“Yeah, but only until maybe one a.m., right? I thought we could have a small house party with Xander, Carolina, and some friends. You guys can join when you’re done,” she suggests.
House party? With her friends? Again? Fuck.
I can’t really say that celebrating New Year’s Eve with Professor Summers was on my bucket list.
“So, you want to have the party at our place and hope we agree so the mess isn’t at your house,” Joshua points out, giving her a pointed look.
“That’s true,” she admits, not the least bit embarrassed. “But I also think it’d be fun to have people over. Last New Year’s Eve was so boring.” She glances at Clay. “Don’t tell Xander, okay?”
She doesn’t even have to spell it out. I bet his idea of a good New Year’s Eve party is a boring documentary with the option of sleeping in front of the television.
I smile to myself, my gaze on my sandwich.
Clay chuckles. “I won’t, but I think he wanted it to be quiet so he could go to sleep early.”
“Well, not this year! Carolina, what do you think? Ready to party into the new year?” Sophia asks me, eyebrows wiggling.
I am not going to get out of this, am I?I need to at least try.
“I’m not really into New Year’s Eve stuff,” I share, hoping she’ll get the hint.
Seemingly genuinely interested, she leans in, her eyes searching mine for an explanation. “Why not?”
I pause for a moment, considering my response. “I don’t know, it’s mostly because it’s the day in the bar that sucks the most,” I admit with a nonchalant shrug, hoping the explanation will suffice.
“See, but you always worked, and now you don’t have to. You don’t even know if you would enjoy a New Year’s Eve party,” she counters, her tone eager to convince me.
I have no idea what else I could tell her to change the outcome, so I find myself conceding, albeit reluctantly.
“True,” I admit. “But it’s not my place, so I don’t decide.”
Sophia turns to Joshua, her expression pleading. Joshua, in turn, looks at Clay, who responds with a casual shrug. I get the sense that my fate has been sealed.
“All right,” Clay concedes too, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. “But you have to help clean up afterward. I am not going to clean up your friends' mess again while you’re conveniently absent with a hangover.”
Sophia’s face lights up with excitement, and she can’t contain her enthusiasm. “Yay! This is going to be so much fun,” she exclaims, clapping her hands together.
“I’m sorry in advance,” Joshua whispers to me, making me smile.
FOURTEEN
It’s almost midnight,and I’m standing by one of the fire pods Xander and I set up in the garden yesterday.
Work was slow today, and when we got home, Sophia started baking and preparing finger food for her guests while Xander and I made sure the living room and kitchen areas were clean and decluttered for the people coming over.
Then I watched Xander light the fires in the pods in fascination. They look like big stone bowls, each containing a burner surrounded by decorative stones and glass, creating a mesmerizing flame that dances within the bowl. They are super pretty to look at and radiate enough heat for people to enjoy standing outside for a while.
There are way too many people in the house for my liking, but it would be rude of me to leave now and wait for Joshua in the bedroom.
He’s texted me a few times. They’re having a relatively quiet New Year’s Eve, but it will still be a while before they arrive.
I pull Joshua’s beanie further down over my ears and glance at my phone—11:57 p.m.
The new black winter jacket Xander bought me is beautiful and long enough to keep me cozy. The material is soft againstmy skin, a stark contrast to my old leather jacket, which couldn’t hold a candle to this one in terms of keeping me warm.
But after spending so long out in the biting cold, the chill seems to have seeped deep into my bones.
“Aren’t you cold?” Xander asks from behind me, and I see him coming out and closing the glass door behind him, joining me on the porch.
