11:59 PM

Come outside please?

>>>>><<<<<

The music in the bar stops and the people around me start the countdown as I turn my phone off in frustration. I had just sent my last text to Caden and I feel like vomiting. Still no reply. Okay then.

"Ten!"

Kai screams out the numbers, her arm lazily hooked around Travis' neck, and I could see Mark Lancaster slowly edging towards me by the bar. I'm really, really not in the mood for this.

"Nine!"

I down one last shot, sling my purse over my shoulder, and start making my way through the press of people.

"Eight!"

I burst out of the doors of the bar, leaving most of the noise inside.

Or so I thought.

"Zoey!"

I whip around in my tracks to see Mark smiling sleazily at me. "Where you off to?"

"None of your fucking business. Go away before I render your balls unconscious."

"Jesus, you have a smart mouth," he says, closing in on me for a new year's eve kiss. I back away, ready to hit him with my purse.

"She does, but it's really not your problem," someone behind me says. Out of nowhere, a figure moves me behind him and punches Mark.

Mark stumbles and lands on the pavement, out of balance due to the amount of alcohol he'd already drank. He looks up at his attacker with a vicious glare, but the man ignores him and turns to me.

Give me a blanket and call me Sherlock Holmes, because I'm in fucking shock.

"Caden?"

He gives me a small smile, shaking his hand off. He'd dressed up, and he was here, and he'd just punched Mark Lancaster in the face.

And he's here.

Holy fuck.

Fireworks explode across the sky--literally--so it's probably already midnight. But everything leaves my mind as Caden closes the space between us and puts his mouth on mine.

The kiss seems to last an eternity with his hands framing my face and me just standing there like a freakin' wooden plank.

Caden fucking Kingsley is here.

I kiss him back then, and then it lasts a whole other eternity, and then we're both pulling away and Caden's smiling.

"Happy new year, princess."

I come to my senses and spring apart from him, hitting him with both hands. "Don't fucking scare me like that ever again, you fucking asshole!" I check behind his shoulder and see that Mark has disappeared.

He laughs, gently holding my wrists in his hands to stop me. "Shut up, princess. You deserved it."

Tears start flowing down my cheeks. "I did. I'm sorry."

He smirks at me and pulls me into a hug, and I squeeze him with everything I've got. "Jesus, shower boy, I missed you."

"I missed you too," he says into my hair. "So much that I left Ashemark a few days early just to get here in time to make sure no assholes try to kiss you on new year's."

"Seriously?" I look up at him and he laughs.

He sighs. "Can I just say that you're a fucking handful, princess?"

I smile and bury my face into his chest. "Fuck off."

"You're so sweet. You really are," he says, pulling away. I cross my arms and he tips my face up, hooking his fingers under my chin. "Does this mean you'll go out with me now?"

My heart warms at the familiar question. Of course I knew I was gonna say yes.

But fuck, if I wasn't gonna tease him about him first.

"Well, I don't know, you're not really my type."

>>>>><<<<<

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND THAT'S IT <3 <3

A MILLION THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO READ THIS, YOU'RE ALL THE BEST.

also i am literally at the end of the story and i don't have a ship name for zoey and caden yet, wtf, help me out guys?

ugh this story was so much fun to write i swear. thanks so much again to all of you who voted and commented on this, your comments are funny asf and they mean a lot to me. <3

special thanks to @arrowheads for the "om lit" joke i used a few chapters back, the beautiful gif for this chapter, and for eeeeeeverything else. ily twin, mwa :*

this definitely doesn't END end here, though, because right now i'm planning a spinoff book for Kai, Caden's sister :---) i'll post updates about that as soon as i can!