments about her weight, or the fact that she was dating a guy who liked her for exactly who she was, or maybe because she had started working out with Spencer - either way, she was feeling better than ever about herself.
"Yeah, I know. I was going to wear something else, but then I just thought, 'screw it' and went with this. This is my mom's. Is it okay?" Hanna asked hesitantly, and the way she eyed Alison made the queen bee realize that her friend was looking for her approval.
"You look incredible, Han, and I'm proud of you," Alison said honestly, causing the two other girls to beam.
They heard the doorbell ring and Hanna practically flew downstairs. Alison and Emily giggled as they followed their friend and saw Hanna smothering Caleb with kisses, which he happily returned, getting them to roll their eyes playfully at the sight.
The group left the house, and after Hanna said her goodbye to her mother, the four of them climbed into Caleb's car. They all drove to a restaurant in the center of town and met their friends at their reserved table. Everyone was wearing fancy clothes and looked striking for their dates. It didn't take them long to sit down and order, and while they waited, they decided to start planning their trip to Paris.
"Okay, throwing ideas. What do you guys want to do in Paris?" Spencer asked the people around the table.
Alison smirked as she answered, "Emily and I sort of planned a trip a to France a few months ago."
Spencer looked at Alison expectantly, "Well, what did you guys plan?"
"We planned on starting at the South of France, dancing through sunflower fields, lounging around in our bikinis in the French Riviera," Alison ignored everyone else at the table and talked solely to Emily. "You'd look so good on top of the Eiffel tower. Wind in your hair-"
"Ehem, ehem. Earth to Ali and Em," Spencer interrupted but when the two didn't turn around to face her, too lost in their own little world, she fake-coughed even harder.
They finally turned to her and Alison smirked. "What's the matter, Spence?" she asked false-innocently.
Spencer only rolled her eyes in response. Their food arrived and they all started eating, talking amongst themselves in good-nature.
"Emily?" a familiar voice called. Emily instantly froze as she recognized the voice and turned around.
"Hi, mom, what are you doing here?" Emily asked nervously and hesitantly looked over to Alison who's eyes were wide open.
"I thought I would celebrate since-" Mrs. Fields looked at the people around the table, "oh, hello," she said when she noticed the guys that she'd never seen before. It was only when Wayne Fields suddenly appeared from behind a crowd of people, that Emily began understanding the situation a little better.
"Dad? When did you get back?" Emily asked excitedly.
"Today, Emmy," he walked over and hugged his daughter tightly. She melted into her father's touch and smiled widely. Alison was satisfied with the view of her mermaid so happy. "I came home not too long ago and surprised your mom. We decided to go out and celebrate in this restaurant your mother mentioned."
The rest of the girls stood up as well and they all gave Mr. Fields a hug. The five of them were so close, that sometimes they felt as if another girl's parents were their own, especially when it came to Wayne, who had always been very kind-hearted to them all.
The three guys stood up as well. "Hey, Mr. And Mrs. Fields, I'm Ezra," he said politely and firmly shook Wayne's hand.
"I'm Toby," the boy said and did the same.
"I'm Caleb, it's a pleasure to meet you."
They shook hands and Mrs. Fields smiled, "Please, just call us Pam and Wayne."
Mrs. Fields looked around the table, noting that Toby was holding Spencer's hand and Ezra and Caleb were doing the same for Aria and Hanna. She assumed that it was a group date after all and noticed Emily and Alison were the only ones without dates.
"Where are your dates, sweetheart?" Pam asked Emily teasingly as she pointed to her daughter and to Alison. She figured her daughter was simply too shy to tell her that it was a date. Emily gulped, not knowing what to answer. She truly didn't know what to say, the question caught ber completely off guard.
"What do you mean? They're each other's-" an obnoxiously loud cough stopped Ezra mid-sentence and Alison continued, giving him a wide-eyed death glare that clearly said 'shut up!'
Ezra took the hint and shut right up. Mrs. Fields looked at their interaction with a confused expression.
"I told you, mom, it's just dinner with friends. Ali and I just happen to not have dates," Emily finally decided to speak up.
Pam continued to look at her suspiciously for a few moments, before finally sighing in defeat. "Alright, honey. Have fun, kids," Pam called out to the rest of them as she and her husband disappeared into the crowd of people at the busy restaurant.
"What the hell, Ezra?!" Alison shouted at him as soon as Emily's parents were out of sight. Emily kept a watchful eye on them, noticing her parents getting seated at a far-away table.
"I'm sorry! How was I supposed to know that they didn't know about you two?" Ezra said defensively. Emily and Alison huffed in frustration as Aria patted Ezra's back, trying to comfort him.
"It's okay, nevermind," Alison said eventually and Emily nodded evenly. They both sat down and the anger and awkwardness eventually evaporated and they continued eating and actually started planning the trip this time.
They planned on renting four rooms in a five star hotel right in front of the Eiffel tower. They planned on visiting the Louvre museum on day 1, the Eiffel tower on day 2, Arc de Triomphe on day 3, Champ de Mars on day 4, Palace Of Versailles on day 5, and Disneyland Paris on days 6 and 7 (since one day wasn't enough). They called Harris and scheduled to meet him next week so they could arrage all of the final details.
The night was becoming more and more perfect, and when they finished eating, Alison couldn't resist the urge and stood up.
"I'm going to go wash up," she said as she turned her head to Emily, hoping she will get the hint.
These past few days had made her realize just how addicted she was to Emily's touch. She didn't even mean it in a cliched way, she was simply so done with trying to hide what she felt for the brunette, and physical touch was a part of it. She couldn't get enough of the goosebumps and tingles on her skin every time Emily kissed her and touched her, and the brunette had been so polite and lovely during this whole evening, that Alison was overdue for some time alone with her.
Emily understood it and stood up. "I'll come with you," she said, trying to sound less desperate than she truly was. She needed Alison, she craved her, and they couldn't even hold hands because Emily's parents were in the other side of the room. As Emily and Alison walked over to the bathroom, the blonde looked over her shoulder to make sure her girlfriend's parents weren't watching them, which they weren't.
Once they entered the bathroom, Alison didn't even bother going inside a stall, and pulled Emily's hand, then lightly pushed her against the wall, not that the girl was opposing or complaining. Emily was so beautiful, words couldn't even describe the level of attraction the blonde currently had towards her girlfriend. It was a shame she hadn't acted on her feelings sooner, she thought to herself.
It definitely wasn't one-sided. Emily has had feelings for the blonde ever since they first locked eyes. She couldn't even believe she was dating the girl of her dreams. The brunette had to stay in bed a few minutes every morning, just to try and process what was real and what was a dream.
Alison snapped Emily out of her thoughts when she pressed her lips against the brunette's with a sure pressure that sent chills all around Emily's body. She quickly responded to the kiss as her hands got lost in Alison's soft hair. Alison grabbed Emily's hands and forcefully pinned them to the wall by the brunette's sides, her desire for the girl only growing stronger.
Emily was confused at first, but then let Alison dominate the kiss. Their bodies were flushed together and Alison could feel a wave of heat coming from Emily's body, indicating that the swimmer was getting as into the kiss as she as, which made her smile against Emily's lips. She loved the effect that she had on her girlfriend. Emily opened her mouth and allowed Alison's tongue to explore her mouth. Alison bit Emily's lip and earned a silent groan from the brunette.
"Emily!"
Alison jumped away from Emily and opened her eyes, petrified.
There she was, Pam Fields, Emily's mother, who just caught the two girls making out, standing there with her eyes and mouth wide open.
"Mom! I-I," Emily struggled to form a sentence. These past few minutes felt like a scene from a movie. 'No, this can't be happening,' the brunette thought to herself.
"What's going on?!" Wayne came rushing through the door. He had walked his wife to the bathroom earlier and waited outside, but once he heard screaming, he sprinted inside the bathroom. Pam didn't answer, but the tears quickly came rushing to her eyes and she covered her face with her hands.
Wayne rushed to embrace his wife in his arms and turned to look at Emily. "What happened?" he mouthed to her. Emily felt her eyes turn glassy and turned away from her parents. Alison tried to make it better by placing her hand on Emily's back soothingly, but she knew this situation had no turn-back point. She felt her heart crack as she saw a single tear sliding down her mermaid's cheek.
Emily turned to Alison and the blonde couldn't help but pull her into a tight hug. She was surprised to find herself sharing a momentary look of dread with Emily's father, of all people, beyond the brunette's shoulder. When Emily finally parted away from Alison, she turned to her mother, who was still sobbing in Wayne's arms.
"Mom, say something. Please," Emily pleaded silently.
Pam turned to her daughter and looked her in the eye. "Alison's your date, isn't she," she whispered, not even bothering to glance at the blonde who stood there uncomfortably, feeling like she was invading a private moment.
"What are you talking about?" Wayne asked his wife.
"They were kissing, Wayne!" she practically shouted and looked back to Emily. "Emily, tell me what I saw wasn't true. Tell me you're not-" the words stopped in her throat as tears began flowing down her cheeks again.
"Mom..." Emily let out quietly, not knowing what to say for the life of her. But all that registered in Pam's mind was that her daughter wasn't denying her accusation.
"I thought I raised you better than that," Pam shook her head bitterly and fleed out of the bathroom.
"Care to explain what just happened?" Wayne asked, overwhelmed, as he turned to Emily and Alison.
"Alison and I are together, dad. I love her." Emily explained as she was on a verge of tears. Wayne's expression was blank for a second, before he walked up to the two girls and pulled his daughter into a tight hug in his strong arms, then stretched his arm out to Alison, as well, who seemed like she was about to cry.
"I know," was all he said as he parted from them.
"You know? How?" Alison asked.
"I've always seen the way you two looked at each other. I might be away a lot but I'm not blind," he explained slowly. "Emmy, I've always had a feeling about you. I've always wanted to take a step back and let you find yourself. As long as you're happy, honey, I'm happy too," he added after a moment.
Emily smiled weakly at her dad. He returned the tiny smile before looking behind him and stating, "I should probably go check on her. Don't worry, she'll come around. I'll try to get her to see it from my point of view." He placed his hand comfortingly on his daughter's shoulder for a few moments, then turned and left the bathroom.
Emily couldn't help it anymore, she broke down in tears and cried silently as Alison held her in her arms. "It's okay, Em. It's okay, she's just overwhelmed. I'm here," Alison assured her in a gentle yet firm voice.
The heard the door swing open and Hanna walked into the bathroom concernedly, finding her friend in the midst of a deep sob. "What happened? I saw your mom leave the restaurant, she looked pissed," Hanna said as she walked over to the brunette and placed a hand on her shoulder. Emily didn't respond, only parted from the two blondes and walked over to the door.
"I have to go talk to her," she said to Alison.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Alison asked concernedly.
"No, I have to do this alone," she answered the blonde and rushed out the door. Emily walked over to her parents' table, finding it deserted. Her watery eyes scanned the area of the restaurant, not seeing her two parents. She looked out of the transparent glass wall of the restaurant and her eyes landed on the street outside, where she saw her mother's car parked. A few feet away, stood both of her parents - her mother was nodding along gently to whatever her father way saying, and Emily stayed rooted in her spot, watching the interaction silently for a few minutes. Finally, her mother's eyes found hers through the see-through wall and she took a deep breath as she broke the eye contact and forced her feet out of the door to the restaurant.
"Dad, can you leave us alone for a minute?" Emily asked her father as she reached both of her parents, her eyes flying nervously to her mother. Wayne nodded apprehensively and left, leaving the two tanned brunettes to talk by themselves. "Mom, I know that you're mad, but if you just let me explain-"
"Your father... your father is a very persuasive man, Emily," Pam said in a quiet tone, looking like her mind was running a hundred miles per minute.
"What?" Emily asked as she shifted in her spot.
"Your father talked to me, honey. I..." Pam looked around the street as her eyes turned tearful once more. "All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy, Emmy. You and your father are all I care about in this world," the woman could barely get the words out, and Emily felt a knot being tied in her throat. "I can't say I understand this, but i-if this is what you want-"
"It's not just what I want, mom, it's... It's who I am," Emily interrupted, teary-eyed still.
"T-That's... that's going to take some getting used to for me," Pam nodded slowly. "Deep down, I think I've always known there was something to be said between you two. It was never just a friendship like you have with the other girls. And if you really care about her..." she trailed off.
"I do. But don't just care about her. I, I love her, mom." Emily admitted silently, looking straight into her mother's eyes.
"I just want you to be happy," Pam whispered, nodding as though to reassure herself that it was okay. "It-It's going to take me some time, Emmy, but... if you really are happy, then..."
"She makes me happier than I've ever been. Please try to understand. For me."
Surprisingly, her mother gave her a faint smile, "I'll always do anything for you, sweetheart."
Emily returned the dim smile before pulling her mother into a searing hug, her tears cascading down her face, making her look beautifully woeful. The older woman wrapped her arms around her daughter in return and squeezed tight, as though refusing to let go of the little girl she had known and raised over all these years.
"Thank you," Emily breathed out.
"I love you more than you will ever know, honey," Pam said earnestly as she rubbed Emily's back slowly. She felt the girl's tears soaking the material of her cardigan and her heart clenched softly in her chest. She never wanted her daughter to cry ever again. When they parted away, Emily saw her father approaching them, giving her a loving rub on her shoulder.
"Your mother and I are leaving to go home. We need to talk this out over a calming cup of tea," her father assured her and she nodded faintly. "Enjoy the rest of your-" he looked around and found Alison's concerned face in the glass, "-date."
He gave Emily one last hug before opening the car door to his wife and watching as she got in, before walking around the car and getting into the driver's seat.
Emily wrung her arms cautiously, avoiding eye contact as she waited for them to leave their parking space. She heard a car door open and lifted her head to see her mother walking back to her. "Go to her," Pam addressed her calmly, and Emily stared at her in dismay.
Pam saw Alison's face through the glass. The thoughts in her head were tangled and she knew that she and her husband had a long night of talking ahead of them but when she saw the blonde's face, so concerned, so apprehensive, so unlike the Alison she'd known for a while now, it made her realize the girl really did care deeply for the state of her daughter.
She wasn't Alison's mother but she was a caring, nurturing mother nonetheless, and seeing Alison like that made her figure out that the girl needed some reassurance, too. Emily needed to go and assuage her thoughts before the blonde had a nervous breakdown.
Emily nodded at her mother, still in a state of shock, and watched, paralyzed, as her parents finally reversed and drove out of the parking lot and out of sight. Emily knew that her mother listened to her father the most, and she valued his opinion more than anyone. The brunette didn't know what she would've done if her dad wasn't there, but she was very grateful that he was.
She heard footsteps approaching from behind her, and a few moments later, Alison appeared beside her with a distressed look. "What did she say?"
Emily turned to look at the blonde's anxious blue eyes, not helping herself but spilling the entire contents of the conversation. When she was done, Alison was already pulling her into a comforting hug, and she quickly returned the favor, needing to feel the girl's warmth of her body.
"She loves you so much, Em. I'm glad she saw the brighter side of things," Alison admitted, running her hand calmly though Emily's locks. "It's all going to be okay."
"I know," Emily whispered and nodded, "I'm glad, too."