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Ashley's PoV
-7.1- Letting Her Breathe
"What the hell was that?" I asked as Aiden followed me into my bedroom.
Aiden rubbed his face with his hands and groaned with frustration, flopping down on my bed. "Women can be such headaches sometimes!"
"Word." I smirked and straddled my computer chair. "So what's with Carlin?" I asked again, only more forward that time.
"She gets like that now, whenever things get intense," Aiden frowned, more or less talking to himself. "I mean, when she and I first started dating, sex wasn't an issue. We waited a good few months before she put the moves on me!" He turned on his stomach and looked at me. I felt my body lurch with jealousy. She convinced him into bed.
Ick.
I had to remind myself that it happened over a year ago and I wasn't in the picture yet. Still, I didn't want to sit there and listen to anything explicit. Not when I knew exactly what her lips felt like, her tongue, her teeth, her touch…
But being the good cousin that I was, I listened. Good cousin, who the hell was I kidding? I was just making out with his girlfriend not that long ago and if Aiden weren't around, I'm pretty sure things would've gone further. "And it's different now?"
He nodded. "Spencer's like, I don't know. She will kiss me but not like, kiss me kiss me. She would rather spend time with Kyla, do school work or play hockey."
I knew the feeling. Noticed I wasn't in his equation there? Spencer avoided me too. "Maybe just give her some space," I muttered. "I mean, you know she doesn't like feeling pressured."
"Yea, I know and I wasn't pressuring her tonight," Aiden sat up and cuddled with one of my pillows. I smirked at the childishness in him. He still had a lot of growing up to do as far as I was concerned. "She kissed me first," he looked at me and I looked away.
Told you Spencer was a kissing whore. Okay, I didn't say the word whore, but she was definitely a kisser type.
"So what happened?" My voice cracked. I didn't want to hear more but I had too. I was the one he'd come running to with girl troubles.
"Well things were getting a little heavy, like she finally relaxed and then, as soon as she felt my fingers slid below her waistband, she flipped!" The guy shot up from the bed and paced the floor. "I miss her Ash," he said in a hurt tone, "I miss how things used to be. We were the hottest couple at hockey and basketball tournaments. Now, people ask if we've broken up!" Aiden stopped pacing and looked at me. He stepped closer and knelt down in front of me. "You go to school with her, right?" I slowly nodded my head. "Is she," he took a deep breath, "is she seeing someone else?"
I swear my eyes bulged out of my head. That was the reason Spencer wasn't taking things further with Aiden lately. Her feelings for me were clouding her relationship with him. I quickly shook my head. "No," I smiled, trying to wash away his doubts. "Look Aiden, Carlin has a lot on her plate right now. She's a straight 'A' student, she plays hockey and she's trying to find a social life between all of that. If she doesn't want to have sex with you, don't think it's because she's cheating," I watched as he bought every word I said, "besides, she loves you." I was going to hell.
"Does she talk about me?" Aiden asked, looking as if his hopes were rising.
I nodded. She didn't exactly say she loved him or talk about how gorgeous he was. In fact, she never even implied that she loved the guy. The cousin part of me should be furious with her, being so careless with his emotions, but the other part of me was happy. Scratch that, we're both going to hell. The only thing that came out of her mouth lately was "I'm with Aiden". But it was still talking about him, nonetheless.
"Just give her space," I smiled softly and stood up, stretching. "I'm going to have a quick shower and head to bed."
I took pride in knowing that Spencer didn't let it go that far with her boyfriend. Even though I really had no right to be jealous, she was Aiden's girl after all.
Aiden was out of my room and I noticed my cell blinking. I had a text message.
Not wut it looked like. Need space to think. Ox Carlin
Okay, so she really did need her space.
I had to respect that.
But God, I was going to miss her.
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Spencer's PoV
It had been a whole week since the incident at Ashley and Aiden's. I kept myself busy with my school, Kyla and hockey. I even took my younger sister out with us once. She wasn't a big fan of people so we went to the arcade instead.
My family and I didn't really get along. We had very rare family dinners. Alex, my sister, was the odd one in the family. She had jet black hair like my dad and her eyes were more grey then blue. Glen and I had blonde hair like my mom. I envied Alex with her hair. She always had boys knocking on the door or calling her.
"Spencer, why haven't you called Aiden yet?" Kyla sat on the bench in the locker room. It was just her, Alex and I waiting for 6pm to roll around so I could get out on the ice and kick some ViewBelle Mustang's ass.
I shrugged at my best friend's question. "I just don't feel like it," I grabbed my hockey stick and started to wrap hockey tape around the handle and curve.
Alex stepped out of the bathroom stall and tucked a curly strand of hair behind her ear before washing her hands. I caught her gaze through the mirror. "What?" I raised an eyebrow. Little sister advice wasn't what I wanted or needed.
"Ashley's hot," she said, turning around and facing me. She smirked and wiped her hands on my personal towel. "Do you think she likes younger girls?"
My eyebrows shot up to my hairline. I heard Kyla gasp. What a way to come out to your older sister. Like hell she'd take Ashley away from me. "Excuse me?"
Alex laughed and sat down beside me, helping tape up my spare stick. "I don't mean for me," she waved her hand and looked at Kyla, then me, "I just meant, you know, for you?"
What?!
Kyla burst into laughter, holding her stomach as she bent over. Tears began to stream out of her eyes and frankly, I didn't find it that funny. "Alex," she breathed between fits of giggles, "you're forgetting that Spence has a boyfriend and she doesn't exactly swing that way."
I watched Alex frown and look at me. She wanted to say something but shrugged. "Whatever, I was just teasing."
I knew Alex better than that. The brat was only a year younger than me but I could tell by her body language that she had more to her absurd question. Besides, Ashley wasn't that much older than me, just by 8 months.
"Kyla?" I looked at the brunette as she put on my jersey, twirling around. She stopped and blushed, raising her eyebrow as she waited for me to continue. "Could you grab me some hot chocolate from the concession?"
"Oh! Me too!" Alex grinned.
"What do I look like, your bitch?" Kyla teased. I smirked and nodded. "Fine, but I'm buying me one too with your money." She stuck her tongue out and left me and my sister alone.
"So what do you want to talk about?" Alex looked at me, pulling her static hair back from her face. I guess she knew me more than I thought she did as well.
"Why would you want Ashley to be interested in me?" I asked, placing my stick down and facing her.
"Because she is." The reply was a definite statement. "Come on Spence, I know that we don't always get along, but I know that look in your eyes. Whenever she comes over, you become different. Nicer." Her last word hit me. Was I mean to my little sister?
"She's a gorgeous person," I reasoned.
"One you're attracted too." Damn. She had to point that out. "It's okay to like another girl," she placed her hand on my shoulder, squeezing it softly, "I've been there."
My eyes found hers. She was growing up so fast. I remember the first time she had a date with Bobby or Ricky, I couldn't remember. Mom and Dad weren't home and Glen was playing basketball with friends, so I was left interrogating the date. I went easy on him. I told him if he tried to touch my sister in any provocative way, I'd snip one ball off and if he did it again, I'd snip the other one off. I scared the guy shitless but Alex said he was too much of a whiner anyway, she forgave me.
"You've been with a girl?" I asked, my eyes widened slightly.
"Well not like, iwith/i a girl, but I've kissed a few," she grinned. "They kiss way better than guys."
I had to agree. I couldn't agree because then my secret would be out. But I understood all too well now. "Wow sis, I never would've thought."
"Being the baby sucks, either I get too much attention no one sees what I'm really doing or I'm left alone for too long and no one bothers to ask what I've been doing." She sighed heavily, resting her head on my shoulder. "So Ashley," she looked back at me and stood up, "how come she hasn't been over lately?"
I swallowed and pulled her back down with me. I couldn't tell Kyla at the moment but Alex made me feel like I could trust her with it. "We kind of had a little, uh, mishap."
"Did she walk in on you and Aiden?" Alex quirked an eyebrow and made a disgusting face.
I laughed.
"No, she didn't." I ran my fingers through my hair and scratched the back of my neck. "We sort of," I looked into my sister's eyes and felt some sort of comfort, "kissed."
Alex jumped up and clapped. She squealed. "I KNEW IT!" She continued to pace happily around the locker room as I stared at her dumbfound. How the fuck could she know?
"How?" I asked, grabbing her and clamping her mouth closed with my hand. "And could you keep it down, I don't want anyone to know!"
She nodded and whispered, "I just got that vibe. Ever since Ashley came here you started hanging out more with her and less with Aiden. Last week you came home a wreck. Just because people don't notice me, doesn't mean I don't notice them."
"Oh Alex," I hugged her. I didn't know I was such a bitch of a sister. "Promise me you won't tell anyone?" I pulled back and she nodded, holding out her pinky. We linked them and made a sister promise.
"Spence?" Alex sighed and bit her lip. "What's it like?"
I looked at her quizzically. "What is what like?" Surely she wasn't talking about kissing another girl. She confessed she's already done it, with more than one.
"Sex?" Her voice sounded quiet and shy.
Praise the fucking Lord! My sister was still a virgin. I wouldn't have to cut off anyone's balls that night.
"Well," I thought about how to approach the subject gently. I don't want to scare the poor girl away but I didn't want to make it sound like fun either, "awkward," I said softly. "I think it depends on who you're with and how you feel. Aiden and I waited until we thought we were ready. It hurt. It basically sucked because it was nothing like I thought it'd be."
"Do you regret it? I mean, having Aiden as your first?"
That was a loaded question. Yes and no.
"Yes and no," I smiled softly, "No because at the time, I felt like I was ready. He's a sweet guy and I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend. However, now that I think about it, I wish I would've waited…"
"For Ashley?" She smirked and ducked as I about to swat her head. "It's okay, I get it. I promise I won't bug you again about her." Alex moved in to give me a hug. I don't think I've really ever hugged my sister. It felt good.
"Two hot chocolates!" Kyla walked through the door with a tray of hot chocolate and a package of small marshmallows. She stopped and looked at us in an embrace. "Holy shit, where are my Carlin sisters?" She pretended to freak out as she screamed our names frantically, searching the stalls and showers.
Alex and I laughed. It was an odd evening but I knew it wouldn't be the last of us hanging out. It actually felt good to talk to my little sister. I had to remind myself to ask her what she has been doing with herself lately.
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