Five Out of Five - Why Don't We

Thirty-Two: New Year's

"So, who are you kissing at midnight?" Eben asked

Kira was currently leaning against the railing of a rooftop New Year's Eve party. The guys were all spread out, mingling, and taking plenty of pictures to post later. Apparently, their management thought they hadn't been posting enough lately. Since they were all busy, Kira had found Eben in the crowd and they had been hanging out for most of the night. 

"Wouldn't you like to know," Kira said with a laugh and then she took a sip from her drink. 

"Well, I had a few thoughts about your current situation." Eben leaned with his back against the railing. He tilted his head back for a minute and the wind blew his blond hair around. Kira chuckled to herself and then he looked back at her. "You have a bit of a problem. Because you can't kiss any of your roommates."

"Oh? Is that so?" Kira asked with a raised eyebrow. Eben smiled and shook his head. 

"If you kiss any of them, then the others are going to be suspicious, jealous, or both," Eben explained. "So, clearly you need to kiss someone outside of the house."

"And I imagine you already have someone in mind," Kira smirked. He turned so he was facing her now. He propped his elbow on the railing and put his chin on his fist. He smiled at her sweetly. 

"Of course I do." Eben continued smiling. Kira laughed and shook her head at him. "What? If you kiss me, there will be no drama. All the guys know that we're just friends and that it's just a kiss."

"If it's just a kiss, why are you pushing so hard for it?" Kira raised an eyebrow. 

"Maybe I wanna see what all the hype is about," Eben said with a wink. "I mean, obviously you're a super amazing woman. You're beautiful and charismatic. But I still don't understand how you have all five of them wrapped around your finger."

"Well, I've waited a long time to tell you this, but I'm actually a witch."

Eben started laughing loudly. Kira smiled and sipped at her drink again. She finished the rest of it and then she set her glass down. 

"I wanna dance," Kira said and she grabbed Eben's hand. 

He lifted her hand and spun her around and she giggled. Then they hurried over to the dance floor. They danced for a long time with huge smiles on their faces. Kira always had a lot of fun with Eben and she was comfortable around him. She also knew that he was only joking about kissing her. In all the time she'd known him, he'd never made a move on her. He respected her and she appreciated that. 

"One of your boyfriends is coming over," Eben said jokingly. He was looking over her shoulder with a smile. 

"Which one?" They both laughed. 

He lifted her hand again and spun her around. As he did, she briefly caught site of Corbyn coming through the crowd. She was facing Eben again and it wasn't long before she felt Corbyn's hand on her shoulder. 

"Hey, guys!" Corbyn said brightly. He looked at Eben. "Do you mind if I steal her for a minute?"

"I didn't realize we'd signed up for the Bachelorette," Eben said with a laugh, but he let go of Kira's hands. 

Corbyn laughed and then he put his arm around Kira's shoulder and guided her through the crowd. Together, they walked farther away from the crowd and toward the door that led inside. There were fewer people here and it was a lot quieter.

"It's been a while since we've had any time alone together," Corbyn said once they were away from the noise of the party. He was holding her hand now as they walked down the hall. "We've both been so busy during the holidays. I was starting to miss you."