Noah (10 page)

Veronica wasn’t sure what to think. Obviously, he’d gone through some of her things if he knew her mother
’
s pet name for her. Thankfully, before she could accuse him of anything he pointed to a picture on the wall. “Took me a minute to figure out that was you in that graduation picture since it said ‘Roni
Cruz’s
graduation’
. Then I remembered your friend calling you
Roni
that
your
first day at the gym. Not only that,
the smile gave you away.” 

T
he emphasis on her smile and the way his face seemed to brighten just after he said it made her face warm. “Roni…” Again with that same unnerving expression. “That’s cute. I like it.” 

Veronica tried to shake it off as if the way he said it didn’t do the weirdest things to her insides. She glanced away and walked toward the coffee. She needed coffee,
now
. She shrugged. “Yeah, that’s what my mom called me… and a few of my friends in high school.”

“Does anyone call you that anymore?” He took a few steps towards her and much to her relief he stopped when he reached the counter where a cup of coffee sat and he picked it up staring at her.

“
Only
Nellie does sometimes.” She wouldn’t mention Derek, especially because the only time he did was when he was
hinting he was in the mood
—God that seemed like s
o long
ago. The thought of getting
in the mood
with Derek or any man hadn’t even crossed her mind until…

“Good, so you don’t mind me calling you that too
,
right? I think it suits you.”  Before she could respond to that, he took a sip of his coffee then turned back to the window. “Sorry if I woke you.
Just so you know, in case you ever hear someone at the door early in the morning
,
I run every morning
.
”

He had
woke
n
her
but she didn’t want him to be sorry about it. Reminding herself that this was only their first morning together and he may be here for a while—months—she tried snapping the ridiculous nerv
ousness
. “That’s okay
,
I usually get up around this time anyway. What are you up to?”

“You have a few leaks around some of your windows. I wasn’t sure where you kept all your tools but I managed to round up a few. I’ll grab my tools when I go pick up m
y
stuff later.” He pointed at the corner of one of the other windows. “That was the worst one but I think I fixed it.”

Veronica tried concentrating on his words but the way the muscle on his arms flexed as he
pointed
the hammer was incredibly distracting.  She’d seen him in his muscle shirts plenty of times but seeing him first thing in the morning in her kitchen like this was
something else
. He was so big and put together but she had to be mindful that this
man
standing in her kitchen was only
twenty
.
Eight
years younger than her.
So like he’d pointed out, he was legal.
It was a significant age difference and she should be ashamed of herself for some of the thoughts
entering
in her head
that very moment.

“I could have someone come out and fix it. You shouldn’t have to be bothered by it.” She leaned against the counter trying to focus on the invigorating coffee that instantly warmed her insides.

“It’s not a bother. With the right
tools,
it’s actually an easy fix. I’ll check all the other window
s
. A house this old probably needs a lot of work.”

Her mouth involuntarily pulled to the side. “I’m sure it does but don’t you dare think you’re going to be fixing everything. That’s way too much work. I wouldn’t dream of—”

“Roni.”

She turned to see him looking at her with his eyebrows raised.  Jesus
,
that was her
nick
name
—
her mother and some friends had
been call
ing her
that for years. So why did hearing him say it make her heart skip?

“I don’t mind really.
What with
you letting me stay here
,
i
t’s the least I can do.”

“But—”

“No buts. I actually enjoy doing this kind of stuff.”

Veronica let it go after he smiled and went back to work on the window.
She glanced at the gadget on the counter. She was so out of it when it came to
latest and greatest gadgets
it wasn’t even funny. Even her photography equipment was sorely outdated. Though it didn’t stop
her
from creating masterpieces.

“Is this your iPod?”

Noah glanced back for a second to see what she was referring to. “Close. My iPhone. It’s one of the first things I bought with my first checks as a trainer.”

She lifted it
,
almost embarrassed that she hadn’t the faintest how you would even make a call on one of these phones. Totally old school, her coworkers had called her phone a “dumb phone” as opposed
to
their smart phones and that was over two years ago. She’d since graduated to one with a keyboard but it was still considered one of the simplest phones out there.

“I don’t get why people need such extravagant phones just to make a phone call or send a text.”

Noah stood up and walked toward her. “Are you kidding? There is so much you can do nowadays with these phones you’d be amazed. I got it for all the apps that help me  track my training progress, running, counting calories
,
you name it. But there is a lot more I haven’t even touched on. I’m still learning.”

Veronica tried to appear impressed but he may as well be talking another language.
Apps? In an effort to not embarrass herself by saying something stupid she decided to change the subject. “You hungry
?
I’m starved.” 

“Yeah, I could go for a bite of something.”

She pulled open her pantry. She was dying for a stack of pancakes but technically, she was still on a diet. She’d been known to cheat here and there but with him living here now that was going to be near
ly
impossible.
Instead of reaching for the box of pancake
mix,
she grabbed the bag of whole grain bagels and pulled the toaster out.

T
hey ate together sitting at her kitchen table. When they were almost
done,
he asked if she could give him a ride back to the gym to pick up his bike. “My friend has a truck and he’s gonna help me get some of my stuff moved in here.” He must’ve mistook her sudden change in expression because he quickly added. “Don’t worry I don’t have a lot.”

“Oh, that’s not what I was
thinking
. It’s just that it’s still so dangerous to be driving your bike out in this weather. Maybe I could just drop you off at your friend
’
s instead.” The second she realized how motherly that sounded,
s
he glanced away licking the cream cheese off her bottom lip. When she turned back
,
he was staring at her lips. She immediately stopped licking and their eyes met.

He smirked. “Sure it’s actually closer if you drop me off at his place. He’s right over on
First Street
.”

She cleared her throat and picked up her cup, standing up. “What time did you wanna go?”

“As soon as you’re ready. Looks like the break in the rain will only be for a couple hours before it starts up again.”

She
placed
her cup in the sink
then
turned around nearly jumping out of her skin when her hand grazed his arm.

“I’m sorry.” He moved his cup away from her and took a step back. “I didn’t mean to—”

“No it’s okay.” Could she be any more prudish? All she did was touch him for
crying out loud
! She brought her hand to her forehead. “I was just…”

“I didn’t expect you to turn around so fast. I shouldn’t have—”

“No, no,” God
,
please make it stop. She could feel her face burning and she was sure he could see it. “Don’t apologize
.
I just didn’t see you there.”

She walked around him as quickly as she could. “I’ll go get dressed so I can drop you off.”

Rushing
toward her bedroom, she prayed he wouldn’t say another word. Thankfully he didn’t. When she got in her room, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it, cursing herself inwardly. Supposedly she was the older
,
more mature of the two. How could she turn into such a bumbling idiot just from one touch? It barely even
counted
as a touch.
Geez
,
what he must think of her already. And she still had months of this to look forward to?
Good Lord
.

After the little mishap in the kitchen that morning, Noah decided he’d be more careful about the things he said and did around Veronica. Obviously, she had her reservations still. The last thing he wanted was to weird her out again and have her change her mind about their arrangement.

Truth was her long soft curls had taken him by surprise. Normally she wore her hair up in a ponytail and he’d never noticed the curls like he did this morning. Then when he was close enough to take in the scent of her hair, he’d
greedily
leaned in to get an even closer smell when she turned around. To his enormous relief he was pretty sure she hadn’t caught
him sniffing her
.

The ride to Abel’s was somewhat quiet but he managed to make some small talk. Mostly about the weather then a little about Abel’s truck, but he was now anxious to get her back into the gym where he knew she’d be in her comfort zone again. More than that, he was anxious to know why a woman her age was still alone. She’d been overweight when she first started working out but she’d told him she only gained the weight in the past year or so. Clear
l
y from what he saw now and in all the pictures all over the house she’d been attractive up until she started letting herself go. Even then, when he first met her he didn’t think her
unattractive,
just out of shape and noticeably self
-
consc
ious
about it
.
      

As far as he was concerned, she was where she should be weight wise now. But judging from her skim
py
breakfast she wasn’t satisfied yet. Based on her reaction to even touching him and the way she still remained far off of personal subjects, him telling her he thought she looked perfect now or finding out more about her personal life would have to wait. He had to take it real slow if he didn’t want her
boltin
g out
of
the room again.

Abel and the guys were waiting outside his foster parents house when he and Veronica drove up.
In addition to
Abel, his younger brother Hector, and Gio would all be helping him move his things.

Abel
,
who would most likely be fighting as a
heavy
weight
soon
, as big as he was getting, crossed his arms in front of him, leaning against his truck.

“Are they all boxers like you?” Veronica peered at them as they pulled up next to Abel’s truck.

“Yeah, even the younger one.”

“Which one is the younger one? They all look so young.”

T
hat made Noah frown. “
Of t
he two taller ones, Gio
is my age and Abel is a year younger
. Hector is Abel’s younger brother.”

She nodded then turned to him as she stopped the car. “Well, get to it.” She then glanced up at the sky. “Looks like it’s gonna start up soon. I’m stopping at the market on my way back, anything in particular you want me to grab for you?”

It was weird to feel like someone was looking out for him but a good weird.
Noah reached in his pocket. They were going to have to figure something out soon, but for now, he’d just offer her some cash. He pulled out a couple of twenties, handing them to her. “Just grab the usual stuff you’d normally get. And lots of eggs.”