Page 69

“You have perfect timing.” Her thumb landed on the open cutout of Esther’s dress, and she took this happy chance to rub a slow circle on Esther’s side. “I want you to meet my old fling, Kyle. Kyle, this is my girlfriend, Esther.”

Kyle’s gaze dipped briefly to Ashley’s hand and back.

“Girlfriendgirlfriend?” Even as adults, their vocabulary devolved into grade school vernacular.

Esther placed her hand on Ashley’s chest, her thumb brushing the underside of Ashley’s boob, and Ashley thought she might short-circuit.

“Yeah, that kind,” Ashley said.

He broke out the trademark smile that won him prom king. “Nice. I guess I wasn’t the only one hiding something in high school.”

“Next is Kyle with ‘How You Remind Me,’” called the guy at the karaoke machine.

“I’m up.” Kyle downed the last of his bottle. “Hey, Ash. It was good seeing you.” He patted her arm before running to the stage and taking the mic.

The evening was a flurry of songs. Despite her newfound desire to stay quietly by Esther’s side, Ashley kept getting called up for duets and group songs. Yasmine wanted to sing Dixie Chicks, and Stacy insisted she join her in “All the Things She Said” by t.A.T.u.

“All right.” The DJ took the mic from Ashley and Stacy. “Last song before the countdown. I’ve got Esther with ‘Head Over Feet.’”

Ashley’s step faltered as she passed Esther. “Alanis?”

“I know you said 2000s, but I’m a sucker forJagged Little Pill.”

Esther took the stage, the music queued up, and everything else disappeared. What did it mean that Esther picked Ashley’s celebrity crush for her song? She couldn’t possibly have known that. It was clear Esther knew the song by heart. She even had Alanis’s inflections. With Esther’s hair in long, loose waves, Ashley could pretend she was at a concert. It was a little old and slow for their usual picks, but the crowd loved Esther’s energy. Ashley waited anxiously for her at the bottom of the stage.

“I didn’t know you could sing like that.” She took Esther’s hand, needing to touch her and prove she wasn’t dreaming.

“I don’t usually. But you were having so much fun, I thought I should do one.”

The screens previously displaying song lyrics switched to a countdown starting at thirty. Ashley pulled Esther closer as everyone crowded the stage.

“Ashley, there’s something…” Esther’s lips were moving, but the crowd was so loud she couldn’t pick out Esther’s voice through the noise overload.

“What?” she yelled directly in Esther’s ear.

Esther put her warm hand on the back of Ashley’s neck and guided her face to Esther’s. Ashley wet her lips, but Esther moved past her mouth to Ashley’s ear, her breath a warm puff to the shell of it. “I said…”

But the sound was drowned again as the crowd counted down from ten. She was being silly. This wasn’t a real date. Esther didn’t think of her like that.

Ashley pulled back to point at her ear and mouth. “I can’t hear you.”

“Three!”

Esther’s hand was still at the back of Ashley’s head, their faces inches apart.

“Two!”

She didn’t try speaking again, but her gaze dipped to Ashley’s mouth.

“One!”

Esther rose on her toes, the move so sudden Ashley almost shifted out of her way—her brain not registering why Esther’s lips were at the corner of Ashley’s mouth. Maybe she had moved a little.

It took the entirety of the room yelling, “Happy New Year!” for Ashley’s body to fit the pieces together. Esther was sinking back down, eyes wide and cheeks blushing when Ashley swooped in, one hand on Esther’s waist to pull her in closer and the other sinking into Esther’s hair, tilting her so she could deepen the kiss.

If Esther was going to kiss her, Ashley would do it right.

The crowd cheered, confetti fell from the sky, and everyone mustered through the words to “Auld Lang Syne.”