Eve's martini was such a watered-down disappointment that she almost slid the glass back to the bartender, and fished her dollar out of the tip box. But she wasn't a monster, so instead she nodded her thanks and moved to let another poor soul order.
Around her men and women in sharp suits and coordinated power heels moved in and around each other like glimmering schools of fish. Eve took another tentative sip of her drink before deciding it would just be better to hold it for appearance sake, and leaned against the bar. The night was almost over, galas weren't known for their drinks and Annalise liked expensive bottles of vodka. That was something to look forward to.
A clump of the well-dressed strangers dispersed, and Eve suddenly found that her assigned table was in her sightline. Sitting around it was the nucleus of Annalise's world.
Eve wasn't entire sure why Annalise had brought everyone along; her five chosen students, Frank, Bonnie and a man named Oliver who seemed to be dating Connor. The only person missing from the entire affair was Nate, and Eve expected to run into him every time she turned a corner.
Oliver had started the night as a mysterious addition to the group (He wasn’t a lawyer so why was Connor the only one granted a plus one?). Or at least he’d been one until Eve realized law school as just as incestuous as she remembered, and most of the others' ‘plus ones’ were already there.
In the dim lamplight she saw Laurel's hand disappear under the table, but whether it ended up on Frank or Michaela's leg was a question she couldn't answer. Eve snorted into her glass. Laurel was a quite one, but once upon a time she’d been a quite one too.
Asher was trying to capture Bonnie’s attention as he slowly licked the last of his mashed potatoes off his fork. Unfortunately, the only one who’d noticed was Wes who looked as horrified as Eve felt.
And Wes, god Wes. Who was-
Behind her a glass shattered across the floor, and Eve jumped at the sound. A scattering of applause and laughter rippled through the crowd. Asher was on his feet craning his neck to see the commotion. Someone important was probably too drunk, but Eve wasn’t drunk enough to care who.
The Keating Five weren’t the first group of Annalise’s she’d ever met. She'd gotten pretty good at picking them out in the court room. The air became thicker during those trials and the questions sharper. They put up a fight Eve needed her A Game for. She'd lost to one or two of them, it was inevitable, and after those moments she'd always fought the urge to e-mail her former flame. Talk about how proud those students made her of Annalise even if it was from across stretches of distance and time.
This new group felt different, but how Eve hadn’t figured out yet. They were mysteries, the same as everyone. Easy to describe on the surface, but full of sharp broken edges once you started poking. Watching the group twist and grind around each other, like cogs in a clock, had made the evening far more interesting than any gala had the right to be.
The table jerked, and Eve's gaze swung toward Michaela who was rolling her eyes, and then to Bonnie who was glaring at Frank.
Eve had the best grasp on Frank. She knew her share of Franks. Frank was the kind of guy who upon seeing a cat would very gently, and very reverently pet its fur backwards until the thing was a hissing ball of indignant fury. Something he'd been doing with Connor all night.
The table jerked again causing Michaela’s wine to slosh out of her glass. She joined Laurel and Bonnie in their shared glower, but also hissed something Eve couldn’t make out. Asher tried to lean across the table for a high-five, but Wes lowered the other man’s arm with a shake of his head.
Connor, meanwhile, was vibrating. His eyes had gotten narrower with every new comment and his hand was drifting to his butter knife.
Eve frowned. If there was a confrontation she hoped it happened after they served dessert. They were supposed to get pumpkin cheesecake.
Oliver stood, making a motion towards the bar as he set his folded napkin on the table. Frank smiled, and got up to join him. As they walked away Frank’s hand hovered just close enough to the small of Oliver's back that it seemed like he was ushering him forward. Connor jumped up to follow, looking ready to spit.
"He should have styled his hair higher." Annalise's smooth voice was suddenly in Eve’s ear. "Making yourself bigger is usually a good idea in confrontations."
Eve laughed. "Is that a fair fight?"
Annalise took a sip of her martini and grimaced. "God no. Frank would snap Mr. Walsh like a twig. He's being baited.”
Connor elbowed his way through a clump of drunken lawyers, and swung around to face off with Frank. Frank stopped, smiling affably as Connor snarled.
“His energy is admirable,” Eve said.
Oliver hesitantly touched Connor’s shoulder.
Annalise sighed. “He needs to practice self-control."
Eve ran her finger along the rim of her glass and leaned closer to Annalise, enjoying the warmth at her side and the smell of her perfume. "You wouldn't be jealous in that situation?"
"That's not the point," Annalise said. "You think he's going to be able to survive these kinds of things if he can't handle a few inappropriate comments about his boyfriend from Frank? Wait until they have to attend a GAYLESBALL."
Eve laughed. "Who could ever forget getting groped by Cecily Thomson? She left a bruise on my ass while you were holding my hand."
Annalise tipped her head to the side, remembering. "I went against her a few years ago. Double homicide."
"Did you win?"
"I made her cry in front of the judge." Annalise reached over to take her hand. "Those things have much better drinks."
"And nice private balconies," Eve said, grinning.
Annalise made a show of glancing around the hotel ballroom before sighing at the lack of private corners, balconies or decent appetizers.
“There might be an elevator we can get stuck in somewhere.”
Eve chuckled, and leaned forward to claim a kiss.
A screech shot through the room causing both the women to jump, and Eve to miss. The crowds around them went quiet.
“Oh dear god,” Annalise muttered.
Between a pair of legs wrapped in expensive pants, Eve saw Asher crouch down to help a harried server gather-up broken bits of plate. His chair was on its side and another server was sprawled over it clutching her ankle. Wes quickly joined him, accidentally kneeing on one of the slices of pumpkin cheesecake that were being stamped into the floor.
Eve downed the rest of her drink in one gulp. "There’s an elevator through that door and to the left. I’ll race you."