Chapter 109. New Year Eve

As the clock ticked toward midnight on New Year’s Eve, I, Diana, felt a thrill buzzing through me like the champagne bubbles in my glass. We’d rented this cozy cabin in the mountains with our friends, Mark and Lisa, to escape the chaos of the city parties. My boyfriend, Alex, looked so damn handsome in his fitted black shirt, sleeves rolled up to show off those forearms I loved gripping during our more intense moments. Mark and Lisa were equally wrapped up in each other—her in a sparkling red dress that hugged her curves, him in jeans that did nothing to hide how much he appreciated it. We’d been friends for years, the kind who shared everything from vacations to inside jokes, but tonight felt different. Electric. We all wanted to start the new year with a bang—literally.

The fire crackled in the hearth, casting warm glows across the wooden floors and plush rugs. We’d popped open a bottle of bubbly early, toasting to resolutions we half-meant to keep. “To new adventures,” Alex