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CHAPTER 9

Gabi licked her lips nervously as she waited for Troy to come out to the meet and greet area. Taylor was successfully matching winning bidders to their partners and Gabi clutched Troy's name tag and prayed to God that she had done the right thing.

That money should have gone towards her dance gear but she had resigned herself to another term of hand-me-downs just to have this chance to spend time with Troy.

He wandered around the backstage area as he rubbed his hand across the back of his neck in a familiar-nervous gesture and Gabi saw Taylor point him in her direction and he came over, a soft breath of relief releasing from his lips as he smiled at her.

"Hey, Tay said you know who my 'owner' is." He commented with a little lip tug that Gabi followed closely.

"Yeah, I do," she said and lifted the name tag, turning it so he could see she was holding his name.

His brows lifted swiftly into his fringe, his bandana causing the skin there to ripple and Gabi lifted her eyes to his bravely, wanting to see his reaction.

His blue eyes met hers, understandably confused, but deep and hopeful too.

"You bought me?" he asked huskily, sending a deep throbbing between her thighs that she had tried to fight off for so long but it was no use, his voice was reaching her in places she had ignored for too long.

Gabi grazed her teeth over her lower lip, and then lifted her gaze to his again, leaning up and curling her hand around the back of his neck, softly kissing his lips.

The touch of her lips to his was exactly like two years ago when he felt a bolt go through him at the contact, only this time, he felt it deeper inside of him and the sweetness of it was excruciating and delicious at the same time. His eyes screwed shut at the almost-pain of their joining at last and he pulled back with the shock of it all.

Troy stood, dazed and still as he took in Gabi's soft, beautiful face. She had bidded five hundred dollars for him and now she was kissing him, staring at him like she had just realized he was there.

He frowned "When…?" He began but she stopped him, getting on her toes to kiss him again, which he didn't hesitate to return, his arms going around her waist as his lips pressed into hers, tasting her sweetness, the aching, tingling longing sweeping over him in a heady excitement at the reality of her kiss.

Gabi loved his strong arms around her back as she locked her hands at his neck and let her petite body stretch up his longer one, her fingers running amok in the hair at his neck, leaving it sticking out and mussed as she felt him smile into their kiss then pull away slowly, demanding her gaze onto his as he did so.

"Hey, you two!" Chad called. "This is a charity thing you know! I don't think kissing is included in the price for my boy here," he said to Gabi who smiled but blushed becomingly and unlinked her fingers from his neck as he stood straight from their embrace, but he tucked her hair behind her ear tenderly, then linked his fingers through her left hand as he turned to Chad.

"The kissing is free." Troy quipped and Chad shouldered him gently.

"Hey, buddy, you sly dog, you. How long have you two been…?" He winked.

"We haven't. Until just now." Troy said pointedly with one eyebrow raised.

"Okay, in that case, I'm just gonna step back and you two just pretend you ain't seen me…" He joked and they chuckled, Troy looking to Gabi.

"So when's the date night?" He checked.

"Tomorrow." She said gently. "Can we…talk?" She asked furtively.

"Sure," he smiled easily. "My place has rats." He warned.

"My place has Alex." She returned.

"Okay, my place it is then," he said and they split briefly so he could shower and Gabi could finish clearing up before they both met up, tired and hungry and ready to drop.

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"Mmm, oh my god, Troy, that was amazing!" Gabi enthused.

He flicked a look to her where he lay next to her on the couch, the deep cushions supporting their bodies. "Don't say that too loud," he teased and she giggled, scrunching her nose and he looked down on her face with adoration.

"You can cook a mean spag bol." She complimented.

"You're beautiful when you scrunch up your nose." He said and Gabi was taken aback by his openness.

She smiled as he leaned on his arm and reached over, fiddling with her curls, deciding if he should kiss her and she reached up for his neck to pull him closer, letting their lips touch gently and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss, his tongue flashing against her lips and dipping into her mouth as she allowed him access.

She moaned softly under his weight as he tipped his body across onto hers with gentle insistence and she arched her breasts against his chest, her nipples hard and aching and the pleasure swam across her skin in sweet, rippling circles as she rubbed her body against his harder one.

"Gabi, why now?" He wondered, rightly so, she thought as she sighed and stroked his fringe back as some of it escaped from his bandana and she tucked the strands into the soft band, out of the way.

But how could she explain? How could she explain why it had taken her so long to realize what was right in front of her was worth the risk? All she wanted right now was to feel his body against hers and they could worry about the rest later.

She kissed him again, their tongues meshing insistently as their bodies pressed against each other with need.

"Make love to me, Troy," She begged as she stripped him of his tee top and his eyes scanned hers with gentle question.

She felt him hard and heavy against her thigh, his breaths short and panting as his hand trailed down her cheek, down her collarbone, cupping her breast so delicately; she felt like she might implode from his tenderness.

Troy dipped his head to rest his lips against her hair. "I saved myself for you, Gabi." He whispered in her ear and she gasped softly, clutching at his shoulders as she tried to push him back so she could see his face but he was hiding because his lips brushed her jaw then he curled his body, his forehead going against her shoulder where she slipped her arms around him and hugged him.

"Me too," she returned gently and then he found courage to face her, smiling into her beautiful face as her words hit him deeply in the gut, his already tight and aroused body becoming harder with need.

He groaned as he pulled her body close into his, his hands resuming their gentle and thorough exploration, slowly stripping off her clothes until she lay naked to his appreciative gaze. His lips trailed her body, brushing across her collarbone and pressing soft kisses as he dipped lower, finally taking her nipple into his hot, wet mouth and sucking the budded peak as she bit out erotic cries beneath him.

He rolled over to strip off his basketball shorts and Gabi let her hands wander over his nearly- naked body freely, his muscles to her touch like a familiar-foreign feeling and his lips to her mouth like heaven sent-honey that she couldn't stop sipping kisses from.

His hands didn't stay still for very long as he rolled back toward her and let his hands glide over her curves, slowly tracing her stomach and down between her thighs where she was hot and damp and aching for him to fill her.

"Troy…" She gasped as he gently, persuasively dipped his finger into her dark, damp place, her thighs spreading to allow him deeper access as he dipped another finger into her, feeling her reacting to his gentle touch and loving that she was all his, just as he was hers.

Her eyes fluttered open with surprise and shut with pleasure as his fingers teased her and he was glad he waited, he was glad they had been brought back together because he wouldn't have wanted to share this with anyone else.

"Please…" She begged as his thumb slid in to join his fingers, meeting her nub and bringing her a sparkling pain that had her gripping his fingers inside of her.

But Troy sighed gently as he felt his arousal subside, knowing he wouldn't be able to fulfill her, because the medication they had placed him on to help mend his faulty heart, restricted the flow of his blood and this was but one side effect of the damn pills they had warned him about.

"I can't, baby, not tonight," he whispered as his gut clenched and he hoped she would see past his problem and let him love her all the same because he couldn't take her rejection on top of everything else.

"Oh…" She moaned on a gasp as she felt her whole body surrender to the sensations his hand brought her. His thumb gently, insistently pressed against her sensitivity and brought her a warm-cold, tight-hot, moaning, clenching climax that had her calling his name and orgasming over and over as her peak met and lifted with his coaxing.

Finally she bathed in the shower of velvet starry sky as her bubble of ever-growing pleasure burst and her body softly relaxed as he gently withdrew his fingers and enveloped her into his strong, secure arms. His overwhelming love for her was surely evident as he held her as tightly as he could, cradled in his arms, afraid if he let go that she would leave him and his heart couldn't cope with being broken all over again.