Chapter 3 Avoidance
Spencer knocked on Trina's door. It was early and they had been up most of the night talking and watching movies. In fact, she had spent most of her vacation with him. Yet, he didn't even want to take a picture with her. Maybe it was because of his ex. She didn't know but she was irritated. She flung open the door not paying attention to the fact that she was barely dressed. She wore a bralette and panty set with a robe that she hadn't bothered to close.
"I-. Well, I-." He stammered. "I don't think you meant to answer the door this way. I mean if you did, I am not complaining but—" She looked down then pulled the robe closed.
"Oh, shut up. What do you want?" He frowned.
"She's cranky in the morning. Okay…" He smiled at her. "I made you a vacation must-see list, artist edition. You know since you love art." She stared at him. "It is like a vacation bucket list."
"Let me guess, you plan on following me to each location as I check off the list." He chewed on his lip as he handed her the list.
"Of course not. Just let Luc know where you want to go and when. Please at least do that." He walked away ignoring the sting she left. She watched after him, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She had gone and taken his head off when all he was doing was trying to be nice.
Trina was expecting Tristan at dinner. He hadn't been at lunch, and she hadn't seen him around at all most of the day. She had gone to the flower market he suggested where she was able to take pictures of the beautiful flora not only at the market but around it. She planned to go out again after dinner and was hoping he would go with her, but he seemed to be avoiding her.
After dinner, she went to Chez Pipo to try some of the socca she had heard about. She waited in line for a while, and it was finally her turn to place an order.
Spencer was not expecting to see Esme and Colin at Chez Pipo. Just what he needed. Trina was sick of him after only a week, so he decided to stay out of her way. Oddly, it had put him in a foul mood. That week had been one of the best of his young life.
"Spence, I wasn't expecting to see you here." He ignored her. "Still bitter I see." He rolled his eyes.
"Bitter? I have already moved on. Enjoy your plaything, Esme. I need and have found something deeper. It is all-consuming. What I deserve." Esme laughed.
"Oh, you always did have a vivid imagination. I see that hasn't changed." He felt someone take his hand coming to stand beside him.
"We make good use of his imagination." Trina beamed up at him but he was terrified that she had heard his name. He almost misread the cue but managed to fall into character. He smiled at her.
"That we do. We should get out of here now that you finally got our socca." He smiled at her. He tried to lead her away.
"Well Spence, aren't you going to introduce us." He was caught and he knew there was no avoiding it any longer.
Trina paused for just a moment upon hearing her call him Spence. Maybe it was some sort of nickname or pet name that they shared. Spencer noticed that the name hadn't registered to her. He felt relief at that.
"I don't plan on it. You aren't worth a second of her time." He held Trina's hand as they kept walking leaving Esme fuming.
"Am I to guess you were standing in line for socca?" He nodded hoping that Esme would leave them alone.
"You're fine, I won't ask you to share." She shrugged.
"It's a good thing that you don't have to." She gave him half of what she had.
"I didn't know that you were going to be here, I swear." He defended.
"I know. Look I am sorry. I was acting like a jerk." She stopped walking. "I know that you've been avoiding me."
"I figured that I was crowding you, so I wanted to give you space." He took a bite of his socca. The chickpea pastry that he loved filled his senses. Watching him enjoy his bite, Trina had a bite of her own. It was delicious.
"Mmm." He nodded.
"I know right." He looked at her, then took her hand in his. "Look Elise, I am a lot. As a friend and as a person. I can even be... a little extra. I figured since you came alone you would want to have someone to explore with." She glared at him.
"I don't need your pity." He shook his head squeezing her hand.
"Good thing that it isn't pity. Maybe I needed your company. I know that I am enjoying it immensely. I just realized that I was being selfish for monopolizing it." He admitted.
"You may have met a French dude you wanted to hang out with." He chuckled then met her gaze. "Although, I can't say that I would love that."
"Yeah?" She felt herself moving closer to him as he seemed to be moving closer to her.
"Yeah." He answered.
"Why?" She asked in a whisper.
"Because then I wouldn't be able to do this." He cupped her face in his hand, brought his head down then brushed his lips against hers. Trina dropped her socca as she looped her arms around his neck. The kiss was gentle and sweet. Testing the waters, they knew that there was an underlying attraction but he wasn't sure if they should act on it.
"Is this, okay?" He asked her.
"It's very ok." He smiled.
"I don't want to lead you on. I'll be going to college in the fall." She put her finger to his lips. She would also be attending college, PCU. They would likely never see each other again.
"The chances of us seeing each other again are slim to none. You live here. I live in the states. We are both going to college in the fall." She kissed him.
"What happens in paradise stays in paradise." He smirked. "Don't you dare ruin it." He laughed then kissed her again before taking her hand and walking to his car. He hadn't thought about how to explain the Maserati Levante to her. He would have to wing it.
Trina stopped as they approached Spencer's car. Something seemed off but her desire to be unlike herself and to do something different made her push down her suspicions.
"Nice car for the house manager's grandson." He opened her door.
"The Cassadines pay well, and besides, it isn't mine. You do realize while trying to judge you appear classist yourself?" He didn't lie about the car, he had one but that one, in particular, belonged to his father.
"How do you figure that?" He bit his lip as he chose his words carefully.
"Well, you assume because of Chandler's position he couldn't afford a car like this. You assume it is low paying, but it isn't. There is a lot that goes into keeping the villa running. Also, there is nothing wrong with being a person of means." He shrugged.
"As long as the person of means isn't an entitled asshole and that is usually the case." He could be and had been accused of those things. One thing he realized when he was with Esme is that he was putting on. He didn't have anything deep and meaningful with her or his boarding school associates.
"Fair point about my assumption." She got in the car; he lingered a moment before closing the door.
Spencer hopped in the car, buckled her seatbelt and hers then pulled off.
"I can't believe I dropped half the socca." Trina frowned but he just smiled.
"I can." He winked at her earning an eye roll. "What? You taste better anyway."
"Because I had been eating socca." She giggled. He leaned over and kissed her again.
"Still taste good. You aren't too good with compliments, are you?" She blushed and then looked out the window.
"I appreciate them, but it is weird talking about myself, I guess. So I just accept them but I do get a little bashful with them at times." He frowned slightly. She should be used to compliments. She was going to have to get used to them for as long as she was at the villa.
"So self-aware. I love that." He said as he glanced at her briefly before turning his eyes back to the road. Trina enjoyed the scenery during the drive and took pictures along the way.
Back at the villa, Trina had finally gotten Spencer settled in to watch Surf's Up. Somehow he ended up laying in her lap and she couldn't say that she minded. She had been having fun with him despite her moment of rudeness. She was a little scared of him, he made her feel things that she wasn't ready to feel again. It had all happened so quickly, the butterflies. They were almost instant. She felt drawn to him like she couldn't resist him if she tried. All he had to do was smile at her or look at her with those honey-brown eyes of his. She was in danger.
"This movie is predictable. I already know that is Zeke in hiding." She rolled her eyes.
"Want a cookie?" He laughed.
"Yes, in fact, I would love a cookie. Ginger snaps to be exact. Homemade all the better." She smiled wistfully.
"Ginger snaps remind me of the cookie tree my mom used to do when I was a kid. We would bake all week during the holiday. She was always busy so we would have to break it up." Spencer listened as she recounted that time from her childhood. There was always a certain sadness as he didn't quite have those memories. He didn't remember Emily, his first stepmother. He loved Britt but she was more friend than mother. There were others but no one stuck. Then his father went and married his enemy.
"Hey, where did you go?" Trina asked.
"I was just wondering about my mom. If she would have done those things with me. She died when I was a baby." Trina frowned and then put her hand on his shoulder.
"Oh Tristan, I am so sorry to hear that. Here I am going on and on-" He stopped her.
"No, don't. I enjoyed the story. Don't ever feel guilty about your experiences just because mine are lacking." Not knowing what to do with her hands she rubbed his shoulders.
"Understood. I don't want to be insensitive, however." He looked up at her.
"It would be considerate of you to bless me with your lips. I haven't felt them during this whole movie." She rolled her eyes shaking her head at him.
"So that is why you agreed?" He didn't deny it, just puckered his lips and closed his eyes. She laughed and then put a piece of popcorn on his lip which he popped into his mouth and chewed.
"You are too much." She laughed. Taking matters into his hands Spencer faced her, crawling over her.
"It seems I am left to take matters into my own hands." He moved in to kiss her.
"You missed all the good parts." He laughed.
"Elise, I think that it is cute how much you love this movie." He kissed her briefly. "But it gets a two out of five. I will watch it, only for you."
"Thank you!" He moved back to his previous position. She found herself playing with his hair, it was soothing to her as she watched the movie.
"What movies do you like?" He would normally tell people the usual but he decided to be honest.
"I like psychological thrillers." Ironically. He thought but kept it to himself. "I like sci-fi and fantasy. Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings, and Star Wars. So many different movies." He explained.
"Elise, I have to be honest. If you keep doing that you are going to get a rise out of me." Normally she would have been flustered. Actually, she was flustered but she asked herself, what would Elise say?
"Maybe I was trying to get a rise out of you. Clearly, it is working." She used her other hand to trace his hairline down to his jaw.
"Clearly, but the question is, do you know what you are getting into?" she smirked her reply. She pushed him up from her lap and then stood.
"I know what I am getting into. The question becomes can you handle what you are about to get into?"
For a moment, all Spencer could do was stare at the woman standing in front of him. Recovering, he smirked. "Come find out." He reached for her, pulling her to him, and she straddled him.
That was it, she had made up her mind. Her virginity had loomed over her for months. She had thought about losing it. Joss was going to lose hers to Cam. It wasn't peer pressure, it was something that she wanted to get over with. So she decided that her first experience would be sort of a throw-away. Someone who could help her gain experience and explore what she liked. She was about to take that leap with a man she had only known for a week. After another two weeks, he would just be a distant memory. That is what she preferred as she ignored the butterflies in her stomach and went for the kiss.