"Where the fuck is he?"

Beans looks up at me and meows. I almost think he's trying to answer me, but then he walks over to his food dish and sits down. Right. To Bean's, it's always a quarter past 'feed the cat' time.

"Charlie said he'd pick me up at nine." I continue talking to Beans as I fill up his empty dish. "It's nine thirty-two. What's taking him so long?"

"He'll be here any minute. I'm sure," Pheobe says, coming out of her bedroom and slipping into her heels. "But you're also still welcome to come out with Mattie and me to the club."

"No thanks," I grumble. I still haven't quite forgiven Pheobe for sleeping with Derek, and I certainly don't want to be a third wheel with her tonight.

On the way home from the game, I started regretting saying yes to doing something with Charlie on New Year's. He leaned in to kiss me good night when he dropped me off, but I stopped him. Crap. I feel as changeable and vacillating as the spring weather in Ontario—warming up one minute and freezing up again the next. There are all these moments with him when my body is screaming yes, yes, yes, but my head is still telling me no, no, no.

Yesterday, I ripped everything out of my closet looking for something that said: I'm the dress you wear out on New Year's with a guy you can't decide if you want to like yet or not. I want it to make me look good without making me look too good, you know? But I couldn't find anything, so I went out shopping and ended up getting this sparkly, form-flattering, midnight blue knee-length dress with slits up both sides. But looking in the mirror by the door again, I start to question if I've overdone it. 

Pheobe comes beside me and pops open a dark shade of red lipstick. "You look great. Stop worrying."

"Charlie said to dress up, but he's keeping where we are going a surprise. I hate that."

"Oh really? I love surprises!"

"You would. For you, getting a UPS delivery is less about opening your package and more about seeing what his looks like. Anyway, I hope it's nowhere crowded."

A loud knock at the door makes us both jump. "I'll get it," I cry, lunging for the door. But as I pull back the handle, it's a redheaded man on my doorstep.

"Mattie!" Pheobe cheers, grabbing her purse. "Have a good night, Leigh. Happy New Year's Eve."

The door closes with a bang, and I'm all alone—except for my cats. Sitting down on the sofa next to Inky and Onyx with a huff, I finally break down and text him.

Me: Charlie, where are you?

I give Inky some pets, and Onxy comes to get some love, too. My stress level starts to lower, and after only a minute, my phone dings in my hand.

Chicken Dance: What do you mean?

Me: I thought you were picking me up at 9?

Chicken Dance: Yeah, I am.

Me: Well then, where are you?

Chicken Dance: What do you mean? 9 am tomorrow, right?

My brain implodes, flooding my body with cortisol.

Uh-uh. No, he did NOT just say that. Leaning forward, I tap out my reply.

Me: WHAT!

Chicken Dance: I said, let's do something on New Years.

Chicken Dance: When did you think I was coming?

Me: That is what I think. I'm ready to go out right now!

Chicken Dance: Leigh, New Year is tomorrow.

My whole body clenches, and I drop the phone to grip the couch.

"Is he out of his fucking mind?!" I yell as both cats jump and fly off the sofa in opposing directions like I've shot off two black bullets, fleeing my rising anger. I grab the phone off the floor.

Me: WTF!

I practically punch the phone with my aggressive taps.

Me: New Years means New Years Eve!

Chicken Dance: No, it doesn't. It means New Year's Day!

I'm literally going to kill him. I'm going to strangle this man till he's as blue as this new dress!

Me: What!!

Me: Are you really that big of an idiot, Charlie? Did you fall out of the stupid tree and hit every single branch on the way down? I can't fucking believe you!!!!!!

Chicken Dance: Haha! Good. Cause I'm just playing with you.

Chicken Dance: I'm down the street finding parking.

Oh my god. He totally had me.

Me: Charlie!!

Chicken Dance: The border lineup took forever to get through tonight.

Chicken Dance: Be up in a second.

Me: >:-(

I peek out my front window, and I can see Charlie walking down the block, laughing to himself like he is too fucking funny. I have to give it to him—it was a pretty good prank, and I would probably be laughing, too, if I wasn't on the receiving end. My dad actually likes to pull pranks like this, and I'm kind of itching to play this one on him now. But I don't like to be deceived by guys I don't know very well, and I'm going to let him know.

I pull the curtain back and stand by the door. He knocks, and as soon as I open it, I immediately give him a big shove and slam the door again.

A long minute passes before he lightly knocks, and after another extended pause, I open it wide and then cross my arms, tapping the point of my shoe and giving him a steely stare.

"Okay, I'm sorry that was—wow." He double-blinks. "You look absolutely stunning... even when you're mad at me."

He looks really good, too. He's wearing all black—my favorite—with black fitted pants and a button-up black on a black paisley shirt with a different sheen to it and a black sports coat. My gaze probably lasts a little too long not to be considered admiring, but I keep my expression fuming.

"You think you're a real comedian, don't you."

"Yeah, but that's part of my charm." He sheepishly shrugs with a grin, but my frown doesn't bend, and he relents. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, but it just came to me in the border line up, and I couldn't resist."

"Just so you know, if you had actually done that and shown up here tomorrow morning, I would have kicked your ass all the way back to California! And don't lie to me. Ever. Okay, Chicken Dance?

"Leigh. Come on, give me a little credit. I might be a little slow on the uptake on some things, but I wouldn't screw up New Year's that bad." Taking my hand, he catches my eyes. "Hey.  I'm sorry. I was being an idiot. I would never lie to you about something serious. I promise."

"Fine," I huff, then poke him in the chest. "But you're skating on thin ice, Mr. Tonight better be good."

"Speaking of that, we better jet. The boat departs at nine."

"The boat?"

"I got us in on a fancy boat cruise. Let's go."

Soon, we are in his Jeep and on the road. Charlie is an excellent driver, by the way. He's fast and efficient but never reckless. He's like a different person behind the wheel—more focused than he seems to be in conversation. He gets to the harbor in record time. I kind of can't believe my eyes when I see an actual giant Yaght pulled up in the small Hamilton Harbor.

"This boat?"

Charlie checks his phone. "Yep. This should be it."

"Should be? Charlie, what is this? This isn't the Harbor Queen. Hamilton doesn't have boats like this."

"I don't know. I found it on Craigslist."

"On Craigslist?"

"Yeah. People post cool stuff on there sometimes. The guy Jayden apparently chartered a Yaght for his 30th and just invited the first 100 people who replied. So, I thought we'd give it a shot. I felt bad for him. Having a birthday on the first of January sucks. Now, we get to celebrate it with him and have a free ride out to the fireworks in Toronto."

"This is crazy!"

He cocks his head, raising an eyebrow. "Crazy cool?"

I take another look at the fancy 75-foot motorized white Yacht. "Well yeah... it kinda is." And he takes my arm, and we board the ship.

Immediately, Charlie wants to find the host and thank him. I'm not sure how we'll do this because we don't know him, but it turns out it's not that hard. As we come on the main deck, I see a guy wearing a gold lame jacket with little lights all over it and a sequined gold fedora also with twinkling lights.

"There he is," Charlie says, heading straight for the guy. I already feel embarrassed, like we are crashing his party, and I hide a little behind Charlie as we approach.

"Hey, You Jayden?" Charlie says, extending his hand.

The guy smiles a wide, friendly smile and claps Charlie by the hand like they are old friends. "Yes, Sir."

"I'm Charlie. Happy birthday, Man! This boat is off the hook! Thanks for having us. And this is..." Charlie looks around for me and then steps to the left, placing his hand on my lower back and bringing me forward to his side. "Leigh."

"Nice to meet you, Leigh."

I don't know what it is about strangers and first meetings, but they render me absolutely dumb in the full sense of the word. As usual, the cat has my tongue in this scenario, so I smile sheepishly instead. Fuck I feel awkward.

Luckily, Charlie comes to my rescue. "Love your outfit, by the way."

"Thanks, man." Jayden does a little spin, and Charlie claps. Jeeze. These guys are like two peas in a pod.

"Well, happy new year, and enjoy yourselves. Food and drinks are inside near the dance floor, and champagne will be served at midnight."

We leave Jayden and explore the ship. Inside, there is a huge spread with steaming samosas, overflowing meat and fruit platters, shrimp and snow crab, artichoke dip, and a shocking amount of delicious bite-sized desserts. Charlie grabs us two drinks at the cash bar while I fill two plates with a mish-mash of everything.

After two more drinks Charlie coaxes me onto the dance floor. The lights are dim, and the music is thrumming as Charlie rests his hands on my waist. Besides Charlie, I haven't danced with a guy since prom five years ago, and my heartbeat ticks up with the unwanted memory. A crease forms on my forehead as I attempt to banish the thought.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I say automatically and wrap my arms around his broad shoulders.

"Do you want to stop?"

"No." I want to stop talking about it is what I want.

Spinning around, I let his hands brush the circumference of my hips and we start to sway to the beat. Charlie's fingers hold me firmly but not too tight. It feels nice, and I relax. It's probably the drinks I've had by now and the proximity of his body heat right behind me, but my body now feels warm and loose, and I let him move me.

As I dance in front of him, moving more and more to my own rhythm, his hands get gradually tighter, and my body wants more. Shutting off my brain, I place my hands on his, moving my body closer till my ass presses lightly against his front. Heat pools between my legs—I feel sexual, and it frightens me a little. But he doesn't take it any further, letting me dictate the next move, and right now, just this, is exactly what I want.

Just before midnight, we leave the dance floor and head out to the bow of the ship to take in the twinkling lights as we approach the Toronto city skyline. A minute ago, I was sweating dancing amongst the crowd, but now the breeze blows around my body, whipping up goosebumps and causing me to wrap my arms tightly around myself. Charlie puts his arm around me and pulls me in close. We stay like that for a few minutes as the boat comes to a slow stop in the harbor. I'm floored by the view, really. I've never seen it like this before.

"This is amazing, Charlie. I would have never done something like this. Thank you."

The multicolored lights of the city shine in Charlie's eyes with wonder and possibility. A winter wind rushes through, blowing my hair in chaotic streaks across my face. He turns me in his arms to face him, brushing the strands aside as people start to count down. Ten, nine, eight...

"Thank you for coming out with me tonight," he says huskily, bringing his other hand coming to rest on my lower back.

Seven, six, five... Charlie's gaze fidgets—locking with mine, then slightly looking away, only to zip right back in.

Four, three, two... My heartbeat quickens. "I'm glad you asked me."

One... And I feel that intense zing rush between us again.

"Happy New Year!!" The crowd cheers around us as a big bang sounds overhead.

The fireworks begin exploding rapidly, golden streaks lighting up the sky, but I can't seem to find my way out of Charlie's brown sugar eyes.

He swallows with visible effort. "Can I give you a New Year's kiss, Leigh?" he rasps out.

My insides flip over. This is it. If I let him kiss me, is there any turning back?

But maybe... it could be... a customary midnight kiss—no big deal.

Clearing my throat, "It is New Year's Eve. It's practically a requirement, right?"

"Definity bad luck, not to, I think." He smiles, though his unsteady voice betrays his nervous hopefulness.

It seems awkward for a second, as we both hesitate, but then he slowly leans in. I close my eyes, and a rush flows over my skin as his masculine hand cups the back of my neck, pulling me to him. After a second that seems to last forever, his soft lips slowly press against mine, and a bang goes off.

Was that overhead or in my chest? I'm not quite sure, but without warning, I open my mouth to him and yank him closer.

He tenses a moment as if I caught him off guard, but he quickly recovers, responding in kind and then upping the ante and caressing my tongue with his and tangling his fingers into my hair.

His tongue dances with mine, and I follow his lead—dipping and gliding, advancing and then evading, making me chase him. At the end, he surprises me with a playful flick, and I pull away, grinning. God, he's a fun kisser!

Charlie's eyes are wide. "That was... wow."

"Should we watch some of the fireworks now?" Our eyes still locked.

"Leigh, I've seen fireworks a hundred times but never had my eyes on something as rare and beautiful as you are tonight."

My knees go weak, and he dives back in.

https://youtu.be/129kuDCQtHs