--Cafe

@Max "See you later." She called as she pulled her novel back out. She went back into the magical world and straw chewing.

@Ivory "As soon as I find it, you got it," he promised. "I have to go for now though, but I'll catch you later." Prior obligations, making sure his roommate wasn't in any compromising positions, trying not to let good company run stale just yet because he'd ruined a couple potential relationships before with that one and boy did he learn. Whatever it was, he left with a casual wink and couldn't stop his smile from taking over the rest of the way home.

@Max "Yeah sure, shoot me the address and I'll meet you." She offered, crossing her legs as she looked up to Max. It was weird, having a conversation right next to each other without using voices.

@Ivory "Good, because I know a place," Max said out loud as soon as he read the reply. "It's kind of on the other side of town, but it's worth it." He leaned forward just slightly with his crooked grin back in place. "How's one o'clock sound?"

@Max Ivory smiled around her straw. The poor plastic had been heavily alterated with teeth marks. She tugged on her messy blonde braid as her ring tone went off.

Her response came fast and easy.
/Messy and delicious./

@Ivory Max bit his lip to hide his smile as he typed his own response, fixating his gaze on his phone and then looking anywhere but her once he pressed send.

/How do you feel about BBQ?/

@Max The blonde raised her eyebrows, glancing down at her phone with smile. She looked away and laughed, her head shaking and blonde curls flailing all over the place. She picked up her phone, chewing on her straw as she quickly tapped in a response.

/What did you have in mind? I'm working until noon./

@Ivory Max entered it quickly and then pulled up the contact to send her a text. /What are you doing tomorrow then?/ it said, and he grinned when her phone went off on the table. "Should probably check that," he remarked with a crooked smile.

@Max "Why not? I mean if being a Good Samaritan is important to you. Or chivalry or whatever." She called off her number to him and slid her own phone over to him.

@Ivory His jaw nearly dropped at that. "I can?" He blinked and shook his head. "I mean, yeah cool, here," he said quickly, trying to get his cool back. He dug out his phone and pulled up contacts, typing 'Ivory' into the name field. "What is it?"

@Max "Well, maybe luck is on your side. In the case that's it not you can have my phone number." She shrugged a shoulder, giving Max a sheepish smile. She drank at her tea and chucked the romance novel into her bag.

@Ivory He took a second to get it then bent his head and laughed. Wow, he was a . "I'm not talented at all," he admitted. "Just incredibly lucky. Really." She should see his betting streak.

@Max "What?" She laughed and shook her head as she took her seat, sipping on her straw. She bit on the end before she realized that Max had taken her literally. "Like, I meant, you ran into me randomly, if you were talented enough to do it again-" she topped and pursed her lips. "It was a joke." She looked down, her cheeks heated. She had made a dumb joke, great. She but on her straw nervously this time.

@Ivory "Do you intend to run the other direction next time you see me, or...?" It was kind of a perplexing statement, and now Max wasn't sure if she even wanted to talk to him now. Maybe he was boring. Maybe she thought he was totally hitting on her and she had a boyfriend or just wasn't interested. Maybe he should let her know that he doesn't have any ill intentions or something.

@Max She pulled out her wallet and counted out the money for the drinks. "Yeah, if you can catch me!" She teased and shook her head. She handed him a drink and made her way back over to the table.

@Ivory "Strawberry mango smoothie," he said without missing a beat, then turned back to her with his insatiable smile. "Yeah, next time I bump into you I get the honor of treating. That cool?"

@Max "Next time?" She asked but was cut off by the cashier. She ordered a mint green tea this time and looked up expectantly at Max.

@Ivory "Oh, /well/, if you're treating I can't say no," he said animatedly and grinned at her. "I get to treat next time though."

@Max Oh that was a relief. So it wasn't too overwhelming for him. Not like it was for her at least. He was probably used to people like her father. "Yeah, I know of it." She nodded. Most of the kids from her private school lived out that way. "Want another drink, my treat?" She smiled at him, raising an eyebrow in question. It was the least she could do for him when he went out of his way to talk to her.

@Ivory Wow, the Ridges. That was like the ritzy part of town. "That's cool," he said, playing it off and getting up to follow her. He leaned casually up against the counter. "I mean, my parents live out in Summerlin. Eagle Hills?" Still pretty nice. Not /the Ridges/, but still nice.

@Max "Racer speeds?" She shook her head. "Maybe you should save that for the track. So you race too, like your friend? I've been working at the track for a few weeks and that was the first time I had seen you." She took a drink offer her latte. It made that embarrassing empty whine for a refill.

"My, uh, dad lives out in The Ridges." She said slowly. She winced and didn't wait for his reaction before excusing herself quickly to get another drink.

@Ivory "Oh yeah?" His eyebrows rose out of interest and, hey, something kind of in common. "My parents live a little outside of town. Like a twenty minute drive, racer speeds on a good traffic day? I actually just got back from seeing them today. I gotta say, an air conditioned house is a lot better environment to sit in than having to stay home." He took a breath and then a sip of his caramel ribbon crunch.

@Max "Broken A/C?" She smiled and tilted her head. "I know what that feels like. Me and my mom went a whole summer cooling down a two bedroom apartment with three box fans. And when it's this hot all they do is push the hot air around." She punctuated her point with her finger, twirling it in the air. She hesitated with his next question. Where she now lived was a touchy subject.

"It's outside of town." She didn't specify where, he didn't want Max to get the wrong impression. Most people did, like Coy. He'd had the wrong impression.

@Ivory "God, I know," Max agreed, glaring out the window. "And it's like ten times worse in my apartment, so I am not eager to get home," he remarked, omitting the other potential reason. "Do you live around here?" He didn't mean to sound so keen, but it was already out there so he shut up and waited for an answer.

@Max "Oh." She laughed, glancing away to hide her red cheeks. "It's nothing, trust me." She flopped the racy paperback into her purse because that was just not something she thought Max would enjoy to see. It was like a guy's nightmare inside those pages.

She quickly plaited her hair and tied it off, so she would quit playing with it. It was a habit really that she found herself succumb to when nervous or bored. "It's so hot outside." She remarked not actually meaning to talk about the weather but yeah, she did. She fanned herself with her t-shirt. It was an old pale blue thing that had a logo for a camp she had volunteered at one year along with her khaki shorts. The material was thin and much more comfortable than denim.

@Ivory Oh God, why did he have to lose words now? She was just so pretty and it was kind of disarming, and his smile faltered a little when she looked at him.

He bounced his foot in the air and tried to get his voice back. "Whatcha reading?" He nodded toward the book on the table.

God, what a .

@Max Ivory glanced up in surprise as the chair slid out from in front of her. She couldn't help but let her eyes catch the last words on the page before she eased her attention back into the real world and not the false hood of 'Rosewood Heights.' The bright eyes and charming smile that she was met with had nothing on the alluring half named male model on the cover of her book, but that was totally okay with her.

"Hey." She said unsurely. The other night at the track slowly came back to her. She was the guy she had chatted with. Was he here alone? Someone who shined that bright was hardly ever alone. She glanced away, Max reminded her of the guys from her private school. Bright and handsome, had all the girls, and ever spared her the time of day. So why was he talking to her now?

@Ivory On his way back from visiting the 'rents, Max stopped into the local cafe, not only with a hankering for a frozen caramel ribbon crunch, but with reluctance to get home just yet because Storm had hinted ever so slightly at something suggestive regarding his absence and Max had already walked in on him and his roommate once before. They could be there again, and he didn't know if he was ready to face that.

He stood patiently in line for the 3 minutes it took to make, took the drink with a bright grin, and turned around to see a bright reflection upon a long mane of pale blonde hair beside the window that was glowing in the midday light from the sun. He stopped dead in his tracks, green straw limply attached to the corner of his mouth, and kind of stared for a few seconds while the world stood still.

Until he caught up to himself and realized nothing was standing still and people were giving him looks as they pushed their way around him. He should probably move. The seat across from that girl--her name was Ivory, and he hadn't yet forgotten--was empty, and he strode over to take it, swiftly sliding down into the chair. Opportunity seized.

"Hey," he said with a grin already overtaking his face, and left it at that.

@Max Ivory sat in the cool cafe, a relief from the blistering heat outside. The back of her neck was plastered with sweat as she sat sipping on an ice latte and a piece of cheese cake. Even in the A/C controlled room, her drink was melting fast. She had her thick blonde hair pulled over her shoulder. Boredly, the blonde was plaiting thick blond curls over her shoulder, running her fingers through it, and doing it again. Expertly, she also turned the pages of a book. It was easy to drown out the coffee shop noises because they were quite comforting. She was quite enthrall end in the pages of a beat up paperback romance novel. Shamelessly, she expressed her motions toward the rotten cheater of a husband. She would gasp. Mumbled to herself.