7:05 p.m., by the bar - aurora
Chris was well into his cups by the time the party was actually supposed to have started. His job held odd hours, so he'd had most of the day free; making a small attempt at the holiday theme, he was wearing a button-up, olive green shirt with black slacks. He'd gotten to the bar early, and nerves had called for round after round of beers to the point where now he was feeling comfortably numb but also slightly bored. At least he wasn't freaking out at the prospect of being seen in public with Daniel; even though the other man had agreed to play nice and keep his hands to himself, Chris still harbored doubts that that would actually happen. And now he was feeling bad about asking for it to happen, because the whole idea was so silly.
"Man, you'd think people would be getting here sooner, with how much money management spends on this stuff," he said toward AJ, who was cleaning glasses behind the bar. Chris hadn't seen Jay, though he expected to before the night was out. The girl merely shrugged, smiling at him, either happy to talk to a good looking guy regardless of his sexuality or she was amused at the fact that he was already nearly drunk. He hadn't even tried the gummy shamrocks yet.