Sophie blew out a breath.This isn’t like Brianna. Jules is truly trying. But she’d been so counting on Jules coming out over the holidays, on being able to make things official between them as they headed into the new year. And now she couldn’t seem to stop herself from taking a big step back from Jules, both physically and mentally.
“I’m sorry,” Jules said quietly, her gaze falling to her shoes.
“I guess both of our Christmases went a bit sideways,” Sophie said, closing the space she’d inadvertently created between them, determined not to let anything ruin their reunion. “What if we worry about all that tomorrow and just focus on celebrating tonight?”
“I like that plan,” Jules said with a slightly brittle smile.
“How is your grandma? Is she recovering okay?”
Jules nodded, but the sadness on her face was unmistakable. “Her pride took the worst damage. She’s not going to be able to fly up next week, though, and I don’t know who’s more disappointed about that, because I was really looking forward to her being here.”
“I’m sorry,” Sophie murmured. “Can she come later in the run?”
“I hope so. My mom’s already offered to fly up again with her as soon as she’s able.”
“Good.”
Jules reached for her coat and shrugged into it. She knotted the belt around her waist and swept her hair out from beneath the collar. Then she grabbed her purse and led the way to the door. “We can take the subway there, but I hired a car to drive us home. Public transportation will be a nightmare after midnight.”
“No kidding,” Sophie agreed, even as those ugly feelings rose again in her chest, because Jules could afford to hire a car for them on New Year’s Eve. She never flaunted it, but Sophie couldn’t help feeling somewhat inadequate by comparison. “Thanks for doing that.”
“Well,” Jules said, leaning in for a kiss. “I do have ulterior motives to get you home safely and promptly, because we have some private celebrating to do later.”
“Indeed we do.”
Jules paused in the doorway, taking Sophie’s hand in hers. “I really missed you, you know.”
“I know.” They had a lot to talk about, but tonight was for celebrating.
They went down the stairs together and out into the street. Sophie grinned as Jules shivered dramatically, shrinking into her coat. Together, they walked three blocks to the subway entrance. Jules stopped suddenly, drawing Sophie in for a deep, hungry kiss as people bumped into them from every direction.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell my family about you yet,” she told Sophie. “But I just wanted to make sure you knew it has nothing to do with me being ashamed to kiss you in public, because I’m not.”
“I can see that,” Sophie said playfully as she led the way down the steps to the subway, thrilled by Jules’s public display of affection. “And coming out is a big deal. I’m sorry if I rushed you.”
“You didn’t, and I’m going to do it,” Jules said as they swiped their MetroCards.
They didn’t talk much as they battled the New Year’s Eve crowds on the subway, exchanging looks and smiles as they rode, shoulders bumping together from the movement of the train. Sophie was sweating by the time they exited—choosing to get off a few stops early and walk the rest of the way to avoid the Times Square traffic jam—but Jules still had her face burrowed in her scarf. She really was adorably cold-blooded.
She might have Miami in her blood, but she led Sophie through the crowded streets with all the confidence of a native New Yorker. They entered the Marriott Marquis through a side entrance and waited with the crowd at the elevator bank. Eventually, they stepped into a sleek, glass-sided pod bound for the rooftop restaurant.
Sophie and Jules were wedged inside with a dozen or so other guests. They faced the glass, alternately looking out at the hotel atrium passing by and exchanging covert kisses. Generally, Sophie preferred to stay home and watch the ball drop with a couple of friends—maybe go to a nearby bar if she was really feeling adventurous—but this was going to be fun, especially with Jules on her arm.
The elevator slid to a stop, and they stepped off, hand in hand. They checked their coats near the hostess desk before wandering into the restaurant, which was decked out in black and gold balloons and filled with people in fancy clothes. Right away, she recognized a prominent Broadway director and several actors. Soft music filled the room, and Times Square flashed brightly outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Okay, I’m glad we came,” Sophie said, giving Jules’s hand a squeeze.
“We’re going to have so much fun tonight.” Jules led the way to the bar, where she ordered champagne. Sophie got a whiskey sour. And since no one seemed to be paying them any attention, they kept holding hands, leaned in close as they sipped their drinks.
“I’m glad we’re in here and not out there,” Sophie said, nodding her head toward the windows.
“I did it once,” Jules told her. “Times Square.”
“Of course you did.” Sophie shook her head in mock exasperation.
“It was my freshman year of college, and a big group of us decided to go. We thought it would beamazing, and it was, but it was also super freaking cold, and I almost peed my pants because there aren’t any bathrooms.”
Sophie choked on her drink, covering her mouth with her hand as she snorted with laughter. “You know, a lot of people wear adult diapers to watch the ball drop,” she said when she could speak again.
