Noah actually heard Roni gulp and felt his own gut tighten. Fuck! Too soon! Maybe it was too soon, but there was no way he could hold it in anymore. He had to tell her.
"Noah," she placed her open palm against his chest, and for the first time since they'd begun kissing, he felt her pull away. "I think maybe you're confusing things."
Now it was Noah who pulled away. "What?"
"I'm feeling things too," she said, sitting up slightly. "But we have to be realistic, and I don't want you confusing the feelings you have for me as your good friend for anything more. I'm sorry," she said, adding insult to injury as she began to move off the bed.
"Hold on." He reached out and held her arm, feeling the pounding in his head start up again. "First of all, don't be sorry about anything, and whatever you do, do not take back what just happened here between us."
"I'm not taking it back. I'm just saying maybe you're confusing this—"
"I'm not confusing a damn thing." Noah straightened out too quickly, immediately regretting it as the dizzy spell hit him.
"Are you okay?" Roni moved closer to him again, and he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Don't do this, Roni. Don't make this less than what it is. You're feeling it too. Don't try to deny it."
Her wide eyes blinked a few times, but she didn't pull away. "I won't deny I'm feeling something. I'd have to be a corpse not to. What I'm saying is if we do this, it changes everything."
"I want it to." Unable to hold back any longer, he kissed her lips softly again. "Don't you?"
"No! Don't you see? You're already saying things that will ultimately ruin our friendship. You're not in love with me, Noah. You may think you are right now—"
"Look," he said, trying desperately to not sound as angry as her last statement made him. "Maybe you're not there yet. Maybe you never will be, but do me a favor, and don't tell me what I'm feeling, okay? Because I fucking know what I'm feeling and that's that I'm in love with you."
She tried pulling away, but he held her tight. "I don't wanna lose you, Noah."
"You won't," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.
"How can we continue to be friends if you're in love with me?"
"Why couldn't we?" His head wasn't the only thing that pounded now, so did his heart. Her words were sucking the life out of him, and he didn't understand what she was so damn afraid of. "Couples should be friends first."
She shook her head, adding to the growing fear in the pit of his stomach. "We're in two completely different stages of our lives and always will be. I wouldn't dream of asking you to skip past anything just because I've done it already." She pulled back and looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm all for staying friends, but if we continue to do this, there are some things I'm sure we wouldn't be able to handle."
"What things?" He'd be willing to try and handle anything if it meant he'd be able to continue to hold her and kiss her the way he had tonight. Hell, he didn't think he could go very long without it now.
"What happens if either of us starts seeing someone else?"
Instinctively his body went taut. The very thought made the pounding in his head brutal. "We'll work it out," he said through his teeth.
Noah knew he was full of shit. She was right. There was no way he'd handle seeing her with someone else, but at the moment, he'd say anything to keep her from walking out of his room.
He brought his hand to his head and the concern was immediately in her eyes. "Are you dizzy?"
"A little."
"Lie back down." She fluffed the pillow for him.
He did, but he wouldn't let go of her hand. "Lie with me, please?"
She did and he wrapped his arms around her as soon as her body was next to his. Spooning her felt perfect. This was exactly where she should be every night. "Roni," he whispered against her ear.
"Hmm?"
"Will you stay here with me tonight? I promise we won't do anything but sleep."
He felt her go stiff, and then slowly, as he intertwined his fingers with hers and buried his face in her neck, inhaling the beautiful smell that was all Roni, she loosened up. "Okay."
Telling her he loved her again was on the tip of his tongue. He didn't care what she said. There was no doubt about it: he was completely in love with her, and after feeling the sincere reaction that she was powerless to conceal to his touch, his kisses, he was convinced now she felt for him what he was feeling for her.
One thing he picked up on loud and clear tonight was her fear: fear of giving in to her heart. He'd have to figure out how he could persuade her that it would be okay to give in no matter what fucking stage in life each one of them were in. What they both were feeling was bigger than any of that. He may not know a whole lot about love, but Jack was right about one thing. The heart was forever inexperienced. Roni proved that tonight. Despite their age difference and whatever stage Roni thought she was in, no matter how hard she tried to fight it, their hearts were in the exact same place now and that's all that mattered.
~*~
"Hickeys?" Veronica turned from the mirror to Noah who was now sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling at her smugly. "You gave me hickeys?"
"I got a little carried away." He chuckled. "What can I say? You drive me nuts."
She turned back to the mirror. Not one or two, but three nearly purple hickeys adorned the front of her neck. Not even in high school when the kids thought they were cool and other girls actually showed them off, did she think there was anything cool about them, and she certainly didn't now at her age, especially when she was getting ready to go back to work the very next day.
She lifted her hair to find a smaller fourth one just under her ear. "How am I supposed to show up to work tomorrow like this?"
He stood up, coming up from behind and smiled into the mirror. "Oh, wow. Those are pretty big." She shivered at the touch of his fingers against the back of her neck. He brushed her hair away gently and kissed her nape. "Looks like I missed a spot."
Her body was immediately awakened by the feel of his tongue against her neck and she pulled away. "Stop, Noah. I'm serious." She stifled a gasp, trying not to put too much thought into the fact that he was obviously planning to continue what they'd started last night.
"I was too," he said, bringing his arms around her waist.
She placed her hands over his on her belly and watched him in the mirror as he kissed the side of her face. "Noah, I thought we said we weren't going to do this."
"Nope." He kissed her cheek and hugged her tighter. "You said we couldn't handle it. I said we'd work something out."
She turned to face him, all ready to lay her argument down, then winced when she saw the side of his face was still swollen. Placing her fingers gently over the lumpy area, she began to ask if it still hurt when his lips were on hers again and she was swept away into another one of his amazing kisses.
When it was finally over after several long minutes of deep kissing, her legs were like wet noodles. She literally had to cling to his big arms for support. He leaned his forehead against hers, catching his breath, his smoldering eyes looking into hers. "If you don't wanna do this, just tell me, and I'll respect your wishes. But unless you say the word, this isn't gonna stop."
She had to think of something—some kind of compromise. As much as her brain insisted, she couldn't bring herself to say the words she knew she should be saying. This needs to stop before it's too late. But she couldn't, so she said the next best thing she could come up with. "I think we should at least slow it down. We're friends, remember? I don't want things to change."
With the words out there like that now, she realized that's what it really was. She now had this huge fear that things would change and she'd lose him. She couldn't even bear the thought.
He took a deep breath, the lust in his eyes replaced by frustration. "What do you think is going to change, Roni?"
"Everything." She pulled away gently, a little surprised by her disappointment that he let her. "I'm going back to work. I need to concentrate on that, on getting myself back to the way I used to be. This ..." she said, running her finger up his hard forearm. "This will complicate everything. I have so much going on right now, and I hate to sound selfish, but I need your friendship now more than ever. If we continue to do this and things change," she took a deep breath, hoping he didn't notice how emotional this was making her, "I'm afraid we'll lose what we have."
He pulled her to him again, hugging her tight. "Nothing is gonna change. I promise you that. But if slowing things down will make you feel better, then I'll try to control myself around you." He pulled back to face her again. "I'm not saying I won't slip, okay? Because I probably will—a lot. But I promise I will make an effort." He tilted her chin up slightly with his fingers, examined her neck, and smiled. "I don't know what you're complaining about. I think they look good."
Veronica peered at him unbelievably. She'd suspected it earlier, but now she was sure of it. The hickeys were no mistake. His words from last night came to mind. My Roni. This was so like him. She should've known the moment she saw them.
"Yeah, well they're coming off."
He smiled even bigger and kissed her nose. "Okay. Whatever you say."
An hour later and after infuriatingly having to Google, "How to remove a hickey?" Veronica knew why Noah had been so smug and agreeable about her removing them. They were basically impossible to remove in a day or even a few days as dark as hers were. While there were many suggestions on how to lighten them, she learned a few things that morning. A hickey was a bruise—popped blood vessels under the skin. Albeit a far more enjoyable way of getting a bruise, it was still just a bruise. And the only realistic way to get rid of it was to conceal it.
Thankfully, it was winter, and she'd actually purchased a turtleneck when she'd shopped for work clothes. She'd just have to get creative the first week of work. She stood in front of her mirror, examining the darks spots on her neck. The thought of Noah's mouth on her, and how good his hot tongue and lips felt sucking it, made her close her eyes and take a deep breath.
It was crazy how fast just thinking of his lips on hers, his hard body pressing against her, had her panties working overtime again to soak up her puddles like they had last night. She exhaled slowly, her body trembling with the visual of her and Noah.
Deciding a long shower is what she needed, she got her things together and headed to the bathroom. It might help her get her thoughts together. Before last night, she was already anticipating this week to be an emotional roller coaster. The turn things had taken with Noah would only intensify everything now.
It almost made her mad. She'd been looking forward to her new beginning. This was supposed to be exciting, refreshing. Instead that was overshadowed now with thoughts of her and Noah. She meant it when she said she was afraid to lose him, and she'd known from the very beginning this could be the cause of that.
How in the world did she really plan to get her social life back now without it causing friction? The life she knew—brunches with friends her age, Friday night cocktails with the girls from work at a nice restaurant, not backyard parties with dance crews and brawling teenagers. Although she had to admit that, until that idiot started hitting on her the moment Noah was out of sight, she'd been enjoying herself.
Veronica could only hope her shower would help her relax because she knew the next few weeks were going to be a challenge.
~~~
Because it was New Year's Day, one of the few holidays Jack ever closed down the gym, Noah hadn't made any plans to leave the house today—that was until Gio called to ask how he was feeling and mentioned he was going over to his uncle's house to help him pile up more sandbags. He said his uncle's yard always flooded and was already a mess from the recent storms.
Since Gio was always ready to jump when it came to helping Noah with anything, Noah volunteered immediately to help. At first, Gio balked at the idea, saying Noah should stay home and rest since he was injured, but Noah reminded him he was a boxer and knew how to take a punch. The guy hadn't even hit him that hard; he just hit the perfect spot. The fucking pussy obviously knew how to land a sucker punch.
Noah ran into Roni in the hallway as she made her way back to her room from the bathroom in her robe. He knew he'd promised to control himself, but Roni had to know that was going to be damn near impossible now.
Pretending to move out of the way for her, he took advantage as soon as she tried to pass him and leaned into her against the wall. "You smell good," he whispered against her cheek, inhaling the soap on her still wet skin. Then he kissed her chin. "Let's see?" He lifted her chin and smiled. "What happened? I thought they were coming off?"
She pushed him playfully and glared at him. "You knew damn well they weren't coming off so easily."
He opened his eyes wide, feigning bewilderment as she slipped away from him. "Really? You tried?"
"Oh, stop," she said, opening her bedroom door.
He laughed. "Listen, I gotta go help Gio with something. Did you need me here today?" He took a step forward and smirked. "For anything? Because if you do, I can always call him back in a second and tell him I can't make it."
She rolled her eyes then smiled wickedly. "Oh, you'd do that for me, Noah Quintanilla?"
He took a menacing step forward, knowing he'd have that bathrobe off her in seconds if she so much as hinted she wanted him too. "Absolutely."
The wicked smile faded as she squeezed the front of her robe shut with her hands. "Thanks, but I'll be okay. I have a million things to do to get ready for my first day tomorrow. " She started backing into her room with a wave.
The disappointment settled, but the excitement of knowing he was that much closer to what his tightening crotch was anticipating was enough to keep him smiling. He waited until she disappeared behind her door to adjust himself in his pants and walked away. Damn, this was going to be harder than he thought.
There was an unexpected surprise when he arrived at Gio's uncle's house—his daughter Rita. Since she lived up north, the possibility of her being at her dad's house hadn't even crossed his mind. He'd almost kept driving when he realized it was her car parked out front, but Abel and Hector had just pulled up and saw him as they started out of Abel's truck.
She came out to greet them and thanked them for coming over to help. She also explained she was staying until she had to go back when school started in a week. Noah managed to not get caught alone with her the whole time even after she invited them in for a lunch she prepared.
It wasn't until he excused himself, thanking her for the lunch and started walking out, that she followed him.
"Hey, Noah," she called out behind him as he neared his bike.
He turned and smiled. The whole time he'd been there he'd kept any conversation with her very generic. They spoke of the weather and how her dad needed to get this flooding thing fixed permanently. She expressed her worry about her dad living alone earlier, but now she smiled that evil little smile she reserved for just him. She was sexy as hell, he'd give her that. And she always made sure she wore tops that accentuated her two biggest assets like she did now.
Noah had never even bothered to hide the fact that he was checking her out. He knew it's what she wanted, so he did so openly—until now. He didn't want her getting any ideas.
"So is that it? Are you off the market now?"
Noah smiled. Good. She was making this easy for him. Gio had already teased him about walking in on him last night while he slept soundly with Roni in his arms. There was no hiding the fact that while they might not formally be a couple—yet—Noah had no intentions of hiding the fact there was definitely something going on between him and Roni.
"Yeah, something like that."
She smiled, coming closer as he hopped on his bike. "Well, which is it? Either you are or you're not. You know me." She ran her fingers over the bump on the side of his face. They'd already talked about last night's incident during lunch. She kissed the lump then cozied up, her breasts rubbing against his chest as she leaned close enough to kiss him. "I don't mind sharing."
Even though he didn't know this for a fact, he was quite certain from Roni's previous comments about the type of guys she wasn't into, that she also wouldn't be into sharing. Though he'd made it perfectly clear they'd "work out" something, he would give her a little time to get used to the change before they got down to exact rules of how this arrangement would work exactly. One thing was for damn sure: he wasn't sharing.
He wouldn't beat around the bush. There was no way Rita would know the details about him and Roni anyway, so he was about to tell her he was definitely off the market when Abel, Gio, and Hector walked out the back door.
Gio's eyebrows lifted, but he said nothing. Hector, of course, was the first to comment with a smirk. "You two look cozy."
"Don't we?" Rita turned and smiled their way. "Oh, and that reminds me. I take pictures of us every year." She then gave Noah a sly look. "Only this year, I didn't get a chance." She pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket and handed it to Hector as they all reached Noah's bike.
Just as fast as she'd moved the day after Thanksgiving in her car, she was straddled on the back of Noah's bike with her arms and legs around his waist in an instant. "Take a picture of us," she said as her arms roamed his chest seductively, causing Noah's breath to catch.
Hector, the idiot, took more than one picture. Noah had never met a girl that moved so fast. Before he knew it, she'd brought her legs down the side of his bike again, but her hands were now down palms open between his thighs as if she were holding on for dear life. Of course, Hector snapped another picture.
Just as quickly as she climbed onto his bike, she jumped off and took the phone from Hector. "So will you be around again this week?"
It was crazy how just a year ago he'd gladly would've been back to see Rita every night until she left, but today he shook his head. "Probably not. I got a lot going on. I'm fighting in two weeks. I need to train."
"Oh, that's right. I'm coming down for Gio's fight. Maybe I can make yours too."
Yeah, that would be great. After a little more small talk, Noah was finally out of there. Any thoughts of Rita were quickly squashed as the memory of kissing, holding, and sucking Roni's delicious skin came back to him. Funny how having Rita's tits up against him and her legs firmly wrapped around his waist had done nothing but irritate him, and here just the thought of kissing Roni again was making it uncomfortable to sit.
I left you with some jaws music. =)
Get lots of 5th Street extra's. Excerpts of other books in the series, fun interviews with the characters and even a FREE holiday 5th street short on my website!
http://elizabethreyes.com/books/5th-street/