Food Fest Bingo 2: Out With A Friend
Mar. 26th, 2020 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kiramaru7Title: Out With A Friend
Author: kira
Prompt: Black Coffee in Bed (Squeeze)
Fandom: Original
Characters: Max, Angie
Word count: 1248
Rating: G
Summary: Max, mourning the loss of his beloved, finds himself out with a friend…
Author’s note: Please also note that this is unbetaed and any mistakes are my own.
Max poured himself a cup of coffee, and walking over to the fridge, he got a couple of ice cubes which he added to his coffee. Sighing softly; he shuffled back to his bedroom. Three months had gone by since the breakup and he still felt like he did the day he found her in bed with someone else.
His friends had called as soon as they knew; trying hard to cheer him up, but it was no use. Instead of making him feel better, he felt horrible as he wondered what he had done to deserve it. It still hurt too much to even talk about it, even though some time had passed since it happened. So he closed himself off when he could, the rest of time he spent going through the motions of life. Nights, he lay in bed, wondering where things went wrong and what he could have done to prevent the breakup.
Setting the cup down on his bedside table, Max got into bed. Pulling the covers over himself, he noticed his notebook. He reached for it and lightly ran his fingertips over the coffee stain on the cover. A wave of sadness washed over him as memories of the day she spilt his coffee came flooding back. She was his muse, the heroine of all his stories. Hell, he had notebooks full of bits and pieces of their life together that eventually made into his novels. He had even started putting money aside for an engagement ring, that was how close they had grown… and just like that, she was gone. Were there signs that he had missed? Damn it! Whenever he was working on a novel, he did immerse himself totally into it. Maybe he did miss something after all…
Before he could depress himself any further, the phone rang. Max debated whether or not he should answer it, when the thought that it could be her made him reach for the phone. “Hello?” The voice that answered was feminine, but sadly it was not hers. “What do you want, Angie?” he rasped. “No, I don’t want to go out,” he replied. Max listened to his friend’s complaints about him becoming a hermit and her pleading to just suck it up and come out with her with a patience he did not know he had. Sighing softly, he said, “Okay. Catch you later. Wait, what?” He listened to her ramble on while he wondered why he was agreeing to go out, instead of wallowing in his misery. “Yeah, seven is fine. See you then,” he said, before hanging up.
Getting out of bed, Max undressed and showered. Even though he was going through the motions, he put a bit more effort into getting ready than he normally did. Despite mourning the loss of his beloved and the feeling of numbness that had settled over him, Max wondered what his friend was up to. Instead of “tea and sympathy,” which always ended up with his friends bashing his ex, Angie would simply call and listen if he felt like talking, but most of all, she acknowledged his feelings like friends were supposed to. He supposed that was why he had agreed to go out to dinner with her in the first place. Just two friends hanging out with no strings attached, right?
Dinner turned out to be couple of burgers at The Shake Shack, followed by hanging out at a local club. After a couple of beers, Angie dragged him out onto the dancefloor, despite his protests. It was “80’s Night” and the DJ had put on something with a danceable beat. Max swayed back and forth, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, as he watched her dance. He actually laughed, surprising himself, when he realized he liked Weird Al Yankovic’s parody of the song that was playing much better than the actual song.
“What’s so funny?”
“Weird Al parodied this song. He did a lot of funny parodies.”
“Yeah?”
Max nodded. “And before you ask, there’s a character in one of my books that was a big fan, so I did some research one afternoon on YouTube.” He grinned.
“It’s good to see you smiling again,” Angie said with a smile.
Flustered, Max ran a hand through his hair and smiled sheepishly at her. He shrugged. “Ummm…”
Angie giggled. “Come, let’s go!” Her expression softened. “Unless you want to stay?”
He shook his head. “I’m ready to go,” Max said. He could not wait to get out of there, especially since “Always Something There to Remind Me” started playing. The song conjured up some painful memories, he wanted to forget. “The 80’s were so overrated.” He put his hand on her shoulder as she turned to go.
“Yeah!” Angie led the way, but by the time they left, Max had his arm around her shoulders. Angie snaked an arm around his waist, and to passers-by on the street they looked like a couple in love as they walked to her apartment.
Standing outside the old brownstone where she lived, Angie said, “Want to come in for some coffee?”
“I…”
Angie, took his hands, leaned in, and kissed him. “Coffee?” She smiled.
Max frowned and licked his lips. Was that passion he tasted? Or was it just beer and burgers? “I ummm…”
“Just coffee, nothing more.” She smiled.
“Okay.” He followed up to her apartment.
They went inside. While Max made himself comfortable, Angie made a pot of coffee. He could hear her puttering around the kitchen and he debated with himself as to whether or not he should go help her. By the time he had made up his mind, she was back with two mugs, one of which she handed to him.
“Black coffee, right?”
He nodded.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted any sugar in it and if you need some, it’s in the kitchen.”
Max sipped his coffee. “It’s okay. I like just coffee.” He smiled. “I do like ice in it though…”
“Ice?”
“Yeah. It cools it off enough to drink as well as cuts a bit of the bitterness.” Max shrugged.
“Oh. Wait here and I’ll get you some.”
“It’s okay, Ange, I don’t need it.”
“You sure?” She sat down next to him.
Max nodded. “I can wait a bit until it cools, unless you want me to go?” He rubbed his forehead between his eyebrows. Damn! He was so out of practice it was sad. Did she want him to stay or go or what? And yet… this was his friend, not his lover, or a lover… Max ran his hand through his hair again. Things were so much easier when he was alone. Lonely, yes, but uncomplicated… and…
“Not at all!” Angie reached out and gently cupped his cheek, pulling him from his thoughts. “She must have hurt you real bad, hunh?”
He nodded and something inside broke, or seemed to, and he told everything, even the things he was afraid to tell himself. It was hard, but afterwards he felt better than he had in months. “Thanks, Angie.” At her puzzled frown, he added, “You know, for listening.” Max looked up at her. “Really listening.”
“That’s what friends are for…” She smiled, and pulling him close, she hugged him.
“Yeah…” He clung to her like a lifeline and when she kissed him, he returned it in kind. Maybe his friends were right. Maybe he was ready to love again…
Author: kira
Prompt: Black Coffee in Bed (Squeeze)
Fandom: Original
Characters: Max, Angie
Word count: 1248
Rating: G
Summary: Max, mourning the loss of his beloved, finds himself out with a friend…
Author’s note: Please also note that this is unbetaed and any mistakes are my own.
Max poured himself a cup of coffee, and walking over to the fridge, he got a couple of ice cubes which he added to his coffee. Sighing softly; he shuffled back to his bedroom. Three months had gone by since the breakup and he still felt like he did the day he found her in bed with someone else.
His friends had called as soon as they knew; trying hard to cheer him up, but it was no use. Instead of making him feel better, he felt horrible as he wondered what he had done to deserve it. It still hurt too much to even talk about it, even though some time had passed since it happened. So he closed himself off when he could, the rest of time he spent going through the motions of life. Nights, he lay in bed, wondering where things went wrong and what he could have done to prevent the breakup.
Setting the cup down on his bedside table, Max got into bed. Pulling the covers over himself, he noticed his notebook. He reached for it and lightly ran his fingertips over the coffee stain on the cover. A wave of sadness washed over him as memories of the day she spilt his coffee came flooding back. She was his muse, the heroine of all his stories. Hell, he had notebooks full of bits and pieces of their life together that eventually made into his novels. He had even started putting money aside for an engagement ring, that was how close they had grown… and just like that, she was gone. Were there signs that he had missed? Damn it! Whenever he was working on a novel, he did immerse himself totally into it. Maybe he did miss something after all…
Before he could depress himself any further, the phone rang. Max debated whether or not he should answer it, when the thought that it could be her made him reach for the phone. “Hello?” The voice that answered was feminine, but sadly it was not hers. “What do you want, Angie?” he rasped. “No, I don’t want to go out,” he replied. Max listened to his friend’s complaints about him becoming a hermit and her pleading to just suck it up and come out with her with a patience he did not know he had. Sighing softly, he said, “Okay. Catch you later. Wait, what?” He listened to her ramble on while he wondered why he was agreeing to go out, instead of wallowing in his misery. “Yeah, seven is fine. See you then,” he said, before hanging up.
Getting out of bed, Max undressed and showered. Even though he was going through the motions, he put a bit more effort into getting ready than he normally did. Despite mourning the loss of his beloved and the feeling of numbness that had settled over him, Max wondered what his friend was up to. Instead of “tea and sympathy,” which always ended up with his friends bashing his ex, Angie would simply call and listen if he felt like talking, but most of all, she acknowledged his feelings like friends were supposed to. He supposed that was why he had agreed to go out to dinner with her in the first place. Just two friends hanging out with no strings attached, right?
Dinner turned out to be couple of burgers at The Shake Shack, followed by hanging out at a local club. After a couple of beers, Angie dragged him out onto the dancefloor, despite his protests. It was “80’s Night” and the DJ had put on something with a danceable beat. Max swayed back and forth, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, as he watched her dance. He actually laughed, surprising himself, when he realized he liked Weird Al Yankovic’s parody of the song that was playing much better than the actual song.
“What’s so funny?”
“Weird Al parodied this song. He did a lot of funny parodies.”
“Yeah?”
Max nodded. “And before you ask, there’s a character in one of my books that was a big fan, so I did some research one afternoon on YouTube.” He grinned.
“It’s good to see you smiling again,” Angie said with a smile.
Flustered, Max ran a hand through his hair and smiled sheepishly at her. He shrugged. “Ummm…”
Angie giggled. “Come, let’s go!” Her expression softened. “Unless you want to stay?”
He shook his head. “I’m ready to go,” Max said. He could not wait to get out of there, especially since “Always Something There to Remind Me” started playing. The song conjured up some painful memories, he wanted to forget. “The 80’s were so overrated.” He put his hand on her shoulder as she turned to go.
“Yeah!” Angie led the way, but by the time they left, Max had his arm around her shoulders. Angie snaked an arm around his waist, and to passers-by on the street they looked like a couple in love as they walked to her apartment.
Standing outside the old brownstone where she lived, Angie said, “Want to come in for some coffee?”
“I…”
Angie, took his hands, leaned in, and kissed him. “Coffee?” She smiled.
Max frowned and licked his lips. Was that passion he tasted? Or was it just beer and burgers? “I ummm…”
“Just coffee, nothing more.” She smiled.
“Okay.” He followed up to her apartment.
They went inside. While Max made himself comfortable, Angie made a pot of coffee. He could hear her puttering around the kitchen and he debated with himself as to whether or not he should go help her. By the time he had made up his mind, she was back with two mugs, one of which she handed to him.
“Black coffee, right?”
He nodded.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted any sugar in it and if you need some, it’s in the kitchen.”
Max sipped his coffee. “It’s okay. I like just coffee.” He smiled. “I do like ice in it though…”
“Ice?”
“Yeah. It cools it off enough to drink as well as cuts a bit of the bitterness.” Max shrugged.
“Oh. Wait here and I’ll get you some.”
“It’s okay, Ange, I don’t need it.”
“You sure?” She sat down next to him.
Max nodded. “I can wait a bit until it cools, unless you want me to go?” He rubbed his forehead between his eyebrows. Damn! He was so out of practice it was sad. Did she want him to stay or go or what? And yet… this was his friend, not his lover, or a lover… Max ran his hand through his hair again. Things were so much easier when he was alone. Lonely, yes, but uncomplicated… and…
“Not at all!” Angie reached out and gently cupped his cheek, pulling him from his thoughts. “She must have hurt you real bad, hunh?”
He nodded and something inside broke, or seemed to, and he told everything, even the things he was afraid to tell himself. It was hard, but afterwards he felt better than he had in months. “Thanks, Angie.” At her puzzled frown, he added, “You know, for listening.” Max looked up at her. “Really listening.”
“That’s what friends are for…” She smiled, and pulling him close, she hugged him.
“Yeah…” He clung to her like a lifeline and when she kissed him, he returned it in kind. Maybe his friends were right. Maybe he was ready to love again…
