mad woman

"Not being able to sit still you mean? Because yeah, that is typically me." He agreed with a little chuckle, rubbing at the back of his neck at the admission. "Man... that's a really negative way to look at things Eva." Lucas couldn't help but laugh though despite his words. "But I suppose it makes you right once more though, even if I don't prescribe to your way of thinking."

"I think because I have such a naturally dominating and occasionally irritating personality people don't realize how depressing some of the shit I say really is," she made light of the situation with a laugh in passing. "But yeah it works for me so I mean... if you get let down a lot, I say give it a try. Maybe it sounds negative but when it works out it's really satisfying," Eva shrugged.

"I'm not just saying it, I mean it." He reminded the younger woman sincerely, not willing to let her go right now. Evangeline was being crushed against his chest but honestly, wild horses couldn't have separated him from her. "I'll just have to help you learn to see yourself the way I do then. Whatever it takes." Evangeline certainly wouldn't be doing it alone.

"Thank you, Lando. Thank you for... for never giving up on me," she said softly into his chest. "I know I don't always make it easy but I would truthfully be lost without you most of the time," she confessed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she only tried to press herself closer as Orlando hugged her with a ferocity she really needed right now. There would never be a doubt in her mind where her place was in his life and she hoped that went both ways. Although how she'd gotten so lucky to have him was a mystery she was happy to not dig further into, just wanting to live in the comfort and relief of knowing she'd always have him in her corner.

Arms found purchase on the woman's waist and she was soon pulled back into his wide frame, back pressing against his chest. Roman found himself nuzzling lightly at a spot he'd found on her neck in previous encounters that happened to particularly susceptible to his ministrations. "Did you overhear I was going to be at this club tonight?" He blew out lightly against the cusp of her ear, breath heavy with the scent of alcohol. "Because I'm fairly certain I heard you stating that you were staying in with a bottle of wine and watching some movie or other earlier on in the day." Their paths often crossed at work after all, whether she liked it or not. Roman got the distinct feeling she was softening to him in her own way however. He let his fingers trace the areas of bare skin as he talked. "Interesting that you're here now and in this..."

A soft noise of surprise escaped her as Evangeline felt herself being pulled backwards into a muscular chest. "Plans change," she shrugged simply in response to his observations, her hair standing up straight as the sound and feeling of his hot breath on her neck had sent chills through her body. "However... you sound rather preoccupied with how I was planning to spend my evening prior to this," she couldn't help but smirk lightly at the fact, considering he'd remembered things to more detail than one would expect. "Do you like it? It's new," Eva murmured lightly when he'd made a remark about her clothing.

"That's quite the invite." He laughed when Eva told him to ask about her life. "And yes, you don't seem like the type to follow other people and what they expect. I imagined you would be carving out your own path and screw those who didn't agree with it." He said honestly. "Not at all. It's the Southern side of me. I have to be a Gentleman or face the wrath of the women I consider family."

"I like that those are the vibes I give off. I like to bring that energy to every room I'm in," Evangeline admitted. It was certainly what she tended to project, but in practice there was still a lot that was held back by the way her family perceived her. Things were far better than they had been when she was a teenager however. "Sounds like they raised a rare breed then," she remarked, "Or I need to take a trip to the south of North America stat," Eva added with a laugh.

"Well I should hope by now I had learned that much about you. Though I say nothing that isn't entirely deserved." Briar added with an amused smile playing across her lips. "Oh you know me, I am eternally independent. I am sure me arriving at one of these events with someone would probably be quite the event in itself." She joked.

"Even more affirming then," Eva grinned. "It certainly would be. And I'd love to be there for that if you ask me. Not because I don't believe it, but more because I want to see the type of person you'd go for to bring to something like this," she admitted with a chuckle.

"Would you take the advice of a ghost?" Reid asked with a grin on his features at her words. He shook her hand lightly already finding he was enjoying the Eva's company. "You know, do you think this says anything about our age? Maybe I'm getting old and that's why I need a time out."

"I think that would all heavily depend on what the ghost would have to say and whether or not I liked the sound of the advice," she weighed out the options at his question with a little grin of her own. "I don't often like to take advice that I disagree with," she added for good measure. "I refuse to jump on the 'old' bandwagon. I'm young as hell. I am just highly selective of who I actually enjoy spending my time with."

"I know but I think I am more so. You'd have to experience it to understand. I just can't sit still." He explained, knowing that the way his brain worked was that he was either all focused on things or completely all over the place. The latter was certainly something that caused others a lot of frustration. He became almost unbearably annoying though he managed it better the older he'd become. "Well you don't have to have the same as me." Lucas responded when she said she could have a beer. "Has tonight been living up to your expectations?"

"Aren't you typically like that though?" she teased. "I've learned not too expect too much from the evening. It usually works in my favor as the night always ends up better than expected if the expectation was nonexistent– if that makes any sense," Eva shrugged when he'd asked her if the night had been living up to her expectations.

"So I saw you sitting there by yourself and I thought, how could anyone let such a beautiful lady enjoy their evening alone?" Briar couldn't help but playfully tease her friend as she slid a cocktail across the bar to Evangeline. "For you."

"Flattery and drinks will get you far, especially with me," Eva laughed when the blonde produced a cocktail in front of her. "How are you, Briar? You come here with anyone or were you originally flying solo tonight like myself?"

There were very few times Orlando felt true hate but hearing that reply, he felt it in that moment. The fact Evangeline felt it was necessary to put herself in that position to satisfy people who did not deserve her made rage roil inside his stomach. Orlando moved from where he was to crouch in front of the woman, capturing her face in his hands gently. "Don't. Don't you ever think that. Look at me Evangeline Pickering, you are every bit as amazing, intelligent and deserving as any other person in your family. You don't have to keep up to be good enough. All you ever needed to do was be yourself." He spoke seriously, the sincerity burning in his eyes.

Evangeline seemed to slump into Orlando's touch, almost like she was finally releasing the tension that kept her impeccable posture and typically snarky attitude together. "Thank you for saying that," she managed to push out with a weak smile. It was hard to retrain beliefs that she'd held onto so tightly for so long. "I really wish I could believe in that the way that you do," Eva confessed with a sigh. "But if you think that of me, well it gives me the hope that maybe there's a world where I believe it's true too."

"Tonight yes, other days... well I'd say food and coffee would give you a better chance but I become even more unsufferable when I get caffeine and sugar in my body, just as fair warning." Lucas told Eva with a grin. "I am sure it is the good stuff, but it's not normally my choice of drink. I'm a simple guy, I tend to stick to beer." He admitted after a moment. "But yeah, I'm having a great night. It's nice to let my hair down... figuratively speaking anyway. What about you?"

"Doesn't everyone to a degree? That's all part of what they do to our body's inner chemistry or whatever," she laughed when he'd warned her that caffeine made him more insufferable. "I suppose there's nothing wrong with that. I admittedly prefer a cocktail or some shots, but I won't turn a pint down," Eva shrugged, thinking about her own preferences despite not being asked to specify. "That's good. Nights like these are meant for having fun and giving in to the vibes," she mentioned with a smile. "I am, yes. I very much came to this event with the objective to let myself go with the flow of the night. Just have fun and forget that anything has consequences. They can be tomorrow me's problem."

"Would you be that surprised? I'm not exactly stingy with them, you just were never exactly pleasant enough to warrant receiving them before. These days... well, you've proven to be more than what meets the eye." And he'd enjoyed experiencing it, especially with that extra added spice of sass that Eva always seemed to bring to everything. "Awfully forgetful today aren't we?" He teased with a warmth to his tone as she stepped in closer, his fingers brushing over her clothing lightly.

"Didn't think you'd get sweet on me," Eva teased. There was still plenty about him that frustrated her to no end, but it only made what she could get from him even more satisfying. If she had to agree to his terms sometimes, it seemed like it was a price she was wiling to pay. "I know, it's so unlike me," she shrugged off, rewarded with the feeling of his fingers against the material of her clothing. "But I'd say you're to blame for melting my braincells and causing me all this terrible memory loss. What have you got to say for yourself about that?"

"I mean, I'm not sure I agree with that given I would hope we have plenty of other opportunities but the sentiment was there." He joked lightly, brushing back some of the others wayward hair from her face. "Do you not think that I make good enough cocktails on my own? Has this now become a cocktail battle between me and Cyrus?" Orlando joked playfully as he continued to guide the woman slowly through the crowd. "But of course we can pick him up too. Hopefully he's up for celebrating the end of the evening with us."

"That is not what I meant, not even a little bit. Stop baiting me into sounding worse than I am," she protested with an almost childish whine, twisting her head to try and look at him as she spoke while Orlando was expertly navigating her through the party. "But if you two want to battle it out, Rory and I could totally be the jury for this competition," Eva added with a drunken giggle. "I promise to leave you two be to do your own celebrating. I'll take care of myself."