I woke up the next morning completely emotionally and physically drained.  As I packed my few remaining belongings into my suitcase there was a knock at my door.  I timidly opened it and saw that it was Lance. 

“Hey Lance, come to say goodbye?”

He shook his head, “Not exactly.  Your flight was cancelled.  There are no outbound flights heading anywhere near D.C. because of the snowstorm hitting the Mid-Atlantic right now.”

I felt a headache forming.  “None?”  How was I going to get home for Christmas?

“Well, I came by because I wasn’t going to leave you stranded in Europe.  Just come on our flight – it’s private so you don’t have to worry about a ticket.  We can just get you a connecting flight out of New York.”

I scratched my head.  “Are you sure Lance?  I don’t want to impose.”

“Impose?  Emma, we’re on our way to New York.  We have a private plane, anyway.  I’d hate for you to not come with us and end up missing Christmas with your family.”

“Is everyone okay with this?” I asked. 

“What do you mean?  Of course, the guys don’t mind at all.”

He looked at me with pure confusion.  “What are you talking about Emma?”

I sighed.  “I told JC how I feel about him last night in the doorway of his hotel room, not knowing he had some chick in there with him.”

“Some chick?” Lance raised his eyebrow.

“It was so embarrassing and I just took off.  He looked at me like I was a crazy person.”

“Was the chick Heather?” Lance chuckled.

“Yes!  Why didn’t you tell me about her?” I put my hands on my hip with exasperation.

“Because Heather is JC’s sister!”

**

So, this had led me to the very flight we were on.   We were getting ready to land soon in the midst of a nasty snow storm.  JC had not said a word to me and I was pretty sure his sister thought I was crazy.  I just wanted this horrible flight to end so I could get on with my trip.  Alone time was looking pretty good right about now.  The plane landed and we all stood up, stretching as we grabbed our luggage.  I pulled my coat and threw my purse over my shoulder, wanting to be the first off in the hopes of further avoiding any interaction with him. 

We made our way up the gangway and I was a little panicked to see just how bad the snowstorm was getting.  My eyes made their way to the departure board and widened at the list of cancellations. 

“That’s not good,” Chris shook his head. 

“I’m sure I can find a flight to D.C.,” I said as I approached the ticket counter.

I tried not to lose my cool.  What was I going to do?  Now I was going to be stranded at the airport in New York indefinitely until the snowstorm ended.  Maybe it would just be a few hours.  The weather channel was conveniently on a nearby television at one of the gates.  The correspondent was showing the blanket of snow all over the east coast and declared, “The snowstorm is predicted to hit violently through the 24th.”  Great. 

Lance put a hand on my shoulder, “Emma, you can come with us.”

“No, no.  That’s alright.  I’ll just wait here and see if I can find a flight tomorrow.”  I put my hand up in protest.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Emma,” Justin shakes his head.  “Come on, the more the merrier.”

“Are you sure?” I asked the group.  JC, of course, remained silent. 

“You can experience Bromas!” Joey said, rubbing his hands together with excitement. 

Bromas?  I had heard about it, but had certainly never experience it.  It was traditionally a closed party that the five held for themselves to celebrate Christmas before Christmas Eve.  Normally, they would have held it in Florida with their families, but this year they decided to have it in New York at a house in the suburbs that the Fatone family owned.  This way, Joey could spend time with Kelly and Brianna and their grandparents.  At least this otherwise testosterone-driven getaway would be in the company of other girls.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but given the weather I didn’t see what other choice I had.