Page 103 of Knox's Boy

"Eight!"

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you," he answered.

“Three! Two! One!"

As the city exploded, we kissed. It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was deep and desperate, a claiming. Somewhere above us, fireworks shattered the darkness, blooms of red, gold, and green. The booms echoed in my chest, mixing with the pounding of my heart. I saw the flashes of light against my closed eyelids, felt the vibrations in the railing, but my entire world was narrowed down to the taste of him, the heat of his mouth, the strength of his arms holding me up.

"Happy New Year, my boy," he said.

"Happy New Year, Daddy."

We stood there for a long time, watching the smoke drift across the skyline, until the cold finally began to seep through our jackets.

"We should go back," Knox said reluctantly. "People will wonder where the host has gone."

"Let them wonder," I said, but I let him lead me back inside.

The warmth of the ballroom hit us instantly. The party was in full swing now, wilder than before. We made our way back to the table.

Luna was waiting for us. She held a glass of champagne in one hand and a half-eaten skewer of fruit in the other. She looked from Knox, whose tie was slightly askew, to me, with my flushed face and swollen lips. She didn't make a sarcastic comment. She didn't roll her eyes. She just looked at me and saw the difference. The fear was gone. The desperation that used to live in the corners of my eyes was gone. I was standing next to Knox, not because I needed his money to survive; I had always survived before, but because I chose him.

She nodded, a small, decisive movement of her chin. A seal of approval.

"Happy New Year, you gross romantics," she said, lifting her glass.

I grinned, leaning into Knox’s side, feeling his arm come around me automatically, a permanent anchor.

"Happy New Year, Blue," I said.

I looked out at the room, at the glittering lights and the smiling faces, and then up at Knox. The year ahead was wideopen, unknown. But for the first time, the future didn't look like a threat. And I was ready for it with him.