<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/LUiBrTe.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Nate Phelps (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=281599.msg13853665#msg13853665)<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>Dark casual slacks, crisp white collared shirt, blue checked blazer (pictured)[/url]<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Hilton Lobby, then Ballroom<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Chrissa, Baylee (in departure), Open-ish<br/><br/>Nate gave Bay a good-natured smile as she went on about the friendship, reminding him of just how close the two girls were. The ‘bust out of jail comment’ just made him shake his head a bit. Bay and Chrissa were characters, and they’d had their run-ins before, but, Bay’s flair for over-the-top comments still made him laugh, even as an adult.<br/><br/>His eyes were on the bartender and the stash of liquor shelved behind him, causing him to completely miss the two having their silent exchange behind his back, likely for the better. Nate was still nervous around Chrissa-their past wasn’t bad, but it was...awkward. They’d not spoken in almost a decade, and they’d both had serious changes in their lives, he was sure. Chrissa’s dress gave at least that much away, if not a bit more.<br/><br/>And then she gave away pretty much the whole damn store.<br/><br/>Nate was taking a slow, sampling pull from his Manhattan when she offered the part about ‘nude modeling’, and he raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn’t make much in the way of further movements. When, within a breath, she went into an almost conspiratorial tone,<br/><br/><strong>“And after that, I started making porn films.”</strong><br/><br/>He was able to catch himself, stopping his intake of alcohol, and lower his glass. That the amber liquid didn’t catch in his throat and throw him into a fit of coughing was a testament to stoicism. With his best poker face, he lightly swirled the bit of bourbon and vermouth in his mouth, the slight burn tickling the back of his throat.<br/><em><br/>Well, fuck. Now what do I say? “Anything I might have seen?” That’ll go over well. </em><br/><br/>He was at a loss. Those times where the world seems to be moving in slow motion around you, and you’re moving 100 miles an hour? That’s where Nate was in that moment.<br/><br/><em>Christ alive! How long does a fucking Tequila Sunrise take?</em><br/><br/>And then, Chrissa saved him. In that pivotal moment, he was thankful for the toast, though he wasn’t even sure he heard the whole thing.<br/><br/>“Cheers, Chrissa, and yes, here’s to a night of memories” he offered, then raised and clinked glasses, then took a small drink from his, using that last moment to find words that felt good enough.<br/><br/>“Well, that’s….that’s an interesting career path, that’s for sure. It seems like you really enjoy it and it makes you feel good, so, I’m really happy for you, Chrissa.” He offered a warm smile, hoping he didn’t sound condescending or judgemental. Chrissa had spent much of their adolescence too concerned with what others thought, and he couldn’t be sure yet how much of that carried over into adulthood.<br/><br/>“So,” he leaned in, taking a conspiratorial tone “I’ve never met an adult film star before. Do I get to ask a bunch of questions? Like ‘how did you decide that you could do it?’ ‘How different is it on set from what people see on screen’ and’ He looked around a bit, almost delighting in possibly sharing in this little secret, ‘Who else knows?’”<br/>