Because I had the day off from school today and I'm super excited about this story, I decided to put up another chapter.
I also wanted to clear up any questions. Toby and Spencer haven't previously met. At the moment, Toby is just Caleb's friend. We can assume that he lives near Bucks County when the story began.
I hope you guys enjoy! Please leave reviews :)
Ten minutes later, Spencer finally pulled into Hanna's driveway. She was shocked to see that she was the last one to arrive. Normally, Spencer beat even the host to a party. With one last silent prayer that everything would go okay, Spencer exited her car and walked to the front door. Before she could ring the doorbell, Hanna swung the door open, a wide smile on her face.
"Spence, you look awesome!" Hanna squealed, giving Spencer a tight hug. Hanna's one-shoulder dress was the same length as Spencer's. It was bright turquoise, and was showered in silver sequins. Her stilettos were silver as well, glittering against the light with every move she made.
Hanna let Spencer admire her dress for a second before grabbing her hand and leading her into the living room, where the rest of the crew sat. Aria's dress was all black, a contrast to the other girls' dresses. Sequined lace at the top, the material faded into a sheer mesh around her midsection, nearly revealing her stomach. Right above her hips, the mesh turned into feathers. Aria's dress was the most extravagant out of the girls, and also looked the most expensive.
Emily's dress was the simplest out of all four girls. Her dress had sheer long sleeves, with rhinestones gathering at her collarbone and wrists. The rest was covered in plain silver sequins, with the same rhinestone mesh gathering at the hem. She wore it with plain red pumps and matching lipstick. Emily didn't dress up much, but everyone agreed that she cleaned up really nicely when she did.
The boys were all in tuxedos, standing next to their dates. Emily brought Samara, who wore a silver dress similar to Emily's. Spencer was so caught up in how nice everyone around her looked that she almost missed the boy standing in the corner next to Caleb.
He had short brown-blonde hair, and glowing blue eyes. Spencer had to admit that this friend of Caleb's was far cuter than Hanna had let on to be. He also wore a tux, and Spencer could tell by looking at him that he was very muscular. Spencer must have been looking for longer than she thought, because before she knew it, he turned his head, making full eye contact with her. Spencer quickly looked away, embarrassed. He probably thinks I'm a creep now, Spencer thought to herself.
"Looks like the limo's here," Caleb announced, taking Hanna and leading her to the door. Aria and Ezra did the same, followed by Emily and Samara. This left Spencer and Caleb's friend at the back of the crowd.
"Hi," he said, walking towards Spencer so he could be next to her.
"Hello," Spencer responded back, giving him a sheepish smile in response. He even sounds cute, Spencer thought to herself, cursing herself for thinking bad things about this boy.
"I'm Toby," he said, sticking out his hand. "Toby Cavanaugh."
"Spencer Hastings," she responded, shaking his hand. Spencer couldn't help but notice the spark she felt when their hands touched. It was as if an electric current shot through his hand and into hers. Spencer almost instantly pulled her hand back, feeling herself blush.
"We should go before they start to suspect something," Spencer mumbled, feeling humiliated.
"After you," he replied, letting Spencer lead the way.
The Escalade limo looked huge on the outside, but sitting next to Toby made Spencer feel like they were in a clown car together. She replayed how they met over and over in her head, and she couldn't help but to feel extremely embarrassed. He had to have thought she was a freak. After all, who freaks out over something like a handshake? People shake hands all the time. But Spencer couldn't deny what she felt when their hands touched. She could still feel her fingertips tingling if she concentrated enough. Spencer quickly shooed those thoughts out of her mind, determined to not make a fool of herself for the rest of the night.
Fifteen minutes later, the crowd arrived at the Aspen, Rosewood's finest restaraunt, and were seated. Spencer sat across from Toby, trying extremely hard not to do anything humiliating.
"So, Spencer, what do you like to do?" Toby asked after a few moments of awkward silence.
"I play field hockey, and I read and write," Spencer said, taking a sip of water.
"That's nice," Toby replied.
"And you?" Spencer asked, attempting to keep the conversation going.
"I'm a carpenter, I like to make different things. Right now, I'm working on rocking chair designs for a company in Bucks County. If they like it, they'll hire me for a full time job," Toby responded, a smile growing on his face. Spencer didn't know much about Toby, but she could tell that he loved his work.
"You enjoy it, don't you?" Spencer asked, smiling back. I'm actually carrying on a normal conversation with him, Spencer thought, impressed with herself.
"Yeah, I started carving things out of my headboard when I was ten. I keep it now just for the memories. I started making things when I was fifteen. It was my way of keeping myself occupied after my mom passed," He mumbled, looking down at his hands.
"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked," Spencer apologized quickly, mentally scolding herself.
"It's okay, Spencer, you didn't know," Toby assured, giving her a sad smile.
"Um, I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be back," Spencer murmured. As she stood up, she knocked her glass of water over, spilling it all over Toby.
"Oh my God, I am so stupid, what's wrong with me? I'm so sorry, Toby," Spencer pleaded, grabbing as many napkins as she could to help clean up the mess.
"It's okay, will you bring those outside and help me clean up?" Toby asked. Spencer nodded rapidly, following half a step behind him on the way out.
"I really am so sorry, if you need another suit I can let you borrow one of my sister's fiance's for the night. I'm sorry, your night's probably ruined," Spencer sighed, handing Toby more napkins.
"Hey," Toby said softly, taking a step toward Spencer, "I'm okay. Don't worry about it. It was just water."
"I know, but I know that suit's expensive, and you're soaking wet. I'm glad you aren't mad at me," Spencer said, honestly relieved that Toby wasn't upset.
"It's no big deal, promise," Toby laughed, taking a seat on a bench nearby.
"Do you even want to go to this thing?" Spencer pressed, slowly walking towards him.
"Oh, God no, I just came because Hanna practically begged me. She said her cute friend needed a date for tonight," Toby claimed, a smirk growing on his face.
"She said that? Oh my God! She makes me sound so desperate," Spencer moaned, smacking her hand lightly to her face.
"I know how Hanna is, I figured she was being a little dramatic," Toby said, scooting over so Spencer could sit next to him. Spencer carefully sat down, making sure not to wrinkle her dress.
"You know, Hanna was wrong. You aren't cute," Toby began, "Spencer, you look absolutely stunning tonight."
"Thank you," Spencer marveled in surprise, feeling her cheeks turn pink.
"You wanna ditch this lame dance? We can just stop and make a donation," Toby suggested, standing up from the bench. He held his hand out, helping Spencer up.
"Sure, but what will everyone think if we just go off on our own?" Spencer asked. She knew how her friends were, especially Hanna. If Spencer went off with Toby, she would never hear the end of it.
"Just tell them you feel sick, and that I'm going to walk you home and make sure you're okay," Toby advised.
"Okay, I'll be back," Spencer said, turning around and walking back into the Aspen.
"Ugh, my feet hurt," Spencer moaned, stopping to take off her heels. She was surprised that she made it this far, her house was less than a block away now.
"Here," Toby leaned over, untying his shoes. Before Spencer could respond, he handed her his shoes, leaving him with only black socks covering his feet.
"I can't take your shoes. I'll be fine, my house isn't far from here," Spencer reassured, handing him his shoes back. He refused to take them.
"Spencer, have you seen those? I don't know how you could walk in them in the first place," Toby pleaded.
"But what about you?" Spencer asked, feeling extremely guilty. First you spill water all over him, and now you're taking his shoes, Spencer thought. Good job, Spence.
"I'll be fiiiiine," Toby moaned. Without anymore questions, Spencer slid on Toby's shoes. They were twice the size of Spencer's, and she had to tie them so tight the laces wouldn't stretch any farther just to keep them from sliding off, but she had to admit that her feet felt a million times better.
"Do you want some coffee?" Spencer asked, pouring herself a cup.
"Depends, do you make good coffee?" Toby asked, grinning at Spencer.
"I make the best coffee," Spencer proclaimed, pouring another cup and walking into her living room. Toby was sitting on the couch, wearing Melissa's fiance's sweats. His tux, still damp from earlier, was carefully laid out on the loveseat beside them. Spencer had changed as well, leaving her dress upstairs for a Rosewood High varsity field hockey hoodie and a black pair of yoga pants.
"Here you go," Spencer said, handing Toby his coffee before plopping on the couch beside of him. Toby took one gulp of coffee before spitting it back into the cup.
"Jesus, Spencer, what kind of coffee is this?" Toby said between coughs, handing her back the full cup.
"Extra dark espresso, it's the only thing that keeps me going in the morning. You get used the taste after a while," Spencer laughed, sitting the cup on the table in front of them.
"I am never letting you make me coffee again," Toby teased, throwing his head back in laughter.
"Again? So that's like a second date?" Spencer questioned, biting her lip.
"You know, I guess if I'm that determined for you to not make me coffee again, then yeah I guess there's gonna have to be a second date," Toby joked, but Spencer could tell he was being dead serious as well.
"So, what should we do? I mean, since this is our first date and all, shouldn't we do something special?" Spencer asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.
"Go get your dress," Toby motioned upstairs, "I'll be waiting for you when you're done."
Spencer stood in her bedroom mirror, making sure she didn't look awful before she made her way downstairs. She shook her fingers through her hair, readjusting her bobby pins. She put on a fresh layer of mascara and a light coat of lipstick on her lips. Spencer took one deep breath before she left her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
When Spencer walked down the hallway to get to the stairs, she noticed Toby's tux was missing from the couch. She turned the corner, and found Toby leaning against the kitchen counter, like she had just moments before.
"Wow," he said, completely in awe of the girl standing in front of him.
"You look really great tonight, Toby," Spencer declared, walking towards him.
"You're beyond beautiful, Spencer. Whether it's in a dress or in your sweats," Toby stated, nearly closing the distance between them. "Wanna dance with me?" Spencer nodded, a smile spreading from ear to ear. She walked to the stereo system in the corner of the room, turning it on the first song she knew. It was 'Sea of Love' by Cat Power, which was one of her favorites. Toby grabbed her by the hand, twirling her around before pulling her close to him. They swayed in silence for a few seconds before Toby spoke up.
"I'm really glad I got to meet you," Toby whispered in her ear, moving his hands to her waist.
"I'm glad I got to meet you too," Spencer murmured back, laying her head against his chest. She could feel his heart beating rapidly, giving away that he was nervous too.
"What are you nervous for?" Spencer asked quietly, tilting her chin up to meet his eyes. Before she could answer, he leaned down and kissed her. His lips weren't urgent, but instead like they were eager for more. They had only known each other for one night, but they could tell that there was something magical between them.
"I have to go," Toby pouted, "but I'll see you tomorrow for that second date."
"Goodnight, Toby," Spencer said softly, leaning on her tiptoes to kiss him one more time. She laid her forehead against his afterwards, staring into his nearly turquoise eyes.
"Goodnight, Spencer."
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