Author's Note:
Whoopsies... I promised to be better at updating this time, didn't I? Well, I guess I lied...
Have I mentioned that I love all of you guys? Yeah? Well, I do! Each and every one of you! Thank you all for your awesome reviews! :)
I'm glad that people think Spashley are particularly cute in this story, with 'tantalising' chemistry. I like that word ;) I was worried I wouldn't be able to portray something like that, but apparently it's not completely unachievable, and I haven't done a totally bad job... Thank you for your encouragement!
Hahaha so it was you, dumle2209l! XD I love the fact you took your laptop with you haha Hope your vacation's going well!
Once again, Anjela78, thank you for a really lovely review and kind thoughts! I hope you enjoy this chapter :)
MissAnon, thank you for your review! To answer your questions... Yes, we will meet 'Martha', perhaps in a couple of chapters' time. And any sexy time, I will warn you all in the author's note beforehand. I'll also bump the rating up to M :P Although you've probably noticed this is a bit of a slow burner, so don't be expecting it anytime soon haha And if you check my profile, you'll see I have actually started a Naomily fic. Saying that, it's only one chapter as it stands so far. I wasn't sure whether to continue or not since I haven't got a plan like I have for this one. I'm thinking of taking it down until I've completed this one and have a plan... I take it you watched Skins: Fire? Total letdown, huh? I'm completely erasing it from my memory, I'm afraid... :(
On with the story! :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination.
Chapter 20:
When I stir, I'm unusually warm. I mean, of course, it's always pretty warm here during the nights, but I'm warmer than I'm used to.
When my eyes open slowly, there's something in front of me. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust, but when everything comes into focus, I know exactly what the offending object is.
Shit.
This is the second time I've woken up like this. Granted, the first time, I wasn't exactly sober, and apparently wouldn't take no for an answer from my snuggle buddy, but this time, not an ounce of alcohol was involved.
Obviously, the pair of us must have fallen asleep last night, and that's why I'm lying here right now tangled up with one Miss Spencer Carlin. I'm definitely not complaining though, but Pam has rules; no sleeping in the same bed unless you're married, related, innocent kids, or just best friends like Casey and myself; absolutely nothing there but great friendship. Trust me; we tried it once all those years ago and there is no way in hell of there ever being a repeat performance... Eww. So wrong.
Not this though. Despite Pam's rules, this does not feel wrong at all. Quite the opposite, actually.
If I remember correctly, when we fell asleep, Spencer's head was resting on my chest, her hand splayed across my abdomen, with me lying on my back, one arm wrapped around her. It seems that there was some movement during the night though, as now, we're both on our sides facing each other, her head in the crook of my neck and our bodies flush against each other. The shared body heat must have been enough to keep me oblivious to the lack of bed sheets on our top halves, as the more we moved last night, the lower it seems to have slipped.
I try to move my right leg slightly, only to discover that it's sandwiched in between Spencer's. She's like a little monkey...
I can't help the small chuckle that escapes my lips at this thought, which causes Spencer to stir, before turning over so her back is to me, her hand subconsciously pulling my own around her waist tighter, so that once again, we're flush against one another.
"Spence." I try to rouse her with a whisper, but she's still out cold. "Spencer." Nothing.
I free my hand from her grip and brush her hair back behind her shoulder so I have access to her ear, before leaning down and whispering once more.
"Spencer..." Still nothing. Right...
I decide to blow on her ear. Hopefully, it'll get really, really annoying, and then she'll have to wake up.
As expected, her hand reaches up to scratch her ear. Grinning, I do it again, Spencer repeating her actions once more. I do it one last time before her eyes flutter open.
"What the hell?" She scratches her ear again before turning over to face me, shocked to see my face right in front of her.
"Morning!" I grin.
"Uh... Morning." She looks confused."I guess we fell asleep, huh?"
"Yep. Spur of the moment sleepover. Pam will be delighted." She groans.
"Oh God, Pam's rules..."
"Yeah, but it's fine. We'll just sneak you out when no one's around."
"Okay... Is anyone else up?"
"Not sure. I'm only up myself." Just at that, we hear voices from the landing. "I guess that would answer your question." She smiles.
"Guess I'm stuck here for a while then."
"Guess so. So... What do you think of 'Martha' then?" I grin as she chuckles.
"Let's just say I think Casey was getting more than stew last night..." I burst out laughing.
"Totally! Me too!" I pause for a second, biting my lip before speaking again. "You're not... You know... Bothered by it?"
"What?" She sits up then, looking down at me in disbelief. "Why would I be bothered?" I sit up next to her.
"Well, you and Casey were... You know..."
"Dating, yeah. But not for long. And we were only dating because of a drunken night gone wrong. It was a mistake. And we're friends now, so why would I get annoyed?"
I start playing with the little toggles on the front of her shorts, my eyes watching my fingers.
"Ashley." She stops my hand with her own, forcing me to look at her. "I am absolutely not bothered. The only person I'm interested in is you. You know that." She leans in and claims my lips, reaching for my neck with her hand.
"Mmmm... I do." I grin before connecting our lips once more, my hand immediately going to her waist so I can pull her closer. She giggles and I pull away slightly. "What?"
"Nothing." She shakes her head as she grins before latching onto my lips again, this time, deepening the kiss.
She moans slightly as I roll over so I'm on top of her, our lips never parting. As my left hand holds me up, my right snakes up underneath her vest so I can trace patterns over her stomach and down her side. She follows my lead, as her hands reach over my shoulders and under my own vest, raking across my upper back. She obviously hasn't forgotten from the other night then...
With the chills that make their way down my spine, I turn my attention to her neck, again, spurred on by the quiet noises emanating from her throat and that damn scratching.
The lower my mouth gets, the higher my hand goes, and I am getting dangerously close to one bra-clad breast. I'm not hearing any protests though. In fact, it's quite the opposite...
Just as I'm about to move my hand that final inch higher, our make out session is rudely interrupted by a firm knock on the door.
I roll off a dishevelled looking Spencer quickly, staring at her in alarm.
"Ashley?"
Panicking at the voice from the other side of the door, I shove Spencer away, causing her to land not so elegantly of the floor on the other side of the bed.
"Ow!"
"Sorry!" I whisper loudly.
For good measure, I throw my duvet off so it lands on top of her, concealing her from sight.
"What the f– "
"Shhhh!"
Just then, the door opens and in walks Casey.
"You okay?" She furrows her eyebrows. "What were you doing? It sounded like you got into a scrap..."
"Uh... No, I just... You surprised me when you knocked the door is all. I'd just woken up, and it... Disorientated me a bit."
"Right..." She looks to the duvet on the floor. Thank God Spencer is keeping totally still...
"Uh... I freaked a bit. Kind of threw the covers off..."
"Oh. Okay." She comes to sit on the edge of the bed, beside me. "So, what are the plans for Brooke's birthday tomorrow? Is there anything she wants to do?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry! I totally forgot to say anything... How would you feel about glamping out the back?" Her eyes light up.
"Glamping? Hell yeah! Man, we used to have so much fun with those tents... We should still have them in the basement. I'm going to go check now!" With that, she's away again. Thank God!
Once her footsteps can be heard reaching the bottom of the stairs, a voice pipes up from under the covers.
"Is she gone?"
"Yep."
The covers are lifted and Spencer's face appears, throwing me a stern, but playful look.
"You're an ass." I just smile at her.
"So you keep saying. Although, if I hadn't have thrown you off the bed, Casey would have caught us, and that wouldn't be fun..."
"True..." She throws the bed sheet over me before sitting on the edge of the bed. "Maybe we should get up now; go down to breakfast since everyone else seems to be."
"Yeah..." I grab a pair of sweats before proceeding to swap my shorts for them.
I catch Spencer watching me and throw my shorts at her.
"Creep!"
"Shut up." She actually looks quite embarrassed at being caught.
The pair of us make our way to the door, before Spencer turns to me.
"Okay, so if you go to the bathroom, I'll make a dash to my room."
"Sounds good. Okay, go." She looks at me when I say this.
"No, you go!"
"No, you!"
"Ashley! You go! If you go first, you can check if anyone's about and come get me when it's clear!"
"When it's clear? Jesus, you make it sound like a military operation..."
"Yeah, well... I sure as hell don't want to get Pam angry. Did you see the way she looked at Casey last night when she accused her of 'ditching' us?" I chuckle.
"Ha, yeah..."
"Well then, I bet you won't want to break her rules."
"Spencer, we didn't do anything!"
"That's not the point! They're rules, Ashley; rules! Just go!" She pushes me towards the door again.
Rolling my eyes as I sigh, I concede.
"Alright, fine! Wait here..."
"Pfft, like I can go anywhere else..." I turn to give her a stern look.
"Now's not the time for your sarcasm, Carlin."
"Ugh, I'm sorry, but for God's sake, just go!"
"Alright, alright!" I open the door slightly, poking my head around to see if anyone's about. I can't see anyone, so I turn to Spencer as I whisper to her.
"There's no one out there."
"Great. I'll just run across the hall..." She edges closer to the door opening it slightly again as she goes to make a run for it, but turns back in panic and bumps into me, causing the door to slam shut and the pair of us to tumble onto the floor.
"Shit!" Ouch, looks like she stubbed her toe. That's a killer.
I can't help but burst into laughter as her face goes purple when she attempts to hold her breath rather than yelling out. Of course, my laughter is silent, and I'm pretty sure my face is a similar colour to hers as I'm trying to hold it in.
"Ashley?" Shit, it's Glen... "You okay in there?"
"Uh..." I'm trying so hard not to laugh. Spencer's a wreck. "Yeah..."
"You sure? I just heard a thud." Yeah, well that was probably Spencer's toe.
"Yep. I just, uh... I stubbed my toe..." Spencer shoots me a look then, still in agony, as she mouths to me; 'you stubbed your toe? You?' It's really quite hilarious. I just nod in response.
"Ouch, man. That hurts. Been there many times myself."
"Yeah, it's really sore..." I make a noise that sounds like I'm in pain, smirking all the while of course, just to add authenticity, before Spencer lifts a shoe and hits me with it. "Ow!"
"Wow, you okay?" No, Glen, I'm not. I've just recently started this secret 'thing' with your sister, but have only just found out this second that she's a domestic violence offender. I'm not really sure if I can be with someone like that. It's not really my thing...
"Yep. Yep, I just... Accidentally hit myself... With a shoe..." I stick my tongue out at Spencer, who is now the one trying not to laugh.
"Riiiight... Whatever. When you finish up killing yourself in there, Pam's making breakfast. And hey, have you seen Spencer?" Shit.
"Uh, Spencer? Isn't she in her room?" She's shaking her head manically at me and mouthing something, but I can't make her out.
"No, already checked." He goes to open the door, Spencer's eyes widening at the movement of the handle, but I dive at it before he can push it. "What the hell?"
"No! Uh... You can't come in!"
"Why not?"
"I'm naked." Spencer smirks at this, as I just shrug. What else could I say?
"Oh."
"Yeah... Look maybe she went for a walk. She was talking about going for one yesterday. I said I would go too, but obviously, I wasn't up early enough. She probably just left without me."
"Maybe. Okay, well, put some clothes on before you come downstairs, yeah? I don't want my daughter to be scarred for life..."
"Yeah, you got it... I'll be down soon."
"Okay..." We wait for a few seconds as we hear Glen descend down the stairs.
As soon as we're sure he's gone, Spencer turns to me.
"What the hell just happened?"
"I don't know..." It only takes a second before the pair of us burst into laughter.
When we recover, I reach for the door handle.
"Okay, I'll go out and make sure every room is clear. Just incase."
Spencer watches through the small gap in the door as I make a show of checking the rooms military-style, whispering a harsh 'clear' after looking in each door. She's giggling the whole time, obviously finding the whole ordeal very entertaining.
When every room has been checked, I return to Spencer.
"All clear!" I grin.
"Great!" She gives me a quick peck on the lips. "I'll see you downstairs." She makes her way to her room, but I stop her before she reaches it.
"Wait!" She turns back, startled. "What's the story?"
"I'll go get changed and then have a quick wash when you're done, and then I'll sneak out the front door and in the back, just to make it look like I did actually go for a walk." Genius.
"Brilliant."
"I know." She winks, then she's gone.
Once I'm washed, I head downstairs to breakfast, making sure my neck looks as if it's all one colour once more. As agreed, Spencer comes in through the back door.
"Where were you?" Glen questions her.
"Went for a walk."
"Right..."He eyes her suspiciously before she takes a seat next to me.
Once we're all sitting down to breakfast, Dale makes a suggestion.
"So, I was thinking... Why don't we all go out for dinner tonight? We'll pay for Pam and Rob."
"Oh, no, dear. We couldn't ask you to do that..."
"No, I insist! You've been great to us; you always are. I'm not taking no for an answer." Pam sighs as she gives in.
"Oh, alright... Why don't you invite that nice girl with the shorts? For some reason, her name keeps escaping me..." Her eyebrows furrow.
"Hot pants." Chase pipes up.
"Sorry, dear?" He stops eating as he looks at Pam.
"Her name is –"
"Mel! Her name is Mel..." Casey kicks him under the table.
"Ow!" He kicks her back.
"Mel! That's it! Lovely girl! Yes, why don't you ask her to come along?"
"Good idea, Pam!" I agree. "Although Casey might prefer to invite Martha..." I chance a glance at Casey to gauge her reaction.
She flinches. Yep, definitely something going on there...
"Uh... No, it's fine. We can ask Mel."
"Are you sure? I'm not sure about everyone else, but I'm intrigued to meet this 'Martha' character..." The others agree with me.
"She's very shy."
"We don't bite." I feel Spencer kick me lightly under the table, probably trying to get me to drop it, but I'm having too much fun. Casey makes me suffer enough anyway, so it's only fair I give her a taste of her own medicine.
"I mean painfully shy. She doesn't do well in big groups of new people." I decide to let it go then. I wonder why she's going through so much trouble to keep us away from this 'Martha'...
After breakfast, I head up to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Spencer's just finished, but returns a few moments later with clothes for the day and a towel in her hands, closing the door after her.
I rinse my mouth out and turn to her.
"Going for a shower?" She nods before setting her stuff down and planting a kiss on my lips. "What was that for?" She shrugs as she continues to stare at me.
"Just felt like it." I grin before leaning in again.
"Spencer? Is that you in there?" We jump away from each other suddenly, the sound of Casey's voice shocking us both.
What is it with people interrupting us today?
"Uh, yeah! What's up?" She holds a finger up to her mouth, telling me to keep quiet as she speaks to Casey through the door.
Casey goes to open the door, which Spencer seems to have forgotten to lock. Brilliant. I jump at the door for the second time today, again, causing it to slam in someone's face.
"Look... Can I come in for a second?" Hell, no!
"Casey, I'm naked." Way to steal my excuse! "I'm literally about to hop in the shower. Can't this wait?"
"No, look... I really need to talk to you... It won't take long. Promise. Can't we talk while you're in the shower?" I'm shaking my head frantically at Spencer, still holding the door closed as I mouth the word 'no' to her.
"Casey..."
"Please? I really need to get this off my chest." Spencer rolls her eyes, but I can see her resolve weakening.
"No! Spencer, no!" I'm mouthing to her as she looks apologetic.
"Fine. Give me a second..." My mouth hangs open for a second, before Spencer motions for me to do something.
What the hell am I supposed to do? I'm stuck in a pretty awkward situation here...
Thinking fast, I jump into the shower, which, luckily, is one of those two-in-one bath/shower things with the opaque curtains to conceal everything.
Once I'm in, Spencer pokes her head around the curtain, warning me not to look when she joins me.
I hear every movement as she undresses at the other side of the curtain, biting my lip in anticipation. Before she jumps in though, her hand shoots around the curtain and hands me a face cloth. I laugh silently, shaking my head. She's no fun.
I fold the face cloth in half before holding it up to my eyes like a blindfold. Satisfied that I can't see anything, I feel Spencer in front of me.
"Okay, you can come in..."
One piece of material. One piece of materiel between my eyes and probably the most wonderful sight in the world. I'm not going to remove it though. Spencer would probably kill me. She does enough damage with a shoe. I dread to think what she's capable of with a shower head...
The door opens and I hear Casey take a seat on the toilet.
"Okay, so what is it?"
"Uh... I thought you were going for a shower..."
"I am."
"Oh... Well, don't you need the water on for that?"
"Uh... Yeah..." No. Don't even think about it...
I feel Spencer reach over my shoulder before turning on the shower behind me, the water soaking me instantly.
I gasp silently, careful not to alert Casey, but Jesus, the water's cold! Have you ever just hopped into the shower and turned the water on yourself straight away? No? Yeah, that's probably because you wait for it to heat first... I bet Spencer's enjoying this. Even with my eyes covered, I can tell she's smirking right now.w
"So... What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Luckily, the water's warmer now, so it no longer feels like a thousand knives are being thrown at me from above.
"Umm... Yeah. So... You know the way for a while, we had this thing?" I pull a face at this before feeling Spencer shove me playfully.
"Yes."
"Well, that's all been and gone now, and I was just wondering... You'd be okay if I started seeing someone, right? I just wanted to check. I mean, I know we weren't like a real couple anyway, but I don't want you to think that I'm rubbing anything in your face..." She's with Martha. I called it!
"Of course I'd be okay with it, Casey! In fact, I'd be happy for you!"
"Really? That's great! Because... Well, I'm kind of seeing someone right now. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid of how you'd react..." I know how that feels. You have no idea...
I make a mocking shocked face at the news that Casey has indeed got herself a special friend, my eyes still shielded by the face cloth as Spencer nudges me once more.
"That's brilliant, Casey! One question though..."
"Shoot."
"It's Martha, right?" I nod my head, agreeing with Spencer in her assumption.
"Uh... Yeah. Yeah, it's Martha."
"Cool. Well we can meet her soon then, right?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure. So, I'll let you get back to your shower now..."
"Yeah. Thanks..."
"Okay... Well, see you downstairs then."
"Yeah, see you."
I hear Casey leave, Spencer jumping out to lock the door as soon as she's gone.
"Shit! Okay, you can take the face cloth away now." I do, and find that she's wrapped her towel around herself. Damn.
Once again, we look at each other and start chuckling at the situation.
"Well that was close..." I grin.
"Yeah..." She smiles back at me.
The shower's still running, but I've moved out of the way. I don't really see why though; I'm already drenched.
"Ash?" I roll my eyes and groan at the sound of Brooke's voice calling out for me.
"Why? Why does this happen to me?" Spencer giggles as Brooke calls out again.
"Ash, are you in there?"
"Uh, no, honey. It's just me." Spencer calls back out to her.
"Oh... Well, have you seen Ash?" I raise my eyebrows.
"No, sorry. I'm sure she'll turn up eventually though..."
"Hey, Brooke, what are you doing?" Oh, lovely! Lucy's decided to join Brooke on the landing...
As Spencer and I stand listening to the noises from outside, we realise neither of them plan on leaving anytime soon. The pair of them have launched into a full conversation and seem to think the landing is the perfect location to hold it. How the hell am I getting out of here now?
Spencer and I look at each other, shaking our heads as we chuckle.
"How am I getting out of here?" I whisper frantically.
Spencer shrugs before looking thoughtful for a second. Suddenly, a grin takes over her face as she points to the window behind me. I scoff.
"No."
"Yes," she grins.
"No." I shake my head.
"Yes." She nods.
"No." I say it slower this time.
Spencer hops in beside me again, still clad in a towel, and opens the window slightly before looking at me pointedly.
"Yes." She throws me this intense stare.
I simply shake my head as she arches her eyebrows.
"How else are you going to get out? The girls are busy having a debate just outside and you're not staying here while I shower..."
"You sure?" I wiggle my eyebrows, which causes her to chuckle.
"Sleaze!" She hits me playfully before pulling me in for a quick kiss. "Go!" I sigh.
"If I hurt myself, I'm blaming you..."
"Yeah, yeah..."
With one last peck, I open the window enough so I can squeeze out. I look back and Spencer throws me a cheeky wink before shutting the window again. Witch.
I still hadn't put any shoes on before going to brush my teeth, so my grip on the roof tiles is not good at all, nevermind the fact that I'm soaked to the skin and dripping everywhere. If I stay in the one spot too long, I'm pretty sure the roof will turn into a waterslide...
I creep around the side of the house I know no one will be, before trying to reach the ground gracefully. Of course, this doesn't happen, and as I'm at the edge, my wet sock-clad foot slips, causing me to crash not so gracefully on the hard ground.
"Fuuuuck!" I wince in pain my left shoulder takes a good hit. I take a deep breath as I ride out the pain.
The throbbing eases off after a few agonising seconds, though the pain is still apparent. Although it's not broken, I'm definitely going to bruise...
I trudge around the side of the house, leaving a lovely wet trail behind me, almost bumping into Brooke and Lucy on their way out the back with Dale, Chase, Glen and the twins. They must have gone downstairs as soon as I climbed out the window, which is quite frustrating. If I would have waited another minute, I could have just used the door. God!
"What happened to you?" Brooke looks concerned.
"Uh... I went for a walk to the lake." They're still all looking at me, waiting for me to expand. "I uh... Got too close to the edge and... Fell in..."
"You're silly, Ash!" Thanks, Brooke...
She trots off happily with Lucy and the twins, Chase and Dale following, whereas Glen stays put for a second.
"Man, it just ain't your day today, is it?"
"Nope..."
"Meh, it'll get better. Later!" With that, he pats my back, making me wince slightly as he skims my sore shoulder. He doesn't seem to notice though, and just walks on.
I make my way into the house, simply stating that I 'fell into the lake' when the others catch a glimpse of me.
I reach my room and grab a towel and a change of clothes before returning to the landing. I plan to just leave my things by the door until Spencer is finished, but it seems she already is as she emerges as soon as I'm about to set my stuff down.
"Hi."
"Hi." I mimic her.
"Uh, Brooke and Lucy –"
"Went downstairs basically as soon as I climbed out the window; I know..." She bites her lip. She's trying not to laugh.
"Sorry..."
"Yeah."
"You look like you've been rolling around in the grass." She chuckles as she removes a few blades of grass from my hair.
"Yeah, I did for a while... After I fell."
"You fell?"
"Yeah. Off the roof..." She winces at the thought.
"You fell off the roof? Well, are you hurt?" She gives me a concerned look.
"No. Well, just my shoulder, but it's fine. Just a bruise. You can consider it payback for pushing you off the bed earlier. Now we're even." She laughs at this
"I'll just let you shower now then." She smirks as she steps to the side.
"Yeah, thanks..."
To be honest, my shoulder isn't 'fine'. The pain subsides when I keep my arm still, but when I move it, it's pretty sore. I discover this when I'm in the shower, struggling to wash my hair. Thereafter, I decide it's best to try not to move it. Maybe I hit it harder than I thought...
I manage to make it through the rest of the day without alerting anyone, Spencer and I catching a lift to dinner with Casey in Mel's car, since I don't feel I can drive right now. I don't tell them that though. I simply explain that there's no sense in taking more cars than needed, Pam praising me for my good thinking, meaning Dale and Annie take the four kids in the SUV, while Chase and Glen are dragged to Rob's car by Pam. Of course, I get a death glare from Glen and Chase. Typical boys get a thrill from speed. Well obviously, there'll be none of that while Rob's driving...
When we arrive at the restaurant, it seems they've moved a couple of tables together, so we have no trouble fitting everyone in.
I take a seat at the edge of the table at the wall, Spencer in the next seat to my right, followed by Brooke, Lucy, Glen, Pam and Rob. Opposite me is Mel, then Casey, Chase, Dale, Max, Emily and Annie.
Almost immediately after we're seated, a cute redhead in uniform occupies the space at my end of the table.
"Hi, I'm Jessica. I'll be your waitress for this evening. Can I get you any drinks?" Once everyone else has ordered, she turns to me. "And can I get you anything?" She bites her lip slightly as she waits for me to reply.
"Just a water, thanks."
"Easily pleased, I see." She smiles before making her way to the kitchen.
My eyebrows furrow as I watch her walk away. That was a bit weird...
When I turn my attention back to the others, I see Mel and Casey looking at me with sly grins across their faces.
"What?"
"She was totally flirting with you, Ash."
"What? Casey, she was not. She's just doing her job." She scoffs.
"Yeah, right. I'm sure not all of her customers are 'easily pleased'..." I roll my eyes.
"She's just making conversation; a light-hearted joke. It's what they do."
"Uh-huh. Whatever you say..." She turns her attention to a conversation between Dale and Chase then, Mel laughing quietly as she looks at Spencer.
I turn to Spencer then to find her smirking at me.
"She was so flirting with you."
"Was not." I nudge her with my shoulder and she does the same back to me.
"Was too."
A few moments later, Jessica returns with a tray of drinks, ensuring we're all satisfied before running off again, coming back with a handful of menus. She starts at the opposite side, meaning I'm the last to receive my menu.
"Thank you." I smile politely as she hands mine to me.
"No problem." She smiles back before leaning down ever so slightly. "I'd recommend the chicken." I stare at her for a moment before she takes off again.
I feel something nudge my leg, and realise Spencer is trying to get my attention. When I turn around, she has both eyebrows raised, sporting a look that reads, 'I told you so'. Mel and Casey are sporting similar expressions.
"She's not flirting with me." Casey just simply wiggles her eyebrows at me, whereas Spencer leans over to whisper in my ear.
"Why don't you try the chicken?" I smile as I shake my head.
"Funny."
As we all scan over our menus, I really can't see anything that stands out for me. Though to be honest, the chicken actually does sound pretty good.
When I finish looking over my menu, I sit back and rest my right hand on my knee, while my left continues to play with the corner of the menu. I'm soon startled by the feeling of something soft on my right hand, but relax once I realise it's just Spencer's hand as she casually leans on the table with the other, chatting animatedly with Mel.
Pretty soon, Jessica makes her way to our table to take our orders. Again, I'm the last to order, Spencer's grip on my hand tightening the closer our waitress gets to me.
"And yourself, then?"
"Uh... I think I'm actually going to go with the chicken... Ow!" I flinch slightly as Spencer squeezes my hand particularly tightly before removing hers and bringing it on top of the table.
Jessica eyes me suspiciously for a second.
"I uh... Got my foot caught, sorry..." She seems to buy it.
"Right. Well, excellent choice." And then she winks at me. She winks! I'm beginning to think the others are right...
"Mmmmm, you're right, Ash; she's so not into you..." Mel nudges Casey for this, but that doesn't stop her chuckling quietly.
When Casey's attention is grasped by something Glen says, Mel grabs my attention before nodding to Spencer with subtlety.
I guess it's good that Mel knows about us. At least we don't have to hide it from her. The funny thing is that Spencer still doesn't know she knows yet...
Speaking of Spencer, when I turn to her, she doesn't look too happy. Uh-oh, I know that look...
I nudge her as I lean into her ear.
"What's up with you?" She turns to me then.
"Really? You're actually having the chicken? I was joking when I said that you should try it."
"I know, but I like chicken..."I pout.
"Fine." She turns away from me again, so I move my chair closer to her.
"Wait... You don't actually think I ordered that just because she recommended it?" She shrugs.
"Spencer." She doesn't look at me.
I lean in so my mouth is right at her ear before growling playfully.
"Spencer." I see a hint of a smile. "Spencer!" My tongue sneaks out to lick the side of her ear, causing her hand to fly up before she looks at me, chuckling. Thank God everyone else is occupied right now...
I grin at her.
"Got you to look at me." She sticks her tongue out at me. "Cheeky!" I make sure no one's looking before giving Spencer a quick peck on the cheek, which thankfully earns me a full on smile.
When our meal arrives, Spencer accepts hers with a sickly sweet smile thrown at Jessica, who is unperturbed as she sets mine down in front of me.
"Thank you, Jessica!" This knocks her slightly.
"No problem..."
"Oh, it's Spencer."
"Right. Spencer. And you are?" She looks at me, expectantly as I'm taking a sip of my water.
"Uh..." I clear my throat. "Ashley. It's Ashley..."
"Ashley..." She seems to be testing my name as it rolls off her tongue. "Well, enjoy your meal. Just give me a shout if you need anything. Anything at all." Uh-huh... Real subtle.
"Thank you... But I think we're good here." Spencer answers for me, Casey giving her a weird look as Mel tries not to laugh once more.
I nudge Spencer slightly with my knee under the table. She's doing a pretty good job of making things obvious right now in front of Casey. She ducks her head sheepishly then, and I decide to excuse myself to use the bathroom, signalling for Spencer to follow me.
When we get there, Spencer starts speaking first.
"I'm sorry, I just... I got annoyed and snapped slightly. I didn't mean to alert Casey... But you realise Mel was looking at us before that, right?" I smile slightly.
"Mel knows." She gives me a weird look.
"She knows? Well, when did you tell her?"
"I didn't." She furrows her eyebrows. "I didn't need to. That night Casey set us up and we went out after leaving you guys home, we just hung out and talked. I told her I was into someone else and she knew it was you. Said she saw the way we were looking at each other..."Spencer smiles and shakes her head.
"Why didn't you say anything?" I shrug.
"It never came up."
"Idiot." She shoves me playfully.
"Ah!" I wince and grip my shoulder .
"Shit! I'm sorry! I forgot! Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just don't... Hit me again, yeah?" I smile at her, but she looks upset.
"I'm so sorry, Ash! Is it really that sore? Do you want me to take a look at it?"
"No. No, it's fine. We better get back out there before they send out a search party, or better yet... Jessica."
"Ugh..." Suddenly, Spencer doesn't seem as upset as she is annoyed. "She better not try anything..."
The rest of the meal passes smoothly, with no hassle from Jessica until she comes to collect our plates and give us the bill. She doesn't say anything, but hands the bill to me.
When I look at it, it's folded in half, and when I unfold it, a slip of paper falls out. Spencer catches it and looks at it before smiling and shaking her head before showing the rest of us.
"Jessica. Call me... Wow, nice, Ash." Casey looks over her shoulder towards the red head before turning back to me. "If I were you though, I wouldn't call her. She seems a bit weird..." Yeah, don't worry; not going to happen.
I notice Spencer slip the docket into her pocket as we each get our money ready.
Once the bill is paid, we get ready to vacate our seats, Spencer seemingly taking her time so that we're the last ones to leave.
Just as I'm about to walk out the door, Spencer grabs my right hand and pulls me back.
"What are you –"
"Just go with it." She drags me over to the counter where Jessica is standing and keeps me close as she leans over.
Jessica looks up to a smiling Spencer, looking slightly confused.
"Uh... Hi."
"Hi! I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful service this evening." She hands some money over the counter. "I wanted to give you this tip personally. Oh, and..." She reaches into her pocket. "We won't be needing this." She hands over the little docket with Jessica's number on it.
Jessica looks gobsmacked as Spencer turns on her heels, pulling me along with her. Once we get to the door, I see Spencer look over her shoulder out of the corner of my eye, probably to check if she's still watching. Suddenly, a pair of lips are on mine, hands in my hair. Not being able to resist a kiss from Spencer, my hands automatically circle her waist, ignoring the dull pain in my shoulder as she deepens it. It doesn't last nearly as long as I'd like it to though, and Spencer pulls away, shooting Jessica a cheeky wink as she guides us through the doors.
I chuckle as we exit the restaurant, making our way to Mel's car.
"You're bad." She smiles at me before climbing in.
"I know." I shake my head as I open my own door.
"Hey, where were you two?" Casey asks as we strap ourselves in.
"Last minute toilet run." Wow, I'm getting pretty good at these excuses. I guess I've had to use them enough times... They seem pretty believable too, as neither of them question this as Mel turns the engine on and heads back to the house.
Mel only stays for about an hour, then heads home, the boys putting the kids to bed tonight, much to the disappointment of Brooke and Lucy, who of course wanted Spencer and myself to do it.
We take the time just to chill with Casey for a while, discussing our many nights as youths sleeping in the tents. Casey seems to be really excited at the thought of reliving those times once more, and I have to say, I am too. We had some pretty fun times...
Casey manages to bump my arm at one stage, causing me to recoil, so of course Pam forces some Advil down my throat before I head to bed early, my excuse for the pain of course being that I hit it when I 'fell into the lake'. Yeah, they don't need to know why I was climbing across the roof...
I receive a text from Spencer asking if I want her to come up, but despite how much I actually do want her to come see me, I let her down easy. I'm pretty tired and don't want to risk another morning like the one we had today, especially with my shoulder. I doubt I'd be able to take another beating with a shoe without breaking something...
Just when I get settled, my phone vibrates.
Okay. Hope your shoulder feels better in the morning. If it's still sore, I'll make you a sling ;) Goodnight XXX
I smile as I send off a quick reply, settling back down once my phone is on the bedside table.
As I close my eyes, I start to think about the fun-filled day we're bound to have tomorrow. A smile graces my lips as I start to doze off. Brooke is going to love her present...
.
.
.
.
A/N – Next chapter = glamping! :D Two girls, one tent... Or not. I haven't thought the sleeping arrangements through yet. We'll see what happens ;)Could be quite fun to put Ashley with Casey and Spencer with Mel. Meh, I'll sleep on it haha
