The star that has to choose

Toby showed Maia all the safe parts of the woods and let her explore on her own a bit, with his protection, of course. They spent most of their time together, either going on dates, hanging out, or simply being near each other.

"Maia, I have a question." Toby announced one night.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go on a date tomorrow? The weather's nice and warm so we could go swimming if you want." the idea sounded good to Maia, she'd never been swimming.

"Sure, but I don't know how to swim."

"I'll teach you, don't worry." he gently kissed her forehead and ordered swimsuits to be delivered to the room immediately. "We can go tonight if you feel up for it." he suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds fun." Maia was starting to get excited about the idea of swimming and being in the lake. She'd always wondered how deep it was and what it felt like to be in the middle.

The two got dressed and Toby led them to the lake, placing their towels on the bench.

"Okay, so it's really rather simple. Come on, I'll show you." he grabbed Maia's hand and guided her into the water, her watching for any sharp rocks; but it was nighttime so her eyesight was limited.

It took about an hour but Maia quickly got the hang of it and they began swimming around, going from one end of the lake to the other. She eventually stopped in the middle and just floated there.

"Is everything okay?" Toby asked as he swam over to her.

"Yeah, listen." they both fell silent and listened to the sound of birds and other small animals in the woods and around the lake. The loudest sound was their movements in the water. "It's so quiet."

"Yeah, it is." Toby couldn't think straight as he admired Maia's silhouette from the moon.

"Are you sure I deserve to be here?" Maia finally broke the silence. "I mean, with the way my dad treated me, and then Asher and Oliver... I must have done something wrong. I just don't know what or how to fix it."

"Maia, you haven't done anything wrong. They were the bad guys, not you. You absolutely deserve to be here." he reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it close.

"Toby,"

"Yes, love?"

"You know how I said I wanted to kiss you, but I was scared?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to kiss you again."

"Are you ready? Toby asked, making sure to not get his hopes up. There was a few moments of silence as Maia thought.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I am." she turned to look at him to see how he reacted but was instead met by his hands gently holding her head and bringing their lips together, Toby expressing as much love as he could through a simple kiss. He didn't want to overwhelm her, so after a few seconds, he backed up and hoped she couldn't see how red his face had become, despite the cold water.

"Are you okay?" he asked after he got no audible response from Maia. She just stared at him, like she was trying to figure out something.

"Do that again." she smiled as he leaned back in, shooting fireworks through Maia's chest. A feeling she'd never experienced before. The two spent a little bit kissing in the lake before getting out and wrapping up in the towels.

Toby noticed Maia was shivering so he quickly led them back inside where he got a fire going in their room. "Did you have fun?" he asked as he crawled into bed next to her.

"Yeah, I had fun. Especially toward the end." she kept her eyes cast down, avoiding making eye contact.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again, noticing a change in her behavior.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to figure it out." Maia almost whispered as she sunk more into the blankets, trying to hide.

"Figure what out?"

"You."

"What do you mean me?" Toby was confused but continued to sit up, propped up on his forearm, watching as Maia tried to make herself as small as possible.

"I mean, you. You make me feel weird, and I don't know what it is or how to describe it." she finally admitted as the only part of her that was still visible were her eyes. Toby just chuckled and smiled at her.

"Try and describe it, I think I know what you're talking about."

"Well, the first time we kissed I was terrified at the start but then became more relaxed. It made my chest feel all warm even though the rest of me was cold.

Then, the last time we kissed, it made it feel like there were fireworks or something going off in my body. That's the best I can do." Maia closed her eyes, feeling defeated and embarrassed for even feeling those emotions, much less bringing them up.

"That would be infatuation, my love." Toby smiled down at her, even though she wasn't looking at him. He felt the same thing, especially right now, but he chose to hide it.

"Well, it feels weird." Maia's muffled voice came from under the covers which Toby began to slowly pull back.

"I know it does, but you get used to it and eventually it goes away. At least, that's what my dad always tells me. The excitement may fade, but the love never should."

"Do you love me?" Maia cut her eyes over at him, expecting the worst but hoping for the best.

"I believe so, yeah." Toby laughed a little bit before leaning again and sending a warm feeling all through her body with another kiss.

"I think I love you too." Maia admitted. "I wish we could kiss for longer." she complained as she started to roll over.

"Who says we can't?" Toby gently rolled her back over and pressed their lips together, holding her close and making sure she felt as loved and secure as possible. He could feel Maia getting more and more excited, which only brought him in more.

The next day, Maia woke up to Toby reading a book next to her.

"Good morning, dear." he said as he handed her a shirt to put on.

"Good morning."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Good. You know how I said I think I love you last night?" Maia said, barely keeping eye contact. Toby put his book in his lap and looked at her with confusion.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I know I do." she barely whispered, bringing a smile across Toby's face.

"I love you too, my love."