Troy and Gabriella laid on the couch in the living area of the beach house, wrapped up in each others arms and a soft lavender blanket that usually hung over the back of the couch. Her robe and his boxers laid on the floor of the kitchen floor in front of the sink. They had attempted to do the dishes, but all that had resulted in was another round of lovemaking. Troy found himself playing with the embossed lilies she had turned into a necklace that was now resting on his chest instead of laying between her breasts since she was laying on top of him. He didn't ask where the T necklace he had given her was. He knew she couldn't wear it while she was with Jules, or in front of the public. Too many questions.
"I didn't know you could do this to flowers," he said, not looking at them, just moving them around in his fingers.
Bri smiled. "You can emboss almost anything. You'd be surprised. The man said he had embossed a condom once," she told him, biting her lip, closing her eyes and giggling slightly, burying her face against his bare chest.
Troy cracked up laughing. "You've gotta be joking! Please tell me he made them rinse it out?"
She shook her head against his chest. "I have no idea," she told him honestly, still giggling. Either way, she hand no idea why they'd even want to do it.
"This is really beautiful though," he said, kissing the top of her head.
She smiled, turning her head up to him. "It was the only thing I had that you'd given me. I took only what I could fit in one bag when I left. Abuela's bible and all the money I had and enough clothes to last me till I could wash."
Troy ran his fingers through her long, dark locks. "Mom's got all your stuff in storage. I couldn't tell you about your parents."
Gabriella shook her head. "I haven't been in touch with them since I left and haven't planned on it. You and your family and the friends I have here are the only people I consider my family from there."
Troy would never push her on that. He knew what her home life had been like and he would never force her to do anything where that was concerned. "Mom wanted me to come home before the season started." They had left so quickly the day before, not stopping in to see them and he knew he'd probably have several voice messages from her on his phone when he actually turned it back on. He needed to charge it, but it was the farthest thing from his mind. "Maybe you'll be able to come with me."
Bri smiled brightly, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him excitedly. "I'd love that!" She pressed her lips back to his, so excited, loving that he was making plans with her. She knew they were really back together, but taking her back home to see his parents made everything even more real. She pulled back slowly, smiling brightly down at him.
"When does the season begin?" Troy ran his fingers through her hair again, tucking it behind her ear.
"Preseason starts at the beginning of October."
Gabriella bit her lip, trying to think about whether she'd still be filming her movie at that time. "This is why I have Taylor. She always knows where I'll be even without looking at her phone. I think I'll be on location at that time." Troy nodded his head, trying not to be too disappointed. Gabriella placed her hand on the side of his face, turning it to face her squarely. "¡Escuche, T!" she lifted her eyebrows, taking a deep breath. "Whether I'm in New York or California, I'll fly my ass up to come see you and your parents, even if it's for two hours for dinner, do you hear me? I will do what I can to come spend time with you. We will make this work between us, especially the little things, because it's the little things that matter," she told him, taking his hand and pressing it against her chest between her breasts above her heart. "Te quiero, T. ¡Te amo! ¡Por siempre! I'm never going to stop telling you either. I love you!" She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his, kissing him deeply. "Por siempre," she whispered. "I'm never leaving, and I'm going to be with you forever. Even from thousands of miles away," she pressed her lips back to his, holding him close to her naked body.
She wasn't going to leave him and she was going to do anything it took to spend time with him. It had been ten years since she had been with him and she was going to spend as much time with him to make up for it, even though she was sure she'd never feel like it was enough, even if they were together for one hundred years. He smiled into their kiss, holding her against him.
"I love you, Lily. I'm never letting you go either. I know we're going to make this work, but I can't expect you to just jet off in the middle of filming for dinner with my family and me. You've got to work too."
Gabriella laughed, shaking her head. "That's the beauty of it," she said, pulling herself up closer to him. "they will give me time when I need it, so I will." She smiled brightly, running her fingers along his jawline. "Honestly, I never expected to fly from New York to Arizona for dinner if I'm only able to come up for the night."
She giggled slightly as Troy pulled her up closer to him. "That's what I'm talking about." He pressed his lips to her forehead. "If you're only able to come up for a few hours, you're going to be exhausted. I don't want that for you."
Bri silenced him by placing her lips over his, kissing him passionately. "Shhhhh. Shhhhhh. Tranquilo, mi rey. Por favor." She smiled down at him, caressing the side of his face.
He laced his fingers through her hair behind her ear, holding her head. "Yes, my queen?"
She smiled down at him. "If I want to come back and spend the evening with my family, the only family I've ever wanted, then that's what I'm going to do. It's not a sacrifice to spend time with the man I love."
He smiled, pulling her head closer to him. "I love you, Lily. You're my world."
Gabriella kissed him again, taking a deep breath, pulling back slowly. "I think we need to do something to today. We could probably put it off, but the longer we put it of, the harder it might be later. We just need to get it over with."
Troy knew exactly what she was talking about. "Sharpay and De Aquila."
She nodded slowly, laying her head on his shoulder. "The way we left the other night, I know they know things are over, but they still deserve better than that."
Troy pressed his lips to the top of her head. He knew she was right, even though he'd rather just stay here with her all day. He'd actually just let it go altogether, but Sharpay was there for him when Lily had left. There's no telling what would have happened to him if she hadn't been there for him. He cared about her. She wasn't his Lily, and he didn't want to hurt her, but that's exactly what he had to do.
"We don't have to go now," Gabriella said softly, letting her hand softly draw invisible lines on his chest. "We have all day, and it's only a Sunday. Nobody does anything on Sunday but go to church."
Troy smiled, curling his fingers around some of her hair. "Am I keeping my angel from St. Martinez?"
Gabriella blushed, looking up at him, shaking her head slightly, giggling. "Here it's St. Clement's, baby." She pressed her lips softly to his, pulling back, still blushing. "I don't go to Mass every Sunday. Besides, I can go to church almost any day of the week."
Troy ran his hand down the slope of her back, breathing her hair into his senses. "Would you like me to start going with you again?"
He hadn't gone to church since he'd been with his mom the last time he was home. It wasn't what he usually did. Gabriella usually went, something she had done regularly before she left when she was staying with him and his family. Her parents weren't church goers, but her grandmother was, and Troy's mother was, and they had all gone to church together. Troy just got roped into going by default.
Gabriella lifted her head. "You never did like going to church much. You don't have to go for me."
He lifted his head off the couch, pressing his lips to hers softly. "There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you, my perfect Lily."
She blushed softly, leaning her forehead against his. "I love you," she whispered softly.
She knew there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her, even if she had left him the way she had. But what she didn't know is he blamed himself just as much as she blamed herself. If he hadn't been so forceful with her and made her talk when she wasn't ready, but he really never thought she would be ready. And she wasn't for quite a while. It wasn't until years after she had told Taylor where she was and she came out to be with her that was able to talk about Troy without crying.
Taylor had been in California for almost two years by the time she had been able to tell her she had been pregnant with Troy's child before things went to hell. Taylor didn't hold it against her though. She understood that it was hard for her and what it would have meant if she would have not miscarried. Gabriella's career meant her life to her, but what Taylor didn't understand, Gabriella would have gladly given her career up for that baby. That was something Gabriella never told Taylor. While Gabi was making a name for herself in Hollywood, she was secretly missing the life she should have had with Troy and the baby they lost. She would have gladly become a stay at home mom while he went to school and was a college basketball star, but then things changed and she couldn't go back, not after what happened when she left.
She knew all about what Troy was doing. Taylor was still dating Chad, and Chad and Troy had stayed best friends since high school. Everyone had stayed together except for Gabriella. She was the one who had left. She fell apart and couldn't go back. How could she after the way she had left Troy? She was still in love with him, but she couldn't just walk back into his arms after the way she had hurt him... Not like she had the other night. It had seemed so easy at the reunion. She didn't know how she was able to do it, especially since she hadn't been able to do it the thousands of times Taylor and Chad had gone out with Troy. Well, he had been with Sharpay. He had been dancing with Sharpay at the reunion when she had walked over and asked if she could dance with him. Gabriella could not for the life of her tell why she was able to pull together her strength and talk to him when she hadn't been able to the countless times before, but she was glad she had.
It was a few hours and a shared shower later when they pulled themselves away from each other and drove off in separate cabs to go see Sharpay and Julian. They had discussed calling them first, but then it would have been easier to get out of going to see them and do it over the phone, and both of them deserved better than that and they both headed downtown to see them in person.
Gabriella sat in the back of the cab, looking at the ring she had taken off of her finger and placed in her purse before walking over to Troy that night. She couldn't talk to him with another man on her hand. She thought of all the times at the first of hers and Jules' relationship when he had tried to get her to go to bed with him. She couldn't do it. She had never wanted to. Every time he had wanted to, she had seen Troy's face and she'd have to turn away from him. He'd asked if she wasn't ready, and she told him that's what it was. It was true. She wasn't ready to move on from Troy, and the truth was, she would never be able to move on from him, and she knew now why. Because she was meant to always be with him. But they were now back together and they were never going to be apart again.
The cabbie pulled up to the curb and Gabriella looked up, taking a deep breath, putting the ring back in her purse, pulling out the amount of the fare, plus more to pay the cabbie his tip. "Gracias, señor. Tenga un día agradable." She paid him and opened the door, stepping out and sliding her glasses on her face and securing her Sunday bonnet on, tying it on the side before looking up at the high rise where Julian lives. She wasn't looking forward to this. He was an easy-going guy for the most part, but after the way she had left the other night, and with who she left with, she knew his calm behavior had every right to have flown right out the window.
She walked over toward the door and the doorman nodded, smiling at her. "Buena tarde, Señorita Ella."
Gabriealla smiled at the jovial, rotund Spanish man. "Buena tarde, Esteban!"
The robust man held the door open for her and she walked in, heading toward the elevator, pushing the up button and the elevator opened automatically. In Taylor's building, she'd just use the stairs. They only lived on the fourth floor, but Jules lived on the 25th floor, and in these heels, Gabi didn't feel like traipsing 50 floors of stairs within the next little while just to do this with Julian. The lift didn't take too long and she walked out of the elevator, walking down toward his apartment, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door. She felt bad. He had always treated her so good, and she had never lied to him... aside from being in love with Troy. And she would have continued to lie to him, continuing to put off a marriage she never really wanted because she was in love with Troy.
Troy sat in his cab, heading off toward the apartment he had shared with Sharpay for the past six years, since graduating UofA. She had stuck with him him all the years at UofA. She had picked Troy's ass up off the ground after Lily had left. She was there with him all the way after he started playing with the Lakers. She was here when they first offered him the job coaching for them. Troy was only a player himself, and only had been for a few years, but they knew he had what it took and she supported him the entire way, even when he didn't think he had what it would take, she supported him.
Even when she wasn't here in California these last few months filming her movie. She would stay up with him on the phone all the way back in Florida talking to him at three thirty in the morning when he had to be to practice at four thirty when it was 6:30 there and she needed to be to the studio at 7, but she didn't care. She was on the phone with him because she was supporting him. And here Troy was, on the way to break up with her because Lily was back in his life after ten years ready to pick up right where they left off. The thing Troy hoped Sharpay understood was that he and Gabriella were young and stupid when they were together, but that didn't mean they didn't love each other when they were together.
He had proposed to Gabriella back then and he had wanted her to be his wife back then. He still wanted her to be his wife now. He knew he was still going to hurt her heart by telling her that, but Lily and Sharpay had been best friends at one point in time, he hoped that Sharpay would remember that and see that when he was telling her all this. She would have supported the two of them back then. He hoped the same would be true now.
Troy paid the cab driver before stepping out of the cab and headed into his building after keying in the code and heading up the stairs. He found Sharpay fast asleep with a melted tub of Ben & Jerry's on the floor in front of the couch in front of her. Swallowing hard, he picked it up and started cleaning up the rest of the empty food cartons around her and straightening the rest of the living room round her. The TV was turned on to some movie channel but he knew if he turned it off it would wake her up, so he let it stay on and he continued to clean up the room. He could probably get some of his stuff packed before she woke up or even realized he was here. He didn't want to disturb her. That, and he really wanted to put this off as long as he could. He wasn't looking forward to breaking her heart more than it was already.
Julian opened the door and looked Gabriella over from head to foot and back again. "I thought I'd know what to say when I actually saw you, but I'm actually at a loss for words right now."
Gabriella bit her lip, taking a slow breath and taking off her sunglasses. "Can I come in?"
Jules took a breath himself, taking a step back, allowing her to walk in. She walked past him, holding her purse in both of her hands in front of herself putting her glasses in the purse, her fingers kneading the material in her fingers.
"Water? I hope you don't mind if I pour myself a drink. I didn't attend church today. My pew partner had a prior engagement."
Gabriella closed her eyes, taking a seat on the couch, even though she hadn't been invited. She'd been engaged to him so long, she didn't even think to wait for an invite.
"No thank you, Jules. I'm alright."
Julian poured himself some bourbon, needing something strong to get through this. "Alright? Right!" He walked over, sitting down on the coffee table across from her. "I'm sure you were more than alright the other night after you left the reunion like you did. Leaving me there at the reunion that wasn't even mine."
Gabriella shook her head. "How drunk are you, Julian?"
He leaned closer to her. "How drunk would you like me to be?"
She slid away from him. "I don't want to do this with you if you're plastered. You've never been like this with me."
He smirked at her, reaching out to place a hand on her bare knee. She pulled her knees away from him, keeping them tight together. "I've never had a reason to be plastered in front of you. ¡Tu nunca ha sido tal puta!"
She stood up quickly, tears burning her eyes. "This was a mistake! I thought I'd come here and end things the right way, but you're just going to be a jerk!"
She tried to walk past him, but he stood, pushing her back on the couch, leaving his tumbler on the coffee table, throwing his body on top of hers. "I'm the jerk? No, I'll leave that to Coach Bolton!" he said, pushing his groin against Gabriella, grabbing at her breast. "He swoops in, taking advantage of the poor, innocent little helpless Ella, and he just expects her to melt in his hands like putty." He pushed his body up against hers as she pushed against him to get away, turning her head away from his.
"No, but I have another theory. I bet the reason why you never wanted to be with me, is because this whole time, you've been wanting him, aching to have his cock right back inside this tight little chasm, tu pinche puta," he said, sliding his hand between her legs and up under her skirt, rubbing at her pussy through her panties.
"¡Déjeme ir, pinche bastardo!" Gabriella screamed at him, kicking at him, her knee hitting him squarely in the balls as she pushed him off of her, grabbing for her purse as she ran toward the door. She reached in her purse, grabbing the ring out and tossing it at him. "¡Nunca quiero verle otra vez! ¡Le odio! ¡Le odio!" She turned back and opened the door, running out and into the hall, pushing the down button, stepping into the elevator, repeatedly hitting the down button as the doors slowly closed.
Troy zipped his suitcase closed as Sharpay walked into the bedroom, stopping when she saw him.
"Oh... You are here," she said slowly, continuing into the room, walking over to the bed to sit down.
"You look tired," Troy said, pulling the suitcase off the bed, setting it by the door and looking back over at her.
She rubbed at her nose in a circular motion with the palm of her hand before rubbing her eyes. "Didn't sleep much. I missed you."
He took a deep breath. He was sure this wasn't going to go well. He could already see the tears in her eyes. They were red from tears. He hated tears. Lily's the most, but he didn't like Sharpay's either, even if she didn't cry much. Lily didn't cry too much, but those last two weeks before she had left had been miserable.
"You're here to say goodbye, aren't you? If the suitcase doesn't say it, your exit from the reunion sure did." She held up her hand. "I don't want you to say you're sorry. I always knew it was going to happen someday. I tried to tell myself it wouldn't. But you never wanted to talk about marriage for one. Everyone knew you two were meant to be together when we were in high school. Hell, it was all everyone could talk about at the other night. 'And we all thought Troy and Gabi would have ended up together.' I guess everyone was right." She smiled, but she didn't feel it. Inside she was breaking down, but she wanted to be strong for him.
"I don't know what to say, Sharpay," Troy said, honestly unsure of what to say to the woman who'd stood by him faithfully.
"Don't say anything. Just make sure she makes you happy. I'll kick her ass this time if she hurts you again."
Troy shook his head, walking over to the bed, sitting down beside her. "How can you be so understanding when I can tell this is more than hard on you?"
Sharpay swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. "Honestly, this is probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but as long as I know you're happy, I'm ok."
He knew she was being honest about it being the hardest thing she'd ever had to do, but about her being ok, he wasn't so sure. "If it wasn't for you, I never would have been ok myself," he told her, taking her hand in his. "You were there for me when I was sure I couldn't pull my ass up off the floor, Shar. My mom didn't know what to do with me. You were the only one who did."
Sharpay laid her head down on Troy's shoulder, wrapping her arms around his arm, closing her eyes tightly. "I said don't say anything, Troy." She knew he was about to leave her any moment and she'd be all alone.
"I'm sorry, Shar," he whispered against the side of here head. She nodded her head, sitting up slowly.
"I know," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes, hating that she was crying in front of him. She hadn't wanted to break down in front of him.
"I'll be back when I have some more time to get the rest of my stuff out."
She covered her mouth, trying to keep herself pulled together. "I'll be back on location. Come whenever you need to."
He nodded and she got up off the bed, walking into the bathroom, unable to do this anymore. He stood, taking a step toward the door, reaching out to her, but stopping. It was over. This had actually gone smoother than he had expected. Even though she was hurting, at least she wasn't screaming at him or tossing things at him. It wasn't anything like what had happened with Lily when she left him.