"I am Dominic, King of the Jungle!" Dom bellows as he stands on the coffee table. "All bow down to my greatness!"
"Never!" Lij yells from across the living room.
"Ah, but I have a secret weapon! Meet my sidekick, the H-Man!" Dom pulls a giggling Henry up onto the table with him. "He is endowed with the amazing ability to burp on command!"
"Um, I think the table is about to fall over," Billy points out. Sure enough, when Henry shifts his weight, the table topples to the floor with a resounding crash and Dom and Henry find themselves on the floor. "Told you," Billy laughs as the mischief-makers stand up, embarrassed but unharmed.
It's only a few minutes before midnight, and the small New Year's Eve party that Viggo has put together has been nothing if not entertaining. Three of the four hobbits are here, along with Henry and a few of Viggo's friends. Dom and Billy also brought dates -- two very nice girls who they met at a supermarket earlier today and decided to invite to the party. Billy has his arm securely around the waist of the redhead Chris, while Dom's date Mia, a gray-eyed blonde, is laughing at the antics.
After helping to get the coffee table right-side-up again, Viggo goes into the kitchen and I follow him on the pretense of refilling an empty bowl of crisps. I grin upon finding him standing in front of the open refrigerator with a look of confusion on his face, and I slip my arms around him from behind. "What's this?" I purr. "A ranger caught off his guard?"
He laughs and leans back into the embrace. "You really need to stop quoting the movie every five minutes, love."
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for the champagne. It's almost midnight, and I can't find it."
"That's because I hid it behind the orange juice." I step in front of him and rearrange the refrigerator contents until I pull out the bottle of champagne. "I figured that otherwise some hobbits might drink it prematurely."
"Good thinking." Viggo flashes me a toe-curling grin and kisses me on the nose. "Just so you know, I'm not going to give you your *real* New Year's kiss until later.
"And why is that?" I know the answer, but I still want to hear it.
"Because after the kiss on your mouth, I'm placing kisses on everywhere I can," he tells me in his most seductive voice. "And I'm only doing that when we're safely alone."
"Hey, touchy and feely," Billy addresses us, poking his head into the kitchen. "It's time."
Viggo grabs the champagne and I quickly put more crisps in the bowl before we head back out into the living room. All eyes are focused on the ball dropping in Times Square on the telly, even though it's on tape delay; we all chant the countdown and then cheer, "Happy New Year!" As Viggo pops the cork on the champagne, everyone starts hugging. Dom and Billy kiss their dates, who look surprised but not exactly upset.
"Happy New Year, prissy elf," Henry says when he hugs me.
"Rotten kid," I tease affectionately, pretending to groan in pain when he mock-punches my shoulder.
The next hug I get is from Viggo, who holds me close and kisses my cheek. "Don't forget your real kiss is coming later," he whispers in my ear.
"I can't wait," I say quietly, giving him a quick wink.
*****
Hours later, after Viggo has placed New Year's kisses on every inch of my body, we lie in a tangle of rumpled sheets and warm limbs. I lie contentedly with my head on his chest, listening to the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat and shivering as his hands tickle my lower back with feather-light touches.
"Vig?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you know what your resolution is for 2002?"
"I guess to give you and Henry as much love and support as I can. When it comes down to it, I'll be fine as long as I have the two of you," he muses, his fingers running through my hair. "What's your resolution?"
"To learn from my mistakes and not to do anything that could jeopardize what we have together. I'm never going to let what happened to us last year ever happen again."
Viggo pulls me up for a long kiss and wraps his arms around me; when we finally break away, his thumb gently strokes my cheek. "You don't have to worry, love -- we're never going to fall apart again. Its a new year, a new start, and we have the chance to take what we had before and make it even better."
"I'm not sure anything could be much better than this," I whisper, nuzzling my nose against his. "I love you so much, Viggo."
"I love you too, Orlando. More than I could ever say." He draws me closer and I kiss him tenderly, hoping the gesture will convey the feelings I have for this utterly wonderful man. "Happy New Year, love."
"Happy New Year, Vig."
Viggo's right -- it's a new year and a new start for us. Last
year is over and done with; the mistakes have been atoned for and the wounds
have been mended. It's time to move forward and greet a new year,
facing the challenges and embracing the opportunities that accompany it.
We're ready for whatever comes our way because we're stronger than ever.
Because we have each other.
