Noah (15 page)

They now sat on her porch. There’d been a break in the weather and the sun had actually made an appearance so they’d gone out to enjoy the beauty of the sun rays that sliced through the clouds. Though there was a chill in the air, the champagne helped warm Veronica.

She sat on the swinging bench while Noah sat on the porch stairs leaning back, his elbows supporting him on either side as he stared up at the clouds. “This break ain’t gonna last
. Those are some mean looking clouds.”

“That’s okay.” Veronica stared up at the bright sunrays that seemed to fight the weather. “As pretty as this is, I like the rain.”

“You do?”

She continued to admire the sunlight but nodded. “Something about it. It’s cozy, moody—romantic.”

“Romantic
,
uh?”

She finally pulled her eyes away from the sunlight and smiled. “Yeah, don’t you think?”

Noah straightened out then moved up to the top stair, leaning up against the porch railing so he faced her now. “I guess it can be romantic.” His smile was teasing. “The cold
weather
is always a good excuse to snuggle.”

Veronica laughed
,
feeling a bit nervous about where this was going but then decided they were friends. If she did in fact want to keep him as a good friend and see him like she
decided
earlier—a younger brother. They
should
be able to talk about anything without it getting awkward.  “I doubt you’ve ever needed an excuse to get cozy with anyone. You probably have them lining up.”

A
stupid nervous laugh escaped her again when those damn suckable lips of his curved into one of the sexiest smiles she’d ever seen. 

Not awkward. Not awkward. 

“I wouldn’t say lining up but I’m flattered that you
’d
think so.”

This time her laugh was more sarcastic than nervous. “Oh please. With a body like yours and you’re a boxer to boot. I wouldn’t doubt that you have a fan club already.”

He frowned at that. “Groupies don’t count.
They’re only
attracted to
three things
:
fame, status, and money. On occasion maybe they’re just looking for a good time they can brag about later. Hot maybe. But romantic
?
Hell no.
That’s not what I’m into.
”

Veronica was just taking in how familiar he seemed to be
with what
inspired groupies
and most notably that
thou
g
h the thought of groupies didn’t seem to excite him, he did consider them
hot
.
She was certain now he’d had his share. Then he brought the subject back to her. “So how come you’re not married?”

She didn’t even realize her smile had vanished until he spoke again lifting his beer bottle. “I’d blame the beer but I’ve only had a couple. I’m sorry if I’m getting too personal.”

Friends, she reminded herself. She could do this—she should—so she cleared her voice and sat up again
a little straighter
. “No that’s okay. I’ve nothing to hide. I just haven’t met the one yet. Well…” She paused wondering if she should even mention it. He seemed to be hanging on her every word. “I was in
one
pretty serious relationship for a while there.
We were even talking about moving in together. But then my mom got sick and…”

She glanced away unbelievable feeling her throat constrict.

“And what?”

When she glanced back at him, his playful demeanor
was
now replaced with a look of concern or…disgust.

She cleared her
throat
again taking a sip of her champagne
to
swallow
back the emotion
. “I uh… got real busy with my mom and it was just a really hard time for me so… Derek said maybe we should take a break.”

She’d only seen the expression he
now
wore
o
n him a few times at the gym and even then she never
knew
exactly what to make of it. Out of nowhere, she’d glance up at him sometime
s
and he seemed distracted but the expression was the same as he wore now
,
hard and almost menacing. “So he walked away when the going got tough—when you needed him most? What an asshole. How long were you with
Derek
?” 

She’d never heard Derek’s name
,
or anyone’s for that matter
,
sound so foul.
With the lump gone
now,
she almost giggl
ed
.
Instead, she lifted and dropped her shoulder. “I really don’t blame him. I was absolutely no fun—”

“Roni, you were going through some heavy shit.
D
id he expect you to drop everything to entertain him? What he should’ve done is help you through it —
help
make your life easier. It’s what I would’ve done.”   

Veronica smiled, feeling a newfound tenderness for Noah.
On this Thanksgiving day she was absolutely grateful for her new friend. And though their circumstances were a bit unconventional she really hoped now that their friendship would be a lasting one. One that would continue even long after he moved out. The very thought killed her suddenly warm and fuzzy moment. It
had
t
a
k
e
n
a
few weeks
but she was used to this arrangement now. She liked having him around. Just last night she’d thought of the day ahead of her with a bit more dread than she’d admit to herself—a day he’d be gone all day. How was she going to feel when he
left for good
?

She glanced at him and even though he still wore that fierce look of disgust, she smiled. “I don’t wanna talk about Derek, anymore.” She stood and held her champagne glass up. “I need a refill.”

Like magic, his fierce expression morphed into a
n
incredible
smile and he stood up. “Yep, I’m ready for another one, too.”

He was so much taller than her and his masculinity was so potent
that
if she didn’t know what a sweetheart he could be she might be intimidated
.
“Besides,” she said as they walked through the front door. “With everything that’s happened in the last year and me trying to get back to a normal life, the last thing I need in my life right now is the distraction of a relationship. I need to work
on
me first, you know? Baby steps.”

She glanced at him and saw he studied
her. “So what’s the next step?”

“Going back to work,” she said surprising herself at how definite her words came out. She’d put some thought into it and vamped up her resume but she really hadn’t been completely sure until now. “I’m hoping to go back,
in the
beginning
of
the new year.” She added with a smile.        
 

“Well good for you
,
”
h
e said his own smile as big as hers felt.
They walked in the
kitchen
together. “Ooh
!
” Noah said as if he’d just remembered. “I could go for some pie, too.”

Veronica had to laugh. “Really? Beer and pie?”

“Yeah,” Noah smiled, pulling a beer out of the fridge, tucking the whip cream can under his arm
and
then grabbed the bottle of champagne out with his free hand. “It’s the best. Actually pumpkin pie is one of those universal deserts that go with almost anything. I’ve never tried it but it probably goes great with champagne too.”

He was right. Turns out the pie was great with champagne.
They sat at the table eating their pie.
Veronica watched
,
her eyes widening as he sprayed a very heavy dose of whip cream on his second slice of pie.

“That much, uh?”

“Oh yeah,” he said putting the can down and digging his fork into the pie. “Everything tastes better covered in whip cream.”

There was something so sinfully wicked about his smile, just before he stuck the forkful in his mouth. It made her squirm in her chair and she had to turn away. Then she heard him chuckle, adding annoyance to the list of emotions she gone through just today. He was enjoying this but if this is who he was then she’d have to get used to it so she decided two could play this game. Friends could be playful right
?

She sipped her champagne, glancing up at him. He was still smirking even a he chewed. “Oh yeah,”
she said lowering her voice a little. “I
know
everything tastes better with whip cream.”

His eyes widened and he stopped chewing but the smirk was still there. “Is that right?”

“Sure does?” What was she doing? This wasn’t playful this was flirting, something she’d always done so naturally. She needed to stop.

“Even the salty stuff?”

“Especially the salty stuff.”
Too much! Too much!

That wiped the smirk right off his face and his dark eyes stared at her now. So she switched gears as fast as she could, standing up and head
ing
toward the living room. “Aren’t there a lot of good movies on tonight? We should watch one.”

Oh, right. Snuggle up
on the sofa
together just after she mentioned liking her whip cream on the salty
stuff
. She set the champagne glass on the counter just before walking out of the kitchen. She’d had enough. It was bringing out the idiot in her.

Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, she clicked the television on and made sure to take a seat on the recliner that sat one. She didn’t want him thinking she was suggesting anything. She could kick herself now for flirting with him. Like Nellie had mentioned that first day at the gym, the old Veronica
was
a flirt.
T
he champagne seemed to have
allowed it to
resurface.  She made a mental note to keep the alcohol intake to a minimum while around Noah, especially alone. It was hard enough not to notice how incredibly sexy he could be even when she was completely sober.
Adding alcohol into the mix was just stupid. She should’ve seen that coming.

Noah waltzed into the living room, looking a little too smug. Veronica gave him a quick glance then averted her eyes to the television. “
Polar Express
! My favorite. And it just started.” She jumped out of her recliner. “I’ll go make popcorn.”

Halfway into kitchen she heard Noah call out. “You gonna put whip cream on that?”

Then she heard the laugh. She bit her tongue holding back what she really wanted to say.
That’s not the kind of salty stuff I was talking about.
Instead she said, “Ha ha. No. That would be way too messy.”

“Isn’t the mess part of the fun?”

She spun around
her face going hot not just from his words but
at the sound of his voice so close behind her. He stood
a couple of feet
away from
her
now, a tinge of humor in his smoldering eyes.
Clearing her
throat
,
she turned back to the pantry
and grabbed a bag of naturally flavored lightly salted popcorn
.
T
he best thing to do was ignore his question and change the subject. “Do you know that not only did I
use to
buy the buttered popcorn but for a while there I actually added
more
butter?
”

As embarrassing as her fat ass
confession
was, it beat anymore talk of whip cream. Thankful
ly
she
turn
ed
away from his penetrating and playful eyes
as
she took the few steps to the microwave.

“
Depression will do that to you
.
Food
is co
mforting
.
L
ots of people turn to
over indulging
on it
just like others turn to alcohol or drugs to help them cope.
Y
ou had every right to be down
, Roni
.”

Their eyes met and his usual
ly
intense eyes now
te
a
med
with compassion
for
her
. Something she only ever got from Nellie.  

The
r
e were two powerful forces fighting against each other
now
. While his smoldering eyes
earlier
had begun to wear her down
,
making her consider that
maybe allowing herself to
give
in
to
something exciting and so
against her better judgment
for once in he
r
life wasn’t such a bad thing
, t
hen he said things like this. The
genuine kindness
in his voice was undeniable
and it reminded her how stupid she would be to ruin a friendship with such a great guy
.