Kendra...

Black, long, sparkly, and tight. Those were the words I used to describe the dress I was wearing right now. It wasn't the kind of dress I would usually wear, I wasn't very keen on showing off my curves, but Iris insisted that I did. She was sure to add in a taunt about Eli liking it. Was it wrong that it was those words that made the decision? That I only picked this dress because Eli might like it?

You may be wondering why I was wearing a tight dress to impress Eli anyway. See, Alex was having a New Year's Eve party at some fancy hotel that I was invited to. The dress code was black and white. I wasn't planning on going, I wanted to spend more time with my mother before she returned to New York. But she practically forced me to go when she found out Eli would be there.

I looked myself over in the mirror one last time and smoothed down the stray hairs around my high puff, before grabbing the small purse on my bed and leaving the room. I was greeted with a gasp and applause when I entered the living room.

"Well look at you," my mother said.

"It's not too much?" I asked, "Not too flashy?"

"Kendra it's fine," my mother insisted, "You look beautiful."

I smiled, "Thank you."

"Now go and have some well-deserved fun," she said stepping aside and pointing to the door.

"I'll try."

"No trying. Just do."

"Yes ma'am," I turned back towards the hallway, "Kyle, I'm leaving!" I called out.

A few seconds later he came running down the hallway to say goodbye. But he stopped in his tracks when she saw me.

"You like the dress?" I asked, seeing how he was staring at it.

He stared for a while before asking, "Are you wearing that for Eli?"

I heard my mother chuckle behind me.

"No, I'm not. Why would I wear this for Eli?" I asked.

"Uh...i don't know," he shrugged and offered nothing more to say.

"Well, what do you think?" I said pointing to my dress.

"I think it's...nice," he said after a few seconds.

"Just nice?"

"You know what would make it better?" He asked but answered before I could ask him what. "A coat. Or a scarf. A really big one."

"Why would I want that?"

"To cover up all of this," he said, moving his hands around his chest.

My dress was strapless, with a bit of cleavage showing. My son doesn't seem to be a fan of his mother dressing like this.

"A lot of people will start staring if you go out like that."

And by people, he means men.

"I'm ok with people staring, Kyle," I said.

I wasn't. But I had to put his mind at ease.

"But..." he began before my mother cut him short.

"Boy, leave your mother alone. Let her go out and have a good time."

He kept quiet and I walked over and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight."

I walked over to the door and grabbed my long winter coat.

"Don't stay out too late," Kyle said as I opened the door, "And stay next to Eli."

I turned to look at him. "What?"

"Don't bother with him, just go," my mother said.

I was about to step back inside and ask him what he meant. But, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear the answer.

I walked out and towards the steps, oddly looking forward to the night ahead.

**********

"This place is huge," I thought to myself as I walked past the attendant at the entrance and into the hotel ballroom

The walls were off-white, and had floor to ceiling glass windows, with frames that looked like they were made of actual gold. The carpet was maroon, with gold diamond patterns. The bar was on the right, a table full of finger foods were close by. On the far end of the room, I could just about make out a DJ, bobbing his head to the music. On my left, I spotted a large glass double door leading to a balcony. A few guests had already taken up space there. The balloons, I couldn't forget about the balloons. They were gold, and there were a lot of them.

The hotel ballroom was a sea of black and white. The place was packed with people. Did Alex really know all of them? Probably did.

I searched the room, looking for any familiar face. I quickly spotted Iris and Alex, in the middle of the busy room. Iris was the first to see me, and quickly made her way over, pulling her boyfriend behind her.

"You're here," she smiled before looking down at my dress, "And you look amazing, as I predicted."

"Thanks," I replied with a smile, "And you look amazing as well."

"I would have used the word sexy, but amazing is a good word too," Alex said, leaning into Iris' ear.

"Babe, stop," she giggled, playfully pushing him away.

I held back an eye roll, this was going to be one of those nights.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks someone looks sexy," Alex whispered, his eyes on something, well someone, behind me.

I turned to see Eli in a nicely tailored suit standing a few feet away, his eyes on me. He looked like he was in another world, one where it was just me and him in it. His eyes slowly went from my head to my toes, lingering on certain areas. Part of me wanted to cover up, the other wanted to strike a pose.

He shook his head, snapping himself out of whatever daze he was in. He made his way over to us, a broad smile on his face.

"Hey everybody" he greeted, his eyes mostly on me.

"Hey," I said looking away shyly.

"You're late," Alex said.

"Had to get some pictures to the office for tomorrow's issue, my bad," he apologized, "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope," Alex said, "I was hoping things would have gotten a little exciting by now."

"Your fault for inviting the boujee people," Eli teased, "What's with all of this anyway? Since when do you have fancy parties like this? Imagine my surprise being told I had to be in formal wear by an actual invitation."

"It was mom and dad's idea, said it was time for me to have an adult party and leave the frat boy stuff behind," Alex explained.

"I actually agree with them. You were getting too old for the party scene," Eli grinned.

"Shut up," Alex frowned, playfully shoving his best friend's shoulder.

"Hey, we could still get this party to be exciting," Iris said, "Nothing a good blood pumping song can't fix. Come on, let's go ask the DJ to play something upbeat."

Iris grabbed Alex's hand as she excused themselves, leaving Eli and I alone.

"You, look amazing," he said looking over at me.

I nervously looked down at my shoes, "Thanks. You look good too."

"Thanks."

Is this high school?

"No camera tonight?" I asked, trying to make small talk.

"Nah, thought I'd take a break from it and enjoy myself tonight," he answered, "Wished I had brought it through."

"Why?"

"They're some beautiful sights in here I want to capture," His eyes roamed my body again and eventually landed on my face.

I looked back, not sure how to answer. He was being rather bold tonight, and I don't think that I mind. Our little moment was cut short by our friends returning.

Alex looked like a kid who just got his favorite toy stolen from him.

"What's wrong?" Eli asked.

"His dad paid the DJ to not play any 'hippity hoppity' music," Iris answered.

I tried to hold back a giggle, but Eli just let his laugh out.

"This isn't funny man," Alex defended, "This is going to be the worst party I've ever thrown."

It actually wasn't turning out to be a bad party, to my standards at least. We spent most of the night hanging out, just the four of us, talking and joking around. Eli and I stole glances at each other whenever we got a chance. He would follow me around the few times I left the group. Whenever Alex and Iris weren't around, he took a chance to give a compliment and flirt a little. I played right into it, enjoying every bit of it.

Iris had left a few minutes ago, saying she needed to use the restroom. I offered to go with her as she did with me an hour or so ago. But she insisted that I stay before she left us, and walked through a door I was pretty sure didn't lead to the women's restroom. As soon as she left Alex seemed on edge. Rocking back and forth and checking his watch every ten seconds. Eli and I shared a look, something was going on.

Alex checked his watch for the last time, before looking at us.

"Seems like Iris is taking a while. Maybe something's wrong, I should go check on her."

He quickly left without waiting for a response from us.

"They're sneaking out to have sex aren't they?" I asked when it finally hit me.

"Probably," Eli chuckled, "I mean we're all adults, they shouldn't have to sneak out like that."

"Right," I agreed.

There was a comfortable silence for a few seconds before he finally spoke again.

"Going to the bar, want me to get you something?"

"That's the fourth time you're getting me drinks. Are you trying to get me drunk Mr. Carter?"

"I would never," He smirked before backing away, "The usual?"

I nodded and he turned around, heading to the bar.

I sighed, trying to release the tension in my body. I spotted a table close by and was about to take a seat when I heard my name being called.

"Kendra."

I turned around and saw Josh making his way over to me. What was he doing here?

"Josh, hey," I said nervously.

"Long time no see."

"Indeed. How have you been?"

"I've been great, enjoying the job. What about you?"

"I could say the same," I answered, hoping that the conversation would soon be over.

There was a stretch of silence between us, and I thought that my wish was coming true, but Josh wasn't quite ready for things to end.

"So, how are you enjoying the party so far? Just got here a few minutes ago, want to know if it's worth staying," he said

"I've been having fun," I answered, immediately thinking of Eli, "But I wasn't expecting to see you here though."

"Iris invited me," he said, "Well, I kind of begged her to."

"Why?"

I shouldn't have asked that.

"I wanted to see you."

"Oh," I nervously chuckled, "And why is that?"

"Well the last time we met, you ran away from me."

I knew this was coming.

"I didn't run away," I defended, but he sent a disbelieving look my way, "Ok, maybe I did."

"Why'd you run? I really wanted to get to know you," he said, taking a step closer.

"Uh well..."

Before I had a chance to tell an unconvincing lie, Eli appeared behind me.

"Here's your drink," he said, handing the drink over.

"Thanks," I said, taking it.

Eli's free hand then suddenly found its way to the small of my back as he stood closer to me. Josh stepped back, a look of realization on his face.

"Oh, uh, my bad, I didn't know you had a...boyfriend," he said.

"He's not my..."

"Eli Carter," Eli removed his hand from me and held it out, "And you are?"

"Josh, Josh Reed," he said, taking Eli's hand.

There was a few seconds of silence while the men held on tightly to each other's hand. I was convinced they were trying to see who had a stronger grip. Josh let go first, then Eli reluctantly did.

"Well, nice to meet you Josh, and thank you for keeping my girl company," his hand returned to my back, around my waist, holding on possessively.

"Nice to meet you too," Josh nervously said "I guess I should go meet the other guests. See you around Kendra."

With that he turned and walked away, never once looking back.

I stepped away from Eli as his hand left me and went to his side.

"What was that all about?"

"What was what all about?"

"'Thank you for keeping MY GIRL company?" I raised a brow at him.

"What's wrong with saying that?"

"Eli!" I slapped his arm.

"Oww, damn you slap hard," he said rubbing his arm, "I was just trying to scare him off."

"Why?"

"Well, it didn't look like you wanted to talk to him," he answered before hesitantly saying the next part, "Plus your son kind of told me to."

"What?" I was confused.

"Got a text from Kyle before I got here. Told me to keep guys away from you."

"Oh my god," I shook my head, "Is that why you've been around me all night like a lost puppy?"

"Partly," he simply answered with a glint in his eyes I chose to ignore, "He's just trying to look out for you."

"He's a child."

"And you're his mother, the only parent he knows. He wants to know that you're safe, unbothered, happy."

I sigh and look away. I knew that one day this protectiveness over me dating would come. It was a sign that he was getting older, something I still was afraid to sometimes face. I looked back up to Eli.

"Are you two like besties now? That little basketball hang out must have gone great huh?"

"It did," Eli smiled.

"What did you guys talk about?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Guy code."

"What's this talk about guy code?" Iris asked, making her way back to us, Alex right behind.

Her hair and dress were slightly out of place. The lipstick on her lips had somehow found itself on Alex's. Speaking of Alex, his hair was disheveled, the suit jacket had disappeared, and the tie in his neck was a bit crooked. Eli bowed his head, trying to hold back a laugh while I just shook my head.

"Next time you guys run off to have broom closet sex, please make sure that you look presentable and that all items of clothing are back on your body," I said.

Eli finally let his laugh out while our friends bowed their heads in embarrassment. I eventually had to accompany Iris to the restroom to help her fix her hair and makeup while Alex went searching for his jack in whatever corner they did the nasty in.

The rest of our night was uneventful until it was time for the countdown. Waiters passed around with flutes of champagne and boxes of blow horns and confetti cannons. I quickly found the door to the balcony and made my way there leaving my friends who were deep in conversation.

This particular tradition was not my favorite. I had avoided parties like this for that very reason. An odd feeling of failure came along with watching couples make out at the stroke of twelve, and it was not something I wanted to face when entering the new year. I made my way to the end of the balcony and stared at the hotel's garden that was brightly lit up with Christmas lights. It only took me a minute to realize that I should have taken my coat.

"You trying to hide from me?" I heard from behind.

I turned to find Eli walking up to me, my coat in his hand.

I quickly grabbed it from him once he was close enough and flung it over my shoulders.

"No," I answered, "I just don't want to be in there right now," I pointed to the ballroom.

"Why not?" He asked.

"I don't like being reminded by random people kissing that I'm a lonely single mother," I replied.

"I know what you mean," he said under his breath

"And why do people do this anyway?"

"Well, I heard that it brings good luck to the relationship between the two people who kiss."

I chuckle to myself, "Is there even any truth to that?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, then waited a few seconds to ask a question I was not prepared to hear, "Why don't we find out?"

I froze.

It was like a fifteen-year-old trying to slickly ask a girl to kiss. Adult me found it cute and corny and would have probably declined. But alcohol was in my system, and that teenage me was totally digging his attempt. I allowed her to take control.

"Find out?" I asked, raising my brow and turning to him, pushing out my chest in the process.

"Well, as people who have a career in journalism, we pride ourselves on finding out the truth and getting our facts straight when it comes to rumors and gossip. I don't see why we can't do the same for this," his voice was low as he took a step closer.

"And how do you propose we find out?" I asked, stepping closer myself.

"Well, we could do some research, conduct some interviews. But I think the best way..." his tongue passed over his lips slowly, "...is to test it out ourselves."

Heat radiated throughout my body as he looked at me with an intensity that I hadn't seen before.

Was this really about to happen?

"Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen..." came the cheers of the people inside.

He took my hand, rubbing his thumb on my palm. His eyes went down to my chest, but he made no effort to hide it this time.

"Ten, nine, eight..."

He closed the space between us. His eyes moved from my chest to my lips, then to my eyes. My mind went back to our night at Iris'. The same green eyes bored down into mines. At that moment, I have never been so grateful that my child was nowhere in sight.

He lessened the space between our faces, and I closed my eyes, waiting for something I didn't realize I wanted so badly.

"Three, two, one! Happy New Year!"

And there you have it! Sorry if it's too long, it was not my intention. And sorry for leaving you all hanging like that at the end, it was my intention lol. If you guys liked the chapter, don't hesitate to vote and leave a comment. I'm a little iffy about this chapter, so if you have any pointers, don't hesitate to let me know. 

Hopefully I can finish the next chapter in time for next week. See you then!