Servant of Lust

Epilogue

New Years Eve. I sigh deeply as Iook down from our balcony or rather roof garden. We've stuck to our original plan and travelled to Anguilla together with Scott and Alex. We have a nice suite with two seperate bedrooms and said huge roofgarden with our own pool.

Originally we had planned to go to a beachparty to celebrate the new year but I was too uncomfortable to being around people and alcohol so I decided to stay behind. Just to be sure.

"What are you thinking about, love?" James steps behind me and puts his arms around my waist, holding me tight.

With another soft sigh I lean into his embrace and close my eyes as I breathe in his scent. "About the year that's going to be over in a few hours" I explain. "And how it changed my life and me completely."

I feel him breath out and chuckling slightly. "So it did? Tell me more about it!"

I turn around and face him, looking deeply into his eyes. "Yeah, you know I started the year sober and with so many plans for my future until they were all crushed by... people. And well, when I thought that it couldn't get any better, when I was about to loose every ounce of hope, I met a guy being in the same situation. We fell in love without even realising it at first. Life was tough on us but we made it out of there with a little help from our friends and well... here we are. A soon-to-be bestselling author and a hopefully soon-to-be Grammy award winner." 

I see him smiling at me brightly. "Here we are. And you know what?"

I raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"The next year is going to be the best year of our lives." He says it with such a conviction that I believe him instantly.

"It is..." I reply and stand on the tip of my toes to connect our lips in a tender kiss.

Our moment is, however, interrupted by giggling and loud voices. As we part I see that Scott and Alex are back all dressed up to party. They had wanted to go out for dinner and then to the party down at the beach so we haven't been expecting them to be back so soon.

"Sorry, we didn't want to interrupt" Scott says with a grin on his face. "Were you about to... I mean we could leave."

James laughs heartily. "No we were talking and sharing a sweet kiss" he explains then, still holding me tight. "But what are the two of you doing here anyway?"

The other couple looks at each other for a moment before Alex speaks up. "We can't celebrate without the two of you. Not when the two of you are the people who had such an impact on us this year are missing out!"

"But you should be down at the beach, drinking and having fun" I protest.

"It's not as much fun without you, Mitchy" Scott says. "You know how we almost never spent New Years Eve apart from each other?"

I chuckle. "I know, I know..."

"So, if you want us to stay? We could order room service, have alcohol free cocktails" Alex starts.

"And chocolate?" I interrupt. Chocolate has been my main replacement for whenever I would usually have alcohol. Not too much, since I needed to keep in shape but hey, everyone needs a vice.

"And chocolate" Scott agrees, a huge smile on his face.

~

Three hours later we're having our own little party with music, drinks and everything. We are dancing around like silly children, having fun and everything. It really is the most amazing New Years Eve I've experienced in a long time although it's so simple.

When I'm just about to get another bottle of orange juice from the fridge inside of the apartment I see that Scott has followed me inside.

"Hey, Scotty, what can I do for you?"

"Just wanted to... I don't know, reminisce a little bit with you" he says a little bit shy.

I set down the bottle I got out of the fridge and go over to the huge sofa, patting the space beneath me. "Come here."

He sits down next to me and takes a deep breath.

"So... reminisce" I urge him on.

He chuckles softly. "You know how people always look back at the end of a year and try to capture all the little and big moments that have made it a special year?"

I nod. "Mmhm..."

"I was just thinking about it while we were at home for Christmas and you know the one moment that will forever remind me of this year?"

I raise an eyebrow at him. "No, but I think you're going to tell me!"

"The moment at LAX when you were suddenly there. I've waited for this one moment for so many months, years and then you were just there. Back home." His voice breaks at the end of the sentence and I see tears welling up in his eyes.

I smile at him and nod. "That was one of my moments as well" I agree and wipe a stray tear away, too. "This year has shown me what friendship really means. What love really means. I've come from the lowest low in my life to the highest high in a matter of months. And that's all thanks to you and Alex and James. Thank you will never be enough for what you did."

"I always told you that a simple thank you is enough. It's enough because the most important thing is that you're back and happy. You are happy, aren't you?"

I giggle at that. "Are you kidding me?" I look over to Alex and James who are dancing to some Taylor Swift tune. They're laughing and having fun. "I am happier than I've ever been before in my whole life" I state. "Now come, throw your noodle arms around me and let me hug you!"

We hug for a moment, just enjoying each other's proximity before he lets go of me. "We should probably go out again, midnight's only a few minutes away and although I love you dearly I want my New Year's kiss to be that hot guy out there."

I laugh heartily. "I doubt it. The hot one is mine" I sass.

He pulls me up with him and we make our way out to the roof garden again. Scott prepares four glasses of alcohol free champagne and hands them out as Alex turns down the music.

I look at my watch, three minutes left. "Before this year ends, I want to say something: I want to thank you all for being there when I needed you most. You truly are my best friends in every way possible. I feel so blessed to have you by my side and what shall I say, I love you! I am very sure that the next year is going to be our year." I fight with the tears again, but looking into the faces of my three closest friends I know that they're just as emotional as I am. 

A quick glance to my wrist again and I see that it's only twenty seconds. Then ten and we start the countdown. Then five, four, three, two, one.

"Happy New Year!" our glasses clink and we each take a sip before I hug first Alex and then Scott tightly, leaving the best for the end.

James pulls me into his arms and kisses me with all that he has. And as I return the kiss and hear fireworks go off in the background I know that this year is going to be my year. I'm going to live like I've never lived before. Although times might get rough I am ensured that nothing will go wrong because I am surrounded by love and friends.

I'm free.

~~~~~~~~~

A/N: So this is it. For real! I'm not going to say much, but I just want to thank you again for reading, commenting and voting. It is one thing to have a high read count which indicates that people did actively click on a story. It is, however (and I think that many authors are on my side with that) something else when people take some time to write a few words about a chapter that one has put time and effort into. Even if I see that the same people keep voting on every new chapter I know that my story means something to them.

So please: as a reader take some time to appreciate the work you're reading. I, too, don't always comment, sometimes simply because I don't have time or don't know what to say or I don't know. But if I read something I always hit the little star to show that I'm there and interested.

I hope you enjoyed being on this journey with me! I did, too and it's sad that it's ending, really is. Stay tuned for #GUTCH. The story will be called Five Days. It might take some time to get it out, since I want to plan it out but it will be there, eventually.