I just wanted to have a quick shout out to the new readers joining and saying how they already love the story!
And equally, those of you who've been there since day 1,2,3, etc, I appreciate all of you!
I sit here with a smile a mile wide when I read your happy comments!
So thank you :D
Chapter 7
Freshly showered, wearing a white maxi dress that skimmed her bump, Gabi appeared with damp, curling hair and a soft yawn with the back of her hand over her mouth.
"Are you ready for icing?" She wondered.
"Why are you out of bed?" He asked back, laying his second batch of baking on the side, his hands enveloped in oven mitts, adding to his adorable picture.
He had cake mix in his hair, cocoa streaked across his cheek and his glasses were cutely steamed by the hot oven he'd just been near.
"I can't lie in bed any longer, it's driving me insane." She admitted.
"Are you comfortable? Does little bump ache?" He asked with his natural concern, making her want to ditch his mitts and place his hands on her. She didn't care where, but her breasts seemed to tingle excitedly at the thought.
"Little bump is grouchy from being laid up all day," she recounted.
"Want a rub?" He asked innocently and her eyes shone with his innuendo.
She pursed her lips to prevent her saying something she might regret. "I think me and little bump have already taken more than enough," she commented, waddling over to wipe the goo from his fringe. "How about I give you a neck rub instead?" She offered.
"I have quiches to cook…" He looked over his shoulder to his organised run of items to cook, already cooked and those that had cooled, ready to box.
"You are the strangest guy I know…"
He dipped his head and felt a pang at her words, knowing this was another factor in his single status. He placed his mitts on the side and sat on the kitchen stool with a lip press. "Okay, rub away." He decided.
Gabi smiled at him bemusedly, finding it incredibly adorable that he would rather cook his quiches than take a free massage, but she went over anyway, laying her small, cool hands against his tense muscles.
"You work too hard." She stated as she wiped away some of his stresses, seeing him smile as she found a knot and eased it.
"Who has magic hands now?" He husked in a voice that Gabi had not heard before, but one that ached her insides.
"Shh," she ran her fingers upwards into his hair to quiet him, concentrating her fingers over his broad shoulders, silently appreciating their strength and his muscle there.
"Mmm, oh god…" He swallowed as she hit the especially painful throb in his right shoulder, one he earned from pushing it too hard in the gym that very afternoon- a result of his frustration.
"Ouch," she murmured, using both her hands on that part, only her very gentle fingertips easing his pain as he sucked in through gritted teeth.
"You should charge," he suggested as his pain eased up and she ran her hand into his hair again, barely able to resist the temptation of the brown strands there.
"Mm, what could my fee be?" She pondered as he looked at her.
"Like for like?" He wondered. "I owe you a shoulder rub."
"No, you rubbed me enough already." She countered and he laughed at her suggestion.
"Don't let your mother hear you say that!" He joked. "Or mine for that matter!"
She stroked down his hair one more time before she retracted her hand. "I like having you around, Troy Bolton." She decided.
He nodded, once. "I like being here."
"What's for dinner? I'm starved?" She wondered, feeling woozy as she moved and gripping the counter for balance.
"Ah, you are sitting down, right now." He ordered, leading her through to the dining table on the other side of the island and helping her into a high seat.
"I just felt a bit dizzy…" She grumbled.
"Okay, we have…quiches, when I get them in…cookies- that need to be iced…cheese straws, a batch of pies…and cold meats, in the fridge which you can have with bread or boiled potatoes…" He reeled off, waiting for her reply.
"Troy Bolton, please tell me how you are single?" She begged. "You're beyond perfect."
He shrugged. "I'm really not."
"Well your food is," she corrected. "Can I have some meats with bread please?" She asked.
"Coming right up," he assured, prepping her meal and bringing it through, knife and fork included.
"Sit with me on the sofa?" She asked, hopping down to manoeuvre toward the TV.
"Wait, let me put my quiches in and box up the cookies…" He held up one finger and busied himself while she settled, coming back through smelling like the delicious food he had been preparing all afternoon.
"How are you feeling now, do you want more paracetamol?" He asked as he removed a cushion and sat down, reaching for the small square and hugging it as he nonchalantly got comfortable.
"I will before I sleep again," she said softly, taking big bites of his home-made sandwiches. "Troy these are too good…"
"I put a little relish in…" He supplied.
"Amazing. Where did you learn to cook?"
"My mom," he smiled.
"So girls…" She broached carefully. "Has there been a special one?"
He smiled across at her nosiness. "You don't quit do you?"
"I'm intrigued," she defended, chewing largely with a smile as she took another bite.
"No there hasn't been anyone special. Not for a long time. I dated a girl back home before I began this crazy adventure moving around the world to work and yeah, there was something in Hawaii but it wasn't much fun. So there's no mystery." He promised.
"What was in Hawaii?" She arched her brow, taking another mouthful as he looked at her.
"My boss' daughter," he admitted.
Gabi's eyes widened and he realised she thought he meant a young daughter- a child.
"Her daughter from a previous marriage," he interspersed quickly with a lick of his lips. "She was eighteen and home from college and despite my spurring her advances, she thought it was a great game to try and seduce me."
"What happened?" Gabi awed.
"She set me up. In the shower, after my morning swim in the pool, she crept in with me completely naked and made sure we got caught." He sighed.
"I didn't see that on your references," Gabi frowned.
"You did. Angelina Hemminca." He described.
"But I called her and…"
"And she knew what a trouble maker her daughter was and agreed not to put it against me," he sighed.
"So what happened since?" Gabi wondered, thinking he seemed so detached, so lonely and so desperate for a hug.
"I didn't want to have to leave every time something got interesting," he spoke as though he'd had more experiences of this than he originally let on.
"I don't want me and little bump to get in the way," she worried, grazing her upper lip with her lower teeth.
"In the way of what?"
"You being happy. Having a relationship" She added.
"Little bump is never in the way," he promised, feeling protective over the unborn already. "Neither are you."
"Troy…" She looked up, her mouth pursed perfectly and he blinked, twice, to take the thought from his mind that kept cropping up, only it didn't leave, it just badgered him until he leaned forward a little and twisted his neck so he could do what he craved so badly. He kissed her lips, softly, once and then fluttered his lashes as he instantly realised his mistake.
"Oh, god," he closed his eyes, standing from their embrace, feeling his every nerve ending jump alive at the feel of her lips on his just seconds ago.
"Troy please don't…" She began, only to watch him beeline to his room and vanish inside, firmly closing his door. "Please don't go," she murmured to herself with a sigh.
