the party in Room 2222 is finished

"I forgot how amazing you looked in that dress."

"Hm?" Abbie cocked her head to the side.

Ben was looking her up and down. "That dress. I mean, it's not the dress, it's you. Of course. But it's sexy as hell."

Abbie grinned. "Thanks."

"With my arrogant and selfish ego, the story in my head is that you wore that dress in order to seduce an innocent stranger tonight. And that innocent stranger happened to be me." Ben put his hands out on Abbie's arms.

"You ..." she said, then gestured toward Carter, who had returned to the window. "And him, I suppose?"

"Right." Ben looked around as well. "Are you cold?"

"A little," she replied.

Ben smiled at her. It was clear that Abbie was moments from leaving, but Ben's energy was that of a boy saying goodnight after a first date. He knew better than to ask for her number or whether they'd see each other again. But he didn't know how else a night like this was supposed to end.

"Let me get your shoes." He walked toward the door where Abbie had kicked off her heels back when they'd first arrived. He bent down to collect them, and returned them to her.

"Thanks."

Abbie balanced herself on one foot, holding onto Ben for support. She slipped one shoe back on, then the other. She naturally bent forward while negotiating her feet back into the shoes, and when she looked up at Ben again, saw that he was staring down the front of her dress.

"Still like the view?" she said with a smirk.

Ben blushed. "I'm not gentleman enough to look away."

Abbie touched her palm to the side of his face. "I'm not lady enough to expect you to." She picked up her clutch from the table. "And at the very least, you are gentleman enough to walk me out."

She glanced past Ben to take in the sight of the rest of the room, Carter at the window, a different air about him that made him seem so distant that she almost couldn't believe that she'd been in his life, or that he'd been in hers. Abbie wasn't exactly disappointed, but it did strike her as odd and perhaps a bit confusing -- but then again, everyone was unique, everyone had their own idiosyncrasies, and for all she knew, there were things about her that they found curious or strange.

Ben turned the handle of the door and opened it. The bright light of the hallways streaked into the room. As Abbie walked up to and through the doorway, she took note of the '2222' pate on the wall. She remembered seeing it when they first arrived, and found some amusement in how different a place it seemed now, after the last few hours of adventure.

"Well," she said, turning back to Ben, standing inside the doorway. "Don't watch me as I go. I'm still a little wobbly and it might be embarrassing."

With that, she turned away and began to head down the hallway toward the elevator, knowing full well that Ben was still watching, and would keep watching until she disappeared. Maintaining her balance (though it wasn't necessarily easy), Abbie gave her hips a little extra swish in her step. Slowly, as she walked, she turned her head as if to almost look behind her, but turned back before she was able to actually make eye contact with anyone. She didn't need to see them again to know that they were still there, staring at her ass.

She turned the corner at the end of the hall, found the elevators, pressed the button, and waited.