Tess chuckled when Luke confessed that he may have had some slightly ulterior motives when it came to loosening her up. Thankfully, what followed was not a sex joke. Rather, it was an admission about wanting to get her on the dance floor, eventually.<br/><br/>“Well, at least you’re making your intentions known from the start. I like that.” She said in a slightly hushed tone as she leaned in a little closer. Tess finished her slice of cake after that and set her plate down. Dabbing her face with a napkin, she made sure there were no leftovers clinging to her skin.<br/><br/>Luke questioned her about the location of her celebration and Tess quickly shook her head, sending long, dark locks splashing over her shoulders. “My friends picked it for me,” she chuckled. “And then they basically had to host an intervention to get me out of the house.” She managed a weak smile.<br/><br/>“It’s been a few months with the whole ordeal.” Tess waved a flippant hand in the air. “I haven’t been counting, but my friends claim it’s been too long.” She emphasized those final two words, saying them loudly and with a comical tone. Astrid and Annie came over to join the party, just then.<br/><br/>“Well, hello.” Annie greeted Luke, before giving Tess an approving sort of look. “We don’t want to interrupt,” Astrid jumped in. “But the dance floor was getting just a little too crowded.” They both found a place to sit down near Tess and Luke, but still distanced enough to give them space.<br/><br/>Tess started cutting slices of cake for her friends, handing them plates filled with black and gold cake, topped with a napkin and a plastic fork. “This is Luke,” Tess introduced, gesturing to him. “He got us champagne… which looks like it’s here.” She pointed with her chin over to the waitress who returned with their bottle in a cup filled with ice, which clipped to the table for prime convenience.<br/><br/>“Thank you!” Tess called out, as the waitress smiled and turned away.