FIC The days after their first kiss …part 2 (Spencer) PG
Title: The days after their first kiss …part 2
Author: astabasta
Rating: PG
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Spencer, Ashley
Summary: Spencer makes a friend. Author's note: This series is my vision of what happens in season 1.5: that is between the end of the first season and the start of the second season. I have taken the liberty of introducing 4 new characters. Please be advised that this is my second posting and I am still having a "Spencer's first time with Ashley" moment: I am a nervous wreck but I so want to get it on…this site. Feedback and comments are welcome.

Spoilers/Warnings: None

Chapter II

"Hey, thanks for making that story up earlier," Auburn says. "You really didn't have to. Cruella screwed up and she knew it."

"I know but it looked like you needed a little help getting out of that one," Spencer smiles.

"I'm Emily by the way."

What a perfect name.

"Spencer…but of course you know that by now."

"Are you going to eat those?"

Spencer looks down at the cherry tomatoes she pushed aside along the edge of her plate. Spencer hates the way cherry tomatoes burst in her mouth when she bites into them; their juice and seeds leave the most peculiar and awkward sensation on her tongue.

memory
Spencer remembered telling Ashley one day about her distaste for cherry tomatoes. Ashley slyly laughed and confided, "You know… you may really learn to love that feeling."

Spencer had looked at Ashley quizzically and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Ashley just continued to smile. Or was she leering?

memory ends

"Please take them," Spencer pleads. "They gross me out."

"So what school do you go to?" Emily asks as she eats the tomatoes right from Spencer's plate.

"I'm at King High. I'll be a senior in the fall."

"You're a cheerleader right?"

"Ya. Well I used to be. How did you know?"

"You look like one."

"I get the feeling that wasn't a compliment."

Emily raises her eyebrows and shrugs her shoulders.

"And let me guess, "Spencer amuses. "You're some kind of pseudo-intellectual debate team geek."

"Good assumption, wrong clique. I'm actually the pseudo-intellectual art freak. That's why I'm doing this internship. It was the closest offering my guidance counselor could find to getting me experience in the art world. It's my first foray in the field of commercial art on my journey to becoming a struggling, poor, and starving abstract painter."

Spencer laughs, "I would never have guessed that."

"Hard to believe but its true. Well at least one of us is having a college-worthy experience here."

"What?"

"You work with Marc right? I've seen you two around. I heard he's great. Like, you could learn a lot from him."

She's seen me around.

"You know," Spencer ponders. "I'm going to ask Marc if he could take you on too so you won't have to work with – "

"Cruella!" Spencer and Emily cackle at the same time then burst into hysterical laughter.

"Don't bother," Emily says, her eyes watery with glee. "You've done your mitzvah for the day. I'll take it up with the volunteer coordinator."

"You talk to the coordinator and I'll talk to Marc. I hope we could make this happen. I think we'll have a great time working together."

"Me too."

"Ladies!"

Spencer and Emily break their gaze to look up at a tall, beefy boy with beautifully tanned skin and brown eyes.

"Is this the summer intern table?" the boy asks.

"It is now," Emily quips.

"I've been looking for this table for days. I just started. Ladies, I'm Elijah."

Spencer and Emily rapidly introduce themselves to make him stop referring to them as "ladies".

"I'm interning in marketing," Elijah continues. "I've been picking up a few ideas about how to market my band."

"You play?" Emily asks.

"No. I'm lead vocals."

"No kidding," Spencer beams, "My gir - , um, my friend sings too. Her father was some famous rock star in the 80s or something. I should introduce her to you."

"Sweet. I gotta gig this weekend," Elijah says as he hands mini-flyers to Spencer and Emily. "Come check it out. Bring your girl."

"My friend!" Spencer fires back a little too loudly and a little too quickly.

"Ya, whatever."

"Well I'm heading back up," Emily says as she stands from the table. She looks at Spencer, "Are you coming? My guardian angel?"

Spencer bashfully smiles.

"Same time tomorrow, ladies, " Elijah says with a mouth full of food.

"Sure," Spencer rolls her eyes.

"And that's Spencer and Emily to you, buddy," Emily snaps.

Spencer stands outside the building waiting for Ashley to pick her up. Revolving doors behind her turn incessantly as workers leave the building rushing to their cars, waiting limos, or taxis. Spencer peers down both ends of the block eagerly looking for a silver Cayenne to come around the corner at any moment. Spencer smiles to herself as she anticipates looking into Ashley's deep brown eyes, stealing glances at Ashley's tan line that stops just at the edge of her cleavage, and wondering about the other tan line that she hasn't yet seen because its somewhere under her skirt, below her belly button. Spencer thinks about the feel of Ashley's soft bouncy curls that sparkle with red highlights in the sun.

They see each other everyday but, with the new rules that Paula refuses to relinquish, it had been weeks since Spencer had slept over at Ashley's. Six weeks and 4 days to be exact, Spencer laments.

Now Spencer cherishes the time that she and Ashley have to steal away to Ashley's room on a Saturday afternoon or to make a brief escape to the beach between leaving work and making it home in time for dinner, according to the conditions of her "probation".

Spencer checks her watch, Where is she? Spencer dreamily remembers the day she discovered what it felt like to dissolve under Ashley's butterfly kisses planted all over her neck, belly, back, and hips for one…straight…hour.

memory
When Ashley finally drove her home after that steamy session, Spencer could barely peel her moist jeans off the heat-sticky leather seats of the Cayenne. Glen had stopped Spencer in the kitchen and suspiciously stared into her eyes, "Are you high?"

"What?" Spencer said in disbelief.

"I swear to god Spence, you better not be high. You're already on lockdown because of your little girlfriend. If you're doing drugs mom's going to have a shit fit and Dad's not even going to be able to defend you on this one."

"Don't you have anything better to do, Glen?"

"Look at you, "Glen couldn't resist. "Your pupils are dilated, you're all flushed –"

Spencer pushed by Glen and went to her room. With the door closed she flopped back onto her bed and closed her eyes. A smile slowly spread across her face. Being turned on really does have the same effect as smoking chronic. She lingered with her illicit thoughts before she changed her underwear and sweaty t-shirt before dinner.

memory ends

"You're still here?" Emily's question startles Spencer out of her reverie.

"Hey! I'm waiting for my lift. I thought that you would be long gone by now especially after what happened this morning."

"Please. I spent the rest of the afternoon avoiding her like the plague that she is. I talked to a couple of interns, though, to get a feel of what their managers are like. Basically I slacked off."

"By the way, "Spencer remembers. "Marc said that he'd see what he could do about us working together. He said something about having a project that he wants to get off the ground. Something to do with Kandi-something?"

"Kandinsky! That's like my favorite expressionist," Emily exclaims and Spencer's face reflects the glow in Emily's emerald eyes.

"Hey!" Elijah exits the building, "You two are coming to my show on Saturday?"

Emily and Spencer look at each other with uncertainty.

"I'll zap you my number," Elijah takes out his cell and sends a signal to Emily and Spencer's. "Call me if you're coming. Call me if you're not."

"JAH ROCKS 323-555-1212" appears on Spencer's phone display.

"Until the next time, L -"

Emily holds up the palm of her hand, "Don't even."

"Emily and Spencer, got it," Elijah walks away to his ride.

"I'd probably go to his show if he wasn't such a dweeb," Emily says. "And if I didn't have to think about going to church the next day with the fam."

"You go to church?" Spencer is surprised.

"Ya, my dad is a minister and we're all supposed to show up to set a good example or something. Some example I am."

"I know what you mean."

"What do you think I mean?"

Spencer stammers over her words, "Um, I mean, well…when everyone thinks you're something that you're not and, um, you just spend a lot of time convincing everyone else that you are what you know you are and not what they think you are…did that make any sense?"

"No, " Emily says lifting Spencer's chin up and moving her head from left to right. But you're cute so you can get away with being a little dumb."

"Oh really," Spencer says, gently taking Emily's hand away from her face but holding it for a minute. "Why don't you call me this weekend so that I can redeem myself and you could tell me more about that Kandinsky guy."

Ashley pulls up to the curb and, from across the street, she sees Spencer talking to a redhead. Ashley sees Spencer giggle and move a strand of her hair behind her ear. No, she did not just touch Spence's face. The bitch. OMG is Spence giving out her number?

Ashley aggressively leans on the horn.

Spencer sees Ashley, barely says bye to Emily, and hurries across the street. Spencer's heart races. Seeing Ashley is like seeing her for the first time: her brown piercing eyes, perfectly coiled hair, her eternal "don't mess with me" look on her face offset by the "come hither" pout of her glistening lips. Spence looks at her watch, there's still an hour until dinner. Spencer blushes at the thought of what they could do for the next 60 minutes.

As Spencer approaches the Cayenne, Ashley rolls down the passenger window and says, "Its about time."

"I didn't see you." Spencer climbs into her well-worn passenger seat. "Were you waiting long?" Spencer leans toward Ashley to - .

"Long enough," Ashley abruptly turns her gaze toward the road, avoiding Spence's kiss. She slams her foot on the accelerator, her icy stare focused on the highway ahead of her.