Abel by Elizabeth Reyes Page B

Abel kept his eyes on the road. “I forgot the meeting was Friday night. Hmm.” Noah was quiet for a moment then went on. “If it were anything else, I could probably get Roni to see if Nellie could skip out on her plans or postpone them, but I know she won’t for this.”
    Now Abel turned to him, the curiosity beating out any attempt to not appear too interested in Nellie’s plans. “Why’s that?”
    Noah shrugged. “I guess it’s because it’s Nellie’s first real date in a while. Roni’s all excited for her.”
    Abel gripped the steering wheel , remembering how nonchalant Nellie had been back, when she’d mentioned the concert to him. Sure they had an understanding, but after the incredible time they’d had in San Francisco, it was hard enough to concentrate on anything else right now much less make arrangements to spend any of his free time with someone else. All morning he’d already been mentally making room in his busy schedule for when he could see her again. And she was going on a date—a first real date? What the hell did that even mean? Had she not mentioned San Francisco to Roni?
    Logically , he knew he shouldn’t be upset. He’d agreed he’d be “game” to this, and at the time, he had every intention of this being just a fun thing—neither had a right to be upset or ask questions about each other’s personal lives. But he’d been certain this trip had been a game changer. He was more than upset, damn it. He was pissed .
    He was a fraid to speak for fear that even one word out of his mouth at that moment would be loaded with indignation so toxic that Noah would be all over it. He parked and got out of his car without saying another word: not about Nellie, not about his training, and not about the meeting Nellie wouldn’t be making because of her fucking date. All he wanted to do was run—run the annoying and unreasonable thoughts right out of his head. Visions of her doing what she had been doing with him for weeks after her date inundated him almost throughout the entire galling run.
    “ You okay?” Noah asked as their run finally came to an end.
    Abel took a long swig of his water , still unwilling to speak. Catching his breath after drinking his water, he nodded.
    “ You didn’t overdo it, did you?” Noah’s brows were pinched, his eyes full of concern. “Something hurt?”
    Yeah , his ego was crushed. But hurt was maybe pushing it—or not. “Nah, I’m good. I had a long night. That’s all.
    “ Another date ,” Noah frowned. “I’m telling you, dude, you’re gonna have to cut down on the late nights or all-nighters anyway. This fight is no joke, and your body needs all the time to recoup from the extra training you’re doing now.”
    They started back toward Abel ’s car, the irritation still weighing heavy. “I’ll be fine.”
    Out of nowhere , Noah chuckled. “Roni was a little pissed at you the other night. I was actually worried she might bring it up today.”
    Abel turned to him, his forehead pinched now. “Pissed at me? For what?”
    “ I told her you had a date the night after you got back from San Francisco, and when she confirmed with Nellie that Frisco wasn’t all business, she was hot.”
    “ Nellie was?” Abel asked, feeling hopeful.
    “ No, Roni was. She still insists that Nellie’s gonna get hurt.”
    Abel frowned , deciding to keep to himself who his date had actually been with that night. Noah would find out soon enough. Abel would spare himself Noah’s shrewd expression. “Well, if it pisses her off so much, why did you tell her?”
    “ Because I want her to get used to it, that’s why,” Noah said, looking at Abel over the roof of his car. Abel unlocked his door and got in, leaning over to unlock Noah’s door. As soon as Noah got in, he continued. “Roni tends to romanticize everything, and even with Nellie telling her she’s good with this being a purely physical thing, that she’s in no way looking for any kind of relationship,