Oh, we had everything
"So where are we exactly?"
Toby was shocked it had taken her this long to ask that particular question. "New Jersey. Ship Bottom, New Jersey."
"Ooh, fun. Sounds pirate-y." Spencer's almond eyes darted with animation as she swallowed another gulp of wine.
Her exaggerated expression almost made him spit out his sip. The resulting half-laugh, half-choking sound only served to further encourage her antics.
"So should I be calling you Captain Tobias the rest of the weekend? I'll be your first mate if you'd like." She stood up from her stool at the kitchen island and raised her hand to her forehead in mock salute.
He had been called much worse in his life. "Spencer, darling?" Toby ventured, "Are you feeling a little buzzed?"
Frowning in consideration, Spencer regarded the glass before her. Switching her attention back to her blue-eyed companion, she inquired, "I've only had two glasses, right?"
"That one is your third," he answered with certainty, "and you are making quick progress."
She hummed with disinterest. "We've never been on a trip together before, you know. I mean, sure, we find ourselves randomly checked into motels on a weirdly regular basis, but those were all within 15 minutes of Rosewood's city limits. So this is a milestone for us."
"Hey, I happened to enjoy our 'random' and 'weird' motel visits," Toby responded defensively.
"Oh, sweetheart, those definitely counted as milestones too," she returned with a devilish grin. Swaying her hips with each step, she made her way around the counter. He swiveled his own stool in her direction, curious as to what her exact mission was. Not stopping until she was front and center in his line of vision, Spencer rested her hands on Toby's shoulders. "Do you think I could ever forget our first kiss in that parking lot?"
He could practically taste her pink lips. She was leaning so close, speaking in that seductive husky tone of hers. "No. I'm sure a Hastings never forgets a loss of any kind."
"I'll never get you to shut up about that game of Scrabble, will I? But that's okay, because I think I won a whole lot more." Her breath was hot against his cheek, hissing with the temptation of more.
His hands acted on their own accord, finding themselves stationed on the gentle curves of her hips. As if he could ever stay mad at her. "I can agree to that. No regrets there."
"How about the second time?" Spencer tucked her lower lip into her teeth, gnawing anxiously. "Any regrets there?"
Toby's eyes narrowed, sure that he had misunderstood. "Spencer? You don't mean—there is no way I—"
She toyed with the collar of his shirt. "You're getting flustered."
Grabbing both of her hands and holding them tightly, he stood so she knew he was serious. "Of all the regrets I have, that night is not one of them." Toby paused as a thought passed through his mind for the first time since their reunion. "What about you? Do you regret it happening like that, so fast after our time apart?"
"No." Her voice seemed small, yet steady.
"I mean it, Spencer. Our first time was different. You thought you knew everything when we started having sex, but you didn't. I was still lying to you then. I know we got caught up in the moment a few weeks ago, but do you regret it now…in hindsight?"
He literally stopped breathing as he waited for her answer.
"Toby," she whispered, her big doe eyes capturing his with a meaningful gaze, "I needed that more than anything, to know that you were real and alive and whole…and still mine. I could never regret that. I know we haven't been together since then, but I think we still have a lot of ground to cover. And we'll get there."
He released his baited breath with a smile. Pressing a kiss to her temple, Toby folded Spencer into his arms and held her close. "Do you think we're going to be okay?" he questioned from above her head, his eyes fixed on some obscure spot on the ceiling.
She felt her eyes well up at his shaky tone. "Yes. We're not the same people we were before, practicing French vocab on your porch and playing board games on a stakeout. We won't get those exact versions of us back, but that's okay. We'll be okay."
Toby rocked them back and forth, contemplating her words. Tilting his lips closer to her ear, he mumbled, "You sure are wise for a buzzed woman."
She giggled at the mention of his previous allegation. Pulling back to see him fully, Spencer echoed her words from before. "I only had two glasses, Captain!"
"And those two glasses did us all some good. I say we head upstairs for the night. I didn't have the luxury of snoozing the whole way here, if you remember correctly."
His teasing warranted a sarcastic retort from the witty brunette, but Toby barely heard it as he slung his arm around Spencer's waist and led her toward the staircase. If the weekend continued in the same way it began, he was going to need his rest. This push-pull-push-pull rhythm they were dancing to was a tough one to master, but he was willing to do whatever it took.
Because as he had once told her, their time together was not a total bust. Not even close.