NEW YEARS JUST BEEN.
D A L L A S • P O V
"Hot blonde by the bar!" I turn around to the sound of a catcall. "Can I buy you a drink?"
Through the throng of people, I stare at the man who has just walked into the pub in a thick black suede coat, snow flecks in his light brown locks.
"Sorry." I smile with a small shrug. "I'm waiting for someone."
He grins and starts to move through the pub, keeping his sights set on me as he weaves through the sea of people. It's an elegant joint with low lighting and intricate fixtures on the deep rich wooden window panes and a strong pine scent dulls the stench of cigarettes and expensive beer. Even the thrum of the occupants inside can't drown out the noise that's coming from the streets of New York City. The ball is about half an hour from dropping and the excitement is palpable.
The undeniably gorgeous man falls into the space beside me, leaning on the bar with one hand and a small wad of cash in the other. He winks and it serves to make his smile even more of a panty dropper than it'd been before.
"One corona, aaaaand an apple martini for the lady please?" he tells the bartender before his deep green gaze falls back on me.
"An apple martini?" I give him a pointed look, digging into the small clutch that had been tucked under my arm.
His large hand darts out and covers mine so that I can't pull the twenty out and slap it on the bar. When I glance up and meet his warm stare, his lips begin to lift. "It's on me beautiful."
I bite down on the growing grin. "I told you that I'm waiting for someone."
"Well," his words slip past a devil may care grin as he leans in close and snakes a hand around my waist. "He's a lucky man."
I'm unable to respond because I'm swept into his arms and his lips find mine in a kiss that's so familiar but will never get old. Ever. I wind my arms around his neck and revel in his wandering hands which manage to electrify me, even in the large warm coat that I'm wearing.
"Where have you been?" I huff with a pout when we break apart.
Drayton doesn't let his hold falter, keeping me in his embrace. "Sorry, Cheer. That phone call took a while." He exhales and thanks the bartender when our drinks are pushed across the rich mahogany bar top.
"Well, we finally made it to New York for New Years." He hands me the drink.
"We did." I smile at him, his arm remains wrapped around my waist, our fronts pressed together while he lifts the cold beer to his lips and takes a quick sip. "Aaaand it's almost our four year anniversary."
"Four years already?" He recoils. "Shit. It still feels like the first month with you beautiful."
How he still manages to cause a flutter in my stomach is beyond me. But our love is as strong as it has been since the night he'd confessed those feelings to me.
A lot has changed over the years, and a lot hasn't. Drayton and I only spent about two years living in campus housing until we moved into an apartment together that was situated halfway between CalArts and UCLA.
We paid for it with Drayton's trust fund account that never seems to diminish and a part-time job that I took up, waiting tables at a hip coffee house.
The bike had proven to be the perfect mode of transportation for both of us and to this day we still love to take them out for leisurely fun.
We graduated in June and had spent the last few months travelling, remodelling our new beachfront home and just genuinely enjoying the time that we have before Drayton gets drafted. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage once that happens. He'll be travelling and so busy with training all the time. It's a little bit terrifying to imagine how much things are going to change. I know that we'll get through it though. We always do.
Over the course of my college years I'd been offered some incredible opportunities. I've danced in a number of different music videos. I spent a summer touring the US with a major up and coming music group as a backup dancer. I've met some huge stars and it's been a blessing to have been offered so much work before I'd even graduated. I'd put the money towards a savings account and it allowed Drayton and I to buy our first home together.
It's incredible.
We moved to Hermosa Beach in Los Angeles. It's near enough the city centre for convenience but we have the luxury of waking up to beautiful sunshine shores every morning. We'd knocked down one of our walls and built floor-to-ceiling windows along the back of the house because it opens up on to the sand. It's like we have our own private beach in our backyard and I am in love with every aspect of it.
Our entire first floor is open plan with light timber detailing and modern white walls and appliances. The large pot plants and pale blue sofas offer splashes of colour but I love the crisp white aesthetic of the house. I've never lived like this before and I never take it for granted. The second floor of the house is beautiful as well. Our bedroom and three spares are decorated much the same. Our bathroom takes a darker look. The black tiled floor and dark grey walls are still modern and pleasing. Our shower is huge. The walls of it are made entirely of glass and the showerhead is a large square shape that allows two people to shower comfortably. The bathtub overlooks the beach but the windows are made of one-way glass so that we can see out and no one can see in. I adore the bathroom.
There's so much in my life that I have to be grateful for. But what's most important is my relationship with Drayton. It's remained so damn strong throughout the years and that's more than I could have hoped for. It'd been an adjustment at first, going to separate schools and worrying about the fact that there were so many gorgeous girls around him at all hours of the day. Of course I didn't have to worry at all. He'd never hurt me.
"Do you think I should call Spencer?" I glance up at him through the cover of my lashes as I take a small sip of the quaint drink.
"Have you spoken to her today?"
"No." I shake my head and put the now empty glass on the bar top, not bothering with the olives because those things are the devil's cherries. "Have you spoken to Grayson?"
"Yeah." Drayton's brows furrow and I know he must be feeling for his best friend. Just as I am for mine.
"How is he?"
"He's hanging in there I suppose." His head tips back and guzzles the last of his beer, the tip making a pop when he pulls the empty bottle from his lips. "He's obviously disappointed."
"Mmm. I might call Spence," I conclude with a small nod. "I mean, I don't want to be on the phone to her when it strikes twelve—"
"Fuck that, my tongue's going to be halfway down your throat."
"But I should still call her." I ignore Drayton's brash comment. They don't surprise me anymore. If anything, I'm surprised if something blunt and inappropriate doesn't come out of his mouth.
"Come on then." He laces our fingers together and starts steering us through the pub to a small corridor that leads to the bathrooms. It's a fraction more quiet, save for the loo doors swinging open to reveal the sound of toilets flushing and hand dryers blasting.
I don't want to miss the ball drop, so I dial Spencer and wait patiently while the phone rings.
"Hello?"
"Hey honey!"
"Hey Dallas." I can hear the small but sad smile in her voice. "How's New York?"
"Eh it's alright." I downplay how entirely perfect this holiday has been while I meet Drayton's sympathetic gaze. "How's your New Year's going?"
"Well, mom and dad are drunk, dancing around the living room singing to old Bon Jovi. And Lydia abandoned me to her father's. So it's whatever."
Damn. I want to give her a hug. I wish we could have brought her with us. But Drayton had wanted to bring Grayson as well and that just didn't work considering our best friends had split up only a few weeks ago.
It was a mutual breakup, the two of them claiming that they'd just grown apart but I couldn't help but feel there was more to the story. However, Spencer insisted that it was the right thing to do, so I had to accept that and not hound her for details that she wasn't ready to give me.
"Why don't you have a couple of drinks?" I suggest. "Get on your parents' level."
"Na Dallas." She huffs and begins to shuffle as though she's getting out of bed. "I'm not touching alcohol."
After Spencer had Lydia, her little girl who is the most adorable thing I've ever seen - with dark brown eyes and a lush head of almost black hair - she'd never gone back to drinking. Not even occasionally. She told us that it scared her. She'd once depended on it to have a good time and for the sake of her parenting, it wasn't a hole that she wanted to fall down, ever again.
"Fair enough." My hand twitches with the urge to give her a big hug. It's hard being so far away from her, especially while she's in so much pain. "So Lydia's with Grayson for New Year's then?"
"Yeah. Hey look, I don't wanna hold you up. It's midnight for you soon. Go watch the ball. I wanna see you on the Tele." She laughs and I feel a little bit of the tension in my stomach start to dissipate. It's a relief to hear her laugh, even if it is a little forced. "Go do something wild so the camera finds you."
"Oh Ha Ha." I roll my eyes with a grin while I absentmindedly fidget with the buttons on Drayton's coat. "I'll go and take my top off and let my nipples turn into ice blocks."
Drayton recoils and I snort at the bewildered expression on his face.
"Sounds perfect," Spencer giggles. "Okay, go! Have fun. I love you."
"I love you too! Give Lydia a cuddle for me!"
We end the call and Drayton immediately opens his arms to pull me into an embrace. He knows how much I struggle being so far from Spencer. Especially now that she's going through a split from the father of her child and long-term boyfriend. I really thought they'd have made it. It breaks my heart to think of them in pain. Both of them.
"Come on." Drayton presses a quick kiss on my head and laces our fingers together. "We've got a lot of crowd to get through if we want a good spot."
So we make our way out of the bar and onto the packed and cold streets of Times Square. I'm not and have never been a fan of the huge crowds. I'd always gone out on the town for the sake of Spencer or Drayton. Not to say I didn't enjoy myself. It's just not something that I crave.
But being in New York at this time of the year is a buzz! I'm beyond excited and the loud chatter, the dancing, drinking and excitement are contagious. It takes us a little while to shuffle through and we don't make a lot of progress but eventually Drayton leads us to one of the many makeshift platforms that are spread on the edges of the street. They rise above the crowd and are made up of grated metal and a decent set of stairs.
We stop at the foot of one of the platforms which is being guarded by a couple of bouncers. I'm pleased to see that they aren't rigid and adorned with unpleasant scowls. Instead they're chatting with broad smiles and an obvious elation for the festive occasion.
With a brief greeting from Drayton and a couple of hushed words that I can't make out because I'm held back, still clinging to Drayton's arm of course, we're granted access and begin the small but steep walk up on to the elevated platform. Figures that we're in New York and he still has connections.
When we reach the top I take note of the six or seven other people that are watching from the surrounding rails. It's a reasonably large space. About sixteen feet in width and length. Drayton leads us over to the edge so we're granted a bit of space and privacy from the others. It allows a breathtaking view over the thousands of people and the ball is in perfect sight. I hadn't even noticed the chatter of my teeth until Drayton encases me in his hold, pressing me into his chest and rubbing my back from top to bottom with fast movements.
"One minute to go," he murmurs, both of us looking out over the makeshift balcony.
"So, how did you manage this spot?" I pry, glancing up and around at all that there is to see. I twist a little and my boot heel slips through the metal grating floor.
"You alright baby?" He helps me straighten up and I thank god that my heel didn't snap. It's hard enough to get through this crowd without doing it on a broken shoe.
"Yeah." I laugh, using his hands to steady me and watching where I settle my foot so that it doesn't happen again.
Waiting for Drayton to answer my previous question, I glance up and study his distracted expression. He looks far off in thought, so I bring a hand up and caress his jaw, feeling the stubble beneath my fingers.
His eyes flicker from the crowd to my face and he smiles a smile so wide that it knocks the wind out of me. I'd once been afraid that we'd lose this over time. Like so many couples seem to. But we haven't and it feels so good to know that I found my forever.
"Fifteen seconds!"
We stare up at the ball that's glimmering with different colours. It looks so beautiful and when our gazes meet again we share a look of excitement. Dray releases his hold on my waist and lifts each of my hands in his, taking a step back.
"Look." Drayton gestures his head behind me. So I turn around but can't for the life of me find what he was referring too.
When I turn back, his hands drop out of mine when they lift and smother a gasp because my boyfriend is down on one knee, and when he reaches into his pocket and retrieves a small velvet box, I almost lose it entirely.
"Ten."
"Dallas, Cheer pear, love of my life and just genuinely the best person that I've ever met."
"Eight."
"I am the luckiest man alive to be loved by a woman like you. The person that I am today, is thanks to the support that I've had from you over the last almost four years."
"Five."
"And I'd be a damn fool if I didn't put a ring on that finger and make you mine for the rest of our lives."
"Three."
"Will you marry me?"
By this point I have an uncontrollable flow of tears pouring down my cheeks and I don't need a second to think about my answer. Seeing that smile, the undeniable love in his gaze, the promise of a future in this grand gesture, it is and always has been obvious that he's the only man that I will ever want or need.
"Yes! Of course I'll marry you Dray."
"One."
With a wide smile that deepens the lines beside his eyes and lifts the apples of his cheeks, he stands up and lifts me into his arms, pressing the most perfect New Year's kiss against my lips. The fireworks start to go off with a bang behind us and if I wasn't so lost to the passion in his kiss, I'd be flipping out over how perfectly he'd timed the entire thing.
I'm floored. I hadn't been prepared for this at all. He'd given nothing away that he'd been planning to propose and I can't help but feel as though I'm dreaming. It's all far too good to be true.
"Happy New Year baby," he murmurs, still holding me so that my feet aren't on the ground. Which funnily enough, is a great metaphor for the way that I'm feeling.
"I love you!" I shout, making sure that he can hear me above the enormous noise of the cheering crowd.
He sets me down and steps back. I'm disappointed for a short moment; I want to be close to him, to never let go and if it were possible I'd have our hands on each other at all times. He must see the little pout because he chuckles as he opens the ring box that I'd almost forgotten about.
The ring is stunning, it's more perfect than anything I could have imagined. The fact that it's rose gold doesn't evade me either. I adore that he still pays so much attention to the little details. I can't deny that I'm surprised he'd picked it himself. However, he does know me better than anyone else does. Of course he could choose something on his own and absolutely nail it.
I hold one hand out while I use the other to wipe away the tears that have only just started to slow. With a wide smile, Drayton plucks the gorgeous ring from the box and tucks it back into his pocket before he lifts my hand and slides the ring on. It's a perfect fit and it looks so right; I can't stop staring at it, grinning from ear to ear.
A few of the other people on the platform must have noticed the proposal because a series of claps and congratulations come from a short distance. I glance up and smile at them appreciatively, but only for a moment until I meet the eyes of my future husband.
My fiancé.
"I hope you're keen to start planning a wedding, Cheer." Drayton presses our fronts together, his arms wrapping around and meeting at the small of my back. "Because I wanna make you Mrs. Lahey as soon as possible."
My heart starts to beat erratically, goosebumps forming on my skin and it's not from the cold. I can't even feel the cold anymore. It's the fact that I'm going to marry Drayton. It's real, it's happening and I savour the moment of feeling his hair under my fingertips and the scent of his cologne which still drives me wild and his deep green eyes. I savour it all because nothing could ever feel this good.
"Marrying you couldn't come soon enough."
• • •
So there we have the first chapter of our sequel. What did you all think? Thank you for following me here from TQBBBAM. It means the world to me.
Also I have never experienced a New Years in New York so please forgive me if anything wasn't correct. I sort of had to rely on creative ability to make it sound legit and exciting 😂
I'll still be updating TQBBBAM with bonus chapters. The updates in this book won't be as fast as the last book but I'm going camping for New Years and wanted to get this released! Have a safe New Years everyone !
Also we didn't have any Nathan in this chapter. He'll be in the next one 😏 so here's a pic in the mean time👌🏼