Leyla Did Her Best To Make This A Warm Place, One Of The Reasons She Chose A Spot Close To The Coast.

Turning the page of her book, Leyla had made it back to her chair after being encouraged to participate in other things for a little while. She settled into the peace of the moment when it was suddenly interrupted by a shout, looking up in time to see a ball hurtling toward her. She managed to raise her book over her face in time to block the shot. "I've been called a lot of things, but never a goal," she quipped, "but I blocked it, so you better not count it as a point."

Event: Beach Bash When: afternoon of August 26th Who: Wes + @leyla-tehrani

Wesley was dribbling a soccer ball to keep himself entertained while keeping an eye on his daughter, who was out on the water boogie boarding with her friends. Kicking the ball up into the air, he accidentally kicked it a little too hard, sending the ball flying toward a nearby beach-goer. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath, immediately shouting in her direction, "look out!" He jogged over to retrieve the ball, apologizing upon reaching Leyla with a quick, "sorry about that."

 (✿◠‿◠)

Everyone was having a good time, and that's what was important. She just wasn't sure she wanted to be in the middle of chaos. It made it hard to keep a distance from people, made even harder by the approaching roommate who appeared to have a look to make her do something. Still, she smiled back and waved her hand over her book, drink, and beach chair, "is this not a beach activity? I like this one."

who: aisha & @leyla-tehrani

where: the beach bash ( august 26 )

Even though Aisha wasn't participating in the volleyball game, she still wanted to experience everything else the beach bash had to offer. Including spending an unhealthy amount of time in the water. She'd only gotten out to get a drink, and maybe chat with a few friends when she noticed her roommate in a beach chair. She wandered over to her, drying herself off with a towel as she eyed the book she had in her hands. "Hey, Leyla!" she gave a bright smile. "Not a fan of any of the beach activities?"

"Exactly, I think it'd make the place cozier," Leyla said with a bit of a laugh. She had found it endearing. As an only child, she hadn't shared a lot of space before, except with lovers, so it had been...dare she say, a fun experience. "A therapist-mechanic, that's quite a career choice, well, if you're as good a mechanic as a therapist, I know where I'll take my car if I have trouble," she offered, only a light passing reference to the fact she knew he was a good one. "Well, that's true, some people overdue it. When people don't know what you're talking about, that's a problem. I like that name, is there a meaning behind it?" She always liked hearing people's stories behind why their animals were named certain things. "Wow, that is decent-sized. I guess they're probably somewhere around here today too?"

"Nothing inspires trust among roommates quite like setting up cameras to catch them doing all of the things that they thought they were getting away with," he teased, broad smile on his face. He also couldn't see Leyla being too uptight about someone snacking during off hours… although people could be picky about their food. "When I'm not a therapist, I'm a mechanic -- in a garage full of men with big appetites. You learn how to get creative," especially if you didn't want your food to just up and disappear, and Josh didn't. His father, alone, wouldn't hesitate to eat his goodies. "Apparently we can be! I try not to be that kind of person, though -- I've already had conversations with people who are talking about 'my son' this or, 'my kid' that, and then it takes me far too long to realize they mean a dog. But mine's Toshiko. Toshi for short. And I hope, for your sake, you never have to part from the adopted dogs," he teased, letting out a laugh. "She has four kids, so a pretty decent sized family."

Flights were always one of her favorite options, especially at new places. It gave a good sampling for customers to come back and order more of the ones they liked the best. "I'll get that going," Leyla stated, giving a few moments of thought to what to include. When she started to shake one up, she asked, "you're in a band, right?"

At the suggestion of the flight, Alec paused for a moment. "Let's do that then. You can pick the other two, just no smoothies," her shook his head at the last part. Nothing better than recommendations straight from the owner, right?

"I've never seen anything quite like it," Leyla commented, "it's like one great big family who actually like doing things with each other." She wasn't sure yet how she fit into it all, but if her roommates had any say in it, she would in time. "No, afraid we haven't. I'm Leyla Tehrani," she introduced herself back as she took his hand. "It's nice to meet you. Is the real estate firm yours: Bardales, Inc.? That's who I used when I purchased my space for Mawk Tales."

"End of summer, beginning of summer…" he let out a laugh as he shook out his beach blanket and laid it out next to his new company's. "Fall, winter, spring, we make a big deal out of everything," noto that he was going to complain. It meant a lot of opportunity to see people he otherwise didn't see, meet new ones along the way. That, and he actually was looking forward to playing volleyball. "I don't think we've had the chance to meet, have we? Rafael Bardales." He held out a hand, keeping the same polite, warm smile in place.

"A lot of competitive spirit," she laughed. She hadn't been here very long, but that was clear. "Me too, my sport was running," she said, before glancing over at where some kids were before looking back, "which one's yours?"

Lara gave her a smile. “Yes! Hope that everyone just has a lot of fun. I know this town has a lot of team spirit,” she said, trying to give extra context to what she meant. “I played in school… for gym class. My daughter is more athletic,” she added.

CINNAMON ROLL DAY! -- @aishathevar @emelineviolette @leyla-tehrani

Because you guys are the best adopted dog parents that Walter and Gale could ask for, and also because you deal with me being a man... and that makes you cinnamon rolls in my eyes.

xx Dare

She wanted more for him, same as she wanted from him. It was six months ten years ago, and she could still remember every bit of it. If she let it, her mind would trick her into believing he was safe again. That was the thing about Vitus, though. She would push him, say things that would piss off any other person, and he'd only acknowledge it in his own quiet, self-destructive way. Sometimes, she almost wished he wasn't sorry because it would make the truth so much easier to bear.

But he was. It just didn't take it away: the pain, the anger, the feeling that if she'd been somebody else it wouldn't have happened. She wasn't the first, though, and by the looks of his face, not the last. He left a wake behind him, and that's what she fought against. It's why she couldn't forgive him. "So you've already done your damage, haven't you?" She asked, venom draining momentarily from her words. She almost wanted the anger back, then she wouldn't feel so...sad.

Once upon a time, he'd have held her when she felt this way and all the broken pieces would have just slid right back into place. Like a puzzle. But that's all it was...a Once Upon a Time, a fairytale, a happily ever after that never gets finished. The book just closes on all the unanswered questions. "Yeah," she muttered, "it's a safe place. The kind of place I wanted growing up--the kind of place we would have benefitted from. Where people are kind, know you, accept you...it's warm." It wasn't a reflection of her, thank goodness, but it was the dream. It was the little girl she'd been once. It was for her.

How did he do that? Even when she hated him, she told him things. "Listen, I know I said some things last we talked that I--I shouldn't have said," in the closest thing to an apology he would get, "but you broke me. Do you know what it's like to go to bed one night the happiest you've ever been in your life and the next day, it's...gone? Trust doesn't grow back the same when it's ripped from you, the innocent, naive belief that the person who loves you can't possibly hurt you--would be absolutely incapable of it--it doesn't come back. And whether I get hit by a bus tomorrow or live past 100, I think I'll hate you forever for that. For saying you loved me and all the ways that wasn't enough--for making me believe that meant I wasn't enough."

He'd lost entire days with Leyla, but he hadn't lost her. He remembered small details, and they came into sharper focus the more she talked, reaching with her voice to tug them loose. Details like her father's name, Rahim; her birthday, late May; the roses he had woken her with the morning she turned twenty-four. Vitus rubbed his sternum while she spoke, like he could still feel her after all these years.

And she could still feel him too, it seemed, because she turned the last sentence into a projectile and struck him right across the face with it. A wince tangled his expression.

"I'm..." Sorry. But he'd already said that, so many times, and she'd never wanted to hear it. He couldn't ease Leyla's pain like he used to, but he could give her the truth, at least: "I moved last August. Been here a full year now. I—" Cheated on my girlfriend and lost her and needed a change of scenery. Another blink, at that, as he realized what he was about to say. Ten years, during which time she'd opened that business she always wanted for herself, and what had he done meanwhile? The very same thing that had destroyed their relationship. Even after arriving here for his fresh start, he'd broken multiple people's trust. Her reminder of that lodged itself in his throat, clawing down into his ribcage, until all he could do was laugh incredulously at himself. Or try to, at least. The sound grabbed his guilt on its way out and morphed into something painful. "God. Fuck."

He forced his eyes to stay on her, lest he run again. She really did look the same—that same strong nose he'd once admired, the same hands he'd once held between his own. A few bits of tenderness, aching and bruised, pushed through to the surface. "That's... really good. That you opened your own place."