She hurried in a little earlier than usual. Before last night she hadn’t even planned on getting a Christmas tree but after deciding she needed to get back to her old self, getting a tree seemed like a normal thing to do. Something she normally would’ve done weeks ago. Before her mother got sick, the holidays had been the best time of the year for her. This was it. She was determined to get back to normal. So tonight, she was cutting her workout short and leaving early to buy a tree.
Her heart sped up when her eyes met Noah’s as she walked in. He smiled but there was something cautious about his smile. She thought about his call. He was probably still worried about last night. She almost called him back but decided that would be making too big a deal about their little exchange and that’s the last thing she wanted.
“Hey,” Noah still wore his boxing gloves. “You’re early.”
“Yeah, I need to get out of here early tonight.”
He’d started taking off his gloves but stopped and stared at her. “Oh yeah? You have plans tonight?”
She dropped her gym bag on the floor and began to stretch. “Yep.”
She knew he was probably thinking something social not a pathetic solo tree-shopping trip so she let him think that instead of admitting the truth. Unfortunately, he kept on.
“With who?”
She came up from her bent position and pulled her leg up from behind her holding her foot with her hand. “I have a date.” She grinned.
Not surprisingly, his eyes opened wide. Of course he’d be shocked but he’d find out the truth soon enough so she added with a shrug, “with a tree.”
His shocked expression turned into a confused one. “A tree?”
“Yeah,” she nodded smiling. “I’m getting my Christmas tree tonight. I wanna have enough time to get home and decorate it tonight. Christmas is just around the corner.”
Noah started working on removing his gloves again but his eyes remained on her. “Oh… by yourself?”
She dropped her leg and picked up the other one. “Uh-huh,” She smiled big trying to appear more excited about it than she really was. The truth was she wasn’t looking forward to it. She’d always had someone to go with her. Before her mom died, they went together and took forever to pick out the perfect one. When her mom got sick Nellie took her mothers place and Rick helped get it in her house.
The thought of Noah accompanying her had crossed her mind but after last night, she wasn’t sure she should be spending so much time with him. Obviously, her feelings for him had grown way past the friendship or even crush stage. She needed to back up and get a hold of the situation. Christmas would be rolling around soon and she was going to have to deal with him and Rita.
“I can go with you.”
She shook her head a little too hard and too quickly, so she caught herself and tried to be a little more subtle about it. “No that’s okay. You don’t have to.”
His eyebrows pinched as he placed his glove under his arm and pulled his hand out. “Look, Roni about last night—”
“Can we just forget about last night?” She shrugged. “They said the holidays would be tough my first year without my mom and I think it’s just been making me a little weird.”
She hated using her mother as an excuse but telling him the truth, that hearing about him and Rita had done such a number on her she’d tossed and turned all night was not an option. Ridiculous is what it was and if she had any intentions of holding on to her only friend these days then she needed to start getting used to hearing things of that nature.
“Okay,” he said pulling the second glove off. “But I wanna go with you tonight to get the tree. If that’s okay with you.” He lifted his eyebrows playfully. “Never picked out my own tree either and since I live there now, this will sort of be my Christmas tree too. I’ll even pay for it.”
“No you will not.”
“Why not?” He finished tying the strings on his gloves then threw them over his shoulder. “I’ll give you half then. I’m planning on decorating it too you know. I wanna get the most out of this. Who knows where I’ll be next year.”
Their eyes met. That last statement put a sudden damper in their conversation. They were obviously both thinking the same thing. This arrangement wasn’t forever. Something she never imagined would be so hard to take. For a split second, she thought about the possibility of telling him he could stay for good if he didn’t want to go back to living in a garage. She didn’t mind having a roommate now. But she shook the thought away. The possibility of him inevitably being around other women, bringing them back to his room even was something she knew now she wouldn’t be able to handle. She’d have to cut her losses and be thankful her heart was still in one piece—hopefully—when it finally came time for him to leave.
“You can come with me if you want. But you’re not paying for the tree.”
Noah frowned but agreed, saying he’d be back for her workout once he put his things away.
Veronica’s breakfast with Nellie hadn’t gone as planned. She was going to let Nellie in on how she’d felt the night before when she heard about Rita but she felt so stupid she couldn’t do it. She had absolutely no right to feel angry, betrayed even, and it was embarrassing to admit she had. She blamed Thanksgiving. As much as she’d reminded herself repeatedly that she’d only be setting herself up for the inevitable heartache if she got caught up with such a young guy Thanksgiving had been so wonderful. She’d felt a closeness she’d never felt with anyone else. She thought maybe, just maybe he’d felt it too. Then she found out the very next day he slept with someone.