Carpe Diem (21 page)

Chef Basil has to be the only person that I have met that instantly puts a smile on my face. Okay, I have only met him a few times but each time I laughed and smiled uncontrollably from the moment he entered the room. If only he wasn’t gay.

He walks me through the effortless instructions for each pan, kisses me on both cheeks, wishes me a happy New Year during his good-bye and is soon sashaying back to his car. As soon as I shut the front door, I hear my cell phone alert for a text message.

KYLE: Happy New Year, I hope you have a happy evening and that the coming year is better than the last few.

His message is both sweet and sad at the same time. I’m not sure how everyone would feel about this, but I decide to invite him over for the party. Maybe it will remind him there is more to life then grieving for the ones we have lost.

ME: Thank you, same to you. Hey, why don’t you come over tonight. I’m having some people over, would love for you to join us.

KYLE: Thank you but I don’t want to intrude.

ME: You wouldn’t be, just put on black pants and a white shirt and stop over. You don’t have to stay if you are not having any fun.

KYLE: I really shouldn’t, I just wanted to wish you a happy new year.

ME: If you change your mind we will be at my house until whenever. I would love for you to stop by.

KYLE: Maybe

I figure that is the best I will get out of him and decide not to push anymore. Besides, everyone will be here soon and I still have to change.

With the appetizers safely in the oven warming up, I scoot up to my bedroom to change into my black chiffon dress. I have been looking for a reason to put it on again.

My mind starts to wander back through the year and a half. The last time Jack and I spent New Year’s Eve together, we were preparing for a game night with everyone. Casey and Chuck won with Jack and me in a close second. Last New Year’s Eve seems like a blur, a dream even. Bryna came home to “keep an eye on me” since I canceled plans with everyone kind of last minute. I didn’t feel like laughing and having a good time without Jack, and I didn’t feel as if it was a year worth celebrating, even if it was to say good-bye to the old and hello to the new. Without Jack, it didn’t seem to matter anymore.

I’m not saying that this year is any easier to be without him, but I do have to live my life. Jack was my best friend and if he had been looking down, he would be yelling at me and mad that it took his anniversary gift to get me living again. Thank God Flynn decided to execute Jack’s master plan. If he hadn’t, I would probably be sitting home alone pigging out on some Ben and Jerry’s tonight.

I am putting the finishing touches on my makeup when I hear Abby making her presence known as she walks through the front door.

“Holy shit is it freaking cold out,” Abby yells as if we were unaware that we live in the Midwest and that it is the middle of winter.

“No shit, Sherlock,” I yell back from the top of the stairs.

“Why can’t we have a warm New Year’s Eve once… I’m not asking for tropical temperatures, but something over ten fucking degrees would be nice.” She laughs back.

“I told you I should have taken that job in Florida. We could be driving down to the beach in my new car right now,” Dave grumbles at her as he shuts the door behind him.

“Would you drop it already, we are not moving to freaking Florida,” Abby replies, giving him a dirty look as she hangs her coat up on the hooks. I watch as she pulls Dave aside to scold him for whatever that was all about. They finish and give me a big smile just in time to greet Casey and Chuck. Casey picks up on the awkward feel in the room and quickly ushers Abby into the kitchen.

“What is going on here?” Casey demands.

“Nothing, it’s nothing. Dave is just going through a midlife crisis. He thinks the job offer he got in Florida is the best thing in the world. He wants to move down there and buy the convertible he has always wanted.” She giggles, rolling her eyes.

“Are you guys okay?” I ask.

“We will be fine. He just needs to get that dumb ass idea out of his head,” she tells us.

“Well, it wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without some whining from Dave.” I joke.

When Dave turned thirty, he began realizing that time was moving faster and faster. He would always complain about New Year’s Eve—anything from how he has not been able to find a comfortable pair of jeans ever since the new styles came out, to how each year our taxes are going up. Jack and I would bet on the topic each year. I had not given this little tradition much thought until now. I let out a small smile thinking that Jack is probably here with us laughing.

It does not take long for the wine to be poured and the fun to begin. Flynn arrives fashionably late and blames it on the tie he spent an hour trying to get right. Surprisingly, everyone played along with my black tie attire. I knew for sure Abby and Casey would, but didn’t expect the guys to show up in full tuxedos.

By eleven o’clock, we are all heavily intoxicated. Not in an
over the toilet bowl praying to the gods that you will never do this again
way. We are at the
no one is driving home, every little thing is funny as hell so we are having a giggle fest
kind of way. What we were laughing at so hard I can’t even recall, but I do remember that it all came to a screaming halt when the doorbell rang at about eleven forty-five.

“I’ll get it!” I yell, dashing for the door.

I open the door and squeal like a little piggy when I see Kyle standing in front of me.

“KYLE, you came!” I yell, falling into him, trying to give him a welcome hug.

He returns my awkwardly executed hug with a crooked smile then gently helps me to stand up straight again.

“Hey everyone, this is Kyle,” I shout with a hint of drunk in my tone as I pull Kyle into the dining room.

Everyone acknowledges Kyle warmly, that is everyone except Flynn. I was a little too drunk to fully comprehend Flynn’s reaction, but Kyle understood it.

“You know, this was a bad idea. I should get going,” Kyle says as he heads back to the door.

“No, what are you talking about? You’re fine,” I tell him as I shove a drink into his hand.

“No, really.”

“No! You need to drink.”

He purses his lips as he holds back his next attempt to argue with drunk Piper. Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, he finally takes a sip of whatever drink I attempted to make for him. Too bad, it wasn’t a good drink. As fast as it passed his lips and touched his taste buds, it was ten times faster coming out, spraying all over the table in front of him. The shock of experiencing, what I’m sure was the worst drink he had ever had, was so much for him, that he ending up spilling the rest of it down the front of his shirt.

“Oh, I’m sorry, too strong?” I ask while not doing a very good job of holding back my laughter.

“Not at all, I just wasn’t ready for… whatever that is,” he says.

I watch as he tries to pull his wet shirt away from the skin on his chest while looking around as if he isn’t sure where to go next.

“Ten, nine, eight…” Abby starts shouting without warning.

Realizing the clock is about to strike midnight we all jump in, well most of us.

“Seven, six, five, four, three, two, ONE!”

Everyone cheers then the kissing starts. Without thinking, I lean into Kyle and lay a sweet, innocent, no tongue kiss on him. The look on his face is priceless, at least what I saw of it anyway. His eyes are bug-eyed and his lips look as hard as they were when I felt them on mine.

Before I can say a word, I am pulled from him, and spun around faster than my stomach would have liked.

When my eyes decide to focus, I see Flynn with a not so happy face. I think he needs a kiss too. Everyone should be kissed on New Year’s Eve.

I throw my hands around Flynn’s neck, pull him closer, and press my lips to his. For a quick moment, our lips are locked together and it felt nice. When I finally pull away, I see yet another shocked face. However, his eyes are not bug-eyed, they are more confused, irritated, deer in the headlight, but I’m too drunk to give a crap. All I actually cared about was that his lips were soft and didn’t pucker in protest like Kyle’s had.

My stomach catches up with the spin from a moment ago and I feel a little woozy. My eyes can’t seem to focus on any one thing in the room.

“Here sit,” Flynn tells me, moving me toward a chair.

My head bobbles around still trying to focus when I see Kyle. Oh poor Kyle, he is still standing there with his wet shirt.

“Oh, you look, un, not happy,” I stutter.

“Yeah, um, do you mind if I clean up a little bit.”

“The kitchen is through that door. Let me get you a towel…” I say as I start to stand.

“I got him,” Flynn offers, quickly putting his hand on my shoulder.

A second later, Flynn is escorting Kyle to the kitchen. I have no choice but to lay my head back on the wall and close my eyes. Tomorrow I am so going to be mad at myself for tonight. I honestly cannot remember the last time I drank this much. I think I am in desperate need of hydration.

“Water,” I whisper.

No one hears me.

“Can someone get me some water,” I say a little louder.

No point, everyone is too busy laughing and being crazy. They are about as drunk as I am.

“Okay I will get it myself,” I mutter.

I feel like the world is attached to my feet as I stand and start to make my way to the kitchen. I start giving my feet a countdown of the number of steps they have to make.

“Two more steps, you can do it,” I tell them as I cling to the wall for support.

Two steps later.

“Oops, I lied you have two, um, maybe three,” I clarify with a giggle.

Four steps later.

“See, I knew you could do it. Now take me to the sink. Just two more, wait I mean right more, I mean… ” I tell them as I approach the doorway.

“You can’t even look me in the eyes and tell me that, can you?”

Huh? Feet don’t have eyes and feet cannot talk. Wait, that was Flynn.

“Look, there is nothing happening. She invited me over and it was obviously a mistake that I stopped by. As soon as I’m done here I will leave,” Kyle responds.

“She has no idea who you are does she?” Flynn demands.

My feet are frozen in place. Am I drunk dreaming? How does Flynn know Kyle? What does he mean, do I know who he is. I’m so confused.

“It hasn’t come up… I keep trying to tell her, but I don’t want, I can’t, I will… I swear,” Kyle answers.

“You stay away from her. This, whatever this is, ends tonight,” Flynn tells him.

“I swear, we are friends. Nothing more.”

“Only because she is clueless as to who you are.”

“Look, I tried to stay away from her. She kept being so… so nice.”

“You tell her who you are or I will. Then she won’t ever want to see you again.”

Flynn gives the last word and bumps into me as he makes his exit from the conversation.

“Piper, hey, sorry. You okay?” he asks.

“Yep, just dandy,” I answer.

“You should be sitting down,” he tells me.

“I needed water.”

“You should have yelled for me.”

“I tried you were too busy yelling at Kyle,” I tell him.

Flynn giving me a mad-eyed look, bites his lower lip in frustration. It makes me wonder even more what the hell that argument was all about. Who is Kyle? I thought I knew Kyle? How does Flynn know Kyle?

“So, you don’t like Kyle, huh?” I blurt.

“I think he owes you the truth, that’s all.”

“KYLE, what’s the truth?” I shout playfully toward the kitchen.

Everyone stops what they are doing to turn their confused attention toward me.

“TRUTH OR DARE! YEAH!!” Abby shouts with excitement.

“Not tonight, Piper. Kyle was just leaving and you should probably head up to bed,” Flynn tells me.

“Oh come on, I want in on the secret. I can keep secrets. I have secrets,” I ramble.

“No, not tonight. Come on let’s go get you to bed.”

“You are no fun. Kyle doesn’t have to leave, he just got here. Come on let me in on your little secret?” I beg.

“Piper, not tonight. Kyle will call you tomorrow,” he says then shoots Kyle a dirty look.

Kyle shakes his head yes then avoids my eyes by looking at the floor. When I look back to Flynn my eyes fail me. I am now seeing double and find it extremely hard to focus.

“Fine! But only because there are two of you and I can’t take both of you. One sure but not two,” I agree.

Flynn gives me a small smile as I turn to walk toward the staircase and stumble. It was only a little stumble and it only happened because I couldn’t feel my feet anymore, but Flynn took that to mean I was unable to walk. Flynn scooped me into his arms with little effort.

“Good night to you all, I thank you for coming but now I must sleep. Feel free to party on in my absence!” I tell everyone as Flynn carries me toward the staircase.