NoahThis was the first time since Roni had started working out here that she hadn't made it in. Her text simply said she wouldn't make it in and she'd see him tonight. Anxiety crept into him as he shoved his things into his locker.Noah heard the guys walk noisily into to the locker room."It's not his place, Hector," Abel said."Yeah, it is. He's paying rent, right?"Noah looked up at them as he slipped his arm into his jacket. Hector and Abel walked side by side toward him. Gio was just behind them."Hey, Noah." Hector grinned. "What do you say we have a New Year's Eve party at your place?"Noah chuckled. "It's not my place.""I told you," Abel said, shaking his head."You pay rent, don't you?" Hector insisted."Yeah, for one bedroom."The idea wasn't half bad. Noah had a feeling Roni would, once again, be flying solo on New Year's Eve, at least he hoped she was, and once again, he had every intention of being there to keep her company. Hell, he couldn't think of anywhere
Just like that, Roni's troubles seemed to fade—women and their shopping. She grabbed a pair of oven mitts and opened the oven, pulling out two round bread rolls way too big to be dinner rolls. She glanced at him and laughed. His expression must've been as blank as it felt. Noah was trying to figure out what they were for."I'm gonna hollow them out and pour the soup in them.""Ah," he said, feeling a little stupid.He helped out by pouring the drinks. Everything they did together now felt so perfect. Noah couldn't even imagine ever leaving.She must've been as hungry as he was because they both sat, devouring the soup silently for a few minutes. Then he remembered. "So you have any plans for New Year's?"She shook her head, taking another spoonful of soup and raised an eyebrow when she saw him smirk."So here's the thing. You don't have to say 'yes' if you don't want to, okay?" She nodded. "How would you feel about a small gathering here at your place New Year's Eve?" She eyed hi
VeronicaCoward—no other word could describe what she was. There was no reason, none whatsoever, why Veronica couldn't have simply told Noah about her afternoon with Derek the other day, and she'd had several opportunities since then to tell him about it. But what had she done? Each time she came up with some other stupid lie or way of changing the subject.She watched the guys set up in the backyard from the kitchen window. One of their friends had a sound system they'd be using, and they were putting up speakers in her garage. As much as she tried to not feel out of place, she couldn't help thinking about the last time she'd been to a backyard party. She'd been about Noah's age.Veronica had tried calling Nellie earlier. Her hope was that either Nellie would convince her to just go with it and enjoy her evening with these young guys or confirm that she wasn't being silly for feeling like a chaperone rather than the host of this New Year's bash.Still in her robe and at a complete
NoahAs hard as Noah tried to push away the anxiety about tonight, he couldn't help but tense up the moment he saw Roni walk into the front room. Seeing her had nearly sucked the air out of him.Her makeup was a little heavier than the norm, her curls seemed even curlier, and what she wore was enough to have every guy there staring at her now, threat or no threat. Noah glanced at Hector who was the most blatant and nudged him. "Take this outside," Noah said roughly and shoved the two six-packs of beer he'd been holding at him.Gio and Abel were more discreet, but Noah hadn't missed the way they took Roni in from top to bottom. Noah stifled a growl."Is anyone else here yet?" Roni asked, stretching her neck out to look through the kitchen window as she passed by Noah, shocking his senses. Unbelievably, she smelled better than she looked. It was completely intoxicating, and Noah had to close his eyes for a moment in reaction."The sound guy and his crew are here," Abel said, "and I
VeronicaSeeing Noah blindsided and knocked unconscious was probably one of the most horrific images Veronica had ever witnessed. Everything that followed was a blur. All she could think of, even as Abel beat the guy who did it to a pulp and the rest of the guys brawled it out with his friends, was getting Noah in the house and out of harm's way.She knew enough from taking first aid and CPR classes at the college to turn him on his side so that he wouldn't choke on his own tongue. He'd come to fairly quickly, but he was totally out of it. She managed to get some of the guys that were there with the sound crew to help her lift him and walk him to his bed.Veronica didn't even realize how unnerved she was, until she tried running her fingers through his hair and her hand shook uncontrollably. The minutes that passed as Noah slipped in and out of consciousness were the worst. She kept wondering if she should call 911. But each time she was about to, he'd come to.The guys came in aft
NoahNoah actually heard Roni gulp and felt his own gut tighten. Fuck! Too soon! Maybe it was too soon, but there was no way he could hold it in anymore. He had to tell her."Noah," she placed her open palm against his chest, and for the first time since they'd begun kissing, he felt her pull away. "I think maybe you're confusing things."Now it was Noah who pulled away. "What?""I'm feeling things too," she said, sitting up slightly. "But we have to be realistic, and I don't want you confusing the feelings you have for me as your good friend for anything more. I'm sorry," she said, adding insult to injury as she began to move off the bed."Hold on." He reached out and held her arm, feeling the pounding in his head start up again. "First of all, don't be sorry about anything, and whatever you do, do not take back what just happened here between us.""I'm not taking it back. I'm just saying maybe you're confusing this—""I'm not confusing a damn thing." Noah straightened out too
NoahBecause it was New Year's Day, one of the few holidays Jack ever closed down the gym, Noah hadn't made any plans to leave the house today—that was until Gio called to ask how he was feeling and mentioned he was going over to his uncle's house to help him pile up more sandbags. He said his uncle's yard always flooded and was already a mess from the recent storms.Since Gio was always ready to jump when it came to helping Noah with anything, Noah volunteered immediately to help. At first, Gio balked at the idea, saying Noah should stay home and rest since he was injured, but Noah reminded him he was a boxer and knew how to take a punch. The guy hadn't even hit him that hard; he just hit the perfect spot. The fucking pussy obviously knew how to land a sucker punch.Noah ran into Roni in the hallway as she made her way back to her room from the bathroom in her robe. He knew he'd promised to control himself, but Roni had to know that was going to be damn near impossible now.Preten
VeronicaThe night Noah returned from helping out Gio and his uncle, they came to one compromise. Their friendship would remain just that, a friendship, except Noah negotiated a kiss goodnight—every night.Veronica hadn't argued much, and though she stipulated it would be strictly a friendly kiss, she knew it would be anything but. What started as a quick peck goodnight had escalated into a kiss that nearly had her panting and in a quick need of a change of panties. The following nights it got even longer.Her first few days back at work she'd barely managed to stay awake. Between her sleepless nights after Noah's amazing use of his tongue and the two years' worth of painfully boring work compliance trainings and videos she had to sit through, it was hard to keep her eyes open.Her boss, Leslie, had yet to tell her where she'd end up once she was done training but seemed pretty optimistic that she still had plenty of time to figure it out since it would probably be weeks before Ver