Roni
Thanksgiving morning Veronica woke to a familiar aroma, one she hadn't smelled in the house in years. She wasn't completely sure, but as she walked through the hallway toward the kitchen, the smell was unmistakable: honey ham. It smelled delicious.
She turned the corner to see Noah in the kitchen wearing an apron and peeling potatoes. The dining table was set for two, centerpiece and all, and there were pies on the center island. "What do you think you're doing?"
Noah glanced up at her with a grin. "I'm making Thanksgiving dinner for us."
"No, you're not. You're going to Gio's house. You said you were really looking forward to it."
He raised an eyebrow with the grin turning into an all-out smile. "But what I decided I've been looking forward to even more—my entire life—was preparing a Thanksgiving meal."
When she didn't return the smile, his smile turned into a pout. "Foster care system all my life, remember?"
How dare he use that to guilt her into not being mad at him. She should've known better when he'd given in so easily the other day. When his smug grin returned, she couldn't help but smile this time. She walked toward him, trying to appear still angry, but secretly she was a little excited. Though it really wasn't a big deal that she'd be spending Thanksgiving alone, she wasn't exactly looking forward to it. "I can't believe you. When did you do all this?"
He seemed relieved that she was more curious than upset. "Well, I've never actually prepared a meal like this, so I sort of cheated. The ham was already prepared and spiraled. All I had to do was stick it in the oven, and I figured a turkey would be too much for just me and you, so I got a stuffed turkey breast that, again, all I had to do was stick in there." He gestured to the oven. "I'm not much of a baker, so I bought pies already made, but I did wanna prepare something and was hoping you'd help me. We could sort of, you know, do this together. So I'm making the mashed potatoes, and I bought some string beans, so we can make a string bean casserole." He pointed at a bag on the counter by the refrigerator. "And in keeping with the Mexican tradition, I bought some tamales from the lady selling them in the parking lot."
Veronica laughed, bringing her hand to her mouth. She didn't want him to notice how giddy she was beginning to feel. This was completely unexpected, and she hadn't had a Thanksgiving feast like this in ages.
"So whatta ya say? You gonna help me with this or what?"
"Sure, I'll help." She walked around the island to where he stood.
"You wanna do the potatoes or the green beans?"
Remembering the easy recipe her mother had taught her, she chose the green beans and got to work. She watched as Noah pressed a few buttons on his phone then set it on the table next to what looked like a speaker and soon Christmas carols began playing.
"Well, that's cool." She had to admit.
Noah laughed. "That's like one of the easiest things you can do on this phone. The more I play with it, the more awesome I think it is."
"Still too extravagant for me. I'll stick to my dumb phone thank you very much."
Noah promised to sell her on it yet and said he'd find an app just for her that would make her go out and just have to get an iPhone for herself. The conversation made her feel like an old unyielding geezer afraid of change like the ones she used to work with, who were angry anytime there was an upgrade to their computer system. She decided to change the subject by singing along to the music. To her surprise, Noah sang with her. Veronica laughed at how seriously intense he got at certain parts of the songs, then blushed and stopped singing when he told her he loved her voice.
"No, don't stop. That's the best part. I was waiting to hear you sing it."
She sprinkled the fried onion topping over the casserole and smiled, chewing her lower lip. Her face was on fire now, and she refused to look up at him. It was just a compliment. Geez. How old was she anyway? At the moment she felt like she was five in the middle of her elementary school yard and someone had just declared their love for her in front of the rest of the giggling student body.
"Lemme see?"
She knew what he meant. He wanted her to look up, but she shook her head. She could feel him staring.
"Look at me, Roni."
Spinning around so she wasn't even facing him now, she took her time placing the casserole in the oven. The music still blared away. When she finally turned to face him, his smile was so genuine, and it was all for her. It made her heart speed up. "God, you're adorable when you're embarrassed."
"Okay, so stop embarrassing me," she said, feeling the heat from her face rush south down her neck and back. She wiped the counter and cleared her throat. "Is that it? Are we done?"
The smile was ever present, and she did everything in her power to try not to stare at those suckable lips and his normally intense eyes that almost twinkled now. "Well, looks like you are, but I'm not. You wanna give me a hand with these potatoes?"
She walked over and helped him peel and cut more potatoes. A few minutes later, "Baby It's Cold Outside" started to play. It was one of her all-time favorites, so she gave in and sang along. Noah smiled and to her surprise, he knew all the words, so he sang the male part to her female part. She playfully leaned in to him, singing. And he'd lean back when it was his turn. She noticed his gaze became heavier as the lyrics got more and more flirtatious, but she kept singing. "So nice and warm."
He glanced at the window, amazingly not missing a single lyric. "Look out the window at that storm."
She gulped, knowing what was coming up. "My sister will be suspicious."
His eyes were on her lips now. "Man, your lips look so delicious."
Veronica pretended not to notice how his voice changed ever so slightly with that last line. "My brother will be there at the door."
His eyes were still on her lips. "Waves upon a tropical shore."
Giving in to temptation, she glanced at his lips as he licked them. "My maiden aunt's mind is vicious."
He stopped singing and spoke the next line. "Gosh, your lips look delicious."
Feeling a sudden heat, she forced her eyes away from those lips and stared at the potato in her hand. "I think this is enough potatoes."
He was quiet and didn't even move for a moment. She was almost afraid to look at him. When she did, his playful expression had gone hard, and he cleared his throat. "Yeah, that should be enough."
She scrambled across the kitchen and pulled a pot out of the cabinets near her knees. "You can use this," she said, handing him the pot. His expression looked almost as stunned as she felt. "So that's it. I think I'll go shower now and get ready for our feast. Looks like we'll be eating all day."
Nodding, he glanced at her, his eyes making a stop at her lips again before turning back to the pot in his hand. "Okay, I'll put these on to boil and do the same when you're done with the shower."
Shaking away the sudden visual of his hard body under the shower, she walked away quickly to the bathroom.
Once safely behind the closed bathroom door, she allowed herself to let out the trembling breath she'd held back when she'd been so close to him in that kitchen. This had to stop, and she would make sure nothing like that happened again.
At Noah's age, sex was probably eternally on his mind, and she was certain that's all he was thinking when he looked at her the way he did sometimes. As young as he was, he was an adult of sound body and mind. He knew what he was doing, so if things ever escalated but didn't work out between them, she was certain he'd be okay with it. In fact, she hated to admit it, but that's exactly what she was worried about. Not only would he be okay with it, most likely it was what he'd prefer. And why not? Why on earth would a guy his age, looking the way he did, be thinking about settling down? It would be selfish of her to expect him to.
She shook her head. "Nope, nope, nope," she whispered turning the shower on.
She wouldn't even consider it. Besides she'd finally found another friend—one wonderful enough to go all out and plan a feast for them on Thanksgiving. Why would she be stupid enough to ruin that?
"Done," she said, pulling her pajama top over her head.
That was it. It was out of the question, and she was done thinking about it. She'd take a shower, get dressed, and enjoy the very special meal her roommate, trainer, and now good friend Noah had planned. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before stepping into the shower.