SERENDIPITY
AN: Sorry for the delay guys! I've just gotten back from my overseas trip. I survived, despite the trillions of earth tremors whilst in Christchurch. I'm very much so grateful to be on solid ground. Thanks to all for your support!
TWENTY-FIVE
After finishing their coffees they finally agreed upon a plan for the day. It was nonsensical to be taking two cars. Troy needed to go back to his place – he identified that he had no toilet paper, milk or bread and he wasn't particularly keen to be anywhere near a mall on Christmas Eve, and he also needed to get a few supplies to take something to Taylor's on Sunday night for their party. So they agreed upon a plan – they'd go in his car, head across to his place so he could quickly shower and change clothes, and then head to Southland Mall to grab brunch and do some shopping.
"Hey um... do you want to maybe pack a few things?" he said hesitantly. "Like... just in case?"
She could see he felt nervous asking the question, and so she couldn't help but tease. "Why, Mr. Bolton, are you suggesting that you might invite me to stay over tonight?"
He rolled his eyes and grinned. "I believe in being prepared. And I know you women prefer to have your own toiletries and things... just in case."
"Just in case," Gabriella echoed with a wink.
She threw together a quick overnight bag – and was sure to select sexy underwear and a cute nightgown.
Gabriella had never actually been into the Cherryland area before, the closest she'd been was Hayward, which was the next suburb over. It was fairly middle class, basic one storey homes and some two story townhouse complexes.
"Um... so my place is nowhere near as cool as yours," Troy commented. "Just... as a warning."
"Since I'm aware of your frugal living life plan, I wasn't expecting Buckingham Palace," Gabriella said with a reassuring smile.
"Good. Because it seriously isn't."
A couple of minutes later, Troy pulled up outside a one storey duplex. It was a pale blue fibro house which looked as though it had been originally one larger house, but remodelled to split into a duplex. "Give me a second."
She watched as he jumped out to unlatch his gate, and then came back into the car, then able to drive through into his small undercover parking spot.
"My neighbour is this old guy who is deaf as a door nail," Troy told her as he led her inside "I was worried when I moved in about like, sharing a wall with someone, but turns out it's not a problem at all."
"That's convenient," she remarked, throwing him a quick smile.
He unlocked his front door and then the screen door just inside, leading her inside. It was a small, simple one bedroom apartment. It was fairly basic and functional, but had a lot of touches which reminded Gabriella of Troy. He had a desk crammed into the corner of the living area, she could see what looked like a pile of exam papers piled up, family photos on a bookshelf, a healthy DVD collection. None of the furniture was brand new, the carpet was ratty and the walls were faded, but he'd added personal touches to make it a home, despite the imperfections of the place.
"Make yourself comfortable, I'll just be like, ten minutes, quick shower and a shave and we can head to Southland."
Gabriella reached out to rub her thumb over his chin, feeling the slight stubble. "Skip the shave for now, this is sexy."
"Noted, in which case, I'll just need five minutes."
The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent among the throng of holiday shoppers at Southland Mall. They grabbed breakfast at Panera, spent a little time window shopping, picked up a small present to take to Taylor's for her holiday party, and Gabriella gave in to the allure of a holiday sale at New York & Company when she spotted a dress which was perfect for work half price. Troy obligingly waited for her to try it on, and even enjoyed the fashion parade.
"I hear Victoria's Secret is also having a sale?" he proposed cheekily as she disappeared back into her changing stall.
"They'll have a better post holiday sale," she called back to him.
After finishing at the mall, they headed to Safeway where Troy did a major grocery shop, claiming he didn't want to have to come back for anything for at least a week, and that he wanted to enjoy the two weeks he had of only working one job. Gabriella was also surprised to find him stocking up on fresh produce and meat.
"I kinda had you pegged as a microwave dinner kind of guy," she admitted.
He shook his head. "The opposite, actually. My dad kind of instilled in me good eating habits for training purposes and I suppose the habits stuck with me. I'm not the greatest cook, but I can throw together a stir-fry or a quick pasta dish without thinking too much. It's hard when I work, but I try to make meals and freeze them so I can take to work and reheat."
They returned back to Troy's place after grocery shopping, Gabriella enjoying the experience of helping him to put the groceries away, because it gave her an excuse to poke through his cupboards. She gathered two bags of items that appeared to be bathroom supplies and took them into the bathroom. She opened the bag, pulling out body wash and shaving cream, setting the bottles on the sink, and then smiled at the sight of the next item.
"Hey Troy..." she called back toward the kitchen. "Where do you want me to put this box of condoms?"
He didn't reply. She examined the box. He'd bought a large variety pack of Lifestyles condoms. She was examining the description on the outside of the box and jumped a little when his arms wrapped around her from behind.
"And here I was thinking you'd be all bashful and blushing if you came across those," he spoke softly by her ear. "I very discreetly put them into my trolley and concealed under other things while you were looking at the lipglosses."
She smiled, ducking her head slightly. "What can I say? You bring out a whole other person inside of me."
Still clutching onto the condom box, she turned around in his arms to face him. He leaned down, initiating a steamy kiss, pulling away abruptly and leaving Gabriella seeking more, panting slightly.
"You tell me, where should I put the box of condoms? I can leave them here in the bathroom, here as a just in case, or I can go ahead and put them straight in the bedroom."
Her eyes were glazed over, staring at him, and in a whim of spontaneity, she found herself pulling Troy by the hand in the direction of where she was presuming his bedroom was, although she had yet to actually step foot inside the room. She was successful in her guess, taking a brief few seconds while opening the door to glance around and look at the room. The bed frame was black, his comforter set was navy blue with random vertical stripes of other shades of blue. It was a practical set up, he had a built-in wardrobe, black painted wooden furniture consisting of beside tables and a bookshelf, the kind with randomly shaped and uneven boxes. She didn't have time to observe much else, because she had a different priority, a priority which had been eating at her since that morning. She pulled him forward until she had manoeuvred him to sit down on the bed, with her standing in front of him.
"I think the box of condoms should go right here," she teased, and placed them on the bedside table in plain view, beside his digital alarm clock, which was in the shape of a basketball.
"Within reach?" he asked with a playful smile.
Gabriella moved forward, carefully placing a knee on either side of his lap, straddling him. "Yes," she answered throatily, before kissing him hard. "They will be required."