“Why Miss Carlin, how absolutely devious of you,” I grin at her and she loops her arm through mine as we head down stairs. Glen spots us right as we’re walking out the door. Damn

“Ash, hey! What are –“

“Girls night!” Spencer yells and slams the door behind us. We throw her stuff in the back of my car and then hop in.

“Very well played.” I say, glancing at her.

She smiles and looks out the window. “Yeah well, I wanted you all to myself this weekend. And that means no Glen.”

_______________

We pull up to Ashley’s and I’m really happy. And scared. And excited. And nervous.  Things have been really good up until now. I mean, you’d think that since we just got out of a fight or that stuff would be a little tense or at least awkward, but they’re not. Everything has been really easy and light so far, and I’m afraid to kill the mood, so I won’t bring up the fight.

“Ass cream and movies?” I ask as we toss my stuff in her room.

“Mmm…yes to the ass cream, chocolate of course, no to the movies. I really think we need to talk Spence.”  I should have seen that one coming. “Yeah I thought you’d want to. I’m gonna throw on my PJs you get the ass and we’ll regroup in 5?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” She says and she turns and walks downstairs.

A few minutes later she comes back with two bowls of ice cream in hand. She keeps one and hands the other to me. We both sit down on the bed. She sits with on leg outstretched in front of her and brings her other knee up to her chest. I sit Indian style.

“Thsoo,” She says. It comes out weird because she’s sucking on the spoon.

“Soo,” I say back. I stare at the bed for a few moments before I say anything. “Look, I’m sorry okay? Stuff got really out of hand the last time we hung out and I know that our friendship has kind of been changing lately but I don’t want to keep fighting with you so if you want we can just forget any of it ever happened.” It’s the last thing in the world that I would want, but if I can’t not have her in my life.

I look up and she’s just staring at me. Her ice cream is on the floor by the bed and the spoon is still hanging out of her mouth. “Uh lwuvf ooh.”

“What?” She doesn’t repeat whatever it is she just said, so I scoot over closer to her and pull the spoon out of her mouth, tossing it near the bowl on the floor “What?” I say again, lifting her chin so she’s looking at me. I’m surprised by how sad she looks.

“I said ‘I love you.’” I think my heart just stopped. She keeps talking, oblivious to the fact that I’m having trouble breathing.  “I know things got complicated. Really, really complicated. And I know that it’s mostly my fault because I’m an idiot and I know that  but I just –“ She rambling. She does it when she’s nervous. So I cut her off, pressing my lips against hers.

It’s not like the last kiss we had, this on is passionate and needy, but not rough. I run my tongue along her bottom lip and she moans as I slip it inside her mouth. She lies back on the bed and I move one leg over her hips so that I’m straddling her. She’s clawing at my back, trying to pull me closer and I moan when her nails dig into my back.           I could do this forever.

TBC