Noah (26 page)

He was nervous as hell. It was something he’d thought of getting her before but was afraid she’d think him corny.

The doorknob to her room jiggled. She was up. Noah’s eyes shot back down to the ba
g
under the tree
;
there was still time. He could make a dive for it and get it before she saw it. But he took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen instead.

“Merry Christmas.”

The sound of her voice instantly made him smile. He turned from where he poured himself a cup of coffee and smiled at her. “Merry Christmas.”

He grabbed another cup out of the cupboard and poured her some coffee.

“I don’t now about you, but I could go for some blueberry pancakes.”

“Sounds good,” Noah said.

Of all the Christmas mornings he’d ever had even as a child, he couldn’t remember one feeling more satisfying than how he felt
that very moment
. Coffee and pancakes with Roni and the promise that he’d have her all to himself for the entire day. He couldn’t think of a better present. Well, he could think of
one
thing that could make this even better but he wouldn’t push it.

Noah walked Roni’s mug over to where she stood by the stove and set it down for her. “Need any help?”

“Nope,” she said cheerfully. “But you could turn on the Christmas music.”

He did just that and walked back to lean against the counter. He tried not to star
e
at her profile but at this point, she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Even right now in the morning.
Especially
right now in the morning, because this look—her tousled hair, her pajamas and big fuzzy slippers—were reserved for him.  No one else could see her like this but him.

She looked up and caught him staring at her like a lovesick puppy. The more he was around her the less effort he put into concealing how he felt about her. Though he did take a sip of his coffee before he freaked her out and pulled her right out of her cheery mood.

“Year
is
almost over, Noah. Any resolutions for the New Year?”

“Nah
,
I don’t make resolutions. Or I guess I do but I call them goals and I don’t wait for the
New Year
to start toward them.”

She turned to him
,
her eyebrow arched. “You have a point. Why wait?”

“Do you?” Noah asked genuinely curious.

“Not really a goal but I want my life back. I’m just hoping
that
by
going back to work and catching up with my old friends I can back to the way things used to be. You know
,
b
efore I let myself fall into this black hole I was in for so long.”

Feeling a little annoyed by that last statement Noah asked. “But you haven’t been in it lately right?”

She now had a stack of pancake
s
ready and she flipped the last one onto the top of the stack adding a sliver of butter on top like she had with all the others. She picked up the tray with the stack and turned to him. “No. I haven’t and I have you and Nellie to thank for that.”

They sat and ate as she told him more about her plans for the next year irritatingly adding that she was also going to slowly work on getting her social life back.

“What does that mean?” Noah asked digging his fork into his pancakes.

He noticed she stopped cutting into her pancakes for second before she responded. “I used to do things with my girlfriends from work. You know go out to dinner, the show. Believe it or not I used to play tennis a couple of times a week. I haven’t done any of that in so long. I just buried myself away from everyone and everything. I’m anxious to go back to the way I once was. Feel normal again.”

“You should’ve said something
;
we could’ve gone to the show
or played tennis
.” 

Once again, he had to bite his tongue to not say more. He knew she had every right to go back to feeling
normal
.  She should, but the thought of her getting back to
possibly
going out with guys
made the food he swallowed go down like jagged rocks
.

She stared at him for moment then smiled. “That’s true. We could. But I’m still anxious about getting back to work and getting my old life back.”

Noah polished off his pancakes and saw that she was nearly done. What he was anxious about all of sudden was getting off this subject. “Ready to open up your gifts?”

Her eyebrows pinched together. “Gifts?”

She licked syrup off her bottom lip and it was all he could do to keep from leaning over and helping her lick it all off. He managed to stop staring at her lips long enough to stand up and take his plate over to the sink. Clearing his throat he said, “Yeah, you said your neighbor brought something over right? And Nellie?”

Her expression eased up and she nodded in agreement.

“And I got you a little something.”

She stopped chewing and looked up at him. “You did?”

“Yeah, I hope you don’t mind. I just thought
…
it’s Christmas and we’re roommates—friends now so—”

“I don’t mind.” She stood up and smiled. “Hold on. Let me go get what I got you.”

Noah’s stomach dropped as he watched her hurry back to her room. She’d gotten him a gift? He brought his hand to his forehead in a panic. What if she bought him something expensive?
Holy shit
. He’d never even stopped to think she’d get him something.

She walked
back
out into the front room with a big smile as he walked toward the tree. Roni knelt down next to
the
tree and handed him the gift bag. “You have to open yours first.”

He knelt down in front of her. 
“I do
?
W
hy?”

“You’ll see.” She smiled so brightly it made him smile. “Just open it.”

Noah took the bag and pulled out the tissue slowly. To his relief it was clothes. He pulled the clothes out one garment at a time. Two pajama pants
:
one with the Raiders
’
logo
,
the other with the Dodgers. Noah laughed. 

“I tried so hard to find some that had boxing gloves or
anything that had to do with boxing
but they had nothing.” She pouted adorably. “And I remembered you and the guys at the gym going on about the Raiders and the Dodgers.”

“This is cool.” He smiled pulling out two dark colored soft long sleeve crew neck shirts and two pair
s
of thermal socks with rubber on the souls. “Anti
-
slippage?”

She giggled. “Of course
,
we wouldn’t want you to fall!”

Noah put it all down and leaned over to hug her. “Thank you,” he said as he took in her scent and
the
soft
feel
of her
hair brush
ing
against his face.
Feeling her arm on his back made him squeeze his eyes shut and he took in a deep breath of
pure, unfiltered, refreshing
Roni.
This was the first time since the day she’d fallen off the stool that he’d been able to hold her. It felt damn good but he knew it had to end, so he pulled away slowly
,
meeting her apprehensive eyes.

“You have to go change into one of them. That’s why you had to open them first. Remember, Christmas is pajama day around here.”

“I will
.
J
ust as soon you open
yours
.”

He pulled the bag from under the tree and handed it to her.
She took it a little too slowly almost as if she were afraid of what it might be. Relief washed across her face when she pulled out the bunny slippers and giggled.

“I figured yours were getting a little raggedy.”

“What?” her eyes shot down to her slippers and then laughed and had to agree. One of the eyes of her current bunny slippers was missing. “I guess it’s time to put these down.”

She pulled her slippers off and started to put the new ones on. Noah gulped waiting for the moment she’d notice it. She slipped her foot halfway in the first one then he saw the confusion on her face and she looked up at him. Noah shrugged. Slowly she took the slipper off
and
with her hand pulled out something wrapped in red tissue paper.

Again, she looked at him full of question
s
. “Open it.”

She did and it took her a moment to unravel
it and see
that
it was and medal
.
T
he kind
of medal that
athletes win in competition
.

“Read what it says.”

She glanced at him
,
then read. “
c
hamp.”

“The other side, too,” Noah said.

She flipped it over. “Forty
pounds
. You did it,
Roni
. I knew you could. I’m so proud of you. Noah.”

He felt a little panicked when it seemed maybe she was tearing up.
“I wanted to tell you so many times how proud I was of you.”

“You did.”

“I know but
since
you
a
re my first
ever
trainee
I wanted to do more
.
Jack gave me my first chance when you and Nellie walked in.” He paused for a second when she pulled the medal over her head
.
T
hen
he
watched as she pulled her curls from under the
ribbon
so that it hung around her neck. “I had no idea how this was gonna turn out but you were such a fighter. After the first workout
..
.”
h
e stopped when he saw her get on her knees
and
come toward him. He was immediately on his knees
, too
. “I wasn’t sure you’d be back.’

When she was close enough she wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her small waist
burying his face in her curls
. They held each other for a long time.

“I’m so glad you came back
,
”
h
e whispered.

She pulled back and cradled his face in her hands then kissed him softly on the cheek but so close to his mouth she caught the corner of his lips and she didn’t pull back. He felt her breathing accelerate then he kiss
ed
her back in the very same spot
. Finally, she took a very deep breath
and pulled
away just enough to lean her forehead against his and smiled. “I’m glad I came back too. Thank you for this. It means so much to me.” Noah stared at her
barely able to breathe and
not wanting this moment to end. “Merry Christmas, Noah,” she whispered.

“Merry Christmas, Roni,” he whispered back.

She stared at him for a moment longer then smiled.
“Now go get your jammies on. We got a marathon to watch.”    
        
           
              
                     

I’m sorry I didn’t hear from you over the holidays. I hope
they were good. I really hope you’re better. I’m here for you. You know that. Have a happy New Year.

Veronica read the text from Derek again. She knew what he was thinking. That she was wallowing in self-pity through the holidays alone and pathetic. He’d text
ed
her so much in the past few weeks
that
if she didn’t know
any better
his
guilt
y conscience
was getting to him.

She hadn’t responded even once. Maybe she should. Just to let him off the hook. Let him know that while he thought her buried in grief
and
eating herself to death, she’d had not only the best Thanksgiving but the best Christmas that she could remember in years—if ever.

After nearly giving into her desires
on
Christmas day and possibly ruining everything, she’d managed to turn it around and they’d had the most perfect day watching movies. They talked and laughed the whole day. Other than the times she and her mother had done the same thing this was the best Christmas day ever. She’d worn her medal the entire day. Even when Noah had teased her and told her she didn’t have to, she refused to take it off.