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Like Catching Lightning
Chapter 10: Just For Kicks
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"Surprise," a husky voice said to her.
Gabriella stared up at the figure in the doorway, awestruck. She took in his sandy brown hair that was coiffed up in the handsome fashion that she loved. His bright cerulean eyes stared down at her lovingly and his charming smile brightening up her day.
It was definitely her Troy.
"Well, aren't you gonna say anything, baby?" Troy asked cheekily.
"But you were… and the phone… and your parents…" Gabriella rambled, unable to form a complete thought.
"All an act, baby," he said. He extended his hand to take hers and lead her into the threshold, closing the door behind him. "I've been planning this for a few weeks now."
"But why didn't you tell me?"
"Because then it wouldn't be a surprise, silly," Troy chuckled before kissing her temple.
"But what if I had decided not to come today? What if I said I'd visit my parents tomorrow?" Gabriella asked cheekily.
"Well, I would've convinced you to come somehow. Now, shut up and let me kiss you, I haven't seen you in two months and I've missed you like crazy."
Without exactly waiting for her to reply, Troy pulled her close and kissed her lips softly and chastely. Gabriella wound her hands up to caress the soft hairs at the nape of his neck, sending shivers down Troy's spine. Not wanting to intensify it in the presence of their parents, even though they were in the dining room and wouldn't notice, Gabriella pulled away, still resting her forehead on his.
"I've missed you so, so much, baby," she murmured against his lips.
"Ditto," Troy said, placing a kiss on her forehead. He then bent down to be face to face with her bulging stomach. "And I missed you two as well!" He lifted her shirt and placed a lingering kiss to her tummy and caressed it, amazed with its new look. "You look incredible, baby. Pregnancy really suits you," He grinned.
"Okay, love birds," a teasing Jack Bolton said entering the threshold with Robert and Lucille in tow, "time to let go of each other."
Troy rolled his eyes and Gabriella just giggled. "Hey Dad," Gabriella greeted her father-in-law first, walking over to him and hugging him since he had been the first one in the room.
"You're looking fantastic," he complimented, as he rubbed her growing belly.
"Thanks Dad," she blushed. "Papi!" she said excitedly as she walked over to her father and hugged him tightly.
"Mi princesita," Robert Montez said to his daughter as he hugged back. He pulled away and held her hands. "You're looking beautiful."
"Thanks papi," Gabriella grinned. She leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek. "Mom!" she walked over to her mother-in-law and hugged her eagerly. "I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too, honey," Lucille grinned. "You look amazing!" she said examining Gabriella. "You're absolutely glowing," she said as she rubbed her belly. "I can't believe how big you've gotten."
"I know, I've been shocked," Gabriella said. "It's bigger every day."
"Has the morning sickness gotten better?" Lucille asked.
"Yeah," Gabriella said. "It's not as constant as it used to be. It still happens but usually when I eat too much or right after I wake up. The time of day is usually irrelevant."
"Well that's good, then. These too aren't giving you as much trouble as I thought."
"That's because they promised daddy that they'd take care of their mommy," Gabriella said grinning at Troy.
"That they did," Troy chuckled.
"Hey, where's mami?" Gabriella asked looking around for her mother.
"Right here, mija," Ana-Luisa Montez said stepping out of the kitchen with a double fudge brownie with whipped cream on top on a tray in her hands.
"Mami!!!" Gabriella squealed as she went over to her mother. Ana-Luisa quickly handed the tray over to her husband before wrapping her arms around her daughter. The two had always been extra close and to say that Gabriella was excited to see her mother was an understatement. "I missed you so much, mami."
"I missed you too, mija," Ana-Luisa said smiling. "You look absolutely stunning, hija. Te ves hermosa."
"Gracias mami," Gabriella smiled at her mother.
"I'm glad you're finally here. You came just in time for my double chocolate brownie. Troy mentioned that it's your latest craving." Gabriella glanced over at Troy, who made eye contact with her, and the two just burst out laughing loudly remembering their phone conversation as well as a few more not –so-innocent conversations involving the two of them, a yacht, whipped cream, and lots of melted chocolate.
"What's so funny?" Robert asked the laughing pair.
"Nothing," Troy managed to get out through his laughter.
The four parents eyed each other confusedly before just shaking it off and deciding that it was one of their inside jokes, as all married couples have. "Alright you two, let's go have our brunch," Ana-Luisa said as she and the other three parents headed into the dining room while Troy and Gabriella stayed behind.
Troy walked over to Gabriella and interlaced their fingers and placing a kiss near her earlobe before murmuring, "We're buying whipped cream and chocolate on the way back to your hotel room. We'll buy the yacht when we get back to LA."
Gabriella laughed out loud before slapping his chest playfully as the two made their way to the dining room.
"I can't believe you're here, baby," Gabriella murmured into Troy's chest as she hugged him tightly.
"Believe it, babe," Troy said with a small smile. The two had just finished brunch with their parents and now they found themselves lying in the hammock the Montezes had in their backyard while their parents enjoyed coffee in the living room.
"But why?" Gabriella asked.
"I could go back if you want me to," Troy joked.
"No! Stay," she said hugging him tighter.
"Just kidding," he said kissing her temple. He lowered the arm he had around her shoulders down to her waist and caressed her tummy. "Love you."
"Love you too."
Troy leaned down to press a lingering kiss to her tummy. "You know how they say pregnant ladies are always glowing?"
"Mhmm."
"Well, you look like a red giant," Troy said.
"Gee thanks, it's nice to know I look like a star that's ready to explode," Gabriella said rolling her eyes.
"You know what I mean," Troy said rolling his own eyes and kissing her temple.
Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, Chad Danforth and Sharpay Evans-Danforth found themselves in yet another conflict.
"What the hell, Shar?" Chad argued.
"What do you mean what the hell? This decision marks what people will think of us forever," Sharpay reasoned.
Chad rolled his eyes. "Babe. It's a 'Make-A-Wish' Foundation charity event at the beach. We're going to be around all these little kids who just want a hug and an autograph, at the beach. It doesn't fucking matter if we match or not."
"YES, IT DOES, CHAD!"
"No, it doesn't, Sharpay."
"I bet you Troy and Gabriella are going to match! And so will Zeke and Taylor. Oh and Jason and Martha will too!" Sharpay tried to argue.
"No, they won't, and you know it," Chad rolled his eyes for the billionth time that morning. "And why are you worrying about this now? It's not until Sunday. It's Tuesday."
"UGH! You're so unbearable sometimes!" Sharpay screeched, stomping her foot.
"Me unbearable? Look who's talking! You're the queen of unbearable!" Chad said crossing his arms.
"You're such a jerk, Chad Michael Danforth!" she said poking his chest.
"Why am I a jerk, Sharpay Catherine Evans-Danforth? Because I don't want to wear hot pink swimming trunks? I wore hot pink to our senior prom and at our fucking wedding, Sharpay. I think I've worn enough hot pink."
"CHAD!" Sharpay pouted.
Chad had to laugh at her pout. She really wanted him to wear hot pink. "Baby, I'm really not gonna wear hot pink. And we don't have to match," he said. He walked over and kissed her cheek. "People will think we're hot regardless of what we wear because you're gorgeous and seeing you with me will draw some sort of appeal my way."
Sharpay couldn't help but smile at his compliment.
"And you and Dani can match," he added.
"No, because you're going to be the odd one out and I'm not going to take that," she crossed her arms.
"Yes you are. You'll get over it because you'll be too busy gushing over all the little kids and at the fact that Gabster is finally back from her tour to notice."
"You're right! My bestie will be here!" She started jumping up and down. Chad just laughed at how easily she dropped the subject about them matching.
"What am I gonna do with you?" Chad asked as he hugged her and kissed her cheek once more.
"Love me," Sharpay said cutely as she kissed him.
Troy pulled away from kissing Gabriella, "I missed our make out sessions."
"Me too," Gabriella murmured before pressing another kiss to his lips.
"Remind me again why we haven't gone to your hotel room yet," Troy said kissing her once more.
"Because we don't want to be rude Troy," Gabriella answered. "Later. I promise."
"Fine," Troy pouted.
Gabriella kissed his nose at how cute he looked. "You're so cute." Troy just stuck his tongue out at her. She giggled before kissing him once more. Troy intensified the kiss and his hands began to roam.
"Troy Alexander Bolton! I can't believe you're trying to go up my shirt in the backyard!" Gabriella scolded
Troy laughed out loud, "Baby, it isn't anything we haven't done before, you know?"
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "And I believe that when the last time we did it, we got grounded."
"Well they can't ground us now. We're married. And if they ground us, we'll still be together.
"Oh, ha, ha," Gabriella laughed sarcastically. "We're still not doing it."
"But Brieee!"
"But Brie nothing," she said firmly. "You're hands are going nowhere near my breasts until 9:30 tonight."
"What? Are you crazy? It's 11:30!" his eyes had opened up like plates. "Six weeks, Bolton! Six weeks!" he argued dramatically.
"So, what? Keep up your friskiness and I swear I'll make you wait until my tour is complete."
Troy nearly fainted. Afraid of her threat he practically jumped off the hammock and ran over to the Montezes' patio set. "I am not waiting another two and a half weeks. Hell to the fuck no!" he said without even looking back.
Gabriella suddenly began to explode with laughter at his childishness. She clutched at her sides as her stomach began to hurt because she was laughing so hard. She was laughing so hard that she lost her balance on the hammock and landed with a loud 'THUD' on the grass, silencing her laughter.
At the sound of this Troy turned around and ran over to her. "BRIE! Oh my God, are you alright? Does anything hurt?" He turned around to call for their parents. "MOM! HURRY! BRIE FELL OFF THE HAMMOCK AND SHE WON'T ANSWER ME!"
At the sound of Troy's call, the four parents ran outside, only to be met with Gabriella's continuing laughter.
"Oh… my… God…" Gabriella managed to slip out in between her laughter. She clutched her stomach once more before extending her hand toward Troy so that she could get up.
Troy, albeit the fact that she was laughing, didn't want to take any chances and picked her up bridal style and brought her over to the outdoor sofa where he lay her gently.
"Troy, I'm fine," Gabriella breathed.
"How did you fall, mija?" Robert asked his daughter.
Gabriella couldn't help but laugh again before recomposing herself, "I'm sorry. It's just that Troy here is some character."
"What do you mean?" Jack asked, confused at her answer.
"He did the cutest and most hilarious thing and I lost my balance on the hammock. But I'm fine. I didn't mean to worry you guys. I'm sorry."
The parents all looked at each other before shaking their heads and the parents-to-be made eye contact before Gabriella burst into laughter once more.
"Daddy!" Dani exclaimed as she ran to her father's arms after walking through the door with her mother.
"Hey there, cutie," Chad said with a grin. He kissed her forehead before asking, "How was school today?"
"School was lots of fun, daddy. Today, Miss Alice wasn't at school so the substimatute let us make cards with paints."
"You mean 'substitute'?" Sharpay asked chuckling as she walked over to Chad and pressed a kiss to his lips.
"Yeah, that," Dani said shrugging her shoulders.
"Well, who'd you make the card for?" Chad asked.
"For Auntie Gabi," she replied. "Because I miss her lots and I can't wait until she gets home."
"Oh, I miss her too! Can I see it?" he asked. The younger Danforth female nodded her head before Chad put her down and she went to get the card.
"Her substitute was shocked that she already knew how to read and write," Sharpay said to her husband as she slipped off her flip flops.
"Did you tell her that with a godmother like Gabriella that was kind of inevitable?"
"Oh yeah," Sharpay giggled.
"Here, daddy," Dani handed the card over to her father. "Can you mail it to her, please?
Chad looked at the outside where two figures, a taller one with small bump on her stomach representing Gabriella and a shorter one with blonde, curly locks, representing Danielle. Chad chuckled at how smart his daughter was and read the card aloud, "To my auntie Gabi. I miss you lots! Please come home so you can play with me and uncle Troy. I love you! –Dani" he smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Well that's very nice. I'll make sure she gets it as soon as possible."
"Thank you, daddy," Dani grinned. "Oh and daddy can you and me and mommy wear pink to the beach on Sunday? I want us all to match."
Chad's head snapped up in the direction of Sharpay who broke out into laughter. "I can't believe you'd try to get through me with our daughter! That's cold Shar! You know I can't resist her!"
"Nuh uh, this time, it was all her, babe. I had nothing to do with it, I swear." Sharpay defended herself.
"What's wrong?" Dani asked, confused at her parents' conversation. "Can't we wear pink?" she pouted.
"Nothing's wrong, baby. Of course we can wear pink," Chad nodded at her.
"Yay!" Danielle clapped her hands happily before grabbing her backpack. "I'll see you later!" and with that, she ran up the stairs.
"Oh, you're gonna pay for this, baby," Chad glared at his wife playfully.
"Bring it, babe," Sharpay said giggling.
Meanwhile back at Gabriella's hotel room, Troy and Gabriella were busily re-familiarizing themselves with each other and catching up. She had agreed to leave her parents' place a whole six hours before the time she had allocated for their rendezvous and to say Troy was giddy was an understatement.
"Oh my God, I missed you," Troy said as he cradled Gabriella in his arms after their intense love-making. "Chocolate and whipped cream officially top the list of my favorite Gabriella treats."
"I missed you too, sweetheart," Gabriella said licked some residue of chocolate from his bare chest. "And I'm glad you liked me as your treat. You were quite delicious yourself." She giggled.
"You know, pregnancy on you is such a turn on. Scratch that. Pregnancy, whipped cream and chocolate on you are such a turn on."
"Good," she giggled. "At least we know that our intimacy won't die out when I get bigger."
"Of course it won't," he stated. "Plus, there's just something about knowing that you're having my babies that just makes me want to do you."
"You're so romantic," she said deadpan.
"Thank you, I've been told," he chuckled as he kissed her forehead.
"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't get you a present," Gabriella said after a few moments of silence.
"Babe, you know I don't care about that. As long as you're with me, it's cool. Plus, you couldn't have possibly known that I was gonna be here," Troy said pushing a stray curl away from her face.
"I know. I mean I had a present, well sort of. I'm writing a song for you but it's not ready so I technically don't have a present."
"Brie, it's fine, baby."
"I…" she paused and her mouth dropped open in shock.
"What?" Troy asked after her pause. Gabriella sat up and he followed suit. "What's wrong, babe?"
"Give me your hand," Gabriella said taking his hand. She placed it on her tummy, right next to her own. "Did you feel that?"
"Feel what?" he asked confused.
"Shh! Feel."
Troy looked at her strangely before he felt a little flutter beneath his palm. His mouth dropped open in shock.
"Was that…" he could barely finish his statement as a smile sprouted on Gabriella's features and she nodded her head.
"It was."
"Oh my…" Troy murmured. He almost flinched as he felt the flutter beneath his palm once more. As if he were afraid, he carefully brought his hand to the other side where he felt another flutter. "They're kicking," he smiled.
"They're kicking!!!" Gabriella said clapping her hands excitedly.
"This is so amazing," Troy said. He leaned his head down to place lingering kisses to each side of her stomach as the flutters continued.
"They feel like little butterflies," she said putting her hands on top of Troy's. "I think this is their birthday present to you, baby."
"Well, I think this is the best birthday present ever," Troy said cutely and leaned down to place another kiss to her stomach.