"Wow.." Esther gasped as the pair exits the personal car Harrier had sent to pick them up. "Impressive, right? I wasn't expecting my first art show to be in such an extravagant place." Damon says as he takes hold of Esther's hand and leads him out of the car and around the building. The air was cold and still, it had been a quiet and slow winter that felt almost magical to experience. "We enter from the back here, wouldn't do to come in through the front like all the others." Damon said smugly, getting a little elbow from his date for his troubles. "Are you trying to get into character with that smugness?" Esther jokes. "Maybe. Yes." Damon admitted with a little laugh. They enter through a special entrance from the back and place their coats in a little closet meant for the organizers. Esther does a dainty little spin to twirl his dress as he takes his coat off, handing it to Damon. "You look stunning." he tries to keep a nervous smile from creeping up his cheeks as he takes Esther's coat. "Thank you, mon ami. You're not so badly dressed yourself!" Esther says with a chuckle. Damon allows the comment to wash over him, finding it funny how often he was teased in Esther's presence. Truthfully he enjoyed it far more than being in the company of a meek and people-pleasing person like some of his previous loves, he'd found that Esther was good for more than just simple love but a great conversationalist and an intriguing character to boot. He takes his hand into his and leads him out of the back room towards the main floor of the gallery.
"Oh my." Damon quietly whispers to himself as he enters the gallery with Esther by his side, arms locked together. He was not expecting the excessive turnout of people. There had to be at least a hundred different artists and aristocrats on the floor which caused Damon to quickly lose his nerve. "I'm here, Damon. Relax." Esther said as he gently squeezed the artist's hand. He was right, he was there. He was Damon's anchor. With Esther there by his side it made tackling the crowd seem a lot simpler and almost fun in prospect. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, blowing his chest out and putting on a confident smile. As they walk into the crowd a few heads turn as they realize the man of the hour had finally shown up, a few familiar faces welcoming the two of them. Out of the crowd steps Whittaker, the art aficionado who had helped put this show on and whom Damon had gotten introduced to at the dinner party the week before. "Ah, Mister Gray! Good to see you my boy." he says with a warm smile, his prominent mustache turning with his face as he shook Damon's hand. "Likewise, Mister Whittaker. Thank you for helping put this show on." Damon says as he looks out to the paintings littering the walls. "Not at all, dear boy! It was my pleasure." Whittaker says as he turns his head to Esther, peering his eyes before opening them up again far wider. "Ah, you must be that lovely lady who served us the wine at the previous dinner party we shared. I had no idea you and Mister Gray were a pair!" he says in a slightly hushed tone as he takes hold of Esther's hand and gently kisses the top of it, as was customary for gentlemen to do. "Can you keep a secret, Mister Whittaker?" Esther says quietly with a sweet smile. "Of course, I know how these things go. Best to keep it between us for the moment, eh?" Whittaker says as he turns his gaze to Damon. "I'll let you two be for the time being. Please, enjoy the canapes and the aperitives." Whittaker says with a little bow as he takes his leave.
Esther's eyes grew wide and seemed to glow as he squeezed Damon's arm, looking up at him in excitement. "Damon, they have hors d'oeuvres! They have hors d'oeuvres! You didn't tell me there would be food!" Esther said in a quiet tone as he looked around to see if there were any waiters with platters. "You're a lot more food motivated than I thought you were." Damon chuckles. "I believe there's someone making their way over to us now with drinks, see?" Damon nodded in the direction of a waitress in a white shirt and black vest with a cute bowtie, the same outfit the other waiters were wearing, making her way over to the couple with glasses of champagne on a pretty platter. "Mister Gray? Welcome to the art gallery. Here, for you and the lovely lady." the waitress said as the pair picked up their glasses. "Thank you, miss." Damon says with a little toast to Esther. He watched her as she turned to leave, he knew this lady as one of the girls Harrier employed and he was wondering why she referred to Esther as a 'lady'. Surely she had to know he wasn't a woman. As he was wondering this he turned to Esther to see him holding a canapé he'd already bitten into and was chewing with an expression of slight confusion. "What?" he spoke with a full mouth. "Where'd you get that?" Damon raised an eyebrow, he had looked away for one second and Esther had already nicked something off a plate that must have passed by. Esther quickly swallows before speaking. "They're being offered, see?" he says as he points just behind him at a waitress with a tray full of delicious finger foods. "You didn't think to get one for me?" Damon says with a devilish smirk. "Here, try mine!" Esther says as he slowly inches the canapé towards Damon's mouth, who has to think fast to not get it shoved in his face. The snack consisted of a larger than usual piece of bread with smoked salmon, crème fraiche and horseradish, with a little dill to finish. Damon ate the rest of it and nodded along as he chewed. "Wow, It's really good!" Damon replies before swallowing. "Let's get some more while we mingle, I want to start playing my role already." Esther gives a wide grin as he leads Damon away, the artist taking a quick drink as he's dragged about.
