chapter 10

breakfast blast

TOBY'S POV

Spencer just texted me to tell all the guys to meet up with the girls at the breakfast bar. I'm pretty damn excited to get some food into my system. I heard this place has got some nice food.

I see the girls. They're at their table. Us guys then join them at the table. I sit next to Spencer, and put my arm around her.

"Hey." I greet her, and quickly peck her lips. "I'm so hungry."

"Me too." She says.

Mmm, I can smell her shampoo. She must have recently washed her hair, because the scent of citrus is coming from her hair. I pull her even closer.

"What's with you?" She asks with a chuckle. "You're awfully touchy-feely today, huh?"

"You want me to stop?" I ask.

"Nope." She giggles and kisses my cheek. God, I love her.

Gianna's POV

Mike slides next to me and puts his arm around me. He gives me a quick greeting kiss, but leaves his hand cupping my cheek.

"Hey baby. Have you seen Ezra?" Mike asks.

"No." I shake my head. "Wasnt he in the guys room? He should have been."

"He wasn't. Caleb, Shaun, Toby, and i have been looking for him." Mike says. "I'm worried. We didnt see him after the beach last night... What if he left because of his break up with Aria?"

"No, he wouldn't do that." Caleb says. "Hanna, do you know where Aria and Noel are?"

"Yeah, they're hanging out on the beach together." Hanna responds. "Why?"

"I was just worried about them." Caleb tells her. "I haven't seen them since the beach, either."

"I texted Ezra, but he didnt answer. Aria and Noel said they're coming to meet us for breakfast, though. They should be here soon." Shaun says.

"Do you guys think that maybe Ezra is with Aria and Noel?" Toby asks.

"Toby, I don't think Arias hanging out with her ex-boyfriend..." I say.

"True. She probably went to Noel for comfort." Emily says.

"I really want to see Noel!" Jessica whines. "My poor baby... What if he's hurt?"

"Jess, he's fine." I say. "Remember? He's with Aria."

"Yeah... I know..." Jessica groans. "I want to see him, though. All of you guys got to spend time together with your boyfriends and girlfriends, and I just third wheeled with Emily and Shaun because he didnt want to come! I miss him."

"Jessica, he's coming to breakfast." Toby says. "Noel will be here for you soon, and we can ALL have some real fun at the pool."

"Ezra's probably just as heartbroken... I mean, he got dumped by his longtime girlfriend!" Spencer points out.

"You think he's eating ice cream and adopting cats now?" Mike jokes, and we laugh.

"Yeah, he's the next cat man who's heartbroken. isn't that a girl thing?" Caleb says with a chuckle.

"No, I didnt mean that he's acting like an old cat lady..." Spencer rolls her eyes. "People often get wasted, sit alone, and do stuff like that when they're experiencing relationship heartbreaks!"

"How would you know? You must have been dumped a lot, then." Mike jokes. Nobody but Caleb and Mike are laughing.

I hit my boyfriend's arm. Of course I'm going to defend Spencer, she's my close friend. That was rude of Mike, as much as I love him. Nobody, not even my boyfriend, gets to insult my best friends!

"Mike! Don't say that." I say.

"Yeah dude, shut the fuck up." Toby hisses. "No, she hasn't been dumped a lot. She's been with ME for years. If you say another rude thing about my girl, I swear to god-"

Spencer cuts him off with a kiss. That's so romantic!

"What was that for?" Toby asks with a smile, as Spencer cups his cheeks.

"For being the most amazingly protective and romantic boyfriend ever." Spencer responds with a chuckle. "I love you so much, baby."

"I love you way more." Toby smiles.

They turn back around, facing their normal directions now. Toby pulls Spencer onto his lap, and now she's sitting on it. Mike... He better step up his game! I, right now, want a Toby Cavanaugh as a boyfriend.

But I love my Mike Montgomery, anyways.

"Okay, stop being so disgustingly cute." Emily chuckles.

"Hey, there's Noel!" Shaun exclaims. "Finally, he brought his ass over. That means Aria shouldn't be too far off, right?"

Noel sits down and gives Jessica a kiss atop her head.

"Hey babe, hey guys," Noel greets us. "Sorry I ran a little late. I thought I'd wash up and take a shower before heading over here."

"Where's Aria?" Hanna asks.

"She's washing her hands in the bathroom." Noel responds. "So, what have we got to eat? Pancakes? Yum." Noel takes a piece of Mike's pancakes and stuffs it in his mouth.

I giggle at Noel.

"Hey, you asshole! Get your own pancakes, or steal Shaun's!" Mike yells.

"No way, bro. My pancakes are mine." Shaun says. "Get your own."

"Fine then. Don't miss me too much, Jess." Noel chuckles as he gets up. "I barely sat here for three seconds, and you guys are already chasing me away."

"We're not chasing you away, baby. We just don't like it when you steal our pancakes." Jessica chuckles.

NOEL'S POV

I get up and begin to walk to get myself some pancakes. I'm sort of glad they chased me away to get my own breakfast, because I can go over what I needed to say to Aria about our kiss from last night. We need to put this behind us... Ezra will smack the life out of me if he founds out I kissed his ex within 24-hours, and broke the guy code.

And Jessica... I can't bare to break the poor girl's heart. I love Jessica... But maybe I don't feel that way about her. She's always been like my best friend, and I don't want to see her hurting because of ME!

The only thing I can do to prevent heartbreak and making Ezra my official enemy is putting the kiss behind, even though I really loved the romantic feeling of kissing on a beach with the girl I've always loved. It's so cinematic!

I see Aria exiting the bathroom. I motion for her to come over to me, and she does.

"Hey Noel." She says. "Did they question us or anything?'

"No, but I want to prevent that." I tell her. "Do not speak of last night unless it's asked about."

"So what's our story?" Aria asks. "If they do ask, we should be prepared for interrogation."

"You're a smart thinker." I chuckle. "Since you're the smart one, you can think of the story."

Aria groans. "Way to put me to work, Noel. My brain barely functions properly. I'm still experiencing heartbreak here!"

"Fine, I'll think of it," I say. "We were building a sandcastle."

"A sandcastle?" Aria rolls her eyes. "We're not seven."

"I know, but it's alright!" I exclaim. "You're heartbroken, you need comforting things. Sandcastles are fun."

"Let's just say that we were hanging out on the beach," Aria says.

"Fine. And you said your brain wasn't functioning properly..." I chuckle.

She rolls her eyes. "Just be prepared for questions. And don't spill about it. Don't get nervous or anything, unless you want Jessica-drama. She'll be so heartbroken if she finds out you cheated on her. I don't want to lose a friend, either."

"Hey! Can we not think of it as me cheating on her?" I frown. "I hate the thought of cheating on someone so innocent..."

"Okay fine. Can we just get our breakfast and act normal?" She rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, sure." I nod.

We fill our trays up with breakfast items like bagels, pancakes, cereal, and bread. I top my meal off with some tangy orange juice. Orange juice has always been my favorite drink in the morning.

"So now both of you are back." Mike says.

"Yeah, we are." Aria says. "Problem, little bro?"

"Okay Aria, I'm barely younger than you." Mike rolls his eyes. "And where were you guys all morning?"

"We were just hanging on the beach, like last night." Aria casually responds. Damn, she's good at lying.

"So you like Noel better than us?" Hanna says in a mock-offended tone.

"Shut up, Hanna. You were with Caleb, Emily was with Jessica and Shaun, Spencer was with Toby, Gianna was with Mike, and I was all alone, and I just found out that Ezra is the father of some kid! Yeah, that's right- he got some woman pregnant in high school!" Aria shouts.

Holy shit. I thought she didn't want to tell anyone about Ezra's kid!

"That's why you broke up with him?" Emily asks.

"No Emily, I just broke up with the guy I'm in love with because I felt like hitting on Noel." Aria sarcastically says.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" I ask.

"Shut up, Noel." Aria rolls her eyes.

"This must be hard for you," Spencer gives Aria an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Ar."

"It's not your fault. It's not Ezra's, either. He didn't know me at the time... He was dating this girl a long time ago." Aria shrugs.

"Then why does it matter?" Hanna asks.

"I just think it's best if we don't see each other right now," Aria sighs. "It's just hitting me hard."

"Look, we're going to spend a relaxing day at the beach, so you can just calm yourself down and have fun," Jessica smiles. "A little time at the pool should cheer you up, right?"

"I don't know..." Aria mumbles. "I don't know if I even want to go."

"Come on, Aria!" Gianna pleads. "You have to go. It'll be no fun if we leave someone behind."

"Fine. Is Ezra coming, though?" Aria asks.

"None of us have any idea," Jessica responds. "He's nowhere to be found."

"I don't want to leave him behind, even though I don't really like him..." Mike says.

"I'll try calling him again," Toby offers.

"Okay, let's not worry about Ezra!" Shaun exclaims. "Let's enjoy our breakfast and our pool day!"

"Yeah, Shaun's right." Emily agrees. "This is our vacation, so let's just have fun!"

I smile. She's right. They're both right. I wanna have fun. I'm not going to worry about the kiss with Aria. I'm going to focus on Jessica and my friends, and we're going to have a blast at the pool today.

"Hey guys, is it okay if I invite my Rosewood Day buddy to tag along?" Shaun asks.

"I don't see why not," Spencer says.

"Yeah, the more the merrier." Gianna smiles.

"Cool. His name's Oliver. He might seem a little whacko, but he's chill." Shaun chuckles.

"Oh! Is he as cute as you?" Emily flirts. EMILY'S FLIRTING WITH SHAUN? What the fuck?

Am I picking up on this wrong? That was so flirting. I've flirted so much that I know exactly what flirting is, inside and out. That was so flirting... But... I'm pretty sure the last time I checked, Emily was a lesbian.

Shaun chuckles. "You'll have to tell me, Em. I don't think any girl here is as pretty as you, though."

Okay, maybe Shaun doesn't know that Emily's a lesbian, and that's why he's flirting back. Right? I don't think he'd flirt with a lesbian.

"Awkward..." Caleb mumbles.

He's picking up on the awkwardness of a lesbian flirting with a straight guy, too?

"I know, right?" I whisper back to Caleb.

"Isn't she gay?" Caleb asks in a hushed tone.

"Yeah. At least that's what I thought." I whisper.

"Well, guess she's straight now." Caleb whispers and chuckles.

"Or bisexual," I suggest.

TOBY'S POV

I'm waiting for Spencer to come out. God. Why is she taking so long? It's just a bikini. I'm usually not this impatient, but I really wanna check out that tub! Yeah, Uncle George is closing down the pool area for us, so we get a private hot tub and pool for the day. Just today, though. I really wanna hit that hot tub and get some alone time with my girl.

"Baby, are you ready?" I ask.

I'm sitting on her bed while she's changing in the bathroom.

"In a minute, babe." She responds through the door.

"Okay... I'll just continue waiting, then..." I mumble.

After another minute or so, she finally exits the bathroom. Yes, it's hot tubbin' time now!

Shit. Holy shit.

Spencer in a bikini. I feel so perverted. I like it. It's not wrong of me to like this, is it? She's my girlfriend, it shouldn't be wrong.

"Does this bikini make me look fat?" Spencer asks.

I laugh a little.

"Spence, you couldn't be fat even if you were wearing a fat suit," I joke.

"So you're saying I'm extremely skinny, then?" Spencer says.

I'm being cornered. This is a trick question. Isn't being skinny a good thing?

"No... You're perfect." I say. That's the way to do it! Atta, boy! "You look... Just wow."

"Smart boy," Spencer smiles. "I love you."

"Good, because I love you too." I say, taking her hand.

"I was hoping you did." Spencer says.

What am I doing? I'm staring at her. Stop your staring, perv! STOP! I know she's gorgeous, but I can't be staring like this. She'll break up with me if she knows how attracted I am to her right now. How can she not know that she's perfect?

NO. NOT THE PANTS. HELL NO. Great... Boner time... Could I have gotten an erection any time other than this? Not a time where I'm with her, wearing board shorts and nothing else!

She's leaning in to kiss me. Damn it. As much as I'd love to make out with her, if she gets too close, she'll feel it.

I pull away before she can kiss me. Noo, now she must feel like I don't want to kiss her, when I do!

"Did I do something wrong?" She asks.

"No, no," I shake my head. "I just wanted to hurry up and go to the pool."

"Are we turning into Aria and Ezra?" Spencer sighs.

"Spencer, I love you. I don't want to break up." I shake my head. "We're not breaking up like them."

"Then why...?" Spencer gives me a hurt face. She's so adorable, it's hard to not kiss her right now. But I can't. Or she'll know. It's just embarrassing!

"I don't know. I just ate. My breath probably-" I begin.

"I don't care about your god damn breath," Spencer chuckles. "I've kissed you in the morning, even before you brushed your teeth, and I didn't give a fuck. It's not like I'm going to break up with you because your breath smells or something."

I peck her lips.

"Is that all better now?" I ask.

"Nope," She shakes her head. "We have some time before everybody gets here... so..."

Shit.

She pushes me back towards the bed, and I'm leaning on the rim of it now. How has she not noticed yet?

"Spence..." I moan.

"Shut up, Toby. I know. I'm not an idiot. I just wanted to see if you'd confess." Spencer chuckles.

"You knew? And you let me feel all weird?" I say.

"Yeah. Problem?" Spencer laughs.

"You owe me for that!" I say.

"I'll pay you back. And I think it's cute. It's just a compliment to me." Spencer smiles.

"Now you know I wasn't lying when I said you're perfect." I chuckle. "Okay, now you owe me for what you've done to me."

Before I know it, her lips are brushing against my neck. I moan at her kiss. I scoop her beautiful brown hair up into my hand, and hold it back as she kisses my neck. Her free hands hold my bare chest. My eyes close, and I just enjoy the pleasure she brings me.

"Love. You." I whisper.

She just returns the love by continuing to kiss around my neck and chest. I wonder if she'll ever be ready for sex... We've been together for a few years, and I completely respect her decision to wait, but I really love her. I hope she knows that I'll never force her to do anything.

"Hey party people!" Mike exclaims, with Gianna holding his hand. The door bursts open. "Okay... Okay... I'm interrupting a sex scene. That's cool."

"No, we weren't-" I begin.

"Toby, we can just come back later." Gianna says.

"Gianna, I'm not doing that." I roll my eyes. "We were just... passing time."

"I see. Well, we're all ready. So the question is: ARE YOU?" Mike dramatically asks.

"Yeah man, I am." I say enthusiastically.

Mike kisses Gianna on the lips. So they can kiss but Spencer and I can't?

"Okay asshole, let's go." Mike says.

"Shut up." I say. "You already insulted Spencer at breakfast. You're practically inviting my fist to your face."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. Let's be chill." Mike chuckles. "I didn't mean any harm. It was just a playful insult."

"Whatever." I brush him off.

Mike and I were friends before. What the hell happened? Why do I dislike him a bit now? Oh right. Because he insulted Spencer at breakfast. Nobody gets to insult my girl! Not even me! I can tease her, but I'll never ever want to be mean to her. I love her!