Reflections

Nuzzling her head against the crook of his neck, with an arm wrapped around his torso, which seemed to be missing a shirt, she let out a deep sigh. Not a bad sigh. A good kind of sigh. The happy kind. The loving kind. The one that reflected how she felt. And how she felt was love struck. She was so in love at that moment. She was head over heels for the young man she had her arm wrapped around. It had become a desire to just hold him close and breathe in the scent of his manly cologne, which she couldn't get enough of.

Five years. Five years with that young man. He had been a part of her life for five whole years, and they had been the most epic, dramatic, and crazy years of her life, but it was all worth it. Even with a stalker on her back for three of those years, she wouldn't take them back for anything. Those years were the years that she got close to young man whose cologne she was breathing in. He made those years worth while.

Un-nuzzling herself from his neck, she leaned back against the wall and gazed at him. He was so cute when he was sleeping. She admired everything about him. She thought about it hard. She remembered the first time she saw him. That wasn't a good memory. She had nothing but hate towards him when they first saw each other. How did that hate turn into such a strong love? How did the one guy she hated the most become the one she needed and loved the most?

It seemed impossible for hate to transform into such beautiful love, but it didn't matter, because that's what happened. He was hers, and she was his. Even though it didn't matter how they got there, she liked to think about it. She liked to think about how she got to a place where she was so dependent on him. He was then a part of her life that she would never be able to let go. She would need him forever.

EDGEWOOD MOTOR COURT

Startled by the way his lips collided with hers, Spencer Hastings uttered out, "I wasn't expecting that", only to receive a similar statement from the man who had just kissed her for the very first time. Their friendship was sudden. And that kiss was even more sudden than their friendship. Toby Cavanaugh had managed to make her heart race in a way that nobody had ever done before.

One day after their first kiss, she was anxious. Anxious to know what it meant. Anxious to know what they were. And that's why after school the next day, she went back to the Edgewood Motor Court. She knew he would be there again. And off she went, to that motel room. Her hand nervously clenched into a fist, and she knocked slowly. What if it meant nothing to him? Fear was getting to her. Fear of being rejected. Her past relationships had never worked out, and she didn't want it to be another failure in her love life. All her friends had steady relationships at the time. Well, they all had somebody, and they were happy. She wanted to find somebody, too. And she wanted to be happy.

"Spencer."

She swallowed hard, smiling weakly at him. What was she to say? She felt stupid! She hadn't even planned her motel trip out correctly. A good Hastings would have had a plan. A plan on how to ask him. She didn't want to sound desperate and say she drove all the way to the motel to ask him if they were a couple or not. But honestly, she really wanted it to work out. She had spent the past night fan girling in her bedroom, replaying the scene of the kiss in her head. It was so perfect... the way his lips took hers captive. The way he held her waist as their lips touched. The way he held her hand before walking away. And the way he boasted about kicking her ass at Scrabble! It all made her melt like an ice cream on a hot summer day.

"Hi-i," she choked. "Can I come in?"

He nodded his head, stepping to the side and allowing her entrance into his motel room. She looked at the bed. She smiled to herself, remembering that awkward situation when she woke up in the morning cuddled up to him. She cursed herself for being so clueless. She had been thinking of him that night. Ever since she was pretty seduced by the sight of his shirtless torso. Those glistening abs... She hadn't been able to stop herself from drooling when he was changing. She had to snap back into reality and turn away before she became a real pervert.

"Toby... I... I was just... confused," she mumbled.

"I know why," he said, stepping closer to her. He cupped her cheeks, and gently brought her head up. Without saying another word, he kissed her lips softly, his hands running down her stomach and back to her waist, holding it. "I don't know about you, but... this feels real to me." He paused for a moment, and then stated at the ground. "All my life, I've never been that happy. You know... what happened with Jenna, Alison, and... yeah. But ever since I met you, that changed. I've been happy."

She felt her heart skip in joy.

"Does that m—" she began to ask, but he just grinned and cut her off with another kiss. When they pulled back, she swooned and commented, "I'm taking that as a yes."

He grinned at her, taking her hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"Do you maybe wanna play round two of Scrabble so I can kick your ass again?"

PRESENT TIME

The good, the bad, their relationship went through ups and downs. But overall, she was happy, too. They both found happiness in each other. From that day, the day at the motel where they kissed, her life had changed. November 6th. It was an unforgettable day. She smiled just thinking about November 7th, the day that Toby made it quite clear that they were official. They ended up playing that second round of Scrabble. Of course, he beat her, but it didn't feel like a loss. It felt like a win. Even when she lost, he held her in his arms, and they both felt like winners together.

She looked back over at her sleeping lover, and admired him again. He was still as adorable as ever. There was nothing about their relationship that she would change! That's how perfect it was. Imperfect, but perfect. Quite an oxymoron, but all relationships had problems. The only thing was, Spencer and Toby were different. No matter what they went through, they would love each other until the end of time.

She saw his eyes flutter open. He looked groggy as he awoke. Immediately seeing her, he grabbed her hand and yanked her in for a kiss. He just had to.

"Good morning, Mrs. Cavanaugh," he mumbled into her lips as they kissed passionately. She tugged on his hair, loving the sound of that name.

"Morning, Mr. Cavanaugh," she whispered, pulling back. "Toby?" He nodded his head, waiting to hear what she had to say. Smiling at him, she said, "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," he whispered, and hugged her.

He smiled at her again and added, "I'll always love you."