It was just one of those subjects she knew would be incredibly uncomfortable, especially now that their goodnight kisses had begun to feel so much more intimate. She didn’t plan on keeping it from him forever but she figured it would somehow get worked into the conversation eventually. She’d also used his fight as an excuse. It might throw his concentration or something. He had mentioned earlier in the week that Abel and Gio both thought he needed to stay completely focused and not get distracted with anything else that week. She knew this would be a definite distraction. Though initially her plan hadn’t been to hang out with Derek three days out of the week!
“No, nothing’s wrong,” she said taking another bite of her burrito.
Derek gave her that famous I-know-when-you’re-lying-so-why-do-you-even-bother, stare of his. Being a dean, interrogation and knowing exactly when something was amiss in someone’s story were his things. He picked up on the smallest telltale signs. She hated that. Not that lying to him had ever been common practice but even small white lies like telling him she hadn’t bought his birthday gift yet he could see right through.
“Some of those kids are boxers, too. Noah know them by chance?”
His perceptiveness could get annoying. Like now for instance. She knew what he was getting at. “Actually one of them was.”
Derek smiled. “I thought that might be the case. So what spooked you?”
“Nothing.”
He was right. Why did she even try? Then it hit her. Because it was none of his business that’s why. She sat up a little straighter.
“Roni?”
“What?” Her snippy tone came across loud and clear.
“Is there something going on with you and Noah?”
“No!”
She was too damn quick to answer. He had her and he knew it but she’d be damned if she’d admit anything to him.
“Good, because like I said before he’s trouble. If he’s still hanging with the likes of those punks then I’d say he hasn’t changed at all. Once a loser always a loser.”
That did it. “Can you please stop saying that about him. Not only is he my roommate, he’s my good friend now and I happen to know for a fact that he’s not a loser. And like I said before, he’s a great guy.” She wrapped up what was left of her burrito and put it in the bag Derek had brought it in. “Thanks for the food,” she said as she stood. “I gotta go.”
Derek stood immediately. “I apologize. You’re right. You probably know him better than I do now. It’s just that if you knew what I know about Noah, it might change your mind about him.”
Veronica rolled her eyes as she flung the camera strap over her shoulder and gathered her purse and jacket from the bench.
“He got a girl pregnant then dropped out of school and disappeared on her.”
Veronica froze for a second before bringing her eyes up to stare at Derek.
“I take it he’s never mentioned this to you.”
Veronica shook her head slowly trying to make sense of it. Why would Noah, who knew first hand what it was like to be parentless, turn his back on his own child? It made no sense. “Did she have it?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t directly involved but it was called to my attention when the girl’s mother came in requesting information of Noah’s whereabouts. She was told she’d need a court order for the school to provide her with the information and she never came back. Soon after that the girl transferred out and Noah never came back either.”
Veronica searched Derek’s face for any signs that he was lying but there was nothing more than concern and she’d never known him to be a liar.
“The point is, Roni, you seem so convinced that he’s a great guy and I know better. I’m not trying to put your friends down, okay? I’m just trying to give you a little insight on who you’ve opened up your home to and asking you to please be careful.” He gestured out into the direction where Hector and his friends had headed. “Those guys are nothing but trouble. I deal with their shit almost daily. And you know what they say. Birds of a feather…”
She must’ve looked as stunned as she felt because he asked her if she was okay. She assured him she was, thanked him for the information and again told him she had to leave.
Noah was one the most loyal, responsible persons she knew. It was one of the things she loved most about him. The disappointment was so overwhelming she had to fight back the tears.
CHAPTER 25
Noah went through his usual fight-day rituals Friday. Skipped his morning run, had a hearty breakfast, tons of water throughout the day. Since the gym would be a mess with the all day radio broadcasting like last week, he stayed home for the day.
He never really got nervous before a fight and he wasn’t at all worried about tonight’s fight. Jack and Abel never liked over confidence but Gio seemed to be with Noah on this. He was just as confident that Noah had this. With all the radio broadcasting going on at the gym, his friends wouldn’t be spending all day there either. They were both stopping by Noah’s around lunch time which meant Noah would have to triple the pasta he was planning on having for lunch. He’d just finished preparing it when they arrived.
“Smells good,” Gio said as he made himself comfortable at the table.
Noah did the host thing and served his friends while they went over strategy. Abel reminded him for the hundredth time of the things he’d really need to focus on. Not surprisingly talk of focusing brought up the subject of Roni.
“What time is Roni getting there?” Abel asked.
Noah knew Abel still wasn’t convinced that Roni wouldn’t be a distraction so he knew Abel wouldn’t be happy about his answer, but he didn’t care.
“Same time I get there.”
Both Abel and Gio stopped eating and stared at him. “You gotta warm up.” Abel reminded him.
“Yeah, I know. I’ll get there early.”
“She’s gonna be there while you warm up?” this time Gio was the one asking.
Noah frowned. “Yeah, so what?” he shrugged, not caring that both his friends were staring at him like he was crazy. “I want her there.”
Last night during their very long goodnight kiss, he made her promise she’d be there with him the whole time. She’d started telling him she might in fact be a little late but after a few persuasive kisses she actually agreed to leave work early.
“So you never told us. What was Kratz doing here last week?” Gio asked surprising Noah by the sudden change in subject.
Noah glanced up in time to see Abel shoot Gio a look. Noah glanced at Gio then back at Abel. “Why?”
Abel shrugged as if he’d asked the question to begin with. “Curious, is all.”
Abel had never been curious about anyone’s private life and he was as discreet as he was nosey. Noah caught him trying to give Gio a look again. He didn’t know what to make of it but he seemed annoyed or something.
“They used to go out,” was all Noah offered.
“Is she gonna start going out with him again?” Gio asked.
Abel threw his napkin on the table and sat back in his chair very obviously irritated now.
Just as irritated but confused by Abel’s reaction Noah turned to Gio. “Hell no she’s not.” Then turned back to Abel. “And what’s with you?”
“Nothing,” Abel said shaking his head then glared at Gio. “I just think talking about this right before your fight is a bad idea. You have a hard enough time focusing now that she’s around, and thinking about her and the fucking dean is not gonna help.”
Noah couldn’t help feeling a little pissed that his friends would think she’s still interested in anything with her ex when things between Noah and her had obviously progressed. But neither of them had any way of knowing just how much his relationship had progressed, and he knew they meant well. “Yeah, well, there’s nothing going on with her and the fucking dean so there’s nothing for me to think about alright?” He stood up from the table and carried his plate to the sink. “Will you two just relax?
This is gonna be fine. I got this. Trust me.”
He saw them exchange glances and then Gio nodded. “Okay no more talk about this before the fight.”
“Thank you.” Abel added, again his attitude about the whole thing seemed a little strange but Noah decided to just let it go.
“Or after.” Noah said feeling even more annoyed now. “Roni wants nothing to do with that douche so there’s nothing to talk about.”
Gio said nothing, just glanced at Noah and nodded then looked back at Abel who was staring at him hard. It was all very weird but Noah chalked it up to the fight. Abel was worried about Noah’s concentration and it was true, Roni was a distraction. But he’d show them all tonight he could do this even with her there the whole time. He had to. He didn’t want them ever trying to talk him out of having her there at all next time. That wasn’t happening.
They finished eating and Abel and Gio left. Noah got his stuff together and sat down on the sofa to wait for Roni. For the first time that week he finally had a moment to catch up on emails and texts. The whole week he’d pretty much ignored everything outside of the gym, except Roni. It’s what he always did fight week. He clicked through the many unopened emails and texts he’d gotten that week surprised to see Rita’s name near the top of his latest messages since she hadn’t sent him anything in months. But he didn’t have anything new from her.
Not wanting her name up there he clicked on it to delete whatever he did have from her. What he saw had him sitting up straight. “What the fuck?”
He scrolled down then saw the date. It took him a minute to figure out what day the text had been sent but more worrisome was the fact that it had been opened. The only other person that ever used his phone was Roni. Had she seen this shit?
This whole week had been a bit strange but he thought it was just because of the fight and Roni’s change in schedule. He picked up on her acting a little differently in the beginning of the week but he hadn’t thought much of it since she wasn’t feeling well. Then there was the fact that she and Nellie were talking again and he thought she’d snapped out of her weird mood but looking back now that strange vibe had been there the whole week. Could this be it?
He was still sitting there trying to figure it out when as promised Roni got home early.
“Just let me grab my lighter jacket.” She rushed to the front closet. “Are you nervous?” She turned to Noah smiling big but he saw the worry she tried to hide in her eyes.
“Not at all.” Not about the fight anyway but something else was bothering him. now.
Noah wasn’t about to get in the ring with this on his mind so he decided to just ask her. He stood and took a few steps toward her as she hung her heavy jacket on a hanger then placed it in the closet. She pulled out her lighter cardigan.
“Roni.” He hesitated not sure if he’d be opening a can a worms. In the last few days he’d decided even if it hadn’t been said, he and Roni were in a relationship. No matter what she said or how much she put off making it official, what was happening between them now was very real. He felt it every night when they said goodnight and he knew she did too. There was no denying it and like he’d told her before, if she had seen the picture of Rita wrapped around him, she deserved an explanation.
She was looking at him now a bit confused, but the nervous smile was still there. “What is it?”
“Did you uh… did you by chance see the picture Rita texted me this week?” The smile was gone instantly and he knew then that she had. He hurried to her. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve explained.”
She shook her head avoiding his eyes, but he saw the pained look on her face and he took her hand.
“Look, she jumped on my bike just as I was leaving Gio’s uncle’s house. She told Hector to take the picture but that was it. Then she got off and I left.”
He pulled her closer and she finally looked at him. “You said you two don’t have a relationship outside of the holidays.”
“We don’t,” he said then added firmly, “And we don’t during the holidays anymore either.”
“Did you ask her to come see your fight?” She was angry he could hear in her questions, see it in her glare, but he was glad. This meant she felt she had the right to be.
“No I didn’t. Is this why you’ve been so weird all week?” He caressed her face and she closed her eyes at his touch but she didn’t answer. “You should’ve said something, Roni. When did you see it?”
“Sunday,” she whispered. “When we were watching TV that night. I didn’t mean to, it just popped up and—”
“Is that why you went to bed early? When you said you were suddenly feeling sick?”
She nodded and he wrapped his arms around her feeling like scum. “I’m sorry. But I swear nothing happened.” He pulled away to look at her suddenly worried. “You believe me, right?”
Thoughts of seeing the picture in her darkroom way back came to him. Just seeing her name in connection with another guy had turned his stomach and nothing had even happened between him and Roni at that point. Not only was this picture of him and Rita so much worse, the circumstances were totally different now.
He held his breath as he waited for her response.
“I know she’s Gio’s cousin and your friend, but I don’t like her anymore.”
Not exactly the answer he was expecting but he understood completely. He’d keep Rita’s comment about not having a problem with sharing to himself, but he knew that’s where Roni’s thinking was.
“I know we’re not—”
“We are.” Noah corrected her. “Maybe not officially, not until you’re ready and you can take all the time you want but right here.” He tapped his heart. “I’m already in.”
Roni smiled then her expression went serious again. “And she thinks we are right? So why is she still doing stuff like that?”
“I don’t know but I’ll take care of it.” His phone went off in his hand and he glanced at it. It was Abel. “It won’t happen again. Not with her. Not with anyone else. I promise.” Before he’d check out Abel’s text which was probably him just wondering where he was at, Noah knew it was getting late, there was something he needed to get clear with Roni first. “You do believe me right?”
This was probably the biggest hurdle he had to get over with her. Everything else aside, he knew this was her biggest holdup. That he wasn’t ready to be serious. Wasn’t ready to give up all other female attention because of his age, but he’d never felt so ready for anything in his life. The only attention, the only company he wanted now was hers. And he needed her to believe this.
She stared at him for a moment and then nodded a faint smile lifting the corner of her lips. The relief was so overwhelming before she could say anything his lips were on hers. Noah kissed her long and deep like he had all week. He’d felt it all week and he felt it now. This kissing only at night wasn’t going to stand much longer. He wanted to be able to do this with her whenever and wherever he felt like it. Every time he kissed her now he could feel her giving in more and more to the idea.
As excited as this made him, he finally had to stop kissing her when his phone buzzed in his hand again. “Gotta go,” he whispered against her lips.
She licked her lips and crinkled her nose. “Is it okay to admit I’m even more nervous this time than the last?”
He smiled hoping that was because she cared more about him now than before. Things definitely had changed a lot since then. “Yeah, it’s okay. But don’t worry I’ll be fine.”
He kissed her one last time before reluctantly having to let go and get his things in the car.
~*~
Quintanilla VS Machado
The banner alone was enough to unnerve her as the reached 5th Street. Roni felt it the moment she walked into the gym with Noah. He took her hand as they walked through the already gathering crowd. A herd of would-be groupies eyeballed her as they walked by them and they all happily wished Noah luck. Roni looked right back at all of them and smiled s
weetly. Noah was making a statement and now so was she. The decision about moving forward and giving a relationship with Noah a fair try was becoming clearer.
Nothing made her happier than being with him and who cared if she didn’t have a million friends or other things going on. Who said she had to have that all set up before she moved things along with Noah? She could do both at the same time. There were just a few things she wanted to get straight with him.
She’d been tempted to return Derek’s texts all day but hadn’t. He apologized again for having dropped such a load on her about Noah. Since she hadn’t responded to any of his texts he seemed convinced that she was upset with him and had even called and left a long voicemail about how he still cared about her and he was only looking out for her.
His sincere concern was what made her nervous. As much as she knew about Noah there was still a lot she didn’t. Like that he’d dropped out of school. Had he ever gone back to get his diploma? But most importantly did he really have a child out there and why wouldn’t he want to be a part of his or her life? And what about the drug trafficking? It was so unlike him, but it was also unlike Derek to make something like that up. What else did she not know about him?
Abel, Gio and Jack prepped Noah in the locker room. It felt weird to be in the men’s locker room but since it was fight night it was closed off to anyone else but the two fighters. There were two separate areas for the fighters so no one but Noah’s group was in his area.
Veronica tried to stay out of the way. She got the distinct feeling no one else was comfortable with her there but Noah. But he made it clear he wanted her close by. She sat on a stool near the table where Noah sat while Abel wrapped his hands. The moment Hector walked in an undeniable tension filled the room. A tension only Noah and maybe Jack were oblivious to.
Hector gave Veronica a nod but it was so unlike the usual playful way he greeted her lately. The warning look Abel gave him wasn’t missed either. Right then she knew it. They all knew about Hector seeing her with Derek at the park. Just like her, they were most likely waiting until after the fight to tell Noah because he obviously didn’t know yet.