XI

Danny Byrd ft Netsky - Tonight



New Year's Eve


Jess and I had been friends longer than we had been enemies. And since she had the best New Year's Eve party every year, it was in my interests to be invited to it. She lives in a huge house, that I used to call the castle with ridiculous gardens around the outside. And every year the fireworks are the best in town. I wasn't going to miss out because I was holding a grudge about what had happened at the end of summer with Austin. She had grovelled, and I had forgiven, eventually.

We have been friends since second grade or something ridiculous like that. Not as long as Nat, but she's up there. When we were younger it was always us plus Austin and a couple of friends and Jess's cousin Brady who was two years older than us.

Brady has lived with Jess ever since his parents died in a horrific car crash. I don't remember it, I must have been about three or so but it was something we never talked about. Jess's parents had taken him in and treated him like one of their own. He had always been mature for his age making him the leader of our little gang. Well, he was when we were seven or eight and water fights with other children were our biggest worry. Consistently he is the big brother figure in my life, the one who used to make sure I wasn't hurt and put a band aid on my knee when I got cut, and always fiercely protective.

I knew he was staying around for Jess's annual bash and I looked forward to catching up with him now that he was at college in the States, and I didn't get the opportunity to see him as often as I used to.

For the first year, Lizzie had been invited and I had spent the late afternoon getting ready at her house. However Nat wasn't going to be there since her parents had kidnapped her for a week's skiing in BC. Jess had also invited Jordan, considering him "cool enough" to be seen at her party as long as he didn't bring the entire team which as Jess had said "would ruin her rep". She considers all hockey players to be "neanderthals" and I have to agree, with the exception of a certain one.

Jess is past fancy dress, believing New Year is a time to look as glamorous as possible, and that is totally what I intend on. I had straightened my long hair letting it fall over my shoulders and borrowed a white short-sleeved tunic dress that came to midcalf length, showing off my legs, pairing it with black stockings and high heels. We had spent hours getting ready, but I don't think I've ever looked as hot. Tonight was going to be the best NYE ever!

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We had arrived at half nine, probably the perfect time - not too early and not too late that we would be able to party through to the small hours without passing out. Most people were already there though I couldn't see Jordan and assumed he would turn up in a little while.

Jess had invited the usual faces, even some of the guys from the year above that we knew, so I assumed Austin would be here too. It's not like him to turn down a party. Not that it bothered me, it would be weird not kissing him at the stroke of midnight and kissing someone else.

Standing at the bottom of some Cinderella stairs, I felt a large pair of hands on my shoulders and turned round to see a smiling Brady. He looked fantastic. His brown eyes shone and he looked great, his blue shirt making him look hot. If I wasn't with Jordan, and Brady wasn't a friend, I wouldn't say no.

"Pelino! You look amazing. Give me a hug," he said as he opened his arms. With the exception of Austin, he is the one other person who is allowed to call me that without me minding.

"How's everything between you and Austin?" he said taking a seat on the stairs as I sat down beside him. Obviously the grapevine doesn't extend to the southern States, because that was a stupid question. Steadily I took a sip of my champagne, wondering if he really hadn't heard the news or wanted to hear my side of the story. Maybe he had heard something from Jess.

"We broke up at the end of August, I'm not sure if you were here for that or if you had already gone back."

"Yeah, I sort of heard. I love Jess to pieces but sometimes she's a dick when she's drunk..."

"Mmm..." I said not sure whether I should agree to this or not. "Austin and I haven't really spoken since which is a shame all things considered. We have moved on which is what we both needed."

"So you're dating someone else?" Brady asked. I shook my head. Not technically. Jordan and I were, undefined. Love that word. Not. "Not even tempted by one of your father's Petes?"

"Nope," I popped the p with a smirk. Brady gently nudged me with his elbow. "You're hiding something, c'mon Pelino, tell." I didn't realise how much of a gossip lover Brady was, but I guess when you spend three quarters of your life away from home, then you have to catch up somehow.

Quickly I told him about Jordan, on pain of death that he wouldn't breathe a word to anyone else about it, since my Dad would probably go batshit if he found out.

Jordan passed us on the stairs, completely ignoring us. Brady pointed and asked me if that was the one. I pushed his finger away, trying to get him to be discreet. "Friendly," was all Brady could manage.

We talked for a good while until Lizzie came to find us, telling us we had five minutes to midnight. Following her through to the main lounge I knew I had to find Jordan. It seemed like all of the guests were in the room holding champagne, and I reached for another flute.

Seated on a pristine, white couch with his arm around a small blonde girl, I watched as Jordan dropped a kiss on the top of her head. As the countdown began and everyone turned to look at the screen, I felt my eyes glued to Jordan and this girl. As the clock chimed midnight he turned to this blonde, glued to his side and kissed her.

I felt sick, downing my champagne as everyone started saying 'Happy New Year' to one another and exchanging hugs.

"Happy New Year," Jamie said giving me a warm hug. In the last few minutes I hadn't noticed him here as my focus had been on him playing the wrong sort of hockey. "She doesn’t mean anything to him and you look ten times hotter," Jamie whispered discreetly as he gestured to the blonde who was now clinging onto Jordan’s left arm. "She’s what we call a puck and he knows it," he added.

I just nodded, allowing him to pull me back into the circle. I hugged Jessica and Lizzie, then Brady and Jordan. Jordan hugged me back, but he felt stiff and cold, not like the hugs I was getting used to receiving from him. It was emotionless and bizarre. I needed to get through this and take the high
“Hi, I’m Alice,” I said to the pocket sized blonde. The least I could do was be civil to her and not come across as a total bitch.

“Susie,” she said in a clipped Australian accent, holding out a well-manicured hand. I gently shook it thinking that this was a little formal for a party and desperately wishing I had sorted out my bitten nails.

Feeling several pairs of eyes on me over this exchange, I wished the ground would swallow me up. From now on, I would be known as Alice 'can't hold a guy down' Pelino.

Fortunately Lizzie came to my rescue, pulling at my hand so I didn't have to speak to this Aussie any longer. “You OK?” she asked once we had stepped a little way away from the main gathering. “I know how much you like him. No one expected him to suck the face off of her,” Lizzie said as I winced at her turn of phrase. Thank God she came to the rescue, they were perhaps the most awkward few minutes of my recent existence.

I nodded in agreement. “Just after the last few days, it’s a little off.” The last few days had been, well, fantastic. We had spent time sledging and just hanging out – just Jordan and me. Any free time he had, when he didn’t have a match was spent with me, so tonight was a bit of a shock. What was he doing? And who the hell was Susie? Who invited her?







Lizzie and I turned in unison at the sound of two, loud and overly familiar voices coming through the hallway. A little bit of my insides recoiled as I recognised the voice I had known so well. “Great,” I muttered as I saw Austin and Ethan, one of his douchey friends, carrying a crate of beer each. Lizzie rolled her eyes as she looked at me before turning to Austin.

“You’ve just missed midnight y’know.”

Austin merely grinned his megawatt smile, planting a kiss on Lizzie’s cheek before brushing past to awkwardly kiss me. “His ride broke down so got here a little later than planned. No taxis either. Party’s still going.” He explained more to me than Lizzie. Grinning, he moved past us towards the living room.

“The night just got better, I thought as I followed the retreating figures and Lizzie back towards the noise from the living room. The party was beginning to spread out over the house with small groups heading into the kitchen, outside, more people on the stairs and still a large cluster in the living room.

It was here that I caught a glimpse of Susie curled around Jordan as they snuggled in an armchair in the corner of the room. “It’s as if everything he said a week ago didn’t matter,” I said to Lizzie as I mixed myself a jagerbomb on the table in the corner of the room, laden down with a vast array of spirits and mixers. I tried desperately not to watch them as I necked my drink.

“Oi oi, slow it or at least wait for me to catch you up,” Brady said as he mixed himself a bourbon and coke.

“Leave out the coke if you do,” I replied, grabbing the bottle before he could pour any. He knocked the drink back and began to pour himself another one. I smiled approvingly, hoping that Brady's college limits of drinking would allow him to keep up with me.