Morningstar Manor

The weather as cooling off quickly and many of the Manor tenants were stopping in the Mocha in the evenings for coffee not only for the ritual of it but for the warmth as well. Tonight for instance it seemed rather busy.

JJ was flipping through a magazine Deacon had let him borrow.

Jack was looking through some proofs of his latest batch of head shots.

Gabe was preparing the spa's next supply order and had decided that doing it in the Mocha - with coffee - was far better than doing it in the spa itself.

Max - dressed for once in jeans and a form fitting t-shirt instead of a suit - sat in one of the over stuffed chairs with an iPad in his lap as he sipped his coffee. But he wasn't doing work. He was playing Angry Birds.

Loki had another overstuffed chair, his coffee, and another old and battered book. Not Poe this time. No this one was the works of de Sade. And it was autographed.

Kara had worked two long shifts and was - thank GOD - done for a solid twenty four hours. She could get coffee at the Lamb of course but she had been craving a Mocha Latte all day and now she waited in line to get one.

Monday morning. Kids were back in school, people back to work, and at this time the major morning rush had already come and gone leaving the Mocha relatively quiet.

Deacon had dropped Nia off at the daycare and was enjoying a coffee and muffin. He'd texted Charlie as he walked across the lobby. Bfast in Mocha?

***

Seth was in the Mocha too and he'd waved to Deacon when he spotted him but didn't go to join him. He was sketching away in his book, sipping coffee, and bopping about in his seat as he listened to this music coming through his headphones.

***

Gabe was stretched out on one of the couches, coffee in one hand and phone pressed to his ear in the other. "Darling I know I wasn't there but honestly - what where you thinking? It was the Emmy's! You could have at least gone to Angels. I mean I might not be there but my people are good. Cuz honey - your hair..."

***

Demitri was up early. He didn't have a class until later this afternoon. And though he no longer ran the Mocha he liked to see that it was doing well. He sat by the window, looking out at the street and the people going by and thinking on the things that had happened in the past few months. And smiled softly.

***

Max and Micah sat at another table, both drinking coffee and looking through the paper.

Gabe was finally feeling more human and not like death had warmed over and so had gotten dressed in jeans and a soft blue t-shirt and headed down to the Mocha. He was now curled in one of the armchairs, sipping a huge sugary coffee and checking email on his phone, only the occassional sniff any sign that the cold still hadn't left completely.

***

Jason sat at his usual table - where he could see all - and took the time to enjoy his coffee and bagel before he had to head to the front desk.


***

There was a shipment coming in this morning and Kara needed to be at the Lamb to receive it but she had a bit of time for coffee and one of the Mocha's huge chocolate chip muffins first and was enjoying that at a table near the window.

***

Max had a meeting at ten - which meant there was time for coffee first. He sat at a table looking through the paper while Micah stood in line to get their drinks.

***

Just outside the Mocha, in the gardens, Loki prowled - annoyed. Dressed in tight black jeans, combat boots, and a black singlet his pale skin seemed to glow against the dark ink of his various Nordic tattoos and the sunlight made his hair look like angry fire - matching his mood.

Jimmy arrived rather late at the club on Sunday night having made several stops on the way. The new chemist was a lot more cooperative than the old one had been - once he had seen the stains on the floor. He was happy to work for money and wasn't going to get creative with the process.

Cowed, that's what he was. Cowed. It was a word Jimmy rather liked.

And Jimmy had been to the Chinese as well and got double everything , just in case the boss was hungry.

Balancing the cardbord box on one hand he knocked at the office door with the other. The door was closed - Max might have a girl in there.

Deacon firmly believed that everything happened for a reason. Like his insane idea to take Charlie Shaw out shopping yesterday. Okay yes he'd had fun - quite a bit actually - and yes Shaw was good company and... Oh who was he kidding. He was attracted to the little Brit and that was probably a very bad idea since Shaw was one, only here temporarily and two, a victim in a case that the force was working on. Okay so it wasn't as bad as if Deacon himself had been involved in that case but still.

Generally a bad idea.

But that shopping trip had lead Deacon to learn a bit about Shaw's taste in clothes and some of the outfits he'd lost when his bag was stolen and so when Deacon happened to catch sight of a young man in Vine Square looking a bit shifty and watching a couple of women who were window shopping close and wearing a rugby jersey identical to one Shaw had said he lost - well maybe it hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

( Read more... )

Sterrin  had gone out and bought a new dress for tonight. She didn't have much, the extra money she had from dancing went to her brother, but she couldn't go out to dinner with a guy like Max looking pathetic. So, she put on the blue dress and a pair of heels and waited outside of her apartment building for him to pick her up.

This was certainly going to be interesting.

"Always with the fucking feathers," Sterrin grumbled as she was handed a set of large, pink feather fans that were a few shades lighter than the feather-adorned pink g-string she was wearing.

"They love you and those fans," Dick shot back as he headed out of the dressing room, completely oblivious to all the naked women and breasts around him. "And you like money, doncha, doll?"

Sterrin flipped him off behind the fans and went back to applying her lipgloss in the make up mirror attatched to her vanity. She hated all these fucking feathers. They made her eyes itch.

"It could be worse," Rebecca said as she took her seat at the vanity next to Sterrin's and plucked the tiny blue and white sailor cap that matched her barely there blue and white sailor outfit from her hair. "We could be swinging on poles and jiggling our asses to hip hop. "

Sterrin rolled her eyes. "Like that's any less honest than what we do here."

"And anyway, at least you got to be in the advertisements for this place. That should make you some extra money," Rebecca continued to argue.

Sterrin was all about earning some money, not that she thought those ads would do anything. It was just those fucking fans with her eyes peeking out behind them. Nothing interesting.

"Always with the fucking feathers," she grumbled again under her breath and  stood to slide her feet into the nearly six inch high heels. Strut, pout, smoulder, rinse and repeat. It was the same formula every night, and it hadn't failed to make her money thus far.

Sighing, she took to the stage to do just that.

As promised Max had left the club just before dinner time and stopped to pick up some Thai food from one of their favorite places and was back at the Manor by six thirty. Sterrin had been waiting for him and they'd enjoyed a nice dinner and were now relaxing on the couch with wine.

"Hmm, coming home at a normal hour and having dinner," he said, toying with a strand of her hair. "So this is what a normal job would be like."

The Mocha was hoping as it usually was in the mornings.

Max sat at his usual table, dressed in black slacks and a crisp white shirt, and went through his appointments for the rest of the week. He'd been a busy man and it was nice to be able to sit for a bit and enjoy a coffee.

***

Jack had a horrible hangover. He'd celebrated Cinco de Mayo in a big way and was now paying the price for it. Huddled in a corner of the Mocha he sat with sunglasses over his eyes and drank from a large mug of the strongest coffee they had.

***

Jason was taking a small break for another cup of coffee and leaned against the wall in the Mocha where he could see everyone. The workers on the roof were keeping him busy. The had contractors they always used of course but this job required more than the normal men and outsiders always made Jason twitchy.

***

Loki was bored. Bored bored bored. Which was never good for anyone involved. He was draped over his usual armchair but instead of reading from his usual book he was simply staring into the fireplace, the flames reflecting in his eyes.

For once it was a lazy morning. Max didn't need to be at the club until after lunch and so he'd enjoyed sleeping in and now was in pajama pants and a singlet (yes he owned things other than suits!) and was sipping his coffee while he checked his emails on his laptop in the living room.

Catching movement out of the corner of his eye he looked up and smiled at Sterrin.

"Good morning."

Jimmy was already at the club when he heard Max's voice in the outer room, and his face creased still further in a gargoyle grin as he contemplated all the bits of news he had to share.

He poured two cups of coffee, set one on Max's desk and took his to his own desk where he sat down and flipped through the folder on his blotter.

The Mocha was jumping today and many Manor regulars were out and about.

Deacon sat at a table reading over an email Seth had sent to him. It spoke of collars and other alternatives to them and had gotten Deacon thinking. But when Nia insisted on climbing into his lap he closed the email and instead opened up the video player to one of her Winnie the Pooh shows. He'd have to take her to daycare soon so that he could go to the dojo but until then they had a bit of time. So she sat happily in his lap, munching on a cookie and watching Pooh Bear and Deacon sipped his coffee and smiled down at her curly head.

****

Erik had been on the phone when he'd first arrived in the Mocha - speaking to his estate agent and working out everything that would need to be done before he and Angela returned home. Moving everything from their flat here back to Norfolk was a daunting task and so when that call ended - and he'd gotten his tea and found a table - he took a moment to simply sit. He'd had a bit of time before the next call needed to be made.

****

Micah sat in one of the chairs near the Mocha door, sipping his coffee and staring at nothing in particular. He was still furious with Robert Rossi's assumption that he could be bought off like that and hadn't yet said anything to Isabella about it. He'd need to though and likely soon. He'd also need to tell Max about the baby. That was a conversation he wasn't looking forward to.

****

Across the room at at a table Max was reading a paper and enjoying coffee and a bagel before it was time to head to work. Something was up with Micah, he knew, and he'd give it a bit more time before pressing the issue. Then there was the matter of Sterrin and her ex. Granted Max hadn't seen anymore of the man he'd sent to the ER but the fight had obviously caused a riff between Sterrin and her brother - something Max wasn't pleased with.

He sighed and turned a page in the newspaper. Relationships could be such a bother.

****

Rhys was back in the Mocha as well, dressed for work in slacks, a button up and a tie that hung a bit loose around his neck. A duffle bag with a change of clothes and his scrubs sat at his feet and he munched on his bagel and drank his coffee and mentally prepared for his shift.

Max stood at the large glass window in the VIP lounge looking out over his domain. It was plenty busy for a Thursday night and the crowd was growing. Of course the guards had been given a description of Sterrin's ex and, as always, were on the look out.

Max was too. He had a feeling that tonight he might show up.

Zack was beginning to feel a bit better. It had been very touch and go for a while and if Brendan hadn't been staying with him he might well have ended up in the hospital. But he'd gotten through what he hoped was the worst and now actually felt up to going down to the Mocha for a coffee and to nibble on a muffin.

He looked pale, small in his oversized hoodie and scarf. He'd lost weight and that didn't help matters and his eyes had dark shadows under them but they twinkled again now and his smile, though tired, was genuine.

He sat curled on one of the couches near the fireplace and answered an email from his iPhone while he waited for Brendan to come back with their coffee.

***

Gabe had had a grand time with the photoshoot but he was glad it was done. Lewis, bless him, was a dear and lord knew Gabe had had a fine time with a few of the models but he could only handle them all for so long was thankful he had his and Kris's apartment to themselves again.

Sitting at a table he chuckled as he replied to a text to one a friend. Oh the gossip that had come from that shoot!

***

Eris sat at a table, sipping a white chocolate mocha and looking through various brochures on various tropical places. Money wasn't a problem and she knew Daddy would keep her apartment open for her so how long to be gone wasn't an issue either.

The only question was where to go?

***

Loki was sprawled in one of the overstuffed arm chairs, legs dangling over one arm and head dangling over the other, bright red hair nearly touching the floor. His eyes were closed, headphones stuck in his ears and playing something with a low bass loud enough to be heard by passers by.

***

Max was headed to Sanctuary but he had a bit of time yet so stopped into the Mocha for a coffee and found himself an empty table to enjoy it at as he flipped through a newspaper someone else had left.

He'd left her a message earlier in the day. Where something nice and meet me in the lobby at six. I'm taking you to dinner. It could have been a bit commanding he supposed but his tone had been smooth enough. And besides, it was nice to be able to say he was taking her to dinner as opposed to are you free for dinner.

Six sharp and Max was in the lobby, dressed in his perfectly tailored black suit, and a deep, blood red shirt and black tie. He checked his watch and sighed. Women were always late.

It was cold outside, snow was packed high against the sides of the buildings but inside the Mocha it was warm and comfortable. And somewhat busy.

Kara sat at a table going over her check list of ideas for the charity event for Niles as she sipped a huge cup of hot cocoa.

****

Max wasn't due at the club for a bit so was enjoying the warmth of the Mocha with a coffee and the latest issue of Smashing. He was mostly dressed in a suit - though the tie was missing and the crisp white shirt was left unbuttoned a bit.

****

Hugh was slouched in a chair by the fireplace, small netbook in his lap and typing away. His coffee had gone cold on the little table beside the chair and his glasses had slipped down his nose.

Sterrin was in the middle of the dance floor at Babylon wearing a black dress that sparkled as she moved, and letting her hands run over the man dancing with her. He worked for her brother, although he didn't know she knew that. He'd also been stealing from Declan for at least six months, nothing major yet, but reasonable amounts of money here and there. Sterrin didn't tolerate anyone messing with Declan, so she smiled and let him paw her as her hands ran over his neck and her ability flowed between them. When she'd seen enough, she pressed a hand to the man's chest and took a step back.

"Excuse me, baby. I've got to go make a phone call."

She turned her head so his kiss landed on his cheek and took off across the dance floor, dismissing him entirely and looking for an area that would be quiet enough for her to call Declan. She needed to speak with him before she forgot all the details.

A box. From an expensive lingerie store. Inside was this and a note.

Saw this and thought of you. Happy birthday, Isabella.

Yours,
Max

Sterrin was back in Sanctuary again, but this time it was with someone far less interesting. Her date tonight seemed mostly interested in talking about his dog, an award-winning, pedigreed, cocker spaniel named Hoover, that he was currently having groomed in preparation for a dog show that he called a "stepping-stone" to the bigshit deal. It was boring Sterrin to tears and she'd tried to change the subject, but he seemed to only want to drink scotch and talk on the phone to his groomer. 
She glanced down as his hand distractedly creeped over to her upper thigh again and squeezed although he didn't stop talking about the color of ribbon Hoover should have in his hair. She sighed, thinking that this date was a waste of a good dress.