Noah smiled, trying hard to conceal the fact that having pleased her with something as simple as picking the right creamer made him feel damn good. "I thought it fit the occasion.""I also saw the champagne in the fridge. How'd you manage that? Didn't they card you?"Taking an annoyed deep breath, he walked into the kitchen. The smell of her freshly shampooed hair, with a touch of something else—very subtle perfume maybe— overwhelmed his senses as he walked by her. He almost forgot about the irritating question. He'd had a fake I.D. for over a year now, not that he got carded too often. Like this morning, the clerk glanced up at him and just asked him for his birthday. He gave it to her with the fake year, and she just punched it in."I also got beer, and, no, they didn't card me." As smug as he had hoped to sound, his words sounded more defensive than anything. If she noticed, she didn't let on. Instead, she barely glanced at him before her eyes were on the oven behind him. "It's a
VeronicaAfter only one glass of champagne, Noah switched to beer. He said he wasn't much of a champagne drinker and only ever had a glass or two when he was in a celebratory mood. Veronica's insides had warmed when he said that today he was celebrating his new friendship. Given the little speech he'd just made about how he felt about his friends, it was even more heartwarming that he now considered her a friend. That of course only made her reasoning even more pertinent about why she shouldn't get caught up in anything like what happened that morning.They now sat on her porch. There'd been a break in the weather, and the sun had actually made an appearance, so they'd gone out to enjoy the beauty of the sunrays that sliced through the clouds. Though there was a chill in the air, the champagne helped warm Veronica.She sat on the swinging bench while Noah sat on the porch stairs, leaning back, his elbows supporting him on either side as he stared up at the clouds. "This break ain't
Noah's eyes widened, and he stopped chewing, but the smirk was still there. "Is that right?""Sure does." What was she doing? This wasn't playful, this was flirting, something she'd always done so naturally. She needed to stop."Even the salty stuff?""Especially the salty stuff." Too much! Too much!That wiped the smirk right off his face, and his dark eyes stared at her now. So she switched gears as fast as she could, standing up and heading toward the living room. "Aren't there a lot of good movies on tonight? We should watch one."Oh, right. Snuggle up on the sofa together just after she mentioned liking her whipped cream on the salty stuff. She set the champagne glass on the counter just before walking out of the kitchen. She'd had enough. It was bringing out the idiot in her.Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, she clicked the television on and made sure to take a seat on the recliner that sat one. She didn't want him thinking she was suggesting anything. She could k
NoahVisions of Roni and some of the wicked things Noah imagined her doing to him with a can of whipped cream, made for an extra-long shower the following morning. It was becoming increasingly harder for him to be around her and not let on what he was feeling. Though he wondered if he should even try. If she wasn't so damn hard to read, maybe he'd know whether or not to hide it. She sent out more mixed signals than a baseball coach: one minute flirting outrageously and staring blatantly at his lips, then in the same breath, backing down and making an exit out of the room just as fast.But it was just as well. Even though it'd be more than fun to have Roni underneath him, and admittedly in the beginning it's all he thought about, the more he spent time with her and got to know her, the more he was afraid that wouldn't be enough. If he ever did get that far with her, he'd want more, and she made it clear she wasn't ready for anything like that. Losing the only family she'd ever known h
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 sparred 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 featherweight.At that point of the day, 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, which 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 client
Relief didn't even begin to describe what Veronica was feeling. She'd finally broken down and admitted to Noah on their 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
NoahHaving Roni around his friends felt good—damn good. The guys hadn't even thought it weird when they saw them walk in together. At least they didn't say anything. The pizzas and pitchers of beer were already there as they took a seat at the table.Roni seemed uncomfortable at first, but as an hour passed, she'd relaxed. Noah took note of how incredibly slowly she sipped her beer. He remembered her drinking her champagne a little faster on Thanksgiving. Maybe beer wasn't her thing.Jack had just finished telling them about how back in his day boxing wasn't the only sport he was good at. Noah had heard the story before, but it was a good one, so he didn't mind hearing it again. Jack's high school basketball team made and won the state championship. Jack always used these kinds of stories and spun them around to include an inspirational twist that would help them in the ring."I spun a basketball on my finger for over fifteen minutes just a few weeks ago." Hector said, biting into
VeronicaInfuriating is what it was. Veronica took a deep breath before hitting the unlock button on her car. She knew coming with Noah tonight was a mistake. She never should've done it. And if he expected her to admit she was pissed—beyond pissed—about the fact that he'd given Gio's cousin a long hard ride the day after Thanksgiving, he was out of his mind.She thought back to that day now as she shoved her key into the ignition: the day he'd acted disappointed that he couldn't join her at the park to take her stupid pictures. Yeah, she was sure now that was sincere. A day at the park watching her take pictures of snails and raindrops on leaves, or a day of sex with his holiday whore? Hmm, tough choice.But again, she reminded herself it was none of her business. Noah was free to do what he pleased. He owed her no explanations, and she wasn't asking him for any, so why the hell was he pushing this now? Did he want to embarrass her? Was this fun for him? He wanted her to say that i
GioCalling Felix had been the best decision of Gio's life. Not only was Bianca back in his life for good, they'd start with the demolition of what was left of the old gym as soon as the investigation was over and rebuild from the ground up.The guys couldn't have been happier but none more so than Gio. Gio told them he'd get all their names on the title as soon as possible. Felix was going to do everything he could to get this thing going fast and have them back in business in no time. Felix might be relationship-challenged, but he truly was loyal to 5th Street and always had been.As promised, he figured something out, and while their new set up wasn't nearly as glamorous as something Felix could offer Bianca, they were happy. That's all that mattered. He was already working on bigger and better, but for now, this worked out for everyone and would have to do."What do you think?" Gio clicked the remote, turning off the TV in their bedroom as Bianca walked in wearing a bathrobe and
Gently patting the warm soapy sponge over Gio's big strong shoulders and then down his chest, Bianca examined all the bruises and scrapes that were still very visible. As the water from the shower rinsed away the soap, she kissed the bruises gently. She worked the sponge down to his hips as Gio brought his hand around her behind and squeezed a handful of her wet behind. He'd been hard from the moment she'd begun to undress him in the small hotel bathroom. Now he pressed against her, taking her mouth in his and kissing her with that need she loved feeling from him. As the warm water splashed down against their faces, she kissed him back with just as much need, moaning into his mouth.Gio brought his hand around the front, spreading her legs. If she let him and gave into her own yearning, she'd spin around and bend over, letting him take her right there, but she was determine: determined to not allow him to over exert himself—take care of him as she hadn't been able to this whole past w
Nearly hyperventilating for the third time this week, Bianca pulled over and got out of her car. She leaned her arm against the hood as the dry heaves kicked in. If her mother and Nana knew she was driving in that condition, they'd be furious.The anger, but mostly the immense hurt, nearly suffocated her. Gio's beautiful eyes had never looked at her the way they had tonight. They were so cold and full of revulsion she was convinced whatever love he'd felt for her was completely gone now.As the dry heaves slowly calmed, Bianca's breathing began to go back to normal. Her lip began to quiver as it had so much this week. She was out of options now. All week, she'd tried one thing after another. Trying hard to do as Noah said and respect Gio's wishes, she'd held out this long, and for what?Her efforts to reach him had been in vain. Even after she stopped getting the "not in service" message, now when she tried calling, the new message was even worse. This number has restrictions which
Bianca's mouth fell open, and she stared at him for a moment, her big stunned eyes searching his face for something. With her chest still heaving, she shook her head, blinking a couple of times. More tears leaked out of her eyes and down her cheeks before she turned around and walked away without saying another word.Drawing a blank about what to do or say to her now, he watched her walk away. As much as his heart begged him to go after her, he knew there was nothing more to say. He stood there immobile as the minutes passed. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been standing there, but it was long enough to rewind everything he'd been through with Bianca since the day he'd first gone up to Felix's cabin.Relentless hope flew out from the grave, suddenly pounding questions in his head. Why would she come down here just to lie to him? Why would she be so hysterical about it? He'd let his clobbered ego strangle those two questions down when she'd stood there before him and unleashed what
GioGlad that Noah hadn't walked in ten minutes earlier and seen him break down like he had, Gio looked up at him. Noah had news for him and from the looks of it, like when he'd walked in there hours ago to tell him about Jack not making it, this wasn't good."Abel said Hector's fine. He is, right?""Hector's fine," Noah nodded. "Just a broken arm and lots of bruises and scrapes.""Then what is it?""Felix and Bianca were here." Gio turned away with a gulp, glad now that it was past tense, meaning they were gone or he might be tempted to tell Noah to forget his earlier request. Even with everything he'd heard on the stupid TV, his heart yearned to see her now. "You told her I didn't wanna see her?""I did."Gio glanced back when Noah didn't say more. "What did she say?""Nothing. She bolted to the restroom. She was upset, but she didn't say anything, even when she came back to wait for Felix.""Wait for him?" Gio squeezed the sheet and clenched his teeth, the jealousy eating h
GioGio stared at the news reports numbly, switching from one channel to another as they went to commercial, ashamed to admit the stories and images of Felix and Bianca hurt just as much as the coverage of the fire.His second home, 5th Street, had been destroyed. Jack was gone, and Gio still had room to mourn for Bianca. He watched the latest reports that showed her getting into Felix's car with her luggage and flipping off the photographers. They were now said to be on their way here—together.Gio had never felt so stupid in his life. He'd hardly said two words since he came to over an hour ago, and the doctors advised him that the pain he was feeling was from his body being slammed against the wall. He'd been bruised and scraped up pretty bad from all the flying debris, but otherwise the worst injury he'd suffered was a concussion. They didn't think it was too bad, but they did warn the pain would probably worsen in the coming days when the whiplash and soreness really set in.E
BiancaIt'd been over an hour since the line between Bianca and Gio went dead. She tried to convince herself that he hadn't hung up on her. There had to be a reasonable explanation for why they'd been cut off and he was now not answering any of her calls or returning her texts. Even with the pictures, he couldn't possibly believe the stories about her and Felix being back together.Toni had called her about a half hour after her call with Gio to warn her about the new stories. The new photos of her and Felix coupled with the stories the media was circulating were pretty damning. She suggested Bianca give Gio a head's up. The media sure had a way of making even the most innocent of photos seem like some kind of deep moment between them.The more time that passed without her hearing from Gio, the more anxious she felt that he might actually be buying into the hype. He couldn't possibly, could he? But it was late already. They usually talked in the evening until bedtime.The televisio
The sincerity mixed with alarm made Bianca nervous but she waited as Felix let out a breath and frowned. "Andy wanted me to threaten her—threaten to go after her with everything I had—dig up any skeletons she might have and threaten to go public with them, all for the sake of intimidating her into having the abortion." He looked away, and Bianca sensed he couldn't look at her anymore. She was almost afraid to hear more. "I might've done it if this had happened before I met you. I actually considered it, but then I thought what if it was you? What if this had happened when I first ran into you again, before I really got to know you, and I'd done this to you. I didn't know much about her either, but I kept thinking she could be just another sweet and special girl like you, who I'd be screwing with just to cover my own ass—I couldn't do it. That's when I realized I'm not the same guy I used to be and it's because of you. I'm giving her whatever she needs, and I plan on being there for my
BiancaIt'd been days since the scandal broke—days since Bianca had last seen Gio and an eternity since she'd last kissed his lips. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye properly. What was worse was that this could go on for much longer.Both Bianca and Gio had assumed that the story would die down soon enough. Not only had it not calmed down but they were turning it into a full-blown soap opera. The paparazzi were relentless in their pursuit of a statement from any of the three parties involved in the, now internationally talked about, love triangle. Because they were all Hispanic, even the Spanish tabloids had gotten in on it.Bianca dropped the only class she'd taken on campus that spring because the once respectful photographers and sleazy journalists were on her now, as Nana so nicely put it, "like flies on shit."Gio had since been fined for flinging one photographer's camera across the 5th Street gym parking lot. They were forced to lay low for now. The media wanted nothi