After their chat, Kyla's interrogation type questions and changing into bathing suits, the girls decided to tidy around the house for the guests, not that much needed to be done. They were both neat freaks to begin with. After texting Spencer and Chelsea, Ashley and Kyla popped open two beers and decided to take in some of the sun's rays.
Kyla was wearing a purple 2 piece, while Ashley wore a black and red striped ensemble and her signature Ray Bans, maybe another 20 minutes passed by, when there was a knock on the door. Without skipping a beat, Kyla got up and practically sprinted to the door, excited to greet their guests. She swung the door open revealing a very surprised looking duo. Chelsea was wearing a forest green 'tankini' that suited her well. Spencer on the other hand was wearing a pair of trunks that ended above her mid thigh revealing her toned legs and a blue bikini top that matched her eyes.
"Hey we brought snacks!" said a very enthusiastic Chelsea as she held a few shopping bags with fresh fruit, chips and dip
Chelsea followed Kyla to the kitchen and started assembling the snacks in bowls to bring to the pool. Kyla looked up at Spencer who hadn't said a word."Hey Spence why don't you grab a beer for yourself and head outside, I think Chelsea and I can handle this."
Spencer responded with "Actually, could I use your bathroom? I think my top wasn't tied well enough and I'm afraid I might flash you guys in a very near future.
Once Kyla told her Spencer where to go and was out of sight , Chelsea broke the silence, as she poured some chips into a large bright orange plastic bowl "Soooooo Kyla how long have you known Ashley?"
"Well lets see…. we met when I was 15 and I am 24 now, so I guess around 9 years or so?"
"Wow that is a long time"
"I suppose, how about you and Spencer?"
"Oh I've known Spencer since high school, we met in a freshman art class the first week of school."
"You guys remained friends after high school? That's remarkable"
"Oh yeah Spencer and I clicked very well and I ended up marrying her older brother Clay, so awkward Christmas photos are a must"
"Oh you're married? I can't wait until I can get married too" said Kyla as she took the fruits out of their plastic casings and onto plates
"Well now that the laws changed maybe you can? I figure you guys are heading that route?"
"Huh? What do you mean? Who is heading what route?" Kyla asked as she took a long drink from her Corona.
"After 9 years I figure that marriage is somewhere in the horizon for you and Ashley?
Kyla almost choked on her beer "Oh my god no! Ashley and I aren't dating! She's my sister!"
"But didn't you just say you guys met at 15?"
"Yeah she's my half-sister, we are both Raife Davies daughters, but we have different moms. We didn't know we existed until my mom passed away. She left me a letter telling me Raife Davies was my biological father. Let's just say those few years I lived with him and Christine weren't the easiest, especially when it came to Ashley. But after his death and our hatred towards Christine, we became very close"
"That's quite a story, Spencer thought you guys were dating"
"Please Ashley couldn't handle all this anyway" she said as she dramatically flipped her hair and struck a pose
Chelsea laughed at Kyla's ridiculousness "I hear Ashley has inherited her father's charm though? Didn't she date some actor guy, who was voted number 1 in Peoples magazine sexiest man alive?"
"Well he was number 4 and that was years ago. He was actually a total dick to be honest" said Ashley as she came into the kitchen with her empty corona bottle in hand.
"Hey Ashley,we were just about to join you" said Chelsea with the snacks in hand
"Let's go for a swim then!" said Ashley as she popped the cap of a new beer handing it to Chelsea.
"Oh god no, I'll have water girl, I can't have any alcohol for a good while"
"Suit yourself" said Ashley as she took a large gulp
There was a second of silence as Chelsea and Kyla picked up the snacks and began to walk towards the direction of the pool. When everyone heard a frustrated "Chelsea can you come help me with this stupid top!" coming from the bathroom.
"Coming!" said Chelsea. She looked down at her hands full of snacks, when an idea popped in her head.
"Hey Ash? Would you mind helping Spencer, while Kyla and I carry all this outside?"
"Um well" she muttered out
"Of course she doesn't mind, she tied mine!" said Kyla with a devilish grin and began to walk away from the somewhat flabbergasted brunette.
Ashley responded with a "Yeah, sure, we will meet you guys outside" as she addressed Chelsea. Ashley muttered profanities under hear breath as she headed towards the bathroom at the end of the hall.
SPENCERS POV.
I had given up on this damn thing, I think who ever invented bathing suits did this on purpose! I heard a slight shuffling of feet right by the door.
"Hey Chels. Can you make sure to tie it well? Not too tight? I rather not embarrass myself in front of Kyla and Ashley?"I said as I turned around, closed my eyes and used my hands to hold my bathing suit in place.
"You have nothing to be embarrassed about Spence. In fact, you should be proud of the body you have" said a familiar raspy voice
My eyes shot open and my stomach did a back flip when I felt her fingertips touch my back as she moved my hair to the side, I felt so exposed at that very second I couldn't form words. Her smile was evident as I caught a glimpse of her on the reflection of the mirror. She knew exactly was she was doing to me as her hands reached for the dangling straps that lingered by my rib-cage waiting to be tied. I was completely covered in goose bumps and wondered how my legs were holding me up when they felt like gelatin. I heard her say "You know Spence I would think you would be a little less wound up?" She shook her head as she finished tying the straps like a bow and whispered the rest "I've seen you naked and that face of terror you're giving me seems rather immature, don't you think?"
I remained silent, trying to remember how to form words. The English language seemed to be a foreign concept to my cloudy mind.
She spun me to face her, I gathered all the courage I could muster to look at her eyes but her bathroom rug was fascinating me until I heard her say "Spence?" I looked up at her, her eyes quickly moved up and down as if she was undressing me in her mind before she met my stare. She leaned towards me and the temperature in the bathroom must have tripled. I closed my eyes waiting for it, waiting for her to make the move. It never came.
Instead I felt her curly hair dance on my shoulder and her warm breath by my cheek. She said "You can let go now." I felt her hands rest on top my own that had not left my chest since she came in here with her charm and what not. I took my right hand and put it on her stomach pushing her back away from my face. She looked startled by my actions and looked at me quizzically. I found my voice and said "Leave." She looked a little hurt by my tone, I softened it and continued. "Please Ash, leave, before I…..before I do something, something I wanted you to do a minute ago"
She looked at me so confused so I clarified and stepped forward invading her personal space "Please go, before I do something stupid. Alone, close and you like this". I gestured to her attire "It isn't fair and you're making it very difficult for me." She understood what I was talking about and understood my hesitation. "We might have to set some ground rules soon." She said as she turned around.
As soon as she left, I closed the door behind her and I ran my hands through my hair as the other hand gripped the counter keeping me from falling to the floor. The only thing that I was thinking was WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU SPENCER. I collected myself as best as I could before I decided to walk out. I need Chelsea to keep me in check if I was gonna make it through this get together without attacking Ashley.
I headed towards the backyard where I saw Ashley sitting next to Chelsea talking to Kyla who was sitting at the edge of the pool. Kyla was very pretty, I wonder if they were dating before or after our night. I mean Ashley didn't mention anything about dating her or anyone for that matter. You think the tabloids' would have said something about the fact that Ashley was gay or bi or whatever.
Ashley had decided to take a dip into the pool while Chelsea, Kyla and myself decided to catch some of the sun's rays and listen to Kyla I-pod which played through the speakers. My eyes were closed for awhile as I listened to Maroon 5, when suddenly I heard a very loud: "Ashley don't you dare!" followed by a splash and Ashley's familiar laugh. I opened my eyes to see a very pissed off Kyla soaked at the far end of the pool and an amused Ashley sitting by the edge of the pool.
"You're gonna pay for that Ash!"We saw Kyla disappear underwater and appear just as quickly grabbing Ashley by the ankles and pulling her in. Chelsea and I continued watching the two lovebirds play around in the pool and I couldn't help but to feel uncomfortable, I felt as if I was intruding in their time.
"They make quite an interesting two-some don't they Spence?" I heard Chelsea say as I watched Ashley wrap her arms around Kyla in what seemed to be truce. God they were both so happy, who was I to mess that up?
"Too bad it's all a lie" she said as she stood up heading towards the snacks. I followed her with beer in hand.
"Im sorry you want to run that by me again?"
"Spence, Kyla is Ashley's half sister. That's the connection you see between them. There is love, sibling love."
I looked at them for a minute and responded "They do look an awful alike don't they?"
"It's those rock star genes girl I'm telling you! She said as she popped a piece if pineapple in her mouth.
"Hey Spencer.." I saw Kyla coming towards me as she wrapped a towel around herself and continued "so I heard that you're pretty handy with a camera?"
I shot Chelsea a look "Yeah I guess you could say that. I'm usually hired for weddings, sporting events and the occasional magazine though."
"Well, Ashley and I were wondering if you could help us out with something."
"You mean you were wondering Ky, because I have no idea what you're talking about" said an amused Ashley, who remained in the pool
"Fine, I was wondering. We have gotten a two week notice from our main photographer Kelly this morning. We saw it coming, she's about 8 months pregnant and has decided to end her career and become a full time mom. Now I am interviewing a few possible candidates, next week but if you are as good Chelsea says you are, it would save me a lot of time and we would be more comfortable knowing those we work with."
"What would this job entail?"
"Well right now, Kelly was supposed to work closely with me to put up the bands website. We need photos of the band and each member for their bio and such. I'd like to see your work and maybe we could set something up for Monday? What do you think?"
SPENCERS POV
So here I am walking into Davies Records, it been almost 2 months now and after the photo shoots and working closely with Kyla I have to say I really like this girl. It was a relief to find out that Kyla and Ashley were actually related; it made me feel kind of silly of how jealous I got before. She was very impressed with my portfolio and we are just about done with the website. I have to say, this job has allowed Aiden and I to become closer and closer. He not working as much with my paycheck coming in and we've had dates and diners and alone time. It's been wonderful time getting to know what my marriage will look like.
I'm going up the elevator to meet with both Kyla and Ashley so that Ashley can give us the green light to launch the website. I haven't seen much of Ashley except the few times she comes to lunch with us or the occasional awkward hallway meet. I think she might be avoiding me because she tends to stay in her office on the computer or on the phone for hours.
I suppose it's best to keep our distance considering we work together now. We have yet to set "ground rules", whatever the hell that means.
I walked into my office, it was small with no windows which worked with me, a window would distract me too easily. I let my monitor start up as I looked for my flash drive in my camera bag. I looked through all the pictures I downloaded of the band looking to see if I saw anything I wanted to add last minute before we launched the website this afternoon.
"You know you can always upload it after Spencer"
My body got a tingle."Hey Ashley, where is Kyla?" I asked
"Oh she wanted to pass by Starbucks this morning; I told her what to get you. You know your super sweet, milky coffee" She said as she stepped into my office and looked at my camera equipment.
"So…." I broke the silence after a few minutes
She put one of my lenses down and walked over to my door any closed it."We need to talk about a few things, Spencer"
"Rules?" I asked
"Yes we will get to that in a minute." She said as she sat down in one of my dark brown leather chairs and crossed her legs. "I want to make something perfectly clear that I haven't been able to express… and since you work here I think you should know." She paused and sighed before she continued.
"Davies Records was originally a silly little dream I had as a kid. After my dad passing I put a lot work and effort into lifting it off the ground to pay tribute to him and his legacy. You are now part of this company and I wouldn't want there to be any events that would tarnish its reputation. The scandal of an affair would be something this company needs. That being said brings me to the rules we clearly need"
"Of course, I would never do anything to hurt my job or Davies Records"
She smiled "I'm not talking about you Spencer"
"Then what are you talking about?"
She sighed and leaned forward from her chair. "I'm not worried about you Spencer. I'm worried about me. You said that I make things hard for you? I assume that is why you think I've been avoiding you. The reason I've been avoiding you is because you make this thing, whatever it is…." she said as she pointed between her and I "… hard for me. The fact you have a fiancé, who seems wonderful and all is the only reason I've respected your boundaries. I'm not a home wrecker and I will not let you do anything that might jeopardize your relationship with Aiden. Which is why I think we need these rules; not only to make it easier for you but to see if we can get to a place where I can be comfortable around you without thinking about you in….inappropriate ways?"
"Umm ok?" I blushed a bit. It was an interesting thought knowing that Ashley saw me like this."What did you have in mind?"
"I was actually hoping you could help me with that, I've never proposed this. Ever. Like I said I'm no home wrecker, I've never been in this position Spencer. Whatever it is that's got my attention is dangerous. We need boundaries ok?"
"I suppose the only way to go about this is to figure out where and when we find each other most attractive."
"You're sounding like an episode of The L Word"
"Not familiar with that show" I said honestly
She laughed quietly "Of course, you aren't. Let's see….let's call them rules of unattraction?"
I stayed quiet
"…I suppose due to you silence you want me to go first?"
I nodded
"Fine, you can't wear those damn pencil skirts anymore, they're don't leave much to the imagination"
I gave her a look. "You like them? Aiden hates them, he says I look like an old librarian.
She shurgged, I figured it was my turn, "Okay you can't wear just a vest anymore. I'm pretty sure everyone including most of the male staff fucks you with their eyes when you wear that. You have to be aware of all the attention you get"
"Okay that is fair, Kyla said that isn't office appropriate anyway."
"Okay, how about never be alone together, in places like your bathroom while I'm in just my bathing suit?"
She shot me a look "You can't hold me accountable for that. That was all Chelsea's and Kylas idea. But fine, never be alone together."
"Never be alone together in places with like a bed or a couch. We both know what happened last time"
Ok, fine maybe that was super forward of me but you were the one who waited for me to strip every night if I recall!
"Fuck you" I said jokingly
"Okay, I mean if you want" she teased
"Ok, that is totally against the rules!"
"No teasing, got it" she said as she sat back on the chair
"This seems good enough for now don't you think? I mean we can always edit this if need be?"
"Fair enough, let's start now. Me, being here for example is against the rules. So Im gonna go and…."she said as she got up
"You are welcome! I'm here with liquid black gold!" said Kyla barging in with a tray of coffees from Starbucks.
"Hey Ky" I said accepting the coffee she handed me and giving Ashley an iced black coffee as she sipped some sort of drink covered in caramel and whipped cream.
"So Spencer I see that Ashley has given you the rules?" said Kyla as she sat down looking rather content
I looked at Ashley, who almost choked on her coffee; she looked as shocked as I did.
"I'm sorry, what?"
There you go! I promise a song is in the next chapter. Ill admit I did steal a few scenes from The L Word. Ive been binge watching lately. Anyway tell me your thoughts, please review!
