Ashley : Infatuation

My mind was everywhere except where it needed to be.

I had midterms this week, Kyla was breathing down my neck about the Desert Quarter and more races, and some dry run of something, and I had orders to do for the coffee shop…

But none of these things came close to the one headline in my brain : Spencer Wilson.

Ever since that night, I haven't been able to get her out of my head. Gone were Kyla's warnings about her, or even my own reservations about her lying and criminal record. Not that Kyla's opinion mattered anymore anyway – I've heard her mention Spencer's name more than I could count on one hand since she'd brought me home after my close call with the cops. I guess it was safe to say that Spencer was now in Kyla's good graces.

"Ashley, can you put your books down for one second and help me out here?"

I looked up at Madison, who had been playing around with the window tinting on her car all morning. It wasn't my choice to join them all at Kyla's garage on a Sunday, I mean, there was nothing for me to do. I wasn't interested in getting my hands dirty, I had more important things to worry about, like Spencer. And midterms. Maybe not in that order. But Kyla insisted that I get out for a bit.

"Uhm, no thanks," I replied to Madison, keeping my voice even. I still wondered where she got off that I was ever interested in her. She reminded me too much of Kyla, and although very attractive, brunette was not my type. Give me blonde – like Spencer – and maybe I'd reconsider. Eeeeew, not even then. Madison's just not, ugh, she's definitely not your type.

I heard a faint grunt from Madison and just ignored her, eager to get back to my Foundations in Audit textbook. Or more like hiding my face behind the book so I could drool some more about Spencer.

The blue-eyed blonde was really stunning. It felt like there was a special connection between us – it was difficult to pinpoint exactly what. I just felt so comfortable around her. And safe. Very safe. Ironic, isn't it, to feel safe with a criminal? And though it didn't really matter to me because it's never been my thing, it was quite hot the way Spencer could drive a car. And raced. It was sort of a common interest between the two of us. I wondered how old she was. Though she looked like a freshman, I could tell she was insulted by my judgment of her. Hey, at the age of twenty-five, you're not really supposed to read people that well already, are you? Unless you went to college full-time and could separate assholes from bigger assholes.

"What the hell is that?"

The surprise in Kyla's voice made me look up, and chuckle, as a tow truck appeared in front of the garage roll-up door, with a fairly beaten up Toyota Supra strapped to the lowbed.

"You said I still owed you a car."

I could recognize her voice from a crowd of millions. Spencer. A warm feeling shot through my body as I imagined that voice screaming my name. Oh the things I could do to you in my be–

"Hi Ashley." Spencer peeked into the garage and waved at me. It was a good thing I was sitting down. Hiding, behind a book. She wore her usual nice-fitting jeans, a T-shirt of a band I didn't know, and of course, the Converse. Now that I was used to seeing her like that, I thought it was kind of cute. Strange, but cute. I just waved back, not quite ready to speak yet.

"When I said you owed me a car, I meant it had to be able to drive itself across a finish line," Kyla mused. It was refreshing to hear her in a good mood for a change.

Spencer laughed. "Trust me on this, Kyla, she will."

I watched the scene unfold in front of me with awe as Spencer instantly made friends with the entire crew. She seemed to draw people towards her. I wondered how she did that.

Clay jumped up onto the lowbed, eager to inspect the piece of junk with potential to do miracles, like Spencer promised. "She is a beauty, Kyla. '95 Supra Turbo – so much potential here. She's gonna need some work, though."

"Alright, let's get her offloaded then, shall we?" Kyla ordered. She gave the tow truck driver some instructions, and twenty minutes later they had the car on the garage floor.

Clay was still in his element. He popped the hood and whistled. "Spencer, with twenty thousand, max, this beauty will be a killer on the road. You could easily win some big bucks at the Desert Quarter!"

Kyla was being generous. "Clay, let's get started with the parts list then. We can put it on my tab at Arthur's." She turned and smiled at Spencer. "When you're not working at Arthur's, you'll be working here. We have less than three weeks and in the meantime you'll need to win me some street races to make up the cash."

I stared at Spencer in disbelief. She seemed really happy about this! Did she not realize what she was getting herself into? No-one willingly let Kyla Davies own their ass!

"So… what's with all the books, are you still in college, Davies?"

I blushed, not realizing that Spencer had paid that much attention. I busied myself by chopping tomatoes, unable to meet her striking blue eyes. "Yeah, I uh, I'm studying part-time."

I dared to steal a glance at her reaction.

She raised a brow, seemingly impressed. "Oh? What are you majoring in?" She stepped closer and stole a tomato wedge, chucking it into her mouth before I could protest.

"Accounting. I might go into Forensic Accounting after that."

"What? Wow, that is really impressive, Ashley!" Her genuine excitement made me smile. "So, tell me more? What made you choose that?"

I shrugged, continuing with the chopping. "I guess I just always had a thing for numbers."

"So beauty and brains… hmm," Spencer whispered close to my ear. She was teasing me, I knew that much. But the way she did it made my knees weak. I could hardly focus, let alone keep my fingers safe from being chopped off.

"Ashley! Are you done with the salad?" Kyla yelled from outside.

I sighed, annoyed by Kyla's interruption. It was nice having Spencer standing so close to me, giving me goosebumps. She smelled so fresh, her breath minty and her scent a delicious perfume I couldn't identify.

I appreciated that Kyla had invited Spencer to have lunch with us. It's been quite an exciting day after all, I would never have thought my Sunday would turn out like this. I still did have midterms to worry about and also the next coffee bean orders for the shop, but right now, being right here with Spencer, was all I needed. Well, of course, until we were interrupted.

I peeked through the open kitchen window to the patio outside. Aiden was busy grilling steaks, Madison and Clay were in some heated discussion about cars, and Kyla, of course, were attached to Aiden. It was sickening to watch them sometimes. I still wondered what she saw in that guy. He was a typical jock, wait, a lovesick puppy jock, and it was amazing how Kyla had him wrapped around her little finger. He rarely spoke – whether that was out of his own accord or because Kyla never gave him chance to – we'd never know. But it didn't seem like there was much between the ears except driving skills and fixing cars. That was the only credit I could give him.

"Almost ready, Ky!" I replied through the open window.

Turning my attention back to the salad, and Spencer, I realized that she'd grabbed a cutting board and had done half the ingredients already. I blushed for the umpteenth time. She was amazing.

"Can't keep the hungry people waiting, now can we?" she smirked.

Lunch was pleasantly delightful. Everybody got along fairly well, even Madison behaved herself for a change. I enjoyed listening to tales of Spencer's go-karting days at Arthur's, and Kyla even managed to share some good racing stories of our father. Kyla seemed to have completely let Spencer into our little family, which was more than okay by me. I hoped she would be as accepting when I talked to her about maybe taking Spencer out on a date. Not that I needed her permission, but as much as I chose to live life by my own rules, I still wanted Kyla's support.

We were back in the kitchen, Spencer and I, cleaning up and dishing up dessert. I enjoyed spending time with her, even if it was in such odd places. There was just this natural gravitational pull between the two of us.

"Can I ask you something?"

I stopped scooping ice cream and turned to face Spencer. She suddenly seemed very shy. "Yeah, go ahead," I offered reassuringly.

"Will you go out on a date with me?" She blushed profusely, and suddenly found the floor very interesting.

My heart leaped. Really? Can someone pinch me, like, right now? I stared at her for a second, open mouthed, and I'm sure I caught some flying insects while I was at it. The silence was becoming overbearing, and I realized I should probably respond. Engage brain with mouth, Davies.

"That would be… wow, yes! I would love to!" I gave a smile so wide I could feel my jaw hurt.

Spencer's head shot up and her face lit up. Her own smile reached her eyes and just made my stomach do flip-flops. "How does next week Friday sound? I'll pick you up at 8?"

I couldn't be happier. How was I ever going to make it through midterms the next two weeks? "That's perfect. Do you have a specific place in mind?"

Spencer seemed to have planned this out already. "I do, but if you want to go to a place of your choice we can do that, I – "

I touched her arm, and it sent an electric jolt through me. Our eyes met, and I knew she felt it too.

"I'll go wherever you take me." She was so close to me I was sure she could hear my heartbeat.

She smiled softly. "It will be worth it, I promise."

I wasn't sure if it was just me, but things got very heated very quickly. If Spencer didn't step away from me soon I wouldn't be able to restrain myself from kissing her. So I did what Ashley Davies would normally do, and totally made things awkward by shoving a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. Then I picked up two dished bowls to go and feed my lazy housemates.

Spencer chuckled and stepped back, breaking the heat between us. She was about to pick up two bowls of ice cream but then paused.

"Wait," she stopped me. I turned to face her. "You have ice cream on your face… right… here." Spencer gently rubbed her thumb over my lips, her eyes turning a slight shade darker as she looked into mine. I lost all resolve and dumped the bowls onto the table, unconcerned about the clattering noise it made.

My hands had somehow made its way to the sides of her head, pulling her face close to mine. My lips brushed against hers, and when she didn't pull back, I leaned in further and planted a kiss on her lips so gentle that a soft whimper escaped her. My insides literally melted. And my breath hitched, as I suddenly felt hands cupping my own face, Spencer's delicate lips back on mine. If the world ended right this second, I'd die happy…

"Ahem…"

Or I could die from embarrassment. Kyla made me feel like an impish teenager the way Spencer quickly pulled away from me, and she stood waiting in the kitchen door, her arms folded across her chest. "I just came to see if the ice cream was okay."