sugar rush;

She nodded, “Oh right that makes a lot of sense and what bakery is this? I love baked goods and would love to check them out” She smiled over at the girl for a moment, “Coffee is everyone’s knight and shining armour or at least it should be.” She smiled for a moment, “Of course I don’t mind, take a seat. It would be nice to get to know you.”  

“Hudson’s Red Velvet Bakery.” she grinned “We’d love to have you. We always get excited when new customers stop by.” Olivia loved repeating customer obviously, but it was nice sometimes seeing new faces. “Who needs a man when you have coffee.” she joked, taking a seat. “Thanks. Guess sometimes it pays off being managing a business.” What was a few more minutes late anyway.

She didn’t have to ask her twice, offering her a nod and a quick “yeah” before she turned away from the guy, moving to the woman’s side. She didn’t feel comfortable, turning her back to the man for who knew what he would get into his mind this time. She just hoped he was going to give up. “Is Mark coming with?” She asked, loud enough for the guy to hear, maybe that would be the definitive push for him to back off. 

Olivia made sure to her eyes between the girl and the guy. After all strength in numbers and she wasn’t able to let this guy get away with anything. She just wanted to get them both to her car and inside it quickly. “Yeah he is. Oh here he is.” Olivia pointed to a random guy walking down the street towards where she parked, hoping to use him as a potential shield to get to her car. 

“I–” Both hands moved behind him, patting his pockets until he softly cursed. His jaws clenched, hands moving to search every pocket he had. “Yeah.. Okay.. Shoe and wallet.” It was a good thing he didn’t have a hold on his phone. He had no laptop or computer at home, so at least he still had a ay of blocking his credit cards among other things. “I can deal with a walk of shame. Plenty of those around here, I’ll fit right in.” 

Her eyes widened at his words. “Oh my gosh. Did you go to the police? I mean a shoe is one thing but you’re wallet is another.” Olivia felt so bad for the guy in front of her but refrained from saying that to him. “I know this maybe a stupid question but is there anything I can do to help?”

“That shirt isn’t your color.” Katarina spoke from behind the person, she took a couple steps forward to make her presence known. “While everyone thinks yellow is coming back and is there color it’s honestly no ones.” She rambled on before she started to scan through the colorful racks, she eyed the person closely to match their color platte to them. “Here try this.” Pulling the shirt out in what she assumed would be the right size given the fact she was eyeing measurements. “It’ll make your eyes pop more than the one you have in your hand. Trust me.” She told him, held out the shirt with a tight cool smile on her face. 

“Really? I love yellow. It always gives me spring and summer vibes.” While she wouldn’t consider herself a fashion expert, Olivia liked to think she had some sense when it came to clothing. She watched as the other women went thought the other racks before pulling out a different color. “Hmmm okay.” she grinned before giving a shrug. “I’m going to assume you either work in fashion or you’re just good at eye measuring.” she chuckled. 

Nick smiled, “What is the name of this bakery? Maybe I’m the reason you think people are worst with pastries.” He joked, “That is very smart, I gotta say that my method of eating has come with a few near-death instances,” He joked dramatically, “but so far I have survived, besides food-related death isn’t as bad as like… I don’t know to slip in the shower and hitting my head.”

“Hmmm I feel like I would remember you considering you seem more like someone in between based off this sandwich encounter.” a giggle escaped her. “Hudson’s Red Velvet Bakery.” Another smiled formed on Olivia’s lips. “Well that sounds dangerous. Maybe that’s a sign some changes need to be made. To be fair though, none of those sound ideal, no matter how much I love food.” 

Cass chuckled at the comment, feeling it on a personal level. “At least you can partially blame it on your phone. I was just… I dunno. Off in lala land apparently,” she admitted with a sheepish grin, as it was painfully obvious her phone wasn’t even in her hands. “But that sounds like the perfect deal to me, you pretend and I’ll pretend, and anyone who didn’t see it will just think we’re friends running into each other - even if I took that ‘running into’ bit too literal - on the street, yeah?”

“True, unless you’re around someone who hates walkers and texters, which has happened to me before.” Olivia chuckled softly. Thankfully it hadn’t happen to many times for her. “That totally works for me. Thankfully it didn’t seem like many people, if any, saw it so thankfully we’re both seem in the clear with that.” she chuckled softly. 

Nick smiled, “You are a pastry chef?” He asked raising his eyebrows, “Cause let me tell you, I’m a magician, if you put a pie in front of me I can make it disappear,” Nick joked with a wink. “I’m more of the kind to bite, chew a couple of times and then swallow and hope I don’t die,” He added chuckling, “Next time I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

“Well I don’t know about pastry chef but my family has a bakery. ” Olivia chuckled. “Wow that’s some skill you got there. Although if it’s an apple pie, then I’m sure I’d be able to do the same.” she joked back. ‘I’m more of a bite, chew for a bit then swallow. I hate feeling like I have to rush,especially when I tend to eat on the slower side in order to enjoy my food more.” 

“Deal,” EJ agreed with a wink, stepping back to grab a bottle of liquor. Definitely couldn’t argue with that logic, and besides, he made a point not to argue with his clientele unless they really got on his nerves. What could he say, he was good for business. “This feels like a tequila situation, no?” he mused, back to her and not waiting for an answer. Turning back, he set the shots down before her and glanced around the near-empty bar, EJ quirked an eyebrow. “I’ll cheers to that. Want to talk about it? Bartenders are supposed to be as good as therapists, right?”

“Tequila sounds perfect.” she sighed as she waited for the shots. Once in front of her, she couldn’t help but get one down. “So they say. Clearly you guys deserve more for doing the work of a therapist.”she shrugged, throwing down another one. While Olivia enjoyed her job, it was starting to take a bit of a toll on her. “Just another long day running a bakery that I never planned on having to begin with.” A long sigh escaped her lips. “Have you ever sometimes wished you were doing something different?”

Wondering around while lost in thought was an unfortunately frequent event in Cass’s life. More often than not she was thinking of song lyrics, or about one of the horses, or her friends, or a million other things that flitted through her mind, like the new carton of ice cream she had in her freezer. So it should have come as no surprise when her toes caught the edge of a loose chunk of sidewalk, sending her stumbling forward and into another person with a muffled ‘oof’. Jerking herself upright, she took a step back mumbling an apology while pushing her curls out of her face. “No chance you can pretend you didn’t see that, huh….” she mused with a hint of humor in her voice, looking up to see which unfortunate soul had had the misfortune to encounter her today.

Olivia was to busy on her phone, texting her her family, to noticed someone walking towards her. Before she knew it, she felt herself bump into someone, making sure to catch her balance. “Only if you agree to do the same for me.” she chuckled. “Sorry, between my clumsiness and my phone distracting me I’m a walking hazard.” she joked. “But seriously I’m really sorry.”

“Oh no, I’m listening. Keep going – - please.”

Sarcasm dripped from every word, thick and heavy on her tongue while her fingers worked aimlessly against random letters to create an auto-corrected mess. The drone of potential conversation could be successfully blocked out with minimal work, but there was no way to avoid the huff of a waitress as she shuffled away from the bar. Far be it from Selena to care; she hadn’t exactly invited anyone for conversation, and she definitely didn’t ask for anyone to sit next to her just as she thought she was safely alone.

Instead of taking the usual approach of ‘if I ignore them, they’ll go away’, Selena made the mistake of scanning the person who apparently had enough social grace to leave a seat between them. Her typing resumed, a lengthy chain sent off to a friend’s number. The familiar sound of an outgoing message came before her cup of coffee was placed in front of her, leaving Selena to mentally reprimand herself for making sure the waitress hadn’t spit in it or something equally disgusting. But still, coffee was coffee and Selena was exhausted – - a long drink revealed that the coffee was ice cold and, judging by the taste, had been left over from the previous day or was simply a particularly shitty, store-bought brand.

“– - My god.” She shuddered, repulsed and suddenly in the mood for speaking to strangers. The kitsch neon sign above the coffee-pots was indicated with a nod of disdain, yet she still took another long drink. “I really hope this isn’t ‘the best coffee in town’.

Olivia sighed at a customer she was currently serving. She always made sure to give customers her very best. But for some reason this one customer was working her nerve, but of course Olivia took a deep breath before bringing her order. Once she set it down, it didn’t seem to take long for her to complain about the drink. “Well I don’t know about that, but our customers seem to like it.” she forced a grin while wiping down an area around her. “But I’d be happy to get you something but this isn’t a coffee shop so we don’t have anything fancy.” she shrugged.

Nick smirked, “If you have seen worse then I was better at controlling myself that I thought.” He chuckled, “Oh I don’t judge foodies based on their looks, I know better,” Nick smiled, “I once went out with a girl that was the definition of petit bit boy oh boy could she eat, I eat four slices of pizza and I feel ready to burst, she could eat an entire pizza all on her own, apparently the secret is in pacing yourself and chewing thoroughly which apparently I never got the hang of.

“Oh you really are. You’d be surprised by how crazy people can eat when it comes to sweets. I mean some people act like they’ve never seen a cupcake or cake before”she chuckled.  “Okay that totally sounds like me. I mean depending on the pizza size, I could do that. I totally agree with that secret tho.” she nodded. “If only more people knew that. But then again it’s kind of funny seeing a guy’s face when they seen me eat like I do.” she giggled. 

“I’m one of the best god damn neurosurgeons in this country and he had the audacity to tell me I only got here because of my fathers name?!” Elyse exclaimed, and if looks could kill.  An important and well known patient  had asked for another surgeon simply because she was a woman, and when she had told him while it was his decision to make, that she had a record in the hospital. That’s when he told her he knew her and her family, and that she wouldn’t have gotten as far as she had without her father and his name. “Fuck” she says, finishing off the rest of her gin and tonic, and sighing “I need another drink, and keep them coming, please” she says, tapping her fingers on the  bar top anxiously. 

Olivia shook head as she listened to the women next to her.“How pathetic. When will society realize that are fully capable of doing our own things and being successful at without a man’s help?” she turned to look at the women. “Oh I’m so sorry, clearly what I was thinking came out of my mouth instead. I didn’t mean to listen in or anything.” she turned her attention back to her drink and food.

Nick was saving up as much money as he could, he truly was, but the only thing he never, ever, spared any money was when it came down to food, it had been the thing he had missed the most and he had decided to eat out a couple of times a week and try as many new places as he could. He was in a sandwich restaurant and he hadn’t expected much from it, he truly hadn’t but he had been pleasantly surprised and so he was wolfing down his sandwich, he turned to grab the napkin next to him and notice someone staring at him, he didn’t know if it was because they just were lost in thought and happened to be looking at him or if they were grossed out by his eating but still he smiled at them and shrugged. “It’s so good, so good.” He said taking a breath and reminding himself to slow down. “I’m sorry you had to see that… I guess I was more hungry than I thought I was, I’m Nick and despite what it may seem like I wasn’t raised by wolves.”

Olivia decided she was going to treat herself to lunch today. Normally she would stay in the bakery and eat something there but today she was wanting something different. She noticed there was sandwich place near by and figured that sounded good. Olivia made her way tot he restaurant and ordered. A she got her food, she turned and noticed a guy who was really digging in. “I can see that.” she chuckled. “It’s okay, honestly I’ve seen much worse. Plus if you’re hungry then you’re hungry.” Working with food, Olivia had seen of people eat and strange pairings over the years. “But it’s nice to meet you, I’m Olivia and despite what it seems, I’m total foodie.” she chuckled again.

Vick sat there and looked over at her and smiled a little, “You’re more then welcome. Why would your family be involved? Sorry that’s personal you don’t have to tell me.” She stated as she ran a hand through her hair, “Well coffee can fix anything, that’s what I believe anyway.” She smiled shaking her head for a moment, “Nice to meet you Olivia. And you wouldn’t be intruding.”

“Oh it’s okay. My family owns a bakery and well this card is for the business that’s all.” she shrugged. “Well even if I have had a long, rushed morning as of right now coffee is my knight and shining armor.” Olivia chuckled. “Well if you don’t mind, I’d love to sit for a few, I’m already running late anyway so what’s a few extra minutes.”

who: open where: an empty bar when: weeknight

The bar was slow that night, and not for the first time EJ wondered why he’d been called in. Not that he minded a few spare pounds, of course, and his nightly locale was one of his favorites to work. Good location, fun enough clientele - he’d seen much worse. Truth be told, he’d spent more of his shift flirting than actually working, but oh well - brought in some good tips for him, sold more drinks for the owners. Grinning cheekily at the girl who’d just ordered a round of shots - “pour one for yourself, while you’re at it” - he raised the glass in cheers. “I really shouldn’t. What would my boss say?” he asked, feigning horror. With a glance around the premises, he made eye contact with someone a few seats away. “You won’t tell on me, will you?”

 After a long day of work, Olivia figured she would stop by a bar and have a drink or two before calling it a night. She went straight to the bar and order a round of shots. “It will be our little secret.” She grinned at the bartender. “Besides what’s a shot without someone to share it with.” she shrugged, ready to down a few. “Plus a long of work called for a nice round.”

Location: Hammersmith Time: 5:43 PM Tagged: @londoncitystarters​

“I honestly have no idea what happened.” Noah answered, looking down at his feet, where one shoe was missing.” This guy just tackled me out of nowhere and he stole. My. Shoe.” London was insane, that was for sure. Why just the one? Did the guy have a right shoe fetish? “Do I look like a freak or would you throw a couple of pence at me when passing by?” 

Olivia rose her brows. “Just a shoe? Not your wallet or anything.” She found that bit strange but just shrugged it off. “I don’t think you would look a freak but I probably lean more towards a guy who was drunk and is potentially making a walk of shame.” she grinned, joking. “But I wouldn’t think homeless or anything.”

Location: Heart of London Time: Night time.  Tagged: @londoncitystarters​

“No! You’re being absolutely rude right now and for the fourth time I am asking you to leave!” How badly she regretted insisting walking back home on her own. it would just be a walk to the bus stop, I’ll be fine! She told her friends, but she’d missed the last bus and her father didn’t pick up, so he most likely was still at work. So she had to walk all the way home. This guy however hadn’t gotten the memo where she told him, repeatedly, to leave her be. Even when she told him she wasn’t even into guys, it only made him more aggressive. “Please get out of my way.” 

Olivia locked up store before walking down the street towards her car. She happened to notice two people at the bus stop and the girl looked like she could of used some help getting rid on some guy. Olivia walked over to the two and grinned. “Hey.” she said sweetly to the other women. “Looks like I was able to close up before the bus came after all, did you still want that ride?”