5th Street: Noah

Chapter 25

Noah went through his usual fight-day rituals Friday. He skipped his morning run, had a hearty breakfast, drank tons of water throughout the day. Since the gym would be a mess with the all-day radio broadcasting as it had been last week, he stayed home for the day.

He never really got nervous before a fight, and he wasn’t at all worried about tonight’s fight. Jack and Abel never liked overconfidence, but Gio seemed to be with Noah on this. He was just as confident that Noah had this. With all the radio broadcasting going on at the gym, his friends wouldn’t be spending all day there either. They were both stopping by Noah’s around lunch time, which meant Noah would have to triple the pasta he was planning on having for lunch. He’d just finished preparing it when they arrived.

“Smells good,” Gio said as he made himself comfortable at the table.

Noah did the host thing and served his friends while they went over strategy. Abel reminded him for the hundredth time of the things he’d really need to focus on. Not surprisingly, talk of focusing brought up the subject of Roni.

“What time is Roni getting there?” Abel asked.

Noah knew Abel still wasn’t convinced that Roni wouldn’t be a distraction, so he knew Abel wouldn’t be happy about his answer, but he didn’t care.

“Same time I get there.”

Both Abel and Gio stopped eating and stared at him. “You gotta warm up,” Abel reminded him.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll get there early.”

“She’s gonna be there while you warm up?” This time Gio was the one asking.

Noah frowned. “Yeah, so what?” He shrugged, not caring that both his friends were staring at him like he was crazy. “I want her there.”

Last night during their very long goodnight kiss, he made her promise she’d be there with him the whole time. She’d started telling him she might, in fact, be a little late, but after a few persuasive kisses, she actually agreed to leave work early.

“So, you never told us. What was Kratz doing here last week?” Gio asked, surprising Noah with the sudden change in subject.

Noah glanced up in time to see Abel shoot Gio a look. Noah glanced at Gio then back at Abel. “Why?”

Abel shrugged as if he’d asked the question to begin with. “Curious, is all.”

Abel had never been curious about anyone’s private life, and he was as discreet as he was nosey. Noah caught him trying to give Gio a look again. He didn’t know what to make of it, but he seemed annoyed or something.

“They used to go out,” was all Noah offered.

“Is she gonna start going out with him again?” Gio asked.

Abel threw his napkin on the table and sat back in his chair, very obviously irritated now.

Just as irritated but confused by Abel’s reaction, Noah turned to Gio. “Hell no, she’s not.” Then he turned back to Abel. “And what’s with you?”

“Nothing,” Abel said, shaking his head, then glared at Gio. “I just think talking about this right before your fight is a bad idea. You have a hard enough time focusing now that she’s around, and thinking about her and the fucking dean is not gonna help.”

Noah couldn’t help feeling a little pissed that his friends would think she was still interested in anything with her ex when things between Noah and her had obviously progressed. But neither of them had any way of knowing just how much his relationship had progressed, and he knew they meant well. “Yeah, well, there’s nothing going on with her and the fucking dean, so there’s nothing for me to think about, all right?” He stood up from the table and carried his plate to the sink. “Will you two just relax? This is gonna be fine. I got this. Trust me.”

He saw them exchange glances, and then Gio nodded. “Okay, no more talk about this before the fight.”

“Thank you,” Abel added. His attitude about the whole thing seemed a little strange, but Noah decided to just let it go.

“Or after,” Noah said, feeling even more annoyed now. “Roni wants nothing to do with that douche, so there’s nothing to talk about.”

Gio said nothing, just glanced at Noah and nodded then looked back at Abel, who was staring at him hard. It was all very weird, but Noah chalked it up to the fight. Abel was worried about Noah’s concentration, and it was true that Roni was a distraction. But he’d show them all tonight he could do this, even with her there the whole time. He had to. He didn’t want them ever trying to talk him out of having her there at all next time. That wasn’t happening.

They finished eating and Abel and Gio left. Noah got his stuff together and sat down on the sofa to wait for Roni. For the first time that week, he finally had a moment to catch up on emails and texts. The whole week he’d pretty much ignored everything outside of the gym, except Roni. It’s what he always did fight week. He clicked through the many unopened emails and texts he’d gotten that week, surprised to see Rita’s name near the top of his latest messages, since she hadn’t sent him anything in months. But he didn’t have anything new from her.

Not wanting her name up there, he clicked on it to delete whatever he did have from her. What he saw had him sitting up straight. “What the fuck?”

He scrolled down then saw the date. It took him a minute to figure out what day the text had been sent, but more worrisome was the fact that it had been opened. The only other person that ever used his phone was Roni. Had she seen this shit?

This whole week had been a bit strange, but he thought it was just because of the fight and Roni’s change in schedule. He picked up on her acting a little differently in the beginning of the week, but he hadn’t thought much of it since she wasn’t feeling well. Then there was the fact that she and Nellie were talking again and he thought she’d snapped out of her weird mood, but looking back now, that strange vibe had been there the whole week. Could this be it?

He was still sitting there, trying to figure it out when, as promised, Roni got home early.

“Just let me grab my lighter jacket.” She rushed to the front closet. “Are you nervous?” She turned to Noah, smiling big, but he saw the worry she tried to hide in her eyes.

“Not at all.” Not about the fight anyway, but something else was bothering him now.

Noah wasn’t about to get in the ring with this on his mind, so he decided to just ask her. He stood and took a few steps toward her as she hung her heavy jacket on a hanger then placed it in the closet. She pulled out her lighter cardigan.

“Roni.” He hesitated, not sure if he’d be opening a can of worms. In the last few days, he’d decided even if it hadn’t been said, he and Roni were in a relationship. No matter what she said or how much she put off making it official, what was happening between them now was very real. He felt it every night when they said goodnight, and he knew she did too. There was no denying it, and like he’d told her before, if she had seen the picture of Rita wrapped around him, she deserved an explanation.

She was looking at him now a bit confused, but the nervous smile was still there. “What is it?”

“Did you, uh . . .? Did you by chance see the picture Rita texted me this week?” The smile was gone instantly, and he knew then that she had. He hurried to her. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve explained.”

She shook her head, avoiding his eyes, but he saw the pained look on her face, and he took her hand.

“Look. She jumped on my bike just as I was leaving Gio’s uncle’s house. She told Hector to take the picture, but that was it. Then she got off and I left.”

He pulled her closer, and she finally looked at him. “You said you two don’t have a relationship outside of the holidays.”

“We don’t,” he said then added firmly, “and we don’t during the holidays anymore either.”

“Did you ask her to come see your fight?” She was angry. He could hear it in her questions, see it in her glare, but he was glad. This meant she felt she had the right to be.

“No, I didn’t. Is this why you’ve been so weird all week?” He caressed her face, and she closed her eyes at his touch, but she didn’t answer. “You should’ve said something, Roni. When did you see it?”

“Sunday,” she whispered, “when we were watching TV that night. I didn’t mean to. It just popped up and—”

“Is that why you went to bed early? When you said you were suddenly feeling sick?”

She nodded, and he wrapped his arms around her, feeling like scum. “I’m sorry. But I swear nothing happened.” He pulled away to look at her, suddenly worried. “You believe me, right?”

Thoughts of seeing the picture in her darkroom way back came to him. Just seeing her name in connection with another guy had turned his stomach and nothing had even happened between him and Roni at that point. Not only was this picture of him and Rita so much worse, but the circumstances were totally different now.

He held his breath as he waited for her response.

“I know she’s Gio’s cousin and your friend, but I don’t like her anymore.”

Not exactly the answer he was expecting, but he understood completely. He’d keep Rita’s comment about not having a problem with sharing to himself, but he knew that’s where Roni’s thinking was.

“I know we’re not—”

“We are,” Noah corrected her. “Maybe not officially, not until you’re ready and you can take all the time you want, but right here”—he tapped his heart—“I’m already in.”

Roni smiled, and then her expression went serious again. “And she thinks we are, right? So why is she still doing stuff like that?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll take care of it.” His phone went off in his hand, and he glanced at it. It was Abel. “It won’t happen again, not with her, not with anyone else. I promise.” Before he’d check out Abel’s text, which was probably just him wondering where he was at since Noah knew it was getting late, there was something he needed to get clear with Roni first. “You do believe me, right?”

This was probably the biggest hurdle he had to get over with her. Everything else aside, he knew this was her biggest holdup, that he wasn’t ready to be serious—wasn’t ready to give up all other female attention because of his age—but he’d never felt so ready for anything in his life. The only attention, the only company he wanted now was hers. And he needed her to believe this.

She stared at him for a moment and then nodded, a faint smile lifting the corner of her lips. The relief was so overwhelming that, before she could say anything, his lips were on hers. Noah kissed her long and deep like he had all week. He’d felt it all week, and he felt it now. This kissing only at night wasn’t going to stand much longer. He wanted to be able to do this with her whenever and wherever he felt like it. Every time he kissed her now, he could feel her giving in more and more to the idea.

As excited as this made him, he finally had to stop kissing her when his phone buzzed in his hand again. “Gotta go,” he whispered against her lips.

She licked her lips and crinkled her nose. “Is it okay to admit I’m even more nervous this time than the last?”

He smiled, hoping that was because she cared more about him now than before. Things definitely had changed a lot since then. “Yeah, it’s okay. But don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

He kissed her one last time before reluctantly having to let go and get his things in the car.

~*~

QUINTANILLA VS MACHADO

The banner alone was enough to unnerve her as they reached 5th Street. Roni felt it the moment she walked into the gym with Noah. He took her hand as they walked through the already gathering crowd. A herd of would-be groupies eyeballed her as they walked by them, and they all happily wished Noah luck. Roni looked right back at all of them and smiled sweetly. Noah was making a statement, and now so was she. The decision about moving forward and giving a relationship with Noah a fair try was becoming clearer.

Nothing made her happier than being with him, and who cared if she didn’t have a million friends or other things going on? Who said she had to have that all set up before she moved things along with Noah? She could do both at the same time. There were just a few things she wanted to get straight with him.

She’d been tempted to return Derek’s texts all day but hadn’t. He apologized again for having dropped such a load on her about Noah. Since she hadn’t responded to any of his texts, he seemed convinced that she was upset with him and had even called and left a long voicemail about how he still cared about her and he was only looking out for her.

His sincere concern was what made her nervous. As much as she knew about Noah, there was still a lot she didn’t, like that he’d dropped out of school. Had he ever gone back to get his diploma? But most importantly, did he really have a child out there, and why wouldn’t he want to be a part of his or her life? And what about the drug trafficking? It was so unlike him, but it was also unlike Derek to make something like that up. What else did she not know about him?

Abel, Gio, and Jack prepped Noah in the locker room. It felt weird to be in the men’s locker room, but since it was fight night, it was closed off to anyone else but the two fighters. There were two separate areas for the fighters, so no one but Noah’s group was in his area.

Veronica tried to stay out of the way. She got the distinct feeling no one else was comfortable with her there but Noah. But he made it clear he wanted her close by. She sat on a stool near the table where Noah sat while Abel wrapped his hands. The moment Hector walked in an undeniable tension filled the room—a tension only Noah and maybe Jack were oblivious to.

Hector gave Veronica a nod, but it was so unlike the usual playful way he greeted her lately. The warning look Abel gave him wasn’t missed either. Right then, she knew it. They all knew about Hector seeing her with Derek at the park. Just like her, they were most likely waiting until after the fight to tell Noah, because he obviously didn’t know yet.

She’d thought about telling him the night she got home from the park. She wanted so badly to ask him about the things Derek had told her, but telling him about the park would mean having to come clean about seeing him the two other times that week as well. She knew Noah well enough to know that information wouldn’t go over well, and she’d really hoped she could hold off until after the fight to tell him. Now she was thankful the guys had the same thought, but after their Rita conversation earlier, she was even more worried.

Admitting she’d made a week-long decision to distance herself from Noah only to come home every night to get even closer to him than she’d ever been before was going to make no sense at all. It did sound ridiculous even to her. She’d explain it the only way she could: that no matter how hard her head tried to dictate what she should do—get a life that didn’t revolve around Noah—her heart and her body’s reaction when she was around him always won out.

Rationale didn’t stand a chance anymore. Her body just gave into what she really wanted every time now. He’d worn her down, and at this point, even he had to know it. She only hoped he could understand why she’d tried to fight it in the first place.

Noah finished warming up, and the radio broadcaster outside announced it was almost fight time. The crowd started cheering as he riled them up. Veronica stood up, ready to go find her seat ringside where Noah had made sure they’d reserved one for her.

“Wait, Roni.”

Noah was back on the table where Abel had been prepping his face with Vaseline. He held out a glove to her and motioned for her to come to him. She did, and when she was close enough, she saw that the Vaseline accentuated the small lump still left from the hit he took New Year’s Eve. She touched the lump with her fingers, the one Noah stubbornly refused to have checked out by a doctor, saying it was normal for the swelling to take time to go away completely in the face.

“Are you sure it’s okay for you to be fighting with this thing still here?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” He smiled, bringing his arm around her waist and pulling her to him. Her heart sped up because,except for the other day when he openly hugged her in the gym, he’d never done this in front of the guys. “Wish me luck?”

“Of course.” She smiled back and then did what she said she was going to do from here on—stop holding back—she leaned in and kissed him deep.

She pulled away slowly, and Noah finally let her go as the crowd outside got louder. Noah got off the table, and they all walked out together.

The fight started well enough. Noah appeared to be far more focused and in control than the last fight. The crowd was so much bigger and louder this time, and that seemed to feed Noah’s adrenaline.

Veronica sat at the edge of her seat, her hands going to her face every time Noah’s opponent landed a punch, which to her relief wasn’t often. Noah seemed to be doing most of the landing. Then his opponent slipped in one good one that landed right on the spot Veronica had been worried about: the lump on the side of his face.

Seeing Noah rocked made the crowd go wild. Everyone was on their feet, including Veronica, whose heart was at her throat as she watched Noah try to shake it off.

“Get back in this, Noah! Now!” Abel yelled.

Noah did just that, landing two good ones back to back. The crowd roared, and Noah had his opponent on the ropes. He landed another solid jab to the guy’s gut just before the bell rang and the ref stepped in to separate them.

This was definitely a part of Noah’s life that was going to take some time getting used to, because, God, if she wasn’t close to tears already . . . Seeing him being knocked out so unexpectedly on New Year’s had been horrifying enough, but watching and waiting, knowing it could possibly happen again, was the worst.

The next round went much better, and even after Noah landed a couple that almost took his opponent down, it was beginning to look like the fight might come down to a decision. Then Noah landed a solid one to the guy’s jaw, and he finally went down seconds before the bell.

Noah was once again declared the winner by way of knockout. The whole thing was bittersweet, and Veronica had a feeling this was how it would always be. She watched, and while everyone around him smiled and cheered, she focused on his expression. Even though he smiled at her and smiled again when they held his arm up announcing he was the winner, she could see he was in pain.

Once in the locker room, he admitted to having a bitch of a headache but told her not to worry it was normal. Jack gave him some pain killers with codeine, and their proposed night out to celebrate was officially postponed. Gio immediately announced he was having a barbeque the next day at his place instead.

By the time they got home, Noah was already feeling drowsy. Veronica thought they might actually skip out on their goodnight kiss, but when they got to their bedroom doors Noah pulled her into his. “Stay with me tonight, please? I promise I’ll be good.” He smiled even through a pained grimace. “Hell, with these pills kicking in now, I’ll be lucky to stay awake for even a few more minutes.”

There was no way Veronica was saying no now. If it weren’t for the pills, she probably wouldn’t have said no to anything else either. After changing into her pajama pants and a T-shirt, she climbed in bed with him, and he immediately wrapped his arms around her, spooning her closely. It felt so perfect she wondered if she’d ever go back to sleeping alone again.