(max) crushed beans, hot water

[kira belle waking]

she sat back looking at the screen. she was going into work, early and just to hang out. that was a bit of a new one. she normally went when she was with some buddies and she didn't have to work that day, but to day max, her boss, was in need of some company and kira was took much of a sweetheart to decline him of that. she glanced at the screen before she leaned all the way back and stretched her arms above her before she actually pushed herself off her chair. it was time to get out of her pajamas and into something more appropriate for the day. kira smoothed out her clothes and looked around her room. she couldn't believe she left a maid and all of that to come back to her hometown. she shook her hear and curled her hair behind her ear. and that was when he rampage began.

kira headed for her closet and began moving things around before she found what she wanted. she then had a little war in her head about taking a shower or not. she had told him thirty minutes, but girls were known to be late. so decided on a shower. it only took about ten minutesbefore she was shaking her hair out and throwing on her clothes. she slipped on some heels and twirled in her room looking for her cell phone and iPod. yes she was sort of one of those preppy girls. but she had more compassion than most. she grabbed her purse and keys and soon was out of her house. it didn't take long to get to the commons, normally she would walk unless she had a late shift.

nobody could understand how that girl could walk down the street in the heels she picked out with a smile still on her face, but the places she went to, heels were almost her only show choice, she could probably be better at ballet than most. she laughed at her thought and pulled open the glass door. she looked inside and a smirk fell onto her lips. he wasn't kiding about it being a slow day. kira brought the shades up onto her head and walked to the counter before pulling out a five. "I believe you owe me my favorite drink." she looked at him before she looked around. "black, no sugar, remember that." she gave him a wink.

t a g ; ; MAX (CeeCee!)
n o t e s ; ; woot woot
s o n g ; ; ridin' solo
o u t f i t ; ; click

[MAXIMUS PETER GOLIGHTLY]

maximus peter golightly had a nasty habit of ignoring his work. he was easily distracted, simple as that. one moment, he would be serving coffee, the next, he would be hopping onto his blackberry to chat on msn. when he was in school, the teachers called this absent-minded behavior a the warning sign of add, but max always described it as being easily bored. this character defect had its advantages though. sometimes it meant he would strike up an online conversation with a beautiful blonde employee and convince her to come into work early. common grounds cafe was especially slow on this day and he needed something to keep him awake, besides the caffiene he had been gulping down. so, when kira agreed to come in early and keep him entertained, he felt like jumping with joy.

thirty minutes was the time she said it took her to get ready, but max didn't believe it. as he anxiously watched the clock, it proved to be impossible for kira to get ready in thirty minutes. it ended up being more like forty or forty-five minutes. at the thirty minute mark, maximus began preparing the coffee that kira requested. he wanted to be able to give it to her as soon as she walked through the door. even though he had never prepared her coffee himself, he knew how she liked it: black with no sugar. she was a minimalist, simple, like him. he respected that. he fresh brewed a pot of common ground's finest while he watched the door out of the corner of his eye. he knew at any minute she could come marching in. when the coffee was done, the machine made a quiet beeping noise and a bright orange light turned on. max walked back over to the coffeemaker, pulled out the pot, and poured a cup of the coffee into a small large teacup. he put the pot of coffee back, placed the teacup on a saucer, and set it on the counter. it would be waiting for kira when she got there.

right at that moment, the bell above the door rang. it was the sign that a customer or employee had walked in. max perked up at the noise. he instantly turned his head to see if it was kira. it was. kira strutted over to the counter, laid a five on the table, and stated that he owed her a drink. she repeated how she preferred her coffee and sent a wink his way. max pushed her money back across the counter and retorted “don't worry, i know how you like it.” he reflected her wink and placed a devilish grin upon his fact before grabbing her drink from the far end of the counter and placing it in front of her. “ta-dah. your wish is my command.”

[kira belle waking]

the blond hardly ever talked to her boss, she was usually scheduled to come in on the busy times since she had a talent to rake in the tips. so being her without a group of people was different and well she kind of liked the strangness of it. she gave him one of her smirks, "how are you ever going to make money if you don't let me pay for my brew?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow before taking the five back. even though she pointed his bad business ways, she still accepted the free coffee. she folded the bill before taking her bag off her shoulder and placing it on the counter. she glanced up at him with a small smile, "finally a man who knows a thing or two." her blue eyes dropped bag to her bag as she slipped the five into it and took out two ones.

she then placed it in one of those glass cups for tips. "at least let me leave you a tip." she then watched him go over to get her cup. she took her sun glasses from her head and dropped that in her bag as well before she grabbed it and then her coffee. she looked at him, "you amaze me maxxi." she laughed a bit before she took a sip from the cup she her smile grew to a grin. "exactly what i needed." kira then made her wat around the counter and sat on one of the stools behind it, dropping her bag at its legs. probably not the best thing for the bag, but then again, she never treated her bags with respect, poor things, she was going to need to buy a new one soon. she then held the coffee up to her face before they landed on her lips and she took another sip. she loved the taste of coffee, and just plain coffee, all the stuff poured in it just covered the flavor, she didn't like that.

some more people began to come in. the girl moved a bit before she seemed comfortable and took another sip. "so how are you doing?" she asked him her blue eyes going back onto him. she was glad she got his IM, she honestly didn't know what she was going to do today before work. her possible future could have been her still in her pajamas and her eyes glued to a tv, but now they were stuck on him. "meet any interesting people today?" it was usually kira's first feel questions before she found something better to talk about. she only been back in santa monica for a few weeks, she hadn't found much effort to find some old buddies or make new ones unless they stopped by the shop. kira drank more coffee, "or better yet, how many cups have you downed so far?"

t a g ; ; MAX (CeeCee!)
n o t e s ; ; N/A
s o n g ; ; ridin' solo
o u t f i t ; ; click

[MAXIMUS PETER GOLIGHTLY]

the fact that everyone was always trying to make maximus take their money amused him. he was a golightly; he had money, that was a given. he didn't run the café because he needed or wanted more money; he ran it because he loved having something of his own, a place to hang out, common grounds. the café had been an experiment of sorts, a challenge to see if he could actually run a successful business. the challenge or experiment was a success, max had succeeded in branching out on his own. he no longer was just another golightly. he no longer was just benjamin golightly's son. maximus was now know for his own accomplishments not just his parent's. the fact that he had made a name for himself, that's all that mattered.

“oh, not only do I know a thing or two, i could teach you a thing or two,” max grinned and chuckled as he poured himself a cup of the fresh-brewed coffee. he wasn't a big coffee-drinker despite the fact he owned, managed, and spent all of his time at a coffee establishment. as he took a drink of the dark black liquid, he grimaced and reached for the sugar and creamer. when max did drink coffee, he doctored it up quite a bit. max heard the words “you amaze me, maxxie,” come from kira's mouth while he was doctoring his coffee. he resisted telling her not to call him maxxie. he wasn't going to correct her as long as she was complimenting him. he kept quiet, continued to grin, and sort of nodded at the compliment.

taking another drink of his coffee, max thought about how he was doing. he had been doing quite well recently: the business was a success, his friends were supportive and there when he needed them. his love life, on the other hand, was a different story. he had been pining for vienna dawson for months with no success. all of his advances were shot down. every time he went after her, she said no. she was a challenge, unlike most of the women of santa monica. max set his coffee down on the counter while declaring “life is okay, could always be better.” max smiled when kira asked him how much coffee she drank. it was a common misconception that max was a coffee addict. “this is my first cup, promise.”