That night, Troy and Gabriella came home from their date to a dark house. Robert had texted his parents when he left the house. The couple assumed that Easton and Everly were asleep. They walked upstairs to their bedroom. Troy sat on the edge of their bed and took his shirt off.
"Rob said he and Everly talked for a while after we left" Gabriella said.
"I figured that" Troy said.
"Why?" Gabriella asked.
"He's my twin" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled at the phrase that she had used when Robert was just a toddler.
"He just wants to protect her" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded as he took his pants off.
"She's never been through something like this before" Troy said.
"Yeah" Gabriella said as she changed into her pajamas.
Troy got into bed.
"She's going to be okay" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled slightly. She got into bed and snuggled into Troy's arms.
"She thinks the way we did things is the way she has to" Gabriella said.
Troy shook his head.
"She can marry whoever she wants just as long as we meet him first" Troy said.
"She always looks at how I did it and she thinks she needs to do it that way too" Gabriella said.
Troy kissed Gabriella's head.
"You are her role model in that department" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled. The couple fell asleep. The next morning, Gabriella got up and took a shower. After she took her shower, Gabriella walked out into the bedroom in her towel. She smiled when she saw Troy sitting up in bed.
"Morning" Troy said.
"Morning" Gabriella said.
"Do you have court today?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded. Troy got out of bed. He walked over to Gabriella and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"Troy, you are going to get wet" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. He kissed her bare shoulder.
"So what?" Troy asked.
Gabriella turned around and looked at her husband of twenty years. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Troy's lips sweetly. Troy pulled back.
"That's what I was looking for" Troy said kissing her again.
Gabriella giggled. She picked out her suit and changed quickly. The couple walked downstairs and saw that Easton was already up and dressed.
"Morning bud" Gabriella said kissing her son's cheek.
"Morning. I have a late practice today" Easton said.
Troy smiled.
"Grandpa said that he would drive me home after" Easton said.
"Okay" Gabriella said.
Gabriella got her stuff ready. She then looked at Troy and Easton.
"I got to go. Let me know how everything goes today, Easton" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Easton said.
Troy walked Gabriella to the door. Gabriella kissed Troy's lips.
"Have a good day baby. Kick some butt" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Thanks. Have fun at school" Gabriella said
Troy smiled.
"I will" Troy said kissing Gabriella again.
Gabriella left the house. The twins left for school. That night, Easton and Jack walked to the car and got in. They had just finished basketball practice.
"So, how was prom?" Jack asked.
Easton smiled.
"It was fun. My date and I had fun" Easton said.
"You are still not going to tell me who this girl is?" Jack asked.
"Nope" Easton said.
Jack raised his eyebrow. He started driving.
"You are just like your dad sometimes" Jack said.
"My dad didn't tell you about my mom at first?" Easton asked.
Jack shook his head.
"He didn't think I would approve at first" Jack said.
Easton nodded.
"What changed?" Easton asked.
"I got to know her and love her like she was my own daughter" Jack said.
Easton nodded.
"But, you have a while until you need to even think about that" Jack said.
Easton shrugged.
"You have goals and a plan that you want to accomplish. Get all that stuff done before you work on this one" Jack said
Easton nodded. Jack pulled into the Bolton home. He parked his car and the two boys got out. Easton unlocked the front door and walked in with Jack.
"Hi dad" Troy said.
"Hey" Jack said.
"How was practice?" Troy asked.
"Good. If the boys play like they did today, we are going to be ready for the championship" Jack said.
Troy nodded.
"Where's Gabi and Ev?" Jack asked.
"Gabs is still in court. Ev is at dance" Troy said.
Jack nodded.
"Rob's at school?" Jack asked
Troy nodded.
"Yeah. He has midterms" Troy said.
"Oh. So he's not coming back this weekend?" Jack asked.
"Nope" Troy said.
A couple of weeks later, Robert came home smiling.
"Hi mama" Robert said.
Gabriella looked up from her seat at the kitchen island.
"Hi bud. Did you just get here?" Gabriella asked as Robert hugged her from behind.
"Yeah" Robert said.
"How was your week?" Gabriella asked.
"Good. I met a girl this week" Robert said.
Gabriella looked up from her laptop at her son.
"Oh?" Gabriella asked.
Robert smiled.
"She's really sweet and caring. She's everything that I want in a girl" Robert said.
Gabriella smiled.
"You sound like you really like her, Rob" Gabriella said.
"I do" Robert said.
"Does she like you?" Gabriella asked.
"I don't know" Robert said.
Gabriella looked at her eldest son.
"Are you going to ask her out?" Gabriella asked.
"I want to" Robert said.
Robert walked around the center island so that he could look at his mother.
"I just don't want another Natalie situation" Robert said.
Gabriella nodded.
"See what happens" Gabriella said.
Robert nodded. A couple of days later, Robert was walking at school and saw the girl that he had talked to his mother about.
"Hi Rob" Ashley said.
"Hey Ashley, how's it going?" Robert asked.
"Good. How are you?" Ashley asked.
"Good. Hey, I was wondering, what are you doing Friday night?" Robert asked.
"Nothing so far. Why?" Ashley asked.
"I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner" Robert said.
Ashley smiled.
"Sure. That would be great" Ashley said.
"Cool. I'll pick you up around six?" Robert asked.
"Okay" Ashley said.
"Okay. See you then" Robert said.
Ashley and Robert walked away from each other. Rob smiled. He walked back to his apartment and called his mother.
"Hi Rob" Gabriella answered.
"Mom, she said yes" Robert said.
"That's great, honey. When are you going?" Gabriella asked.
"We are going out Friday night" Robert said.
"That sounds like fun" Gabriella said.
"Yeah" Robert said.
Robert and Gabriella talked for a while. They hung up. On Friday night, Robert picked Ashley up from her apartment.
"Hey" Ashley said getting into the car.
"Hey" Robert said.
"So, where are we going?" Ashley asked.
"We are going to a restaurant down the street" Robert said.
"Okay" Ashley said.
Robert drove to the restaurant. He parked his car and he and Ashley got out of the car. They had dinner and have a really good conversation. Two hours later, they walked back to Robert's car and Robert drove Ashley home. Once they stopped in front of Ashley's apartment, Ashley looked at Robert.
"I had a really great time tonight, Rob. We should do this again" Ashley said.
"Me too. It was fun" Robert said.
Ashley leaned in and kissed Robert's lips. Robert pulled away slowly and smiled.
"Was that too much?" Ashley asked crinkling her nose.
Robert shook his head.
"No, it was perfect" Robert said.
Robert leaned in and kissed Ashley again. Ashley pulled back and smiled.
"I'll text you" Ashley said.
"Okay" Robert said.
Ashley got out of the car. Robert watched Ashley go into her apartment complex and then drove to his apartment. Over the course of the next several weeks, Robert and Ashley had been spending more and more time together. Ashley had admitted to Robert that she had feelings for him. Robert told her the same. They started dating. One day, Robert had knocked on Ashley's apartment door. Ashley opened the door and smiled. She leaned in and kissed Robert's lips softly.
"Hi" Ashley said.
"Hi" Robert said.
Robert walked into the apartment and the couple sat down in the living room.
"How was your class?" Ashley asked.
"Good, but long. How was yours?" Robert asked.
"Fine. I got my grade on the paper I just turned in" Ashley said.
"What did you get?" Robert asked.
"An A" Robert said.
Robert smiled.
"Did you go to your business club?" Robert asked.
"That's next week. They emailed everyone and said it's cancelled" Ashley said.
"Oh" Robert said.
"Are you going to go home this weekend?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah. I am kind of going back and forth. My little brother has a basketball game and my sister has a dance show" Robert said.
"You are really focused on family" Ashley said.
Robert nodded.
"They are everything to me" Robert said.
Ashley smiled.
"That's really sweet" Ashley said placing her hand on top of Robert's.
Robert smiled.
"As things progress, I would love for you to meet them one day" Robert said.
"That would be great. They seem amazing" Ashley said.
"We would need to meet your parents too" Robert said.
Ashley nodded. Robert went back to his apartment later that night. A couple of days later, he drove home for the weekend. Gabriella knew that he was distracted.
"Rob" Gabriella said.
Robert was on his phone texting and was completely unaware of what was going on around him. Gabriella smiled.
"Robert" Gabriella said.
Robert looked up. Gabriella smiled.
"Who are you talking to?" Gabriella asked.
"Ashley" Robert said.
"Ashley is the girl that you have been hanging out with?" Gabriella asked.
Robert nodded.
"Yeah" Robert said.
"Looks like someone is in love" Gabriella said.
"Not love" Robert said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Just be careful" Gabriella said.
"I will" Robert said.
That night, the Bolton family went to Easton's basketball game. Troy and Robert were on the sidelines with Jack.
"Can't they ever just sit down and watch the game like normal people?" Everly asked.
Gabriella smiled.
"Yeah, but that would mean that we can't make fun of them" Gabriella joked.
Everly smiled.
"Rob seems distracted lately. Is he okay?" Everly asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"He's talking to a girl" Gabriella said.
"Oh, that makes sense" Everly said.
Robert walked back up to the bleachers where Gabriella and Everly were sitting.
"When are we going to meet your girlfriend?" Everly asked her brother.
Robert looked at his mother. Gabriella held her hands up, surrendering. Robert then looked at Everly.
"When I know it's solid" Robert said.
"Give me a timeline" Everly said.
Robert sighed. He had been trying to keep his relationship with Ashley private for the time being.
"When we've dated for a while and she's my girlfriend" Robert said.
"Why are you going to wait that long?" Everly asked.
Robert looked at his sister. Gabriella looked at Everly.
"Let him do what he wants, Ev" Gabriella said.
Robert sighed.
"I'm just protective of you that's all" Everly said.
Robert's heart warmed. He looked at Everly.
"Thanks, Ev. I appreciate your concerns. But, this part I have to do on my own" Robert said.
"Okay. I'm sorry that I gave you a hard time about it" Everly said.
Gabriella smiled. Robert hugged Everly. They then turned back to the game. After the game, Robert had left to go meet up with Ashley.
"Hey" Robert said.
"Hey" Ashley said opening the door to her apartment.
Robert kissed Ashley's lips softly.
"How was the game?" Ashley asked.
"We lost. But, it was a good game. My sister asked about you" Robert said sitting down in the living room.
"She asked about me?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah. She asked when she was going to meet you" Robert said.
"Oh. What did you tell her?" Ashley asked.
"I told her that when we were ready to take that step, then we would" Robert said.
Ashley nodded.
"She sounds like she's really protective of you" Ashley said.
Robert smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. She and I are really close" Even though we are four years apart, we still have a good relationship" Robert asked.
Ashley smiled.
"You have a sister, right?" Robert asked.
Ashley nodded.
"Two sisters" Ashley said.
"Wow. Are you close?" Robert asked.
"Yeah. But, now that we live farther away, it's hard to see each other" Ashley said.
Robert nodded. The couple talked for a while. An hour and a half later, Ashley walked Robert to the door.
"You know you can stay the night" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"Are you okay with that?" Robert asked.
Ashley smiled. She leaned in and kissed Robert's lips softly. Robert pulled away slowly.
"I need to run and get some clothes from my apartment. Do you want to come with me?" Robert asked.
"Yeah" Ashley said.
Robert and Ashley drove to Robert's apartment. Robert parked his car. The couple went up to Robert's apartment. Robert packed a bag of his stuff including his shower essentials. He then walked into the living room, where Ashley was waiting for him.
"You ready to get out of here?" Robert asked.
"Yeah" Ashley said.
Robert took Ashley's hand in his. They walked out of the apartment and drove back to Ashley's. Once they were back in Ashley's apartment, Ashley walked into her bedroom. When she realized that Robert hadn't followed her in, Ashley popped her head out of the bedroom.
"Are you coming in?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah" Robert said.
Robert walked into Ashley's bedroom. Ashley looked at Robert and smiled.
"You okay?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah" Robert said.
Ashley looked at Robert.
"Something is bothering you" Ashley said.
Robert smiled sympathetically.
"I think I am just nervous" Robert admitted.
Ashley took Robert's hand in her own.
"Rob, it's okay" Ashley said.
"I think that I'm just trying to be careful and not push everything so quickly" Robert said.
"It's just sleeping. Nothing else" Ashley said.
Robert smiled and nodded. Ashley kissed Robert's lips sweetly. The couple changed into their pajamas and got into bed. Ashley snuggled into Robert's chest.
"Night" Robert said.
"Night" Ashley said.
The couple fell asleep. Robert was happy that he was able to feel so comfortable around Ashley. He was excited to explore their relationship more.