Just as I reached the foyer, everyone started counting backwards from ten. I wished I’d left earlier. But then, I froze in my tracks as my breath caught.
Lark was standing about ten feet in front of me, bouncing on his toes as he and everyone else yelled the countdown.
He looked sensational. The crowd in this part of the house had thinned a bit, so there was a clear line of sight between us. That meant I was able to take him in from head to toe. He was dressed in a silver sweater that dipped seductively off one shoulder, glittery black ankle boots with four-inch heels, and black satin shorts, which showed off his strong, sexy legs.
I found myself drawn to Lark as if I was caught in a tractor beam. No decision was made. I just went to him.
He was standing with two guys, and when the clock struck twelve, golden strips of confetti began raining down on us. The crowd was yelling and cheering as he turned and looked around.
His gaze landed on me when I appeared at his side, and his radiant smile brightened. He obviously had no idea who I was since he’d never seen my face, so it startled me when he gave me a quick kiss. Then he exclaimed, “Happy New Year!”
I leaned in and kissed him again, possibly emboldened by the alcohol, which had left me with a slight buzz. It started out light and gentle, but then he pulled me close by the front of my jacket and deepened the kiss. My heart started racing, and I cupped his face between my palms. He tasted like chocolate and peppermint, and his body was so warm as he leaned into me.
When the kiss finally ended, I took a step back. We both seemed surprised, and we stared at each other for a long moment. Then he grinned playfully.
I just went on staring at him, because I was absolutely reeling from that kiss. It had left me flustered, and turned on, and things I couldn’t even find the words to describe. I was breathing too fast, and my heart was pounding, and I didn’t really understand what had just happened.
In the next instant, two couples rushed over, and a big guy with a beard and messy hair yelled, “Happy New Year, fam!” Then he grabbed Lark in a bear hug, while two women hugged his companions.
I took another step back. The crowd surged around us, separating me from Lark and his friends.
Then I turned and bolted for the door.
8
Lark
The party at Nana Dombruso’s house was wild. My housemates and I arrived around nine, and all of us danced our butts off for a while. Then Casey and Theo, and Yolanda and JoJo, went off to socialize, while Eliot and Kel worked on getting very drunk. I didn’t really like alcohol, so I concentrated my efforts on eating as much as possible from the dessert buffet that was set up in Nana’s gorgeous living room.
Actually, the whole place was gorgeous. It was like gay heaven. There was a sparkly rainbow painted on the front of the huge Victorian, the yard was full of cute go-go boys, and Nana’s Christmas tree was a ten-foot-tall rainbow-colored beacon of holiday happiness.
I couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like to grow up with a family like this. Nana had several gay grandsons, and that was probably what had started her on the path of being the most amazing LGBTQ ally ever. She tended to “adopt” stray gay men, especially ones like me who were on our own. I’d just met her at Christmastime through Casey’s brother, and she was already treating me like a member of her family. That meant everything to me.
As midnight approached, I ate one last chocolate-peppermint truffle from the dessert table. I’d had so many that I felt slightly queasy. I was doing way better than Eliot and Kel though, who’d been tossing back cocktails and were totally hammered.
They were sprawled out on the couch, next to a drag queen who’d fallen asleep and was snoring. “It’s almost midnight,” I announced, as I hoisted Kel into an upright position. “We need to go find our housemates, so we can all celebrate together.”
“That sounds like a lot of effort,” he muttered.
I sent Casey a text to find out where everyone was, and we agreed to meet up under the chandelier by the front door. It took some coaxing, but I finally got Kel and Eliot on their feet and moving in the right direction.
We reached the entryway just as the crowd started shouting the countdown. I turned to my friends and exclaimed, “Here we go!” We all started yelling along with the crowd, while I bounced up and down excitedly.
At midnight, everyone yelled, “Happy New Year!” Eliot and Kel turned to each other, kissed the air, and drunkenly slumped together with Kel’s face mashed into Eliot’s shoulder. Then they possibly dozed off for a few moments.
Meanwhile, I turned to look for someone to plant a New Year’s kiss on and discovered an absolutely gorgeous guy standing right beside me. He was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders and the warmest dark eyes. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but instead he just stood there. Maybe he was shy. I flashed him a smile, then planted a quick kiss on him and exclaimed, “Happy New Year!”
I was pleasantly surprised when he kissed me again. It was light and tentative, but it ignited something in me. I grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him close as I deepened the kiss. He tasted sweet, like pineapples and oranges. When he reached up and gently held my face between his hands, I wanted to melt.
The kiss went on for a while. Once it finally ended, he seemed startled and took a step back. He still hadn’t said a word, but he stared at me with what looked an awful lot like desire. I grinned flirtatiously, hoping he’d take that as encouragement and say something.
Just then, the rest of my housemates joined us. Casey seemed a bit tipsy as he yelled, “Happy New Year, fam!” Then he squashed me in a bear hug, while Theo, our sober designated driver, stood back and grinned. Meanwhile, Yolanda and JoJo hugged Kel and Eliot. The boys hadn’t puked or passed out yet, so that was good.
After Casey let go of me, Yolanda and JoJo each gave me a hug. Then I turned to say something to the cute guy I’d been kissing and found he’d completely vanished. I stood on my toes to try to spot him in the thinning crowd, but there was no sign of him. That was surprising, since he was easily six-foot-three and should have stuck out—unless he’d bolted out the front door the moment my back was turned.
I whirled around to face my companions and exclaimed, “He Cinderellaed me!”
Eliot frowned at that and adjusted his glasses as he asked, “Are you using the word ‘Cinderella’ as a verb?”