Cherry Bomb

Part 1

She studied the pink, glittery polish that made its home on her nails. The way the holo flakes of glitter shifted from blues to yellows to reds in the sunlight occupied her attention, admiring how the color looked so good with her tanned skin.

It was a warm day, her thighs stuck to the patio area's outdoor plastic chair at the diner. It was a cute little diner, trendy but not too crowded. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as more customers found their own seats and conversation filled their booths and tables.

"Hey, are you alright? You've barely touched your food. I'm not boring you, am I?" His deep voice traveled across to her, making her eyes meet his.

A playful smile formed on his lips, waiting for a laugh as if the thought of him being boring was one that was out of this world. Her lips turned into a sly smile as her fingers moved to the straw of her lemonade filled glass, twirling it around as the half melted ice clashed together.

"Actually, Michael, you are boring me and the food here isn't even that good." She brought the glass up to her lips, watching through her eyelashes as his expression changed from playful to confused, maybe a little hurt even.

There was no doubt that her words were a shot to Michael Thomas's oversized ego.

Boy's like Michael Thomas were her favorite.

They were dumb, cute, and oh so willing.

Michael played football for as long as he could hold a ball, he was a stereotypical lovable , meathead jock.

Tall, dark, and handsome.

He was popular during his recently ended high school days, I mean, why wouldn't he be? He was an alpha male that was charming enough to sedate even the most venomous snakes.

Too bad he didn't know he was dealing with something that even the most vicious of snake's poison couldn't hurt.

"Oh, did you want to go do something else? We can always go back and-"

"Actually, I'm gonna go. I would much rather be at home with my dog than hear you talk about your college football scholarship for another hour, babe."

She pulled her thighs off of the heated chair, standing up straight.

Shooting Michael a smile, she grabbed her phone off of the table and turned her back to him. As she walked away, she looked over her shoulder one last time at the boy sitting, looking dumbfounded.

"Oh, and remember to tip."

With that she was walking back through the diner to her Ford Focus parked in the front.

-

The makeup stool that sat in front of her white, wooden vanity wobbled slightly as she reached over, grabbing another hair pin.

"I'm serious! It was so boring and the food wasn't even worth it." She rolled a section of her long brown hair into a flat curl, pinning it to her head.

"Let me guess, all he talked about was sports and other manly man topics?" A laugh broke through her lips at his spot on response.

"Tell me about your flaws, I'm tired of having the same conversations and hearing what everyone is so amazing at, you know?"

"Well yea, everyone wants to put their best characteristics first. They want you to see the best them they can be. That's why online relationships of any kind seem to develop so much faster."

"So tell me about your flaws then, Eli."

"Lisa, I literally have written lists of my flaws. I'm a very complicated person, are you sure you want to start this conversation?"

A giddy feeling bubbled throughout her body at his words, this is what she wanted.

This is what she needed.

Everything was the same, the same people, the same experiences, the same actions and opinions, she couldn't take much more of it.

Her cheeks hurt from smiling.

Eli was no longer the stranger that direct messaged her on Twitter in response to an angsty post made by Lisa. He was no longer the strange man that offered his number to her to have 'deep conversations', which she assumed meant a mutual masturbation session. He was no longer the random man that she figured she would play with and block soon after.

Eli was just as much of a narcissist as she was, but not cocky.

No. He was sure of himself, he held a confidence that she's only seen in herself.

He was a writer and a deep thinker, smart and captivating. He was uniquely flawed and that only made her want to know so much more about him.

Lisa has never met anyone that she could compare to herself, until the times between 7pm and 4am on a Saturday night where she spent this time listening and actively engaging in someone else's life that was not her own.

Eli spoke with such confidence, the kind that matched her sharp tongue.

He didn't agree with everything she said, pushed her to express her thought process on her opinions even.

"What time is it over there?" Eli spoke through what she could only assume was a yawn.

"Time for me to sleep, goodnight Eli." Her voice was small and her eyes were barely open yet she didn't want to hang up.

But she did.

As she snuggled under the mountain of blankets that occupied her bed, she thought over the conversation that had been taking place over the last few hours.

There was unspoken feelings running wild through her tired body.

She craved more of him.

The sound of her phone ringing startled her as she quickly turned the bright screen towards her face, squinting at the name.

'Eli'

Her thumb slide over the green button, bringing it up to her ear.

"Couldn't get enough of me, huh?"

"Something like that. How do you feel about falling asleep on the phone together?"