Long Term FRIENDSHIP

Noah's eyes widened, and he stopped chewing, but the smirk was still there. "Is that right?"

"Sure does." What was she doing? This wasn't playful, this was flirting, something she'd always done so naturally. She needed to stop.

"Even the salty stuff?"

"Especially the salty stuff." Too much! Too much!

That wiped the smirk right off his face, and his dark eyes stared at her now. So she switched gears as fast as she could, standing up and heading toward the living room. "Aren't there a lot of good movies on tonight? We should watch one."

Oh, right. Snuggle up on the sofa together just after she mentioned liking her whipped cream on the salty stuff. She set the champagne glass on the counter just before walking out of the kitchen. She'd had enough. It was bringing out the idiot in her.

Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, she clicked the television on and made sure to take a seat on the recliner that sat one. She didn't want him thinking she was suggesting anything. She could kick herself now for flirting with him. Like Nellie had mentioned that first day at the gym, the old Veronica was a flirt. The champagne seemed to have allowed it to resurface. She made a mental note to keep the alcohol intake to a minimum while around Noah, especially alone. It was hard enough not to notice how incredibly sexy he could be even when she was completely sober. Adding alcohol into the mix was just stupid. She should've seen that coming.

Noah waltzed into the living room, looking a little too smug. Veronica gave him a quick glance then averted her eyes to the television. "Polar Express! My favorite. And it just started." She jumped out of her recliner. "I'll go make popcorn."

Halfway into kitchen she heard Noah call out. "You gonna put whipped cream on that?"

Then she heard the laugh. She bit her tongue, holding back what she really wanted to say. That's not the kind of salty stuff I was talking about. Instead she said, "Ha ha. No. That would be way too messy."

"Isn't the mess part of the fun?"

She spun around, her face going hot, not just from his words but at the sound of his voice so close behind her. He stood a couple of feet away from her now, a tinge of humor in his smoldering eyes. Clearing her throat, she turned back to the pantry and grabbed a bag of naturally flavored, lightly salted popcorn. The best thing to do was ignore his question and change the subject. "Do you know that not only did I use to buy the buttered popcorn but for a while there, I actually added more butter?"

As embarrassing as her fat-ass confession was, it beat anymore talk of whipped cream. Thankfully, she turned away from his penetrating and playful eyes as she took the few steps to the microwave.

"Depression will do that to you. Food is comforting. Lots of people turn to over indulging on it just like others turn to alcohol or drugs to help them cope. You had every right to be down, Roni."

Their eyes met, and his usually intense eyes now teamed with compassion for her, something she only ever got from Nellie.

There were two powerful forces fighting against each other now. While his smoldering eyes earlier had begun to wear her down, making her consider that maybe allowing herself to give in to something exciting and so against her better judgment for once in her life wasn't such a bad thing, then he said things like this. The genuine kindness in his voice was undeniable, and it reminded her how stupid she would be to ruin a friendship with such a great guy.

The microwave beeped just in time for her to catch her breath and turn away again. "Well," she said as she took the popcorn bag out and grabbed a bowl to spill its contents in, "the over indulging came with its consequences." She turned back to him and smiled. "You were witness to that firsthand. No more extra butter for me."

That smile again, so tender, but unlike when Nellie smiled at her like this, touched her in a way she couldn't understand. "I'm proud of you. You fought your way out of that dark stage of your life, and look at you now." For a moment, the tenderness in his eyes disappeared as he took her in from top to bottom, making her breath catch. Then it was back and he smiled again. "Not an easy thing to do, you know. You did good, Roni. You should be proud."

She took in a slow breath, hoping he wouldn't notice how a few words and his beckoning gaze affected her. "I am proud." Picking up the bowl of popcorn, she started to the living room, feeling his presence right behind her. She now regretted not grabbing another bowl because sitting by herself on the recliner would be rude since they were going to share the popcorn.

Sitting down on the sofa, Veronica decided she would stop worrying about her relationship with Noah and just enjoy the rest of her Thanksgiving evening. She didn't even flinch when he sat a bit closer than she had expected and after several times of their fingers accidentally touching as they both reached for popcorn at the same time, her heart stopped reacting so erratically. For God's sake, they were two grown adults, not middle school kids.

By the time the evening was over, they made it through without any more uncomfortable moments or inappropriate flirting, and Veronica concluded this was the beginning of what she hoped would be a wonderful long-term friendship.