New Year’s Day has its traditions, just like the Eve before it. In a few counties such as Spain and Turkey, it’s thought wearing red underwear will bring prosperity for the next year, and in Ecuador, it’s believed walking an empty suitcase around the block will bring a travel-filled year. Some of those living in the UK, Canada, and the Netherlands celebrate by taking a frigid-water swim, and in the United States, the traditions are endless. Some attack shopping malls with fervor while others spend the day packing up their Christmas decorations, and then there are the countless droves that use the holiday to recover from the night before. Hungover and bleary-eyed, they plant themselves in front of flat-screen televisions, starting their day with parades and ending it with an uninterrupted stream of football games until their dinner of pork and black-eyed peas is ready.

Neither hungover nor bleary-eyed, Ruby drummed her fingers on her leg, paying no attention to the second or was it the third football game flickering on her TV. After Bennett had stormed out of the bedroom, she didn’t return for a few hours, and with no words being spoken, she turned her back on Ruby and fell asleep. Ruby’s slumber didn’t come easily, and before the sun came up on New Year’s Day, she gathered her things, threw on enough clothes so she wouldn’t be arrested for indecent exposure, and crept back to her apartment.

It was now late in the afternoon, and having taken a few extra days off, the last thing Ruby wanted to do was spend them alone. She also knew she needed to tread lightly. She’d had a hunch, and it played out. The nerve she struck lit Bennett’s fuse in an instant, and it was a fuse Ruby couldn’t afford to light again. Ruby had a lot more questions, and risking their physical relationship wasn’t something Ruby was willing to do, at least not yet. After all, she wasn’t lying about the sex. It was good, and it was fun.

Ruby’s mind wandered, and when her lower half announced itself with a throb, she shifted in her chair. Chuckling, she reached for her beer, stopping mid-stretch when someone knocked on her door. Ruby got up, and when she peeked through the peephole and saw who it was, she couldn’t open the door fast enough. “Hi there,” she said, the timbre in her voice as cheerful as her expression.

“Good afternoon,” Bennett said, drinking in the view of Ruby in skintight jeans and a loose-fitting sweater. “You’re looking well.”

“Thanks.”

“I…uh…I was a little surprised to wake up alone this morning.”

Ruby hesitated for a moment. “Oh…um…well, I thought after how we ended our chat last night, you’d maybe want some time alone instead of being endlessly questioned like you were on trial or something.”