Chapter 09

The doorbell rang when Troy got up from his bed and threw on a pair of boxers. Gabriella was still sleeping on their bed with her legs and her body tangled in the white sheets while her hair flowed wildly on her pillow. He walked out to the living room of their suite to open the front door. A hotel employee flashed a smile at the Prince as he gladly greeted him. "Good morning, Mr. Bolton. You called for Room Service?"

"Yes." He looked down at the food that was covered by a metal lid. When the man at the door lifted the lids up to reveal the lavish meal he ordered, Troy's smile grew into a full grin. "Here I have a slice of Blueberry Streusel Coffee cake, a Belgian waffle with some strawberries and whip, a vanilla latte, and a glass of orange juice. And we also have a cinnamon roll and a slice of pancakes with syrup on the side."

"Thank you." Troy smiled at the man as he wheeled in the cart that carried their food. After tipping the man, he quickly ushered him out the door.

The food sat on top of the cart in a large tray. He carefully lifted the tray up and made his way back into their bedroom. Gabriella was starting to stir awake when she heard the clinking of plates on the moving tray. Her eyes opened slowly to find Troy absent from her side. She sat up only to find exactly who she was looking for setting down a tray at the foot of the bed.

"For you." He crawled back into the bed next to his wife as he smiled. "I don't really know what you like to eat for breakfast so I got a little bit of everything I thought you'd like."

"Troy…" Her hands were covering her mouth in surprise and a smile beneath her hands spread so wide it almost hurt. "Troy… oh my god."

"Now before you say that I can't even get up and make it for you, I want you to know that I'm not good at cooking. I never cooked a day in my life. So I guess I took a shortcut and ordered room service for you."

"No… this is amazing." Gabriella giggled as she reached out to move the tray up on her lap. Her other hand moved the blanket up her body to cover her bare body as she reached for the slice of coffee cake. "I can teach you how to cook." She looked over at Troy who was now lying down on his pillow again.

"That should be interesting." He laughed a little as he watched her take an enormous bite of the coffee cake. "Should I be taking notes on the type of breakfast foods you like?"

"I like to try all kinds of things so I honestly like everything on this tray right now." She took another bite of the blueberry pastry before sipping on the orange juice.

"So I'm guessing you like orange juice more than coffee since you clearly chose that one over the latte."

She shrugged and laughed softly. "I am just really happy right now."

Happy. Gabriella, are you happy? The question he asked yesterday afternoon repeatedly echoed in his head. She wanted to be happy with me. Troy smiled to himself as he reassured himself. "It's so easy to make you happy." Come to think of it, she was so upset just a few days ago when they arrived on the island. But now she was beaming and glowing of smiles and laughter.

"It's actually not that simple." She finished the last bite of her coffee cake as she turned to look down at her husband. "Happiness is a simple concept but a complex emotion. There are so many elements that affect happiness. And happiness isn't the same as just being happy, it's much more than that."

He listened as she spoke those words. Their eyes were locked on each other's while Troy let all that information process in his brain.

"What makes you happy, Troy?"

That was a question that left Troy even more speechless than ever, if that was even possible. He thought he'd been happy all his life. But Gabriella made him feel excited the same way he felt when he was in college. The fire within him was relighted. Sharpay was the one that put it out when he left London and Gabriella was the one to light it once again.

"You know, you really need to work on answering questions." Gabriella chuckled to herself before cutting up pieces of the pancake.

"I know. I'm not very good at cooking or coming up with answers to personal questions."

"Those are both things I can help you with." She brought a piece of the pancake between her lips with the help of her fork. "Are you hungry?"

He eyed the pancakes that was drenched in maple syrup and looked back up at Gabriella while he sat up. "Yes." He flashed her a smirk as he watched her take another bite.

"Okay, here." Gabriella handed him the plate of pancakes. "Enjoy yourself." She turned her attention to the orange juice and waffle.

Disappointed, Troy set the plate back down on the tray. "I don't want the pancakes."

She laughed as she stabbed her fork into a small piece of the waffle. The waffle was drenched in a strawberry sauce and some whipped crème on top. Using her hand to catch any falling crème or fruits, she neared the fork up to his lips carefully. "Open."

Troy's mouth opened as soon as the piece of waffle touched his lips and licked the whipped crème off the corner of his lips. "Thanks." He grabbed the latte on the tray. "For someone who really hates me, you treat me pretty okay."

"Keep your friends closer, but your enemies closer." She said jokingly after taking a sip of her orange juice.

"Did you really mean what you said yesterday?"

The playful atmosphere of the room suddenly transformed into a cloudy gray tension once their little escapade from yesterday was mentioned. "You mean like when I said I wanted to try things with you?"

"That and also when you said you hated me."

"I think so."

"All of it? You really hate me?" Flashes of their acts yesterday afternoon came into Troy's head. Every touch and moan filled his thoughts before it got interrupted by their little altercation beforehand.

"Well that depends on how much you meant your actions."

"Gabriella, not only did we fuck, we made love." He set the latte back down on the tray before pushing the tray towards the foot of the bed. He knew they needed to talk without the distraction of sex or food. Should he still care about what his mother told him? How much did a pristine image matter to him compared to the woman in front of him right now?

She stopped eating, stopped chewing, stopped drinking, and almost forgot breathing. Gabriella turned her body towards Troy and adjusted the blanket to make sure it was still covering her breasts. Her mind went blank the moment he said those two words. They made love. They didn't just fuck, but they made love. "I meant what I said. The part where I wanted to really try things out, but also the part about hating you. I hate the way you don't know what to say and I also hate that you secretly think I'm a pain in the ass, but I don't always hate you and I want to learn to… love you."

"I don't just make love to any woman you know…" He reached out to place a strand of hair behind her ear. "Making love is more than just being fucked and I want you to know what happened yesterday in the kitchen was me making love to you."

Made love. That was a word Gabriella hadn't associated much significance to since her first time with her first boyfriend when she was the tender age of seventeen. She had many sexual encounters but majority of them were just that. They were just sexual encounters and sex. Making love carried a whole different set of connotations. Was this how it felt like to have sex with your husband? She could get used to this, these little luxuries of being a wife, the wife of Troy Bolton. "You can be wonderful sometimes, you know?"

"I want to be wonderful for you all the time, Gabriella."

Those words echoed in her head again and again. He wanted to be wonderful for her. He wanted to make love to her. He wanted to try things with her the same way she wanted to make this marriage work out for real. And most importantly, they wanted each other and all of each other. She smiled at him before inching her face close to his. Her breath on his lips and her eyes closed in a moment of pure serenity. Her hands reached up to his hair and slowly she ran her fingers through the back of his hair. Her lips inched even closer until her lips slowly traveled to the skin next to his lips and up his cheek. She planted a soft kiss on his cheek before pulling away with an even bigger smile.

Troy's heartbeat rang in his ears from the simple kiss on his cheek. He grabbed her wrist to slowly pull her hands away from his head and down onto his lap. "Do you want to go out with me?"

"Huh?" She laughed softly at his question.

"Go on a date with me. Just you and me, like normal couples when they get to know each other."

"I'll think about it." She winked as she got up from the bed, her naked body unwrapped from the comforter.

Troy's eyes widened from her sudden exposure. Her bare backside displayed the ample curve at her lower back and all the way down her thighs. Her dark locks bounced when she moved, triggering chills down her spine. He'd slept with more than just a couple women before and they were all beautiful in their own ways. But rarely did he get to fully learn every curve and every little spot on their skin with a full display of their backside.

"I know you're staring at my ass." She turned around to find his eyes wide open and his nervous attempt to look away. "I'm going to take a shower and think about how much I may or may not want to go out on a date with you." She twisted the doorknob to the entrance of their bathroom and stepped inside as Troy's eyes watched her every movement.

When the door shut close and the sound of the showerhead could be heard from the bedroom, Troy picked up his cellphone from the nightstand and dialed the most familiar phone number of all. When the person on the other end picked up, he immediately made a request.

"Chad, I need you to book a private boat tour for the next hour. I don't care what it takes or how much It costs."

"Will do, your highness. I hope you and the Princess are having a lovely day so far."

"Oh we are." He smiled to himself as visions of their delightful day flashed in his mind.

"Would you like Ms. Evans and I to come along and help you guys with everything?" Chad always wanted to make sure the Prince was taken care of. Members of the royal family grew up with nannies and servants. Even the littlest things needed their assistance.

"No, Chad. But thank you. It will just be me and Gabriella. So take the day off and do something fun with the body guards." Troy wanted to have a normal first date. Although normal would be eating pizza and going to a movie, but how normal could a royal marriage get? To the royal couple, a boat tour on a planned honeymoon was already as normal as it would get. "Thanks, Chad. Let me know after you've booked it."

"Absolutely, your highness." Chad answered before their goodbyes.

When Chad hit the end call button, the blonde sitting across from him at the dining table immediately spoke. "So we're going up to the Prince and the Princess's suite?" Sharpay cut another piece of the sausage and brought it up to her lips with her fork. Sharpay and Chad decided to get some breakfast at the breakfast buffet in the lobby before starting their days with the royal couple. Sharpay stuffed the rest of the sausage in her mouth while taking a huge gulp of her orange juice quickly. When the Princess called for her, she tried to make it there quick.

Chad chuckled to himself while he watched Sharpay stuff down her breakfast the moment she assumed the Princess needed her. "It's okay. No need to rush. They said for us to take the day off. They don't need us."

Sharpay set her fork down while she started to slow down her quick chewing. That was odd. If they didn't need either of them then what was the call about? "So why did the Prince call?"

"He wants me to book a boat tour for him. Like one of those private ones with a guide who also drives the boat. It's popular with honeymoons. So I guess they want to be alone." He shrugged while he started looking on his cellphone for any available private boat tours. As Chad focused his attention on completing his only professional task of the day, Sharpay cut a piece of the second piece of sausage link off to place in her mouth. While she chewed on her breakfast, Sharpay couldn't help but be curious about the royal couple. Just yesterday, she didn't wear her ring, but then a few seconds later it was back on, and now they were spending time alone all day? Gabriella hadn't talked to her about anything since they left Canovia. The blonde sighed out softly while she took a sip of her orange juice. Why did she care anyway? They were married and it should be none of her business whether or not Gabriella wore her wedding ring. Sharpay tried her hardest to shake off these uneasy feelings and her painful curiosity. Ever since the night she chatted with Troy, they had not really spoken except that brief interaction on the beach concerning Gabriella's risk of a sunburn.

"What do they do on these boat tours?" Sharpay asked as she tried her best to act natural.

"They usually ride around a boat together with a single tour guide and basically snorkel, have a dinner on the boat, and do whatever. It's really romantic. I heard about these. They're supposedly really popular here in Bora Bora." Chad scrolled down the webpage on his phone. "If you excuse me, I'm going to go make a call."

As Chad excused himself to book a private tour, Sharpay could feel her thoughts running wild. She wanted to shake these thoughts off so badly. They were ill thoughts and they were thoughts that were unrealistic. Troy was her past and the past was the past... right?


"Where are we going?" Gabriella slipped into her high waisted shorts and a cropped white tank top. She wore one of her many bikinis underneath, since she wore the red one yesterday, she decided to wear a turquoise bikini top and a black bikini bottom. After coming out from the shower, Gabriella planned to take a walk down the beach but instead she was greeted with Troy packing towels, sunscreen, and his favorite Nikon camera into a bag.

"On a date, remember?" He finally assembled everything within the beach bag and slung it over his shoulders. "Let's go."

"I didn't agree to this! I am still thinking about it, remember?" The playful tone in her voice was enough to give away her true thoughts. Troy rolled his eyes at her and motioned for her to follow him out the front door. Gabriella smiled at him and rolled her eyes back while she slipped her sandals on and followed him out the door. His hair wasn't gelled back like it normally would be and his light blue t-shirt matched the true blues of his eyes. His swim trunks were the same as yesterday, black with some stripes on the hem. While they stood in the elevator in silence, Gabriella looked up at his features. Every time she looked at his face, she found something new and something even more beautiful than before. The way his eyes would go from a light blue to a darker blue in different lights and different situations still fascinated her. Was she in love or was this just attraction? She felt special whenever he looked at her. She felt like the only woman on this earth. Was she just feeling this one-sidedly? All these questions inside of her just from looking at the man next to her were driving her mad.

When the elevator dinged to signal the arrival to the lobby, the couple walked out and turned to the exit to the beach.

"Just follow me okay?" Troy smiled at Gabriella as they walked on the sand and towards the water.

She nodded and followed behind Troy while they walked towards a pier to see a small yacht parked up by the pier. "Shit… is that yacht for us?"

"Yes, my dear." Troy chuckled softly as the couple walked up towards the guide who stood right on the deck of the boat. "My name is Troy Bolton and I asked to have this private boat tour booked earlier."

"Yes! Mr. Bolton!" The tour guide held out his hand to grip Troy's in a firm handshake. "My name is Arman and I will be your tour guide today. This will be your private boat." He smiled at the couple before holding out his hand to grab Gabriella's in his. Arman lowered his head and onto the back of Gabriella's hand to place a welcoming soft kiss. "What is your name, madame?"

"Gabriella Montez Bolton." She smiled at the tour guide and then at Troy. Her eyes twinkled and her grin stretched from ear to ear. Now this was going to be an exceptional first date. She thought to herself as the couple stepped foot onto the boat.

The smell of salt and air freshener filled the air the moment she stepped in the small motor yacht. The blue ocean and crashing waves painted the windows. She had never seen something so perfect and something so idealistic before. Only in paintings did a view like this come true. Gabriella was no stranger to luxury, from servants to lavish vacations to expensive hotels, she had seen it all. But this felt different, special, and more beautiful than just a view.

"How'd you know I'd like this?" She turned to look at her husband who smiled at the beautiful interior of the boat.

"It's called romantic boat tour, how would you not like it?" He teased.

The brunette's smile never left her face, she couldn't suppress the happiness she felt. Happiness—the topic they always circulated back to. "Once again, you're wonderful sometimes." She turned to look up at her husband who stood next to her with a cheeky grin. Just as Gabriella was about to lean up to place a kiss on his cheek, Troy leaned down to place his lips on her forehead. "I want to be wonderful for you all the time, Gabriella." His voice ghosted over the skin on her forehead in a whisper.

Her eyes were shut the moment his lips landed on her skin. She was sure of it, she was sure this was happiness. Happiness came so easily for her, but it only made her afraid of how easily it could be taken away. Her eyes fluttered open again to find their tour guide standing by the wheel to start the engine of the motor yacht.

The couple walked out to the deck where the tour guide started to take off from the pier. Gabriella listened as he briefly gave them some history of the island and the unique creatures that swam in their ocean. Troy and Gabriella listened closely as they learned a little about the culture and animals of Bora Bora.

"What does this tour consist of?" Gabriella asked Troy while looking out into the waves and the blue sky.

"Snorkeling and fishing. If you want, we can even have dinner later." He slid his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. "No cellphones work out here so it's just you and me… and the tour guide." The thought of spending a day with Gabriella just having fun excited Troy more than anything else. This would be their first date, not a movie and dinner set up, but an exciting yacht date. Everything about Gabriella was exceptional, their first date, their first time, and their first real kiss outside of the altar, and basically the entire set up of their relationship.

"That sounds like a real date." She looked up at Troy with that permanent grin. And he knew, that grin was what happiness looked like, and his own smile was happiness starting to creep in.


Thanks for reading guys! Please let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! It's kind of a set up for the next chapter and I just wanted to give some fluff :)