Thanks so much for the replies :] Hopefully I can keep you guys interested until the end. Here's another chapter :]
Tuesday evening found Ashley alone at the apartment. Kristina had gone shopping for some last minute school supplies. Still sulking from Sunday, Ashley had turned off all the lights and was currently curled up on the couch with a blanket and a pint of vanilla ice cream. Cheaper By the Dozen had just started. Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt were talking in their bedroom.
"And l think we could use a little change around here...like-like this lumpy old mattress. Maybe we should just, you know, get rid of it."
Smiling, Ashley took a bite of her ice cream. She loved this scene.
"Don't be ridiculous, honey. You know you can just pound the lumps out of a mattress."
"What-What do you mean? You can just pound the lumps out of a mattress?"
Knock. Knock.
"Ugh." Ashley moaned, not feeling like answering the door. She hoped whoever it was would just go away. She did not want company right now.
"And it goes flat?"
"Yes, yes."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Knock. Knock.
"Oh my God!" Ashley yelled over the television. "Just come in!"
When she heard the door open, she leaned her head back on the couch to see who it was, not really caring if they saw her in her oversized Saints jersey and boxers.
"That movie's on again?"
"Aiden?" She twisted around surprised. "What's going on?"
He went to the kitchen first. "Got any beer?"
"Just Smirnoff. So you're here, raiding my fridge why?" Ashley asked again. He was the last person she expected to be at the door.
He grabbed one out the fridge and came to sit down next to her. "This was just on last week too."
"You still haven't answered my question." Ashley pointed out, going back to eating her ice cream.
"I had to pass here to get home from work." Aiden answered. "Figured I'd stop in and say hi."
"That's why they invented phones. You could have just called."
"We used to drop in on each other all the time. What's the big deal?"
"The key word there was used to Aiden." Ashley replied.
He whistled as if offended. "Spencer was right. You came back with a stick up your ass."
In response Ashley pretended as if she was pulling something out her butt and handed it to Aiden. "Here, you can both use it to shove it up yours too."
"Okay that one stung." Aiden sighed and took a sip of his drink.
She set her ice cream down and faced Aiden. "What do you want Aiden? Seriously."
"What happened with Spencer yesterday?"
"You're kidding me, right?" She laughed bitterly. "You're still trying to play peacemaker?"
Aiden shook his head disappointedly. "Hey you're the one that emailed me. You're the one that wanted to get in touch again."
"So?" She crossed her arms, as if somehow that would protect her from his words.
"So you obviously wanted to see us again. Why do that if you're just going to be like this?"
"You can't understand." Ashley whispered. She put the top back on her ice cream and went to the kitchen to put it in the freezer.
Aiden waited for her on the couch. "Understand what? You left and it sucked for all of us but we're not the ones who cut off all contact. When you left Ash you didn't bother looking back."
"Lay off Aid. Spencer already gave me that guilt trip." Ashley sat down again. She started picking at the blanket's material. "Look, I'm sorry okay. I thought I could do it but I can't."
"So that's it? You show up after all this time just to disappear again?"
"I live here now. I'm sure we'll see each other around." Ashley said, not being able to meet his eyes. She watched Steve Martin chase a frog around his kitchen.
"You're still a terrible liar Davies." He said after a minute. "The way I see it, you still care and maybe not for me but definitely for Spencer."
She licked her suddenly dry lips. "The way I see it you're annoying me."
"You forget I know you Ashley. You're an asshole but only when you're scared. So what are you scared off?"
She almost cracked, almost gave in to her old best friend but Aiden was wrong. He didn't know her, at least not anymore. If he did, he would know she wasn't scared. She was angry. Spencer telling her she gave up?
So I was a little bit of a jerk Sunday. It's called nerves people!
"Nah uh," He shook his head, throwing an arm over the back of the couch and getting comfortable. "Don't do that." He grinned self assured in his ability to still read Ashley Davies. "You haven't changed that much."
Ashley gritted her teeth in aggravation. All she had wanted to do was eat her ice cream and watch Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt chase twelve children around for the next hour and a half.
"Okay here it is then." Ashley began, not bothering to hide the spite in her voice. She wasn't afraid to meet his eyes this time. "I did come back. But what I came back to was Spencer kissing her ex-girlfriend, Carmen. "
"What? I-I don't und---." He fumbled for his words. He'd never known.
"Understand? Exactly. Feel free to leave whenever."
She didn't say goodbye, just left him sitting on the couch, a confused expression still on his face. She went to her room, stopping in the kitchen first to grab her ice cream and a spoon again.
She was going to enjoy it one way or another tonight.
I gave up? Ashley scoffed at the idea, slamming her bedroom door shut. She gave up.
***
"Quit it Lex." Spencer shrugged off the advances of her girlfriend for the third time.
"Come on. I'm bored." Alexa huffed, leaning back on the couch. "Aiden's not even here."
Spencer continued flipping channels aimlessly, not in the mood for sex. "So boredom equals sex?"
"Yeah, why not." The other blonde shrugged.
"You're a real romantic." Spencer drawled.
Alexa smiled, moving closer to Spencer but as soon as Spencer felt the touch of cool lips against her neck she scooted away. "Take a hint, will you?"
"Fine." Alexa gave up. "You know, ever since your ex showed up you haven't been in the mood for much of anything."
"This has nothing to do with Ashley."
"If you say so." Alexa shrugged. "Hey how about a movie?"
"Whatever. Just pick something good." Spencer got up, going to the kitchen. "Want a drink?"
"Is there any tea left?"
"Yea I just gotta make it." Spencer was already digging through the cabinets for the packs of peach tea that Alexa liked to drink.
"I don't know how you can drink this stuff." Spencer said, watching Ashley mix together water and a packet of peach tea. "It's disgusting."
Ashley grinned. "It's addictive." She kissed Spencer quickly on the lips. "Like you."
Spencer placed an empty pitcher under the faucet, waiting for the water to fill up. Like Alexa, Ashley loved Peach Tea. The first time she met Alexa was in the super market two months. Spencer had started laughing when she heard Alexa complain about there not being any Peach Tea. It had reminded her of something Ashley would do.
"Did you pick something yet?" Spencer asked, hearing the TV start up again.
"Um yeah. The Butterfly Effect good?" Alexa yelled back.
"This movie freaks me out." Spencer told Ashley, tucking her head in the crook of Ashley's shoulder. "Do we really have to watch it?"
She'd met Ashley a month ago at Grey's, thanks to their mutual friend, Aiden. One thing she was learning was that Ashley had a thing for thrillers and scary movies while Spencer preferred comedies and romance.
"I'll protect you." Ashley puffed out her chest, making a deep manly voice. Spencer cracked up, not being able to keep a straight face. She couldn't say no to Ashley after that.
By the time Ashton Kutcher started jumping through time Spencer had other things on her mind.
"I can't watch anymore." She went hide in her room, leaving Ashley in her living room. It didn't take long before Ashley came looking for her. It was night time and with curtains it threw Spencer's room into pitch blackness.
"Aw come on Spence it's a good movie. Come watch it with me." Ashley begged softly.
Spencer approached her, wrapping her arms around the taller girl's neck. Ashley backed up a few steps to lean against Spencer's desk. Spencer pressed up against Ashley, taking satisfaction in the sharp intake of breath the other girl took. Ashley's hands came to rest lightly on her hips.
"Wh—um uh are you doing?" Ashley stumbled nervously.
"Talking to you." Spencer giggled at Ashley's adorableness. She was so different from the other girls Spencer had liked before. Ashley was honest and sincere. She didn't pretend to be anything other than what she was. She closed the distance a bit between their faces.
"So movie?" Ashley asked, her puffs of breath softly hitting Spencer in the face.
Just kiss me already, Spencer thought. "I don't know. It scares me."
Ashley laughed. "It's not so bad."
Deciding to just go for it, Spencer leant forward to kiss Ashley, but Ashley looked down, removing her hands from Spencer's waist. Spencer's lips met nose.
"We're uh missing all the good stuff." Ashley mumbled, sliding away from Spencer and turning to go.
Spencer rolled her eyes, grabbed Ashley's hand and pulled her back to her and before Ashley could chicken out Spencer kissed her.
"Oh." Ashley breathed out. Spencer smiled in the darkness.
"I'd rather not." Spencer shot Alexa's idea down, rejoining her girlfriend back in the living room. She handed Alexa the cup of tea.
"Sweet. Marley and Me?" Alexa pulled a different movie out the entertainment center.
"Okay we need to come up with a name." Ashley said, plopping down on her bed next to Spencer, who had their puppy cuddled up on her chest. Gently Ashley rubbed across its back.
"Harley?" Spencer offered.
Ashley shook her head. "Marley?"
"That's a movie." Spencer disagreed, shaking her head too. "Plus we don't want to jinx it."
Ashley grinned. "True. Jack?"
"Jack? Who names a dog Jack?" Spencer scrunched her nose up in dislike.
"It was my uncle's name. The one that passed away a few months back." Ashley explained. "He had character, like our baby boy."
Spencer held the puppy up, rubbing her nose affectionately against it. "Then Jack it is."
"Try again." Spencer told her. What's wrong with me? Everything was reminding her of Ashley.
"Free Willy? Everybody loves that."
Ashley's favorite movie as a child.
"One of the movies came with the whale necklace that the boy wears in the movie." Ashley told her as they laid in bed, trading childhood stories. "I wore that thing for months before I lost it."
"Definitely not."
"Well I'm out of ideas. What do you want to watch?" Alexa asked, getting aggravated.
Spencer went over to the entertainment center and squatted down in front of the rows of DVD collections. She needed to find something that wouldn't make her think of Ashley Davies. She pulled out Tropic Thunder. No relation to Ashley whatsoever.
"Here." Spencer handed it to Alexa and went back to the couch.
What was happening to her?
Feedback and comments always welcome :]
