Until next time...

As I sat next to Jessica and Darlene at the make up counter of the department store, I couldn't help but consciously reflect on the past year. I'm a big believer that the calendar year doesn't need to change for one to make a "resolution" or try to better his or her life in some way, but I couldn't help but think about where I was this time last year. On New Year's Eve in 2013, I was getting ready for a night out with my friends at the same catering hall we planned on going this year. While I was physically doing the motions, my spirits were much lower. I was still getting over a break-up, after months of wallowing in sadness, and as much as I've moved on from that, I don't know that I'll ever completely be over it. Mike was my first love, after all.

I must have tried to shake away the memory, because as soon as I thought about this day last year, the counter person who was doing my make up told me to "please, hold still." Jessica had convinced Darlene and I to go with her to get our make up done for the night. I'm pretty terrible at doing my own make up, and since we each bought two items from the counter, they did our make up for free.

Anyway, I felt pretty accomplished when I considered everything from the past year. I had a semester left until I would have my Master's degree and I had acquired a decent amount of contacts and experience in my time at the University. I knew with my last semester approaching, I had to start searching for some jobs or PhD programs, but I was confident I would find something I enjoyed.

Of course, I also felt like I hit the jackpot meeting Scott. I thought back to the night we went out to watch the football game. I almost didn't go because I thought things would be weird with Moose. Can you imagine if I didn't go? And now, I was bringing Scott to New Year's Eve with my friends and Moose was bringing Beth. I saw on Facebook that they were officially dating now and I was excited to learn more about her.

That night, I asked Scott to stop by my house for a drink before we went out. My parents were still eager to meet him and I was eager to introduce him! It was a pretty boring exchange, but good boring. Him and my dad talked about remote control helicopters, because apparently Scott is really into them?

My parents drove us to the catering hall before heading to a party themselves. Scott was wearing a pinstripe shirt with a gray jacket and tie. I was wearing a dark blue dress I ordered from Express with plain black pumps.

Most of my friends were already there when we walked in. We made our way around the two tables and I introduced Scott to the few people who hadn't met him. Anna and Martin walked in a few minutes later. "I think Martin wants to stay in a room next door," Anna whispered to me after saying hello. The catering hall had a hotel next door. "He's going to ask Scott to split it so I wanted to give you the heads up."

I smiled at her. "Sounds like fun! We can all go to the diner in the morning."

We indulged in appetizers and drinks for the first couple of hours before dancing became our main focus. The DJ was playing some older music, which might have been because of the older crowd in our room, but we enjoyed ourselves. I noticed Beth getting particularly giggly and stumbling a bit, but she didn't seem over the top.

They served steak and shrimp for dinner, so I was in heaven as I cleaned my plate. "You worked up an appetite with all that dancing, huh?" Scott teased me. I smiled and nodded at him. He kissed me on the forehead before whispering in my ear. "Watching you makes me want to rip off that dress right here and screw you on the table."

I tried to hide the fact that I was definitely blushing as I rested my face against his shoulder. "I'm so happy you're here with me," I finally whispered back.

Everyone continued enjoying themselves for the remainder of the evening. I couldn't believe how amazing the night had been and everyone else seemed to be just as happy as I was. A few of the guys and their girlfriends were saying their goodbyes when I spotted Moose looking frustrated. Before I could figure out what was wrong, I felt a bump from behind me.

I turned around, glad that my wine glass was almost empty, to see Beth searching under the table. "Oh, I'm sorry," she practically shouted at me. "I lost my new iPhone." She stood up, shrugged, and walked over to Moose.

I was still confused when Jessica walked up to me. "What was that about?"

I laughed. "I don't even know," I responded. "She lost her iPhone 6?"

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. I heard Moose complaining about how drunk she is. Don't worry, though. She's rich and a total daddy's girl. Her dad will just buy her a new one."

I looked over at Moose, who was walking out of the room with his hand on Beth's lower back. Moose always criticized so called "spoiled brats." I let out a sigh as I wondered how long him and Beth would last.

Scott returned to my side and asked if I was ready to head next door. I nodded and we all made our way over. As soon as we got to the room, I got under the covers, slipped off my dress, and cuddled up next to Scott.

The new year was here and for once, I didn't want to change anything.