Safe and Sane

Carl wandered up to the bar and found himself a cold drink. Long day, and it was still too damn hot outside for much of anything. The club was always a nice place to be, even if it sometimes still made him feel scarily settled.

Still, it was a nice place to wind down and chill out.

He turned to the guy close by and offered him a smile, gesturing to the bar. "Want anything?"

Miles wandered into the club, spotted a familiar blond head--he hoped--on the couch and braced his hands on the back of the sofa, bending over to put his mouth near one ear and murmur, "Sleeping in public?"

Saturday night, and the club was open to all members. None of the rooms were reserved, for that one night. Light food and drinks were laid out in the common room, the demo rooms were set up with small stage areas free for anyone's use, and the lounges were set aside, dim lights and blankets available for anyone who needed an escape.

Two of the larger rooms had been opened together to form a dance floor, and the garden was open to make the most of the light remaining as the long summer evening faded to darkness.

The cafe was already gearing up for Independence Day. Flags, bunting and patriotism were the order of the day. Besides the obligatory apple pie, the sweets on offer seemed to be themed around red, white and blue. Strawberries, cream, ice cream and blueberries featured heavily.

In honor of the heat, iced tea and coffee were available alongside the hot varieties.

Miles wasn't really dressed up. He didn't have a tie on or anything. He had, however, showered after work. He'd put on a nice oxford and a good pair of jeans. He had his hair pulled back and he'd trimmed up the goatee. Good impressions and all that.

And he was not pacing because that was just stupid. He was waiting. Anxiously.

Hey.

Do you want to meet me somewhere? Cafe, club, it's up to you.

Got something I want to ask you.

Miles

Miles was wet. No, Miles's hair was wet. He, himself, appeared to be mostly dry except for the water stain on his shoulders, back and chest. He sank heavily into a chair and said, "Some days, I really consider shaving my head."

Someone at the cafe had gotten creative with Google and discovered that March 11th was Johnny Appleseed Day. They hadn't gone all out and insisted on planting, but the counter was offering a selection of apple-based delicacies, cakes, juices and hot cider along with their usual selection.

There was also a rather suggestive print of Eve (looking very like one of the serving staff) proffering an apple, tacked to the wall behind the till.

Wednesday again, and a happier Wednesday than the previous one. The weather seemed to have warmed up especially for the inauguration, and the evening was mild enough that the cafe had tables set outside for more than just the smokers. A general air of celebration lingered from the previous day, and the cafe owner had decided to celebrate by offering free upgrades to larger sizes of coffee, or free muffins with the smallest ones.

Sugar and caffeine highs all around.

Miles had been to a poet's party. He'd had a couple drinks there, but he was drinking water from the bottle now. He was still loose and comfortable in his skin. Happy as he walked on up to Bobby, put his hand against the small of his back and said, "Hey there."

It was a party. It was a costume party. There was food, there were traditional Halloween games- bobbing for apples, a place to carve jack o' lanterns and way, way too much candy and junk food. A place to dance. There were also a few open play rooms, set up for groups or exhibitionism, but that wasn't the focus of the night.


There were awards for the best costume, for the scariest, the funniest, the most creative, the sexiest.

There were pumpkins. Mulled cider. Pie. Sweet, scary treats. Long suffering cafe employees dressed in costumes.

So hey.

What are you up to?

And when can I steal some time?

It was the last day before work started on the second studio space, and, coincidentally, Ryan's birthday. He figured it was as good a time as any for inviting people over to the studio - after all, they'd been away for Brae's birthday, and it would be a good chance for them both to catch up with everyone. And he really wasn't going to let anyone take food or drink (except water) into the studio once the work was completed.

The existing studio room was firmly closed. The reception was cleared and playing host to tables of food and drinks, the lounge was as comfortable as usual, and the space that would be the second studio was lit by a series of lamps angled to reflect off the walls.

It was cold as hell, at least to Miles at the moment, and he wasn't a guy who got cold very often. He'd been compared to a space heater more than once, but today he was behind the bar, waiting on coffee to stop percing. And he was wearing sleeves.

"Snow soon. I don't know if I'm looking forward to it or hating it in advance."

Hey. I have a random question.

The weather was pretty temperate, considering that it was headed toward October. Warm days with some cloud cover. That meant the cafe wasn't pulling out the stops to break a heatwave, and it didn't need to worry about the heating bill to keep people warm.

Still, the evenings were sliding toward cool, so they'd broken out all the fancy hot chocolate additions, for the brave, bold, gourmand or just plain curious.

There were small wooden bowls of popcorn on every table and the smell, as well as the sound of more being popped, filled the air.

The leaves were just starting to change on the trees- it was a beautiful day, really. Crisp, clear, sun shining and just the faintest hint of a chill as summer unfurled into fall. There was soup in the cafe, some chili, in addition to the regular assortment of drinks and snacks.

"You know," Miles said, stepping up behind Bobby. "I think you might be glowing, Mr. Crispy."

Wednesday came round again, and it was a perfectly average day.

No thunderstorms. No extreme heat. No fog. No rain. No themes at the cafe. No special offers. No experiments.

Just a pleasantly warm evening, with the full standard menu on offer.

And three new members of staff working at the counter.