Okay, everyone. It was completely my intent to get this posted yesterday for Vanessa's birthday. But alas, that didn't happen. I came home from work and wrapped Christmas presents instead. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this one! And by all means, people- REVIEW please! I love hearing what everyone has to say about this story. I have big plans for it! Oh, and by the way... you can follow me now! :-) cncgrad02
Chapter 3
The three finally made it back to the apartment and Troy had just enough time to get his books and keys to his Chevy Silverado and- after giving Gabriella a quick kiss- rush back out the door again. Taylor took note of his haste and turned her attention to Gabriella.
"How long does it take you two to get to school?" she asked as she followed Gabriella into the kitchen.
"Well, Hayward is a little bit closer to Berkeley than it is to Palo Alto," she said as she leaned in the refrigerator and pulled out two waters. "It's the closest to being halfway that we could find. It takes him about thirty minutes and takes me about forty or so. It's not the easiest when I have my internship, but it works."
"Where do you do that?" Taylor questioned as she took one of the waters.
"Stanford's pre-law program has about eight law firms they work with for the seniors' internships. There's one that is really prestigious and upscale in downtown San Francisco. Almost every student who's done their internship there within the past twenty-five years gets hired on after graduation and has moved on to really prestigious law firms in places like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston…"
"Let me guess, that's where you are?" Gabriella's blush was all the answer Taylor needed. "Way to go, girl! What does Troy say about that?"
"He's excited for me. He says it's a great opportunity."
"But…?" Taylor prompted, feeling like Gabriella was leaving something out.
"But what?"
"But doesn't he want to go back to Albuquerque after graduation?" Taylor asked as she sat down on the couch.
Gabriella rolled her eyes as she sat down cross legged on the couch, her body turned to face her friend. "I don't know, Tay. I mean, yeah, going back to Albuquerque would be good for him. He's got connections there and can get a job with no problem. But staying in San Francisco could be good for him, too. He's already been doing an internship at a children's center in downtown San Francisco and they've all but come right out and told him that he's got a job when he graduates. He's really liking working with the children and has been helping with the parenting class they offer on Wednesday nights. It's been a great opportunity for him."
"But…?" Taylor repeated.
"I don't know," she began with a sigh. "I mean, we both have the opportunity to have incredible jobs here in San Francisco."
"So what's stopping him?"
"What do you mean?"
"Honey, there's no ring on your finger. It doesn't take a genius to know that Troy is so madly in love with you. I mean, hell, even Jason sees it!" The girls shared a laugh at the expense of their old friend from high school who was sometimes so incredibly dense. His ignorance only added to Jason's charm, in their opinion. "Bless his heart… Anyway, Troy is so in love with you. What's stopping him from proposing to you?"
"Taylor, I don't know. Troy says he wants to wait until we both have jobs and are established. He doesn't want to put himself in debt over just the ring, not to mention what the wedding itself will do to us financially."
"Won't the Boltons and your mom be paying for the wedding?"
"It's not the actual ceremony that he's concerned about, I don't think. I think it's more after the ceremony when life actually hits us."
"And how do you feel about all of this jerking around that he's doing to you?"
Gabriella sighed again, trying to hide her frustration at the inquisition Taylor was giving her. "Taylor, he's not jerking me around. Troy and I have talked about it. I appreciate his concerns. It shows that he's planning for the future."
Taylor narrowed her eyes as she focused on Gabriella's face. "You're hiding something," she said knowingly after a moment of studying her friend.
"What do you mean?"
"I know you way too well, Gabriella Rosa. I can tell when you're hiding something. You like that he's planning for the future, but you're frustrated that he's planning too much for the future. You're just ready for that ring now, aren't you? You don't care about the length of an engagement. Six months, a year and a half, two years… as long as you know the wedding is ultimately coming, right?"
"Taylor, I didn't come to Stanford to get my 'MRS.' degree. I'm doing what I wanted to do. I came here for their pre-law program and eventually law school."
"You're taking the LSAT again, right?"
"Yeah, in three weeks. I took it about a month and a half ago and didn't do too bad on it, but I just want to see if I can up the scores any."
"What did you get?"
"I got a 170, which is right at the beginning of the range for Stanford. I just want to see if I can get a few points higher just to have that cushion."
"So if you're going to stay here for law school and Troy is possibly-hasn't-decided-definitely-yet going back to Albuquerque, what does that mean for the two of you?"
The two young women sat quietly in a stare down as they both thought about the question that Taylor posed.
"Hey, Taylor, how's Chad?" Gabriella asked pointedly, suddenly breaking the silence, knowing that she hit a nerve.
"Touché," she said with a sigh. "Okay, fine, you've made your point. I'll drop it for now. But we're not done."
"Why am I not surprised?" Gabriella asked, taking a sip of her water.
Taylor and Chad tried their long distance relationship for a while after graduating from East High. She left Albuquerque and made the move to New Haven, Connecticut, to attend Yale University while he stayed in their hometown and attended the University of Albuquerque on a basketball scholarship. Their relationship flourished for the first year. Phone calls every other night helped, but became difficult as basketball season came full swing. Facebook chats late into the night- for Taylor, not as late for Chad given the time difference- were also very helpful. The young couple would fly to see the other whenever possible.
Their relationship lasted into the beginning of their sophomore year, when things began to get extremely hectic for Taylor in Yale's pre-law program. She began to get more and more involved in the Student Government program and had even run for an office. Chad began to feel like she was no longer making time for him and it began to show in his game. During the Thanksgiving holidays when Taylor traveled back to Albuquerque to spend the school break with her family, she and Chad had plans for a date night. The two had fun, despite the tension, like they always did. At the end of the night when Chad drove Taylor home, the two sat in the front seat of his car and talked, trying to figure out the right thing to do about their relationship. The decision was finally reached that maybe their romantic relationship was not meant to be. It was without a doubt a hard one, but deep down- after many tears had been shed on Taylor's part- the two knew it was the right thing to do.
To this day, their friendship was one of the best that they had. It quickly became apparent that Chad and Taylor made better friends than they did boyfriend and girlfriend. Neither regretted that decision and cherished the bond that they now had. They even had a shared joke that anyone they got romantically involved with had to be approved by the other. "No one knows what you deserve or even knows you personally more than I do, Taylor. It's only right that I approve of him before your parents meet him," he had told her at one point.
"Okay, so the subtle change of subject request has been noted. Tell me about this get together we're going to tonight," Taylor told Gabriella.
Gabriella took a sip of her water and twisted the cap back on as she allowed a small smile to form on her lips.
"Well, first of all, I think it may be just the basketball team, so it won't get too out of hand. They all have to get up and be at the student center early in the morning. Remember when the gang used to get together every weekend, how we would do absolutely nothing but hang out and just have fun?" When Taylor nodded, Gabriella continued. "It's a bit like that, but a little more…"- she paused as she thought of how to describe what to expect- "adult? College? I don't know. They're all good guys. In all the years I've known them, I think only about two or three of them made the headlines for being stupid, and they've since graduated."
"What about Troy?" Taylor asked with a more than curious air in her voice.
"Are you kidding me?" Gabriella looked at her and shook her head. "With Jack Bolton as his dad? Do you think Troy would even consider getting into trouble?"
Taylor shrugged her shoulders as Gabriella looked at her with wide eyes. The answer was a rhetorical "No".
"So what's the pick going to be like tonight?" Taylor's eyes lit up as she asked the question that she'd been thinking ever since plans for the trip had been made. Will I meet someone while I'm out here?
"So you're interested in meeting someone, huh?" Gabriella's eyes twinkled as she began to think of the guys she knew from Troy's basketball team and if any of them were available.
"Let's see, there's Andy. He's Troy's former roommate-"
"-before you two started playing house," Taylor joked.
"- and is the captain of the team," Gabriella continued, ignoring Taylor's comment. "He's an English major and will go one more semester so he can do his student teaching next fall. There's also Matt. He's Andy's roommate now. He's not on the team, but will be there anyway. I don't know if he's seeing someone or not. I've only met him a few times and can't recall him mentioning someone. Um, who else? Oh, yeah. Nicholas is single and is the other starting point guard. The coach switches him and Troy every other game. I think he's the same age as us but is a junior because he took time off after high school, if I remember correctly. Troy can answer that one better than I can."
The two girls continued to gossip about the basketball team and their girlfriends, Gabriella filling Taylor in on the who's- who so she would have a small idea of what was to come that evening. Before they knew it, the door opened and Troy walked in. They continued the conversation before the trio had to get ready and eventually leave for the party. The drive to the Berkeley side of town served as a brief tour for Taylor, with the promise from Gabriella to go into more detail as the week went on.
TGFTGFTGFTGFTGFTGFTGFTGF
They arrived at the apartment complex that had become well known across the campus of the University of Berkeley. It was a popular location for the seniors who requested off campus privileges. The three friends walked up the steps and let themselves into the slightly crowded apartment. There weren't a lot of people there- maybe fifteen at most so far- but the size of the apartment made it seem like there were a lot more.
"Troy!" Three heads turned in the direction of the voice that greeted them and saw Andy walking their way.
"Andy! What's up?"
"Not much, man. What's going on?" The two former roommates greeted each other with a manly handshake before Andy turned to greet his friend's girlfriend. "Hey, Gabriella. How are you?" he asked. "I haven't seen you in a while."
"Yeah, we don't really get to talk after the games and such. I'm good. How are you?" she replied.
"I can't complain too much. I mean, other than the fact that you stole him from me and now he neglects our relationship…"
"Hey, now. Watch what you're saying to her," Troy said as he wrapped his arm around Gabriella's waist from behind. "You can't try to take her from me when I'm right here!"
"Um, Babe, I don't think you have to worry about him trying to take me from you. It sounds to me like he was trying to take you from me. Do you guys have some kind of man- love something going on that I need to know about?" she asked, giving Andy a look as she spoke.
"Sounds like it to me," a fourth voice spoke up. The three turned to notice Taylor standing nearby.
"Taylor, I'm so sorry," Gabriella blushed. "Um, Andy, this is Taylor. The three of us were close friends in high school. She's a senior at Yale and came to visit for her Spring Break."
"Taylor, it's nice to meet you," Andy said, holding his hand out in greeting.
Taylor reached her own hand out and shook Andy's extended hand. "It's nice to meet you, too, Andy. I've heard a lot about you."
"Really?" he asked looking at Troy.
"Well, no, not really. I lived in South Carolina before moving to New Mexico and was raised with manners. I've been taught that that's what you say when you meet someone new."
The group shared a laugh while Andy signaled to the cooler that was sitting in the corner of the kitchen filled with coke and other drinks. Troy and Gabriella grabbed drinks as Andy turned his attention back to Taylor.
"Hey, Taylor, why don't you come with me? I'll play 'good host' and introduce you to some of the others." The two walked off leaving Troy and Gabriella to go find a spot on the couch. They sat with Gabriella's legs draped across his lap and participated in idle chit-chat with the players and the few girlfriends who were nearby in between their own loving and playful kisses when they finally spotted Taylor again about thirty minutes later.
"Looks like Taylor found a friend," Troy commented. He picked up his hand from Gabriella's knee where it rested and pointed. Gabriella paused in rubbing her hand across his back and followed Troy's line of sight, taking notice of Taylor standing in the kitchen near the snacks talking to a guy that Gabriella recognized.
"That's odd," she stated with a look of confusion crossing her features.
"What's odd about that? She deserves to have a friend."
"No, not the fact that she's talking to someone. That's good. What's odd is who she's talking to."
Now it was Troy's turn to be confused. "What are you talking about? Who is that? I've never met him, have I?"
"No, you haven't. That's Davis."
"The guy in your study group?"
"Yeah," she confirmed with a nod.
"Wait, the guy who's always hitting on you?" Gabriella felt the muscles in his back tense up.
"He's not always hitting on me, but yes. He's the one you're thinking of."
"Not hitting on you? Brie, he's asked you out how many times in the past three and a half years?"
"Troy, he asked me out about two weeks after we met and I told him I had a boyfriend. Now it's become a joke between us. He asks me all the time because he knows the reaction he'll get and we laugh about it. It's a running joke he and I have."
"Well, then I guess it won't be so bad if I go introduce myself to him, will it?" he asked as he moved to stand up, Gabriella following suit. The two grabbed another drink from the cooler and made their way over to where Davis and Taylor were standing and talking.
"Davis? What are you doing here?" Gabriella greeted him.
"Hey, Gabi! How are you?" he leaned in to give her a friendly hug, which appeared odd to Troy. He shared a look with Taylor with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion while hers were raised in shock.
Gabi? he mouthed to his long-time friend in question. Her late father was the only one who ever called her Gabi and she didn't like when anyone else called her that. An emotional Gabriella informed Troy of this after he called her that by mistake one day not long after she started at East High in their junior year and he passed along the message to the rest of their friends so none of them would do the same. Taylor responded with a mere shrug of her shoulders.
"I'm good, Davis," she said with a giggle. "Now why don't you answer my question. What are you doing at a Berkeley party?"
"Andy's my cousin. Now it's your turn. What are you doing at a Berkeley party?"
"I'm here with Troy," she said, gesturing to her curious boyfriend standing a few feet behind her.
"So this is the infamous Troy," Davis commented. "I've heard an awful lot about you."
"Are you from South Carolina?" Troy asked, as he came to stand behind Gabriella, putting an arm around her protectively.
"Um, no. I'm from Arizona. Why?" Davis curiously questioned.
"No reason. What's your last name, Davis?"
"Same as Andy."
"Oh, yeah? Davis Davidson? Did your parents not have any creativity?"
"Troy," Gabriella hissed under her breath. "Stop it," she warned.
"Actually, it's a family name on my mom's side."
"So you two are in the same study group, huh? I thought that I had met everyone in Brie's study group," he informed the newcomer, emphasizing his girlfriend's nickname on purpose. "Where have you been hiding?"
"Oh, hey, Troy, look. There's Nicholas. Why don't we go introduce him to Taylor?" Gabriella said pointedly.
"I was just getting to know Davis. We can't be rude and leave him now."
"Something tells me he'll survive," Taylor spoke up. She was not the only one who was standing nearby and could sense the tension between Troy and Davis. He's getting jealous… she thought to herself. This can only get more interesting.
"Hey, Gabi, I'll catch you later," Davis called out after her.
"Yeah, you will. Later," Troy answered on her behalf.
Gabriella watched as Davis walked away and engaged in a conversation with Andy before reaching her hand out and connecting it with Troy's arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" Troy asked as he turned to face his long-time girlfriend, rubbing his bicep in the process.
"Could you have been any ruder?" she asked with a scowl.
"I was just getting to know my new friend. How is that being rude?"
Gabriella just gave Troy a silent glare and crossed her arms across her chest. She glanced at Taylor and noticed her contorting her face in such a way as to hide the smirk that was fighting its way out.
"¿Puedes creer que él? Es tan celoso y que ni siquiera se dan cuenta!" Gabriella quickly rattled off in her second language of Spanish- which she was more than fluent in, thanks to her mother and father's side of the family with whom she was still in close contact-, causing the laughter that Taylor was holding in to explode out. She turned her attention to Taylor and continued. "Y usted piensa que está listo …" she said, as she stormed off to grab her sweater, leaving Troy to watch after her. (Can you believe him? He is so jealous and he doesn't even realize it! And you think he's ready…) He turned to Taylor and finally spoke.
"Okay, so I understand a little bit of Spanish, but I don't understand her when she does that. How much groveling do I have to do?" he asked, knowing she'd be able to translate what he couldn't.
"Let's just say that you have your work cut out for you," Taylor told him with a chuckle, as she gave him a sympathetic pat on the back.
Troy sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "Fine. Let's get our stuff and get out of here."
The two of them walked down the hall to get their stuff and passed Gabriella as she was making her way to the door.
"Es una buena cosa te quiero," she muttered as she paused in front of them. (It's a good thing I love you.)
"'Te quiero'," he repeated excitedly, looking at Taylor over his shoulder. "I know that one!"
Gabriella just rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, giving him a slight smile. "Go tell everyone bye. We need to get you home, Wildcat."
The trio made their rounds saying their goodbyes, and was soon in the car heading back to their side of town. Once the seatbelts were on, the questioning began.
"So I've never really asked about this Davis character…" Troy began tentatively.
"Because you thought he was a total nerd like some of the others in the study group?" Gabriella challenged.
"No...maybe. Wait, why does that matter?" he questioned.
"It shouldn't, Troy Alexander, because you trust me. Right?" she asked as she turned her body so she was leaning against the passenger door and facing him.
"Of course I trust you ...I'm just surprised I've never met him before, especially since he's Andy's cousin."
"Is it just because he's Andy's cousin that you think you should have met him before tonight, or is there another reason?" When she was met by silence, she clicked her tongue and continued. "Ah- ha. That's what this boils down to," she said, with a sense of pride at the possibility of finally cracking the code. "He carries more weight now because he's Andy's cousin and not just because of the amount of time I spend with him, or the fact that he's not a pocket-protector wielding geek who happens to be a friend of mine and pays attention to me in a way that you don't like. Although I think that has more to do with it than you want to admit."
"That...It has nothing to do…" Troy paused as the last part of what Gabriella just said registered in his mind. "Wait, what do you mean the amount of time you spend with him? Exactly how much time do you spend with him?" Troy was beginning to feel slightly panicked at the direction in which this conversation was heading.
"Hey guys?" a third voice spoke up from the back seat.
"You know how much time I spend with him, Troy! Our iPod calendars are synced. You practically know where I am every minute of the day," Gabriella pointed out.
"Guys?" Taylor tried again.
"And you know the same about me...is that suddenly a problem?" Troy challenged.
"HELLLOOOO!" the third voice practically yelled, finally getting the attention of the couple in the front seat.
"WHAT?" Troy and Gabriella responded in unison.
"Do you realize how much you sound like a married couple already?" Taylor asked them.
The car was filled with silence for a few minutes before Troy reached over and took Gabriella's hand in his own and gave it a squeeze, completely oblivious to the fact that the simple comment that escaped Taylor's lips held more weight in his girlfriend's mind than he realized.
"Yeah, I guess we do," Troy admitted, sharing a glance with Gabriella before turning his eyes back to the road in front of him.
Gabriella just sat quietly without saying a word, giving Troy a small smile. She squeezed his hand just a little harder than intended and wrapped both of her small hands around his larger one and kept a tight hold on it before turning her head to look back out the passenger window.
The rest of the drive was spent with Troy and Gabriella listening intently to Taylor share an interesting story about something one of her professors had said in class the previous day.
Her story sparked a conversation between the two pre-law students and the psychology major about the psychological ramifications that the particular case study would hold for all parties involved. Before too long, they were pulling into the entrance of the apartment complex and Troy turned to face Taylor as the three walked up the steps of the building.
"Taylor, I'm assuming you brought some kind of homework with you, right?"
"No, actually I-" she paused, seeing the knowing look Troy was giving her. "Well, yeah. I did." she said with a slight blush at being caught with the intent of doing school work during her Spring Break. "Why?"
"And you can listen to some music with your ear buds or something while you work on that stuff, right?" he continued as he unlocked the door.
"Yeah, I guess…" she answered as they crossed the threshold of the apartment, uncertain where he was going with his questioning.
"Good." He began waving his hand around pointing throughout the apartment as he spoke.
"This is the living room. Kitchen's right there. Spare bedroom- which is really Gabriella's room- where you will be sleeping is right behind that door." Troy was busy pointing to random doors and various directions and missed the deep crimson color that had taken residence on Gabriella's face.
"Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge and don't pay attention to any random noises that you might hear coming from in… there." He pointed to the one closed door that he had neglected seconds before during his verbal tour and Taylor let out a smirk knowing what sorts of noises he was referring to. "Brie will be out just as soon as I'm asleep."
"So I should amuse myself for half an hour? Gee, what a great host you are, Troy." Taylor rolled her eyes dramatically at Troy before she turned and grinned at Gabriella. Gabriella cocked her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders at Taylor before letting out a suggestive smirk and biting her lip, knowing that Troy was watching and listening.
"Just make yourself at home, Tay. I'll see you in the morning," Gabriella told her.
"Thanks for the warning. I'll make sure to stay out of the war path until tomorrow afternoon," their friend said with a knowing grin.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gabriella asked.
Taylor twisted her lips and raised her eyebrows. "I know you and mornings. I'm not getting in the middle of that!"
"Wish you had warned me about it before we moved in together!" Troy continued Taylor's joke, knowing all too well about Gabriella's grumpy morning routine. He stopped suddenly when Gabriella shot a glare in his direction.
"Whatever," she said slightly offended.
"Don't be upset, Baby. Taylor knows the truth," Troy told her as he placed a soft kiss to her cheek. Gabriella only huffed at him in response before he continued. "Taylor, I hope you and Gabriella have a great visit. I know she's been looking forward to this, so I can only imagine that you have been, too. I wish I could stay and see you longer, but-"
"-the court calls, as always," she interrupted. "It's okay. I'm used to playing second fiddle to an orange ball." The two shared a laugh at the joke before he leaned in and gave her a hug.
"Take care of my girl while I'm gone," he instructed her seriously as he pulled away.
"Don't worry," Taylor said, giving his hand a squeeze. "I'll make sure no stranger comes to whisk her away from you. She'll still be here when you get back."
The three friends exchanged good night wishes as Gabriella took Troy's hand in hers and led him down the hall and into the bedroom right in front of Taylor, tossing a Cheshire cat grin in her direction. Taylor watched as Troy closed the door behind them and just shook her head when she heard the distinct sound of the lock being turned. She turned around to locate her bag and let out a tired sigh, as she pulled her laptop from within and turned it on. While she waited for it to boot up, she reached back in the bag and found her iPod and ear buds and put them in her ears with the hope of blocking out any unwanted sounds coming from behind the closed door.
TGFTGFTGFTGFTGFTGFTGFTGF
Once Gabriella locked the door behind them, she turned to see Troy standing at the foot of the bed, his eyes darkening with desire. She took the necessary steps to stand in front of him and turned her back toward him before reaching out and pulling his arms around her waist as she leaned her head back against his chest. Troy gave her a gentle squeeze around her middle and moved her hair over her left shoulder as he leaned down to place a kiss on her neck.
"Thank you for at least going along with me on this. You've been so excited about Taylor's visit that I didn't even know if you'd come to bed with me at all tonight. I figured you'd want to have a girls' night- no sleep, watching movies and eating ice cream all night long," he said, his voice changing so it took on the seductive tone that always caused a shiver to run down Gabriella's spine.
"We'll have a bunch of girls' nights, starting tomorrow night. I'm glad Tay's here Troy, but you know I'm gonna miss you," she said in a whisper. "It's not going to be any fun hogging the covers at night without you here to try and keep them from me."
"I would never...I don't know what you're talking about," he told her as he lifted his head to look in the mirror across the room and he smiled as their eyes met.
"Hey, what Tay was talking about at the airport...you know that was her, not me, right?" Gabriella asked tentatively.
Troy brought his hands under her top and began to caress her stomach, his hands warm against her skin. Their hips begin to sway in time to their own song that played in both of their heads. He watched as her eyes closed in pleasure before he spoke again, his words a gentle breath against her neck.
"Are you sure? Because I love you, you know?"
"I know," she sighed as she leaned her head further to the left so he could have better access to her neck, loving the feeling that he was invoking inside her. "And I love you too. And for now, that's enough, right?" she asked, trying to convince herself more than Troy.
"Mmm-hmmm," he murmured as he tried to keep his mind focused on what she was saying. He was having no luck, however, as he continued the trail of wanting, needing kisses down the side of her face while his fingers worked their way further up her body and under the bra that was completely impeding his feel of her breasts.
"But someday, right?" she asked, as her mind became hazy from the heat of the moment, with the future she wanted to imagine and the future that her best friend had conjured up swiftly moving to the back of her mind for the time being. She quickly decided with Troy's next answer that she would just kick both of the future ideas out of her head and enjoy the moment that he was trying to create right then and there.
Troy halted his kisses and sucked in a deep breath. He disconnected his mouth from her neck before giving his one word answer.
"Someday." Troy slowly turned her around and lifted her chin with his index finger and thumb until she had no choice but to look him in the eyes. He nodded his head at her just one time and stared into her eyes as deeply and directly as he could manage.
"Someday," he repeated.
At hearing his words, Gabriella brought herself up on her tiptoes and initiated a fiery kiss to let him know that she believed him, she loved him and she wanted every inch of him. Troy gave as much as he received and the two became lost in the kiss.
As she slowly began to unbutton his shirt and pushed it off his muscular shoulders, he lifted her shirt from the bottom hem and pulled it over her head. He brought his hands around her back and felt for the hook of her bra and unfastened it with ease.
After a few minutes, he began to slowly move them across the room until they both fell onto the bed with Gabriella on top. She reached her hand down and unfastened the button of his jeans before pushing down the zipper. He brought his hips off the bed enough so she could pull them down around his knees. Troy then reached up and brushed some hair away from her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her behind and scooted them both farther up onto the bed.
"Oh and by the way?" he began to speak softly, careful not to disturb their intimate moment.
Gabriella raised up on her knees beside him and stripped his boxers down as far as his jeans had fallen.
"Hmmm?" she questioned as she began to run her hands all over his chest.
"Thank you for not continuing Tay's 'half hour' joke."
Gabriella first brought her eyes down to take in the length of Troy's erection then up at his face as she brought her hand down and began stroking him, causing him to suck in a deep breath. "It doesn't matter to me if round one takes a half hour, ten minutes or two hours. I'm not gonna let you sleep tonight until I'm satisfied," she told him before connecting their mouths once more. And so their evening continued, each making sure the other knew exactly how deep their love ran before Troy left for his five day long journey.