It was a long morning full of cleaning up the left over wrapping paper from her small Christmas and excitement for Spencer to tell her friends about her engagement. Every second the ring was on her finger, the more and more it became more real. She was really going to be a wife. She still couldn't process that through her head. It all happened so fast, yet it felt so right. It felt perfect. Even though she was 20 and Toby were 21, it felt like she had waited her whole life to marry Toby. After the floor was cleared, Spencer pilled her gifts into her side of the closet in Toby's room, taking most of the stuff into the bathroom like lotions and perfumes, placing them each gently under the sink, in the cabinet. She felt like she could just have a meltdown, not the bad type either. Toby was just so amazing, she didn't even know what she did to deserve such an amazing and honest boyfriend, or, er, fiancé.
"Fiancé." Spencer whispered. Holy crap, shit just got real. Saying the word out loud, it felt like a new word slipping off her tongue. Toby entered the bathroom entrance, Spencer still sitting on the ground, seeming to be dazing off at her new perfume and lotion. "Choosing one to put on?" Toby asked, snapping Spencer from her day dream. "Oh, uh, no. Haha, I just am still processing." Toby half smiled, and crossed his arms, his biceps flexing. "Processing things about being engaged?" Spencer blushed at the word. "Yes, processing the fact I am going to be your wife." Toby looked down, seeming to blush himself. "I can't wait to see you in a beautiful white dress, Mrs. Cavanaugh."
Spencer laughed. "Wow, Spencer Jill Cavanaugh." Saying her new name sent chills up her spine. She was so excited. Spencer stood up, kissing Toby gently, but then kissing him harder as his hands went lightly around her waist. She pulled away, as he kissed her one more time. "My husband." Spencer whispered. Spencer looked down at her ring, and Toby grabbed her hand, looking at the ring too.
"I remember my mother wearing this. It looks so beautiful on you, Spence." Spencer was taken a step back. "It was you r mother's? Oh, Toby, this is too special…" She began to say, being considerate. Toby shook his head.
"She would've loved you Spence. I wish she could've met you. You would've loved my Mom, she was an amazing person, always happy. She told me, right around when she… died… she gave me her ring, it was too much to remind her of my dad. She told me to, 'give it to your special girl'. I didn't think that could ever be possible after my experience with my mom's death, and Alison's torture through high school, but I met you. You were this amazing girl, this pure light in my eyes. I remember seeing your smile, and thinking, 'Wow. So this is what my mom meant'. And when I kissed you, it felt more than right. It felt like I had completed a lifetime goal, it was beyond amazing. And now…" He looked at the ring, then back at Spencer. "I know my mom was right. She would've wanted this. I know she's happy for me, somewhere. I wish she could've seen how happy I am with you. Experienced her son becoming a husband, than a father, than a grandfather…" Toby looked down, his eyes growing weary with emotion and a struck of pain hit his expression. Spencer grew concerned, and she touched Toby's chin, it wobbled slightly.
"Toby… She loves you. She will be able to see that. She is watching, I promise you. She is proud of you Toby. I know if I were the mother of an amazing son like you, I would've been more than beyond overjoyed to have had you in my life." Spencer tried to get him to look at her, and he slowly did. "Thank you Spencer." Spencer frowned, her voice getting emotional too. "I'm sorry Toby. About all of that. I know it's been hard for you. The ring… It's beautiful Tobes."
Toby looked at her, and he slowly wrapped his arms around her, drawing her in for a hug. Spencer closed her eyes and let him just hold her. "I love you." Toby said surely, his voice calmer, like he reached a clear understanding, like he had finally let go. Spencer smiled, her voice growing weighed down by random specks of tears in her voice. "I love you too." Her voice cracked on the last word, and Toby rubbed her back. "No, you're not supposed to be crying Spence." Spencer laughed uneasily. "No, I'm fine." She pulled away, looking up at Toby's deep blue eyes. The light lightly traced around the right side of his face. "I'm just… So thankful. For you, for this engagement… for everything you've given me." His eyes glowed, and Spencer shook away the over emotional thoughts. "Sorry, I don't know why I'm getting so emotional." Toby shook his head, saying, "No, Spence, don't apologize."
It was quiet for a moment. Toby began to walk out of the room, and then turned around to say something to her. "Do you want to meet up with everyone later? Or do you just want to see you r friends, you know, tell them about… the engagement?" Spencer felt like she was going to pass out. Tell her friends? Wow, she was so curious at how they were going to react. "Yeah, I think we should just go and tell everyone. Here, I mean, unless you want to go somewhere else",-
Toby looked out into the hallway, then back at her. "No, here's fine. I'll just grab the rest of the presents, and bring them in here, is that alright?"
Spencer nodded, as she watched Toby move swiftly out of the room. She was about to go follow him, but she felt the urge to take a shower after that long morning. "Tobes!" Spencer yelled out, hearing him shuffling down the hall to the presents on the floor near the tree. "Yeah, Spence?"
Spencer eyed the bathroom, and then called out, "I'm going to take a quick shower!" She heard Toby almost running down the hall, and he had an armful of gifts that were in pink bags, stumbling into the room, and then setting them gently onto the messy bed. "Oh, okay." He began to organize some of the pillows back around the bed, and Spencer crossed her arms, as she whispered only loud enough for him to hear her, "I was kind of hoping you could join me…"
She saw Toby's back freeze in motion, and his hands paused on the black pillows of the bed he was organizing. She searched him for an answer, as he turned around, his eyes curious. "Really?" Spencer nodded. "Well, I live here now, AND I'm going to be your wife. Plus, my parents can't really come barging through the room anymore"—
But she was cut off as Toby's arms slipped around her waist, and he pressed a hard kiss against her mouth. She threw her hands around his neck, pulling her hips to his, her eyes closing. She heard the gifts fall off the bed as he stumbled to get closer to her, but she didn't care. He began to lead her backwards towards the bathroom, but she was already prying his shirt up. Toby helped her, and he pried off his shirt. Spencer opened her eyes to him, his deep blue eyes passionately grazing into her eyes.
Toby couldn't believe this. Well, not the sex part. But how much in love he really was in with her. He helped Spencer take off her t-shirt she borrowed from him, and he was glad she had no bra on, as he kissed her under her jaw. She laughed, and he laughed against her throat, still kissing her. She gripped him around his waist, placing a kiss to his chest as she easily slipped off her boxers she borrowed from him. Toby saw, and he slid off his signature pajama pants, then his boxers as Spencer grabbed the shower curtain, throwing it over, so she could slide inside the shower. "Mmm, wait!" Spencer called against his mouth. He pulled away, looking at her, concerned. "Something wrong?" Spencer reached for her left hand, as she pulled off the ring that rested on her hand. She reached out of the shower, placing the ring on the sink counter, and then leaning back against the shower wall. "Just almost forgot."
He leaned back down to kiss her, and he felt her body press against him, friction, heat. Spencer turned the shower nozzle, and freezing water poured down on top of them, and she gasped. He felt her skin go numb with goose bumps. "Jeez!" She shivered. Toby smiled at her small cute expression, as the water began to warm slowly up, so did they. Toby wrapped his arms around her hips, and then kisses her neck, more to the right. He knew this was one of her most tender places, her body shaking, but not from the cold anymore, but from the heat.
She closed her eyes, feeling his warm and soft lips on her bare skin. She even felt her eyes roll back into her head, as if this kiss was her kryptonite, yet, it was her drug. Her legs tightened, the muscles contracting. She gripped his shoulders, and she lifted herself up on her toes, his kiss tracing down her neck, to her place above her heart. He slid himself between her legs, the glass mirrors outside growing smeared with evaporated water from heat. She opens her eyes as soon as he does, and she sees his hair, now wet and battered down, pressed against his forehead. His chest was glowing with the warm water trailing down from it. She breathed heavily, her chest beating fast from the frequent heartbeats. Things just continued to get more heated, with heavy breathing, shaking bodies, hard kisses. Spencer was just completely losing herself in his touch. What a shower that was.
After their little shower experience, she felt a lot more trusting, well, she trusted Toby completely, but now showering with him was… Wow. Toby handed Spencer a towel from under the sink, and she smiled. "Thank you." She began to dry her hair, which was in natural beach waves, irritating her sometimes. Toby just shook his hair, like a wet dog, and the specks of water hit Spencer in the face. "Toby!" She laughed, pushing his chin up, so he was looking at her. He was smiling. "You're a human, not a puppy dog." Toby bit her neck lightly. "Relax, I don't bite… too hard." Spencer rolled her eyes, laughing slightly, before she continued to dry her legs off, then her chest. Toby just continued shaking his hair, and he just wrapped the towel around his waist, walking confidently out of the bathroom.
Spencer leaned over the counter for the sink, grabbing her ring, and sliding it gently back onto her ring finger and wrapped her towel around herself, walking after Toby. "Toby, can you grab me my brush off the side table please?" She called out, drying her hair with her towel between her hands. Toby nodded his head, and grabbed her black brush, and then she opened her hands for her to catch it. He threw it gently, and she caught it.
Spencer continued to brush through her hair slowly, her beach waves crazy, and parted slightly in the middle. There was the loud blare of her cell phone on the night stand. "Dammit." She whispered, grabbing her phone, and answering with a sharp, "Hello?"
"Um, hi?" She heard it was Emily's voice. Spencer sighed, and then she smiled. "Hey, Em! Merry Christmas!" Emily laughed softly on the end, as Spencer made her way across the room to the closet, where Toby was choosing a blue and black stripped shirt, and jeans, along with a pair of black boxers. Spencer squeezed past him, searching for her clothes for that day. She kept one hand on her phone. Toby exited the closet, kissing her cheek before he left. "Merry Christmas indeed! Did you see outside? Oh, it's so pretty!" Spencer nodded. "Yeah, yeah I did. Hey, um, do you know if you and the girls could maybe meet us at, hold on," Spencer placed her hand on the phone, calling out, "Toby!"
She heard the wooden floorboards creak as Toby reentered the closet door way. "Yeah, Spence?"
"Where do you think we could meet the girls and the others?" Toby looked thoughtful, and then just looked back over to her, tapping his finger on the door. "Maybe at that one neat bar we once went to, huh?" Spencer thought about 'that' incident and she laughed quietly, before answering with, "Yes, how could I forget." She turned her attention back to the phone in her left hand. "Hey, Em, can you meet us at the Rosewood Bar? The one near the grille later?" She heard Emily call out something, probably talking to Paige. Then she heard Emily's voice grow louder as she began to talk to Spencer again.
"Yeah, I think that will be fine. Can I ask why we are going to the bar?" Spencer had to think quickly. "It's our last day to celebrate Christmas, it'll be, uh, fun." Emily sounded confused as she replied eerily with, "Okay then, haha." Spencer paused, stopping to take a glance at the ring still placed on her finger.
Spencer leaned onto her right leg, allowing her weight to shift. She felt a little woozy, maybe from the growing nerves of telling the girls the big news. "So, I'll see you soon? Around seven?" Emily asked when Spencer didn't say anything. Spencer was sent back into reality. "Yeah, yeah, thanks Em. Can you tell Aria and Hanna the same thing?" She heard Emily agree, "Yeah, I will. See you soon Spencer! Say hi to Toby for me, can ya?" Spencer smiled, "Yes, I will. Love you Emily."
"I love you too Spence!"
Nerves everywhere. Minutes seemed hours for her, pacing was the only way to keep her breakfast down. Her hands seemed to shake every ten seconds. Why was she so shaky? Oh, right. She was engaged. This was something that would change her life forever, but in the best way possible. As she was pacing, she saw Toby's silhouette in the doorway. She saw his eyes narrow at her with uncertainty as she continued walking from the bed, to the closet door, then back, her finger to her lips. Toby walked into the bedroom. Spencer was now clothed in a black dress, a brown belt around her small waist. She left her hair in its natural waves, and she applied only some mascara and black eyeliner in the corner of her eyes.
Toby touched her elbow as she kept pacing, and then he gently constricted her arm with his fingers, causing her to stop pacing for the past ten to fifteen minutes. She stopped, and looked up at him. Toby hugged her, as if on instinct. "Why are you pacing, sweetheart?" Spencer allowed her arms around his lower back, holding herself to him. "Nothing, I'm okay." Toby pulled away, his hands still around her elbows. "Spencer, I know you. You pace after a fight with your parents, from a bad grade, or from stress. Why are you stressed?" Spencer knew she had been caught. Toby knew her far too well.
"I'm just nervous I guess. How they'll react, how everything will change…" She began, but Toby interjected. "Spencer. Nothing is going to change. I love you, your friends love you. They're going to be happy for you, for us. I know they will."
Spencer stared up at his eyes, mesmerized by just how well he did know her, how he always knew what to say to her when she felt out of place. Spencer remembered when she and Toby had first gone to the Rosewood Bar, how Spencer was going off to college within a number of days, and she wanted to just spend time with Toby. At a bar. What a bad (but amazing) idea that was:
"No, I am NOT drunk."
Spencer continued to walk in zig-zag lines around the bar, Toby grabbing her around her waist, but she kept prying his arms off her, as she continued to try to walk back to the bartender. "I need straight vodka!" She tried to call. Toby was worried sick. He only was not drunk because he wanted to take care of Spencer. She clearly was out of it, her eyes bloodshot and her hair smelling of strong alcohol.
"Spencer, stop. You're going to fall." Toby tried to pull her next to him, but she was stubborn. "Stop, I just want to have fun!" She couldn't even see in front of her. She suddenly felt her heel of her shoe die under her twisted foot, as she fell. But Toby was on guard, and he grabbed her around her waist, and under her neck, and he pulled her back up. She was so drunk, she didn't even notice her burning ankle.
"Owe! Mother fucker!" She wasn't the type to curse, but being the overly drunk teen, she was cursing every chance she got.
"What hurts?" Toby asked, as he began to help her out of the bar. Guys kept staring at Spencer, their eyes hungry and filled with lust, which made Toby want to beat them all to a pulp. But he had to focus on getting her outside and safe somewhere with him. Spencer leaned on Toby, limping with her broken black heels.
They got inside Spencer's car, and Toby found her bag thrown across her shoulder. Toby reached over Spencer after he placed her gently into the passenger seat, and she kept staring at him, drunk and filled with a sudden lust. "I want you Toby." Her voice rang, but Toby buckled her in her seat, as she reached at him, beginning to already unbutton his shirt. He grabbed her hands, and he pressed them down next ot her side, trying to make her calm down. "No, no, Spence. Relax, okay?" Spencer just laughed, and replied with a sarcastic sailor gesture from her hand to her forehead, "Aye, aye, captain." Toby rolled his eyes, as he pressed her keys into the ignition. Spencer suddenly didn't feel good, and she started to feel muffled and sad. She suddenly felt this overwhelming loss. She felt a tear fall from her cheek as Toby began to drive her home, and then, she was sobbing. Toby looked over, and his eyes widened in sadness at his sobbing girlfriend next to him. She was cold, drunk, hurting, and now sobbing all over her pretty face.
Toby pulled over at her house, and he got out of the car, running to her side, and swung her car door open, gathering her into his arms. She continued to cry, Toby shushing her gently as he carried her into her house, going up the stairs with her in his arms. He settled her into her bed, and he lied down next to her, holding her in his arms, warm and safe. "Spencer, why are you crying?" He asked, his voice concerned and gentle. Spencer grabbed his shirt, and she sobbed against his chest. "I don't want to go."
Toby felt the pure sadness. He understood. She didn't want to go to college because she wouldn't be able to see him. "Spence…" Toby didn't want to tell her she was going to be okay, because by the way she was sobbing in his chest, he felt like he was going to cry too. "I love you. No distance, no amount of time, is going to change that. I'm going to visit you every chance I have. I promise you." Spencer sniffled. "But I don't, I can't, I can't stand not being near you. It's too hard."
Toby kissed her forehead, rocking her gently. "I know, Spence, I know, but you're going to college, and I'm so proud of you, babe. So proud. You're going to outsmart every other college student, I know it because I've seen you do it here, and with me." He got a laugh from Spencer. He smiled, and continued. "I know it's going to be hard. Hell, I'm going to miss you like crazy. But I love you, and I'm not going to be thinking of anything or anyone but you. I know you're going to do amazing things. Things beyond impossible. Right?" Spencer sniffled again, and nodded slightly. "I guess so."
Spencer nestled her head into his chest, falling asleep easily in his arms. He kept her close that night, enjoying these simple seconds that would last the amazing forever.