South of Nowhere Brand New

**Brand New**

To my friends and family, I moved 538 miles to this city because this is where I wanted to go to school. Although that's not really a lie, I feel I moved out here to get away. To get away from my friends and family… And to get away from myself… My old self, that is.

Spencer Carlin. Long blonde hair. Sad blue eyes. Well fit, if I do say so myself. Ex-Catholic. Ex-conservative. Ex-pretending-to-be-boy-crazy-for-my-mother's-and-everyone-else's-approval. Ex-favorite child.

So now I sit here, in my brand new common area, at my brand new college, in my brand new city, in my brand new state, and I have no idea what to do or where to go from here. I'm sitting in an armchair in this lounge area. There's a coffee table in front of me, another armchair across from that, and two couches, one to my left, the other to my right.

I'm on my laptop, staring at a map of the city when someone plops down on the couch to my right with a huff. I peak over my screen to see a short, skinny brunette girl sitting in it. She's slouched down with her eyes closed, fingers pressed against the bridge of her nose, and she seems to be somewhat out of breath. I guess she's tired or something. Auburn hair, coffee-colored highlights… probably natural. I can't see any roots. I guess she can feel me looking at her because she opens her left eye and peeps in my direction.

I blush as her brown eye catches both of my blues, but I don't look away. It's too late now. So I fane confidence and smile. "Hi," I say, softly. I was cursed with a quiet voice.

She raises an eyebrow at me. "Hey." Her voice is husky.

"Um, so… do you know where I can find any clubs around here?"

This seems to grab her attention because she sits up, and now both her eyes are on me, and she smirks a little. "Yeah…"

"Well… could you tell me where?"

She smiles, and I'm mesmerized. "Sure."

I tilt my head a bit and smile. "Do you always answer questions with one-syllable answers?"

She takes a deep breath, like she has more to say this time, but all I get is a "No."

I giggled. "So can you tell me where I can find a nice gay club?"

"Are you insinuating that I'm gay?" I can't tell whether she's actually upset or not.

"No… I was assuming you knew more about the area than I do. Sorry, I can just… ask someone else." I close my laptop and start to gather my things until I feel a hand on mine. I look up and am captivated by her eyes once again.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to seem offended… or maybe I did. But anyway, I can take you to one tonight, if you'd like. I was already planning on going there anyway."

"Really?" She nodded. "That'd be great!" I smiled widely at her.

"Alright so… do you want to meet me somewhere or what?"

"Well, I don't have a car here, so…"

"Right. I'll pick you up. Where do you live?"

I grabbed an index card and wrote my number on it. "Here. Text or call me for the address."

She looked at me, confused. _Cute_. "Why don't you just write the address on here?"

"Because if you get in touch with me, I'll know you're serious about taking me."

She read the rest of the card. "Spin?"

I smiled. "That's what you can call me until I want you to know my real name."

She laughed. "You're a smart girl, Spin."

I chuckled. "I know… I don't know your name."

She smirked. "Well now I have to think of something else for you to call me til I find out yours… so why do you want to go to a gay club? Trying to meet new people?"

"Honestly? I love music and watching people make fools of themselves trying to impress the courted with their 'moves.'"

"Courted?"

"Yes. It means-"

She raised a hand, motioning for me to stop. "I know what it means, silly. Just haven't heard anyone from this century use it unless they're reading aloud."

I laughed. "Yeah, well… I'm special."

She laughed. "I see… So do you dance?" _Random much?_

"If the mood is right." I winked at her.

"Interesting. Well, I guess I'll talk to you later, Spin."

I gather the rest of my things. "Okay. I'll see you later, Stranger." I smiled and started the ten-minute walk back to my new apartment.

As I walked into my sparse apartment, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I tossed my keys on the floor next to the door where my imaginary table is located. Yes, I forgot I don't have a table there yet. I laughed at myself as I bent over to pick them up, getting my cell from my pocket with my free hand. I flipped my phone open and flicked the light switch on. That's right. I'm all about multi-tasking.

Anyway, I looked at my phone only to see I'd gotten a text from an unknown number. "Hey, Spin. It's your Stranger. You gonna give me your address, or what?" I smiled as I texted back.

"My stranger, huh?"

_Buzz._ "Yeah, well… most other people around here know me so..."

"Ah, gotcha."

"Good. So where do you live? Or am I going to have to stalk you?"

I chuckled and sent her my address before grabbing a drink from the fridge and sitting on my old loveseat in my brand new living room in my brand new empty apartment.

_Buzz._ "I'll see you at 9."

"Sounds good," I texted her back. "What am I supposed to do til then?" I asked myself. I curled up on my loveseat, setting my drink on the hardwood floor. "Nap time it is…" It was only three PM, but I set the alarm on my phone for six, just in case.

I woke up around 4:30 and reached for my imaginary remote. "Oh yeah… Ugh, I'm so _bored_! I should get a cat… or maybe a dog. They're more high-maintenance which means more to do… but I like cats better… Oh god, I'm talking to myself." I got off my loveseat, grabbed my keys, phone, and jacket, and walked out of my apartment. I decided to explore the city and grab something to eat before it was time for me to go back and get ready.

By the time nine o'clock rolled around, I was more than ready to go. _My_ Stranger texted me when she got to the building, and I met her outside at her car… her very nice car. I was almost afraid to touch the handle… and then I didn't have to because she reached over to the passenger side and pushed the door open for me. "Why, thank you, Stranger."

She smiled as I slid onto the black cloth passenger seat. "No problem, Spin."

On the way to the club, we mainly talked about where I'm from and why I moved out here, the usual getting-to-know-one another stuff. When we got to the club, the music was already pumping out of the speakers. Stranger parked her car nearby, and we headed towards the club. Just outside, she introduced me to some of her friends.

The club was fairly large and split into two sections. On the side we entered, there was a large bar, lined with stools and people. On the other side was the dance floor where people were already moving to the beat of the techno thumping through the sound system. Yup, definitely a gay club.

My Stranger lead me over to a couple of empty stools at the bar. We sat down for a bit, and I just took everything in while she talked to random people who walked up to her, occasionally addressing me so I didn't feel left out, I guess. It was actually kind of sweet. After a while, Stranger asked me if I wanted to dance. I nodded. "Sure." She smiled as she took my hand and lead me to the dance floor.

She may have been a stranger to me, but she certainly didn't dance like it. As soon as we found our space, she placed herself behind me so my back was pressed against her stomach. We moved to the music, our hips gyrating with the beat. She wrapped her left arm around my waist, her hand resting on my lower stomach. Her other hand was lightly trailing its way up and down the right side of my body. We moved well together, and I… I mean, it was getting pretty hot.

After a while, we were both starting to sweat, and I could feel something churning inside me as her breath tickled my neck. I felt her lips on my ear as she spoke. "Ashley."

I turned my body so I could look at her properly. "What?"

She pulled my body against hers and said a little louder into my ear, "My name is Ashley Davies."

I smiled and leaned closer to her. "Spencer. Spencer Carlin."

"It's nice to meet you, Spencer Carlin," she said and then, intentionally or not, I'm not sure, she flicked my earlobe with her tongue. I shivered and rested my head in the crook of her neck as we danced together.

After dancing a while longer, Ashley lead me back to the bar and got us a couple bottles of water. "So do you want to get out of here, Spencer Carlin?" She shouted over the music.

I smiled, suddenly feeling shy. "Sure." Ashley said goodbye to a few people, and we walked out of the club and back to her car. The cool air felt nice after being in the hot club.

As we headed… where ever it was we were going, Ashley said. "You're a great dancer, Spence."

"Thanks. You're not too bad yourself… So where are we going?"

"Just this little place I know." Soon after she said that, she parked her car and got out. She walked over to my side of the car and opened the door for me, then took my hand and lead me down to the dimly-lit boardwalk. The full moon reflected in the water as we wakened down the beach, hand in hand. After walking a while, we ended up at a little play area on the sand and sat on one of the platforms above a slide. I sat between Ashley's legs, my back to her stomach, and her arms were wrapped around me. She rested her head on my shoulder.

"I've never done anything like this before," I said, quietly.

"What?" She looked at me. "Meet some random girl in a random city, let her take you to a club for some hot dancing, and then sit with her at one of her favorite spots on the beach?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, that."

"Me neither."

"Really?" I turned my head to look at her.

"Yeah. I don't usually like meeting new people."

I couldn't help myself. I kissed her. She didn't react. When I pulled away, she had a confused look on her face. I covered my mouth with my hand. "Oh god. I'm so sorry!"

She smiled. "I'm not." Then, she leaned in and kissed me.

**A/N: I did change the POV from present to past tense, and I know that's kind of backwards, but it was just easier for me that way. Heh, reviews are totally welcome. I was going to make this a dirty one-shot, but I think I'm going to leave it like this… at least for now. I think I like it. We'll see…**


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South of Nowhere, Romance