Noah

  Once in it, Noah had just closed his door when she leaned in and planted a deep wet kiss on him, leaving very little to anticipate. Her tongue was in his mouth, eagerly roaming every inch. She moaned against his lips, sucking on his bottom one. “God, I love your lips,” she said breathlessly. “Let’s get out of here.”

  She sat back licking her lips and turned on the car. As they sped off she updated him on everything she’d done since she’d last seen him. Noah didn’t know why but his head spun trying to come up with a reason why they shouldn’t do what he knew she had in mind.

  They reached a secluded parking garage not far from Gio’s house. It was a place they’d frequented in the past for the very same reason. Rita wasted no time. Her lips were on his the moment she pulled the keys from the ignition.

  Something had changed since the last time he’d been with Rita. Noah couldn’t put his finger on it but he didn’t feel the same carnal excitement he normally felt when he was with her or any other girl. Maybe it was the fact that he still couldn’t get Roni and those damn pictures out of his mind. Somehow, he didn’t think anything would get his mind off them now.

  Rita’s hands fumbled with his zipper pulling it down then reaching into his briefs. She wrapped her hands around his instant erection then smiled at him. Wasting no time, she pulled a condom out of the glove compartment with her other hand and it seconds had it on him. Then with a move so fast a ninja would envy her she was on his lap, her skirt pulled up to her thighs and she slipped right on to him.

  Noah’s head fell back accepting the incredible pleasure of it, holding her by the waist. He lifted his hips in rhythm with hers pushing in as deep as possible. Her moans only intensified his arousal. Okay maybe nothing could alleviate the annoyance he felt over the pictures but closing his eyes, imagining this was Roni, making him thrust even harder, definitely helped.

  CHAPTER 10

  Noah’s injured shoulder had healed nicely and he was training in the ring once again. With his client list growing, he was busier than ever. He spent entire days in the gym now. Training others in the morning, then working on his own training throughout the afternoon.

  Since Abel (who was as good a promoter as he was a fighter) had already lined up a fight for Noah before the end of the year, Noah’s training was in high gear. After working out with the bags for a couple of hours he did sparring with either Abel who was a monster compared to him or Gio who was more at his weight level and on occasion Hector who was still a feather weight.

  At that point of the day is when he’d become a bit distracted looking out for Roni who arrived for her workout in the evening. In the past weeks of living with her, his feelings for her while he tried to play down even to himself were beyond just physical attraction. He looked forward to talking to her now—telling her about his workouts and the new clients he’d picked up. She was as excited about his first fight as he was though she admitted to being a little nervous about watching him fight. But she promised she’d be there ringside even if she had to cover her eyes.

  Not only that, he loved hearing her talk about the photos she’d taken and she had even shown him how she developed them and the process of getting them printed. She’d since removed the offending photos from her lab. Noah hadn’t asked why. He was just happy to see them gone.

  Her excitement about photography finally got her interested in his phone. He showed her some of the many apps available for photo enhancement. The equipment she had in her dark room looked pretty expensive to him but she admitted there was a lot she could do on his phone. He had her email him some pictures she’d taken and she regularly sat on the sofa now playing with his phone amazed at the things she could do to some of her photographs. He loved how into it she got because half the time she didn’t notice how he’d sit there and just stare at her the whole time. And the times she had caught him he’d easily play it off as if he were trying to check out what she was doing. Little did he know when he bought his phone that he could use it as a means of getting closer to her. It was a little alarming now how much he looked forward to their moments alone.

  The scariest part was that he also loved that she was now the last person he saw and spoke with before going to bed each night and the first one he saw every morning. That wouldn’t be forever and he didn’t even like to think about it but as the weeks passed the reality of it grew heavier on his mind.

  Everyone at the gym including Abel, Hector and Gio had picked up on Noah’s territorial behavior when it came to Roni—everyone except her. He didn’t even have to say anything but it was understood. The guys who had once gawked at her openly then stopped when their eyes met Noah’s murderous glare got it now. It was unsaid but Noah was happy with the outcome of his efforts. No one was getting any funny ideas about trying to get friendly with Roni. Not while he was around. And he made sure he was always around. Now if he could only figure out how to get past the just friends thing Roni was so set on...

  Aside from her saying she needed to get her life back first he knew his age would be another obstacle to overcome. So he was determined to prove to her that he wasn’t your average twenty-year- old. She already knew enough to understand that some of the things he’d gone through growing up alone should set him apart from other twenty-year-olds who were still living at home mooching off mom and pop. But if she needed more he’d give it to her. Whatever it took.

  *

  The night of the fight came faster than Noah expected. It would take place right there in the gym, against another nobody like himself. They weren’t even charging so they had a good sized crowd. Abel said it wouldn’t be much of a competition. His opponent was really new to the boxing scene and this was one of his first fights. However, Abel said it was good conditioning for bigger stuff and Noah had bigger stuff coming.

  Gio did a last minute check of Noah’s gloves while Abel applied more Vaseline to Noah’s face. Jack stood on the side of the ring giving him last minute advice. “Don’t get over confident out there. This guy is new but that might work to his advantage. He probably knows way more about you than you do about him. If he’s smart he did his homework. As soon as you catch your groove get on him and end it as fast as possible.” Noah listened all the while watching as Roni turned around in her seat, striking up a conversation with the guy sitting behind her. She now sat facing backwards from the front row. “Are you listening to me?”

  Noah forced his eyes away from the guy talking to Roni and brought his attention back to Jack nodding. “Don’t take this fight lightly, Noah. The last thing you want is take it for granted that you got this and get hurt again.”

  “I won’t.” Noah promised.

  Gio tapped his gloves. “You’re good,” he said then jumped out of the ring as the ref gave them a one minute warning.

  Abel finished up with the Vaseline then looked at him very seriously. “Keep your head in the fight. You hear me? I’ve never seen you fight with this kind of distraction out there.” His head gestured in Roni’s direction but he never took his eyes off Noah. “You need to focus or it’s gonna cost you. Just use that left jab of yours and you should be good. Only thing this guy has is speed.”

  The warning bell rang and Abel jumped out of the ring. Noah stood up, glancing in Roni’s direction. She was facing the ring now but the guy was still leaning forward talking to her from behind. Focus, damn it.

  The ref rattled off the last second reminders about the rules and what not to do. They touched gloves, the bell rung and they were off. Abel was right, the guy was fast. Getting in that left jab wasn’t going to be too easy but it certainly wasn’t impossible. The added adrenaline from knowing there was a dude a little too interested in Roni in the audience might actually work to his advantage. Another glance in that direction made him want to punch someone out and he landed a hard one on his opponent’s jaw, making him stumble back but he stayed on his feet.

  “There you go!” Abel yelled from his ringside seat.

  “You got this, Noah.” Gio yelle
d.

  Noah jumped around the ring trying hard to focus on the fight. He landed a few more body shots before the bell rang ending the first round. Gio and Abel were immediately in the ring. Abel counted down from ten before letting him sit down then toweled him down and applied more Vaseline while Gio gave him water. “Why you slowing it down?” Abel asked. “You could’ve ended this in the first round. He almost went down with that first jab.”

  Noah’s eyes were on Roni again as she turned around to talk to that same guy. Abel patted Noah on the chin twice. The second time harder than the first. “Focus!” He pointed his two fingers at his eyes. “I need you right here right now. Don’t blow this, Noah. This should be a piece of cake for you. This guy should’ve gone down already.”

  Noah nodded as the bell rang again and Abel and Gio jumped out of the ring. Abel banged his fist on the ring floor. “Let’s do this now!”

  Roni was facing the ring again but the idiot behind her still leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. The jab to his temple came out of nowhere. Noah stumbled to the side, seeing stars. “God damn it, Noah!” Abel yelled.

  After shaking it off and feeling a sudden adrenaline rush, Noah moved in fast landing a left hook to his opponent’s nose and then another one to his jaw. Just like that, the guy went down. The ref rushed in between them and started the countdown. Everyone was on their feet now including Roni. She’d worn her hair down, the curls he now loved fell softly down past her shoulders. She looked beautiful.

  Their eyes met and he smiled at her. She smiled back but still wrung her hands nervously. She’d admitted to being really nervous about seeing him fight on their way there. His eyes then traveled to behind Roni where the guy stood clapping and also smiling, only now Noah wasn’t smiling. His eyes locked on the guy. He gave him that look reserved exclusively for the ring when he stared his opponent down just before his fights letting them know they were going down. Noah could only hope that the sudden disappearance of the guy’s smile meant he got the message loud and clear. He glanced at Roni again, softening his expression back to a smile before the ref lifted his arm declaring him winner by knockout.

  ~*~

  Relief didn’t even begin to describe what Veronica was feeling. She’d finally broken down and admitted to Noah on there way to the gym that she was very nervous about seeing him fight. But she didn’t tell him just how much of a wreck she really was. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she didn’t have faith in him. She’d heard he was good from his friends and others at the gym. But she still couldn’t help worrying.

  Veronica had only watched fights on television but she’d never been a fan so even when she had, she never really paid attention. Nellie’s husband was a fan and they often had big pay-per-view fight parties at their place, inviting her over. Those were the only times she’d ever sat through an entire fight. She never thought she’d be watching one in person and certainly never thought one of her now dear friends would be the one in the ring, possibly getting hurt.

  When she overheard the guy behind her talking about having seen Noah fight several times in the past she couldn’t help asking him about it. There were a few things she’d started to wonder about as she sat there waiting for the fight to start. Like had he ever been knocked out—something she hadn’t thought to ask Noah. It helped that the guy was a talker and an obvious fan of Noah’s, filling her in on Noah’s strengths. Like his left hook, reminding her after the fight that he’d told her so when Noah used it to knock out the other fighter.

  Veronica had just been glad it was over so fast and he hadn’t been hurt. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever get used to watching him fight but now that they were friends she told herself she better get used to it. She’d never seen him more excited than when he spoke of his fights. This was only the beginning. As dear a friend as he was slowly becoming, she intended on being at as many of his fights as possible. That reminded her that she hadn’t talked to Nellie in almost a week. They’d exchanged a few texts in the last few days but hadn’t actually spoken. She’d have to give her a call soon.

  She stood by the gym exit trying not to think about what Noah had said about groupies. There were four scantily dressed young girls just outside the door Noah and the other fighter would be coming out of once they finished changing.

  When the other fighter came out, two of them were immediately at his side. Which meant only one thing—the other two were waiting on Noah. They were so damn obvious, it was ridiculous. Veronica wanted to feel sorry for them. They were young and clearly their self-esteem was in the gutter if this is how little they thought of themselves. But instead she felt… irritated?

  Veronica swallowed hard, wondering if Noah would even need a ride home now. They’d come here together in her car but now these two lovelies would probably be more than happy to take him home—or back to their place.

  Abel and Gio walked out first, the girls immediately hugging them. Then Noah came out and one of the girls wrapped her arms around him. Veronica turned away when she saw his big arm wrap around the girl’s waist.

  Surprised that the irritation she’d felt earlier had now turned into full blown rage she stalked out the door. Don’t do this. Hurrying to her car madder at herself now more than anything, Veronica reprimanded herself under her breath. She knew perfectly well what she was feeling was not just rage. It was utterly irrational, seething—jealousy. She had absolutely no right to be angry with him but she was and that only made her more furious.

  “Roni!”

  Taking a deep breath before she turned to face him, Veronica tried desperately to hide her sudden change in mood.

  “Where you going?”

  She turned to see him walking across the parking lot toward her—alone. “I uh… thought maybe you already had a ride.” She lifted her chin toward the gym.

  Noah glanced back then his eyes were on her again. “No. Well, we’re going out for pizza later to celebrate. But I didn’t feel much for a cold shower so I told them I’d go home first to shower and meet up with them later.”

  Her heart started up again. Them? One wasn’t enough?

  “You wanna come?”

  Her eyes must’ve screamed how scandalized that made her feel because he laughed. Laughed!

  “What’s that look about?”

  “Come with you?” She asked incredulously.

  “Yeah, Abel’s treat. Can you pop open the trunk?” he said as he reached her car. She did and he continued talking as he put his gym bag and boxing gloves in the trunk. “And the place we go to doesn’t card. So you won’t be the only one able to drink beer.”

  By the way he was smiling, she was pretty sure now them meant Abel and the other guys. But even then she wouldn’t feel comfortable around him and his friends.

  “No. I’ll pass but thanks.”

  “Why?” The disappointment in his voice warmed her.

  “Because it’s a guy thing right? I wouldn’t—”

  “Nah, there’s gonna be other girls there.”

  Her stomach dropped and she had a sudden realization. If not tonight, it would happen eventually. Being Noah’s friend meant inevitably having to hear about or see him with other girls—a girlfriend even. Could she really do this? Given that she was ready to scream earlier just thinking about him and the groupies, could she really stand to see him with them? “Oh?”

  “Yeah, anytime we get together after fights it’s a pretty big crowd. ‘Course Abel’s only paying for us. But there’s always other girls there too. Even Jack’s going.” He walked around the car keeping his eyes on her the whole time. “You’re going, Roni. I’ll be hurt if you don’t celebrate with me.”

  He opened the car door and got in. Veronica exhaled unable to come up with a single reason why she couldn’t go with him and he was right. She should be there to celebrate with him. This was great. His first time back in the ring and he knocks the guy out in the second round.

  Feeling a little guilty about not wanting to be ther
e tonight she got in and began putting her seatbelt on.

  “So who was the guy you were talking to during the fight? He a friend of yours?”

  Veronica glanced at him as she turned on the car and thought about it for a second. “Oh, you mean the guy behind me?” She pulled out of the parking space. “No. I just met him tonight.”

  “Is that right?” he said looking out his window. “You make a new friend, Roni?”

  “Not really. He’s a fan of yours I guess.” She smiled again, remembering the guy’s enthusiasm. “He went on and on saying you have some major potential.” That got Noah’s attention and he turned to her. “He called it, too. Before the fight even started he said you’d probably knock the guy out early and it would most likely be with your left hook.”

  “What else did he say?’

  Veronica laughed. She had no idea what it must feel like to have fans but it must feel good. She didn’t blame him for wanting to hear more. “He talked to me even as you were fighting giving me the play by play of what you were doing up there. It was almost cute how into you he was.” She turned to Noah but didn’t seem as happy as she would’ve imagined given what she’d just told him.

  “Cute?”

  “Yeah,” she giggled. “Oh and he even said you seemed a little off your game the second before the guy landed one on you. I almost missed the knock out because I covered my face when you got hit.”

  She winced thinking about how her heart had gone to her throat when she saw him get hit and couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

  “That’s what happens,” he said staring straight ahead. “When you get distracted even for a moment.”

  “What distracted you?”

  He looked out his window again and shrugged. “I don’t remember. I just know I lost focus for a second and it almost cost me.”