“Yeah. Well, after that, we tried to work things out. Had a relationship for a while, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about you. Sooo, it took a long time, but he finally got fed up with me and we broke up. Haven’t talked since.” Ashley sighed, rubbing the back of her neck as she leaned back in her seat.

Spencer watched Ashley rub her neck , a smile twisting up the edges of her mouth. They were both so different now, but in reality they were exactly the same as they had once been. After their conversation continued for a while, Spencer happened to glance at her watch. Shit! How the hell did it get to be 12:42am? When her eyes darted back up to Ashley, she too checked the instrument attached to her wrist ,“Wow.” She commented, also shocked by how fast time had gone by.

Standing up, Spencer heaved a sigh, knowing she had to say good bye and go home. She had appointments tomorrow and 5 hours of sleep was already going to screw with her body chemistry. Ashley too followed in her motions, rising to her feet and leaning her hip against the table. “So I guess I’ll see you around?” She questioned, brow lifting a bit.

“For sure. Is your number still the same?” Spencer was a bit embarrassed that she still knew her number by heart, but she shrugged off the feeling.

“Mmhm. And yours?” Ashley too had the blonde’s number permanently inked on her mind. Hell she’d sat next to a phone dialing and re-dialing it over and over again, never having the guts to hit send.

Spencer smiled, pleased she wasn’t the only one retaining odd information, “Yeah.”

Extending her arms out to the side a bit she invited Ashley in for a hug, and the shorter girl happily obliged. When their embrace first bean it was purely friendly, no different from the hug Spencer had given Kyla, but as it lingered both of them felt that tingling surge of adrenaline to the heart and flipping of the stomach. It felt so comforting to be in each others arms, and they both subconsciously tightened their grips.

Spencer couldn’t help but not the superb shape of Ashley’s lean body as she felt herself react a bit to the closeness. Damn it Carlin! She’d managed to go the entire night with out a single impure thought. She hadn’t wanted Ashley closer, she hadn’t needed to touch her or smell her or just be absorbed by her. The night had instilled the confidence in her that she really was over Ashley. Finally. But this moment, embracing the girl close against her was enough to remind her that she wasn’t that lucky.

Unintentionally Ashley’s hands slid a bit further down Spencer’s back, exploring just a tad bit. It was a minor concession to the riot occurring in her head at the closeness and the pressure between them. She could tell Spencer was feeling it too, or something similar, because she felt the arms tighten around her. She hadn’t felt so connected with someone in years, and she was anxious to get nearer.

Feeling the fingertips through the fabric of her shirt she resisted a shiver. For a moment she was caught up in the embrace, but eventually her head returned to earth. This was wrong, to be feeling this was wrong. She had Lily now, and she had already been down this road. GET OVER HER. Her brain ordered her heart firmly, as she forced herself to pull away from Ashley, leaving her arms feeling utterly empty.

The sensation of Spencer pulling away from her was enough to bring her thoughts out of the clouds and back into reality. She stared at Spencer, wide eyed, because she knew she was feeling the same thing too. It was pretty clear by her rather disgruntled expression that Spencer wasn’t to pleased with herself for having such thoughts, and suddenly Ashley felt guilty. She was screwing things up for her- Again.

“Well, I’ll call you.” Spencer spoke, breaking the silence as she decided she would just pretend that was a perfectly normal hug. Giving her a brief and weak smile she then turned, walking hurriedly from the restaurant. She didn’t pause or shiver as the cool night air hit her face, only bursting through it as she made her brisk path towards her car. She needed to get inside and get out of here, away from Ashley so she could get a chance to think.