Forever For You 🌷

31st December 2016

The lights all around the room had blurred into a sparkling canopy, shimmering mesmerisingly and if he squinted it was almost like the stars themselves had been invited to Miles' New Year's party. Alex took a sip from the whiskey he was drinking, lifting his pinky with the glass, his ring clinking against it as he nodded to a conversation he was only half focused on and though he was aware he was drifting in and out of the chatter, barely able to concentrate on the faces he was speaking to as a result of the alcohol, he also couldn't help himself, was filled with a glowing warmth for her that had him turning his head to find her across the party whenever the conversation lulled.

It was half past eleven and he'd only been away from Izzy since eleven. They'd shared a dance together before she was whisked away by Miles, then someone else and now he felt pouty and wanted to excuse himself to find her, but didn't want to be rude either, knew he'd been selfishly attached to her all evening.

Still, he thought about her, thought about the baby blue dress she was wearing and how it complimented her eyes, how she'd let her natural curls loose and how badly he wanted to hold her close and bury his nose into them, kiss along her shoulder and whisper about having missed her.

As the new one approached, he found himself smiling about how much their love had grown in the past year, the ring he'd asked to put on her finger, the one she'd added next to it on their wedding day and he couldn't wait for whatever came next for them, adored every moment of being hers.

"So, Alex, any plans for the new year?" one of Miles' friends asked.

Alex blinked to bring himself back to the room and out of his own head. "Teh tell yeh the truth, James, I dun't have maneh fings sorted. Got a few projects teh work on but mostleh want teh spend time with me Izz."

The man nodded in response and his wife quickly continued. "You make a lovely couple."

Alex smiled proudly into his drink, savouring the taste but hoping that the almost empty glass would give him a chance to slip away. Truly obsessed with his wife, the compliment made him even more desperate to see her, to tease her about how lovely she was. He swallowed the last of his liquor, licked his lips and placed the glass on the sideboard to his left. "Fank yeh so mooch, Karen. Wha' a loveleh fing for yeh teh say."

Just as he was about to pose another question back at them out of politeness, he saw a flash of Izzy in the corridor as she crossed from one room to the other, a glass in her hand, her hair shaking as she laughed, swayed tipsily and for a moment Alex couldn't breathe. He could barely focus on anything except the future, his future with her and the logical next step, so many years having passed in each other's company, his adoration for her and the need to make up for the wasted time combining to leave him with an idea which had now suddenly sprung in his head. "I'm excited for the future wif 'er," he smirked, mumbled almost to himself, watching the blue of her dress disappear, then excused himself with a nod.

It was like a fire had suddenly been lit and he needed her to know, to share the glow he felt with the person who mattered most, so began to weave his way through the crowds, the queue at Miles' makeshift bar slowing him down. Miles' own song came obnoxiously over the speakers and he heard a loud cheer from all corners of the house, Zara already singing at a high pitch. Someone who was far too drunk to still be standing interrupted him with a compliment or two about his tux and offered to get him another drink, but Alex declined and continued to look for her, turning his head into each room, slightly disoriented, dizzied from the weight of the idea in his head and the burn of the whiskey in his throat.

His eyebrows were pulled in, his jaw tense and when Miles almost collided with him in the middle of the dining room, spilling half his martini down his own white trouser leg, he stopped him with concern. "You've got a fookin' serious face on, mate," he chuckled, placing his free hand down on Alex's shoulder, immediately able to sense the tension. He shook his head, recognising the expression his friend wore. "Al, wha' are ya about teh do?"