I do not own High School Musical or its characters.*

"With all the money you make off me, shouldn't you be able you afford to fix the cracks in your ceiling, Michael?" she asked watching as his eyes ran across her manuscript.

Her agent didn't bother acknowledging her, his full attention was devoted to the first three chapters she'd submitted just yesterday in e-mail. She studied him as he read. Michael Hennings was the most unlikely looking agent she'd ever seen. If she had to cast him in a book, he'd be an ex-Navy sergeant – a hulk who dressed in fine suits, French cuffed shirts, and silk ties.

His office looked like him, too. The lines were simple and the colors muted, but all together it looked sharp and expensive.

"This is shit."

"Don't hold back. Tell me what you really think about my blood, sweat and tears," Gabriella said pushing herself up in her seat. In reality she knew it was shit. It was below shit. To call it shit was romanticizing.

"Gabriella, you have six weeks until the deadline, and you just handed me three of the worst chapters you've ever written. Your first novel was better than this."

Gabriella winced, "They aren't that bad."

"Gabriella it's shit," he repeated distinctly.

"It needs some editing but-"

He picked up a page and read out loud, "All men were bastards. At least hers would be good looking, even if his chin was weak."

Gabriella shrugged, "The hero has to have some flaws."

"This hero is more than flawed." He picked up the pages and tossed them into the garbage. "This hero is an asshole."

"I made him realistic," she said as she reached into the garbage and retrieved the chapters, slipping them into her bag for later.

Michael heaved a sigh and ran a hand over his face. "Isn't it time you got over Jason?"

Her spine stiffened automatically, "Okay one the divorce was made final like three months ago and two this has nothing to do with Jason."

"It has everything to do with him. You're bashing your hero because one man hurt you."

"He did not hurt me."

Michael cocked a brow.

Humiliated, yes. Hurt, hell no. A woman had to care to be hurt and there was no way Gabriella cared about Jason. Looking back she wasn't sure she ever did. "I'm not hurt."

Michael didn't look like he believed her, but he didn't argue. Instead he got all business-like. "Fact of the matter is you have a deadline in six weeks and you've delivered nothing your editor will accept. Unless you want to destroy your career after all the hard work to get to this point, I'd suggest you get cracking and churn out one of the romance novels you're famous for."

That was the problem. She was running out ideas. Running out of stories to be famous for, it was like her imagination was in overdrive and everything had come to a screeching halt. Her first book had been a veiled account of her parents' courtship and marriage. Ever since then she'd just started fantasying about romance, dreaming up these fantastic men and falling in love with them book after book.

This next book was supposed to be her story. Her and Jason, finally an actual book about her falling in love for real, that was, until her marriage fell apart. Not exactly the greatest romance to write about. But what was she suppose to do? Scrap the whole story and start over? She didn't have another romance to replace this story. And frankly, it was crazy to start over with the deadline six weeks away. If she could just make to the ending of the story then she could go back and figure out some way to tweak it.

Knowing that Michael was waiting for a response she nodded. "I've got it all under control."

For a second time, he didn't look like he believed her. "Get the old Brie Carmichael back. That's what people pay for. That's what put your current release at number eight on New York Times bestseller list."

Brie Carmichael, a pen name that her and Michael had stayed up until the late night hours picking out just so she could keep her identity a secret. "Right," Gabriella said getting up from her seat. "I won't let you down."

"For your sake, I hope not."

An hour later Gabriella let out a sigh as she placed the bridge of her nose against the steering wheel. She was parked in the driveway peeking at the house from above the steering wheel. She was a grown woman. She could do this. She was going to do this. She had to do this.

"What on earth are you doing out here?" Sharpay's voice chimed as she leaned in on the window. "Where have you been? People are asking? They think you killed yourself or something? With the news of Jason leaving town with Martha and all," that cute country accent rolled off her tongue and Gabriella looked up at Sharpay with a force smile. The sounds of a party could be heard behind the house, which, was perfect because she was due for drink.

"I had a meeting with Michael," Gabriella said as she hopped out of the white pickup truck and shut the door behind her. Sharpay was the only one who knew her secret about being a writer. As far as everyone was concerned Gabriella Montez was just some girl working the front desk at Troy's Auto and balancing the books for him in exchange for room and board.

"Not good?" Sharpay winced.

"Do you think I need to get over Jason?"

"Didn't you just sign the divorce papers?" Sharpay said bringing her red solo cup up to her lips. Her blond hair was braided into two pigtails with loose tendrils coming down the side. Leave it to Sharpay to have perfect hair even in this heat wave.

"Like three months ago?"

"Try twelve weeks and 3 days ago," Sharpay said a little surprised to even be having this conversation. "I always knew that boy was born on the wrong side of the blanket."

Her life had taken a lot of unexpected twist and turns in the last seven years, from her mother's house burning down to moving all the way out here and meeting Jason and Troy. Granted when she packed all she had in her truck along with her golden retriever, Blue, she didn't have the faintest idea about where she was going. Her parents were dead, she was an only child and any family she might have had was somewhere she'd never been.

When she arrived in Payne Springs, Texas it was a night she'd never forget. It'd been pouring rain and her car had gotten stuck in a ditch. Her and Blue walked up the road until they saw this bar, where she walked in and was asking about a tow when these two guys sitting in a back booth stood up and came to her rescue. Hitting it off with both Troy and Jason had been a no brainer. They were both decent guys, country grown and devilishly handsome.

Jason had been such a charmer, a real saint who just been so welcoming and kind. Troy offered to tow her tuck back to the garage for the night. She had been forever grateful. The boys became so much a part of her life; Troy gave her a small job at the auto shop behind a desk. Jason and her fell head over heels looking back at it now possibly a little too fast, too soon and they married after their first year of dating.

Troy had always been there as a friend for her, and she trusted him. When they'd walked in and caught Jason in the act, her ex had tried coming toward her with explanations rolling of his tongue. Troy had come out of left field shocking her from her stunned state and punched his childhood friend in the mouth and ever since then, he'd been beside her through thick and thin.

"I'm going to sleep with Troy," Gabriella said as she reached for her bag from the back of the truck and opened the tailgate to let Blue out.

Sharpay's face shifted, "What?"

"I'm going to do it," she said with a little more confidence as she began walking towards the house Blue following behind her. Blue was the dedicated type. Ever since she first got him as a pup he followed her everywhere and hung on her ever word. He was turning eight years old this year and he was still as faithful and playful as the day she brought him home from the pound.

"Don't you think you should ask him out first? I mean he'll take up with any hound that'll hunt." Sharpay said as she quickly sprinted to catch up. "I honestly don't know how you waited this long. I mean, hell. You two are in his garage all day, every day mostly alone for how many hours?"

"Eight." Gabriella let out a deep breath, "and not every day." Just six days, but that seemed like too small a thing to point out. "Customers come in, too. And the phone rings off the hook. And the paper work. Really it would be useless to try to start anything there."

Sharpay raised her brows. "You're speaking ten words a second, with gusts to fifty."

"I need a drink."

"Here have mine," Sharpay handed her the cup and Gabriella looked inside at the slushy tart drink. "You're going to need courage. With a plan like this you can't be as shy as a mail-order bride. It'll make asking him out easier. What are you going to suggest? Not much to do in town. Oh I know, get him to take you to Little Rock for some fun."

"We already do movies and dinner all the time," Gabriella said bringing the cup to her lips as they walked inside and up to her bedroom which was right next to his. Their bedrooms were mirror images including their headboards parked on the same wall. From the moaning, screaming yelping and pleading coming through that wall at night until women left in the wee hours of the morning, Gabriella knew the man had some stamina and skills. And damn it, she wanted her world rocked by more than her vibrator.

Troy could do that. Not only did he apparently have god-like abilities, the man was built like one, too. Images of his muscular body and all he could do with it had provoked her last bestselling novel. Well it had also been about this old couple who came into the auto garage one day and had inspired her with their 58 years of marriage but most of every man loving description had all been about Troy.

Gabriella took a big sip of her drink as she tossed her bag with her manuscript inside it behind the bed. Her wall above her desk was littered in post its. Her desk covered in notes. Post its and notes that were shit. She needed inspiration. She needed to get over Jason and put the past behind her. What better what to do that then some no strings attached sex with Troy. She was thinking about the flex of his shoulders when he was shirtless in his garage when she realized Sharpay was talking.

"So you want more?"

Just a little spice was all she needed. Nothing raunchy or overly kinky, but some spice. "Yeah something other than vanilla." Was that too much for a girl to ask? She didn't think so. She crossed her fingers and hopped he wouldn't either. "I'm just going to ask him for sex."

Sharpay's mouth dropped in mock horror. "You slut."

Gabriella rolled her eyes; Sharpay had a way with the language. She was a true Texan and trust fund baby, which meant she was more likely to say the weirdest things and always overspend for attention. Sharpay nudged her with an elbow as she sat down on the bed. "Need me to kick everyone out?"

"Shut up. You're supposed to give me advice to make this easier."

Sharpay let out a sigh as she placed a hand on hip, "Then I suggest you put on something that makes the girls look a little more excited and head on downstairs before some little tramp snatches him up for the night."

Gabriella let out a moan, Sharpay was right.

Later in tightly fitted spaghetti strap top and a shorter pair of shorts Gabriella licked the last bit of salt from her now-empty plastic cup when she spotted the fine piece of hardened, tanned flesh prowling through the crowd. Yes, prowling through the crowd. Troy took long strides his eyes always searching and looking around. Something between the pit of her stomach and libido and possibly even up around her heart took a jumping kick-start.

Ah Troy Bolton. How had she known the man for so long and not realized all this? Her thoughts darkened as her ex-husband's face intruded. She kicked him out of her head. She would not have her thought ruined with other thoughts of the cheating bastard. And she wasn't hurt.

She'd rather lust after Troy, and return to watching the man who'd haunted her dreams, both day and night. When a woman with half a brain thought Troy Bolton, visions of sex were sure to happen. Now she just had to do something so she'd have more than just visions to go to bed with at night.

She watched as Troy talked to Kelsi who's flattened hand was sprawled out across his chest and making the alcohol-induced jealousy churn inside her. She had no claim on Troy. They'd been friends for a long time, but they weren't friends like that. Being friends like that never even came up between them. She licked her suddenly dry lips. At least, not yet. And it never would if that woman didn't get her hands off his stomach and quit whispering things in his ear.

Blue came up from behind her nudging the back of her knee with his nose to get her attention. "Hey Blue," she said quietly, "How's your day going, probably a lot better than mine." Coming down she gave him a good scratching behind his ears. Blue had been her longest consistent relationship with a male in her entire life. She'd be lost without his golden snout resting at the foot of her bed each and every night. He was indeed a gentle giant who followed her everywhere and everyone loved him.

"You're going to owe me a free oil change for this," Sharpay said coming over and taking her empty cup.

"For what?" Gabriella said suddenly missing her cup. Perhaps she should have stopped at three margaritas. Or two. But Sharpay was already walking away.

"Kelsi! Hey girl."

Kelsi looked up from Troy and waved.

"It's hot as heck out here and getting late. I'm heading over to Chad's place, I think the Braves are playing and he's got some people coming over. Wanna come with me?"

And just like that Kelsi peeled her hand off Troy's chest and the nausea doing an acid rain dance in Gabriella's belly stopped.

At the lost of his companion Troy swaggered towards her, looking all rugged and waiting to be tossed in sheets. Maybe two drinks would have been plenty. Then again two, six or none, probably wouldn't have mattered. Over the past few months Troy always looked ready to wrestle naked.

The alcohol went back to warming Gabriella's blood. Need shuddered through her making her panties a little wet. She quickly got up to her feet and leaned against the gate needing the support when the swooshing affects of the alcohol took its toll.

"Hey there Blue," Troy greeted as he patted him behind the ear, "Hey there beautiful," he said looking up at Gabriella with a relaxed sigh.

Oh the things that man was capable of. She didn't know a lot about sexual variety. Her ex-husband had kept things very civil. But from what she heard through the sheetrock, Troy was anything but vanilla. Sex with Troy must be like wining the Triple Crown, Super Bowl, and World Series all in one night. Things she'd been uncertain about in the past she wanted to get down and do. And get dirty, even.

Sweaty and twisty and panting for air. All in the name of research! Her readers needed to know, it was after all… what Michael had said?… it was what they pay for? She shivered and pushed hair from her face. Wow. She was not supposed to be the tramp here, but man, she couldn't help it. She thought of him at night when she could hear his grunts. In the mornings as his shower ran, all she wanted to do was to get in there with him.

During the day while she balanced his books and ran the front office of his garage, she wanted to walk into the shop wearing a trench coat and get busy on a radiator. A few times, though she'd never admit it to anyone, she'd used her vibrator along with his noise in the evenings. Oh yes she had. Heat flamed her faced thankful for the July sun she knew he probably wouldn't be able to tell.

"Hey Troy,"

"When did you get here?" he asked bring a beer up to his lips for a sip.

"Oh some time ago," Gabriella said tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear.

"How was your doctor's visit?"

"What?" she asked caught off guard.

Troy raised a brow, "You told me you had a doctor's visit today?"

"Right," Gabriella flushed and stumbled back a little as she gripped the fence behind her for dear life. Why did she have to drink so much? "It went fine, I'm as healthy as a horse."

"That's my girl." Troy's arm snaked around her shoulders and hugged her against his side. As usual, he looked glad to see her. She hopped he was super happy, because he too, laid awake at night thinking of doing the nasty with her. Then again, he could just be glad to see her because he was Troy and good to her. Either way, she leaned into him as he pulled her close.

She dropped her head against his shoulder as she'd done so many times before. Only now, as she'd been doing for the past six or eight weeks, she imaged her head there while gasping for air, pictured his big coarse hands on her naked skin, gripping her hips. His big blue eyes stared at her, and she swallowed her fear. It was time to get this out there and confront it.

She wanted scintillating sex and she wanted it from Troy. If he said no to this sex idea, she was confident they could go back to their routine. It would be a silly request and nothing more chalked up to the fact that she hadn't been laid in over a year.

"Troy?" she said counting on her four margaritas, "I wanted to ask you something."

He stared down at her, waiting, expecting more. And there was more to say but at the moment it was logged in her throat. It was just sex. It wasn't the man in question causing all these nerves, it was the act itself. The last man she had dance the horizontal with she'd married. Said man had since left her for one of her best friend and moved some twenty hours west. But Gabriella was over that. And she wasn't hurt. The sting wasn't so bad anymore. Mostly.

What hadn't dissipated was a ridiculous nagging curiosity. This dig had started very small and hidden away. For months, the thought had remained in the back of her head. When she'd found Jason and Martha together, he'd been doing her from behind over the arm of the couch. They'd been doing the nasty, super nasty-like. He'd had her hair fisted in his hand, forcing her spine into an uncomfortable looking arch. It had looked excessively dirty compared to their missionary sex. After the initial shock and hatred wore off a few months later, Gabriella wondered why she and Jason had never had sex like that. Had he thought she wouldn't have been open to roughing it up a bit?

Troy squeezed her against his side, hugging her close and then loosened his grip. "Here I am. At your service all night long."

That was a loaded statement if she ever heard one. She swallowed and fumbled around trying to find a polite way to ask for dirty-ish sex. She was pretty sure there wasn't one. "I need some help."

He didn't wait a beat. "I'm all yours, doll, ask away."

Gabriella took a deep breath as she looked up at him and put a little distance between them so she could stand on her own two feet. People around them were getting ready to leave and the party was almost over. In few moments they would be alone.

"Never known you to be so quiet," he teased.

"I want rough…er, sex." Gabriella quickly shut her eyes afraid of his reaction.

He watched her for a long moment, and finally he chuckled. "Funny."

There was her way out of this conversation. She could laugh with him and that'd be the end of it. But she didn't want out. "I'm not being funny."

"Uh-huh. And how much did you have to drink?" he tugged on her hair. "Not like you to drink this much."

"I've only had a few." And she was feeling damn sober at the moment. "I'm serious."

His mouth dropped open and his arms fell away from her shoulders. His eyes drifted closed as he shook his head, "Gabriella, what is this about?"

She shrugged, "I just want to. I want to find out what it's like."

His mouth snapped shut. His jaw tightened, giving her the first sign of just how big of a mistake this might be, but she refused to give up, so she forged on. "I want something more than just plain vanilla."

"Hey guys! Great barbeque, I'll call you tomorrow about the tractor," Mr. Paterson said on his way out.

Troy nodded and lifted a hand to wave him off before turning back to Gabriella, "Why me?"

Gabriella taken aback by his question shrugged, "Why not, I mean we're friends and you have a lot of experience?"

"What?" Troy lifted a hand to back of his neck to rub at the tension.

"See you guys next weekend at the tailgate, Gabriella dear, so sorry to hear about Jason and Martha moving away. You're much better off without them!" Mrs. Baker walked by carrying her empty bowl that had been filled with potato salad.

Gabriella nodded a little mortified by her life story being so public and about the expression to run on Troy's face right about now as he stared off into the distance.

"We've been living together for months now, maybe even a year, our beds are against the same wall. And well, I think, from what I've heard, that is, you could help me." Still no response from him, "Troy? Say something?"

"No," he said looking back up at her, "Gabriella this is bad idea,"

"Gabriella," an older woman came up to them reaching around and giving her a hug, "you look amazing, I was just telling my son about your new status," she added and Gabriella returned the hug not knowing what else to do.

"Is that right," she said nervously.

"I'll tell him to give you a call."

"Alright," Gabriella said shrugging her shoulders as the woman patted Troy on the chest and began to walk off. Gabriella took a step back as she looked around at the few people still around trying to maintain a casual I'm-so-cool-I-can-ask-for-sex look. "It would just be a couple of encounters."

"Encounters?" he echoed with a shake of his head, "What is this something out of the X Files? I think I should put you to bed."

She shook her head. "I've never had anything exciting. It's always been just a rub over my hip, a stroke down my thigh, and that's it. And that was okay, but I want more. I want to be used and-"

"I don't want to hear this," he said pulling her to him and making their way towards the house. "I think this is just case of depression mixed with a little alcohol."

Blue followed behind them and Gabriella ran three steps ahead to stop him in the doorway. The blast of the air conditioning slapped her with a whole new sense of drive. She could do this. She needed inspiration, she needed ideas, she needed something else, something new she wanted what she'd been fantasying about for the last five months and that was Troy Bolton's naked body driving hers wild. "What I'm saying is, it was always the same. Eighty percent of the time, I was on the bottom."

"Not listening." He put his hand to her back to turn her around as he pushed her inside.

"I'm not asking for a lot, just something up against a door. Or in the shower. I don't want to be chained up and beaten with a whip. I just want a little something more."

He turned to face her. His eyes were narrowed. His hands were balled into fist at his sides. "So what, you'll call me after getting out of the shower? After shaving your legs and just tell me to come over?"

She squirmed. "I hadn't worked out all details yet."

"You can't just decide one day to have wild sex with me."

"I didn't." The words snapped out harder than she wanted, but she couldn't help it. He'd struck a nerve. It wasn't like she'd decided this was a good idea thirty minutes ago. She'd been dithering over it for months, considered it on those late nights while hearing grunts, groans and moans from his bedroom. "Isn't this every guy's wet dream? To have a woman ready and willing at anytime?"

"No. Not like this." He looked downright angry.

"You'd have a woman at your beck and call. Anytime, anywhere," she teased trying to get a little laugh out of him and the Troy she knew back, but he wasn't smiling. It hit her then. He already has that. She sobered. "You're not into me that way."

"Gabriella."

She shook her head and turned for the stairs, blinking away ridiculous tears. She knew that this had been a possibility, but she just…sighed. She really hadn't decided what to do if he said no. "It's fine. I did just throw this on you all at once I didn't consider that you couldn't think of me in that way."

"I-"

Just then three little kids came bounding down the stairs and around the bend cutting Troy off as he step aside and made room for them to leave. The interruption was small and even though Gabriella was fast he was on her heels in an instant.

"Gabriella."

"Forget it." His rejection pinched a lot harder than she'd been expecting it to, which was silly, because quick casual sex was all this had been about, anyway. It wasn't a relationship he turned down, but it still felt like a rejection of her specifically. And tomorrow she'd play the drunk card and pretend to not remember a moment of it.

Just as she wrapped her hand around the door knob Troy spun her around at the door and leaned over her, around her, and covered her, holding her there so she had no way to run off on him again. He was like a winter coat and she the cold lonely body beneath it. And boy was she warming up. His eyes came down seeming to stop on her lips and linger there as they both caught their breath. He'd never been this close before, not like this. Not with this heat between them. It was enough to make her lightheaded.

"You've never made a move or looked like you were interested in me that way." He shook his head. "Damn it woman. You can't just throw something on me like that and expect me to jump."

"Fine." She dropped her gaze to his lips and how they were slightly parted. And fine was right because he was right. She'd thrown it on him out of nowhere. They had been friends for a long time. He'd been Jason's, which was how they'd met. He'd been standing next to her, helping her bring in groceries when she walked in on Jason and Martha doing it doggie style on her new couch. Troy had stood by her side through the good and the bad while Jason fought her for every fork bowl and pan out of the kitchen. Seven years of friendship and suddenly she wanted to change things. He had a point. "So we're at a 'you'll think about it and let me know' pass?"

He straightened and swiped a hand down his face as he loosed his cage like hold on her. "I suppose. And you need to think more on it, too. We take that step; things will never be the same."

"They-"

He lifted her chin. "Will never be the same."

Gabriella nodded her mouth suddenly dry as she watched him push off the wall and take a few steps back, Blue who had been sitting patiently at their side stood up and came to the door as Gabriella opened it. She didn't have to look back to know Troy was still was watching as she and Blue made her way inside. And it wasn't until the door was shut behind her that she leaned against it and slid down to the floor in fear, anxiety, excitement and nausea all at once. She'd made it pass the hard part.