Tess decided that it might be rude to start tearing into her gifts when no one was around to thank afterward, so she was better off slicing into the cake, instead. She picked up a plate and set a fork on it, along with a napkin, then found a plastic knife to use to cut into her first cake as an officially divorced woman.<br/><br/>She had to smile at the image of it all. Celebrating such a depressing event felt strange and unnatural, but at the same time, getting to throw herself back out there, so to speak, was probably exactly what she needed. After all, the drought that she had been going through had lasted for about as long as the divorce process took. So, it had been a while, to say the least.<br/><br/>Starting off small, Tess cut herself a square shaped piece of cake, setting the knife down when she finished maneuvering it onto the plate. When she turned to watch the dance floor, intending to simply watch the others dancing for a time, at least until she gathered enough liquid courage to venture onto it herself, she noticed a man approaching.<br/><br/>His congratulations caught her slightly off guard, but it only took Tess a moment to realize why he’d say that. She glanced down at the sash that she wore and chuckled with a nod. “Oh, right. Thank you. Not sure if congratulations fits the situation the best, but I’ll take it.” She smiled at him, looking him over subtly. He was kinda cute, and frankly, she wasn’t picky about a rebound.<br/><br/>“Nice to meet you Luke Rodgers. My name is Tess Cassidy.” She lowered herself onto one of the seats near the cake and waved her fork toward the dessert. “Would you like some cake?” She offered, still smiling. On the dance floor, Annie and Astrid may have been dancing together, but it didn’t take like for someone to work his way over and try to get in between them.<br/><br/>“Hey, there!” Annie shouted at him, making sure she was heard over the booming and rattling music. She started to shimmy closer to the dark stranger, only for Astrid to follow. “She’s married.” Astrid said flatly. When she thought she saw a shimmer of hope in his eyes as he looked at her instead, she made a loud honking sound, like a buzzer on a game show.<br/><br/>“EH! And I’m a lesbian.” It was at that moment Astrid thought of something. Pulling Annie’s arm, she raised her hand up to eye level. “Annie!” She scolded her blonde friend. “What?” Annie asked innocently, still eyeing the dark drink of water nearby. “You aren’t wearing your wedding ring!” She accused, then turned her friend’s hand around so that she could see it, too.<br/><br/>“Huh… that is so strange.” Annie acted like she hadn’t done so on purpose. “I must’ve left it at home.” She shrugged, then shimmied over to the stranger again, who she started dancing up against. Astrid could only play referee and call interference when they would get too close, from that point onward.