Hi Everyone! Here's part 2. And in actuality, this is where this conversation actually began. CNC & I love interaction with the parents and with little Shadow too! :) Hope you enjoy as well.
Thanks to everyone for your kind reviews, for reading, and for letting us know when you see Zanessa news or if you have ideas that might just spark an interesting 'conversation' for us! We love all your ideas and are very happy that you enjoy the stories that we're creating!
KTZLF! True Love Always Finds Its Way! -adc & cnc
Zac couldn't help the smile that formed on his face Friday morning. He looked at the naked body beside him and was quite content and proud of himself for keeping her occupied enough to keep her thoughts off of work for the entire night. Of course after the lengthy massage and follow-up exercise routine, plus a second massage – of sorts – neither one of them felt like getting out of bed.
He reached a single finger out to run down her arm and then stopped himself as his stomach growled. The one thing they had neglected the previous night was dinner. Zac had fully intended to let Vanessa sleep after the first massage, fix dinner and then eat when she awoke. But the minute he had lifted his weight from her thighs she had begun to mumble and grumble that he'd better not be leaving her naked and alone on the bed.
That led to Vanessa snuggling her body against his, her hands wandering over his body, his body responding, and then there was some line about one particular muscle feeling tense and needing a workout. Within the following hour both were sated, completely relaxed and drifting to sleep.
The rumbling in his belly griped at him enough that Zac figured it was time to roll out of the bed and figure out what breakfast would hold. He carefully lifted the covers off his body and nearly laughed when he tried to find his boxers in order to at least have some part of his body covered when he traipsed down the stairs.
What in the world? He had two thoughts about removing the underwear from Vanessa's grasp. 1) Would it wake her up? and 2) Had she held onto those the entire time after removing them from his body?
With a sigh he moved from the bed and opened the top drawer of the dresser. Yes, it was Vanessa's lingerie drawer. Yes, she attempted to hide various items of his in that drawer under the delusion that he didn't know that she still stole clothing from him.
Four pair? Vanessa Anne, four pairs of my boxers are in here, he thought with a shake of his head and a roll of his eyes. Crazy woman. I have an entire drawer of socks and boxers directly under hers and yet she puts my boxers in her drawer.
He removed all four pair and opened the second drawer of the dresser tucking three of them into their rightful place. If she wanted to wear his underwear she could at least have a better choice. She could choose from the variety that had collected in this drawer at his second home.
Zac covered himself and looked back toward the bed. Should he give her a kiss and let her know it was morning? Nah. The whole reason for him being at her house, after all, was to make sure she rested.
The movement in the corner of the room caught his eye just before he stepped out the door. Shadow lifted her head and looked at him curiously. Zac stepped back toward the dog and knelt down in front of the pet bed.
"Don't give me that look." He spoke in a whisper as the dog pushed out her chin wanting some physical attention. "It was your choice to come back in here last night. You were the one scratching at the door. If it were up to me you would've stayed out but your Mommy is under the impression that you missed her sooo much. I think you are just a perverted little princess who likes to be in the room…" he paused when the dog stretched her body up and licked him on the chin. He looked at the bed and then at Shadow. "I'm talking about my sex life with a dog. Perverted Princess," he repeated.
Shadow didn't flinch when Zac lifted her from the cushioned cloth and placed her on the bed beside Vanessa. "Do not wake her up, Rat," he told the tiny dog. "If you were as entertained last night as Mommy and I were you'll just lay back down right here and go back to sleep."
The two loves of Vanessa's life looked at each other seriously for just a moment before Shadow circled a spot adjacent to Zac's pillow, plopped her little body down, and closed her eyes.
"Thought so," Zac mumbled.
He silently made his way out of the bedroom door and down to the kitchen. He was still shaking off the pleasurable thoughts from the hours he and Vanessa had spent together the last evening. Zac opened the refrigerator and finally let the morning reality set in.
"There's nothing here," he mentioned out loud.
He pulled the quart-sized carton of milk from the bottom shelf and opened the spout. "Ewwwww!" the shiver and the choke in his throat were enough to make him close the carton and chuck it at the sink. "She was just home last weekend. How the hell is the refrigerator empty?"
He opened the freezer door to the sight of a pound roll of ground turkey, frozen pizzas and frozen vegetables. The cabinets held a similar story: pasta, pasta sauces, canned veggies and the carton of Diet Cokes. He closed those doors and moved over to the island counter in the center of the room. He leaned against the marble top and tried to remember seven or eight days ago when they were at this very house.
His eyes moved around the room trying to remember what they had consumed last weekend. He spotted the four cooler-type containers sitting on the floor near the sink.
"Zen." He nodded in remembrance. The nutritional food company had wrangled his girlfriend into giving them a testimonial to put on their website. And in true Vanessa fashion she wanted to try a number of their choices before formulating her quote. He had even been the one to pick up some of the food for her.
Zac crossed his arms over his naked chest and looked down at his bare toes. One look at the clock told him he really didn't want to be awake at this hour, 6:30'ish, let-alone leaving the house. But he knew it was up to him to be the 'hunter and gatherer' this particular Friday morning if either of them wanted to eat breakfast.
The man of the house took the steps two by two back to the bedroom and grabbed his jeans from the floor along with a fresh t-shirt. He threw the clothes on and headed toward the garage. He had one idea of a cheap, un-papped location for breakfast…a place where he could eat in and then take out some leftovers to bring back to his beautiful, sound-asleep, lover.
Zac let his short agenda run through his brain as he waited for the heavy garage door to open. He rolled his eyes at the man in the car across the street who quickly raised his camera to snap pictures. The actor flicked one rude finger up at the man before grinning and zipping past him on the narrow road.
Busted,Zac thought to himself. And I couldn't be happier about it.
KTZLF*TRUELOVEALWAYSFINDSITSWAY
"Knock knock!" Zac called as he turned the doorknob and stuck his head inside the front door of the Hudgens' home. His pride was still riding high from the fact that he had taken care of Greg and Gina's daughter, followed Gina's orders in the process, and had left Vanessa sleeping.
All in all, they should be quite proud of him as well. After all, he was now retrieving a home-cooked meal for their oldest child.
"Kitchen." He heard Gina's voice call as he slipped in and closed the door behind him.
Zac followed the warm sweet smell down the hallway and into the heat of the kitchen where Gina was busy with two skillets filled with pancake mix. The hungry 23 year old noticed the plate full of hot cakes sitting beside his second mother and moved directly to the food.
He ignored the looks coming from the kitchen table as he grabbed the top pancake and stuffed half of it into his mouth. He bent down instinctively and gave Gina a kiss on the cheek as he chewed and savored the flavor.
Three sets of eyes watched as he grabbed an extra plate from the cabinet and then stacked four more pancakes onto the plate before heading toward the breakfast table.
"Hungry much?" the teenage voice poked at him and scooted her plate just a little farther down the table to make room for her virtual big brother.
Zac leaned down and placed a kiss on Stella's cheek before plopping into the chair beside her to continue eating.
"Good morning?" Stella looked at the young man with a grin covering her face. She shook her head when Zac looked at her with cheeks puffed full of food.
Zac grinned and looked up at Vanessa's 15 year old sister while swallowing at least a bit of the bread in his mouth.
"Sorry," he spoke around the food, keeping his mouth closed for the most part. "Good morning, Stella Bella. Mornin' Mama G. and, um, Papa Bear." Zac smiled as he remembered at least a few of his manners.
Gina brought the serving plate of pancakes to the table to let her husband and second daughter dig in. She looked at Zac as she kept hold of the spatula in one hand and grabbed the back of a chair with the other.
"How is she?" Gina inquired since Zac had offered no indication of Vanessa's whereabouts.
Greg Hudgens rattled the newspaper in his hand and pulled it up enough to cover most of his face as he waited for Zac's answer. The boy's face gave away a lot more than Vanessa's father really wanted to know.
Zac finished chewing and swallowed quickly before answering Mama G. "She was sleeping when I left with Shadow beside her. I think she is content, relaxed and resting very well … now … If I do say so myself."
They heard the paper rattle again, this time accompanied by a slight grunt from the man behind it.
"Not what we need to hear about. Watch it, Son."
"Oh," Zac hesitated as he thought about Greg's warning. "Sorry, Dad."
Zac bit his lip as he waited for Greg's reaction. The silence behind the paper scared the younger man just a bit.
Greg took in a breath and then lowered the paper just enough to glare over top of it, and his glasses, in Zac's direction. He looked toward his wife with an 'I told you so' kind of fatherly look.
Stella sat still with wide eyes, also waiting on the reaction. She did her best to hold in her laughter but the slight snort that passed through her nose told them all that she was on the verge of an all-out laughing fit.
After a second breath Greg put his focus back on Zac. "You'd better watch yourself, Mr. Hot-Shot-People's-Choice-Whatever-You-Are."
"What?" Zac gave an astonished look toward Mr. Hudgens, acting the part of a surprised boyfriend somewhat well. "It's better than some of the names you call me. Go ahead, admit it. Van's told me some of the things you've called me…or at least what you used to call me. I thought Dad would be a compliment," he attempted.
Stella looked at her father and raised her eyebrows. The signal was one Greg Hudgens rolled his eyes at. It meant his daughter was taking Zac's side; and that was the last thing he needed at the moment.
"You know, he's right Dad," Stella joined in. "Do the words Daughter Stealer or Uninvited Bag of Testosterone ring a bell with you?"
Greg quickly dropped the paper and pointed a finger at his youngest child. "I never…" he began and then quickly stopped because he didn't want to carry the lie any further.
"Really?" Zac looked at Stella and then back toward Greg with wide eyes. "V never shared those in particular."
Stella leaned toward Zac and nudged him with her elbow to gain his attention. "Ness probably never heard those. I've just got this sixth sense for translating Dad's unintelligible grumbles." She grinned and cocked her eyebrows up and down.
Greg's lips pushed together as he let more air run through his nose. His pointing now wavered between Stella and Zac who could nearly hear Greg's teeth grinding in embarrassment. The head of the household looked to his wife and quickly found no help. Gina stood with a hand over her mouth holding in the laughter that was dying to seep out.
"Don't you have some place you need to be, Young Lady?" Greg's dark eyes stared straight at his daughter.
Gina came to the rescue of her youngling at least. "Get your stuff, Stella, and let's go before your father finds some more of those endearing words for you!" she offered.
Stella smiled at her mom, elbowed Zac again and took a few more bites from her plate. After that she stood up and took her plate to the sink before beginning to gather her school supplies.
Zac and Greg both ate more without a word spoken between them. But after a moment Zac lifted his head and began looking around. He chewed the big bite slowly as his brain began to function and interpreted what was happening around him. He swallowed and slowly licked the food remnants of his teeth as he glanced toward Gina.
"Wait…" he swallowed again. "Mama G., you and Stellz are leaving?" He watched Stella throw a hoodie on over her school clothes and stuffed her hairbrush into the backpack. "I mean, like, leaving right now…leaving me here…alone…with…" Zac used his eyes only to point toward Greg.
Stella and Gina both grinned, especially when they noticed a somewhat evil grin appearing on Greg's own face.
"Yep," Greg answered for his wife. "Stella's gotta get to school. You remember those days don't you? What's wrong, Son? Scared to be alone with the old Papa Bear for some reason?" He threw out the nickname that he had heard Zac use many times.
Zac leaned back in his chair trying to re-gather his wits. He suddenly regretted the initial words he had used this morning to describe Vanessa being 'relaxed'. He looked at Gina and Stella with a face that nearly pleaded with them to stay a while longer.
"Did you need some milk with your pancakes, Sweetheart?" Gina offered as a little break from the playful strain.
Zac shook his head at her and let a somewhat playful grin form as he turned to answer Greg's question. "Me, sc-scared?" he let his voice quiver. "Frankly, Sir, at this moment, yes I am."
Greg rolled his eyes and shook his head as both men began to smile. Zac took another bite of his breakfast and then watched as Gina dug through her purse looking for her keys.
Zac wiped his mouth with the napkin from his lap and then stood up and walked to Stella's side. He looked down at the girl and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Mama G., don't worry about your keys. I'm gonna take Stella to school," he informed everyone. "C'mon, Stellz, let's get goin'. Don't want you to be late."
Greg scoffed at him. "Chicken." He let a lazy glare flow from his eyes to Zac's. "Someday, Mr. Superstar Son…Someday it'll be just me and you."
Zac grinned knowing that he was getting away from that very situation, luckily, today. "Um, sure, Dad…but I will avoid it as long as possible. Come on, Stella Bella, let's go!"
Zac dropped another kiss on Gina's cheek and picked up another pancake on the way out of the kitchen. Both of the parents followed the two-some to the door to make sure they got on their way safely.
"Prepping to take kids to school already, Zac Attack?" Stella picked at him as they stepped out onto the porch. "Something you aren't telling us?"
Zac picked up on the fact that Greg was behind them as the teenager threw her barbs.
"I'm telling you that I need a good excuse to leave now! And you," he started, while pointing a finger in Stella's direction, "are that excuse. Get in the car, Sister Dearest."
Greg grinned and grumbled at the same time. It was a trait Gina noticed he had picked up soon after Vanessa had played with a boy for the very first time, around age three.
"Smart move, Mister," Greg called after the two as they loaded into the car. "And you, Little Miss… You don't need to delve into that subject with him or Vanessa."
As she listened, Gina's mind came back around to her oldest daughter. "Oh, Zac, speaking of our other daughter… shouldn't you be getting back over there to make sure she doesn't leave the house just yet?"
Zac stopped before sliding into the driver's seat. He held onto the door with one foot inside the car and the other on the ground as he gave a somewhat sheepish grin to his Mama G.
"I put her suitcase in the closet…and padlocked it last night. She can't get to her clothes. Plus…" he reached into his pocket and produced a second set of car keys, "I'm drivin' her car and brought the keys to mine as well." He shrugged his shoulders as though the explanation should've been obvious.
Greg's eyes widened with true surprise. "You locked her out of her own closet? Bold move, Efron!" he uncrossed his arms and sent a salute toward Zac. "I have a new respect for you. Although…" he turned to Gina, "remind me to check and see if he's still alive later today after he goes back to her house."
They all four shared a laugh as Stella and Zac settled into the Mercedes seats and buckled their seatbelts. Greg and Gina closed the door to the house as the car backed out of the driveway. The morning had already been better than either of them expected.
KTZLF*TRUELOVEALWAYSFINDSITSWAY
Less than a block from Vanessa's family home a familiar ringtone sounded on Zac's phone. He peeked toward Stella knowing he shouldn't answer the phone while he was driving, but also knowing that not answering a call from the love of his life might just be even more detrimental to his health at that very moment.
Stella watched with interest as Zac lifted the phone to his ear.
"Hey Baby, what are you doin' up so early?" he spoke cautiously.
The sound of Vanessa's voice wasn't playful or barely awake. Even Stella could tell that from the opposite seat of her sister's car.
"Don't you 'Hey Baby' me, Zachary Efron! Your ass better be back at this house in 30 seconds or I'm pushing your precious Audi into the street and I'll be butt-naked doing it!"
Zac hadn't expected Vanessa to be exactly chipper with him not there when she woke up…but he wasn't quite sure how angry she might be. That's why he had hoped to be back with breakfast before she woke up.
Stella placed her hand over her mouth and looked at Zac with eyes as wide as silver dollars. "You're toast," she whispered in Zac's direction as he silently shushed her in return.
"Mmmm," Zac reacted to Vanessa's last line. "Promise? You know the paps are already at the house this morning, right V? I'm sure they would love to get a shot of you prancing around naked in the driveway."
Vanessa's side of the conversation went quiet momentarily as she thought of the prospects of his words. "Just get back here! I need my clothes, Zac! I have a photo shoot this afternoon. You know that."
"Vanessa, you've got a whole closet full of clothes…" Zac tried to tease.
"Zac!" she yelled through the phone causing Stella to shake her head.
"I'm leaving your parents' house. I'll be back there in just a little bit." Zac quickly hung up the phone before she could yell again.
Stella looked at Zac and shook her head. "That's not the end of it you know."
Zac smiled a nervous grin. "You don't have to go home to her."
The both laughed as the phone rang again. Zac quickly handed the phone to Vanessa's sister.
"Answer that, would you?" he laughed when Stella cringed and took the phone. "I'm drivin'. I shouldn't answer it. Especially since I'm drivin' V's car," he commented.
"Zac, she's gonna say words I'm not supposed to hear. You hung up on her while she was yelling at you!" Stella tried to hand the phone back to him.
"Meh…whatever words she says, Papa Bear will swear I taught to her and you both. Sooo, it's all on my shoulders. Now just answer it before she calls your parents!" Zac ordered.
Stella's face scrunched up in fear as she held the phone up and accepted the call. Before she could even speak Vanessa launched into her tirade again.
"Zachary, did you effin just hang up on me? Really, Efron? If you even remotely dream of stickin' your Troy into my Gabriella EVER again you'd better be a hell of a lot closer to this house than behind a brown and white plank fence off of Cahuenga."
Stella's eyes completely bugged out and her throat went dry, even with the slight grin on her face. She pressed her lips together as Zac sat dumbfounded behind the leather covered steering wheel.
Zac looked over at Vanessa's little sister and nearly snorted, adding to the blush on his face.
Stella raised her eyebrows as she leaned against the door of the car. Vanessa was obviously catching her breath for the next round. "Troy and Gabriella?" Stella mouthed at Zac and shook her head.
Zac shrugged his shoulder and felt more blood rushing into his cheeks. He watched Stella put her hand over her eyes as she tried to shake the image from her head.
"Um, V?" Stella dared to speak to her sister. "Hey, Nessa?" the teen waited to make sure she had her sister's attention. "Um, I have a feeling that comment was about your sex life…and I just don't think I need to know what you've each named your, um, your private parts. That might just require years of therapy for me to get over."
"Stellz? What the…" Vanessa began again with a little less edge in her voice. "Why are you…" the questions lined up in her mind. "He put you up to answering the phone?" Stella could hear the wheels turning in her sister's brain.
"Hold the phone up toward him, Stella. I know he's beside you. Put your earbuds in or plug your ears somehow and hold the damn phone up. Make sure he can hear me. I am not done with him!"
After the fun morning she had already shared with her sister's boyfriend Stella felt a little sorry for Zac and decided to stick up for him.
"Hey, Nessa, just…just calm down, ok? It's just a little after 8 in the morning. Zac hasn't let you oversleep or anything. He just…uh…left the house to…uh…get you some breakfast and mom made pancakes. Zac offered to take me to school figuring you were still asleep. We all know you're jetlagged and need to rest. So he's just takin' me to school and then he'll be home, I swear it."
Stella looked at the handsome man in the driver's seat who suddenly puckered his lips at her and sent a kiss flying through the air. "I. Love. You." He mouthed the three words at the young lady and winked, causing her to grin and toss him a wink in return.
In the meantime Vanessa was letting her little sister's words sink into her mind.
"Does he have the keys to my closet and my car?" she still had a slight edge to her voice.
"Yep, he's got the keys to your closet and your car. I've seen them. And, by the way, I'm ridin' in your car right now. Smooth ride, Sis, good choice! It's a lot roomier than an Audi," Stella added, boosting Vanessa's ego over the car she had chosen for herself.
With the last line, Stella smirked knowing that Zac was the unofficial Audi spokes-model. She handed him the phone with a second wink in his direction.
"Hey, Baby. Yes, I've got the keys. You know I wouldn't just leave you there without a good reason. The only thing in the fridge was soured milk. That's no way to start this day. Not after the night we had." Zac turned his face away from Stella to hide his blushing cheeks.
Vanessa smiled softly on the other end. "So you're bringing Mom's pancakes?" Zac could see her shyly sucking on her bottom lip as her temper tantrum faded.
He looked back at Stella and then down at the arm rest between the seats. He realized quickly that he had left the house without the takeout order that he so desperately needed. So he held his hand in the air for Stella to see and crossed his fingers. He winced as he spoke again to his girlfriend.
"Yeah, Baby. I'm bringing Mama G's pancakes."
"I'm still mad at you for locking my closet you know. My closet, Zac! You still don't get any Troy and Gabriella time. You took my Mercedes, too, Zac. That took some balls, Efron. And, you left me in bed with nothing on…NOTHING."
"I know." Zac answered through a sigh. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, it was absolute brilliance on his part. Someday they would look back on this and laugh. Someday.
"I'm hanging up now before I get mad again," Vanessa informed him.
Zac let a relieved breath slip through his lips. "Go back to sleep, Baby. I promise I'll wake you up as soon as I get home. I'll bring you breakfast in bed…and I'll even take you shopping for new clothes."
"You mean you'll give me your credit card so I can go shopping alone?" she huffed slightly.
Zac paused knowing his answer could be the make or break point in this discussion. "No, I mean, I'll take you shopping. I'll go with you, let you drive whichever car you want, carry your bags…and pay."
Vanessa slid back under the sheets wearing the sports bra and boxers that she had put on after finding the closet door locked.
"Gabriella's a little more interested in Troy. But you still have a lot of making up to do. I'll be waiting on my breakfast."
"We're pulling up at the school right now. I'll be there soon, Baby. Love you." Zac held the phone a little closer to his ear waiting for her similar response.
"You'd better!" Vanessa attempted to sound frustrated. "Bye, Stellz!" she yelled into his ear hoping her sister could still hear her.
Zac jerked the phone from his ear and shook his head at the slight jolt of pain that she had just sent through his ear drum. He turned to look at Stella with eyes still squinting.
"Your sister says 'bye'," he relayed.
Stella grinned at him with a knowing look. "So I heard. Gabi and Troy gonna be ok?" she asked with a not-so-subtle laugh.
Zac pointed a finger at her and pressed his lips together as he shook his head. "Don't even go there. Your father said it earlier. Some things are not for you to delve into."
Stella laughed at the redness that had immediately formed in Zac's cheeks. She knew this was a bit of blackmail information that would likely come in handy somewhere down the road so she tucked it away for that future reference.
"Hey," Zac pulled into the drop-off line beside the school. "Do me a favor. Call Mama G. and ask her to wrap up four pancakes. Tell her I'll be back there in five minutes to pick them up and take them to V."
Stella quickly grabbed Zac's phone and dialed her mom's number. Zac listened to the series of "Hey, can you…Oh, ok…" and "Sure, I'll let him know," With the hopes that his little plan could still work out.
When Stella licked her lips and raised her eyebrows Zac knew there was some little caveat that he'd have to overcome. Hopefully there are pancakes left! he thought.
"So?" Zac waited.
"Sooo…well, um…" Stella began. "It seems that Mom had to run to the store when she found her keys. So she's not at home right now."
"Ok." Zac nodded trying to process a plan B in his mind. "So will she be back in the next ten minutes or so?"
"Nooo," Stella held out, "but Dad's still at the house. Mom says to call Dad and have him pack up the pancakes. She's sure he'd be more than happy for you to run back by the house and pick them up. Just give him a call," she instructed.
"Ok…" Zac agreed. "So just call the house and tell Papa Bear I'll be there…" he stopped when Stella handed the phone back to him.
"I gotta go, Zac Attack. Gotta get to class. Sorry I can't help you any more this morning. Just call him. You know he's not that bad. And honestly, I think he got a kick out of you calling him 'Dad'! I bet he's always wanted a son!" she laughed and unbuckled her seatbelt.
"But…" Zac held the phone in his hand and watched Stella jump out of the car. She turned her neck and blew a kiss toward him over her shoulder. Zac had to smile. It was Vanessa's signature move and Stella looked just like her when she used it.
Alone in the car he looked down at the cell phone and took a deep breath. All I want is pancakes. The car behind him beeped their horn making Zac move. Still his mind was fighting the various devils and angels that were sitting on his shoulders.
Should he call Papa Bear and go back to face him alone…for pancakes? Or should he return to Vanessa's house empty handed and face her wrath that he had already sparked on this fine morning? In the long run he knew the correct answer. And if he valued his relationship with the entire Hudgens clan he knew what he had to do.
"Hey, Dad," Zac began when Greg picked up the phone. "I knew I was forgetting something when I left a few minutes ago. Do you mind if I drop by again and grab some pancakes for Van? She woke up and can't find anything to eat." He listened to the amused voice on the other end. "Yes sir, I know you're at the house alone. But I've gotta admit…I'm in a bit of a bind. And at this point, facing Papa Bear Hudgens one on one is about the best option I've got."
KTZLF*TRUE*LOVE*ALWAYS*FINDS*ITS*WAY