Good Neighbors

As the night wore on, I was very distracted by my neighbor. Besides our earlier make out session, we just spent the rest of the party in a corner holding each other and chatting. One of the best things about finding someone who gets you is the kind of conversations you can have. It was as we were discussing the finer points of how to de-escalate situations that Aubrey came up. The first thing she did was hug my neighbor before hugging me. I was starting to get used to the separation being gone in situations like this.

"Wesley is fine. I can't believe that asshole..."

She started to cry before we pulled her between us and held her tightly. It was then that Wesley came forward.

"Boss, thank you for jumping in when you did. I thought I could take him. Apparently, I couldn't."

"You're good, Wesley. I'm just sorry I didn't get involved sooner. How did he get in anyway?"

"Apparently, he had someone's card. His card would have been deactivated and turned in when he left. Somehow, security didn't know he was a terminated employee. Then he came up here and approached Aubrey. I jumped in and got knocked down."

I reached out and shook his hand.

"It happens. Don't get on yourself. You were defending your girlfriend's honor."

Aubrey perked up and looked at me.

"God, that sounds like a romance novel."

We all shared a laugh before we started to head towards the elevator to go to Matt's office. His office was designed like my floor except he was the floor above me. I didn't mind that he took that floor only because he was the CEO. I always believed the boss should have the best office. All thirty of us were huddled together as we watched Matt stand on his assistant's desk with a glass raised up.

"Well, we made it through this hellish year. I want to thank each and every one of you for helping us beat our goals by a landslide. I want you to know my wife and I appreciate all the work you do. I also want to make an announcement. My wife is pregnant with our first child. "

We all started clapping before Matt looked at me smiling.

"Hey Leo, want to make an announcement also? This is your company also."

Everyone started cheering before my neighbor whispered in my ear how I had this. I walked up to the front and climbed on the desk as well. I cleared my throat before I scanned the room.

"Good evening. As everyone knows, this year stunk for me because I lost the love of my life. Thank you to everyone for being there for me as I dealt with my grief. I really want to thank the woman right there who was there for me the whole time even as we lost her husband as well."

I pointed towards my neighbor. She smiled, her eyes getting glossy. I kept going.

'Tonight, I asked her to let me become a bigger part of her life. She said yes. So, it looks like my buddy and I are both having big things coming up next year. Thank you everyone."

I climbed down and went back to my neighbor's side. She hugged me tightly as Matt kept talking. It was after that we all raised our glasses and toasted before we started to separate again. We had about fifteen minutes to the clock striking twelve. I looked at my neighbor.

"Where would you like me to kiss you, Amor?"

"Everywhere, Leo."

She smiled, then realized what I meant. I laughed as she made that oops face.

"Can we go back to the dance floor?"

"Of course. Did you want to use a hotel room tonight after the party or would you like to go back home?"

"I'll take the room. I like making love to you wherever I can, Master."

We started kissing each other slowly as the music started going slow. It was "Cruising Together" by Huey Lewis. As the song ended, Aubrey was on the microphone starting the final countdown from 15 before we yelled Happy New Year and my lips found my neighbor's again. It was a deep kiss. It was definitely one of the best kisses we had and definitely the best for the New Year thus far.

As we headed towards the elevator, I was enjoying the moment. The thought of spending the night in one of the rooms we reserved was appealing to me more and more as we stepped out of the elevator and was escorted across the street by Security. I already had the room key card in my pocket for afterwards. A quick elevator ride and we were on the top floor of the hotel. I found the executive room that Matt booked for us and pushed the keycard into the door.

I knew at that moment it was going to be a good night. She was with me. All felt perfect.