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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Johnny gets an overly expressive roll of Dillon's eyes at that. "No, asshole," he says, though without heat, "I grew up in a family of professional performers and not a single one of them ever thought to give me a dance lesson."

That was sarcasm, if Johnny didn't catch that.

"But I'm not going to dance with you, if that's where you were going with this."

He puts on quite the woebegone expression at that, "and I was just hoping I could talk you into a turn out on the dance floor, Dillon. My heart is crushed beyond repair. Whatever will I do?"

A grin, then, before, "so what do you dance to, then?"

"Ballroom stuff, of course," he said with a shrug. "And the whole wriggle and hip-thrust thing that passes as club dancing." He takes a sip of his drink and leans against a tree trunk. "I can't say I've ever been all that into big band or jazz type of music enough to bother learning to dance to it."

Of course, the worrying point his family would make is that Dillon doesn't really feel like bothering with much lately. A few years ago he might have been out on the dance floor laughing like a loon.

"Guess it's not really a thing around here when people usually do the ballroom kind of thing. You'll be a hit at the next ball then."

That was one sort of event you usually didn't see Johnny on the dancefloor for.

He nods back out to the band and dancing they've got tonight, "that's pretty fun though, even if you're faking it." Which is half of what Johnny's doing.

That was one sort of event you didn't usually see Johnny at, period, as far as Dillon could tell. Unless he was working.

Dillon just turned and gave Johnny a level look, though. "If I promise I'm having fun right here, can we cut out the roundabout convincing Dillon to go out and have fun?" He asked. "It gets a little old."

Well, he was only here mostly because Elani'd talked him into doing the bit of playing he'd done up on stage. He'd even learned a few Big Band songs just for the occasion.

But he'll be frowning at Dillon a bit, "you know there's this thing about socializing and making fucking conversation, right?" Like Dillon's asshole comment earlier, there's no actual heat to the word. "We're at a dance, dancing tends to make an easy topic. You want me to go somewhere else? Just say it, man."

"I doubt everyone here's actually talking about dancing, Johnny." More likely they're talking about the decorations, or the food, or how well the band is playing - if only because there's only so many things you can actually say about dancing, frankly. And there's probably plenty of gossiping about neighbors and the amount of flashing said neighbors have been doing on the dancefloor. But he can play.

"It looks fun," he says with a shrug, "if you're comfortable doing it. I'm personally not drunk enough to be."

"I expect if you were drunk enough to get out there, you'd be drunk enough to fall on your face, too."

Hm.

"On second thought, that sounds like a great idea, lemme get you another drink."

"You can always tell a real friend," Dillon says dryly. "They're the ones who're just waiting for you to humiliate yourself so they can laugh their asses off. Or, better yet, capture it on camera for posterity."

Zoe's wedding wasn't that long ago. He's staying semi-sober tonight, sorry. If you wanted to catch humiliation in action, you should have crashed it, Johnny.

Slinging an arm over Dillon's shoulder, "I figure you'll do it to me some day too so it all evens out."

Because yes, Dillon, that is what friends are made of.

It's Swing Time~

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