the choice • charlie conway

chapter thirty two

sadie

I've never been the biggest New Year's Eve person.

I wish I liked it more, but I just don't like the feeling that comes with going into a new year. I'm not afraid of change, but something about a new year is honestly a little off-putting to me.

Tonight is Caiden Brown's New Year's Eve party, and everyone will be there. I don't blame Adam for not hosting it, because he's hosted a lot recently. Besides, I think Caiden wanted to host anyway. I'm hearing that his parents are letting him host one more party before he graduates, and he picked New Year's Eve.

Since Justine is dating Caiden, and she's also on the soccer team, we all got immediate invites to the party. I'm glad that I won't have to be checked by someone before going in, because people know who I am.

Ella and Morgan are currently at my house getting ready, because we have to leave in just over an hour. If you walked into my room right now, you'd think a tornado came through it. That's what happens when you have three teenage girls trying to get ready at the same time.

I put on all of my makeup before changing into my outfit, which consists of a silver sparkly top with black ripped jeans. I accent it with some silver jewelry and red lipstick, just because.

Ella is wearing a very similar top as me, but she's wearing black leather pants instead of jeans. Morgan is going for the opposite approach, because she's wearing a black top with silver sparkly pants. After getting ready, we take some pictures, grab our coats, and wait for Ella's mom to come pick us up.

By the time we pull up in front of Caiden's huge house, I can already hear the loud music and the conversations coming from the backyard. We thank Marie for the ride, hop out of the car, and walk right into the back.

The first thing I do is say hello to my teammates and the hockey team, as well as the other hockey girlfriends who don't play soccer. I grab a drink out of my backpack and take a sip. I don't want to drink too much, but that doesn't mean I won't allow myself to have fun.

As more and more people start to arrive, I stay as close to my friends as I can. It's extremely crowded in this backyard, and even the sheer size of it can barely fit the amount of people who are here right now.

I don't even know how much time goes by before everyone is rushing towards the multiple TVs to watch the ball drop. Caiden lets the hockey team and the girlfriends come down to his basement, so we can have some privacy and space away from the crowd.

As the final minute of the year starts to tick away, all of the couples begin to move closer together. I mean, it's not like no one saw it coming. Everyone, including the single people, could've predicted this from a mile away.

Fifty seconds become forty, then thirty, then twenty, and finally ten. As everyone counts down the seconds, Charlie wraps both his arms around me and leans his chin on my shoulder. I lean against him and smile to myself, joining in with my friends for the final countdown.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! Happy New Year!"

I feel myself being turned around, and I suddenly have big hands cupping both my cheeks. I look up to see my boyfriend with that grin of his that I love so much, and I can't help but smile back. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I want to do this." With that, he pulls me forward and gently kisses me. I wrap my arms around his neck and lean backward slightly, but I'm brought back up and I'm standing upright again.

When he pulls away, he immediately hugs me tight and doesn't let go. "Happy New Year Sade. I'm sorry I was so awful to you."

"Happy New Year Char." I say into him. "Don't be too hard on yourself, I forgive you. Besides, it's a new year now. Let's start over and pretend that what happened didn't even happen to begin with. How does that sound?"

He lets go and looks down at me with a smile. "I think I like that idea."

"Good." I respond, smiling back at him. "Because I like that idea too." I lean back in and kiss him again, unable to get the smile off my face.

After a little while, we all go back outside and let loose. When everything starts to spin, I know that I've had enough to drink. I find Ella, who surprisingly is still in the backyard and not somewhere alone with Adam, and tell her that I'm ready to leave. Morgan spots us and walks over, announcing that she's ready to leave whenever we are.

The party is starting to die down, so Ella calls Marie and asks her to come get us. When we all get back to Ella's house, I take off my makeup and change into pajamas almost instantly. I'm honestly surprised I was able to do all of that without making a complete mess, so I guess I'm not as drunk as I thought.

When I wake up in the morning, I text in the group chat with me, Charlie, Ella, Adam, Dean, Morgan, Connie, Guy, Faith, and Fulton, asking if any of them want to come out to brunch with me. I don't hear back for a bit, but it isn't long before we have a reservation at Original Pancake House for noon.

I throw on a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants, do some light makeup, and wait for Ella to be finished getting ready, since she's driving Morgan and I there. She didn't drink at all last night, so I know that I'll be safe.

I order my favorite, which are the banana and blueberry pancakes. I don't care what anyone says, they're the best pancakes ever. And that's coming from someone who isn't a big fan of fruit.

When I can barely move, that's when I know that I've had a good meal. After everything is paid for and we're all ready to leave, I stand up and hold my hand out to Charlie. "Are you ready?"

He smiles and grabs my hand without a second thought. "More ready than ever."