The scotch on his breath is intoxicating in its own right and she's fighting the urge to lean in closer to try and see if he tastes like scotch, too.
He kisses her before she can run for cover in Hanna's car.
"I was saying the truth, about wishing I'd met you first."
He tastes like scotch, and coffee and Wren.
Three of her favorite tastes in the world, she decides.
"Come inside," he beckons.
She wishes for the bold mind of a drunk person. That way she would have an excuse to agree, to go have her way with him and give into the temptation that seems to radiate off of him.
She's sober though, aside from the intoxicating buzz that's running through her body whenever Wren touches her.
"I've made a lot of stupid decisions lately. I'm way over my limit."
They share a knowing smile and she pretends she can't see the disappointed look on his face.
"Goodnight, Spencer", he says, brushing her lips with his own.
"Night, Wren", she replies as she pulls away from him.
She starts walking towards Hanna's car, heart still beating too fast for her to think straight.
"I'll call you", she hears him say under his breath.
They both know he won't.
She wishes for a life in an alternate universe where she got to meet him first.
…
"What? I thought you were really into me."
"I am. Very much so. And that's why I can't. Not like this."
How gentlemanly. She lets herself fall back onto the couch in frustration.
They're quiet for a moment.
"Will you still kiss me?"
He laughs as he sits down next to her on the couch.
"You know I've never been good at not kissing you when I shouldn't."
She can work with that.
…
She wakes up, not knowing where she is for a second before the blurry images of last night piece together.
Shots at the bar, that terribly charming accent and several glasses of scotch.
The world is bright around her, she notices, because the sun streaming through the windows is hurting her eyes and, subsequently, her head.
Said part of her body is throbbing with the classic, irregular beat of a hangover. Her mouth is so dry, she's sure she could chug a bottle of water right now and not stop to take a breath once.
It's nice, this hangover. It takes her mind off of other things, like how her sister might be involved in a murder or the fact that there's still some crazy stalker out there trying to control her life.
Wren walks in then.
Right. Him. The guy she drunkenly accosted last night. (Though he didn't seem to mind much.)
She feels embarrassed, but then he kisses her and any feeling of embarrassment is quickly replaced with a single emotion - pure, heavy lust. The thought of him ever not being this close to her is one she can't bear.
Slipping out of his embrace is the single hardest thing she's ever had to do. She has never been this tempted to skip school before in her life and she knows if she doesn't leave right away, she won't be able to force herself to leave at all.
She has no idea what to say.
"I'll… call… you." Is what she comes up with in between kisses.
No she won't. Their dynamic works because they rely on chance encounters to bring them together once in a blue moon.
He knows that, too, but doesn't let it bother him.
All she knows is that she's welcome on his couch anytime.
She's enjoying the idea of the two of them, naked, on that very couch a little too much for the next few days.
...
Her sister is having a birthday party and, since they've actually been getting along for once, Spencer is invited.
She doesn't really know anyone here except for Jason and CeCe, so those are the people she talks to. It's awkward, because CeCe and Jason apparently used to date (or so the girl tells her when they go to the bathroom together), but it's better than being alone in this crowd full of Melissa's business school friends.
Her sister is handing her a glass of champagne as she tells her to stop being so tense.
"I'm not being tense!"
Melissa's raised eyebrows suggest otherwise.
"Yes you are! Just enjoy yourself. It's a party, Spencer, not a formal function."
That's when she sees him. At the bar across the room, nursing a glass of scotch.
"You invited Wren?!"
Melissa grins at her mischievously.
"I didn't think you'd mind."
She scoffs.
"Well, I mind."
She sees him talk to a guy with a pretentious bowtie. Her mind is racing.
"Wait. Why would you think I wouldn't mind?"
"Look, Wren has been a good friend to me and I understand that given the-" she clears her throat. "Circumstances surrounding his sudden departure from our lives, you'd expect me to hate him. I don't. And according to him, you don't hate him all that much either…"
Melissa, clearly waiting for Spencer to tell her all about her past encounters with Wren, looks at her expectantly.
Spencer decides she's heard enough. She drowns her glass of champagne in one go and pushes the empty glass into her sister's hands.
"I'm not talking about this right now."
"Later, then."
Spencer rolls her eyes. She storms off towards Wren – towards the bar, too, she needs a drink. Behind her, she can hear her sister laugh at her dramatic exit.
Pushing in between some guy leaning against a barstool and Wren, she fixes her eyes on the bartender.
"Scotch and soda please."
Wren immediately turns towards her.
"Spencer!"
He grins sheepishly. His hand reaches out to touch her arm as he seems to be considering something.
Finally, he pulls her into a tight hug.
She giggles and immediately curses herself for sounding like a stupid little girl.
He smells exactly like he did the night she caught him with that flower pot and the night she crashed at his apartment; the unmistakable scent of alcohol boasting off of him, mixed with something she can't put her finger on that's just so distinctly him.
"Hey, Wren," she smiles at him.
The bartender sets her scotch on the bar in front of her.
"You look lovely tonight," Wren says, a bit of a slur mixing in with his accent.
She looks down at herself. She does look lovely, doesn't she? The green dress she's wearing is one of her favorites, showing just enough cleavage and ending just above her knees. She's paired it with a pair of relatively high heels, in hopes that maybe the heels would keep her from drinking excessively tonight.
"I know," he laughs at her self confidence. "Sorry, I mean… thank you."
Spencer has always had issues responding to compliments, because even though she likes them and knows people mean them in a nice way, they're usually just stating the obvious. Her mother used to scold her for her go-to response of "I know" but she's never quite gotten her to quit doing it.
They fall into one of the many silences they like to share when they're together.
God. His eyes are so green. His hair is just curly enough for her to desperately want to run her fingers through it.
Now she understands why people use the expression 'to get lost in someone's eyes'.
The scotch burns her throat as it goes down. She sets the empty glass on the bar.
Suddenly she desperately wants to kiss him.
There's no way she can do that here, though, in a room full of Melissa's closest friends. People would talk.
Without a warning, she grabs Wren's hand and pulls him after her and up the stairs.
He doesn't protest, just lets her drag him upstairs.
She decides they could both use the fresh air, so she leads him out to the balcony where they sit down on a bench.
His hand is playing with the ends of her hair.
"Are you kidnapping me?"
Tipsy, but not drunk. That's how she feels right now and it's a good feeling.
Wren, on the other hand, seems to be a lot more drunk than she is.
"Don't worry, I won't force myself on you."
He buries his face in the crook of her neck as he laughs. His laughter vibrates in her chest.
"You could never force yourself on me. I could never not want to be with you," he says it like it's obvious. His face is just inches from hers.
"Now that we're not surrounded by Melissa's friends anymore, I can finally do," she leans in closer, "this." She doesn't have to say it. Their lips meet in the middle.
They spent two hours out on that balcony, trading kisses and stories, until they're both almost sober again and realize how cold it is outside.
She sees the look her sister gives her when she gets back downstairs but finds that she doesn't care at the moment.
He brings out a side of herself she's never seen; whenever she's with him she simply stop caring about what other people think and just enjoys her time with him.
It might be because their time together is always limited, because she never knows when she'll get to see him again.
Frankly, she doesn't know and she doesn't want to be thinking about this right now when she could be talking to him instead.
…
"So how long have you been sleeping with Wren?"
Spencer knew there was a reason her sister wanted to have a movie night in the barn.
The casual way her sisters asks this, her facial expression innocent as ever, is irritating.
She doesn't even have to fake being shocked at the question.
"I'm not sleeping with Wren."
It's the truth, kind of, because while they've been making out on a regular basis for a while now, they've never actually had sex. Definitely not for lack of trying from either of them. One of them was always too drunk or had reservations about it or something else got in the way.
"You can tell me! I'm not mad; I've been over him for a long time now. I'm just curious."
She stares at Spencer like she's a new episode of her favorite reality TV show.
"Melissa, I am not sleeping with Wren. There's nothing else to tell."
"Please. I saw you two talking at my party. And then you just disappeared upstairs..."
"We went upstairs to sit outside on the balcony and talk."
They also spent a good amount of time making out, resulting in her having to cover up the hickey on her throat the following Monday at school. But Melissa doesn't need to know that.
"Right", Melissa says, doubt written all over her face. "Talk." She looks amused.
Spencer presses her lips together in frustration.
"Yes. Right."
"You were up there for hours."
"Well, we had a lot to talk about!"
Melissa is actually laughing at Spencer now.
"Honestly, Spencer. I saw the way you two look at each other. You were practically undressing him with your eyes."
Spencer stares at the bag of popcorn in her lap. There's no way she'll take the bait and start a full-blown conversation about this with her sister right now. Or ever, actually.
A small part of her wonders if her attraction to Wren is really that obvious.
"There's no way you two have never fucked. I asked CeCe and Jason, and they seemed to think so, too."
Is this what a friendship with her sister entails? If so, Spencer is not sure she wants it that much anymore.
Also, Melissa and cursing doesn't really go together.
"Can we please just watch the movie, eat popcorn and pretend you did not just say that?"
Their eyes meet, staring each other down. Soon neither of them can keep it up anymore and they start laughing.
"You know, just because I'm laughing doesn't mean we won't talk about this later."
She swears to herself she'll never have a movie night with her sister again.
…
Aria catches them kissing in a supply closet at school.
The school offers first aid seminars just after midterms. The hospital sends staff to help out, and Wren just so happens to be part of that group.
He told her as much in a text that very morning and upon arriving at school, she found him wandering the halls right away.
Spencer hasn't seen him since Melissa's birthday a week ago. They've been texting quite a bit though, which was weird at first but is actually kind of fun now.
How she ends up with him pushing her back against a shelf full of cleaning utensils, one of her legs wrapped around his hip, she doesn't really know.
Aria opens the door, (looking for some paper towels, she'll later tell Spencer,) and freezes.
Spencer refuses to open her eyes for a second, not wanting to know who just walked in. Then she does.
She's torn between thinking it's a good thing it was Aria to walk in on them and thinking that Aria will never let her live this down.
Wren has turned around to see who opened the door, too. Aria looks back and forth between them in amusement.
"I- uh… sorry. I'll just," Aria clears her throat, "leave you two to it."
And just like that, she's gone again.
Spencer can't help but giggle. She rests her head against Wren's shoulder.
"We really need to stop doing this in public places."
Wren's hand draws soothing circles on her hip under her blouse.
She finds she doesn't really care about what Aria will do with the information she just acquired as long as Wren never lets go of her again.
There she goes again, letting her body take over making decisions for her brain.
Sometimes she thinks he makes her a better person, more relaxed and more fun.
Other times she wonders what the hell she's doing, getting into these situations with him.
…
She has coffee with Aria later that day.
"What you saw today needs to stay just between us."
Aria shrugs.
"That's fine." They're quiet for a moment. "What about Toby? I thought you two were… I don't know what I thought actually."
Spencer sighs.
"I've been over him for a while now."
"What exactly was it that I saw today? I'm a little confused."
Great. Just the kind of question she wanted to never have to answer.
"It's nothing," it's a lie, but she doesn't know what exactly it is, so it feels like the truth. "Which is why there's no reason to tell anyone."
"You do know that people only say it's nothing when it's really something, right?"
Spencer laughs.
"Whatever. Just keep my secret," she holds out her pinkie for Aria to intertwine with her own. "Team Sparia?"
They both laugh at that.
After the pinkie promise is sealed, they drink their coffee in silence.
"This means I get to tease you relentlessly about this, you know that, right?"
Brilliant.
…
"You realize that Melissa thinks we're sleeping together, right?"
They're having dinner at a cute little restaurant in Philly. Their newfound friendship basically consists of them texting each other where they are and meeting up with the other whenever possible.
Aria refers to it as their "text if you wanna hang... or bang!" arrangement which Spencer promptly counters with "English teacher available after office hours to better your oral grade".
Aria has been great about not telling the other girls, which Spencer asked her to do simply because she didn't see why they should know about something that isn't really anything, but that doesn't mean she won't make lewd jokes about it.
The only other person who knows about it is A, and well, it's not like Spencer expected this go to unnoticed by her stalker, so she's not surprised. So far there have been no threats though.
Despite the fact that basically everyone who sees them together thinks they're dating, or involved somehow, they're not.
They're friends.
Friends who flirt.
Friends who like to make out when they're drunk.
Simple as that.
"That would explain why your sister keeps asking me about the women in my life."
"And what do you tell her?" She's curious. The idea of Wren and Melissa as friends is still absolutely new to her.
"I tell her to mind her own business, which she usually answers by saying that it is her business because you're her sister."
Spencer sighs, annoyed at her sister. It's one thing for her to ask Spencer about it but to ask Wren? Ridiculous.
"If she asks me if we're, quote, fucking, unquote one more time, I'm gonna lose it."
Wren laughs.
"She's clearly desperate to know if she's resulting to such vulgar vocabulary."
Spencer nods.
"We could both use a drink, don't you think? I can't talk about this sober."
That's how she ends up drunk at his apartment for the second time on a school night in a month.
…
They stumble up the stairs, Spencer struggling in her heels.
His hand hovers near the small of her back, he's right behind her to catch her if she falls.
She thinks it's one of the sweetest things any guy has ever done for her.
"I think the shots might've been a bad idea."
She giggles at the ridiculous sentiment.
"Shots are never a bad idea, Wren! Especially if it's tequila!"
Upon hearing him laugh behind her, she feels the need to turn around.
"I'm serious!"
He unlocks the door she's leaning against, causing her to practically fall into his apartment.
His hands immediately go out to steady her.
"Be careful," he laughs.
"Why? I know you'll catch me either way."
Her eyes are fixed on his lips. The vibe in the room switches from funny to tension filled just like that.
As they kiss, every thought of how she has to get up in just a few hours to leave for school disappears.
And when she wakes up in his bed the next morning, still a little drunk from the night's activities, she can't help but be a little giddy as she sneaks out of his apartment, careful not to wake him.
Falling for him was never part of her plan, but then again, she never had a plan when it came to Wren to begin with.
…
Her parents are in New York for a whole week during Spring Break of her senior year.
„That settles it," Aria says. „You and I are SO getting drunk tonight."
Spencer considers this for a moment. Truth is, it's only been a week and a half since she got drunk and crashed at Wren's place but hey – her body is young and her mind still fresh so she figures she can let herself enjoy a night out.
Both Hanna and Emily are out of town and Spencer will admit that getting drunk and coming home whenever she sees fit (and then sleeping in her own bed!) sounds fun.
So that's how she gets roped into going to the bar three blocks from her house that has no issues with serving minors.
"You know, I've never seen you drunk before…"
Spencer is actually confused by that statement. She drinks so frequently that she sometimes forgets that she's somehow never with her friends when she does.
"Well, I plan to get completely snookered tonight, don't worry."
Aria shoots her a doubtful look.
"Snookered?"
"Just some British slang I heard somewhere."
She ignores the joke about Wren teaching her proper English that Aria throws her way.
What Aria did not tell her is that Ezra would be coming along.
It's not that she has reservations about the fact that her friend is dating their ex-teacher. It's just weird. They never hang out with him. She knows that bothers Aria, so she's making an effort to keep the conversation going.
He's nice and they get along. (Just like they used to in his class every morning at 8:30, but hey, no judgment.)
But really, being the third wheel is just never that fun.
So, for some strange reason unknown to her, she finds herself texting Wren in a feeble attempt to cheer herself up after her second martini.
Not that she's counting. (She's hoping to get to six before the night is over)
She tells him where she is, and since she knows he lives close by and works even closer by, she's hoping he'll come keep her company.
I'll be there in a few. Let me just change out of these scrubs first.
Her laughing out loud earns her a questioning look from Aria.
"Anyone we know?"
She doesn't know how to answer that question. Obviously, they'll find out he's coming as soon as he'll walk in but she's having trouble coming up with an explanation as to why she just invited him.
Granted, Aria knows there's something going on between them, but actually hanging out with him in front of Aria will inevitably make him seem more like her boyfriend than he really is.
"Wren's stopping by soon."
She tries to sound casual, taking a sip of her martini.
Ezra seems confused.
"Your boyfriend?"
She chokes on the gin she was about to swallow.
Aria laughs at her.
"He's not my b- I mean we're not involved, we're…"
Truth is, she's having trouble trying to deny that she wants him to be her boyfriend as of late.
"Old friends?" Aria supplies, amusement written all over her face. "C'mon Spence, judgement free zone here."
Spencer blushes furiously as Aria launches into the story of how Wren and Spencer met. She makes quick work of the remaining gin in her glass.
If she's going to get through this night, she'll need a lot more alcohol.
"I'm surprised you're alive to tell the story," Ezra observes. "Your sister sounds rather unpleasant."
Spencer gives them a weary look from across the table of the booth they're sharing. Story time has been going on for almost five minutes now.
"Please don't mention any of this when he gets here."
"You're not one of those annoying couples who just can't seem to stop making out whenever they're drunk, are you?"
"Aria! We're not a couple."
"You didn't answer my question."
Luckily she doesn't have to because in that moment, Wren enters the bar, wearing his signature slightly confused looking but adorable smile.
It might be the alcohol talking, but she gets up and runs towards him.
"Hey! You came!" She throws her arms around his neck and buries her face in the crook of his shoulder. She can feel the wet ends of his hair brushing her hands, like he just got out of the shower. He smells clean.
She has missed him more than she thought.
He laughs as he sets his hands on her hips to hug her back.
"Have you started drinking without me?" He pulls away from her just far enough so he can look at her face.
She bites her lip.
"I might've had one or two drinks."
Her arms go to her sides before she takes his hand in hers to drag him towards the booth.
"C'mon! You, mister, have some catching up to do."
"Can I get a drink before we sit down?"
He laughs.
Oh, right. She forgot about that.
She nods and drags him over to the bar instead.
"I'll get one too."
"How about scotch? I seem to recall you liking it quite a bit."
"Sounds good to me."
She leans back against the bar as Wren orders their drinks. Aria is watching her intently from across the room, making obnoxious gestures.
She rolls her eyes at her friend and turns to Wren, who is still waiting for his order.
He smiles when he catches her looking at him.
She decides to play the honesty card tonight.
"You know how one of us is always drunk when we run into each other?"
He chuckles.
"It certainly seems to be a pattern with us, yes."
"Maybe if we both get drunk tonight, we'll break out of this… vicious cycle."
Their eyes meet. She's about to lean in and kiss him when the bartender puts two glasses of scotch down in front of them.
Great. He's completely sober and she couldn't even wait for him to finish one drink before she started throwing herself at him again.
…
Introductions at the table go over smoothly. Ezra and Wren seem to get along, bonding over their shared love of books. (How Aria can date a guy who believes Nabokov is overrated, she doesn't know.)
As it turns out, Wren and Ezra are both 24. (How did she not know how old he is until now?)
Wren asks how they met, and she gets to hear Ezra tell the full story, the one Aria never bothered to tell her.
Ezra is trying to be polite, she's sure of it, when the words "What about you two?" slip past his lips.
Wren handles the question admirably.
"I'm sure you know the story."
She laughs despite herself.
Thing is, she can't stop noticing how they act like a couple, completing each other's sentences, answering questions meant for the other person without missing a beat.
They'd be a good couple. The realization strikes her as he smiles at her while sipping his scotch.
They leave thirty minutes later. She's tempted to sleep at his place, even though it's farther away and her parents aren't even home, until she gets up from where she was sitting, feels her legs wobble and realizes that she's not really up for the long walk.
Once they're out on the street, she takes his hand in hers.
He seems a bit more sober than she is, though not by much.
"Come back to my place," she whispers, kissing him.
They're both drunk, though not drunk enough to regret this in the morning.
Turns out having sex with Wren is even better than just kissing Wren.
…
She's fixing herself a cup of coffee in the kitchen a few days later, wearing an old shirt of Wrens that she stole when she slept over at his place the other day, when Melissa walks in.
She's spent the past two days at his place, barely leaving his apartment. Her sister takes in her attire knowingly.
"I know that shirt," she observes, glancing at Spencer's bed head and cotton shorts. Melissa takes a step towards the kitchen isle and takes a seat opposite of Spencer. "Wait, is Wren still here?"
Spencer laughs, even though it still feels weird to talk to her sister about this.
„Good morning to you too, Melissa."
Melissa keeps looking at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.
„No he's not here. God." She grabs an apple from the fruit basket sitting on the kitchen counter and sits down at the kitchen isle. „Mom and dad are coming back later today. Do you think I have a death wish?"
„You're not even trying to hide it anymore," Melissa observes. „Are you ready to answer my questions then?"
Spencer just shrugs and hopes her sister won't ask her fort he intimate details of her sex life.
„You're having sex with Wren."
It's not even a question anymore. Spencer sees no reason to lie about it.
„It's been a long time coming, don't you think?"
It's the only way she thinks she can respond to Melissa's statement without making this more awkward.
Melissa seems to consider this for a moment.
„You know, when I saw you two kissing for the first time, back when Wren and I were still engaged, I was furious. Not just because my fiancé was apparently cheating on me with my sister, but because I'd noticed you two had something that Wren and I simply didn't. You had this weird banter that seemed to just come natural to you, even during formal dinners with mom and dad. I'd never seen him that happy before, certainly not while he was with me."
Spencer doesn't know what to say. She bites into her apple and hopes her sister will keep talking.
"Looking back, I guess it was always obvious that you two would be good together. Now that I no longer have feelings for Wren, I can honestly say that I think you two make a great couple."
She might be smiling, but Spencer still doesn't know what to say. When did her sister get so nice? She'd be worried if she weren't so touched by what her sister just said.
"Wow. Thanks, Melissa," Spencer gets up, walks around the kitchen isle and puts her arms around Melissa. Her sister hugs her back reluctantly.
"Whatever." Spencer doesn't remove her arms. "You can let go of me now. No need to get all sappy."
They separate from the uncharacteristic hug (Spencer swears Melissa even hugged her back for a second there) and go back to their respective sides of the kitchen isle.
"A heads up before you tell mom and dad would be nice, by the way."
Spencer laughs, takes a sip from her coffee and nods.
It's the closest the two of them have ever been, and Spencer can't help but see the irony in the fact that Wren actually managed to bring them closer together.
…
"You know what's silly?"
They're in his bed, Spencer on her stomach with Wren's white sheets pulled up over her legs, while Wren is lying on his side, drawing lazy circles on her naked back.
It's basically their Saturday morning routine.
She turns her head to the left to look at him.
He smiles at her, green eyes still shining with sleep.
"Hanging out with you when we're sober felt really weird for a while."
His smile turns to genuine laughter and she buries her face in a pillow as she laughs, embarrassed.
"That's perfectly understandable," he runs his finger through her messy hair, "we've had more than our fair share of drunk encounters."
She loves the way he talks in the morning, how soft his voice sounds just after he wakes up.
She scoffs, takes the hand he's been running through her hair into her own and draws him closer.
"But hey, our tendency to drink too much worked out in our favor in the end, didn't it?"
He kisses her then, glad that they no longer need alcohol as an excuse to get together.
Someday they'll have to talk about what they are, sure, but they're in no rush. Spencer is pretty sure that labeling whatever it is that they have won't make much of a difference anyway.
For now, she's just glad to be right where she is, here in his arms and the way he whispers her name as they kiss is making it easy for her to believe that everything will work out the way she's always wanted it to.