Chapter 15 up and running!

How does a date go in this new Spashley setting?

Thanks for the reviews last chapter! Much appreciated...

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Spencer wore her official Cincinnati Reds game shirt over jean shorts. Leaving the house, she could se the amusement on her father's face as he watched them go. Ash waited until they were driving away from the villa before she made any comment about her choice of clothes.

"You know, I think we have to stop and buy you an Aruba t-shirt."

Spencer twisted in the seat and pointed to a Cincinnati reds logo on the back pocket of her jeans. "Did you see this?"

Hands on the wheel, Ash took a quick glance and made a face. "That's sick. I suppose you're still wearing those horrendous, boy shorts, too?"

Spencer shook her head. "No, I changed into a gray pair that I only wear for away games. I also have a matching tank top under this shirt. And this little border on my socks."

"What are you trying to do? Make me leave you at the theater after the movie?"

"Hey, you're the one who said I shouldn't look or dress sexy around you. I just figured I'd be safe wearing my ultimate fan uniform."

"Unfortunately, that's totally illogical."

"Don't tell me this is a turn-on for you."

She shook her head from side to side. "The problem is that I look at you and start thinking of ways to get you out of those ugly clothes."

Spencer patted her bag and smiled. "Then it's a good thing I brought along my handy Red Sox bobble-head doll."

Ash was having difficulty keeping a straight face. "Which player?"

"Johnny Bench. I should tell you, though, that I really would have brought along my Adam Dunn before I left Cincinnati. But Castro will do just fine as well, if I have to fight you off."

"I love a challenge," Ashley said in a enticing manner. She swerved onto the shoulder of the road and slammed on the breaks.

"What are you doing?"

"Showing you how ineffective those Cincinnati reds players are at keeping this Angel fan from what she's been thinking about all day."

Ash leaned over and cupped the blonde's face and kissed her nose. Then she ran her tongue across the blonde's lips, slow and sexy-like. This led to a full fledge session of some of the wild and most exotic, bizarre kissing ever attempted. There was a lot of biting, licking, tonguing, and sucking on and in various parts of the mouth. Of course, it was urged on by the rivalry of baseball teams. And it damn-near left them both breathless because anything that intense was a turn on to them, sort of. Luckily, there weren't any perverts lurking around. Well, besides the two themselves.

"And what do you have to say about that?"

The blonde struggled but found her voice. "I should have waited for my Adam Dunn doll."

Ashley's laughter rang out. Throwing the car in gear, she pulled back on the road. Spencer smiled and enjoyed the tingly feeling that was running all over her body. Ash said she had been thinking about her all day.

They reached the outskirts of Oranjestad in ten minutes. The streets were just coming alive with nighttime window-shoppers, diners, and partyers.

"I ended up talking to your father so I didn't get a chance to call back. How about if we just go down there and improvise?"

"Sounds great. Whatever you want to do, Spencer said happily. She immediately grew serious. Now that Ash had mentioned her father, she saw a window of opportunity and decided to go for it. "Ash, what exactly does my father do?"

The slim brunette glanced at her curiously. "You don't know?"

"I know he's an accountant an that he works for the Department of Energy. But other than that, I really don't have a clue. What is he doing in Aruba?"

Ash explained to her about the recent acquisition by a U.S. company of Aruba's oil refinery at the southern end of the island. She said Arthur's assignment here had something to do with that.

Spencer tried to figure out how the five passports she'd seen could have anything to do with his job tracking oil imports.

Thoughts of her father as an international terrorist, preparing to sabotage the refinery, just didn't fit into her image of him. He was an accountant, for God's sake, not James Freaking Bond!

"Do you think he's happy with his job?"

"I don't know." Ash's eyes were glued to the traffic. "Why do you ask?"

"I guess I was thinking that if I had to do without him for all of theses years. I want to know if he's gotten some satisfaction out of his work."

She pulled into a parking space by the Seaport Marina. The lights from the casino beyond the boat slips reflected on the black water.

"I'm sure he did. So did my father. But I think, for some people, the excitement inevitably wears off at some point. That happened in my family. That's why my father had to try something totally new. It could be the same thing is Happening to Arthur."

Pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place. The problem was, Spencer didn't think she was going to like the picture. "What do you mean?"

Ash switched off the engine and headlights. They sat there looking at the harbor ahead of them. "I cant put my finger on it exactly, Its just. . . He doesn't like to spend a lot of time behind a desk. He is always running somewhere. There are a lot of phone calls. For an accountant, he doesn't seem so excited about crunching numbers and doing reports. His attention is somewhere else, supposedly on some project I don't know anything about."

This didn't make the blonde feel any better. Something was definitely going on.

"So should we go and see what's playing?" Ash asked her.

"Sure," Spencer said, stepping out of the car.

Ash came around and fetched her crutches from the backseat and handed them to her. "How many more days?"

"Eight." The laughter of a group of girls walking along the street reminded Spencer of what she had forgotten to tell the brunette. "Oh the Lizard stopped by the restaurant today. Kate wanted me to tell you they are having a party-"

"I already know about it. She left four phone messages and one handwritten note taped to the guesthouse door."

They walked toward the movie theater. Ash hadn't returned Kate's messages. Spencer didn't know what to say. She did know how to feel about it though. Hell Yeah!

"I've explained things to her over and over. The day we ran into them at the Natural Bridge, I spelled it out again on the way to the restaurant in Santa Cruz. I told her were history, but she doesn't get it."

Spencer had been dumped the day before her junior prom. But she never tried to hang onto Jack. She could see why Kate was well attracted to Ash, but attracted and delusional was an eerie combination.

"So, what are you going to do abut it?" Ash asked, breaking her thoughts.

"Me?"

"You," the older woman repeated.

The younger woman came to a stop in the middle of the parking lot and looked at the other girl in confusion. "Why do I have to do something bout it?" She asked.

"I see the determination in your face. It's like your planning how to sabotage Kate somehow."

Spencer grinned. "Report a gang of blonde Bimbettes stalking the villa?"

"That's a good start," Ash said. "But the Aruban police wont do anything about it."

"How about if I beat Kate with a crutch?"

The other woman seemed to consider that for a few seconds longer, but then shook her head. "I have a better idea."

"Oh, so Einstein speaks. I'm all ears."

Ash ignored the sarcastic remark. "We'll tell her what's going on between us."

Spencer admired the play of the wind in her hair, "Okay. But don't you think you should tell me what's going on between us? I mean, when we tall Kate, we probably want to be on the same page."

Ash grinned playfully. "Lets bag the movie."

"What do you want to do?" Spencer asked.

"Let's sit and talk."

"Okay."

Ash pointed to a bench about twenty feet from them, facing the harbor. They walked over to it and sat down.

"I do expect to be fed though, before we go back."

Ash took her crutches and moved them a safe distance away. "And what if I don't?"

"Is that a threat?"

The taller girl put an arm around Spencer's shoulder and nestled the other girl against her. "No." She kissed the top of the blondes head.

A light, balmy breeze caressed her arms, and the smell of the sea and flowers mingled with Ash's exotic fragrance filled her senses. The stars were bright in the black silky sky, and the sound of steel drum music was coming from somewhere along the harbor front. She took a deep breath, wondering hoe she ever got here. . . Sitting under a tropical night sky on an island paradise with a truly amazing woman's arm around her.

Ash finally broke the comfortable silence. "Spencer, how would you describe our relationship?"

"Lets see. . .one based solidly on obligation?"

"What?"

"You've been stuck with chauffeuring me around because you work for my father."

That was last Thursday. How would you describe it, starting Friday?"

"Guilt."

Ash looked at Spencer. "How do you figure that?"

"Spencer explained. "You feel guilty because I have no tan line."

She laughed. "You are a piece of work."

"Why, thank you."

Ash lifted her chin until brown eyes were peering into blue." Are you nervous, Spencer?"

"Maybe."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a Carlin. . .and talking like this is not our strongest family trait."

"Okay then, I'll do the talking." Lights from the casino sparkled in the brunettes eyes. "I think we have something special going on between us."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I do. We speak the same language. That's more than I had with anybody before. I love spending time with you, talking to you, kissing you, arguing with you- especially over your complete lack of understanding about baseball teams." The brunettes thumb caressed the blonde's cheeks. "I especially like what we do after those arguments."

Spencer shook her head and smiled.

"So, what do you say?"

"About what?"

Ash's hand cupped the back of the younger woman's head. "Say were an item. Say you'll go out with me."

Spencer beamed and nodded. Their noses rubbed. Ash stole a peck from her lips.

"I'm not very god at sharing though," Spencer said. "You should probably know that upfront."

"I'm not, either."

"I may have to put Kate and the Lizards in their place."

"We'll do that together," she told her, stealing another peck. "My guess is we can come up with a pretty good plan."

"I'm invited to their party on Saturday. How would you like to go as my date?"

The brunette laughed. "I like your style."

And Spencer liked hers. Perching herself over the brunettes body, the blonde wrapped her arms around Ash's neck. "I like yours too." She drew her face to the brunette's and showed her.

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