Noah (9 page)

The lights in the gym flickered then the thunder boomed, rattling the windows of the old building.
Veronica
’s eyes said it all. She didn’t like the thunder. “You scared of thunder,
Veronica
?” He smirked.

She turned to him, shaking her head, but seemed concerned. “
Noah
, I’m sorry I didn’t make the offer last night. I just wasn’t sure how you’d take
it
. I’m still not
,
but I
have
to.” She paused and glanced
away,
shifting her weight from one leg to another. “I have t
w
o spare bedrooms in my home. You’re more than welcome to stay in one until you get your roof patched up.”

Noah
was speechless but made sure she didn’t notice how shocked he was about her offer. He remembered how horrified she’d been when she found out how old he was. He still had no clue whether she shared
the
home she spoke of with anyone else. Ever since her awkward departure
,
after finding out his age, just as he
anticipated
their conversations steered clear of anything too personal. The most he’d managed
to get out of her was that she wasn’t married and never had been
. That was only because he asked her straight
out
but she’d changed the subject rather abruptly so he didn’t press any further about her
relationship status.

Now he wasn’t so sure how he’d feel about seeing her with a boyfriend if in fact she did have one
,
but that air mattress Jack lent him had a slow leak and his back was still feeling the effects of it now. A bed sure as hell sounded good. “
Wow,
Veronica
. I don’t know what to say.
” She still looked very apprehensive. He wasn’t sure what to make of it.
But he thought of her statement.
“
I don’t think it’s weird. I get it, you’re just being kind and—”

“I just feel bad that here I have these two extra rooms and you’re here and—”

“No, I know, I know and I appreciate it but
um
I
… I’m not sure when I’ll be able to move back to my place. It might be a while.”

“That’s okay
.”

“I could pay you rent.”

“No, you don’t have to.”

“I insist,
Veronica
. You do understand this could be months, right?” He saw her eyes widen and now prayed she wouldn’t
r
etract her offer. “Of course I could move out at any time if it doesn’t work out.”

He knew that last statement carried the weight of ten elephants but his mind was
crisscrossing thoughts
a mile a minute now.
From t
he relief that he might have a bed to sleep on tonight to the churn in his stomach that he
m
ight
get a glimpse of her life outside of the gym, something she’d been so guarded about ever since he revealed his age. This could be a good thing
—
o
r
very bad.

“We’ll work something out. No one is using my extra bedrooms so there’d be no rush at all.”
 

He decided that instant, looking into her confident eyes
that
he’d take his chances. He
unleashed the
smile that was dying to get out the moment he heard her offer
.
“That air mattress really sucks.”

He thought that would make her smile
instead,
she frowned. “I’m sorry
,
I should’ve said something last night when you called me.”

“No, don’t be sorry. But I am glad you said something tonight. I wasn’t looking forward to another night here.”

The building shook with another wave of thunder and the sound of rain pelted against the ceiling and windows.
Veronica
’s anxious eyes made him want to reassure her she’d be okay but then she surprised him
again
. “I don’t think you should ride your bike tonight. It’s too dangerous. We can go in my car.”

That made him smile. He couldn’t even remember the last time anyone had worried about him. “Alright, we’ll go in your car.” 

She waited as he grabbed a gym bag full of his things
for the
night and tomorrow then they left in her car.
They
drove up the driveway to a big
old house just on the other side of his usual stomping grounds and counted to three before jumping out of the car and running through the pounding rain onto her front porch.

Even though they both had run as fast as they could
,
they were soaked when they reached her front door.
Veronica
giggled as she fumbled with the keys
,
trying to get the door open. “Jesus, you’d think it let up a little. It’s been coming down non-stop the whole way here.”

She pushed the door open and
Noah
followed her in. He tried not to be too obvious but
he
took in everything as soon as he walked in, looking for any
hints
of another roommate.

Scanning the pictures on the walls and on the shelves in the front
room,
he
saw nothing that indicated she was in any type of relationship.
There were a ton of photos
. Lots of baby pictures and black and white stills of what appeared to be older family members adorned the walls and tops of furnishings.

“You can choose which of the two rooms you want. They
’re
both fully furnished with full sized beds, so it’s really just a matter of which you prefer.”   

He continued to follow her through a dining room with a china cabinet that again overflowed with not just old dishes but
more
pictures and doilies, reminding him of one of his first foster homes with one of the sweetest foster parents he’d ever had. An older woman who’d died just a few days before his
seventh
birthday.

“Either is fine. I sure as hell am not gonna be picky.”

Veronica
closed one of the doors in the small hallway they walked through. “This is my room.” She glanced back at him
,
looking a little embarrassed. “I didn’t get a chance to clean it today.” She pointed to the door directly across from her room. “This is one of the rooms.” Then she took a few more steps ahead to the next room up the hall and pointed into it. “And this is the other one.”

Noah
stuck his head into the first room. Simple enough and all he needed. A room with a bed
,
a closet and a couple of dressers—lots and lots more doilies and old family portraits. He didn’t even need to see the second room. He’d made up his mind the moment he saw the proximity of her room to the first but
in an effort to conceal his excitement about how close he’d be sleeping to her
he walked to the second
room
and pe
e
ked in.
“I’m  cool with that one.” He pointed to the first one trying to sound as casual as possible. But unable to take another minute this close to her in her house without knowing he had to ask. “So you live here in this big house all by yourself?”

She nodded and the enormous relief that overwhelmed him surprised him. He knew that still didn’t mean anything. Just because her boyfriend didn’t live with her, didn’t mean she didn’t have one but at least for now he wouldn’t have to worry about living with her,
and
her boyfriend. He wondered now if picking the bedroom close
s
t to hers had been the best idea. What if she did have
a boyfriend
and he ever spent the night
?
Just thinking of the possibility had him questioning if moving in with her was the best idea. Already he was feeling things around her he’d never felt before.

He watched as she walked past him back in the direction of the room he’d chosen. So many more questions came to mind
, like where were her parents or all these other people in these photographs
. Why on earth
hadn’t
someone already snatched her up?

Then he remembered, he didn’t know that to be fact—yet. He’d have to get to the question pretty quickly. The answer to that would determine how long he’d be staying here. Just the subtle scent of her shampoo and her unique musky femininity as she walked by him in the enclosed hallway
had begun
to
do things to him
.

She walked into
his
bedroom and he followed closely behind. “The dressers are empty, except for maybe a few things but you can move everything to one drawer if you want so all the others will be empty for you.” She opened the door
to
the closet and pulled the string to the light. It too
,
was near
ly
empty except for some blankets she pulled down from the top shelf. “Here are more blankets in case you get cold. There’s more
up there
if you need
them
.”

“
Veronica
,”
he said dropping his soggy gym bag on the floor.
He wasn’t going to ask until later but the curiosity got the best of him. “I hope you don’t mind my asking but why do you live here in this big place by yourself?”

She gave him a weak smile and lifted a shoulder. “It used to be me and my mom, until she passed away earlier this year.”

Normally he would’ve regretted having brought up such a painful subject but in a strange way he was glad to know a little more about her, especially something so personal. “I’m sorry to hear it.”

“She was sick for a while. So it wasn’t sudden or unexpected.”

Though
she seemed to be attempting to appear unaffected,
he saw the pain in her eyes.
It touched him. She was all alone… too. “What about your dad or siblings?”

She shook her head, and he knew with certainty now that he’d hit a nerve. “None.” She turned back to the closet and turned off the light. “I’m exhausted.” She avoided his eyes now. “Your workouts usually do that to me. Feel free to grab anything out of the fridge and the pantry. I’m gonna take a shower then hit the hay.” She stopped just before she walked out the door and turned back, her s
omber
eyes meeting his. “The shower is all yours when I’m done. Sorry we’ll be sharing
—o
nly one
bath
room in this old house.”

Noah
smiled. Sharing a shower with her was hardly what he’d consider a sacrifice. “It’s cool, anything beats showering at the gym where the hot water runs out after the first five minutes.”

He saw th
at now familiar
irritation flash through her eyes. “I should have offered sooner.”

“Nah.” He sat down on the bed that
felt like heaven
compared to the old mattress he’d been sleeping
o
n for
over
a year now
.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you decided it wasn’t too weird
to
ask. I can’t thank you enough.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome. Good night.”

He la
y
back on the bed, wondering if he should be feeling as content about this as he was, or should he be a little worried. After a few silent
minutes,
he heard the water running in the shower. There was immediate life in his pants as
a
visual
of
Veronica
’s naked body just a few doors down from his new bedroom
danced in his head
.

He squeezed his eyes shut, but no matter how hard he tried, there was no chasing
away
the image of
Veronica
lathering up every inch of her body. The full-blown erection
pressing against
his pants now said it all. This was going to be
a challenge
.  

~*~

The sound of hammering from the kitchen woke Veronica the next morning.
Groggily, s
he glanced at the clock on her nightstand and saw it was only a little after seven.
S
he rose from her bed and grabbed the robe she
’d
thrown on the chair near the door. She flung it on, slipped into her slippers, and opened her bedroom door.

The intoxicating aroma of brewing coffee
immediately
infiltrat
ed
her nose and she took an even deeper breath enjoying it. The hammering stopped as she turned the corner and saw Noah on his knees next to the window in the breakfast nook. He wore a playful expression. “Morning, Roni.”