Dear Prudence* (Max)

[Ana Isabella Morgan]

Today, Ana was excited. She was headed to a coffee shop that Max had recommended them meet up at, since they hadn't seen each other in years. It was early in the morning and she was trying to find a place to park along the stretch of cute little shops and galleries. She had never been to this part of town, nor had she ever seen so many ordinary-looking people. None of them were wearing fancy clothes, none of the women were model-thin, none of the men seemed to be very concerned about their appearance, and somehow, it was all very refreshing. She hadn't been around normal, middle-class people since she was in England, and most of the British folk were stuck up anyway.

Checking her watch, she noted that it about time for everyone to be heading to lunch, and that was probably why it was so busy. She soon found a parking spot about two blocks away from the coffee shop. This didn't matter to her, as she was quite excited to see many of the other shops, family food places, and galleries. So she paid the parking meter enough for three hours, locked the car, and began her walk. It only took a few seconds for her to stop and look, very interested in what was inside. It looked like an animal and animal supplies store, with cute little kittens and puppies in the windows sleeping and playing with their toys. Smiling, Ana continued on the next store, which turned out to be a cute baby clothing boutique. The one after that was a doctor’s office. Ana continued along, smiling at random people, which she normally did not do, and looking around with much interest. Occasionally she would stop and look into a shop, but she usually could gather enough information without having to stop. Soon she could see the coffee shop that Max had been referring to from a block away, because it had outside umbrellas and seats; this was pleasant on a hot, breezy day like today. Grinning, she crossed the last street and made her way to the café.

[MAXWELL LEON GOLIGHTLY]

max was never very great with the ladies. sure, he went on many dates, but nothing ever really resulted from them. on the rare occasion that the few dates became dating, it rarely lasted longer than a few weeks. he wasn't one to jump around per se, but he was easily bored with relationships and holding onto someone he felt nothing for was rude in his opinion. it had been quite awhile since he had really felt something strong for anyone, and that hadn't really ended very well. today, however, max was headed for one of those "here and there" dates, which wasn't even really classified as a date at all. he was supposed to meet annie, an old family friend. it was more of a catching up kind of thing than an actual date. he had woken a bit late, but he had always been quick at getting ready. in no time, he was dressed in blue-striped collared shirt, a tie and dress pants. it was quite obvious by his appearance that he was a businessman. most of his closet was filled with suits and dress shirts and his everyday attire reflected such a thing. after fully dressing himself, he headed out of his bedroom, stopping into brynne's room.

"i'm going out with annie today." he said as he stepped into the room. brynne muttered something incoherently and max laughed ruffling her hair and an annoying manner. "i'm leaving. you should wake up, beebear." brynne rolled over, stretching out but refusing to open her eyes. "hmm maybe later. tell annie i said hello, and good luck to you." she muttered, still half asleep. "thanks." he said before pressing a quick kiss to her forehead and walking out of the room. with that he headed out the door and began his walk towards the coffee shop. max didn't live all that far from the coffee shop, in fact he was a regular at the place. most the workers there could finish his order before he even placed it. he was a common face, as he went there almost every morning. max was always in need of a caffeine fix and the little neck coffee shop was the nearest place. plus, it was much better than starbucks both taste and atmosphere wise.

as he strolled down the street at a fairly normal pace, he glanced to each side of the street examining the shops with little interest. he'd lived on great neck for a few years now and knew the stores quite well. they never really interested him to begin with, but he always looked nonetheless just to see if anything had changed. he slowed as he neared the coffee shop, making his way across the street and into the coffee shop. he almost immediately spotted her as he stepped in the door. it looked as though she had just arrived too. "annie!" he said, immediately showing his charming smile. "nice to see you." it had been quite some time since he had seen annie. she had been off at oxford, and he was off doing his own business deals and spent some years at columbia. annie had always been a friend of the family, and since she had become so close with his sister, max had spent a lot of time with annie back in high school and even a little after that. they had gone to the same parties, hung out with the same people and it led them to indirectly become friends. he had always admired annie. she was different from brynne and annalise. she was like them in certain aspects, but she was quite a bit different than most the girls he had known. she was sweet and kind, but also very poised.

notes: sorry this is shitty, but i have to leave soon so i'm rushing.
word count: six hundred and twenty-six
outfit: yumm

[Ana Isabella Morgan]

Annie wondered whether or not Max had changed much since a few summers ago, the last time that she had seen him and spent some time with him. It seemed as though Brynne, Zach, Annalise and Harry hadn't changed all that much, so was Max still his charming self? Ana smiled thinking about it. In high school, Annie really didn't date that much. She was always busy and a bit on the independent side, so boys just didn't seem like something worth wasting time on. While in high school, Ana felt like there were only two things good about the boys she knew: they were nice to look at and fun to dance with. Most of the guys in her class considered her a tease and most of the older boys knew better. She had a few flings here and there, and few dates just to shut her friends up, but all in all she really never found someone that she thought was worth her time. In Oxford, the boys were pretty much the same. Nice to look at and fun to dance with. But had she ever been in love? No. Annie just didn't understand why she had to try hard to find someone. Wasn't love supposed to find her?

Ana entered the coffee shop and looked around. It had a very calm and pleasantly modern atmosphere. It was artsy and dorky, which was fine by her. Everyone that she saw looked happy to be there. She began looking at the menu when she heard someone call her name. Whipping around, she saw that it was Max, who had dressed in business attire. But the look suited him, probably more so than any other kind of look he had ever tried. She thought about what she was wearing and figured she looked weak in comparison: a clean-cut white top tucked into a sea-green skirt, white sandals, and her long hair down in messy waves. Maxwell also looked like he had grown since she had last seen him, which she thought of as very unfair. Or maybe she just forgot how tall and handsome he was. She grinned at him and made her way towards him, ready to give him one of her famous Annie hugs. After noting that he wasn't wearing man perfume, she said, "Nice to see you too, Max. Clean up quite nice, don't you?" She smiled again, thinking, "Nope. He hasn't changed a bit." She could tell by his smile that he was still how she remembered him: charming, overprotective, and caring. She made a mental note to eventually ask him what he thought about Zach and Annalise, seeing as she was going to ask him about Brynne. But she would save that for later, perhaps after the pleasantries of meeting after a few years. Luckily, she didn't feel very awkward, she felt as though nothing much had changed. He was still Brynne's sweet older brother. "So what's good here? Everything? I'm hungry and not really in the mood for coffee."