We arrive at the lounge and Josh nods a silent hello to the large men in suits outside the door before leading us over to a seating area in the far corner. Keeping one hand gently on the small of my back he guides me towards his friends as he yanks on his bow tie, causing it to hang casually around his collar as he undoes the top button letting out the slightest sigh of relief.
We approach the group, already entrenched in multiple, fast paced conversations and laughter, and Josh snakes his arm around me and rests his hand on my hip, pulling me close.
"Everybody. This is Donna. Donna… this is everybody."
I'm met with a chorus of hellos as Josh does a quick rundown of everyone's name, pointing them out to me.
"You met Toby and Charlie. This is Zoey, CJ, Carol, Cathy, Margaret, Bonnie, Ginger, Ed and Larry."
He gestures towards an open chair and I sit as he takes my drink order, making a quick trip to the bar. The others are welcoming enough but they're already deeply involved in conversation, with the exception of Toby who is sitting silently next to me sipping a glass of scotch and rolling an unlit cigar between his fingers.
"You're the one that found the loophole in HR286." It's more of a statement than a question.
"Well, I don't know about finding anything, I just gave Josh my opinion on the medical verbiage."
He gets an odd looking smile on his face and lets out a puff of air, almost in amusement. "You found a loophole that the GOP disguised well enough to get through committee and review by the west wing of the White House that would have meant the end of family planning for 1.8 million women."
I blush a little bit, feeling uncomfortable at what I think is meant to be praise. "Glad I could help, I guess."
With that he lets out a loud burst of laughter, looking around, though no one is paying attention to him. "She's glad she could help."
Josh appears beside me once again, handing me a rusty nail and placing his own Sam Adams on the small coffee table in the middle of us. There aren't any remaining seats so he perches on the arm of the chair I'm occupying and listens for only a second before jumping into the conversation without a hitch.
He makes a one line joke directed at Ed, or maybe Larry, and CJ rewards him with a raucous burst of laughter. I can't help but smile at her amusement.
It's somewhat intimidating to be sitting here, with all of these important people, but everyone seems so kind and welcoming. It probably doesn't hurt that most of them are a little bit drunk.
I glance over at Josh's beer and he's barely touched it. He typically has a drink in hand but he doesn't consume much. Funny, I'm the same way. I've had a combined total of about 1.5 glasses of wine in the last 5 hours. I was too busy dancing to bother with the bar.
I'm pulled back from my thoughts as Josh places his hand gently on my arm and asks me if everything is alright. I think that he's aware of how overwhelming this can be, but I assure him that I'm fine and move over a few inches simply to be closer to him.
CJ Cregg stands at one point and makes her way over to me, squeezing onto the end of the couch next to Larry. Or maybe that's Ed?
We chat for a while and I genuinely enjoy it. She seems very warm and down to Earth, though I know that she's a force to be reckoned with at the podium. I may not be in politics but this is still a company town. I know who these people are and the power they wield.
Someone mentions last call and someone else mentions splitting cabs. Before I can make heads or tails of anything the group is sectioning off and heading towards the front to call it a night and return to their respective homes.
"Do you have a room?" Josh asks though I'm pretty sure he knows that I do. The bridal party is staying at the hotel as we all got ready here and have to be back in the morning for brunch.
"Yes. Fourth floor. You?"
"Sixth." He states as we stroll towards the elevator bank together and he presses the up button.
We wait in silence and step inside together. Josh presses the button for his floor and, after a pause so short it's barely noticeable, mine. We stand next to each other and stare straight ahead, my hands placed neatly in front of me on my clutch and his shoved into his pockets.
The ding signaling the elevator's arrival on my floor cuts through the silence. I begin to move forward as I should theoretically be stepping off, but I pause, glancing over to Josh and wishing he'd tell me not to go rather than bidding me goodnight.
When I look at him I see a vulnerability I wasn't expecting and a glimpse of something else, too. Hopefulness, perhaps? He's leaving the ball in my court.
It doesn't take me more than a second to know what I want. I press the button to close the doors once again and turn to face him. He's giving me a full dimpled grin and I swear I go weak in the knees.
"The thing is, I'm not ready for the night to be over," I tell him, trying to keep things playful.
"Good." He speaks huskily to me but remains where he's standing, hands in pockets, as he stares at me with an intensity that causes my temperature to rise. "Me either."
He makes quick work of getting us into his hotel room and it's only seconds before his lips are on mine and I'm practically ripping his tux off as we fumble towards the bed.
This is so completely unlike me, but even in the heat of the moment I have the clarity to be certain I'm not going to regret this in the morning.