Stuck On You

December 31, 2014

“Ten! Nine! Eight!” The crowd chanted with anticipation. “Seven! Six! Five!”

A smile is plastered to my face, though it doesn’t reach my eyes. All I’m up to my eyes in is alcohol. Bottle after bottle has appeared before me, without knowledge of how they got there. After a while, I gave up trying to figure it out.

“Hey, can I sit with you?”

I look up to see some guy, tanned, dark hair and eyes. He’s definitely attractive. Mikey is off in one of the crowds so I don’t see why not.

“One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The crowd screamed with howls.

I even threw out a few short cheers, nothing that really contributed to the mass. I nod to the guy, who sits down next to me in the booth.

Looking around, there are multiple people kissing. I never got the idea. Sure, start the year out by kissing someone, but you’re all mostly drunk and it’s just a stupid tradition, it doesn’t mean anything. Yet, I wanted one too.

The guy that had sat down was relatively close to me. Leaning over, I place a palm on his cheek and turn his head towards mine. I place a kiss on his cheek, just a cheeky little action. He is surprised, but grins as I pull back.

He says something, but I can’t hear him. I lean forward and he shouts in my ear “I planned on at least buying you a drink first.”

“Trust me,” I shook my head. “I’ve had more than enough.”

He smiles and nods. “I’m Calum.”

“Anna,” I nod in return.

He seemed nice. He wasn’t all over me and was polite as far as I could tell. I wanted to spend more time with him. I wanted to get to know him.

We sat around silently for a few minutes. This is the majority of what I’ve been doing, sitting here alone. I have caught glimpses of Mikey in the crowds. There is one specific girl that seems to be grinding on him, but he doesn’t seem to be interested.

“You don’t enjoy clubs much, do you?” I yell over to Calum.

I had seen him standing around with a beer, talking to a few people. They left him though, off to go and dance. He had caught my attention because he was doing exactly what I was doing, sitting in a bar alone and drinking away our loneliness.

He shook his head. “Not really. I’m not a huge partier.”

There is more silence, and for whatever reason I convince myself to fill it.

“Hey, Calum,” I leaned over so he could hear me better. “Do you think you might want to get out of here?”

I hadn’t meant it to be seductive or sexual in any way. The sound was bursting my eardrums and I was tired of having to scream.

“Yeah sure”

We both stumble out of the booth, me more than him. He puts an arm around my waist to keep me up. We walk out of the dense party and out into the street. Automatically, the air seems different, as if time had already shaped it.

With his hand still around my waist, Calum hails a cab. One drives up automatically, something I could never get to happen. I climb in first, spelling out the name of my apartment complex for the driver.

“If you puke in the cab you have to pay for it,” He mutters as he drives off, barely allowing Calum to shut his door. “And no sex in the backseat.”

Calum turns a light shade of pink at this whereas I am not amused. The cab ride is silent with neither Cal nor I trying to make a move.

It only took a few turns around the block to get there. Michael and I had originally walked. I wonder if Michael would notice I left.