Noah finally pulled himself away from the counter he’d been leaning on. “So if he shows up again,” he said picking up a slice of pizza. “I can kick his geriatric ass to the curb?”
She had to laugh. “Geriatric?”
“Yeah, he’s gotta be pushing fifty right?”
There was an age difference between her and Derek but he wasn’t that much older. She knew where he was going with this. “He’s thirty-six and no you will not be kicking anyone’s ass anywhere.”
“Interesting.” He chewed his pizza as he stared at her for a moment. Though humor laced his eyes there was still that bit of raw intensity she saw earlier when she first walked in from outside. “So he’s eight years older than you?”
She nodded. “Yes.” And Noah was eight years younger than her, not a big difference to him she was sure, but there really was. “But it’s different.”
His eyes opened wide. “Really? Wow, this should be good.” He took another bite of pizza then wiped his mouth. There was a slight kick in his tone now. “Tell me how is you dating guy eight years older different from me dating a woman eight years older?”
“It’s not the amount of years in between, it’s where the two people are in their lives when they meet.” She didn’t even know why she was arguing anymore she was so close to giving this a go anyway. Any argument she made now would be negated soon enough. “When Derek and I met we were at a place where we both knew what we wanted.”
“So that made him a sure thing?”
“No. Nothing’s a sure thing.”
“Exactly.” He smiled but there was still some fire behind that smile. He’d won the argument but he was still peeved. “And for the record,” he leaned in close enough to kiss her. “Its not written anywhere that everyone reaches that place at the same age. Seems to me Derek and your friend Nellie’s husband are prime examples of this.” He leaned in closer and kissed her softly on the lips. “So you’re done with this guy and want nothing to do with him anymore right?” His words were self assured but she could still see the uncertainty in his eyes as he waited for her response.
She nodded amazed at how readily she’d given into him. He smiled satisfied and pecked her one more time before pulling away. “Then you’ll have to be a little more specific about what I can and can’t do the next time his ass shows up. Because I tend to have selective hearing and I’ll tell you right now the only part I’m gonna remember is you not wanting to anything to do with him.” He smirked before picking up another slice. “I’ve already blocked out the no-kicking-anyone’s-ass part.”
About to reassert her no-kicking-ass rules, Hector interrupted her thoughts.
“Yo, Noah!” He called from the front room, holding out a controller. “C’mon it’s halftime. Let’s go again. Abel says we got lucky. Lemme just beat your ass one last time.”
Noah smirked at her shrugging as he began to walk away. “This conversation isn’t over, Noah,” she warned.
He put his hand to his ear as if he hadn’t heard a thing, mocking her with that sexy smile of his before turning his back to her on his way to the front room.
“For fuck’s sake can you pay attention?” she heard Abel mutter as Noah took the controller and sat down on the floor.
Gio and Hector laughed and the television was suddenly booming with machine gun fire and bombs. Hector yelled out something about that not being fair while the others laughed. Abel threw a pillow at him. Missing, it hit Gio instead who protested loudly. In the midst of the chaos Noah suddenly turned and glanced at her. He smiled so tenderly her heart turned over and she swore she felt it swell.
Who would’ve thought just a few months ago when she was moping all alone in this silent house, feeling fat and completely uninspired that she’d be here with all these new friends.
This day might’ve gone entirely differently had it not been for Noah and the guys. She still hadn’t heard from Nellie since the day she left her place in tears and her anxiety about that was beginning to really get to her. Noah and the guys, but mostly Noah had really gotten her through today. For an instant the fear was back in her heart—fear that one wrong move, one hasty decision could make this all go away.
Then they all laughed loudly again and she decided to let the fears go for now, already anxious about tonight’s friendly kiss.
CHAPTER 23
Last night’s kiss had gone on extra long. Noah could see he was making progress in breaking through Roni’s defenses. He understood why she was still hesitant to go any further. He wasn’t without worry either. The possibility that something could go wrong was too real. But there was no way he couldn’t try. It was a huge risk but one he felt was absolutely worth the reward should it all work out and he was certain it would.
For now he’d take what she would give him, knowing they had somewhat of an unspoken agreement. Getting her life back to what it used to be was important to her and he’d respect that. She did say she wanted to deal with that first before making any major changes in her life. So he’d be content knowing she wasn’t considering anyone else either. Most importantly although she set down the law that she would handle Kratz and there would be no ass kicking should he ever show up again, she did once again mention she had no interest in reconciling with the guy, not even in friendship terms.
The fight Friday night was only four days away. He’d focus on that instead. Last week Abel’s fight had been a huge hit. They had a full house at the gym and Abel said he’d actually held off a little longer before knocking his opponent out just to give the spectators who’d lined up hours before the fight a longer show. But he warned Noah not to even think of doing the same since not only was his a rematch, he also needed to send out a message to his much tougher opponent in the following fight.
Noah waited in the ring for Abel who’d jumped out for second to take a call. He turned to check on Roni. He’d done such a good job impressing her with his phone it might’ve backfired. All that time she spent snuggling with him on the sofa every night while she played with his phone might be out the door. She was now saying that as soon as she was up for an upgrade on her phone plan she was getting herself one. In the meantime she used his during her workouts which this week had come in handy because with his fight this week he was training even longer which meant he had less time to train with her. Not that she needed him anymore. Most of her workouts consisted of her doing an hour on the treadmill then some weights for toning. But she said listening to music made that hour on the treadmill go by so much faster.
Most of the day he’d train methodically without ever falling off track. But when Roni got there in the evenings it was a different story. She’d been a little down still because of the whole Nellie thing.
He watched her now, trying to make out her mood. Abel jabbed him hard in the ribs making Noah flinch. Noah hadn’t even noticed him get back in the ring.
“Can I say something without you getting all stupid on me?” Abel glanced at Roni then back at Noah.
If this was about her he wasn’t promising shit. “What?”
“I hope to hell you don’t do what you did at your fight a few weeks ago.”
Noah punched his gloves together and frowned. He knew exactly what Abel was getting at but he rolled his neck as he walked around the ring and asked anyway. “What’s that?”
“Get all caught up watching her and lose focus on the fight.”
“I won’t.”
“Dude, the second she walks in here every night we may as well hang it up. You check out just like that. Yesterday you could barely concentrate whenever she walked through the room. You can’t do that fight night, Noah. You remember what happened last time?” Abel glanced away and looked out into the gym at nothing in particular. “Maybe it’s better if…”
Noah peered at him. “If what?”
“If she’s not there, Friday.”
“No!” Noah held back what he really wanted to say. That he needed her there. As crazy as that sounded and even though he’d b
een pissed and distracted with the guy carrying on with her during the fight, there’d been something so comforting about her being there. Even the ride there he’d felt so much more at peace than he ever had before any fight. And now after everything that had happened between them he knew that feeling would be even stronger. “Don’t worry about it.” He jabbed Abel playfully, his words a little calmer now. “I’ll focus. I promise.”
He could see Abel wasn’t impressed or convinced by his promises. “Yeah? Prove it. She’s got what? Twenty minutes left? Lets see how long you can go without looking her way. Show me now.” He jabbed Noah hard on the shoulder. “C’mon lover boy. Lets do this.”
Noah resented having to force himself to keep his attention away from Roni but he knew Abel had a point. Still, he decided to use the aggravation to his advantage and jabbed hard at Abel missing his chin by an inch. Abel laughed jumping in place now. “There you go. Focus. Maybe next time you’ll land that.”
“Asshole,” Noah muttered as he swung again harder this time but Abel blocked it. He swung again this time landing one on Abel’s side.
Abel laughed again, completely unfazed by the solid jab Noah landed. “Call me crazy, Noah, but I think this focusing shit really works for you.”
They went at it for a while before Abel called their sparring session done. First thing Noah did was glance over in Roni’s direction. She was standing by the treadmill drinking from her water bottle. When she finished she wiped her forehead with a towel. She glanced at him then smiled when she saw him looking.
“Geez, she’s as bad as you are.” Abel nudged Noah before stepping out of the ring.
Noah laughed, but didn’t say what he was thinking. He sure as hell hoped so.
~*~
Even though their routine had changed a little this week because of Noah’s extra training, once home in the evenings, everything was blissfully the same. Noah flipped the channels as Veronica laid on the sofa her head resting on his lap playing with his phone. She still couldn’t believe the amount of things she could do with it. Noah had even showed her an app that she could use to start her car. It was unreal.
She resized the picture she’d taken that weekend of the guys while they were completely engrossed in their game. It was so cute; they all looked like their actual lives depended on whatever it is they were concentrating so hard on. The app she was playing with would let her add thoughts over their heads. She was in the middle of adding thoughts above Noah’s head when she hit something and the screen switched over to an incoming text—from Rita.
Veronica’s stomach did that weird thing it’d done just about anytime there’d been mention of Rita. The same thing it did when she’d seen Noah hug the groupies after his fight. The text was bad enough.
Sorry I won’t make it to your fight this Friday, my week is going to be crazy. But before I forget I wanted to wish you luck even though I know you won’t need it. Kill’em baby MUUAH!
That alone was enough to light a fire inside Veronica. Had Noah asked her to come see him fight? He’d said they didn’t stay in contact after she left.
But it was the follow up photo-text that made her sit up slowly. It was a picture of Rita and Noah on his motorcycle. Her arms were wrapped around him and her hands strategically placed in his inner thighs right at his crotch area. Even though Noah’s smile was barely there, her entire body pushed up against him and the seductive smile she wore was that of woman who’d either just gotten laid or was about to. The text under the picture read simply: Aren’t we cute?
And the date—New Year’s day. The day after he’d told Veronica he loved her. The very day he’d sworn Rita had spent the entire time inside and nothing happened between them.
“Very cute,” she muttered tossing the phone at Noah.
Noah flinched in surprise but managed to catch it as she stood up. “What?”
She didn’t respond. She couldn’t. The boulder wedged at her throat made any ability to speak impossible. She had nothing to say to him anyway. This was her own damn fault. How many times did things like this have to happen before she learned to just stick with her initial gut feeling. Already this could cause a rift between them. The very thing she’d been so afraid of from the beginning.
Noah was obviously slow to catch the connection his phone had with her sudden change in mood that now had her bolting from the room. “What’s wrong?”
She’d made it all the way into the bathroom, locking the door safely behind her. But instead of crying which was the original plan she took a deep breath and rinsed her face. She hadn’t slept with him yet—something her gut had managed to win out on all this time. For that she was eternally grateful. There was still time for her to pull out and do some damage control to their friendship.
As unpleasant as any thoughts of being around Noah with other girls or to even have to hear him talk about other girls if she wanted to keep him in her life it was something she’d have to consider. This was not going to work.
Veronica had just managed to ward off the tears when Noah knocked on the door. “You okay?”
His voice alone was enough to have her choked up again. “I’m fine.”
“What happened? Did you suddenly feel sick?”
“Yeah, I did.” That was one way to put it. “But I’m okay now.”
She turned the shower on in hopes that he’d walk away. She wouldn’t be able to talk to him much longer without him noticing the strain in her voice. Thankfully he left and she could shower in peace.
The long shower she took did the opposite of what she thought it would. Instead of calming her it gave her more time to evaluate the facts. First of all Noah had lied. She couldn’t be certain that he’d actually slept with Rita New Years day, but Rita’s body language in the picture made one thing clear. His visit with her that day hadn’t been as innocent as he’d made it out to be.
Second, Rita was obviously under the impression that Noah was with Veronica now. They lived together for Christ’s sake. The two-faced bitch had the gall to be all over him like that and be texting him with that fucking picture? She had to know the possibility of Veronica seeing it was a good one.
Veronica thought she’d been a little too nice—a little too accepting of the fact that the guy she’d just done a few weeks prior was now giving his undivided attention to another female. Maybe this was her way of sticking it to her.
Unless of course since Noah seemed so impressed that Rita wasn’t the clingy type, she probably was the type that didn’t mind being his whore on the side. Veronica was so worked up by the time she got out of the shower she had to fight the urge to confront him about it.
If she did, the way she was feeling now, she knew without a doubt the conversation would probably end with her screaming at him to get the hell out of her house. That’s exactly what she didn’t want to happen ever. As much as she hated to admit it, the very thought of Noah no longer living with her was one she wasn’t ready to accept. She wasn’t even ready to think about it. Not yet anyway.
Maybe in time. Maybe once she’d slipped back into her life—got a life of her own—without him. Maybe then it wouldn’t feel so unbearable. For now she’d just have to start slow. Take a few steps backwards. And—this thought made her literally gasp—stop the goodnight kisses.
~*~
Noah heard the bathroom door open and Roni walk into her room closing the door behind her. It took him a while but he’d finally found some tea bags in the pantry. Chamomile—perfect. No matter what the reason nothing fixed an upset stomach better than chamomile. Jack swore by it and it always helped Noah whenever he wasn’t feeling so hot. It even worked for hangovers. The sour stomach part anyway.
He fixed Roni a cup and waited for her to emerge from her room but she never did. After a half hour of flipping through channels hoping to hear from her he knocked on her door. “Are you feeling better?” he asked softly in case she was already asleep.
“Not really,” she said her voice sounding so strange it made h
im nervous.
“Anything I can do? Take you to the doctor’s or something?”
“No, nothing. I took a sleeping pill and it’s really kicking in.”
Though the thought of going to bed without the taste of her on his lips was disappointing his worry outweighed anything else he felt at that moment. “Maybe you shouldn’t go to work tomorrow.”
“No, I have to. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
After saying goodnight he walked the mug of tea to the kitchen and dumped its contents in the sink. He cleared anything they’d left out in the kitchen from dinner, something they usually did together and called it a night early. Even watching TV without Roni wasn’t the same anymore.
He was still lying in bed awake when his phone rang. He rarely got calls in the evening but it was even stranger that it was from Hector, so he sat up little worried.
“What’s up, Hector?”
“Did Roni and that asshole Kratz actually go out?”
The call alone was out of left field but his question was even odder. “Why?”
The phone got a little muffled and Noah heard a door squeak closed. Hector lowered his voice. “Well, you gotta promise first of all that you won’t say anything to Abel.”
“About what?”
“About me being in the Deans office …again.”
Noah chuckled. He knew first hand all about being in the Deans office on a regular basis. Kratz was such a hard ass it made total sense that wiseass Hector would be on his shit list. “I won’t.”
“Alright, so I’ve been in there a few times lately but today I noticed a picture of him and some chick. You know like a couple in the snow. I had to get a closer look to see who the fuck would be with asshole Kratz.” He laughed but Noah was already feeling too annoyed to laugh. He had a feeling where this was going. “I didn’t recognize her at first because she’s wearing a beanie and shit but she looked familiar then just behind it there was another picture and there she was, Roni and Kratz holding hands in front of that Medieval Times place.”