Cherry Bomb

I began to spin around on the chair at my desk. Why did people give us these swinging chairs? It’s obvious they’re going to distract us…

After several successful turns, I stopped and blinked as the world continued to revolve around me. I shook my head, bad mistake, and I began to topple. A small hand captured my upper arm in a strong grip and pushed me back upright and handed me a coffee. I set it down onto my desk by my keyboard and smiled at my work colleague Bambi.

She laughed quietly at me, and shook her head as she sat down at her own desk, beside mine. Her real name wasn’t Bambi, but it was a nickname we’d all given her when she first began to work here, around the same time I started. She had a rather small, petite face that was framed by big chocolate brown eyes, and light brown eyelashes that were so long I swear they touched her eyebrows. She had never complained about the nickname and in fact had embraced it with good humour and so it had stuck…I can’t even remember her real name, it’s Leah, or Laura or something. Anyways, three years later, she’s still Bambi and one of my closest friends.

“Rough night last night?”

I shook my head, “Nah, on Saturday. Noel dragged me out…”

Bambi made a noise of understanding and giggled slightly as she began to write up an article on the effects of increased pollen rates. “How was it this time?”

“It was…it was good.” I stated, and couldn’t help but allow a smile to creep onto my mouth as I said it. It had been a good night, the end of it anyway…with her. With Rosalie.

From the corner of my eye I could see Bambi grinning like a Cheshire Cat and I stopped smiling like a lovestruck loser immediately and focused my eyes on my computer screen. But the words I was trying to focus on became blurred as in my minds eye, I could see her dance past me, her wild red hair flying around her, her crimson lips pulled back in a tiger like grin. Her blue eyes were wild and they flashed at me and then I became aware of Bambi’s skinny elbow nudging my side.

I flinched away from her, and looked down. She was pretty small, even when she was sitting down.

“Hello!” she called, “I said who is she?”

“Who’s who?” I asked, feigning ignorance and Bambi rolled her eyes.

“Come on Lukas. It’s me, I know that look….who is she?”

And then I smiled again, that goddamn goofy smile, “I…don’t even know.”

Bambi raised her eyebrows, “you don’t know?”

“Well..” I clicked my fingers off the keyboard absentmindedly, “I know her name’s Rosalie. But that’s it…she’s younger than us. She’s…she’…hang on.”

I looked around for my satchel, finding it stuffed under my desk and then extracted my camera, and handed it to Bambi, “That’s her.”

Bambi stared at the pictures of Rosalie, and her eyes flashed for a moment, “”wow...she seems…different.”

I frowned, “different?”

“I mean…she looks…kind of wild…much different to Rebec-”

“Don’t say her name!” I snapped at Bambi and she blinked, closing her mouth firmly.

I took the camera back from Bambi, placing it gently on my desk. “She is different….but that’s why I like her. And that’s why I’m going to find her again.”

I didn’t miss Bambi rolling her eyes at me, but I ignored her. I will find her….Rosalie.

~

I heard the music before I saw the street performers on the low bridge by the river. I was off work, and with my satchel slung across my shoulder, I finished the cup of coffee I had bought myself and lit another cigarette.

I ambled my way towards the sound of the African drums, pausing slightly to run my eyes over a leggy blonde before going on my way. I stopped, and then made my way to the front of the crowd, and rested on one foot, my eyes scanning the drummers, all who were dark skinned with impressive dreadlocks piled high on their heads.

And then I looked to the person who was really drawing the crowd. She danced in front of the drums, her feet were bare on the ground, slightly warmed by the sun. I gasped her name as I recognised her…Rosalie.

She had her eyes closed, her hands waving through the air as if she were in her own world…which I think in a way she was. Her hair swung out behind her as she twirled on the balls of her feet, parts of it plaited and interlaced with colourful beads that made it look like she was fire. She had transfixed the audience like she had already transfixed me. I silently took out my camera, and the faint sound of my shutter opening and closing could be heard as I shot her in action. She was beautiful.

She had some kind of headband in her hair as well, with a large feather boa on it. It made me smile…who else could pull off something so gaudy? And there was small clinks everytime she moved her feet, when the charms on her silver ankle bracelet crashed together.

And then she opened her eyes, immediately finding my own. I think she recognised me, I hope she did…and just as I was about to say her name. She laughed, that free smile blinding me again, and her eyes tangoed with my own before she turned, jumping off the bridge and into the water.

Some people screamed, I cursed and rather than look over the edge of the bridge, I ran to the bottom of it, to the banks of the lazy river. I knew it wasn’t incredibly deep, deep enough she could land safely but couldn’t drown, the current weak enough it wouldn’t capture her in it’s claws.

I called out to her when I saw her in the water, and she floated over to me aimlessly, as if she were merely in a swimming pool.

“Rosalie! You can’t do that! You could be arrested!”

She laughed again, and paddled her toes for a moment, and sat up in the water. I averted my eyes slightly, suddenly conscious of her white t-shirt clinging to her body in a way that made my throat dry.

“Lukas…”

I blinked, surprised she remembered me and then remembering to be confident, I smiled cockily at her, “That’s me.”

“Lukas…”

I frowned, wondering why she was repeating my name as she crawled over to me, and I backed up as she came out of the water, dripping wet. I gulped, as she pushed me back onto the grass and her face was inches from mine…

“Lukas,” she whispered again, and her lips brushed mine slightly her red lipstick smudged magnificently around her lips. She looked incredible, her hair was wet and dripping on her shoulders…and that wet body, it made me tremble with sudden desire. Damn, I wanted her…I wanted her now.

I reached out and grabbed her but she was too quick, dodging away from me and laughing loudly again. “I’ll see you around Lukas,” she said, getting up and walking away, bare foot and dripping wet.

I sat there, wondering what the hell had just happened.