Noah (44 page)
Authors: Elizabeth Reyes
Staying as calm as possible, h
e dove in for that first taste. It was
just as good as he thought she would
be
and he struggled to hold back from devouring her
like the
wild
animal
tasting her made him feel like.
He wanted her first time to be as long as possible but she was already moaning and every quiver her body made with each one of his licks got even stronger.
He worked her gradually, meticulously enjoying every jolting response her body made to his stroking tongue. There was no other way to describe it but heaven. Doing this to Roni he knew would be a different experience than any other he’d ever had but this was incredible. He could go on for days and not get enough.
Unable to hold back the need for more h
is lips and tongue
went in for the kill.
Her back arched and she lifted her hips slightly
shuddering again and again
until she cried out in delight.
His tongue continued even as she began to be
g
for him to stop,
that she couldn’t take anymore.
Satisfied and nearly there himself he kissed her one last time before coming to lie next to her still
shuddering
body.
In the distance somewhere, even earl
ier
when it felt as
if
nothing else around him existed he thought he heard the phone ring. Now that
all
his senses
were coming back
he knew it was. Roni’s phone rang on the nightstand but she didn’t answer. She was still lying there with her hand over her chest, trying to catch her breath.
“
I think I enjoyed that more than you did.
”
He lay next to her, pulling her now naked body to him.
“That can’t be possible.”
He could feel her heartbeat now. Fast and hard against her chest. “Oh, believe me. It’s
very
possible.” He kissed her cheek. “I already can’t wait to do it again.”
She turned to him her eyes as wide as when he first told her he wanted to taste her. “I don’t think my heart could take anymore.”
He chuckled just as her phone rang again.
This time she reached for it looking at screen. She sat up so quickly she startled him
, and answered
. “Margaret, what is it?”
Her legs were off to the side of the bed in an instant and she reached for her shirt holding it up in front of her in an attempt to cover up again but she looked upset.
“No I’ve been calling he
r
all week but she hasn’t answered or returned my call.” Noah waited concerned with the panic in Roni’s voice. “I’ll be right over.”
As soon as she hung up she was up and threw the shirt over her head.
“What’s wrong?” Noah came to the edge of the bed and stood up.
Roni rattled something off about Nellie finally confronting her bastard cheating husband and finding him with another woman. Margaret was Nellie’s mom and just seeing her name on her caller ID had set off Roni’s panic button since she never called her. She’d asked her to come to Nellie’s house and help talk sense into her, because apparently Nellie was going overboard on the sleeping pills the last few days
, not answering any of their calls
and none
of
them knew
what was going on
until they stopped by her place unannounced.
“You want me to go with you?” he asked following her into her room.
“No, I may be there all day.” She stopped
,
a regretful grimace replacing the wild concern on her face. “I’ll probably miss your barbeque.”
Noah waved that away. “Don’t even worry about that. Just calm down before you drive,” he said taking the few steps toward her and hugged her. “Relax okay?
”
He kissed her forehead. “She’ll be alright now that you’ll be there.”
She smiled and he hoped she knew he really meant that. Having Roni around made everything so much better. He wasn’t sure how to explain it. Everything just seemed brighter—tasted better.
He made her promise to check in and let him know how things were going and promised her it would all work out.
Feeling a little guilty about how hot his goodbye kiss to her was, he had to sheepishly apologize. He knew she was worried about her friend and he was being insensitive but it couldn’t be helped. Tasting her mouth and sucking her lips gave him vivid memories of what he’d done to her earlier, bringing out the wild animal in him again.
After she left he showered and took off to Gio’s. Since this
barbeque
was for him, and since being home without Roni was just boring he decided to get there early and give him a hand setting things up—make a run to the market with him and chip in for any food he bought.
Not surprising Abel and Hector had the same thought. They were already there when
he arrived
. They had Hector hosing down the cement and between Noah, Abel and Gio they brought out the
folding
tables
from the garage. “Damn. How many people did you invite, Gio?”
“Not too many but since it’s Pria’s birthday in a few days my mom thought she’d have her a cake and invite some family over.”
All of Gio’s sisters were younger but Pria was the youngest and the
spunkie
st. Noah didn’t mind sharing his barbeque with any of them but he was especially glad it was her. Although he wish
ed
he would’ve known sooner
;
he might’ve gotten her something.
They finished setting things up and people started arriving.
It t
urn
ed
out
Gio’s
mom had gone to the market that morning to buy all the stuff and wouldn’t take a dime from Noah when he offered to chip in.
One thing he did insist on was giving Gio money for the booze. There was plenty of it and he knew they’d be doing some drinking.
It wasn’t until later that afternoon that
Noah
got the text from Roni confirming what he already had a feeling about. She wasn’t going to make the barbeque at all. Things were pretty bad and she said she’d explain later but she wanted to stay with Nellie longer.
Fe
e
ling a little disappointed, especially because he missed her already, Noah told her not to worry and that he’d
see
her at home later.
Noah hung out for a few more hours, getting a little buzzed then remembered he was getting home on his bike so he better slow it down. It was already dark out and he was especially vulnerable then. As it
wa
s he’d be invisible to most drivers in the dark, so him not having the quickest reflexes added to the danger.
He stopped drinking and grabbed a water instead. Roni text
ed
him to tell him she was home now like he’d asked
her
to earlier, but said she was too pooped to leave. Even though she assured him she’d be fine with him staying as long as he wanted, Noah’s wild animal was already coming alive and he could think of nothing better than getting home so he told her he’d be home soon. He left out the part about having to have a couple more waters before getting on his bike.
Gio was eyeing him when he finished sending off the text.
“Is that Roni?”
Noah nodded. “Yeah,
she just got home from her friend
’
s and said she’s too tired to come down.
”
“What friend?” Gio asked as Abel handed him a beer then
tried
hand
ing
Noah one.
Noah shook his head showing Abel his water then
smirked wondering why it made a difference to Gio
what friend Roni was with
but answered anyway. “Her friend Nellie.”
Gio and Abel exchanged glances. The same damn glances they did the day of the fight at his place. So he had to ask, “What?”
“You said she wants nothing to do with
Kratz
right?” Gio asked taking a swig of his beer.
“Yep, that’s what she told me.” Noah answered confidently but annoyed that they’d be bringing up this shit again.
“Like they’re not even friends or anything?” Abel asked.
Noah answered with a nod but said nothing else. Instead took a drink of his
water
.
“But he showed up at her house?
” Gio raised an eyebrow.
“
Isn’t that a little contradictive?”
Contradictive?
T
he word alone annoyed him
even more
. Was he implying Roni was lying?
“She didn’t invite him and she hadn’t seen him in years. His ass just showed up out of nowhere.”
Abel and Gio exchanging another glance did it. “What the fuck? What are you guys getting at?”
Abel shrugged and called Hector over.
Noah turned even more confused now and watched as Hector stopped at the snack table. This irritated him further. He wished they’d just spit it out.
“It could be nothing,” Abel said as Hector took his damn time at the snack table. “It’s just that she went out with him before and her saying she wants nothing to do with him anymore, just makes what Hector saw seem even weirder.”
“
Seems like it’s getting serious… at least you are
,” Gio added. “We just wanna make sure you know what you’re getting into, Noah. That’s all. Like Abel said it could be nothing.”
“
What
could be nothing?” His irritation had veered a little toward nervous. What the hell had Hector seen?
Hector’s ass finally made it over to where they were at
. “Tell him what you told me Thursday night.”
Abel nodded in Noah’s direction.
Hector turned to Noah looking a bit unsure then it seemed to hit him. “Oh yeah, I saw your chick at the park hanging out with her ex
Kratz
.”
Only moments ago Noah had wished they’d just spit it out but hearing Hector just blurt this out nearly dazed him. “What?”
“Roni,” Hector said so simply, as if
he
hadn’t
just
dropped
a fucking
bomb on Noah
. “Her and
Kratz
were at the park Thursday afternoon having a picnic or something. Did she tell you about that?”
Noah stared at him then glanced back at Abel and Gio’s faces. He’d never seen them looking so serious. Noah turned back to Hector who was munching without a care in the world on a plate of nachos. “A picnic?”
“Yeah, I’d seen the couple at a table nearby where we were hanging out. They were there for a while but hadn’t noticed who it was until one of the guys pointed out
Kratz
and his old lady were there.”
Noah’s mind raced.
Thursday?
He remembered that night had been one of their heavier goodnights.
S
he hadn’t mentioned a thing about
Kratz
since the day he showed up. “And you
’re
sure it was her?”
“Yep, she even smiled at me.”
Somehow that made it better. If she knew Hector saw her and she hadn’t been worried about it, then there had to be a reasonable explanation. Still, it was confusing as hell. “And they were having a picnic?”
The word picnic had a romantic connotation to it and that bugged the shit out of Noah.
Why would she meet up with him at a park when she said she wanted nothing to do with him
?
He could see why Abel and Gio would be thinking the worst
.
Hector laughed. “They didn’t have a picnic basket or anything but they were eating.”
“She’s been with her friend all day?” Gio asked casually enough but Noah
caught
the suggestion loud and clear.
Roni’s troubled departure that morning was no act. He had no doubt she’d spent the day with Nellie. He nodded and reached for his phone. There had to be a simple explanation and before he started jumping the gun he’d get it and put his concern
s and
his
friend
’
s
suspicions
to rest.
