Chapter Thirty-One: 3, 2, 1...
Scanning the floor for Connor, I can't find him easily. I start to head over to the snack table since, statistically speaking, it seems like the most logical place to find him.
I spot Everleigh and Madeline by some chocolate covered strawberries, and Ryan and Emilia are laughing with the Sanderses by a soda fountain, but Connor is still nowhere to be found.
"Hey, have you two seen Connor anywhere?" I ask, approaching my sister and Eve. They both shake their heads no, so I grab a strawberry and keep pushing through the crowd, eyes peeled.
I'm just about to circle back when I finally spot him- and the way I do makes me smile.
Connor is surprisingly on the dance floor, laughing and twirling around a beautiful blonde haired girl who's looking up at him with a look similar to the one I tend to give Carson.
Speak of the devil, Carson swoops in from behind me, scaring me a bit as he kisses me on the cheek. "Did you ever find him?"
I nod and point in his direction. "Yes, and look!"
Carson wraps his arms around me from behind, pulling my back into his front as we watch Connor and the girl finish their dance.
"Oh, wow. That actually looks promising, he looks happier than he has in the past few months," Carson observes, his lips brushing against my ear.
I turn to face him, lifting a hand to his cheek and smiling. As he gives me a kiss on my nose, Connor comes up from the side of us.
"Hey, can I steal you for that dance now?"
I nod, a little jolted by his sudden presence since I hadn't noticed the song ending.
"Of course," I give Carson one last kiss and squeeze his hand before allowing Connor to lead me onto the dance floor.
"So, are you going to tell me who that girl was?" I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively and he rolls his eyes but I see the hint of a smile tug on the corner of his lips.
"That's Beverly. Her family comes every year for the holidays and somehow, for the past four years, at least, we always end up sharing more than a few dances together and usually end up drunk in the same room by the two in the morning," he admits.
I don't push him too much, unsure of if he'll scare easily but I give him an approving smile. "Well, she is gorgeous. I loved what she did with her hair, and that dress is perfect for her," I say, trying to subtly encourage whatever is going on between them.
"Yeah," Connor says, looking somewhere over my shoulder with a glimmer in his eyes before coughing awkwardly and focusing his attention back on me.
"So, I won't take up too much of your time, I know Carson will probably kill me if I try and take away more than one of your dances from him, but I feel like I needed to apologize for all the, uh... drama, that I guess I've caused. I truly do have feelings for you Naomi, but I don't want you to worry about them. I'm not interested in going after someone who's uninterested in me, and you made it clear that you only have eyes for Carson."
I look down a little awkwardly. "Connor, I don't want you to be sorry for having or expressing your feelings. Everything worked out fine, and I'm glad that you aren't trying to bottle everything up. I'm the one who should be apologizing to you if I did anything to lead you on, and also for the way I handled that whole talk thing your mom had? I was in panic mode, I was focused solely on Carson and his feelings and by doing that I don't think I let you down in the most... gentle way. I never wanted to hurt you because I do care for you just as much as I do for him, it's just in more of a brotherly way."
Connor smiles softly. "Yeah, I know. Thanks for that. Honestly, I don't think you becoming my sister-in-law is actually too far off. Whatever you and Carson have is very real and completely unlike anything I've ever seen- anyone can see you're both smitten with each other," Connor says, a slight tease to his tone. "And, when that day comes, I will consider myself lucky to be able to call you such"
I feel myself start to blush and laugh a little, trying to brush the comment off as the song ends. "So, we all good?"
Connor nods, flashing me a big smile. "Yes, we're good. Now, I think we both have dance partners waiting for us to get back to them before midnight," he tells me, nodding towards the concession table that both Carson and Beverly are hanging around. They're a few feet away from each other and both are clearly trying not to stare at the two of us while not doing a very good job.
I laugh and we head back towards them.
"C'mon, handsome," I say, grabbing Carson's arm and gently tugging him to the dance floor again. "I am going to need a ton more of your dances to be satisfied this evening."
Carson smiles, twirling me under his arm as we navigate our way to a slightly emptier section of the space to dance in, pulling me close against his body as he positions one of his arms around my waist and intertwines the fingers of his other hand with my own.
"Well, it's a good thing that all of my dances for the rest of the night belong to only you then, isn't it?" He tells me in a deliciously low voice that sends shivers down my spine.
The song that's playing is more upbeat, so we completely let loose and swing ourselves along like maniacs, spinning in dramatic circles and laughing at much too loud a volume to be considered appropriate.
As it comes to an end Carson attempts to dip me, but I don't get the message and cling onto the front of his shirt tightly, almost crashing us to the ground. There are tears in my eyes from laughing so hard and Carson's gasping for breath and this moment instantly becomes the best one of my year.
Carson gives me a long kiss, one that I'm sure gets us a lot of disgusted looks and maybe even a few polite coughs, but we're too wrapped up in each other to notice, let alone care.
This year is going to be our year. Mine and Carson's first year together. And I know that no matter what craziness lies in store for us, we'll persevere and end up in this same spot again next year.
"Alright all you crazy party people!" The DJ stops the music and everyone collectively hushes their conversations. "One minute until midnight! Go grab your lovers if you're trying to get in that midnight kiss!"
I grin up at Carson and he pulls me closer, settling both his hands on my hips.
"Here's to us having an amazing year together, baby," he whispers as everyone starts counting down.
"Here's to us," I whisper back, placing both my hands on his cheeks and leaning forward so our lips brush together.
"3, 2, 1... Happy New Year!"
A/N: Hi guys!!!!!
Ahhhh, oh my god here we are!! The challenge has been completed, our story ends here, and wow I just want to take a second to say some stuff here.
This is the first story I have ever finished in my life (which is saying a lot because in all my 18 years of living I have started many, many stories) and I am very proud of myself.
This challenge, I won't lie, was a very difficult for me. There were days I wasn't feeling my best, days I was completely out of inspiration, there were prompts that didn't always fit my plans for the chapter, etc. But, this challenge was also very good for me because it forced me to discipline myself into writing every single day and actually committing to finishing a story and I'm still a little in awe that we reached the end here, and looking back I can honestly say I am happy with how my story panned out.
Do I suggest doing a chapter a day challenge like this for others? I do. It's definitely a challenge to write every single day for a month, and edit, and upload content and it's stressful when you have busier days or no motivation. But in the end I think it was worth it, especially if like me you are just starting out.
Will I be doing a challenge like this again? To be completely honest, I don't know. I think it might be fun to do seasonal books as challenges every once in a while but I don't know if I see myself doing more of these in the future or not yet...
...which brings me to my next (and final- sorry I know this author's note is long!) point! I do have more stories, actual complex stories that have nothing to do with a challenge, planned that I am very excited to begin uploading! I don't have a release date for my first one yet, but I am hoping to get it out sometime in January or February (and it will be a romance). If you're interested in seeing what other stories I will be able to offer make sure you follow me so that you can be notified when I upload the first chapter and announce more information on the specifics of that!
I hope all of you have a lovely New Year's Eve, and I wish you the most wonderful year ever! Thanks for reading!🤍