Looking Back to Move Forward

SUMMARY: Troy and Gabriella have been friends for 11 years, best friends. They've even been more, but circumstances years ago led them to end their romance and revert back to just being friends. But will one special weekend of reminiscing about their lives and the memories they've shared remind them of the one thing that they're both missing? M for adult situations/subject matter and sexual references/depictions.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own these wonderful characters...I just love them like the rest of you. :-) I also do not own Top Gun, Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, or the song "Take My Breath Away." But you knew this, right? ;-)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Good morning/afternoon/evening! Well, as promised, here's the next chapter. Now, I have to take this moment to remind you that this story is rated M and this chapter...you guessed it, M...very much so...so, if you blush easily, don't wish to get some intimate visuals of these characters, or don't want your boss to look over your shoulder and reprimand you for reading smut at work (LOL), you may just want to stop reading right now. But if you, like me, rather dig the M write-ups, well, do continue and I hope you'll enjoy it. It's a bit nerve-wracking getting to this point in the story since this is my first published story and here I am "going there" with all of you...not that you all aren't perfectly lovely, but you know...we haven't known each other long. LOL! Okay, I'll stop my blabbing now. :-) Read on!

Chapter 10 – Take My Breath Away

Troy lay there in that guest room feeling more lonely than he'd felt in a long time. What was happening this weekend? And, how could he make it right again? Sighing, he let his eyes roam around the room, taking in the somewhat rustic décor…the knotted pine dresser, the old-fashioned wooden rocking chair in the corner…and then his eyes ran over the bookshelves Gabriella had in the room. He smiled to himself, seeing that she still read her "smut" but also had a variety of other types of titles on the shelves. He noted the movies she also kept on the shelves. These were surplus movies, those she had run out of room for in her living room movie cabinet. His eyes stopped on one movie in particular…a common movie collection choice but for Troy, it was a movie that transported his mind back to another weekend spent with Gabriella…

Gabriella stood in the kitchen, not entirely sure what to do with herself. Troy had said he'd be right back. She looked out the window above the sink to see the stars starting to appear in the swiftly darkening sky. Finding the brightest one, she made a quick wish that tonight would be perfect and that it would only serve to strengthen her relationship with Troy. Turning from the window, she let her eyes dart around the room. No sign of Troy yet. She peeked into the refrigerator and saw that Zeke had also left them several desserts. She still felt pretty full, however, so she shut the door, making mental note of the options in case she felt hungrier later. She grabbed herself a glass of water and made her way into the living room. A minute later, Troy found her there, eyeing the Evans' movie collection.

"Uh, care to watch one?" he asked, thinking this might be a good idea since he still had no idea how he should move them toward the less innocent activities he hoped the evening would hold.

Gabriella turned to smile at him, grateful that he wasn't in a rush for this evening to escalate. She wanted it to. She had already made up her mind about that. She just didn't know if she was ready to get there yet. "Sure...if you don't mind."

"No, not at all. Sounds good," Troy said, offering her a reassuring smile. "Has one caught your eye yet?"

"Hmmm...quite a few, but you wouldn't love all of my choices," she said with a smirk. "So...how about Top Gun? It's classic. It has action and macho guy stuff and you know, romance stuff for me. And, you can't go wrong with Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer."

"Nice. I'll forget about that last part. Otherwise, sounds good to me too." With that, he took the video and popped it into the VCR, while Gabriella took a seat on the couch. Troy dimmed the lights before sitting down, as they often did when watching movies so that they could get a movie theater feel. He settled in next to Gabriella, placing his arm around her and pulling her close. She relaxed into him, resting her head against his shoulder and curling her feet up under her on the couch. And, so they stayed as the movie progressed. At first, they allowed themselves to just relax and enjoy the film. Often, while watching movies in a dimly lit room, they would swiftly forget about the movie and get right to the business of making out. But tonight, they knew that doing so would be starting something more intense and neither was quite ready to do that. So, they just allowed themselves to get lost in the film...that is, until they reached the famous volleyball scene.

Now, normally, this scene was a personal favorite of Gabriella's (and many other gals around the world). I mean, hot, sweaty, shirtless, muscular men playing volleyball. What gal wouldn't love that? But tonight, Gabriella couldn't enjoy it in the same way she usually did because 1) she was anticipating seeing her own boyfriend shirtless and sweaty later that evening and 2) she was starting to think of another scene in the movie she knew they were fast approaching. Not long after, as Maverick revved up his bike and sped away from the flight school and Charlie hopped in her car and chased him, Gabriella's heart sped up a bit. As they stopped and started yelling at each other before coming together in a passionate kiss, she thought she could feel Troy's heart beat pick up its pace as well. As the scene moved to the characters' silhouettes standing in Charlie's house and "Take My Breath Away" began playing, Troy and Gabriella both sensed the tension in the air and the room felt ten degrees hotter. They held their breaths as the scene continued, bared skin, movements, tongue flashes and all, inwardly sighing when it was over.

As the rest of the movie played, they found it difficult to pay it their full attention. Both were anxiously awaiting the end of the movie and wondering if the other was thinking about it and if they should talk about it or just act. Somewhere around the "take me to bed or lose me forever" scene, Gabriella started to absentmindedly trace circles on Troy's chest with her finger. When Goose died, Troy started to rub his hand slowly up and down Gabriella's arm, placing soft kisses on the top of her head. When Maverick went back up for the first time, he started alternating between doing this and running his fingers through her hair. By the time Maverick was in the midst of his first real flight assignment, neither could care less whether or not he and his team shot down all of their enemies. Troy's hand had moved to rest on Gabriella's back again, only this time his fingers rested on her bare skin right beneath the hem of her shirt. Gabriella's hand now also made contact with bare skin as she had eased it beneath Troy's t-shirt to rest it lightly on his toned abs. As the characters celebrated their successful mission, Troy's and Gabriella's fingers were both moving lightly to draw patterns on bare skin. As Troy's fingers lightly passed over the clasp on the back of Gabriella's bra and as her own fingers lightly grazed the top edge of the waistband on Troy's jeans, they both sucked in a breath and closed and re-opened their eyes slowly, recognizing the slow but meaningful "dance" they were doing. As the movie's characters moved toward a kiss in the final scene, so too did Troy and Gabriella.

Gabriella tilted her head back to look into Troy's eyes, seeing her desire mirrored there. Troy saw this too and leaned down to capture her lips. Gabriella leaned up to meet him and reached the arm that had been dormant until now up and around Troy's neck, fingering the hair at the nape of his neck, as her other hand continued its light touch on his abdomen and as she allowed her legs to uncurl and to hang off the front of the couch. The passion in their kiss grew as they parted their lips, allowing their tongues to duel as they had so many times before, except that so many times before they had known it would be finite. Tonight was different.

Gabriella allowed her hand to run a bit higher to splay across Troy's chest. Troy ran his one hand down her back, over her hip, and down her outer thigh, stopping at her knee as he reached around to pull both of her legs toward him to rest across his lap. Having done so, he ran the same hand back up the trail it had just taken, this time stopping at her waist, his fingers again slipping underneath her shirt to splay partly along her side and partly onto her abdomen, as he pulled her even closer to him. Feeling the need for air, they lessened the intensity of the kiss briefly, still sucking gently on each other's lips, before Troy allowed his own to separate from Gabriella's so that they could glide along her jaw and down her neck. He placed a trail of kisses along her collarbone to her shoulder before stopping and reversing his trail until he'd reached the spot where her neck and collarbone met, lingering here, licking, sucking, and nibbling in a playful manner as he felt his girlfriend shiver a little in his arms and heard her shaky inhalations of breath.

Gabriella was melting...pure silly putty, that's what he was turning her into with that skillful mouth of his. And his hands, hot on her skin, not yet moving further than they had, teasing her with the anticipation of those fingers continuing their explorations. And, then, as if he sensed her eagerness, he kissed his way back up her neck, making a slight detour to nibble and suck on her earlobe torturously, before sliding his lips back along her jaw line and reconnecting their lips. Without delay, their tongues began communicating their desire once again, as their hands were set in motion once more. As Gabriella felt the hand that had been resting on her waist slowly ascend the plains of her flat stomach, she allowed her own fingers to trail across Troy's chest until she reached one of his nipples, lightly circling it with each finger. Troy's abs contracted briefly at her touch and his breath hitched briefly as he enjoyed the pleasurable sensation she was causing. Troy's own hand had reached the underside of Gabriella's breast, where he paused briefly before sliding it upward over the satiny material to cup the soft mound, soon beginning to gently stroke the nipple with his thumb. Gabriella moaned softly into his mouth, feeling the heat wash across her chest and run elsewhere in her body as well at his loving touch. Encouraged by his girlfriend's sounds of enjoyment, he brought his other hand around from her back to cup her other breast and mirror his stimulating actions there as well, eventually slipping his fingers underneath the soft material to caress her skin on skin. Gabriella grasped at Troy's hair, entwining her fingers in it further, as her other hand moved back and forth across Troy's chest and up and down his abs. Then, feeling an urgent need to once again lay eyes on the muscular torso she was exploring so thoroughly with her hands, Gabriella let her hands slide down to the hem of Troy's shirt before tugging upwards on it.

Recognizing what she was trying to do, Troy reluctantly dragged his hands back from under her shirt, raising his arms to help her in removing his own. Once she had pulled it off of him and let it drop to the floor, Troy took a moment to stare into her eyes. The dark chocolate eyes stared back at him, communicating that she wanted them to continue, before they dropped to take in the taut golden brown skin covering the muscles she knew her boyfriend had been developing in recent years with all of his sports and physical activities. She licked her lips appreciatively. She had certainly seen her boyfriend shirtless before, but she still never failed to appreciate the beautiful sight. 'Yeah...Tom and Val have nothing on him,' she thought, a smile gracing her lips. Troy watched her appraise him, feeling increasingly aroused by her perusal. He watched as she placed her hands back on his stomach and ran them steadily up his abs, over his chest, and over his shoulders, which she gripped to steady herself. Then, she leaned up and instead of taking his lips within her own, she bypassed them, placing sweet kisses along his jaw, back to his ear and down his neck from there. Her small tongue flicked out to sear his already heated skin as she traced her own path over his shoulder and then down his chest, eventually taking one of his nipples into her mouth and sucking on it and teasing it with her tongue before moving her mouth further down over his abs, licking in a circle around his naval before kissing her way back up the other side of his abs, stopping to give attention to his other nipple before eventually making her way back up to suck on the other side of his neck, his other earlobe and finally his lower lip.

Troy, who had been mesmerized and titillated by his girlfriend's thorough attentions, snapped out of his stillness and placed both of his hands on either side of Gabriella's head, sucking on her upper lip and pulling her head closer to him, as he plunged his tongue into her mouth with fervor, wanting to taste every inch of that sweet mouth once again.

Gabriella felt lightheaded. Her pulse was racing and she felt hot, really hot.

Pulling away from the kiss with other actions in mind, Troy leaned forward and began to kiss her neck once more, moving his mouth along her collarbone once more, as his fingers slipped under the spaghetti strap of the tank Gabriella was wearing, gently pulling it down over her shoulder as he placed his lips where the strap had just rested before pulling the strap down a bit further, his lips moving further down the side of her shoulder. Those lips next trailed across the upper part of Gabriella's chest and up onto her other shoulder as his other hand pulled that strap down so that his lips could follow on that side as well. As his lips once again trailed across her upper chest and began to gradually trail lower so that they were now skimming the neckline of her tank, Gabriella closed her eyes with pleasure and anticipation. And, then, Troy pulled away once more, which caused her eyes to fly back open, missing the contact and curious as to why he'd stopped.

Troy looked into Gabriella's eyes, seeing the brief look of confusion and longing flash there. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. This was really as far as they'd ever gone before in their makeout sessions. He had felt her chest beneath her clothes but he had never once derobed his girlfriend and his lips had not been where his hands had. Holding her eyes with his own, searching for any sign there that would halt his actions, he brought his hands down to the bottom of her tank top, gripping the hem as she had done with his shirt. He saw Gabriella's head give the slightest nod before he began to pull the tank up, letting his fingers graze over each inch of skin as it was uncovered before finally pulling the shirt up over her head and letting it drop to the floor next to his.

They were startled for a moment as the television started blaring voices at them. The tape had played to its end and had stopped, causing the television to come back on. Troy quickly reached over to the sofa arm and hit the power button on the remote, turning everything off. Sitting in silence once more, Troy turned back to take in the sight of his girlfriend sitting now in only her jeans and her strapless lavender bra, staring back at him with a nervous smile. He smiled back at her, bringing his hands back to her waist and placing a few gentle kisses on her lips as he slid his hands up her back until they reached her bra clasp. His hands shaking a bit, he fumbled with the clasp for several seconds before managing to release the hooks and feeling the two separate ends in his hands. He heard the breath catch in Gabriella's throat as he slowly eased his hands from the center of her back outward, allowing the material to loosen its hold on her breasts before letting go with his one hand so that the other could pull the soft covering completely away from her body, letting it also drop onto the floor.

Troy held his breath and eased back so that he could take in his girlfriend's entire upper body with no more barriers in the way. His eyes lit up with pleasure as her full, creamy breasts came into view. He felt his heated blood rushing south in his body, followed by a twitch in his groin, letting him know his body was fully aware of his intentions this evening and was fully on board with his plans.

Gabriella was waiting breathlessly, searching his face, hoping that the sight of her was pleasing to her boyfriend. Sensing this, Troy looked back up into her eyes, leaning in to kiss her lips once more before pulling back to say in a husky voice "God...you're beautiful, Ella."

Gabriella's lips curved up at this. Troy captured them once more in a passionate kiss, leaning them both back so that Gabriella's head and back rested against the sofa's throw pillows. They both savored the skin-on-skin feeling as their chests pressed against one another, Gabriella's hands coming up to caress Troy's back. Troy broke the kiss, trailing his lips swiftly back down Gabriella's neck to her upper chest where he'd left off before. Not stopping this time, he kissed his way over and around her right breast, engulfing her nipple with his mouth as he brought his other hand up to caress her left breast. Gabriella squirmed with pleasure at the attentions both of her breasts were now receiving, tightening her grip on Troy's back. Troy rolled his tongue around her nipple, drawing back and then sucking it into his mouth once again. He heard the soft pants escaping Gabriella's parted lips as he smoothly switched his attentions, kissing his way over to her other breast before taking that nipple into his mouth and repeating his loving actions with it as his other hand now took up its place on her right breast.

Gabriella felt the heat rushing through her, making her feel flush. Feeling emboldened by a primal urge for more, not even consciously processing what more meant, Gabriella let her hands glide back around Troy's body, first to caress his stomach once more and then to trail down to rest on the waistband of his jeans. She slid her small fingers over the button in the center, pushing it back through its hole.

This brought Troy out of his intense concentration on the beautiful peaks laid before him. Feeling his jeans being unbuttoned, he pulled back, raising himself up on his arms to stare down into his girlfriend's flushed face. He didn't see any trepidation there, but he still paused. If they were going to do this, he hadn't pictured their first time occurring on the sofa.

"Troy?" Gabriella spoke softly, tentatively, not sure if she had done something wrong by moving to undress his lower body.

"Ella, I...we should..." Making a decision, Troy eased himself back into a sitting position, pulling Gabriella up with him. Then, he stood up and saw Gabriella's eyes widen as he did so. They widened even more as he bent down and scooped her up into his arms, smiling down at her. Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck as he turned and carried her down the hall to the room she had slept in the night before. Easing the door shut with his foot, he led them over to the bed, where he gently laid her down before crawling onto it to lay next to her.

Reaching over, he gently caressed her cheek with his hand before pulling her face over to meet his in a loving kiss. They soon deepened the kiss and their hands began wondering over each other's bodies again, building their pleasure once more. Troy's hands moved down her body and over her backside, squeezing and pulling her more firmly against him as the fervor of their kisses grew. Gabriella gasped as she could feel the full length of his arousal pressing against her through their jeans. She let one hand roam down over the front of his jeans, pausing a few heartbeats before moving it over to caress his hardness. Troy let out a guttural groan, bolts of sensation shooting through him at her touch. Slowly, she moved her hand up and down his length, trying to become familiar and to tune in to Troy's reactions to know if what she was doing was right. His breathing was uneven and his eyes were closed. It looked to Gabriella as though she was doing okay. Troy gripped at her hair, alternating between kissing her and just leaning his forehead against hers and enjoying the feel of her hand. When he slowly opened his eyes one time when he did have his forehead leaning against hers, the intense blue Gabriella saw further assured her that Troy was definitely enjoying her movements.

This time, when Gabriella moved her hands to the fastenings on Troy's jeans and her tiny fingers deftly pulled the zipper down, Troy didn't pull away. He didn't stop her when she gripped the waistband of the jeans and pulled them down and off his legs. As she laid back down next to him, he did take that opportunity to let his own hands drift down over her abdomen to the waistband of her jeans. He heard the shaky breath his girlfriend took as he slowly unbuttoned and unzipped them before sliding them down over her hips and dropping them onto the bedroom floor.

Lying there, Gabriella only in her lavender panties, Troy only in his blue boxers, they began to kiss again. It was their home base; it was what they knew. Building up his courage again, Troy let his hand drift down over her peaks and valleys until he grazed the top of her panties. He felt Gabriella tremble slightly beneath his hand and paused, leaving his hand there as he continued to kiss her. A moment later, surprise ran through him as he felt Gabriella's own hand on top of his, urging him on, giving him the permission he silently sought. And so he continued on, cupping her soft mound through the silky material, running his fingers lightly over her folds, beginning to stroke back and forth with more pressure. A gasp escaped Gabriella's mouth at the sheer pleasure of his touch. She could feel warmth, wetness, and a fabulous tingling between her legs. Rather unconsciously, she spread them a bit further apart and tilted her pelvis up slightly to meet his hand. Feeling this and feeling the wetness as it began to seep through her panties, Troy was spurred on. He moved his hand to the side a bit and slid his fingers beneath the thin material, stroking the soft, sensitive flesh, his fingers gliding smoothly into her wet folds. Hearing Gabriella moan, Troy lifted his head slightly, wanting to not only hear and feel but to see her reactions to his touch. Gabriella arched her back, her head tilting back, her eyes closed, lashes fluttering a bit. Her lips were parted and there was a visible flush from her face on down to her chest. Her breathing was ragged and further moans escaped her lips as he continued to touch her.

Suddenly wanting to continue on unimpeded, Troy removed his hand. Gabriella's eyes opened at this, but she quickly realized what Troy was after when she felt both of his hands on her hips beginning to slide her panties down. Taking a deep breath and biting her lip, she slowly lifted her pelvis a bit to help the process along. Troy glanced up and caught her eye, lips curving into a reassuring smile as he slid them down her legs and threw them on the floor. Having done so, he wasted no time in returning his hand to her folds and evoking the same reactions from his girlfriend. Feeling her tilt her pelvis to better meet his hand yet again, Troy slowly slid one finger inside her. Feeling this, Gabriella initially tensed her muscles, but then relaxed a moment later, allowing his finger to stretch her tightness somewhat as he began to slowly pump it in and out of her. Adjusting to the movements, Gabriella's arousal began to build once more. She could feel the wetness and the heat at her core and the blessed tingling sensations becoming more intense. She felt an ache building, a good ache, one that needed...something. She felt a delightful churning in the pit of her stomach, her toes were curling involuntarily, and she felt the need to grasp onto the bedspread to maintain some control...control of what she was not sure. As Troy slid a second finger inside of her, both continuing their pumping motion, she arched her back further, her breathing more harsh than it had been before. She let out a loud moan as Troy added a third finger, feeling the ache build to an incredible degree, her nerve endings humming with sensation, her heart beat quickening even more, waves of heat passing over her. She felt as though she were approaching an edge of some sort. She gripped the bed tighter. She let out a strangled cry. And, then, she felt herself begin to spasm. She felt a bit like she was falling. She could see stars behind her eyelids. Then she felt the warmth at her core...and the wetness...like liquid fire. She felt so, so good.

Troy didn't think he had ever felt more aroused in his entire life nor loved anyone else this much before as he watched in awe how his movements pleasured his girlfriend, bringing her to a peak from which she crashed down blissfully. He waited as her quick pants gradually gave way to more steady breathing once again before slowly sliding his fingers out of her. He watched the lazy smile spread across her face as she allowed herself to come back to the moment. He watched as her eyes slowly opened, staring up at him with a glazed expression. He wanted to memorize this moment, store it away forever and cherish it. And he knew it was only really the beginning.

As if to confirm this thought, Gabriella turned to him, placing her hand behind his head and pulling him in for a passionate kiss. In the midst of this kiss, he felt her hands trail down his body, reaching his boxers and tugging downward on them. Troy helped her ease them off, before feeling an intense shudder run through him as he felt her small hand wrap around him. He couldn't hold in his groans as she began to slide her hand up and down his shaft.

Gabriella loved the feel of him. He was rigid but also so pliable. The skin of his member was velvety smooth and hot to the touch and as she stroked him, she felt him jerk involuntarily in her hand periodically. Wanting to experience him further, and having learned a thing or two from Taylor and her older sister (embarrassingly enough including some popsicles…no longer just an innocent summer snack to Gabriella!), she began to kiss her way down his body once more, except this time, she did not turn around at his naval. Instead, she ran her tongue downward, following the light trail of hair that led her toward where her hand was gripping his hard length. Tentatively, she let her tongue dart from her mouth and lick the tip. She heard Troy's sharp intake of breath and she continued, this time placing her mouth around the head and sucking gently. Troy's harsh groan encouraged her and she proceeded to suck more of his length into her mouth, until she felt him hit the back of her throat. Then, she eased back until only the head was in her mouth once more, before taking him fully into her mouth again. She continued to engulf him as best she could, running her mouth up and down him for a few more moments before Troy, sensing he could not control himself if he allowed her to continue, gently pulled her head back up to face him, before crashing his lips down on hers.

Breaking their kiss, he swiftly kissed his way down her neck, trailing his lips over her breasts and her belly, moving his body down the bed as he did so, so that he could lie between her legs. Moving his lips from her stomach to her left thigh, he slid his hands up the bed on either side of her until they met her own. He entwined their hands and raised his lips from her thigh so that his eyes could run up her body until they met with hers. They bore into his. He could tell she was eager but self-conscious. "You are so unbelievably gorgeous," he breathed out. Gabriella swallowed, hearing these words and the sincerity behind them, words that made her feel safe, words that made her feel loved. How could she not trust him? She could read in his eyes that he wanted nothing more than to love her and pleasure her. "So are you," she breathed. Troy grinned at this. "Troy…" His eyes held hers. "…please…don't stop." Troy smiled once more, his eyes filled with desire. Gabriella watched in breathless anticipation as he lowered his head toward her...and then she felt his tongue flick across her most sensitive nub and a jolt shot through her body. She gripped his hands tighter. Troy proceeded to run his tongue languorously up and down her folds, pausing several times to lick and suck on her tiny nub. And, then as his tongue ran downward again, she felt it enter her. As it pumped in and out of her where his fingers had been mere minutes ago, she felt the aching, tingling sensations begin to build once more and before she knew it, she was falling again, shuddering with the pleasure he had brought her once again. As she recovered from her second release, Troy eased his tongue from her. She made an involuntary whimpering noise as he lifted his head from her and she felt the emptiness of not having him in contact with her core in some way. This made Troy grin as he kissed his way back up her stomach and chest to eventually reach her mouth and capture her lips once more. She sighed into his kiss.

Gabriella tossed one way on her bed and then the other just a few minutes later. This memory was not helping matters. It was only muddling them more. Trying in vain to shut the image from her head, she flung the pillow over her head, groaning into it as her mind kept moving right along the track it had been traveling, with no intention of stopping...

As they lay there kissing, she felt his hardness press against her leg. Troy pulled back, looking down at her, a loving expression on his face.

"Troy, do you...have something?" she asked breathlessly.

His eyes sparkling, he nodded his head. She smiled. Then, he crawled to the side of the bed, reached down and retrieved the condom from his pocket. She watched as he tore open the wrapper and proceeded to roll the condom down over his length before moving himself so that he was lying between her legs, propped up on his arms and staring down into her eyes again.

"Ella," he said, his voice husky with desire, "are you sure?"

"Yes, Troy. I want this...I want you. I'm sure."

Troy's lips curled up into a smile and then he leaned down and kissed her, placing himself at her wet entrance. Using his fingers, he reached up and brushed some of her hair off her forehead.

"I love you, Ella."

"I love you too, Troy."

And, with that, Troy pressed forward, entering her slowly and watching her face for any indication he was hurting her. Meeting the natural resistance of her innocence, he took a deep breath and pushed on. Gabriella felt a sharp pinch and winced a little. Seeing this, Troy paused in his movements, leaning down and placing soft kisses on her lips, cheeks, and forehead. Adjusting to the feel of him, she ran her hands up his strong arms, over his shoulders, and down onto his back, soothing his concerns.

"It's okay, Troy," she said, smiling and nodding slightly.

Troy smiled back and continued entering her until he was fully engulfed in her warmth. Then, he began to move within her slowly. As her discomfort quickly dissipated, she began to experience the tingling sensations once more. She wrapped her legs around Troy's back and gripped at the back of his shoulders as her pleasure began to build.

Troy's movements became a bit more confident and he began pumping in and out of her steadily. Hearing Gabriella's soft pants develop into soft moans and eventually louder moans, Troy increased his speed, thrusting into her harder and faster. Gabriella felt herself approaching her climax once more. The waves of heat were passing over her. The blessed friction Troy was creating inside of her was sending such pleasurable sensations through her...she didn't even know how to describe them. She just knew she was warm and tingly and slippery and she was greatly enjoying the feeling of being this connected to Troy, of being literally filled by him. It was a powerful feeling. She tilted her pelvis to meet his thrusts, closing her eyes, arching her back, and digging her fingernails into his back as the intensity built. Both of their breathing was now ragged and sweat glistened on their smooth skin.

Troy was relishing this feeling. He loved feeling himself tightly engulfed in such heat. He thought he might skyrocket with every pleasurable sensation that shot through him as he moved in and out of his beautiful girlfriend. She had never looked more sexy to him than right now, lying open to him in every way, gripping onto him like he was her lifeline, giving herself over to the pleasure he was bringing her, her body flush again, her lips parted, her plump breasts bouncing with each of his strokes. He more sensed than heard his own groans and harsh breathing. His body was working of its own accord, propelling him forward naturally to his peak. As he felt Gabriella's walls tighten around him and heard her cry out his name, he gave over to nature and felt his own release begin, his hips bucking until it was done.

The tension suddenly gone, his body went slack and he dropped down, resting himself on top of his girlfriend for a few moments, feeling her own trembling body beneath him. Taking some shaky breaths, he stilled himself and eased himself out of her, rolling to the side and lying on his back next to her for several more minutes, just listening to their uneven breaths in the otherwise quiet room. As he calmed down more, he swiftly removed the condom and deposited it in the waste can by the bed before rolling onto his side and looking at his girlfriend once more, taking in her closed eyes and her contented smile. He continued to gaze upon her until she slowly opened her eyes and turned her head so that her dark, glazed eyes met his pools of blue. They smiled at each other, a bit shyly at first and then more comfortably as Gabriella rolled onto her side to face him more fully and reached out her hand, interlacing it with his.

Troy spoke first. "Are you...was that...okay?" he asked hopefully.

Gabriella's smile grew bigger. "Better than okay," she said with a sigh.

Troy's grin was huge and his chest puffed out a bit at this. Gabriella leaned her head toward his and kissed him softly before pulling back and letting her eyes drift shut. Troy rolled onto his back once more and put his arms around Gabriella, pulling her to him so that she lay with her head on his chest, her arm draped across his abdomen. He stroked her hair and her back softly and allowed his own heavy eyelids to close. Hearing her soft, steady breathing, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep as well, a matching smile gracing his face.

Some time later, he awoke to the feel of soft, wet kisses being placed along his chest and neck. Still in a dreamlike state, he lay still just savoring the feeling. He became more fully aware as he felt the light touch of her fingers running down over his abs and down over his upper thigh and back up and back down over his other thigh. This time though, they came up the inside of his leg until he felt them glide over his apparently awakening member. He felt himself begin to stiffen and twitch beneath her hand.

Gabriella marveled at the beautiful specimen of man that was her boyfriend. Having woken up from their short doze before him, she took the opportunity to run her eyes over his naked form. Not being able to resist, she began kissing him and running her fingers over his body. She felt awed and somewhat powerful seeing the effect of her gentle attentions, how quickly she was causing Troy's penis to stiffen, lengthen, and rise. Really, this was more interesting than any school science experiment she'd ever performed.

Troy became fully awake and opened his eyes when he felt Gabriella's hand wrap around him and begin a slow up and down stroke. He looked over and saw her watching her own hand's motions, a bemused smile on her face.

"Having fun there, Miss Montez?" he asked cockily, propping himself up a bit on his elbows.

Gabriella turned to give him a sheepish look. "Mmmmhmmm," she said, resuming her previous motions.

Troy chuckled. "So, I'm just your new toy then, huh?"

Gabriella giggled, leaning up to give him a kiss. Then, she tightened her grip, causing Troy's eyes to widen. "Have a problem with that, Bolton?" she said saucily.

Troy slowly shook his head back and forth. Gabriella cocked a questioning eyebrow at him. He cleared his throat. "No. No problem at all," he half choked out. Gabriella smiled at this, turning her attention back to the task at hand. Troy laid back and shut his eyes, thanking the heavens above for his curious girlfriend.

'Bolton, what the hell are you doing?' thought Troy to himself as he lay agitated in the guest room bed. 'Remembering that weekend is, um, great, torturous fun and all, but how exactly does it help your current situation?' Glancing down to see the tent currently forming in his pajama pants, Troy blew out a frustrated breath. 'It doesn't. It most definitely does not help,' he thought, even as his mind continued to recall how Gabriella had seen her task to its completion and had seemed to quite enjoy the resulting show. Then, he remembered falling back to sleep with her in his arms, her backside molded to his front. He had woken up first that next morning and had snuck out of bed to make her breakfast in bed...okay, technically, he had just gathered some of the pastries Zeke had left along with some fresh fruit and OJ from the fridge, but he'd placed it very nicely on the tray and carried it all the way back to the room without spilling anything, so he figured he deserved some credit for that. Gabriella had seemed appreciative, her whole face lighting up with glee as he'd woken her up with kisses, helped her sit up, and placed the tray over her legs. They'd sat there in bed enjoying their breakfast and their newly increased intimacy. After breakfast, they'd made love again before getting up and heading out onto the beach for much of the day. That afternoon, they'd showered together, which may have resulted in more dirtying than cleaning, before enjoying another romantic dinner, this time out on the back deck as the sun set. That night, they didn't need any movies to entertain them. And, when they fell asleep exhausted and feeling completely blissful, they made a mental note to thank their friends with some fabulous gifts.

Troy remembered all of this as he lay there contemplating whether he should just try to sleep this off and see if he had a clearer outlook in the morning or if he should try to go back down and talk to her. He wasn't quite sure what he'd say if he did. He wasn't sure if he wanted to say much at all. There were other things he'd like to do and talking wasn't really at the top of the list. 'Shit, Bolton. You want her,' his mind taunted him. 'I know!' he silently screamed back. It was true. He'd thought this aspect of his relationship with Gabriella was gone. They had seemed to move on those eight years ago. And even at times when he'd thought of her as being his again, he'd pushed down those thoughts, so sure she'd closed that chapter once and for all. But now...with that kiss...the way she'd looked at him at times this weekend...was it just the remembering that made the feelings seem so real, so vivid?

Gabriella was wondering the same thing not 50 feet away in her own room. Did she still have these feelings for Troy? I mean, he was completely sexy, so wanting him didn't seem like a crazy stretch. Many women out there who had watched him play and attend public events wanted him. But was it more? Could she still love him that way? And what about him? Was he just caught up in the moment or had it meant more to him? She sighed. Whatever it was...she wanted more…

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ahem! So, what'd you think? Please do review and let me know. And, I know you're all waiting for these two to make some more progress in the present, but hopefully this look into their past was still enjoyable. They have been moving through their most important memories together, so, um, yeah...this kind of counts. LOL! And, anticipation is good for the soul, right? Heh heh heh! BUT...the next chapter is entirely in the present...so, there's something to look forward to. ;-)