Theyāre in bed when midnight arrives, though not asleep. Thatās not accidental or anything, ā Robbieās honestly past ready for bed and he frankly feels stupid about keeping Georgie awake, talking about the most asinine shit as he runs down the clock, but something in him just wants ā he knows itās not only superstitious, but corny as hell, that idea that the first person you kiss at midnight being the one you spend the rest of the year with, but also ā he likes that thought. Heās waiting up for it. Heās making poor perpetually sleep-deprived Georgie wait up for it, and he isnāt telling him why, because itās cheesy as fuck.
Except then he does, and Georgieās face lights up like a little kid. Like ā Robbie swears to God Tessa is the spitting image of him, but right then he looks more like her, so fucking pumped to learn a new handshake, like sheād never heard of anything more exciting, and itās Georgie at this superstitious, ridiculous little ā
Fuck, Robbieās lost track of time.
ā11:59,ā Georgie tells him when he goes to check his phone. āOh,ā Robbie says. āI see youāve got it covered then.ā
āYeah, babe,ā Georgie says, āIāve got you.ā
āYeah,ā Robbie says, takes a sip of his beer, and that Georgie does mirror. āI donāt know what the fuck to say right now.ā
āGuess we should have just left it at āHappy New Yearā,ā Georgie says.
āGuess so,ā Robbie says. āSo, you know. Happy New Year, Dineen.ā
āYou too, Lombardi,ā Georgie says, and when Robbie takes another sip he does the same, and when he walks away Georgie doesnāt follow.