Gravel, rocks and sand crunch under my tires as I turn into the parking lot at Flanning & Rourke. I pull in and park next to Tyler's light colored Honda Accord, cut the engine and get out of my car just as his door is opening.

Side by side, we stand, staring at the employee entrance.

"We're ready for this," he says. He sounds more like he's trying to convince himself of this fact than making a bold statement.

"Yep," I respond. "I'm kind of nervous. Are you?"

"Shakin' in my boots. Never quit a job before."

"Me either. Except that one summer I worked at Dairy Queen. I gained fifteen pounds."

Tyler glances over at me. "You get free ice cream there?"

"Duh."

"Shit. I should have been working at a liquor store."

We laugh together, then the chuckles die down and we sigh together. "Well," I say, turning to him. "Let's do this."

Tyler inhales a long, deep breath and blows it out, his cheeks expanding to dangerous proportions. "Can't we just show up in the middle of the night, clear out our desks, take some files and leave the keys in the break room?"

"Don't I wish." I begin walking through the uneven parking lot. "I will be so happy to not have damn rocks in my shoes every day. Why can't they pave this shit?"

Tyler follows closely behind me. At the door, I scan my employee badge. With a beep and a flash of green light, the door lock releases and I let us in. We walk past the break room, the conference room and the Associate cubes. Tyler tries to dip into his cube but I grab him by the lapel of his jacket.

"Nope. We do this first. Otherwise you'll hide in here." He mumbles a few choice words under his breath but cuts his detour short and follows me down another hallway to the corner offices.

Flanning is in. Flanning is always in. He's on his third wife and something tells me that he's heading for divorce number three if he's in the office during the Christmas to New Year break. I'd called ahead, just to make sure he'd be here and was expecting us. His office door is open and as we come down the hall, I hear the clack clack clack of fingers on a keyboard.

"Hey Doug," I call out, trying hard to keep things friendly and casual. Tyler is quiet, skulking behind me with his hands in his pockets.

"Angie," says Doug, the glare from his computer screen reflecting in his glasses. "And Tyler. Odd to see you two in here this week. Have a seat."

We follow his suggestion, each taking a plain, straight back chair. Doug's office is a study in male decorating. Not a piece of anything he owns goes together. I'm sure he got his furniture from a used office supply store -one tan and one black metal filing cabinet, a dark walnut desk, a scarred credenza whose best days are long gone, two guest chairs that look like they are long lost relics from two different kitchen sets and a couch that is straight from the Sears 1979 catalog. 

"Just working on a brief, I need to get it to the prosecutor by noon." Doug goes back to typing, but his eyes flick up toward us every few seconds. "What can I do for you?"

"Well..." I clear my throat, mentally reviewing the speech I've gone over and over and over in my head. "The thing is, Doug..."

"We quit." I glare at Tyler, who looks like he wants to throw up. He stares at me, eyes wide. "I mean..."

"He means," I continue, taking the reins of this conversation again. "He and I have been offered and accepted positions at another firm."

Doug has stopped typing. Frozen, he glances from me to Tyler and back to me again. His mouth opens as if he has something to say, but then closes without uttering a peep.

"We uhm... well, I personally am thankful for F&R. I've been here a long time. I clerked here. I cut my teeth on the law here. I've done a lot of good work here and I am proud of my record. But if I am honest I have wanted to move on for awhile."

"Uh huh." Doug's brown eyes float over to Tyler. "And you're leaving as well. Going to the same firm, I imagine? Your brother's firm?"

I'm surprised, but then again I'm not at all surprised that Doug knows about Chasez Law Group. Peter Chasez is a local celebrity and his return to Orlando is making the gossip circuit. As is my love life. The entire firm, from the receptionist to the newest Associate, was floored when I returned from St. Lucia attached at the hip to my arch nemesis, JC Chasez.

"My uncle's firm," he corrects. "Yes sir. It's an opportunity to work with family. To do something different."

Doug removes his glasses and rubs a thumb and forefinger over closed eyelids. "So... what about your cases? Are you handing them off to anyone? You're certainly not taking F&R clients with you."

"I have a few cases I'd like to see to completion-"

"Well, too bad. Those cases belong at this firm!"

"You and I both know I can work around that."

"Don't threaten what you can't pull off, Ms. Blake."

"I'm not threatening, Mr. Flanning."

After a brief and unsuccessful stare down, Doug continues. "Chasez doesn't have any cases he can take with him. Every single file stays here."

I glance over to Tyler, who shrugs. "You were giving me shit cases anyway, stuff any intern grunt can handle in between snaking the drains and hauling boxes and other busy work you make Associates do."

Doug huffs, pushing his chair back from his desk. He reaches for a post-it notepad and starts dictating notes as he writes. "Re-assign Chasez cases. Reassign Blake cases." He glances up at me. "The ones you're not stealing from the firm, that is."

"I'm not stealing anything. Everything will be done on the up and up. I'll rescind the offer of counsel and if they want to stay with F&R, that's totally up to them. But if they want me as an attorney, they'll have to contract me through a different firm."

He sighs, sounding dejected and defeated and tosses his pen across his desk. The note pad follows. "Clean out your offices. Today. Leave your access cards and keys at the front desk. I'll have Human Resources call you with any exit details but I don't want to see you back in this building unless you're opposing counsel. Are we clear?"

I nod. I see Tyler do the same out of the corner of my eye. We stand and quickly file out of Doug's office. I feel like we've dodged a bullet. I also feel lighter than air. I am one hour and two boxes away from getting the fuck out of this hellhole.

Hours later, a small but rowdy group has gathered at Prime. Tyler and I, JC, Morgan, Nick and Keith are bunched together at a table much too small for us, but we don't want to move. It's our spot. It's always been our spot and despite the fact that other patrons are taking up the other half of the tables we usually dominate, we want our spot.

"I can't believe you just blurted it out like that, you moron." I nudge Tyler, who's in the middle of sucking down a longneck beer.  He finishes the bottle and plunks it down on the table with a loud belch.

"It was gonna take you forever to do it diplomatically. You were all I so appreciate the opportunities, blah, blah, suck up, blah. I just put it out there. And now we don't have jobs." He lifts an arm to signal the waitress and points to his empty bottle.

"Hey take it easy, man," says JC. "It's two in the afternoon and we have a long night of drinking ahead of us."

We have huge plans for New Year's Eve. Our whole group will be together for the first time since the wedding. Jackie and Matt even got a babysitter and baby Michael has taken to formula really well so Jackie can drink. The plan is to start at Prime and head to a party at a swanky hotel. I bought a cute new dress and JC got a new Varvatos ensemble. We're looking forward to celebrating with our friends and stepping into the New Year together. 

My cell phone rings. Since my fiancé and my best friend are right next to me, I'm tempted to ignore it, but it could be my mom or dad, so I zip open my bag to retrieve the phone.

"Oh, it's Jackie!" I grin as view the caller id and press the button to pick up the call. "Hey Jacks! What's up?"

"Fucking bullshit is what's up!"

"What? What's bullshit?"

"My sitter has strep! Goddammit!" Jackie is nearly whispering, so the baby must be asleep. She still sounds pissed, even though she's trying to be quiet.

"Oh no! Do you have a backup?"

"No! Everyone I've tried already has plans. Matt's parents offered to cancel theirs but I can't do that to them. They already watch Michael all the time." I hear her stomp a foot and grunt in frustration. "Fuck! We might not be able to go tonight."

"Noooo," I whine. "You guys have to come!"

"What's going on?" Morgan asks, alarm in her eyes. "Jackie and Matt are coming, right?"

"Sitter has strep. She can't find anyone to watch the baby." Morgan's face falls. I know the feeling.  "Jackie," I say, resuming my conversation, "Let me ask around and see if I can find someone, okay?"

"Well..." She hesitates. "I... I just don't want to leave him with a stranger, you know? I won't have a good time if I'm worried about him."

"Yeah, that's true.  Keep trying though. And let us know what's up, okay?"

Jackie agrees and I press the button to end the call. What was going to be a great night seems just a little less festive. "I hope they can find someone. I feel bad. Jackie never gets to go out anymore."

"Jackie chooses not to go out," JC argues. "Jackie chooses to stay home with her husband and her kid. She's not being held hostage."

I glare at JC, for what feels like the first time in ages. "The point is that she has a chance to go out and she can't. It's not like she can leave the baby at home, like a dog."

"I wasn't suggesting that she should. I'm just saying." He shrugs. "She decided to have a kid and that's the life you get to live when you have kids."

JC sucks down a swallow of beer and continues. "Look at how often we see Keith and Bridget since they had kids. Like never."

Keith rears back, mouth open, eyes ablaze. "Seriously, dude? Sometimes reading to your eight year old is way more important than watching you and Nick outdrink each other on a Thursday night. Maybe you can get hammered and then get up and go to work the next day, but I can't."

JC snorts. "And we know Bridget can't."

At that, I grip his arm, digging my nail into the tender flesh of his bicep.  "JC... knock it off, alright?"

Keith finishes his beer and pushes his chair back from the table. "You know what, I gotta run anyway. Bridge and I have stuff to do-with our kids-before tonight's party. Catch you guys later." He stalks away, his long legs making deliberate strides, one hand clenched tightly around a set of keys.

Everyone at the table is staring at JC, who is nonchalantly drinking and popping peanuts into his mouth. "What?" He finally demands, at which everyone looks away. Everyone but me.

"I think we need to go."

"Why? I'm not ready to go," says JC.

"Well, I'm going to go. I'm going to see if I can help Jackie find a sitter."

"Alright. I'll see you at home." He leans toward me for a kiss that he doesn't get. I grab my bag and my keys and head for the door. Just as I reach my car, I hear JC behind me. "Baby! Angie. Wait."

"What?" I unlock the car and drop my bag inside. "You have some more rude shit to say about my friend? How about some more insults for Keith and Bridget?"

"No." He moves closer, stepping between me and the car so I can't get in yet. I fold my arms across my chest and glare up into his face. "I'm sorry. I just... I wasn't thinking. I was talking shit, like we always do."

"We don't ever say that shit to their faces. And that crap about what Jackie chooses? You don't know the first thing about choosing responsibility over partying. But I'll tell you what... you'd better figure it out, real fast."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm expecting you to act like a mature responsible adult, one who's ready to get married, not like a guy who's just happy he made his conquest. You can't just whisper sweet things to me for a couple of weeks or months and then a couple of days later, Asshole JC is back."

"That guy you call Asshole JC never left. I am who I am."

"Yeah?" I push him out of my way and get into the car, slamming the door. "Maybe I don't like who you are right now."

I start the car and back away from the space, leaving JC standing in the middle of the parking lot.

I'm in our office, filling out the exit paperwork that Doug must have had our Human Resources Officer come in on her vacation to send out. I shake my head, typing hard and fast, fuming on her behalf. I can't get away from F&R fast enough.

The familiar roar of JC's car comes near, idles and then stops. A minute later, the front door creaks open and shuts with a thump. "Babe? Where you at?"

"Office," I call out. I hear footsteps coming down the hall and look up to see JC standing in the doorway. "Hey. It's good you're here. I need some information from you, like on health insurance and stuff. Should I continue my coverage from F&R or does my insurance start on my first day?"

JC walks around my desk to peek at my paperwork under the guise of rubbing my shoulders. "First day for Senior Associates. Junior Associates have a 90 day wait so make sure you tell Tyler he needs to continue his." His hands feel good, kneading the taut muscles across the back of my neck. "Why are you worrying about that stuff today? It's New Year's Eve. Come on, let's watch a movie or something. I want to get a nap in since we're going to be up late."

"You go ahead." I return to my paperwork. JC concludes his massage and walks around my desk, headed toward the door. "I just want this over with. And I'll probably meet you guys for drinks but I'm not going to the party afterward."

He freezes mid-step and turns around. "You're what?"

My eyes flicking up to his briefly before returning to the computer screen. "I'm not going. I'm going to watch the baby so Jackie and Matt can go."

"You're..." JC huffs, his hands landing on his hips. "You're serious? You're not going to this party we've been planning on going to for weeks. This party we bought new clothes to go to. Angie... come on!"

"Yup, I am really serious. I'm not going. But you don't have to hang out with me and the baby-- go to the party. Have a good time."

"Just go? Have a good time? Are you serious, Angie?"

Frustrated, I slam the lid of my laptop shut. "Stop asking me that! I am serious! I'm not going. I'm not telling you what you're doing and I'm not asking you to skip the party, but I am not going." I get up from my desk and maneuver around him, heading toward the kitchen. "Do you want something to eat? I'm hungry."

"Evangeline--"

"What, Joshua?" I whip around to find JC directly behind me. His face is flushed red and his eyes have a spark to them that I haven't seen since we went toe to toe in that park. Before everything changed for us.

"Can you stop acting so casual about this? You weren't going to talk to me at all? You just... decided not to go. You randomly bring it up to me and walk out of the room and ask me if I want dinner. You're out of your mind if you think we're wasting the $75 we spent on your ticket for this party tonight. And you're crazy if you think I'm going to that party by myself, to stand around and dance with myself, drink with myself--"

"You will be fine, JC. All your friends will be there. I'll pay you back for the ticket."

"That's not the fucking point, Angie!"

Slowly, I step back from JC. He's screaming in my face and I don't much enjoy the experience. As if he notices what I am doing, he takes a step back as well. "I--I was looking forward to this party, because when everyone is doing the countdown and they get to One and the clock strikes midnight..."

He shrugs and quietly adds, "I wanted to finally be with you. I want the first seconds of this new year to start with you."

"I know," I admit. "And I'm kind of sad about not starting the New Year off at a big fancy party. But I just... Jackie is so upset about not being able to go. This was her first time being able to go out with all of us and she's just... pissed that she can't."

"The thing is, Angie? Jackie and Matt have had their first new year together. They've had that moment. I get that you love her, and I love her too and I feel bad for her too... but to forego our special moment so you can be nice to her? Without even talking to me about it? That's shitty, Angie."

"Well...I'm sorry." My head hangs with an appropriate amount of shame. I knew the reaction I would get, but he pissed me off with being so flippant about Jackie and then being so callous about Keith and Bridget. I say all kinds of shit behind Bridget's back, but none of it is ever malicious and most of it is out of jealousy. I'd leave a bunch of drunk fools behind to snuggle my husband and kids on the couch while we watch Frozen for the 199th time.

"So... you're not going to reconsider? You're still not going?"

I lift a shoulder in a noncommittal shrug. "I already told Jackie I would watch him."

JC's brows are furrowed so tightly that it looks like they are one single brow riding a deeply lined forehead. "And she let you cancel your plans so she could party?"

"I..." I reach behind my head to scratch at the nape of my neck. I feel my temperature rise. "I kind of... told her... that we'd changed our plans and we weren't going so I was free. I didn't... I don't think she believed me but I talked her into accepting my offer. I can't go back on her. She's excited about going."

JC groans, his hands gripping the tufts of hair atop his head. He turns a full circle before he stops and drops his hands to his sides. "You realize smarty-pants that Jackie still isn't getting to go out with all of us. You won't be there. And now I won't either."

"JC, you should still go--"

JC pounds the countertop with a tightly balled fist. "I'm not fucking going to a New Year's Eve party by my fucking self, Angie! What about that do you not get?"

"So what are you going to do, then? Hang out at home, watching movies like it's a normal Thursday night? Fall asleep on the couch with your hand down your pants?"

JC chuckles but it's not fun laughter. "Very funny. I'll go with you, I guess."

"Oh hell no." I turn to the refrigerator and open it, pulling out leftover chicken Alfredo from the night before. "You'll be pouty and grumpy and I'm not in the mood to put up with you."

"It'd be your fault that I'm pouty and grumpy. It would serve you right to put up with me."

"If you hadn't been such a dick at the bar, I wouldn't have even thought of skipping out."

JC sighs and moves in, closing the space between him and me. He pulls the spoon I am using to dish up cold chicken and pasta out of my hand and sets it back in the bowl. "If I apologize about what I said about Jackie and about Keith... will you go? I mean, we can find a sitter for Jackie, I'm sure. Fuck, my mom will watch him if we need her to. But... I want to be with you tonight. Please?"

"JC, I..." Helpless, my hands flap to my sides. "I wish I could go back on my promise... I just can't. Jackie doesn't know Karen. She'd be so worried about Michael all night and she wouldn't have a good time--"

JC's face clouds over and he spins away. "You're so fucking concerned about Jackie and not at all about me!"

"Because when you were being a dick to me, day in and day out for eighteen years, Jackie was there for me! You are the love of my life, JC. You are... but..." I shake my head slowly. "You're not my whole life. And the fact that you're throwing a temper tantrum because of this party instead of accepting that I need to be there for my friend because it's important to me that she and her husband get out of their damned house and be together for once... it's just telling."

"Telling of what?"

"That you're spoiled. And you're immature, just like I was saying earlier at the bar. This is real life, JC. This is what having real friends is about and this is what caring about someone besides yourself is about. If you want us to be together at midnight, you better find a way to fix your attitude because you're not ruining my evening with your tantrum."

I walk out of the kitchen, leaving the bowl of chicken Alfredo on the counter and stomping up the stairs.

He's right. He has every right to be mad and I know it, but it's too late to turn back. I figured he'd be upset about the party, but he'd get over it and just go. In the past, I'd see JC at the annual Ritz Carlton New Year's Bash, either alone or with one--or several ladies on his arm. It's not like he's never attended this party without someone special.

Even though he pissed me off, he's angrier and probably more hurt than I thought he'd be. A part of me wishes I could back out on Jackie and still look myself in the eye in the morning, but I can't. I sigh, resigning myself to staring into Baby Michael's big brown eyes at midnight.

I'd fallen asleep for a few hours and when I awoke, the bedroom was awash in the rosy glow of dusk. I check the clock radio next to the bed and yawn, kick my legs over the side of the bed and stand up. Downstairs, JC is playing music, rather loudly.

"Rude," I mumble to myself, though I slept right through it. I hit the bathroom and wash my face, brush my teeth and comb my hair into a long, low ponytail. The last time I held baby Michael, he grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked. Hard. It brought tears to my eyes. I'm not making that mistake again.

Coming out of the bathroom, I'm startled to find JC in the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Shit! You scared me. What are you doing?"

JC tips his head a few times, nodding me over to him. "Come over here a second. I want to talk to you." Wary, I cross the room and sit on the bed next to JC. "So... we need to talk--"

"I'm not changing my mind. It's too late now anyway."

 "I know," he says, rolling his eyes in my direction. "I know. But we still need to settle this between you and me. You can't convince me that you weren't trying to spite me today. I don't want to get into that habit, Angie. I'm sorry for what I said about Jackie and about Keith and Bridget and I'm not just sucking up to you when I say that."

"Okay... thank you."

"I realize that these people are your friends and they've been your friends for a long time and you're loyal to them. But... you're special to me. You mean a lot to me and you're my priority and what comes across as immature and spoiled to you is me feeling threatened that I'm not more important to you than your friends are."

I nod, my bottom lip disappearing into my mouth.

"So... I get that you feel bad about Jackie. She was all excited and then she felt really let down. Kinda like me." He wiggles his brows at me and I can't help but smile. He can't be very angry if he can still joke around. "I came up with a way you can make it up to me... if you're game, that is."

I glance at my watch and mentally subtract the time I need to be at Jackie and Matt's. "I don't know if we have time for much more than a quickie--"

JC's loud laughter fills the quiet room. In seconds, his face is red and the bed shakes as he fights to gain control. "Oh, baby..." He swipes a thumb under each eye while suppressing residual giggles. "Uh, maybe later but we don't even really have time for a quickie."

"We don't? What? What are you laughing at? I thought you wanted sex."

"I do," he says with a sniffle. "I always want sex with you. But right now we have to go downstairs and get ready for the party tonight."

I stare at JC, incredulous. "I already told you, I'm not changing my mind."

"You don't have to. I worked it out."

"You worked what out? Did you find a sitter? And okay her with Jackie? Because she's not going to leave her son with just anyone, JC--"

"Angie." He quiets me with a palm cupped under my chin. He pulls my face toward his and plants a kiss on my lips. "Shut up and listen. You're not the only person with answers, okay? I worked it out, I said. You want to know how?"

I nod, slowly.

"The party got moved. Everybody's coming here tonight. Jackie and Matt are bringing the baby and Keith and Bridget are bringing their kids. We'll set them up in here, put on some movies, get the kids some pizza. I went to the store and I got some more wine, some beer, and some ice, a couple of drink mixes, some tonic and stuff. It won't be a big fancy deal, but..."

He shrugs and sheepishly meets my gaze. "At least we will all be together at midnight. It's a warm night, so maybe we can toast the New Year around the fire pit."

My mouth is hanging open. JC reaches over and tips up my chin so it closes. "Uh... so... everyone is just... fine with not going to the party? It was $75 a ticket!"

JC blushes and cringes, one corner of his mouth twisting up. "I kinda... I kinda promised I'd give them their money back if they'd just come here. My stupid comment is costing me a lot of money."

"Baby...I didn't want you to--"

"Too late!" He hops up from the bed and pulls me up with him. "Do we have anything we can feed these people or do I have to go back to the store? What about kids? What do kids eat?"

At nine pm our little townhouse on Lake Conway is bustling with people. All of our friends plus three children are packed into our warm and cozy house. The music is just loud enough to fill in the spaces between conversations and laughter and carry the mood. The fireplace crackles with fresh logs and the fire pit is shooting sparks into the starry sky. The patio door is open so guests are free to roam from one end of the house to another.

I managed to pull a few snacks together to serve-- caramelized onion, sausage and cheese mini pizzas, chicken wings, mozzarella sticks with marina sauce and the last of Mom's famous chocolate chip cookies. JC threw together some spiked punch and I made another batch of spiked hot chocolate.

For throwing a party together in a couple of hours, we've done a pretty good job.

Jackie sidles up next to me, a pudgy, smiling baby in her arms. She leans her head on my shoulder and I tip my head so our foreheads touch. "I can't thank you guys enough for making this happen. This is so much more awesome than some stuffy hotel party."

"It was all JC, I promise. I was set to be at your house with this little man." I poke Michael in the belly and he giggles like the Pillsbury dough boy, grabbing for my finger. "But this is cool, too."

I take a survey of the room and smile at the sight of all of our friends spread about-- Nick and Morgan on the couch flipping through a home design book-- they're thinking of redecorating the Vizcaya house; Tyler and Jade out on the patio clutching glasses of wine and puffing on Stogies; Keith and Bridget cuddling their youngest, who didn't want to watch movies with her brother, out by the fire pit; and JC and Matt standing next to the fireplace, chatting while staring at the illuminated screens of mobile phones. The discussion looks to be about their Fantasy Football teams. Both suffered tremendous losses.

So we're not at the Ritz Carlton like usual, in expensive clothes and uncomfortably high heels, makeup stacked on and hair shellacked and sprayed to within an inch of its life. We're in jeans, casual shirts, comfortable shoes... and having the time of our lives.

Having made the rounds in the room, JC finds me out on the patio enjoying the warmth of the fire and the view of the lake at night. A glass of wine appears in my eye line and I smile as I wrap my fingers around the bulbous globe. "It's about that time," he whispers, snaking an arm around my waist and dropping a kiss on my neck. Then another behind my ear.

"Is it?" I check my watch, noting the time. 11:50. "Do we want to do the toast out here?"

"I thought we would. I just wanted to get a minute with you before everyone comes out here and crowds us."

I chuckle as I take a sip of bold, full flavored red wine. He opened a bottle of my favorite. "Says the man who invited everyone here." I lean back against him, take in a breath and sigh. "You did a good job tonight, baby."

"Fixing my fuck up, you mean?"

"No." I balance myself again and turn in his arms, winding my free arm around his neck. I rise up onto my toes and press my lips against his. "Putting this party together in a short amount of time. Getting everyone here. Making it comfortable. And making it so everyone could be together tonight. You did a good job."

"Thanks." His head dips, as if he had the ability to be shy. "I wish we could have just talked about it earlier, instead of wasting time being mad at each other and lashing out."

"I know you mean me... you did no such thing."

"Well, I was an ass." He nods, like he's finally agreeing with me. "And you were mad about it and I get that. And again, I'm sorry. The deal is that I'm not an ass to you anymore. I didn't make any such commitment to our friends. And if you could hear the amount of shit we give Keith on a day to day basis about being whipped... today's comment was nothing."

"Okay. I get it. You guys are rough with each other. But..." I nod my head toward the house. "That's a room full of people we love, people who have rooted for us and want nothing but the best for us and put up with our shit for a long... long time, JC."

"I know." His head bobs, his expression contrite. He takes a sip of wine before he adds, "So I have to be nice to our friends, now?"

"Well, not too nice. You are who you are. But...you don't have to skewer them, baby."

He laughs, his belly bouncing against mine. "I can handle that, I think. I reserve the right to skewer my brother, though."

"Skewer away. That kid deserves it."

The patio is louder, now that people are pouring out of the house in anticipation of the midnight celebration. "You guys ready for us or are you still making out?" Nick rounds the fire pit, followed by Morgan. From around the other side come Jackie, Matt, Keith, Bridget, Tyler and Jade. The kids have long since gone down for the night.

"Almost time, you guys!" Bridget is so excited she might vibrate out of her skin.  "Thanks JC and Angie, for opening up your place tonight. This is cool."

"We're all together," adds Jackie, wistful. She's curled up against Matt and grinning. Her smile lights up the entire patio.

I feel JC's fingers drum against me, his arm tight around my waist. I look up into his face and return his smile. Nick, intently watching his wristwatch, raises a finger in the air. "Hold that kiss... here we go, guys!"

We stand on the patio in the glow of the fire pit behind us, the moon full and bright in the sky. At the stroke of midnight, the only sounds heard are the waters of Lake Conway and the crackle of embers.

The eight of us are lip to lip, entering the New Year in the embrace of those we love.