Walls – Chapter 13 – A Dinner Meeting
Troy teased her a little as he took her hand and led her out of the car. "Sweetheart, I thought we were meeting your parents again?" He whispered into her ear.
She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "We are." She spoke softly.
He smacked her ass, "Then you shouldn't have worn a dress that's going to keep me hard all night. My hands are itching to creep up those sexy thighs already and we haven't even sat down." He whispered back.
She rolled her eyes, "God, are you ever satiated?"
He laughed, "Immediately after we've had sex. You know, for a few minutes anyway."
She shook her head, "Well keep yourself under control, Bolton. My dad will be at the table."
He smiled and waved to her parents as they began to walk toward the table where her parents were seated, "Your dad loves me. It's your mom who will kill me with her butter knife." He smiled and stuck his hand out to shake with Gabriella's father. "Well, this is a bit more what I had in mind for meeting Gabriella's parents." Troy smiled with all the Bolton charm he could find.
The older man smiled, "Yes, I would imagine this to be a bit more comfortable."
Gabriella's mom hugged her and whispered, "He is rather good looking when you clean him up."
Gabriella smiled, "Yes, mama, he is."
They each stepped back a half step. Maria looked at her daughter and stroked her hair to the side. "Forgive me, miha. I was surprised and angry and I took that out on you."
Gabriella smiled, "It's alright, mama. Sometimes people say things they don't mean in the heat of the moment."
Maria shook her head, "But, I never should have said that, darling. I know how hard you've worked to get here and I know that you would never simply roll over for any man."
Gabriella smiled, "He's special, mama. I know it down here." She clutched her fist near her gut. "I just don't know how far this will go or last, yet. But, I want to see."
Maria smiled and hugged her daughter again.
Troy smiled at the display of mother-daughter affection. This was the relationship he'd always thought Gabriella had with her mother. "So, ladies, shall we sit?"
Gabriella smiled as she noticed that Troy had a chair pulled out for her.
"My love?"
She smiled at him, "Thank you."
He grinned and helped her scoot in toward the table once. Then he bent down and kissed her cheek. "Anything for you." He sat himself down and picked up his menu.
Ed smiled, "Tonight is on me, guys. Get anything you want."
Gabriella grinned at him, "Thank you, papa."
He touched her hand, "My pleasure, miha."
Troy let his hand reach for hers. However, he did not allow his hand to wander down to her thigh that he knew would be bare, the same thigh that he had stroked and gripped and kissed while they'd been naked and making love earlier in the day. He shook his head and chuckled again. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. He smiled at the confusion in her eyes that questioned his laugh. He shook his head and leaned in closer to her. "Nothing, sweetie." He kissed her cheek. "I'll tell you later."
She nodded, "Alright."
Maria watched the young man's actions with her daughter with a keen eye for the first time. He was smitten with her. She'd seen how so many of the young men in her office treated women and it drove her crazy, but this young man was truly focused on her daughter. She caught Ed's eye and smiled. Maybe this evening was going to truly get their lives back on track after all.
Gabriella glanced around the quiet table again. Her dad was trying to decide on food and her mother seemed to be eyeing Troy. Meanwhile, Troy seemed to be lost in his own thoughts which she assumed were about this afternoon. None the less, Troy was her rock. He had already proven to be able to give her a little space when she needed to talk to her mom, but to still be close enough by to hold her hand in a reassuring way when she needed him.
Troy kissed the back of her hand and put his menu down. He knew what he wanted for dinner now. That was when he realized that the Montez women were too much alike. He smiled at her mother as he realized that they had both been watching the table. He let go of Gabriella's hand and scooted just a bit closer to her chair. He put his arm around the back of it and her. "So what did you decide on, sweetheart?"
She gave him a little smile, "Well, I'm thinking the Italian Style pork chops. You?"
He grinned, "I'm going to go old fashioned and get a steak and potato."
She nodded, "Okay."
He smiled at her. "So, Mr. Montez, Gabriella tells me that you are a photographer and you travel a lot. Are you going to be in town long?"
He shook his head, "No. Sadly I'll only be here for another day or so. I have to get back to London before my scheduled shoot on Monday."
Troy raised his eyebrows. "Wow, London. What's that like?"
Ed laughed, "Fog, fog, and a little more fog. A bit of rain, and lots of people with accents who say they speak English, but really it sounds like middle English sometimes."
Troy smiled, "Sounds dreary but fun."
Ed nodded, "It is, but I imagine you'll have your fill of traveling as soon as you sign your first contract."
Troy shook his head once. "You know, Mr. Montez, I've been thinking about skipping the NBA. I've got this girlfriend that I'm hoping to keep and I'm pretty sure she won't be happy with a bunch of women chasing after me all the time. I think if I want to keep my beautiful happy, I probably ought to stick with my letter of acceptance to medical school."
A hush fell over the table. A) Troy had been talking about their relationship in terms of permanence. B) He'd made it sound like Gabriella was the deciding factor in his future. C) He'd said he was skipping the NBA to be with her. Gabriella sat dumbfounded, "Troy? Honey, we haven't—"
Maria spoke up, "How long have the two of you been dating?"
Troy answered her directly, "Dating, approximately a week. How long have I been pining over your daughter and trying desperately to get her attention? Since the second week of September. I know this all feels sudden to you, but I've been thinking about it for months, almost a year. I know what I want. I know who I want to be with."
Gabriella looked back at him, "You said acceptance letter. Where is it to?"
He looked at her, "UC Berkley."
She grinned, "Stanford Law."
He looked at her obviously at a loss.
"I applied for early acceptance to Stanford Law and I got in! That's why the summer classes. I'll be ready to graduate in December and I can start Stanford Law as early as next spring."
Troy pulled out his phone and tapped the map app. "32.7 miles from Stanford, sweet."
Ed smiled, "So, this is serious then?"
Gabriella and Troy grinned at each other. "Yes," they said in unison.
Ed chuckled, "And no NBA? Have you told anyone yet?"
Troy turned back to Gabriella's father. "Just my parents. I told my dad last night and he got my mother on the call with us. We had a small family meeting via Skype and they agreed that if I'm really this serious about Gabriella and I that I need to do something more with my life than just play professional ball for a few years, because it isn't guaranteed that I'll be as good as they say I will be or that I'll avoid injury. Basketball's been good to me, but I really think it's time to let it go. I want to be a doctor, not a baller."
Gabriella met his eyes again. She was grinning ear-to-ear. "I love you."
He smiled at her intensely, "I love you too. Are you okay with this?"
She nodded, "Yes."
He grinned. "Good." He let out a heavy breath. "I've been trying to find the right time to tell you, but…"
She laughed, "We haven't had a quiet moment, have we?"
He shook his head, "Just the few we've stolen."
She smiled, "It'll all calm down."
He kissed her. "Eventually."
She smiled again.
Maria cleared her throat. "So, you plan to be a doctor. I have to say that I am much happier with that idea than I was of you being a young famous basketball player."
Troy smiled, "People have talked about my future in basketball since I was 12 years old and in the seventh grade. I found very quickly that I could go with that, or I could choose for myself what I wanted to do. I decided in college that I had more interest in the medicine side of sports than I did in playing the sports. Don't get me wrong. I love basketball. I've played it all my life, but," he kissed the side of Gabriella's head, "I love her more and I know where my heart lies in my profession as well."
Maria nodded her approval. "I'm glad to hear it."
Gabriella couldn't stop smiling. He'd made her night, her year even. She was staring and smiling at him.
He kissed her again. "You're staring, sweetheart. Did I surprise you?"
She laughed, "Yeah, you could say that."
He leaned his forehead against hers. "We have a lot to talk about, don't we?"
She giggled, "Yeah, I really think we do."
Ed looked at Maria. "Maria, is there something I can get you from the bar? I feel like a drink."
Maria thought for a moment, "Why don't I go with you?"
He nodded, "Alright."
The two older adults got up to walk to the bar. Gabriella watched from her seat as her father offered her mother his arm. Maria's shy, but sweet acceptance seemed to thrill her father. Her parents walked away looking like the amazing couple she had always secretly dreamed they could have been her whole life.
Troy broke her from her thoughts, "Sweetheart, I know this was all sudden and I know we haven't been together that long. I just—This just feels right, Gabriella. I feels like this is what I'm meant to do and where I'm meant to be. Knowing that you'd gotten into Stanford Law just makes this feel even more destined."
She looked at him, "Did you really decide this because of me?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I applied to med school in California because I was actually hoping to get away from you." He chuckled, "I had been trying all year to get your attention and I was finally coming to the thought that you were just trying to keep from telling me no. So, I thought what better way to move on than to, you know, move on. But, then when we hooked up, I thought that maybe there was a chance for us and I realized that med school could be even more important now, because if I went to the NBA we'd be apart at least half the year with all the traveling and practices and who knows what city I would have ended up in after the draft. It just seemed right that I should go on with my education and become a man who could take care of you instead of one who was busy being catered to."
She watched his eyes as he spoke. There was a clarity that she hadn't expected to see. She'd thought he'd be confused or unsure of his decision, but he wasn't. It was as if he were trying to lead her through his train of thought so that she could understand why he felt this decision was the right one.
"Plus," he kissed the back of her hand again, "I love you and being that the schools are 20 minutes apart, maybe we could get an apartment together?"
Her jaw dropped, "Honey, we've been together for like a week. Don't get me wrong, I love you, I know I do, but do you really want to go there now? Shouldn't we wait until it's closer to time for us to leave? You know make sure this is everything we want it to be?"
Troy bit his lip and absentmindedly nodded his head, "No, yeah, I mean we should definitely take some time before we decide that. I'm sorry. I was getting ahead of myself. I mean, it's a big decision and I just got carried away with how good everything's been lately."
She looked at him a little more closely now. His head was hanging a little as he agreed with her. He wouldn't look her in the eye. He absentmindedly traced small designs on her hand with the one that she wasn't grasping. Then she looked down and realized he was tracing the letters 'I love you, G Bolton.' She looked back up at him with wide eyes, "Troy?"
He looked at her. "I—" He sighed heavily, "Gabriella—"
Her parents walked back up to the table, "Heys kids!"
Ed smiled, "I'm so sorry. I keep forgetting that you're both of age now. If there's anything you'd like to drink, you're more than welcome to order it."
Troy nodded, "You know, I think I'm going to go get a drink." He glanced at her, "Anything you need, G?"
Gabriella just looked at him dumbfounded. She saw in his eyes the struggle he was waging to hold back emotion. She shook her head in response to his question and watched as he left her there with her parents for a few moments.
Maria turned to her, "Is everything alright, Gabi?"
Gabriella just looked down at her napkin. "I don't know."
Ed looked at the two women who had stolen his heart so long ago. "Wait, you don't know? I don't understand? Have I missed something?"
Maria gave him a look that all but screamed the words 'shut up.' "Sweetie, tell me what happened, maybe I can help you translate."
Gabriella shook her head, "I'm sorry, mama, but this is one I have to figure out on my own. Can we just go on like neither of you noticed, please?"
Maria nodded. Ed laughed, "Well, that shouldn't be too hard for me."
The ladies laughed a little at his agreement. Then Maria laid a hand on Gabriella's forearm and stroked softly until Troy returned.
Troy had been watching them from the bar entry way for a few moments before he'd walked back to the table. He'd been so excited when she'd been happy about what he'd told her parents. He'd thought they were on the same page, but when he'd mentioned about them maybe thinking about an apartment, she'd pulled away. Troy had no idea what to do when she pulled away.
Women always wanted more from him than he was willing to give, but with Gabriella it felt like everything was in reverse. He felt like he would give her the world if she'd let him. He wanted to give her his heart on a platter and beg her to accept it. Sure she'd accepted him telling her he loved her and he loved that, but he wanted to be with her. He wanted them to think about things besides just the 'right now' kind of stuff.
He'd always been a guy who thought ahead. He'd always been the one who knew what the next step was. Commentators had stated over the years that his ability to predict where the ball would be next on the court was why he so outshined other bigger, stronger guys in his position. That ability to see where things were going was his strong suit. He just wished he had that ability with Gabriella, but for the first time in his life, he was completely at a loss of where things were going and how fast they were going to get there.