Mr. Mendes

XXXIX - New Years

Shawn and I came home from our Bimini trip late last night. It was easily the best five days of my whole entire life. Now it was December 30th, and Shawn and I were going for a drive around town.

Shape of You played softly in the background as Shawn hummed along, the fingers of his right hand gently tapping along to the beat on my thigh as his left hand held the steering wheel. I watched the clock on the stereo turn to 7:43pm, smiling softly to myself.

"Why are you smiling at the clock?" Shawn laughed, looking over at me as he came to a stop at a red light.

"It made me realize how much time we spend together, especially lately. I like it," I smiled. He leaned forwards and kissed my forehead, his lips lingering for a short moment.

"There's something I wanted to ask you," he said, lightly stepping on the gas when the light turned green.

"Ask away," I replied, looking at the stars out the windshield.

"Will you come to a New Year's Eve party with me tomorrow night? I know it sounds kind of risky, but it's just a small party with some old high school and college buddies a couple hours away from town. We won't see anyone we both know," he offered.

I thought about it for a minute, debating if it was worth the risk or not. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Shawn is worth so much more than any risk I could ever take. "Sure," I said, intertwining my hand with his and resting it on my lap, "Let's do it."

-

(Maggie's dress is in the photo up above)

I knocked on Shawn's door at seven o' clock sharp, a wide smile taking over my face when he opened it.

"You look so handsome," I said, cupping his cheeks in my hands and leaning up to kiss him sweetly.

"You look absolutely stunning," he smiled into the kiss, breaking apart a few moments after. He closed the door behind me to avoid letting too much of the cold December air into the house.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, looking in the mirror beside the door to adjust the tie that matched the color of my dress. He made it look like he was doing the black suit he was wearing a favor. It was a pretty formal party, so we both dressed fancy.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I laughed quietly, intertwining my hand with his as we walked out the door.

-

We arrived at the party a little bit before 9pm. I was nervous to meet all of Shawn's friends, especially since they were all in their mid-twenties. Thankfully I already looked older than my actual age to begin with, but I especially did tonight thanks to my outfit and makeup.

On the car ride there Shawn and I agreed to keep details about our relationship short if anyone asked. We would both say that I'm twenty two, and work as a volleyball coach at the school Shawn works at, aka the school I'm actually enrolled in.

We walked up to the door of the nice house hand-in-hand, Shawn raising his free hand to knock on the door.

A moment later it swung open, a man about Shawn's age and height standing in front of us.

"Jack! How's it going man?" Shawn laughed, letting go of my hand to give him a hug.

"I'm great, who do we have here?" the guy named Jack asked, moving his gaze off of Shawn and onto me as we stepped inside the house and closed the door.

His stare was intimidating. He had warm brown eyes and dark brown hair, and an impeccable jawline.

"This is Maggie, my girlfriend," Shawn smiled proudly, placing his large right hand on my lower back.

"Hi, nice to meet you," I smiled, lightly shaking the hand that he was holding out to me.

"Everyone's in the kitchen, let's head in," Jack said, waving for us to follow him as he walked down the hallway.

There were about twenty people spread out between the large kitchen and living room that were open to each other. It was mostly couples, and a few small groups of just friends.

"Maggie, this is my girlfriend, Madison," Jack beamed, walking up to a girl and wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Hi Maggie, it's great to meet you. I love your dress! You look stunning," she greeted me, leaning forwards to give me a hug.

I hugged her back as I thanked her, telling her that she looked stunning as well. So far, I liked Shawn's friends.

"Jack and Madison have been dating since freshman year of college," Shawn told me, his hand still resting on my back as his fingertips laid gently on my waist.

"It's been what, almost five years now? Wow, time flies," Madison laughed, taking a sip of her cocktail.

"Do you guys want anything to drink?" Jack asked, taking note of Shawn and I's empty hands.

"Sure, would you like anything hun?" Shawn asked, looking down into my eyes.

"I'll have whatever she's having," I laughed slightly, motioning to Madison's drink.

"Cosmopolitan," Madison said to Shawn and Jack, letting them know what to make me.

"I'll be back in a minute then," Shawn smiled, pressing a soft kiss to my temple before going off to the bar with Jack.

"You and Shawn are adorable," Madison said, "How long have you been together?" she asked.

"Thanks," I smiled at her compliment, "We've been together for almost five months, but we've only been official for barely three," I answered, making air quotes as I said 'official'.

"Oh okay, I gottcha. He's a really great guy, I'm glad he found you. He deserves to be happy with a great girl. Between you and me," she said, her voice getting quieter as she leaned in a bit, "I never liked Elena."

"Hey, no sharing secrets!" Shawn joked as him and Jack returned, drinks in their hands.

I laughed at what both him and Madison had said, taking my cosmo from Shawn's hands. "Thanks babe," I said, kissing his cheek. He smiled softly as he took a sip of his scotch, the ice gently banging against the glass as he brought it down from his plump lips.

"I'm gonna go say hello to some old friends, would you like to join me?" Shawn asked, holding out his arm.

"I'd love to," I smiled, linking my arm in his.

-

I can start driving in six months and I can't wait to drive around blasting Shawn oops

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