Sidewalk Wildflowers

James Cooley.27.Florist. Owner of Sweet Bees, a small event Venue.

[hellojamescc]

hxlfxz‌:

Halstead had been on his way home from a small walk. It was a little cooler outside than he wanted it to be, but he knew he had to get out of the house. Sitting inside cooped up writing all day was a killer, and he wasn’t looking for the familiar feeling of being trapped and anxious that came with it. He had locked himself up plenty of times to know don’t do that. He wasn’t looking up when he just about ran into someone, stopping in his tracks and looking down at the person. “Shit, sorry.”

Looking down at her now tea stained boots, James let out a quiet sigh. “Oh no, its fine really. I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose or anything.” She smiled. These things just seemed to happen to James more frequently then not so she wasn’t really that upset about it. “I was thinking that it was time to switch to something stronger then tea anyways.” She smiled and tossed the empty cup in the trash near her. She reached in her bag grabbing some tissues and bent down to wipe off the honey tea off her boots. They weren’t nice or new by any means but she wasn’t trying to go out the rest of the night with sticky boots. “I would advise looking up from the street though,” she gestured to the buildings around her “there’s a big beautiful city all around you worth looking at. Prettier then then the cracked up sidewalks at least.”

[hellojamescc]

sebastian-ward‌:

He could feel his cheeks heating as she pointed out how cold he was. Reflexively, he shifted his coat closer, whether trying to hide or bundle up further, he could not say for sure. “Your boss…set you up, on a date?” he asked, blinking slowly. That seemed like an odd thing for an employer to do. Wouldn’t it be better to stay out of the personal lives of employees? Anything could become awkward if a boss set it up. He shook his head at the idea. “My boss…is a little, similar,” he admitted, “he keeps, trying to get me…to come out drinking, with the other workers.” The last thing he wanted to do was spend all day with people and then go out to watch them become louder. “It, would be worse…I think, to go on a date…you have no interest in.” He shook his head again in response, not really perturbed by her telling him so much. “Nice, to meet you,” he replied, nodded. “Sebastian.” His own name was added on quickly as though he had forgotten he was supposed to say it. “Joining, you sounds…nice. And warm.”

James was happy he decided to join her, even if small talk tended to make her a bit awkward. She started in the direction of the coffee shop. “Yeah shes done it once before, she means well wanting me to get out and be happy and such. I’m fine really though. She’s older and I feel like shes trying to live through me a bit.” She looked over at Sebastion and cupped her hands over her mouth breathing into them to warm them up. “Shes says i’m wasting the best years of my life working there and on my building all of the time.” They had just reached the coffee shop, and she reached for the handle to open the door. They got in line to place their order and she shed her coat. “Really though i’m just determined to get the venue open so I can start making money the way I had intended to when I left everything and moved here. Not that meeting people and making friends and such isn’t important. I do think I would rather her try and set me up on dates that I can cancel, as opposed to trying to talk me in to coming out drinking after work. It’s always so hard to say no in the moment ya know? I hate feeling like I have to do something.” She paused and looked up at him, since she was as short as she was she looked up at everyone. “If im talking to much you can always stop me, I tend to ramble.” Reaching the counter she ordered her hot chai tea latte with a shot of blonde espresso,.“What’ll you have?” she said looking back at Sebastion.

[letzternachtzug]

[hellojamescc]

woodyanders‌:

( ❋ && closed starter @hellojamescc​

woody had been seized by the security guards of the grocery store , two rather large burly males grabbing at his tattooed arms to stop him from wriggling away . even with his deft hands it seemed he was caught red handed this time , stolen goods ( a pack of cigarettes , some candy bars and a pack of condoms .. don’t ask ) being tugged from his pockets and thrown with disregard on the ground . spotting james behind one of the aisles , he attempted to wave at the girl to get her attention . “ hey – hey hey hey , you there .. uh , margaret . that’s you . we were jus’ shopping , and these things fell in my pocket . you saw ‘em , right ?? c’mon love , help me out here , “ 

James had just got off work and was stopping in the closest store before home. Since people watching was one of the few things she enjoyed about going to the grocery store she quickly noticed a tattooed man slipping in and out of the isles pocketing things along his way. It wasn’t any of her business so she just admired his work and kept shopping quietly. When she saw the the security guard had grabbed him she felt quite bad but had tried not to stare while she waited in line. When she heard him start shouting names she looked up to she who could possibly know him. She quickly realized, when she saw him staring right at her that she was ‘margaret’. She panicked and quickly acted like she knew him and said “Hey Jim! Uhh, yeah we were shopping over there. He didnt pick up anything. He couldn’t of uh..put anything in his pocket?” The whole thing was completely unconvincing but she panicked, When the security guards looked back at him she mouthed “i’m sorry.” She felt bad. She went to the security guards and asked “Could you guys just let my friend here go? Really he hasn’t done anything. Ill just take care of whatever it is you guys think he stole, she looked down at the items to add up in her head what she though they were worth. She giggled at the random groceries in front of her and pulled out some cash. She put the items in a bag and pressed the money in the security guards hand. She handed the bag over to the man. “Here ya go Jim. Ill walk you out, we can catch up.” She headed out the door with the man, turning around a smiling at the security as they passed.

[hellojamescc]

sebastian-ward‌:

“I…could get you another, cup of tea.” Sebastian offered. It was, after all, his own fault that she no longer had any. The least he could do was rectify that issue. A little smile pulled at his lips when she spoke of socializing. “I think… I can relate to that, feeling. Today doesn’t, seem to be a good…one for being around, a lot of people.” Or really any day if he was being honest with himself. Yes, accidents happened all the time, but that didn’t mean he could shirk his responsibility by not attempting to make it up to her. “Where, did you get, that one?” he asked, nodding toward where she had thrown away the empty cup. Her question made him paused. “Not, really…I was just, going home. Were, you off…somewhere?”

“Well I could use some more tea,” she smiled. “And you look like you could use something to warm you up as well.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes and gestured towards the cold, bundled up man. She had already stated that she wasn’t in the mood for going out and this was the perfect excuse to stay in at her favorite quiet coffee house. “I was supposed to go out tonight on some date that my boss had set up for me. And if i’m being honest she’s not the best at these things. So I just canceled last minute.” She felt guilty saying it out loud. She grimaced, “I know that sounds awful of me, but really I couldn’t go on another date she planned. She’s sweet and really means well. I suppose she feels bad for me not getting out and meeting many people since moving here...” She Stopped talking and began blushing. “And you really didn’t need to know all this you don’t even know my name, i’m so sorry.” She shook her head while placing her hand on her forehead. “I’m James, and if you’d like to get warm i’m going right down the road to this perfect coffee place. It has fire place and i’ll get ya a latte.” She smiled at him again. “You want to join me?”

[hellojamescc]

thatbraxtondude‌:

“So…is it, like, a club?”  He asked, still not really sure what he was looking at.  But then, Braxton wasn’t good at looking at things for what they could be, only what they had been before they were destroyed.  The destruction was really what he focused on.  “No, no, I’m sure it’ll look awesome.  Just gonna take some work,” he reassured her with a shrug, taking the hammer and walking over to the banister.  He took one swing at it half-heartedly, but the hammer barely put a dent in it.  So after a while he just stepped up on the stairs and leaned against the wall behind him, kicking at the banister with all his might.  It wasn’t much faster, but with enough effort he managed to take out a couple of the columns.

“More of a wedding venue,” she said watching Braxton start kicking down the columns. She started wondering who this guy even was. She felt bad for him and his busted lip and wondered if he only agreed because he was just happy to be out of the cold and out of everyone's view. She pick up the crowbar at her feet and walked over to the stairs. “It wouldn’t only be for weddings though. It could be for any event, birthdays, anniversary parties...” She wedged te crow bar between the base of the stairs and a column and pushed her weight into it popping off the bottom portion then pulling the rest of it off. “It could be for anything really. Here this may be easier.” She handed him the crowbar and smiled. He looked like he had it rough, and she felt for him. She could tell he was young and wondered if he even had anybody waiting for him. Not liking the idea of him staying out on the streets she was glad that she had asked for his help. She didn’t want to cross any lines or make him uncomfortable with questions but she asked anyways. “So, you didn't have anything better to do tonight besides get tricked into manual labor in exchange for some cheap beer?” She picked up her can downing what was left of it and grabbing another one. “You need another?” 

[hellojamescc]

xoxoprestonh‌:

“That’s good because I hate those names. I never understand why you want a pet if you are going to give them a basic name. Give them unique names, it’s not like the dog has to apply for a job or something.” He chuckled softly at the girl. “Ah, yes. This place a little down the road. It is really good. Maybe you and I should go visit it sometime, or you can.” Preston replied with a smile. “Or I can walk with you and little maxter here and show you where the place is. I would hate to have you get all lost in this city.”

“Yeah, um, sure.” She thought about the fact that she had socialized with almost nobody since she moved here and she probably wasn’t in the boat to be denying a chance of new friendship. If her boss were here she’d be screaming an answer for her, ‘Yesssss Yessss she would like you to take her to get pizza, just get her out of her house anythinggg.’ “Pizza would be nice,” she said “but not tonight, im a wreck and still have a ton of stuff to do at my venue before I lock up for the night.” She forced a smile as she felt herself start getting nervous, she hated asking for a rain check but she really needed to finish up her work tonight. “Besides you just got done eating and I wouldn't want to ask you to get out again, im sure you wanna get home, right?”

[hellojamescc]

sebastian-ward‌:

Sebastian had just gotten off of his shift and he was exhausted. The drive to just get home was strong, but he was also freezing. His car was in the shop and thus he had taken a taxi to work. Afterward, his coworkers had wanted to go out and, thankfully, their choice had been in the direction of his house. However, now that he wanted to leave early, he was stuck walking. It’s not that cold, he had thought. I’ll be fine. Of course, the weather had been hell bent on proving him wrong. Pulling his coat closer around himself, he realized a little too late that he had effectively blocked his sight from behind his jacket. A soft gasp left him as he felt himself knock into another person. “S-sorry,” he stammered, scooting back and immediately letting go of his coat. So much for that plan. “Are you, okay?”

James looked down at her tea soaked gloves and refrained from rolling her eyes as she started to pull them off. She smiled and looked back up at the face that had just ruined her tea, “i’m fine, really.” She stepped back a bit bringing the mans face more into focus, he was handsome, and looked very cold. She could tell he didn't want to be out here anymore then she did. “You just helped me realize that maybe going out and trying to make myself socialize isn’t what I really wanted to do tonight.” She smirked and looked at her now empty tea, “I do need a new tea now though.” She tossed the empty cup in the closest trash bin. She was bad at small talk even more so when the person across from her looked the way he did. “But really, its no problem, accidents happen right?” She pulled out her wallet preparing to go back into the nearest coffee shop to get some more tea, and then some chapstick to apply to keep the brisk wind from chapping her lips anymore then they already were. “You in a hurry to get somewhere?”

[hellojamescc]

thatbraxtondude‌:

Braxton looked around the place as politely as he could, looking semi-interested in the idea.  Honestly, he did think it was really cool.  She owned the place, that in itself was pretty awesome.  But he had no idea what ‘Sweet Bees’ was supposed to be.  And he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to ask.  Looking at the hammer, he rose a brow.  “Do you have anything bigger than a hammer?”  He asked, cocking his head to the side.  “Taking out a banister is, like, a sledgehammer type of situation, I’m pretty sure.  I’ve destroyed my fair share of properties, but not with a hammer.”

“I know its a mess in here right now”. she exclaimed. Looking at the dismantled fire place and back at Braxton. “But I really think its going to be great, there’s a dance floor or just hang out cocktail type space upstairs, and down here I have a kitchen area and this beautiful fire place. I think its going to turn just right, hopefully.” She looked down around her tools back up. “Yeah, no. I mean I have a sledgehammer but its back home, I wasn’t planning on having the help to get he banister down so I just brought what I needed for the fireplace... But I think the hammer will work just to get down the columns for now, then we will figure out the rest.” She handed him one of the natural light cans she had just bought, “I really think you can handle this. Just don’t destroy the floors, I just got finished restoring them.” She brought over a sheet and laid it around the base of the stairs. “You think I can get this place looking right? Or am I crazy?” She said as she went back to sanding the wall around the fireplace. She picked up her speaker turning on Grateful Deads ‘Morning Dew’ and hummed along with it waiting for his answer.

[hellojamescc]

xoxoprestonh‌:

“I can’t blame him, honestly. It’s a pretty good food.” He chuckled, looking over at the dog. He seemed like a sweet dog, he didn’t bite him so that was a good thing. “Ah, I see. It’s an interesting name. At least he didn’t have one of those common, lame names like Max or Rex. Those dog names are so damn common, it’s not even funny anymore.” Preston looked over at the girl before nodding. “That makes sense. It’s kind of cute, honestly. Nice to meet you, James. I’m Preston.”

“Hi Preston.” She looked up the street from where she came from and back at Preston. “Yeah not much for Rex, or the cheesier names like that. Though he does get the occasional Max just kinda goes with is name.” She smiled down at the beagle who was stretched out on the ground with his tongue hanging out. She was new to the city and hadn’t got out much so she asked “pizza huh? was it good? I have yet to find a pizza joint since I got here that I actually like.” The idea of food made her stomach growl, she wondered if it was audible, and remembered that she hadn’t ate much of anything today. She had stayed so busy all day that it must have slipped her mind. She looked down at her bag and realized all she had bought was beer and shrugged to herself thinking at least it was carbs.

[hellojamescc]

thatbraxtondude‌:

Truth be told, Braxton wouldn’t have expected the girl to come back, except she’d handed him her dog.  Which was no problem for him, he loved dogs.  When she did come back, he had the dog practically in his lap, petting and scratching and giving the thing all the attention it could ever want.  “A hammer?  I mean…yeah, I guess?  It’s just used for nailing shit, right?”  He shrugged, letting go of the dog and letting her take the leash back.  After a moment’s hesitation, he stood, the offer of temporary shelter and beer too good to pass up, and followed James and the dog.

“Yeah, kinda” she giggled and opened the door to her building. The chair and all of her things right where she left them. She sat down the bags she had and opened another beer. “This is, eh or will be Sweet Bees, my venue.” She spread her arms out very showsman like. It was a two level building and up stairs was just one large open space.She motions at the staircase that leads upstairs, “this banister has got to go....and I was thinking if maybe you could knock this down for me I could share my beers with you.” She looked at Braxton really well again, pretty sure he was on the younger side she added, “as long as you don’t do anything stupid, and you promise that you won’t hurt yourself. I don’t like blood.” She picked up the hammer she had and held it out towards him. “Think we got a deal?”

[hellojamescc]

thatbraxtondude‌:

Braxton nodded, taking another drag of his cigarette.  He watched her put one behind her ear, and one eyebrow rose, wondering what she planned to do with it if she no longer smoked.  “Look, I’ll give you this whole pack for a couple of beers,” he offered, looking at her and wondering if she’d even bother taking the pack.  After all, she did say she didn’t smoke anymore…but she’d taken one, so why not take more to not-smoke?  “Oh, cool.  I’m from Cordele, originally.  Never been outta Georgia,” he rolled his eyes and looked back up at the stars.  “It’s nice to meet you, James.  I’m Brax.”

She thought about the offer she was just given, then perked up. “I actually have an idea, hold on ill be right back.” She handed Brax the dog leash ran into the store grabbed a thirty rack of the first beer she saw and ran back out. “So, Brax, you ever used a hammer? Because if your answer is yes, and if you promise that you’re not some murderer or anything along those lines..” She looked him over once more as if she was looking for a big flashing sign that said she would probably be murdered by this stranger she was going to invite to follow her. “You can have as much of this case of beer as you would like.” She smiled and grabbed the leash from him. “What do ya think?” She started walking down the street and shouted. “You coming?”

[hellojamescc]

thatbraxtondude‌:

“Just one of those nights,” Braxton repeated, a little firmer this time.  There wasn’t much else to tell her, honestly.  He wasn’t one to blurt out his entire life story to a stranger, and besides, this was something he figured she was better off not knowing about.  “Sometimes you get your ass handed to you on a silver platter.  It just happens.”  He shrugged, looking down at his cigarette in his hand and then holding it out to her.  “You smoke?”  It was the only thing he had to offer her, unfortunately.  And he was hoping she’d be sharing her beer, because he really could use a drink right about now.  “Nine months doesn’t sound like new, but I guess it depends on how you feel about the place, right?  Like, if it feels like home, then it’s home.  If it still feels strange and unusual, then it’s that,” he looked up at the stars again.  “Where’s Chattanooga?”

“Hey, I got ya. If you say it just happens, it just happens.” She looked him over again and shrugged. His cigarette burning smelt so good and she wanted one, even though it had been years since she had even touched one. “Not anymore” she replied while taking one out of his pack and sliding it behind her ear. She took the half empty beer back out of her bag finished it and threw in it the trashcan they were near. “Chatt? Its in Tennessee, about two and half hours north of us. That’s home, or was before I dropped everything and came here. Here just has not started to feel like home yet. I think I haven’t truly given the city a chance to show its charm to me yet, been to busy” She looked down the street again, thinking about all the work there still was to do, then up at the stars as well. She took out another beer raising it to him in a cheers manner. “I’m James by the way.”

[hellojamescc]

xoxoprestonh‌:

Preston smiled softly at the dog and the girl when they had approached him. He wasn’t really an animal person, sure he had his fair share of family pets and pets growing up but with him being on the road and all now, he knew he couldn’t keep one. “Oh , it’s alright. I guess he smells the Pepperoni on me, I just left a pizza joint.” He chuckled. “Maxter is an interesting name. Where’d you get that from?”

“He does love him some pepperoni, dont ya Max?” James bent down and scatched the top of the dogs head handing him a small treat from her bag. “Well, originally he was Maxinator, and I haven’t a real clue where that came from.” James’ ex back home had helped her find a dog at a shelter back home and he insisted that was his name as soon as they saw him at the kennel. “ But my best friends daughter (who was pretty much her niece) could never quite say it and always called him Maxter, so it just stuck.” She smiled at the man, pushed her hair back off her forehead, and stuck her hand out “and Im James, not as cool as Maxter, I know.”

[hellojamescc]

thatbraxtondude‌:

Gingerly, Braxton placed his fingertips over his split lip, wrinkling his nose and frowning at the sting.  Then he pulled his hand away, shrugging.  “Yeah, I guess you could say that.  Just one of those nights.”  They weren’t all that uncommon, unfortunately.  It’s not like what he was doing was totally legal, so what was he going to do, turn the guy in?  Nope.  He just took the occasional beating.  “You both new here?”  He asked, raising a brow and holding out his hand without the cigarette to the dog, so he could sniff him and hopefully realize that Brax wasn’t dangerous.  He gave off some thug vibes, maybe, but he wasn’t actually nearly as tough as he came across.  Glancing up at the six pack, he sighed, and then nodded, finally bringing his cigarette to his lips for a drag.  “Yeah, yeah I do,” he replied, exhaling the smoke away from the girl.

“Just one of those nights?” James had plenty of rough nights herself, but never a split lip kind of night. She didn’t know this person, not even a little. So she felt maybe inquiring about this probably wasn’t her business. But she had already asked, so what was there to do. She was bad about that, asking for more information when people either didn’t really want to give it up, or flat out didn’t have anymore information to give, but she always wanted to know more. “Yeah, been here around nine months now I guess, do you still call that new? We haven't got out much.” She glanced down the street, shed been gone for a while now and left her building unlocked. She felt slightly worried but really what was someone going to go take from her? Her only chair? A hammer? She dropped her guard and looked back at the guy. “ I just moved down here from Chattanooga, and he goes where I go, so here we are.” She looked around and making sure nobody was watching and cracked a beer drinking half down in one gulp before putting her half drank beer back in her bag with the other six pack.

[hellojamescc]

The smell of cigarette tempteted James as the smoke drifted from the guys hand in front of her. She looked at his face as he smiled, his lip was busted “Rough night, or day?” She gestured at his lip. “I know everyone must say that about their dog..but really Maxter usually doesnt have much to say about anything. Hes still getting used to the city a bit I think.” She bent down and pulled out a small treat feeding it to the dog. “ She looked down at her outfit, covered in small chunks of wood, shoes with holes in them, she must look like a train wreck, but she thought to herself , does it really matter? James hadn’t tried to impress anyone in so long, all that her life consisted of was work, the remodel and sleep. She held the six pack in her hand in the air and asked “You need one of these?” 

[hellojamescc]

James looked around the room as she sat down in the only chair in the building with her. It had been four months and the only things she had got done remodeling wise was pull out all the carpet,restore the original hardwood, and pull down the old mantle from around the fireplace. She huffed and blew what stray hairs weren't in a bun out of her eyes. Being in Atlanta alone isn't what scared her, but being in this project alone was starting to get to her. Tonight was gonna be an all nighter. She was gonna be off the next three days, and anytime off meant time she needed to spend in the venue. She had to open it soon, she was tired of seeing so many lost chances go past her. She got back up and grabbed the broom propped up against the wall. She began sweeping the remains of the fire place. “You know what..” she looked down at the beagle laying near her feet, “this would be so much better with beer and music, don’t you agree Maxter?” The dog just looked up at her with his tongue hanging out. “Maybe a treat for you too,” she giggled and looped a leash and collar around the dogs neck. “Lets go boy.” She headed out the door and up the street to the closest gas station. As she walked out of the the gas station Maxter began barking and moving closer to a person standing near by. “Im so sorry,” she said “he never acts like this, I mean ever!!” She pulls on his leash a bit and looks up at the person.

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