I reply: The only way my Christmas could have been better is if I got to kiss you goodnight. Sleep well. See each other soon?
By the New Year’s Eve party, Dave and Greg have already done away with the Christmas decorations, and the house is covered in gold confetti, streamers, and more glitter than should be legal. There are glasses on nearly every surface with varying levels of drink left inside, and the karaoke is loud enough to fill every room.
I’m tipsy but nowhere near as drunk as the rest of the people here. Certainly not drunk enough to do karaoke. And even though I’m having fun, I can’t shake that knot of disappointment that West had to cancel. With Hazel down with a stomach bug and Asher out with his boyfriend, I don’t blame him though.
The images I had of us seeing in the New Year together can’t happen.
“Jasper!” Dave sings so loud I hear him before I see him. He’s wearing a sheer shirt, a feather boa, and the same silver cardboard New Year’s Eve tiara that he’s forced on us all. He slings an arm around my shoulders and drops his weight into me. “Fuck me, I’m drunk.”
The puff of his breath on my face is heavy with the smell of butterscotch.
“Somehow, I think Greg would object, no matter how drunk you were.”
He chuckles. “I do the f—”
“Don’t need to know—”
“And I think your bae would also have an issue with that.”
I groan. “Please don’t—”
“Say bae,” he mocks, before cackling. “You’re such a stiff, but I love you anyway. And speaking of stiff, where is sexy West tonight?”
“At home. Sibling emergency.”
“Damn.”
I nod. “Yeah, but I get it. Just means I have to miss out on my kiss at midnight.”
“You can borrow Greg if you want.”
“It doesn’t look like you’re getting your kiss either.” I lean around him to see where his husband is passed out on their couch. “It’s only eleven.”
Dave’s intoxication has him giving Greg an even more lovesick look than usual. “I don’t even think he’s drunk.”
We laugh, and Dave sways, almost knocking me over. “You know, it is only eleven.”
“I literally just said that.”
“No, no. It’s only eleven. There’s still an hour until midnight. If you want your kiss, go get it.”
A smile spreads over my face. “Holy shit, I could.”
“Yeah you can, baby.” He wraps his feather boa around my neck and then uses it to tug me in so he can plant a sloppy kiss on my cheek. Then he mimes drawing the sign of the cross on me and somehow makes it look more like his hand is spasming. “In the name of the father and the son and the holy gay, I pray you don’t screw this up.”
“Thanks for the confidence.”
“I want to double-date, boo.”
I give him a flat look, desperately trying to stop myself from calling him on the slang. His smug expression tells me he knows exactly the thoughts running through my mind, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been surfing Urban Dictionary just to fuck with me.
Dave slaps my ass. “Now go get your man.”
I wish it was that easy. It’s snowing outside, so even though I could possibly walk there, in this weather I’d freeze first, so I’m forced to wait for an Uber. Every minute that ticks by is agony, and I’m convinced I’m not going to make it, when my ride is finally assigned.
The anxiousness doesn’t ease until we pull up out the front of West’s place with fifteen minutes to spare.
“If you can wait twenty minutes, there’s a hundred-dollar tip in it for you.”
My driver switches off the engine. “I’ll give you to 12:07, then I’m heading off.”
“Thanks.” I jump out, then head for the house, calling West as I go.
He doesn’t pick up.
Shit.
It’s not like I can knock on the door—what if Asher is back early and answers?
There’s light spilling out of a window around the side, so I creep toward it, hoping like hell no neighbor has spotted me, but when I reach it and peek inside … no West.
I cringe and sneak past until I’m in the backyard away from prying eyes, and then I try West again.
He answers immediately this time. “Hey, you.”
“Come outside.”
“Wha—where are you?”
“Your backyard.”
“Give me a sec.” He hangs up, leaving me to wait in the freezing cold. I pull my coat tighter around me, and thankfully a minute later, West slips through his back door, tugging on a hoodie.
Damn it. He looks better than I remember.
He also looks a little nervous as he approaches.
“Don’t worry, I don’t want to come in,” I say, guessing at what’s on his mind. When he visibly relaxes, I know I’ve got it in one.
West smiles. “So what are you doing here?”
“I wanted my New Year’s kiss.”
“You came all the way here for a k-kiss?” His teeth knock together, and I want to lecture him for not grabbing something warmer, but it’s not his fault I sprang this visit on him.