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“What’s your plans for tonight?” Lex asked her.
It was New Year's Eve, and Lex was dressed to impress on the arm of Asher. They were heading to a traditional frat party tonight, but Carrie wasn’t going with them. She’d been to a New Year’s frat party before, and they tended to be even rowdier than the usual ones. She was looking forward to a quiet night out with David.
“He’s coming to pick me up, and then we’re going to the movies. After that, we’re going to dinner and then back to his place to watch the ball drop.”
“Now don’t get too crazy,” Asher warned her with a teasing smile.
“I’ll let you be crazy enough for the both of us,” she replied.
From experience, she knew that Lex would find a guy to dance with and possibly take back to a bedroom. Asher would drink for the first hour before trying the same thing. She loved them, but the very last thing she wanted to do right now was hook up with a relative stranger. Even before David was officially her boyfriend, it was hard for her to imagine sleeping with just anyone. With the way things were going with David, though, it looked like she wouldn’t have to worry about that any time soon.
She waved her friends out the door before finishing getting ready for her night. She ended up deciding on a dark green long-sleeved sweater dress with thick black leggings, brown knee-length boots, and white socks that were just a few inches longer than her boots. This time, she left her hair in a loose side braid so it hopefully wouldn’t get too tangled in the wind. Just as she was putting the finishing touches on her makeup, she heard a knock on the door.
“Hey, baby,” she said as she opened the door to see David standing on the other side.
“You look amazing, sweetheart,” he told her while he devoured her with his eyes.
She blushed. After almost three months of dating, she was still not used to the compliments that he gave her. She didn’t know if she ever would be.
“Let me put on my coat and then I’ll be ready to go.” He took her coat from her hands and helped her shrug it on.
“Where are we going for dinner?” she asked him after she had it zipped up. She slipped her beanie and gloves on, grabbed her purse, and followed him out the door after locking it behind her.
“How do you feel about Mexican? There’s a great authentic Mexican restaurant near my place.”
She licked her lips as she felt her stomach growl. “I haven’t had good Mexican food in forever. That sounds perfect.”
“Good.” They were at his truck now and, once again, he helped her into her seat and rounded the car before asking her, “What movie were you wanting to go see?”
“There’s a new drama that’s out that’s getting rave reviews. People say that you pretty much are crying from beginning to end.” She had to hold back a smile as he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. He tried to hide his grimace, but she could still clearly see it pulling at his lips.
“If that’s what you want to see,” he hedged carefully.
She gave him a few seconds before she burst out laughing, not being able to hold it in anymore.
It didn’t take him long to catch on to what she was doing.
“Oh, you think you’re so funny, don’t you?”
She nodded her head gleefully. “Yes, I do. I mean, you should’ve seen your face. It was classic. I wish I had a camera.” She giggled as she wiped under her eyes.
“I don’t think I like you anymore. I was trying to be nice by letting you pick the movie.” His disgruntled voice only made her laugh harder. He kept a straight face for only a minute before he fell in line with her, and they were both bent over their seats, laughing hysterically.
A few minutes passed before they were calming down.
“What’s the movie that you actually want to see?” he asked as he started his truck and backed out of the spot.
She sighed. “The new one with Ryan Reynolds looks good.”
He gave her a side grin. “My kind of woman.”
She chuckled softly as he turned the truck in the direction of the movie theater. Once there, she tried to force the ticket attendant to take her money, but David used his charm to get her to refuse Carrie’s cash. She scowled at him, so she decided to try again at the concessions counter.
“You’re not getting your way,” he warned her.
“What can I get you two?” the teenager behind the counter asked when it was their turn.
“Medium bag of popcorn.” Carrie started to slowly slide her cash up so she could somehow sneakily slip it into the worker’s hand.
“And two medium sodas.” he reached over and took the cash right out of her hand.
She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. Fine, then. She saw how it was. She took more money out of her wallet while David gave his credit card to the worker. Carrie slipped a few bills into the tip jar that was right in front of them. Ha, she thought to herself. It was a small win, but a win just the same.
“What am I going to do with you?” he growled in her ear as they walked down the long hallway that led to their theater.
“I would like you to do many things, but none of them are appropriate since we’re in public,” she informed him with one arched eyebrow.
He shook his head, but by the small smile that was threatening to pull up his lips, she could tell that he very much liked where her head was at.
“Behave,” he told her lightly as they found their seats.
“We’ll see,” she said cheekily.
~~~
THE MOVIE WAS REALLY good, what Carrie could remember of it anyways. Half of her mind had been so busy keeping tabs on what David was doing that she couldn’t fathom what was happening on the big screen. She had nothing against Ryan Reynolds, but she found David Clarke much more fascinating any day of the week.
She couldn’t tell if she was relieved or not that he hadn’t tried anything. The farthest he went was letting her hold his hand like they were in middle school. True, they were in a semi-packed theater, and it wasn’t conducive to messing around, but she’d somehow thought that he would try something anyways.
“What?” he asked her as they gathered all of their garbage before standing up.
“Nothing,” she grumbled. She kept telling herself that she hadn’t wanted him to try anything anyways...
Sometimes her mind was a very confusing place to be in.
He smirked at her like he could tell exactly what she was thinking, but she was glad when he decided against pushing it. They went back to his truck before driving to the restaurant that he’d told her about earlier.
Her stomach started growling the moment he opened the doors for her. The scents of all the spices mixed so well that she could’ve sworn her mouth started watering.
“Smells good, right?” David asked her with a knowing smirk.
“So good,” she agreed.
“Reservation for two under David Clarke,” he told the hostess.
Carrie was prepared to have the hostess eye David up, but she was surprised when she barely spared him a second glance before grabbing two menus and leading them to a table towards the back of the building.
“Is this good for you, Mr. Clarke?” she asked professionally.
He gave her a small smile. “It’s perfect.” He held out Carrie’s chair for her before moving around the table and taking his seat.
“Can I get you anything while you wait for your waitress?”
He looked at Carrie to answer first. “Um, lemonade, please.”
“Diet Coke,” he said.
“Very good,” she told them before she left them alone.
“How many times have you been here before?” she asked him as she looked around herself. The restaurant had light yellow walls with beautiful art positioned around it. The floors were dark brown hardwood that Carrie found matched the aesthetic very well. It all led to a very homey feeling that immediately made her feel comfortable.
“A few times. Normally, I just order to-go since I don’t really like to eat alone, but sometimes I come here with the guys. It’s a favorite of ours.” She knew that he wasn’t one to take girls out, but a small part of her was still glad to hear that he hadn’t brought any other women here.
“What do you recommend?” she asked him as her eyes trailed over the menu. Everything just looked so good; she didn’t know if she’d be able to pick just one thing.
“Everything’s great here. If you want, we can get a lot of the smaller-sized dishes and just share them. That way you can try more than one entree,” he explained.
She gave him a grateful smile. “Sounds perfect.”
So that’s what they did when their waitress came to take their order. They had a combination of ten different dishes, and each one was better than the last. By the time they were ready for the bill, Carrie felt just a tad bit bloated. She was starting to think that she would end up in a food coma before midnight rolled around. It would be her first year not seeing the ball drop, but she was suddenly too tired to think about that.
“All I want to do is lay down,” she told him with a groan.
He laughed at her and agreed. They’d both eaten enough for an entire football team—no wonder they could barely get the energy to walk out of the restaurant.
He looked at his watch. “It’s almost ten. What do you say about going home and taking a short nap? After that, we should be refreshed enough to watch the ball drop.”
“You’re just full of great ideas tonight,” she told him.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” he admonished her with mock outrage.
She chuckled, but couldn’t find it in herself to joke with him. She’d be surprised if she didn’t fall asleep in the truck.
“So I’m taking it that you liked the food?” he asked as he pulled away from the side of the street. The roads were pretty empty, and Carrie assumed that a majority of people were either sleeping or enjoying their own late-night New Year’s Eve parties. Since David only lived five minutes away, she forced herself to stay up so she wouldn’t fall asleep.
“I loved the food. I can clearly see why it’s one of your favorite places. Everything was delicious.” They were silent for a few moments before she decided to bring something up that had been in the back of her mind for the last few weeks. “How’s work going? How’d everything go with that girl that kissed you?” She hadn’t heard anything about what happened to her. Carrie wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
“She’s still there, but she’s keeping her distance. The moment I saw her that next work day, I told her that if she tries anything or reports you for anything, then I’ll make sure our bosses know exactly what happened. She would definitely lose her spot at the firm, and she could even jeopardize her chance to get into law school if they found out. She knew that it wasn’t worth the risk.”
“I’m glad. That witch had it coming, but you’ve always been too good looking for your own good, you know that?”
He rolled his eyes. “I might’ve heard that a time or two before,” he joked.
“I’m serious.” She laughed. “I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to kiss you like that throughout the last four years. I guess my will was as hard as steel compared to hers.”
“If you still want to kiss me like that, don't let me stop you.”
She shrugged. “I have to say that I’m a little partial to when you’re in control. You know what that does to me.” Her voice lowered as it grew husky. Just the thought of the way David was in the bedroom made her legs quiver and her core pulse with need. She didn’t think she could ever have enough of David Clarke.
“I like that too,” he whispered, hoarsely. She knew where this conversation would go if they kept on this track. Even though she wanted nothing more than for him to pull over and take her on the side of the road, she could wait the few remaining minutes until they got to his house. No longer was she tired; all she felt was her body’s need for David’s.
She had to try for a subject change. “How’s things going with my brother?” she asked after clearing her throat.
He did the same thing before answering. “Good. After he gave me the usual big brother talk and then saw us together, I think he’s resigned himself to the fact that he’s stuck with me as your boyfriend. After the whole Christmas-at-the-cabin thing, I don’t think there’s any way that he can doubt how I feel about you now.”
She felt a warmth fill her chest as that memory filled her mind. She didn’t think she’d ever been that shocked before or that happy. To be in the house that she’d shared with her family for so many years, and now she was sharing that same house with her new family. There were no words. She wanted to do something to pay David back, show him how much he meant to her, but she couldn’t think of anything.
Well... she had forever to figure something out.
“I hope that we can do that next year,” she told him.
“Me too,” he murmured.
He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm as they were stopped at the red light just a few blocks from his place. She felt the hunger that she’d buried down rise up at the gesture.
“I love you, baby,” she told him.
“And I love you, sweetheart.”
The light turned green, and the truck pulled forward.
The sound of screeching tires filled her ears.
David thrust his arm in front of her.
She heard herself scream...
...and then everything went black.