A/N: First and foremost, this is fiction. I can't get Zanessa off of my brain and even if they have gone in separate directions, I'm having a really hard time separating their two names from my imagination, vocabulary, daydreams, etc. With that in mind, there have been little tidbits here and there that just make me wonder if...and what if...and well, a LOT of other things regarding their relationship and this so-called break, or break-up (which causes emotional roller coasters for me on so many levels!). And while I have several thoughts and ideas for this story, please know that the updates will likely NOT come quickly. Blame the previously mentioned roller coaster for that, along with r.l., work & family. Just want to warn you ahead of time!
Note #2, as always, I own nothing of Zac and Vanessa except several tubs of magazines, merchandise & memories.
And finally, note #3... For a little added reference on this particular chapter, see Scenarios: Everday chapter 20 - Blessed. Parts of that chapter are referenced in this one. This story begins in Hawaii, during Z's Thanksgiving visit while V was shooting Journey 2.
I hope you'll enjoy this little fictional trek into my Zanessa imagination! Thank you cncgrad & jerrysgirl for your continued support!
As always, reviews, pm's, e-mails, etc are MORE than welcome. :)
KTZLF - adg
"Marry me."
Zac's hands froze on her shoulders when she said the words. He and Vanessa had struggled the previous day with the schedules that were about to tear them away from each other. Neither had actually wrapped their heads around the uncertain future and neither really wanted to.
When they had gone to bed the night before Vanessa had turned her back toward him but curled her nightgown-clad body against his, using his biceps as her pillow. Zac had felt the tears against his skin when he wrapped his other arm around her and gently kneaded the silk cloth that covered her stomach. He placed kisses on the top of her head, squeezed her softly and just let her cry – while he did his best not to.
He had expected to wake this morning with Vanessa still attached to him in some form or fashion. He was a little confused when he opened his eyes and felt no trace of her against him. That's when he looked around the room, listened to see if she was perhaps in the shower, and then caught sight of her figure sitting on the balcony looking out at the Hawaiian coast.
Zac opted to roll from the bed and join her as Vanessa stared out toward the morning ocean waves. She jumped a little when his hands started massaging her shoulders but she quickly relaxed – as much as she could – into his masterful touch.
"Have any good dreams last night?" Zac asked, just trying to make her smile and strike up conversation. He noticed she didn't give him the option of sitting in the chair next to her. Nor did she even attempt to answer his question. She sat silently, mulling over the ocean of thoughts that had been rushing through her brain.
His fingers pushed into her neck muscles before Zac leaned over to her ear. "Do I even get a good morning kiss?" he asked genuinely and then waited with his face stationed less than an inch from hers.
Vanessa turned toward him and offered a smile with her lips pressed together. She puckered slightly and met his lips for a soft, simple kiss before closing her eyes and pressing her forehead against his.
"You wanna tell me what you're thinking about out here?" Zac attempted to get his girlfriend to open up to him. The kiss was just step one in the process.
Her voice finally sounded softly in the morning breeze. "The ocean's pretty amazing isn't it? You could build a sand castle, dig a hole, or write something on the beach and then the waves just come up and wipe it away."
"Mmm-hmm," Zac answered before pulling the other chair around behind Vanessa, sitting down and then going back to his massage. He looked at the various waves in her hair that flowed down to the thin, satiny covering on her shoulders where his fingers were working diligently to help her relax.
"Life kinda happens like that, doesn't it? You build something, or think you know just how far away from the water you have to get to be safe… but you just don't know how far up the waves are gonna come – and then they just roll up there and the next thing you know it's gone. And you have to start all over again." She let her thoughts roll out of her mouth knowing that he probably had no clue what point she was trying to get across to him.
His fingers twitched as he thought about the metaphor she was attempting to describe. "Those same waves are what we like to feel pushing the sand over our toes…but if you're too far out in them they can knock you down," Zac added.
Vanessa nodded and leaned her cheek over onto his hand. Zac used his index finger to brush up against her skin. Vanessa closed her eyes, making sure to enjoy the feel of his touch, the sound of his voice and just the quiet time together.
Zac ran his fingers up into her dark tresses and pressed on her scalp watching her lean back against his palms. "You didn't sleep well last night, did you?"
She shook her head to answer him. "I don't want to think about what happens when you leave Hawaii, Zac. And yet, it's all I can think about." She pushed a sarcastic huff through her nose. "I have to be back on set tomorrow and I'm clueless what my lines are because all I can think about are different scenarios that can undo this scheduling mess."
Her muscles tensed under his fingertips and Zac noticed the defining force that appeared in her voice. He raised his eyebrows in curiosity hoping he wouldn't push her farther by asking his next question.
"Do any of those scenarios hold potential?" he spoke quietly, trying to let her know that he was genuinely interested in her thoughts.
Vanessa's heart pumped a little stronger in her chest as she pressed her lips together and stared back at the beach and the rolling water that continuously pushed onto the sand.
She took an extra few seconds to lick her lips and pull the tears back into her eyes. "I love you," she whispered almost low enough that Zac couldn't hear.
"Ness, don't hold it in. If there's something you're thinking, tell me, please. I'm open to anything; you know that. I love you too. And I want to have all the cards on the table, whatever possibilities are out there I want us to consider them." He encouraged.
Vanessa sucked in a breath and held it when she sat up a little straighter. "Any possibility?"
Zac squeezed her shoulders and sat on the edge of his chair to rest his chin on her shoulder. "Anything."
Vanessa sat for another minute thinking about the words she wanted to say. The idea that had brought her out to the balcony two hours prior was absolutely crazy. It was completely out of the question. But it just might be so far out of the realm of possibility that they could make it work.
She touched the edge of her teeth against the softness of her lower lip and turned her face to try and meet Zac's gaze. When their eyes met she didn't smile, she just offered the words that kept making their way through her brain.
"Marry me."
KTZLF*TLFIW
Zac removed his hands from her shoulders and sat back in his chair as he let her words sink in. Vanessa noticed the hardened look in his eyes, his eyebrows creasing toward the center, his lips nearly puckered meaning that he certainly wasn't expecting those words.
Vanessa stood up and moved to the railing of the balcony. She turned around and leaned against the wood. She watched her boyfriend as he sat silently. "You said 'anything'. That's what went through my head…it's been going through it for two hours now. I know it's nuts, but you said 'anything'."
Zac avoided her line of sight and watched the water. His eyes glazed over as he refused to blink while her words kept playing over and over in his mind.
Vanessa didn't say another word. She turned back to face the beach and placed her palms against the barrier. She tried to formulate the words she would use to explain her thoughts to Zac – should he choose to want to hear more.
His eyes began to focus again when she turned her back on him. He moved his eyes around till he could register her nervous body standing just a few feet in front of him.
"Did you just propose to me?" he asked as her words rambled again through his ears. He wasn't exactly sure how his voice sounded, other than he was in complete shock.
"I know, I told you, it's crazy," Vanessa shrugged. "But…there's a reason for my insanity." Vanessa spoke without turning to look at him.
She heard Zac breathe in and then move around a bit. She closed her own eyes trying to wrap her head around her thoughts, the words she had just said and what more she wanted to say.
"I…I'm not saying let's get married this weekend. I'm not even saying in the next couple of months, or years for that matter. Frankly, I don't even think we should tell anyone that we're making plans – or that we're engaged." She defended. "I know we've talked about it and stuff…thinking about the future…" her voice lowered as previous discussions entered her mind. "But this is the first time that us being apart has been…a reality, I guess."
Vanessa looked down at her tanned hands on the balcony rail. Then she felt Zac's arms wrap around her from behind, his body gently moving from side to side as he encased her body against his. She leaned her head back against his chest and waited for his reaction.
"You're right," Zac mumbled slightly as he tried to bring his mind into Vanessa's wavelength. "That's an absolutely crazy idea that is just about 180 degrees opposite from what we discussed yesterday."
"But see," Vanessa grasped his wrists with her hands, her mind and body gaining a little more confidence from the fact that he hadn't completely rejected the thought right away. "That's just it. It's crazy. No one would suspect it. Why on earth would we be making wedding plans when we can't even be together? Our schedules won't allow us … we can barely spend a night together over the next few months. But in reality we could be getting all sorts of details worked out for our wedding without anyone suspecting anything.
And no one needs to know anything – except the two of us."
Zac halted his slight swaying. "So what are you saying? You want to be engaged now because it would be convenient? We're supposed to make it look like we're working and doing our own thing while we are actually, somehow…"
"Still focused on us," Vanessa finished. "Parts of it might be convenient, but that's not the main thing, Zac. If we can be engaged, and make wedding plans, it could help us get through this rough patch of time while we're apart. When I'm by myself in North Carolina I can be planning out the bridal party, and thinking about where we can get married. And I can just think about you and know that there still is… an us."
Zac listened as she began to rattle off some of the things that were obviously on her heart. "You've been known to do those kinds of things before," he paused to turn her around in his arms, to see her facial expressions, "without us being engaged. Why is this time different?"
Vanessa looked up into his still-somewhat-confused blue eyes. "Because this time… this time losing you is a reality. Those waves out there are pulling my feet right out from under me and taking you with them. I love you, and I don't want to lose you. This time I need a way to look past the break and the time apart. This time I need your promise. I need to know we are looking toward our long-term future together and working toward that even when we can't physically be together."
Zac noticed when she shifted her gaze, the lip nibbling, the nervous grip she had on the waistband of his shorts. "Haven't we made this promise before? The lifetime promise? Remember kuuipo rings and commitment verses?" He kept his words soft, trying to understand and trying to convey to her that he really was listening, considering.
"Of course I remember. But neither of us has taken a real first step in fulfilling that promise. Until now." She moved her hands to his chest and looked fully into his eyes. "Say you'll marry me, Zac. Do me the honor of promising to be my husband. Let's start making plans for our future. Yes we have to be separated. Yes we have to make the careers happen – for now. But if we are engaged, truly engaged… then when life starts going crazy and we're being pulled in a hundred different directions we'll know what we can focus on. We can focus on each other, us, and the plans we're making to be together."
Her words ran together in her rush to explain. At the same time Zac's smile grew with each word and added excitement. "I love you, you know that?" He moved his hand up to run his fingers through her hair and let them rest on her cheek.
"Is that a 'yes'?" her eyes toyed nervously back and forth over his.
"So you really are proposing to me?" Zac squeezed his eyebrows together.
"I love you," she back-tracked to yet again convince herself and Zac. "I want to go into this craziness knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel…a constant that I can fall back on. Our friendship, our love, our past five years together…that's all wonderful. But when the promo tours and movie shoots are all said and done, I want to know that I'm coming back to you. And I need to know that you want me too."
Zac stood for a moment just looking at her expressive face, the love in her eyes, the lips that were silently begging him to understand and agree with her. He tried, as his mind raced, to keep his face neutral – not to give her a negative vibe…but, not to give her a negative vibe.
Then his mind hit on another thought that nearly toyed with his masculinity. "Tell me something…before I answer this proposal," His mouth turned upwards into a half smirk.
"What's that?" Vanessa responded somewhat shyly and concerned.
"Well, since I've never actually dreamed of being proposed to…and I'm guessing you have…how am I supposed to respond? Am I supposed to squeal and gush and cry in happiness? And wait, shouldn't you be down on one knee with a ring?"
Vanessa smacked his bare chest and smiled at him the best she could while nervously waiting for his answer. "Well, gee, since I've never dreamed about proposing to anyone how am I supposed to be feeling right now? My stomach's a ball of nerves and my hands are sweaty. And if you really want a ring, I've got about 30 in the bedroom that you can choose from. I think I'm playing my part darn well, all things considered here."
"Touché," Zac conceded. He placed his hands over hers on his chest and held them there.
Vanessa continued in her role as the less-than-dominant suitor for just a moment more. "I…I don't want to pressure you, Zac. But I think I need this. This would be our promise to each other. Not just two teens hoping for a future. If you say 'yes' then it's us, in this together."
"And that's exactly the way it should be." Zac raised his eyebrows nearing agreement with a more serious look on his face.
"Yes?" she questioned one last time.
"Yes." He answered with a nod.
Vanessa tiptoed up to meet his lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer until she could feel both of their heartbeats pounding in time together.
KTZLF*TLFIW
They sat for another hour snuggling and nuzzling with each other on the balcony as the sun continued to rise. The talk of wedding plans was nothing like that of most newly-engaged couples, though. Instead their minds drifted between the two proposals that sat in front of them: take a break or tie the knot.
He sucked in another deep breath and tried not to let himself get frustrated. "Our schedules Ness. Starting in January…honest to God, I have no clue when we're going to see each other."
Vanessa's face softened to a light smile. "You are over dramatizing this. Come, let's look at it together and we'll figure it out. "
Zac let her take his hand but didn't move from the couch. He sat motionless.
"What?" Vanessa looked at him and tugged again. "Come on, let's have a look."
Still he sat. "I love you Ness, but I think we've reached the point…the point where something's gotta give."
Vanessa froze letting his hand drop from hers. She put on her most serious face and looked at him. "You're wrong. Now come on, show me what you've got in there so far. I'm sure you've got something in there twice or on the wrong dates or something." She began to walk toward the table in the dining area.
Zac remained on the couch leaning his head forward but turning it in order to answer her. "I've been working on it for two hours Ness. Baby I have checked and double checked and triple and quadruple checked things," his voice began to drift as Vanessa opened the laptop and looked at the 2011 calendar.
She sat for a moment adjusting her eyes to the colored blocks that he had filled in. Vanessa sat with a dry mouth and looked back and forth between the computer screen and her boyfriend.
"We have to give, don't we?" she asked just above a whisper.
KTZLF*TLFIW
Vanessa turned her face to look at him. "We've talked about it all before Zac. What we have to realize this time is that…well, it's that this time is real."
She let his hand drop and made her way to the living room where she pointed toward the couch for him to sit down. Zac did as she instructed and watched as she sat down across from him on the coffee table.
Vanessa ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes with another moment of thought before she sighed and licked her lips.
"Do you remember Japan? After we finished the HSM3 premieres and it was just us?" she placed her hands on either side of her hips, grasping the edge of the table.
Zac nodded, only acknowledging that he remembered their time together, but not the point she wanted to make.
"I remember walking on a beach one day for probably half a mile and neither one of us said a word. We were just listening to the waves crash and the sea gulls chattering. It must've been one of the last days we were there. You looked at me and all you said was 'We've been blessed.'
I think I just nodded in agreement. And right now, I think that's about all I can say. We've been blessed."
She watched as Zac nodded with lips pressed together. He leaned back against the couch and folded his hands in his lap. After a few minutes of just looking at each other his lips parted. "I'm sorry?" he attempted to offer.
Vanessa shook her head and let a slight laugh come through her nose. "There's nothing to be sorry about. Zac, Sweetheart, this is life. And it's the life we've chosen. We both knew…we've known for years…that it wouldn't last. Our love might, but not the opportunities to be together constantly. Not without one of us giving up. And neither of us would ask the other to do that. The challenges, the chances, the opportunities…I couldn't ask you to give that up and I know you wouldn't ask me. Am I right?"
"You're right." His eyes stared directly into hers. "But I'm just not sure what our options are." Zac felt the burn in his nose of the tears that wanted to escape. "Damn it." He pinched his nose with his index finger and thumb willing the emotions to stay at bay.
Vanessa watched and smiled only slightly. "Don't you think I'm crying about this too?" She eased her grip on his leg and began to move her fingers around his knee to comfort him. "Both of us better damn well cry about this. And I think we've got a good reason to cry for however long we need to."
KTZLF*TLFIW
The previous day's conversations were still fresh in his mind. The tears had been shed; their hearts had pounded with the feelings of loss. But now she had dangled this proposal option in front of him…and he had accepted it. Could they really make it work? What if it didn't? Zac felt nervous remembering those tearful discussions from just 24 hours ago. How did they go from taking a break to being engaged?
When the temperature actually began to rise outside Zac moved to the computer in the living room while Vanessa went to shower. He tried to alter his focus from the load of questions that was filling his head. So he sent a message to his mom updating his flight schedule and his plans for returning to the contiguous states.
He also looked through some of the gossip columns and answered a couple of questions from the production crew in New Orleans. It was no use. Thoughts of his family and even his co-stars gave way to the lingering fact…he had just agreed to marry the love of his life…but, she had proposed to him and in a matter of days he wasn't sure when they would actually see each other again.
Zac shook off the nerves and shock, laughed at himself and held his breath as he typed a two word phrase into the Google search bar, 'engagement rings'.
Zac felt his own palms begin to sweat when some pictures popped onto the screen. It wasn't that he had never thought about officially proposing to Vanessa. The nerves came because now there was an expectation. He was the one who was supposed to provide that circular symbol of their future. Whether Vanessa would admit it or not, he had accepted her proposal, her challenge of sorts, and that put the ball in his court to make it truly official.
The nerves mixed with his continued confusion. "Ok, so we are now supposedly engaged…but…" his mind drifted. "She isn't on the phone with Ash, or Britt or Stella or her Mom. She's not gushing and running out to find bridal magazines… She – my fiancée – is calmly taking a shower, I think."
Zac stared at the computer screen. If this was, in fact, their real engagement then there was still a lot to consider. His stomach churned with more questions, especially when the mental list started piling up. When? Where? A ring…when would he propose? Were they really going to keep this a secret while they made plans? Was she really serious...or was he dreaming up this crazy scheme in his own mind? Marriage…engagement…was this what either of them really wanted?
Apparently, as the reality of being apart had prodded its way into both of their hearts, some of their 'wants' were changing.
He looked up as Vanessa came out of the bedroom dressed in a pair of shorts and a bikini top, running a towel through her still wet hair. Zac closed out of the page he was perusing and noticed the smile on her face.
"You'd better not be grinning like that because you've just played some huge prank on me. I took that proposal seriously, Babe." Zac looked at her with skepticism.
"Well you certainly don't look like a man who is happy about being engaged. What are you thinking about?" Vanessa prodded.
"Our talks from yesterday. One day we're breaking up, the next we're engaged?" He looked up at Vanessa as she ran the towel through her hair.
When she laughed he shook his head, "What's so funny?"
"You have just described our entire relationship right there, Zac. Oh, except you forgot that the next week we would be pregnant - at least according to the gossip rags." She smiled and moved closer to him.
"Surely you aren't thinking we give into the paps' pressure and give them a story to run wild with?" Zac asked with a bit of a scowl.
Vanessa shook her head strongly. "Nope. I'm thinking the opposite actually. We make them think we are on a break. It'll take a while to convince them we aren't together. But maybe after a few months they'll get off our backs as a couple. And maybe they'll focus on our work instead. It won't keep the nitwits completely out of our hair, but maybe it'll curb their appetite a little." Vanessa snarled under her breath.
Zac tilted his head away from her to try and listen to her scheme. Vanessa breathed in and sat on the arm of the couch. Her deep breath that she held for more than a moment cued Zac into her deep thoughts.
"If we can convince everyone that we're taking a break from each other then maybe we can curb the 'they can't make it without each other' rumors. Yes it'll be hard, but the time away from each other, finding ways to get through, will only make us appreciate being together that much more." Vanessa tried to explain.
"But, we will even have to convince our parents and friends that maybe we are just friends for now, because of the scheduling. That way they don't have to worry about us because we are focusing on jobs and such – not on being a couple. Maybe we even go out with other people from time to time, just to really throw things off balance."
Zac shook his head. "I don't like it. I don't like the idea of not being together and I certainly don't like the thought of messing with what our families believe."
"Boo, just think for a minute. If everyone thinks we are not together then no one will be suspicious when we take little trips to pick out tuxes and dresses and flowers…and rings. Maybe, just maybe they won't follow us everywhere and try to figure out what we're doing, because we're not together.
If people think we've broken up then a moving van at my house won't automatically mean that we're moving your furniture into our house. And it gives us time to think…both of us individually…about our futures and how we want things to happen." Vanessa explained with slight hesitation and a nervous smile.
Zac shook his head. "I still don't like it. And back up a minute." Zac thought out loud. "What do you mean by 'going out with' other people? If we are engaged I don't want to see anyone else, and I certainly don't want you dating anyone else."
"Not dating, just…going out with friends…having new experiences? We'll be finding different places that we might be able to use in our quest to get married. Yes, to the outside world it might look like we're dating other people, but for us it's a totally different meaning. It's an excuse for us to look for romantic locations where we can catch up with each other … and compare notes." Vanessa suggested with a slightly suggestive voice.
She watched as Zac still shook his head but knew he was trying to let his mind agree with her. "You make it sound like some adventure. To me it sounds like a whole new life…without you in it. I don't know if I can do that."
Vanessa slid off the arm of the couch and wedged herself in beside Zac. She wrapped her arms around him and placed a kiss on his shoulder. "That is…what I'm saying. That's why this engagement, our promise to each other, means so much. This means that no matter where we are or who we are out with, ultimately I'm gonna be thinking about you."
After a few minutes of letting her thoughts sink in Vanessa squeezed Zac tighter and whispered a single word in his ear, "Ninjas." She watched as Zac turned his head slowly and revealed her grin as she cocked her eyebrows up and down on her forehead.
"What?" Zac scrunched his eyebrows and looked at her with a sour taste in his mouth regarding this plan.
Vanessa stood up and tossed her towel onto the counter behind them before turning to face the back of the couch. She stepped behind Zac and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Did you mean 'yes' earlier, really?" she spoke next to his ear.
Zac turned his head to meet her eyes before puckering and kissing her lips. "Yes, really. But Ness…"
Vanessa stepped around the couch and planted herself in his lap. She placed a finger over his lips. "Uh-uh," she shook her head, bit her lip and widened her eyes. "We are thinking too hard about this. Yesterday's conversations are gone but not forgotten. Today's a new day with new plans and new ideas. You've said 'yes' two times now. You can't take it back. I proposed and you said yes." The shy smile on her face made Zac roll his eyes.
Zac took a deep breath and sighed, signaling his somewhat normal reaction…he was giving in to her, and this engagement scenario. With one more long breath he lifted his hand and tweeked the rounded tip of her nose. "And you realize that you proposed marriage, right? As in, you will eventually be, Mrs. Vanessa Efron." He nodded his head gently, raising his eyebrows.
Vanessa wrinkled her nose but grinned. "Or maybe you'll be Mr. Zac Hudgens." She pouted.
Zac let out one strong laugh finally as he thought about that idea.
"Well, we may have to discuss the last name thing…" she scrunched her face in thought.
"What?" Zac feigned hurt and placed a hand over his heart. "If you're willing to marry me then you're willing to take my name. Come to think of it I may just have you get it tattooed as a reminder on your body somewhere."
"I would prefer a butterfly tattoo and you know that! But we'll discuss names and body art later, I promise." Vanessa rolled her own eyes and went back to her previous thought. "But first, ninjas!" she grinned, sitting sideways in his lap letting her brown irises latch onto his blues.
Zac wrapped his arms around her waist and poked his thumbs into the sensitive area below her ribs. "I give. What are you talking about and why are ninjas part of it?"
Vanessa leaned toward him with hair still wet and kissed his cheek. She then landed another peck on his lips and ran the tip of her index fingers over the shortened hairs on the back of his head.
"If we want to make this plan happen, we're going to have to be ninjas!" she said with a childlike excitement.
"Well at the risk of sounding like your eight year old accomplice in crime I guess I have to ask…what exactly are you proposing this time?" Zac poked at her ribs again sending a giggle through her throat and making her squirm.
"We really do have to be secretive about our engagement," her voice calmed to a normal pitch and her giddiness subsided. "Seriously, I was thinking that the fewer people who know about it, the better. Right now we should keep it just between us. It's our lives, our futures, me and you."
Zac watched her face closely. "Me and you…as in no Ashley or Brittany, no Momo or Corbin…"
"Not even moms or dads or sister or brother…me and you only right now. That's what I mean." Vanessa's face went back to the serious look it had held on the balcony.
Zac leaned his head backwards away from her to make sure she was in clear focus. "And just how exactly do you expect to make wedding plans without the future bride and groom's families knowing?"
Vanessa bit her lip in thought. Zac had to smile at that. "I haven't got it all figured out. But like I said, we're not getting married right away. It's not like we're sending out 'save the date' cards just yet." She turned her head away slightly, glancing at the screensaver on the computer. "I don't even want a ring right now; it would be a dead giveaway."
Zac read her like a book as she spoke. "You're really bad at lying, you know that, right?" he questioned.
"What?" she asked with a shrug of the shoulders attempting to innocently let her last comment slide by. "Ninjas are secretive, no outward signs of what they are or who they are."
"So you're telling me, Ninja-Woman, that if I had an engagement ring for you, you wouldn't accept it?" Zac tested her innocence and Vanessa failed miserably.
Her wide eyes and open mouth were tell-tale signs. "Well…I mean…I… If…if you happened to have that…hidden…somewhere safe, for future plans…" she tried to keep her nerves at bay. "You know I wouldn't say 'no' to it…"
Zac shook his head.
"You…don't…have a ring though, right?" Vanessa asked without the hint of a smile.
Zac fought the inward battle that he had been skirting for years. "To get Vanessa a ring…or not…" He knew exactly what he wanted to get her. This was one of those discussions they had had, sort of. And the item in question was something she had described to Ashley and Ash had kindly relayed the information to Zac. But still, said item wasn't in his possession – yet.
He saw her chin drop slightly and came up with an answer. "Well, not with me, Silly Girl, no." Zac prided himself in that moment for coming up with a vague answer that would still leave her wondering yet happy. "Proposing marriage wasn't exactly on the agenda for this Hawaiian visit. And besides, I wasn't the one proposing, you were!" he pointed out again.
The two laughed and then shared kisses for a few minutes just letting the past twenty-four hours settle in.
"So, I guess the production company name takes on a new meaning now, huh?" Zac ran his thumb across her lips and just looked at her face. "Ninjas Running Wild…"
Vanessa laughed. "That's what made me think of it actually." She admitted. "Cause I'm serious Zac. During this break or chaos or whatever we want to call it that's coming up, I want you and I to know that things are going to be fine. But I think, for us to pull this off, we've even got to convince ourselves that maybe we aren't as close...at least until we know when we can be together again. That sounds harsh, but I think it's gotta be that way…I think." She looked at him with sadness in her eyes.
"There you go thinking again." Zac chuckled nervously. "Usually I like the way you think. But right now I think you need to stop thinking. What I would rather think about is when and where we'll see each other next, and whether or not your ninja mind has concocted any plans for secret rendezvous." Vanessa felt Zac shiver and saw the mischievous grin form on his lips.
"Mmmm," he hummed and winked at her before stealing a kiss. "Come to think of it…maybe this ninja thing won't be too bad. I'm all for secret rendezvous!"
Vanessa placed a few kisses along his jawbone and then tugged his earlobe gently between her teeth. "Ninjas don't let their emotions get in the way of their missions, you know." She whispered
"Excuse me?" Zac's eyes grew wider as he tried to listen to her words and yet felt her breath against his skin.
Vanessa retracted her teasing touches and raised his chin with a single finger. "You're going to need some ninja training on resisting female persuasions." Vanessa joked "Luckily, I have a thought on where your training can be done. And I think I can train you." Vanessa nodded her head with some bit of authority along with the tempting sparkle in her eyes.
"I'm listening," her now-fiancé loosened his grip and stared as she began to grin.
"How many times have we been caught going to 'meetings' by the paps? They rarely even pay attention to the building we're going into. They just always comment that Vanessa or Zac had a business meeting." She put on her best reporter voice to emphasize the last line."
Zac nodded encouraging her to go on.
"So, what if we find an empty office space in some obscure building, and we lease it using the Ninjas Running Wild name?" Vanessa stopped to take a breath and get her thoughts in order.
"But Sweetheart," Zac gently spoke up, "we already have office space for the production company."
"Yes, but lots of offices have numerous locations. And I'm not talking about putting a staff in the second location. I'm thinking it would be a place – maybe we could call it the N-R-W Executive offices – where we could have some…well, some private, executive, business meetings, just between the two of us." She smiled.
Vanessa ran a single finger down his chest.
Zac nodded. "So that I don't get caught parking in your garage and you don't get caught hailing the limo at the bottom of my driveway?"
"Exactly!" Vanessa raised her eyebrows and stuck out her tongue. "We'll have to use our ninja skills to make our business meetings happen whenever we can. But we'll still have to understand that the career stuff and other friendships are going to be at the forefront for a while. Those will be the main things that cover the engagement and keep people off track."
Zac shifted and twisted on the couch until he had Vanessa cradled against his shoulder, their feet propped up onto the couch. "So we will still see each other, when possible?"
Vanessa nodded against him. "As much as possible. Absolutely! I can't do without my Boo. And I especially can't do without my fiancé!" she smiled widely.
"And you're sure I can't tell my mom about this? You know she's gonna know something's going on at Christmas time. And Gina…how can you not tell your own mother Vanessa?"
"I don't know, believe me I don't know." She turned her face against his chest. "But other than you, me and my diary entry…I just think it's best this way. We're casting ourselves into a couple of impossible roles that better play out in our favor in the long run."
She heard Zac blow a breath upwards across his face. He used to use the action to blow his long bangs out of his eyes. With the military style cut he was now sporting she knew he had an ulterior motive. So she pulled her head back and looked at him.
"What have I gotten myself into?" he asked with a glance down into her beautiful face.
"Just remember one thing, Ninja Fiancé …" she stole a kiss and then licked her lips to entice him. "You're the one who said 'yes'!"
Zac blinked softly letting his long eyelashes fall down to cover his blue eyes. He couldn't even retaliate with anything other than a kiss. Yes, he had said 'yes'. And with that answer he knew their ninja adventure was about to begin.
So he bent his head slightly and pressed his lips to hers, inviting her to start their morning all over again. Vanessa held tightly to his shoulder as she raised her other hand to skim her fingertips over the shell of his ear. She eagerly tasted his lips on hers and closed her eyes, committing the moment to memory.
Zac's arms held her firmly in place as they both became lost in the kisses and touches that came with just being together. "Do you suppose ninjas ever make love, or would that be out of the realm of their ninja'ism?" he nuzzled his nose into her ear as he spoke and tasted the skin of her neck simultaneously.
Vanessa hummed a quiet monotone note as his question coupled with his kiss. She wanted him more at this moment than she had when he walked into the hotel room to begin this visit. Her voice squeaked when she first attempted to answer him, earning her more luscious kisses on her lips, into the depths of her mouth and then further down her body.
"Well, from this ninja to another," Vanessa finally decided to whisper her thoughts not knowing if he was actually listening or not. "If you don't make love to me now then I'll be pulling out the ninja weapons the next time we rendezvous."
Zac laughed and lifted his head only momentarily from his teasing actions at the center of her chest. Her slight groan that followed forced his hands to find her skin and form a firm hold. He kissed her lips once more before lifting them both off the couch and heading back toward the bedroom.
"Sounds like playing ninjas with you is gonna be fun!" He teased. But their eyes met with wanting painted on both of their faces. And when he placed her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her to untie the skimpy bikini top, Zac gave out his own groan of desire.
"By the way…" he raised a single eyebrow onto his forehead as he looked over her waiting body. "If you have some kind of ninja weapons to use when we make love, Baby...bring 'em on!"
KTZLF*TRUE LOVE FINDS ITS WAY*KTZLF
It's the start of something new,
This breaking free that we must do.
Though you are the music in me,
I gotta go my own way, that's the way it must be.
But right here, right now, my promise is true,
No matter where we go, I just wanna be with you.
So while we're apart just know you can't walk away
From what faith has provided us... everyday.
We can work this out; we will have our chance.
We're in this together - we CAN have this dance.
-adg