"Honey's, I'm home." Lexy shouts into the house when she comes into the front door. I'm sitting in the living room watching TV and Ashley's standing in the kitchen, where she's been since we walked in the door. I asked her if she wanted to watch TV with me and she narrowed her eyes at me before saying a harsh no thanks. I think she's really upset with me.

But I don't really see how she can be. I'm not the one with the girlfriend here!

"Hey." I smile and wave at my best friend as she comes and takes a seat next to me on the couch.

"How was your day?" She questions, leaning forward and grabbing a handful of popcorn from my bowl on the table.

"Good." I nod and force a smile.

"Where's Ashley?"

"Kitchen." I thumb in her direction.

"She told me how the audition went, Paula is so awesome for getting them that. I need to figure out a way to thank her properly." Lexy says as she gets up from the couch.

"She doesn't want anything from you guys." I wave her off.

"I know." She nods. "But I really can't thank her enough for doing-"

"She knows, Lex." I assure her.

"Fine." She rolls her eyes and smiles. "But I'm at least taking her out to dinner or something." She adds, stepping over my legs that are outstretched on the table in front of me. "Ash." She calls as she walks towards the kitchen. I flip the channels on the TV, letting the blackness of the screen be my mirror into the kitchen. I watch as Lexy pulls Ashley into a hug, connecting their lips in a loving kiss. I have to look away. I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. Lexy giggles and hits Ashley on the shoulder as she says something apparently amusing, before walking to the fridge and grabbing a water. She walks back over to Ashley and gives her another kiss before heading back to the living room and I settle on the History channels' Pawn Stars to watch.

"So did you meet the band? Ooooh, did Stacy flirt with you? That girl's a flirt if I ever seen one." Lexy fires out questions as she flops back down next to me on the couch.

"Yes, I met the band." I nod. "Stacy did flirt with me. And we're kinda are going out on a date sometime this week." I turn to my friend and smile. I'm actually kind of excited about going out with Stacy. Maybe it'll be good for me to go out with someone else, take my mind off of Ashley...

My best friends girlfriend.

"Oh my God, really!?" Lexy shouts, clapping her hands together. "Are you excited?" Clearly she's excited

I shrug, "I guess." In the corner of my eye I see Ashley come and take a seat on the loveseat.

"I'm excited for you Spence, Stacy's hot. You need to get out and have some fun. You're always cooped up in this house all day."

"I am not cooped up in the house all day." I counter.

"Baby." She looks around me to an uninterested Ashley. Ashley glances up at us, her eyes meeting mine briefly. Well at least she doesn't look angry anymore.

"Doesn't Spencer stay cooped up in the house all day?" She asks, raising a brow. I glance at Lexy then back to Ashley, awaiting her answer.

She shakes her head. "I'm staying out of that." Is her reply.

"Boo!" Lexy shouts to her girlfriend. "Well I say you do and I'm glad you're getting out of the house. Ohemgee, I just got the best idea." Lexy says cheerfully. She has that look in her eyes, the one I don't like. She either has some crazy plan or well...nope there's no other options.

"I'm afraid to ask."

"How about you, me, Ashley, and Stacy all..." She didn't even have to finish the rest of that sentence for me to know what was coming next. I drowned her out as I continued to watch her lips moves, her hands flailing about animatedly. I can't believe she's doing this to me right now. I turn my head to look at Ashley. She looks everywhere but at me. I can see a glint of something in her eyes though. I think it's the same thing she had at the diner.

Jealousy.

I sigh and close my eyes briefly, wanting this summer to just be over with. This isn't exactly how I pictured it going.

Falling for my best friends girl, then going out on date with one of her best friends, while having to watch the girl I've fallen for and my best friend making kissy faces at each other. It's just all too much really. When I open my eyes I see Lexy's hand waving in front of my face.

"Sounds good, Spence?" She questions with a raised brow.

"Yeah." I nod and smile. "Sounds great."

"Good!" She jumps up from the couch. "Well I'm gonna go shower and get ready. You gonna call Stacy and tell her we're going out tonight?" She turns back to me and asks. Wait what? I probably shouldn't have tuned out the end of that conversation then agreed to something.

"I need to go do some band stuff." Ashley jumps up from the couch and says suddenly.

"More stuff?" Lexy questions with a pout.

"Yeah." Ashley nods, clearly lying. Why didn't Lexy pick up on that?

"Ugh, fine." She groans, turning back to me. "I guess you can just tell Stacy we'll go another night. You and I could still hang though." She suggests. I nod and smile.

"Cool. Call me later." She turns back to her girlfriend and says. Ashley nods before walking over, kissing her on the cheek and heading out the door.

"I'm gonna go get ready." I tell Lexy, pointing towards the room I'm staying in.

"Sure thing." She nods. We can leave around seven?"

"Yeah." I nod. She smiles and skips up the stairs. As I'm walking to the room my phone goes off. I run and grab it from the kitchen table.

"Hello?" I ask without looking at the caller ID.

"Hey chica." Madison voice soothes my nerves. Sigh. I miss her.

"Hey, Mads." I sigh out.

"Uh oh. What's the matter?" Her tone gets serious. I tell her to hold on as I walk the short distance to my room and close the door.

"What's not wrong would be an easier question to answer." I tell her with another sigh as I flop down on the bed.

"Is this about that Ashley chick again, because I swear Spencer. This whole I love you but I'm with your lame ass best friend thing is getting really old." Madison says, going off in Spanish afterward. She knows I can't understand a word she's saying right now.

"Madison, Madison." I try to calm her down. She's very protective of me.

"Well I'm just saying, Spence!"

"I know." I roll my eyes, burying my face into the pillow. "Ugh!" I groan. "I just wish I could figure out a way to get past this. To not want her anymore." I tell my friend.

"I know Spence. I could totally whoop her ass when I get there if you want." She suggests.

"No." I chuckle. I know that Madison isn't joking either, which is what makes that sentence even funnier. "I don't want you to hurt her. God no! I just... I want some peace from this. I want to be able to be around her and not feel guilty about my feelings." I explain. I can practically hear Madison nodding. "Well the only way that's gonna happen is if you tell her straight up, Spence. You can't keep playing this game with her. For what, two weeks now you've been ignoring her right?"

"Yeah."

"What happened to that?"

"Lexy kinda forced us to hang out today. What was I supposed to say? Oh no Lex, I can't hang out with your girlfriend because I'm falling more and more for her with each passing minute." I whisper.

"Damn, is she like trying to hook you two up or what?" Madison questions, smacking her teeth before continuing. "Look you just gotta be straight up with this Ashley. Tell her she needs to back down. That you need your space. If she really cared about her girlfriend then she'd get that, and back the fuck off." Madison says angrily.

"I hear what you're saying, I just don't know if I can say-" My sentence is cut short by my phone vibrating on my hear. "Madison hold on, I have a text message." I tell her then pull my phone down to look at my messages. When did Ashley's number get in my phone. I open up the message.

'I put my number in your phone when I was in the kitchen. I hope that's okay. I need to see you Spencer. I just need to talk to you.'

"Madison it's Ashley." I put the phone back to my ear and say.

"What does she want?"

"To meet me." I say looking at the message again. "Right now." I add.

"Well you think you should go meet her?" She questions.

"I don't know. Should I?"

"I think you should. This is the perfect opportunity for you to tell her how you feel. Get it all out Spence. Tell her that you guys can't go on the way you're going. It's not fair to you and you deserve better than to be someone's secret." Madison's right. I do deserve more than this. More than what Ashley can give me right now.

"Okay." I say firmly. "Hold on." I tell my friend. Pulling the phone from my ear to text Ashley back.

'Where should I meet you?' I send and wait for her to reply.

'Our place.' Is all she sends back.

Our place? I'm not sure I know where she means.

"I'm gonna go meet her Mads. I'll call-"

"You better." She cuts me off.

"And Mads." I stop her before she hangs up.

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

"It's what I do, chica." She replies in her best happy voice. "Love you Spencer."

"Love you too." I tell her before hanging up my phone. I sit on the bed a moment and contemplate what Ashley could have meant when she said, 'Our Place.' I shake my head clear, getting up from the bed. I walk up to Lexy's door and knock. "Can I borrow your car for a second, Lex?" I ask when she opens it.

"Sure." She replies without hesitation. "But you better not be trying to get out of tonight. I feel like we've hardly spent any alone time together since you got here. Which is completely unacceptable." She adds as she reaches to the nightstand and hands me the keys.

"It's not my fault you went and got boo'd up after high school." I tease.

"You did too, remember." She counters.

"Yeah well, now I'm not." I shrug. "So it doesn't count."

She smiles and nods. "We're leaving in an hour and a half Spence."

"I'll be here." I tell her as she shuts the door. I run down the stairs, grabbing my bag off the couch before heading out the door. I drive around for a good ten minutes before it dawns on me. That can't be where she's talking about. I tell myself as I make a u-turn and head to my destination. I pull up beside the fence. Looking around to make sure no one was watching. I get out of the car and walk up to the fence. Scaling it with ease. I jump over, hitting the ground with a soft thud. "Ashley." I call out softly. Looking around the back yard for her. No sign of her so I head towards the garden. I walk slowly, not knowing if this is even the right place. I peek my head in and see her sitting on a bench in the far corner with her guitar in her lap. "Ashley." I call to her again. She glances up and me and gives me a half smile, motioning for me to come over. I walk over to her and sit down on the bench across from her. "What are we doing here, Ashley? This is cr-"

"Just listen." She says, cutting me off. I go to speak again, to tell her that this is crazy. Just because we were able to get away unscathed the first time doesn't mean it'll happen again. But I guess Ashley doesn't care. She holds her hand up, cutting me off. "Just listen." She tells me again. She clears her throat, before shifting her guitar in her lap to the perfect position for her. When she starts strumming, I immediately can tell it's a new song. And not just new to me but new altogether. She stumbles over the first couple of chords, shaking her head at herself before starting over. Doing it perfectly the second time. I keep my eyes fixed on her face as she watches her fingers play the music. Ashley playing her guitar gets me every time. The music changes and I know she's about to begin. She keeps her eyes on her guitar. Not wanting to mess up again.

"Running the race like a mouse in the cage, getting no where. But I'm trying. Forging ahead, but I'm stuck in the bed that I made, so I'm lying. But if you keep real close, yeah you stay real close. I will reach you. I'm down, to a whisper. In a daydream, on a hill. Shut down, to a whisper. Can you hear me, still?" She glances up at me, her eyes telling me so much and nothing at the same time. She shakes her head as she messes up the chords a bit. I tell her it's okay with my eyes and she gives me a small smile, turning her attention back to her guitar.

"Eager to please, trying to be what they need. But I'm so, very tired. And I've stopped tryna find any peace in my mind cause it tangles the wires. But if you keep real close. Yeah, you stay real close. I will reach you. I'm down to a whisper. In a daydream on a hill. Shut down to a whisper, can you hear me? Can you hear me?"

She strums her guitar with more force, finally having the courage to keep her eyes on mine."Still the sound. It dies on my lips. To fade away and to forget. I'm down to a whisper in a daydream on a hill. Shut down to a whisper. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? I'm down to a whisper, in a daydream on a hill. Shut down, to a whisper. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Still...?" She's telling me everything I want to hear right now. Everything I've been waiting to hear. She wants me to wait, she wants me to hold on just a little be longer while she figures it all out. But in the end, someone is gonna get hurt and I rather it be me then Lexy.

Lexy doesn't deserve this. Any of this. She plays out the rest of the chords, putting her guitar aside when she's done. I close my eyes tightly, willing the tears not to fall but my pleas fall on deaf ears. When the first tear escapes my eye she's in front of my quicker than I could release a breath.

"Don't cry." She whispers, her breath tickling my cheek as she wipes away the tear. "Please don't cry, Spencer."

"This is wrong." I tell her, barely audible. "This...we shouldn't..." I trail off, feeling the tears coming again. I open my eyes to her face right in front of me. Inches away. My eyes dart down to her lips and I contemplate kissing her. For a brief moment we both do. But I sigh and shake my head. I can't do this to Lexy.

"Don't go out with Stacy." She says after a moment. Wait, is that what this was all about? Did I read into that song too much? Did I just hear what I wanted to hear? I stand and shake my head. Are you kidding me right now? I scoff and turn to walk away. "Spencer please." She begs, grabbing my hand and pulling me back to her. I slam into her body with a soft 'mmph' as her eyes drop down to my lips again.

"You're jealous." I tell her, trying to pull myself back. But she must be a body builder in her spare time because I can't move a muscle. "You're just doing this because you're jealous." I shake my head and look away from her eyes. They're too much for me right now.

"Yes." She states honestly. I give her a look of disbelief. "But Stacy's all wrong for you Spencer. You deserve better."

"Oh, like you?!" I snap and the look on her face tells me I've hurt her feelings. She releases me from her grasp and I stumble back a bit. As much as I hate seeing her in pain, Madison's right. She doesn't deserve me. She's with Lexy, my best freaking friend. What kind of friend am I right now? "You don't get to be jealous, Ashley. And you don't get to dictate who I do and don't date." I throw out. She turns and nods her head. Grabbing her guitar from the bench.

"You're right." She turns back to me and says. Wait, I am? "I'm in a committed relationship." She adds. Oh, right. Thanks for the reminder. She steps closer to me, placing a hand on my cheek. "You, Spencer Carlin..." She pauses and smiles. Wait, how did she find out my last name? "Are free to date whomever you'd like, and I can't-"

"Can I help you two?" A small voice asks from behind us. Ashley and I both turn towards the voice with wide eyes. Busted!

"Um..." I stumble out. Ashley just looks like a deer caught in headlights.

"Yes?" The old woman asks, walking closer to us. Crap, what's a good excuse in this situation.

"We were just um... um... this isn't what it-"

"Oh dear!" The old woman half shouts before smiling. "Are you the two young ladies that were in my yard a couple of weeks back?" The old lady asks as she pushes the glasses up on her face. Do we lie?

"Yes ma'am." Ashley answers with a nod.

"We were just um... we loved your garden so much." I say gesturing around us. "We're sorry for trespassing on your property." I add.

"Nonsense." She smiles and waves me off. Ashley and I give each other a confused look. The old lady turns and starts to walk away. "Well come on." She turns back to us and says when she realizes we aren't following her. We both shrug and follow the old woman. She leads us into the house. Which is even more amazing on the inside. "The grand-kids hardly ever visit anymore." She starts, shuffling her way to the fridge. She pulls out a jug of freshly squeezed lemonade. "You girls thirsty?" She turns and asks.

"Yes ma'am." Ashley and I say in unison. She smiles and pours us each a glass of lemonade. She shuffles over to us and hands the glasses to us, her hands shaking in the process. "Thank you." We both say again. The old woman takes a seat in the chair across from us.

"So you girls like the garden?" She asks with a smile.

I nod over my glass of lemonade.

"I love it." Ashley speaks up.

"I had it planted for my grand-kids." The woman smiles a sad smile. "The pool and the trampoline. All of it really. I'm not really an outdoors person myself. But they love it." She says and stares off like she's in thought.

"How many grandchildren do you have?" I ask, more so to be polite then anything. I mean we did just get caught trespassing. I don't want this woman to call the police.

"Twelve." She smiles, getting up from her seat and grabbing a photo album off a near by table. "Here they are." She says, handing me the album. I flip through the pages as Ashley asks.

"Where are they?"

"All my children moved out of LA for work." She says sadly. "They visit when they can but, it's not often and I'm much too old to travel far."

"You have a lovely family Mrs..." I trail off, realizing I didn't get her name as I continue to flip through the album.

"Williams. And thank you dear." She smiles. I close the album and hand it back to her.

"We probably should get going." I tell the woman, placing my lemonade on the table and standing up. Ashley follows suit.

"So soon?" The woman questions.

"Yes ma'am. I'm afraid I've got plans with my best friend tonight." I tell her.

"Well okay. Feel free to stop by anytime." She tells us, giving me an idea.

"Actually." I turn back to her and say. "My friend Ashley here is in a band called Serenity," I start explaining to the woman who looks at Ashley and smiles, glancing down at her guitar. "Your garden out there is really amazing and um... well, it'd be completely awesome if we could bring the band members in and take a few pictures in there. I promise we wouldn't mess up anything and it'd only take-"

"Say no more dear." She smiles cutting me off. "I don't mind that at all." The woman shakes her head. "As long as you both come and visit me every once and a while. I'd enjoy the company."

Ashley and I turn and look at each other before turning back to the woman. "Yes ma'am."

"Excellent." She claps her hands and smiles.