When former beauty pageant queen, Ellie Wilde, hears of her grandmother's sickness, she's the first to offer to drive her to her chemotherapy. What she didn't know she was agreeing to was an obnoxiously cheerful blond boy somehow nudging his way int...
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A heavy beat reverberates through Ellie's body as she sits squished in the backseat between Cooper and Brandon. She glances down at her lap to see her already-low hemmed dress riding up dangerously high. Pulling down at it proves to be useless as it just rides up again immediately after.
Just as she begins to curse herself for actually choosing to wear a dress tonight, a warm jacket is gently placed over her lap. Confused, she glances up to find Cooper smiling down at her.
Before she has a chance to thank him, the volume of the music lowers and Nate begins speaking from the driver's seat. "Almost forgot about our tradition!"
Brandon laughs from the backseat while Cooper groans. Ellie looks between the two awkwardly, waiting for someone to explain to her exactly what this tradition is. When no one does, she finally asks.
Brandon wraps his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side as a drunken-grin sits on his lips. "It's our New Year's Eve kissing tradition."
Even more confused by this information, she asks, "Okay? And what's that?"
This time Cooper speaks up. "On our way to the party, we have this dumb tradition—"
"You didn't think it was so dumb when you created it, Coop," Nate says with a smug smile, eyes glancing between the road and the rear-view mirror.
"Anyway," he says, obviously attempting to hold back an eye-roll. "We have to put the music on shuffle. Whatever letter the song that comes on starts with is the letter of the person you have to find and kiss at midnight."
"What?"
Brandon lets out an excited giggle. "So if the song starts with an 'S', then you need to find someone whose name starts with an 'S' to kiss at midnight. Simple really. Tell her about the forfeit."
"There's a forfeit?"
"You betcha," Brandon says with a wink, reaching to the ground to retrieve his brown paper bag before taking another sip of the illegal contents inside.
Cooper stares at Ellie warily before finally saying, "If you can't do it, you have to go skinny dipping in Lake Washington."
"Skinny dipping?" she asks wide-eyed. "In the lake? It's almost January. It's freezing!"
"That's why they call it a forfeit, honey," Brandon adds, a lazy grin tugging at his lips as he takes in her horrified expression.
Janie clears her throat from the passenger seat. "Nate and I are exempt because we will clearly be kissing each other at midnight."
"I would also like to pass," Ellie adds.
Brandon cackles loudly beside her. "No. That's not how it works, Ellie. If you're single, you participate."
"So," Nate says, "The three in the back need a song, Miss DJ."
Janie nods, turning back to shoot them all a smile before plugging her phone into the auxiliary chord. "Brandon you're first."
