"Spence…"

"Yeah?"

"I mean, we could go in there, dance, run into a few of my exes, run into a few of my exes who are now the exes of more of my exes…or we could go rent a movie, take it back to my place, delight in the fact that my mother forgets to come home therefore leaving us alone, and just…BE together. It’s up to you," Ashley said, her eyes nervously avoiding eye contact with Spencer.

"Ash…are you serious?"

"Yeah, you’re right. It was stupid. You wanna dance right? Let’s dance. I don’t know what I was thinking. Renting movies, that’s like, something you do when you’re twelve. You know, before you learn about drinking. Then you make your own movies and someone finds the tape and passes it…"

"Ash?"

"I get it, Spencer."

"No. No you don’t. Look at me," she said lifting Ashley’s chin with the light pressure of her fingers, "Look. Look at me."

Ashley quickly met eyes with Spencer.

"I love that you want to do those cute little couple things with me. Why would I want to go be surrounded by a hundred people I don’t know when I could be alone with you…watching a movie that we don’t really care about…under a blanket…"

"Under a blanket?" Ashley repeated, smiling.

"Oh yeah…with popcorn."

"Of course, that’s like, the law. We gotta do the popcorn."

"Ok, let’s go."

"Wait," Ashley interjected.

Spencer started to speak, but her mouth was quickly covered by Ashley’s…their tongues interacting and their fingers interlocking. Neither believing that there was a time that so much perfection was suppressed with a mother’s orders, a brother’s judgments, and a society induced confusion that had kept Spencer from fully realizing who she truly was.

"Wow," Spencer said as Ashley pulled away and began to pull out of the lot.

"I know, right?" Ashley answered, downplaying the intensity that she felt-made more obvious when she almost collided with a BMW pulling into the space beside her.

"Ha. Hate when that happens!" Ashley laughed nervously.

"I know, right?" Spencer mocked…as she gripped her seat.

Ashley steered them to the closest movie store, one hand in Spencer’s.

They strolled the rows of the store without inspiration. It’s difficult to find the perfect movie to watch when you don’t REALLY want to watch the movie. Spencer walked behind Ashley as they browsed the foreign films. Nothing better than subtitles to set the mood. As Spencer trailed Ashley, she made full use of her new ability to appreciate Ashley’s physical attributes….

"Spence?"

"Huh? What?! Yes?!" Spencer asked startled.

"Stop checking me out and make a decision. They’re going to close in like, 30 minutes."

"How’d you know?" Spencer asked blushing.

"It says so on the sign. See," she said pointing.

"No, I mean…how’d you know I was…" Spencer stammered.

"Checking me out?"

"Yeah."

"Come on. I may not be used to relationships, but I’ve been used to people checking me out since my first pair of tight jeans."

"So modest…"

"Hey, it’s not easy," Ashley said, looking at the cover of something that appeared to be a French horror movie.

Spencer moved slightly, now standing behind Ashley, lips almost touching the back curve of her neck.

"No movies on the back of my neck, Spence. Try a shelf," Ashley said, her breathing heavier…her body shifting.

"Why is it that I’m so much more tempted to touch you in public?"

"Because when we’re alone you’re too busy thinking about sex to actually touch me," Ashley answered, smiling.

"Ha. You suck!"

"In time, Spencer…in time."

"Remember when there was this strange stage in our relationship when everything DIDN’T revolve around the sex that  we’re NOT having?"

"Uh….no," Ashley joked.

"Ok, ok, ok. We gotta get out of here."

"You’re right. Let’s just get the Season 1 set of The L Word. You know, the one before everyone starts popping out babies," Ashley said, grabbing the boxes.

At the counter, Ashley instructed Spencer to grab a bag of popcorn, nestled in between a variation of candy.

"You don’t keep popcorn at your house?" Spencer asked concerned.

"Spence! Are you fucking kidding? My mother barely keeps HERSELF at my house, let alone snack food.

"Gotcha," Spencer said nodding.

Before opening the door, Ashley grabbed Spencer’s hand, leading her out into the night, unsure of what would happen once they reached her room.