That night Toby took a shower.

                Toby ran his hands through his hair and allowed the water to steam over his face, washing away any sign of Jenna that had been there. His lips burned with the taste of her own lips on them: whiskey mixed with cinnamon mixed with heartlessness. To make things worse, Spencer saw the kiss.

                He was sure that if he was making any progress with Spencer it was completely diminished from that stupid challenge.

                His stomach twisted in fury. He hated Jenna, loathed her with his entire being; he never even mattered to her. She only gave him the time of day because he was innocent then and willing to fall in love without even know what love was. Looking back on it, they had the exact contrary of love. Half the time he couldn’t tolerate her, but was too terrified of losing her. When she left town without telling him, he soon learned it was the best thing that ever happened to him.

                He would never had considered dating Jenna if Spencer hadn’t been with Alex Santiago in the first place. But Jenna had the magic skill to distract him for a little while, keep his thoughts off of his best friend, who surely didn’t feel the same.

                It was funny, though. Soon after Jenna left town, Spencer broke up with Alex.

                Toby let out a heavy breath and turned the water off. Wrapping a white towel around his waist, he exited the bathroom and walked into the bedroom, dimly lit from one of the lamps on the beside. Spencer was on her side, already in her pajamas, rubbing lotion from a bottle on her legs. Her skin shone like silk in the lamplight and it took her a moment to realize he was there. He smiled softly and thought that she looked simply beautiful when she was deep in thought.

                Finally, she turned to look at him, giving a small smile. “You okay?”

                Toby exhaled deeply. “I hated that challenge.”
                He watched as Spencer turned her back to him again and continued to pump lotion in her hands. “I thought you would have liked it,” she commented simply, emotionlessly. “I mean, after all, she was your first love.”

                “No she wasn’t,” Toby replied instantly. In response to that, Spencer interestedly tilted her head without revealing her facial expressions. He winced when he realized what he said, wondering if she knew he was talking about her. “I went out with Jenna because I’d never be able to be with the person I wanted.”

                Finally, Spencer turned her head. “Huh,” she said, her emerald green eyes full of shock. “I did that with Alex. I mean, I thought I could love him, but…”

                Toby smirked sadly. “It’s not that easy.”

                Spencer looked at him that twinkle in her eyes reminding him why they were best friends. It was crazy how they could relate to each other without even knowing it. “No. It’s not that easy,” she repeated.

                He laughed, a low, amused chuckle that made her giggle too. “Well then,” he started as he plopped down on the bed despite his soaking hair and wet towel. “High five for a wretched love life!”

                Spencer giggled and shook her head, rolling her eyes. She rolled over and whispered in her ear, “Hey, at least I have a fantasy love life!”

                He smiled widely at that. Spencer grinned at him and rolled on his back, looking at the wedge-shaped ceiling, the room falling into a comfortable silence.

                “But,” Spencer said after a quick break. “If you really do want Jenna, don’t let the show get in the way. I mean, if you really love her…”

                “I don’t.”
                She bit her lip to hide the smug smile from his quick, positive response. “You know, I think we did a good job today. That Liam guy seemed disgusted with us. She watched as Toby closed his eyes, his lips turned up. She took the moment to her advantage and quickly raked her eyes over his perfect torso.

                “I wonder if they got any of the shower on camera,” he commented, keeping his voice low. “I bet that’d be interesting television…”

                Spencer glanced up at him from the corner of her eye. “You were acting odd though.”

                He opened one eye to glance down at her. “So were you.”
                Spencer looked at him strangely. “It was kind of intense.”

                Toby then opened both of his eyes, turning on his side so that his bright green-blue eyes burned in hers. “I thought so too. Maybe the show’s getting to us a little bit.”

                She shrugged, sighing. “Maybe.”

                “Is...Is that a bad thing?”

                Spencer didn’t dare blink under the intensity of Toby’s stare, wondering if he could hear her heart pick up speed. “Maybe,” she barely got out.

                He turned on his back and she did the same. “Yeah,” Toby repeated. “Maybe.”

                Once again, there was a long pause as they both looked up at the ceiling, in their own worlds, enclosed by their own personal thoughts. After about a moment, Toby and Spencer hesitantly turned at the same time.

                “Spencer…”

                “Toby…”

                Their eyes briefly met and they didn’t know how it happened, but within less than a minute, they were kissing.

                This was different than anything either of them had done before for the cameras. This was much different, fused with raw passion and unhappiness and frustration. They didn’t know what had come over either of them, but it didn’t really matter at this moment.

                Spencer sat up, her fingers tangling in his dark, coffee hair. She could feel it in the kiss: all the pent up passion he’d been holding back, completely coming undone and flooding to her, and feeding her soul. She eagerly returned the passion, no longer feeling the nagging influence in the back of her mind. It was a strange feeling, but a good one, particularly when her arms are wrapped around his shoulders. This wasn’t a gesture of happiness that they were sharing; no, it was a gesture of longing and desire.

                Spencer ran her hands along his smooth back, relishing the feel of his skin under her fingertips. She never realized how good of a kisser Toby was until now and she was loving every minute of it. She ran her hands along his perfectly toned abs. He was so perfect…

                Finally, they both had to pull away for a much needed breath, their hazy eyes meeting as they did so. Toby could feel her sweet breath against his lips and suddenly, as her shiny green orbs met his, reality snapped back into place.

                Breathless and in shock, Spencer looked down at Toby. “What just happened?”

                It took him a few seconds before he could even speak, his cheeks a bright red and his lips parted to take in oxygen. “I don’t know.”

                They just stared at each other for a long second. “We’re just….we’re just getting into character,” she reassured him, careful to make sure no cameras were in the room. “I mean, we’d never do that back home. It’s just because we’re doing what people in relationships do. They make out all the time, right? So…it’s not odd or anything. It’s just…you know what I mean.”

                Toby laughed a little at Spencer’s babbling, though inside he was screaming. How stupid of him! He’d come so close to ruining his friendship was a kiss from her he’d been dreaming about for years. “Of course. Like we said earlier, it’s just the show getting to us. It has to be…”

                Spencer nodded, simply smiling, an attempt to ease the tension created between them. “You know what,” he announced. “I’m going to sleep.”

                Toby quickly turned on his side and shut the lamp off. Spencer bit her lip and nodded, watching him intently. It only took a few minutes for his breathing to soften and his lips to part in that signature way that indicated that he was already deep asleep. With a touch so light it couldn’t wake him, Spencer brushed Toby’s hair off his forehead. “Goodnight, Toby,” she whispered.

                She gazed back at him for a few more moments, briefly wondering what would have happened if she pulled away and told him what really came to mind, that she’d been waiting to kiss him since fifth grade. But of course, she bit the words back.

                Because she was sure that despite the passion in the kiss, there was no way that Toby felt the same way.