Disclaimer: I do not own South of Nowhere or any of the characters affiliated with it. SoN is property of Tom Lynch and The N. The title Should've Said No is taken from the Taylor Swift song.

A/N: I know, I am sorry last chapter was so short, but that's why I bring the other part of the night. I think you'll like it ;)

I dedicate this chapter to free21 because you were the first person to review this story and got this cool trend of reviewing started!

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Chapter 4

Smoking, Sexy, and Hot?

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The two arrived at the bar, much to Spencer's excitement. Jen had made repeated comments about the likelihood of the blonde to pee her pants from her anxiousness. Spencer was so focused on getting to the bar, that she didn't even comment back, much to Jen's surprise.

"What's got you so excited?" Jen eyed her friend skeptically. She'd never seen Spencer this excited since…well ever.

Spencer forced her leg to stop shaking. "What do you mean?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could.

"It's just Ashley."

"I know that." And she did. She was just…just excited about hanging with Ashley. Ashley was really cool and funny, that's all.

"Whatever, I'm going to take a piss. I'll be back," Jen said abruptly, not even flushing at her bluntness. She took a big gulp of her beer and then headed towards the restrooms.

"It's the one with the person in a skirt!" Spencer shouted with a triumphant smile. Her smile widened when she saw the raised middle finger Jen shot her.

"This seat taken?" A voice snapped Spencer's attention to her right side. The blonde's smile returned as she saw Ashley.

"Eh," Spencer shrugged, "it's all good. The balding, thirty two year old man who lives with his mom will just have to suffer."

"Well I really don't want to interrupt this good thing you and him have going," Ashley said seriously, but soon they both burst out laughing.

Spencer and Ashley held eyes for a moment, and before she could do a repeat performance of last time, she found herself being embraced by Ashley. Another smile formed, and the younger girl wondered if she would ever remember what it felt like not to smile.

Ashley let her eyes roam over the blonde in an overly dramatic manner. "You smell nice and you dressed up? I am impressed."

The taller girl laughed and found herself glancing down at her outfit before she mentally berated herself. "Only the best for you." She teased, throwing the curly haired brunette her own wink.

Spencer wondered if she should also say that Ashley looked and smelled incredible too. She didn't compliment people's scent very often, and she found it quite odd to even think about telling Ashley her thoughts. But she did think Ashley looked very pretty.

The older girl was in a pair of dark skinny jeans, a style Spencer never thought herself capable of pulling off. Her top was a simple turquoise v-neck spaghetti strap, but it made her eyes seem fuller and more vibrant…speaking purely from an objective point of view, of course.

Ashley eyed the glass next to Spencer and raised her eyebrows. "Starting without me?"

Spencer followed her eyes and laughed as she spotted the glass. "Oh, no."

"You know Spencer can't handle a real man's drink," Jen's voice floated in as she returned from her bathroom visit. She walked over and hugged the girl.

Ashley looked over at Jen in surprise. "What are you doing here?" She was thankful she made it sound polite. She wasn't trying to be accusatory.

Jen traded a confused look with Spencer. "Um just coming back from the bathroom." Jen turned her questioning glance on the brunette. "What…what are you doing here?" she asked slowly.

"Oh!" Realization hit Ashley, and she felt incredibly stupid. "You and Spencer came together!"

"Should we have taken separate cars?" Jen asked, again in the same confused, slow tone, making Ashley feel even more dumb for her mistake.

"No, that's not it. I just didn't know you were coming. Spencer never mentioned it." Ashley avoided the blonde's gaze. It's not like she was mad about Jen being here, she just expected it to be her and Spencer.

Now it was Spencer's turn to be embarrassed. "Well I just…you see your text…you said 'you' and I…well I thought you meant me and Jen." She fiddled with the coaster underneath her drink.

The two were silent for a moment, each more than a little embarrassed over the miscommunication.

"Well this is awkward," Jen broke the silence. She wasn't mad at not being included. In fact, she found that whole event to be hilarious, especially considering how the blonde and brunette were now acting. "I can leave and let you two be alone."

Jen reveled in the look that crossed their faces. "No!" They both shouted suddenly, looking down again at their outburst.

"I never meant to exclude you." Ashley said quietly, guilt making a normal tone of voice impossible.

"Yeah yeah," Jen waved off the girl's words. "I know you just wanted it to be you and Spence."

Spencer shot her roommate daggers and took a deep swig of her drink, clearly not appreciating the innuendo. "I don't blame you." She turned to Ashley. "I try to avoid bringing Jen out in public too."

Ashley laughed, very glad for the distraction from the awkwardness her and Spencer had managed to create. She really didn't mean to not invite the dark haired girl. Honestly, she just didn't think about Jen when she texted Spencer. It wasn't really her fault.

Ok, it really was, but it wasn't deliberate by any means.

The curly haired girl's guilt disappeared as she saw the smile Spencer offered her, that simple action somehow making her feel much better about the whole situation.

"So Aiden came to see me," Spencer found herself saying, shocking even herself with her honesty.

Jen eyed Spencer in surprise. Spencer never was the one to bring up something. Usually Jen had to beat it out of her.

Ashley's eyes darkened for a brief moment as she thought of the boy. "No wonder I felt the urge to kick his ass earlier." Jen laughed. "What did he want?"

"To say he was sorry and that he wanted me back. Typical bull shit that Aiden is capable of saying." Ashley nodded in understanding. "He mentioned you." Spencer watched Ashley carefully.

Ashley's eyes snapped to the blonde's. "What about me?"

Spencer found herself shrugging for some reason. "Just that you weren't who I thought you were."

Ashley gave a derisive laugh. "That's rich, considering it came from him."

Spencer nodded and nudged her. "That's what I said. I don't even know why he said that. As if that would make it more appealing to get back with him."

Jen was very blunt and never had trouble saying what she was thinking or feeling. But this time, she'd keep it to herself that she was pissed and hurt.

Pissed because Aiden was such an ass and never ever deserved to spend any time with her best friend. Pissed that the dumb ass of a boy thought Spencer owed him anything. Pissed that he thought sorry would be anything other than an empty word.

And she was hurt because she and Spencer were best friends, and the blonde volunteered no information about the confrontation between her and her ex. Yet here she was, spilling it all to Ashley as if the older girl had been part of their group. As if their duo had somehow been a trio.

She felt a little guilty about getting upset. She had nothing against Ashley, nothing at all. And Jen may be a lot of things, but jealous was never one of them. So she sipped her beer, maybe faster than she normally would, and she plastered on a fake smile, laughing at the appropriate moments like her friend's expected her too. Hoping that each swallow would push the hurt further and further away until she could no longer grasp it.

"JEN!" Spencer shouted loudly, effectively capturing Jen's attention. She had a feeling it wasn't the first time the blonde had said her name.

"Yeah?"

"I asked if you wanted to come with us," Spencer said in agitation.

Jen gauged the blonde's face as she weighed the pros in cons, as if Spencer's face would somehow reveal if the blonde truly wanted Jen's company or if she were merely being polite.

As soon as that thought filtered through her mind, Jen felt sick. Spencer wasn't like that at all. Jen shouldn't even think things like that about her best friend. "Yeah, sounds great," she said lamely.

Spencer eyed her friend, blue eyes filled with concern. Something was bothering her friend. You weren't best friends with some one for ten years without knowing how to read their facial expressions. "Or we could stay here?" Spencer offered her friend.

Jen turned her attention to Ashley, now trying to see into the brunette's mind. Ashley's eyes, however, were fixed on Spencer. "No it's ok, we can go," Jen assured her friend, even throwing in a forced smile.

Spencer continued to eye her friend a moment before nodding. She turned down Ashley's offer to ride in one car. She knew something was bothering her friend, and she was going to figure it out.

"So you want to tell me what's bothering you?"

Jen continued staring ahead. "No, I think I'd rather tell some one we barely know." She immediately regretted her harsh words. Sort of.

"What does that mean?" Spencer hated when Jen got like this. Her stubbornness was so annoying.

Jen gave a heavy sigh. "Nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing." Spencer leveled Jen with a look full of disbelief.

"I just don't want to talk about it," she said flatly.

"Jen." Spencer turned concerned blue eyes on her roommate. It didn't soften her though. If anything it made her angrier.

The older girl whipped around. "Why are you allowed to hold stuff in but not me? Why do I have to respect your wishes but you can't do the same for me?"

"Jen what are you talking about!?" Spencer was really confused now.

"Why did you tell Ashley was you and Aiden talked about? Why couldn't you tell me, but you could tell her?" Jen hated that she started to tear up. She hated that the blonde turned sad eyes on her, confusion and regret evident in her blue eyes. Spencer really didn't know what she did.

Spencer put a hand on Jen's shoulder. "Jen, I never meant to hurt your feelings," she said softly.

"So why didn't you tell me?" Her tone matched the blonde's.

She looked down for a moment. "I…I don't know," she shrugged helplessly. "I just needed time to process it. And then with Ashley…" Jen turned towards the blonde. "I just…it was just easy to tell her because she's been there, you know?" Spencer's eyes were begging Jen to understand.

"It just hurts that you couldn't tell your best friend, but you had no problem telling a stranger."

Spencer had to laugh. "Ashley's hardly a stranger, Jen."

"But she's not a best friend either," Jen breathed out quietly. Spencer's smile quickly faded.

"Jen, don't take it personally. Ashley knew what I had been through." She nudged the older girl to get her attention. "That's all, ok?" She made sure Jen met her eyes.

Jen couldn't help but smile at her best friend. "Ok," she echoed. She grabbed Spencer's hand and squeezed it, letting the taller girl know she was forgiven.

A knock on the window snapped them into awareness. "You two going to sit in there all night?" Ashley teased with an easy smile.

"Spencer was trying to put the moves on me. She doesn't understand that no means no." She gave her roommate a bright smile.

Spencer smiled right back but didn't retort. She was just glad Jen was feeling better. "That's right," she agreed. "Jen is just sooo hot!"

Ashley let her eyes sweep over Jen. She laughed when the dark haired girl purposefully stuck her chest out. "Very nice."

"Thanks. I grew them myself," Jen answered proudly. Yep, Spencer thought, Jen was definitely back to normal.

"Well I approve." The curly haired girl gave a big wink.

"Anyway," Spencer tried to shift the conversation, "what are we doing…" she looked at the bowling alley they were at, "well here?" Jen opened her mouth. "And don't say to bowl!" she warned. Jen held up her hands innocently and shared a smirk with Ashley.

"I was hoping to impress you with my awesome bowling skills," Ashley shrugged.

"Spencer snorted. "Well this is the way to do it." She purposely eyed the ugly bowling shoes on Ashley's feet. "Now let's bowl!" She thrust her arm in the air.

Jen eyed her friend and rolled her eyes. "Remind me why I agreed to this."

"Because I'm smoking hot?" Ashley threw in.

"That's it!" Jen agreed with a smile, grabbing Ashley's hand and tugging the brunette towards their alley.

Spencer felt a strange sensation coarse through her. Wasn't Jen upset about the whole Ashley thing? So why was she being all buddy-buddy with the girl now?

She shook her head. She wouldn't worry about that now. She should just be glad that things were good.

Spencer looked at the screen and shook her head in false disappointment. "Really guys? Smoking, sexy, and hot?"

Ashley and Jen laughed and shared a high five. "You're hot by the way, Spencer." Ashley nudged the blonde.

Spencer found herself blushing for some strange reason and had the urge to say thanks. She was glad she didn't voice that particular thought. As if she needed anymore things to embarrass her around Ashley.

"Which one are you?" she asked Ashley with interest.

Ashley gave her a look. "Which one do you think?" Her voice was full of challenge.

Spencer debated for a moment but gave up and shrugged. "I can't decide."

"They both fit that well, huh?" Ashley teased suggestively, and then she swiftly turned and went to find a ball.

The blonde was rooted to her spot, her cheeks aflame and a tentative, unsure smile fixed on her face. Was…was Ashley flirting with her?

No. NO! Ashley was just being friendly, that was all.

Now that that was under control, Spencer just needed to get rid of her blush. And that damn smile!

Ashley caught Spencer's pensive look and threw the blonde a toothy grin. Spencer's grin widened in response.

Yeah, her smile definitely wasn't going away anytime soon.