Gathering: New Year's Eve Gala

[concierge]

The annual Nexus New Year's Eve gala began at 8 in the evening. Too grand to be contained by the lobby or dining hall, the gardens at the front of the hotel were employed, with long strings of white lights forming a twinkling canopy from the front doors all the way to the hedge maze. The weather was temperate and calm, and the night perfectly clear.

Drinks were served at various bars set up throughout the gardens and lobby, with champagne cocktails being the specialty of the night. Wheeling through the crowd was a bartender with golden cart providing warm drinks on the go: Tom and Jerrys, rum punch, negus, and Irish coffee.

Crisply-dressed wait staff wove through the collected guests with an abundance of hors d'oeuvres for all different tastes. The Bistro remained open with a limited selection of items for those who were wanting something more substantial.

Above the front doors was hung a large, gold-rimmed clock counting down the last hours, minutes, and seconds of the current year.

Comments

[nebaritralk]

"I don't much like authority," Chiana answers with a crooked grin. Much as she much likes the captain. She trusts he'll tell her if he ever finds a Door to the Unchartered Territories.

Well. If he makes it back.

"Rather go look for trouble on my own," she adds, and turns to the bartender to ask for a peppery ginger cider. She didn't know it before tonight, and she likes it. Heavy on the spices.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

"Kirk's not a bad guy. And, I don't think he's doing much in the way of 'authority' on his missions exploring the doors. More 'guidance'."

He grins a bit at her. "What if trouble finds you first?" He indicates to the bartender to trade his empty Scotch glass for a full one.

[nebaritralk]

Guidance was just authority disguised; Chiana hadn't left Nebari Prime to be told what to do. Even by attractive, fun humans.

"What kind of trouble?" she shoots back, her grin hinting that there is a sort she enjoys, and then some.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

He shrugs. "I wouldn't know. I never get into trouble," he says. He even manages it with a straight face. He gets into trouble all the time. Though, he does typically manage to get himself out of it pretty regularly too.

[nebaritralk]

Chiana laughs at that, not falling for it for one second. "You got into trouble with me, once," she reminds him, smile sharp and enticing, the best kind of trouble, and she's moved closer to him. She steps back when the bartender gets them their drinks, to pick up her mug. The drink is heavily spiced, and smells like it.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

One corner of his mouth tips vaguely in an upward direction. "That's only trouble if you get caught doing something you aren't supposed to be doing," he says.

[nebaritralk]

Chiana's smiling from her first sip of her drink, but then she bares her teeth in a grin. "I'm not big on doing things I'm supposed to."

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

He chuckles at her, lowering his glass. "I had picked up on that," he says.

[nebaritralk]

Her grin doesn't go anywhere as she adds, hips swaying, "I'm not big on getting caught, either."

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

​"No?" he says. "Not an exhibitionist then?"​

[nebaritralk]

"That's not about getting caught," Chiana answered, her smile slyer for it. "That's about putting on a show."

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

​​ "It's unintentional exhibitionism if you get caught." He grins at her. "But, either way, the question still stands."

[nebaritralk]

Chiana grinned. "I'll be whatever you want me to be, Harvey." Exhibitionism? Not a problem.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

Congratulations Chiana, you just made Harvey Specter choke on his scotch. That's a new one. Keep in mind, this is in no way a bad thing. This sort of surprise, he can get behind.

"That was remarkably more forward than I usually hear," he says, covering very well the fact that he might have scotch in his lungs.

[nebaritralk]

Chiana chuckled at his reaction, hips shifting in her usual manner as she sipped her warm drink, black eyes twinkling happily. What? She liked to elicit reactions from people. "You usually hang out with boring people," she concluded, lips still stretched in a teasing smile.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

His face bends in a slight frown. "No, it's not that. I just haven't met anyone who so readily offers themself to be 'anything I want' and actually mean it," he says. A slight grin tips his mouth upward.

[nebaritralk]

"Like I said," Chiana answered, smile stretching into a grin. "Boring." She takes another drink, steps closer to Harvey, looking up at him. "What would you want me to be, Harvey?"

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

He smirks at her. Most of the people he's spent intimate time with, he wouldn't consider boring.

Her question is still intriguing though. "Hmm. I'll have to think about that one," he says. The first thing that came to mind was 'naked', but that seems like such a waste of an answer. He's going to have to ponder this one a bit before he gives her a response.

[nebaritralk]

"Think," Chiana echoes teasingly. "I ask you something like that, and you wanna think." She steps closer to him, free hand sliding down his chest. "I think I'm losing my touch."

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

He grins at her. "Of course I want to think. It would be bad if I chose the wrong thing." He's not going to need a week or anything quite that grand, just a few minutes or so. Or, maybe he just wants to draw this out a bit, make her wonder what it is he'll come up with.

[nebaritralk]

"Only if there are any wrong things," Chiana answers, still smirking, fingers sliding along his waistband. "Only if bad's not a thing we wanna be."

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

"Oh, there are definitely 'wrong' things to choose in this situation," he answers without giving examples. Examples would ruin the mystery. His eyes dip down to follow the path of her fingers momentarily. "Oh, we'll be bad," he confirms.

[nebaritralk]

"Words, words, words," Chiana remarks, dark eyes glinting as she angles another smile up at him. "Find me when you want to do something about them, Harvey." She pulls her hands back as she speaks, and steps back out of his space, turning to go.

Anticipation is fun.

[notgivingyourmoneyback]

She starts to go and his hand moves, sliding down her arm to catch her wrist. He turns his chin over his shoulder. "You know words can be just as sexy as actions, right?" he asks her, wicked grin bending the corners of his mouth upward.

[nebaritralk]

"I'm going to require proof," Chiana shoots back, definitely a challenge she's hoping he's going to want to meet.