Alissa walked up the salted stoop to Sarah's modern apartment complex. After letting the doorman know who she was and why she was there, she was let in. The instant warmth of the sleek lobby was stifling as she quickly undid her coat zipper. Entering the elevator, she took her gloves and scarf off, then hit the twenty-fourth button.

As the elevator zoomed up, Alissa glanced at her phone. It was a little past nine. She still had enough time to help Sarah finish setting up the New Year's Eve party and tell her about a certain someone before everyone showed up at ten.

After Christmas Day, Trevor and her had been texting nonstop. He had apologized for not contacting her sooner. He seemed to have misplaced her number in his phone as they were both a bit too intoxicated to notice that she had entered her number in the notes section of his phone instead of the contacts section. They had had a good laugh about it afterwards.

He had asked how her holiday was going and where she was. She told him about her family and he told her about his. He was originally from Seattle where his mother still lived, but his father had moved to San Francisco after they divorced when he was a teen. Even though divorce was becoming more and more common nowadays, Alissa still felt sorry for children of divorced parents. It always reminded her of how fortunate she was that her parents were still so deeply in love.

The elevator doors dinged as she reached Sarah's floor. Sarah's apartment was right near the elevators, so it took no time for her to walk over and knock on the dark coffee wood door.

After a minute, Sarah opened the door. She was wearing a tight, short gold dress with one sleeve. Her short bangs were clipped on top of her head and she had only one eye covered with magenta makeup.

Alissa couldn't help but chuckle, "Hey."

"Good, you're here," she said as she pulled Alissa inside.

Alissa always found it ironic that Sarah had lived in this apartment. With its dark coffee natural wood and gray sleet accents, she felt it was more of a bachelor pad, but Sarah loved how modern and open it was, and she couldn't beat the location—right in the heart of downtown Denver.

"I still haven't finished setting up the appetizers and drinks," she said as she made her way back into her bathroom. Alissa followed her past the black velvet sectional and contrasting sandalwood coffee table in the front room down the hall to the only bathroom. The marble counter was covered in makeup and brushes. It smelled strongly of perfume, tickling her throat.

She took a deep breath before sighing loudly. She knew she had to do this. She had been convincing herself since she spoke with her mother. It wasn't right for her to go behind Sarah's back; even if Trevor didn't reciprocate Sarah's feelings, she was her closest friend.

"Is something wrong?" Sarah asked as she brushed her eyelashes with black mascara.

"You remember Trevor, right?"

She nodded, "What about him?"

"Well, during the holiday party, we stumbled into each other," she paused.

Her throat was so parched, and it didn't help that this room was suffocating her with perfume. Sarah looked at her through the reflection in the mirror, waiting for her to continue.

She tried to swallow as much saliva as she possibly could before continuing, "We both ended up drinking too much that evening and we kissed."

Alissa couldn't look at Sarah. She knew this wouldn't ruin their friendship, but it would probably ruin the party tonight. She stared, instead, at the slate tile floor.

"Oh," she breathed as she set her mascara down on the counter.

Alissa took another deep breath as she looked at the white marble tub, "And we've been texting since Christmas."

"Do you like him?" she asked in one breath.

Alissa finally looked at her through the mirror. She nodded. She couldn't deny it. There was something about Trevor that struck her. He was different than all the other men she had dated in the past few years. He was kind and gentle. He made her laugh easily. He was a great listener, too. That was hard to come by in a partner nowadays. Of course, his insanely sexy body didn't hurt either. She could just imagine what he looked like shirtless...

Her cheeks flushed as she realized how quickly her infatuation with Trevor had grown just from simple texts and one steamy first impression.

Alissa shuffled her weight between her feet as she waited for Sarah to respond.

"Do you think he likes you?" She asked, her voice filled with curiosity.

Did Trevor like her? Well, he was obviously attracted to her, but did he like her? He seemed to enjoy their conversations, and when he found out she would be at tonight's party, he decided to add Sarah's place to his list of New Year's Eve party-hopping with his friends.

"I think so," she said unsure. Her brows creased together as her heart sped up.

Sarah gave a small smile then turned around to face her. "Well, I've never seen you this timid about a guy before. He must really be something, then."

Alissa held her breath.

"I wonder if you'll get a midnight kiss," she grinned.

"You're okay with us?" Alissa asked a bit shocked.

Sarah's eyes softened, "It was only ever a physical attraction I had to him. I can see that he means something more to you." She paused, "I'm happy for you."

"You are?"

Sarah laughed as she pulled Alissa into a hug, "Come here, you big goof."

Alissa laughed as she hugged Sarah back.

She wondered if Trevor would give her a midnight kiss.

~~~

A/N: Please vote if you're enjoying my story so far! xo