There was something about Veronica tonight. Noah couldn't put a finger on it, but she was acting a little differently. After all this time training her, they'd finally found a happy medium. The first few days after his age revelation had been a little weird, but they'd gotten past it.
He still couldn't get over how good she sounded on the phone. He'd been struck by her voice from day one, but hearing her over the phone had been something else. When she walked in tonight, his heart had taken on a different beat. It was crazy. It had only been two days since he'd last seen her, but he actually thought he might've missed her. If he hadn't been so busy moving all his soggy shit out of that garage and trying to patch the roof up in the pouring rain, maybe he would've noticed more.
She was a little too thoughtful tonight. A few times, he had to ask her the same thing twice because she'd been so preoccupied.
Done with her run on the treadmill, she stood off to the side, draining her bottled water into her mouth. This had become one of his favorite moments of her workout. The way she sucked that bottle with such thirst could make a grown man blush. He watched and enjoyed until she was done.
She'd lost close to thirty-five pounds now, and they'd started working on toning—her arms—her legs. Her stomach was nearly flat, and she'd soon be sporting a six-pack if she kept this up. He actually hoped she didn't lose much more. The curves on her were one of the first things he noticed most when she finally showed up wearing something that allowed him to see what she'd been hiding under all those layers of sweats. He'd hardly been able to contain himself, and he was pretty sure she caught him gaping a few times. He'd since learned to be more discreet, but there'd been too many times, especially when she bent over to stretch, that she'd awakened certain parts of his body, and he'd had to excuse himself to cool down.
While watching Veronica drain water bottles was one of his favorite parts of her workout, it was also bittersweet. It meant they were done for the night. Working her out had slowly become the highlight of his day. He didn't even realize it, until he missed their workout session last night. He'd planned on missing it all week, but after his day was over last night and he lay on the air mattress instead of thinking about the chaos going on in his life, all he could think of was hearing Veronica's voice on the phone and how much he regretted having missed their workout.
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 two 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 retract 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 the relief that he might have a bed to sleep on tonight to the churn in his stomach that he might get a glimpse of her life outside of the gym. She'd been so guarded about ever since he revealed his age. This could be a good thing—or a very bad thing.
"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. "All right, we'll go in your car."
She waited as he grabbed a gym bag full of his things for the night and tomorrow, and 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-size 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. It was 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 peeked 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 closest 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 nearly 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 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 my mom and I, 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 somber eyes meeting his. "The shower is all yours when I'm done. Sorry, we'll be sharing—only one bathroom 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 that 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 on 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 lay back on the bed, wondering if he should be feeling as content about this as he was, or if he 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.
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