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Everyone went back to talking about all sorts of random things until Leah noticed how close we were getting to midnight. She excitedly jumped up pulling me with her. She gave me one bottle of champagne as she took the other. It didn’t matter how many times I opened one of these things, it always freaked me the fuck out. Once the foil was removed, I held the bottle pointed away from everyone before carefully untwisting the muselet. It wasn’t enough to dampen my anxiety. I wouldn’t fully relax until the cork was out, so I gripped it tightly and tugged, jumping as it popped from the bottle.
Everyone laughed at my theatrics, but this happened year after year. It never got better. One of these days I wouldn’t be such a chickenshit about it all.
The laughter didn’t stop because I swear that Leah waited until I was done to open her bottle. When I jumped once more, my heart slammed against my rib cage as I glared at my sister. She tossed me only a smirk as she began to fill glasses.
We had only ten minutes left until it hit midnight, and we all gathered around with our glasses. One of our family traditions was to say what one thing we hoped to accomplish in the new year was.
Leah wanted to reestablish her independence. Mom wanted to look into taking a paint and sip class. Dad wanted to slow down a lot more, and while he loved doing yard work, it was time to start looking into someone to help them out with that.
I waited with bated breath for Jeremy to speak. He chewed his bottom lip while he thought about what he wanted to say. His eyes were bright as they met mine from across the coffee table, a smile gracing his lips as he finally spoke up. “This next year? I want to work on being less afraid. I’ve spent too much of my life too afraid to be who I really am, and thanks to this family, I know that I don’t need to worry about that anymore.”
My eyes watered. While I wanted to jump across the table, wrap my arms around him and kiss the hell out of him, I still had to take my turn. We had only three minutes left until midnight, so I needed to hurry.
“This next year? I want to give as much love as I can. I spent the last few years being bitter about what I’d lost, but I don’t want to live like that anymore, especially now that I’ve gotten it back.”
Everyone let out a round of awes, both Jeremy and I got a few hugs from my parents and Leah. I was still itching to touch him. I rounded the table as twelve-o’clock ticked closer.
The countdown began, but I might as well not have heard anything. All I could focus on was the gorgeous red-headed man in front of me and the prospect of spending our lives together. This was our new beginning. Our new year. A new understanding.
As the clock hit twelve, my family cheered as Jeremy leaned down, his lips landing against mine. The world vanished around us, I carefully wrapped my arms around his neck so that I didn’t dump my drink down his back. This was the start of our forever.
Epilogue
Jeremy
If you had told me three months ago that I would be uprooting my life again and moving all the way back to the west coast, I would have thought you were insane.
I will say that it was three months of hell.
In theory, the distance didn’t seem like it would be that bad. It was only a matter of time until Austin and I were together again, but days felt like weeks and weeks felt like months. Talking over the phone or even video chats wasn’t cutting it. All I wanted to do was feel him against me.
There had been fun. Of course.
We had to get creative with it because Leah didn’t waste any time in moving her friend in. I crashed on the couch for a while, finding any sense of privacy was difficult. Therewas one very awkward occasion when Leah almost walked in on me in the bathroom taking a picture for Austin. Every time after that, I made double and triple sure that the door was locked.
She’d found the panties. At first I’d been horrified, but she’d shrugged it off like it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe it never would have been, but I’d never know, and I was okay with that. We worked so much better as friends. Once the pressure of a relationship was off, it felt like we were able to get back to how we were when we first met. We were able to hang out with no expectations, just have fun.
By the time the big moving day rolled around, it was hard to say goodbye. Leah had been my best friend for almost four years. She’d taken care of me when I’d been at my lowest, and I’d never forget her for that. Not that I needed to. She’d forever be in my life. We are family now. Just not in the way we originally thought we would be.
The car ride to the airport was almost stifling. Neither of us knew what to say because how did you separate after all of that time together?
I’d almost climbed right out of the car without saying a word when Leah turned off the engine getting out, running to my side. She threw her arms around me as we stood there on the curb, and I hugged her back with just as muchenthusiasm. I buried my nose in her hair, trying to take in these last little details until we saw each other again.
“If you get there, it turns out that Austin is actually an asshole, I’d welcome you back with open arms, you know that, right?” She looked up at me, her big eyes were shiny with tears. I wiped a few stray drops from her cheeks before kissing her on her forehead.
“You and I both know that Austin is the furthest thing from an asshole.”
She shrugged, scrunching up her nose. “I don’t know; you weren’t the one who grew up with him. He has his moments.”
It was such a sibling thing to say.
I kissed her forehead one more time before grabbing my bags from the trunk. Walking into the terminal was hard. The cars around Leah honked in impatience, and a security guard was giving her a nasty look. My feet were glued to the pavement, preventing me from moving forward, while I wanted to see Austin so badly, it didn’t make this any easier.
“Leah?” My voice cracked as I turned around. She had just started to duck into the driver’s seat of her car stopping to wait me out. “Thank you. For everything. You deserve so much.”
She gave me the biggest smile before sinking into her seat.
As many times as I’d been on an airplane, you’d think it would get easier after a while. It never did. Getting through security wasn’t the worst part. Those people were only doing their jobs, making sure that everyone was safe. It didn’t stop some passengers from being complete assholes to them.
