"Max! So glad you could join us." Stacey said after opening the front door. As Max entered she asked "What took you so long anyway? The party started an hour ago at ten."
"Sorry about that. I was busy helping Pete with finishing up one of those RV orders." Max explained before heading off to find Roxanne. After some searching he found her sitting alone on a couch and approached hersaying "Hey Roxy, sorry for being so late, I hope I didn't keep you waiting."
"You're fine. I actually just got here to. Daddy had some car trouble again so it took a little while to get here."
"Oh sorry to hear that, though at least neither of us were left wondering where the other was."
"I wouldn't exactly say that. After Christmas break you practically disappeared." Roxanne complained looking somewhat dejectedly toward the ground before turning to face Max asking "where did you go last week and why are you always disappearing during the weekends excepting parties which you somehow never miss?"
"Oh! Yeah. About that." Max started, first taken off guard then deflating as he realized an explanation was in order. After taking a few moments to organize his thoughts into a coherent explanation he realized he'd better get talking soon or he was dead and so continued " To answer your second question, since it is faster, I've been working a part time job for Pete that's been shaping up to become a full-time position once I've gotten a bit older. Now about that first question it's a bit of a long story that could be sumed up as the aftermath of a business emergency but if you'd like to hear it I can tell you more."
"We've got an hour till the new year. Let's hear this story." She answered lightening up a bit though still clearly upset by Max's secrecy.
"The emergency started about a week or two before Thanksgiving when we noticed we weren't selling nearly enough cars to keep the business afloat past the new year. So we put our heads together and after some thought came up with a rather difficult to pull off idea that we thought could be noticeable enough to us get back into the public consciousness and jump start sales. Needless to say it worked, but that came with some pretty nasty downsides as our new product, the custom RV, was unexpectedly popular and I've been spending almost every second of spare time ever since on completing those orders with Pete just so that we could be done within the next day or two. So that's why I've been tired busy and or absent as of late but I'm all yours tonight and after we finish the last two orders I can spend the rest of the break however you like."
"If that's all it was then why didn't you tell me from the start?" She asked, with confusion and hurt in her voice, before with just a tinge of suspicion asking "You wouldn't mind showing me where you work on these RVs later would you?"
"I don't see why not. When do you wanna stop by?"
"How'bout the day after tomorrow before you take me to the movies."
"It's a date then?" Max asked before a new song started. He then without giving room for a response to the previous question got up, offered Roxanne his hand, and asked "Wanna light up the dance floor again?"
"Yes." She answered before taking his hand and getting up. The two of them then proceeded to the dance floor where they proceeded to display an impressive show of style and grace. They may perhaps have danced all night if Roxanne hadn't noticed a clock on the wall ticking away from eleven fifty-five to eleven fifty-six.
"Hey Maxie?"
"Yes Roxy?"
"I heard once that if two loves kiss on midnight their love will burn brightly for the whole year and I was thinking." She said before pausing a moment perhaps out hesitation or perhaps for some sort of effect. She then continued "What could be a more romantic way for us to share our first kiss?"
"I can't think of any better way." Max said as the last minute countdown began and the two of them slowed down and pulled into an embrace. As the crowd emphatically exclaimed three the pair's lips made contact and they began a kiss that seemed to take forever and no time simultaneously.