Noah"How'd it go?" Jack asked as Noah closed the supply room."It went good." He smiled. "I went easy on them since it was their first day. I wanna make sure they come back.""Good thinking. Too many times these beginners come in here all gung ho, get their tail whipped, and never come back."Noah nodded. That's exactly what he'd been thinking, especially about Veronica. For obvious reasons, the workout had seemed so much harder on her. That's why he'd made sure to tell her she did good."So they're coming back tomorrow?""That's what they said." Noah really hoped they did. He needed this money, and if something didn't change soon, he'd have to look for a job somewhere else. He really didn't want to have to leave the gym. It'd been like his second home for years now. He felt more comfortable there than he did at the garage where he was now staying. He even showered here instead of using his foster parents' bathroom. A lot of his personal belongings were here in his private locke
VeronicaThe waiting room was quiet now, but just hours earlier, it had been pure chaos. Veronica called Courtney to notify her of her sister's asthma attack. Courtney notified the rest of the family, and they were all there within minutes. They were already upset about Nellie's attack, but it was when Rick arrived that things got ugly.Courtney had to be held back. She refused to let Rick in to see Nellie. She blamed him for Nellie's being in the hospital in the first place. Then Nellie's brother, Raymond, arrived, and when he realized why Courtney was so upset, he went on the attack himself. Eventually, Rick left and things began to calm. During the hours that passed, Courtney filled Veronica in on what Nellie had suspected for months. Months. And not once had she mentioned it to Veronica. She couldn't be sure why, but Veronica had a feeling.Since her mother's death, Nellie had been doing everything she could to try to cheer Veronica up. Veronica was too caught up in her own depr
NoahAdmittedly, Noah had been surprised to see that not only had Veronica returned alone the next day but that two weeks later, she was still as committed to her workouts.She even got on the scale at the end of the first week and confessed she'd weighed herself that first day and told him what her real weight had been. She also explained why Nellie hadn't come back, but most importantly, he saw a renewed energy in her now. She asked him to work her out as hard as he could. Then she'd turned blood red when he smirked while telling her he'd never had a female put so much pressure on him. That had finally gotten a smile out of her—a really sweet smile at that.At the end of week two when it came time to weigh in, she was nervous. She'd lost five pounds the first week, and she'd been ecstatic. "Ready?" he asked. He already saw the difference in her face. Her cheekbones were becoming more defined, and her sweatpants were looking even looser than when he'd first laid eyes on her.She t
VeronicaThe very next time Veronica went to the gym, she made it a point to keep any awkwardness at bay. She had no idea what she'd been thinking when she asked him if he wanted to go for a drink. She'd just been so excited about the weight loss she hadn't been thinking. God, she was an idiot.How young Noah really was had been a shock to say the very least, and she was more than happy she had a day away from him to shake it off. He seemed content that there had been no weirdness and they'd fallen back into their regular routine. Veronica made sure there was never any more talk of their socializing outside the gym.Nellie had been separated from Rick for over a month now and was doing better, but she still had her bad days. Rick actually wanted them to try and work things out. He swore the day Courtney followed him to the hotel had been the only time he'd even considered taking his relationship with the other woman to that level. Because of Courtney's confrontation, it never happen
Waiting nervously for her friend to answer, Veronica paced around her front room."Hey," Nellie was sounding more and more cheerful these days.She and Rick were speaking more now. Though she still hadn't decided what she was going to do about the marriage, she wasn't nearly as depressed as she'd been when it first happened.After asking her about how she'd been doing and Nellie filling her in on her latest conversation with Rick, which didn't offer anything new, she got to her real reason for calling. She'd already told her about the awkward way she found out how much younger Noah was. Nellie didn't seem to agree with Veronica about how inappropriate it would be to do anything social with him out of the gym."Veronica, you act like you've never had lunch or gone to a movie with a male friend," had been Nellie's response to Veronica's mortification over having invited an almost twenty-year-old to have a drink with her.Ever since then, Nellie had assured and reassured Veronica tha
NoahThere 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
Scanning the pictures on the walls and on the shelves in the front room, Noah 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
VeronicaThe sound of hammering from the kitchen woke Veronica the next morning. Groggily, she glanced at the clock on her nightstand and saw it was only a little after seven. She rose from her bed and grabbed the robe she'd thrown on the chair near the door. She flung it on, slipped into her slippers, and opened her bedroom door.The intoxicating aroma of brewing coffee immediately infiltrated her nose, and she took an even deeper breath, enjoying it. The hammering stopped as she turned the corner and saw Noah on his knees next to the window in the breakfast nook. He wore a playful expression. "Morning, Roni."Veronica wasn't sure what to think. Obviously, he'd gone through some of her things if he knew her mother's pet name for her. Thankfully, before she could accuse him of anything, he pointed to a picture on the wall. "Took me a minute to figure out that was you in that graduation picture since it said 'Roni Cruz's graduation.' Then I remembered your friend calling you 'Roni' y