Amy you cracked me up with your comment about her being shy after sex and riding him butt naked lol.

I don't know if it's all that clear from the way I've written it, but it's linked in with how she feels about herself due to her dad…

Thank you so much everyone for your words of support, I love it when people tell me their favourite part or lines etc :) Keep doing that lol.

CHAPTER 25

Gabi had snuck out of bed, got dressed and ordered room service all before Troy even showed signs of stirring.

She was applying her make up at the vanity table when he sat up, dishevelled, confused, his hair messy and he looked thoroughly loved.

"What on earth happened?" he asked out loud.

Gabi giggled "You fell asleep of course" she smiled as she looked over her shoulder.

"Nooo…in the middle of that AMAZING massage?" he whined.

"I don't know why you're moaning at me, you're the one who fell asleep" she teased.

Troy rolled out of bed and put his boxers on as he stood sleepily.

"I have to get on set or they'll sack me" he sighed as he moved to the bathroom.

"Troy?" Gabi called "Is everything okay?" she asked worriedly as she twisted in the chair.

He pasted on a fake smile "Everything is fine princess, don't worry about me" he said and disappeared into the shower.

Gabi frowned but decided not to pursue the matter now, knowing they had a busy morning ahead of them as she went back to the mirror to finish getting ready.

---

"Good Morning Harry!" Gabi beamed as she came across the lobby in a black fitted shirt-dress and leggings with heeled boots, her hair flowing behind her but the top section tethered from her eyes with a clip.

"Good morning Miss Montez" he smiled back. "Long time no see! How are you?" he asked.

"I'm good, thanks, and you?" she returned.

"It's been quiet without you. Grumpy chops missed you" he joked.

"Who's grumpy chops?" she frowned, wondering if she meant her dad or Troy.

"Mr Bolton" he said.

"Oh, why was he grumpy?" she wondered.

"No idea. I just know you weren't here to put that smile on his face" he shrugged and Gabi realized he did know why Troy was grumpy and it was obviously the same reason he was unhappy this morning and unhappy at the game for those fleeting moments but he was hiding it from her. Though she had no idea why.

"Well, I'm glad to be back." she said instead and Troy sauntered across in his jeans and t-shirt, carrying his hoodie and wearing a black cardigan.

"Good morning" he smiled as his eyes crinkled, slipping an arm around Gabi's waist as he dropped a little kiss on her mouth "Hey, dude" he said to Harry and the three of them moved to the car where Harry took them to the set.

--

Gabi went straight to her father to greet him and find Margaret and work out where she stood now that she had taken this break away.

Gabe was in his trailer and she shuffled in after he had hugged her in greeting.

"Sit down Gabi" he offered as she took a seat on his sofa and he sat next to her with a sigh.

"Look, I have something to say and it's hard for me to say it. I want to say I am sorry for how I have treated you and Troy" he said gruffly and quickly, Gabi turning with wide eyes in shock.

"What?!" she whispered.

"I spoke to the boy and told him the same and he agreed we could start over and I hope you and I can too" he added and Gabi had never seen him look sheepish before, she almost didn't recognize him.

"Troy forgave you?" she checked and made a mental note to kiss him later to say thank you.

"He did. He's actually a decent guy though it pains me to say it" he mumbled.

"Dad, you should be pleased he's decent" she argued, not letting this drop easily. He had put her through a lot of stress the last few weeks.

"I am. I'm just…adjusting. It's hard to see your baby girl all grown up and falling in love" he admitted.

Gabi flicked her eyes to his quickly. How did he know how she felt about Troy?

"Wow" she said softly, not sure what else to say that would convey her boggled thoughts.

"He's missed you, you know. The director has been giving him a hard time over losing his lines and I could see he's not the same without you here" he shared, watching Gabi's face soften.

"He's been having trouble with his lines?" she asked.

"Yeah, I tried to help but he's a stubborn boy that one. Reminds me of you" he joked.

Gabi looked at her dad again and wondered what had changed his mind because this turnaround was huge. Not only was he accepting Troy, he was letting her into details about him that weren't common knowledge.

She twitched her mouth. "So where does that leave me?" she asked softly.

"Well Margaret is doing a great job so far. I'm happy for you to have a paid holiday and come back to work next month or if you decide you want to go somewhere else, then I'll keep Margaret on. I know it's important for you to be independent, Gabi and as much as I want to keep you close, I know I can't. I just want to see you smile again" he added.

She nodded, floored by his speech. "Okay. Well I'm kind of in limbo then, because I can't stay here until the end of the shoot with nothing to do" she pondered.

"It's three more weeks" he pointed out.

"I know but I'd like to start looking for an apartment of my own and getting settled somewhere. This would be a great time for me to do that. And maybe take a week away in the sun" she added.

"Well I'll let you make your plans, I have to be on set, I'll see you later" he said and kissed her hair as he got up to leave, leaving Gabi's head spinning with the possibilities laid out in front of her.

--

Troy stormed out of the back of the set door and across the yard, throwing his trailer door shut as he stalked in and threw his script onto the floor in a rage of frustration.

"Arrggghhh" he yelled to the trailer, grabbing his hair in anger at himself for losing his lines yet again and wishing they hadn't revised the script, and then revised it again, leaving him struggling.

Paty had tried to get a flight out but it seemed she was busy organizing his post-film interviews and promo and it wasn't really her job to help him learn lines anyway.

A soft knock sounded at the door and he headed over, throwing open his door with a furrowed brow.

Gabi stood on the other side with an arched brow of her own. "You're not going to make any friends being a grizzly bear" she teased.

He sighed as he looked into her chocolate coloured eyes, letting them soothe him a little.

"Do I get an invite inside?" she asked hopefully.

He stepped back and let her in, closing the door behind him where he sagged.

Gabi stepped up to him and sank her fingers into his crazy hair, stroking it as he sighed and bunched his fists while he was trying to dissipate his anger.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he dropped his head to her shoulder, Gabi consoling him the best she could with her diminutive height.

"Did I tell you that you look amazing today?" he asked eventually, wrapping his own arms around her waist in their familiar embrace.

"I don't believe you did" she smiled as she stroked the hair at the back of his head, pulling away to look into his face.

"I guess you're going to ask me what's wrong" he said gently.

"You should be able to tell me these things, Troy. If we're going to…you know…date and stuff" she said awkwardly.

A glimmer of a smile tugged at one corner of his mouth "Date and stuff?" he questioned and she blushed.

"Well you know…" she twitched.

"I know what? That we date? And stuff." He added.

"Well what would you call it?" she challenged.

"A relationship?" he suggested lightly.

"Oh" she pouted "Of course, I didn't think of that I was just thinking about sex…god no, not like that…" she got all flustered and pulled away "How to word it, I mean, like that we date and have sex…." She covered her face with her hands and dropped onto his sofa.

"And I thought I was an embarrassment with my words…" he said drily, sitting next to her as he curled an arm around her shoulders.

She moved her hands and looked at him "Troy, you don't need to be embarrassed. You have a learning difficulty, I'm sure your other directors were fine about it, you just need to be honest and tell him you need more time" she urged.

"He doesn't have more time. He thinks I'm spending too much time with you and that it's distracting me. He doesn't know about my dyslexia. It's a well-kept secret" he admitted. "You can imagine if that got out- Film star can't read" he mused.

"You can read and actually I can imagine. I can imagine the thousands of people across the world who also struggle with it, looking up to you as a role model and seeing you overcome your difficulty and have a job that involves learning lines and you're a successful actor Troy." She reminded him.

"I'm never going to work in this town again" he joked as he flopped sideways and unhooked his arm from her shoulder so that he could lay his head in her lap where she stroked his hair again and he was beginning to feel like he enjoyed her fingers in his hair way too much. He pondered the thought he could have been a dog in another life.

"Troy, go out there and tell the director the truth" she insisted "And when you come back, I'll help you with the script" she said .

"I'm scared" he moaned.

"Don't be a baby" she chided.

"Thanks. I feel so special when you talk to me like that" he mumbled mock-hurt and rolled up with renewed energy.

Gabi got up with him and followed him out of the trailer where she planned to go back over to the tabled area where the crew were relaxing between filming.

Troy grabbed her hand before she could drift away and he smiled, kissing her on the palm of her hand "Thank you" he said with a little twist of his lips that made him look so damn cute that she lost herself in his eyes for a moment.

"Smile for the camera!" someone shouted as they took a photo of them staring into each other's eyes

"Harry!" Gabi complained

"What! You two look so cute stood there all misty eyed, I had to do it" he shrugged.

"Hey, I wasn't all misty eyed" Troy protested "Men don't get misty eyed" he said.

"No, we get horny" Harry joked and Gabi grinned at him.

"He's got a point" she conceded as she smiled at Troy.

"Okay I have to go, I'll come get you when I'm done" he said and vanished again, leaving Gabi smiling as she went back over to the rest of the crew.