Thinking man I'd like to see that girl again

"Hey, Gabriella!" Troy shouted as she paddled past his dock. She had a one shoulder striped tee on over her bikini, sunglasses protected her eyes from the burning sun, and she was completely zoned out.

He wasn't sure what happened. It was a combination of her turning her head to look at him and waves from a nearby boat hitting the board she was standing on top of, but suddenly she found herself in the water, fully clothed, and grabbing her sunglasses so they didn't fall to the bottom of the lake. When she resurfaced, she slammed her glasses back on the paddle board and made an effort to push herself back up.

Troy, seizing the opportunity, shed his shirt and jumped in, swimming out to her. When she had managed to push herself up without flipping the board, he'd arrived. And laughed.

She splashed him with water. He deserved it.

"That was not funny," She herself slid off her shirt, wringing out the extra water with her hands.

"Paddle boarding, eh?" Troy pushed himself up on the edge easily, the board not even coming close to tipping.

"I decided to try it out," She grumbled, "Since our grandmothers get such a big kick out of it."

Troy popped up on his feet, grabbing the paddle from where it rest on the board. She remained in her position, allowing him to paddle them in. They stopped, she hopped off in the ankle deep water, and Troy pulled it up on the sand next to his grandmother's own paddle board.

"You want a towel?" He asked making his way across the stones leading in a path to the basement.

"Yeah," She wrapped her arms around herself to conserve heat.

Troy stepped in the house and grabbed two beach towels from the hooks lined upon the walls. Then he tossed one at her, "Want a popsicle too?"

"I guess so," She didn't refuse his offer.

"What flavor do you want?" The area in the basement had once intended to be an area for guests to stay, complete with mini-fridge.

"Grape," She said as he searched through the box, trying to decipher what was root beer and what was grape.

"Here, I think this is grape," He held it out to her, grasping his own, she assumed banana flavored, "Do you like sunflower seeds?"

She shrugged in response and he grabbed the bag anyways, along with a plastic cup from the top of the mini-fridge. Then the resumed their way outside and back onto the dock, forgoing the bench and sitting with their feet dangling in the water.

"So I thought of a question that I forgot to ask the other night," She stated, keeping the white plastic covering around the base of her popsicle stick.

"Really," He raised his eyebrows, popping a sunflower seed in his mouth.

"Yeah," She splashed her feet in the water like a little kid, seeing how far she could flick the droplets, "I was wondering if you usually touch girls asses when you barely know them?"

Troy almost choked on his sunflower seed, "I was assisting."

"Okay, maybe the first time," She rolled her eyes, "The second time I could have easily made it over the edge of the boat by myself."

"Maybe I liked touching your ass," His eyes widened, "I mean, ya know."

She laughed at his response, "Ya know?"

He leant back casually, they were sitting so close to each other that his arm winded up behind her back but couldn't be considered around her necessarily. "I guess I saw a pretty girl with a nice looking ass and you didn't seem to mind so," He shrugged his shoulders and then she nudged him.

She giggled, "I bet Ms. Let's-plan-our-children-in-high-school enjoyed that."

"Oh Hell no, I didn't dare touch her butt," He shook his head, "She hated when anyone swore and went into this whole spiel about how all teenagers were going to die because we swore occasionally."

"Nice," Gabriella licked her popsicles and lifted her foot out of the water, fish were beginning to gather.

"Since you got to me ask me a question, do I get to ask you one?"

"I don't see why not," She shrugged, making eye contact with him.

"What do you think," He paused to phrase his question, "Banana and grape popsicles taste like?"

She scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion, "I guess I don't real-"

Troy cut her off.

With his lips.

And then, suddenly, Gabriella's favorite flavor of popsicle was banana. With a slight hint of sunflower seeds.

"Gabriella, sweetie," Gabriella could faintly hear the voice of her grandmother, "Wake up, your dad is on the phone."

"Huh?" She put her hand to her head, "What time is it?"

"About ten o'clock," Her grandmother answered, shoving the phone in her hand and briskly walking out of her room.

"Hello," She spoke groggily into the phone.

"Hey Gabi," His voice flowed through the phone, deep and cheerful, just as she remembered, "How's my girl doing?"

"I'm fine," She grabbed her iPhone, sliding her finger across seeing that she had two new text messages, "How are you?"

"Great, camp is going great as usual."

"Good," Her text messages were both from Troy.

"Now listen, I think I'm going to come up in two weeks. There's going to be a break for about five days so I thought I'd come up and see you."

She smiled, "I'd like that."

"Well, it's official then. I'll come to Minnesota in two weeks."

"Okay Dad," She set her phone down for a second, "I'll see you then."

"Stay out of trouble until I get there. Love you."

"I love you too Dad, bye."

"Bye sweetheart."

She hung up the landline, clicking to call Troy on her own phone. It rang a few times, she thought he might not answer, but then he did, "Hello?"

"Hey Troy," She replied, "Good morning."

"Good morning to you too," He smirked, "Did you get my text message?"

"Yeah," She bit her lip to keep from smiling, "I'd love to go out tonight."

"Really?" He stopped in his rush to get ready for work.

"Yeah, well," She paused debating on whether or not to say the thought that formulated in her brain, "I mean it's been three days since you kissed me so I've been waiting."

"So if I would have asked you sooner, you would've still said yes?"

"Maybe," Gabriella flicked on the television in her room.

"I'm really sorry, but I've got to head into work, I'll call you later though. Is seven okay?"

"Seven's fine," There was nothing good on, as usual, "But wait a second, what should I wear?"

"Probably something casual," He rushed to grab his keys, "I'll bring you to this place on the lake, good food but not the nicest around. Actually, there aren't really nice places to eat around here so…"

"That's fine."

"There should be plenty of options for you too," Troy explained, "They're known for having really good vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, etc., food. I'm sorry, but I've really got to go."

"Then go!" She laughed, "I'll see you at seven."

"Okay then, bye."

"Bye."

"Troy, shut it," Gabriella elbowed his side as she laughed at his corny, and stupid, joke.

They were waiting for the hostess to escort them to their table outside. It was nothing out of the usual for the area, large outdoor eating area with multiple docks for boaters to pull up for food if they wished. The food wasn't cheap but was at a low price for the family frequents. The waitresses were friendly and casually wore sneakers on their feet.

"I'm sorry," Troy noticed her observing the area, "It was either this, the diner, or the A+W. There aren't really that much options."

"It's fine," She comforted, grabbing onto his elbow with her hand, "I understand, and frankly don't really care. If it's good food, I'm satisfied."

"Good," He began to follow the hostess to their table, Gabriella still clutching his arm. She slid into the wooden bench that lined the patio, he sat on a chair across from her.

"Oh my God," He could almost hear the smile on her face, "They have cheese curds. I haven't had cheese curds since I was, like, five."

Troy chuckled at her response, sure enough it was the first thing on the menu. She folded it up and set it on the table, Troy laughed, "You're not even going to look at the rest of the menu?"

"Nope," She shrugged, "It's going against my better judgment but I eat healthy enough every other day of the year so I can sacrifice myself some cheese curds."

"Okay," Troy already knew what he wanted, he'd been there so many times, "So what'd you do today?"

"Oh, you know," Gabriella brushed her hair behind her shoulders, "Sat outside, got my tan on, fretted about what I was going to wear. The usual."

He nodded, "Well, you look great."

"Thanks," She kicked off her sandal underneath the table, "So, what made you get a job at the grocery store?"

"Didn't you know my grandpa owns the grocery store?" Troy frowned, the grocery store wasn't exactly his most ideal summer job, "It was something I had to do when I moved out here."

"Ah," She nodded, "You'll have to give me a call next time you're off."

"I don't know if I told you yet," Troy tapped his fingers against the wooden table, "But I'm driving into the cities tomorrow, I have to go out and visit my parent's for a few days."

"Oh," She frowned slightly, "How long?"

"Five days," He sighed, "I'd really rather not go but I have to."

"Well," She shrugged, "Maybe you can turn things around with your parents."

"Maybe," He looked around.

"You really got suspended for that?" She giggled loudly, he held his hand out to help her down from his truck.

"I was a bad kid," She didn't let go of his hand, "Principal didn't like me already."

"Which explains why you would rig his chair up to fall if he sat down," She concluded.

"Exactly," They made it to the front door. The lights were out in the house.

"Want to come in?" She bit her lip, "For some coffee or something?"

"Sure," He watched as she unlocked the door, then pulled him in. He made himself a seat at the kitchen counter while she pulled out coffee cups.

"Oh shit," She grumbled, giving the coffee maker a soft pound on the top of the machine.

"Want some help?" He watched as she pressed buttons.

"No, it' just," she refused, "Giving me directions in Chinese."

"Press the button on the left side three times," He instructed.

She followed his instructions, "Damn fancy coffee machine. How'd you know that?"

"Who do you think put that thing together?"

"Now I'm guessing," She held up her finger to her chin, "You?"

"Yes ma'am," Troy nodded, proud of himself, "Took forever."

"I'll bet," The coffee machine began to spit out brown liquid. Gabriella looked at it with a sense of accomplishment. "Coffee, for two."

"Thanks," He carefully slid the cup closer to himself, letting it cool off for a little while. He watched the surface ripple as he blew on the top of it.

"So," She stood on the right of his left knee. His chair was swiveled to face her, "I thought you weren't supposed to hold hands until the third date."

Her hands rested on his shoulders, "Rules were meant to be broken."

Troy slid his hand around her waist, pulling her so that she was near the left side of his chest.

"Are you going to kiss me or what?" She giggled, running her hands to his bicep.

Troy shrugged his shoulders, "Who said I wanted to kiss you?"

"Well," She traced her finger down his chest, "You wanted to kiss me a few days ago."

"And that matters now?" He teased back.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Stop being a smartass."

Troy flashed a cheeky smile, leaning down, and nudging her nose teasingly. He could feel her eyelashes against his cheek as she closed her eyes. He pressed his lips to hers, less gentle than the first time but not harsh. Troy lead the pace, releasing, shifting his head slightly, and covering again. Gabriella's hands drifted to his chest, resting gently on his covered pecs. Then she pushed herself back.

"Do you really have to go tomorrow?"

"Yeah," He sighed, standing up and rubbing his hand down the front of his pants.

"But when you come back we can go on another date," Her eyes gleamed with hope, "Right?"

"Who said I want to go on another date?"

"Stop it," She shoved his shoulder.

"Sure," He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her so that their chests were touching.

"Good."

He was on his way to California because his parent's had graduated.

Well, graduated rehab that is.

Troy's head rested against the window of the airplane, eyes closed in an attempt to show the person next to him he had no interest in conversation. He hadn't gotten home until one A.M. and had to drive three hours to get to the airport.

It was another four to L.A.

And then thirty minutes to their house.

Slowly he fell asleep, tuning out the stewardess offering him a pop and the crying baby that seemed all too close. He moved like a zombie through the airport, finding the driver waiting to drive him home. Troy hauled his oversized duffle over his shoulder until it turned numb.

The house was empty, not unexpectedly. The house looked almost exactly the same as it did when he left four years ago, old afghan draped over the couch, a few wrappers on the coffee table, and dust forming over the surfaces.

There were clear signs that no one had been there in two years, the dust, the stench, and closets missing favorite clothing items. His room was fairly bare, the stuff he cared about that once belonged in the room were now in Minnesota, and all that was left was too small clothes.

No sheets were on the bed, he found some in the linen closet and decided to wash them.

Luckily his grandparent's had figured out how to turn on the electricity and water. There was no cable or internet, only the essentials.

While the sheets were washing, he found the keys to the old car and made a run to the grocery store, picking up food, trash bags, soap, detergent, and other essentials. When he returned, he stocked everything in its place and grabbed a black trash bag.

He sighed, time to clean.

Starting in the living room, he picked up wrappers, trying to detain his disgust. Troy moved through other rooms, separating junk from what he thought his parent's might want to keep.

Then came the hard part. Getting rid of all things tempting. He moved through the kitchen, hitting the liquor cabinet first. Ridding it off all drinks, expired or not. Next he opened the thin drawer underneath the sink, flipping over the lining. Nothing.

So the cops had done a good job.

He searched the rest of the house, the places he knew where the drugs were. The police had discovered most of it, among the list, the condom box under the sink in his parent's bathroom, the old pancake mix box, and the red gasoline tank in the garage. The only place they missed was the broken speaker above the television.

Troy threw the bag into the back of the old Subaru, remembering to drop it off before picking up his parent's the next day.

Grabbing his old skateboard, he flipped it up with his foot and headed down the sidewalk toward his old high school. There was a McDonald's across the street he could grab food from.

He swerved the long board back and forth. His life was one of those newspaper articles that people cooed over. Child takes first drink at twelve, starts smoking at thirteen, parent's get arrested, kid moves in with family, and continues rebellion until some day he gets some sense knocked into him and decides to change his life goals to become a doctor or lawyer. Or a basketball player.

But he wasn't.

Sure, he reluctantly quit smoking. It'd been a big deal when it had actually happened, but it wasn't easy. He'd hated everything about Minnesota, from the snow to the 'nice' to the small towns.

His parent's had gotten off easy the first time, begging to go to rehab instead of jail. They'd succeeded, easy. No penalty for providing alcohol, illegal drugs, or cigarettes to a minor, and no penalty for possession of legal drug. No penalty for ruining their son's life. As long as they made it through rehab.

And, not to many people's surprise, they'd failed.

The second time they weren't so lucky, landing a few years of jail. With probation they barely lasted a year.

Now they'd made it through rehab trip number two and were ready to come home. Troy was supposed to pick them up in the morning.

"Hey Dad," Gabriella had kept her phone close, in case Troy called.

"Hey sweetheart," He responded, "How's everything going?"

"Fine," She smiled, "Just like last time. How's camp?"

"Depends, college aged boys are moodier than you'd think." It was his usual summer gig, keeping his team in shape and preparing the high schooler's for the big league.

"Hmm," She began to zone out.

"Listen, I don't have much time," he stated, "But I wanted to give you a head's up on the progress of the case."

Her attention was reasserted, "How's everything going? Is Mom putting up a fight?"

"Just on the money," Her suspisions were confirmed, "But we're hoping to be settled by the end of the week. Now arguments on the full custody thing yet."

"That's good," Gabriella was happy about his revelation, "It'll be just you and me."

"Yep, just you and me sweetheart. I have got to go though, scrimmage in two minutes."

"Talk to you later."

"I love you."

"Love you too Dad," She hung up the phone.

A/N: A little rushed? Well, too bad if it is, we got places to go, things to cover!

HOLY MOLY THE SUPPORT FOR THIS STORY IS OUTSTANDING! Reviewers pat yourselves on the back!