Author's Note: Written on New Year's Eve, a couple of hours before the clock struck midnight. Happy holidays everyone!

New Year's Kiss

Somewhere, the ball drops; time stops. The world is frozen at 12:00, and my eyes are frozen on you.

Your face, your form – not flawless but perfect just the same. The room is full, but nothing but you is in focus.

I’m spending tonight exactly as I hope to spend the rest of the year – the rest of my life. With you.

In the frozen room, one thing moves. Your eyes are now directed not at the television set, but at me.

I can’t breathe. The sight of you alone is enough to force the air out of my lungs; the shock of our eyes meeting is terrible, wonderful. I can’t move, I can’t breathe, I can’t do anything but hold the contact for as long as you’ll let me, and I don’t want to do anything else, either.

You take a step. How you’re moving when the rest of the world is frozen stiff is beyond me, but then you’ve always been magic. I still can’t wrench my eyes away from you, so it’s a good thing that I don’t want to.

And another step. The world is no longer motionless, but I am. There are sounds now, people celebrating, welcoming in the new year; but you, still, are silent. Your only move is to walk, step by step, in the direction that I hope you know is towards me.

You put your arm around me, and a shiver goes up my spine. You lean down and give me a kiss, and my mind blanks out.

You pull away after I don’t know how long. “Happy New Year,” you say.

Already, it’s the best year of my life.