Pretty Little Liars 1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hey readers. I got an idea for a new story today and since I am having a bit of writers block with _'Nobody's Home'_ I figured Id give this one a go. Let me know if this is something that you might be interested in reading more of or if I should just delete it and head back to the drawing board. Thanks guys. Look forward to reading your reviews.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars**.

* * *

Fate.

"The development of events beyond a person's control."

* * *

"Spencer, are you ready to go yet?" Hanna's annoyed voice sounded.

"If you keep asking me that question, it's going to take me longer to get ready." She replied.

"I just don't understand what is taking you so long? You don't wear makeup, your hair is always down, and you're wearing an outfit that I'm sure my mother owns."

Spencer Hastings rolled her eyes at the ongoing ranting from one of her best friends Hanna Marin.

"Really Hanna? Your mother owns the exact same light blue halter top and mini jean skirt that she is wearing, I doubt that very much." Aria Montgomery chimed in.

"Whatever Aria, I was just trying to move her ass along; by the time we get to the bar all the hot guys will be gone." Hanna muttered as she flopped her body down on Spencer's bed.

Spencer snorted. "Oh yes, because all the hot guys magically disappear before 11:00 at night, how could I forget such an important detail."

Aria chuckled as she watched Hanna give up the middle finger behind their friends back. "Why don't you go check on Emily? I'll help Spencer finish getting ready and we will be out of here in ten minutes tops."

"Uh fine, ten minutes or I'm leaving without you guys." Hanna said lifting herself off the bed and walked out of the room.

"Well, she won't get very far, seeing how I am the one who is driving all of us tonight." Spencer smiled as she turned away from her mirror to look at a smiling Aria.

* * *

"Spencer! Why do you keep turning down all the good songs!" Hanna complained from the backseat.

Spencer shot her a quick glance from the rearview mirror. "It's my car and I need to focus on the road, not Lady Gaga blasting in my ears."

Hanna leaned forward and turned up the nozzle a few clicks. "At least blast it enough so I can hear the words from the backseat."

Suddenly Spencer slammed on the brakes, causing Hanna to lose her balance and fall into the middle of the two front seats. "What the hell Spencer! I just wanted to turn the music up a little bit."

"It wasn't because of you Hanna, that freaking idiot on the motorcycle cut me off." Spencer growled at the person on the bike who was now stopped at the light and grew angrier when he turned around to smirk at her. "Are you freaking serious right now? Who does that asshole think he is!"

"Relax Spence," Aria said resting her hand on her friends arm. "It's no big deal, your car is fine and so are we."

"Speak for yourself." Hanna put out as she rubbed her arm.

When the light turned green, the guy revved his bike and quickly took off down the road, as Spencer slowly shifted her foot over to the gas, taking a more cautious drive. "Let's just turn off the music and Spence just drive carefully until we get to the bar." Emily finally spoke from her seat next to Hanna.

"Trust me; rushing to get to the bar is the last thing on my mind right now." Spencer said with both hands gripping the steering wheel as her eyes focused on the road in front of her. It was true; the bar was the last thing on her mind because the strangers smirk had taking a hold of her mind instead.

* * *

"Look at all the hot guys in here tonight." Hanna grinned as the four girls sat at the bar, waiting for their drinks to arrive. "And ladies too Em." She nudged Emily with her elbow.

"I'm with Paige remember?" Emily said rolling her eyes slightly as Hanna's attention was already somewhere else.

"No freaking way. Look at who is playing pool over in the corner." Hanna said pointing over to the far end of the room.

The three other girls turned their heads to follow where Hanna pointed and Spencer frowned immediately. "What are the odds that the same guy that cut you off, ends up going to the same bar as us?" Hanna continued.

"Yeah, what are the odds?" Spencer muttered as she turned back around on her stool and started tapping her fingers against the wooden countertop.

"You should talk to him Spence." Aria said as she watched the stranger a little longer. "He is actually very cute if you get over the fact that he almost hit your car."

"No thanks, I think I will pass." She said with a fake smile. "But feel free to talk to him yourself if your that interested."

"The only two single people out of this group of four are Hanna and yourself, so you should talk to him." Aria said.

"Go for it Spence, you deserve to have some fun after sulking around the dorms for the last couple of months." Emily chimed in.

Spencer sat up straighter, her raspy voice taking a tone of defense. "I have not been sulking around the dorms. I've been studying my ass off for these finales, so sorry if I want to graduate at the top of my class instead of partying every night of the week."

"Was that a jab at me? I feel like that was directed at me." Hanna said looking at Spencer, who half smiled in return.

"You and every other person in our class, no hard feelings though." Spencer said patting her back quickly. "I know you girls are worried about me, but trust me I've moved on and I'm fine."

"Prove it." Emily challenged with a knowing smirk. "If you truly moved on as you claimed than you will have no problem with going over and talking to that guy from earlier tonight."

Spencer silently cursed herself for having such a competitive personality but never one to back down from a challenge she smirked at the request. "You're on Fields."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

The girls watched from at the bar as Spencer made her way over to the corner of the room where the guy was playing pool with a few others. With a finale glance back at the girls, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she watched him place the pool stick down on the table and high five one of the guys he was next too.

"That's another twenty bucks that you owe me," He said holding out his hand to the guy standing across the table. "Who's next?" He grinned as he eyed each of them.

A twenty-dollar bill appeared on the green felt next to him. "I am."

He turned around at the sound of the voice and the grin on his face grew. "Sure, I'll even let you break."

Minutes later the pair began their game, while a small group appeared around them, including the girls. "I hope your girl knows how to play, my buddy has cleaned out half of us already." One of the guys standing next to Hanna said.

Hanna turned her head at his voice and smiled. "Trust me; he won't be cleaning her wallet out. It most likely will be the other way around."

"How about we have a little bet of our own?" He turned his body and held out his hand. "If my boy wins, you buy me a drink. If your girl wins, I buy you a drink. It's a win-win for both of us."

Hanna shook his hand with a flirty grin. "Sure is." She said and then moved to stand on the other side of Aria, who was giving her a small smirk. "What? I'm not going to pass up a free drink." She shrugged her shoulders. "How is she doing?"

"She just knocked in another ball, still her turn." Emily answered as she brought her drink to her lips, eyes focused on the table.

Spencer moved around the table to stand in front of Emily and turned her head to look at her. "Ball 3 or 6?" she asked.

"O hey darling, no asking for help," He smiled while wiggling a finger at her. "Only way to get my money is to beat me all on your own."

"Darling?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "That won't be a problem." She lined up her shot for the number 3 ball and gracefully knocked the ball into the hole.

The same guy that was flirting with Hanna made his way over to his friend. "I think we might have found your match Tobes."

"Shut up Caleb." He threw out a punch connecting with Caleb's shoulder. "Just wait till I have my turn."

* * *

Spencer stood next to the table in shock as she watched the number 8 ball slide smoothly into the darkness of the hole. "Did she just lose?" She heard Hanna ask Emily, but she could not tear her eyes away from the spot the ball disappeared in to see her nod her head.

She finally broke her gaze on the hole when she heard him chuckle and when she looked up, he was leaning against the table to her right, his hands still wrapped around the pool stick that he held in front of his body. _Forget cute, he is looking seriously hot right now. _She thought, her mind forgetting that she just lost the game.

"Re-match?" He teased with a cocky grin.

Spencer stared at him, her cheeks felt warmer with the way he was grinning at her, almost as if he knew she could not resist. "Buy me a drink first," She offered and when he raised an eyebrow, she sent him a grin of her own. "Oh c'mon, it's not like you can't afford it."

"Alright, one drink and then we have our re-match." He nodded and pushed his body from the table, reaching back to rest the stick on the table top.

He walked right over to where she was standing and placed his hand on her lower back as they walked to the bar. "What are you drinking?" He asked.

"Whatever is on tap works for me." She said as she tried to control the giddy feeling that was taking over her body the moment his hand touched her back. _Relax Spencer; it is just a nice gesture._ She told herself.

"Hey man," He waved over the bartender. "Can I get two glasses of Budweiser? Thanks." After he finished ordering their drinks, he turned to look her up and down. "So I just realized that we have a problem here. It seems we have been together for the last hour and I have yet to learn your name."

"I'll make you a deal," She started as she took a step forward, her body brushing right up against his and she placed one of her hands on his hard chest. "I'll tell you my name, only if you beat me in our re-match. Does that sound fair?" She was looking right into his ocean blue eyes with a teasing smile playing on her lips.

"Very fair." He nodded with a smile of his own.

"Oh and just so you know," She leaned up so her lips were right next to his ear. "I'm a quick study at learning from my mistakes. Good luck." She placed a quick kiss to his cheek, pulled away, grabbed her beer and walked back to the pool table they had played on earlier.

Spencer walked right over to the girls, who all had huge smiles on their faces. "Holy shit Spencer; do you have any idea what you just did to that poor guy?" Aria asked as she shot a glance over her shoulder to see him still standing at the bar looking in their direction.

"Is he coming over yet?" She asked as she took a small sip of her beer to calm her nerves.

"Not yet, I think he is still trying to get over the excitement you just caused him." Hanna said smirking. "Who knew boring Spencer Hastings could be such a bad ass when it came to flirting with guys."

"I am not a bad ass Hanna, I feel like I want to throw up right now. You girls need to help me out; I haven't done anything like this since…" Spencer trailed off as she shut her eyes trying to block out the memory.

"It's okay Spence, we understand but you are doing great. He seems really into you, so just keep being yourself and if you really feel like you need help just send the SOS." Emily said taking one of Spencer's hands into her own and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Alright Spence, this is all you now okay? He is heading over so just kick his ass at this game and if you want, we can leave right afterwards."

"Okay, thanks Em." She smiled and squeezed her hand back once more before turning her attention towards him.

He was already re-racking the balls when she stepped up to the table, twisting her shooting stick between her hands. "Are you ready to lose Toby?" She asked, finding a boost of confidence within herself after talking with her friends.

Toby let out a small laugh as he picked up his own stick that now rested against the table. "I find that so unfair that you know my name before I know yours."

"Thank your friend for his big mouth." She laughed as he shot Caleb, who was now sitting next to Hanna, a pointed look. "How about I make it up to you by letting you break?" She offered with a grin. "Least I can do for all the hard work your about to do for a game you're going to lose."

"We'll see about that." He grinned back and took the first shot to break the set.

* * *

After a half hour, the two had finally come down to the end. It was Spencer's shot; only having the number 8 ball left on the table. While Toby still had one ball left before he could take a turn at the 8 ball for a win.

Spencer heard him walking around the table from where she stood looking for the best possible angle to complete her shot. She let a smile slip her lips when she felt his body stop right up against her own. His breath felt warm on her neck as he leaned in close. "Remember, a deals and deal, when you lose, I learn your name darling."

She could tell he had a smirk on his face when he walked away, but she did not let his words faze her on the outside. Inside, her heart was beating so fast she was sure it was going to burst right out of her chest, her stomach once again felt like she was going to throw up. Bringing her stick up on the table, she lined her sight and took a deep breath as she pointed to the far corner pocket. "8 ball right corner pocket." She called out and took her shot.

She remained frozen as she watched the black ball glide down the green felt towards the corner and jumped up with a squeal when it disappeared into the darkness. With a huge grin on her face, she turned to face Toby, who was sitting at a small table with his beer in his hand. "Nice shot." He said bringing the glass to his lips hiding his smile.

"Thanks." She made her way over to the girls and laughed as each of them gave her a high five for her win.

"See Spence, I knew you could kick his ass." Emily said pulling her in for a quick hug. "Do you still want to leave or are you okay to stay a bit longer?"

Spencer looked over in Toby's direction, he was laughing at something Caleb was saying but after a second of staring, their eyes met. "I'm okay to stay." She replied as she sent another smile down his way before looking back at Emily, who was grinning. "Oh stop it," Spencer laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the bar. "Grab another drink with me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Spencer was now sitting up at the bar with Emily, the pair was currently talking about a project they had for one of their classes.

"I have all my research done and my outline completed and I'm almost done writing my first rough draft." Spencer said and took another sip of her beer.

Emily let out a small laugh. "Spence, we just got assigned the project three days ago and it's not due for another two weeks." She watched Spencer just shrug her shoulders in response. "This is what I was talking about a few hours ago, you need to relax and have some fun."

"Its senior year Emily, I don't have time to relax and have fun, you girls are lucky I even came out tonight with all the studying I had planned to do."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Are you hearing yourself right now? You are in a bar with a ton of hot guys breaking their jaws on the floor every time you walk pass them and you want to go back to the dorm to study? I thought you said you had moved on."

"I have moved on, but I don't need to be wasting my time at the bar while a bunch of drunken horny guys try to get lucky."

"Not every guy in here is drunk and horny," Spencer shot her a 'yeah right' look. "What about that guy Toby you played pool against? He seemed like a good guy, you two seemed to be having fun together."

"You call me losing twenty bucks fun?" Spencer laughed and brought her glass to her lips again. "I call it not backing out of a challenge."

"So what do you call flirting with him?" Emily asked with a grin.

"A winning strategy."

"Oh okay, well you might want to try that strategy again, because he is heading right this way." Emily said grabbing her drink and slipping off her stool. "Have fun." She sang with a smile as Toby took her seat next to Spencer.

Spencer shot Emily a death glare when she first moved off her stool, but quickly replaced the glare with a smile when Toby took her place.

"Not having any fun?" He asked.

"No, I am, Emily was just teasing me about something." Spencer said feeling her cheeks start to warm up in embarrassment. _I am so going to kill Emily later._

"So what are my chances of learning your name before you leave for the night?" He flashed a wide smile, his ocean blue eyes dancing with amusement. "I have learned Aria, Hanna and Emily," He said pointing each of the girls out as he spoke. "And it seems you four have a tight friendship because they won't give up your name for anything, not even free drinks."

"So you have spent the last fifteen minutes talking to my friends, trying to bribe them with drinks just to learn my name?" She smiled when he nodded his head. "I'm impressed; most guys aren't brave enough to face a girl's friends just for a simple name."

Toby shifted forward, now standing right next to her stool and placed one hand on the bar in front of her, his other hand brushed a strand of her brown hair away from her eyes. Normally this would have been the point that she slapped the guy for putting his hands on her, but when Toby did it, she felt herself go numb to stop him. She could smell is aftershave and it was making her stomach do flips.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not like most guys right?" His voice was deep and Spencer had to fight the urge to kiss him. _Whoa, slow down you just met this guy tonight, kissing him is not something you should be thinking about doing._

"That's still up for debate seeing how we just met and I know nothing about you other than you know how to play a decent game of pool." She was surprising herself by how easy it was to flirt and tease with him; it was as if she had no control over what her brain was telling her mouth to say.

"And my name," He grinned with a small laugh. "How about this, do you have any plans for tomorrow night?"

Spencer brought her glass to her lips taking a drink while shaking her head to his question.

"Neither do I. So how about we meet up down town, let's say around 8:30 and we can go to dinner to get to know each other. What do you say?"

Spencer eyed him carefully. "So a date?"

He laughed again. _God, he has such an attractive laugh._

"If you want to call it that, sure," He paused for a second, she saw his eyes light up and his smile grew on his face. "Let's leave it up to fate."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm sorry but what? Fate?"

"Yeah, I want you to pick any restaurant down town and be there waiting for 8:30, but here is the catch." He leaned in close again, his lips almost touching her ear; she felt shivers shoot down her spine. "You don't tell me which one."

"I don't know I feel like this is one of those pranks where I end up getting stood up while you and your buddies have a good laugh from across the street. There are like twelve different restaurants down town, how are you going to know which one I am sitting at?"

"Fate darling." He laughed when she rolled her eyes. "If we are really meant to know each other, fate will lead me to the right restaurant."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then it wasn't meant to be, simply as that." He shifted back a step, a smile rested on his lips. "What do you say? Leave the future of a relationship in the hands of fate?"

Spencer paused to think about the offer he put out on the table. Could she really put her trust in something she did not believe in? It has been so long since she had believed in anything really, maybe this was her chance to have some fun like Emily suggested.

"Hey girlie, sorry to interrupt, but we need to get Hanna back to the dorms, she is completely smashed and can barely stand as it is." Aria said coming up to the pair, and pointed back at Emily and Caleb, both had their arms around Hanna as they walked her towards the door.

Spencer stood up from her stool, giving Toby an apologetic look. "I'm sorry; I drove us all here tonight."

"No need to explain, I'll help Caleb get her to the car." Toby said with a smile, walked over to Caleb, and traded places with Emily.

Spencer and Aria made their way outside with the other four following behind, when they got to the car, she unlocked the doors, started the car and rolled down the windows, "You can place her in the backseat, and just watch her head when putting her in." Spencer said as she climbed in the front seat backwards, so she could help make sure Hanna got into her seat without a problem.

Once the boys had Hanna in, Emily made her to put her seat belt on and nodded to Spencer that they were good to go. She shifted back around in the seat and shut her driver side door.

"So I never got an answer about tomorrow night." Toby had walked over to her open window and had a hand on the frame, tapping it in a nervous pattern.

Spencer smiled at him and leaned forward against the window frame to whisper in his ear. "Good luck finding me." She kissed his cheek quickly and shifted back into her seat, and put the car in reverse, "Thanks for your help with Hanna." With a small wave goodbye to the boys, the girls were back on the main road towards the campus.

"What is happening tomorrow night Spence?" Emily asked from the backseat with a smile.

Spencer locked eyes with her for a split second in the rearview mirror, and then looked at Aria who also had a smile on her face. "Hopefully my first loss at hide and seek." She said with a smile and a small headshake.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Spencer pulled her SUV into the first parking spot she found when she arrived down town. "I can't believe I'm doing this, what the hell is wrong with me?" She questioned as she checked her make-up in the rearview mirror.

Hanna had insisted that she wear a sexier outfit to impress Toby, but Spencer refused. If Toby were truly interested in her, it would be for her own style, not Hanna's.

She choose to wear her dark blue blazer over one of her light blue long sleeved shirts with a pair of her favorite dark jeans. Running her fingers through her long brown hair, she gave herself a nod of approval and exited her car.

Adjusted her purse on her shoulder, she locked her car and placed her keys away as she walked down towards the many different restaurants. "Which one should I wait at?" She wondered as her eyes traveled over each name.

After standing on the sidewalk for a few extra minutes, she finally decided on the small Italian restaurant that was hiding in the far corner of the center. "Here goes nothing. Please don't let me down fate." She spoke softly to herself as she started the walk to the building.

For a Saturday night, the downtown center was busy with people and Spencer smiled as she watched families and couples walking, talking and laughing as they walked by each other. _One day, that will be me._

Arriving at small restaurant, she gave one last look over her shoulder at all the people passing by, and then headed inside to wait. Asking for a table for two, she followed the waiter over to a small table by the window. After thanking the man, she sat down and looked at her watch, 8:28, the time read and she placed her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her hands. "Now I wait." She muttered as her eyes focused outside to watch for him to pass into the building.

Each passing minute felt like a lifetime as Spencer's anxiety grew when she realized how stupid she must have looked sitting at the table all alone. Checking her watch once more, 8:41, she groaned in defeat. "Guess it wasn't meant to be." She said and stood up from the table, turning slightly to grab her purse from the table. When she turned back around, her eyes widened in surprise as he made his way over to the small table.

"Going somewhere darling?" Toby asked with his boyish grin present on his face.

Spencer stared at him in disbelief, "You actually found me." She stuttered out.

"Of course I did," He walked closer and placed a small kiss on her cheek while placing a single red rose into her hand. "Nice choice, I would have picked the same place for our first date if I had picked you up."

"Thanks." She was still in awe as she sat back down in her chair and watched him do the same. _Was this really fate that brought him here tonight or just good guessing?_

"Sorry for being late, I forgot how crazy parking is on a weekend down here." He said as he picked up his glass of water from the table and brought it to his lips. "Have you had a chance to look at the menu?"

Spencer shook her head with a guilty look on her face. "Sorry but I was half expecting you not to show up, so I didn't bother looking to see what to order."

Toby chuckled, "No need to be sorry, I'm sure I would have felt the same way if I was in your shoes."

"How did you know to come into this restaurant?" She had to ask; otherwise, the question would have been sitting in the back of her mind all night.

"Well, since you asked, I'll tell you how I knew," Toby leaned across the table, as if he was about to tell her a huge secret. "Fate led me here." He teased with a big smile.

Spencer let out a small laugh as she watched him lean back into his chair. "No, really Toby, did you watch me walk in and then wait outside before coming in?"

"I'm getting the feeling that you are not a believer in such matters of fate?" He asked.

Spencer almost rolled her eyes but held off; instead, she grabbed her own water taking a sip. "What gave me away?"

Toby rested his hands down on his open menu and leaned forward in his chair again. "For starters, you were going to leave after only waiting 11 minutes. I thought you ladies like your dates to show up late?"

"That rule only applies if you are picking up said date from her house; which you weren't, so 11 minutes was more than enough waiting time for a girl who thought she was getting stood up to wait for."

"Can't really get stood up if the guy really didn't know which restaurant you were waiting in." Toby shot back with a smile.

This time, she did not hold back her eye roll as she smiled back at him. "You aren't going to let me win this argument are you?"

"Nope," He continued to smile at her. "You don't like to lose either, that is another thing I picked up about you."

Spencer nodded, "I blame my parents and sister for that one. Second place was never acceptable in my family's eyes."

Toby was about to speak when their waiter walked over to take their order. "Is your sister older or younger?" He asked once the waiter left the pair alone again.

"She is older. How about you, any siblings?" She asked.

"I have a younger step-sister. What do your parents do for a living?"

"They are both lawyers."

Toby shifted back in his seat. "Lawyers huh? Now that no losing drive you have makes a ton of sense. What are you studying for at UPenn?"

"A lawyer actually." She said and he surprised her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"You are going to school for the same profession that your parents are in? Why?"

Spencer stared at him. _What does he mean by why? What is wrong with wanting to be a lawyer like my parents?_

"It's an excellent career field that can take me places and I like to argue with people so it's a win/win for me."

"Did your parents tell you that?" He asked, "Because you can argue in any career when you find one that you actually want to do."

"No they didn't tell me that for your information, and I want to be a lawyer by my own choice, not theirs." Spencer said in a less than pleased tone. "What do you do for a living?" She asked wanting to change the subject.

Lucky enough for her, Toby caught on and let it drop. "I'm a carpenter. My team and I have several projects that we are working on at the moment all around the city."

"Wow, that's very impressive." She said honestly. "How did you get into that field?"

"My father actually," He smiled as he spoke. "He had a small business when I was a kid and would bring me out to jobs, letting me help cut the wood and nail pieces together. I fell in love with it quickly and every chance I had, I begged him to take me with him so I could learn more."

"I bet your dad is very proud of you for starting up your own business to follow in his footsteps." Spencer said and wondered to herself why she felt like a fake when it came to following the same path as her parents, but with Toby, he's sounded so right, like he was really meant to be a carpenter.

"He would have been," The smile on his face replaced with a small frown. "He passed away my senior year of high school."

"I'm so sorry Toby, I had no idea." Spencer said as she reached her hand out across the table and rested it on top of his in an apologetic gesture. She was surprised when he flipped his hand upwards and laced their fingers together.

"It's okay; there was no way you could have known." Toby sent a small smile her direction and then looked down at their joined hands. "Do you play piano?" He asked as he looked up meeting her eyes again.

"Not since I was child, why do you ask?" She asked.

"You have beautiful long fingers," He brought her hand up to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of her hand, causing her to blush. "Would you ever play again if you had the chance?"

"If I had the chance I would, I always found it very relaxing."

"Maybe one day I can get you to play for me." He smiled and let go of her hand when their waiter returned to the table with their plates.

"One day." She repeated with a smile in return.

* * *

The pair was now walking out of the small restaurant; the remainder of their dinner held question after question as the two began getting to know each other better.

"Are you certain I can't convince you to stay out a bit longer?" Toby asked as they stopped on the sidewalk and gave her his best puppy dog eyes to make her stay.

Spencer laughed as she shook her head. "As cute as you look right now, I can't. I have a big test on Monday and I really need to make up these last two nights of fun with some major studying."

"Alright, I tried." He said and let out a big sigh in defeat, which she laughed at again. "Where did you end up parking tonight, I'll walk you to your car."

"Over by the ice cream shop, grabbed the first spot I found."

"Lucky you, I swear I did five laps up and down the lot before I found one." He said as they started to walk towards her car. During the walk, Toby reached out, grabbed her hand, and once again laced their fingers together. "So on a scale of 1 to 10, what would you rate our first date?"

Spencer smiled at their joined hands. _God, his hand feels so prefect in mine._ "Hmm, let me think." She teased. "I would rate our first date a 7."

"How'd you come up with a 7? I was thinking more along the lines of a 9."

"There is no way this date was worthy of a 9 rating." She said with a quick shake of her head. "My first reason for the 7, you were late."

"Oh c'mon," He laughed. "It was only 11 minutes, I'll do better next time, I swear. What are your other reasons?" He asked as they stopped by the driver side of her SUV.

"Second, you didn't let me win our argument." She smiled as she leaned her back against her door.

Toby stepped closer to her and reached his free hand to rest on the glass beside her head. "Yeah, that one is deserving of the 7, if you are really meant to be a lawyer, you'll beat me at our next one." He smirked. "Anymore reasons?"

"Yes, the most important one," She grinned at him. "But I have a feeling you already know what it is."

"Your right, I already do." He said as he leaned his head down and placed a kiss on her cheek. He pulled away from her with a smile and started to walk back to the sidewalk.

Spencer stood against her car with a look of surprise on her face. _Did he really just kiss me goodnight on the cheek?_

Fishing out her keys from her purse, she turned and unlocked the car and just as she was about to get in, she heard him shout out from the other end of the parking lot. "Hey!"

Spencer turned around with one hand still holding the doorframe to keep the door open. "What?" She shouted back with a smile. She wondered what he could possibly have to say from all the way down there.

"I forgot to say goodnight!" Toby shouted with a huge grin on his face.

Spencer chuckled to herself, "Goodnight Toby Cavanaugh!" She called over to him.

"Goodnight Spencer Hastings!" He shouted back with a wave before getting into his truck and driving out of the lot.

Once again, Spencer stood shocked, her mouth hung open in surprise. "Maybe I need to start believing in fate after all." She said as her eyes trailed over to the red rose that now rested on her passenger seat next to her purse.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

"Remind me not to go out partying all weekend before a big test again, I totally failed that one." Emily said as Spencer and her exited the classroom and began walking towards the parking lot.

Spencer only smiled as she readjusted her shoulder bag. "I'm sure you did fine."

Emily sighed, "Guess we will just have to wait till next week to find out. Do you have time for a coffee break or are you going right to the library?"

"I'd love too but," Spencer pushed back her sleeve to check her watch. "I should really get over to the library; can I take a rain check?"

"Sure, I'll see you at my meet tonight?" Emily asked as she pulled Spencer in for a quick hug.

"Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world." Spencer smiled.

"Great, see you later." Emily said and took off to her car.

Spencer continued her walk to her own car and when she arrived, a smile appeared on her face. Resting on her windshield was a note attached to a single red rose. Picking up the rose, she unlocked her door and slid inside turning on her car.

After resting her shoulder bag and rose on her passenger seat, she unfolded the note to read.

_I realized that we spent an entire evening talking and getting to know each other but completely forgot to exchange cell-phone numbers. If you are still interested, give me a call. I hope to talk to you soon beautiful. _

Spencer smiled at his words, and reached over to her dashboard to type in his cell-phone number. Without hesitation, she hit the call button and backed out of her parking spot as she listened to the ringing coming from her speakers.

"Hey beautiful." Her smile grew even bigger as the sound of his voice filled her car.

"Either you knew I'd be calling you or you always answer your phone that way." Spencer teased with a small laugh.

Toby chuckled as well, "I gave you my personal cell number, so I had a good feeling that the unknown number calling in was you. How'd your test go?"

"It went very well, should know by next week if I passed."

"I'm sure you did great. Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?"

"If you call going to the library to study for the remainder of the day plans, than yes, I do."

"Any chance I could convince you to meet me for a quick coffee before you retreat into the world of books?" He asked.

Spencer smiled, "I don't know if it would be fair to meet you for a coffee when only 5 minutes ago I turned Emily down for a coffee break."

"Hmm," Toby sounded into the phone. "What if I bring the coffee to you instead? I can be at the library in less than 10 minutes if you say yes."

The thought of him driving to meet her just so they could have coffee together made Spencer's stomach flip in a good way. "Should I set a timer?" She teased her answer to him.

Toby let a laugh break through the phone, "Sure, how do you take your coffee?"

"Black with sugar, weird I know, but I like it strong."

"Surprisingly enough, I take it the same. See you in a few." Toby said.

Spencer hit the end call on the screen and continued her drive to the library, her heart racing from the excitement of getting to spend time with him again. "Relax Spence, it's just a quick hang out over coffee." She said aloud as she tapped her fingers on the stirring wheel. "I need to calm down; I really shouldn't be acting like this over a guy I just met three nights ago."

Spencer knew that something was different with Toby, even if she tried to tell herself that it was too soon, she could not help the feeling of enjoyment that spread over her body at just the thought of him.

Despite her past relationships with other guys, she tried to recall a time where she felt a strong pull towards them after just one date. "Not since…" She shook her head to stop herself from reliving the painful memory.

Pushing the memory aside, she found herself pulling into the library parking lot, and after finding a spot she turned off her car.

Spencer gathered her bag, exited her car and made her way to the front steps of the building. Wanting Toby to be able to find her, she sat down on one of the steps and while she waited, pulled out her textbook to read.

"Did I really take that long that you already retreated into your book?" Spencer looked up smiling the second his voice reached her ears.

"Well with your track record, 10 minutes could have easily turned into 20." She teased as she closed her book but left it resting on her lap.

Toby smiled down at her, "I did say I would do better next time didn't I?" He said as he removed her coffee from the tray and held it out for her to grab. "Black with sugar let me know how I did."

"Thank you." She said taking the coffee and took a small sip. "Perfect, just the way I like it."

"Good, I also have this for you." He said reaching behind his back and pulled out another red rose.

Spencer smiled as she took the rose from his hand, "You know if you keep this up, a girl is going to start getting used to it."

Toby took a seat next to her and placed a quick kiss on her cheek, "All part of my plan to make you fall hopelessly in love with me." He smiled. "How's my plan going so far?"

Spencer felt her cheek get warmer after his kiss and was sure that he noticed the blush that followed. "No complaints so far." She said and took another sip of her coffee to hide the huge grin that she could not stop herself from forming.

Toby shifted closer to her and reached his hand out to tap the cover of the book that rested on her lap. "This the book that is going to keep you cooped up in the library all afternoon?"

"This and the two others that are sitting in my bag," Her head tilted towards her bag that rested at her feet. "It seems all the professors got together and picked this week as major test week."

"So I'm going to guess that my chances of taking you out on a date this week are pretty low right?"

Spencer gave him a small smile and shifted her coffee to her right hand so she could rest her left one on his arm. "Yes, I'm sorry." She started but then an idea popped into her head. "Actually, what are you doing tonight? Emily has a swim meet and the girls and I always go, why don't you come with us. Bring Caleb too."

Toby raised his coffee to his lips while he thought and as he brought the cup down, he smiled. "What time should we be at the pool?"

Spencer smiled back, "7:30, meet starts at 8:00."

"I will make sure we are there by 7:25." He said giving her a quick wink and stood up from the step, holding out a hand to help her. "I guess I should be going, let you get started on your studying."

Spencer allowed him to help her up and smiled again when he reached down, grab her bag and placed it on her shoulder. "Thanks for the coffee, it will be a big help with the studying."

"You're welcome," He said and leaned forward, kissing her cheek once more. "Have fun, I'll see you later tonight."

"See you tonight." She said as he walked down the steps to his truck, and gave him a small wave as he left the parking lot.

With a huge grin on her face, Spencer made her way inside the library, ignoring the weird look the woman at the desk was giving her. She found an empty table near the windows and placed the textbook she was holding down on the table, along with her coffee and the rose. The bag on her shoulder, she allowed to slip onto the floor next to her chair as she sat down.

Throwing her arms on the table, she dropped her head to hide the grin that seemed to be stuck on her face. "Oh my god, what is he doing to me?" She laughed into the wood of the table, studying was going to be a lot harder with her mind now focused on their date tonight.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

After spending hours at the library and only getting half of the studying that she wanted done, Spencer finally made her way back to her dorm room. Resting her shoulder bag by the door, she carried the two roses into her bedroom and with a smile, placed them into the vase on her dresser.

"Spencer is that you?" She heard Aria call out from the joint living room.

"Yeah, I just got in from the library." She called back as she moved towards her closet to find an outfit to wear at the meet.

"Hey." Aria said a second later as she walked into the bedroom and went to sit on the bed. "How was your studying?"

"It went good, I covered what I needed for my next test, but I'll most likely be there every day after class to make sure I'm fully prepared." Spencer said as she pulled out a few tops and tossed them on the bed next to Aria.

"You really need to relax Spence, you know all the material, and there is no need to kill yourself for a passing grade that you could get in your sleep." Aria picked up one of the tops and held it out. "Are you ditching Em's meet for a date?"

"No, I'm going to the meet," Spencer felt herself grinning like an idiot again. "It just so happens my date will be joining me for her meet."

Aria smiled. "Already going on the second date? I guess Toby is a lot more interesting than you first thought huh?"

"I was totally wrong about him Aria." She said turning around now facing her friend. "He is actually a real sweet guy, a total romantic." Spencer pointed over to the vase that held the three roses. "He dropped a note and a rose off at my car while I was in class this morning."

"He did, that is so cute. What did the note say?"

Spencer reached into her back pocket, and pulled out the note holding it out for Aria to read. "The whole thing was a great surprise."

Aria smiled as she read over the note. "Aw Spence, he called you beautiful." She teased. "So where did the third rose come from?"

"He wanted to meet up for coffee and when I tried to turn him down; he offered to bring it to me instead, thus leading to the third rose."

"Really Spence? You were going to turn him down so you could go study?" Aria shook her head in disbelief.

"It would have been only fair since I had turned down Emily when she asked me."

"That is different; you aren't trying to date Emily."

Spencer dropped her arms to her side and leaned her back against the closet door. "I know, I just," She paused as her eyes traveled to the roses again. "I haven't done anything like this in such a long time that I'm scared that I'm going to mess it all up. Toby is a great guy and I don't want to lose a chance with him."

Aria stood up from the bed and pulled Spencer into a hug. "You won't." She pulled away and smiled at her friend. "Let's me help you find a killer outfit for tonight."

"It's a swim meet Ar, there is no such thing as a killer outfit for that." Spencer said with a small laugh, so happy to have a friend who could easily pull her out of the sadness.

"True, either way I'm sure I can find something in here that will make Toby's jaw hurt at the sight of you." Aria smiled as she began shifting through the clothes.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Hanna started as she walked along the sidewalk with Spencer and Aria. "You invited Toby AND Caleb to the swim meet?" She asked and once Spencer nodded, she squealed with excitement. "Oh this is why I love you Spencer! That Caleb guy was a total hottie at the bar and this will be a great chance to make up for my drunken self from Friday."

Spencer laughed at the sudden mood change in her friend. "You are welcome, and maybe this will get you to come to more games now."

"Let's take one night at a time, who knows, he might hate sports just like me and I'll get out of going to your games and Emily's meets all in one shot." Hanna said with a dreamy look on her face.

The girls arrived in front of the building that the meet was held at and Spencer looked down at her watch, 7:26, her eyes looked up and began searching the mass of people for the boys. _Figures he would be late._

"What time did you tell them to meet us here?" Hanna asked as she put away her compact mirror after fixing her make-up.

"I told him 7:30, he told me 7:25," Spencer said crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I've learned Toby time means late, so I'm sure they will be here right before the meet starts."

"Should we wait for them out here or go inside to the seats? Ezra said he saved a whole bench for us." Aria said.

"Hanna and I can wait out here for them, you go inside and keep our seats safe with Ezra." Spencer said nodding her head towards the doors.

"Alright, see you guys in a few." Aria smiled and disappeared into the building.

"Do you have his cell number or something? If we stay out here any longer, we are going to miss the whole meet." Hanna said complaining after a minute passed.

Spencer pulled out her cell phone and checked the time, 7:29, and put her cell back in her pocket. "We still have plenty of time Hanna, and I originally told him 7:30, so let's give them another 5 minutes to get here."

Hanna rolled her eyes. "Fine, 5 more minutes."

Spencer just chuckled to herself and her eyes began to scan the crowd again. After a few seconds of looking, she got an eerie feeling that someone was watching her and as she turned around her eyes landed on him. He was leaning against the building, both hands in his pockets and a grin across his lips, his eyes locked with hers.

A huge smile broke out over her face and without looking; she reached out grabbing Hanna's hand. "Found them." She said pulling her towards the boys.

"About time darling, I was about to send out a search party." Toby teased as he looked down at his watch when the girls stopped in front of them.

"You think we were late?" Spencer asked shaking her head. "We got here at 7:26, thought you said you were showing up at 7:25?"

"We did," He said as he pushed off the wall and took a step forward to stand closer to her. "We actually got here at 7:20."

"If you guys got here early you would have seen us walk up, why didn't you come over?" Hanna asked raising an eyebrow at the boys.

"That would be Toby's fault." Caleb said pointing at his friend, then grabbed Hanna's hand. "Let's get inside and get our seats." He smiled and started to pull her towards the door, leaving Toby and Spencer outside.

Spencer watched the pair leave and when she turned back, Toby was still grinning like a fool. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She smiled up at him. "How come you let us wait out here thinking you were running late?"

"I thought it would be fun if you found me for this date," He said as he laced their hands together. "And the reason I am looking at you like this is because you look beautiful tonight." He leaned down and kissed her blushing cheek.

Spencer just smiled at him, "We should get inside before your friends think I kidnapped you or something." Toby said with a small laugh as he gave her hand a little tug as he started walking to the entrance. _Could he be anymore perfect? _She thought to herself as she allowed Toby to lead her inside.

* * *

Great job Emily!" Spencer said with a smile and pulled her friend in for a quick hug. Emily's had come in first place in both of her races, and the group had been waiting outside to congratulate their friend on her win.

"Thanks Spence." Emily said returning the hug, and then moved on to the other girls, receiving hugs from them as well.

"Yeah that was amazing to watch Emily," Toby said with a smile. "I wouldn't mind coming to another meet to watch you kick the other team's ass again."

Emily laughed with a nod. "Sure Toby, anytime, you are more than welcome to watch. You too Caleb." She threw in as she turned to look at Hanna and Caleb, who nodded with a smile.

"Anyone interested in getting some food?" Ezra asked the group. "How about that pizza joint downtown, I think they stay open till midnight." He offered when everyone nodded to the idea of getting food.

"Sure that works, but who is driving because Hanna, Aria and me walked here from our dorm." Spencer said.

"I can fit four in my car." Ezra said as he looked around the group.

"Caleb and I took our bikes down here, so that works out perfectly." Toby said as he nodded to Caleb.

Spencer shook her head when he mentioned his bike. "No way am I getting on the back of your death machine. I'll walk back to my dorm and take my car."

Toby looked at her with an amused grin, "Death machine really? I have been riding a motorcycle for almost 6 years now and I have not gotten into one accident yet. It will be fine, I promise."

"C'mon Spence, this will be fun. I honestly can't wait to get on the back of one." Hanna said grinning at Caleb.

"I'll make sure to let everyone know that was your last wish at your funeral." Spencer said folding her arms in front of her chest, holding her ground as the group started to separate towards their vehicles.

"Stop being such a baby Spencer and ride Toby's bike. We will see you downtown." Aria called to her with a laugh as she walked away.

"So what's it is going to be?" Toby asked as he copied her body language and crossed his arms in front of his chest, only difference, he still had a grin on his face while she had an annoyed look on her own.

"I'm serious Toby, those things are dangerous."

"So are cars, but I'm pretty sure you still drive one." He challenged.

Spencer rolled her eyes. "I have a feeling that neither one of us is going to win this argument."

Toby shook his head in agreement. "Probably not, so why don't you just take my hand and have a little faith that I actually know what I'm doing." He said as he held out his hand for her to take.

Spencer looked from his eyes down to his hand and then back to his eyes once more. "Promise that nothing will happen?"

"Cross my heart." He smiled. "Trust me Spencer."

Spencer bit the corner of her lip while she thought about what to do. Could she really trust a guy that she only met a few days ago to keep her safe? She had read her fair share of articles about how dangerous they could be but she also knew that Toby had a very good point about cars being the same way. _I just need to take a chance with him; otherwise, I might as well tell him I cannot see him anymore. I need to let myself trust again and I owe it to Toby to try. I just hope I am not making a huge mistake._

Letting a small smile escape her lips, she rested her hand into his and laced their fingers. "Okay, I trust you Toby."

Toby smiled back and he started to lead her towards the bike. "It will be fun, all you have to do is hang on really tight to me and I'll do the rest."

"Please tell me that you at least have helmets?" She asked trying her best to keep her worry at bay.

"I have one and it is all yours."

"I have such a bad feeling about this Toby." Spencer voiced as the pair approached the bike. She let go of his hand and ran her fingers over the seats while Toby grabbed the helmet that rested on the handlebars.

"What happened to trusting me?" He asked with a smile as he moved to stand in front of her and placed the helmet on her head. "If I had any doubt in myself, any at all, that something could go wrong while we were on this bike, I would not be putting this helmet on you right now." He said as he carefully looped the straps and tightened it under her chin. He let his hands linger on either side of her face, his thumb caressing her cheek as he stared into her brown eyes. "Trust me."

Spencer stood there lost in his ocean blue eyes, her breathing picked up as her heart raced faster at the contact the two were sharing. At that moment, she knew his words were true; he would not let anything happen to her during their time together. _Kiss him; let him know that you trust him._

Without wasting another second thinking about it, Spencer leaned forward and connected their lips for their first real kiss. Although she only let it last a few seconds, the sparks that kicked through her entire body left her pulling back with a smile. "Let's go for a ride." She said, as her heart jumped at the double meaning of her words.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Spencer could not believe the rush that she was feeling as her body pressed up against his back, her arms wrapped tightly around his body while she moved her head from side to side watching the town speed past them.

She felt herself actually having fun for the first time in months, and she owed it all to Toby. If one of the girls had told her that one day she would be riding on the back of a motorcycle with a guy she just met, she would have laughed right in their faces.

Spencer knew that they were getting closer to downtown when Toby reduced the speed of the bike and a few minutes later, he was parking right next to Caleb's bike.

Once she felt him flip the kickstand down, she loosened her arms from around his body and climbed off the back of the bike. "How'd you like your first time riding a death machine?" Toby teased as he moved off the bike as well and helped her remove the helmet.

Spencer ran her hands through her hair the second he took off the helmet. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." She smiled. "Thank you for making sure nothing happened."

"I'm a man of my word." He smiled back and laced their hands together. "C'mon, I bet they started eating without us."

"It's about time you two showed up." Caleb said as he waved the couple over to the back booth that the group had claimed.

"Yeah sorry, Toby had to do some major convincing to get me down here on his bike." Spencer said as she sat down at the end of the booth while Toby sat in the chair that was next to the table.

"Did he now? What kind of convincing are we talking about?" Hanna asked with a smirk.

Spencer shot her a glare from across the table. "Nothing like that you pervert, we just talked it out and he made me realize that I had nothing to worry about because I would be in good hands the whole time."

"Good job Toby, it's about time she let loose and started living her life." Emily said with a nod to Toby and sent a smile towards Spencer.

Toby just smiled and reached for her hand under the table, once he had a hold of it, he gave her hand a small squeeze. "Trust me, anytime that she is with me, she will be living her life to the fullest, and I can defiantly promise you that." He said directing the last part right to her with a quick wink.

"Can't wait," Spencer smiled back at him and then turned her attention back to the group with a laugh when one of the girls threw a balled up napkin at her.

"Gosh, you two are so cute together we just can't stand it." Hanna teased.

"Oh shut up Hanna." Spencer teased back and threw the balled up napkin back and the group fell into a comfortable chitchat as their pizza arrived at the table.

"So Toby, I have to ask, what's with the red roses?" Aria asked interrupting his conversation with Caleb after a while.

Toby set down the glass he just took a sip out of and smiled. "Well since you asked," He leaned forward in his seat, resting his arms on the table. "When I was a kid, my mother used to tell me a story about a young man that was hoping to find love. This young man had everything he needed in life and knew that the woman of his dreams would surly find her way to his arms without him having to do a thing. Sadly, years passed and the now old man had yet to find his true love." Toby looked around the table as he spoke, the group completely focused on his story.

"While on his death bed, the old man thought back to all his younger years and wondered what went wrong when suddenly recognition hit him with full force. In all his memories there was a young woman that he always over looked and he was shocked as to why because she was exactly the same woman that he had dreams of every night. The woman worked at the local flower shop that he visited every day when he went in to buy flowers for all his dates. He had been so blind in lust that he missed out on being with his true love."

"As it turns out, there really is a chance at love for all of us, because hours before his death, an old woman came to see him carrying flowers. Even in his old age, he instantly knew that his love had surly found her way to him and as he died, she sat beside him holding his hand and whispered her love for him that she kept for all the years she had known him."

Toby paused as he looked over at Spencer and reached for her hand, lacing their fingers together and sent her a smile before turning his attention back to Aria. "To answer your question about what's with the roses, it's simple. I do not want to be that old man that missed finding the woman of his dreams because he was too blind to see the signs right in front of him. There is a reason for everything and I will not be one to let that slip by when there is a good chance that I may have found my other half, even if the first time we met was when I almost hit her car. The roses are my way to show her that I had not missed the sign that fate brought us together that night." He said looking back over at Spencer with a small grin.

Spencer just tilted her head down to hide the blush that was making its way across her cheeks. _Oh my god, did he really just say that he thinks I could be his other half? That would explain why he believes so strongly in the powers from above working to bring people together. Do I believe that though? Did fate really cause him to swerve into my lane just so I would take notice of him at the bar later?_

"Aw Toby that is totally sweet," Aria said with a huge smile causing Spencer to look up just in time to see her hit Ezra in the shoulder. "How come you don't bring me roses on our dates?"

"Ow, hey, you know I love you already, why would I need to bring you roses?" He said rubbing the spot she hit him and threw a death glare at Toby who simply shrugged his shoulders with a grin.

"I think you just got them all in trouble." Spencer whispered over over to Toby with a smile, as she watched Hanna give Caleb a look that she was going to start expecting flowers from him as well.

"I think you're right." He whispered back with a small laugh.

* * *

An hour later, the group was now standing outside on the sidewalk saying their goodbyes. "That was great guys; we really need to get together again when Paige comes back in to town." Emily said as she looked around the group who all nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like a good plan," Aria said turning to look at Spencer and Hanna. "We will see you two back at the dorm?"

"Yep, see you in a bit." Hanna nodded for the pair and moved to get on the back of Caleb's bike after he sat down handing her the helmet.

"Be safe guys, bye." Emily said with a small wave and followed behind Ezra and Aria to his car.

Toby sat on his own bike and held out the black helmet to Spencer with a smile. "Here you go beautiful."

Spencer blushed again at his words, she could not believe that just a simple word could make her heart flutter and her cheeks burn. "Thank you." She replied slipping on the helmet and swung her leg over the bike, pushing her body right against his.

"Hang on tight." She heard him say as he turned on the bike, giving it a few revs as he backed out of spot and nodded to Caleb as the two of them took off down the road.

Her arms tighten around his stomach and she felt his muscles shake with laughter as he reached down grabbing one of her hands, raised it to his lips for a kiss and then placed it back down.

The pair arrived back at the dorms in less than 10 minutes and Spencer suddenly wished she had asked to go somewhere else, not wanting this perfect night to end.

Spencer pulled back and let her hands rest on the top of her legs as she waited for him to secure the bike. "I think I might be getting used to riding on this thing." She smiled to him when she moved off the back and pulled the helmet from her head.

Toby laughed as he stood up and reached out his hand to fix her hair. "Good, I'll make sure I pick you up for every date with the bike."

Spencer bit her lip while shaking her head. "Okay so maybe I'm not _that_ used to riding on it just yet."

"Are you kidding me Spencer?" Hanna voiced from the side of the two. "Riding on the back of that bike gives me such a free feeling, I love it!" She turned to look at Caleb with a smile. "You may pick me up every time with your bike."

Caleb smiled at her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Sure, will do babe."

Spencer just rolled her eyes at the pair and turned her attention back to Toby who was sitting on his bike, his feet resting on the curb of the sidewalk. "Thank you for tonight Toby, it has been one of the best ones I've had in a long time." She moved closer to him, shifting her body between his legs and wrapping her arms around his neck giving him a hug.

Toby quickly put his arms around her waist and smiled into her hair. "You're welcome," He pulled away slightly but made sure to keep her in his arms. "I have one more thing for you."

Spencer smiled at him and pulled one arm down from his neck, resting it on his chest. "Oh really, what's that?"

Toby leaned back with one arm and opened up one of the saddlebags on the side of his bike and a second later, his hand emerged with a beautiful orange colored rose. "The orange color represents passion and excitement, and I just want you to know these last few days have been the best ones I've had in a long time as well." He handed her the rose and returned his own hand back to her waist.

"Oh Toby, it's beautiful." Spencer whispered as she bought the rose to her nose and smiled at the smell. Pulling the rose from her face, her eyes locked with his and for the second time that night, she found herself connecting their lips in a kiss.

"Jeez get a room you two." Hanna's laughing voice broke the pair apart and Spencer blushed in embarrassment, having forgotten that Caleb and Hanna were only standing a few feet away from them. Even though the kiss was purely innocent, Spencer was never a fan of PDA.

"I should get inside," Spencer whispered to him with a small smile, when she started to pull away, Toby tugged her back with his own smile, and this time he leaned forward giving her one last kiss for the night.

"Goodnight beautiful." Toby said allowing her to pull out of his embrace. "Call me when you need a coffee break from all you're studying."

Spencer nodded smiling, "You can plan on it, goodnight." She gave him a small wave and then locked arms with Hanna as the two of them quickly made their way into the building.

"So did I just witness the first kiss between you two?" Hanna asked with a big grin as they walked up the stairs to their floor.

"Sorry to say but no, the first kiss thankfully was just between Toby and me."

"Ok, we are going to need details woman, because if the first kiss was anything like the one I just watched you two have, than you have it bad my dear." Hanna said as they approached their door and opened it finding Emily and Aria waiting in the living room. "Ladies, Spencer Hastings is well on her way to falling in love!" Hanna squealed as skipped over to the same couch Emily was sitting on and flopped down right next to her.

Spencer rolled her eyes as she shut the door behind her and walked her way towards the girls. "Hanna you are crazy, I am not falling in love with him."

"Bullshit Spence, I just watched you make out with him over a rose, by the way, why is that one orange instead of red?"

Spencer looked down at the rose that she was still holding and smiled. "He wanted to give me a color that represented how he was feeling and the orange rose means passion and excitement."

"Passion and excitement, Yeah I agree with you Hanna, she is totally falling for him. Look at that smile on her face." Aria joined in on the teasing, while Emily just sat back and listened with her own smile on her face.

"Both of you are crazy," Spencer said with a laugh and turned towards her room after calling out goodnight to the three.

Spencer shut her door behind her, and walked right to her dresser, adding the orange rose to her collection of red ones. Taking an extra moment to stare at them, she felt the familiar tickle in her stomach as her heart raced a little faster.

Walking over to her bed, she allowed herself to fall forward on her stomach and she hid her face into her pillow. _I cannot believe everything that happened tonight. Toby getting me to ride a motorcycle, him admitting that he thinks I could be his other half, the rose to end the night, symbolizing his excitement for things to come. Do relationships really move this fast and I have just forgotten about it? _

Spencer let out a sigh and shifted her pillow under her chin as she closed her eyes. _You like him Spencer, and he likes you. No one falls in love with each someone that quickly, Toby was just explaining his beliefs on the dating world and as far as you know, he could find the **one** tomorrow while you are at class. Just have fun with him; you owe it to yourself after everything that has happened._ Spencer opened her eyes and stood up from her bed going to her closet while peeling off her shirt.

"It's time to really move on and I just hope that Toby can help me." She muttered as her eyes traveled back to the vase but her gaze stopped on the cross that was leaned against the glass.

* * *

**A/N: Just wanted to shout out real quick to everyone who has reviewed up until this point in the story. Thank you so much, you all rock! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **I'm so happy that you all like this story so much. :)

mickeymack16: Thank you, I think I spent 15 minutes writing and deleting paragraphs trying to come up with the story, so i'm happy that it fit so well after all! :)

nevermindthebuttocks: I usually have a big smile on my face while i'm writing these, glad i'm not the only one. Also, thank you for bringing the typos to my attention, I will do my best to proof read more closely for the future chapters. :)

Girlz-Rule: Thank you and lets just say a certain sadness that had an important inpact on her life. :)

mrs-cavanaugh: Thank you and I can't either! ;)

bellisariobitch: Thank you and I will do my best! :)

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

_One week later_

It was once again Friday and Spencer was making her way down the steps of the library after having spent the last three hours studying. "I'm on my way back to the dorms now; one of the girls should be able to let you in." Spencer said into the phone as she moved her right arm to secure the books and papers that almost slipped from her grasp.

"Sure, I'll head on up now. How did your studying go?" Toby asked and she heard his truck door open and close a second later.

"It went good until I realized that I was about to study right through our date." She said as she finally reached her car and rested her phone against her shoulder to have a free hand to dig out her keys. "I promise to be there in less than 10 minutes, if the girls start bugging you with questions, feel free to wait in my room." She said as she opened the door and practically threw her study materials into her passenger seat as she entered.

Toby let out a low chuckle. "Alright, well I'll see you soon."

"Bye." Spencer called into the phone and hung up. A minute later, she was pulling out of the parking lot and driving towards her dorm room.

Every day this past week, she had been spending a lot of her time hidden in the dim lights of the library, cramming every bit of knowledge she could for each of the tests she had the next day. Toby had even been sweet enough to swing by a few times with a cup of coffee and sit quietly while she studied.

She smiled as her mind trailed back to the third time he came to sit with her.

* * *

_The rain was beating heavily against the windows and a clash of thunder made Spencer jump in her seat. "I hate storms." She muttered as she sent a quick glance towards the windows._

_"Why's that?" Toby asked from the seat next to her, his eyes looking up from the magazine that rested on the table._

_Spencer shifted back in her seat as she tapped the pen in her hand against her papers. "I'm not a fan of thunder and lighting; both scare the hell out of me."_

_Toby smiled at her and reached for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Well you have me now, so I'll do my best to protect you."_

_"That is very sweet of you," She smiled back at him. "But I think it might be a little hard seeing how you can't actually protect me from the storm."_

_"I can certainly try." _

_Spencer let out a small laugh. "If you feel the need to try, I will not stop you." She shifted forward as she pushed out her chair. "I'll be right back; I need to grab a different book."_

_Toby nodded and looked back down at his magazine._

_Spencer made her way down the familiar aisle that she had visited a few times during her studying. Just as she reached out to grab the textbook she needed a loud roar of thunder sounded, followed closely by a buzzing as the lights in the building cut out. _

_She froze in the darkness as she waited for the back-up generator to kick in, but instead only the emergency lights flickered on. "Just add this to the list." She whispered to herself as her eyes adjusted to the poorly lit area._

___"Spencer?" Toby's voice sounded from a few aisles away_.

_"Over here." She called out to him._

_A second later Toby was walking down towards her. "You okay?" He asked concern written across his face._

_Spencer nodded. "Yeah, I'm just feeling a little more nervous now that the lights are out." She let a small smile break when Toby pulled her into a hug. _

_"Well it's a good thing that your protector is here to keep you safe." He teased as he rubbed her back in small circles._

___Spencer laid her head on his shoulder, one of her hands grabbed the front of his shirt when another round of thunder sounded above them. "I think it's getting worse."_

_Toby just tightened his arms around her body. "Do you want me to drive you back to the dorms?"_

_She shook her head. "We can't drive in this Toby; it's raining so hard you won't be able to see the road. We are just going to have to wait for it to let up a little."_

_"Alright, how about we go back to the table and you just pack up your things so we can go as soon as it slows down." He offered._

_"Yeah, that is a good idea." She nodded up to him with a small smile. "Thank you for being here with me today, I feel a lot safer when you are around."_

_____Toby pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'll always be around for you Spencer, I promise." He smiling and nodded his head towards the end of the aisle. "Let's go pack up your things."_

* * *

The pair had ended up staying at the library for another two hours before Spencer felt the rain had died down enough for Toby to safely drive in.

During those two hours they both talked about their childhoods, and Spencer quickly became envious of his upbringing as he told her stories that ranged from family dinners to vacations to camping out in their living room just for fun.

When it came to her turn to share her family stories, she just stared at him with a blank expression across her face. It had actually taken her a few minutes to try to come up with a story that involved everyone in her family.

To her surprise, Toby told her that it was a good memory and she was lucky to have at least one. He had known other kids that had workaholic parents and did not have even one to look back on.

Spencer pulled into the parking lot outside of her dorm room and quickly turned off her car, grabbed her things and exited the car. With a light jog, she made her way inside and took the stairs two at a time not wanting to keep Toby waiting any longer with the girls.

"I am so sorry, let me just go get changed and we can leave." Spencer said as she opened the door and used her foot to shut it behind her after she stepped inside. She hurried to her room and tossed her books and bag onto her bed before heading over to her closet.

"It's okay Spence, really, I didn't mind waiting at all." Toby said from the living room.

"I believe you since you are still out on the couch with Hanna and not hiding out in my room." She said as she pulled one of her summer dresses over her head. She choose to wear a light green dress that came to rest a little higher than her knees.

"Hey, I've been very good and only been asking him questions about Caleb." Hanna chimed in.

Spencer let out a low chuckle as she let her hair fall free from the ponytail holder and quickly ran her fingers threw her curls. "One more minute I promise and then we can leave." She said as she rushed out of her room and to the bathroom to apply her makeup.

Standing at the mirror, she opened her makeup bag, pulled out a few different products and carefully began to apply them.

"You look absolutely beautiful." He said from the doorframe, a smile on his face.

Spencer smiled and made eye contact with him in the mirror. "Thank you. You look pretty handsome yourself."

"Compared to you?" He walked over to stand behind her and slipped his hands around her waist, resting them on her stomach. "I look like a bum." He leaned his head down so it was level with her own and met her eyes again in the mirror. "How'd I get so lucky to have a gorgeous girl like you in my life?"

Spencer smiled at him, unable to hide the blush that rose in her cheeks. Her stomach once again felt like it had a million butterflies swarming around and her heart began to beat faster as she starred into his ocean blue eyes. _I am the lucky one_

"Fate?" She teased and felt herself smile even more when he let out a small laugh.

Toby placed a quick kiss to her exposed shoulder as he moved his hands to rest on either side of her hips. "I'll let you finish up." He smiled and was out the door a second later.

When he left the bathroom, Spencer felt herself grin and she raised her hands to cover her face._Why is he so perfect? I cannot believe he is making me feel this way after such a small amount of time knowing him._

A few minutes later, Spencer made her way out of the bathroom and into the living room. Emily now joined them and both of the girls let out a small squeal of excitement when they saw her. "Spence, you look great in that dress!" Hanna said as she got off the couch and made her way over to her friend.

"Thanks." She turned her attention to Toby. "Ready to go?"

"What kind of date are you two having tonight?" Emily asked as she tucked her legs underneath her body.

"A dinner and a movie date." Toby said reaching for Spencer's hand and laced their fingers together.

"Well have fun tonight, can't wait to hear all the juicy details. Bye" Hanna smirked as she gave the pair a small wave goodbye on her way into her room.

Spencer rolled her eyes while Toby just laughed. "Let's go before she says something else that will make me want to hit her." She said as she gave him a small tug towards the door.

"Goodnight ladies." Toby smiled with a wave as he shut the door behind them. "Caleb is going to have his hands full isn't he?" He asked when they reached the bottom of the stairs and held the door open for her.

Spencer nodded with a smile. "Thanks, and sorry to say, but yes he will. Brightside to dating Hanna, there will never be a dull moment in their relationship."

"I'll be sure to give him a heads up." He laughed as he pulled his keys from his pocket as they approached his truck. "So how excited are you for our dinner and movie tonight? Scale of 1 to 10."

Spencer let out a teasing groan. "Do I really have to give a scale number? Can't I just admit to being excited?"

"Nope," Toby smiled and unlocked the truck, opening the passenger door for her. "I want to do a comparison at the end of the date."

"A comparison, okay, that is a first for me." She laughed as moved to climb into the truck. "Well seeing how you were on time and I was the one who showed up late, I will start off this date at an 8."

Toby grinned and shut the door after her once she was in, and jogged to the drive side. "I can work with that because I'm sure after tonight you will score this date at a 10 or better."

"That's thinking pretty high of yourself mister. How did you come up with a 10 or better from a simple dinner and movie?" She questioned.

Toby just continued to grin as he backed his truck out of his spot. "Who said anything about tonight being simple?"


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Just want to wish all my readers a safe and Happy Holiday! Next chapter will be up sometime next week. (If I finish it earlier, than I will post it once it's complete.)

KariSeddieMore: Thank you! :)

spencie: Isn't he! hehe :)

July: Hope you enjoy this one! I'll get the next one up soon as I can. :)

mickeymack16: I agree with you 100%! :)

Girlz-Rule: Here it is, hope you enjoy it! I had a lot of fun writing it. :)

bellisariobitch: No such thing as annoying in my world. ;) Hope this chapter helps with your addiction. :)

Aylee: Thank you! :)

All spelling and grammer mistakes are my own, sorry in advance.

Thank you everyone who has reviewed, followed and favd this story. It means a lot to me and I'm so happy that so many of you are enjoying this story. Thanks guys! Enjoy! :)

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

Spencer looked over at him in surprise. "I'm afraid to ask." She said and smiled when he reached over to grab her hand.

"You can ask me anything you want about tonight," He turned to look in her direction quickly before looking back at the road. "I just can't promise that I'll answer." He said teasing.

Spencer let out a small laugh. "I see, well as long as I don't have to be blindfolded, you won't hear any questions from me."

"Yeah about that," He trailed off as he left go of her hand and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a black cloth. "You actually do, I want our dinner to be a surprise. Sorry." Toby held out the material for her to take.

"Are you kidding me Toby? I do not like surprises and I do not like blindfolds even more." She whined while taking the cloth from his hands anyway. "How do I know you are not taking me to some remote place to kill me?" She spoke to him with a serious tone.

Toby slowed the truck to a stop when the light switched over from green and turned to look at her, and nodded his head to the side. "Scoot your paranoid self over here and let me show you why I will not be taking you to some remote place to kill you." He was smiling as he opened his arm up for her.

Spencer undid her seatbelt and shifted her body over the few meters until she was right up against Toby's body. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, his fingertips resting on her upper arm and he quickly moved his other hand off the stirring wheel to her cheek, moving her head up to meet his waiting lips.

Toby pulled away when the car behind them start beeping to get them to start moving now that the light had turned green again. Giving her one last peck on the lips, his foot moved off the brake and onto the gas. His hand found its place back on the wheel as the truck picked up its normal speed. "You still need to put the blindfold on." He shot her a quick smile.

Spencer smiled back and let out a small groan as she readied the cloth to go over her eyes. "Fine, you win this round but for future dates, no more blindfolds please."

"Promise." He said with a laugh.

The rest of the drive, Toby did his best to keep her mind off the blindfold by talking about all different random topics. It was ten minutes later when Toby was pulling the truck into a parking spot and turning it off.

"Alright, blindfold stays on just for a little longer," He said as he opened his door and turned grabbing her hand. "Don't worry; I'll help you out of the truck and to where we are going." He answered before she could even ask.

Spencer allowed him to lift her down from the seat, since she was having a hard time judging the distance to the ground. "Thank you." She said with a nod and smiled when his arm found its way back around her shoulders.

"You are welcome, now are you ready for an amazing dinner?" Toby asked as he started to lead her into a walk.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She said honestly.

"You'll love it, I promise."

After a few more minutes of walking, Toby stopped Spencer. "We have to go in the elevator." He said as he walked her inside the metal box and hit a button to start the machine.

"Elevator? Where is this dinner exactly?" She asked in a nervous voice and leaned closer into him.

He chuckled softly. "Sorry but that is part of the surprise. We are almost there, just a few seconds longer."

True to his word, a few seconds later the elevator came to a stop and Spencer heard the doors open. Toby walked her out and had her walk a few more feet before stopping her again. "You ready for that blindfold to come off?"

"More than you know." She smiled as she felt his hands move behind her head to untie the knot.

"Alright, without further delay, I give you a roof top dinner." Toby said as he let the cloth fall from her eyes.

Spencer opened her eyes and her mouth hung open in amazement. In the middle of the rooftop was a large square pergola and in between each of the beams, soft white lights were strung giving the off the right look for the romantic setting.

"Toby...this is beautiful." Spencer said breathless as he led her over to the small table that was set under the pergola.

"I was hoping you would like it, I built it a few days ago and wasn't sure if I was going to have it completed in time for our date." He said pulling out her chair with a smile.

"You built this?" She pointed upward, her eyes showing surprise as she sat down.

"I did, for you." Toby nodded and took his seat across from her. Reaching over to the cart next to the table, he lifted the metal cover and removed two plates. "I hope they are still warm, I had Caleb bring everything up before we left your dorm."

"Up?" She questioned as she watched Toby place one of the plates in front of her. Sitting on the plate was a variety of different foods in small sections. Red pasta, salad, mix vegetables and a small portion of chicken all lay carefully on the plate. "This looks great by the way."

"Thank you," Toby smiled as he reached for the already opened bottle of wine that sat on the table. "We each have an apartment in this building." He said pouring some wine into her glass.

"Your landlord is okay with you building on the roof?"

"Sure, only because the landlord is my mother."

Spencer brought her glass to her lips, taking a small sip of the wine. "Is this one of the buildings your father built?"

Toby nodded as he chewed and swallowed the bit of food that was in his mouth. "This one and there is another across town that he left for us as well, my mother actually lives at that one. I mostly run this one with the help of Caleb, it makes it easier for her so she doesn't have to travel so much."

"That's amazing Toby, you pretty much have two up and running businesses where most people aren't lucky enough to have one."

"Some days I wish I only had one," He said with a laugh. "I know my mother wants to leave them both to me when she dies but I'm not sure running apartment buildings is part of my life plans. The money from both is great, but when there is a problem at a building, it makes my carpenter business take a back seat. This is something I can't do very often because I have other guys depending on those jobs for their families."

Spencer listened, feeling the passion that he had for both jobs as he talked. She had come to learn that Toby had a hard time saying no when it came to his mother, not wanting to let her down and the same went with his team. Toby had a very generous heart when it came to helping out others, whether it was loaning out money or just giving them a place to stay, he never asked for anything in return.

Reaching out her hand, she closed hers over his and gave his hand a small squeeze. "You'll figure it all out Toby, sometimes it takes longer for the pieces to fall into place, but when they do everything will work out."

He smiled. "I hope your right Spence."

A comfortable mix of talk and silence took over the couple for the next hour as they took their time with their meal. "So are you ready for the movie?" Toby asked he stood up clearing the small table of the glasses and plates, placing them on the cart and then held out his hand for Spencer to take.

"I am, what are we going to see?" She asked taking his hand and standing up from her chair.

"Another surprise," He said and laughed when she stopped walking giving him a look. "No blindfold is needed for this one. C'mon, it's just over here." He gave her hand a small tug.

Spencer started walking again and smiled when she spotted a couch with some blankets draped across the back placed a few feet away from the edge of the building. "Don't tell me you built the couch too." She teased as they walked closer.

"How impressed would you be if I said yes?" He teased back.

"Eh, not that impressed." Spencer said shrugging her shoulders while giving him an uninterested face.

"Liar," He said as he grabbed one of the blankets, wrapped it around her shoulders, and then wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

"Prove it." She smiled up at him with a big grin.

Toby smiled back and instead of answering her, he just leaned his head down and kissed her.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds before he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers, a smile creeping on his face. "Are you ready to watch the movie?"

Spencer only nodded and Toby pulled away from her body only long enough for the both of them to sit down on the couch. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the second blanket and opened it up, placing it across her legs. "So this rooftop has the best view for seeing the drive-in theater that is a couple of blocks away. We won't be able to hear the movie, but at least we will be able to see it." He explained as he wrapped his arm around her again and smiled when her head found his shoulder.

Spencer just nodded and placed one of her hands on his chest as she curled into his side with a smile on her face. As the old black and white film began to run, she found herself thinking about how perfect the whole night had been from the moment they left her dorm room. _He was right about this date tonight, it definably scores higher than an 8, heck I would even give a score of 11 for all the things he has done for this evening._

Halfway through the movie, Toby started tracing circles on her upper arm and she was having a hard time fighting off the feeling of sleep because of his relaxing movements. "You need to stop doing that." She said whispered up to him with a small smile. "You are going to end up putting me to sleep."

Toby looked down at her with a grin. "I bet it will be the best sleep you've gotten in a long time, you sure you want me to stop?" His fingers continued to tease her skin.

"If I fall asleep, how are you going to kiss me when the movie is over?" She questioned as she sat up a few inches away from him so she was looking directly into his eyes, her smile never leaving her lips.

"I'm not," Toby said in a serious voice and leaned forward slightly. "I'm going to kiss you right now." His lips were upon hers a second later, not giving her a chance to say anything back.

The kiss started off slow and sweet, both taking their time to learn each other's movements. Toby shifted his body so he was now facing her and placed one of his hands on her lower back, pulling her closer while his other hand moved behind her head, getting lost in her brown curls.

Spencer happily moved to sit against him and feeling brave, she bit down softly on his lower lip, asking for permission to deepen their kiss, which he granted and quickly their tongues met fighting to gain the upper hand.

Needing to be closer to him, Spencer shifted her body, allowing herself to straddle his legs. Her hands snaked around his neck, one of her hands running up the nape of his neck and letting her fingers pull through his hair, earning her to hear a low moan escape Toby's lips.

"We should stop before things get too far." She heard him say as he slowly pulled away from their kiss, and Spencer had to stop herself from letting out a moan of disappointment.

When she opened her eyes, he was starring at her, his ocean eyes dancing with lust and she knew her eyes must have looked the same. "Your right, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." Spencer muttered out now nervous from her behavior and made a move to slip off his lap but he stopped her, his hands resting on either side of her hips.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Spencer, you didn't do anything wrong, neither of us did." He was smiling at her again. "We will get to that point in our relationship one day, but for now, I don't have a problem with what we were doing before, how about you?"

Spencer shook her head. "No problem at all." Her smile returned to her face, as well as his lips.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**:

Spencer Hastings pulled her car off the road to the shoulder and once the car came to a complete stop, she turned it off. Sitting in the driver seat, she looked out the window and watched all the different cars blurring past her.

When the traffic seemed to slow, she quickly exited her car and moved towards her trunk. For such a warm day, she felt a cold shiver run over her body and she weakly smiled to the sky. Opening the back of her car, she removed the small arrangement of flowers and held them close to her chest.

Closing the door, she started to make her way to a patch of grass that held all different flowers and some crosses. Another shiver passed over her body when she kneeled down in the grass and gentle placed the flowers against the others.

"Hey," She whispered as she leaned back against her heels. "I'm sorry for not coming by to visit in the last few days," Her hands were picking away leaves that had been stuck in between the flowers and crosses. "My classes have been kicking my butt and the teachers have been throwing projects at us left and right. I've been spending almost every day at the library trying to keep up."

Spencer placed her hands in her lap and let out a sigh when she felt a light breeze touch her cheek. "Okay, so maybe those aren't the only reasons for me not stopping by to talk with you. I met this great guy and we seemed to be hitting it off really well, I just wasn't sure how to tell you about it without feeling guilty."

"I know you'd want me to move on and find someone new to love, I just didn't think it would happen so soon. He reminds me so much of you Scott, from how he talks all the way to his interests. I think that is one of the reasons we are getting along so good, because he is so easy to like, just like you were." A single tear fell from her eye as she starred at the worn out photo of the man who used to hold her heart.

The sound of a car stopping caused her to wipe her face as she turned her body around to see who drove up.

Spencer turned back around to look at his photo. "Hey." She said as Emily walked over and sat down on the grass beside her.

"Thought I'd find you here," Emily sent her friend a small smile. "Hey Scott, I miss you buddy." She said resting her hand on his photo for a few seconds before pulling her hand away.

"I miss him so much Em." Spencer said while leaning her body into her friend. "I lost him so fast, that I didn't have a chance to fix the fight we had before he died. We left everything on such bad terms and I just wish that I had told him I loved him one last time."

Emily wrapped her arm around her body and rubbed her arm. "He knows Spence. Have you talked to him about Toby yet?"

"Was just telling him when you pulled up. Em, I feel guilty about moving on to Toby." She confessed.

"What? Why? It's a good thing that you are moving on; you know that is what Scott would want for you."

Spencer nodded. "I know, I just don't know if I'm ready to have him be replaced."

"That will never happen, you want to know why?" Emily asked.

She shook her head.

"Because he will always be in your heart and even if you end up falling in love with Toby, it won't take any love away that you still have for Scott."

"Thanks Em," Spencer raised her arm up, giving Emily a half hug.

"Anytime Spence, you know I'm always here for you to talk." Emily leaned her head against her friends and the pair fell into a comfortable silence.

* * *

_Later that evening_

"One second." His voice called from the other side of the door.

Spencer smiled as she heard a lot of movement before Toby appeared in front of her. "Hey, come on in." He said moving to the side of the door to let her pass. "Did you have a good study session at the library today?"

Spencer nodded as she entered the apartment. "I did and ended up getting more done than I had originally planned, so I'm very happy."

"That's great Spence," He smiled as he shut the door and then held out his hand to her. "So, would you like the grand tour?"

She took his hand and smiled when he laced their fingers. "I would love the tour."

Toby took the next five minutes walking Spencer throughout the entire apartment. "And last but not least, the kitchen." He said as he walked them over to the counter. "What can I get you to drink? I have water, beer, wine and ice-tea."

"A beer is fine with me." She said as she placed her elbows on the counter top as he made his way to the refrigerator. "So what do you have planned for us this evening?"

Toby walked back over with her beer and placed it down. "I was thinking we could throw on a movie for background noise while we play a board game."

"A board game?" She questioned while taking a sip of her beer. "Which ones do you have?"

"Let's go take a look and you can pick out the game, I'll choose the movie?" He asked grabbing his own beer into his hand.

"Sure, sounds fair." She smiled and followed him into the adjoined room.

"Alright, have a seat on the couch, I'll go grab what I have and be right back."

Spencer nodded as she sat down and once he left, she took the opportunity to gaze around the room. She took in the different sized photos that hung on the walls, most of which were of his father and him. She noticed that he had a decent sized book and music collection that took up different shelves and she made a mental note to check out which books he actually had.

"So some of the pieces might be missing from some of these games, but I'm sure we can still play without them." Toby explained as he walked back into the small living room and took a seat next to her.

Spencer smiled and watched as he laid out the four different games. "You've got Monopoly, Sorry, Scrabble and a checkers/chess board." She picked up each of the games and opened the boxes to see which one had all or most of their pieces. "How's your spelling?" She asked with a teasing smile as she held up the game of Scrabble.

For the next 45 minutes, the pair enjoyed the board game with a bunch of teasing remarks and laughs. "Did you memorize the dictionary or something?" Toby teased as she placed down another word worth 25 points.

They both were sitting on the ground, the board in between them while a Disney movie played in the background. "Even if I didn't, you still would be losing." She teased back as she reached for her beer.

"So you are admitting to memorizing the dictionary?" He questioned with a grin and raised brow.

Spencer just smiled and finished off her beer while Toby placed a few tiles down on the board. "You're getting better, that's an 8 point word." She said with a smile as she wrote down his score.

"Compared to your 15 plus points at your every turn?" Toby let out a small laugh as he stood up. "Want a refill?" He asked as he moved out of the room back into the kitchen.

"Sure and I have not been getting 15 points each turn. My one before my last was only 11 points."

"It's still better than my 5 to 8 points a turn." He said as he returned, sat down and handed her a new beer.

"Thanks," She smiled and looked down at her tiles for her next move. "Well you'll be happy about this; I can only come up with an 8 point word for my turn." She said as she placed the small squares down.

"Only because we are close to finishing the game and all the tiles have been taken. I'm sure if you had the option to switch out, you'd come up with another big word to beat me."

"Maybe, that a tough call to make seeing how we don't have much space left on the board either." She said after taking a long sip of her beer.

Toby fiddled around with his tiles for an extra couple of seconds before picking up his beer. "I guess it's time for me to admit defeat, I have no letters that will work, so you darling are the winner."

"Do you really not having any letters that will work or are you just saying that so we can end the game?" She questioned.

"Take a look yourself," He said as he spun around his holder so she could see his remaining squares. "Can't make a word out of a Z,K,P or W."

"No, I guess not." She laughed softly and began to clean off the board.

"You don't have to clean the game up; I'll take care of it." He smiled and nodded his head towards the couch. "Go relax on the couch and watch the movie, I'll grab us some popcorn."

"Are you sure? I don't mind putting the game away." Spencer offered but Toby shook his head while moving the rest of the tiles away from her with a smile.

"I do mind, there is no way I'm letting the winner of the game have to clean and put it away." Toby leaned forward and placed a quick kiss to her lips. "Now up on the couch you go."

"Fine." She agreed and shifted her body upwards and leaned her back into the cushions while turning her attention to the movie.

Toby piled all the squares on the board and lifted the whole thing to the small coffee table before leaving the room to make the popcorn.

He returned to the room 5 minutes later and sat down next to her. "Have you seen this movie before?" He asked as he held out the large bowl of popcorn for both of them to share.

"I have, but not in a very long time. This was one of my favorite movies growing up." She said as she took a small amount of popcorn into her hand.

"Have you seen the second one they made, where the two of them fly to Australia to save the little boy?"

Spencer nodded. "Do you have a lot of Disney movies in your collection?"

"Not too many, most of the ones I own are ones that I used to watch with my father."

Spencer reached for his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "You both were really close; I noticed that you have a lot more photos of the two of you than of anyone else and you."

Toby moved the bowl of popcorn to sit next to the game of scrabble on the coffee table before answering Spencer.

"Yeah, he was my best friend; I loved spending time with him. Even when I was in high school and most of my friends had the worst relationships with their fathers, ours was still strong as ever. A part of me died the day my mom called me and told me the news. I didn't believe her at first, I wasn't even in town when it happened and broke every law possible while driving just to make sure I was back home before night fall. It finally sunk in when I walked through the front door of our house and my mother was in the living room with tears streaming down her face. I had never seen her cry in my whole life and I knew that my father was really gone."

"What happened to him?" Spencer asked softly as she turned on the couch to face him.

"He had a heart attack while out on a job and fell down a flight of stairs. By the time they got him to the hospital, he had already passed away." Toby said with complete sadness in his voice.

"Toby, I am so sorry if I made you upset by asking, I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay," He started and even let out a smile when he saw that she still had an apologetic look on her face. "Really Spence, I'm okay. I learned a long time ago that his death had happened because it was meant too. There was nothing that I or anyone else would have been able to do to stop it. My mother helped me understand that and it's helped me move on in a way that I can sit here today and talk about his death without having a major breakdown about it."

Spencer nodded and half smiled at him. "Well, I still feel bad for asking no matter how okay you are."

Toby let out a low chuckle, pulled her into his body after wrapping both his arms around her, and kissed the top of her head. "Any better?"

"A little," She leaned her head on his chest and closed her eyes as she listened to his heart beating. "Toby, thank you for tonight, I really needed this." She said shifting more comfortably into his body.

"You're welcome." Toby said and started to run one of his hands up and down on her back slowly as his eyes focused back onto the movie.

* * *

When the movie ended, Toby looked down and smiled when he saw that Spencer had fallen asleep on top of him. Gently with his hand, he pushed back a strand of her brown hair that was covering her some of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Spence." He spoke softly as he moved his hand back to rubbing her back to try to wake her up. "Movie is over, time to wake up."

Spencer let out a small groan, turned her face more into his chest, and brought up one of her hands to help hide. "Do I have too?" She muttered against him.

"If it were up to me, no, I'm enjoying having you sleeping on me way too much to ever want to let you go."

"So why are you waking me up then?"

"Because you have class in the morning and also, it gives me the opportunity to drive you back to your dorms, forcing you to leave your car behind and allowing me another chance to see you this week."

Spencer smiled as she lifted her head off his chest and leaned up to kiss him. "Guess we know who the real winner of the night is huh?"

Toby laughed as she shifted off his body and stood up to stretch. "I'd still say you, I just got lucky enough that you fell asleep and now it's really late and I wouldn't have felt comfortable letting you drive alone."

"That is very thoughtful of you." She smiled again and bent down to pick up the bowl of uneaten popcorn in one hand, her other grabbing their empty beer bottles. "I'll help you clean up and then we can go."

"Sure, if you want to take those, I'll take care of the game."

Spencer nodded and made her way to the kitchen. When she returned, Toby was sitting in the exact same spot on the couch, only difference was he had a goofy grin on his face.

"Do I even want to ask?" She asked with a half smile.

"I placed out some words on the scrabble board that I believe will score me a lot of points. Do you think you could check for me?"

Spencer playfully rolled her eyes at him. "Only way to beat me is after the game is over huh?"

"Something like that." The same grin still present on his face as he stood up and motioned her over to the table.

Spencer moved to stand next to him and leaned down to read the board. The half smile on her face opening up into a full one as she straightened back up and turned to face him. "Really?"

"Yes really," Toby smiled back at her and wrapped both his arms around her waist. "So what's do you say, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Of course I will." Spencer said while putting her arms around his neck as she leaned up on her toes to kiss him.

"You never told me how many points I won for those words." Toby teased when he pulled away from their kiss after a few seconds. "Did I end up beating up for the final score?"

Spencer let out a laugh and muttered a quick, 'Just shut up and kiss me' as she reached back up to join their lips.

* * *

**A/N:** Just a quick note. You guys got a little detail on what happened in Spencer's past and also a little more insight to Toby's relationship with his father. As the chapters go on, more and more details on both of these pasts will surface.

Also, next chapter will not be posted until after Jan 11th. I am going out of state for a week and even though I'll have my laptop with me, I will not be spending my whole trip writing. As I said in my other story, I will try but no promises will be made.

All spelling and grammer mistakes are my own. Sorry for not catching them. ;)

Guest #1 and 2: Thank you both for your reviews! :)

SpobyTreeganPll and Bellisariobitch: Thank you both so very much for your kind words on this story! I couldn't stop smiling after reading what you both wrote. I promise you that nothing bad will happen in this story. (I will send all my bad ideas to my other Spoby story since that one is a drama. lol) :)

Girlz-Rule: Thank you hun! Always a pleasure to hear from you! :)

Hope all you readers had a great New Years Day and thank you in advance for anyone who reviews, follows or favs this love story. :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

"So Spence, I have to ask," Hanna started as the girls sat around their dorm living room a few nights later.

"The answer is no Hanna." Spencer cut her off quickly with a roll of her eyes. She knew exactly what her blonde friend was going to ask, it was a question always on her mind.

"Wow, really? Haven't you guys been dating for almost two weeks now?"

"What's your point?" Spencer questioned as she reached for her glass of wine.

"Yeah, Han, please explain the workings of your brain to us." Aria chimed in.

"My point is that it's like a written rule that you sleep with the guy your dating after the first few dates." Hanna said as she leaned into her seat with a magazine.

Spencer rolled her eyes again. "Let me guess, Caleb and you have already slept together?"

"Of course, we've already been out on 5 dates."

"That is the most degrading thing I've ever heard Han. Woman who follow this 'rule' need to have their heads examined, starting with you."

"Oh c'mon Spencer, are you telling me that you never slept with Sc…" Hanna cut herself off when Spencer's face fell and she quickly threw her magazine down as she went to comfort her friend. "I'm sorry Spence. I wasn't thinking."

"No, its okay," She leaned into Hanna and sent a weak smile to the other two girls. "And no, Scott and I never slept together."

Silence fell over the girls, as each wondered if the night that had just begun was already over.

"Spence, do you want to talk about it?" Aria asked carefully. "I mean, you don't have too if you're not comfortable to tell us, but you know we are all here for you right?"

"I know, and I know I should talk about what happened, it's just," She let out a sigh and looked down at her hands. "I don't even know all the details of what went on that night, I only know what the paper said about it. There are so many questions I have and they will never be answered."

"You told us that you two got into a fight before the accident. What were you fighting about?" Emily asked as she moved to sit down next to Spencer on the floor.

"Thinking back to it now, it seems stupid." Spencer said as she took a small sip of her wine. "He had been pulling away from me and I called him out on it in a note."

"A note?" Hanna questioned. "Wouldn't it have been better to have talked in person?"

"Yes, it would have, but the problem was we never had the same free days off from work, so pretty much our last few weeks of dating were though text messages and MySpace. I knew what days he had to work so one night I drove by and stuck the note to his windshield."

"What did the note say?"

"That I was worried that our relationship was over and that if he wanted to break up with me, I would rather have him tell me to my face instead of giving me the silent treatment, but if he couldn't face me, than this was our goodbye. I also told him that I didn't need him to take me to that party my parents were throwing for Melissa at the club, I had found another date to bring and he was off the hook."

The girls starred at her in surprise. "You wrote all that to him? Wow, Spence, way to kick a guy to the curb without a chance of making it back on the sidewalk." Hanna spoke.

Spencer shook her head. "It gets worse. He had actually messaged me the day before the party and told me he was sorry for pushing me away, he did it because he was trying to spare my feelings for when he left."

Emily raised her hand out to interrupt Spencer from continuing the story. "Explain that last part to us. Spare your feelings for when he left, was he talking about his death?"

"I'm not sure, I think so. It makes sense now after everything that happened, and I know he was big on the supernatural. That same day of the message, he asked if he could still take me to the party, he wanted to keep his promise to me and I turned him down." Spencer paused as tears started to form in her eyes. "I told him I couldn't count on him not to stand me up again and as much as I wanted to go with him, I had to give the other guy a chance to prove himself."

"The next night I found out he passed away in a car accident. His car got a flat and the papers said he had gotten out of the car to fix it and ended up being killed by a drunk driver who smashed into the car, pinning him between the two."

Aria squeezed Spencer's hand in comfort; while Emily and Hanna just leaned in closer to hug her.

"I had logged on that night to email him and I had an invite to a memorial page for him. I thought it was a joke at first until I searched online and found all the articles." The tears were falling freely by this time. "I didn't know what to do, I was so angry at myself for how I spoke to him and I knew I couldn't take a word of it back. Everything I should have said to him, I lost the chance and it still kills me to this day knowing that I never got the chance to tell him how I really felt about us."

"He knows Spence, and he forgives you." Hanna said softly as she rubbed her friends back.

Spencer nodded as she brought her hand up to wipe her eyes. "I know I should be moving on with his death since it's been months now, but it's still so fresh in my mind that I wake up some mornings forgetting that he is gone."

"You have Toby now; do you think he will help you move on?" Aria asked.

Spencer half smiled with teary eyes. "Yeah, he already is, more than he probably knows."

* * *

_The next day_

"So we have two different movie times," Toby stated as he walked back into his living room with a newspaper in his hands. "Are you feeling an early movie or late?" He asked as he down on the couch and moved her legs to rest on his lap.

Spencer shifted the book she was reading down to her chest. "How about a late one, surprisingly enough I don't have a class in the morning."

Toby tossed the newspaper over to his coffee table and moved his hands to her legs, letting his fingers draw small circles on her skin. "So we have all afternoon to spend together before the movie, what would you like to do?"

"Well, even though I don't have class in the morning, I do have to finish this chapter for class." She sent him a small toothy smile. "You don't mind if I finish right?"

"Not at all," He smiled back. "I'll just watch you read."

"That's not creepy at all." She teased.

Toby laughed. "Just read your book Spence."

"Fine, it shouldn't take me much longer to get through the chapter." She said as she raised her book back in front of her face.

"Are you excited about graduating this year?"

"Yes and no. Yes because I will be done with my bachelor degree and one-step closer to becoming a lawyer. And no because I still have 3 or 4 more years of schooling left before I can take the BAR exam."

"It will all be worth it in the end."

Spencer sat up on her elbows, sending him a look. "You sound like a fortune cookie."

"Probably," He smiled and grabbed her hand pulling her up into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist. "But you are going to make one kick ass lawyer that all the criminals are going to be scared shitless of."

"Thanks, I think." She laughed and leaned her body against his, opening her book back to the page she was reading before he pulled her over. "I'm still debating on which side of the law I want to defend."

"Really? You seem like the type of person who does not hit cross roads too often in her life."

"Usually I don't, but lately," She shrugged. "I've have a lot of big grown up decision that keep coming up and if I make the wrong choice, my whole future could be ruined."

"That's a little intense don't you think? Ruined just because you might pick the wrong profession?"

"Failure isn't in the Hastings game book."

"Spencer," Toby said seriously, as he carefully shut her book and moved it to the other side of the couch. "Failure is a part of life, without it, we don't grow and learn from our mistakes. So in the next few months, when this big choice comes up and you are wondering which one to make," He took her hand into his own. "I want you to come to me and if you want, I will help you in any way that I can."

Spencer smiled as looked up at him. "Thank you Toby that is exactly what I needed to hear."

"You are welcome." He said as he leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her lips. "So if you found out that you couldn't be a lawyer, what would you do with your life?"

"I'd give interior design a shot; my friends say I've always had an eye for it."

Toby smiled. "Now that is a job that I can see you enjoying very much. I should bring you by some of my units and see if you can work your design magic and help me fix them up enough to sell."

"Really? That would be great; I'd love to help out."

"I'll run the idea past my mother but I'm sure she won't see anything wrong with it." Toby rubbed her back slowly. "So I have an important question to ask you."

"Sure, anything."

"I have a big company party this weekend and I was wondering if you would be interesting in going with me and letting me show you off?" He asked with a smile.

"This weekend I'm all yours." Spencer smiled back.

"Great, the party starts at 7 but since I'm the host I have to be there around 6 to make sure everything is set up."

"Would it be okay if I meet you there for when it starts? I have a few things to do in the early afternoon and I don't want to hold you up if I'm running behind."

"Not a problem, I'll text you the address this weekend. Actually, Caleb will be there, why don't you and Hanna just come together, that way he can lend me an extra hand in setting up."

"I'm sure Hanna will love that idea, any extra time for her to get ready is a blessing. So what's the dress code, black and white ballroom style?" She asked with a half smile.

Toby laughed. "No, think more cocktail style attire."

"Oh much better, I was afraid I was going to have to drive back home and pull out one of the old ballroom dresses from my attic."

"You have ballroom dresses?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Now this I have to see, do you have pictures?"

"I do but you will not be seeing them." She laughed.

"Oh c'mon!" He smiled and hugged her tighter to his body. "I bet you looked adorable, will you bring one for me to see the next time we get together?" He rested his head against the side of hers and kissed her temple. "Please?" He said as he started to kiss her neck.

"I'll think about it." She smiled and closed her eyes at the feeling of his lips on her skin.

"Mmm, okay." He muttered and pulled away reaching for her book, resting it back on her lap. "I'll stop bugging you and just go back to watching you read."

"Creeper." She teased again giving him a quick kiss before opening her book and leaning back into his chest.

* * *

**A/N:** So who else is excited that PLL is back on tonight?! I am! Can't wait to have something to do again on tuesday nights. haha. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This one was hard for me to write, but I think I did a good job on it. Let me know what you think. :) Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, you all ROCK! Love reading your comments, so please keep them coming for me.

All spelling and grammer mistakes are my own, sorry in advance.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait with this chapter, got stuck with a chapter for my other story and I wanted to finish that one before I did this one.

So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I look forward to reading any reviews that you guys submit! Thanks for everyone who has reviewed, fav and followed this story so far, you all are the best! :)

Sorry in advance for any spelling or grammer mistakes.

* * *

**Chapter 12:**

"Are we done yet Hanna?" Spencer whined as the girls left yet another store in the mall. They had been shopping for the last three hours trying to complete their outfits for the party that Toby's company was throwing tomorrow night.

"Oh quit your whining you baby, just one more store and we will be done." Hanna said rolling her eyes at her friends behavior while linking her arm with Spencers.

"You'll be done," She corrected with a smile. "I finished getting my outfit together 5 stores ago."

"Well i'm looking to stand out and cause whispers." Hanna grinned. "Besides, the last thing I need is something for only Caleb's eyes to see."

"You two are getting along good I take it?"

"We are getting along great!" Hanna beamed with a blush. "He is the most amazing guy I have ever met and I mean that for both in and out of the bedroom."

Spencer pretended to make a disgusted face. "Ew, too much information Hanna, now every time I look at him, i'm going to have an imagine of the two you going at it in bed. Thanks." She said giving Hanna a small nudge with her hip. "But really, I'm happy for you Han, you deserve such a great guy like Caleb, you both are lucky to have each other."

"Thanks Spence, we really have you to thank for us getting together."

"I'm sure you two would have met even if Emily didn't dare me to talk to Toby in the first place."

Hanna shrugged her shoulders and pulled Spencer into the 'Victoria Secret' store smiling like a fool. "Let's see if we can find something sexy for you to wear to drive Toby even crazier."

Spencer just laughed and allowed herself to be pulled into the store. "I don't need anything in here Hanna, I'm really not ready to sleep with him," She said watching Hanna pull out all different types of bras and panties and holding them up towards her. "Stop doing that." She laughed as she swatted Hanna's hand away.

"Oh c'mon Spencer, you need to live a little, you can still have sexy underwear even if you don't plan to sleep with the poor guy. Why won't you sleep with him again?"

Spencer turned away slightly to pretend to look at one of the bras that was on a stand next to her. "I want to make sure he is worth it. My first time wasn't exactly the greatest and I just want to make sure my next time will be better."

"It will be Spence." Hanna said giving her a true smile and a shoulder squeeze. "Toby seems like a one in a million guy and we haven't seen you this happy since Scott passed away, so in our books, he is already worth it."

"Thanks Hanna." Spencer smiled back with a small nod. "Okay, so let's hurry up and finish, I'm starving."

* * *

A few hours later, the girls made their way back to their dorm room and were now sitting on the couch watching an episode from their favorite show 'Breaking Bad'.

"Emily and Aria are going to kill us if they find out we are watching this without them." Hanna giggled with her eyes glued to the screen.

"I know," Spencer agreed with a laugh. "We will just have to make sure to reset it to the beginning when we are finished."

"Where are those two anyway?"

"I think Aria mentioned going on a date with Ezra, and Emily is most likely at the pool training for her match on Sunday." Spencer said getting up from the couch and grabbing her almost empty glass. "You want a refill Han?"

"Yes please! Oh and can you add more ice too!" She smiled sweetly at Spencer while holding out her glass.

Spencer rolled her eyes playfully as she took the glass and walked the few feet over to their kitchen. "Okay, before I go back over, is there anything else you need?" Spencer asked as she filled up both glasses with more ice-tea.

"Nope, I'm good!" Hanna called back, her eyes still on the TV.

After adding more ice to Hanna's glass, Spencer made her way back into the living room and sat down next to her friend. Just as she was about to tuck her legs under her body, a loud knocking came from their door.

"Are you expecting anyone?" Spencer asked giving Hanna a questioning glance and when Hanna shook her head, she got up and walked towards the consist knocking. "I swear to God if you keep knocking on our door I'm going to," She started to say as she pulled the door open and stopped when she found Toby and Caleb on the other side grinning like fools.

"You're going to what?" Toby asked unable to keep the huge grin off his face. "So, we were in the neighborhood and were wondering if you girls would like some company?"

"We brought dinner." Caleb added in, holding up two brown paper bags from the local Chinese restaurant.

"Spence, who's at the door?" Hanna called as she leaned over the back of the couch but could not see because her friend was blocking the door.

Spencer's face instantly smiled at the boys. "Just a couple of motorcycle thugs who think very highly of themselves, should I let them in?" She teased and laughed a second later when she heard Hanna rush over to the door, almost knocking her out of the way.

"Caleb!" She squealed and threw herself into his arms, kissing him right on the mouth. "What are you doing here? I thought you said that you had plans tonight."

Caleb laughed at her outburst and ended up letting Toby take the bags out of his hands before he dropped them. "I did and they are with you silly. Tobes and I thought it would be nice to surprise the both of you with dinner."

"Aw, you are so sweet." She cooed and kissed him again.

Toby ended up clearing his throat with a cough and the pair broke apart with big smiles on their face. "Oh yeah, I guess you guys might want to come inside huh?" Hanna said and pulled Caleb in towards the living room.

Spencer just let out a small laugh at the two of them and shut the door once Toby had moved inside. "Well seeing how they are getting comfy on the couch, I guess that means we will get all the food ready." She said walking over to the small kitchen with Toby following behind.

Spencer turned away from him and reached up to one of the cabinets to grab plates when she felt Toby moved behind her and wrap his arms around her waist. "I've missed you." He whispered into her hair as he rested his forehead on the back of her head.

Spencer smiled at his words, "We just saw each other a few days ago." She teased again. It amazed her how her stomach started to feel like it had a million butterflies dancing around inside every time he touched her. "You couldn't possibly miss me that much in such a short time."

Toby waited until she turned around in his arms and gave her a big smile. "So are you saying you haven't been missing me during our time apart?"

Spencer smiled in return and placed the plates down on the counter next to her before moving her arms to wrap around his neck. "Of course I have, but I'm the girl, so it's normal for me to miss you like crazy until I see you again." Her smile growing at the sound of his laugh, she could not help but think how adorable it was.

"Okay, well I guess this makes me a girl because I've been missing and waiting like crazy until I got the chance to kiss you again."

"So what are you waiting for, kiss me." She said with a slight head tilt and a flirty smirk.

Toby did not have to be told twice; he leaned down and captured her lips with his own. Running his tongue along her lips, he asked for entrance, which she happily allowed as she let him deepen their kiss.

One of his hands moved from her waist to the side of her face, his thumb caressing her cheek while he used his other hand to pull her closer to his body.

Spencer was feeling herself get lost in his kiss; she felt her heart racing faster and her stomach do flips every time their tongues met. When he started to pull away, she could not stop the low moan from rising in her throat, nor the urge of pulling him closer again, giving him one finale kiss before letting him pull away.

"I guess I wasn't the only one who was waiting for that kiss huh?" Toby whispered with a smile and gentle brushed some of her hair away from her face.

Spencer blushed and hid her face into his chest, while giving him a small laugh to shake off her embarrassment. When she pulled her head back to look at him, he was still smiling. "What?" She asked with a small one of her own.

"You're cute when you get embarrassed."

"Thanks, I think." She let out a nervous laugh. "We should probably bring the food out and join Hanna and Caleb."

"Sure, I'll take the food and plates if you want to grab the drinks?" He offered.

Spencer nodded and before she could pull away, he leaned down and gave her another long lingering kiss. "I'll save you seat." He smiled with a wink as he left out of his embrace and grabbed the plates she set down minutes ago before taking the bags and leaving for their friends.

She knew she must have been grinning like an idiot as he walked away but she could not help it. Turning around once more to face the cabinets, she closed her eyes and tried taking a few deep breaths to calm down her heart and to help rid herself of the grin. The only problem was, every time she thought of the kiss they just shared, the grin found its way back to her face.

Knowing she would have to just deal with it, she grabbed two glasses from the shelf and filled them with some ice-tea. Taking another calming breathe, she made her way out to the living room. "I hope ice-tea is okay, we haven't had a chance to hit up the store in a few days to restock." She explained handing each of the boys a glass before taking the open seat next to Toby.

"Ice-tea is perfect." Toby smiled as he took a small sip and set the glass on the table in front of him. "Are you girls watching the newest episode?" He asked giving a head nod towards the TV as he started pulling containers out of the brown bags.

"Yes, and don't tell Emily and Aria, they will kill us if they found out we are watching it without them." Hanna said moving to kneel on the floor by the table to reach for the plates.

"Our lips are sealed." Caleb joked while he and Toby pretended to 'zip' their lips and throw away the key.

Spencer laughed at the sight. "Okay, how old are you two?" She teased.

"Don't act like you don't enjoy our child like ways." Toby said and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "So I'm thinking to make sure you two beautiful ladies don't get killed, how about we find a movie to watch?"

Spencer nodded and reached for the remote. "Sure, I'm sure something good is playing that we can all agree on."

After 5 minutes of searching for a movie, the group decided on watching one of the 'Harry Potter' movies since one of the channels was doing a marathon. "I love these movies, I wish I could go to Hogwarts and get to use magic and fly like they do." Hanna said when she moved back on the couch to sit with Caleb after filling her plate with a little of everything that the boys brought over.

"Hanna, you do know that Hogwarts doesn't really exist right?" Spencer asked with a side smile.

Hanna just glared at her before turning her attention back to the TV, leading to Spencer and boys to laugh. "Okay, was just making sure." She added and began to eat her own food.

* * *

The foursome fell into a comfortable silence mixed with small talk during the commercial breaks. Half way through the movie, Emily arrived back at the apartment. "Hey girls," She said as she opened the door. "Oh, Hey Toby and Caleb, didn't realize you guys were coming by tonight." She said with a smile as she walked over to the group and stood behind the couch.

"We didn't either," Spencer said turning to look at Emily. "They were in the neighborhood with food and thought they would share with us. Grab a plate Em, there is still plenty left."

"Awesome, I'll be right back. Thanks guys." She smiled with a nod and headed to the kitchen to get a plate, returning a few seconds later.

"How was swim practice, all set for Sunday?" Spencer asked as she moved closer to Toby to make room for Emily on the couch. She smiled when Toby placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in to lean on him.

"I am so pumped for this meet; coach said we are going to kill them this year." Emily said with a grin. "My parents are even driving down to watch. You guys are still going to come too right?" She asked looking between the girls, who both nodded. "Toby and Caleb, any chance you'll be joining them?"

"Heck yeah," Toby smiled. "I enjoyed the last one, I'm totally up for seeing you compete again, and Caleb is too." Toby said throwing his napkin over at his friend's head with a grin.

Caleb shot Toby a look before looking over at Emily and gave her a smile. "Wouldn't miss it Emily, you killed them last time."

Emily laughed as she moved to sit next to Spencer. "Keepers girls, you got some keepers here. I think I'm going to have the biggest cheering section, Aria is going with Ezra and Paige is coming down too, so you both will be able to meet her."

"That's great Em; we haven't seen Paige in a few weeks, maybe after your meet we can all go back to that pizza place we ate that last time." Hanna offered and the rest of the group nodded.

It was close to 11 at night when the movie finally finished and Spencer pulled away from Toby so she could start to clean up. "Here, let me help you." Toby said reaching to take the all the plates she collected out of her hands, while also grabbing two glasses.

"Thanks." She smiled and took the remaining three with her to the kitchen. Emily piled all the empty containers into one of the brown bags and closed the few other ones up so she could put them in their refrigerator. Spencer gave Emily a quick 'Thanks' before she left to go back into the living room with Hanna and Caleb, once again, leaving Toby and Spencer alone in the kitchen.

"So, we are probably going to go in a few minutes." He said as he wrapped his arms around her waist for the second time that night. "I can't wait to see you all dressed up tomorrow. You are going to look amazing." He smiled and gave her a quick kiss.

Spencer smiled and wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself closer to him and gave him a hug. "I will certainly try and thank you for coming over tonight. It was a great surprise for both of us."

"I'm just happy you were home, so thank you," He laughed. "Otherwise we were going to wait outside for you girls and the whole passing through the neighborhood line wouldn't have worked, plus the food would have gotten cold."

Spencer pulled back and looked into his eyes as she raised one of her hands to the side of his face. "Well, then you are welcome." She leaned up and pressed her lips to his.

Again, Spencer felt her world slipping away as she craved him even more as he deepened their kiss and slid one of his hands up behind her head, his fingers getting lost in her brown hair. They both seemed to forget that they had an audience watching and only pulled away when Hanna started making loud coughing noises to break them up. "About time," She teased. "I'm going to walk Caleb to the door, don't make me come back in here with a water hose."

Spencer blushed again and covered part of her face with her hand, while Toby just chuckled. "No problem Hanna, we will be right behind you in a minute." He said giving Caleb a nod towards the door, and lucky Caleb noticed the hint and dragged Hanna away with a wink and smile to Toby.

Toby waited until they were alone again before he moved Spencer's hand away from her face and kissed her lips again with a smile. "Call me tomorrow if you have any trouble finding the party okay?" He asked when he broke away.

Spencer nodded smiling. "I will, thanks again for coming by tonight." She leaned up needing to feel his lips on hers one more time before he left.

When he pulled away, he let his nose rub softly against hers causing both of them to smile. "You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow beautiful." He whispered and pulled away, lacing their hands together as they walked to the door.

With a finale goodbye kiss, Toby left the apartment to meet up with Caleb who was waiting by the staircase. Once the boys were out of sight, Spencer shut the door and leaned her back against it, her smile still on her face while she closed her eyes. _Oh my god, could he be anymore perfect. I could easily see myself falling for him._

When she opened her eyes, Emily was leaning on her doorframe with a big smile on her face. "Don't ever let that boy go Spencer, he is definitely a keeper." She said before disappearing into her room, leaving the grinning Spencer to her own thoughts.


	13. Chapter 13

**Any spelling or grammer mistakes are my own. Sorry.**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Please enjoy this chapter and leave a review if you wish. :)**

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**Chapter 13:**

Falling asleep was hard for her; she mostly laid awake, staring at her ceiling listening to her annoying neighbors above her throwing their Friday night party.

Emily's words lingered in her mind, "_Don't ever let that boy go Spencer, he is definitely a keeper." _Spencer rolled to her side and let her eyes find the vase that held the four roses. She had let them dry out and put them back in a few days ago.

When she dated Scott, she knew he was worth keeping, and then one night changed everything for her, her beliefs, her ideas of love. She let it all go when she lost him, not wanting to believe in the idea of a happy ending anymore.

That was until Toby came crashing, _almost literally_, into her life and she started to feel something again. At first, she dismissed the feelings of excitement that drew in her stomach every time she saw him, how her mind would go blank whenever she starred into his ocean blue eyes.

After their first date, she could not stop herself from smiling whenever she heard his voice, she could not stop her heart from beating at an alarming rate when he touched her or kissed her.

Reaching over to her nightstand, she pulled open the drawer and pulled out a worn picture, letting her fingers trace across the happy couple that smiled back at her. It was her only photo of Scott and herself, they were smiling, holding each other, looking so in love. Emily had taken the picture after the couple had finished dancing and captured the happy moment.

"I miss you so much Scott." She whispered as a few tears fell from her eyes. "I wish every day that you were here, holding me again, kissing my lips, telling me that you loved me." She brought the photo to her lips and placed a soft kiss over his face. "I like Toby a lot, I know it's only been a few weeks but I feel like I've known him forever. He is so sweet to me Scott, I hate to say it, but you two would have been best friends if you were still here." She laughed softy as she ran one of her hands over her cheeks to wipe away the tears.

"Please Scott; I need a sign, anything to know that I'm making the right choice with seeing Toby. My heart won't be able to handle another break if this doesn't work out with him." She waited in the darkness, trying to listen for anything that she could consider as a sign from Scott.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, she placed the photo carefully back down in her drawer and moved to shift off her bed. Walking to her door, she quietly slipped out and hurried across the room to another door. Being as silent as she could be, she opened the door and closed it behind her before tiptoeing over to her friend's bed.

Lifting the cover, she slipped into the bed and turned on her side. "Em" She whispered and bit her lip as she watched Emily turn inward to face her and to her surprise, was wide-awake.

"I was wondering when you were going to come sneaking in here." Emily teased with a whisper of her own. "Talk to me, what's going on in that pretty head of yours Spencer?"

Spencer smiled at how well Emily knew her, out of the three girls, she bonded with Emily the most, and the both of them had an unspoken connection when it came to knowing when the other was hurting.

"Do you really think that Toby is a keeper?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't believe it, you know me Spence, if I have a bad feeling about anyone, I don't shut up about it until everyone knows."

"You said the same thing about Scott." She bit her lip again, this time to try to hold back tears. "And he left me, what if Toby leaves me too?"

Emily reached over and threw her arm around Spencer while she scooted closer to give her a half hug. "Spence, what happened to Scott was an accident, he never would have wanted to leave you that way, and you know that right?" She waited until she felt Spencer nod against her. "And if Toby has any brains in that handsome head of his, he will never let you go."

"Don't try to compare them Spence, it will just make moving on that much harder." She continued. "I've watched Toby and you together, you both like each other a lot and he has definitely made you happier than you've been in the last few months. Just let go with him, let him see the real you and I'm sure once he does, he is going to fall hopeless in love with you and never give you up."

Spencer smiled. "Thanks Em, you always know what to say to make me feel better."

"Anything for you babe." Emily smiled as well and kissed the top of her head. "You want to stay in here to sleep?" When Spencer nodded, Emily shifted the blankets around a bit, making sure both had a fair share of covers. "Night Spence."

"Night Em." Spencer said softy as she closed her eyes and let her worries take a backseat as she begged her mind to drift off to dream.

As quick as she fell asleep, the annoying voice of Hanna talking in her ear was waking her up. "Spencer! Wake up! "

"Hanna, go away." Spencer muttered and rolled over in the bed, stuffing her face into the pillow.

Hanna grinned and jumped on top of her friend, wrapping her arms around her thin body. "I'm bored and Aria and Emily already left, so you have to entertain me now." She rested her head on the pillow beside her.

Spencer groaned and lifted her head to look at Hanna's smiling face. "Call Caleb, I'm sure he would love to entertain you for a few hours." She laid her head back on the pillow, hiding her face once more.

"I already tried." She pouted. "He is busy running errands for the party with Toby, so you, my best friend in the whole world, are stuck with me." Hanna started hugging Spencer tighter. "C'mon Spencie, wake up."

Spencer let another groan sound from her lips before she pushed Hanna's hands away from her body. "Fine, I'm awake, just get off of me."

Hanna squealed in excitement and hopped off her friend, sitting up next to her with a big smile. "We are going to have so much fun today! Hurry up and shower my stinky friend." Hanna teased as she picked up the extra pillow and threw it at Spencer when she moved off the bed, running out of the room laughing.

"I do not smell!" Spencer shouted after her, but it was no point, Hanna was already out of the room. "Tonight can't come soon enough." Spencer spoke aloud while getting out of Emily's bed and walked out of the room.

"Hey, there is a package address to you on the kitchen counter." Hanna said from the couch when Spencer started to walk past the living room.

"From who?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow as she made her way over.

"How should I know, my name isn't on it." Hanna said as she leaned over the couch, resting her arms on the top and watched Spencer begin to open the plain white box. "Is there a note?"

Spencer shook her head while examining the box before slowly opening the top. "Oh my god." Spencer gasped as she let the lid slide off to the table as her hands flew up to her mouth to cover her shocked expression.

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The party was in full swing when Spencer and Hanna arrived outside of the hotel. "Hanna, hurry up will you, I told Toby we would be here no later than 7:30, and it's already 7:45." Spencer said as she grabbed Hanna's hand to help hurry her along.

"Relax will you. It's better to make a late entrance anyway, makes the anticipation that much more exciting. Plus, I think Toby is going to be more worried about picking up his jaw from the floor once he sees you then us being late." Hanna smiled as eyed Spencer up and down. "I am totally jealous of you right now."

Spencer smiled back and stopped to look down at her outfit. "Do you really think I look good enough for this party? I just don't want to make a fool of myself in front of Toby and all his co-workers."

Hanna reached out and placed her hand under her chin, raised her head and looked right into her eyes. "You look absolutely beautiful Spencer, and I can't wait to see Toby's big smile the second he sees you. "

"Thanks Hanna, you look amazing as well." Spencer said eyeing Hanna's dress. Hanna had decided to wear a smoked pearl dress that stopped mid-thigh, hugging every curve of her body and had a v-neck opening in the front and back, finishing the look with a pair of silver high heels. Her blonde curls were down and flowing right to the top of her shoulders. "Caleb is going to lose his mind when he finds you tonight."

Hanna smiled and sent Spencer a quick wink. "I sure hope so." She let out a small laugh. "Alright bestie, you ready to turn heads?" Hanna asked when they started walking again and was a few steps away from the door to enter the party.

"There is only one head I'm looking to turn tonight." Spencer grinned back with a nod.

The girls made their way into the hotel and followed a small group of people who were also making their way to the party. Spencer started to feel nervous as they walked closer to the room that Toby was waiting for her in. _You can do this Spence; you have been to thousand of parties like this, just smile and be yourself._ She thought to herself as her eyes came upon the huge ballroom already filled with close to a hundred people.

"Holy cow Spence, did you know that Toby knew this many people?" Hanna asked in awe as the girls stopped a little off to the side of the doorway.

"No, I thought that this was going to be a small party." She replied as her eyes tried to find Toby in the big crowd.

"Evening ladies, can I offer you each a glass of champagne?" A smiling man with a tray appeared next to them, one of his hands was holding out a glass.

"Thank you." Spencer smiled back with a slight nod as she took her glass, Hanna doing the same. Once the man left, she took a sip to help calm her rising nerves. "So, should we stand here or go looking for the guys?"

Hanna had her attention directed across the room as Spencer spoke. "Huh?" She looked back with a big smile on her face. "Well, you should go look for Toby because Caleb just found me. I'll find you in a little bit." She leaned up and kissed Spencer's cheek. "Have fun tonight Spence."

"You too Han." She called out to her friend's retreating body. Once she was out of sight, Spencer turned her attention to the large groups of business people in front of her and let a small frown play at her lips when a few older men looked her up and down with sly grins. "Okay, time to find Toby." She muttered to herself and started to walk in the opposite direction that Hanna took.

Spencer walked around for a good 10 minutes before she heard his voice over by the bar. She stopped in her tracks and stood a few feet away from him while taking in his appearance for the evening. He was wearing a pair of dark grey dress pants with a light blue button down shirt under a darker blue jacket. A huge smile appeared on her face as she thought about how good he looked in such a simple outfit.

He must have felt her starring at him because in mid-sentence he turned his head and locked eyes with her. She watched him say something to the man without breaking her gaze and with a grin; he made his way over to where she stood.

"Hi." She said casually when he stopped right in front of her, leaving a small gap between them. She watched as his eyes trailed down her dress and when he looked back up, she knew that she had picked the right one. She had chosen to wear a simple black fitted halter style dress that hugged all the right spots and stopped mid-thigh with a pair of silver heels. Her brown wavy hair was down and reached a little past her shoulders.

"Hey," He smiled and leaned closer, placing a kiss on her cheek. "You look amazing Spence." He whispered in her ear before pulling away to look into her eyes again as one of his hands rested on the small of her back.

"Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself." She said as she reached up to fix the collar of his jacket, and then let her hand caress his cheek quickly before dropping her hand back to her side.

"I see you got my gift, and just as I thought, it looks perfect." He said pointing to the necklace that rested around her neck. "Do you like it?"

Spencer reached her hand up to touch the small diamond pendant as her smile grew bigger. "I do, a lot but Toby, you didn't have to get me this."

"I know I didn't," He started as he began to guide her away from the crowded room towards the bar. "But I saw it when Caleb and I were out the other day and I couldn't help myself."

"Well, I don't know what else to say but thank you." She said as a small blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Would you like something other than champagne to drink?" He asked as he waved over a waiter and ordered a beer for himself when she shook her head. While he waited for his drink, he moved closer to her while shifting his hand from her back to his hip. "Did you girls have any trouble finding the hotel?"

"Nope, your directions were great, I'm sorry we were late. Hanna was having trouble getting her make-up just right." Spencer rolled her eyes as she finished her sentence.

Toby let out a small laugh and nodded in thanks to the waiter who placed a beer down next to him. "Well, I'm just happy that you made it when you did. You saved me from having to listen to another story about how construction was done 30 years ago." He said with a smile.

Spencer just smiled back at him as she raised her glass to her lips, taking a small sip.

"Mr. Cavanaugh," An older gentleman's voice interrupted the young couple with his hand held out to Toby. "How have you been young man?"

Toby flashed a big smile as he turned and shook the hand held out before him. "I'm doing very well Mr. Lopez, and please, call me Toby; Mr. Cavanaugh was for my father."

"A good man your father was," He said nodding his head and then turned his attention to Spencer with a half grin. "And who is this lovely lady that is attached to your arm?" He questioned as he moved his hand out to her.

"Mr. Lopez, this is my girl friend Spencer Hastings," He let Spencer shake his hand. "Spencer, this is Mr. Roy Lopez, a very good friend of the family."

"Hello Mr. Lopez, pleasure to meet you." Spencer smiled at the older man.

"Pleasure is mine my dear." He smiled back and let go of her hand to give Toby a small slap on his arm. "About time you decided to settle down Toby, wonderful girl you have here, don't let this one go." He gave him a nod and a wave goodbye, leaving the young couple alone again.

"Sorry about that." Toby let out a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his head as he sent her a worried smile. "Roy has been like a second father to me ever since I lost my dad and he's been on my case the last few years about my dating life style."

"What is your dating style?" She questioned with a smile and took a sip of her champagne.

"Let's just say I haven't used the term girl friend since my junior year of high school."

Spencer only nodded because another man came over to speak with Toby and after being introduced for the second time that night as his girl friend and seeing the surprised look on his face, she had a good idea that his dating style must have been without strings attached.

Spencer moved a few feet away to give them privacy when the man started talking about a business deal with Toby.

To say that it did not bother her would have been a lie, she had only been with one other guy who was a player type and she told herself that she would never date that type of guy again. Watching Toby interact with his clients she wonder why he decided to change his ways for her, what made her so different from all those other women.

Every few seconds, his eyes would stray over to hers and a smile would appear on his face until he suddenly excused himself from the conversation and made his way back over to her. When he stopped in front of her, he held out his hand with a grin. "Would you care to dance with me Miss Hastings?"

Spencer chuckled softly as she placed her hand into his. "I would love to dance with you Mr. Cavanaugh."

She smiled as she allowed him to lead her out to the middle of the dance floor and once he found an open area, he stopped and turned around to face her. Taking her right hand into his left, he pulled her close and wrapped his right hand around her waist, letting it rest on her back as he began to sway to the soft music. "Are you having a good time?" He asked after a few seconds of dancing together.

Spencer let her left hand rest on his shoulder as she looked at their joined hands before looking to his eyes with smile. "I am thank you for inviting me."

"I just can't get over how gorgeous you look tonight Spence." He smiled as he pulled away a few inches to admire her again. "I am definitely the luckiest man in this room right now."

"Stop it, you're making me blush." She smiled as she lowered her head a bit to hide her redden cheeks.

Toby just laughed and took a step closer to her, resting his head against hers as they continued to dance with a comfortable silence of only the music between them.

As the next song finished, Toby pulled away from Spencer and leaned down giving her a quick kiss on her cheek. "Spencer, would you be willing to meet my mother?" He asked with a hopeful gaze as he gave her hand a small squeeze.

"Of course I would." She gave him a big smile.

"Good," He said nervously. "Because she just walked in and is headed this way."


	14. Chapter 14

Spelling and grammer mistakes are my own.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! Love reading what you think of the story! Keep them coming! Enjoy everyone!

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**Chapter 14:**

Spencer felt a wave of doubt run through her body. "Toby," She used her free hand to grab his arm and pulled him closer to her. "What if she doesn't like me? I've never been good at meeting parents, let alone mothers." She said in a hushed voice.

Toby quickly pressed a kiss to her cheek and smiled. "Just be yourself and you'll do fine." He whispered back, giving her hand another squeeze as he turned to the older woman who was now only a few feet away.

"Hi mom," Toby smiled when the older woman stopped right in front of the couple, a smile of her own appearing on her worn face. "You look beautiful, as always." He took a half step forward and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Not nearly as beautiful as the young lady at your side," She sent Spencer a big smile. "It seems my son has forgotten his manners. I'm Marion Cavanaugh." She said sweetly holding out her hand to Spencer.

"Spencer Hastings." She replied shaking the older women's hand with a smile. "Toby's told me a lot about you."

"All good stories I hope." She teased while looking at her son, who let out a nervous laugh.

"Only the best ones, I promise." Toby winked. "Mr. Lopez is here tonight, he seemed very pleased about my settling down." He said letting go of Spencer's hand and wrapping his arm around her waist instead.

Marion let out a small chuckle as she grabbed a glass wine off a tray that one of the waiters offered to her. "A pleasure we have all been waiting for these last few years." She took a small sip and turned her attention to Spencer. "So Miss Hastings, are you in school?"

"Yes Ma'am, I'm currently finishing my senior year at UPenn for my law degree. I'm supposed to take the LSAT next month and I've already sent out a few applications to different law schools, so I should hear back from them after I take the test and my results get posted."

"I must say, I am very impressed, most of the young women your age still don't have a clue as to what they want for their life." She smiled and took another sip and then lowered her glass with a curious look on her face. "Hastings," She muttered the name to herself. "Are your parents Peter and Veronica Hastings?"

"Yes Ma'am they are." Spencer said with a nervous nod, unsure if that was a good or bad thing to admit.

"Very respectable people, your mother helped me with all the legal paperwork when Daniel passed away." She said as her eyes watered at the mention of her deceased husband. Toby reached out and gave her arm a gentle squeeze. "I'm fine Toby," She covered her free arm over his and gave him a weak smile before turning her attention back to Spencer. "Now seeing how you are dating my son, I think it is only fair that I invite you over for dinner next weekend so we can get to know each other a bit better, how does that sound?"

Spencer gave her a big smile. "That sounds wonderful, thank you Mrs. Cavanaugh."

"Please, call me Marion," She smiled back. "Now you two go on and enjoy this party, I have some rounds to make before the night is over. It was a pleasure to meet you Spencer," She nodded at her and then took a step to Toby, whispered in his ear and kissed the side of his cheek. "Have fun, I love you."

Toby smiled in return. "I love you too mom." When his mother left, he turned to Spencer, the smile still bright on his face. "See, that wasn't so bad right?" His voice was teasing and she could not help but smile back.

"No, it wasn't but I could sure use another drink right now to calm down."

"Sure, let's head up to the bar." He pulled her closer to his body and guided them through the mass of people. A minute later, the pair was waiting at the bar for their drinks and Toby was still smiling at her.

"Okay, spill, what's with all the smiles?" She asked.

"My mother likes you." He said, his smile growing even bigger when she looked back at him in surprise. "C'mon, did you really think she wouldn't?" he questioned after seeing her face.

"Well, to be honest, yes, most mothers hate their only son's girl friends. How do you know she likes me? Did she tell you when she whispered to you before she left?"

"She invited you to dinner." He said not really answering her other question. "My mother has never done that before, so it means you really likes you and truly wants to get to know you better."

Spencer stood there shocked. _There is no way that I am the only girl friend that she wants to have over for dinner, there is just no way._ "Do you mean to tell me that out of all your girl friends, I'm the first one that will be having dinner with your mother? How many girls did you date before me?"

"I've only had one serious girl friend and that was back in high school." He said as he grabbed his beer that was placed down next to his arm and took a sip.

Spencer wanted to press him for more answers but right as she was going to open her mouth, Hanna and Caleb arrived at their sides.

"Hey guys! Having fun yet?" Hanna asked as she leaned forward and grabbed the wine glass right out of Spencer's hand.

Spencer rolled her eyes playfully with a small laugh. "You know you can order your own drink right Hanna?"

Hanna just smirked and handed back the glass after taking a few more sips. "So, what you two been up to?"

"Had to make some rounds and Spencer was kind enough to stand through all the boring business talk with me." Toby said sending his girl friend a warm smile.

"That's it? No dirty dancing? No making out in a corner?" Hanna shook her head with a frown when the pair in front of her started to laugh while shaking their heads. "Man you two are boring. This is a party, live it up a little."

"Hanna, Toby's business partners and co-workers are here, it's not that type of party, this is a fancy dinner party." Spencer tried to explain to her friend.

"Maybe not for you because you are dating the boss man, but for me, it's always that type of party. C'mon Caleb, let's go dance." Hanna said giving Spencer a quick kiss on the cheek and then dragged a laughing Caleb to the dance floor.

"That didn't even make sense." Spencer mumbled as she brought her wine glass to her lips.

"Does anything ever with Hanna?" Toby teased.

Spencer only smiled in agreement, it was funny that the two had only been dating for a little over two weeks and yet she felt like they had known each other forever. "So how many more rounds of small talk do you have to make before we can really enjoy ourselves?" She teased him back.

"Oh, so you think I'm boring now too huh?" He asked in a low voice, his smile turned over to a grin as he stepped right in front of her, his arm that was resting on the bar was now up against her own, his fingers wrapping themselves behind her elbow as he gentle pulled her closer, his eyes starring deep into her brown ones.

Spencer was speechless, he was close to her that she found herself getting lost in his blue eyes, his cologne reached her nose and made her stomach flip in excitement. His fingers on her skin were driving her crazy and all she wanted to do was lean up and kiss him, taste him, feel his tongue press against her own. "I-uh-I never said that." She managed to stammer out in a hushed voice after she remembered that they were not alone.

When he let out a small laugh, she felt herself go weak in the knees and was thankful to have the support of the bar that she was leaning on. When he reached up and tucked back some of her hair, she had to ask him to repeat himself, since she had focused on his thumb caressing her cheek. "I'm sorry, what did you ask?"

"Do you want to get out of here?" He repeated his question with his boyish grin still playing on his lips.

Spencer looked around the room at all the guests before looking back at him. "What about all your guests? And what about your mother? I don't want to give her a reason to dislike me Toby."

Toby tilted his head in thought and a second later nodded in agreement. "I have another idea," He moved his hand to grab her own and laced their fingers together. "And I think you will like this one better." He smiled and pulled her away from the bar and started to make his way through the crowds to the large doors that led back to the main entrance of the hotel.

"Toby, where are you taking me?" Spencer asked through a laugh as they walked across the carpeted main floor towards the door label stairway.

"Shhh, you'll see in like less than 5 minutes." He teased as he opened the door for her and motioned for her to enter first. With a quick look around the deserted lobby, he followed behind her, taking her hand again and started up the stairs.

"I am so not wearing the right shoes for this!" She hissed out as she tried her best to hurry up the flight of stairs in attempt to keep pace with him. Suddenly he stopped and turned around with an amused look. "What? If I knew you wanted to jog up some staircases, I would have put on flats instead of three inch heels."

"Now if I told you all my plans I wouldn't be able to do this." Toby smiled and before she could ask 'what', he already lifted her bridal style into his arms. "Now that your heels are safe from being damaged, up we go."

Spencer wrapped one around his neck and laughed at his sudden outburst to carry her up the remaining flights of stairs. "You are crazy you know that?"

"Are you having fun though?" He asked as he carried her with ease up each step, not showing any sign of tiredness from holding her.

"Yes, I am."

Toby just smiled and after a few more minutes, he used his body to push open the metal door that led to the roof. After carefully setting Spencer on the ground, he made sure to jam a few bricks that were next to the building into the doorway to stop the door from locking them out.

Taking her hand again, he led her to the middle of the roof, letting his free hand gesture to the sight before them. "What do you think?"

"I think it's beautiful." She said as let her eyes wander out to the skyline, seeing all the other building lit up in the darkness. "Thank you for tonight Toby," She turned her attention to him, placing her hands on his chest when he wrapped both of his arms around her waist. "I haven't had this much fun in awhile and I really needed it."

Toby smiled. "You're welcome, I'm glad I could help." He paused before speaking again. "I can be honest with you?" He asked as he looked right into her eyes.

She looked back and nodded, suddenly feeling nervous at what he would tell her. "Of course you can."

"I've been dying to kiss you all night, since the second I saw you walk in and stand off to the side of the room with Hanna. It took every ounce of my being to not run over to you and lift you in my arms and kiss you in front of everyone."

Spencer couldn't stop herself from blushing, or control the huge smile that pulled at her lips. "If you saw me the moment I walked in, why did you make me walk around to find you?"

"I was worried I was dreaming because there was no way this gorgeous beauty was actually here to be with me, but when you found me and I felt your eyes on me, I knew I wasn't dreaming, you had actually showed up and I couldn't have been happier to see you."

"I can be honest with you now?" She asked as she moved her hands from his chest up to wrap around his neck. When he nodded, she leaned up so her lips were only centimeters away from his. "I felt the same way about you."

Toby smiled and decided not to waste any more time in connecting their lips in a kiss that quickly turned heated. Tongues danced together, moans slipped from their mouths and hands gripped one other in attempt to close the gap between them.

Spencer felt the burning growing inside her again as her mouth moved along in perfect sync with his, her stomach flipped and rolled with each moan she heard him make. Her heart was racing so fast she thought she was going to pass out while her brain was trying to catch up and process everything her body was feeling.

When they broke apart from their kiss, Toby rested his forehead against hers; he reached behind his head and pulled down one of her hands, making it rest on his chest, over his heart. "This is what kissing you does to me."

She smiled at the feeling of his heart beating at a quick pace under her fingertips. "Would it be weird if I agreed with you again?" She teased as she flipped their hands and let him feel her racing heart.

"Not in the slightest." He chuckled with a smile and moved his hand up from her chest to under her chin, raising her head and let their lips meet again for another kiss.

* * *

**A/N: **Just want to point something out just incase it got confusing for you readers. In this story, Toby's parents were together up until his father, Daniel died. I had mentioned during their first date that he had a step-sister, he does, it will be Jenna, but the roles got switched. So Instead of Toby's dad getting married again when his mother died, his mother got remarried instead when his dad died. (I thought it would be interesting to break from the TV storyline with his parents.) More of that will get explained when Spencer goes over to her apartment for dinner. If you are still confused, no worries. haha! :)


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