New Year's Party

2010 was drawing to a close, which meant only one thing to Josh: Celebrations.

The past year had certainly been exciting enough, what with moving from his home city for the first time and attempting to learn how to drive (he would have to ask Sean to resume those lessons sometime in the next year) and a reminder of his own frailty. It also included a number of new friends, however, and friends was the reason they were now heading to Riley Adams' apartment, Sean's van heading up a two car caravan. Behind them followed Ben, whose car contained what had to be half the invitees, considering he was bringing not only Leila and Cobalt but also his roommate, Yulia. Josh had only met Yulia for the first time when they had pulled up at Ben's in order to show them the way to Riley's; she seemed very nice, though he sometimes had difficulty understanding her. She had a fairly fluent grasp of English as far as vocabulary but sometimes her syntax was a bit odd. He'd heard that Anya was invited, as well, and he assumed she and Yulia would both be thrilled to have someone from their home country to talk to.

It didn't take the group long before they had pulled to a stop in front of Riley's complex and were up the stairs (Josh took them rather cautiously, wary of patches of ice) and knocking on the door. Even from the doorstep the delicious smells wafting from Riley's kitchen made the lawyer salivate.

"Riley!" He greeted the landscaper with an enthusiastic handshake as soon as the door was opened, "Nice of you to have us over. It smells divine." He unbundled his coat and hung it across the coat rack by the door, reveling in the warmth of the small apartment. "My mother sends her regrets. She couldn't make it tonight...." She had planned on attending and had therefore RSVPed, but his father hadn't been doing well and she didn't want to leave him.

"And Janice! I didn't know you were a friend of Riley's!" He greeted his coworker, quite surprised to see her outside of work. He had very little conversation with the other lawyer outside of work related topics and hadn't realized she, too, was friends with the landscape artist.

Leila's car was still in Texas, and her bike had gone mysteriously missing after the Pilot Ridge Holiday Bash, which left her with very few options for getting to Riley's New Year's party. First option: Walk. Which was basically out, since the snow was almost as high as her knees. Second option: Fly. Also basically out, since it would probably end up causing major damage to the town and to her. Not to mention it was really cold. So she was left with the third option: Catching a ride.

And since Cobalt was going, well, she'd just go with him. No problem. And even better, she'd just go to work, then go with him to his house, then go to the party with him afterward. This had the added benefit of her being able to make sure he looked presentable and that he hadn't gotten his house too incredibly disgusting since she had last been there.

Wonder of wonders, his house was slightly clean. Leila cleared a few boxes of Chinese takeout off the kitchen table and glanced in the fridge. Nothing. This was all just as well, since she had a bowl of Jell-o that should sit in the fridge until the party. She headed into the living room, planning on sitting on the couch and reading her book until it was time to go.

There was something sticking out from under the edge of the couch. She sighed and shook her head, leaning down to clean up after her boss. Again.

"Geez, Blue," she muttered to herself. "Can't you ever just put your stuff...away..."

She stopped and stared at the two paperback books she held in her hands. Get Closer: A Gay Man’s Guide to Intimacy and Relationships and The Joy of Gay Sex. She sat there for several minutes staring open-mouthed as a few final pieces clicked into place.

"Is it a joke?" she murmured. "Except...but it almost makes sense..." She rubbed her head. "I need an aspirin." As she dug in her purse for a pill, she wondered what to do about her discovery. In the end, she decided just to ask Cobalt about it.

So, as they were ready to leave, Leila held up the two books. "Are these yours, Blue? Because really, you should take better care of your stuff." And she gave him a look which she hoped would imply that she would see into his *soul* and therefore any attempt to lie would be instantly seen through. In truth, she was confused. Really confused. Rejoicing at the chance to needle Blue with something else. Wondering if there was something she should be doing, someone she should be talking to about this. For the time being, she decided to wait and let him tell her what was up on his own terms. Just so long as he actually told her eventually.

But that would have to wait, since their ride was there. So Leila grabbed her bowl of Jell-o from the fridge, left the books on the kitchen table, and went out to the car. As she got into the backseat, she said hello to the new people, friends of Cobalt whom she hadn't met yet.

"Hello, I'm Blue's partner, Leila," she said before he could introduce her. "Nice to meet you."

Janice laughed at Riley's account of what happened at the center that day as they washed the dishes together. "I could have sworn Miss Kristofferson was going to literally lose her teeth!" He chuckled before placing the plate on the drying rack.

The doorbell rang and Riley perked up. "They're here!" He grinned at his little sister who stifled a giggle at how excited her brother was. She followed him wordlessly to the door only to find her bespectacled boss [partner] and looked at him with a pleasant surprise. "Josh!"

Riley grinned at Josh's enthusiastic handshake and smiled at the rest of the group. Four faces he recognised and two he didn't. Well, except for... "Hey, Ben...right?" He asked, uncertain. He was about to greet Sean when Janice and Josh called out each other's names. "You two know each other?" Riley asked with a pleasant smile. He nodded in understanding with Josh explained his mother's absence. "It's no problem."

Janice nodded and scooped Josh into a hug. "He's my boss!" Janice announced before ushering everyone into the house. Riley's face turned into one of understanding and the smile widened. "Oh!" He laughed slightly at the fortuitous coincidence. "Hey Sean. Thank you so much." He beamed at the older man when he handed him the bottle of champagne and a plate of cookies. Champagne wasn't too bad, Riley tried to reason. Janice looked at her brother and rolled her eyes in understanding.

It was pretty standard of her brother to be such a prude when it came to drinking [among other things] and because she was a social drinker herself, Janice had been careful not to show it around her brother. One other thing her brother was unaware of was her smoking habit she picked up a little after her third semester in Yale. She found a smoking buddy in Josh and reveled in having that big a secret hidden from her brother.

She didn't like keeping secrets from her brother but having that knowing gaze mixed in with disappointment turned on her was a little bit too much, even for a tough cookie like her.

Riley closed the door behind the last person in, noting that Leila was there as well. "Hey Leila." He smiled warmly. They weren't closely acquainted but the girl had this air [no pun intended] about her that just made Riley feel like hugging her and giving her piggy back rides. Not to say he saw her as a kid, far from it. She was just a little on the lovable side.

At Ben's compliment, Riley actually cut back on the blushing and took more pride in his spread. It did look pretty good. "Thanks, Ben. Appreciate it. Why don't you help yourself?"

Riley then went around being the gracious host, thanking everybody for coming.

Clarisse peeked at the address outside of what she assumed was Riley’s home. She turned to Jacob and smiled. “This is it!” She chirped excitedly. She hadn’t had much chance to talk or socialize with Riley since the disastrous poker night, but she was glad for the chance. Frankly she was glad anyone still talked after the fiasco…which she had not mentioned to Jake. She prayed it didn’t come up at all.

With a bottle of champagne clasped in her gloved fingers as best she could handle it, Clarisse knocked on the door to the home. It was unlocked. After waiting a polite amount of time she let herself in. Peeking in the door, she blinked in the sudden warm light. “Hello?” She called merrily, waving to the several people that she recognized before gingerly stepping in the door.

Riley clapped a hand on Cobalt's shoulder and gave him a warm smile. They may have met under the weirdest of circumstances but at least they had that lunch to get over the weirdness. And Cobalt was pleasant. Enough said.

The soda was met with a chuckle on Riley's part and he grabbed the bottles to put at the table. "Hush you," he chided Cobalt playfully before turning to the door at the new arrivals. A smile spread across his lips to see the delicately framed Clarisse with her guest at the door. "Come on in," Riley went to the door and opened it wider to accommodate his guest.

The man with Clarisse was vaguely familiar until he remembered that he had seen him at the Christmas bash. "I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Riley." He extended his hand to the other man. If what he saw from the bash was anything to go by, Clarisse and her guest would probably put the stroke of midnight to good use.

He closed the door and noted three absentees, minus Charlie whose absence Riley pardoned . Stephen was running a little late for some reason and Elaine and Anya have yet to make an appearance. And just as that thought crossed his mind, the door was knocked again and he answered with an excited smile as he saw that it was Elaine.

They didn't speak much at the flower shop but Cobalt spoke so highly of her the last time they met so Riley had to extend the invitation to her. And she did help push Riley and Stephen together so Riley was pretty grateful for that. So it was with excitement that the tall man greeted the young woman.

He detected something off with Elaine. He wasn't sure what and he wasn't going to ask so he just pressed his cheek on to hers and squeezed her arms. "Thank you so much for coming, Elaine. So sorry for the late notice though. May I?" Riley asked as he cast his gaze on her coat.

Clarisse opened her mouth to introduce Dalton, but she was too slow. She closed it and smiled knowingly. Both Riley and Jake were too polite to go very long without introducing each other: Riley too polite to go unknown to a guest, Jake too polite to go unknown to a host. How sweet. She swept the room and recognized the majority of poker night’s guests, smiled graciously to everyone she recognized and turned discreetly to remove her coat.

The introductions were done before she could take care of it herself, and Dalton extended his arm. Clarisse laughed quietly and nodded. “Yes, thank you Jake.” She said setting down the wine and slipping out of the warm garment with his help, letting him take it away. She picked up Jake’s bag and hurried them into the kitchen, returning to her previous place before Jake returned from putting the coats away. “I put the drinks away in the kitchen.” She informed him, smoothing her hand over her royal blue dress. “That way if anyone wants them, they can find them.”

Clarisse tilted her head, looking over her shoulder for Riley. “Riley!” She called fondly, reaching out to him for a friendly hug. “Thank you so much for having us. Is there anything I can do to help?” Clarisse offered out of habit, knowing full well she’d be turned down. Perhaps it was the ritual of asking and being denied that made it a real party. Who knows. But the words popped out without a second thought.

Yulia did not understand why she was not allowed to drive the car. She knew how to drive, she just didn’t have her American license. Plus the whole reason she was going to this party was that so she could be the designated driver. Wasn’t she the one designated to drive? In order to do that she needed the keys.

She understood quickly enough that she was coming and she was not going to drive. She didn’t really pout over it, there was no point. Instead Yulia slid into the back seat, otherwise she might have snatched the keys right out of the ignition.

Yulia did peer out of the car window with interest as Leila and Cobalt approached and climbed in. Yulia was quiet, very conscious of her slightly shaky English. All the same she smiled at Leila’s general introduction and nodded when Cobalt spoke. “Yes, yes, Cobalt, this I have heard. Nice to meet you both.” She thought for a moment, trying to decide if she had said that right. She decided that was close enough.

Yulia found that once they parked there were more greetings to be made. She was glad that such things were easy enough to repeat over and over again. She simply had to smile and add another nice to meet you to each person who introduced themselves. Frankly it was kind of nice to meet all of them, even if she wasn’t sure she would be able to remember the names. She went over a few in her head. Cobalt, Leila, Josh, and this was Riley’s party, okay.

Yulia felt as if she had a good grasp on things now. She could do this, it was going to be fun. She hoped so at the least. At the same time she kind of wanted to stay outside and have a smoke before she went in. However she had found that people tended to wrinkle their noses when she did that and then went back inside. Clearly the smoking population here was far smaller.

Yulia surpassed the urge and Followed Ben inside, sticking around him in a sense. She didn’t hover, just kept within an orbit. She glanced around, unsure whether her grasp of English was good enough for her to initiate any sort of conversation.