Addison knew she should be more careful. Easton had asked her to take her approach with getting in with some of the female members of the scarlet dahlias instead but her expertise was in winning over men and so she kept her pseudo friendship with Rowan going after the night of the explosions anyway. She’d texted him to meet her at the bellagio tonight for a few drinks and games and the blonde had dressed in a simple black dress to meet him by the black jack table where she was currently hustling a group of tourists. “Sorry boys, better luck next time.” She shot a wink at the dealer who just shook his head, familiar with her antics, as she saw Rowan approaching out of the corner of her eye. “And here he is, the man of the hour.” Addi got to her feet and wrapped an arm around him in a hug. “How are you? Are you and your family okay? I heard about the explosions but I…left before it happened.”

   Which was why at her text, the male was only all too eager to meet over drinks and talks. He had a fond liking to Addison, who remained in the outside of everything crazy that went on in his life. From time to time, it was what he needed: to just be reminded that he was someone beyond his last name and his promised future. 

   Coming up to her by the blackjack table, Rowan was all smiles as his arms wrapped around her frame in arm embrace. “Oh, I needed this.” he playfully said, before releasing her in his hug. “I’m doing alright, as you can see. Fortunately, no injuries in the family.” He couldn’t speak for the others, but the Whitlocks themselves were fortunate to have come out unharmed. Keeping arms to himself now, Rowan stuffed a hand in his pants’ pocket. “Honestly, I’m just glad you got out of there before shit went down. No one saw it coming.”

It was late afternoon at the Red Room and Celina was seated at the bar with a pre-shift drink in hand. She had taken one for the team by working during everyone else’s big night out, and while she was certainly always up for a party, it sounded like she had dodged a bullet by sitting that one out. “A disastrous affair and I wasn’t present? The odds of that happening are usually extremely low.

A brow arched and Celina’s glance slid over to the person next to her. “What, no details? Come on.”

   Glancing to Celina, all he could afford her was a tightlipped smile. “I don’t know about the others, but from where I was, in the gardens, someone turned it into a minefield and an oven. Flames on one side, and a exploding bombs everywhere else.” His candid openness of his experience was his way to let the incident just pass over him, as opposed to dwelling on it. “I thought I was gonna die that night. I didn’t want to, but I was so sure I would.”

@rowanwhitlock​ 

A week after the the Sinfully Classic Event and his 24 hour stint in jail, Christian was having dinner and drinks with Rowan in the safe confines of the Dahlia. It had been his first real outing since and he was happy to be spending it with his best friend turned lover. While they had frequented the Dahlia hundreds of times before, this time was definitely different. For one, they were snuggling together on the same side of the booth instead of sitting across from each other. There were lingering touches and glances they now shared as they waited for their food to arrive. 

“Hey, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you – something I haven’t told anyone,” he whispered quietly between them, wearing a serious expression. It wasn’t a typical demeanor around Rowan but this particular situation called for it. “Obviously this stays between us until I figure out what to do with it…all.” He had wanted to tell Rowan the news right away but there was always something stopping him in his tracks, whether it be fancy events, jail time, or what have you. 

   “Hmmm?” asked the male, turning his undivided focus to him, though with a faltered expression, immediately intrigued by what his boyfriend clearly had to say. “What’s up?” Their friendship prior to the relationship had allowed a certain amount of openness and honesty to exist between them as it is, with the latter only cementing their bond into a more affectionate area, really. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”