Page 124 of A Solid Guide to Surviving a Situationship

“Five! Four⁠—”

Another pair already kissing—too early, too eager.

I smiled faintly. Not because I had someone, but because I knew that I’d be okay.

“Three! Two!”

I swallowed.

“One!”

The sky exploded.

Fireworks burst overhead—gold, red, white—alighting the night into something magical.

The crowd cheered.

“Happy New Year!”

And everywhere I looked, lips met, hands pulled bodies closer, eyes closed like the moment mattered.

And for a second, everything slowed. The sound dulled. It felt as though someone had turned the volume down on the entire world.

There’s something about being a yearner in moments like this—like you showed up with a heart too open and nowhere to put it.

But I… I just stood there.

Steady.

Grounded.

Enough.

Because maybe this year didn’t need to start with someone else.

Maybe being on my own was already kind of a beginning.

And by then, I knew that I was going to be okay…

…But then, all of the sudden, something shifted.

Not in the crowd.

Not the year that had just turned itself new.

In me.

My eyes moved instinctively, catching on something they were familiar with.

The crowd parted dramatically, moving all at once—slow enough, like a curtain being pulled back by invisible strings…

And revealed was someone’s back.

Familiar.

Too familiar.

My breath caught.