December 20, 2013
Gabriella was sitting in the back of the SUV with Grayson. She wasn't quite sure why Troy and Lara insisted she had to go along to drop Lara off at the airport. The ride was silent, slightly awkward. Gabriella kept herself busy by playing with Grayson quietly.
Once they got there, Gabriella pushed Grayson in his stroller while Troy and Lara, walked in separately in front of her. Lara checked her bags in. Troy and Lara took a seat on a bench and talked quietly rolling Gray back and forth while Gabi got them coffee.
Gabi could tell Troy was going to have a rough day. She watched him for a minute while he was talking to Lara. He wasn't looking at her directly. He was looking at her knees. A small smile formed on his face as he laughed at something she said.
Gabriella walked over with their drinks and handed them out. "What time do you have to go, Lara?" Gabi asked, sitting on the other side of Troy, checking on Grayson.
"Not too long now. I want to make sure that I'm on time." She replied, pushing her hair back. She sighed. "I'm really going to miss it here."
"We're going to miss you." Gabi said with a frown.
"Yeah, we'll miss you." Troy agreed softly.
"I'll miss you guys too. And cute little Grayson. Thank you for my coffee by the way."
"You're welcome." Gabi said with a small smile.
They watched Troy play with the hot cup in his hands. "You guys can come visit anytime you want?" Lara offered. "I know you guy have other friends there too. Troy, basketball might bring you closer. I hope we can all be friends."
"We will be friends." Troy said. "Don't worry about that."
"Good." Lara sipped her coffee happily. "I guess I'll finish this then go in."
Troy sat up straight. "Did you get most of your stuff set up in your new place?"
Lara nodded. "Most of it is. There's still a truck of stuff that'll be there coming from my parents, so I have to sort all that out."
"Sounds like you're going to be super busy." Gabriella said, taking Grayson out of the stroller.
She sighed. "I am. It's going to be crazy and hectic. I can't wait." She smiled widely. She put her hand on Troy's back, rubbing it gently.
Troy gave her the best smile he could. "Did Troy tell you Grayson can stand up if he holds onto something?" Gabi asked, excitedly.
"He showed me the picture."
"He's on his way to walking already." Gabi enthused. "Watch." She put Grayson's feet on the ground and his hands on the bench. Gray fell on to his butt but he laughed. Hr grabbed Troy's pant leg and pulled himself up. He reached up for Troy.
Troy chuckled quietly, pulling him up to his lap. He kissed the top of his sons head. "He's so big already." Troy murmured.
"You're telling me. I feel like he was just born like yesterday, now he's going to be one in a couple of months. I don't want him to grow up so fast." Gabi pouted.
Lara smiled, tickling Gray's belly slightly. Grayson grabbed her hand, holding onto her fingers. "I'm going to miss him." She sat back, drinking her coffee. "I should get going soon."
"Not so soon." Gabriella frowned.
"I really should."
Troy stood up after Lara did. He wrapped his arm around her, squeezing her gently. She whispered something in his ear and he nodded. He pulled away and took Grayson from Gabi. Gabi wrapped her arms around Lara. "We'll visit soon." Gabi said with a frown. "Text me sometimes."
"Definitely." She leaned down and kissed Gray's cheek. "Bye Grayson, next time I'll see you you'll be walking and talking and running all over the place. Bye guys." Lara said with a sad smile.
Troy looked down at his son and gave him a small smile. He put him back in the stroller, buckling him in safely. He looked up and Lara was already half way to the security gate. He sighed, softly. He was happy for Lara. He was just going to miss her. She brought a whole new light to his life. She gave great advice and always listened when he needed to talk. He really liked the girl but she deserved more than just part of his heart.
He felt a hand placed on his back. "It's okay Troy." Gabriella said softly from next to him. She leaned up and kissed his cheek.
"Lets go get some lunch." Troy said, looking down at Gabriella. "I'll push." She nodded, giving him a small smile.
Troy pushed the stroller towards the exit while Gabi walked beside him. She slipped her hand under his shirt. She rubbed his back softly as they made their way back to the truck. They had a lot of catching up to do. Since Troy was spending most of his free time back with Lara, she had a lot to tell him about.
They got to the truck and Gabi hooked Grayson in. "We got to feed him when we get there." She murmured, closing the door behind her. Troy was standing behind her, waiting to get in. She wrapped her arms around him in a proper hug. "If you give me a smile, I'll let you pick where we eat for lunch."
Troy gave her a half smile.
"Nope, I need better than that."
Troy let out a small chuckle. "Fine." He smiled his big fake cheesy smile.
Gabi smirked up at him. "Better. Come on, let's go."
February 12, 2014
"What are you doing for Valentines?" Troy asked Gabi, who was changing Grayson's diaper.
Gabi laughed. "Nothing. I don't have to work so I'm going to sit my ass on the couch, watch some crappy movies and cry a little."
Troy chuckled. "Well count me in."
"You don't have basketball?" She asked him, pulling up Gray's pants. She set him on the ground and he crawled away quickly.
"Nope. Off for the week. I'll take that." Troy said of the dirty diaper. Gabi handed it to him before heading to the kitchen to wash her hands. Troy threw the diaper in the diaper genie type thing. They met back in the living room. Gray took a seat on the floor in front of the TV.
"You aren't going to go out?" Gabi asked him, continuing their conversation.
Troy took a seat on the couch, kicking his feet up. " Nope. I'll spend it with you and Gray. I don't really go out much anymore. I think I grew out of it."
Gabi raised her eyebrows, sitting next to him. She draped her legs across his lap. "You are more than welcome to join us. It'll be fun. We can do something as a family."
He nodded in agreement, sitting back against the couch. "He's going to start walking soon, I can feel it."
"I wouldn't doubt it. All he wants to do is move now a days. Grayson." Gabi called out to her son.
"Mama." He replied, looking back at her. He crawled over to the couch, using the couch to stand up. Gabi leaned over, picking him up. She sat him in her lap. Troy wrapped his arms around Gray, kissing his cheek.
"Hey big guy." Troy said, leaning his forehead onto his sons.
Grayson squealed excitedly. "Dada." He grabbed his fathers ears.
Troy tickled him lightly, causing Grayson to burst into giggles. Gabriella pulled him back to her, kissing his forehead before returning him to the floor. "I love him." Gabriella said, leaning her head on Troy's shoulder.
"I love him too."
"I just want to keep him forever. I don't want him to grow up or get married or go to college. I want to keep him." She said with a small pout.
Troy chuckled. "He'll get better with age, Gabsy. Think about when he's like three, four, and five and he will be just a ball full of imagination. He'll be a teenager then he'll claim that we messed up his life while we embarrass him."
"That'll break my heart."
"He won't mean it." He said rubbing her back slowly.
She sighed. "I know."
"How do we always end up in these preemptive conversations?"
Gabi laughed. "We have a baby and we are co-parenting. We have to talk about things like these to be somewhat prepared for the future."
They watched their son watch TV. He let out a big yawn. "I think he is ready for a nap."
"I'll go put him down." She said standing up.
"I'll do it." He said, standing up behind her. "Come on Gray." Gabi shrugged, sitting back down where she was. She watched him pick Gray up and walk into her room.
February 14, 2014
Gabriella slept in this morning while Troy took care of Gray. It seemed like Troy was around more since Lara moved. He spent every free moment with Grayson and Gabi. Gabi enjoyed his company, she was glad he was around more.
Troy's basketball season was still going and he was in his final year at Berkeley. He was getting contacted by many different NBA teams around the country. He had excited about playing ball but he was scared to leave and live alone without his friends and his family.
Gabi was going to work through the summer semester to graduate in the fall semester She already set up a time and date to take her BAR exam in mid July. She was already applying for an externship for the summer semester and an internship for the fall. It was going to be busy, especially if Troy gets drafted somewhere far. They were prepared as best they could though. They already looked at dozens of day cares for Gray for when the time came that he needed it.
Once Gabi woke up, she milked sleeping in late. She heard Grayson laughing in the living room and Troy saying something to make him giggle more. Her heart warmed. She decided to get out of bed and go play with them. She got dressed quickly and walked out of the room.
"There's Mommy!" Troy said softly to Grayson.
Gray turned his head to her and smiled widely. "Mama!" His face lit up as he crawled out of his fathers grasp right over to her. Gabi picked him up, tossing him up in the air before cuddling him.
"Hi, my boy. Did you have a fun morning with dada?" She asked, kissing his face all over. She walked over to Troy. She leaned up, kissing his cheek. "Good Morning."
"Good Morning." Troy said with a small smile. They stared at each other for a second. Gabi felt something within her change. She didn't know what it was but she liked the feeling. She handed Grayson over and broke the eye contact. "Coffee is still hot."
"Thanks Troy."
Troy watched her walk into the kitchen and looked down at his son. His son looked up at him with his big hazel eyes. He looked so much like Gabi it was almost ridiculous. Troy bounced him and he started laughing. The dryer buzzed and Gray's eyes went wide. "Laundry is done."
He walked over to the washer and dryer carrying Grayson. He set him on the floor as he pulled the clothes out of the dryer into the basket. Grayson climbed in, making Troy laugh. He put the load from the washer into the dryer and set it. Troy picked up the basket which held the clothes and Grayson. He walked back to his room, dumping the contents on his bed.
Grayson laughed, sitting on the bed. Troy picked him up and set him in the crib. Gray fussed unhappily. "It's just for a second while I fold the clothes." Troy consoled. He grabbed a toy that was on his bed and handed it over to Grayson.
Troy started the folding and hanging while Grayson played quietly. "Need help?" Gabi asked, slipping into the room.
"Sure." Troy said. "I think we need to rotate Gray's clothes. Gather everything that doesn't fit him and give it away or store it."
"I agree. I need to dig through all his little clothes to get to the ones that fit him now. We can do that this weekend." Gabi said, collecting Gray's items that were mixed in with Troy's. "So what are we going to do today?"
"I say hang out for a little bit, until I finish my laundry mainly. We go out to lunch, then park then it'll be naptime. During naptime we can make out or something"
"Troy!" Gabi felt her face get hot. She shoved his slightly.
"It's an option. When he wakes up we can just hang around the house. Order a heart shaped pizza. Feed Gray again. Put him to bed and that'll be when the real fun starts." Troy said with a small smirk.
"Troy!" Gabi scolded again.
Troy chuckled. "I don't know what you thought I was talking about. I was thinking horror movies."
"Yeah right. That's why you have that smirk on your face."
"That's what I was thinking, I swear! You're the one with the dirty mind." Troy teased. "You want to get all sexual. I just want to watch somebody get murdered." He said with a shrug.
"Whatever." Gabi said, shoving him again. She smiled to herself and continued to gather the clothes. She brought them into her room and pushed them in the drawers with the rest of his newborn clothes. Her face still felt hot. She was flirting with the father of her baby. He started it though, she mused. She needed to get a grip.
She walked back into Troy's room. "I'm just going to change him out of his PJ's."
"We should go to an early lunch so we can put him down early. If he goes down early then we can put him to bed early." She suggested.
"I'll finish my laundry when he takes a nap." Troy said, nodding in agreement.
"Sweet."
"Sweet." Troy agreed.
"I'll take him, go get changed." Gabi said, pulling Grayson from his crib. "I love you Grayson. Can you say I love you mama?" She asked the baby. He just gurgled back in response. "It's okay. You'll be talking soon enough baby boy." She patted his butt as she walked into the living room.
Chad and Taylor were gone for the weekend so Troy and Gabi had the house to their selves. Last year, they didn't get to do anything because they were setting up Gabi's surprise baby shower. They finally went off to the beach like they wanted to last year. Troy and Gabi were more than happy for them. Their wedding was going to be around this time next year.
Troy put Grayson down for bed later that night. Gabi was waiting for the pizza guy to get there. Her stomach was growling just thinking about pizza. Troy closed his door quietly and let out a sigh. "He went out like a light. He was tired. He had too much fun today."
"I wouldn't doubt it. I've never heard a baby laugh so much." Gabi said, looking back at him.
He chuckled. "You look a little anxious for that pizza."
"I'm hungry." Gabi defended. "Gray nearly ate half of my food."
"That's what you get for sharing with him."
"He has to learn how to use those teeth he's growing in."
Troy sighed. "Just sit down."
"No I see him. He's pulling up. Give me some money."
"Why do I have to pay?"
"Because I paid for lunch." Gabi said, holding out her hand.
Troy sighed, pulling out his wallet. He put a couple bills in her hand just as there was a knock on the door. Gabriella opened the door, getting the pizza. She handed over the money and took the pizza. She thanked the pizza guy and closed the door behind her.
They sat on the couch and Gabi practically ripped open the box. Troy watched in amusement. He found a movie and started it while they sat back, enjoying their dinner. After three slices Gabi was full. She put the rest of the pizza away while Troy ate his last piece. She washed her hands and took a seat next to Troy. She draped her legs across him as usual and laid back across the couch.
Troy shifted next to her and laid beside her. He laid his head on her chest, wrapping his arm around her middle. She moved her arm out from under him and played with the hair on the base of his neck. He twisted his neck to look at her. She was watching the movie, not paying any attention to him.
He scooted up slightly. His free hand held onto her waist so she didn't happen to roll off the couch. She turned to look at him like she was about to say something but she didn't. He licked his lips, looking at her face. Troy took a deep breath and leaned down. He pressed his lips against hers softly. They hadn't kissed since Grayson was born.
Her lips were familiar to his. The feeling in the pit of his stomach was overwhelming and comforting at the same time. He reveled in the moment their lips touched. He parted his lips slightly and she pushed him back a little. "Wait." She said breathlessly.
His eyes opened quickly. "What?" Troy asked, shifting slightly to make sure he wasn't squishing her completely.
"I don't think we should be doing this." She said, sitting up completely. "I don't think that it's fair to Lara."
Troy sat up running his fingers though his hair. "Lara and I haven't been together in like four months."
"But you guys really cared about each other and it feels kind of wrong to get in between that."
"She's three thousand miles away. I understand though." Troy said, moving back to his side of the couch. "Lara and I ended it mutually about a month before she left. She said she wanted me to be happy."
"You looked pretty happy when you were with her." Gabi said, curling up in a ball on the couch.
"She was great and I miss her but she's much better off without me." Troy said with a small smile. "New York will make her happier than I ever would." Gabi didn't say anything. She just tried to focus on the movie again. "She said we would make a cute couple since we already are a cute family."
"Lara is too awesome to comprehend." Gabi said laughing slightly. "I wish I was like her."
Troy smirked slightly. "You are." She rolled her eyes in response. Troy pressed his lips together. "That doesn't have to happen again if you don't want it to." He spoke of the kiss. Gabriella didn't reply, she just rested her chin on her knees and watched the movie.
Things are starting to heat up again. (wink wink nudge nudge) We'll see where this takes them. don't forget to review y'all.