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CHAPTER 8
Hung over, feeling like something the cat dragged in, Gabi rose the next morning and sat in the hotel restaurant with coffee.
Troy headed right for her with a big superior grin on his face and if she had, for one minute, thought he might actually be showing her a sensitive side, he managed to blow that thought right out of her head as soon as he sat down.
"Hi, puke girl" he said warmly, smugly.
She rolled her eyes "Oh ha-ha, very mature" she accused, hating the very fact he caught her looking her worst pretty much every day and yet he glided around looking like he had stepped straight from an Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue 99% of the time.
"Well you went it some last night didn't you? Nice dance?" he checked, knowing full well she wouldn't remember a lot of the night before.
"You do know my dad hates you?" she asked back, ignoring his worrying question.
His mouth curled at the edges just so, his keen blue eyes studying her and she felt entirely tingly and annoyed at the same time.
"Well I have to work today unlike some party people" he said once more.
"Work? They're filming today?" she asked, shocked.
"Sure thing. See you on set I guess" he smiled and Gabi groaned.
"My lucky day" she mused quietly as she finished her coffee.
---
The set was empty apart from a few of the main players and the crew and Gabi realised they must be filming some 'intimate' scenes today.
Gabi set up office in the rear of the lot as usual, forgetting about trying to get paperwork done, instead she chatted with Harry until she got called on set by her father.
"Gabi can you run into town for some bits for me?" he asked and she smiled wanly
"Sure, no problem, what do you need?" she asked tiredly and she saw Troy at the side of the stage talking with the director, but his eyes were on her, too.
Her dad reeled of his list of items and she noted them down. He then shouted round and asked anyone else if they wanted anything, much to Gabi's annoyance. She spent most of her time ensuring his life was planned to the minute and he still treated her like a slave.
She had a whole queue of demands then and struggled with writing them all down.
"Can you do me a favour while you're out?" a familiar voice asked.
Gabi looked up into his blue eyes, waiting for the insult.
"Sure"
"Pick me up some condoms?" he said as he unashamedly took a bill from his wallet, leaning closer until his lips were next to her ear. Gabi tensed as her breathing quickened at his closeness and she quivered as she waited for his words.
"Extra large" he murmured, causing an involuntary shiver up her spine until the resentment kicked in.
She snatched the twenty from his hand as her cheeks stained red and she didn't meet his gaze as she turned on her heel and stormed off as Troy stood, arms folded, grinning hugely.
He'd forgotten what fun it was to make her angry.
---
Having dished out all of the requested items to everyone apart from Troy, Gabi headed into the back lot, having been told that Troy was 'resting in his trailer'.
He better be resting she mused. If she knocked on the door and he had a girl in there she would go crazy.
She stood, silently fuming, tired and hung-over, waiting for him to open the door.
He swung the door open and she stood at the bottom of the steps, her eyes popping out on stalks at his topless state.
Oh but he was magnificent, she thought as her eyes ate him up. Strong, built shoulders that were just breathtaking, leading down to some impressive pecs, his stomach defined by almost a six-pack but not quite but she liked that, she liked how the muscles rippled under his skin and he wasn't too solid, but my god, those arms. They were like something else. Muscled, defined, huge and her mouth almost watered at the sight of them, just the thought of those arms around her was making her heart flutter.
She tried to speak but found her voice had dried up so she swallowed, and desperately tried to rip her gaze away from his body but his belly button was hypnotising her.
He was leaning on the door frame now, arms folded, those tempting muscles of his bulging at the action and she knew he was milking this moment.
"Here" she said finally, sticking her hand out and passing him the packet.
"You wanna come in and help me try them out?" he checked, secretly delighted at her appraisal of him. Gabi Montez had a weakness and it just happened to be his body.
It bothered him a little that she didn't care much for his personality but not so much that he would turn down a night of undoubted passion with her.
She just blinked at him lazily "You do know I'm not drunk anymore, right?" she asked back and he grinned, again knocking her for six with the flash of his teeth and she wished he'd put a top on and put that smile away. He shouldn't be allowed out around unsuspecting females.
"Well, it was worth a try" he said with a twist of his mouth, then smiled behind her and she watched with absolute disbelief as a pretty brunette ran up his trailer steps past Gabi and in behind Troy. "If you'll excuse me" he said with a lift of his brows.
Gabi could feel her blood pressure hit bursting point. How dare he?! How dare the arrogant, selfish MORON embarrass her like that? He could at least PRETEND he wasn't a male slut.
She folded her arms and walked away and Troy frowned as she went, kind of regretting having invited Alexandra around for help with his lines. He'd only done it to make Gabi angry and piss her off and he had, but she also looked so damn disappointed in him. Like she had expected this of him and he'd just gone and proved her right.
---
Gabi walked away from Troy's trailer with his torso firmly imprinted in her mind and she shook her head a few times to rid it, just succeeding in making herself dizzy and not much else.
Her afternoon was spent trying not to fall asleep and Harry found her and they played card games with some of the crew as the sun went down.
"Oh yay I won!" Gabi called excitedly as she stood up and shook her butt as she danced.
There were several groans from around the table from her male counterparts.
"Guys!" Harry implored "Surely the rules of ratio would have it that one of us wins here!" he complained with a smile "We can't let a girl show us up" he said flatly.
"Aha, but it's SKILL, see" Gabi pointed out, her face glowing as she boasted "You can't learn Blackjack like me. I was taught by the expert" she shared.
Troy watched Gabi in the distance as he climbed down his trailer steps, helping Alexandra down by the hand.
She was all cute standing up with her fists on her hips and she appeared to be playing card games with the crew. He'd never have imagined that of her.
Alexandra looked at him and smiled "Thank you for this afternoon" she smiled gently and he nodded.
"You're welcome" he said and she left, leaving Troy to trek over to the catering corner in his jeans and converse shoes, wearing a warm jumper against the evening night air.
"Hey guys" he smiled at everyone and they all greeted him warmly.
"Troy, you've gotta sit down and have a game of Blackjack and beat this girl, she's showing us all up" Harry complained and Gabi beamed proudly.
"She was taught the game by George Clooney for crying out loud! We've got no hope" another guy called out.
"I'm sure she'd show me up too" he commented "But I'm about to go back in for the next round of filming" he sighed "I just wondered if Gabi had a moment?" he asked and all the men looked at her expectantly.
Gabi looked up "Sure" she shrugged and giggled as the guys jeered her and she wrapped the jacket around her tighter, Troy only realising then that it was his from last night.
"Did I get the wrong brand?" she asked innocently and he frowned, slowly clicking that she had meant the condoms. The ones that lay unopened in his bathroom in the trailer.
"Huh? Oh, no, err, thanks for doing that for me" he blushed and Gabi blinked three times. Surely he wasn't capable of blushing? Had he even used them she wondered suddenly?
"What's up?" she asked.
"Err, my agent called me and there's gonna be something in the paper tomorrow about last night" he hedged, his hands still stuffed in his pockets tensely. She'd never speak to him again after he told her this.
She stopped with a gasp "We were papped?" she guessed.
"Yeah. I kinda knew they were there when we left but we weren't doing anything interesting so I thought nothing of it." He said, his eyes dropping down and she stared in awe at his lashes.
"Troy, what is it?" she asked with concern, touching his arm.
"They got a picture from someone in the club of when we were dancing and apparently it looks quite…suggestive" he sighed, rubbing his hand over his face "I'm so sorry Gabi; I never should have spoken to you. Your dad's going to hate me even more when he sees this" he mused.
Gabi took a couple of breaths as she processed what he had told her. "Wait. How exactly was I dancing?" she checked with an alarming feeling.
He shrugged awkwardly "Kinda…twisting…" he coughed.
"Oh my god. Kinda sexy?" she panicked.
"Well, yeah it was sexy" he said quickly with a grin and then hid it as she lifted her gaze to him but she was hiding her own smile.
She let out a giggle "Montez daughter dances sexy for Troy 'Ego Trip' Bolton" she joked as she laughed and her nose scrunched up cutely as she snorted gently.
He couldn't believe she was taking this so well.
"Montez daughter lets hair down and lap dances for major movie star!" she said this time and he smiled at her, tilting his head as he watched her being adorable.
"I'm sorry" he said, feeling like that didn't come anywhere near enough an apology for what he may have caused for her. "You might have more paps following you whilst the filming goes on" he added.
"Troy, don't be sorry." She assured him "Thank you for telling me. I can get the hotel to deliver me the paper and we can giggle over it at breakfast" she said and he frowned, wondering if this was the same girl who looked like she'd wanted to kick him in the balls earlier. She was being unbelievably understanding about this and it shocked him.
"Okay, I gotta go. See you tomorrow" he said and walked off quickly, running the rest of the way to the set to make it for his next shoot, a smile creeping up to his face as he realised she had called him Troy instead of Ego Trip or Mr. Bolton.