Brief Encounter

Summary: Can anything good come from a mix-up?

Disclaimer: High School Musical and all of its characters belong to Disney. I just have them on secondment.

A/N: I'm so glad you are enjoying this story. Thanks to all of you that have either reviewed it or added it as an alert or favourite. A special thank you to Kristen for being kind enough to check it over before it even lands in here. This chapter is especially for Dalia, JB and Holly and they know why.

Troy heard the lock turn and the door swung open to reveal the warmest, deepest brown eyes he had ever encountered in his life. His heart missed a beat. His eyes swept over her slowly taking in the heart-shaped face, the full sensual lips, the long brown tresses that fell passed her shoulder and the loose curls that framed her features before returning to gaze into her eyes.

"Wow!" He thought. Somehow his voice had dried up and he couldn't utter a word.

Got Lucky

Gabriella cleared her throat.

"Hi, I'm Gabriella Montez." She said huskily.

"Hi, Troy Bolton." Troy introduced himself offering his hand in greeting. She reached over and they shook hands. Gabriella felt a tingle in her fingers that ran swiftly up her arm. She locked eyes with him.

"Did he feel that?" She thought amazed with the feeling. She had never experienced anything like it before. Troy felt her hand slip into his and was shocked by the jolt that shot up his arm.

"Wow! Did she feel that?" He looked down at her hand before quickly looking up to find himself mesmerised once more by her chocolate eyes. It seemed like they stood there forever. Gabriella cleared her throat again.

"Come in, I'll just get your luggage." She invited before turning and walking down the hallway. Troy entered and shut the door behind him, his eyes never leaving her rear as he followed, carrying her bag.

"Nice ass." The salacious thought popped into his head. He groaned.

"Shit Bolton! Get it together. You sound more like Chad." He chided himself silently.

The hallway led into a spacious lounge with a large floor to ceiling window letting the sunlight caress the wooden floor and the contours of the room. An inviting cream fabric sofa with bright coloured scatter cushions took pride of place in the middle of the room. A reasonable sized TV sat against the opposite wall and a state of the art music system nestled in the corner with speakers strategically placed around the room. The room was decorated predominantly in cream with an accent wall painted a warm burgundy, a variety plant pots were dotted around the room giving it a warm lived in look.

"Nice room." Troy nodded approvingly as he took it all in. He heard a door close and a clip clop of heels hitting the wooden floor. Gabriella appeared through an arch carrying his bag in one hand.

"There you go. I'm so glad this has been sorted out and relieved that our stuff isn't at the other side of the world." She said with a heartfelt sigh.

"Erm! I kind of had to open your bag. I hope you don't mind?" She said hesitantly a tinge of colour staining her cheeks.

"She looks so cute when she blushes." Another thought popped into Troy's head involuntary.

"That's okay. I…uhm…kinda had to do the same." Troy replied apologetically, a blush appearing on his cheeks as he recalled him and Chad dissecting the contents of her case. Gabriella nodded and breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't angry.

"Wonder why he looks embarrassed?" Gabriella thought to herself. She tried to recall what she'd taken to New York: nothing out of the norm.

"Oops! Apart from that red teddy from Victoria's Secret."

Troy watched the emotions playing across her face and wondered what had made her eyes widen and the blush in her cheeks deepen even more.

"Still damn cute."

"Would you like a coffee? I'd just made a fresh pot when you called." Gabriella offered hoping to delay his departure. She hadn't felt like this before and wanted to get to know more about this blue-eyed handsome man. She loved the way his hair flopped over his eyes. He had the most gorgeous eyelashes she had ever seen and that any girl would kill for and as for his body, well, even through his shirt she could see the shadow of the toned muscle hidden beneath.

"I'd love some." Troy replied grasping at any excuse to prolong his presence in the company of this truly beautiful woman. Even with minimal make-up she put every other woman he'd known in the shade.

He followed her into a well-appointed kitchen. The pure white cabinets blinding against the black granite worktops and tiled floor. An island stood in the centre. The smell of freshly ground coffee hit his taste buds. He watched the back of her glancing once or twice at her firm arse as she moved around the kitchen.

"Milk? Sugar?" Gabriella asked turning and catching him staring at her. He smiled goofily.

"Just milk, I'm sweet enough." Troy replied with a smirk.

"Really?" She queried raising an eyebrow.

"So I'm told." Troy responded a teasing glint in his eye. "Once you get to know me you can decide for yourself." He invited.

"So, I'm going to see you again?" Gabriella asked flirting with him as she walked over to him to hand him his coffee. Their fingers touched, the tingles still shot up their arms as they locked eyes again.

"Without a doubt." Troy promised with a nod. His head moved nearer to her as her head rose to meet him halfway, their lips touching in the middle. Their lips made an exploration of their own, flitting across the others' lips softly. Gabriella nibbled on his bottom lip. Troy let out a groan and jerked, hot coffee splashed onto his chest and arm.

"Shit!" Troy shouted in shock.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" Gabriella cried. Thinking quickly she pulled off his shirt and dragged his black t-shirt over his head. THUD! Gabriella's heart missed a beat.

"He is beautiful." She thought as she stared at his rock hard body. All thoughts of the accident receded from her mind. Her fingers involuntary touched the red mark on his chest. Troy was dumbfounded at the quickness of events and Gabriella's reflex reaction in removing his clothes soaked with the hot liquid. However all the pain seemed to dim when he felt her hand on his chest; that burned so much more. His breath caught in his throat as he stared at her hand resting on his chest and the feelings it invoked. He gulped. No one woman had made him feel this alive; the fluttering in his chest a sure indication that his heart wasn't immune to her. His groin already throbbed painfully.

"Let me get some ice for that and then I'll run your shirts through the washer. I would hate for them to be stained." Gabriella quickly said, removing her hand as she moved towards the refrigerator. Troy gulped in air trying to get his breathing back to normal. He watched as she took out the ice and wrapped it inside a towel, folding the edges before passing it to him.

"Put this on to take the heat out." She ordered as she walked through a doorway with his soiled clothes. She returned minutes later to find him still stood transfixed. She took the icepack from his limp hand and put it against the burn on his chest, her fingertips grazing his smooth skin. He moved his hand to cover hers and their eyes met, hers cloudy with worry, his darkening with passion.

"Hey, it's okay." Troy reassured her moving his other hand to hold her chin. He leant forward and placed his lips against hers. His tongue ran around the outline of her lips. She gasped at the sensual touch and he took his chance, pushing his tongue between her lips, tasting the sweetness of her mouth. Their tongues duelled, fighting for supremacy. Troy moved the hand he had holding hers to her back pulling her closer to him, moulding her contours to his, trapping her hand against his chest as the kiss grew in intensity. Gabriella ran her free hand up his back, touching the nape of his neck, burying it in his hair andpushing hismouth further into hers.

Neither heard the front door open nor the tapping of heels on the polished floors.

"Oops! Sorry to interrupt Gabi." A voice said in the distance. Gabriella sprang back, a becoming blush tingeing her cheeks. Troy gulped in air as he tried to recover. He still had his back to the interloper, his eyes fastened securely on Gabriella, taking in her blush and her chest that was rising and falling rapidly.

"Glad you haven't lost your touch Bolton." He thought to himself a small smile playing around his lips. Gabriella stared at him, a matching smile spreading across her face as she recalled the prod against her upper leg moments earlier.

"What a bitch of a day!" The voice said as a shape moved into Troy's peripheral vision as it collected a cup and poured out a black coffee. Troy focused on the back of a woman in a white coat, her black hair curling around the collar of the coat. She turned round and let out a gasp, dropping the cup in shock. Gabriella jumped closer to Troy instinctively as the cup shattered on the tiled floor.

"Troy Bolton! Troy Bolton in my kitchen!" Shrieked the woman, fanning herself with her hand, the other touching the white coat near her heart.

"A half naked Troy Bolton in my kitchen?" She added questioningly her eyes sharply focused on Gabriella. Gabriella blushed even the more.

"Tay, calm down." Gabriella said huskily trying to battle her own emotions.

"Calm down. Calm down. Montez you are joking? This is every girls dream. Who has not dreamed of finding a semi-naked Troy Bolton in her kitchen? Well not so much in the kitchen, I could think of a much better place." Taylor said raising her eyebrow and shaking her head as if in disappointment at Gabriella before laughing at her expression. Troy smirked.

"She sounds just like Sharpay. Oh god not another drama queen." Troy groaned. Gabriella playfully slapped Taylor and giggled.

"Wow! She even has a cute giggle." THUD! Troy's heart flipped at the sound.

"Oh boy, are you in trouble."

"It's not like that Tay, honest." Gabriella stammered. "He spilt his coffee on his chest so I've put his shirt in the washer." Gabriella tried to explain.

"Uh-uh! Funny place to spill coffee. What was he, horizontal?" Taylor questioned not letting them off the hook. Troy laughed liking this girl immediately before glancing at Gabriella. Gabriella giggled at the frown on Taylor's face before glancing at Troy and shrugging.

"I'll never hear the end of this." She groaned. "Taylor is going to milk this forever." She glared at Taylor. Taylor glared back a mischievous glint in her eyes. She smirked at their guilty expressions before turning and getting another cup of coffee.

"Troy, I'd like you to meet my flatmate and supposedly best friend Taylor McKessie." Gabriella said pointedly. Taylor turned and smirked at her, promising payback later.

"Hi Taylor, pleasure to meet you." Troy said, holding out a hand to greet her.

"Hey Troy, the pleasure is all mine, believe me." Taylor replied running her eyes over his exposed torso, her eyebrows lifting suggestively. Troy blushed again. Gabriella gasped at her flirty flatmate; the jealousy coursing through her body scared her.

"Taylor!" Gabriella gasped. Taylor shrugged her shoulders.

"What! I can look and admire, can't I? He is in my kitchen after all." Gabriella laughed at Taylor's answer, knowing when she was beat. She looked apologetically at Troy. He shrugged and smirked.

"So how did the luggage get mixed up?" Taylor asked changing the subject and needing her curiosity satisfied. Troy laughed.

"Put it this way, if you need a job doing right, do it yourself. Never allow your best friend to do something as trivial as collecting your baggage." Taylor laughed at his facial expression.

Troy glanced at Gabriella's amused face, loving everything he'd learned so far about this beautiful petite brunette.

"Although I think Chad got lucky this time and did me a big favour." He murmured thoughtfully, a slow smile spreading across his face.