To Catch Prince Charming

Jessalyn announced she was sneaking out of the party to meet up with her kind-of boyfriend when her parents weren’t looking so they would be able to share a midnight kiss to lead them into the New Year with a good start. Trey and Karlee were obviously planning on it as well because they told me they were leaving me close to twelve for some time alone. Then there was Daniel and Brittany; her arms were hooked around his neck for another good half an hour of dancing and every time I looked over, she’d have her claws dug into him like he was some sort of prized possession.

It wasn’t until quarter to twelve that I began to feel really lonely. My only company was Kendall because my brother had snuck off for a casual hook-up with one of my mom’s boss’ daughters in the bathroom. I understood that brother’s and sister’s were supposed to share but truth be told, Brody didn’t seem all too clear on the rules and boundaries. That was crossing a line.

Kendall and I were sitting outside in the lobby on these square-shaped, black leather chairs while he went on and on about how dangerous ski lifts were and why he would never even consider a winter sport that involved hills or big jumps, or going down steep slopes at a high speed with no guarantee of stopping.

“Imagine if you turned your skis to the side to slow yourself down but you just bashed into a tree instead,” he visualized, being hit with a sudden shiver and shaking his head. “Have you ever gone skiing before? If you’re considering it, you should really take up a safer sport . . . like golf.”

“I haven’t,” I assured him, putting my chin in my hand and letting out a deep sigh of frustration. “But that is a fascinating idea, Kendall. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Did you know that eighteen percent of all deaths are caused yearly by skiing accidents?”

I cocked a brow, doubtful of his fact. “That’s smoking, Kendall.”

He paused. “Oh.”

“Roxanne,” Karlee said, walking up to me and putting her hand on the back of the chair. “Can you come with me for a second?”

“Yes please,” I said desperately, jumping out of my seat and leaving Kendall there by himself, muttering something about summer sports involving the water. Needless to say, it was no surprise that he was large and in charge because he was afraid of virtually everything around him. “What’s up? You interrupted my lovely and very interesting conversation with the nervous kid.”

She smiled. “Are you kissing anyone at midnight?”

“No one to kiss,” I replied with a shrug, but my voice screamed “bitch” at Brittany, who was now sitting beside Daniel at one of the tables as she purposely tried to shove the slit on the side of her dress to the front, where she could show off her killer body. She was smiling at him, but he was shifting with discomfort and every time she tried to touch his hand or his arm, he’d move it away or reallocate to a different chair. I would have laughed if she hadn’t followed him, but she was glued to his side and would most likely remain there for the rest of the night.

Karlee followed my eyes to where they were sitting. “Kiss him,” she said, giving me a punch in the shoulder for encouragement. “He likes you, right? Why wouldn’t he want to kiss you?”

“Brody is everywhere,” I replied.

“Not right now. He’s with some chick in the girl’s bathroom. I went to go wash my hands after some old guy spilled his wine on me and saw him there.” She shuddered. “His hands should not be that far up her dress.”

“Hey!” I exclaimed, covering my ears. “That’s my brother!”

She laughed. “Look, if you kiss him, I’ll distract her.”

“I’ll help,” Trey said, coming up behind Karlee and wrapping his arms around her waist. “No one should have to see the guy they like kissing someone else.” Karlee cleared her throat loudly and he grinned at her. “Oh, come on. You know you’ve liked me all along. You just didn’t want to admit it.”

“That may be so but—”

“Guys?” I waved my hands in the air. “I don’t mean to interrupt this love fest, but I would really like to at least tell Daniel I like him before New Year’s Day comes. I want a fresh start to the year. I don’t want another girl to be pawing after the guy I should be with. I don’t even have to kiss him; I just want to get this three-year weight off my chest.”

Karlee nodded. “Got it.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s almost midnight. Leave it to us.”

She and Trey walked around me and over to Brittany and Daniel. I grabbed the glass of ginger ale that my dad was just about to drink right from his hands and swallowed it in one fluid motion. He didn’t care though; he was too drunk to pay attention and my mom was having a giggle fit because someone said the word “cockpit”. She was just as intoxicated as my dad was, but probably a bit worse. I looked back at my two saviors—Karlee dragging an enraged Brittany to the bathroom to fix the apparent “enlarged mole” on her cheek, even though she didn’t have any sized mole on her face, while Trey had already disappeared somewhere with Daniel so I had no idea where to look.

I took a deep breath and smoothed out my dress, taking a quick look in the mirror behind the bartender. When he looked at me, annoyed I just smiled and scurried off, suddenly bumping into Trey’s chest.

“Lover boy is waiting for you on the deck,” he said and winked. “Go get him.”

“Thank you Trey,” I said. He nodded and put his hands on my shoulders, giving me a very forceful shove to the doors. When I got there, I opened them and was once again pelted in the face by the chilly air but I heated right back up again when I saw Daniel, still just as striking in his tux as he did when we got to the resort. My decent appearance had definitely faltered in four hours, with hair becoming less straight and much more frizzy than anything, the lipstick wearing off and my knees weak from the pain and pressure my shoes were creating but Daniel still looked perfect.

He turned around and smiled at me, leaning back against the banister with his hands in his pockets. “Hey.”

“Hi.” I cleared my throat. “How was your time with Brittany?”

His face dropped, a scowl suddenly appearing. “Unpleasant,” he said. “Are you cold?”

“A little, but I’ll be fine.”

He peeled off his jacket and came over, slipping it over my shoulders. I could have died happily there, but I knew that I would never rest peacefully unless I told him my feelings.

“Thanks.” I folded my arms over my chest and sucked in a deep breath. “Daniel, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now.” When he didn’t say anything, I went on. “You remember when we met right?” He nodded. “I actually had a major crush on you back then.”

His lip twitched. “You did?”

“Yeah, but I figured you just thought of me as Brody’s annoying little sister so I just ignored it. But then every time we saw each other, I started to like you more and more. And I kind of used Dalton as some sort of diversion therapy so I wouldn’t think about you as much, and as bad as it was, when I found out Josh was hooking up with my best friend I wasn’t even that upset; I was actually relived.” I bit my lip. “I understand that you’re older than me and Brody would probably kill both of us if anything ever happened but I just needed you to know that because I’ve kept it inside for too long and it’s been pretty much killing me.”

He laughed. “I never thought you to be annoying. You’ve always been the coolest girl I know. I mean, who else laughs at my jokes and actually suggests the idea of playing video games when we have nothing else to do?” He took a step closer. “I’ve always liked seeing you at these kinds of events. Don’t tell your brother this, but I enjoy hanging out with you more than him.”

I smirked. “He’d kill me if he knew that.”

“Of course he would.” He was right in front of me now, reaching out and taking my hand while the other went up and into my hair, pushing it back. My heart stopped beating for a minute. “I don’t care that you’re sixteen and I’m nineteen. Your brother can’t really judge, after all; he’s hooking up with someone who’s your age. Fact is, I like you and age is just a number.”

I smiled. “So you don’t think I’m immature or uncool because I’m still a high school student?”

He shook his head. “I told you before, I’m interested in you. I probably can’t express how much right now because, as you’ve seen, I’m not good at forming sentences. I didn’t even know what was coming out of my mouth half the time we were hanging out last summer because you made me so nervous.”

I held back the urge to laugh. “I made you nervous? But you’re Daniel!”

“That’s the thing, though; with you, I don’t really care about anything because I’m too focused on being with you to pay attention to anything else.” He pulled back and looked at his watch. “Fifteen seconds to midnight,” he said. “Do you—”

“Have someone to kiss?” I shook my head. “Not at the moment, but in fifteen seconds, I might.”

“Ten!” People screamed from inside, starting their countdown.

“What happened with you and Brittany?” I asked.

“She and I dated once, but like Dalton was for you, she was for me.” Daniel shrugged. “It was during the summer and since then, she’s never left me alone. Apparently what saying ‘hi’ really means is ‘I love you. Get back with me’.”

“Five!”

“So you don’t still have feelings for her?”

“Not even a little bit.”

“Two!”

I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him to me, slamming my lips onto his. I’d leave the last year kissing him, and start the new one doing the same thing. I didn’t need to hear “one” or the excited cheering of the people celebrating because I wasn’t listening and I didn’t care what the time was or who was watching because kissing Daniel was the only thing I had been looking forward to for the last three years, and now that it was happening, it was worth the wait. Now I knew why Karlee was so happy with Trey. They were perfect for each other and from the looks of things with Daniel, we were perfect for each other as well. I owed my parents a huge thank you.

It was like catching Prince Charming, really; they’re hard to find but once you do, they’re everything you could ever dream of and the only thing you should ever ask for.