Did You Get My Letter?--Paily
Paige was in the locker room after swim practice, reading the note she’d found in her locker earlier that day.
Dear Paige,
I know this might be unexpected, but I had to tell you. I think you’re so sexy in the pool. When I see you, I can’t control myself. I want to kiss you and touch you. I can’t tell anyone else right now or my boyfriend Ben will be furious. I’m going to break up with him, but I wanted to know if you share my feelings first. I think you do, but I needed to make sure. I hope you don’t mind me leaving this in your locker, but I need you to deliver mine somewhere else. If Ben sees it in my locker, he’ll kill me, and my mom would freak out. If you feel the same way, leave a response at the bike rack in front of The Brew. Drop it off tomorrow afternoon right after school.
Kisses,
Emily
She heard someone walking in and scrambled to hide the note. She looked up, shocked by the face in front of her.
“Emily,” she breathed nervously. Emily Fields was standing in front of her looking stunning as usual.
“Did you get my letter?” Emily asked. Paige almost choked. She wondered if it was possible the letter had been there longer than she’d thought.
“Oh, um, yeah. I did. I’ll drop it off tomorrow,” Paige stuttered. Emily frowned.
“Drop what off?” she asked.
“My response…” Paige said slowly. Emily tilted her head.
“Oh, you can just reply to the e-mail at the bottom,” she said. Now Paige frowned. The letter had explicitly told her where to leave a response, so Emily’s words didn’t make sense.
“But you said to leave a return letter at…” she trailed off, suddenly afraid that the letter had been a joke. Was Emily about to start laughing at her? Was Ashton Kutcher waiting to pop out from the shower? Emily’s face scrunched up in concern.
“A return letter? What are you talking about? I just need to know if you’re coming to the party. You don’t have to write a return letter,” Emily said. Paige’s heart sank. She hadn’t been referring to the letter confessing her attraction to Paige. So what the hell was she talking about?
“Did you think I was talking about something else?” Emily asked softly, noticing Paige’s mood change. Paige shook her head, too quickly.
“No, no. What else would I be talking about?” she asked. Emily shrugged.
“I don’t know. You just seemed… disappointed,” she said. Paige swallowed thickly, wondering if she should bring up the other letter. Maybe Emily just didn’t want to talk about it public?
“What were the details on the party?” Paige asked, changing the subject. If Emily noticed what she was doing, she didn’t say. Instead she started rummaging around in her bag.
“Here, I think I have an extra in here,” she said. “Aha, here it is.”
She handed her an envelope, which Paige quickly opened and began to read.
Hey!
I’m organizing an end of season get together for the swim team! On Friday, April 18, let’s all get together at Pizza Party Central at 6:00. If you’re able to make it, please RSVP at [email protected]. Oh, and pizza, breadsticks, and soda will be paid for by the swim team, so don’t worry about bringing money.
Hope to see you all there!
Emily Fields
“Oh, um, thanks. I’ll send an e-mail confirmation, but I’ll definitely be there. I wouldn’t miss it,” Paige said awkwardly. The contents of the other letter were still swimming around in her head. Sexy. Kiss you. Touch you. Tomorrow.
“Paige, is everything all right?” Emily asked, concerned. Paige nodded, feeling tears prickling at her eyes.
“Yeah, of course. I’m fine. I just remembered I need to get home. Right now. My grandmother’s visiting and I should have been home a half hour ago,” she mumbled, pushing past Emily to get out of the locker room before she burst into tears.
Emily stared after her, wondering what had just happened. Paige’s behavior seemed strange, but Emily felt like she didn’t know her well enough to confront her about it. She hoped she was okay.
Later that night, Paige found herself writing a letter in response to Emily. She didn’t know what was going on, but she sure as hell was about to find out.