houseofcards_rp | It's Swing Time~

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Elisha's motivation for organizing - or, honestly, delegating the organization of - a semi-formal dance party. Lucinda had suggested a ball, with stars in her eyes. She probably had already picked out ballgowns and themes in her head when Elisha had nixed the thing and - in a moment of desperation, with the memory of the swing-themed Fox wedding still in his head - suggest a Spring Swing, instead.

Everyone had run with it, and Elisha was pleased to say it had come out well. He was even more pleased to say that he didn't have to wear a suit, even if he stepped out into the lantern-lit gardens in everything but the tie. He paused near the raised dais provided for dancing and gave the small band the signal to start up the music before he attempted to fade back in the crowd. Not that that ever worked.

"Let the games begin," he murmured to no one in particular as he picked up a glass of champagne off a tray.

Note: Open to everyone and their brother; tag around, have fun!

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"Zoe! Zoe, Zoe, oh my god." Have a Riley running to throw her arms around you, swaying ridiculously. "You need to save me from these things. I just saw Hazel." Pause. "I mean, like, saw Hazel. And I thought a garter was bad of me."

"...Did she wear a thong?" Thongs were, admittedly, Zoe's usual underwear of choice, but she'd danced with Victor often enough to know that swing and a short skirt was not something you wanted to pair with skimpy underwear. She had on a pair of silk satin panties in a coordinating teal.

"That's horrifying. Do you want my wine?"

"Please." She will grab it and down it in a matter of seconds. Don't worry, Zoe - she'll replace it. "I mean - God, that's the sort of thing I'd wear if I was swing-dancing home alone with Evan, and by swing-dancing, in this case, I mean foreplay, and--" She goes paler. "Oh god. Oh god- but- she's Evan's age! And having sex with-- I don't want to think about this."

She didn't really need it, anyway. Charlotte is, thank the lord, not even on Deck at the moment, so Zoe's as cool as a cucumber about all attendees. Though she doesn't really want to see Hazel's ass, either. She loops her arm into Riley's and leads her deeper into the dense Club gardens. "Don't think about it," she orders. "Remember, she doesn't matter. You're above her."

Zoe could almost be a James woman. Or at least it could be said that both Huntlys and St. Johns taught her well.

"...But seriously, she must not have even thought. I wonder how many people cracked up."

"I am above her, aren't I?" She muses, happily following Zoe. "Oh, I can get behind that. I'd never flash the vag at a party like this, contrary to popular opinion."

"Ugh. That's an image I didn't want." She can deal with it, though. And she can absolutely be a bitch, if it helps cleanse Riley's mind. "There's a difference between having fun and being...completely inappropriate. People'll be talking about Hazel for weeks. Not you, of course. But everyone else."

"Poor Dad, though. I don't know what he was doing when he married her, but I'm sure he meant well. I'm sure he never imagined this happening." And now she just has to snicker. "And Mom looks so classy on the dance floor too. If only she'd stop flirting so much."

"I don't know, the flirting might be a good idea," Zoe said, thoughtfully. "It's what I'd do, if Victor ever left me for someone else. Well, after I murdered him, frankly." It wasn't really something she really had to worry about, though. "But after I left him in a pool of his own blood, I'd show him he didn't matter by flirting with someone else."

"But it's been like, a bajillion years. And Dad didn't even leave her specifically to be with Hazel. She's acting like she's sixteen all over again." Making all the faces.

"Yeah, but she's the other woman now." Zoe pauses to take a drink of her fresh glass of wine. "She's like a symbol. One that your mom probably intends to show up. Which she is definitely doing," she added. "Is that her second dance with Ben?"

"Ugh, don't tell me she's dancing with him again," Riley groans, slapping a hand over her eyes. "Worse than my mom flirting with guys are the guys flirting back."

Zoe turned her head to give Riley a calm look, and then sighed. "Don't you ever think," she says, "that your mom might be lonely?"

Don't even, Zoe. "That's what friends are for. No one's good enough to date her."

There were so many things she could say there. She wasn't going to, but there was a mischievous glint in her eyes anyway. "Good thing," she says, "that your mom doesn't feel the same way about you."

She gives Zoe a look. "She's got her heart broken before. I'm not going to let it happen again," she says simply.

She might not be able to stop it, Zoe thinks, but she doesn't say as much. It's a party, and they'll argue if they keep going. "Do you think it's safe to go dance yet?" She asks instead. "I promised Victor one."

It's Swing Time~

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