NEW YEAR'S EVE – SAN DIEGO

Jamie pulls up to a Valet booth. After disembarking his car, he tosses the keys to the attendant and approaches the Lounge Bar entrance. He takes a deep breath right before he enters. Hoping this night will be a relief to the problems he's been having these past couple of weeks, one of the problems being Sam basically ignoring him.

He's gotten into a verbal altercation with Sam a few years ago, and they resolved it the next day. So when Jamie texted Sam on Christmas, he was shocked that Sam didn't write back. Instead, Sam just tapped the thumbs-up option on his text.

Then on top of that, Tevin told Jamie about the woman, J also known as Jaz, showing up at the church. So Jamie called Jaz, rebuking her and demanding her not to ever contact him again.

11 DAYS AGO

Jamie is on the phone, visibly upset. "Why would you just show up?"

"Last time I checked, anyone is allowed to go to a church."

"All of a sudden you want to go to church? And to mine? Get outta here with that. Better yet, get out of my life."

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack. Don't ever contact me or come to my church again. As a matter of fact, I'll just block you."

"Ja-"

Jamie ends the call.

By the end of the day, Jamie had received numerous text messages and voicemails from her, yelling at him for betraying her. She also made a threat, which he can't stop thinking about: "Since your punk ass won't help me, I'll find a way to get to Sam my damn self."

PRESENT TIME

He never told Jaz that he and Sam go to the same church. But for some reason, he feels like she's going to find out somehow and then do another pop up.

Jamie's thoughts are interrupted when Will -- his college friend -- calls out his name.

Jamie smiles at him, like a long lost brother would. "What's up bro!"

They mid-five before pulling each other into a manly-hug. "Looks like you got some shit on your mind. You cool bro?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Oh alright. Well, welcome back, man."

"Thanks. It does feel good to be back."

"How long you staying?"

"For the whole weekend."

"Bet!" Will pats him on the back, guiding him to their reserved booth.

Tevin is taking shots with a few of Will's friends when he notices Jamie. Tevin throws his arms up enthusiastically, greeting Jamie.

Jamie laughs. "Man, your cousin is funny as shit when he drinks," he expresses to Will.

"The funniest," Will agrees.

"Jamie! What's up! You ready to bring in the New Year, foo'?"

Jamie nods. "So, what number shot you're on?"

Tevin starts counting on his fingers. "...A lot."

Everyone at the booth chuckles, and Tevin flashes a drunken smile in response.

"Let's take another shot for Jamie!" Tevin calls out.

Will looks around for the waitress.

"Oh damn... we're one man down," Tevin realizes. Jamie looks away from him, not wanting to start a conversation about it.

"Can we get another round, and about five for this guy?" Will asks the waitress, pointing at Jamie.

"Five? I thought we were bar hopping?" Jamie questions as the waitress walks away.

"Yep, and we're off to the next right after these shots. So catch up," Will pressures him with a smile. "But yeah, Tev, I haven't spoken to my boy since Jamie's dinner. We should go to New York with him one year."

Tevin nods. "Hell yeah!"

"Speaking of Sam..." Will turns his full attention to Jamie. "Guess who found me on IG?"

"Who?"

"Jasmine," Will says, with shock in his voice.

Jamie sighs warily.

___

NEW YORK

"5...4...3...2...1... Happy New Year!" Sam and Yemi share a soft kiss while Monty and his girlfriend, Michelle, are on their individual phones, wishing other people a Happy New Year.

Sam backs up a little from Yemi, barely breaking the kiss. Just as quickly as Yemi tugs him back to her, Sam deepens the kiss.

Michelle does a double take at them before elbowing Monty aggressively, causing Monty to frown. "What? You're on the phone, too."

"I'm not talking about that."

"What did you push me for then?"

"Let me call you back girl." Michelle ends her call and gives her attention back to Monty. "Stop being dramatic, I barely tapped you."

"... Alright man," Monty speaks into his phone before hanging up. "Woman, what do you want?"

"Why don't you kiss me like that anymore?" Michelle points at Sam and Yemi before Monty looks over at the couple. They're engrossed in their own little world. Sam holds the back of Yemi's neck as they engage in a passionate kiss. Yemi's arms are locked around his body.

Hearing that his friend is in a relationship is one thing, but Monty actually seeing this new side of Sam is surreal. The day all his boys met Yemi at the bar last week, Monty can definitely feel the connection between Yemi and Sam. But tonight, it seems as if it has intensified since then.

"See... even you're feeling some type of way about it," Michelle points out, breaking Monty's thoughts.

"You're buggin'."

"Look me in my eyes and tell me you don't miss how we used to be."

"You think they're gonna stay that way forever?" He asks sarcastically. "That PDA shit doesn't last forever."

"PDA? Shit, we're not even affectionate at home," she fires back, rolling her eyes.

"If you wanna kiss, just say that shit." Monty grabs her arm, pulling her close before smashing his lips on hers.

Yemi, in need of air, pulls away from Sam. They smile at each other before Yemi notices Monty, in her peripheral, pecking Michelle's lips. She turns her face, confirming her view. "Aw, babe look, they're kissing."

"I'm not looking at them." He grabs their flute glasses off the nearby table and one of the several bottles of champagne. "Mamas, come sit over here with me."

Yemi chuckles at Michelle playfully smacking Monty away from her, before following Sam to the other side of the boat.

Sam sits down and pulls Yemi onto his lap. She snuggles into his arms as the boat passes the Statue of Liberty.

"I love it out here," Yemi coos.

"New York or the River?"

"Both. This whole trip has been amazing. I'm surprised you didn't come back here after college."

"I didn't want to overcrowd my parents' apartment."

"When did they move to the Brownstone?"

"Six years ago. I could've moved back then, but I was starting to build a life in Cali, so there was no point in coming back."

"You don't miss it at all?"

"I'm good with just visiting. And now that I have you, I'm really not moving anywhere."

Enchanted by the emotions of her smile, Sam gently lifts her chin up and kisses her softly. A ping from Sam's phone interrupts them. He checks the notification, and sees a text from his mother. He opens it and sees a picture of her and Veronica with a New Year message.

Veronica was supposed to be on the boat with them, but she decided to stay home due to Liliana claiming she had food-poisoning. Sam didn't see the logic in Veronica not celebrating the New Year, when his father and grandmother were there to accompany his mother.

"Ma told me to tell you Happy New Year."

"Aw. Tell her I said Happy New Year."

As Sam writes Yemi's response to his mother, Yemi stares at his face, admiring his features. "I hope I get to look at this handsome face every day this year."

He glances at her, blushing before sending the text.

"You gotta stop all that smooth talking," he teases her.

She chuckles. "You bring it out of me. You make me so happy, Sam. Our relationship can only go up from here."

"No doubt, ma." He kisses her forehead before reaching down to the crook of her neck.