Hi, here is another chapter. I really hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for the reviews on the last one and I really do appreciate people's honesty and constructive criticim (you know who you are, haha); it was so nice to read the bits you liked and bits you thought could be improved. Enjoy! Thanks for reading.
Gabriella hadn't felt this relaxed in such a long time. It was as if as soon as her tense body touched the solid length of Troy's, all of the tension and stress that she held within, floated away. Her body was suddenly hit with a weariness that she didn't know he body possessed. Yes, she often felt tired but not to the point where as soon as her body straightened out against a man's, she would be willing herself not to fall asleep and drool on him within a second.
"You look very peaceful right now," Troy whispered, looking down at Gabriella's closed eyes.
Gabriella kept her eyes closed, feeling that it was too much effort to open them and look up, "I feel very relaxed," She commented.
Troy smiled and hesitantly lifted the back of her large hooded sweatshirt just so the small of her back was revealed and his slightly rough fingertips (from hauling huge amounts of water sports equipment back and forth everyday) started to massage.
"Hmm," She hummed, stretching a little.
Troy continued his massage, alternating between massaging her muscles to stroking her soft skin, "Is that good?" He asked with a slight husk to his voice, keeping her hoodie up with the base of his hand; the soft material grazing his wrist.
"So good," She practically moaned. In any other circumstance; if it wasn't almost midnight or her body wasn't so tired from the day of fun on the beach, she would then have probably blushed and apologised or even refrained herself from making the noise but right now, she was too busy relaxing against his chest, his steady heartbeat was a soothing rhythm to her and enjoying his gentle massage.
/
As she lay in bed in the early hours of Monday morning waiting for the minute hand to tick over telling her she had to get out of bed to get Xavier and Noah ready for school and pre-school. Both Sunday and Monday morning she had awoken before her alarm and thought about the mini massage Troy had given her on Saturday night.
"Geez Gabriella, get it together," She breathed, finding it ridiculous that she had been thinking about this specific few minutes out of all the hours they had spent together.
The alarm tone from beside her queen sized bed sounded and she huffed, flinging a hand to shut it up while thinking that she just needed to get a professional massage and that would solve her morning day dreams; no need for a man who had consumed her thoughts a lot yesterday to do it… of course not.
Gabriella stretched and rubbed her sleepy face gently before pulling off her comforter, laying there for a little longer and then stood up. She was so glad that there was only two weeks left of school however, this would be the first summer that she had ever been on her own, no family (when she lived with her brother after the divorce) or husband around to help entertain the kids for the entire summer. It was also the first summer that Xavier really wanted to go to a summer camp but because that idea of his was brought up only a mere week ago, she painfully didn't have time to save and pay for him to go so therefore, he was promised that he could go next summer if he still wanted.
Gabriella was thankful of her late night shower so all she needed to do was change. She was heading to work after dropping off her two boys so she dressed smart as it was for a meeting. She decided on a pair of black structured yet fitting pants which had a slight hint of thin grey stripes down and a white long sleeve blouse with a Victorian neck and a black thin piece of material wrapped around her neck, accentuating the Victorian neck of her blouse, she made sure to wear a white lace bra underneath and no other clue to ensure that nobody could see her underwear. Her pants also needed a thong beneath as the line of any other underwear would show and for once she was actually heading to a meeting feeling sexy and today she was going to own the presentation she had to give. Back in high school, the idea of completing a presentation in front a group of people debating whether her work was good enough for them would have scared her so much that she would stutter and shake; now, it was a part of her life and to do what she loved, she had to do this nerve-wrecking part of the job.
Before stepping out of her bedroom, she washed her face, brushed her teeth, completed her make-up and pulled her curly hair into simple low messy bun with a couple of pieces of hair framing her face, she made sure to push up at her hair to ensure it didn't look flat. After adding some perfume, she placed her heels that she would change into, next to her door.
Gabriella walked into Xavier's room to see him sleeping on his back with his head tilted to the side, the same way both his dad and Noah slept. She gently pushing his hair back, "Xav, it's time to get up," She called, walking over to the window and opening the curtains, resulting in a groan from the seven year olds body, "I'll back be in five minutes and I want you to be up and having a wash," She said, walking out and going to wake up her other son.
Soon- Later, the three of them were buckled safely in their seats and on the way to drop of Xavier.
"I'll pick you up at 2:30, ok?" Gabriella asked, looking across at Xavier.
"Ok," He yawned.
Gabriella laughed, shaking her head.
Ten minutes later of fairly busy traffic, Gabriella was dropping off Xavier and with a hasty goodbye, he was out of the car and jogging towards his friends with his backpack bouncing on his back from side to side. Gabriella smiled before pulling away again, happy to see Xavier had quickly made friends. She had only dropped him off at school on his first day then once a week after when she would have to go into the office at her workplace. Gabriella fifteen minutes later, stepped out of the car, picking up an excited Noah and walking toward the building which was similar to a day care. Making sure that he was settled and the staff knew what time she was picking him up, she walked back out to her car and then set off to work.
Two hours later, the 45 minute presentation and meeting had come to a finished, with Gabriella getting another deal, she had noted down what they wanted and she had decided to stay in the office a while longer to begin on her work. Realising that she had checked her cell phone since first thing this morning, she dug through her black bag and pulled out her phone. Both of her defined eyebrows, due to some product in them, rose as she opened the text message to read it in full.
'Hey, its Troy, I asked Shar for your number I hope that's ok. I have an hour and a half lunch today and wondered if you wanted to eat together? Totally cool if you don't. Hope you're having a good morning xxx'
Gabriella smiled as she re-read the message, seeing that she had received it an hour ago, she typed out a quick reply, confirming that she would like to meet him if the offer was still open. Another text, stating where and a time was received with Gabriella replying that was good.
She happily continued with her drawings, glad she had brought along her pencils. Her sketches were rough, just an outline of what she wanted to produce as a final product. Time had flown while she drew out the a few of the outlines and by the time she had looked up at the clock, she let out a quiet gasp, collecting her things but dashing out with a quick goodbye.
Five minutes before they were too meet, Gabriella came walking into the café still in her work wear as she hadn't had time to change, not that she minded, she liked this outfit and she went from beginning in one building with intense AC to another building which was a slightly more comfortable air; not too cold.
"Hey," Gabriella breathed, taking a seat opposite Troy in a typical American diner booth, "I was worried I wouldn't make it here on time."
Troy's head looked up from the menu and his lips parted slightly as his eyes meeting hers, "Hey, been somewhere nice?" He asked, crossing his arms on the table.
Gabriella shook her head, "Just a meeting at work, it was kinda important so I needed to make a good impression."
Troy swallowed, forcing his eyes not to scan her body in male approval of her outfit choice, "Well you look beautiful and you're happy? So it went well?" He questioned.
Gabriella smiled, ducking her head and played with the ends of her sleeves, "Thanks," She said, "Yeah, I got the deal," She said with a much more happy tone to her voice.
"Deal?" Troy questioned.
Gabriella nodded, "Yeah I do drawings, erm, sketches and illustrations, it's quite a general company. So I had to present what I thought would be good and they wanted that so I got the deal."
"Oh wow, that's awesome," He grinned, "Congrats," He reached over, taking one of her hands, "But seriously, warn me next time you're going to show up looking like that because I look some homeless guy you're taking pity on by treating me to a some food," He joked.
Gabriella laughed, her head going back slightly, "No you do not, you look…" She trailed off, biting down softly on her bottom lip, "Sweaty," She smirked.
Troy narrowed his eyes playfully, "And here I thought you were going to give me a compliment after I called you beautiful, my ego is not doing too well right now," He shook his head, feigning disappointment.
Gabriella giggled, squeezing his hand, "I'm sorry. Is it busy today?" She asked.
Troy lifted one shoulder, "An hour and a half lunch, so not really. Most kids are still at school so it'll pick up more once they're out but there is quite a few tourists at this time of the year."
"It's a beautiful place," She nodded.
"Attracts beautiful women," Troy smirked, knew he was being overly complimentary.
Gabriella smirked back at him, "Seen someone you like today? Is that why you asked me for lunch to break the news?"
Troy chuckled, "Nope, Shar told me and Chad we were being sleazy checking you out on Saturday so I haven't been looking."
Gabriella shrugged, "It's not sleazy. It's sometimes nice to know that someone wants to look at you that way and likes it especially after having two kids stretching you," She laughed.
Troy grinned, "Good. Where are they?" He asked.
"Xavier is at school, he'll finish for summer in two weeks and Noah is at day care, I need to make money so he has to go but he really enjoys it," Gabriella informed, "I normally pick them up at the same time and try to pile as much work as I can into those few hours I get but someone just had to interrupt me today," She feigned annoyance but had a small smile plastered on her lips at all times.
Troy smiled softly at her teasing, "By all means, go back to work if you really want," He said, gesturing to the door.
Gabriella shrugged, "I'm good," She looked down at the menu.
Troy chuckled, taking his hand back rubbing a hand over his tired face and letting out a yawn.
"Tired?" She said as more of a statement, not lifting her eyes from the menu.
Troy glanced at her, "Mhm, I can't remember when I last had a day off."
"Tell me about it," Gabriella murmured.
"Sorry, that was really insensitive," Troy said quickly, realising that the woman in front of him must be twice as tired as him.
Gabriella shook her head quickly, "No it wasn't, everyone is allowed to be tired," She giggled, looking up from the menu.
Troy studied her for a moment, "When's your next day off?" He asked, resting his elbows on the table and straightening out his forearms to take both of her manicured hands.
Gabriella smirked, "I don't have days off. I work when the boys are at school and then I'm with them 24/7 in the evenings and at the weekend."
"Right, being a mom is a full time thing, huh. I was just thinking, maybe… we could go for a day out somewhere, I could show you some places of California, you said you'd only been here for a couple of days years ago right?" He questioned which Gabriella nodded at. Realising Gabriella wasn't going to say anything he continued, "Do you have anyone to take care of Xaiver and Noah for the day?" He asked, hopeful.
Gabriella pressed her lips together, knowing that at some point she would have to address this, "Here, I have Shar, Taylor who I haven't spoken to in years so I guess she doesn't count and I have my brother back in New Mexico but that's it, that's everyone."
Troy let a small frown crease his forehead. He subtly stood from his side of the booth to sit down next to her. He stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. He simply let his arm wrap around her shoulder blades and onto her bicep, his cheek coming down to rest on the top of her head.
"They died when I was 18 and my brother was 21. Luckily, he didn't have to drop out of college because of the money they left behind. I had just gotten my acceptance letter to Stanford but I got a little reckless, I didn't really care about school anymore so I got my scholarship withdrawn and kind of let Jake do what he wanted… sexually; he stopped wearing condoms," She whispered, "I didn't go to college, I fell pregnant and got married."
Troy looked down at her as she told him a brief overview of her teenage life, "I'm sorry," He said, rubbing her arm.
Gabriella sat up straighter, licking her lips, "Its fine. That's life. You live and you learn, you know."
Troy nodded slowly, "Is Jake a good dad?"
Gabriella shrugged, "What even is a good dad? Before my parents died, I hardly saw they, they were always away on business trips. They made money and made our lifestyle comfortable, very comfortable but we never saw them? I don't even know what it means to be a good mom or a good dad."
Troy didn't push any physical contact as he sat watching her, "You're a good mom. You work when they're at school so you can be with them in the evening and at weekends. You take them places and you have a blast with them. You make sure there's food on the table. I promise you, you are one of the best mom's I know."
Gabriella gave her a small smile, "Jake was good until I got pregnant again. He used to take Xavier places and play in the pool and dote on him. It was like he could handle one kid, but two no, he didn't like that. He still loved Noah, anybody could see that but it was like he blamed me for giving him more than he wanted. So he pushed me away and fell into someone else's bed. I loved him, of course I did, I was with him for eight years but that didn't mean that I didn't struggle too, he just didn't take that into account. One of Jake's friends, knew about him cheating on me and he could tell I knew; I don't know how. He tried to comfort me more than once, he tried to kiss me and would occasionally grab my ass but did I climb into his bed when things got hard? No, because I loved Jake and I loved our family and I wanted to keep us together so bad. So many people told me I couldn't make this work from the second I told people I was first pregnant. I was proud when we were married for a couple of years and seemed to be doing well, it was like laughing everybody's face. But when word got out about why I left him, it was as if everybody wanted to make sure we were ok but they so desperately wanted to smirk and say I told you so," She said bitterly, "My kids are going to grow up without their dad, why would he fly all the way over here when he has a little, skinny, big breasted twenty year old to occupy his time. He hasn't spoken to them since we left. So basically they are going to grow up in a way I was so determined they wouldn't, in a way I did; without their dad."
Troy let out a cold huff of air, "That is exactly what makes you a good mom; you would never dream of putting anyone else as your first priority and screw the past, it sucked for you so the future is going to be so good, I'll make sure of it."
Gabriella smiled softly at him, "You remind me of my brother."
Troy screwed up his face a little, "Hmmm, don't know whether to be a little concerned or not."
Gabriella giggled, "No, get your head out of the gutter. He tells me to stop thinking about the past and what I wish happened in my fairy-tale story; life isn't a fairy-tale and to concentrate on being as happy as I can and making sure Xavier and Noah are happy and have everything they need."
"He sounds like a wise guy," Troy winked.
Gabriella let out another laugh, "He's pretty cool, we stayed with him and his girlfriend for so long. He's coming to visit soon which I was so excited about."
Troy grinned, "See, this is looking forward to the future and being happy and excited, it's that easy."
Gabriella nodded with a big smile on her face, "I know," She let out a relaxed breath, "I'm excited for Shar's and Zeke's wedding too, that'll come round quick."
Troy nodded, "Yeah, it's July first, right?"
"Yep. They are staying here for Independence day and then going on their honeymoon."
"I can't believe they're getting married in four and a half weeks. It's crazy," Troy said and looked up as a waiter stopped at the end of their table and they make they orders quickly before he walked away again, "So do you think Shar will look after Xavier and Noah one day?"
Gabriella bit down on her plump lip, "I dunno, she's busy with work and planning this whole wedding."
Troy hummed before pulling out his cell phone and began to tap away before holding it up to his ear, "Hey Shar," He greeted.
"Hey," Sharpay answered, "Everything ok? You never call me."
Troy coughed lightly, "So, I really want to take Gabriella out for the day sometime soon but you know she has work and then has to pick up the kids and then be with them."
"Right," She drew out, "Do you want me to pick them up and have them for the evening or something?" She asked, casually.
Troy grinned, "Would you mind?"
"Absolutely not, it's about time she got treated like a princess. But you have to give me the low down on what you are planning before I confirm and agree it is a suitable date and then I'll look after the two cuties for the day and possibly the night, ay Bolton?" Sharpay teased.
Troy laughed, "Shut up, I'm not that much of a sleaze. I'll probably be a round in the next few days to play some ball with Zeke so I'll have a think and run it by you, how's that?" He asked.
"Perfect," She chirped.
"Alright, Gabriella says hi by the way."
"Wait, what? You're with her now?" Sharpay squealed.
Troy chuckled, "Yeah, why?"
"Put her on, put her on," Sharpay repeated, still in her high pitched voice.
"Alright, alright," Troy mocked and before she could tell him off, he handed the cell phone over, "It's Shar," He said, even though he didn't need to clarify, "She's a little squealy," He warned with a smirk.
Gabriella pouted, "Hey," She greeted her best friend.
"Gabriella Montez, you finally have turned your taste in men around and are picking good guys," She squealed happily.
Gabriella looked at Troy and laughed as he overheard and gave her a 'what can ya say' face, "Thanks Shar but seriously I'm only hanging out with him because he practically begged and he needed some food," She squealed as Troy squeezed her thigh firmly. She looked over at him and winked, letting him know she was referring to him being a guy she felt sorry for.
"Montez, I believe moving to California is going to be one of the best things you've done," Sharpay said in a whimsical voice.
Gabriella rolled her eyes at her dramatic friend, "Ok, I'm gonna go, bye Shar, love you," She said as their food was placed in front of them.
"Love you, have fun, bye," Sharpay said, hanging up the phone.
Gabriella handed back Troy the device, "So you have to impress my supervisor and then we'll see if you're are allowed to take me anywhere or have to tweak it to impress her," She teased.
Troy let out a loud laugh, "I have a pretty good idea of some of the things we could do, I think you'll like it."
"I hope Shar does too," Gabriella said with a smile.
/
"Are you ready for the wedding, dude?" Troy asked as he bounced a basketball on Zeke's lit up half court.
Zeke nodded, catching the ball before shooting toward the basket, "I think so, Shar was on a rampage the day after I proposed, trying to get everything sorted. I think she's going for another dress fitting in a couple of weeks and the bridesmaid's as well and then we go for ours and then it's done. We have the rings, food sorted, everything."
Troy jogged over to collect the ball the best he could while dressed in an outfit ready to go out with his best friends. He shot and smirked when the ball flew in, "That's good, I doubt Shar would have left anything to last minute anyway," He chuckled.
Zeke nodded and laughed in agreement, "I just need to write my vows."
"Oh, are you making your own?" Troy said with raised eyebrows.
Zeke made a face of disapproval, "Yeah. I don't like the idea voicing what I feel about her to everyone, I wanted to keep it between us but my darling fiancée," He shook his head with a smirk, "Wants to express our love for everyone to hear. Her words not mine."
Troy laughed, passing the ball, "You gotta do what you gotta do to keep her happening on her dream day."
"I know, I wouldn't do it but she looked crushed when I said no so," He shrugged.
"Are you nervous?" Troy asked.
Zeke bounced the ball from hand to hand, staying quiet for a moment, "Yeah a little, but I'm so glad we compromised on having a small wedding and a bigger reception. I would be shitting myself if the amount of people were coming to the reception, came to the wedding."
Troy let out a laugh, "Dude, you'll be fine. Just think about all the newlywed stuff you can get up to on your honeymoon," He wiggled his eyebrows.
Zeke rolled his eyes, "You can so tell that you don't get a regular amount of sex," He joked.
Troy narrowed his eyes slightly as a joke, "Fuck you, man," He laughed.
"So speaking of women, how's Gabriella?" Zeke smirked, passing the ball back to him as if to put the conversation him.
Troy shot the ball, once again it went perfectly in, "She's good," He said simply.
Zeke raised a single eyebrow, "I mean how are you and Gabriella?" He asked.
"I didn't even know there was a 'me and Gabriella'" Troy commented, watching Zeke run to get the ball, making a running shot, only for the ball to bounce off the rim, "Poor, man," He smirked, collecting the ball and quickly making the shot.
"Of course there is, you're planning a whole day date and you've met her for lunch and you've been round her house last Saturday," Zeke listed off.
"And Monday and Thursday," Troy mumbled.
Zeke heard his whisper and his eyes went wide, "What happened Monday and Thursday?" He asked, yesterday being a Friday.
Troy licked his lips, "The same as Saturday. I went round once Xavier and Noah were in bed and we hung out."
Zeke grinned at one of his best friends, "Dude, how did you go from being single to spending your evenings with a mom of two."
Troy chuckled, "I have no idea, she's awesome though. Anyway, where's Chad and Shar?" He questioned, "I need to run that 'day date' idea by her and we need to go out and party a little."
Zeke laughed at him as he started to dance just as Sharpay came from around the side of this, obviously just having gotten out of her car as she still had her bag in her arms, "Hey baby," Zeke grinned as Sharpay walked down to them, he leant down to give her a quick peck as Chad walked down towards them as well.
"Hey, sorry I'm a little late, I offered Chad a ride and he took forever," Sharpay rolled her eyes, wrapping her arms around Zeke's waist.
Zeke smirked looking over at a grumpy Chad, obviously he had been told off by the blonde drama queen, "It's alright. We were just talking about the wedding and how many times Troy has seen Gabriella this week."
"Oh yeah, she made you dinner on Thursday night didn't she?" Sharpay asked, "She called me up asking for some good recipes and ideas from the restaurant," She said, referring to the restaurant she and Zeke owned.
Troy's face had a soft smile plastered on it, "She's a cutie. I didn't know that but it was bomb," He grinned.
"And you went her house on Monday night right?" Zeke smirked at Troy as he glared at him.
Troy huffed, "I hope you fall at the altar, man," He said in a deadpan voice, making everyone even Sharpay laugh.
"Didn't you go for lunch with her on Monday?" Chad asked.
"Yeah, she invited me then to go later on," Troy informed, "Anyway, Shar I need to talk to you about that date before we go."
"Ah yes, the dreaded boys night where you all get so plastered, you're bed bound the next day. I love them," Sharpay said sarcastically, maybe a little over dramatic also, "But I have my girls' night in. Which by the way, they should arrive in like five minutes," She said, looking at her wrist where her watch sat, "So quick, spill," Sharpay demanded, crossing her arms under her chest.
Troy let out an embarrassed cough, "Can we go away from these guys, I don't want them to make fun of me all night?"
"No. Rule number one, never be embarrassed of a date."
"I'm not embarrassed of her but it's kinda soppy," He mumbled.
"Don't care," Sharpay said brutally, "It should be 'soppy', she needs a little romance; actually a lot of romance."
Troy let out a breath of air, "Ok. So I was thinking at first maybe have a nice long walk and take a picnic and then go to an art museum because she loves anything and everything to do with it and then take her out to her a fancy dinner and then maybe the beach or something and I was going to take her to this really weird dark, small but intimate bar; it's so cool in there but then I thought trying to cram all of that into one day would probably tire her out and not be as relaxing as doing each of those things separately. So I went back to the drawing board and remembered that we had a conversation about enjoying life so this is my plan. Pick her up, take her out for a big breakfast because she says how she never has time to have one anymore, then go to six flags and I'm not sure about dinner yet, maybe take her back to mine and cook something for her, something a little more intimate," He suggested, "I thought Disney but maybe if things work out then maybe I can take her, Xavier and Noah one day," He shrugged.
Sharpay was silent for a moment and it made Troy nervous, he touched the back of his neck before rubbing there, "That's a great idea!" She exclaimed.
"Good because I kinda already got the tickets," Troy chuckled, "For Monday."
"Please don't drink too much then because I really don't want you to puke all over her," Sharpay crinkled her nose.
Troy chuckled, "I have a day to recover, its fine."
"Shar?" A familiar voice to two of the four and one which Chad and Zeke had only heard a few times.
"Backyard!" Sharpay shouted.
Soon enough, Gabriella walked around the side of the house where Sharpay and Chad had walked only ten minutes before, "Oh," Gabriella said surprised, "Hey," She greeted to everyone and continued to walk over towards them.
Sharpay wrapped her arm around Gabriella's neck in affection, "You will have a blast on Monday?"
"Monday?" Gabriella frowned.
"Yeah, your date with Troy," Sharpay said, hugging her with two arms now.
"My date with Troy?" Gabriella questioned, looking over and up at Troy who was currently rubbing the back of her neck.
"You haven't asked her yet?" Sharpay squealed, walking over to him and slapping his arm.
"Ow," He moaned, "We did say we'd do something on Monday but she doesn't know what and we didn't class it as a date," He explained.
"I'm gonna save your ass and we're gonna get out of here," Zeke said, taking a hold of Troy's neck from behind and guiding them to walk towards the house so they could go out.
"Hey! Where's my kiss?" Sharpay shouted, folding her arms and pouting.
Zeke stopped before he got into the house and jogged back to give her a long winded goodbye; resulting in Troy walking back towards Gabriella.
"Will you consider Monday as a date?" He asked bluntly.
Gabriella smirked up at him, "We'll see if it's good enough and I'll let you know."
Troy smiled down at her, touching both of her elbows softly and rubbed her triceps slowly, "Ok, deal," He gently guided her closer to him so he could whisper with only her hearing it, "Just so know, I'm not going out tonight to get with any girls, it's just a boys night out."
Gabriella bit down on her lower lip and nodded, "Ok but there's no reason for you not to hook up with anyone, you are a single man."
Troy frowned a little, "I've also been spending a few of my evenings this week with a phenomenal woman but I don't want to disrespect so therefore, I'm not going to go and kiss some other girl."
Gabriella pressed her lips together, "I guess this is the part where I trust what you're saying."
Troy couldn't help but let a smile form on his face, "Exactly. You have my word, I'm going to stick to it," He told her firmly.
"Ok," She said simply.
Troy nodded, "Alright," He looked over his shoulder to see nobody there, "Have a good night," He muttered, stroking to her hands to give them a gentle squeeze.
"You too," She said.
Troy quickly leant down to press a kiss to her cheek before winking and jogging round the side of the house to wear he knew Zeke and Chad would be waiting for him; on the porch.
Gabriella walked into the house, through the back door and met Sharpay in her living room, "Your house is incredible," Gabriella said in awe as she sat on the comfortable couch which she closed her eyes at.
Sharpay laughed, "Thanks. Did my sister take her kids with her?" She asked.
Gabriella looked at her, "Yeah, Adele is the cutest little girl. I think Xavier might like her by the end of the night," She giggled.
Sharpay's older sister, Lola, who Gabriella knew from high school. She had offered to take care of Xavier and Noah so Sharpay and Gabriella could have a nice catch up. Lola had taken her five year old daughter, Adele with her so they could all play together.
Sharpay laughed, "She'll be a heart breaker for sure," She giggled.
Gabriella agreed, curling her legs up underneath her, "So I'm guessing you approve of Troy's plan?" Gabriella asked.
Sharpay gave large nods to Gabriella, "Yeah. He has loads of ideas of where to take you and they're all super sweet so if Monday goes well then you're granted that the next couple of dates will be amazing," Sharpay said romantically.
"I guess we'll see how Monday goes," Gabriella shrugged with a hint of a smile on her face.
Sharpay grinned at her best friend, "Do you want me to have Xav and Noah for the night?" She asked.
Gabriella widened her eyes, "Sharpay Evans!" She exclaimed, "No!"
Sharpay shrugged her dainty shoulder, "Just thought I'd ask, gimme a text if you change your mind."
Gabriella shook her head, "I'm not having sex with him, Shar."
"I never said anything about sex, I just thought maybe you might like to spend the night with him and wake without having to get Xavier and Noah up for school," Sharpay defended.
Gabriella shook her head, "Xavier will get the bus and I'll need to take Noah so it's fine."
Sharpay huffed, "Gab, when was the last time you let a man romance you a little? You know, just relax and go to bed, sleep a little or a lot, wake up and have him make you breakfast in bed and lounge about," She asked dreamily.
Gabriella laughed lightly, "A long time ago and I'm not missing it so I'm fine."
"No, you're just forgetting that you miss it," Sharpay elaborated.
Gabriella shrugged, "It's not like it matter. He's out with his friends tonight so who knows what could happen," She said, bringing a pillow into her lap.
Sharpay gave her a sympathetic look, "Babe, he won't do anything."
Gabriella simply shrugged.
Sharpay sighed, knowing that her insecurities stemmed from being with one man for a long, long time and who ultimately betrayed her in a way that could tear down a man or woman and make them doubt some many people in the future, "He won't do anything, literally he hasn't wanted to take anyone out on a date for a while."
Gabriella stroked over the cushion, "I dunno," She huffed and Sharpay gave her a small smile.
/
Gabriella laughed loudly as she watched Xavier attempt to jump in from the sides of the good sized pool onto a large inflatable dinosaur. Gabriella was standing in the water next to Noah who was floating with some inflatables attached to him as did his older brother. A few minutes later while Gabriella and Noah cheered on Xavier to jump; carefully in Gabriella's case, she heard the gate from the backyard open and shut and she looked up to see Taylor who she hadn't spoken to in years walk around the corner of her house.
"Hey," Gabriella said in surprise.
"Hey, I heard you moved so I thought I'd come round just to say hey," Taylor said, as she sat next to the pool.
Gabriella smiled back at her softly, "Yeah, I moved here, maybe, three weeks ago," She nodded.
Taylor nodded, "Shar told me, she also told me about you spend time with Troy Bolton," She smirked.
Gabriella shrugged, "Yeah, it's good to have someone around, Shar, Troy," She listed off.
Taylor nodded and looked down at her legs before looking up again, "I'm sorry things ended the way they did between us. Geez, I sound like we've broken up," She laughed, "But I'm sorry. That argument was so unnecessary and even when we tried to sort things out, we didn't."
"Yeah," Gabriella sighed, looking over at Xavier who was trying to teach Noah how to swim, "I guess, some of the things you said in the heat of the moment were mean and I never said anything horrible to you but you kept going and," She trailed off, shaking her head, "I always feel Noah got blamed and me being pregnant with him ruined everything."
Gabriella began to think back about the day when she had told Taylor she knew that Jake was cheating on her, not long before she filed for divorce. The result Gabriella was expecting was that she could voice all of her worries and issues without begin judge however, the reality was that Taylor had jumped into ranting to her about having kids so young and getting married and how he must feel pressure to provide for his family and she wasn't surprised that he had fled to relieve the tension and the pressure and have some fun with no responsibilities. This had led to Taylor saying that she thought having kid's young was a mistake and she wouldn't be able to live her life and having Noah was just a mistake being repeated. Therefore, Gabriella of course had gotten extremely defensive as everyone seemed to place the blame on her and having Noah and consequently she felt that people blamed Noah for the breakdown of Gabriella's and Jake's relationship which she hated and so when Taylor tried to make things right, Gabriella really didn't want anything to do with her.
"Would you change anything though?" Taylor asked.
"No, of course not. Sure when you get married and have kids, you think everything is going to be fine, even at twenty but I have those two and I don't need anything more," Gabriella smiled, looking over at them, "And I feel that this whole situation has made them closer so I'm not complaining," She looked back at Taylor who had a smile on her face, "How are you doing?" She asked.
Taylor dangled her short covered legs in the pool from her seating position, "Good, I broke up with Jarrod about three months ago though," She informed.
Gabriella's jaw dropped in shock, "No way!" She exclaimed, "What happened?"
Taylor tilted her head with a shrug, "I just wasn't feeling the same as I had before."
Gabriella nodded, "You were with each other for years!"
Taylor laughed, "Ok Gabs, just rub it in," She joked.
Gabriella cringed, "Sorry."
/
"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Gabriella asked as herself and Taylor lay on a sun lounger each. Gabriella had thrown on a large tee shirt once she was dry and they were now watching the kids play and catching up.
"If you have enough for me, sure, I'd love too," Taylor grinned.
Gabriella grinned, "Good."
/
"Gosh, living with a man and feeding him and two kids really has made your cooking amazing," Taylor praised as they lay back against the couch after Gabriella had put Xavier and Noah to bed.
Gabriella laughed, "Thanks. I like food so I enjoy making up new meals but I do get a little help from Shar or Zeke sometimes."
"I can imagine, how's the restaurant doing?" Taylor asked.
"Really well apparently," Gabriella informed just as her cell phone began to ring. She reached over the side of the couch to take it off charge and answer it quickly, "Hello?"
"Hey," A male voice sounded down the phone, "I was going to call earlier about tomorrow but I feel like shit and my voice was all gross."
Gabriella giggled, lifting her legs to she was curled up with a blanket covering her legs, "Big night then?"
"Oh yeah," He chuckled, "But I stuck to my word, nothing happened," He added softly.
Gabriella rolled her eyes toward Taylor, "Sure you did. The words 'big night' and 'nothing happened' never go together."
"Well in this case they do. You can ask Zeke and Chad if you'd like."
"Of course they'd say you didn't do anything bad, they're your friends," Gabriella exclaimed lightly.
Troy sighed, "Gabriella, I really want to take you on this date tomorrow, do you really think I'm dumb enough to screw that up?" He asked.
Gabriella licked her lips as she looked down at the blanket and began to run her finger tips over it, "I guess not."
"Good. Now, tomorrow, I'll pick you up at like half eight because we have a couple of hours drive tomorrow," Troy said suspiciously.
Gabriella frowned but couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, "Ok?" She questioned.
"Cool, dress casually, we're going to have a fun day," Gabriella could hear the smile and happiness in his voice which her heart just ached at.
"Ok, you better get rid of that hangover before tomorrow," She teased.
Troy chuckled, "I will. Xavier and Noah ok?" He asked.
That question alone warmed her heart; the fact that he was asking about her children made her continue to want to see him, he wasn't trying to pretend they weren't in the picture, "Yeah, they're good. We've been outside in the pool most of the day," She told him.
"It's been a beautiful day except this sun kinda hurt my eyes," He joked.
Gabriella giggled and glared at Taylor as she shouted 'flirt', "Did you all behave though?"
"Yep, it was just a boys' night out. I'll tell you more tomorrow but Chad got lucky," She could hear the smirk in his voice.
Gabriella rolled her eyes again, "Boys," She scoffed.
"Be nice," He mumbled, "Anyway, I hear you have company so I'll let you go."
"It's just Taylor, I wish going to invite you over but someone decided to show their face," Gabriella winked at Taylor.
Troy chuckled, "We've got all tomorrow together."
"Yeah," She bit down on her lower lip.
"Alright, I hope you're having a good night and I'll see you tomorrow," He said.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Gabriella questioned.
"Gabriella," Troy laughed, "Go. Goodnight," Troy said waiting for her response.
"Goodnight," She murmured and they both hung up.
Gabriella turned to look at Taylor after placing her cell phone back on the ground. She frowned in question of the raised eyebrow and large smirk in her lips which was almost a smile, "Yes?" She tested.
"Girl, you are smitten," Taylor cooed, "Are you guys seeing each other?" She questioned.
Gabriella shook her head, "Not really, we met just over a week ago and he's come over like three times after the boys are in bed and we had lunch together last Monday but tomorrow he has the whole day planned for us which I'm super nervous and excited about," She admitted.
"That's sweet," Taylor said in awe, "Why are you nervous? You've spent quite a bit of time with him this week."
Gabriella shrugged, pulling the blanket up high, "I dunno, I just haven't been on that my dates and I don't think I've ever spent the day with someone I've known a week so I'm a little apprehensive."
Taylor nodded, "Just go with the flow girl. Have you kissed yet?" She said in the girlish way.
Gabriella laughed, "No."
"And why not?" She asked, incredulously, "Do you not want too? I've seen him a couple of times around town and he's not bad on the eyes. What's stopping you?"
Gabriella grinned with a tint of a blush on her cheeks, "Yeah, he's gorgeous but," Gabriella shrugged, "Yeah but I don't know how long until it's ok to do that. He kinda implied he wanted to the first day I met him but I was like; no way, too soon and then Thursday night I sort of rejected him again," She cringed.
Taylor winced, "That's man's ego must be so hurt," They giggled, "What happened?"
"On Thursday?" Gabriella asked which received a nod from Taylor, "Erm, we were just goofing around and I was on his lap…"
"Troy, shhh," Gabriella laughed quietly while he grappled for her waist as she tried to scramble from his lap.
Troy had a huge boy-ish grin on his face, "Get here," He softly demanded, capturing her waist and bringing her down to rest on his lap, "There's no getting away now," He teased, tickling her sides lightly making her jerk back in his lap.
Gabriella was giggling quietly the whole time as Troy slid her down his lap as she was pressed up against his body, "What if I don't want you here anymore, then I'll get away," She grinned widely.
Troy shook his head and looked into her face as now she was straddling his lap, she was roughly the same head height as him, "Nope, you've never getting away now."
Gabriella smiled a little more softly, her small hands going behind his head, gently rubbing the nape of his neck as he tilted his head back a little and groaned happily as how it felt.
"If you do this for me all the time, you're never getting away," He said with a hum to his voice and closed eyes.
Gabriella smile never left her face as she occasionally placed more pressure on his neck. She felt his large palms run up to her mid-back before falling back down to her hips as if he didn't have the strength to reached all the way up while he was feeling this way. A couple of minutes later, Troy's head tilting up right and he gave her a lazy smile while guiding her closer to his body by her hips so their stomachs were touching. He leant up as he was previously slouched against her couch and his pine continued to elongate as his head came closer to hers. Gabriella sensed what he wanted and as he got closer, his boy-ish blue eyes falling to her full lips to confirm her thoughts. Just a couple of centimetres before, she watched as his eyes shut and at that moment she bit down on her lower lip and quickly kissed his cheek before jumping out of his grasp.
"I got away," Gabriella tried to joke.
Troy was sat forward, his elbows on his knees and nodded. He licked his lips before falling back against the couch, his arms folded, "You did," He said simply.
Gabriella sensed his disappointment and slight confusion. She copied his action and folded her arms, "I'm sorry," She whispered.
"Do you not want to kiss me or something? You flirt with me and cuddle with me, I don't get it," He admitted.
Gabriella pressed her lips together, "I do but we've have only known each other a couple of days."
"So now time has something to do with wanting to kiss someone?" Troy asked, frowning.
"No, but I don't want to kiss and then weeks later, I'm like ok this isn't working out," Gabriella admitted.
"It's only a little kissing, it's fun," Troy smirked slightly, "Don't worry, it's cool. It'll happen when you feel comfortable because then you'll enjoy it," He reassured and stood up to wrap his arms around her so she didn't feel or look as vulnerable as she did.
Gabriella nodded, her eyes closed as her head met the warmth of his chest, "Thank you," She whispered.
"Oh, he's sweet," Taylor gushed.
Gabriella nodded with a blush, "I can't wait to get to know him more, I feel like I've just moaned about my life half the time we've spoken," She exaggerated.
Taylor laughed, rolling her eyes at her friend. She was incredibly glad that the two had come into each other's lives again. It had taken her a couple of weeks to buck up the courage to go around to Gabriella's new house and speak with her but she was glad she left it no longer or else it would have been time wasted. Plus, Gabriella was extremely glad her friend had the courage to do it because she wasn't sure she had. Finally, Gabriella was becoming a happier person outside of her 'mom' life and starting to enjoy her friend life and the possible relationship side of her. She was excited for the future.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Any thoughts and constructive criticism is much apprecaite. Please review. Thanks!