Keep Me Safe

Chapter 25: Busted

"Officer," Ezra addressed the man nervously. "How can I help you?"

The officer stared into Ezra's eyes with a cold, mean look.

"No fires are permitted on the beach after 8 o'clock."

"I'm so sorry!" Ezra apologized. "We'll be leaving, now."

"No harm done, Mr. Fitz," the officer said, cracking a small smirk.

He strutted away towards the stairway to the parking lot.

"That's officer Cook. Our neighbor, extreme hard ass, but he loves me," Ezra explained.

"Cocky, huh?" Aria said playfully.

Spencer and Toby packed up the food as Ezra extinguished the fire.

They piled into the Fitz's minivan and drove off in the direction of the house.

It was early for Spencer, but it had been a long day, causing her to doze off on Toby's shoulder. They arrived at the house and he carried her to bed. He stripped her of the sweatshirt and shoes, leaving her in his flannel shirt and her yoga pants. He tucked her in and sat on the side of the bed.

He had already grown accustomed to sleeping in the same bed as her and waking up by her side, but he was nonetheless ecstatic about the idea of being legally bound. He worried that Spencer realized that she deserved someone better than Toby, as he knew he didn't deserve her. It was a constant weight on his chest. Even though she said she loved him at least twice a day, he couldn't fight the feeling that she would wake up one day and realize that a beautiful woman like herself would be better off with another man.

Toby sat for another minute, watching the rise and fall of her chest and the light fluttering of her eyes. He assured himself that maybe everything would be okay, that God has given him this miracle of a woman for a reason, that they were each other's destiny.

No matter what was in the world outside, Toby had Spencer now, and he cherished every second of it.