Cherry Bomb [H.S.]

CHAPTER THREE

"Marlowe Finch!" I hear my name being called across the sea of people in Mikey's living room as Kailey and I enter his house. It's then I look over and see the man himself, and a wide smile presses itself onto my lips.

"Mikey!" I squeal as I run over - wrapping my arms around his neck.

His arms are around my waist as he lifts me off the ground, and he twirls me around for a moment before setting me back down. "You look amazing! How've you been? How was the move?"

"I've been good," I tell him with a nod. It wasn't a complete lie. Even after everything that had happened in regards to Harry, I was still in a really good place. "And my house has been all set for a couple of weeks now. You'll have to come over soon! Kailey and I have already had a movie night, but we should all jam like we used to."

"Hell yeah, I'd love that," Mikey says as he throws each of his arms around Kailey and I's shoulders.

"How about you? How's life?" I ask, and I can see he's steering us towards the kitchen.

"Oh, just peachy, you know," he wiggles his eyebrows. "I have no complaints though, honestly. Life is good."

We get to the makeshift bar that he's created on the counter, and he drops his arms from us to clap his hands together.

"Alright, ladies," he gestures his hands towards all the bottles of liquor and mixers. "All the alcohol your heart could ever desire, and then in the cooler there at the end of the counter are a bunch of different beers. Please, help yourself to anything."

"Thanks, Mikey," Kailey and I say almost in unison, and I watch as he walks back into the living room to get lost in the crowd.

"I didn't realize Mikey's house was so big," I muse as I reach for a solo cup - choosing a purple one as I see he has a bunch of different colored ones. There were also sharpies, so I grab one and I doodle a capital 'M' with a heart next to it. I don't intend on leaving my cup anywhere unattended, but at least I can identify which one is mine.

"Yeah, he got some killer job a year and a half ago, and now he makes fucking bank," Kailey says as we start to make our drinks.

I purse my lips to the side as I see fresh cherries, and I pluck a couple from the container - dropping them into my cup. I use a straw to crush them a little bit so the juice comes out, and then I grab club soda to fill about a quarter of my cup.

"What are you making?" Kailey peers over the lip of my cup, and I can see that she's settled on whiskey on the rocks in her own.

"It's a little cherry cocktail I got in the habit of making on the road," I tell her as I grab the cranberry juice, only adding a smidge of that before reaching for the rum.

"Can I try it once you're done? It looks yummy."

"Yeah, of course," I top the rest of my cup off with the rum, and I stir it all with a straw before taking a large sip. I hum softly when I realize I've made it perfectly, and I extend it out to Kailey. "It's so good."