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The moment that Zoe stepped over the threshold into the venue for Jay and Bree's engagement party, Zoe was assaulted by the sound of someone shouting her name, followed closely by arms winding around her neck. Zoe laughed into Bree's shoulder, frantically doing the best that she could to hang onto her gift so she didn't drop it and break it.
"What, did you get lost?" Jay asked, appearing from behind Bree. Noticing Zoe's grip loosening on the neatly wrapped box in her hand, he gently pried it from her fingers and placed it on the table behind him.
"What, did you rent out an entire hotel? This place is huge," Zoe retorted as Bree unwound her arms from around Zoe's neck, stepping back so that Zoe could get a good look at her surroundings. The room she was standing in was generally used as the dining room for the hotel that Jay and Bree had picked for their venue, but the tables and chairs had been pushed against the wall to allow for a dance floor in the middle. The bar was being manned by several bartenders, all bustling around taking orders and making drinks.
"Not the entire hotel," Bree mumbled sheepishly, leaning into Jay's side. Laughing, Jay pressed a kiss to the top of Bree's head and wound an arm around her waist.
"That's our smoking area, if you want it," Jay said, using his free hand to gesture to the set of double doors on the other side of the room. Zoe turned to look when he was pointing, tucking some of her curled hair behind her ear, and when she turned back around, Jay had dropped his arm. "I think Taz is out there, if you want to go and say hi."
"I might grab a drink first," Zoe said, squeezing Bree's arm as she moved around her friend, moving to the bar. Standing at the bar, Zoe decided to get the signature cocktail that she had missed out helping Jay and Bree choose with the others. Then, remembering that Taz had also missed out on that, Zoe got one for him as well before making her way towards the doors that Jay had mentioned, nudging them open with her shoulder. On the other side of the doors, Taz was standing at the railing of the balcony, staring down at the city below with a lit cigarette held between two fingers.
"Taz! I got you something!" Zoe shouted as soon as she stepped outside, making him turn towards her as she approached him, a bright smile on her face and a cocktail glass in each hand. The cool night air cut through the thin material that covered Zoe's arms and shoulders, making goosebumps rise on her skin, but her hands were steady and free of shivers as she passed one of the glasses to Taz.
"You didn't have to do that," Taz said, forcing himself to keep his eyes fixed on Zoe's face and not how long the combination of her dress and the heels on her feet made her legs look. Nevertheless, Taz took the cocktail glass that Zoe offered, clinking the side of his glass against the side of hers before bringing it up to his lips.
In the periphery of Taz's vision, he noticed Zoe's eyebrows knitting together and her nose wrinkling the second the liquor hit her tongue. She swiped her tongue across the roof of her mouth, but then she turned to place the glass down on the table behind them, a disappointed look on her face.
