Troy awoke the next morning, Saturday, with a smile upon his face. His eyes fluttered open as the sunlight danced upon his skin, reminiscing on last night's events.
'Was it all a dream? It was too good to be true! She was there…in the flesh…my Gabriella. She looked even better than I could ever remember…not to mention that she's still down to earth, still capable of holding up a conversation. She was just so beaut-' Troy couldn't continue with his thoughts as he was knocked out of them do to someone stirring next to him. He looked over to his side and glanced at Pam's sleeping figure. She rolled over onto her side and faced him, her eyes opening slowly with a small smile.
"Good morning handsome…" she whispered so lowly that Troy felt as though he had to read her lips.
"Good morning babe. How'd you sleep?"
"Pretty good since you were by my side the whole night…and now I feel much better to have you be the first thing I see when waking up." Pamela answered, watching as Troy slightly blushed from her comment. Troy couldn't help but to feel guilty at his wife's compliment because he awoke thinking about someone that wasn't her.
"Aren't you quite the sweetheart?", Troy playfully teased, earning a giggle to escape Pam's lips. "What do you have planned for today?"
"Actually, I was hoping to spend the day with you if its not a problem. I figured that since we haven't seen much of each other this week that we could spend some needed time today. What do you say, Mr. Broadway?"
"Pamela baby, as much as I would love to spend time with you today, I sort of can't. I have to go to the theater today to work on some stuff actually with the rest of the crew and cast. You understand right?" Troy lied. 'Did you just lie to your wife? That is so unlike you, Troy! First you don't completely tell Gabriella the truth about you and then you lie to Pam? Not cool! Although, that was a pretty believable lie...would she buy it?' Troy thought, his conscience eating him up a bit inside.
"Yeah, I get it. It's no biggie, really…" Pamela tried her best to hide her disappointment, knowing in the back of her mind that she was actually glad that he would be distracted.
'Guess she did buy it...kudos to you, Bolton...' he thought. "Thanks Pamela. You're the best! You know that right? I'll make it up to you soon, I promise." Troy said as he pulled Pamela closer against his body to snuggle against him. He kissed the top of her tangled auburn hair before glancing at the clock on the night table, noting that it was almost 10:30 AM. "I should start getting ready. Got to head out soon. Are you sure you're going to be alright today?"
"Yeah babe. Don't worry about me, I'll call some of the girls and see if they want to get together for an afternoon of bonding since its been forever since I've had a girls day."
"Alright baby…if you'll excuse me, I'll be in the shower." Troy said as he untangled himself from Pamela's body and lifted himself off the bed, heading towards the bathroom in the hallway.
Once Pamela heard the lock of the bathroom door, she closed the bedroom door and pulled out her cell phone, dialing an all too familiar number.
"Lancey-bear?...It's me, Pam...I miss you too...What are you doing today?"
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"Sure thing man…alright…. in an hour? Catch you in the lobby, Bolton….see you later…bye." Chad hung up his cell phone as Taylor looked over at him, Gabriella still sleeping beside her.
"So what does Troy have planned for us today?" Taylor asked with a quizzical face.
"I'm not sure, but I'm guessing its something good. You know Troy was never the one to do something dull or leave you bored." Chad replied, smirking as he thought about the old fond memories that he had with Troy. They had plenty of good and hilarious times to look back on, even the times that weren't good but were considered funny now.
"That's true. Well I'm going to take a quick shower. I'll wake Gab's up when I'm done so she can get ready after, leaving you for last." Taylor stated while Chad's expression changed.
"That's not fair! I'm up before she is! Why do I have to be last?" He questioned confusingly. Chad just didn't understand these womanly situations.
"Because she's a girl and we like to take our time with these things, especially since she's seeing Troy so she needs more time that you do to get ready." Taylor explained, in the back of her mind hoping that Chad understood and dropped the subject.
"But I'm seeing Troy too. Isn't that special for me?" Chad ranted, attempting to playfully act like a child throwing a minor tantrum. Taylor smiled at this, knowing that Chad was just trying to be a pain.
"Chad, sweetheart. You were never romantically involved with Troy, were you?" Taylor asked, watching Chad's face contemplating a clever remark but he held it back. "I thought so…anyway, she goes before you in this situation so just get over it and go along with it." With that, Taylor stood up from her spot on the bed she shared with Gabriella and walked towards the bathroom with her outfit she picked out the night before in hand.
A few moments after Taylor closed the bathroom door, Gabriella began to stir around the bed; a smile spreading on her face as she finally opened her eyes.
"Good morning, sunshine. You look pretty happy to be awake today…how'd you sleep?" Chad commented and asked as he looked over at her slim figure lying on the bed
"Morning to you too, Chad. I slept awesomely, thank you asking." Gabriella answered, happy to see some of the sunlight peeking in through the curtains. "Doesn't it look like it's going to be a beautiful day?"
"Uh, I guess so. Are you feeling okay?" Chad figured that she must've been overtaken by something for her to be so…friendly. She was always nice and sweet, but this morning she was just a little too nice. He couldn't help but wander if yesterday's events had anything to do with it.
"Of course! Never been better actually. Why do you ask?" She asked somewhat confused, furrowing her brows together as she sat up on the bed. Gabriella knew why she felt happy this morning but didn't think it was that noticeable.
Chad thought her actions through before he answered, deciding against his gut feeling, "Nah, nothing. Just asking."
"Alrighty then...whatever, you weirdo." she retorted, grinning at her own playfulness, "Did you enjoy last night?" Gabriella asked, reflecting on last night's events. Her eyes seemed distant for a moment as she thought back to the night before, a small smile grazing her features.
"I did. It was great seeing Kelsi and Troy again…who would've ever thought that we'd see Kelsi too, by the way. Oh yeah! We're meeting Troy in about an hour. Taylor's in the shower right now as we speak, she got in there about five minutes ago." Chad said, not wanting to forget to let Gabriella in on what was going to happen in a bit. "It was like as if last night was nothing but something that we can think back on years from now and say 'That's something to never forget' or 'I had the time of my life', you know? Well in reality, it wasn't just last night...it's been this entire trip so far. It's like sometimes the simplest memories or moments are the most memorable. Although this is anything but simple, it's obviously something that's worth remembering. Am I making any sense?"
"In a way you are…I get what you mean." Gabriella replied, looking down at her palms as she rested them in front of her lap.
"What about you Gabster? Had fun last night?" Chad grinned, expecting to hear her rant on about Troy.
"Indeed I did." She kept her answer simple. It wasn't like she was avoiding the question; she just didn't completely fill him in on how she felt. Besides, she did answer what he only asked.
"That's it? 'Indeed you did'?" Chad asked disappointedly. He shook his head from the confusion he felt from Gabriella not showing any type of enthusiasm about the situation. "Ah, what a minute...I see what you're doing. You're just trying to go for the 'I don't know what you're trying to get at' act." Chad accused. Just then Taylor walked out of the bathroom, fully clothed wearing khaki capris, red wedges, a white button down, and a red vest. Her hair was done in a curly bob and she wore a bit of makeup.
"Oh, you wanted details? Sorry Danforth but a lady never tells all the information, unless you're part of the women's network…which you don't seem to obtain the fragile and slender features of a female so I guess I can't tell you. Or at least not for now…" Gabriella looked back over her shoulder and smirked in Chad's direction as she emerged into the bathroom.
"What was that all about?" Taylor asked.
"Oh you know, Brie just hiding how oh so in love she is in, not to mention also being a royal pain in the ass. She woke up this morning all nice and super lovey dovey. She's just trying to keep her feelings that I already know as a secret." He retorted.
"Or maybe she's just right…you're not part of the women's network. Those intimate details are things that men can't know just because it's simply something that can only be shared between us females. It's like when you guys go out looking for girls in clubs…you have to have a guy come with you as your wingman or copilot or whatever its called…this is similar to that." Taylor explained, trying her best to get Chad to understand since sometimes he just didn't catch on to things.
"It's not fair. You females are never fair. It's not like us guys have a 'men's network'…" Chad whined wanting to prove his point, unfortunately he didn't succeed.
"Um, Chad? What I just explained is kind of the guys version of the women's network…duh." Taylor said with an expression that said that it was obvious.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…whatever. I could never win with you guys." Chad walked over to the window, staring out at the busy traffic below, studying how things appeared to be such chaos in New York yet it was known as the center of the universe. "I don't get how people are so used to all of this here in New York. It's so busy and crowded…and not mention that a lot of people aren't so friendly here."
"It just takes time. I mean, the city has a lot more to offer than what you see outside…you would've known if you would've came with Gabriella and me yesterday afternoon. Besides, I think it's a great city to live in, there's so much diversity and excitement. Troy's going to show us just why he loves it so much and why he never came back to his real home. I'm sure he'll prove to you just why it's called the greatest city in the world." Taylor said as he walked towards Chad, staring out the window with him. Chad glanced at her with a longing look, but looked away when Taylor glanced back. She rubbed the side of his arm and he looked up back at her, their faces barely inches apart. They moved closer together but jumped back apart as they heard the bathroom door open.
"Alright Chad, I'm all do-" Gabriella cut herself off as she saw the flushed looked on her friends faces. "Did I just miss something?"
"No! Not at all, we were just admiring the streets below and the people." Taylor tried to recover from the minor damage.
"Uh huh, ok." Gabriella replied, shaking her head as she dismissed the suspicions lingering in her mind. "Well as I was saying before, Chad the bathroom is all yours."
"Thanks." He brushed passed Gabriella and headed inside the bathroom, trying his best to hide his face so she wouldn't see his blush. Once inside, Gabriella looked towards Taylor with a small smirk, contemplating whether or not to interrogate her best friend. She decided she would.
"So Tay, what was that that I just almost walked in on?" she asked with teasing voice, causing Taylor to turn a deeper shade of red. "If you keep blushing like that you're going to look like your vest."
"Oh shutup Gabbi! Speaking of vest, you look pretty." Taylor said, attempting to distract Gabriella and change the subject.
"Really? You think so?" Gabriella asked with an insecure tone. She looked down at her outfit, biting her lip. She wore a teal colored mid-thigh dress that showed enough cleavage with small ruffles outlining the V-neck and short sleeves, two-inched gold and beige wedges, gold bangles on both arms, gold hoops, and a small gold necklace. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail with a few small ringlets surrounding her face. On her face she sported blush, mascara, and a shimmery lipgloss. She didn't look trashy at all. She pulled the look off quite nicely, keeping it young yet her age and fun.
"I know so Gabs…I see you have some leg showing, Troy would be pretty satisfied." Taylor teased.
"I didn't show my legs for Troy…I just know that its one of my best features so why should I be refrained to cover them up?" Gabriella lied. She remembered that Troy loved her legs since he thought they were nearly perfect for someone who was so petite.
"If that's what you want to try and get me to believe then ok, but just so you know, I know its not the truth but whatever. Anyway, I heard from Chad that you woke up feeling quite chipper, am I right?" Taylor asked, eyeing her best friend with a grin growing on her face. Gabriella walked towards the bed and sat down upon it while Taylor still stood beside the window.
"You might have heard correctly…" Gabriella answered, smiling as she looked away from Taylor's gaze.
"Oh really? And may I ask what made you so happy this morning then?" Taylor asked, walking towards the bed that Chad claimed and threw herself on it, facing Gabriella.
"Come on Taylor…don't act like you don't know what could've possibly made me wake up with the stupid smile on my face." Gabriella's face showed that she didn't want to be teased about the subject.
"I know exactly why you woke up with that stupid yet adorable smile…and if I'm correct, it involves a certain blue eyed man." Taylor replied.
"You know me so well." Gabriella smiled with a sarcastic tone. Taylor giggled at her response, eyeing her friend. The two fell into a comfortable silence for about a minute until Taylor broke it.
"How did you feel last night? Seeing him again after all those years?" she waited with a certain intent silence, being patient for Gabriella's answer.
"Honestly, I can't even begin to describe it, you know? Where do I start to even try?" Gabriella looked down at her hands for a second before she ran her right hand up and down her left arm, "It was like the world stopped spinning for a split second and shattered the ground beneath me, like if I was falling but it was towards something good. It was like all of the stars shining brightly and then suddenly becoming shooting stars at the same time, kind of amazing like that. My heart pumped like mad and I had such an adrenaline going on at the moment when I first saw him up on that stage and it continued to feel that way when I saw him face to face, you know what I mean?"
Taylor looked at the confused expression on Gabriella's face and gave her a warm smile filled with reassurance. "Not that much but when those type of feelings come up, only the person who feels it could understand its meaning. Gabbi, I hate to be the one to tell you this but you still got it bad for Mr. Bolton."
"I know! I know…we'll see what happens." Gabriella dropped the subject and walked towards the mirror on the wall above the desk in the corner of the room. She observed her reflection, checking to see if there was anything wrong with her look and walked away from it satisfied to find that she looked good. Moment's later, Chad walked out of the bathroom with the blower in hand, walking as far as the extension would allow him to. He was drying his hair.
"Wow Chad, that's very manly of you." Gabriella joked, earning a stern look from the man with the wet hair.
"Shut your trap, Montez. I'll have you know that me using the blower doesn't make me feel any less of a man…in fact, it makes me feel manlier since I'm comfortable enough with my own sexuality to use one of these womanly devices." Chad said, sounding quite smart.
"I'm impressed. You seemed to have proved me wrong, Mr. Danforth." Gabriella said back, raising her hands in defense as a symbol of her surrendering.
"Thank you, Ms. Montez. Now if you ladies will excuse me, I'm going to finish blow drying my hair." Chad walked back to the bathroom and shut the door, closing in the noise of the blower. Taylor couldn't hold her laughter in any longer from the exchange that just went on.
"That was pretty bizarre." She commented.
"Tell me about it…" Gabriella said back, shaking her head from the thought. The girls began to prepare their over-sized purses when Chad stepped out the bathroom again.
"Alright Tay and Gabs. I just got the call from Troy; he's down in the lobby so I guess we better get going. You guys ready?" Chad asked, looked back and forth at the two.
"As ready as we'll ever be. Let's get going before Gabriella realizes that she might be forgetting something." Taylor said, grinning when Gabriella gave her a fake insulted face.
"You guys like picking on me today, don't you?" she playfully asked as she gave them both a stern look.
"Pretty much…you're just an easy target today." Chad replied, holding the hotel room door open for the girls as they all walked out and down the hallway towards the elevators.
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Sorry that I took awhile to update this time...just been sort of busy. I must admit that I'm a bit disappointed from the lack of reviews from the last chapter...it's kind of tough knowing that about a hundred people read each chapter and they have this story on their alert subscriptions yet I don't get many reviews...I'm assuming it's good and that people like it if they subscribe but I would really appreciate the reviews. For those who have given me a few, I want to say thanks! It makes me pretty happy!
Anyway, this chapter didn't have much Gabriella and Troy interaction but it did further express how both feel about the situation at hand. Next chapter will have more of them together, I swear! Thanks for reading and stay tuned! I'm going to try to update ASAP. Review plzzzz!