August-
Troy's twenty sixth birthday was kind of dull. He had to work but he invited a couple friends over to celebrate with him. He was off the next day so he got to drink. A drink was very well needed because Gabriella and cheater Ben were back together.
He tried to conceal his sadness for concern for her after he cheated on her but she was a grown woman and she could do whatever she wanted with her life. He wasn't going to interfere with her happiness.
He got home and Chad and Tay were already in his apartment decorating. He went straight to the shower to wash off the retail. He was doing well in his position. So well that they wanted him to supervise the men's department as well. He was trying to negotiate a pay raise which didn't look promising.
Troy got dressed nicely and sat down between Chad and Tay on the couch. "So who did you invite?" Chad asked.
"You guys."
"That's it? Don't you have other friends?"
"Gabriella but she's probably out with cheater Ben."
"Wow, jealous." Chad said.
Troy rolled his eyes. "Shut up."
"What about Jason? And Zeke and Sharpay?"
"I haven't talked to Jason in forever. Zeke and Sharpay are out of town I think."
"I'll call Jason, Zeke and Shar. You call Gabriella. Tell her to bring the rugrat. Call Tess tell her to come over and bring her friends and we can have a real party." Chad instructed.
"Fine." Troy got up. He called his sister first.
Tess answered quickly. "Happy birthday!"
"Thanks, Tess. I'm having a party. You should come bring your friends… but not the one who kept trying to touch me in the pool at Fourth of July."
Tess laughed. "Do you have a cake?"
"I don't know. Do I have a cake?"
"Cake!" Tay said. "That's the only thing we don't have."
"No cake."
"Okay! I'll pick one up. I'll be there in an hour." Tess said.
"Love you! Bye Tess." Troy hung up.
"Next… Gabriella." Tay encouraged. Troy looked at her skeptically. "Do it."
Troy let out a breath and looked at her name in his phone. The small picture next to it was her and Willow. The first picture she sent him. He swallowed and pressed call.
"Troy!" Willow answered and he let out a breath of relief.
"Hey little Darlin' how are you?" Troy asked with a small smile.
"Good! Do you remember when we went to your house with the pool and we were playing with the pool noodle and you blow the water out of the noodle and it splashed your mom?!"
Troy chuckled. "That was a fun day. Can you put your mommy on the phone, please?"
"Okay! But don't hang up because I want to talk to you!"
He laughed. "Okay."
"Mommy!" Willow said. He heard her little footsteps. "Mommy!"
"Yes, Willow."
"Troy called you. He wants to talk to you. Don't hang up because I want to talk to him, okay?"
"He called or did you call him?" He heard Gabriella asked before Willow's muffled response. "Hello?"
"I called, I promise." Troy said with a small smile.
"What's up?"
"I know it's kind of last minute but I'm having a party tonight and I want you and Willow to come. You can bring your friends. Tess and her friends are coming by too. Chad and Tay are here."
"Oh, okay! Yeah! We'll stop by."
"Perfect! Come by anytime. I have drinks and pizza and cake. It's going to be fun."
"Cool, I'll see you when we get there."
"Cool." Troy hung up. "She's coming."
"So is Jason, Zeke, and Sharpay who are not out of town."
"Awesome. Hopefully I don't get kicked out of my apartment."
"Invite your neighbors. Downstairs and next door."
"You'll need to buy more pizza then." Troy said, turning on the TV.
"You're being so weird. Stop. It's your birthday. Have a good time." Tay said, hugging his shoulders. "Bide your time. Everything is going to work out. Not everything is a matter of life and death."
"You're right." Troy said, nodding. "I'm sorry for being lame. You guys did all this for me; I'm going to have a good time."
"Good." Chad said with a grin. "Let's drink." Chad disappeared to the kitchen as Tay changed the channels on the TV to a music station. He came back with three beers and a shot of whisky for Troy.
Zeke and Sharpay were the first ones to show up. He hadn't seen them in a couple of months. Zeke was traveling for work and Sharpay was going with. They'd all known each other since elementary but got close in high school and were still friends now.
They caught up and Tess and her friend Kayla came through the door not long after with a nice sized birthday cake. Kayla was pretty cool; she had boundaries which Troy appreciated. Jason knocked and came in with another bottle of whisky. They went into the kitchen and took shots before they joined everybody in the living room.
They were all drinking, chatting and laughing. He had a good buzz going. He heard the door and got up to get it. He opened the door and barely registered the three people standing there because Willow jumped in his arms. "Troy!"
"There's my favorite little Darlin'." He hugged her spinning her around. He set her down and smiled. His smile faded when he saw cheater Ben standing next to Gabriella.
"Wow! Who's birthday is it?" Willow asked, pulling on his hand.
"It's mine."
Gabriella's face dropped. "What?"
"Happy Birthday! I didn't know it was your birthday! I would have made mommy buy you a fancy gift!"
Troy chuckled. "I don't need a gift. I have the two most beautiful-ist ladies at my party." Troy winked at Gabriella. "Hi, I'm Troy." He said to Ben, holding out his hand just to be polite.
"Ben." He said, shaking his hand.
"Come on in, we have pizza in the kitchen, drinks, People everywhere and we'll have cake eventually." He closed the door behind them, picking up Willow again. "Everybody, this is Willow, Gabriella and her boyfriend, Ben. This is Zeke, Sharpay, Tay, Chad, Tess, Kayla, and Jason."
"Troy! Do you remember when we watched The Cat in the Hat?"
"I do, little Darlin'. You can watch it in my room if you get bored, okay?" He set the girl down. "Oh and I got something for you because it was on sale at my work. Do you want to see?"
"Yes!" She said excitedly.
Troy walked over to his closet and grabbed the little pack out of the Target bag. He walked over to Willow who was anxiously waiting for him. "This is called a color by number. Each color has a number that matches. On the picture you have to fill in all the numbers with color. Isn't that cool? It's the magic markers that only work on special paper."
"This is so incredible!" She lit up. He grinned. "Thank you! Can I color it?"
"Absolutely, let's get you set up on the table, okay?"
Willow skipped over to the table and he set up the little canvas for her, pulling out the pens. "Can you color with me?"
"I will later. I have to talk to my friends because it's my party."
She nodded. "I understand. When it's your turn to talk to me, we can color."
Troy chuckled, standing up. He kissed the top of her head. "You got it." He turned around to see Willow's mother standing behind him. "Whoa, hello, beautiful."
She led him more in the kitchen, away from her daughter. "Thank you for getting Willow that coloring page. She loves those. You didn't have to."
"It was on sale." He said with a shrug. His eyes raked over her. He missed seeing her face and hearing her laugh. It was something he grew fond of as they've grown closer. Now that she was back with cheater Ben, things were different.
She suddenly smacked his shoulder. "Second of all- what the hell?"
He chuckled, holding his arm. "Ow, what?"
"Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?!"
"You didn't ask. I said there would be cake."
"You didn't specify what kind of cake it is." She retorted.
He smiled. "I will definitely specify next celebration with cake."
She gave him a look and had a small smile on her lips. "Are you drunk?"
"Just a little bit. I'm kind of a light weight since I can't afford to drink. Only on special occasions such as today." He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. "Oh, sorry I forgot cheater Ben was here."
"Don't call him that." She said, trying to stifle her laughter. "He is talking to your sister and Kayla. Kayla is apparently a big fan of Twisted Eagle."
Troy groaned. "He's such a tool. He doesn't deserve you." Troy stroked her face lightly.
"Troy…"
"You are the most beautiful person I've ever met." He watched her cheeks flame up. "So beautiful." His eyes drifted down to her lips. A burst of laughter broke his focus. He smiled. "Sorry I forgot about cheater Ben… again."
"Be nice." She said with a small smile, poking his side.
"I'll try." He winked at her before he walked away. He walked over to Jason. "Thanks for coming man. I haven't seen you in forever."
"I'm surprised I haven't heard from you. You're at Target now?"
Troy sighed, "For now."
"I think we're looking for a Service Manager at Ford."
Troy's interest peaked. "Really?"
"Yeah, awesome benefits. You'd be salary but you would work when the service center is open. It wouldn't hurt to apply."
"Yeah, for sure, I might. I'll definitely text you Sunday or Monday."
"Yeah, dude, anytime." Jason said. "God she's so hot."
"Who?" Troy wondered. He was looking over at Tess, Kayla, Ben and now Gabriella.
"Kayla."
"Isn't she like nineteen?"
"I think she's 21. She was telling the band guy that he went to a couple of his shows. Tess is beautiful." Troy turned his gaze at his friend. "But I am not worthy and I don't want to die today."
"Good choice of words."
"She will always be like twelve in my mind."
"Good." Troy said. Gabriella's eyes found his. He had a hard time controlling his mind. Everything about her was perfection and if she wanted to date a loser it should be him and not cheater Ben.
"Troy! Do you remember senior year? When we went to basketball camp and we pranked your dad?" Zeke asked.
His attention went over to his old friends. "My dad was so pissed that he made us run a fucking half marathon."
"Watch your language Troy, there's children present." Sharpay teased.
Troy rolled his eyes. "Willow is smarter than all of you combined and she's four."
"You're very smitten." Sharpay noticed.
"I know and it sucks because of cheater Ben." Troy said quietly. He did say he would try to be nice.
"Shar you should have come to Fourth of July. They were so cute. They all took a nap under a tree... went swimming together."
"He let you do that with his girlfriend and kid?" Sharpay asked.
"Not his kid and they were broken up okay?" Troy defended. "You guys need to shut up because this apartment is too small. I promised I would try to be nice."
"Wow, I've never seen you so enamored."
"He's bringing her to the wedding." Tay said with a smile.
"Really?"
"I don't know anymore. It might be weird because of her boyfriend."
"Dude, who cares. It's just a wedding." Chad said before he realized his mistake. Zeke, Sharpay, and Troy started laughing as his face dropped. "It's going to be the best wedding ever and the best day of my life."
"I'm going to let it slide because I understand context." Tay said, shaking her head. "You better take her. Or else I'm going to kill you after we come back from our honeymoon."
"Whatever. I'm going to color with my one true friend." Troy said getting up. He walked over to Willow. "Hey little Darlin. Are you hungry? I have a slice of cheese pizza with your name on it."
"Okay!" She grinned. "I love this coloring page, Troy. Thank you!"
"You are so welcome. I saw it and I knew I had to get it for you." Troy grabbed her a slice of pizza. "Do you want some Gatorade?"
"Yes please."
Troy walked over with a plate and a napkin, setting it down for her. His eyes found Gabriella. He held up the Gatorade and she nodded her head. He opened the Gatorade for Willow and slid it over. "For you, my lady."
"Thank you." She picked it up to take a sip and set it down. "Can you help me color now?"
"Yep. Can I color the red? It's my favorite color."
"Of course! Red is number two!"
"Perfect. Take a bite of your pizza too, okay?"
Willow took a bite then picked up her purple marker. Troy uncapped the red and found a two. He colored it in. She put the cap on and picked orange. "I like orange. I like all the colors." She struggled to pull the cap off.
"Orange is pretty. I like when the sun goes down and the sky turns orange."
"Me too! Me and mommy watch the sunset sometimes from our balcony at home." She pulled the cap off and her arm flew over and knocked the Gatorade down his shirt and lap. "Oh no!"
"It's cold!" He said, picking up the bottle. The four year old started crying. "Hey, it's okay. It was just an accident."
Gabriella rushed over. "What happened?!"
"I- I spilled my juice on Troy!" She said, hiding her face under her hands.
"Darlin, it's okay." Troy said softly, rubbing her back. "It was an accident. We can clean it up together, can you help me?"
She looked up and sniffled. "Okay."
"What's going on?" Ben asked. Of course, he had to come over. Troy took off his flannel, setting it on the chair next to him. Troy's shirt was half red now. Ben sighed. "Willow."
Troy's eyes shot daggers up at him as Willow froze. "She's cleaning it up. It's fine." Gabriella intercepted.
"I'm so sorry, Troy." Willow said, sniffling again.
Troy wiped her tears. "It's just a silly shirt. I think it looks much cooler now." Troy said showing her. She didn't look convinced. "I have a better idea." He pulled the shirt off his body. "We can use it to clean up the juice and its color will dye the shirt. It will be like tye dye."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, if not we can get some real tye dye colors and we can make it extra cool."
She smiled. "Okay!"
"I'm going to get some spray to clean it so it's not sticky, okay?" She nodded, taking the shirt and covering the juice drips with it. He came back with some cleaning spray and paper towels. "Let me clean this up, Darlin then I'll get you more juice. Then I have to change and we can color again."
"I'm going to eat my pizza." Willow said, sitting back down in the chair.
"Great idea!" Troy encouraged as he cleaned the floor then part of the table. He took her half empty Gatorade and drank the rest. He put the spray back. He took another quick shot of whiskey to get through the night.
He put the stained shirt over his shoulder then grabbed Willow another small Gatorade. He opened it for her but made sure the cap was on before he set it down. He grabbed his flannel and walked into his bedroom. He grabbed a new shirt and some new pants and boxers. He saw something in his peripherals. She was making her way in. Gabriella closed the bedroom door behind her as she snuck in.
"Oh god, your shirt is ruined." Gabriella said, following him to the bathroom. She reached out for it and opening up the crumpled white shirt.
"Nah, its fine. It was a small Gatorade bottle and it is just a shirt. Willow and I were just making Gatorade tye dye." He took it back and put the shirt over his shower door to dry.
"I'm still so sorry." She said as she watched him take off his pants.
He smiled. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
"...I'm sorry I brought Ben." She said, looking at his chest now. "I didn't know it was your birthday."
"Hey, I told you to bring friends. I expected him to come with you." Troy said.
She sighed. "Chad said you liked me earlier."
"Chad has a big mouth. He shouldn't be saying shit like that when cheater Ben is with you."
"Is it true?" She asked.
"It wouldn't make any difference. I wanted to tell you at Fourth of July especially after we kissed but then I saw you on your phone and I know it wasn't me who was making you upset. It was him." Troy said with a sigh. "And a man can only get you that upset if you still have feelings for him. You were together for a long time and only broken up for a little bit and it wasn't my place to tell you how I feel and confuse you."
Gabriella shifted, looking up at him. "Troy."
"But today is my birthday and I'm drunk so I'm going to say whatever the hell I want and you can punish me for it later."
She kind of smiled. "What do you want to say?"
"I don't care if you're with cheater Ben. You're going to Chad and Tay's wedding with me no matter what."
She giggled. "Okay."
He smiled. "And you are so fucking beautiful, I feel like I'm going into cardiac arrest when I see you."
"You've told me I was beautiful five times today."
"You should hear it a hundred times more…" He trailed off then he swallowed. "I love Willow. I love her so much I wish she was my kid too. I wish I got to be with you two all the time... And I don't even care how weird that sounds."
Gabriella looked at him mildly shocked. It took a minute to process what he said. She then grabbed his neck and kissed his lips hard. Troy closed the door behind her, stepping forward pinning her against it. His tongue pushed its way through her lips tangling with hers. Every nerve in his body was lit up like fireworks.
He pulled away, immediately regretting that he pulled away, stepping back to catch his breath. She was kind of frozen in place. "Wow." Troy shook his head. He needed to let his heart speak more clearly. "I love you."
Her eyes shot up to him at his admission. Her mouth opened then closed as she swallowed. "Troy-"
"Nope. We don't have to talk about that right now." He said, reaching up to move her hair from her cheek. His thumb brushed down her cheek, brushing her bottom lip. "We can talk about that whenever you decide to break up with cheater Ben...again."
She let out a breath. "Okay."
He felt better like a weight had been lifted from his chest. He wanted to kiss her again but if he did he wouldn't let her leave this bathroom. "Now get out. I'm trying to change, you pervert."
Gabriella gasped then giggled. She slapped his bare chest before she opened the door and left. He put on his clean clothes. He threw his pants and boxers in his hamper. He slid on his flannel before he went back out to his party.
He frowned as it was dark in the living room except the candles from the cake. He suddenly smiled when the room full of his friends started singing happy birthday to him. He picked up Willow as he made his way to the cake and let her blow out the candles with him.
He cut the cake and passed it out to whoever wanted some. Sharpay and Zeke had to leave and so did Tessa and Kayla to get back. He was glad that Gabriella and Willow stayed a while but then it was passed her bedtime.
Willow decided to leave her coloring page here to color the next time they came over. He hugged them both tightly and shook cheater Ben's hand as they headed out the door. Troy poured himself, Chad, and Jason some more whiskey. They talked basketball and the good old days of East high before Taylor took the other men home.
Troy was finally alone with a mess he wasn't ready to clean up yet. He just sat on his couch with a glass of whiskey lost in the kiss that happened in his bathroom hours ago. Kissing her in a bathroom was not the romance he was aiming to give her but then again, she kissed him.
His heart couldn't take anymore. He needed to go to sleep. He turned off the TV, finished his whiskey. He loaded the dishwasher and collected random pieces of garbage. He put the food away before locking his door. He turned out all the lights before he headed to his bed.
Troy pulled off all of his clothes, sliding into bed. He laid in the dark until his phone lit up. He reached over and opened the message. It was Tay, letting him know that everybody got home okay. He replied with 'thank you!' And thumbs up. He was about to put it down when another message came through.
'So…'
He smiled to himself. 'So what?'
'So Willow is making me go to the store tomorrow to buy you a gift.'
'No Target gift cards, please.' He sent followed by. 'Ha-ha, please don't get me anything.'
'I won't get you anything. It will be 100% from Willow.'
'She can surprise me. Nothing too crazy. Like hanging out with you two or more home cooked Mexican food.' He suggested.
'I will try to persuade her but she is pretty adamant about getting you something.'
'Thank you for coming to my party… I almost didn't call you.'
'Okay… rude. If you would have not invited me to your birthday party then I found out it was your birthday- I would have been way more upset than I was today when you invited me to a party that happened to be your birthday party.'
'I'm glad you and Willow and even _Ben came.'
'_Ben?'
'You can fill in the blank.'
'Mean.'
'Not mean, beautiful, honest. And that is nice honest.'
'Go to sleep, you're drunk.'
'I can't sleep and it's not for lack of trying… I even drank more after you left.'
'Can we drive out to your land again?'
'Anytime, I would say we bring Willow but it's going to start getting cold at night and I don't think she'd be too comfortable sleeping in the back of a truck.'
'Maybe when she's older and she can stay up later.'
Troy sighed. 'I missed you' He sent the message before he talked himself out of it.
'Willow and I missed you, too.' She followed up with 'We'll see you soon.'
'I guess I'm going to try to sleep again. Goodnight'
'Me too. Sweet dreams, Troy. I hope you had the best birthday ever.'
Italics are texts lol
Hope you all enjoyed a new chapter! I'm going to post another one sometime this weekend or maybe Monday night since I wont post next Friday. I'm going out of town.
Don't forget to review :)