It was a busy day at Tres Chicas on the day before New Year's Eve. We had opened shop at eight o' clock that morning and didn't close until five o' clock. Britta was swamped with last minute clothes fittings and Angela acted as salesperson while I manned the register. At around noon there was a gap in between customers, so we sat around chatting and sipping hot cocoa. I still hadn't told Britta and Angela about Steve so they were pestering me about dates again.
"So, going stag to Mama's party tomorrow?" Britta asked me. I sipped my cocoa and shrugged. My aunt always threw a big party with friends and family. I always thought the parties were pretty cool until more and more family members started passing the legal drinking age and by sundown everyone was drunk off of eggnog. I think the most memorable year for me so far had to be when I brought Dustin over (when he was still single) and he drank a whole carton of sugar cookie eggnog. He got so wasted it was as if he had just taken Ecstasy by the way he was acting. He had laid his head on my shoulder and gushed on and on about how great sugar cookie eggnog was, then he sighed in girly sort of way and started petting my hair. About a split second later, sugar cookie eggnog was regurgitated all over my sweater. Needless to say, that was the most action I had ever gotten out of Aunt Savannah's New Year's parties. And it had only been 11:00! I never let Dustin live that down, and I now steer clear of anyone with sugar cookie eggnog.
"Possibly," I said, answering Britta's question subtly. I had called Steve earlier and he agreed to go with me. I warned him ahead of time about my cousins, who he had only met once before. Once they found out, they were going to go crazy.
"What, do you have a list?" Angela teased.
"Oh yeah. And I've gotta check it again to see who's naughty or nice." Angela nearly spit out her hot cocoa while laughing.
"Gee, one little holiday behind, don'tcha think?" Britta joked.
"You should be the one to talk," I said. "There's still a huge light-up reindeer in the front window!" Our laughter was interrupted by the chime of the bell above the door. I had my back to the door, but I saw Britta's eyebrows go up.
"Who the heck wears work shirts to a dress shop? Who's he, a mechanic?" I turned around in curiosity and a smile lit my face when I saw it was Steve. He was casually browsing the costume jewelry.
"I got this one," I said, as Angela was about to set down her mug. She nodded and I walked over to him. "Can I help you, sir?"
"Yes. I'm looking for the perfect gift for my girlfriend." He gave me one of his rare smiles.
"I have just the thing. Step over here, please." I pulled us out of view from the others behind a huge wooden shelf and then threw myself into his arms and gave him a big kiss. "I missed you," I whispered into his ear.
"Geez, do I have to kiss you more often to get you to say nice things to me?" he whispered back. I giggled.
"What brings you around these parts?"
"I was stopping by TAPS to check out some new tech stuff we just got and decided to stop by real quick to see how you were doing," said Steve, leaning in for another kiss. I heard footsteps coming and quickly scooted away. The moment before Britta came into view, Steve randomly grabbed two items and held them up as if deciding which one to buy. I acted as if I was tapping my foot waiting for him. Britta's face turned red and she made a choking noise. It looked as if she was trying not to laugh. I looked at the merchandise Steve was holding. I had to bite my lip. Out of all things in the store, he had to grab a tiny red lacy thong AND a rather large sized girdle. Steve's expression clearly stated "Oh, shit."
"Nice choice, sir!" said Britta. "Will you be paying in cash, credit, or check?" Steve and I both cast her concerned looks.
"Um…rain check," he said, putting the stuff down. He gave me a little smile and wave before heading out.
"Pssh. Mechanics," muttered Britta.
It was New Year's Eve finally and the doorbell rang for the fifteenth time as another guest arrived. I was stuck listening to my Great Uncle Charlie's old fishing and hunting stories. He was putting so much enthusiasm and hand movements into his storytelling that I was scared he was going to knock over his wine glass.
"…Then after I shot it dead, I took it and snapped its neck and just dug right into the--"
"—Lovely story to tell while I'm eating chicken, Uncle Charlie…" He stopped and looked up, his hands in mid "neck snapping" motion.
"I'll get it!" yelled Britta over the din of guests. A few moments later I heard her call my name. I excused myself from Uncle Charlie and went to her. "That mechanic guy from yesterday is outside asking for you and he's wearing a suit!"
"Let him in, then!" I said. I opened the door to Steve, who was looking very dashing in a suit. And the TAPS hat was nowhere in sight! I looked him over appreciatively and he did the same to me. "Hey, Steve! Lookin' good!" We hugged and I sighed, getting a whiff of his cologne. Boy, he smelled good.
"Felina, you look ravishing." Steve took my hand and placed a kiss on it, keeping eye contact. I exchanged glances with Britta, who looked like she had just won the lottery.
"I've gotta tell Angela!" she said, and turned on her heel to do so. I looked at Steve and grinned.
"Didn't I tell you they were crazy?" I said. Steve kept my hand in his grasp and gave it another kiss.
"All I know is I'm lucky that I got to you before another guy did," he said. I smiled and placed a kiss to his cheek, and then wiped the lipstick mark off.
"You're too sweet. Now let's meet my family!" His eyes drifted over to Uncle Charlie, who had gotten up in his seat and was doing something that looked like river dancing.
"Um…do I have to?" he said. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"I had to live with these people at some point in time. You can last a night, trust me." Before we could go two steps, Britta and Angela were right there.
"Felina! That dress looks awesome on you! Where'd you get it?" said Britta. I giggled. She was the one who made it.
"And who's this handsome stranger?" said Angela, eyeing Steve. Steve was looking slightly unnerved.
"Actually, you guys have met briefly before. This is Steve from TAPS," I said.
"Oh, I remember you!" said Britta. "The tattoo guy! Felina talks about you all the time." Steve looked at me and I flushed red.
"Britta," I said warningly.
"Nonstop, actually," Britta continued. The huge smile on her face meant she was enjoying humiliating me. "All we hear is 'Steve this,' 'Steve that,' blah, blah, blah."
"We really do try to shut her up," piped in Angela. I gaped at them. Steve smirked.
"Should I get a restraining order?" he said.
"Steve!" I whined, annoyed that he was going along with it. "That's not true! They're making it up! I do not--" He stopped me in mid-sentence by grabbing me by the waist and kissing me chastely. I turned even redder and just stood there leaning against him trying not to smile. Angela giggled. Britta gave the thumbs-up.
"I'm impressed. He got her to shut up!" I glared at her. Family could be so annoying sometimes!
"Black eyed peas! Get 'em while they're hot!" called Aunt Savannah, carrying a huge serving tray to the table. I took Steve's hand.
"Ready to meet more family?" I asked him.
"Are they anything like…?" He jerked his head at Angela and Britta, who had gone to fill up their plates. I laughed.
"Once you get past Uncle Charlie, you're all set."
It was almost midnight and I had already gotten a hold of four glasses of wine. Someone had put on a dance mix and several generations were attempting to show off their moves. I was giggling a little too much as Steve and I attempted to do the merengue to the "Suavemente" remix. Britta was actually doing a line dance with her date. And, right beside them, Uncle Charlie was attempting to riverdance. Aunt Savannah had the TV on mute with the Times Square special showing so that we could count down to midnight with it. Right after "Suavemente," it started playing "Waiting for tonight" by Jennifer Lopez.
"Whoo! Perfect song!" I said, shaking my hips. Steve looked amused. He pulled me closer to whisper in my ear.
"Oh, really?" He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. I blushed, realizing he had probably not heard the song before and thought I was suggesting something.
"Uh…the video for this song…was for New Year's 2000," I said. His smirk was still in place. I blushed harder.
"Guys! The countdown is starting!" yelled Angela over all the noise. Aunt Savannah started hastily passing out wineglasses as we counted down.
10…
9…
8…
7…
6…
5…
4…
3…
2…
1!
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Everyone chorused. Steve pulled me flush against him and kissed me like there was no tomorrow. Several people around us cheered. When we finally pulled away, I almost dropped my wineglass in lightheadedness. Pleasant lightheadedness, I might add. Several minutes after we all toasted to the New Year and exchanged hugs and handshakes, people were starting to leave. Now that my wine intake was raised to five glasses, I was tottering around while attempting to clean up. I looked up for a moment and saw that Steve was helping to clean up also.
"Oh, Steve, you don't have to do that! You can leave if you want."
"Well, I was thinking of giving you a ride home since you don't seem fit to drive," he said. I started to protest but nearly tripped over my heels and he caught me. I grinned guiltily.
"That's okay, I can always stay here—"
"Felina, we've got everything covered, and me and Angie are spending the night, so unless you wanna sleep on the floor…Go!" said Britta, taking dirty plates out of my hands. I thought for a moment and then sighed.
"Alright. See you later." I hugged Britta and said goodnight.
"Make sure she gets home safe!" said Britta to Steve, also hugging him. She saw us to the door and winked at me before shutting the front door and going inside. I shook my head, smiling, and followed Steve to his car. It was relatively quiet on the ride home except for the radio playing. I kept nodding off and then jerking awake. Steve snorted. I looked over at him to see him looking at me.
"Past your bedtime?" he said softly. I yawned and nodded. He smiled as he pulled into my driveway. We just sat there for a moment in silence. I looked at the clock on the dashboard.
"Geez, it's almost two," I said.
"Yep," said Steve, yawning. I smiled and took his hand, lacing my fingers with his.
"It's too late for you to be driving out there. Too many drunks," I said. "Stay with me?" Steve looked at me uncertainly.
"Felina…" he said with a careful tone.
"Oh," I realized what he might have thought. "No, I meant you could sleep over on my couch." His expression cleared.
"Oh," he said. "Alright, then." He took the keys out of the ignition.
"Alright, then!" I said, and got out of the car, promptly tripping on the hem of my dress and falling over. Steve ran around to my side and helped me up. I started laughing hysterically.
"Can I trust you to walk the five feet to your front door?" Steve asked incredulously.
"No!" I uttered between laughs. I squealed when Steve scooped me up bridal style and carried me to the front steps. I unlocked the door and he carried me in and set me on the sofa.
"Any other tripping from here on out, you're on your own," he said, closing the front door.
"What a loving boyfriend you are," I joked. I kicked off my heels and then threw the cushions off of the sofa. "Come and lay your head on this big sleeper sofa and you'll be alright as long as you stay with me!" I sang off-key while trying to pull out the bed. Steve laughed and helped me. I got a blanket and pillows and threw it onto the sofa.
"Hey!" said Steve, emerging from the mountain of pillows and blankets I had just thrown on him. He threw a pillow at me. I screamed when it hit me and then threw it back, hitting him smack on the face. Steve got up and started chasing me around the room wielding the pillow. I screamed and ran down the hall to my room and tried shutting the door, but Steve was right behind me. I ran around to the other side of the bed, but Steve jumped onto the bed and smacked me with the pillow. I grabbed hold of it and tried to hit him back, but he wouldn't let go. I jumped on the bed next to him and started a tug of war with the pillow. Steve rolled over and pinned my arms to the bed.
"Not fair!" I laughed. He grinned and leaned down and kissed me. He released my arms and I grabbed the pillow and bopped him upside the head. I giggled into the kiss and he impatiently grabbed the pillow and threw it to the floor. He deepened the kiss and I threw my arms around his shoulders. He swallowed my gasp of surprise in his kiss as he settled himself on top of me. He broke the kiss and nibbled on the sensitive spot where my jaw and neck met. I whimpered in pleasure and ran my fingers through his hair.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered huskily against my ear.
"Mmm, why don't you spend the night right here?" I said, placing a kiss on his cheek.
"Felina…" he said with the same tone as earlier. I lifted my leg and shamelessly rubbed my thigh against the crotch of his pants. He groaned against my ear and I smirked. "You are so evil…" He scooted his lower half away from me and I giggled.
"Beautiful and evil! Dangerous combination," I said, rubbing his shoulders. He smiled.
"Beautiful, evil, and drunk…fatal." He leaned down and kissed me sweetly. "Goodnight, baby. Sleep well." I was about to protest but he gave me one of his looks. I settled down and gave him a kiss.
"Goodnight. Seeya in the morning." He kissed my hand and then turned out the light and shut my door. I was about ready to fall asleep when I realized with a groan. I still had to get up and change into my pajamas!
"Ah, screw it!" I mumbled, rolling over to go to sleep.