'Tis the Season
Summary: Follow Troy and Gabriella through several holiday seasons, as their relationship with one another grows and changes. Fluffy AU Troyella fic.
Disclaimer: I do not own these wonderful characters (or any part of the HSM franchise)...I just love them like the rest of you. :-) I also do not own any Christmas songs, their lyrics, their rights, or the artists who have performed them...in case you actually wondered. ;-)
Author's Note: Well, funny thing...those freshly baked cookies did appear...after hubby and I made them. :-D Another funny thing, we may get ice tonight again...and looking at a weather map, so may Albuquerque. Ha! I know, I know...it's the little things that amuse me. Again, mwah, mwah and lots of warm fuzzies for your great reviews! I'll keep trucking away with writing this story in the midst of work, shopping, holiday cards, packing to visit family and whatnot, and hopefully you all can continue to be wonderful and keep motivating me. :-) And in other randomness...thud, sigh, and sweetness at the flowers at her door and that boy's huge smile...glad V seems to have had a lovely birthday! I'm sure she's looking at another great year ahead. Hopefully, we all are. Catch ya again soon! --Mel
Chapter 4 - 'Tis the Season...To Sing
"Jolly old Saint Nicholas,
Lean your ear this way,
Don't you tell a single soul
What I'm going to say.
Christmas Eve will soon be here,
Now you dear old man,
Whisper what you'll bring to me,
Tell me if you can...
Johnny wants a pair of skates,
Susie needs a sled,
Nelly wants a storybook --
One she hasn't read.
As for me, I hardly know,
So I'll go to rest;
Choose for me, dear Santa Claus,
What you think is best."
.
Troy and Gabriella spent the next half hour going about the motions of changing into their church attire, while mentally replaying this evening's moments in the kitchen, and the last one in particular. They both kept wondering if they had imagined things, if they hadn't really started to feel some type of attraction to each other, if they hadn't really both leaned in as though they were about to kiss...and they both kept coming back to the same conclusion...their imaginations weren't that strong.
"Ella! Time to go!" Maria called up from the bottom of the stairs.
Taking a deep breath, Gabriella finished putting an extra layer of lip gloss on, throwing the tube into her small purse and taking one last look in the mirror, wondering if she was doing her lips up for someone in particular tonight. Shaking her head at herself in the mirror, she turned and headed out the door and down the stairs. Meeting up with her parents at the bottom, they smiled at her approvingly.
"You look more and more lovely every year, Ella. Could you please stop growing up so fast? You're making your old man feel, well, old," Eduardo said lightly.
"Thanks, daddy!" Gabriella said, smiling and momentarily forgetting her nervousness about seeing Troy again. "And, I'll try, but, for the record, you are far from old."
Eduardo pulled her close into his side for a moment and placed a kiss on top of her head. Maria gazed upon them, a contented smile gracing her face. She could almost imagine Gabriella was a girl of five or ten once more. Almost. Their little girl was growing into a beautiful young woman. She had told Eduardo about her odd behavior when she'd arrived home a little while ago. They both had their suspicions about the potential cause. Teenagers may like to think that their parents are blind but these two were not oblivious to the subtle changes that had been taking place in their daughter's relationship with a certain neighbor and best friend over the past several months. They wondered if perhaps Ella and the young man in question were becoming less oblivious themselves. They fully intended to observe the two this evening and see what they could glean from their interactions.
With these thoughts in mind, Maria ushered them out the door. "Ella, where's your coat?"
Gabriella's eyes widened as she realized she'd been in such a hurry to escape her awkward situation earlier that she hadn't bothered to grab her coat from the Boltons' coat closet. "Oh, um, must have left it next door. I'll be okay."
"Nonsense, I'm sure they'll let you run in and get it. Come on. Let's go."
"Okay, mom."
After locking up the front door, the Montez clan walked down the driveway to their minivan. Maria was going to remind Gabriella to run over and retrieve her coat when they all looked up at the sound of their neighbors' front door opening. Maria gave Gabriella a gentle push instead of bothering with verbal instructions. Gabriella, reading her mother loud and clear, started to move reluctantly toward the Boltons and then stopped, seeing Troy slowly walking toward her with a small smile, holding her grey peacoat in his hands. As he drew up in front of her, he paused uncertainly before speaking.
"Hey."
"Hey."
Not knowing what else to say, Troy held her coat open and up to her shoulder height and moved around behind her, waiting. Looking over her shoulder at him, her mouth opened and closed briefly in surprise before she complied and reached back to slip first one arm and then the other into her coat. Troy slid the the coat the rest of the way up her arms and helped to place its weight appropriately on her shoulders, his hands lingering there half a beat longer than necessary.
Gabriella noticed. And, she noticed the heat of him, his proximity to her back at that moment, how it made the air feel charged around her. She new the increased warmth she felt had little to do with her wool coat.
She turned around slowly. "Thank you...for remembering to grab my coat. I, um, forgot it earlier."
That tentative smile formed on Troy's face once more. "You're welcome. Wouldn't want you to freeze. I might not get my present tomorrow if you did."
Gabriella returned his smile. She couldn't help it. This was the banter she was used to. "What is this present you speak of?" she teased.
"Hmmm..." Troy began but his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the minivan's doors opening and closing and the engine starting up. Gabriella had noticed too and with silent agreement, they both turned and moved toward the vehicle. Maria and Lucille were seated up front, with Eduardo and Jack behind them, leaving the back seat open for Troy and Gabriella.
"After you," Troy said softly once they'd reached the side of the van. Gabriella smiled briefly and climbed up into the van, placing her hand on the back of her father's seat to help herself up before scooting into the very back seat. As she did so, Troy tried pretty unsuccessfully not to notice the way her dress rose, exposing a bit more of her legs to his view. They were very nice, shapely legs. He wondered why he hadn't really noticed before. Realizing he was in fact staring, he glanced quickly away and toward the others in the vehicle and was glad to see that they were all involved in their own conversations and hadn't seemed to notice. Seeing Gabriella settled on the backseat, Troy hoisted himself up into the van and turned to pull the door shut before seating himself next to her.
Sitting down, Gabriella felt a bit self-conscious. She hoped her dress hadn't ridden up much when she'd climbed into the van. She had felt as though his eyes were on her but that could've just been her imagination. Of course, she wasn't imagining her own eyes briefly glancing at his backside as he turned and leaned to pull the door shut. Blushing furiously at her own actions, she turned her head quickly to look out the window as Troy plopped back down onto the seat.
Seeing Gabriella's focus on the outside world now rolling by them, Troy turned his head to face forward, not sure if she wanted to talk to him. He tapped his fingers together in his lap uncomfortably. The short ride to the church continued that way, with the adults chattering away and the teenagers in the back sitting silent, lost in their own confusing thoughts.
When they arrived at the church, Gabriella and Troy were the last to climb out of the minivan. Troy, of course, descended to the ground first and then, without much thought in the action, turned around to see that Gabriella got down fine. Seeing her pause before stepping down, perched precariously in her small heels, Troy extended his arm to her. Gabriella's breath hitched for a millisecond before she laid her hand in his and stepped down with his help, thankful for the steadying hand, though still completely confused about why she liked feeling it so much and why she felt regretful when he slowly let go of her hand once they were both on solid ground.
"Thank you," she murmured.
Troy just shrugged bashfully and turned to shut up the van. Maria armed the vehicle's alarm with her remote and both families made their way across the parking lot and into the church, joining the crowd of people that were mingling inside, sharing hugs and well wishes, hanging up their coats, and moving steadily into the sanctuary to find a seat. Jack and Lucille led their group, finding a pew and entering it. Troy entered next, with Gabriella following him. Her parents had motioned for her to do so and she knew that there was no special message in that from them, as she usually sat next to Troy in this service. Tonight, things just felt different, but from Gabriella's perspective, her parents would have no way to know that. Maria followed her into the pew and then Eduardo took up the end of it.
As they were getting settled in their seats just a few moments before the service was to begin, a young couple came in, looking around and seeing that the church was pretty full. Eduardo kindly motioned for them to join their pew, signaling for Maria, Gabriella and the rest of their group to scoot closer together to make room. Jack and Lucille happily complied and Troy moved closer to his mother. Gabriella bit her lip and scooted closer to Troy, still leaving a bit of space between them. Maria moved slightly and saw the space Gabriella had left, looking back to see that the young couple could still use a little bit more room so that they didn't need to feel as though they were sitting in her husband's lap.
"Ella," she whispered, "scoot further. You still have some room between you and Troy."
Sighing, Gabriella thought 'That's exactly the point, mother,' but carefully did as she was told, settling directly next to Troy so that their thighs were touching lightly. Maria's legs also made contact with her daughter's from the other side...but somehow didn't have the same effect on her. Gabriella felt the heat rise up from where her leg met with Troy's. She felt a bit of tingling from the area and tried to demurely fold her hands in her lap and look around the church at anyone but her best friend.
Troy had seen Gabriella's hesitation in moving closer to him. He'd be lying to himself if he didn't admit that it had stung a little seeing that, but he understood the reaction. From all he could tell, Gabriella was feeling an inexplicable and unsettling pull to him tonight like he was to her. When he'd leaned in earlier in his kitchen, so had she. And, when she did look at him, she wasn't looking at him so much in a 'Why are you looking at me like that?' kind of way as a 'Why am I seeing you differently?' kind of way. He understood that completely. He felt like he was doing the same.
But now, here they sat, so close they were touching...sharing body heat and personal space...very cozy and quite...affected. Troy saw that she was looking everywhere but at him and he hated that. He was grateful when the choir assembled up front and began singing, motioning for the church audience to stand and join them. As they stood up, he felt her arm brush his and took a short breath before joining in the current song.
"Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the Newborn King..."
Gabriella felt the words leave her mouth by rote but wasn't giving fully of herself. She loved singing in church, particularly the Christmas songs, so she did her best to try to focus on doing so and not on the owner of the arm that brushed periodically against hers.
Troy always loved to listen to Gabriella sing. Her voice was beautiful. Though he heard the sweet sound leaving her mouth, he could tell she was holding back tonight. He did his best to focus his own attention on the words leaving his mouth.
After several songs, the pastor moved to stand in front of his congregation. "Thank you, everyone. You may all be seated." And, with that, one could hear the collective movement of the persons in the room as they sat back down on the pews.
"Would you all do me a favor this special evening and join hands with the person next to you while we pray?" Again, movement throughout the room could be heard. Maria grasped onto her daughter's left hand, smiling down at her. Lucille did the same, grasping her only son's right hand and squeezing lovingly. Without looking at each other, Troy and Gabriella closed their eyes and let their hands drift closer to each other until they touched awkwardly. After a brief pause, Troy moved his left hand atop her right and curled his fingers to hold it loosely.
The prayer their pastor said next may have been the most eloquent he had ever spoken in his career and two distracted teenagers in his congregation would not have noticed. Troy's mind drifted to thoughts he had had earlier that evening when their hands had brushed together when she handed him the spoonful of cookie dough. He and Gabriella had held hands on occasion, not often, but when they had, it had never felt anything more than comforting and friendly. But now, he felt like there was more. He felt the hesitation he felt when he'd go on a first date with someone he liked and had gotten the courage to ask out. Those uncertain but thrilling moments when he'd take the leap and join hands with the girl in the dark movie theater or walking through the halls of school. He thought too of the quickening of his pulse and the headiness of the moment just before he'd kiss the girl...he'd felt that back in his kitchen.
It all came crashing down on him then. The lack of interest in any other girls and the comfort and enjoyment of spending so much of his free time with his best friend. The happiness he felt when he made her smile or laugh or when she joked with him and made him laugh. The way he loved how well she knew him and appreciated how well she listened to him and really cared about his thoughts and feelings.
Beside him, Gabriella was having a similar realization, also thinking about how a day didn't really feel complete lately unless they'd had their evening face-to-face or phone conversation, recapping the day and wishing each other sweet dreams. And, the way each morning felt positive and bright when they met each other out front of their houses and drove to school together. She loved how well they understood each other...how comfortable and natural they usually felt around each other and how they were able to just be themselves. But now, there was an additional layer, something interfering with that comfort and the only thing she could keep coming back to was attraction. Something physical was obviously creeping up between them and she didn't know if it was a fluke. The holiday season did make people naturally long to be close to one another, people of the opposite sex in particular, so it could be that. But they had both spent other Christmas seasons unattached in the past and this hadn't been an issue, so she had a large amount of doubt about this explanation.
Troy's breath hitched. He liked her. His best friend. And he liked her as more than that. Unconsciously, he squeezed her hand. There it sat beneath his and nothing felt more right.
Gabriella felt the squeeze from his hand and her heart started to flutter faster. This was crazy. This was her best friend...who she told about situations in which other guys set her heart to fluttering, made her feel nervous, and that she wanted to explore things further with. Troy was not meant to be one of these guys. She didn't know how to process this. She liked him. Her best friend. And, in this moment, it was in more than a friendly manner.
Troy and Gabriella were two of the last to realize that the prayer had ended. Hearing the voices around them raise once more in song, their eyes fluttered open in embarassment and their lips opened automatically to join in with the lyrics. As the song progressed, they realized they were still holding hands, but as neither really wanted to pull his or her hand away, they allowed them to remain linked, attempting to feign a cool, lack of awareness about the matter. And, so they remained throughout the song and throughout the pastor's message that evening. They did, however, need to separate their hands at the end of the service, when candles were passed from person to person down each pew in preparation for the traditional candlelight experience of the final song. Their fingers brushed again as they proceeded to pass candles as necessary until everyone had one.
"Silent night, holy night..."
As the strains of the comforting melody began to play, small flames of light began to fill the darkness of the church. It was always tradition for the ushers to light the candles of those sitting at the end of the pews and for those persons to pass the flame and the light from one candle to the next, from person to person within their row, until all held a lighted candle in front of them. Gabriella tilted her candle to accept the flame from her mother's, smiling up at her as she did so. Slowly, she turned her body toward Troy and held his gaze for a long moment before he inclined his candle to obtain his own flame, pausing another heartbeat before turning to allow his mother to light her candle. Having done so, he returned his attention back to his friend, enjoying the play of light across her face from the flickering candle she was holding up in front of her.
Gabriella noticed that Troy's attention had returned to her. She saw the glow off his face, taking in the lightened areas as well as the shadowed planes of his face. He really had become quite handsome. She'd known he was considered quite the catch amongst the girls at school and she was accustomed to receiving the jealous stares when she and Troy were hanging out throughout the school day. She just hadn't really given it much thought before...but now she took these few moments to see what they all saw.
As the song came to an end, they both closed their eyes as the pastor said the final prayer. Then, they opened their eyes and did as the rest of the congregation did and blew out their candles as the recessional began.
"Ow!" Troy exclaimed in a harsh whisper, as he'd blown too hard and had sent some hot wax flying from the candle top down onto his hand.
Gabriella looked over to see his scrunched up face and couldn't help but quietly giggle a bit. This earned a quizzical look from Maria, so she tried to form a straight face once more.
Troy noticed her giggling and looked over at her, momentarily astonished and then humored. He leaned in toward her ear and whispered "And, just what are you giggling about, Montez?"
A light shiver ran through Gabriella with the feel of his hot breath tickling her ear. She paused before answering, turning her head and leaning up on her toes to whisper back into his ear "Oh, just you and fire, Bolton...seems to be a dangerous combination."
It was Troy's turn to feel the effects of her breath ghosting over his ear. He decidedly rather liked it. He looked back down at her and just shook his head and pursed his lips in response. At that moment, Eduardo and Maria began moving as their pew was emptying. Gabriella moved to follow but, a second later, felt Troy's hand on her arm. There went another shiver and she could see goosebumps forming on her exposed forearms. She turned to see why he'd stopped her.
"Your purse," he said, answering her unspoken question and handing the small clutch to her. She had placed it down at her feet and forgotten about it. She smiled at him gratefully.
"You seem cold," he commented, flashing his eyes to her forearms.
"Oh, um, I'll be fine," she replied meekly.
They were moving with the crowd and a few minutes later, they exited the sanctuary and re-entered the main lobby area. "I'll go get our coats. Be right back," Troy said.
Gabriella watched him walk away. She wasn't cold. If anything, she felt a bit too warm. She watched as her parents became engaged in a conversation with some of their friends and the Boltons did as well with another couple. Troy returned within a minute or so. Once again, he chose to hold the coat up for her in a very gentlemanly manner rather than just handing it to her. Again, she thanked him. And then they stood there, waiting on their parents, smiling at and addressing questions from other church folks who came over to inquire as to how their winter break was going so far and if they had done well on their mid-terms. Finally, Maria, Eduardo, Lucille, and Jack said their goodbyes to those they were speaking to and motioned for Gabriella and Troy to do the same and head toward the parking lot.
Once outside, Gabriella picked up her step to fall in line with her father, who lovingly put his arm around her and asked her how she enjoyed the service. Troy stared after her, really not sure whether or not to expect conversation on the drive home. It seemed they had been up and down, hot and cold ever since the incident in the kitchen. Jack strode up alongside his son, examining his thoughtful facial features.
"Everything okay, son?" he asked in a low voice.
Troy looked up, now noticing his father walking beside him. "Um, yeah, dad," he lied, not really wanting to discuss this with his father or anyone else right now.
"Uh huh. Okay. Well, you and Gabi just seem a bit...quiet, or something tonight."
"I guess we're just tired. That's all."
"Okay. But you know if it is anything else, I'm happy to be a sounding board, right?"
"Yeah. I know, dad. Thanks."
By this time, they had reached the minivan and Troy saw that Gabriella was already seated inside. He felt slight disappointment that he had missed her climbing up into it this time, mentally chiding himself for these less than pure thoughts he seemed to be unable to reign in this evening.
Gabriella had thought about asking her father to sit in the back with her but didn't want to bring any undue attention to the weirdness between she and Troy. She knew their mothers were already eyeing them speculatively. So, she took up her place against the back window once more, staring out at others getting into their nearby cars. Soon enough, she felt his weight on the seat next to her.
Troy saw Gabriella's position and posture, the same as when they had driven to the church. He leaned back against the seat and shut his eyes. He felt the van moving very slowly. He knew it was because there had been a huge line-up of cars waiting to exit the parking lot so he knew they wouldn't actually be on the road for some time. He figured feigning sleepiness would save him from having to visibly react to Gabriella's silence, at least as far as their parents were concerned, and would save her from feeling like she had to keep her eyes pinned to the outside world the entire time.
Troy took this time to ponder Gabriella's reactions to him further. She had leaned in for that kiss too. She hadn't dislodged his hand from hers during the service. She had even joked with him briefly a few times this evening. She did, however, not seem to really want to talk to him at any length and she hadn't wanted to scoot too close to him in church. He couldn't determine if she was acting this way because she was disgusted by him and the prospect of him liking her but in some way still didn't want to hurt his feelings too much so she tried to be nice and accommodate him in some ways. Or, there was the other possibility...she liked him too and was realizing it too and just didn't know how to react to it.
He knew one thing. He didn't like the distance between them. One of the things he loved best about their friendship was the comfort they always felt with each other. He didn't want to lose that.
Gabriella had caught Troy's movements out of the side of her eye and realized after several minutes that he wasn't intending on sitting up again for the drive home. She figured it was just as well. After several more minutes, she glanced his way again to see his breathing even, his chest rising and falling regularly. His eyes seemed closed peacefully and she wondered how he could just fall asleep without a care in the world when she had so many thoughts and emotions going on inside of her. She didn't know how she'd be getting any sleep tonight.
Missing his closeness with Gabriella and realizing that he must appear to her to be quite asleep at this point, an idea crossed his mind. Doing his best to maintain his appearance of one peacefully sleeping, he very slowly allowed his body to shift and slide such that his head eventually came to rest upon her shoulder and his arm inched over to rest lightly against hers. He fought his urge to smirk when he felt her stiffen briefly and heard her quiet intake of breath.
Gabriella looked down sharply at the messy mop of light brown hair that was now covering her shoulder. Her eyes moved further down his body to see that he still appeared to be exhibiting the even breathing of sleep. She sighed, closed her own eyes, and leaned back further into her seat, deciding to try to get a bit more comfortable herself...as comfortable as she could be with her body as aware of his as it now seemed to be.
Troy noticed her shift and smiled to himself. This was better. It might, for all intents and purposes, appear unconscious, but it was very nice all the same. He could smell her perfume, a light floral scent. Actually, he suspected it was the Enchanted Orchid scent he knew she still wore. He had never forgotten her favorite scents after that shopping excursion they had made when they were thirteen. He had to agree...it was a very good scent. It suited her.
After the jam up of cars at the church, traffic moved steadily and they made good time getting back home. It happened all too quickly for Troy and Gabriella who were both feeling rather covertly cozy in that back seat and who had come to absolutely no conclusion on how to act going forward.
Apparently rousing from his sleep, Troy lifted his head slowly and sent a sheepish smile in Gabriella's direction. She blinked her eyes several times, trying to convey to him that she hadn't really noticed since she too had in fact been swept away by sleepiness. Troy hesitated for a moment before turning and slowly climbing out of the vehicle. Gabriella followed just as slowly and he once again helped her disembark, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before she stepped down and released his hand.
Lucille and Maria exchanged quick glances observing all of this. Lucille leaned toward her friend and mumbled under her breath "Tomorrow should prove interesting." Maria grinned, nodding her head in agreement.
"Well, we should all get some sleep. Tomorrow will be here before we know it," Maria said cheerfully to the group at large. All of the adults nodded and said their goodnights, moving toward their respective front doors.
Gabriella turned to follow her parents but stopped a second later at the sound of Troy's voice.
"Gabi!"
She turned to face him, uncertainty written on her face. Now that she was facing him, Troy didn't really know what to say. He wanted to say that they needed to talk, that they needed to figure this thing out and get back to being Troy and Gabriella, who could talk to each other about anything, who loved spending Christmas together, who generally had to be reminded more than once to say goodnight or goodbye to each other because they were still lost in their own world of stimulating, humorous conversation. He wanted to say these things, but he settled for "Um...sleep well" instead.
Gabriella nodded her head and the corners of her mouth lifted in the slightest smile. "You too, Troy. See you tomorrow." And, with that, she turned around once more and followed her parents into the house.
Troy watched her and then did the same, ducking inside the house and ignoring his father's questioning eyes and his mother's sympathetic glance. "Night, mom! Night, dad! I'm just gonna head up now and turn in."
"Okay. Night honey!" Lucille responded, looking her only son over curiously as he trotted up the steps.
"Night, son!" Jack added, smirking as he turned to his wife.
They turned to walk into their kitchen so they could each grab a glass of water before heading to their bedroom for the night.
"Why are you smirking?" Lucille asked her husband as they entered the kitchen.
"Oh, just amused that it's taken him this long," Jack answered, the grin still on his face.
"You're one to talk," she teased, remembering just how long it had taken Jack to notice her when they had met through mutual friends in college and had continued to hang out within a group. It was only after nearly a whole school year that he had begun to see the possibility of her being more than a friend.
"Touche. But, it's been years for these two. The boy's got me beat there."
Lucille smiled at this. "Did you see how they kept hold of each other's hands during the service?" Jack nodded. "And, the sleeping, or lack thereof, in the van...too cute."
"I'm sure they'd be glad to know you found them cute, dear," Jack said in a dry tone, earning him a warning look from his wife.
"And how did you find them to be, dear?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.
"Hot for each other," Jack answered quickly, chuckling as his wife smacked him on the arm while fighting her own laugh. "What? It's the truth."
Lucille sighed. "I know. And I'm happy for them if they're finally seeing what the rest of us have been seeing for some time, but I'd still prefer to keep them cute, thank you very much. That is my only son up there, after all."
"I know, hon," Jack responded softly, leaning forward to place a sweet, light kiss on his wife's lips. "Let's head to bed. At least we can get a good night's sleep," he said knowingly.
Lucille nodded her agreement and grabbed her glass of water, following her husband back out into the hall and turning off the kitchen light on her way out. As they ascended the steps, Jack turned to whisper in her ear. "We could have another, you know...if this one outgrows his cute phase."
He saw Lucille's eyes widen and her mouth drop open at the comment and smirked, trotting happily off to their bedroom. Lucille just shut her mouth, shook her head disbelievingly and smiled thoughtfully as she followed him down the hall and into their room, shutting the door behind her.
Next door, a similar short goodnight had occurred between Gabriella and her parents. Maria and Eduardo were now snugly tucked into their bed, lying facing one another.
"So, should I be concerned that Troy was blatantly checking out my daughter's legs?" Eduardo asked in a playful voice.
Maria turned her head into her pillow to quiet the giggle that bubbled up within her.
"Only if we're concerned that she was checking out his backside," Maria returned after a moment.
"Oh, man. I so don't want to think about my little girl doing that," Eduardo groaned.
"I know, Eddy, but she was, and he was...so, how long do you think it'll be until they decide it's okay for them to be doing that?"
"Who says it is?" Eduardo asked teasingly, earning a reproving head shake from his wife. "I don't know, Ria. Ella seems a bit freaked out by it."
"Well, you know, this is her best friend, who she always confides in regarding her feelings for other guys. She hasn't ever really prepared herself to confide in him that she has these feelings for him. Plus, you know, he has seen her wearing one-piece sleeper pajamas and going through her training bra stage. It just all has to feel a bit weird to her."
"So. She's seen him wearing those embarrassing holiday sweaters his great aunt Janet sends him. And she's seen him through his gawkier head-too-big-for-his-body stage."
Maria laughed once more. "Man, growing up is hard, isn't it?" she replied with a smirk. "Still, the friendship issue stands. And, you know how important that is to both of them. They may be afraid to change things and risk that."
"Maybe, but I think they will. Troy looked like a goner."
"A goner?" Maria asked, quirking her brow at her husband in amusement.
Reaching out and placing his hands on her waist beneath the sheets he pulled her closer to him. "He had the same look on his face I've had since the moment I laid eyes on you," he said huskily, seeing the sparkle in her eyes before closing the gap between them and kissing her.
"Mmmmm, well, if he has half your charm and determination, our daughter won't stand a chance," Maria replied softly, pulling back for just a moment. Seeing her husband's smile of agreement, she leaned back in and joined her lips to his once more, swiftly forgetting about her only daughter's confusing situation.
Said daughter lay wide-eyed in her bed down the hall. Should she talk to Troy about what happened? Should they just try to move on as though it hadn't happened? Could she do so considering some part of her kept trying to imagine what it would have been like if it had? Man, it was going to be a long night.
Troy's thoughts only yards away were not very different. Did he do all he could to restore the comfort of their friendship or did he follow what seemed to be the bigger pull right now and try to finish what he'd started earlier that night in the kitchen? And, if he did, and they couldn't go back, would they both be glad he did? Troy stood up from the bed and started pacing back and forth. This was going to be a long night.