For the "Midnight Wishes Contest"

First prompt

Flicking the cigarette from between my fingers, and expelling one final cloud of smoke from my lips, the glowing embers of the butt dissipated in the frosted grass beneath me. Small beads of moisture from the snow underneath where I sat managed to seep into the fabric of my blue-washed jeans, providing me with a feeling that was more than uncomfortable. Though that was probably the least of my concerns right now.

My eyes glanced over to what was taking the number one spot on my list of concerns, falling just above its strongest competitor: wet pants. My car, caught in a thick layer of snow, filled my vision and another deep sigh escaped my mouth. How was I supposed to know I needed snow tires? Aren't all tires the same?

My immobile car laughs at me. 

With another exaggerated sigh, a response I feel like would be the most common in a situation like this, I pressed my palms into the ground and stood up. Instead of loudly groaning and muttering about my predicament, I decided to do what was probably the best course of action: calling road assistance. 

No service. 

My eyes narrowed down at my phone, followed by the loudest, drawn-out sigh by far. "Just great," I muttered to myself, shoving my phone back into my coat pocket. Pulling my lip between my teeth, I scoured my brain on what would be the best next course of action before a small building caught my eye. Scratch that, a nice trek through the narrow, snowy, probably dangerous road sounds better.

As I made my way toward the building, I realized this was probably the best thing to happen to me by far. Food, warmth, and iced-tea. The glowing letters attached to the forefront of the building spelled out, "Mom and Pops Diner." With a wide smile, I hurried my strides and quickly opened the door to the small building, relishing in its heat.

Just in time, too, as the snow storm outside began to pick up.

My lips curled into a frown as I thought about my poor car, cold and alone. Just like me... minus the cold part now I guess, but the alone part was definitely true. With probably the tenth sigh of the night, I sat at the bar with my head hung low. I should be on my way to my family right now, with 2024 glasses covering my eyes and a cheap party hat on top of my head. Maybe even some sparkling apple juice if I was feeling frisky enough.

A young woman with a warm, beaming smile approached me, cleaning a glass with a rag in her hand. "Tough night?" She asked, setting the glass to the side. Peeking up at her through my thick lashes, I nodded, "You could say that." She frowned for a moment before nodding herself, "Anything I could get you to feel better?" 

"One iced-tea and keep 'em comin'," I replied, letting my head hang low again.

The man next to me chuckled, gaining my immediate attention. My mouth opened to ask him what was so funny about me having a rough night, but those harsh words died on my tongue. My cheeks flushed, something I've decided to blame on the cold for now, as I caught his piercing green eyes. God, he was handsome. 

He gave me a knowing look as he brought what looked to be iced-tea up to his lips. I must've looked mesmerized or entranced or something because he quirked a brow at me as he set his glass back down on the table. "Do I have something on my face?" He asked, wiping the sides of his mouth before I even had a chance to answer.

Only handsomeness, kind sir.

"U-uh... no," I sheepishly replied as the woman from before slid a full glass of iced tea in my direction. My cheeks burned even more with my stutter. Great going, I thought to myself. He nodded his head and took another sip from his own drink. "Greyson by the way," he smiled, reaching his hand out. I went to fist-bump while he went to shake my hand. Needless to say, it was an awkward whirlwind of hand movements.

Gosh, I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole.

We settled upon some form of handshake before we retracted our arms from one another. His cheeky smile almost had me melting into a puddle, my insides turning into goo. He glanced at me with an expression I couldn't really figure out before I realized he was waiting for me to answer a question I had no recollection of hearing. "Um... what?" I mumbled. By now my face was a complete inferno by the fiery heat warming up my cheeks.

He chuckled, "I was just asking how you ended up in this diner?" Gosh, maybe he was just lacking in the brain's department or something. At least he had looks going for him I suppose. "Oh well, I walked through the front door," I replied politely, nodding my head into the direction of where I entered. He laughed again, the smile on his lips creasing the corners of his eyes. His smile was infectious, bringing one to my face as well.

"What?" I asked, stifling back my own laugh. He shook his head and took another drink from his glass that I quickly mimicked with my own. "I meant more like, why are you here on New Year's Eve?" He clarified. My smile drooped as I rested my chin against my palm. "My car decided it could drive through everything but snow apparently," I sighed, twirling around the straw in my partially empty glass.

His eyes lit up, and I seriously wondered if he knew anything about social skills. "Mine too," he stated motioning with his hand over to a lonely car parked outside. Ah, that explains it. My lips curled into a smile once again as I took a long sip from my iced-tea. "Guess we're in this together then," I thoughtfully replied, happy that at least someone else has shared my fate. "Guess so," he hummed in response.

We began to talk about our lives as we had nothing better to do. Made sense considering the diner was practically desolate and all signals were dead. Turns out we had a lot more in common than I would've previously thought.

"Favorite color?" I asked in my most serious voice, "This could be a dealbreaker, so be mindful of your answer." I swirled around the golden-brown liquid in my fourth glass of the night, eyeing Greyson very carefully. He nodded, painting a serious expression on his face as well. Clasping his hands together, he looked at the ceiling in thought before returning his gaze onto me. "Brown," he stated. I quirked a brow, "Final answer?" He pursed his lips and relaxed back in his seat before replying, "Final answer."

I shook my head and sighed. "Greyson, Greyson," I tsk'd, clearly unimpressed with his answer. "What does brown remind one of?" I asked rhetorically. "Dirt, mud, a toilet after having one too many Chalupas from Taco Bell, and boring rocks," I replied for him. He chuckled again, shaking his head, "I disagree. Brown can be very beautiful." I gave him a quizzical look and decided to bite, "How so?"

"They're the color of your eyes," he replied with a faint smile.

My cheeks burned as I stared at him, barely managing to keep my jaw from falling slack. There was a twinkle in his eyes as he lifted his glass up to his lips and took a long sip, his gaze not once faltering from my beet-red face. "I- I guess," I whispered, tearing my sights away from him and staring down into my drink as if it was the most interesting thing in the universe.

He smiled at me brightly, though I couldn't see it. "Well, now you have to answer," he stated kindly, "Same rules apply, though. Very high-stakes answer." Ignoring the raging butterflies in my stomach, I glanced over at him and smiled. "Hmm," I hummed, tapping my finger on my chin before snapping my fingers. "Green, final answer," I grinned. He shook his head. "Answer denied," he retorted with a quirked brow and wide smile, "Don't try and copy my amazing pick-up lines."

I rolled my eyes and snorted. "How humble of you to assume I was going to copy you," I laughed, shaking my head. He relaxed back into his seat and sucked on the straw of his very, clearly empty drink. "Oh really?" He asked, placing the glass back down. My cheeks flushed pink for what I believed to be the trillionth time since I stepped foot in this diner. Puffing my chest out, I put on my bravest face and nodded, "Yes, really."

"Huh. Because I believe your true favorite color is blue," he replied. How did he? He motioned with one hand at my clothing at the sight of awed expression, my eyes followed down to my outfit. Blue jeans, blue shirt, blue coat, blue socks, and white with blue shoes. My eyes narrowed as I looked back up at his triumphant face, "That-" I pointed at my clothes "-doesn't prove anything," I huffed. 

"Uh huh," he replied before continuing our deal-breaker discussion. Thoughts of me missing New Year's with my family, of my car breaking down, and of the dampness of my pants began to dissipate the longer I was in Greyson's presence. It was hard for me to remember the last time I had laughed or smiled this much, my cheeks were even growing numb from the constant embodiment of my happiness pulling at their muscles. 

It was easy for me to relax with him, and put my guard down. Easy for me to enjoy what should've been one of the most unenjoyable moments for most people. He made it enjoyable for me. So when we stared at our phones displaying the time until 2024, there wasn't even a moment of hesitation in my answer when he asked me to be his kiss into the New Year. This had been my happiest moment since the beginning of 2023.

And I was more than happy to end it with his lips on mine. 

To go into the New Year with a smile on my face.

3...

2...

1...

Happy New Year's. To me. To Greyson. To us together for this one, amazing night. 

And for many, many more to come.