2019-01-01 - A Carriage Ride into the New Year

Tonight was the big event and Byron was having second thoughts about it already. The only thing forcing him out of bed and to get all dressed up was the idea that this would be their first New Years Eve together. As a couple. They went all out for Christmas and the the year wasn't over yet. So in the hopes to give Lilith that complete holiday package, he does drag himself, shivering, out of bed to bask in that hot shower and then get dressed for quite the formal engagement.

In his mind, this was starting the New Year on the right foot. Together.

So here he is, having parked the Wraith at the Addington House. It's a chore when he's forced to get out of the car and stand there in the fridge snow. Formal wear isn't overly warming, but long underwear helps a little. So here he is, looking dapper in his charcoal gray tuxedo. For the most part, his outfit is hidden beneath a thick period appropriate heavy coat and a scarf, though he's cold on the inside, so no matter what he wears, he feels like he's freezing. Thick gloves cover his hand. In fact, he's wearing formal whites beneath a thick, heavier leather layer. And though he'd much prefer to wear a wool cap and ear muffs, to complete the illusion of having just stepped out of the Gatsby era, he dons a top hat on his head. In fact, he's being super fancy enough to be carrying a cane with a brass wolf's head handle.

Taking Lilith's hand in his, he escorts her to wear their magical carriage awaits. It hurts, but he tries his best to smile, even if he feels that his face may crack in the process.

The carriage itself is beautiful, it's either an antique or a remarkable replica of a carriage back in the day. With careful steps, he makes his way up and onto the carriage, before extending a gloved hand down to assist Lilith's ascent. "No regrets today."

Lilith is cold when she steps out of the Wraith with the aid of Byron's gloved hand on assist, her fingers curling with turn to keep fast hold. But she's only cold because she's suddenly outside-- the hypothermic chill that affected her prior has fled her bones and extremities by now, and she's a furnace to cuddle compared to Byron. She didn't even bother asking him if he was sure he wanted to be out in this weather, and it took some restraint not to fuss like that over him. She knows he's still bad off and the cold is the last thing he truly needs while on the mend. But... she knows what the answer will be, too. So she doesn't verbally express her own second thoughts all day.

He dropped a lot of money on this carriage ride (for charity). But Lilith also knows... how lovely and significant he wants this night to be. Now that they're out in the weather, though, she's stealing a watchful sidelong glance at Byron while they're migrating from car to that lovely carriage, which... steals her concern for a moment. The antiquity of it is something she can affirm and appreciate, along with the sheer vision of this moment where he's helping her up alongside him to be seated. It makes her gasp and stare before she's even able to take the hand, "... oh, Byron."

Tonight, her own hands have leather gloves with fur lining pulled over her long silk dress gloves that go with the attire beneath her coat. It's a lovely coat, truly antique from the period, made of dark and smoky brocade velvet and ermine fur trim at the collaring and sleeve ends. It's tailored to wrap long with back drop hem around evening attire, both swaddling and cutting bias on the female form. Hosiery and velvety t-strap black heels with embellishment stones are visible, matching the festive black velvet head banding around her pinned and curled hair to suit the Roaring Twenties. Like Byron, she could use a head wrap for warmth, but she's sacrificing for style and hair purposes as well.

Once up, though, she's quick to settle in and tug the plush provided lap blanket up around them to cozy in and try to keep him warm with immediacy. Then she goes back to staring, "... it's a gorgeous restoration, I'd expect no less. But I forgot to pet the horses."

Once Lilith is raised up into the carriage, Byron scoots over to allow her room to sit, leaning in close to wrap an arm around her shoulder. His cane rests at his feet, leaning against the front portion of their wagon. The longer that they were outdoors, the harder it was for him to catch his breath. There was so much ice in his veins that she can feel his body trembling within his coat beside her. He might try to wear a smile for the entirely of this trip, but that doesn't stop his lips from quivering in the cold as well, forcing his free hand to adjust his scarf to hide a better portion of his face in a thick wrap.

"Hyacinth really went out of her way for this one. Some people might not think that this whole thing was worth the money bid on it," And while he has little regrets normally, he is freezing terribly out here, "But to ride around Addington Park before attending the party of the year and dressed in such fineries. I think it was well worth it." In his mind anyway, he's even tacking on 'Even if I should die out here this evening.'

Helping to drape the blanket around them both, the carriage already starting on its trip along Bayside Road, Byron reassures her, "Perhaps when we're near the park, we'll have the driver stop, just so you can you give the horses a little pet. Though I'm sure you will get the chance once we return back to the museum. But..." His left arm lifts to view the time on his wrist, "We have a couple of hours to kill. No rush at all."

Lilith has no clue how long the ride is and when Byron says they have a couple of hours to kill when she can already feel him trembling while tucked in close with nestling attempt at spreading her own warmth under the blanket... her made up eyelashes flutter at him with a hint of alarm. But after looking at him, then the carriage, then the horses and cold night air of the sky above, she just starts to laugh. Her lips are painted a deep matte burgundy tonight, like wine, and her teeth flash white with genuine amusement, breath at visible puff like punctuation to drift into the night, "... when we show up to the party to be dropped off and you're frozen solid dead, everyone is going to blame me like that dumb redhead that killed Leo DiCaprio with a good freeze by not helping him out when she should have. I'll be a villain, baby."

Also, that lipstick is colorstay because when she's finished comparing the situation to Titanic, she leans in to kiss at the side of his bristled face, making a happy coo there in place, despite her concern for him, trying to warm him in other ways to take some of the misery away, with affection and words and inner warmths, "It will be worth it, though. You can die knowing you made me feel like the belle of the ball before we even got inside the doors." She sticks to the no-regrets policy and breathes in Byron's cologne while in close.

Then, as they're pulled in festive style to roll along the street at a pace that thankfully doesn't leave them too terribly windblown, she wonders of Byron, "Do you watch me when I sleep, sometimes?" It's a valid question because if she's asleep, she wouldn't know. But she might be going somewhere with the question leadup, it is Lilith. Her curiosities generally tend to lead and tie somewhere.

This was the start of their evening journey. They'd not been out of his car but for a few minutes, so he's coping much better at this moment than he will be, more than likely, at the end of this ride. No only does he have to combat his inner freeze, but also the elements around them. While in the safety of a car, they have the vehicle itself and the windows to protect them. In this carriage, they were at the mercy of the chilly winter air if not for the windchill.

"DiCaprio sure is popular tonight. Not only are we braving the weather and misery to attend a party in his honor. I'll end up like the Titanic DiCaprio or the Revenant." So many movies to choose from. Turning to Lilith, just as she presses her warm lips against the ice of his skin, he lets out a heavy breath of fog, before continuing with this thought process, "At least Jack and..." He's trying to remember the woman's name. The actress more than likely, "Win... Winslet." He has to laugh at this, "You both have similar-ish names." He then ends with, "At least Jack got to do it with her. That was the whole point that made the dying worth it. I'm sure."

The drive down Bayside is always beautiful. It's made even moreso in this winter wonderland with a brilliant moon shining high above them and the loveliness of the bay off to one side of the road. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he's thinking of that soup. The one that magically appeared in all of their pantries and cabinets. Then his thoughts go to the actual party at hand. They just have soup of some sort.

When she next speaks up, his mind is in a daze, eyes staring out blankly ahead of them before his attention is eventually captured. He doesn't catch the beginning of her question, but he gets the gist of it. "Sometimes." He'll report the last word that she'd said, turning this tight lipped smile at her, "Why?"

"Her name was Rose in the movie and it's my middle name, too. I'm seeing a trend, here. You're entirely about to die. But at least you got to do it with me." Lilith points out with small interjection to Byron and another helpless half-laugh. But then she tilts her head some while looking him over at length, despite the layers and swaddling and blankets, as if she's suddenly monitoring or gauging his body's functioning in that way of hers that changes the focus of her blue eyes. But when she looks back up, she smiles at Byron some and tacks on, "You know what I'm wearing under this coat. It's mostly fringe. I might die too. We can decide when to yell 'mercy'."

Then Lilith pulls in a breath to Byron's inquiry before laying her head against that nook in his arm and shoulder with gentle lean to look at the ride scenery before she speaks. And it's really too bad they didn't hire a photographer to tail them for the night, it's quite a picturesque moment-- the dark winter evening and moon, the stars in the cold sky, the pair of them dressed like antique glitz and finery with modernity's edge even bundled, looking like they look. Then again, maybe they have a photographer watching them courtesy of Grant Turner. Lilith oddly thinks of that for a moment while viewing the scenery with them so open air, eyes flitting more watchfully around for a beat. Where would someone like that be? How would they follow? Would they park and wait? What's the damn point, anyway, when he knows they're together?

It's just a wandering paranoia, maybe sparked by a mere flash of headlights from a car. Then she's gently recalling at length to Byron in explanation.

"Mhm. I watch you sometimes too. But I ask because when I was in the shower, getting ready, I was trying to think of the images from this past year that were my favorite. You know, the things that really stuck as a picture in my mind, one of those moments where you can remember all the vivid details, or what you were thinking and feeling? I realized that a good three of those moments happened while you were asleep. My memory was kicking like one of those slideshows for some reason. New Year's reflection, maybe, knowing the kind of party and night I was getting ready for."

After a pause, Lilith continues on, informing Byron, her lips at slight tug, "The first night you stayed over at my place after we reacquainted, I probably only actually slept the last few hours of it. I kept waking up hour on the hour to make sure it was real. I kept looking at your beard after being very still to listen to you breathe and make sure you were asleep so you wouldn't catch me. My image of you is so clear in the dark with the streetlights shining in..." She breathes out a soft noise, "And you were so real. And you were so different. And you were so the same. I wanted to touch and learn you like a puzzle all over again in the strangest way."

"There's another, time, after you were hurt badly with head injury..." Lilith doesn't dwell on it, the moment of hurt, she focuses on the moments where he was mended and restive, "I had been feeling so stupid about accidentally kissing you. I thought for a time, you only returned it because I caught you offguard and it seemed like the natural thing to do. So when I had you whole again and I laid atop you, when you kissed me long and slow and gracious, I only then realized how much you... wanted to. That you weren't just traumatized and wanting to be close, you wanted to give in and you'd been fighting it like me, I felt it. I made you feel safe the way you make me feel safe." She pauses and confesses, "I watched you a long time on the couch, sleeping there on you. I know the very shape of your adam's apple, the lines of your profile exactly, the tiny lines by your eyes from smiling, the way your lashes flutter when you're deep in sleep."

"The third one... well. I'll save that one. Do you have good moments that stand out so detailed like that?"

Yes, Byron knows what she's wearing under her coat and he'd object to it if he could. "I told you that you could get changed into party wear in the Wraith after the carriage ride. Though in truth, I don't know how people used to do it back in the day. All without looking looking like they were wearing layers on layers." The tone which he uses is more of concern than annoyance or even a hint of scolding.

His top hat, while not warm, does keep his head covered from any bits of still falling snow. Keeping his body as closely against Lilith as possible in the comfort of the blanket they are bundled in, he uses the warmth of her cheek to soothe the uncomfortable chill in his body, even if it brings him only a minor, temporary relief. Unfortunately, she can feel just how icy his own flesh is.

He falls quiet when she gives him the rundown of all the moments that stood out in her mind when she'd watched him sleep. Some of those he recalls, though not so much as he was asleep. Though when he had the head injury, some of that was a blur. Now its' his turn, though she's holding back the third moment from him. As he listened, there was this thoughtful and quiet smile on his lips, but now she had him thinking. "You're talking about now? Not before?" He must have had some fond memories as a youth watching her sleep which isn't not entirely creepy. "Any moment is a good moment in truth, except... especially in the beginning, we'd mainly stay over at each other's houses because one of us if not both were injured in some way. While there may have been fondness there it was overshadowed by worry. Though... the first night that you stayed over," Since he'd broken up with Vivian, that does come to mind as well, "I just felt that I had it all at that time. Everything I could ever want. It felt like a dream." His chin lifts to stare up at the moonlit sky just as they turn a corner, taking the street leading towards Addington Park. "Just like how this feels like a dream tonight."

"I could have done so, yes, but then I wouldn't have been dressed like a darling suited to sit beside you in all your handsome and dapper glory, Speaking of, I imagine if there aren't already photographers there to catch it, we honestly should ask the driver to take one of our phones and take a series of shots of us seated in this, and you helping me out, and then posing before walking in. Though at this rate, I might be helping you out instead of some belle of the ball swing of the waist to get down." Lilith explains with the kind of logic that goes in lines of looking like a matched, suitable pair for such a magical setting and ride and night . Then, after she makes the comment about him taking her waist to lift her down from the carriage, she suddenly huffs visible air into the cold while batting lashes up at him, "And no-no, now that I've said it, don't try it. I think you need to be able to feel your limbs to pull it off efficiently."

Though it is cold, with two glove layers and her own internal alignment for temperature control shifted back into health, her hands are warm under the blanket and in the layers. And though she's practically almost nuzzled her way right on top of Byron, just barely in her own space of seat trying to keep him warm, she's becoming more and more aware how much he's probably suffering through in the name of the evening. So while he's making answer to her inquiry about 'moments' this past year since she's been back in town and they've reacquainted, she tugs off the layering of gloves to unveil her cozy hand, lips ghosted with affectionate partial smile as she sits attentive, listening.

Then, when he's finished speaking and his eyes go up to the moon, the beauty of the snow covered park emerging with route before them, she pulls her other hand free. Reaching warm palms and fingers that feel like fire and affection against his cold cheeks, she aims to cradle his face to warm him and bring his lips to hers with double duty care, "It does feel like a dream. But I assure you, everything you make me feel is the realest thing I've probably ever known. It fascinates me, it scares me, it excites me, it addicts me." Her lips brush with the words and warm breath of back and forth nudge between mouths before she kisses.

Byron would be more prone to catch the paparazzi's eyes back in L.A. when he traveled in similar crowds to some of the rich and famous there, though he wasn't famous himself. He hung out with a lot of one percenters and there he was. New Money. His gaze lingers on the driver in front of them, when he eventually says, "In his line of work, I'm sure he gets asked to take pictures of couples, families or friends all the time. I'm sure he won't mind." While he has money and could very well have hired himself a photographer, despite liking good publicity to keep his name in the spotlight in town, he's not much for having his picture plastered anywhere otherwise, so doing such a thing, which seems far too fancy for the likes of him, never crossed his mind.

"Either way, I'm sure that we can get him to take the best shots." By those words alone, he may be hinting that he plans on trying to pull off the very shot that Lilith was hoping to get of them.

His lips felt chapped in this cold and they continued to tremble, but they warm up considerably when her hot mouth presses against his and they remain this close for long, intimate moment. The horse and carriage pull up towards Addington Park which is light up for the occasion. They can see the expanse of green space, the carousel in the distance and all of those stone sculptures.

When they eventually separate, he stares down deeply into her depths. Even if the body heat transference was no longer keeping him warm, that one amorous is enough to wrap in a lingering warmth for a while longer. "Christmas morning." He then says out of the blue, "I'd gotten up early to set the scene, but before I even put on the coffee, set out the pastries of wore that Santa hat," his lips curl up into a smile at that, "I watched as you slept. Imagined the excitement I wanted to see on your face if I was able to pull this off."

Lilith forgets for a few beats of time how chilled through and miserable Byron is because his kiss is so warm and indulgent. She forgets the park, she forgets the moon, but she doesn't forget that they're drifting with the roll of carriage wheels, the gentle sway and bump of motion matching the way her pulse bumps and stutters before speeding up. As she said just moments before sealing the kiss, she finds it fascinating and addicting, the physical reaction to a kiss shared in the middle of sharing. On pull back, her eyes are riveted to Byron's dark ones while he recalls another sleeping moment of his own.

The cold is doing a number on the edges of her ears and cheeks, they're already ruddy, and she's not particularly a blusher, but... something about his words makes her downright flood with girlish blush. Her fingers curl at the side of his face and she puts on another small kiss to his lips before finally dragging her hands away to start slowly replacing her outer gloves. The silk ones stay off for now, it's less to pull off to pet a horse at some point.

"You know... I didn't have the luxury of any time where I got to believe in Santa, so much." Lilith having Hank Winslow as a dad really probably put a kink into the whole Santa belief system pretty early. She's largely eyes on Byron, but eventually, she does realize they're in a beauteous expanse of the park and coming up on where the snowman contest was held, a collection of creative snow sentinels in the night, "But I swear, the sheer giddiness after the feel and sight and sound and surprise of it all... it somehow made up for every Christmas before. I know what it's like now. I can't..." She breathes out a soft laugh, "I can't even keep a straight face when I think about it, my body doesn't let me."

Then she breathes out an utterly content noise in her throat with hum when her gloves are on and she's looking at Byron's eyes again directly to wonder with teasing, "You might be painting yourself into a corner with the grand spoiling treatment all around, lately. Makes me wonder what lengths would you go to if you decided you wanted to ring lock me down and keep me a while. Does it happen in a castle turret in Europe to make me feel like an authentic princess? Or would you have the tiger with the diamond collar deliver the box?" The one joked about so long ago, the first time she saw his apartment.

Lilith's bringing up her own childhood without Santa has Byron briefly remembering his own childhood. He remembers his parents, mostly his father, talking about Santa when Byron was terribly young. The holiday season sometimes helped to lift the spirits of that household even if it did bring with it the stresses surrounding Christmas and New Years, usually drunk driving, but in Gray Harbor, Byron realizes that it could be anything.

Once his mind shifts back to the present and he hears Lilith talking about just how giddy she felt on Christmas morning, Byron can't help but look proud of that as well. But this mention of his spoiling her brings out an even brighter smile.

At some point during the course of the night, not this night, but last night, several of the ice sculptures were found demolished any snowmen especially. Sometimes they'd be decapitated, the roundness of their body split in some way. And there was so much blood. If that was blood, it's hard to tell. One particular snow... thing was missing, however. The stitched together conjoined twins. Perhaps the person who destroyed some of the other snowmen smashed that as well. That said, there's some possible drag marks along the snow leading to somewhere out of the park.

For now, Byron doesn't pay any of that any mind, when he says, "You really should stop while you're ahead. The more you bring any of this up, I'll just have to change any plans I made if they matched anything said. At this point, we'll just have a quickie wedding in Las Vegas, because that's not something you'd expect." The carriage rounds the park in the darkness, but as it's New Years Eve, the park is currently full of people waiting for some grand fireworks show this evening, though the majority of Gray Harbor denizens are probably out at the boardwalk, where a far grander exhibition will most likely be taking place with a boat on the bay.

"A tiger with a diamond collar delivering a box, though? That sounds terrible and something a Kardashian would do." He can't help but laugh at that, before leaning forward to hail the driver down. "Let's get those pictures before he feels a need to head back."

"Could be worse. You could have said Reno. But you have a point." Lilith says after a faux hum of consideration on weighing whether Byron would actually be able to do that or not just for the shock factor. Imitation Elvis could really screw up a wedding photo, surely he wouldn't risk that. Lilith lets out a bright and sudden laugh at the Kardashian bit before groaning to herself, because oh dear, it does, and to make matters worse, he could actually rent a tiger to command with a box if he wanted to get funny some day.

When the carriage rolls to a stop on request, Lilith gradually pulls herself away from Byron's body and reluctantly flips back the blanket that they're covered by to trap whatever heat they can manage between them and the layers. And she's distracted while laying her gloves aside so she doesn't forget them later, talking with a look in brief at the park, the moon, the streetlights with decorated poles they're being parked by, "Oh, good, this is honestly... more picturesque than pulling up in front of the venue to do it. Especially with..."

The park. Lilith does a double take after some delay at the park while talking about pretty picture backdrops and she decides a little slowly, as if not sure what to think about the bits and pieces of detail and ruin she's seeing with some of the snow figures in the dark, splotched with...

"You know, we should maybe keep turned away from where they made the snowmen, though, so let's use that side over there to get out, this time."

Byron, honestly, doesn't even notice anything amiss in the park, being too occupied with catching the driver's attention. Now that the driver knows that they want to stop, it's only a matter of where they'd like to stop. "They carousel lights are on." In fact, the carousel is still running since the park is filled with New Years Eve revelers, children included. "Perhaps somewhere that we can get a good shot of the carousel in the back. At least for a few pictures." Knowing the park's history, he can only assume that the carousel looked vintage enough to be a part of the photo. And then, perhaps, move somewhere less crowded for a more Winter Wonderland picturesque shot with the barren snow-covered trees and everything.

He doesn't plan on heading over to the carousel, they were in a carriage! But the lights of the carousel in the distance is the shot he's hoping to get. The odd request about not having the snowmen interfere with their shot gets a lift of a brow, but he'll comply. "Do you want to get a picture of us with me helping you down first?" There's this whole lining up of the carriage and the carousel in the back that has him eyeing the distance as his thick gloves warming his fingers brings up the camera on his phone as he works to adjust the setting. "If you notice that there's too much light due to," He gestures to the lamps, "Lower the flash here. Otherwise, increase this." He's giving the driver instructions before handing the phone over.

To Lilith, he asks, "Ready?"

Now, Lilith knows she needs to compromise with the cold, so she leaves the silk gloves on the seat and her leather outer gloves on. Though, when she's standing, she unbuttons the coat in partial to show flashes of fringe from her dress beneath and the low cut of the drop down between breasts, legs clad in silk garter-held dark thigh stockings. It leaves her a mix of both outfit snazzy revealing and bundled for the cold, and a delight to capture in motion of come down out of the carriage, besides with leg and lean to tantalize the flamboyant costume class of her outfit and skin just enough. Someone's been through a few photoshoots. It's likely the Miami website is responsible.

But photogenic as Lilith tends to be, other than the outfit shifting to make a Vogue photoshoot out of this moment, she's not a lot of effort about being pose happy or hamming for the camera, at least until it's time to deliberately stand together for the shot with carousel in the back drop. She's naturally ruddy with cold, bright-eyed and made up and brimming with happiness that almost makes her forget the about how bad leaping into his arms for a comedown kiss might be. She comes down with ease and grace instead, but when down, she goes for that kiss to capture and hold with genuine delight in the moment for memory image sake, hand lifted to draw him down gentle at the back of the neck so that he's caught leaned down to meet her. And one of her heeled feet kicks up in that antique t-strap shoe with playful picture pose toward the end of it, like she's mid-swoon.

Then it's time to pose-pose, so aligned a few different ways to capture the carriage, the carousel, the moon on them while turned to kiss again, Lilith comments aside to Byron, "...we make cliche couple wall hangings and frames look very good, I think. Much better than pulling faces at each other on school photos day to make one another laugh and ruin the picture, isn't it?"

Unlike Lilith, Byron didn't need to undo the buttons of his heavy coat. It was more or less period appropriate, so it wouldn't ruin the image they wanted to convey with these pictures. In each of them, with his top hat on, he looked tall and stately. In some he'll flash an easy and amused smile, more likely due to Lilith's antics more than anything. While in others, he retains a cold, serious expression, giving him this old-fashioned stuffy businessman vibe. The well-crafted cane shows up in a few, especially the pictures posed standing up straight before the carriage. In more romantic pictures, however, the cane is set aside. There are even some images where he tips his hat to her in greeting, showing off those gloved hands.

His own pallor is still pale and while his cheeks should be filled with some color due to the cold, there's this cold cast to it. With the warmth that the blanket afforded gone, his body has returned to shivering, though to combat this, he make attempts to slow his breathing down by taking long and deep breathes. Each time she touches him, she can feel how cold his skin, but Byron does try to make the most of this moment because it'll take another year to pass for a moment like this to align-- the snow, the costuming, the fact that it was NYE and they had a carriage. Even next year, the snow might not even factor in the way it did now.

Perhaps as a surprise, as one of their final pictures, Byron leans forward to scoop Lilith up in his arms as he grins confidently into the camera. In the end, however, he deposits her right next to the horses, so that they can get a few shots of them as well as she pets them. "Whoever has our pictures hanging on their wall definitely had good taste... and a love for vintage aesthetics." To the other thing that she mentions, this brings up a smirk to his lips, "Well, My Lady, that would be quite unbecoming of us, I dare say, if we decided to make fools of ourselves, to be immortalized for all eternity. Or some foolishness as that." His lips crack into a smile, before he leans in to nuzzle against her, warmly, for the camera to capture.

"Quite unsuitable for the ages, I'd say." Lilith affects a transatlantic accent for effect with a laugh as she's scooped up, throwing her head back to briefly make a play pose and noise of delight with teeth at white flash against the wine hue of her lips while in Byron's arms. Then she's arm up and around the man, grinning like a caught woman who doesn't mind at all for the camera before she's nuzzled in for that murmur. Then there's horses there to pet and pose with, and naturally, Lilith has to ask the driver their names so she can talk to them and empathize a moment with the creatures about how cold it is. (They're named Chantilly and Pearl, which are some froofy names for horses, who did that?)

The brunette really doesn't take overlong with the horses, though, she's casual and leisurely enough to have some shots taken and enjoy the equine company for a spell before she side-eyes Byron making his own exchange with the horses. Her profile is affectionate on looking at him, so it's a good camera shot, but really, at that moment, she's also realizing how cold she is and how much he must be struggling and hiding it, even enough to strike the dashing poses for camera. And knowing he's powering through like this for the sake of the evening, with her, oh it makes her want to pounce him and try to wrap him in her own coat against her body.

But she doesn't do that. Instead, she adjusts her leather gloves and calls 'Thank you!' to the driver with the phone camera to signify they're done. And when she turns to Byron, she nestles her coat closed and shivers visibly with a noise of 'brrr' and then a tiny 'fff' noise under her breath that isn't quite a curse, but sentiment carrying. While bouncing in place before her top coat buttons are done during the bounce, she both puts on a show in that low cut dress and shows her own sudden misery while laughing, "I think... I'm dying now. Will you hate me if I ask for the short loop around the park to turn us back?" She figures not. They've certainly got some money's worth and memory out of the ride, but freezing solid is a concern getting more valid in the scales at this point.

Byron will stand proudly besides the horses as well, he even removes the double layer of gloves on one of his hands to touch the side of Pearl's neck, expecting, no, hoping that it would be warm to the touch, but in this winter weather, that's not the case. He did get to pet a horse though. With this loves slipped back on and just that whole ordeal leaving him shaking in his boots, even if he really does try his best to hide it, when he next speaks, there's this trembling in his voice, "While the event doesn't start for a bit still, the venue will allow us entrance. We can definitely warm up there."

He had to wonder if Lilith was just as cold as he was with her flashy little show and just as she has the mind to wrap him up in her coat, he feels this need to do the same to her. With his phone returned, he stands close to lend Lilith his hand to aid her on entering the carriage before he follows suit. It's a good thing that this was a 1920's themed event rather than the Victorian period, it would be a pain to get in and out of a carriage with such bustling skirts. Then again, Lilith might feel far more warmly dressed if that were the case.

Once settled in, he drapes the blanket over them and redoing his scarf. Since he's no longer needing to pose for pictures, he can wrap the thing anyway he wanted in order to keep warm. With a bit snuggling up against her, Byron shows her some of the images that they'd taken, once the horses start up again. He won't mention anything about how much he paid for this ride (well, and the tickets to the actual party, which he'd given away, since he'd purchased his own early) "There will be many, many more photo ops once we get to the party and hopefully, they've got the place warm enough that you can show off your outfit, which looks damn sexy by the way. Right now though, what I'm looking forward to is a nice bourbon, a hot bowl of soup and to have you in my arms for the rest of the journey." With that said, once the phone is put away, he wraps his arm around her to hold her close.

Lilith gets her outerwear all settled and into the carriage with Byron's aiding hands, at least quick to get under the lap blanket and scoot to let him in alongside her with free range of (cold) legs. And as they get settled to take off back around, she murmurs with a pleased smile, "Thank you. Of course, with us dressed so nicely, it does make the idea of warming you up bodily in the car rather hard to suggest. I feel like that makes us ridiculous, having one last go for the end of the year in your passenger seat while..." Trailing off, she suddenly recalls while on that heating train of thought, "Oh. The third time..."

While nudging in to whisper and murmur low with face tipped toward Byron's ear, the brunette points at the dire snowman scene this time while they're rolling past it, but he may not quite be paying as much mind as he might another time. Because when she does it, she's in the middle of whispering to him about the third time she remembered vividly while watching Byron sleep. And she's so absorbed in telling him something that's not fit for the driver to overhear, she doesn't bother explain what she's half-ass pointing at for him to look at, anyway.

"The third time was the night of the balcony, in Seattle. The first time I knew I was making love. Everything was heightened. You took me in, we had our bath, we had another round in the tub. Then all clean in bed, we fell asleep. And I remember you smelled like high end hotel soap and the sheets smelled like cotton blossoms. I woke up before dawn and you were smiling a little bit in your sleep. Your hair was messy. You were out of the sheets partially, and naked and I could see your hip bone from the way you'd laid out and tangled yourself. I wanted to kiss it. My body caught fire and I wanted to touch myself, but..." She nips his ear here, "I fell asleep thinking of the next way I wanted to make you groan and let go, then dreamed about it the rest of the night. And that is why I was on you first thing in the morning."

Even with salacious discussion going on, Byron does't particularly care whether the carriage driver heard or not. In fact, he's quite amused that while they are both freezing out here, Lilith's mind would turn to the things they might do in his car, when all he really wants right now is for the heater on full blast. The aches of hypothermia was slowly fading and his joints were no longer as stiff as they were days ago, nor does he feel the icy heat of frostbite that made touching things feel painful.

Hearing her soft voice and the warmth of her voice against his skin, his own gaze drifting off to the side to observe the scenery as she tells him the third time that stood out in her mind, when she'd watched him sleep. It brings back fond memories of their trip to Seattle and, perhaps it's something that women, or at least Lilith is so keen on, but she provides him with such a vivid image, complete with both he and the bed sheets smelled. "You have an incredibly vivid memory, you know?" He says with a smile, finally returning his full attention her way. They say women remember something you'd said that could've taken place seven years ago, but they remember as if it were yesterday to the very hour, minute. Perhaps even seconds.

The memory is enough to make him warm up, at least slightly, even if it's more of an emotional warmth. "You're quite the insatiable little nymph." He says, his dark eyes staring deeply into her own, just as a gloved hand lifts to brush against her cheek. "And for that, my body and I appreciate the voracity and passion that you brought upon us on waking." She fills his mind with dirty thoughts that he can't help but think on whether they have time enough in his car before the event, even if his would be a rather icy touch. Still, he leans in, closing his mouth on hers and whatever they do for the rest of the evening, they at least know that they'll have this moment together on the trip back.