"So, how was high school for you?" Troy asks as he grabs a sushi from the middle of the table.

"High school?" I look up at him.

He shrugged, "yeah, like, you're graduated now. How was it for you?"

I didn't expect this question, but I mean, it's not a bad question at all. He's making conversation. Like he has been for the past thirty minutes.

So I'll answer. It just caught me a little off guard because I don't know. I feel like people ask this question when they're older, but whatever. "I had the time of my life. I went to Beverly Hills High, and it was pretty great. I've had the same group of friends since the 5th grade so going through high school with them was great. You know, besides my mom dying. But I had a great experience. Great friends, great memories..."

"That's good," he says, "so, you'll probably miss it?"

"I'll miss it, yeah. But I'm sure college will be even better. More people, more things to do."

"True," Troy smiles at me.

This was a bit weird. I've never been on a date with someone who I already know I can like. Someone who I've kissed and I know there's something there, some sort of spark. It's never happened, and so, sitting across the table, making small talk like this is a bit... weird. But whatever.

I know about Troy, but not a whole lot, so I guess now's the time to find out.

He's going to USC in the fall, he graduated from Pacific Palisades High School, and he thinks he wants to major in business... just like me.

This is all stuff I found out the last time I saw him at his house. We watched Seinfeld, talked about Seattle, and then I realized I hardly knew anything about him, well just school stuff and so I asked him. USC in the fall.

Which is pretty impressive. I didn't apply there, because I was set on going to UCLA, but not sure I'd get in.

I know he's funny and can crack a joke, I know he's nice and everything, but beyond that... I don't know much. And I want to get to know him.

"If you could go ANYWHERE in the world right now where would you go?"

"Anywhere?" he asks, then ponders about it for a moment. "This restaurant in Dallas, Texas because I hear the have the best ribs."

WHAT? He could choose ANYWHERE. Any continent, any country, any city and he choose Dallas? A short plane ride? A one day road trip? He is serious? Dallas, Texas? "Wait, are you joking?"

He laughs, "no, I'm not. I know people give a more elaborate answer, but ribs are my favorite food in the world and so I wanna try that place out."

Well, that's good, I guess. I love food. I'd wanna go to a specific place just for the food as well.

When Troy turns the question back on me, I suddenly don't really want to answer. It's grand and far and elaborate and his was so simple and so down to earth and I don't wanna make it seem like I'm some spoiled brat who has money so of course I'd want to go to Dubai.

But I'm not going to lie. "I've always wanted to go to Dubai."

"Dubai?" he looks intrigued, "One of my aunts actually went there two summers ago, she loved it. Told us we have to go sometime."

"Yeah," I smile, feeling a bit at ease, "I've only heard great things. Looks fascinating."

As Troy was about to say something else, the waiter came and asked if everything was okay. We both asked for another iced tea. He walked away and Troy and I were back at staring at each other, with a small smile on our faces.

God, he was so beautiful.

And I really couldn't believe I was sitting in front of him right now... on a date. A fucking date with the most attractive man I've ever seen.

My dad doesn't know. I didn't tell him because well, I'm not sure how he's take the news. I don't think he'd want me to date him just because it's too close to comfort, you know? If nothing happens, or if something terrible happens, it's going to be awkward... as long as my dad and Monica are together.

"Are you close to your sister?" is his next question.

"She's my best friend," I nod, "yeah, as close as sister's could be. We're only a year and a half apart."

"Oh." he leans back in the booth a bit, taking a break from his sushi intake.

I'm not sure why he responded like that. It was kinda weird. So of course, I have to ask. "Oh?"

He shakes his head, "no, sorry.I just... I asked, but I don't know, the few times I've been around you both, I got the vibe that you guys weren't that close. But no, I guess I was wrong. Not sure why I'm even bringing this up. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I don't want him to feel bad about it. It's a question. We're on a date. He's trying to get to know me, right? "We're extremely close. Sisters, best friends. The past year or so, it's been tough. I kind of shut her out, because as silly as it sounds, she reminds me so much of my mom that it was hard to even look at her. And she was walking around like she was okay, while I was still crying so it was a hard balance. But it's better, it's good. We're fine."

"She seems cool," he smiles, "she reminds you of your mom?"

I smile, "yeah. So, I'm glad I seem to have a piece of my mom around. They're, like, twins basically."

Troy looked lie he wanted to know more about my mom, but I just couldn't talk about it too much. Maybe not in this setting, on a first date.

But he must have seen my face change or my smile drop or something because he changed the subject completely. "Your dad's from up North. Do you get to visit often? Where exactly is he from?"

"Napa Valley," I reach for the iced tea the waiter dropped off a few moments ago. "My grandma and grandpa are down here now so not as much as I would like. But yeah, his siblings, all my aunts and uncles are still up there so a few times a year. They come down a lot, too. I love NorCal, though, it's cool."

"Yeah, I was thinking about going to school up there. Berkeley, or maybe San Francisco. But it's hard to leave LA."

"You didn't wanna leave?"

He shrugged, "I could handle it, but USC is a great school."

True. One of the best. "Yeah, it is. Are you going to be living at home or dorming?"

"Probably at home," he shrugs, "yeah, it's not far and it's a waste of money to dorm. I'll leave it for people who actually need to. But I'll probably move out, get an apartment with a friend or something my second or maybe third year. Have some sort of independence."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking about doing," I nod.

Even though, now more than ever, I wanna get out of my home. Monica's probably going to be coming over more and this fighting with my dad is probably going to get worse. And I just can't deal. But I'm obviously not going to tell him that. I can't insult Monica anymore in front of him. They're like family. It's like him insulting my sister or something. It's just not cool and I wouldn't like it. So of course he wouldn't like if I said anything bad.

We sat here and talked more about life and it was nice. There was no awkward silence, ever.

He told him me all abut his childhood, I told him about a trip I took to London, and we exchanged stories and things about our lives for another hour.

And I think it was the best, first date.

"Do you wanna come in?"

"Sure," Troy shrugs as I stand in front of my door and open it.

My dad's not home. He went to some 50th birthday party with my uncle and I'm not sure what time they're coming home, but it's still kind of early. 10. We spent an hour and a half at the restaurant and then we grabbed some ice cream and now here we are, at my house.

Jessica wasn't home, either. She was staying at her friends house for the night.

So it was just the two of us...

"Sorry," I tell Troy as Coco is jumping at his feet, "she loves guys."

"I don't mind," he laughs and bent over to pick up this little Maltese of a dog, "she's so cute."

"She is, huh?" I tell him, closing the door and putting my keys in the key tray and my purse on the chair we keep in the foyer for some reason. I stood there for a minute as Coco sniffed his face and Troy chuckled. It's weird when you see a guy his age fawn over a tiny pup. Usually, they like bigger dogs. But Coco has a way of making people fall in love with her. "She's our pride and joy."

Troy turned to me, with Coco still in his arms, "I bet. How long have you had her?"

Oh wow. How long have I had her? Fuck. Why isn't it coming to me? Think, Gabriella, think. Oh. "About five years. We have three others."

"I know," he says, "Maddie wouldn't stop talking about them when I picked her up that one day."

"She loved them," I smiled, thinking about that day.

It was the day Troy and I really talked. Where I realized that I had a small crush on him. It wasn't just for his looks anymore, it was about what he sad to say and he just seemed like a cool guy. And Maddie playing with the dogs outside was the cutest thing I had ever seen. She was SO in love with them.

At night, if I'm at home, I love nothing more than going outside, sitting on my patio and hanging out with them.

So that is what I suggest we do. "Let's go hang out with them."

He laughed and just followed me to the back, Coco still in his arms, looking as cute as ever.

Chloe, Sasha and Dakota all wagged their tails and nuzzled up to us as soon as we got outside. Sasha, the queen of fetching, grabbed her ball right away and brought it over to me. Dakota, all she wants is to be pet so Troy took care of that. And Chloe is OBSESSED with Coco, so when Troy put her down, Chloe snuggled right up to her, with Coco kissing her right back.

"You guys don't have any dogs?"

"We do," Troy's still petting Dakota, "the day of the BBQ, they were at the groomers getting groomed."

Oh that explains it. "What kind are they? We're kinda obsessed with dogs around here."

He laughed, "I can tell, but that's cool. They always have someone to play with. We have a chocolate lab and a yellow lab. They're best friends."

I love labs so much. I love all dogs, really, but the breeds I have are my favorite. I never thought I'd like having a little Maltese but my mom insisted on getting her so we did. And I loved all of them equally. We're a serious dog family around here.

"Hey, thanks for coming out with me tonight."

The mood shifted a bit. It was still light, but with a hint of seriousness. "Oh, no, thank you for dinner. It was delicious."

He smiled at turned back to Dakota who was handing him her paw and asking him to pet her some more. "You're different than I thought."

"What?" I turn to him. We've had a small conversation like this. He told me he thought there were many layers to me and I told him that he didn't know everything about me. But that's different than what he's saying. He thought I was something else? "How did you think I was?"

"I don't know, a little more... Beverly Hillsy," he says.

I have NO idea what he means by that because so many people have different perceptions. "Care to elaborate?"

He laughed and shook his head, like he regrets saying anything. "No, it's just... for a little while now, I've been just wanting to hang out with you, but in the back of my mind, I thought you could be one way since I didn't know you very well and girls around here, they think they should have everything handed to them. And I just feel like you're really grounded and you're polite and you're kind to people around you."

Is he fucking with me? I was SO rude to Monica. But that's not how I normally am. That is NOT how my parents raised me at all. My mom, especially.

"How did you see a difference?"

"Just tonight. The way you are in a social environment, how you didn't care that our waiter got your order wrong and you happily waited for a new roll instead of letting it put a damper on the evening. It's hard to explain. I just... I know I'm putting my foot in my mouth, you're just... so..."

I didn't let him finish whatever he was trying to say, I just turned to him and put my lips on his.

And I shut him up.

He immediately put his hand on the back of my head and kissed me back. And there we were, kissing in my backyard, with my dogs all around us probably watching. I moved in closer and put my hand on his face, moving my lips against his, begging for entrance, which he granted me almost immediately. He tasted so good. Like mint. And I wanted more. I needed more.

Somehow, I found myself sitting on his lap, and my hands started running through his hair as his lips kissed my neck ever so gently.

"Troy," I breathe out as he kisses my soft spot, the spot that makes me want to moan. But I keep it in.

He then pulls away and I pull away and we look into each others eyes for a moment. I don't know what is it, but I think in this moment we decide that there's something here between us and we want to explore it some more, for sure.

I put my lips back on his and kiss him some more, as much as I possibly can before we both have to come up for air.

Screw Parker. Troy Bolton is hands down the best kisser.

But as his hands found their way up my shirt a bit, I kind of freaked out. But I played it cool. I kissed him a bit more and then stopped and got off his lap and sat down on the chair I originally was in. I didn't want to make a big deal about it, but I don't know where he was trying to go with that. I just know that I'm not having sex with him. Who knows if he thought it could go that far, but no, absolutely not.

Troy leaned forward a bit and brought his forehead close to mind, almost touching the two, before he whispered, "go out with me again."

I couldn't help, but swoon. "Okay."

And just like that, I think Troy and I are starting something here.

It's way too early to tell, though, but there's just something about him that makes me want to forget about the fact that having a guy in my life, a guy that could potentially lead to a boyfriend, is not a good idea. He makes me want to forget that and just go with the flow.

So that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm just going to do what makes me happy in the moment.

And right now, that's kissing Troy Bolton.