Despite Not Being Good At Letting People In, Leyla Didn't Actually Mind Talking To Them, Especially In

See, solved your problem. Kevin with the chili, Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration, Identity Theft!Jim, the possibilities are pretty endless. Oh, that's a tough one...Dwight, probably, or Stanley. Who's yours? You just get a bunch of friends to do it with you, all as various characters, and you'll win all the costume contests as a group. I mean, you could, but I think that's cannibalism, so your costume might have to be classified as horror.

I do love the Office. That’s always been one of my biggest comfort shows to watch when I need a fast pick-me-up. Who’s your favorite character in the show? I can’t be the only one going as someone from the Office, though. I’d be out of place. Ooh, that is quite the idea. Not sure how I’d dress like a strawberry banana smoothie. Can I be a banana drinking a strawberry/banana smoothie? 

"Fair," she admitted, though she couldn't imagine being terrified of these gorgeous creatures herself, everyone had something. "I may judge the people who don't have taste a little bit," she joked with a laugh. Horses had been so much apart of her healing journey that her original love for them had only deepened in that experience. "A little, not as much as I would like, but I've been volunteering at Harmony Healers so I've at least been near them. When I saw they were doing the rides here, I had to selfishly get over here to enjoy some riding time. I'm not at all surprised Livvy has been inspiring you. I've never met someone so passionate about them. Do you two ride together a lot?"

"Well, I think some people are scared of horses." She stroked down the face of the horse she'd chosen. "And some people just...don't have taste." Elise had written competitively for a long while as a teen, but she was glad to be reconnecting with this side of herself. "Have you been riding at all recently? Livvy has inspired me in these past few months."

"Great," she said excitedly, looking forward to the opportunity this would provide her business. "I can do that, and then once you give it a listen, we can set up a more formal meeting to work out all the details," she offered, before with a small smile, adding, "so you can enjoy the rest of your visit sans business." She beamed, rather proud of her drinks despite not being much of a non-alcoholic mixologist before deciding on the business idea. She was largely self-taught, and she liked to see good feedback to her products.

"I can make that work.." he thought over options in his mind, "maybe but together a playlist, send it over, I can put something together." Sure, they would have to discuss details, contracts and the like but overall, he was in. As Leyla set the fight of drinks down in front of him, Alec took a moment to inspect each of the drink as he debated which to try first. He picked up the watermelon lime to start, taking a sip to taste, then another. "Mmm.. not bad," he nodded.

It was important to Leyla to be here, to give back. She had never been good at receiving, but giving came easy. Besides, she'd get to be with horses, what could possibly be wrong about that? Nowadays, she often preferred animals to people.

"Really? That's great," she said as the woman confirmed they were always looking. It perked her up a bit as she patiently waited for the application. "I also own Mawk Tales, down by the coast, so if you ever want to do any sort of fundraiser, let me know," she offered, before gratefully accepting the clipboard. "How long have you been doing this?" She asked as she started on the form.

As much as Livvy loved working as a physical therapist, she enjoyed her work with the horses even more. Getting to watch children get up on a horse's back for the first time, riding around a little arena, being led by the volunteers, going out on trail rides when they had the experience and could handle it; every day, she went home feeling good abotu what she did. That wasn't always something she could say about her time in the office.

"Oh!" she looked up from where she had been polishing a saddle, buffing and buffing at the leather to make it look like new again, and breaking into a smile. "We're always looking or volunteers, actually. As for applications, uhm, give me one second," she set the saddle aside, and scampered into the office, snatching a piece of paper out of one of the drawers and attaching it to a clipboard, turning to make her way back out into the aisle. "Here we are!"

Leyla wanted her place to be as good as any other bar, and you could always send those drinks back too. Even if she was very confident in the quality of her menu, everyone had different tastes. "The option is always available," she promised. Since it was her recommendation, Leyla did hope she'd like it. "That's what I thought," she replied with a laugh. "Okay, I'll do it then. Maybe I'll take your recommendation on your favorite flavors." Her brow briefly furrowed as the other woman laughed before she explained. "Good thing I sent the last one into early retirement, so there's a vacancy," she teased, "but I think that's perspective, it could make you an angel."

Valentina nodded. She didn't want the brunette to go out of her way just for her drink but she appreciated the gesture. "I'm sure it'll be just fine." After all, she seemed to know what she was doing with all the mocktails and smoothies. "I'm the only adult who allows them to eat candies, of course I'm their favorite person," she joked. "But yes please, come and have a look. I'll make you an ice cream, if you're not into candy." All of a sudden, she let out a short laugh as she realized something, "You're making me a healthy drink and I'm offering you candy in return, I feel like a little devil on your shoulder."

WHO: Leyla & @docolives WHERE: Harmony Ranch

At one of the treatment centers, Leyla had gone through some equine therapy, and she found so much progress and help in it. When she learned that Merrock had a similar sort of program largely geared toward kids, it was all she could do not to run all the way from the coast to the countryside to see if there were any opportunities for her to do something.

"Excuse me," she asked the blonde she spotted, knowing she'd seen her around before, "do you have any spots for a volunteer? Like an application or something I could fill out?"

"They are," Leyla assured, "I've sampled them all myself before putting them on the menu, so you can't go wrong." She was leaving nothing to chance, putting her whole being into making this concept work. There were a couple of bars in the area, so she had competition but no one was doing exactly what she was doing. They might have non-alcoholic options, though. That's why she had to work extra hard to make her place stand out as something special. "Great choice!" She replied, beaming, "I leave that menu then." As she began to make the drink herself, she decided she should probably strike up a conversation like any other bartender would do. What would Sam Malone do? "So what do you do?"

"They all sound kinda good," Che said, eyeing up the menu. He'd often spend time like this at bars with alcoholic beverages, but it was early and it was a work night and he was trying not to be the worst. "Go with the strawberry basil one, then." He smiled over at Leyla. "And then maybe something more smoothie-like afterwards for my second drink."

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?"

"Yeah, can you imagine adding alcohol to the smack-talking that's already going down?" Even sitting reading her book, she could feel the competitive nature in the air and hear some of the conversations around her. "Definitely not," she agreed. Besides, when it basically tasted the same why add something more volatile to the mix. "I do," she said proudly, "it's been sort of a lifelong dream come true. I would love it if you stopped by, it's a place for everyone. Something like a bar atmosphere without the alcohol, but it's quieter so you can actually enjoy your friends. What do you do?"

"I mean it's far too early to break out the booze anyway, especially with kids around. Last thing they need are adults liquored up playing volleyball and getting into arguments." she chuckled, not that she expected that to happen often but you know, anything could happen when you mixed alcohol with heat, competition, and time in the sun. "Don't need to be breaking up potential issues before the fun has even begun." And this was away to enjoy something like a cocktail without worrying and it was hydrating. "Oh! You own the business? I keep meaning to stop in, one night after work I would love to see more of what it's like. Think having a place you can go and feel like you're getting a drink without it being just some kind of soda is amazing."