An Engaging New Year by Michael Bracken

An Engaging New Year

By Michael Bracken

As the grandfather clock in the entry hall clock struck the first of twelve chimes, a handsome, dark-haired man I hadn’t seen at the party before that moment pulled me into his arms and kissed me. He kissed me long, and deep, and hard, and his kiss didn’t end until the sound of the twelfth chime had faded into memory. By the time he released me, my legs were rubber and I could barely breathe.

I pressed one hand against the wall to steady myself and gasped, “Do I know you?”

He smiled. “Not yet.”

“Do I want to know you?”

“I hope so.”

“Do you make it habit of kissing strangers?”

“No,” he said, “but if they were all as pretty as you I might.”

I felt my cheeks warm and I’m certain I blushed.

“Carly!”

I turned to see who had called my name.

My younger sister Alexis threaded her way through the other New Year’s Eve revelers and stopped beside me. “So who’s your handsome friend?”

“Tucker,” said the man who’d kissed me. He held out his hand and she took it.

“This is my sister, Alexis,” I explained.

Alexis looked over at me. “So why haven’t you introduced us before now?”

Before I could respond, Tucker said, “I wouldn’t let her.”

Alexis returned her attention to Tucker. “And why’s that?”

“Because I wanted her to be certain I was ‘the one’ before she introduced me to her family.”

“And are you?”

Tucker looked at me. He raised one eyebrow. “Am I?”

I finally had my breathing under control and the warmth had left my cheeks. “I still haven’t decided.”

“Well,” Tucker told Alexis, “there you go.”

He released her hand and turned to me. “Sounds like the band has started back up. Shall we?”

Tucker hooked his arm in mine and led me through the house. In the backyard a jazz combo was halfway through its first number following a twenty-minute break. Tucker pulled me into his arms as we stepped onto the patio, where we joined half a dozen other couples that were already dancing.

“You’re quite smooth,” I told him.

“How’s that?”

“With my sister,” I said, “making her think we’ve been dating for a long time.”

“But we’ve been an item all year, haven’t we?”

“All year” had barely crossed the twenty minute mark, but I had to admit they’d been twenty enjoyable minutes. When I smiled up at Tucker, he smiled back and pulled me a little closer.

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Michael Bracken is the author of eleven books and more than 1,100 shorter works published worldwide. Although best known for writing crime fiction, Michael has published work in many genres.

His short story “All My Yesterdays” received a Derringer Award, his short story “Cuts Like A Knife” was short-listed for a Derringer Award, his short story “Of Memories Dying” appeared on the preliminary ballot for a Nebula Award, and his short story “Dreams Unborn” was named one of the year’s best by the editors of The Best American Mystery Stories 2005. "Snowbird," co-authored with Tom Sweeney, placed fourth in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine's 2007 Readers Award.

Michael has received local, regional, and national ADDY awards for copywriting—including Judges, Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards—both individually and as part of a creative team. A series of radio commercials Michael helped script received a Flair Award.