"Yeah, I just checked my e-mail, too."
"Wish she would have sent it last night," Troy tells me, looking around campus, like he can't believe he woke up for nothing.
Our professor literally sent an e-mail twenty minutes ago, twenty minutes before class is supposed to start, to tell us she's canceling class because she's sick. And we're happy, for sure, but we would have preferred if she would have told us early this morning or something.
Well, I guess it doesn't matter for me since I had class before this so I had to wake up anyway but for someone like Troy, where this is his first class of the day, I'm sure he would have wanted to know so he could have slept in.
"Yeah, I'd be annoyed if I were you," I tell him.
"No, you don't understand," he shakes his head, "my next class is also canceled. So, I seriously came to school for nothing today."
Oh wow. Yeah, I'd be pissed. He could have slept all day if he wanted to. "Oh man, that sucks."
He laughed, walking away from class with me. I was walking to the parking lot near the upper part of campus, though. I'm not sure where he parked, but we're sort of just walking now and he's telling me about how it's probably better it happened this way or else he would have laid in bed all day long.
"Did you park over here?"
"Yeah," he laughs, "no, I'm just following you wherever you go."
Oh God. I wish. Well, no, maybe that would be creepy. I don't know. "Just didn't know. Are you gonna go back to sleep?"
He shook his head, "nah, probably not. I'm dressed and everything. And I'm not really tired."
I didn't really say anything to that. Instead, I pick up my phone that's ringing because it's my mother and I'm not sure why she's calling since she knows I'm supposed to be in class right now, but I answer it anyway.
Turns out, she meant to call my sister, but decided to just let it ring and see if I would pick up. Haaa that's my mother for you.
But since I was walking with Troy to the parking lot, I didn't want to be totally rude, so I kept it short and told her I would see her this weekend.
"You're going home this weekend?"
"Oh, yeah," I tell him, "leaving tomorrow. It's my aunt's birthday."
Troy doesn't say anything, and when I glance over to look at him, it kind of looks like he's holding himself back from saying something. But then he stops walking, and kind of stands in front of me, stopping me from walking as well. "Do you wanna do something? Do you wanna go to Sea World?"
Wait. What? Did I hear correctly? "Sea World?"
"Yeah," he scratches the back of his head and gives a small laugh, "I don't know. I can get us in."
Is he... is he asking me out? I know it's during the day and everything so it could very well just be a hang out. But if he wants to go to Sea World and have fun, wouldn't he just ask friends? Friends he's known for much longer? I mean, I would. So is this more? Is there something more here? Oh my gosh. I don't know. I don't know what's happening. But I think I do want to hang out with him.
I just didn't think the first time we spent more than a few hours together, something date like, would be at Sea World.
But I'm down for it. "Sure. I haven't been there in a while."
"Yeah?" He wants to make sure, I think. "Are you free all day pretty much?"
"Free all day," I smile.
"Okay," he smiles back at me, "good."
And just like that, I actually think I just made my first date with Troy Bolton. Ahhhhh.
"Do you come to Sea World often?"
"Not often, but I've been enough to know my way around," Troy tells me.
Exactly why I asked. He seems to know his way around this place and is leading me to all these places so thought I'd ask. I have no idea how to get around this place myself. I've only been a handful of times since I've been living in San Diego. And I don't remember from being a kid.
We've been here for a few hours and you know what? I think I'm having the best time. A really, fun day.
The last time I came to Sea World was about a year ago when Emily won two free tickets from some thing and we decided to make a BFF day out of it. It was fun. She loves animals so she was more into it, but it was still fun. It was something to do.
"You should try the frozen lemonade," he tells me, coming to a stop at one of the stands they have around the park.
"Yeah? It's good?"
"Delicious," he smiles at me, "come on, it'll refresh you."
Well, okay, not gonna argue with that. I love lemonade and it is getting a little hot walking around everywhere so why not? I'm thirsty.
He orders two, one for me, one for him and then takes it upon himself to pay for it while I'm digging in my purse to grab my wallet for a five dollar bill.
"Hey, I could have paid for that."
"You were taking too long," he chuckles, handing me my lemonade. I think it's an excuse and I don't even care at this point because him buying me this sort of make it feel like a date. And I think that's something I want. "It's no problem."
"Thank you," I get a hold of it, giving him a smile.
And then I take my first sip and I'm so, so happy he made me get it. So good. SO refreshing.
There's something about Troy Bolton that is just so... great. I don't know. Maybe it's because he's easy to talk to. Maybe it's because he's kind to strangers, in the way he says thank you and interacts with them. Maybe it's because he's funny and he can take a joke, he has a good sense or humor and can laugh at most things. Maybe it's because he's fucking hot. Or maybe it's just because he's genuine. I don't know. He just seems like a good, solid guy. And it's kinda crazy to me how we're hanging out. I don't know if this could lead to anything, but I'm kinda picking up that it could. If he wanted to spend the day at Sea World randomly, I think he'd pick a better friend than me. So maybe he wants something. Maybe this is sort of a date...
All I really know is that I'm enjoying myself and I'm glad we're here.
"You like dogs?"
"I love dogs," I nod, "I have three at home."
"Let's go watch the dog show then," he points to the direction it's at, "it's cool. I think you'll like it. It has cats, too, but mostly dogs."
I've heard of this dog show, but I've never been. I forgot why we couldn't go last time but I was a bit bummed because I love dogs. Oh, maybe it coincided with a different show time, I'm not sure. All I know is that I'm down to watch it.
So, we make our way over to the show and it doesn't start for another 15 minutes and it's not that packed, seeing as it's a random, weekday.
We grab seats in the middle, two rows up and get situated.
"What kind of dogs do you have?"
"One's a rescue, so we don't really know what he is, but we're thinking jack russell terrier mixed with another terrier," I tell Troy, "the other two are labs. Black and yellow labs. They're all best friends." Aww, I get sad just thinking about them, to be honest.
"Do you think dogs think about another dog being their best friend?"
I laugh because I've seriously wondered about this. "Maybe. Maybe in a different way. But if someone is teasing my yellow lab, the black one comes to it's defense right away. Vice versa. It's cute."
Troy laughs, "I have a chocolate lab. They're the best dogs, although my German Shepherd is right up there with them."
"You have two dogs?"
"Mhm," he mumbles as he's taking a sip of his lemonade, "I'd have, like, ten if I could."
"Me, too, I think. It'd probably be a lot of work, but I love them so much." I tone it down a bit because I don't want to sound weird, but it's true. Not a day goes by where I don't think about my dogs at home and miss them. We rescued Jack 5 months before I moved out here, so I haven't gotten to bond the way I would have liked to but I still love him very much. "Are you a cat guy, too?"
Troy looks at me like I'm crazy. And then shakes his head. "Nah, I can't do cats. They're just... not for me."
I laugh, "yeah, I don't understand cats. I mean, I guess if you just want company, if you want someone there, but I feel like they can't be bothered."
"Yeah, I know. I guess it depends, but nah, I'm a dog guy."
Well, that's good, I guess. We talked a little more about our dogs and honestly, I could talk about my dogs all day and show him pictures, which i did, but that would probably be tiresome for some people. So, it only lasted a couple minutes before talking about something else.
And then the dog show came on and oh my gosh, it was the cutest thing I've ever seen.
"It's one of the smaller shows, but it's probably my favorite," Troy tells me as he's grabbing his phone from his pocket, "sorry."
"Oh, no, you can answer it."
"Nah, I'm with you. It's just my brother," he says, looking down at his phone, letting the call go to voicemail before putting it back in his pocket. He gives me a small smile and then looks around the park, "what do you wanna do next?"
Um. I can't even really concentrate on what I want to do next because what he just told me... it made me have serious butterflies. He's not answering a call from someone? His own brother? I mean, come on. A gentleman wouldn't answer a phone call on a date. If he's just hanging out with a friend, he would answer. So, this now feels even more date like to me. He didn't want to be rude. And the way he told me... like he was flirting with me or something.
And I think I can get on board with this.
"I think I want to watch the seal show, watch Shamu and then leave and grab some pizza."
"Yeah?" He looks a little taken aback, but on board. "Sounds good to me."
So that's what we do. We go to the seal show which is starting in 10 minutes. And the whole pizza thing... I kinda wanted to throw it out there that maybe I'm interested, too. And maybe I want to hang out. And maybe I'm considering this a date, too, or whatever. I wanna give him something.
And hopefully, maybe, this will go somewhere.
"Are you close to your siblings?"
"Yeah, really close," I tear off a piece of crust and throw it in my mouth, "we're all so close in age."
"They're both in college?" he asks, reaching for his drink.
I nod, wiping my mouth before taking a sip of my lemonade, "well, my sister will be this fall. She's graduating high school in June, but my brother is. He goes to UCLA so he stayed local. But yeah, two years apart from my brother, four years from my sister, so we're all pretty close."
Troy put his drink down and leaned back on the couch, turning his body towards me, "that's nice. It's the same with my siblings, I love it."
Yeah, I'm so glad my mom didn't wait years to have kids apart.
But this is nice. Troy and I... we're just chatting. At my house. While eating pizza together.
After leaving Sea World, and deciding where to get the pizza from, I suggested eating it at my place. He had to drop me off anyway, so why not? Emily was with Cooper and Julia so I knew she wasn't going to be home and it's barely 7. The night is still young and I wanna keep hanging out with him.
"So, you had a nice childhood, growing up with your siblings and everything?"
"Oh, the best," I smile thinking about it, "yeah, I wouldn't dream of having a different childhood. I mean, my parents were still together, are together, I had siblings, a yard to run around in, family, cousins, I grew up with. Yeah, it was the best. I can't complain."
"You've lived in LA your whole life?"
I nod, putting my drink down and bringing my feet up on the couch, "born and raised. What about you, how was your childhood?"
Troy gave me a small smile and threw his arm around the couch, "great. Yeah, I can't complain, either. My dad worked pretty hard, but he was still there at every single game regardless of what was going on. My mom, the school mom who would bring the brownies to class, go on the field trips. It was really nice, I wouldn't change it for the world. And of course, growing up with siblings was the best."
"Are you close with your parents, too?"
"My mom calls me every night and wants to talk about my day, things going on," he laughs, "yes, I'm close with them."
"Aww, that's sweet." It really is. Oh my gosh. How freaking adorable. The thought of him at home, laying in his bed, talking to his mom about his day is just so sweet. "Good thing there's no time difference."
He laughs, "yeah, exactly. I mean, it doesn't happen every night because sometimes we're both busy, but most nights, yeah. I don't mind it."
I wouldn't mind it, either. But my mom calls whenever she feels like it. Sometimes maybe 20 times a day. "Maybe I should make that a rule with my mom, like, let's schedule a time where you call me once a day, because I don't know if I could do her ten phone calls a day thing anymore."
"Yeah, she calls you that much?"
"Sometimes," I laugh, "she'll call and ask what I'm up to, how a test went, things like that. And sometimes, she'll call just because she can."
"She misses you," he shrugs, "but I get it. Mom's can be... you know."
Yeah, definitely. I laugh and agree and then get up to refill my lemonade. I ask if he wants anymore soda, but he says he's fine so I make my way to the kitchen and then kind of just catch my breath for a moment in there. Grab a minute to myself. And think about everything. About where this could possibly go tonight. I mean, we spent the day together and we're capping it off by having pizza at my place.
Is this night going to end in a kiss? I have no freaking idea.
Do I want it to? Maaaaaybe.
Okay, yes, maybe I do. I'm so back and forth on this thing. I want it and then I think I shouldn't. But then I do.
After I refill my cup, I head back out there, but stop for a moment and just kind of watch him. He's sitting on the sofa, in the exact same position he was, and is kind of just staring off into space. He's not on his phone. He's not grabbing another slice. He's just sitting there, looking like he's thinking.
I smile to myself for some unknown reason and then head back in there.
"Hey, thanks again for taking me," I set my cup down on the table, "I had a lot of fun."
"Oh, you're welcome," he smiles at me, "yeah, yeah, it was fun. It... it was just an idea I had, I'm not really sure why, but yeah, thanks for coming with."
And then there's this pause between us, neither of us are saying anything, we're kind of just looking at each other and it's this moment. I honestly have no idea what's coming to my mind, but I'm just thinking about how I think there is something here...
I feel something for him.
Whether it's this insane crush or real romantic feelings. I feel something for Troy Bolton and I hope he feels something for me.
"Did you play any sports growing up or in high school?"
"Yeah, I played tennis," I turn towards him a bit. I'm sure it's something that surprises him because he looks a little taken aback. "Started when I was maybe 10, I got the urge and yeah, played until the end of high school. Well, on teams. I still try to play as much as I can when I have time."
"I never would have expected that," he tells me with a small laugh.
I'm not offended or anything. I don't think I scream athletic or whatever. "Yeah, well..."
He shakes his head, "oh, no, nothing you give off. I just... I love tennis, I watch it on TV, but I don't know, I guess you don't really have the build for it."
Oh, definitely. No, I don't have a tennis players body. All their muscles showing from their calves to their arms. It just never came to me. "No, yeah, I've heard that before. But I did play pretty competitively, but yeah, just never developed that body style."
"You didn't wanna play in college?"
"Sometimes I did, but mainly just wanted to focus on my degree since I knew I didn't want to make a career out of tennis."
He nods like he gets it, and then excuses himself to use the bathroom.
And I just sit here for a minute and look at my phone since I didn't want to while he was here. We haven't called this a date, but it feels like one, so I didn't really want to go on my phone and be rude and look at my texts and social media sites.
So once he was out of sight, I looked at the texts I had. Two from my sister, one from my brother, a couple from Emily and Summer.
When Troy came back, I was by the entertainment system grabbing the remote control that controls the volume.
And he kind of joined me, looking around at the pictures I had framed around it and when his eyes landed on one, he picked it up and looked at it for a moment. "This is your sister, right?"
"Yeah, that's my sister," I smile, thinking about that day. Graduation day.
"You two look a lot alike," he says, putting it back, "and you still look the same... except prettier."
Oh my gosh.
Okay. This is for sure something. He's flirting with me. He's standing here, looking at me now, with a smile on my face, telling me I'm pretty. that I've gotten prettier. Holy fuck. Breathe, Gabriella, it's fine. You like this. You like what's happening here. Troy's beautiful, so why not? And he's nice. And smart. And fun to be around. This is the best case scenario and it's happening right now. He's... interested. Right? He's interested in me.
And boy, am I interested in him. I'm so interested.
"Thank you," is all that comes out of my mouth like an idiot.
He laughs a bit and then takes a step closer to me, "if I kiss you right now, I think this will officially be a date."
I don't even know what to say right now. I have butterflies all over my stomach, my heart is racing, and I think I have the most expressionless look on my face. But I just cannot help it. Everything is so... different. He's not being aggressive, he's basically giving me a heads up and I think, is kinda letting take the reigns on this and wants me to decide where I want it to go. Like, he's saying, if you let me kiss you, this will be something. I don't know.
Maybe I'm over thinking it. And he just said it to say it, to preface it or whatever.
But I think about it for a moment.
If this were to happen, it would be my first kiss with someone else in over two years. It'll be the start of something new, as cheesy as that is. It's opening a new chapter in my life. And it could very well lead nowhere, but it means I'm moving on and I'm ready to move on from my past relationship.
That's exactly what I want, I think. I'm ready. And Troy Bolton is exactly the person I want to kiss.
"It'll be the best first date I've ever been on," I tell him.
"Me, too," he whispers out and then takes a step closer to me.
And before I know it, he has his hand on my cheek and he's leaning in to kiss me.
Which turns out to be the best first kiss of my life.
I'm not even exaggerating. The second his lips touched mine, something inside of my went out. Sparks? I have no idea. I've never felt like this with someone during a first kiss. This sensation. This feeling of wanting more. This need of letting go and just being in the moment. It feels good. It feels so fucking good.
It was a simple first kiss. No tongue. No making out. Just a few kisses.
And when we pulled away, the first thing he said to me was, "I wanna do that again."
"Okay," I said with a smile.
"But maybe after I take you out on another date," he follows it up, "do you wanna go grab some ice cream right now?"
Wait. What? Is he serious right now?
Why does everything that come out of his mouth so perfect? It just feels so genuine. He wants to take me on another date, he wants to kiss me some more but thinks it's appropriate to do so after more dates. And right now, he just wants to hang out and grab some ice cream or something.
I want that, too. I really, really do. So I tell him yes.
And off we went, me with a stupid grin on my face, to get ice cream.
What a day.
