As her car started up the roadway to Spencer's house, Amber's resolve started to crack. She knew she needed to do the right thing, but every time she mentally pictured herself talking to him, it didn't go well. Imaginary scenes swirled through her head.
Spencer telling her to "Fuck off" before slamming the door in her face. Spencer not answering the door. Spencer never showing up at the office again and Rod (or is it Ron?) with his bland polo and equally bland personality being their only technician. Spencer's lawyer sending her a letter suing her for defamation. Spencer laughing at her gullibility and telling her what an easy lay she was...
"ENOUGH!" She yelled out loud, slamming her hand against the steering wheel hard enough to sting. The pain helped cut through the racing thoughts. She pulled over at a wide spot in the long, winding driveway next to his mailbox. His house was not quite visible through the trees, but a path could be seen curving its way in. She turned off her car, afraid that if she left it on, she'd bolt back to town.
This is ridiculous. I have got to get through this. I can pull a 3.8 GPA in Chemistry, but I can't talk to a guy? Maybe if I just park here, I can walk up and calm myself.
She opened the door and sat there with her feet on the pavement for a moment inhaling the scent of the trees, trying to work up the nerve to continue. The car's chime reminded her to remove her key.
After a few deep breaths, she walked up the pathway towards the trees, trying to focus on the beauty around her. The house had been built on some property behind the tree line. Last night, it had been dark when they arrived, so she hadn't seen much of the house. Plus, they had parked by and spent all the time down at the pool house, which was down a small incline; she had never gone near the main residence.
The small gravel path wound its way through the trees and then beyond them to meet up with a concrete walkway that came from the side of the house, wrapping around to the front porch and circular driveway. The large, two-story Craftsman home was gorgeous with an emphasis on stone and timber. It reminded her vaguely of a lodge. There was no lawn. Instead, the house melded with the natural surroundings in a way that highlighted its beauty without being garish. A small pond-like water feature gurgled in the front, its rim lined with lush plants. A few yellow birds were flitting around a bird feeder nearby, their trilling calls welcoming her to the residence.
Amber climbed the steps to the wrap-around front porch, glancing past the timber posts at the deep ruby red sports car parked in the driveway.
Wow, that's a lot fancier than what he was driving last night! Guess I know what he keeps parked in that outbuilding over there.
Last night, when Katelyn had been following him from Steve's, he'd been driving the much more sensible late model green Subaru Forester that was parked next to the sports car.
She stepped up to the door and took a deep breath.
Okay, here goes. I can do this. Nothing crazy is going to happen. At best, we talk. At worst, he...
Her mind started offering up all sorts of suggestions again about what the worst could be and she quickly shut it down by pushing the doorbell.
She waited. A minute went by, but no one answered.
Okay, that doesn't mean anything. Maybe he's in the bathroom or out back or something.
She peeked in the window at the side of the door. She could see a hallway leading to a larger living space. A duffle bag could be seen at the base of a couch, but not much else was evident. There was no movement. She straightened back up and waited another minute, a deep yawn breaking free as she looked around. She pushed the bell again and listened closely. She could hear a deep, muted chime ring within.
She waited some more, her pulse quickening.
Okay, so not home? But his car is in the driveway. Probably not the bathroom with the amount of time I've waited. Ignoring me? Oh, please don't let it be that...
She pushed the bell a third time, rocking back and forth on her heels to expend nervous energy. Finally, thinking that maybe that was just one time too many, she reluctantly turned back toward the path to return to the car, her nervousness collapsing into disappointment. She was just stepping down to the first step when there was a click at the door and she heard it swing open.
Amber turned back around, her mood quickly elevating. "Spence, I was really hoping..." Her sentence dropped halfway out of her mouth as she saw that it was not Spencer in the doorway. Standing before her, one hand on the door, the other on her hip, was an absolutely stunning looking woman wearing a short, thin bathrobe that clearly didn't conceal that she was wearing nothing more than a pair of lacy blue panties and bra underneath.
Amber's jaw hit the floor and the mental fog that had clouded her all day snapped into crystal clear tunnel vision, though her speech was severely inhibited. "I... I..." With laser clarity, she immediately took in the tall, toned body with skin as smooth as silk. Fingernails bore a French manicure and dark auburn hair had been quickly piled above the head, wisps of hair tousled out of place. The annoyance was clear in the piercing, deep blue eyes. The image seared itself into Amber's brain.
"Yes? Can I help you?" The woman had an accent, but it was hard to place with so few words. Possibly European? Definitely irritated.
Oh my God! The sports car. The delay in answering. The annoyed look. Tousled hair and no clothes! He didn't answer because they were...
She couldn't bring herself to continue the thought as panic once again began to choke her.
Is she some fling? Or is that his girlfriend? Is she from Austria? Did he get me a chocolate bar while he was dating a supermodel? Was she on his arm while he picked it out?
Her mind flung out dark possibilities like beads at Mardi Gras, each darker than the last. "I'm... I mean, I think I've made a mistake. Goodbye!" She quickly turned and headed back off the porch.
Goodbye? What the fuck was that? Let's be extra polite to his girlfriend!
Once off the porch, she dashed down the path toward the trees and her car.
Great idea! Let's park a ways away to work out our nerves before going up. Didn't think that one through, did you, Amber? Didn't think about what to do if you needed to make a speedy getaway.
She barely made it inside before she began to sob uncontrollably.
*******
Amber was just starting to get herself under control, leaning around to grab some tissues from the back seat. A gentle rapping at the window startled her as a muffled voice said, "Amber?" She cried out and spun back around to see Spencer looking into the car. She was simultaneously angry and embarrassed that he would find her like this.
"What?" she angrily exclaimed, though the effect was slightly attenuated through the window. She glared at him.
"Are you... What's..." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked skyward for a moment as he took a deep breath. "Can you open the window or something?"
She rolled the window down a few inches. "Fine. What do you want?"
"Well, I was going to ask you the same thing. I heard there was a confused girl at the door who ran off and so I came to see what was going on. Are you okay? What are you doing here and why are you parked down here?"
"Confused? Is that what I am?" The words were bitter and before she could control it, she let loose, all the pain inside of her bursting forth in a frenzy of words, barely pausing between each. "I wake up not knowing where I am and think that you've done something to me, only to realize later that maybe you didn't and after talking with a lovely Italian woman that my dad needs to admit he has feelings for, realize the only way to make it right is to talk to you, only to chicken out at the last minute so I park down here to give myself walking time, but then I'm greeted, not by you, but by Aphrodite personified who's obviously been rolling around in the sack, something she's probably done daily with you since you met her and bought chocolate in Austria." She finally took a breath. "And then, you decide to come down here from your bedroom and see what's up. So yeah, I'm a little '
confused
'." She added air quotes to punctuate the last retort. Her chest was heaving, but having spent all her fury, her shoulders slacked with exhaustion.
Spencer's eyes went wide at the diatribe. He rubbed the back of his neck again, then opened his mouth like he was about to say something, stopped, and then started again. "Uh... can we... can we sit down?
That
was a lot to unpack." He gestured to a stone wall along the road and then walked over to it without waiting for her.
Amber got out of the car and started over to meet him.
I don't know what there was to unpack... I think I unpacked it quite clearly. I don't know what he possibly has to say to me.
She sat down on the cool stone, a borderline awkward distance from him, her crossed arms mirroring her emotional state.
Spencer squinted his eyes a bit, gathering his thoughts. He absentmindedly picked a flake of something from his sleeve, looked at it, and then flicked it onto the dirt. Speaking more to himself, he muttered, "these last twenty-four hours have been one helluva rollercoaster..."
Looking up at her, he said more clearly, "Amber, I've always enjoyed seeing you at your office. I've loved chatting and joking with you. And last night, well, hanging out last night was a lot of fun. And then it turned... well, it went in a direction I didn't quite anticipate when you kissed me." He smiled momentarily before frowning again. "But after this morning and... just now, please don't take this the wrong way..."
Here it comes. Here's where he tells me he never wants to see me again.
She stiffened, readying herself to hear it out loud, and interrupted him in a mimicking tone, "...don't take it the wrong way, but you never want to see me again. I get it. I'll go." She started to stand up.
"Aaargh!" He clenched his fists and hit them against his lap, yelling, "What I am trying to say is, has anyone ever told you that you kind of have an issue with jumping to the worst conclusions?"
She jerked her head up. "What?" She realized that she had been so self-absorbed that she had tuned him out, not wanting to hear the sting of the words she anticipated. "What did you say?"
He took a long, deep breath and tried to speak more calmly, though his voice still held a slight tremor. "Look, I'm sorry I yelled just now, but I'm seriously frustrated. We can talk about this morning in a minute. As for this whole thing," he circled his hands between them, "I have no idea why you're talking about 'Italians' and 'Austria', but 'Aphrodite', as you call her, is neither of those. She's from Romania, her name is Elise, and she's my sister."
