Just a few notes here: 1) This chapter was started before ShoWest. It was actually started on St. Patty's day while discussing many things 'green'. :) 2) Yes, Oscars Part 3 should be this chapter. But I think I mentioned that these are pretty much one shots that are all just haphazardly thrown together under this Everyday scenario. It's just the way my brain works. (When it works.) And 3) I own nothing of HSM, Beastly, Vanessa, Zac, Alex, Ash, Scott or even Stella other than a few tubs full of mementos and memorabilia - which I LOVE!
Any and all reviews, PM's and/or emails are GREATLY appreciated and feed my addiction! Happy reading & KTZLF! -adc
Vanessa threw the suitcase onto the bed and unzipped the container. She was mumbling completely to herself as she pulled various articles of clothing out and slammed them into the drawers. She was only staying here a few nights and there were a lot of things she wanted to do.
She stopped for a moment and looked down at the wig in her hands that she fluffed a bit and took into the bathroom. Almost everything that she wanted to do she could do by herself. Okay, well, technically she could do all of them by herself but one or two of them would be a lot more enjoyable if Zac was at least present.
With that thought the little hint of a smile wiped away again, followed by an angry sigh and the sound of her cellphone buzzing with a text message. "He's probably sitting at home in front of that damn video game again. If I find out that's all he does this week without me there…NO good excuse for him NOT to be here." She put the wig down on the vanity and crossed her arms over her chest as she exited the bathroom.
She took another deep breath and picked up the phone that she had thrown onto the pillow earlier. Expecting another text from aforementioned boyfriend she huffed and slammed her thumb - as much as possible - on the key to open the message.
"Vanessa are you at the hotel yet? Is Zac with you? Can we go to dinner together? -Alex"
Vanessa glanced up from the device and out the window of her hotel room. Other than being a bit tired from the short flight, and needing to unpack, there was absolutely nothing stopping her from going to eat with her movie co-star. She hit reply on the iPhone screen. "Yep, I'm here and hungry! What time and where?"
The answer came back to her almost immediately. "How about an hour? And what room are you in? I'll come by and meet you there."
Vanessa smiled finally. "Sounds great. I'm in 1225. See you in an hour."
She left the messages at that; Alex didn't reply. She turned back to her clothes and this time gently pulled them out and filled the drawers of the dresser and hung her suit bag in the closet. She thought once about Zac's request that he made when she headed to the airport that morning. "I'm gonna miss you Babe, I know you'll do great. Give me a call when you get in, ok?"
He had knelt down beside her once she was stationed in the seat of the vehicle and leaned into the car to give her a deep, prolonged kiss to show her how much he would miss her. She knew he had fought with himself about making the trip with her. It had come down to simply wanting this event, this award, to be about Vanessa. Not about Zac and Vanessa, just Vanessa and the growth that she had made as an actress.
He was proud of her. She knew that. He loved her. She knew that too. And they each kept saying that 'someday' they would stop avoiding the questions that always came from the press when they went somewhere together.
There would always be a question about their current movies, followed by a question about the potential for an HSM sequel, and then the subject turned to their coupledome. And other than simply seeing them together, and happy, they really didn't want to give away anything more about their four-year-old relationship. Five, if you counted that 'we-were-working-together, getting-to-know-each-other and were-just-good-friends' stage at the very beginning. Um, yeah, five.
After those various thoughts Vanessa sat down on the king sized bed and smiled to herself. 'Someday' was getting a lot harder to wait for in her opinion. She rolled the iPhone over in her hands and looked at the picture of her and Zac that appeared on the screen. Her heart beat just a little faster seeing the smile on his face as he looked into her eyes.
She lost herself in the picture, thinking about his eyes. Just as she had at that after-party. It didn't matter if his hair was long or short, slicked down or pointing straight up. He could have a full beard, five o'clock shadow or be completely clean shaven. It really did not matter as long as she could see his eyes. Once she could look into that blue gaze she was a goner. It had been that way for four years. Well, just admit it Vanessa, five years.
With a deep breath she hit speed dial #1 and waited.
"There's my Baby! How's Vegas?" Zac's voice made her heart speed up even more.
"It's fine so far. I just made it to the hotel about a half hour ago." She answered, attempting to keep her cool and stay calm. "What are you doin'? she asked curiously.
Zac smiled. "I'm NOT playing video games. In case you're wondering." He laughed at her as she answered "Oh." They both knew he could read her mind.
Vanessa heard voices in the background of their conversation. "Is somebody over there?"
Zac smiled again at her keen sense of observance from hundreds of miles away. "Yeeesss." He drawled out. "Ash and Scott are here and they picked up Stella Bella on the way. We're playing a game of basketball."
"Ashley's playing basketball?" Vanessa had to laugh just a little bit.
"No. Ash is Sharpaying her fingernails and holding Maui and Shadow. Stellz is beatin up on Scott. I tried to warn him, she's a Hudgens girl." Zac chuckled at the sight in front of him as Stella stole the ball from Ashley's boyfriend and sent it swishing through the net.
Vanessa's heart softened as she heard their laughter and the curse that came from Scott's mouth. "You taught her well apparently." She smiled thinking about the backyard pickup game. "Why'd Ash and Scott come by anyway?"
Zac turned his back on his guests and wandered toward the pool. He shrugged his shoulders as he answered. "Dunno. I guess they knew you were leaving for Vegas today and I told them we decided that you'd go without me."
"Yeah." Vanessa answered with an innocent pout touching her lips. "I miss you already." She admitted. The hard edge of an angry 21-year-old flowed completely away.
"I miss you too Baby. I do want to be there you know." Zac had made the ultimate call to stay behind but they had discussed the trip, the awards presentation and just being apart for a few days. It wasn't a decision that he was completely happy with. But everytime he thought about joining her he also thought about the swarm of reporters and photographers who would likely be present.
This was to be another of Vanessa's shining moments. And after the fact, the stories about the entire event would be hers. They would share her amazing experience. But it would be exactly that, her experience. Vanessa in the spotlight. Vanessa receiving the award. Vanessa getting the praise that she deserved…without the focus of a relationship to stand in the way. 'Someday' they would share all of it together. Just not yet.
"So, what are you doing?" Zac pondered.
"Well, I've got my clothes put away and right now I'm just sitting on a big king sized bed talking to you." She pulled a pillow out from under the perfectly made covers and pushed it under her head as she laid back.
"Is anyone else there from the Beastly cast yet?" Zac asked curiously.
"Well, I'm not sure who else is coming other than Alex. He's here though. I got a text from him just before I called you. We're gonna meet and go get some dinner in a little bit." She supplied the answer that only piqued Zac's curiosity.
"O-Oh." He attempted to answer casually. "So where are you guys goin'?" That seemed harmless enough to cover his anxiousness, he thought.
"I'm not sure. Maybe just to the hotel restaurant. I really don't want to put the wig on. I'd rather just leave my hair down and throw on some jeans and a top. I'm just not in the mood to get dressed up." She commented.
"Yeah, you never are after flying." Zac threw in his own comment. "We usually just end up ordering room service and staying in the first night that we travel." He observed.
"Huh." Vanessa thought a minute. "You're right, we do usually stay in." she thought again. "Of course after having room service we also usually try to make sure the bed is gonna be comfortable enough for us." She blushed and grinned.
Zac grinned too, until another thought hit him. "You and Alex…you should probably just find some fast food place to eat. Have the hotel get a driver for you and you could just go get some burgers or a salad or something. You wouldn't have to dress up but you could still go out."
Vanessa's forehead bowed together scrunching her eyebrows in thought. "Didn't we just say that I don't like to go out on the first night at a hotel? Maybe I could just order burgers up here and we can eat here." She added innocently.
"What!?" Zac's question caught Vanessa off guard along with the three people who had been practically oblivious to the conversation to that point.
"What?" a startled Vanessa questioned her boyfriend.
"I…I just meant…if you decide to do that, there's no reason for Alex to come over. He won't just want to sit in a hotel room with you eating burgers and drinking a diet coke." Zac attempted to ease his tone of voice.
"Why not? We could just catch up on what we've been up to, have some dinner and then call it a night." Again Vanessa innocently commented on her thought of a nice dinner 'in'.
Zac took a breath and walked back toward the basketball goal. Ashley had stood up from her chair and walked toward Zac. She looked at him and raised her eyebrows wondering what was going on. He looked at Vanessa's best friend letting her easily see the tense jaw muscles. She also noticed the little flecks of green that seemed to be hardening the brilliant blue that usually shined in his eyes when he spoke to Vanessa.
"Nessa, the other phone's ringing. I'm handing you to Ash." He lied as he handed over the phone, walked to the patio table and grabbed a bottle of water.
"What did you say to him?" Ashley commented before even saying 'hello'.
Vanessa's confusion was obvious. "What? Nothing. I was just talking about dinner and ordering in instead of going out to get something. That's all. Why?" she sat up on the side of the bed wondering what was going on.
"There had to be more than that. I've never seen his eyes…green before." Ashley lifted her hand to shade her eyes from the sun as she looked toward Zac with his hand on his hip and water guzzling into his mouth. "Seriously Ness, sweetie, he looks upset."
Vanessa shook her head. "All we were talking about is how I like to stay in the first night that we travel anywhere. I don't like to get dressed up and go out. We order room service, eat and go to bed. I just told him maybe I'd do that tonight. Alex is coming to pick me up for dinner, but maybe I'll just order room service and we can stay in for a while. When he leaves I'll just go on to bed." She took a deep breath and waited for Ashley to say something.
"Well there's your problem." The older girl answered with a slight smile. "You've now succeeded in making your boyfriend jealous. Really, jealous."
"Nah…" Vanessa answered. "This is just Alex we're talking about. He's more like Dylan. I mean after working with him, it's like having another little brother."
"Vanessa Anne Hudgens," Ashley started again. "You really are jetlagged aren't you? Or else you just aren't listening to what you're saying."
"Fine, oh Wise One. Explain it to me." Vanessa leaned back again on the bed and closed her eyes waiting for Ashley to begin, what she was sure would be, a tirade of absolute foolishness.
Ashley stood for just a minute looking at Zac. Stella and Scott continued playing basketball but Zac wasn't watching them at all. He had finished the bottle of water and repeatedly squeezed the bottle in his hand and then released it. After just another moment he threw the bottle back down on the table and headed inside. Ashley rolled her eyes and decided that she would handle him once she was done with the Vegas princess on the other end of the phone line.
Ashley walked back to the patio chair, took a deep breath and sat down. "Alex… Alex, 'I play Vanessa's love interest in the movie', Alex. Alex, 'I'm 19 years old and sexy', Alex. Alex, 'I'm the British version of Zac Efron', Alex. Am I getting anywhere?"
Vanessa sighed. "Zac and I went through all that last summer while I was in Montreal. He can't still be jealous of that stuff. I know he came to see me earlier than I expected. We talked about that. Alex is not someone for him to be jealous of."
Ashley's eyes widened as her eyebrows raised. "Is there someone he should be jealous of?"
"No! Ashley! That is NOT what I meant and you know it. I'm just saying this is my movie co-hort. I haven't seen him in months. He doesn't feel anything but friendship for me and I absolutely don't feel anything romantic for him. For God's sake, just put Zac back on the phone." Vanessa's frustration at the silliness of the situation was growing by the moment.
"You compared Alex to Dylan. Have you ever noticed how much Dylan gets under Zac's skin?" Ashley pushed.
Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Just put him back on the phone."
"I can't." Ashley mentioned honestly. "He just went back in the house."
This time Vanessa verbally sighed. "Fine. Then I'm gonna get off here. If the Jolly Green Guy decides to get over his pouting spell and pull his head out of his ass tell him to call me back. I'll be here, in my room, alone, for another half hour. After that I guess I'll be in the hotel restaurant with Alex. And that would be Alex, 'I share this award with my co-star and friend…just friends, Alex'."
Ashley smiled but held in her laughter. "I'll let him know you're compromising on your dinner plans. That should perk him up. Have fun Nessa."
"Whatever Tizz." Vanessa now pouted. "Bad enough being here without him. If he won't even talk to me on the phone I'll go Sucker Punch on him once I get home. Tell him that, would ya?"
"Gladly." Ashley responded and with a final 'love you' shared between the young ladies they each hung up.
Vanessa's mumbling and grumbling continued after the phone conversation. "Green eyed, jealous…you'd think he was my husband or something. His idea not to come out here with me. If Alex bugs him that much…screw it. UGH!"
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Ashley looked up at Scott and Stella as she hung up the phone. She let out a little laugh that caught their attention.
"What's up?" Stella finally bit at the curious yet amusing chain of events.
"There's apparently a green-eyed monster living inside your virtual brother-in-law. And its name is Alex."
Stella and Scott both looked at Ashley like she had two heads. She raised her hands out in front of her urging them both to think about what she was saying. "Zanessa is human after all. And I'm pretty sure I just witnessed a portion of a lovers' quarrel!" she smiled widely and laughed again.
Her laugh softened into a worried smile when she saw Zac come back out of the house with a suitcase trailing behind him.
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"Zac Attack, where are you goin'?" Stella's eyes creased together looking a lot like the 21 year old Hudgens sister who was presently out of the state.
"I am going to Vegas. I should already be there. If she were getting the award by herself… It doesn't matter. I should already be there with her." Zac mumbled his explanation and looked directly at Vanessa's little sister.
Stella's eyes grew wide and she took a step backwards. "Are you wearing contacts?" she asked and continued to look into Zac's eyes.
He shook his head at her and glanced at Ashley and Scott who were simply standing nearby and listening. "No. You know I don't wear contacts. Why?" his somewhat angry voice was attempting to keep its calm with the rash of Vegas thoughts that were swirling in his brain.
"They're like…green. Are you sick or something?" Stella lifted her hand to Zac's cheek to try and keep him from turning his head.
He smacked her hand away and intentionally turned his back on them all. "I'm perfectly fine. I just need to get to the airport and figure out how soon I can get a flight." He thought out loud. "Ash, how long is a flight from here to Vegas?" he continued.
"Little over an hour at the most." Ashley began to answer before Scott put a hand on her arm. He motioned toward Stella and urged the two females to go inside.
"Zac, hang tight a second. Just, come shoot a couple of hoops with me." Scott tried to insist.
"I really don't need a lecture right now man." Zac looked toward Scott and then noticed Ash and Stella heading inside.
"No, I know you don't. Just…why all of a sudden do you think you have to be in Vegas? Is Vanessa ok?" Scott's tone sounded more with worry than lecture mode.
"Yeah, she's fine. I just… she… There's just no good reason why I'm not there. This is her award, and it's a big one. I feel like I'm being selfish…not being there for her. I'm worrying to much about us being in the public eye and not thinking of what a big deal this really is for her. I want to be there with her to celebrate it."
Zac stopped talking and looked at Scott. That was all true. Every word of it. But that wasn't what was jerking his chain to join Vanessa in Vegas. Ashley's boyfriend was a bit more perceptive than Zac thought.
"So you want to make sure she's celebrating this momentous occasion with you… and not with hot male co-star number two." Scott raised his eyebrows but didn't allow a smile, smirk or grin to appear on his face. Zac easily realized that Scott wasn't asking a question. He was stating something that was blatantly obvious to all those around him.
Zac swallowed and looked down at the concrete under his feet. "It's one thing to be right there, and seeing her give him a friendly hug and then come right back into my arms. It's another to read the quotes under the pap pictures when I'm an hour away from her without any good reason for not being there." He spoke softly.
"Jealousy isn't the reason to run to Vegas Zac. You guys obviously talked about this. I know you talked for weeks about it and you decided that you weren't going. Now she and Alex are gonna go have dinner and suddenly you decide you need to get to Vegas. It's pretty obvious. Especially when your little sister can see the green in your eyes. And I gotta tell you, she's right. Even I can see it." Scott stopped with that and both men grinned at each other.
"It's so obvious that even you can see it?" Zac's sideways grin told Scott just how 'female' he was sounding.
"This is the exact reason I sent Ash and Stella in the house. I am not gay, nor will I ever be gay but my powers of perception are quite strong. I've always told Ash you were the jealous type underneath it all." Scott threw his own cockeyed smile toward Zac and then threw a basketball at him.
Zac grabbed the ball before it hit his chest and sent it flying into the basket. "Fine then O Perceptive One. I guess I'm staying home." They both laughed.
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Stella's phone beeped in her pocket. She and Ashley had stationed themselves at the kitchen counter nibbling on the chocolate chip cookie dough that Vanessa had left in the fridge. She pulled the phone from her pocket and grinned.
"Ooo, there's already a twitter about Ness in Vegas." She grinned and quickly zipped to the internet site.
Ashley rounded the counter to stand over Stella's shoulder. "V doesn't twitter though."
Stella just glanced at the blonde over her shoulder. "No, but do you have any idea how many people twitter about her? Oh, look! This must be somebody at the hotel where Nessa's staying, there's even a picture."
The fourteen year old hopped off the barstool and headed back outside to the patio. "Zac Attack! There's a twit-pic of Nessa already. Wanna see?" she quickly approached Vanessa's boyfriend as he let another shot glide through the hoop.
He turned to look down at Stella's phone just as the attachment opened. With one glance his jaw tensed again. In her little bit of shock Stella didn't try to pull the phone away. Still all three of Zac's guests could see the resolve in his eyes. His bag was already packed and still sitting at the door. The green flecks were shown to each of the three people who were looking directly at him. "I'm going to Vegas." He said and began to walk with head hanging down toward the patio doors.
"Zac?" Ashley called after him. "Make sure your phone's on. I'll book the flight and call you as soon as I've got the details. Call Nessa and let her know you're coming, ok?"
Zac looked back at his friends and little sister. "Yeah, ok." He quickly loaded his suitcase in the trunk and sat down behind the steering wheel. With a deep breath he took out his phone and typed a text message to his girlfriend. The words were truthful. He hoped she would understand.
"I'm coming 2 Vegas. Should've gone w/ u. I love u."
As he started the engine Stella approached the car and he rolled the window down. He smiled at her, having a few minutes to himself to try and think rationally.
"You don't have to be jealous. You know she loves you…only you, right?" Stella asked tentatively.
Zac smiled at her softly. "I know that Stella Bella. And I love her too…only her. And I know I don't have to be jealous. But right now what I have to be is with her. Jealousy, love, whatever it is. Ya know?"
Stella smiled back at him. "Do you think maybe someday you guys will stop this crap about avoiding the paps and just let them see you together?"
Zac thought and nodded his head. "With the thoughts that have run through my head over the past couple of hours I think we're gonna have to. Someday is gettin' darn close." He commented as he raised the window and backed out of the driveway.
Stella pulled up the single somewhat out of focus picture that had spurred Zac's sudden departure. Vanessa's hand was running through Alex's short hair with his hands gripping her other wrist to try and hold it down.
It was simple. It looked like something Stella had done to Zac several times when he had gotten haircuts and she was trying to make fun of him. It was two co-stars just seeing each other after several months. Completely innocent…completely fun. Completely enough to drive Zac Efron to catch the first flight to Vegas.
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Vanessa's phone beeped as she sat in the hotel restaurant with Alex talking about the fact that he couldn't enjoy much of the very adult world in sin-city. Vanessa added that although she had finally hit the magic age of 21, there wasn't much she wanted to do, without Zac there.
She lifted the phone from her jeans pocket and was a little surprised to see a text blinking at her from Zac. "I'm coming 2 Vegas. Should've gone w/ u. I love u."
Her eyebrows raised and she wondered if her jealous boyfriend was acting on those feelings or if something else inside him had snapped.
"Can you excuse me for a couple of minutes?" she looked apologetically at her dinner companion.
"Absolutely." Alex answered with his British accent. "Everything ok?"
"I think so…well, I hope so. But apparently I'm getting a roommate that I wasn't expecting." Vanessa pressed her lips together and smiled at the handsome young man.
"Zac decided to come to Vegas after all?" he answered with the quirk of his left eyebrow.
Vanessa pressed her lips together again and nodded shyly.
"He should be here." Alex commented. "This is a big honor. He should be here to share it with you and celebrate with you." He smiled. "Go. I'll have them bring some boxes and I'll bring your leftovers to your room. Be sure to run by the front desk and make sure you leave a key for him." He added.
Vanessa shook her head and let it lean sideways just slightly looking at her co-award winner. "He's coming because he's jealous of you. If we hadn't come to dinner together he'd have no reason to even leave his house."
Alex laughed. "Well, then my plan worked. I was actually hoping he was already here so I could talk audition strategies with him for another movie that I'm going for. Once he gets here can I steal him for a little while?"
Vanessa stepped away from the booth and turned back to look at Alex with a sly, coy smile on her face. "You don't want me to be jealous of you, do you? I will let you borrow my boyfriend…when I'm done with him." Her widening smile showed Alex just how much she was looking forward to keeping Zac all to herself.
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As Vanessa walked back into her room her phone beeped again. The call from Stella was somewhat expected. "Hi Stellz." Vanessa answered.
"His eyes are blue, right Ness? Cause I swear they were green. All Ash and Scott told me was that you were having dinner with Alex and all of a sudden Zac feels the need to be in Vegas. He's not seriously jealous of you going out with Alex, is he?" her little sister was curious, concerned and amused all at the same time.
Vanessa thought about Stella's words as she waited for her to take a breath. "Of course they're blue. Yes I went to dinner with Alex but I'm back in my room now. I don't know if Zac's jealous or not. It sounds like it. But all I've gotten from him is a text message saying he was coming over here. Where is he now, by the way?" she relayed her answers.
Stella thought for a minute. "Should be at the airport. Ash said the first flight she could book him on was at 10:20 but that was in coach. So I think he's on an 11:05 flight in first class. He was willing to take the coach seats but Ash argued with him. I think she ultimately made the call and he's leaving at 11:05."
Vanessa listened to her sister ramble and again worked to soak in the words. "He hates coach. Why would he even consider flying coach? Nut job. The last time he flew coach his 'crazed fans' nearly ate him alive on the flight and I was sitting right next to him! At least in first class it's usually just the stewardesses making passes at him. Wait. It's just now 9:00. Why is he already at the airport. Stellz, what prompted him to come over here all of a sudden?" she finally asked.
Stella took a breath and thought back to the afternoon and evening at Zac's house. "Well he was fine till after he got off the phone with you. Then he, like, ran in the house and packed a bag and just about bolted out the door. But Scott stopped him and I dunno what happened there, but then he was staying home again. Then, like, Ash and I were eating cookie dough and I got this Twitter message with a picture of you attached so I ran outside to show it to Zac. And it was when, I guess Alex came to your room to get you or something and you were messin' with his hair. As soon as Zac Attack saw that picture he went and picked up his bags and told us he was going to Vegas."
"Crap, well great. That's what I need, jealous Zac sitting in an airport by himself stewing about me being here with a 19 year old British actor who reminds me more and more of Dylan everytime I talk to him." Vanessa huffed.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Stella asked with pure curiosity.
"Well for Zac's sake it's a good thing. Dylan's our little brother. He's a pain in the butt sometimes and I love him, but he wants all of Zac's attention when we're together." Vanessa tried to explain.
"Alex wants all of Zac's attention?" Stella was now confused.
"Not all of it, but he does want to talk to Zac about another movie role that he's auditioning for. Yes I went to dinner with him, but I think he really wanted Zac there instead. He just happened to have my phone number." Vanessa sighed again.
"Why don't you call and talk to him…Zac I mean? If he's just sittin at the airport waiting…wouldn't it be better if you talk to him and calm him down before he gets on a plane with some over-eager flight attendant?" Stella suggested.
Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Since when did you become Miss Romance Advisor?"
"Since I've been eavesdropping on you with Zac, or with Mom or with Ashley. I've got some really juicy notes for your biography that I'm planning to write." Stella smiled at the astonished "What?!" that came from the other end of the line. "Just get off here and go call him. I'd hate for him to sneak into your room trying to play Mr. Romantic later on and find you sitting on the couch with your arms crossed across your chest."
"Fine." Vanessa huffed. "Hanging up now Little Sister."
Stella laughed. "Well when he gets there, just tell him I said 'you're welcome', and give him one of those big, long, sloppy kisses that you guys seem to enjoy so much."
"Goodbye Stellz, I love you." Vanessa punched.
"Love you too Big Sis! Have fun!" Stella felt more proud of this conversation than many others she and Vanessa had shared. It was one of the few times she felt her advice was really being taken to heart.
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"Where are you?" Vanessa's voice didn't sound the least bit happy when it sounded after Zac answered his phone.
"I'm still in L.A." he answered her as though he was already being punished for something.
"Are you seriously coming to Las Vegas?" Vanessa asked, still with the unhappy tone.
"Ness, I know we discussed this. But I think I made a mistake. I want to be there with you. I want to see you accept the award. I don't want to hear about it. I want to see your face beaming when you get up on that stage. I love it when you smile and I want to be there to see it." Zac had practiced that short speech a hundred times already in the past hour that he had been sitting in the airport terminal.
Vanessa was a little taken aback by his words. They weren't what she expected. She was expecting an argument. But she agreed with everything he said. Should she still try to pick a fight with him sounding so pitiful? Well, it was her duty. And, it was easier to argue with him over the phone than in person. In person she always got lost in his blue eyes. In person he'd always start rubbing her upper arm. In person her knees always got weak and she ended up in his arms.
She took a deep breath and shivered. "Are you sure you aren't just jealous of Alex being here?"
Zac sighed. "I was. But I've had time to think since I'm sitting in the airport waiting for my flight, by myself. Something this big for you…for you and Alex both, but mainly for you…there shouldn't have been any argument in either of our minds of whether I should be there with you or not. I'm not on a project, I'm not out of town. We're home together and you're getting this amazing award."
Vanessa crumbled hearing his voice. There was no way she could argue with him like this. "Listen, just get here. There's a key waiting for you at the front desk. It's room 1225. If your flight doesn't leave till 11 then I'll probably be asleep when you get here. But you can wake me up. I won't mind."
Zac ventured backwards just a step. "Did you have room service?"
Vanessa smiled and shook her head. "No Sweetheart. Alex and I went to the hotel restaurant downstairs. The picture Stella showed you was apparently snapped by somebody who recognized Alex when he got off the elevator. They hid around the corner from my room to see who he was coming to see and then pulled out their camera-phone when I started teasing him about his hair finally growing back."
Zac smiled, finally letting her playful voice sink back into his skull. "Oh." He said simply.
"So, yeah. That's it for now I guess." Vanessa finished.
"1225, right?" Zac double checked the room number that he had already discovered.
"Right." Vanessa answered back. "Zac? You know you don't need to be jealous, right? I love you. Only you."
"I know." He smiled as he looked out the windows at the airplanes lining up on the runway. "And Ness, my Baby, I love you too, so much."
They both ended the call on a much happier, content note. And as Zac flipped the phone over and over in his hands he realized something. 'Someday' was just beginning. And it felt completely right.
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Vanessa knew it would be close to one a.m. before Zac would roll into bed. She finished her leftovers, took a hot bubble bath in the Jacuzzi tub and turned on mindless cartoons on the bedroom tv. She left the tv on as she drifted to sleep.
She wasn't quite sure how much later it was when she felt a weight climb into bed beside her. "Zac?" she questioned tentatively.
"Better be me." He answered with a grin and quickly wrapped his arm around her body. The slick nightgown was soft under his fingertips, but not what he expected. "Hey, where's your Wildcats t-shirt?" he whispered into her ear as he began to steal kisses along her temple and jaw.
"We traveled today. This is what I wear on the nights after we've traveled. We stay in, order room service, and go to bed." She turned toward Zac and finally let him kiss her lips.
"We haven't had room service yet." He commented with a smile as he made out her soft, beautiful features in the dim light.
Vanessa moved her body closer to him and reached up to her cheek to grab his hand. "Are you hungry? The room service tray is over there on the dresser. I finished the lasagna that I had for dinner. But I ordered some shrimp cocktail and a veggie burger for you right before I came to bed. What time is it anyway?"
Zac ignored her questions but chuckled at the tray that he could now see on the dresser near the tv. "You seriously ordered room service?"
"Yeah," she spoke softly. "It's part of our travel routine."
Zac let his head drop down enough to nuzzle his nose through her hair and against her neck. Vanessa could feel him smiling against her skin. "Let's pretend that we've already enjoyed our room service and have moved onto checking out the bed." Zac suggested. "You…wouldn't be awake enough to…say…continue our travel routine? Would you?"
Vanessa laughed and then sucked in a breath as she felt his fingers beginning to move over her body and his mouth began to follow a very similar path.
"There's a reason I told you to wake me up when you got here you know." She nearly whispered as he slid the strap of her nightgown off her shoulder.
Vanessa lay still enjoying his presence and the attention he was giving her. She wanted to ask one more thing before their 'routine' got too far along. "Zac?"
"Hmmm?" he questioned half-heartedly from somewhere between her collarbone and sternum.
"Do we need to talk about this green-eyed monster that Ashley and Stella told me about? I really prefer your eyes when they are blue." She stated calmly, feeling him carefully removing his shorts that he had slid on before climbing into bed with her.
He moved his lips to the pulse on her neck and moved his tongue in circles around it. "How about…" he whispered to her, "we pretend that never happened. Let's pretend I've been here with you the whole time and in reality I'm not going to leave your side again while we're here."
Vanessa moaned quietly as she listened to his plan, and surrendered to his lips, fingers and the rest of his body that she could now feel pressing against her.
"So I'm just supposed to forget about our conversation earlier when you got jealous and I got ticked off?" She tried to ask.
"Don't know what you're talking about Baby. I don't remember anything like that at all." Zac continued his pleasure-filled actions to try and help her forget.
"Well, then I guess the old saying is right, huh?" Vanessa sucked in a breath and began to let her own hands wander over her boyfriend's magnificent body.
"Mmm-hmmm." Zac agreed with a desire-filled moan "What happens in Vegas…"
And that was the end of the conversation. Zac moved his mouth over hers, his body over hers and Vanessa accepted them both without any other questions or comments. With the continuation of their travel routine, and knowing that Zac would be by her side for the award ceremony they both realized something they were completely ready for. 'Someday' had finally come.
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Scenarios: Hawaii by adcgordon now available in paperback, hardback and e-book versions at AuthorHouse (dot) com; Amazon (dot) com; or BarnesandNoble (dot) com.