ASHLEY'S P.O.V
Why didn't I leave two minutes earlier?
"I'm going to go shower"
When Matt walks away I slip my hands into my pockets.
"Happy Birthday Spence"
I feel horrible.
Her birthday's going to suck.
"Happy Birthday Glen"
When he tries to pull her in for a hug she steps back.
"You're all sweaty and gross..."
When she says that it only encourages him more.
"Ewww Glen gross"
He's laughing.
"Is Matt here for good now?"
"Yer he dropped his bag off earlier..."
"I should probably go"
When I say that they both look over at me.
"I'll call you later"
When she says that I smile.
"Ashley stay"
I'm confused.
Why would he want me to stay?
"We have plenty of food and I'll be here, so there's good company"
Spencer just rolled her eyes.
"Come on it's our birthday and she might not want you here, but I do"
That's hilarious.
"Glen I don't think me being here's a good idea"
I don't want to ruin their birthday.
"He's harmless Ashley"
When he says that I look over at Spencer.
"I know he did some messed up shit in Europe, but he's not a bad guy"
He's a dick.
"Glen he's not the same guy..."
"Spence I don't want you to think I'm taking his side because I'm not"
This should be interesting.
"You're my sister and all I care about is that you're happy"
That's sweet.
"But at the end of the day what you two did was wrong and I'm a long way from being an angel, so I'm not going to sit here and give you a lecture on what's right and wrong, but our families are always going to be friends and he's always going to be around"
That sucks.
"So if you two are serious about being together you're going to have to get used to him being around"
When her eyes lock on mine I force a smile.
"It's your call Spence?"
"Glen can you give us a second?"
"I sure can..."
He seems like a nice guy.
"I'm going to go shower"
I watch him as he walks up the footpath.
"You two are really, really close, aren't you?"
"Yer"
I can't tell what she's thinking.
"Can I get all cheesy for a second?"
"Of course you can, I love cheesy Ashley"
"What do you want?"
"Now or long term?"
"Long term"
"Ashley is this a trick question?"
When she says that I smile.
"What do you want to happen with Matt?"
When I say that she looks away.
"Spence?"
I cup her cheek in my hand and tilt her head so she's facing me.
"We've never really spoken about this"
"Ashley do we have to talk about this right now?"
"No we don't have to do anything right now"
We're going to have to talk about it eventually.
"Ashley I chose you and I'm going to keep choosing you, you have nothing to worry about"
"I'm not looking for reassurance Spence"
I didn't want to have this conversation right now.
But I can't see how we can avoid it.
"You're annoyed?"
"I'm not annoyed Ashley"
She looks annoyed.
"I just don't understand why you're asking me this?"
"You guys were friends before you got together and your families do everything together..."
"So what?"
"Do you want to work things out with him?"
"No, I want you... I'm gay"
When she steps back, I step forward.
"Spence I know..."
This conversation isn't going how I wanted it to.
"I'm just trying to figure out what you want from him..."
"I want nothing from him Ashley"
"Not even friendship?"
"No"
I reach out slowly brushing my fingers through her hair.
"Okay"
When I say that she raises her eyebrows.
"Ashley I felt so bad when everything we did came out and all I cared about was making sure that he didn't hate me, but then he showed me this side I've never seen before and the more he tried to hurt me, the less I cared about what we'd done... So now I'm at this point where I can honestly say that I don't care anymore and I know I must sound so selfish..."
"You're not selfish"
She's a long way from being selfish.
"Ashley I don't like knowing that someone hates me as much as he does, but I don't know what to do anymore and I think Glen's right"
She does?
"We can't just hide away and only be us when it's easy"
Okay.
"So what do you want, do you want me to stay or go?"
She's smiling.
"I want you to stay"