Spencer wandered around the house, finding simple things like bathrooms and cupboards while couples began to fill in. To start off with, there were three other couples and three singles: two guys and a girl, who were running late.

                The first pair Spencer ran into was Jamie and Joe, a man and a woman both in their mid-twenties. Jamie had a shimmering diamond necklace around her neck, along with a matching tennis bracelet, her handshake firm. “It’s really nice to meet you. I love your bracelet,” Jamie had complimented politely. Spencer figured she might be friends with her.

                Then there was Madison and Parker, the couple that was kissing by the pool. Both looking like they were straight out of a magazine. A stereotypical, blinded-by love relationship, Spencer thought bitterly.

                She also met a girl around her age named Emma. She shook Spencer’s hand with a small grip and said that her boyfriend, Brandon, was already upstairs to find the best room.

                The two singles were attractive, to say the least, Spencer figured as she glanced around the room. With light hair gelled up, they looked like Toby doppelgängers, Spencer comprehended with a giggle. Of course, they weren’t Toby; no one could equal the stunning man she considered to be her best friend. Sure, maybe these guys looked pretty, but not in the unique, breathtaking way that Toby did.  Just the thought of him was enough to make her irritably say goodbye to the new people downstairs just to see what he was up too.

                Rushing up the stairs, Spencer stopped when she heard the blonde girl, Madison’s loud but relaxed voice yell to everyone, “Twenty-eight minutes until we meet in the front yard!”

                She nodded in understanding and ran up until she was in the long hallway. Looking around, there were multiple names written in perfect cursive. The hall itself was normal and reminded her of a hotel, so she figured the rooms would be exactly the same. But she was certainly wrong.

                Finally, coming across the door labeled Spencer and Toby, she grinned and turned the nob with a simple click.

                The first thing she saw upon opening the door was a hot tub. Right in the middle of the room! Her jaw dropped in excitement as the bubbles rushed to the blue exterior, the tub illuminated by changing lights at the very bottom. Their suite had its own living room! She squealed eagerly, dropping her purse on the white leather couch as she ran into her bedroom like a kid on Christmas.

                Her jaw practically unhinged at the beauty of her room. With the ceiling at a triangular slant to match the ceiling, it was shaped perfectly, the wooden top practically a huge, romantic umbrella. The window was massive, covering almost the entire left wall with a beautiful view of downtown Los Angeles. Spencer smiled and fell back on the soft bed. She tried to contain her childish giggle at the place she could now call home, but simply couldn’t.

                Then, with a shock, she realized the bed already smelled like Toby. With its manly scent of fragrance and summertime absorbed into the blankets, Spencer knew she would be sleeping well that night.

                After lying there for a moment, she finally yelled into the grand suite, “Toby!”

                There was a short pause before she heard his muffled response: “Shower, Spence!”

                Her thoughts were brought back to authenticity when she heard his words; she only had 15 minutes before there would be cameras watching her every move, zooming in on her face and making her slight imperfections even more noticeable. She needed a shower too.

                Taking her shoes off and rushing into the bathroom, she rested against the doorframe. “Please tell me you’re almost done!” she begged anxiously.

                The sound of water falling was very loud and it was almost impossible to even see the shower curtain through all the steam. Motivated, Spencer crossed her arms over her chest. “I just got in. Why?” he yelled over the sound.

                “Seriously? We have to be down in ten minutes, Toby. I need to shower too.”

                She could hear the shower curtain slide to the side a bit so he could stick his head out, though it was nearly useless. The steam was thick anyways. “Just jump in the hot tub.”

                Spencer laughed, dropping her jaw in mock anger though she couldn’t hide her amusement. “Or I could kick you out and put you in the hot tub,” she joked. There was a long pause while Toby pushed the curtain back into place and continued to let the water fall down his perfectly sculpted abs…

                She realized she was daydreaming and mentally slapped herself. “Well…” she started.

                “Just jump in,” he suggested after a moment. Spencer’s eyes widened more than they should have, her heart picking up at an unnatural speed. Did he just say when she think he did…?

                “What!” she practically gasped.

                There was a loud laugh from Toby that made her chuckle also; she just couldn’t help it. Whenever Toby laughed, she laughed. Whenever he smiled, she smiled. Whenever he cried, she cried; they were just liked that way. “I meant, put on your bathing suit and jump in.”

                Spencer let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. “Oh. Duh…” Biting her lip and turning back to the room so she could rummage through her suit case, Spencer glanced back in the shower nervously.

                Within about a minute, Toby could hear Spencer’s heavy footsteps in the bathroom again. He sighed to himself, rising shampoo out of his hair when her soft voice interrupted his brief relaxation. She warned him to throw on a pair of swim trunks which he quickly put on with a laugh. Finally, Spencer hopped in.

                “Why are things so complicated between us?” she giggled, the sound making Toby grin widely. He made sure all the soap was out of his hair, opened his eyes, and stepped back so that Spencer could get underneath the water.

                “Because we’re…” he trailed off a second he got a good glimpse of her, completely forgetting what he was about to say. He was 100 percent, for the first in his life, at loss for words. There she stood, running her fingers through her hair.

                When Toby stopped speaking, Spencer curiously opened one eye.

                He bit his bottom lip, so hard he wouldn’t be surprised if he drew blood. “I…I, uh…” Think! His mind screamed at him, along with every cell in his body, but his lips could not form the words. “I…I forgot.”

                Spencer questionably arched a brow at him, but ignored the statement. She slowly stepped back, now letting Toby walk under the water. “What do you think the first challenge will me?” he asked when he could finally form words again.

                “I don’t know. Hopefully thriller movie trivia.”

                Toby chuckled. “Doubt it, but…” He turned around so he was facing her, taking a playful step closer. “We’d win at that.”

                Since Toby laughed, so did she; she couldn’t help it. Smirking, Spencer suddenly leaned closer. She gripped the back of Toby’s neck, the action accidently bringing her hopelessly closer to him. “Hello, Toby,” she whispered into his ear. “What’s your favorite thriller movie?”

                He breathed out sharply. Was he supposed to respond? Of course, but once again she gave him that wobbly feeling that made him forget what words even were. Before he did anything he’d regret, Toby stepped away from Spencer. But as soon as he did, her eyes fell on his and it was clear she wasn’t thinking about Tim Burton movies either. With the forgotten hot water going cold and continuing to pour over them, Toby absently took one step closer, his eyes briefly going to her lips, perfect, soft lips that occupied his dreams. Perfect, soft lips he’d kiss without the passion

                But suddenly, those lips were moving. “We…we’re running late,” Spencer managed to get out, clearly frazzled and shocked at the concentration of the moment. Quickly and wordlessly, the turned off the water and excited the bathroom. Toby was shocked and nervous, frightened that Spencer had seen him staring at her with that heavy look of desire.

                But she hadn’t.

                She was too busy looking at his lips