Re: Gabriel / Zania
In spite of the topic, he had to smile at her. Gabriel could tell that she would be upset if her parents turned out to be racist. He’d dated all shades of girls, and sometimes their parents were cool with black men up until their precious daughter was dating one. If this was a first for the Castells, it would be interesting to see how they reacted. “It’ll be okay,” he told Zania, pulling her in a little closer to kiss her temple. “I was just curious. I really only give a shit what you think.” He shrugged a shoulder and sipped his drink again. It wouldn’t be so simple from her end, of course, not giving a shit was his luxury, but asshole parents weren’t going to scare him off.
Zania relaxed a little as he kissed her, then smiled up at him as she smoothed a hand over his lapel. "Well, I think I'm here with the finest, most charming man in the room. And that's what matters." She cared about her parents’ opinion, but she'd never let that stop her from seeing who she wanted. And if they were uncomfortable with him being black, then that was their issue to get over, not hers. "Would you like me to introduce you around a bit? Could be a good chance to plug the grand opening of your shop." While it was definitely a night to have fun, there was no shame in networking at the same time. Everyone else was doing it for sure.
Gabriel grinned at her assessment -- it was always nice to hear compliments from someone you were into, no matter who you were. He happened to think he was with the most interesting, gorgeous woman in the room, so they were doing pretty well together on that front. “My pocket’s loaded with business cards, I am good to go,” he answered with enthusiasm. Gabriel switched his drink from one hand to the other and offered Zania his arm. She didn’t need it, of course, but if they couldn’t saunter around like the fanciest motherfuckers there, what was the point? “Ready to shake hands an’ kiss babies an’ all that good shit.”
"Perfect," Zania grinned. "We'll go schmooze a little, then hit the dance floor." And somewhere in there she'd introduce him to her parents. No rush, no pressure, at least not from him, for which she was grateful. This was a party and they were there to have fun, even if it wasn't the normal crowd for either of them.