Reality

Spencer

Brooke

I stand in the backyard of Spencer's house, admiring the greenery and pool architecture. If I thought the house I'm living in next door was amazing, this house tops it by a mile. I've been in awe the entire time I've been over. It makes me truly wonder what on Earth his family does for them to reside in a home like this. I can just barely afford the rent here for three months. 

Spencer's room is massive. He gave me a short tour earlier and I couldn't keep my jaw off the floor. His closet is bigger than the bathroom I share with Mikaela and Aubrey. He has two different doors in his room that lead to balconies, one that faces the street and one that overlooks the foyer ... it's a small balcony on the inside of his house. I could go on and on about his brothers' rooms, but I'm soon pulled out of my own thoughts as I hear his voice across the yard.

"So tell me about yourself," Spencer smiles as he hands me a glass bottled Diet Coke. It makes me feel very fancy. Who just has glass bottled soda lying around the house instead of cans? He sits down beside me at the patio table and presses a button on a touch screen pad that rests on the table top, turning on a waterfall that pours into the pool. "Who is Brooke Sanders?"

I hate this question. It's one of the, if not the worst, questions to ask me. I don't know how to answer it. I don't know what people are expecting to hear from me. Am I supposed to describe my life story or only tell them the things that make me sound interesting and appealing? 

"Oh, um. Well what do you want to know?"

"Anything. I just want to get to know you," he shrugs his shoulders and takes a sip of his Coke. "Okay, let's start here: what brought you to rent a house in Beverly Hills with seven other strangers?"

"I saw an ad on the internet and thought it would be fun," I swirl my soda around the bottle for a moment before I realize Spencer is just staring at me expectantly. I assume he's waiting for me to elaborate a little more on the topic, so I inhale a breath and continue to speak. "I don't have the best relationship with my parents. My dad is a dick and my mom is too much of a pushover. Sometimes all the shit that goes on with them just gets to me and I just needed to get away from it all. This is my vacation away from the shitty reality that is my life in Florida."

It's silent for a moment, the only noise coming from the waterfall that spits out into the pool. Maybe telling Spencer, a guy that seems to have a wonderful relationship with his family, that I don't get along or even like my own parents was a bad idea. That could totally turn him off. Why is it that I always tend to make poor choices around guys that I have an interest in? Am I cursed in this department? Will I ever be able to not make myself look like a damn fool?

"Well that sucks ... that you don't enjoy being around your family," he sheepishly glances at me. Could he be any more obvious that he doesn't really like that about me? "But I'm glad you're here. California is a great place for a getaway."

I'm surprised to see him smile and move on, asking me some more questions about myself. I think I always assume the worst in people and situations that it always catches me by surprise when they do something that isn't bad. This is a horrible way of thinking, but I just can't help myself. I think my parents have disappointed me so much that I never expect anything positive to come from anyone else.

Spencer and I continue to sit at the table, chatting and getting to know one another. I learn that he's basically obsessed with playing lacrosse, he knows almost everything about all the Disney princesses because his little sister makes him watch the movies with her, and he hates gummy bears, which is terrible because I love those. 

The more I talk with Spencer, the more I begin to like him. He's a great guy. He's smart, he's funny, he's cute. Most importantly, he's single. 

"I've got to head back," I say as I read a text from Mikaela. "Do you want to come over for dinner? We do this thing where every Sunday we all eat dinner together. You could meet the rest of my housemates."