Delicate

Transatlanticism

Serenity moved the giant balloons around. "They're fine where they are," Kyle said as he set up the champagne bar. "Maybe I should take two of them by the door? You know, so when people come in it's like 'oh cool balloons'". He fills a decorative metal bucket with ice and shoves the bottle of champagne in there. "The balloons are giant. They'll be noticed either way," he says. "I'm putting two of them by the door and you tell me how it feels". She takes two of the balloons and moves them by the door. "So what do you want me to do?" he asks as he walks over. "Just come through the door and tell me if it's too much". Kyle shook his head as Serenity opened the door for him. She closed it as he stepped into the hallway.

He opened the door and walked through. "I kind of like the balloons at the entrance. You were right about that". She smiled smugly as she walked over to the table with the pop-up streamers. "My perfectionism is a gift sometimes," she chimes. The doorbell rings and Kyle presses the buzzer. "I guess they've started to arrive," he says as he leaves the door unlocked. It didn't take long for the Manning's to walk through the door. "I was not expecting the twins," Serenity said as she hugged Dani. "I know. These two decided to lie about where they were going with their friends tonight and because of that I didn't want to leave them home alone. So here they are," she said in an annoyed tone.

Serenity smiled at Drew and Alexa, who both looked like they would rather be somewhere else. "Either way it's nice to have you guys over. Please don't drink my alcohol. There's juice and water in the fridge if you two get thirsty". They nodded and said, "Cool," in unison before walking off. "Ok," Serenity clapped as she turned back to Craig and Dani. "We set up a champagne bar, we have pop-up streamers on that table, food on the counter, props for pictures. Like, it's a fucking New Years party. Let's have some fun".

Soon after, Leah and Karl arrived. Leah smiled as she hugged Serenity, but her aura was off. But instead of focusing on that, Serenity admired Leah's outfit. She was wearing a Free People color block sweater, dark wash skinny jeans , and Gucci trip leather ankle boots with crystal accents around the top of the boot. That's when Serenity noticed the state of her hair. Leah was very particular about her appearance whenever she left the house and how she was looking now was not up to standard. Her natural hair had been thrown into a messy bun, and she rarely wore either. 

After the hug, Leah went and poured herself a glass of water and sat on the couch, making casual conversation with Dani. Throughout the hour, more people arrived. Ibrahim and Angelique had come, some of Kyle's friends that were in town, and a couple of other young NBA players were there as well. By 11:15, the party was on. Champagne was flowing along with dark liquor that a few players had brought along with them. Serenity was taking it easy on the alcohol tonight since it was her party and she didn't want to do what she usually did. Plus, she was ringing in the New Year and didn't want to be drunk for that.

Serenity had her phone in her pocket as she was expecting a call from her family back home. They were in a different time zone so they would reach the New Year before her, but they had promised to call. People were snapping photos with the props and making themselves plates as they eagerly awaited for the countdown to begin. Kyle walked over to Serenity, who was at the dining room table eating some of the food they had catered from a local barbecue restaurant. He sat his plate on the table before he sat down and kissed her cheek. "Looks like everyone is having a good time," she says as she places her spoon back on her plate.

"You did a great job planning this. You really know how to make it fun," Kyle says before he eats a spoonful of coleslaw. "What can I say? I know what people like. Also, take note of how many people loved the balloons when they came in," Serenity pointed out. Kyle waved his hand as he finished chewing. "I get it. You were right about the balloons," he laughed. "I just really want to drive that point home," she chuckles. Serenity checks the time on her phone. "Oh everyone," she says to get the attention of the little crowd that had accumulated in their home.