MUMUS: A Cattle Creek Gang New Years
A short for my Mixed Up; Mashed Up Collection
Part 3 of The Cattle Creek Gang Series: Read Part 1 or Part 2
Based on the following request:
Username: naughtycate at FF.net
Couple: Ryan & Gabriella
Rating: M
Quote: "Ryan, when we're married, will you make room for my things in your closet?"
Setting/Event: Ryan's apartment
Random Stuff:
- An engagement
- an inappropriately timed phone call
- a zipper that won't stay up
A Cattle Creek Gang New Years
They were the unlikeliest group of friends-everyone thought so. Early on in their public school careers they were labeled by their peers: 2 jocks, 2 nerds and 2 drama freaks. But for the six kids who were born and raised on a Albuquerque, New Mexico cul-de-sac called Cattle Creek Loop (which led to them being referred to as the Cattle Creek Gang), there were no cliques that separated them, they were just best friends.
Between 1988 and 1989, Cattle Creek Loop welcomed five families into its homes all of them in different places in their lives, some were newly weds others and others had been married for several years. There must have been something in the water, or so the saying goes, because all five families became pregnant about the same time and all had their babies during the summer of 1990.
Charlie and Yolanda Danforth were the first couple to welcome their baby on June 5. It was a little boy with a head full of hair and they named him Chad Daniel, after his mom’s grandfather. Six years later, Chad would be followed by younger brother Christopher Scott.
Jose and Miranda Montez were the next couple to welcome a baby a couple weeks later on June 21st. It was a little girl and they christened her Gabriella Marie.
With July came Vance and Darby Evans’ double blessing on the 15th. They named their baby boy, the oldest of the two twins, Ryan Benjamin and their baby girl Sharpay Danielle.
On August 1st, Griffen and Sheryl McKessie welcome their second daughter Taylor Renee to the family. She joined older siblings Logan (4) and Madelyn Rose (2).
The last of the six 1990 babies was born to Jack and Lucy Bolton on August 12. Having decided to wait until the baby was born to find out the sex, they didn’t know until the baby was born that he was a boy and they named him Troy Walker.
From the very beginning of their existence the Cattle Creek Gang did everything together. When they were little it was play dates, birthday parties, potty training, preschool, field trips, sports, learning to ride bikes and learning to swim. And as they got older it started to include school dances, learning to drive, going to prom, graduating, everything that normal kids do with their friends.
With so many people and personalities in the group, they had roles. Chad came up with the ideas, Sharpay perfected them, Taylor converted them into actuality, Ryan tested them out, Troy stood look out and Gabriella sweet-talked them all out of trouble.
Elementary school teachers expressed concern over the six not including others in their play. Upon suggestion the six were split up for classes. Taylor and Troy worked well together, but also had an easy time working with others so they were already paired up. Sharpay and Chad were paired up because it was felt that paired up with any of their other friends their dominating personalities would stunt the other student’s growth. Ryan and Gabriella were both shy and timid around other kids, but with each other to lean on for support they were able to break through their social anxieties.
Ryan and Gabriella were each other’s security blankets. There wasn’t a first day of school that they didn’t enter the school building holding hands. It was a tradition that started in first grade and continued through their last year of college at New York University.
They shared a lot of first together over the years with the reasoning that they’d rather due it with somebody they trusted than with a complete stranger. There was their first kiss on the lips at 10, their first French kiss at age 14 and their first makeout session a couple months later. The kisses led to more intimate things like touch and heavy petting to blow jobs and fingering.
All of their first were done in complete secrecy. Nobody else knew what they did behind closed doors. They dated other people and did things with them, though they never went farther with other people than they had gone with each other.
It was a cold December night during their sophomore year of high school that they went all the way. A thunder and lightening storm knocked out power to their cul-de-sac and she had been home alone as had he. He had come to her and they had laid in her bed, snuggled under the blankets as the storm raged outside. They started off kissing and things escalated. When the storm ended their relationship was changed forever and their friends and family members were none the wiser.
During senior year, when Chad and Sharpay started dating and Sharpay revealed things that she had done to Chad, Gabriella tossed around the idea of telling her friends that she and Ryan had had sex more times than she could count on her hands, but telling them didn’t feel right. What she and Ryan did together in private was their business, nobody else’s. Besides, it was kind of fun to have a secret fuck buddy.
College acceptance letters found Gabriella and Ryan accepted to New York University. Her mother threw a fit about Gabriella moving to New York City for college, but calmed down a little upon learning Ryan would be in New York City as well.
Their secret relationship continued into college and remained a secret until her roommate walked in on them, telling Gabriella she had a phone call from somebody named Sharpay. That had led to an awkward conversation during Christmas break when Gabriella and Ryan had to fess up to their friends about what had been going on between them. Of course, they didn’t tell their friends everything, well an edited version of everything. They told them that their secret relationship had started after they’d moved to New York City and found themselves very lonely without all their friends.
Their relationship cooled a little when he did a year abroad and she met a guy named James. The distance and her growing feelings towards James ended her and Ryan’s fuck buddy status. She and James dated most of sophomore year of college and all of junior year.
It was during that time that Ryan realized how strong his feelings were for Gabriella and that he wanted to be with her. But he couldn’t tell her, he tried several times but the words would never come out of his mouth. James made her happy and if she was happy he was happy.
Gabriella’s mother had loved James the minute she met him when he came home for Christmas with Gabriella, much to Ryan’s disgust. He had hoped that Gabriella’s mother would tell her daughter that James would never be as good for her as Ryan was. Of course, her mother had no reason to know how Ryan would be for her daughter.
During the summer between junior and senior year of college, Ryan had met Hannah, a girl in the music program with him at NYU and had started to get serious with her. They had been in her apartment making out and getting ready to have sex, when the phone call came.
“Just ignore it,” she whispered against his lips.
“I can’t,” he said, pulling away. “It could be someone from home.”
She sighed and leaned back as he grabbed his pants off the floor and pulled out his phone.
“It’s Gabriella,” he told her.
“Of course it is,” she sighed. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Gabriella, she was a nice girl. But she always called at the worst times.
“Hey Gabs,” Ryan greeted. The smile on his face quickly fell. “Gabs, calm down, I can’t understand what you’re saying.” He glanced at Hannah before going into the bathroom. “He did what? Where are you?” He ran his hand through his hair. “Give me ten minutes, I’ll come pick you up.”
When he left the bathroom, Hannah was wearing her robe and holding his clothes.
“It’s not going to work out between us, is it, Ryan?” Hannah asked.
“What do you mean?” Ryan asked as he pulled on his clothes.
“You and me,” she said. “I’m just a placeholder until you can be with Gabriella, right?” He opened his mouth to speak but she put her finger to his lips. “It’s ok, Ryan.”
“I really wanted to love you, Hannah,” he said. “I really did.”
“I know,” she caressed his face. She placed her lips on his one last time then pulled away. “Go rescue your fair-maiden.”
Ryan had rushed to the restaurant that James had left Gabriella at then took her back to her apartment. He held her as she tearfully told him that James had broken up with her at the fancy restaurant, his reason being that he had met somebody else and she was pregnant with his baby.
Ryan wanted to tell her how he felt about her. He wanted to tell her that he was in love with her. But he didn’t want to rush her or push her away. So he was her solid rock, her shoulder to cry on.
Slowly, as their senior year progressed, elements of their relationship before James started to come back. He never pushed her to do things she wasn’t ready for, but he didn’t stop her from doing what she wanted to his body.
He had been surprised when she announced that she was moving back to Albuquerque after graduation. He thought for sure she’d gotten a taste for the big city like he had. He thought about staying in the city, but there was no way he would stay happy very long without her with him, so he had followed her back to Albuquerque and moved into an apartment a few blocks from where she lived.
He took a job at West High as the choir director and head of the theater department, he would have rather worked at East High, but his sister was already lined up to take Ms. Darbus’ position after their favorite teacher retired. Amidst the chaos of getting his students ready for concerts and the winter musical, Ryan was forced into helping his sister plan her wedding, though he lucked out by only having to help Chad.
At Chad and Sharpay’s wedding, Ryan was a groomsman and Gabriella was a bridesmaid. It was while his sister and Chad were exchanging vows that Ryan’s eyes wandered over to Gabriella. She looked so beautiful in her floor length pink gown with her hair pulled back into a fancy updo. He wanted to tell her he loved her and, he decided as his sister and Chad kissed, he would do it tonight.
They had danced the night away, sipping on champagne and laughing about the fact his zipper would stay up. After the wedding, they took a cab to his place and he quickly rid himself of his defective-zipper pants the second they walked in the door. Then he struggled to unzip her dress a few minutes later in his bedroom.
“Stupid thing,” he cursed.
“Calm down, Ryan,” she laughed. “Let me try it.”
Even in her drunken state, Gabriella pulled the zipper down with ease.
“I loosened it for you,” Ryan muttered as he shrugged off his jacket.
“I know,” she smiled as she slipped her arms from the straps and let her dress fall to the floor leaving her in a pair of panties. “Leave it to your sister to have us dressed in the puffiest dresses on earth.”
“You looked beautiful in it,” Ryan stated as he took off the rest of his tux.
“You looked pretty sexy in your tux,” Gabriella smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. “You were the sexiest groomsman at the wedding. Though Chris is becoming mighty fine.”
“He’s only 16,” Ryan reminded her.
“I didn’t say I was going to do anything with him,” she stated. “You’re the only guy from Cattle Creek Drive that will ever get with me.” Ryan’s eyes closed as she nibbled on his neck and ran her hands up and down his torso. “Take me to bed, Ryan.”
Ryan turned around so he was facing her and kissed her lips. “I need to tell you something,” he whispered.
“After,” she said as she took a step towards his bed.
“No, I have to tell you now, Gabriella,” he said. “I’ve been holding something back for a long time and I can’t do it anymore.”
“You sound serious,” she said.
“I am serious, Gabriella,” he stated. “I love you. I’ve loved you for a really long time.”
“I love you, too,” she smiled.
“I mean like love love, Gabriella,” he said. “I mean the kind of love Chad and Sharpay have. I don’t want to be your fuck buddy and I don’t want to be just your friend. I want you, I want to be with you, I want to be your on and only, and your true love. I want to be the guy you come home to and tell about your day.” He took a step out of her embrace. “And I can’t be with you if you don’t feel the same way about me.”
They stood in silence for several minutes before she said, “Ryan, I-”
“It’s ok, I get it,” he said, giving her a small smile. “I’m gonna go for a walk.”
“That’s not what I was going to say, Ryan Evans, and if you hadn’t interrupted me, you would know that,” she scolded. “I was going to say that I didn’t think that waiting for me to be drunk and horny was the best time to tell me you love me.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think about that,” he sighed. “Sorry.”
“I forgive you,” she smiled. “But I’m glad you said something tonight, because I want what Chad and Sharpay have, too. I thought I had that with James, but I didn’t. He always made comments about how I wasn’t properly dressed for where we were going or how I should cut my hair.” She moved to him. “But you’ve loved me unconditionally since we were kids. You’re my first everything, Ryan, but most importantly, you’re my first forever love.”
“Forever love, what’s that?” He asked
“Forever love is better than regular love,” she smiled. “Forever love is what Troy and Taylor and Chad and Sharpay have. I want to be with you, Ryan Evans, and I want everyone to know. I want my parents to know you’re the man I love, the man I have sex with and the man I start my day next to.”
“Can we not tell them about the sex part?” Ryan asked. “I’ve seen your dad’s shotgun collection.”
Gabriella giggled and put her arms around his neck. “I love you, Ryan Evans.”
He grinned and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He backed them up until his knees hit the edge of the bed then he fell backward so she was on to of him on the bed.
When Chad and Sharpay returned from their honeymoon, Gabriella and Ryan told their families that they were dating. Their parents had been thrilled and their friends had simply said, “It’s about time.”
Within a week, Gabriella had all but moved into his apartment. She would gripe in the mornings about having to go out to the main part of the apartment to get her clothes from the coat closet since his closet was too full for hers.
“Ryan, when we’re married, will you make room for my things in your closet?” She asked one morning when she returned from getting her clothes from the coat closet.
“When we’re married?” He questioned.
“I, well, I, um-” she stuttered a blush spreading across her face.
“How about this, when we’re married, I’ll buy you a big house with a walk in closet?” He suggested.
“Don’t toy with me boy,” she smiled.
“Speaking of getting married, where should we go for New Years Eve?” He asked.
“What does New Years Eve have to do with getting married?” She asked, looking up at him after she pulled on her nylons. “And since when do we go anywhere for New Years Eve?”
“Well to answer the first question, Troy and Taylor got married on New Years Eve,” Ryan stated. “And I know we never go anywhere that’s why I thought it would be fun for us to go somewhere, you know, just the two of us.”
“Why would we go somewhere by ourselves?” She asked. “Our families get together for New Years Eve and we have a big party. We always go.”
“I know, but this could be our one and only chance to go spend New Years Eve someplace else,” he shrugged. “Think about New Years Eve in New York City or in England or maybe even in Australia.”
“We can think about it,” she smiled. “But you should get going, you have an early morning choir practice in fifteen minutes.”
Ryan tried several more times to get her to agree to go somewhere else for New Years Eve, but each time she shook her head and said she wanted to stay home for New Years Eve.
As a last resort, he bought her two nonrefundable tickets to New York City for Christmas. He knew it was a gamble, but he hope it would pay off. He waited to give them to her until Christmas day after they had returned to his apartment after a day spent with both families.
She had smiled the second she had seen the present, but the smile disappeared from her face when she saw the plane tickets. “Ryan, what is this?” She asked.
“New Years Eve in New York City,” he smiled.
“But I told you I wanted to stay home,” she stated.
“I know, but I thought-”
“You thought what? That I wouldn’t say no if you already bought the tickets?”
“Well, kinda…”
“You know what, Ryan, if you want to go to New York City, then you can go by yourself,” she stated. She threw the tickets at him and headed for the door.
“Gabriella, wait!” He grabbed her arm.
“No, Ryan,” she snatched her arm away. “I told you I wanted to spend New Years Eve with our families.”
“I know, I know,” he sighed. “It’s just-”
“It’s just what?”
“We do everything with our families, Gabriella, we always will,” he stated. “And for once I wanted to do something without our families breathing down our necks.”
“What are you talking about, Ryan? It’s just New Years Eve.”
“It’s not just News Years Eve,” Ryan argued. “I was going to propose to you Gabriella! But if we’re with our families that means I have to do it in front of all of them and I want to do it with just the two of us.”
“You were going to propose to me?” Her face softened.
“Yeah…”
“Do we really have to wait until New Years Eve?” She asked.
“Well, sorta, your ring won’t be done until the 31st,” he said.
“What if we kept it a secret?” She suggested. “You propose now and we’ll wait until January 1st to tell everyone.”
“I was going to propose at midnight though,” he sighed. “And if-”
“Leave it to me,” she smiled. “I’ll make sure we’re completely alone at midnight.”
A week later, Ryan found himself driving an “under the weather” Gabriella home fifteen minutes before midnight. His soon-to-be fiancée had been “coming down with a cold” for most of the week and “wasn’t feeling too well” and asked him to take her home.
“And you’re sure you’re really not sick?” He asked as he pulled into his parking spot.
“For the hundredth time, I feel fine,” Gabriella smiled. “And as soon as that clock strikes 12, I’ll show you how fine I feel.”
Ryan grinned and led her upstairs to his apartment. She turned on the TV and poured them each a glass of champagne while he excused himself to the bedroom.
“You alright in there, Ry?” She called when he hadn’t come out a couple minutes later. “It’s almost midnight.”
Curious, she grabbed the wine glasses and head back into the bedroom. She saw a small black box sitting on the edge of the bed and set the wine glasses on the nearest hard service before going to the box. She picked it up and opened it, revealing a white gold diamond ring.
Fireworks nearby alerted her to the fact that it was midnight, but where was Ryan?
“Gabriella Montez, will you marry me?” His breath tickled the back of her neck as he reached around and took the diamond ring from the box. She turned around as he got down on one knee. “Be my forever love?”
“Yes,” she nodded.
He slipped the ring onto her finger then stood up to kiss her.
“I love you, Ryan Evans,” she grinned.
“I love you, too,” he stated. “Now don’t you have something to prove?”
“I’m getting there,” she smirked. “Get ready.”
While she was out of the room, he pulled off his clothes and climbed onto the bed to wait for her. He groaned aloud when she came into the room dressed in a see-through lace nighty that stopped mid-thigh.
She smiled and walked sexily over to the bed then crawled on top of him. Her lips found his and he deepened the kiss, pulling her closer. Pulling away, she kissed down his chest, leaving lipstick marks on his torso until she reached his hardening manhood. She wrapped her hand around his member and massaged it before lowering her mouth onto him.
He closed his eyes in pure ecstasy as she circled the tip of manhood with her tongue before putting him back in her mouth. He wanted to touch her, to feel himself inside of her.
As if reading his thoughts, she kissed back up his body then laid back on the bed next to him. He rolled over and kissed her lips then down her neck as he positioned himself between her legs. Finally, he pushed inside of her and felt her wrap her limbs around him as he began to move in and out of her.
They did it several times into the wee hours of the new year, before he fell to her side completely spent, but happier than he had ever been. She snuggled up against his side and whispered, “Happy New Year, Ryan.”
They were woken up hours later when his dad called to find out why Ryan wasn’t at the Rose Bowl viewing party. Ryan promised to be there soon and hung up. They got out of bed, tired and slightly sore, but were in the car thirty minutes after their wake up call.
Parking in the first spot they found, they walked into the Boltons’ house hand in hand.
“We’re here,” Ryan said as they went into the den where everyone was gathered for the football game.
“And we’re engaged,” Gabriella added then giggled when they caught the attention of everyone in the room. She made her way to her grandma and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You were right, we were next.”
Story Index
Part 3 of The Cattle Creek Gang Series: Read Part 1 or Part 2
Based on the following request:
Username: naughtycate at FF.net
Couple: Ryan & Gabriella
Rating: M
Quote: "Ryan, when we're married, will you make room for my things in your closet?"
Setting/Event: Ryan's apartment
Random Stuff:
- An engagement
- an inappropriately timed phone call
- a zipper that won't stay up
A Cattle Creek Gang New Years
They were the unlikeliest group of friends-everyone thought so. Early on in their public school careers they were labeled by their peers: 2 jocks, 2 nerds and 2 drama freaks. But for the six kids who were born and raised on a Albuquerque, New Mexico cul-de-sac called Cattle Creek Loop (which led to them being referred to as the Cattle Creek Gang), there were no cliques that separated them, they were just best friends.
Between 1988 and 1989, Cattle Creek Loop welcomed five families into its homes all of them in different places in their lives, some were newly weds others and others had been married for several years. There must have been something in the water, or so the saying goes, because all five families became pregnant about the same time and all had their babies during the summer of 1990.
Charlie and Yolanda Danforth were the first couple to welcome their baby on June 5. It was a little boy with a head full of hair and they named him Chad Daniel, after his mom’s grandfather. Six years later, Chad would be followed by younger brother Christopher Scott.
Jose and Miranda Montez were the next couple to welcome a baby a couple weeks later on June 21st. It was a little girl and they christened her Gabriella Marie.
With July came Vance and Darby Evans’ double blessing on the 15th. They named their baby boy, the oldest of the two twins, Ryan Benjamin and their baby girl Sharpay Danielle.
On August 1st, Griffen and Sheryl McKessie welcome their second daughter Taylor Renee to the family. She joined older siblings Logan (4) and Madelyn Rose (2).
The last of the six 1990 babies was born to Jack and Lucy Bolton on August 12. Having decided to wait until the baby was born to find out the sex, they didn’t know until the baby was born that he was a boy and they named him Troy Walker.
From the very beginning of their existence the Cattle Creek Gang did everything together. When they were little it was play dates, birthday parties, potty training, preschool, field trips, sports, learning to ride bikes and learning to swim. And as they got older it started to include school dances, learning to drive, going to prom, graduating, everything that normal kids do with their friends.
With so many people and personalities in the group, they had roles. Chad came up with the ideas, Sharpay perfected them, Taylor converted them into actuality, Ryan tested them out, Troy stood look out and Gabriella sweet-talked them all out of trouble.
Elementary school teachers expressed concern over the six not including others in their play. Upon suggestion the six were split up for classes. Taylor and Troy worked well together, but also had an easy time working with others so they were already paired up. Sharpay and Chad were paired up because it was felt that paired up with any of their other friends their dominating personalities would stunt the other student’s growth. Ryan and Gabriella were both shy and timid around other kids, but with each other to lean on for support they were able to break through their social anxieties.
Ryan and Gabriella were each other’s security blankets. There wasn’t a first day of school that they didn’t enter the school building holding hands. It was a tradition that started in first grade and continued through their last year of college at New York University.
They shared a lot of first together over the years with the reasoning that they’d rather due it with somebody they trusted than with a complete stranger. There was their first kiss on the lips at 10, their first French kiss at age 14 and their first makeout session a couple months later. The kisses led to more intimate things like touch and heavy petting to blow jobs and fingering.
All of their first were done in complete secrecy. Nobody else knew what they did behind closed doors. They dated other people and did things with them, though they never went farther with other people than they had gone with each other.
It was a cold December night during their sophomore year of high school that they went all the way. A thunder and lightening storm knocked out power to their cul-de-sac and she had been home alone as had he. He had come to her and they had laid in her bed, snuggled under the blankets as the storm raged outside. They started off kissing and things escalated. When the storm ended their relationship was changed forever and their friends and family members were none the wiser.
During senior year, when Chad and Sharpay started dating and Sharpay revealed things that she had done to Chad, Gabriella tossed around the idea of telling her friends that she and Ryan had had sex more times than she could count on her hands, but telling them didn’t feel right. What she and Ryan did together in private was their business, nobody else’s. Besides, it was kind of fun to have a secret fuck buddy.
College acceptance letters found Gabriella and Ryan accepted to New York University. Her mother threw a fit about Gabriella moving to New York City for college, but calmed down a little upon learning Ryan would be in New York City as well.
Their secret relationship continued into college and remained a secret until her roommate walked in on them, telling Gabriella she had a phone call from somebody named Sharpay. That had led to an awkward conversation during Christmas break when Gabriella and Ryan had to fess up to their friends about what had been going on between them. Of course, they didn’t tell their friends everything, well an edited version of everything. They told them that their secret relationship had started after they’d moved to New York City and found themselves very lonely without all their friends.
Their relationship cooled a little when he did a year abroad and she met a guy named James. The distance and her growing feelings towards James ended her and Ryan’s fuck buddy status. She and James dated most of sophomore year of college and all of junior year.
It was during that time that Ryan realized how strong his feelings were for Gabriella and that he wanted to be with her. But he couldn’t tell her, he tried several times but the words would never come out of his mouth. James made her happy and if she was happy he was happy.
Gabriella’s mother had loved James the minute she met him when he came home for Christmas with Gabriella, much to Ryan’s disgust. He had hoped that Gabriella’s mother would tell her daughter that James would never be as good for her as Ryan was. Of course, her mother had no reason to know how Ryan would be for her daughter.
During the summer between junior and senior year of college, Ryan had met Hannah, a girl in the music program with him at NYU and had started to get serious with her. They had been in her apartment making out and getting ready to have sex, when the phone call came.
“Just ignore it,” she whispered against his lips.
“I can’t,” he said, pulling away. “It could be someone from home.”
She sighed and leaned back as he grabbed his pants off the floor and pulled out his phone.
“It’s Gabriella,” he told her.
“Of course it is,” she sighed. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Gabriella, she was a nice girl. But she always called at the worst times.
“Hey Gabs,” Ryan greeted. The smile on his face quickly fell. “Gabs, calm down, I can’t understand what you’re saying.” He glanced at Hannah before going into the bathroom. “He did what? Where are you?” He ran his hand through his hair. “Give me ten minutes, I’ll come pick you up.”
When he left the bathroom, Hannah was wearing her robe and holding his clothes.
“It’s not going to work out between us, is it, Ryan?” Hannah asked.
“What do you mean?” Ryan asked as he pulled on his clothes.
“You and me,” she said. “I’m just a placeholder until you can be with Gabriella, right?” He opened his mouth to speak but she put her finger to his lips. “It’s ok, Ryan.”
“I really wanted to love you, Hannah,” he said. “I really did.”
“I know,” she caressed his face. She placed her lips on his one last time then pulled away. “Go rescue your fair-maiden.”
Ryan had rushed to the restaurant that James had left Gabriella at then took her back to her apartment. He held her as she tearfully told him that James had broken up with her at the fancy restaurant, his reason being that he had met somebody else and she was pregnant with his baby.
Ryan wanted to tell her how he felt about her. He wanted to tell her that he was in love with her. But he didn’t want to rush her or push her away. So he was her solid rock, her shoulder to cry on.
Slowly, as their senior year progressed, elements of their relationship before James started to come back. He never pushed her to do things she wasn’t ready for, but he didn’t stop her from doing what she wanted to his body.
He had been surprised when she announced that she was moving back to Albuquerque after graduation. He thought for sure she’d gotten a taste for the big city like he had. He thought about staying in the city, but there was no way he would stay happy very long without her with him, so he had followed her back to Albuquerque and moved into an apartment a few blocks from where she lived.
He took a job at West High as the choir director and head of the theater department, he would have rather worked at East High, but his sister was already lined up to take Ms. Darbus’ position after their favorite teacher retired. Amidst the chaos of getting his students ready for concerts and the winter musical, Ryan was forced into helping his sister plan her wedding, though he lucked out by only having to help Chad.
At Chad and Sharpay’s wedding, Ryan was a groomsman and Gabriella was a bridesmaid. It was while his sister and Chad were exchanging vows that Ryan’s eyes wandered over to Gabriella. She looked so beautiful in her floor length pink gown with her hair pulled back into a fancy updo. He wanted to tell her he loved her and, he decided as his sister and Chad kissed, he would do it tonight.
They had danced the night away, sipping on champagne and laughing about the fact his zipper would stay up. After the wedding, they took a cab to his place and he quickly rid himself of his defective-zipper pants the second they walked in the door. Then he struggled to unzip her dress a few minutes later in his bedroom.
“Stupid thing,” he cursed.
“Calm down, Ryan,” she laughed. “Let me try it.”
Even in her drunken state, Gabriella pulled the zipper down with ease.
“I loosened it for you,” Ryan muttered as he shrugged off his jacket.
“I know,” she smiled as she slipped her arms from the straps and let her dress fall to the floor leaving her in a pair of panties. “Leave it to your sister to have us dressed in the puffiest dresses on earth.”
“You looked beautiful in it,” Ryan stated as he took off the rest of his tux.
“You looked pretty sexy in your tux,” Gabriella smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. “You were the sexiest groomsman at the wedding. Though Chris is becoming mighty fine.”
“He’s only 16,” Ryan reminded her.
“I didn’t say I was going to do anything with him,” she stated. “You’re the only guy from Cattle Creek Drive that will ever get with me.” Ryan’s eyes closed as she nibbled on his neck and ran her hands up and down his torso. “Take me to bed, Ryan.”
Ryan turned around so he was facing her and kissed her lips. “I need to tell you something,” he whispered.
“After,” she said as she took a step towards his bed.
“No, I have to tell you now, Gabriella,” he said. “I’ve been holding something back for a long time and I can’t do it anymore.”
“You sound serious,” she said.
“I am serious, Gabriella,” he stated. “I love you. I’ve loved you for a really long time.”
“I love you, too,” she smiled.
“I mean like love love, Gabriella,” he said. “I mean the kind of love Chad and Sharpay have. I don’t want to be your fuck buddy and I don’t want to be just your friend. I want you, I want to be with you, I want to be your on and only, and your true love. I want to be the guy you come home to and tell about your day.” He took a step out of her embrace. “And I can’t be with you if you don’t feel the same way about me.”
They stood in silence for several minutes before she said, “Ryan, I-”
“It’s ok, I get it,” he said, giving her a small smile. “I’m gonna go for a walk.”
“That’s not what I was going to say, Ryan Evans, and if you hadn’t interrupted me, you would know that,” she scolded. “I was going to say that I didn’t think that waiting for me to be drunk and horny was the best time to tell me you love me.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think about that,” he sighed. “Sorry.”
“I forgive you,” she smiled. “But I’m glad you said something tonight, because I want what Chad and Sharpay have, too. I thought I had that with James, but I didn’t. He always made comments about how I wasn’t properly dressed for where we were going or how I should cut my hair.” She moved to him. “But you’ve loved me unconditionally since we were kids. You’re my first everything, Ryan, but most importantly, you’re my first forever love.”
“Forever love, what’s that?” He asked
“Forever love is better than regular love,” she smiled. “Forever love is what Troy and Taylor and Chad and Sharpay have. I want to be with you, Ryan Evans, and I want everyone to know. I want my parents to know you’re the man I love, the man I have sex with and the man I start my day next to.”
“Can we not tell them about the sex part?” Ryan asked. “I’ve seen your dad’s shotgun collection.”
Gabriella giggled and put her arms around his neck. “I love you, Ryan Evans.”
He grinned and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He backed them up until his knees hit the edge of the bed then he fell backward so she was on to of him on the bed.
When Chad and Sharpay returned from their honeymoon, Gabriella and Ryan told their families that they were dating. Their parents had been thrilled and their friends had simply said, “It’s about time.”
Within a week, Gabriella had all but moved into his apartment. She would gripe in the mornings about having to go out to the main part of the apartment to get her clothes from the coat closet since his closet was too full for hers.
“Ryan, when we’re married, will you make room for my things in your closet?” She asked one morning when she returned from getting her clothes from the coat closet.
“When we’re married?” He questioned.
“I, well, I, um-” she stuttered a blush spreading across her face.
“How about this, when we’re married, I’ll buy you a big house with a walk in closet?” He suggested.
“Don’t toy with me boy,” she smiled.
“Speaking of getting married, where should we go for New Years Eve?” He asked.
“What does New Years Eve have to do with getting married?” She asked, looking up at him after she pulled on her nylons. “And since when do we go anywhere for New Years Eve?”
“Well to answer the first question, Troy and Taylor got married on New Years Eve,” Ryan stated. “And I know we never go anywhere that’s why I thought it would be fun for us to go somewhere, you know, just the two of us.”
“Why would we go somewhere by ourselves?” She asked. “Our families get together for New Years Eve and we have a big party. We always go.”
“I know, but this could be our one and only chance to go spend New Years Eve someplace else,” he shrugged. “Think about New Years Eve in New York City or in England or maybe even in Australia.”
“We can think about it,” she smiled. “But you should get going, you have an early morning choir practice in fifteen minutes.”
Ryan tried several more times to get her to agree to go somewhere else for New Years Eve, but each time she shook her head and said she wanted to stay home for New Years Eve.
As a last resort, he bought her two nonrefundable tickets to New York City for Christmas. He knew it was a gamble, but he hope it would pay off. He waited to give them to her until Christmas day after they had returned to his apartment after a day spent with both families.
She had smiled the second she had seen the present, but the smile disappeared from her face when she saw the plane tickets. “Ryan, what is this?” She asked.
“New Years Eve in New York City,” he smiled.
“But I told you I wanted to stay home,” she stated.
“I know, but I thought-”
“You thought what? That I wouldn’t say no if you already bought the tickets?”
“Well, kinda…”
“You know what, Ryan, if you want to go to New York City, then you can go by yourself,” she stated. She threw the tickets at him and headed for the door.
“Gabriella, wait!” He grabbed her arm.
“No, Ryan,” she snatched her arm away. “I told you I wanted to spend New Years Eve with our families.”
“I know, I know,” he sighed. “It’s just-”
“It’s just what?”
“We do everything with our families, Gabriella, we always will,” he stated. “And for once I wanted to do something without our families breathing down our necks.”
“What are you talking about, Ryan? It’s just New Years Eve.”
“It’s not just News Years Eve,” Ryan argued. “I was going to propose to you Gabriella! But if we’re with our families that means I have to do it in front of all of them and I want to do it with just the two of us.”
“You were going to propose to me?” Her face softened.
“Yeah…”
“Do we really have to wait until New Years Eve?” She asked.
“Well, sorta, your ring won’t be done until the 31st,” he said.
“What if we kept it a secret?” She suggested. “You propose now and we’ll wait until January 1st to tell everyone.”
“I was going to propose at midnight though,” he sighed. “And if-”
“Leave it to me,” she smiled. “I’ll make sure we’re completely alone at midnight.”
A week later, Ryan found himself driving an “under the weather” Gabriella home fifteen minutes before midnight. His soon-to-be fiancée had been “coming down with a cold” for most of the week and “wasn’t feeling too well” and asked him to take her home.
“And you’re sure you’re really not sick?” He asked as he pulled into his parking spot.
“For the hundredth time, I feel fine,” Gabriella smiled. “And as soon as that clock strikes 12, I’ll show you how fine I feel.”
Ryan grinned and led her upstairs to his apartment. She turned on the TV and poured them each a glass of champagne while he excused himself to the bedroom.
“You alright in there, Ry?” She called when he hadn’t come out a couple minutes later. “It’s almost midnight.”
Curious, she grabbed the wine glasses and head back into the bedroom. She saw a small black box sitting on the edge of the bed and set the wine glasses on the nearest hard service before going to the box. She picked it up and opened it, revealing a white gold diamond ring.
Fireworks nearby alerted her to the fact that it was midnight, but where was Ryan?
“Gabriella Montez, will you marry me?” His breath tickled the back of her neck as he reached around and took the diamond ring from the box. She turned around as he got down on one knee. “Be my forever love?”
“Yes,” she nodded.
He slipped the ring onto her finger then stood up to kiss her.
“I love you, Ryan Evans,” she grinned.
“I love you, too,” he stated. “Now don’t you have something to prove?”
“I’m getting there,” she smirked. “Get ready.”
While she was out of the room, he pulled off his clothes and climbed onto the bed to wait for her. He groaned aloud when she came into the room dressed in a see-through lace nighty that stopped mid-thigh.
She smiled and walked sexily over to the bed then crawled on top of him. Her lips found his and he deepened the kiss, pulling her closer. Pulling away, she kissed down his chest, leaving lipstick marks on his torso until she reached his hardening manhood. She wrapped her hand around his member and massaged it before lowering her mouth onto him.
He closed his eyes in pure ecstasy as she circled the tip of manhood with her tongue before putting him back in her mouth. He wanted to touch her, to feel himself inside of her.
As if reading his thoughts, she kissed back up his body then laid back on the bed next to him. He rolled over and kissed her lips then down her neck as he positioned himself between her legs. Finally, he pushed inside of her and felt her wrap her limbs around him as he began to move in and out of her.
They did it several times into the wee hours of the new year, before he fell to her side completely spent, but happier than he had ever been. She snuggled up against his side and whispered, “Happy New Year, Ryan.”
They were woken up hours later when his dad called to find out why Ryan wasn’t at the Rose Bowl viewing party. Ryan promised to be there soon and hung up. They got out of bed, tired and slightly sore, but were in the car thirty minutes after their wake up call.
Parking in the first spot they found, they walked into the Boltons’ house hand in hand.
“We’re here,” Ryan said as they went into the den where everyone was gathered for the football game.
“And we’re engaged,” Gabriella added then giggled when they caught the attention of everyone in the room. She made her way to her grandma and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You were right, we were next.”
Story Index