Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Blueeebellll, Happy Birthday to you!
I'm posting this now because I was late posting the last one (I forgot) and it was short too so here you go:
Chapter 10
"So, tell me about your racing days," Gabi asked keenly after they'd had wine poured and after their orders were placed.
Troy looked at her under his lashes. "Do I have to?"
"No…" she pursed her lips and smiled. "But I'd love it if you did."
He couldn't help smiling back. "Persuasion is a great tool..." he mused.
"Being the youngest and a girl has its advantages," she agreed.
"Well, what would you like to know?" He wondered.
"Everything. Tell me what it felt like; what you loved, what you hated…"
"Wow," he nodded, taken by surprise at her enthusiasm.
"Sorry," she giggled. "I just want to know all about it."
"I thought you already knew a lot?" He raised his brow, buying for time.
"I know what races you won, what times you made, your records." She affirmed. "But that doesn't tell me anything about you as a man- as a racer…"
"Well," he sighed and lifted his brows ruefully. "Like I told you earlier, I'm not proud of the man I was then. A lot has happened. I…don't remember a lot of how I felt or whatever…"
Gabi pressed her lips in and reached across the table. "What happened after the accident?"
He swallowed and smirked. "I…didn't deal with it. At all. And then I became bitter for a while and pushed everyone away. I knew my body would never hit the limits I pushed it to before and that thought almost killed me," he admitted.
"I was drinking pretty bad, I refused to see anyone…and then Chad told me he had cancer and that he needed my help. He asked me to come back to Albuquerque to live with him while he took treatment and you know what? Nothing else mattered then, just getting him better."
"But he doesn't want you to help…?" She frowned and Troy twisted his lips as he smiled.
"No, that was Chad's way of pulling me out of the ditch," he explained. "Even though he was facing the possibility of dying, he still cared more about me getting out of that dark hole. That's the kind of guy he is."
"He's amazing," Gabi agreed with an awed nod, tears in her eyes.
"But, he was right. I cleaned up my act, did some physio for my knees and invested in starting a new team. He knew I couldn't race again; but he knew what I needed to do to give me purpose." Troy shook his head. "All while taking chemo and puking his guts up every five minutes."
"You didn't have to take me in, Troy. But I'm glad you did. I love Chad like I love my brother and Jody now." She admitted.
He gripped her fingers that squeezed his. "I'm glad, too."
She smiled into his eyes. "I have to go home eventually but if it's okay I'd like to stay a bit longer…"
"I'd like that," he assured, then coughed nervously.
"What is it?" She worried.
He met her eyes, then squinted. "You know what? It can wait. Let's enjoy our evening," he suggested and she nodded, wondering what he wanted to say.
"Here comes our food," she changed the subject as their main courses were delivered, breaking the moment.
/
"There's something else that I've been wondering about…"
Gabi leaned on Troy's arm, where their hands were joined as they walked home in the balmy night air.
"Oh?" He looked down on her, tightening his fingers around hers and she rubbed his bicep in response.
"You said you didn't make love since the accident…that you had bad knees…" She broached.
"That's right…" He took a breath in, remembering the pain of his injuries that still lurked but didn't control him anymore.
She licked her lips. "Are you okay now? I mean, does it still hurt?" She wondered.
He brushed his thumb down her hand and smiled softly at her question. She was thinking about them together, he knew and it warmed him inside as much as it ached him outside and he wished he could pretend he was the fit, athletic man he once was; but he couldn't pretend and she should know the truth.
"I'm okay most of the time," he shared. "It hurts when I kneel…but you know; it's just about not over-doing it…"
"Do you still want to make love?" She asked next. "I mean…did you not want to afterwards?"
He squinted as he thought of words. "I didn't want to live afterwards," he sighed. "Let alone make love. And I didn't have anyone that I wanted to make love with. That's kind of changed…" He smiled.
She licked her lips and looked up, innocently. "Me?"
He blew an amused breath out. "Who did you think?"
She shrugged. "I don't know….I was just…"
"Being you," he answered with an affectionate smile, and then he brushed his thumb down her cheek.
"Am I weird?" She worried, grasping his jacket lapels.
"Yes. But I like it." He answered with his crinkle-eyed grin.
"I like you, too," she offered back, reaching up to kiss him right there in the street; his arms wrapping around her and hers sliding around his neck in return.
Troy broke the kiss, placing his forehead to hers. "Let's go home," he suggested and she smiled felinely back.
"Great idea."
/
"Mm…just wait…one second," Troy panted as Gabi let up kissing him long enough for him to unlock the door; leading them both staggering into the hallway.
"Shh!" Gabi giggled, grasping his shirt in her fingers while they steadied themselves and even then they both smiled inanely at each other and kissed again; more tenderly than before.
"We should hide in my room," Troy whispered and she nodded, her eyes alight with mischievity.
She led him up the stairs by the hand and twisted to smile at him as they both came inside his room where he closed the door behind them.
"At last," he sighed, wrapping her into his hard arms again and squeezing tight as their mouths met again and continued the kissing that had begun on the walk home.
He backed her up until they met his desk; a surface for her to perch her backside on while he enjoyed her figure with his hands.
"Mm-ouch!" She broke off, wincing.
He stepped back, letting her up and she held up the offending object that had injured her; his triangular desk weight. She smiled at him and threw the object away, grasping his jacket lapels to pull him close for a kiss, only then to discard the item slowly down his arms.
"Are you okay?" He worried. "Did it hurt much?"
She merely smiled and took his chin between her thumb and finger. "I'm fine."
"Okay…" he allowed himself to be distracted into kissing her again, untying his tie and finding her hands working up his chest and then down his buttons, pushing away the material of his shirt as she became curious for more and he couldn't do anything but let her hands go where they pleased while he fought his control in equal measures with kissing her.
"Gabi," he sighed on a tight breath as her fingers dared to dip below his belt; cupping him through the cotton of his trousers and his hard arousal there couldn't be hidden.
"Touch me," she pressed her lips together and asked.
His desire-darkened eyes met hers and for seconds he just looked at her; wondering if her request was real.
"Troy…" she prompted and he accepted her request, letting his thumbs brush down her curves from where his hands lay at her waist. The first swoop he made; over her backside, brought her shapely behind into his body; tucking her between his thighs as he stood over her and tried to keep balance.
He couldn't touch her and not kiss her and so the need to touch his lips to hers won out, slowing his intended exploration.
He ran his hand down her thigh, raising it over his so he could stand between hers instead and push his heat against her, gently; to intimate what he wanted to be doing.
Her wanton cry out told him she wanted the same; but he knew tonight was not the night he would make love with her; he wanted more of this before they came together. He wanted them both to be bursting with need before they took that step.
His hands came around her hips; curves he enjoyed before he let his hands go on; further up her body, heading for the place he knew she wanted him to touch. Her lips parted, her eyes turned nearly black with her need for it and he finally cupped those mounds of flesh that sat tucked below her demure cat-suit.
"Jesus, you're beautiful," he groaned; licking his lips before he leaned over and kissed her again; more strongly and more possessively than before. He let his lips drop down her neck; down and down into that v of cleavage she exposed and he let his mouth worship her there, too all while his thumbs stroked slow, slow circles over her budded nipples.
"Oh god, Troy," she panted. "I feel like I'm-"
She gasped as he exposed her bra-clad breast by pulling back her top and his tongue flicked over the material against her bud; leaving her tense with desire.
"You feel like you're what?" He murmured in her ear, repeating the same action on her other breast, her suit now off her shoulders and pooling at her waist.
"Exploding…like stars…" She tried to explain the unknown sensations she was experiencing and he smiled against her skin, going back to kiss her mouth tenderly.
"Do you want to explode like a star?" He asked, cradling her body with his strong arms where her legs had given way as they leaned up against his desk.
Her confused brown eyes met his. "You can do that?"
He smirked. "If you'd like me to…"
"We don't have to…?" She asked silently and he kissed her mouth again, gently, so gently.
"We don't have to," he agreed of her question about having sex to enable her pleasure.
"But what about you?" She panted.
He blinked lazily. "I'm happy."
"Oh…okay then…" she met his gaze unsurely, but when he began kissing her again, she lost herself in it; knowing that tonight they wouldn't be going the whole way but they would be sharing something special all the same and it filled her with a sense of sweet pleasure at knowing she could trust Troy this way.
He slowly stripped her cat suit off and let his fingers ghost over her coffee-skin, his lips dragging over that smoothness, too and kissing in random spots to make her curl and sigh.
When he slowly worked his tender massage up her thighs; she felt it coming. A well began inside her, filling with throbbing aches; filling with slickness and she only felt the need to push her thighs apart to allow him in; to encourage that well to be broken. And he was so careful with her; her breaths became fast and shallow as his fingers ran up and down her panties and she felt more than anything, the utter need to have him touch her underneath those underwear; and she found herself begging him to on quiet, demanding words.
"Please," she murmured as he slid his finger under the cotton of her underwear, toward her core.
"Oh god, Gabriella;" he sighed, slipping his fingers inside her heat; feeling her readiness even though he knew this was the end of their journey tonight and his body swelled excitedly at the thought of more; which he breathed deeply to abate.
She was panting; asking for more. Crying out in turns with writhing and bucking to show him how she needed him; and where.
He could barely concentrate on completing her pleasure, such was the evident swell of attraction in his trousers; but he fought his need and kept up the pressure on her weakness to make her fall.
And she did fall, beautifully; with raptured cries and sobs of pleasure; her body shaking beyond her control and tightening muscles around his probing fingers; the reaction they had both been waiting for and that nearly finished him as much as it did her.
"Oh, Jesus," he cradled her close as his body rubbed hers beyond his control and he felt the knowing rush of blood run down his belly at the contact his arousal had with her thigh and then he came; in all his aching glory; he came undone just as she had.
"Damn it!" He cursed himself quietly, rubbing his cheek against hers. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"
"Troy," her hands were in his hair, ruining it and she pulled his face around to meet his eyes and then she kissed him, once, tellingly. "It's okay…"
"I didn't want that…I didn't want to…" He sighed, wincing in regret.
"I love you," she told him unequivocally. "I love you, okay?"
He let out a breath and grinned at her. "Me, too."
"So, it was perfect. Every moment." She assured.
He took another sigh. "I need to clean up. Give me five minutes…" he promised and she lay on his bed in her underwear while she waited.
"God, you're beautiful," he told her as he came out to lay beside her; drawing up the covers over their underwear clad bodies with gentle care, then bringing her close so he could cuddle her.
"You're pretty cute yourself," she teased back, laying a kiss to his chest.
"Yeah about that…"
"About what?" She looked up innocently.
"Calling me cute…"
"What about it?" She frowned equally cutely.
"I don't like it." He stated.
"Oh," she pursed her lips. "How about handsome, then?"
He winced.
"Gorgeous?"
Another face.
"Then what?" She wondered.
"I don't know," he admitted.
"Incredibly good looking?" She suggested, winding her arms round his neck to press her semi-clad body to his.
"I can live with that," he teased with a small smile and she giggled and swiped him.
"Hey!" They both froze as they heard another voice.
"Chad?" Gabi checked and Troy nodded.
"Quit making out in there, some of us are trying to sleep!"
Gabi pressed her lips together and met Troy's eyes, then she burst into giggles.
"Oh my god, he heard?" She panicked.
"Shh," he chuckled with her, nuzzling her nose. "He'll hear you…"
Gabi smiled and kissed him softly twice. "You're the loud one," she arched and he rolled her over to tickle her.
"Take that back!" He demanded.
"We're supposed to be quiet!" She reminded him, pushing him away.
"Oh. Right." He lay on his back without moving.
"No cuddle?" Gabi sulked beside him.
"Cuddling causes trouble." He decided.
Gabi smiled and curled herself into his side. "Cuddling is nice."
"Hmm," he reached his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing her hair. "You're right."
"No more talking," she whispered.
"Good night Miss Montez," he whispered back.
"Good night Mr Bolton."
"Sweet dreams."
"Sweet nightmares."
And her giggle punctuated the silence before they both fell asleep.