Author's Note: The Art of Unpacking is now available as a paperback book on Amazon.

"This is possibly the best thing you've ever written," Michael said over the speaker, "Honestly if I wasn't so relieved, I'd be upset about you wasting my time with those first three chapters."

Gabriella leaned back in her chair looking down at her laptop, "I don't have a title for it yet. And who is this reporter you want me to talk to?"

"His name is Martin Gibson, he works for the Boston Globe. Be careful with this one he sounds like he's trying to make a name for himself."

"I hate reporters, they have no souls."

"Now, now, now don't talk bad about our bread and butter. Let's talk about this book."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, "I don't have a clue what to call it, not really sure about the characters, and I'm pretty sure it suspends all the boundaries of belief."

"Who cares? This is gold, these characters are so real," Michael's voice raised a little louder than before. "You've really out done yourself this time."

She stilled. "Thanks," she said hesitantly.

"What's the matter?" Michael said with concern, "you don't sound like someone who's about to make a lot of money."

"You know as well as I do it's never been about the money." Gabriella shrugged her shoulders almost forgetting that he couldn't see her, "This story is different from the others."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean it not entirely fictional."

"Gabriella, you're making me drool. What's the story on this?"

Gabriella felt her shoulders shrug again and she let out a sigh as she lifted her feet onto the bed where Blue laid resting peacefully. "I mean that the characters are a work of fiction but the situation there in is not entirely fictional. I kind of know this guy who use to be Jason's best friend and we short of have an understanding but we're not quite dating, not quite hooking up. I mean it's almost like what's happening between Tucker and Georgia but now I don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"We called it off."

"You did what?" Michael said, the frown on his features coming over loud and clear through the speaker.

"You read chapter six, you know happens." Embarrassment flooded her; she could bury herself under a rock at this point. She never should have submitted those chapters. She never should have created Trucker. What was she thinking?

"Gabriella this is fantastic!"

Dropping her feet she spun around to face her phone "What do mean fantastic, this is a disaster."

"You're moving on," Michael threw out casually, "You're taking a bite out of life again and what better way to celebrate than to write about it."

Gabriella didn't say a word. The sinking feeling in her stomach was enough to keep her quiet.

"So you had one fight, hardly a reason to stop the ball from rolling. Do you know how I met my wife?"

"No."

"She was a cop, pulled me over for speeding. When she refused to give me her number I simply sped through her stop every day until one day she finally gave in and I got her number."

Gabriella face scrunched up, "Seriously?"

"Most expensive number I've ever paid for."

Bringing a hand up to her chin she tapped her bottom lip, "This isn't about love, I have no interest in ever getting married again as long as I live."

"So don't get married, love 'em and leave 'em for all I care just get back in there and get more material."

Gabriella let out a sigh as she leaned back in her chair, "morally this is repugnant."

"You're a writer, writers don't have morals."

After two one sided arguments with Blue that ended in a belly rub and twenty minutes of staring at the ceiling, Gabriella decided to make an adult decision. After a quick e-mail to Martin Gibson about meeting later in the week online she braved the outside world beyond her bedroom. When she came down the stairs she could hear the television in the living room. It had been three days since their argument. Luckily she had her writing to keep her busy, to keep her from wondering where he was, or what he was doing. Blue walked ahead of her into the living room where she assumed Troy was. Coming over to the fridge she opened it and brought out two beers.

Better to go in armed.

She was going to need courage to face him, the kind of courage that she hadn't had for the last few days. She walked into the living room to find Blue laying on the couch and Troy in his recliner as he watched the game. He was still in his work jeans, his white shirt covered in grease stains and his Troy's Auto shop shirt left unbuttoned. His beer was empty.

"Refill?" she offered handing him the extra bottle.

Troy looked up at her cautiously, didn't say a word but gently took the beer from her hand, "Thanks."

"Watching the football game?" she asked walking past him.

"Yeah," Troy raised a brow as he opened his beer and took a sip.

Gabriella sat on the floor with her back against the couch. Opening her own beer she placed the cap in the pocket of her shorts and then lifted her beer to her lips for long sip. "Who's winning?"

"Damn Broncos," he muttered as he relaxed a little. To be fair it wasn't the first argument they'd ever had, he was damn sure it wasn't the last. He was more concerned about where they stood in this new phase of the relationship. After that scene in the kitchen he'd come straight home and took an ice cold shower, one that had done absolutely nothing to make his hard on go away, or his anger subside.

Gabriella stretched out her feet in front of her wiggling her toes a little and unintentionally getting his attention. He couldn't help it. Whenever she was in the room she caught his eye. How was he supposed to forget about her stupid idea when she was still walking around in those cut off shorts and tiny tang tops.

A man just didn't forget about stupid ideas like hers. No matter how stupid they were, and hers was stupid. Sex with Gabriella. Anytime he wanted. Anywhere he wanted. Kinky sex. Troy shifted a little in his chair and tore his eyes away from her legs. He looked back up at the game. His eyes narrowed as he fought a persist urge inside him to look back down at her.

He'd been a fool to think he could momentarily escape that friend zone he'd been locked away in for seven years. He should have known better and refused her offer flat out. Told her no, from the beginning. He needed to get out of the house, find a pretty little blonde at Chad's and try to release some of the frustrations inside him.

"There's a big tailgate party tomorrow, Taylor told me Chad's sponsoring all the beer."

"That right?" he said quietly. He knew all about the tailgate. Troy's Auto was sponsoring the hot dogs. She should know, she did the books, but Troy stood quiet.

"The whole town supposed to be there."

Troy kept his eyes on the television, "Great."

"I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?"

Troy eyes shifted to hers and he jerked back to find that she'd moved to his side looking up at him with curiosity. "What are you up to Brie?"

Gabriella let out a sigh, "I owe you an apology," she said looking down at her beer. "I shouldn't have said what I did. You have your past and I have mine. We shouldn't be dragging all that baggage into whatever this is."

"Oh," Troy said looking at his beer, "there's a this now?"

"Troy," she said getting up to her feet, she moved slowly around the chair till she was standing over him. Bending over she took his beer and hers and placed them on the floor by the recliner.

"What are you doing?" he asked, though he remained completely still and watchful.

She may be doing the preying, but she had the sense he was still the predator there. She crawled onto his lap straddling him. "I'm going to kiss you."

His hands held her by her hips, neither encouraging nor discouraging. "That's not a good idea."

"It's the best idea I've acted on in a long time." She tilted her head and brought her mouth to his. The first kiss was glancing, testing, but still warm.

The second kiss held none of the initial hesitation. She dove in, going for it. His hands stayed where they were but they tightened on her.

She lifted her head just enough to whisper against his lips, "Is this one-sided for you?"

"No."

"Then kiss me back." She shifted closer. "Like you mean it, Bolton."

He gazed into her eyes as if searching for her motives. But, frankly whatever her motive she had before came down those stair, right then and there she only wanted him for herself. Screw the book.

He snaked a hand into her hair, tipped her head back, and kissed her deep. It was slow and thorough, but as instantly hot as the heat wave that was still beating down on Payne Springs. All her various body parts came alive.

Throwing her arms around him, she pressed her body to his. Under his shirt, he felt solid. Manly. Her girlie parts sighed in pleasure and anticipation.

Her soul sighed. Him, it insisted.

She had to agree.

It was just starting to get interesting when Troy lifted his mouth, "We need to take this down a notch."

She just wanted him to take her period. But she didn't want to push him, when she clearly won this battle. So she simply sat back, everything in her body aching with disappointment. "Are we ok?"

Troy was quiet for a long moment as he stared up at her his gaze working its way over her body hungrily and at the same time distant. "The rules haven't changed."

"I had no expectations that they would," Gabriella said quietly, "It's what you want."

"What do you want?" he asked softly.

His tone might have been gentle, but beneath his palms, his muscles bunched with tension. He was holding back. The thought hit her as if someone had just dunked her into an ice bath. In that moment, she realized she had two options. Tell him the truth, that sex was her sole focus in their relationship. Or, do as Michael had suggested. Let things ride. Go with the flow. Stop thinking and overanalyzing.

Gabriella reached her hands up to his face, gently touching his stumble. She wanted to simply say "you." tell him how she'd wanted him from the moment she laid eyes on him. She wished, even for a small moment, that it had been him. That instead of Jason it had been Troy who had asked to take her home that night seven years ago. She wanted to tell him that she wanted to enjoy his company, in and out of the bed, however long it would last until he got bored with her. Instead she said. "Can't we just have fun and see where it leads?"

He shifted his weight and a gleam of disappointment flashed in his eyes but quickly disappeared. Troy let out a breath and his hands came down to her thighs. He didn't say anything and for a brief moment Gabriella wished she would have kept her mouth shut and just gone with the flow.

Troy lifted them both out of the recliner, his hands moving underneath her butt to hold her to him. In a sense of panic Gabriella wrapped her arms around him "Troy!" she shouted clinging to him as they made their way into the kitchen.

Without a word he placed her on the kitchen counter his blue eyes landing on her brown ones as he reached between them and began undoing her shorts. "So you want to have fun," he said purposefully using her words.

Her lips parted, and her face lost all its playful wonder as she stared at him with seriousness.

Unable to stop himself and knowing this went way beyond his no-sex rule, he pulled at those tiny little denim shorts and when she lifted her bottom just enough he slid them down her legs and over her bare feet. Their eyes never left each other's through the entire process. Using his hands he pushed her back until she was laying on her elbows looking up at him.

Looking down for the first time he took in the sight of her white panties with tiny black polka dots and green lace trim. Everything inside him stilled and he had to close his eyes as he committed the sight to memory. Opening his eyes he lowered himself closer to her.

With his head where he'd fantasized it being night after night, Troy didn't want to move. He didn't want to think about anything but stripping these panties off her and burying his mouth between her legs. Technically, neither of them had specified where a kiss could be placed. So, technically, he could kiss Gabriella the way he wanted. A thin line of justification, but at this point, Troy didn't care. He needed to taste her, touch her, feel her heat against his lips.

He brushed his lips where her panties met the hollow of her thigh. Baby soft and silky smooth, just as he imagined. The urge to lick and nip and kiss had his heart kicking out of tempo. He stilled again, kissing was allowed.

Massaging her hips with his hands, he swept his tongue along her inner thigh. Goosebumps instantly covered her skin. She sighed and widened her legs a faction.

His arousal thickened as he skimmed his mouth up the soft fabric of her panties. When he reached her belly button, he stopped and raised his head. "Look at me."

She pushed onto her elbows and met his gaze. He sucked in a breath and fought hard to control the hunger, the need, burning inside. Her brown eyes glittered with desire. The rapid rise and fall of her chest drew his attention to her breast, where the tips of her nipples pressed against her flimsy top. When he finally forced his gaze back to hers she cocked a brow and tilted the corner of her mouth. So sultry, so sexy, and, if he wasn't mistaken, she'd just challenged him.

Gabriella wanted sex, no strings attached. He wanted sex, with plenty of strings. But instead of getting busy with her he was busy trying to decipher his emotions. He didn't like it, but he loved the way she rested the arch of her foot on his shoulder and spread her legs wider.

Unable to deny her blatant invitation, he swirled his tongue over her belly button, then nipped her skin. Her only response was a quick intake of breath.

He ran his hand from her calf to her hip and settled his fingers on the green lace trim pulling at it lightly. "I think we could have lots of fun." Troy stood upright as he pulled the scrap of material keeping him from fulfilling his fantasies over her long legs until he was tucking them into his back pocket.

"If you think for one second that I'm going to let you keep those,"

Troy ran the tip of his fingers along her skin until he grazed soft curls, "What if I earn them," he murmured. He feathered his fingers into those curls until he found her swollen, slick opening.

She sucked in another breath, raised her hips a fraction, and shifted her eyes to where he worked his fingers. The way she watched him, eyes glimmering, lips parted, hand him hard and shaking. But he had a point to prove. One he wanted to make before he took this so-called kiss further.

He inserted his finger. She gasped.

"Oh yeah," he said. "I think we can have lots of fun and I can't wait to see where this leads."

She met his glaze then, "So what are you waiting for?" She pressed herself against his hand. The subtle shift caused his finger to drive deeper.

At this point, he didn't think he could become any harder. But as much as he wanted to have sex with Gabriella, he wouldn't. Otherwise he'd prove nothing to her, or to himself. He refused to be her boy toy and he worried that once he gave her what she desired, a little carefree fun and multiple orgasms, she'd be on her way. Back to her regular routine, her regular life. A life that didn't include him outside of a friendship.

She hitched her hips higher, pressed against his hand.

Then again maybe he should give her a taste of what's to come. Give her the sexual satisfaction she craved. Not to string her along, but to take the edge off and leave her begging for more of his kisses and his kisses alone.

Decision made, he couldn't resist pressing a second finger into her. So tight, so hot, he couldn't wait for the day when he could sink himself into her heat. Not today, through. Today was about her pleasure. And he planned to do everything within their no-sex, kissing-only guidelines, to give her that pleasure.

He drove his fingers deep one last time, slowly he withdrew them and bent his head and kissed her inner thigh, edged his way closer to her soft curls. But sudden pressure in his chest made him pause. This was all wrong. Binding her to him with sex, or even a variation of it, wasn't part of the plan. Rather something he was trying to avoid and the whole reason he'd set up his rule in the first place. But what if she grew bored? What if she sought sexual release from someone else?

Something inside him shattered. The thought of another man, cradled between her thighs, had him more coiled than a slinky and more determined to give her every reason to remain involved with him alone.

Throwing his rules out the window, he licked and sucked her labia, then latched onto her clit.

Gabriella groaned. She'd wanted fun, and Troy was giving her what she'd asked for. Her inner thighs trembled, her nipples felt as if they'd stab right through her top. She twined her fingers through his hair and held him between her thighs. She wasn't about to let him go, not until the fun was over. Even then, she wasn't sure if she could. His skillful mouth, his tongue, his lips, she'd never experienced anything more amazing.

Oral sex had never been her thing. She'd never had a problem giving it, but had always seemed to come up short on the receiving end. Not today though. Troy had her mind spiraling, her heart beating out of pace. She couldn't stop a moan from escaping when he inserted his fingers again, then honed in on her clit. Toes curling, she let the moment build, let him work his magic. Then he slid a third finger inside. White-hot heat radiated through her body, coiled in her belly, then burst.

Gabriella lay on the surface of a kitchen counter top she'd never be able to look at the same way again. The house was quiet except for the muted sound of the game on in the other room. She felt Troy leisurely kiss his way up her belly. Caressing her breast with his rough hands, he pressed his lips against her cleavage.

She shuddered and twined her legs around his back, drawing his big body on top of hers. His arousal nudged at her thigh and despite her glorious orgasm he'd given her moments ago, she wanted another. And another and another…

Running her hand down his back she grabbed the right side of his rear end through his worn denim. Then urged him on by spreading her thighs wider.

He wrapped her ponytail around his hand, eased her head back, and then dragged his lips along her neck and jaw. She groaned. Goosebumps rose over her skin. She melted against him, crushing her breast against his chest.

As he captured her lips in a powerful kiss he worked on untangling his body from hers until he was pulling away and safely holding out a hand behind him until he reached the wall. "I think that's enough fun for tonight."

"Are you sure about this no sex thing?" she said through her panting as she closed her legs, enjoying the new soreness between them.

"Yes. No," he said and chuckled as he slumped against the wall.

"You don't sound sure."

Heat simmered in his eyes as he held on to that damn wall for dear life. "I am sure of one thing."

"What's that?" she asked shifting herself so she could come down off the counter, her bare feet landing with a soft thud on the tiled floor.

"I don't think I'll ever get enough of you."

Still feeling boneless and sated from Troy's loving, the seriousness in his tone caught her off guard. She tensed, unsure of his meaning. "Not even after that kiss?" she asked, hoping to keep things light.

He shifted his eyes to her bare bottom half, "Which one?"

Which one? All of them, she wanted to scream. "Well you may have earned them, but I'm not letting you keep my underwear," she said gripping the counter behind her.

Troy chuckled as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out her crumpled panties. "There'll be other chances," he smirked as he gently tossed them to her.

Gabriella caught them and bent down, quickly redressing herself. Not that being naked in front of him was weird, after what he just did, it seemed foolish to feel modest. Gabriella walked towards her jeans and plucked them from the floor where he left them. "Want to order a pizza?"

"Want to kick Blue off the couch and watch a movie or something?"

Gabriella let out a smirk, "does this count as whatever number two?"

"No," Troy said with chuckle.

Author's Note: The Art of Unpacking is now available as a paperback book on Amazon.