Chapter 2- Date Night

Thanks for the kind reviews and constructive criticism, I really appreciated it and I hope this chapter is a little better. And for clarification its set in the future, Toby is 25, Spence, Caleb, Hanna, Emily, Aria and Noel are 24 Ezra is 27. I don't have an update day, but I'll try to update every Wednesday and/or Friday. Please R&R. =) The words in italics are Spencer's thoughts.

Spencer POV- (Saturday Evening)

Am I really going on a date with this guy? I guess I have to I… lost… a bet. He must've cheated. No one has ever beaten me at Scrabble; I'm a Hastings for crying out loud! I don't lose. Especially not to douchebags named Toby Cavanaugh. Ugh.

I'm making my way to Hanna's house, one of my best friends; she's married to Caleb Rivers, a real hot shot. He's got nice shoulder-length hair and he's real cute. He's been a serious techy guy ever since high school, so I guess that's why he landed a job at a big IT company. And as for Hanna, she's a pretty blue-eyed blonde, who has a passion for fashion. She owns her own little boutique in Manhattan. As I pull into the driveway I notice Aria's car, she's another one of my best friends. She's small and petite but she comes with a fierce mind. Her fiancé is Ezra Fitz, a 7th grade schoolteacher. Isn't that adorbs? He's a fella with nice hair and the cutest, boyish smile you'll ever see on a 27 year old. I assume that he's here with her. Then there's Emily Fields, my last, but never least, best friend. She is a beautiful woman, with her thick, long brown hair and tanned skin. She's a jock though, a swimmer, she's training for the Olympics, which is so exciting. Her boyfriend is none other than Noel Khan, varsity football player in high school and he's a personal trainer. I see Em's car too so I guess the gang's all here.

"Hey Spence!" They all shout when I walk in. The guys were playing video games and the girls were just talking in the entertainment room.

"Hey guys." I groan and plop on the couch next to Hanna.

Aria chuckles "I can see you're so excited for your date tonight." I stick my tongue out at her and her sarcasm. I told the girls what happened yesterday on the phone last night. I'm glad they think my misery is amusing.

"What? You have a date?! Finally!" Noel says.

"No. I don't want to go on this date; the guy is a total douche." I retort.

"C'mon Spence, this will be good for you. You haven't been on a date since you and Andrew broke up." Emily encourages.

Andrew Campell was my ex-boyfriend. He left because he found someone better, he told me he was tired with me and left. I sigh.

"That's true." They all murmur.

"What does this guy even look like? You didn't mention that last night." Hanna says.

"He's fine in the face, He has gorgeous blue eyes that make you want to just die in them, he's around 6'2, and his hair… is awesome." I say unamused (A/N: well not in season 4…) "If he wasn't such a jerk, I'd say he's hot. But that's not the case, now is it? No." I add.

Ezra chuckles, "What'd he do to be such a jerk?"

"He bet Spencer to go on a date with him if she lost to him in Scrabble… and she did." Emily explained.

Suddenly, the guys stopped their game, looked at me and asked, in unison "You lost to a guy… AT SCRABBLE?!" When I nodded my head, they burst out laughing and started the game again.

"That's hilarious and totally unbelievable. I want to meet this guy." Says Caleb, still chuckling.

I looked at all of them with disgust.

"Hun, just give this guy a chance, he may surprise you." Aria says.

I take in everyone's words and I think about it. Maybe he is okay, I think.

"I have to go, but I'll keep an open mind. Maybe you're right about him." I say.

"Of course I am! I'm Aria." She says proudly and throws her hands behind her head and relaxes more on the couch.

"Now let's get you ready for that date." Hanna says with a smirk.

Emily does my makeup, it's quite light, I have a little eye-liner to bring out my big brown orbs, a light layer of sparkly gold eye shadow, pink blush, and pink lip gloss. My hair is lying down in defined curls. My wardrobe is done by Hanna and Aria. I am fiercely dressed in perfectly fitting black skinny jeans, a sexy gold top paired with ankle-length leather boots with a 4 inch solid gold heel. I have to admit I look hot. The girls praise themselves and push me in the car to go to my date, it's 7:54 and the Brew is 15 minutes away. A Hastings is never late.

I arrive in 6 minutes and am pretty proud of myself. I rush inside The Brew and brace myself for the date ahead. I walk inside to find Toby at a table. For a jerk, he has class. He's wearing a black collared shirt underneath a fitting gray sweater, charcoal jeans and black suede shoes. His. Hair. Is. Perfect.

"It's nice to see you again, Spencer." He says as he comes around the table to pull out my chair. As he seats himself, he says "You look amazing by the way."

"You don't look too bad yourself, Mr. Cavanaugh" I say.

He slightly chuckles "Thanks"

The waitress comes and we order our food. We are in a comfortable silence until Toby breaks it.

"So tell me about yourself, you've obviously read several dictionaries, so I'm guessing… Attorney? Lawyer?"

I smile a bit. "I'm a lawyer; I work at the Hastings firm."

"No wonder your name sounds so familiar, it's on a billboard!" He says with a knowing smile on his face.

I laugh, this Cavanaugh kid is pretty smooth. "Yes, what about you, what do you do?"

"I'm an architect, I was really into carpentry when I was a teenager and its stuck with me, helped me through a lot of things, so I decided to pursue it. I think it's going pretty well, I started my own business when I was 19 and it just grew, more than I ever expected it to. It's called T.C Industries."

"T.C Industries? That company is worth billions, congrats. I don't think I should be in the presence of such a prestigious man." I say with a smirk on my face.

He chuckles "I'm just an ordinary guy with big dreams. You seem a little prestigious yourself, being the #1 lawyer in New York, I'd say that's a big accomplishment. But the biggest accomplishment is that you are the most amazing woman in this city."

We both burst out laughing. Did he really just do that? After I stopped hysterically laughing, I say "Are you always this corny?" with my eyebrows raised but a smile still planted on my face.

He laughs a little more "I don't know what's gotten into me. I guess I'm just a little nervous is all." He says while wiping his hands on his jeans. Aw, he's so humble! "But don't get me wrong," he continues "you definitely are the most stunning woman I've ever seen, aside from my mother." He says seriously.

I laugh and blush "Well thank you, I hope to meet her one day."

"Wow Hastings, making future plans on the first date? You brave." He says shaking his head with a smirk.

I laugh, I haven't laughed this much in a long time. "Well," He says "I'm sorry to tell you but she's not with us anymore."

I feel so sad so quickly, "I'm so sorry Toby." I reach over and take his hand in mine.

He slightly smiles then shrugs, "It's alright it happened a long time ago, I-I shouldn't have brought her up."

"No, tell me about her." I say with a smile and sip on my coffee

"Um… okay… well, she was the light of my life. Everything seemed so much better with her presence. She was highly intelligent, beautiful and funny, much like you." He smiles. I blush at the comment. " Anyway," He continues, "she was diagnosed with cancer when I was 12, my father and I did everything we could to help her, and she fought until the day she died. But when she did pass away, I was no doubt wretched," he shakes his head, "but I was happy that her misery was finally over." That broke my heart. He has a faint smile on his face before he says "We used to watch the sunsets together and she would always tell me stories that made me laugh," He slightly chuckles " I'd give anything to have that back." I smile at him. My whole view has changed about him, he's a very sweet guy. The girls were right.

"You wanna go to my place?"

Now I'm not so sure… I look at him with a confused expression. He chuckles.

"No, I'm not a pervert or anything, its just that its getting a little loud in hereand I was thinking we could go somewhere private to talk."

My expression eases, "Sure, that sounds great," I smile "should we take my car, your car, or drive separate."