He made her promise to check in and let him know how things were going and promised her it would all work out.

Feeling a little guilty about how hot his goodbye kiss to her was, he had to sheepishly apologize. He knew she was worried about her friend and he was being insensitive but it couldn’t be helped. Tasting her mouth and sucking her lips gave him vivid memories of what he’d done to her earlier, bringing out the wild animal in him again.

After she left he showered and took off to Gio’s. Since this barbeque was for him, and since being home without Roni was just boring he decided to get there early and give him a hand setting things up—make a run to the market with him and chip in for any food he bought.

Not surprising Abel and Hector had the same thought. They were already there when he arrived. They had Hector hosing down the cement and between Noah, Abel and Gio they brought out the folding tables from the garage. “Damn. How many people did you invite, Gio?”

“Not too many but since it’s Pria’s birthday in a few days my mom thought she’d have her a cake and invite some family over.”

All of Gio’s sisters were younger but Pria was the youngest and the spunkiest. Noah didn’t mind sharing his barbeque with any of them but he was especially glad it was her. Although he wished he would’ve known sooner; he might’ve gotten her something.

They finished setting things up and people started arriving. It turned out Gio’s mom had gone to the market that morning to buy all the stuff and wouldn’t take a dime from Noah when he offered to chip in.

One thing he did insist on was giving Gio money for the booze. There was plenty of it and he knew they’d be doing some drinking.

It wasn’t until later that afternoon that Noah got the text from Roni confirming what he already had a feeling about. She wasn’t going to make the barbeque at all. Things were pretty bad and she said she’d explain later but she wanted to stay with Nellie longer.

Feeling a little disappointed, especially because he missed her already, Noah told her not to worry and that he’d see her at home later.

Noah hung out for a few more hours, getting a little buzzed then remembered he was getting home on his bike so he better slow it down. It was already dark out and he was especially vulnerable then. As it was he’d be invisible to most drivers in the dark, so him not having the quickest reflexes added to the danger.

He stopped drinking and grabbed a water instead. Roni texted him to tell him she was home now like he’d asked her to earlier, but said she was too pooped to leave. Even though she assured him she’d be fine with him staying as long as he wanted, Noah’s wild animal was already coming alive and he could think of nothing better than getting home so he told her he’d be home soon. He left out the part about having to have a couple more waters before getting on his bike. Gio was eyeing him when he finished sending off the text.

“Is that Roni?”

Noah nodded. “Yeah, she just got home from her friend’s and said she’s too tired to come down.”

“What friend?” Gio asked as Abel handed him a beer then tried handing Noah one.

Noah shook his head showing Abel his water then smirked wondering why it made a difference to Gio what friend Roni was with but answered anyway. “Her friend Nellie.”

Gio and Abel exchanged glances. The same damn glances they did the day of the fight at his place. So he had to ask, “What?”

“You said she wants nothing to do with Kratz right?” Gio asked taking a swig of his beer.

“Yep, that’s what she told me.” Noah answered confidently but annoyed that they’d be bringing up this shit again.

“Like they’re not even friends or anything?” Abel asked.

Noah answered with a nod but said nothing else. Instead took a drink of his water.

“But he showed up at her house?” Gio raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a little contradictive?”

Contradictive? The word alone annoyed him even more. Was he implying Roni was lying? “She didn’t invite him and she hadn’t seen him in years. His ass just showed up out of nowhere.”

Abel and Gio exchanging another glance did it. “What the f**k? What are you guys getting at?”

Abel shrugged and called Hector over. Noah turned even more confused now and watched as Hector stopped at the snack table. This irritated him further. He wished they’d just spit it out.

“It could be nothing,” Abel said as Hector took his damn time at the snack table. “It’s just that she went out with him before and her saying she wants nothing to do with him anymore, just makes what Hector saw seem even weirder.”

“Seems like it’s getting serious… at least you are,” Gio added. “We just wanna make sure you know what you’re getting into, Noah. That’s all. Like Abel said it could be nothing.”

“What could be nothing?” His irritation had veered a little toward nervous. What the hell had Hector seen?

Hector’s ass finally made it over to where they were at. “Tell him what you told me Thursday night.” Abel nodded in Noah’s direction.

Hector turned to Noah looking a bit unsure then it seemed to hit him. “Oh yeah, I saw your chick at the park hanging out with her ex Kratz.”

Only moments ago Noah had wished they’d just spit it out but hearing Hector just blurt this out nearly dazed him. “What?”

“Roni,” Hector said so simply, as if he hadn’t just dropped a f**king bomb on Noah. “Her and Kratz were at the park Thursday afternoon having a picnic or something. Did she tell you about that?”