Thank you everyone for so much amazing support! I'm still not well so it's really helping keep me smiling right now!

Bluebell- you're welcome! Hope you had a lovely day.

Kaybaby- aw I know, was it too soon to say ILY? :( Hope I didn't fuck that one up.

Chapter 11

"Oh man…" Troy stretched his aching body and realised very quickly, that another one was wrapped around his.

"Are you getting old?" A female voice enquired and he looked down to smile at Gabi, his bed-partner.

"I think it's too late, I already am."

"How old are you anyway?" She wondered belatedly, cupping her chin into her palm as she propped up beside him; just the same inquisitive, beautiful creature she had been the night before.

"Ah…it's rude to ask a guy his age…"

"It is not," Gabi giggled.

"Well, why do you want to know?" He challenged.

"I want to know who I'm going to bed with," she arched her brow.

"It's a little too late for that," he leaned up to kiss her; the intended peck turning into a lengthened slow sweet kiss that neither wanted to pull away from.

"My god, you are my weakness," he sighed.

"Don't change the subject," she remarked knowingly in return.

"Fine," he lifted his brows. "I'm twenty-eight. You?"

She bit her lower lip and giggled again, making him panic.

"Gabi…?"

"I'm younger than you," was all she said.

"Come on, I spilled…" he coaxed, sinking his fingers into her manic bed-hair.

"You're not gonna like it…" she predicted.

"Just tell me…"

"What if you never speak to me again?" she challenged.

"Gabi, we practically made love last night; I don't think that's an option," he smarted.

"Ok don't say I didn't warn you…"

"Just how old are you?" He worried at her reticence to share.

"Nineteen," she lied and his eyes went wide. "Just kidding, twenty-two!" she added quickly, laughing at his reaction.

"You just gave me an early heart-attack," he breathed heavily against his pounding heart as he propped up onto his elbow, then pitched into the pillows.

"I couldn't help it, you looked so serious…"

"So you decided to kill me? Great, thanks…"

"Hey…" She leaned over his chest and bit her lip, giving him her best doe-eyed look. "Are you mad?"

He sighed. "No."

"Is it ok? That I'm twenty-two?" She checked.

He blinked. "I think so."

She nodded sadly, wondering if she shouldn't have shared.

"Is there something wrong?"

He smiled equally sadly and grasped a handful of her hair again; at the back of her head while he found the words.

"I have to leave, Gabi. Once Chad's treatment is over and the summer is gone…I have to go back to LA." He admitted.

Gabi's breath left her lungs. "What?"

"I'm sorry, I was going to tell you last night and then we were just having such a good time and I didn't want to ruin that and-"

"You knew this all along?" She sat up and clutched the sheet to her body, suddenly feeling very exposed.

"It's always been my plan…I didn't expect his to happen, for us to-"

"For us to what, Troy?" She demanded with a frown.

"To fall in love," he admitted.

She crawled off the bed and rose with the sheet tightly wrapped around her.

"So that's it? You just go? I was going to give myself to you and you were always just going to go?" She accused.

"No. no that's not what I'm saying…" he flipped back the duvet and stood, too.

"Then what are you saying, Troy?" Her brown eyes begged, filled with hurt. Hurt he had caused.

"I'm saying…" he sighed. "That I have to leave…but I can come back. If you want…if you wanted to…"

"Oh god," she cried, interrupting him. "I can't believe I fell for it…"

"Fell for what?" He frowned. "Gabi, listen to me-" He came over to grasp her upper arms but she put her hand out to stop him.

"No, Troy, I understand perfectly. My brother warned me about you, he told me that I'd end up getting hurt and he was right! I fell for your words and your kisses and now it's all so clear…you never wanted to stay…you never wanted me. It was just some sick game to you."

"You know that's not true," he glittered, dropping his arms when she wouldn't let him close; but his arms bunched with unspent anger as he spoke.

"When you said that you loved me, I really thought it was true," she swallowed on her tears.

"It was…Gabi; it is…why are you saying that?" He bewildered.

"You knew you were leaving me," she repeated, her lips quivering as her tears ran down her cheeks. "You knew what I was giving you…"

"I'm asking you if we have something, Gabi. I'm asking you if you think I'm worth coming back for…"

She shook her head, refusing to listen as she dragged on her clothes.

"I have a race today. I have to get ready…"

"Gabi!" He yelled in frustration, watching her rip open the bedroom door. "Am I worth it?" He asked as he followed her hotly down the stairs in his boxers. "Answer me! Am I worth giving your virginity to?"

She paused and fought breaths into her lungs as her fingers stroked the screen door. "I have to go." Was all she said before she pulled open the screen door and then slipped out the front door.

"Shit!" He slammed his hand against the screen door and sent it rattling. "Fuck!" He added for good measure.

A throat-clearing at the top of the stairs brought his cold-blue gaze upwards toward it.

Chad smiled sheepishly. "Is it safe to come down yet?"

/

"Chad, I'm not in the mood," Troy stormed into the kitchen and threw a few pans around until he felt better.

"I don't see what the frying pan ever did to you…" Chad complained as he came in behind his friend, watching him stalk the room like an angry tiger.

"It sucks, ok?" He told Chad. "It's a poor excuse for a frying pan."

"What happened, dude?" Chad asked outright, coming closer and prizing the frying pan from Troy's grasp.

He didn't let go easily and Chad met his hurt blue eyes before trying again.

"Dude…" He murmured, laying the pan to one side and then touching his arm. "What happened?"

"Don't you have chemo to get to?" Troy grumbled.

"Yeah, so you better spit it out so I'm not late…"

He sighed, the weight of the world on his chest when he spoke. "I told Gabi I was leaving in the fall…"

"You what?" Chad screamed.

"I had to, I wanted to be honest and we were getting closer and closer…"

"Did you tell her you were coming back?" He asked.

"Dude, I tried. God, I tried so hard; I told her that if she wanted me here; I'd be here…"

"If she wanted you here?" Chad repeated, then made a face.

"What's wrong with that?" Troy wondered.

"Oh, man," his friend shook his head and grasped for a stool to sit down, his energy sapped at this conversation apparently. "You are an idiot."

"Thanks," Troy grimaced.

"The two of you…you're not just…foolin' around and shacking up for the summer," Chad explained. "The girl is in love with you and she wants a 'forever'."

"I didn't say we wouldn't have one…" Troy frowned.

"You told her you'd come back if she wants you to…" he argued. "There's nothing in there that says you want it."

Troy wiped his hand over his mouth, his skin paling as he realised how she had taken his words.

"But that's not what I meant at all…" He sighed.

"That's why you're an idiot," Chad repeated.

Troy looked to him and begged him silently for advice, for courage, for anything he could offer to make things right again.

"Don't look at me like that," Chad barked.

"I've just ruined the best thing that ever happened to me," Troy dramatised, sagging into a seat himself. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I think you did enough," Chad sighed. "You better let me speak to her."

"She has her race today…"

Chad rolled his eyes. "Way to go, buddy."

"I didn't mean for this to happen," he argued. "I was trying to tell her that I was giving up LA to come back here- for her. It was all for her…"

"Okay, okay," Chad rubbed his back consolingly. "We'll figure it out…"

"I am such an idiot," Troy blamed himself.

"Dude, we know. Go get dressed; we have a girl to woo." His friend instructed.

/

"Hey, cool rider," Chad greeted Gabi with a hug.

"Hey, handsome," Gabi smiled at her new friend. "How was chemo?"

"Hmm, sucked pretty bad."

"Oh no," Gabi's face fell. She'd never heard Chad complain about his treatment before. "What happened?"

"I had that thing whining in my ear the whole time," he lifted his chin to indicate Troy; who was speaking to Luke but frequenting glances over at them both.

Gabi's face hardened and she pressed her lips in. "Well, I'm sorry."

"You do know he can be a real idiot sometimes, right?" Chad checked only she didn't take his joke.

"You're telling me."

Chad swallowed. "He wants to be here, Gabi. He might not have had a chance to tell you that, but it's what's in his heart."

"Thanks for trying, Chad, but I know exactly what's in his heart and it's not pretty…"

"Gabi…"

"I don't want to talk about it. I have to get ready for the race…"

Chad nodded sadly in defeat, then went and hugged her again. "I love you, racer-girl. So does he."

She nodded and walked away; back into the garage where Dex stared at her until she spoke.

"What is it Dex?"

"Somethin' is going on…"

"No, it's not," she said for the fourth time that day.

"That dude was all sad and hugging you and Troy is sending some real funny looks over here, so I know somethin' is going on…"

"He can throw all the funny looks he wants, you were right, the guy is an ass."

"Gabi…" Dex called as she slid into the driver's seat. "Don't drive angry, it'll ruin your lap."

"Who said I was angry?" She replied.

"Upset then…whatever this is. Just go talk to him before you go out there…" Dex begged.

"I should talk to him?" She laughed. "He's leaving, Dex. In the fall. So what I thought was something meaningful and real; has now been exposed for something fake and meaningless. Now do you want me to talk to him?"

Dex pouted his lips. "If it makes you happy, then yeah…"

"Well, it doesn't. He lied to me and led me on and now I want to race and just forget about it all…"

"You shouldn't be racing like that," he said again.

"I don't have a choice," she ignited the engine.

Dex sighed and looked to Troy. "Ok, go on and whoop that skinny boy ass and bring this thing home," he told her.

"You got it," she approved, pulling away.

/

"Look, I don't know what the hell is going' on with you an' my sister, but she is painting mad in there…" Dex conspired with Troy as they walked up to the start line.

"I don't have time for this now, Dex," Troy grizzled.

"Then when do you have time, Troy? Because my sister is going out on that track and driving with emotion, not with precision and we both know what that means…"

Troy stopped and closed his eyes painfully. "Shit!"

"Yeah, shit," Dex agreed. "I told you I wouldn't lose her to the track."

"Ok, I'll talk to her." He nodded succinctly.

They climbed up to the start line, both drivers sitting in their cars ready; only one was revving the engine in anticipation though; and that was Luke.

"Gabi?" Troy called through her window and knocked on it for her to buzz it down.

She buzzed it down but didn't look at him. "I can't race."

"You can. This is the last hurdle and you're gonna do great…" He encouraged, seeing her fear now. Her hands were tight on the wheel- exactly what they shouldn't be for a successful drive and Troy realised Dex was right. If she went out there, she'd have an accident.

She blew an amused breath out, still looking straight ahead. "I have never been this close to the track and not given a shit about the race before! That just doesn't happen. I'm always about the race," she smirked. "Nothing else matters."

"Everything else matters," Troy argued. "The way you feel matters. You matter. To me."

"That's why you're leaving," she sarked.

"Gabi, I'm coming back." He promised. "For you. I want to come back for you."

She darted him a look, her brows furrowed under her helmet.

"I didn't say it the right way earlier; I was just trying to work out if you wanted me to come back, if you wanted me at all. I didn't feel like I had earned that right you know? To just tell you that I was staying in Albuquerque for us. I wanted us both to want it."

"Troy, I want it," she assured, feeling ashamed at her outburst. "I'm so sorry-"

"You don't need to be. This is my fault." He accepted. "But look, can you race? I really need you to race right now…"

She blew out another breath at his concern and nodded. "I can race."

"I hope you win, beautiful," he told her with a smile.

"Get outta here, I have white boy butt to kick…" She told him and he thumped her bonnet twice with a grin; before wishing Luke 'good luck' and then standing aside to start them off.

"Is she gonna kick it?" Dex asked Troy as he came back to the side.

"She better," Troy remarked and shot the starting pistol with no further delay. "Come on, baby," he murmured to himself.

"If I see one tail slide on her, I'm punching you out," Dex added as they both watched the cars squeal away for their three-lap competition.

"You won't," Troy promised.

"What did you do anyway? I've never seen my sister like that before…"

"Like what?" Troy squinted, still focusing on the cars while listening to Dex rant on.

"She didn't even care about the race…shit man; I have never seen her not care about a race…" He whistled.

"Well as much as I would like to say I am flattered; it doesn't fill me with satisfaction that I hurt her." Troy sighed.

Dex paused beside him and watched as the two racing cars came roaring around the bend, nearly even.

"Go on, Gabs!" He yelled and whooped as she whizzed by, filling his lungs with sooty smoke and filling his veins with excitement. "Push it, girl."

"They're both even keel," Troy commented nervously.

"Look, man. I know we didn't start off the best way…well not when I knew you was dating my sister…" Dex allowed. "But I know she likes you. And I see how good it's been for her, bein' with you…"

"Until now," Troy suggested.

"Hey, the rough comes with the smooth…she's never had this before, she probably doesn't know how to act…but that's my fault, not hers."

"I think you'll find this whole mess is my fault," Troy accepted with a heavy sigh.

"She's feisty," Dex shared. "But when you let her go off, she'll always come back. She just needs time to think it through…"

Troy squinted. "Well I hope I haven't lost her completely."

"Dude, she'd be crazy to let you go…RaceCar champion? I'd disown her all over again if she did…"

Troy chuckled at Dex's conclusion. "I…guess I should be thankful you're on my side."

"Oh, I'm not on your side," Dex commented lightly. "I'm always on Gabi's side, no matter who's wrong," he added.

Troy frowned at him bemusedly. "Then why…?"

"Because she is impossible to be around when she is mad, Bolton. You better learn that fast."

"Consider it learned." He lifted his brows.

"Just know something about a Montez…" Dex led and then held his breath as the two cars whipped past the start line again, starting their third lap. "Ruin him. Gabs!" he yelled, and then lifted his brows as Troy stared at him. "Oh yeah, sorry. Uhm…what was I saying?"

"That I need to know something about a Montez…" Troy prompted.

"Oh! Sure…yeah, you need to know that we can be stubborn-ass mules at times. But if you give us time, we come round. Sweet as." He nodded.

"Sweet as," Troy echoed.

"Don't be thinking about my sister like that," Dex tutted.

"I never…I…" Troy argued.

"I'm kidding," Dex swiped him. "Here she comes, that's my girl," Dex grinned as he observed Gabi's foot lead and instantly prayed for her to win.

"Come on, Gabi…" Troy echoed beside Dex, silently championing her.

"Oh my…SHIT!" Dex squealed. "She did it! Shit man, she did it!"

He didn't wait for Troy's reaction; he just ran whooping into the tunnel that led the way back to the pit lane where Gabi and Luke would be pulling up.

"You did it! You freakin' did it!" Dex ran through the pit lane toward the car; finding Gabi out of her driver's seat and hugging Luke.

"Hey, don't make Troy jealous," Dex complained as he came up and hugged her, breaking her from Luke.

"She did amazing," Luke acknowledged spiritably.

"So did you, dude. You wanna be on my team?" Dex teased.

Gabi laughed at them both, then sobered when Troy came through to the pit-lane.

"Well done Luke," he shook the boy's hand first, apologising for his loss.

"I'm actually happy," Luke assured. "Gabi really deserves it."

"Thanks Luke," she beamed, meeting Troy's gaze as he came toward her.

"You won, Montez," he told her with a lazy grin. "The driver's job is yours if you want it…"

"I want it," she assured.

"Then welcome to the team…" He offered, holding out his arms and she threw hers around his neck.

"I can't believe I did it!" She squealed as he lifted her against his chest and span her.

"I'm so proud of you," he murmured as he let her slide down his body to the ground, where he leaned over her and smiled.

"I'm sorry about before…"

"Shh," he curled a grin. "Let's talk about it after…"

"After…?" She questioned and he didn't wait any longer to kiss her lips; for a long and meaningful moment.

"After I do that," he husked.

"Quit making out and let me hug the racer-girl," Chad complained, forcing them apart so he could hug Gabi.

"Chad, aren't you meant to be at home, resting?" She admonished lightly.

"I don't know, that depends…" He led.

"On what?" She frowned.

"On if you're coming home," he finished and she smiled.

"Who said I wasn't?" She sassed and Chad smiled at her.

"Your smile is the best medicine anyone could give me," he complimented and she giggled and swiped him.

"Stop being silly. Let's go home and celebrate!" She suggested to all three guys. "Where's Jody?"

"Oh, he's sulking that you and Bolton got it on…" Dex supplied, to which they all laughed except Gabi.

"That's not funny," she whined and they cajoled her along back to the parking lot.

"Come on, Gabi. Lighten up," Dex told her.

"I guess," she rolled her eyes.

"We should go out!" Dex announced. "Not stay in and hide…"

Gabi shook her head. "Not until Chad rests."

"Hey!" Chad complained as they reached their cars.

Gabi gave him a look.

"Okay," he accepted. "You're right."

"Then let's go out tonight," Troy suggested. "For dinner."

Gabi looked up to him and smiled. "Perfect."