Together

A Lovely Night

Hi everyone! I hope you've all had a good day. I'm back with another update, and they will be more consistent for the next week or so before they go away for quite some time (but no worries- all good things going on, I'll just be busy.)  this chapter is full of tea, so let's get going, shall we? Buckle up ladies, and don't forget to comment/vote if you wish xx
-ab

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April 26, 2026

Patrick

When Harper and I arrive at the hotel next to Gabe's magazine's headquarters, where the dinner party is being hosted in the ballroom, it feels as though we are swept into a different world.

Everything is just so glamorous. Though Harper and I are financially comfortable, we would never be able to afford a lifestyle like people who stay at this hotel have.

Inside of the ballroom, the mood doesn't change at all. Lights are strung around the room. A massive chandelier is hanging in the center of the ceiling. The tables are draped with pristine white fabric, and a pianist is playing away in the corner.

People are just starting to arrive, and Harper quickly spots Nessa and Gabe. "Let's go say hi," she suggests.

"Sounds good," I reply, following my wife over to her friend.

"Ness!" Harper exclaims. "You look so gorgeous."

"Thanks," she smiles. "So do you. And Patrick, you look very handsome."

"Thank you," I tell Nessa, then turn to Gabe. "This is a lovely party."

"Thank you. My mum and dad put it on. They're the ones in charge of the magazine. I'm just going to take over it when they retire," he explains.

"Well, tell them that they did a great job."

"I will."

"You guys are sitting with us. So is Kath," Nessa says. "Come on, I'll show you the table."

"I feel so bad that Kath didn't find a date," Harper remarks. "She looked so hard."

"I know," Nessa replies. "I told her that she should get James back for the night."

"I'm sure that there was a hard veto on that idea," I laugh. Even I know that Katherine had a rocky breakup with her most recent boyfriend. Harper told me once that that was part of why she wanted to get the part in Anastasia so badly. He's a dancer at the Royal Ballet Theatre too, so Katherine needed a way to escape James for a little bit.

"For sure," Nessa laughs. "Don't worry about her, though. She'll find somebody eventually. I think there is some flirtatious activity going on, just between you and me."

Harper's eyes widen. "With whom?"

"Listen, I don't know those sort of details. All that I know is that she won't stop staring at her phone and giggling into the ungodly hours of the morning." Then, Nessa changes the subject. "Anyway, this is our table. It's prime real estate here, as the speakers will be right up there."

She motions to a podium only a few metres away from our seats. Each chair has a name card in front of it. I have Harper on one side of me, and Gabe on the other. On Harper's other side is Katherine's seat, and on the other side of Gabe is Nessa.

"Is this seating arrangement good?" Gabe asks. "I can switch the names around if we need to."

"No, it's fine," I say, and Harper nods in agreement.

"A few other friends of mine are sitting with us," Gabe says. "They're cool, though. Don't worry about it. Nessa knows them, so I figured I'd stick her on the barrier."

Nessa laughs. "Thanks, babe."

"No problem." He gives her a little kiss on the cheek. "Hey, by the way, my parents can't wait to meet you."

Harper and I watch as Nessa's face turns pale. "Wait, that's happening... tonight?"

I hold back a laugh as Gabe tries to explain to his girlfriend that yes, it is only sensible for it to happen tonight. "I mean, they're here, and you're here... did you expect to not meet them tonight?"

"Hey," Harper offers, "we all had to go through it. I met Patrick's parents, and he met mine. It really isn't as bad as you build up in your mind, I promise."

"Ness, they're going to love you. I've told them all about you, alright?"

"I can't believe that you haven't already met them," Harper says. "You two have taken things pretty quickly."

"Yeah, this is sort of one of the only things that we have put off," Gabe laughs. "I've not met Nessa's mum and dad yet either."

"That's going to be even more awkward," Nessa mumbles. "I've never brought a boy home before, love... I don't even think that they know about most of the guys I've dated. Do they really need to-"

"We can talk about it later," Gabe laughs, brushing the issue aside. "Just, right now, we can get through you meeting my parents."

"Okay," she replies. Just then, Gabe spots some other friends of his, and waves.

"Come on, Ness. Let's go see them."

As they walk away, I turn to Harper. "Are you getting the sense that Nessa... maybe doesn't want Gabe to meet her parents?"

"Yeah," she replies. "I'm not sure what it could be all about..."

"I think that you should talk to her about it when you get the chance. Not necessarily tonight, but at some point..."

"I will," Harper nods. "I hope that it doesn't cause problems between the two of them. He seems to be eager to meet her parents."

"I don't think that it will cause any problems with them," I say. "It's clear to anyone, just how much they love each other. I just don't think that it's good for Nessa to be keeping secrets like this. It'll come out at some point."

"That will cause more harm for her than good," my wife nods. "I'll make sure that everything is okay when I get the chance."

Harper and I spend the rest of the night having a good time, chatting with our friends, and eating some delicious food. I keep a bit of an eye on how Nessa and Gabe interact, to see if there would be a reason that she doesn't want to bring him home, but nothing seems to stick out to me.

Everything goes smoothly with Nessa meeting Gabe's parents. They seem to think that she is a lovely girl, which she is, and give their stamp of approval on their son's relationship.

We have so much fun for the evening, dancing late into the night and ending the evening with a bit of a slow dance to the pianist's rendition of 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran, a favourite song of both Harper and I.

When the evening is over, I am smiling as we leave, and Harper and I are as loved up as ever. It was an amazing night for both of us.