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"It works for me," she said with a grin. "You know us only children. Spoiled brats and lonely as hell, always dreaming of brothers and sisters..."
"Is that true?" I asked, curious. "I always had siblings -- an entire crew of brothers close in age. We played with each other and there was never a dull moment."
"You're so lucky," Ella said with a soft sigh. "I was pampered of course, but I was also lonely. I never wanted to have people over to my house. I always wanted to go to my friend's houses and be around their big families. When I saw people sitting around the dinner table at night, the noise and laughter, I was so envious. I wanted little sisters and a big brother and to have that kind of family."
"Well, now you have four big brothers."
"My cup runneth over," she replied, smiling, her eyes crinkling in the corners.
We kissed again, and when the kiss ended, I noticed a couple close to us watching us. They were smiling wistfully, probably remembering when they were our age and first in love.
It made me happy.
I leaned closer to Ella. "Don't look now, but we're making this older couple at the booth across the aisle really happy with all our snogging."
"Snogging?" she said and giggled. "Is that what you call it?"
"It's British," I said and wagged my eyebrows. "I'm an international man of refinement, didn't you know?"
"I didn't," she replied and leaned closer. "It sounds very unrefined. Probably not something the Queen would use."
"Probably not," I said and kissed her again. Then I saw her steal a look over at the couple, who were still watching us with fond remembrance. The woman smiled at us.
"Snog me again," Ella said. "Make them happy."
So I did.
* * *
About ten minutes to midnight, we asked our waitress if she could hold our table while we went out to watch the celebrations. I handed her a fifty-dollar bill as incentive and she took it and tucked it into her apron.
"It's yours as long as we're open."
Then, we grabbed our coats at the coat check and left the club, taking the elevator down to the lobby, determined to make it out into the crowd so we could ring in the new year properly, surrounded by thousands of Manhattanites hugging and kissing.
I'd almost forgotten about our little entourage made up of Reg's three bodyguards, who surrounded us and helped push through the crowd so we could get into viewing distance of the famous ball so we could watch it drop. While we waited, I slipped my arm around a shivering Ella and pulled her close.
"This has been one of the best and worst years of my life," I said. "It would have been one of the worst, if not for you."
She smiled up at me, her eyes soft. "Aww, Josh. I'm sorry about your dad. And the crash. And your ex. But you did get the paper."
"And I met you."
We kissed briefly and then turned and counted down the seconds. When the countdown ended and we hit midnight, I pulled her fully into my arms and lifted her up, kissing her deeply. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me back, just as deeply.
"I love you," I said when the kiss ended. "Happy New Year."
"I love you, too," she replied. "Happy New Year back at you."
"Here's to many more New Year's Eve celebrations to come. Say, sixty or so. Maybe more, if they discover the secrets of immortality in the next few decades."
She laughed and we kissed again and again while the crowds cheered and celebrated, and fireworks exploded around us.
"Let's get out of here," she whispered as the throng crushed us. "I'd like another drink and then maybe we can go back to the apartment."
I motioned to our bodyguards and they found a route through the crowd back to the restaurant, where we removed our coats and went back to the table. After we got another drink, we held hands across the table.
"So, what do you see for the next year, since we're officially in it now? What do you want to have happen?" I asked.
