Noah by Elizabeth Reyes

them were hotter than shit. And of course he’d had fun with plenty of them. He was a man after all. But there was something refreshing about a girl like Roni .
    He’d long ago stopped looking at her as older than him. Of all the girls he’d ever met he’d never felt as comfortable around any of them as he did with her. He always thought it but he had no doubts at all now. Age had nothing to do with friendships or any type of relationship. He’d known this his whole life. Some of his closest relationships , male or female , had been with people decades older than him.
    Veronica was no different. The day she ’d told him she was okay with being alone for the holiday he’d seen right through those big sad eyes and again this morning. When she walked in the kitchen trying to pretend she was upset about him not going to Gio’s. There was no hiding the glee in those beautiful eyes of her s . In some ways he felt sh e was younger than him. She hadn’t told him a whole lot yet. Judging from the fact that someone had thought far enough ahead to make sure she was taken care of with a house and all the family portraits he’d been so consumed with since he moved in, he was pretty sure she’d been sheltered most of her life.  
    He finished getting dressed and braced himself to meet Veronica in the kitchen. She was already singing and that voice of hers could silence a crowd. Not because of her singing abilities. That was average at best, but that low silky smoothness of her voice could almost put you into a trance.  He frowned remembering how even Abel had noticed it. But Noah had to admit it was hard not to notice. There was something so uniquely mesmerizing about it.
    Gio called just as he was getting ready to walk out of his room and Noah winced remembering he’d forgotten to call him.
    “Hey, Gio what’s up?” Noah could he ar the noise in the background. Even this early Gio probably already had a full house.
    “Not much. What time you coming down? Rita is here and she was asking about you.”
    Shit . Rita was Gio’s cousin from up north. They had sort of a holiday understanding. Since she lived so far and only really came down for the holidays a relationship was out of the question. Not that Noah had ever felt inclined to have one with her but she was fun and very generous under the sheets. So a few times a year, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter—the holy holidays—they got together . Though the ir trysts were anything but holy. It was perfect because she openly admitted she wasn’t into settling down so she’d never been clingy . Once she went home, he rarely heard from her except maybe to text him good luck before a fight or a random question here and there. She was a cool chick and hot enough , but most importantly he never had to worry about her getting hung up on him.
    “I meant to call you earlier, man. I’m not gonna make it this year.”
    “What? What do you mean? Where you gonna be?”
    Gio knew better than anyone that unless Noah was spending time with a chick or was at the gym h e really didn’t have anywhere else to be. And since Gio’s family was the closest thing Noah had to family he wouldn’t pass up spending the holiday with them for a night of lust. But this was different. As cold a s the shower had been that he was forced to take earlier this wasn’t about lust. “I’m having dinner here —a t home.”
    The second the words came out, it hit him. He’d never used the word home in relation to where he lived . It was always the Fuentes’ place or whatever other f oster parent ’s place he was stay ing at . The thought nearly suffocated him—he was getting too sucked into this whole thing. He had to keep in mind that this also was only temporary. Just like all the other homes he lived in through out his life , t his was no more his home than any of those had been. So why the hell was he referring to it as that ?
    The silence on the other end went on a little too long. “You