Epilogue - New Year’s Eve

“Have you been practicing the song I taught you?” David asked as we hopped up and down, trying to keep warm in Times Square.

“Yup, I need a few more. Something more challenging next time.” I winked, and he laughed.

“I can’t take it anymore!” Kristen said through chattering teeth. “I need something warm. There’s a guy with a cart, anyone wanna come with me to get drinks?”

“I’ll go,” Erik volunteered, and I shot him a warning look. “What?”

“Your brace only came off yesterday.”

“Brit, I can carry hot chocolate, I’m not made of glass.”

I nodded, knowing I was being too overprotective. Soon he’d be back at work, and he’d be carrying a lot more than two cups of hot chocolate. Erik and Kristen weaved their way through the crowd while David and I did our best to take up twice the space so no one would squeeze into their spot.

“Hey, Brit, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Yeah sure.” I looked up at him. He looked a little nervous. “What’s up?”

“Well, the first thing is, how would you like a job when you go back to school?” he blurted out.

“A job? What kind of job?”

“Being part of my band, Sinful Delight.”

“Huh?” It was not the most eloquent way to phrase things, but it pretty much summed up my confusion. David laughed.

“That night you sang at the Draught, you were amazing. People who saw you asked if you were coming back. So I figured, why tease them? Let’s make this permanent.”

“You want me in your band?” I reiterated, still not fully grasping the concept.

“Yes, love. What do you say?”

“I dunno… are you sure they were talking about me?”

“Do you know of any other purple haired girls that sang Brutal Love at the Draught last month?”

“No, I guess not…” I trailed off remembering the euphoria of that night. My anxiety came crashing down as I surrendered to Erik’s request of playing guitar for him.

“So? What do you think? If you can’t fully commit because of your school schedule, I understand, but the more you play and practice with us, the more a part of the band you’ll feel. I know you’ll be the only girl, but they’re all good blokes. Kristen is subjected to their company on a regular basis, and she hasn’t knocked any of them out yet. And believe me, if she wanted to, she could.” He winked at me, and I laughed. Kristen never did take any shit from anyone.

“We usually practice twice a week and work three nights a week. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Pretty much the same nights that Erik works, so you’ll get to hang out with your boyfriend and get paid for it. Oh, and we often get booked for parties. At least one or two a month, more so in the summer. And since those are private, we charge a lot more to work those events.”

I couldn’t even fathom the fact that someone would pay me to sing. “You’re serious?” Hope bubbled up inside me.

“Very.”

“Umm… okay. Yes.”

“Really? Oh that’s great! I’ll text the guys, they were stoked about you joining.”

I shook my head not really believing it yet. “This is crazy.”

“No it’s not, it’s just… fate. When things are meant to happen, you’ll find they seem to fall into place… Speaking of which, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Sure, anything.”

“I’m working on a new album, getting demos together and such and going to start sending them out to record companies. I’d really appreciate your opinion before I send my stuff out.”

“Of course! I’d love that.”

“But, there’s a catch, and this is where the real part of the favor comes in. You can’t tell Kris.”

Ugh. Now that was going to be hard. I tell her everything. “Why not?”

“She’s been through this with me before, and every time I get close to a big break, she gets so excited, but anything that ever looked promising ended up falling through. I can’t get her hopes up again, not like that. It’s too disappointing for her, and it makes me feel like a failure.”

His gaze dropped down to the street. I could totally respect that. I touched his arm. “Hey, don’t think about the past. Just think about the look on Kristen’s face when you tell her you landed a record deal. It’ll happen for you, I know it will.”

“Thanks, Brit. You’re a good friend.”

“So are you.”

“All right. Two hot chocolates, already lukewarm because it’s freezing out here!” Erik handed me a cup, and I took a sip. He was right, it wasn’t as hot as I had hoped, but I wasn’t about to turn my nose down at chocolate. We drank our drinks, did a little people watching, tossed out the cups, and then huddled together again to keep warm.

Erik slipped his hand into my back pocket. “What are you doing?”

“Keeping my hands warm.”

“I doubt that will generate enough heat for you.”

“Maybe not, but my thoughts seem to be doing the trick.” I playfully hip-checked him, and he wound his arms around me and placed his cold cheek next to mine. He really was shivering.

“Did you ask her?” Kristen looked hopefully at David.

“I did!”

“And?” Kristen looked like she was going to explode.

“And you’re looking at the newest member of Sinful Delight.”

Kristen emitted a high-pitched squeal and jumped up and down.

“What’s going on?” Erik asked.

“David asked me to be a part of his band. Looks like I’ll be seeing you at work, and this time, I’ll be getting paid for it!”

“Wait! You’re going to play guitar and sing. Like all the time? For real?”

I nodded emphatically. “Yes. For real.”

Erik picked me up and swung me around. “I’m so proud of you!”

“Erik! Your wrist.”

He just smiled. “Trust me, it’s okay.” I bent down and kissed him, and he slowly lowered me back to earth.

We played games to pass the time, and Kristen started entertaining the crowd by taking requests and singing show tunes. They loved her, and I watched how David looked at her when she sang. He was completely under her spell.

Although we were a block away from the stage area, the enormous screens in Times Square projected the entertainers as they belted their hearts out. Every performer you could think of was there, and Kristen and I couldn’t believe how half-naked some of those girls were. If frost bite set in, their nipples would be the first to go.

Another hour passed and although we were coming down to the home stretch, it had become bitterly cold. I was starting to think my blood had frozen inside my veins.

“I’m so cold. I can’t take it anymore,” I said through chattering teeth.

Erik looked at me sadly and pulled me into his arms. He started rubbing my arms up and down to cause some friction. It wasn’t enough. I was too cold. My toes were freezing over. The tips of my ears and nose were icicles. I didn’t think I’d ever make it to midnight. Erik pressed his forehead against mine and started singing softly to distract me. Overcome by how sweet he was, I reached up on my frozen tippy toes and kissed him lightly. He parted my lips with his tongue, and I tasted chocolate. Grabbing onto his scarf, I pulled him as close as possible, getting lost in us to melt away the cold. It was working, too. I was highly distracted; that is until Kristen grabbed my shoulders and gave me a good shake.

“Brit! Listen! Listen!”

Stunned by being pulled away from a perfect kiss, I focused on what she was talking about, and that’s when I heard the familiar guitar riffs and voice of my all-time favorite musician. I looked up at the screens and sure enough, Green Day had taken the stage.

“No way,” I said in a daze. “Did you know?” I looked at Erik, who had a big smile on his face.

“No clue!”

Kristen grabbed my hand and started dancing with me as we sang along to the lyrics.

“I do believe they’re having the time of their life,” David said to Erik, who laughed at the corny pun. Suddenly, it wasn’t so cold anymore.

After that, it wasn’t much longer until the countdown began, and as we watched that dazzling ball begin its descent, thousands of people were counting down with us. It was pretty incredible.

“Ten, nine, eight…” Kristen reached over and squeezed my hand.

“Five, four…” Erik stepped closer behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned his chin on my shoulder.

“Two, one… Happy New Year!” Kristen let go of my hand and jumped into David’s arms.

“Happy New Year, baby,” Erik whispered in my ear. I spun around, and he placed his lips against mine, the cold instantly melted away. It was the beginning of a new year, and I was starting it with Erik. In that moment, I resolved to just let go and trust in us.

I didn’t have to hope it would be a good year, it was already pretty perfect.