The tall man got closer and closer and Ellie's heartbeat pounded harder and harder, her mind calculating every single possible outcome of the scenario. What if it was a fake? What if Ross didn't remember her? What if Ross did remember her? Ellie didn't know what to do, it had been so out of the blue. This potential reunion in the making. This sort of rush flowing through her veins wasn't something she had particularly experienced before. It wasn't like the same rush she had whenever she hopped out of an airplane or flew down on a snowboard in the Alps. This was more rooted from the heart. Her breathing - it had slowed down, but the intake of oxygen had increased immensely. The last time she felt something similar to this was when she had to give a speech during her high school years. The judging eyes of all those in the area - only this time the only eyes she cared about was the man who was approaching her and the woman next to her. Seb's voice traveled into Ellie's ears and yanked her out of the trance that she had been lulled into. Remnants of the auto-pilot she was in had made her wrap her arm around Seb's waist, pulling him close as the other man came by. Ellie took her drink's straw and started to stir idly as Seb began the introductions. Slumping into the rather comfortable VIP chair that was nearby, Ellie smiled and eeped out a gentle greeting. Making sure her distinctly Scottish accent was as emphasized as possible while still maintaining her cool composure. How she was still composed in this very moment was a testament to Ellie's willpower and ability to remain cool under pressure. No matter how stressful a situation might've been, she had still maintained her composure. It was quite amazing. But right now, all the attention was on the couple in front of them. More specifically the man in front of her. Ellie was peering into... Ross, and she was looking for those telltale quirks and whatnot that confirmed it was him. Nobody knew Ross like Ellie back in the day. She had spent so much time around him that she could predict what he would do in most situations before he even knew he was doing it. She knew all his tells, all his tendencies, everything. He was quite the adventurous person as well, dreaming of owning a McLaren F1 of his own when he was older, and whipping that thing at top speed down the Autobahn. Ross always did have a thing for cars. Ellie on the other hand wasn't as into them as he was, but because of the time she had spent around him she had picked up a few things. But after that one life-changing day in 2002, their paths split and hadn't shown signs of crossing ever again. That was until today happened. Ellie's gut was picking up on slight tendencies that matched up with what she had on him in her mind. But, something was off about him. He seemed dazed, confused. Like something had happened to him earlier. Maybe he was drunk? Concussed? One of the above. Seb's inquiry caught Ellie off guard as he had stopped beating around the bush and inquired if they knew each other something like that. Ellie wanted to say yes so badly but she didn't want to jump the shark just yet. As Ross spoke up, his accent raised flags within Ellie, being very recognizable almost immediately. Even though the last time Ellie had seen Ross, his balls hadn't dropped just yet, but there was a certain thing to his voice that made it stand out. And all these years later, she figured it didn't change just a single bit. And right there and then, Ross had asked a question that had essentially confirmed that it was him. All Ellie had to do now was to make sure that Ross remembered who she was. She wanted to play it cool. "Yeah, I'm from Inverness." Ellie cleared her throat and sipped more of her Dirty Shirley. "Does Balloch Primary School ring a bell?" Ellie asked, hoping he remembered the primary school that she and Ross had attended together, "What about the name, Elizabeth?" Ellie had now hit the nail on the head, and she hoped to all that was high and mighty that this triggered something in Ross's memory, as the [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahDlEIEmsbI]song[/url] had now shifted to something more mellow. --- While Ross, Ellie, and what she could assume to be Ellie's boyfriend had linked up, Kimberly was about to yanked in a world of her own. The conversation had obviously become more emphasized between Ellie and Ross, and Kimberly just felt awkward being between the two. There was obviously a little something between them but the poor American woman couldn't really remember what it was. Maybe it was that friend of Ross's that he fondly talked about sometimes? Was that Ellie? The girl she had shown pictures of her daughter to? The situation had become a lot for Kimberly to handle. She had inadvertently taken part in a reunion that was probably a long long time in the making. Not expected until today, but it was going to happen. Since the level of an intimate connection of sorts had become really strong between Ellie and Ross as they tried to figure each other out, Kimberly stood up and excused herself from the conversation as she wanted to be elsewhere while the two were connecting. Her Dirty Shirley had run out anyway so she was just going to get a refill and come back. She walked towards the bar, her empty glass dropped off on a waitress's platter as she leaned against the bar once again. The same bartender came by and took one look at her, and Kimberly only nodded before she got to work on a second Dirty Shirley. As Kimberly waited around, her phone vibrated as she received a text from the one man she loved more than her husband, and it was her father. It was something about a particular thing that would really perk up Kimberly's interests. Kimberly sent a reply, getting him to further elaborate before turning back to the bar. She was just internally conflicted right now. What if Ellie was Ross's long lost flame? Kimberly knew that Ross wasn't the type of person to actually dump her like that, but she was still paranoid. She didn't want to raise their daughter alone. She wanted to be with her husband, and her husband only. It was a scary thought to ponder on, but it was just Kimberly being paranoid. The poor girl had a tendency to really over-exaggerate things in her mind, which lead to constant internal struggles that she battled whenever she was left alone with her mind. But before Kimberly's mind would take her on a path that would destroy her day, her phone vibrated, indicating that her father had replied. And as it turned out, it was something that really peaked Kimberly's interest. It was a picture of the stripped body of a Ford Mustang Boss 429, and Kimberly's father was offering it to her for free. While Kimberly was known for specializing in cars of a Japanese background. She couldn't pass this up. She accepted the offer - which meant that when Kimberly and Ross came back to Kimberly's Santa Monica house, it would be sitting in her front yard waiting for her. There was a slight smile on her face before her Dirty Shirley came. She thanked the bartender before returning to the group of Europeans she happened to be associated with. As she arrived, she walked back into the area and sat back in her seat, sipping her drink as Ellie was still trying to figure out Ross. The way Kimberly was positioned and the expression, especially in her eyes, showed Kimberly's internal state of turmoil. The best way to figure out how Kimberly was feeling was by looking at her eyes. She was pretty good at keeping a pokerface, but her eyes always gave everything away. --- Regina sipped on her beer, almost 3/4 of the way through as Ryan was pounding that cider of his. She didn't even know that Cider came in an alcoholic form. She always thought that cider was just non-alcoholic and used as a champagne substitute at parties. "Just one, Ryan." Regina warned as she sipped her beer. "I'll take my beer over that cider anyday, Ryan."