Alvin handed over the preferred drink and then plucked one off the table for himself. He was oddly relieved not to have to explain why he didn't drink alcohol anymore. Not tonight. Tonight was light and fun and that was decidedly not.

Her question brought him back out of those gloomy thoughts easily enough. "I'm not so sure yet," he made a moment of it, scratching his chin lightly as if in thought. "I think it might be more the company than the setting." Alvin was certain he was only enjoying it as much as he was because her enthusiasm was infectious, not because he had suddenly grown to like these sorts of things. In different circumstances, he probably would still be lingering on the outskirts, just keeping an eye on Sloane quietly.