Just like that, Roni's troubles seemed to fade—women and their shopping. She grabbed a pair of oven mitts and opened the oven, pulling out two round bread rolls way too big to be dinner rolls. She glanced at him and laughed. His expression must've been as blank as it felt. Noah was trying to figure out what they were for.
"I'm gonna hollow them out and pour the soup in them."
"Ah," he said, feeling a little stupid.
He helped out by pouring the drinks. Everything they did together now felt so perfect. Noah couldn't even imagine ever leaving.
She must've been as hungry as he was because they both sat, devouring the soup silently for a few minutes. Then he remembered. "So you have any plans for New Year's?"
She shook her head, taking another spoonful of soup and raised an eyebrow when she saw him smirk.
"So here's the thing. You don't have to say 'yes' if you don't want to, okay?" She nodded. "How would you feel about a small gathering here at your place New Year's Eve?" She eyed him as she sipped her soup again. "Just the guys and a few other friends from the neighborhood, probably Gio's sisters." She froze at the mention of Gio's sisters and Noah had a feeling why. "Rita's gone, so she wouldn't make it, but there may be a few other girls, you know, friends of the guys."
The guys. He wanted that perfectly clear. If there were any girls there, they would be friends of the guys, not his. There was only one girl he was interested in spending time with, and he'd get her to understand that loud and clear one way or another.
"So what happens at one of these gatherings?"
The playfulness in that husky voice of hers relieved him, but it also drove him insane.
"We hang out, listen to music. You won't have to cook or anything. We'll order pizzas. And, of course, there will be drinking, but I'll make sure things stay under control." He turned and glanced at the back door. "We don't even have to have everyone in here. We can keep everyone outside. If it rains, we can hang out in the garage." He saw her thinking about it then added. "We usually have a good-sized crowd when we have it over at Gio's, but I'll make sure to tell them this year is different. Don't worry, we'll tone it down."
Roni smiled then laughed softly. "God, Noah, you don't have to make it a grandma party on account of me."
Noah sat up straight, her comment hitting him like a shot out of nowhere. "No, I didn't mean—"
She laughed even more now. "I'm kidding. I just meant I don't mind a little music. Sure, why not? A party, uh, gathering sounds like fun actually."
Noah smiled, pushing her grandma comment aside. "Good, I'll let the guys know." He remembered something else. For some reason when Jack laid the news on all of them today, the first thing he thought of was he couldn't wait to tell Roni. "Oh and guess what? In January, 5th Street is gonna start hosting Friday Night Fights. It's a pretty big thing. The local radio station plugs it all week; then they broadcast from the gym all day that Friday. Abel's up first next week, and then I'm up the following week."
"Oh! I've heard those plugs before." Roni said, sounding just as excited as Noah knew she would be. "Don't you also get to go on the radio? I've heard them interview the fighters before on the morning radio show."
Noah got up to pour more soup in his bread bowl. "That's usually if it's a big fight, which mine might be considered, since it's a rematch. I fought this guy last year, and it was a draw. Bullshit if you ask me or anyone that saw it. How are you gonna call it a draw when I knocked him on his ass in the second round?" He shook his head in disgust.
"Wouldn't that be a knock out?" Roni turned to face him as he walked back to the table.
"No, 'cause he got up and hung in there until the end. Only reason I couldn't end it was because that's the fight I injured my shoulder." He smiled, loving the way Roni hung on his every word. "He fell into me one of the times I was getting ready to swing, and it jammed my shoulder. I fought the rest of the fight in excruciating pain. Jack and Abel wanted to stop it, but I refused, and they called it a draw."
"So this time you think you'll take him down?"
Noah smirked, winking at her as he sat down. He had no doubt about it, especially if she was there. But he'd keep that last bit of info to himself. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I got this."
The rest of the dinner, they talked about the Friday Night Fights. They'd be going on all of January and depending on how well things went, they may even extend it into the following months. Felix was even supposed to show up for one of the fights. Most likely he'd be there to see Gio's fight since he'd always been closest to Gio. It was all good as long as the word got out. Jack could certainly use the extra money the fights were sure to bring in. The gym was in dire need of some renovations.
Noah helped Roni clean up the kitchen, and then they watched television together for a while before Roni announced she was ready for bed.
That night Noah lay in bed unable to fall asleep. He didn't know how much longer he could be around Roni without telling her how he felt. She had to know already. He could barely keep his eyes off her now, and his reaction to the asshole at the gym a few days ago had been purposely obvious. He might be able to hold back from revealing his true feelings for her a while longer, but there were certain things he wouldn't even try to fake. What he felt about other guys making a move on her was one of them. The message hadn't just been for the guy but for Roni as well. Noah wasn't having it. Friends or not, there wasn't much he could do about it now. It's how he'd be reacting from here on every time.