"Are you excited?"

Leaning back from the bathroom mirror, I twisted my mascara wand back into its tube and reached for a pale pink lipstick. "And a little nervous," I admitted, glancing over at Aimee. "It's been years since we've been to a trivia night."

"All the more reason to go," she replied. "Besides, after all the time I've spent planning my wedding, I need tonight."

"It was your choice to have a summer wedding," I pointed out.

"I mean, why wait?" She shrugged. "Besides, with Jack's schedule, summer is the only time I can guarantee he has off." I nodded, unable to reply as I applied my lipstick. "And now that we'll have Jack and Seb around to help us out with the sports questions tonight, maybe we'll actually have a shot at winning."

"You mean instead of giving up halfway through and drinking as many cheap beers as we can afford?"

"Exactly." Moving to stand beside me, she threw an arm around my shoulder, meeting my gaze in the mirror with a grin. "Besides, tonight we're celebrating."

A thrill of happiness tingled underneath my skin. Even after a couple of days, it didn't seem real. The offer I'd made on the boutique property had been accepted, and though the space needed work, it was now mine. Mine. Mine to fix up. Mine to craft as I pleased. Since the moment I'd gotten the call, the giddiness hadn't faded, realizing that soon enough my designs would be displayed for all to see. To buy. It was surreal, but I couldn't shake the pesky voice in the back of my head telling me there was still time for things to crash and burn.

And it was those thoughts which kept me from telling anyone else the good news. Including Seb. With him having been out of town as I balanced a work-heavy schedule, the right opportunity hadn't presented itself. Each time we talked, the words were on the tip of my tongue, ready to jump out, but they never came. Instead they were replaced with questions about how his own week was going as I veered the conversation away from myself.

"About that," I said, my smile turning sheepish, "you haven't mentioned anything to Jack, have you?"

Her brow quirked. "I might have, why?" As I tried to figure out how best to get the words out, my features must've shifted, giving away my thoughts before I could reply. "No," Aimee said in disbelief. "You haven't told Seb yet?"

I shook my head, tucking my hair behind my ear as a few pieces fell in front of my face.

"Why not?"

"I don't know," I said, stepping around her and out into the hall. "It just never felt like the right time, and I didn't want to tell him over the phone."

The words were only half a lie—a façade to mask the truth—and Aimee knew it, but she didn't push. Instead, she simply shook her head and pulled her phone from her back pocket as I slipped on my jacket.

"I'll tell Jack not to say anything, if he hasn't already, but I'm not letting tonight go by without toasting to your success, deal?"

I sighed. "Deal."

***

The bar we were meeting the guys at was only a few blocks away from our apartment, and with Aimee having offered to be the designated driver for the night, it took no time at all to get there. Though as we pulled into a free parking spot, the nerves in my chest skyrocketed. I knew it didn't make sense, because any scenario in which I pictured telling Seb my good news ended with him congratulating me—his face lighting up as he leaned in for a kiss.

But that was just the way anxieties worked. They didn't always make sense.

Climbing out of the car, the wind immediately caught hold of my hair, blowing it every which way as I made a dash towards the door—which wasn't as easy as expected given the combination of high heels and snow.

Stepping inside, the warmth hit me instantly, followed by the swarm of conversations happening above the background music. Eyes sweeping over the crowd, I noticed that while it was predominantly university students and groups our age, a decent number of older folks had come out for the trivia competition.

"Look," Aimee said, clearly amused as she directed my gaze across the room where Jack and Seb sat. Finding them easily, I also noticed the pair of girls who were leaning against the table—both a few years younger, dressed in tight-fitting jeans and tops covering only the bare minimum amount of skin—eyeing the two empty seats.

My eyebrows rose at first glance. "Does that happen a lot?"

"Sometimes." Aimee shrugged. "Though honestly, I've seen more hockey fans than girls try to talk to Jack over the years."

"So, what? You just stand here and watch?"

"Oh, no," she replied with a smirk. "Watch and learn."

Following her through the crowd, I couldn't help but wonder what she had up her sleeve. As we neared the table, I was put at ease when I saw that while the girls both had a gleam in their eyes, both Jack and Seb were doing nothing more than holding a polite conversation, doing the best they could with the situation without being rude. Aimee, however, didn't spare the girls a second glance as she walked up to Jack and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Hey babe," she said, overly cheerful. "Thanks for saving us a table."

I had to hold in my laugh as I saw the girls' features instantly deflate, realizing they were barking up the wrong men, and was smiling when Seb's gaze swiveled to meet mine. "Hey," he greeted, pulling out the chair next to him before standing to help me with my coat. "You look great."

"Thanks. So do you." My gaze flickered across the table to Jack, noting the girls had sharply made their exit. "In fact, both of you do, considering you guys came right from practice."

"What can I say?" Jack replied, lifting his beer. "Years of making plans around hockey has paid off."

"Here, here," Seb cheered in agreement, tapping his glass against Jack's. Taking a sip, his attention circled back to me and I noticed the discrete way his features softened. "This is for you."

I hadn't noticed the extra drinks on the table, and was surprised when he pushed a multi-colored drink towards me. "Sex on the beach?" I asked, recognizing it instantly. Resisting a smirk, I wrapped my fingers around the glass. "How'd you know I'd like this?"

"Lucky guess," Seb replied, a spark in his eye as I took a sip, humming with delight. Stretching an arm along the back of my chair, his fingers grazed my shoulder as his lips quirked upwards. "So, how exactly does this whole thing work?"

"You've never been to a trivia night before?" Aimee asked, and Seb shook his head. "Well it's pretty standard," she started, reaching for the sheets of paper resting on the edge of the table. "We answer the questions as best we can and hand in our answers at the end of each round to see which team wins."

"Yeah," Jack said with a teasing smirk, "it's not rocket science, man."

Seb shook his head in amusement, ignoring his teammate's comment as he asked, "So, you think we can win?"

"Debatable," Aimee replied, and I nodded in agreement, "but figuring out if you guys know just as little as us will be half the fun."

Though the pair of them ended up surprising us.

While we all were pretty useless when it came to the science questions, Jack had a habit of keeping up with current events, Seb knew a decent amount about geography and old movies, and of course, neither of them missed a single question related to sports. And when the all-too-important Harry Potter question was asked, quizzing the crowd to see who knew which spell was used to open locks, the word alohomora left Seb's lips before the quizmaster had even finished the question.

"A man who knows his Harry Potter facts," Aimee mused, writing down the answer she surely knew as well. "Impressive."

And I had to agree.

Though in the end, it wasn't enough. But it didn't matter, because we'd tried our best, and that was all we could do.

"Man, Cameron would've loved this," Seb remarked once the lights began to dim and the crowd thinned out. "With all the research he does while writing, he somehow manages to pick up the most random facts."

"Well, if we ever do this again, you should bring him along," I said, knocking my knee against his under the table. "Isla too."

He turned to me, lifting a brow. "You sure?"

"The more the merrier. We can use all the help we can get."

And I wasn't just saying that. I wanted to meet them. For real this time, not just for a few minutes after a game. They were a big part of Seb's life, and from the smile he sent me—one accompanied by a flame of sincerity in his eyes—I could tell me wanting to include them meant a lot to him.

When the chairs across from us scraped against the floor, however, the muted moment between us was broken.

"We're going to grab another round," Jack said, his hand intertwined with Aimee's as they both stood up. "Did you guys want anything?"

Seb nodded, finishing off the rest of what remained in his current glass. "I'll take another beer."

"And I'll take a margarita, if you don't mind."

An easy smile appeared on Jack's face as he nodded, which contrasted the pointed look Aimee sent me as she followed him towards the bar.

Alone with Seb, my nerves began to bubble with the knowledge this was likely the only chance I'd get tonight to talk to him about the boutique. To tell him the good news and hope nothing came out of the blue to spoil it.

Seb, oblivious to the internal battle going on inside my head, smiled softly and leaned closer. "I missed you this week," he said, his voice just above a whisper as his lips softly grazed my cheek. "Every time we talked, I kept wishing we were face-to-face so I could do this."

His lips brushed mine, soft and sure, sparking a coil of warmth to zing through me and a sigh to fill the space between us when we broke apart.

"Well, I definitely wouldn't have objected to that. Or more."

The sound of his throaty chuckle caused the hairs on the back of neck to stand tall. "Well besides that," he trailed off, putting space between us as he curled a lock of hair behind my ear, "how was your week, really?"

"It was good," I said, though the words came out slightly high-pitched. "Really good actually." I cleared my throat and dropped my gaze to my lap as a swarm of butterflies fluttered inside my chest. "I actually got a call from Sarah... and, well, I got it."

A heartbeat's pause lapsed as my words hung between us, though once he fully registered what I had said, a frenzy of emotions crossed his face. "The boutique?" he asked, and when I nodded, lifting my gaze, I watched elation paint his features. "That's great! Jo...wow." Lost for words, he kissed me again, this time not thinking about the fact we in public. The intensity skyrocketed as he nipped at my bottom lip before his tongue followed in a sweeping motion. His hands cupped my face, trying to convey what words couldn't, and I kissed him back with unabashed ardor. Only when my own hands rose to his chest did he begin to pull back, eyes shining. "I told you everything would work out."

"Yeah," I said, my voice thick with emotion, "you did."

"So, did you just find out, or...?"

"I, um, actually got the call on Monday," I admitted, fidgeting in my seat, waiting for the inevitable disappointment to surface as an awkward moment stretched between us.

As expected, creases formed on his forehead and the light in his eyes slowly faded. "Monday?" he asked, and I nodded slowly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

My heart lurched. "Honestly," I sighed, threading my fingers through his, "I was scared. Scared if I said it out loud, something would go wrong. I kept imagining I'd get a call saying they'd made a mistake—that they were going with a different offer or that my papers wouldn't go through—so I just kept pushing off telling people." My eyes pleaded with him to understand. "It wasn't just you; Aimee knows because she was there when I answered the phone, but I haven't told my family yet either."

"I understand," he said, after taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "But you don't need to be scared." The hurt in his features vanished, replaced by a seriousness as his fingers gently held my chin. "I'm happy for you, and I'm sure when you tell your family, they'll be happy for you too. Anybody who cares about you would be, because you've worked hard for this. You've earned it, and you need to let yourself enjoy it."

With a shaky smile, I nodded, and despite the awkwardness of sitting next to one another, his arm circled my shoulders, pulling me into his side. I felt his lips against my forehead and I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling the lingering anxiety about the situation wane as I sunk into his embrace.

"You can always talk to me, you know that, right?"

"I know," I replied, tilting my head back to look up at him. "I know."

My mouth barely grazed his before I drew back, the sound of glasses sliding against the table signaling our friends' return.

"Well," Aimee mused, "I'm assuming you were worried for nothing?"

"She was," Seb said, the corners of his mouth lifting as he nudged my side in reassurance. "And I guess congratulations are in order," he continued, waiting until the two of them took their seats and everyone had their drinks in hand to lift his. "To Jo. May your boutique be everything you hoped for—both successful and sexy."

"To Jo," Aimee and Jack said in unison.

There were grins all around as we clinked our glasses together, and as I drank to my success—both current and future—I couldn't help but look around and wonder how I ended up here. With my dream within reach and a group of people keen on supporting me every step of the way.

a/n: remember to vote and leave your thoughts in the comments below!