Thank you so much for your last reviews  they made me very happy!

Don't worry Karen, I knew you hadn't given up on me and I was trying not to post too fast cos I always wait for your review before I post next but I guessed you might be away so sorry if you had load to catch up on!

Chapter 12

"Hey, there's my favourite drunk" Troy said as Gabi came into the foyer to meet Harry for the car to work.

"There's the Ego Trip" she said drily and Troy frowned. Were they back to that?

"My lady" he said as he held open her door and Harry secretly smiled at the pair of them.

"Oh, you wish" she retorted.

"Seriously, just so I know, do you get out of the wrong side of bed every day or is it a special treat you keep just for me?" he wondered.

"If you had to get up every day and be faced with a…a…well faced with you, you'd be grumpy too" she argued.

"Honey, I am faced with me every day and believe me, I got no reason not to smile" he quipped smoothly.

She turned and squinted at him "Are you really that egotistical?" she asked directly.

He smiled slowly at her, his eyes warming as he studied her face "Not with you around to keep me level-headed"

"Your ego is suffocating me"

"Are you sure it's not my animal magnetism?" he lifted his brow.

How did he do it? How did he manage to be blatantly arrogant and still look sexy as hell doing it?

"Pfft" she giggled.

"Hey! I took you out last night, you didn't think I was abhorrent then" he argued.

"Err, you stood me up" she pointed out.

"I made it eventually. And I didn't even get a goodnight kiss" he complained.

"I kissed your cheek! Not that you deserved it" she added.

"That was hardly a kiss now was it?" he baited her.

"You want a kiss?" she asked and he looked taken aback "Fine!" she huffed and she turned to him in the back seat of the car and placed a hand against his smooth jaw , laying her lips against his and not waiting for him to respond before she moved them, enticing him into a kiss as he responded slowly, savouring her taste and the softness of her lips as he kissed her back, taking the back of her head gently in his strong hand and turning to get better access to her mouth.

Just as he snaked his tongue across her lower lip, she pulled away and straightened her clothes before folding her arms and staring straight ahead as if nothing had happened.

Troy sat, mouth opened wide, his jeans straining, brows lifted in shock at her sudden move and a slow smile curled across his lips.

"Good morning to you, too" he said in a husky voice that reached parts of her she didn't want it to.

"Shut up" she warned.

"Well at least we know it's not coffee you need first thing" he chuckled, stretching an arm subtly across the seat behind her.

"Don't even think about it!" she snapped again and he dropped his arm as he twisted his mouth. Oh he was going to have fun reeling her in he mused.

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Gabi spent most of her morning on her cell phone arranging promo shots and contract details for Gabriel, working studiously from her new 'office' which consisted of a small desk at the back of the warehouse.

It would seem her father was keen to keep her as far away from Troy as possible and who was she to argue?

She sighed as she scribbled in her filofax and she was distracted by the voices coming from the set where they were filming.

She could hear Troy and Jordan blocking through the scene they had rehearsed in his trailer and it just brought back memories of their first kiss. And their second one. And how she kind of wanted to do it again.

She wasn't quite sure when she had started wanting to kiss him, if she was really honest with herself, it may have been since she shuffled into his room butt-first and turned and found him behind her, but she was still denying that and pretending this was a new thing.

He shouldn't have hugged her last night and been all cute and gentlemanly. It was confusing her hormones.

She knew where she was when he was being arrogant and annoying. Well she did when she didn't find him adorably funny doing it.

And since when did she find him adorable anything let alone funny? It just didn't seem right. He'd let her down last night and he'd surprised her by not kissing her while she was drunk, wondering if that's why he had held off. Was it possible Troy didn't want her to regret kissing him? He sure had succeeded as she remembered with a blush how she had laid her lips on his in the car and he'd turned her intended lip-smack into something entirely more…delicious.

She felt a stirring re-appear between her thighs and willed it away as her cell phone buzzed again and she reached for it, frowning as a hand appeared and grabbed it before she could.

"Hello Miss. Montez' phone" he answered her call and she jumped up with her mouth wide in shock as he ignored her and carried on talking "I'm afraid she's not available to talk right now, I can take a message?" he said formally and Gabi bit back a giggle at his 'office-voice' "Mrs Montez?" he said with lifted brows and Gabi's face fell, motioning for him to give her the phone but he kept it just out of her reach.

"Yes, I'm Troy. Mm-mm that's right Troy Bolton." He was talking to her mom and she planted her hand on her face.

"Really? Why thank you." He blushed as his animated eyes met hers and she knew her mom had just complimented him. She also knew what was coming next and she furiously tried to grab her phone but she failed.

"The love of a good woman huh?" he said conversationally and Gabi about died of shame. She would kill her mom. "Do you happen to know any good women?" he asked and Gabi sat back down, slouching in her chair.

"Oh of course, Gabi is an amazing woman. But you see women like her deserve a lot more than I can offer" he shared and Gabi looked up to him as he carried on talking. "You think so? I'm not sure" his blue eyes met hers in a steady gaze as he pressed his lips together "Okay I'll ask her. Mm-mm, I promise. Okay, nice to meet you Mrs Montez. Oh, Maria, such a beautiful name. Goodbye now"

Troy smiled as he shut her phone and then proceeded to turn it off, shoving it in his jeans pocket along with his hands.

"Give me that back" she said.

"I don't think so" he smiled as he took in her outfit of black trousers and white fitted shirt with a tight grey waistcoat that nipped in her waist "You need a break and you won't have one unless I make you" he said knowingly.

How did he know that she wondered? What was with him and all this insightful, caring thing lately?

"I don't have time for lunch" she said softly.

"Oh, but you normally have so much fun insulting me while we eat" he mock complained and she had to smile. Really smile.

She flicked her warm eyes up to meet his startling blue ones "Don't you have any friends?" she asked lightly.

"Nope. I am an arrogant, egotistical moron, don't you know anything?" he quipped, using her insults to him.

She sighed "What does that make me then?" she wondered.

"Glutton for punishment?" he guessed "Or unable to resist my charms?" he hoped.

"You do know that taking me to the lunch cart is not going to make up for falling asleep on me?" she asked.

"Ah! Now there's an opening I can't pass up" he smiled as he turned, looking over his shoulder to see if she would follow, which she did, begrudgingly. "Why Gabi, is it possible you'd like a rematch for our FUN night out?" he asked.

She pursed her lips "You do know my dad hates you" she said to avoid answering directly because once she said yes there was no going back. And he didn't need to know that she liked him. Not yet at least.

"I know" he shrugged.

"And I hate you" she added so that he would look down at her which he did with a smile playing at his lips.

"Sure you do" he said good naturedly.

"Well I was kind of upset I didn't get to see the Av's play" she said gently as they sat with their food at their usual table.

"Well what a co-incidence!" he said, mock surprised "I just happen to have a hire car Friday night and the Av's are playing Dallas"

"Wow, that is real lucky for you huh?" she mused as she tucked into her pasta.

"You think you might like to keep me company?" he asked tentatively with a lifted brow.

"I think I might be able to do that. My diary seems to be free" she said back and he grinned.

"You make me laugh, Gabriella Montez." He said warmly.

"You make me puke, Troy Bolton" she smiled sweetly back. "What did my mom say?" she asked interestedly.

"She said that I should ask you out on a date" he repeated and she choked on her mouthful.

"Oh jeez" she cringed.

"She cares about you. She knows you work too much" he added.

"Please tell me she didn't call you beautiful?" she hedged with fear.

He chuckled "She did"

"Ohh god!" she groaned.

"Hey, relax, it's fine. She's sweet." He shrugged, loving seeing Gabi all awkward. He wasn't going to share that she'd also given him her number so he could call her if he needed help planning the date.

She sighed "She's something alright" she muttered and smiled in spite herself and ate the rest of her food.

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