"Cherry, is that you?"
She loves late-night jogging, and his beach house happens to be on the way. Separated by a six feet tall fence, they both have no idea who the other is. Will their chance encounter grow into something bigger? Or was this biza...
For some unexplainable reason, the following day I deliver on my promise by showing up at the usual spot near the Lunatic's house. Curiosity, of course, is a dangerous emotion and sometimes it makes us do things that a smart person should not even be considering.
Like meet up with a complete stranger in the dead of a night. Alone.
Part of me wants to turn around and run back the way I came from, but the fear dissipates into nothing once my eyes fall upon a flower stuck to the fence—a single pink peony. Admittedly, the effect is ruined by the silver duct tape used to hold the stem in place, but it's still enough to catch my undivided attention. Even more so when I notice a note accompanying this strange 'gift'.
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I squint my eyes, trying to decipher the writing in the dark, "Pe-o-nies?"
"Did I get it right?" I nearly jump hearing—you guessed it—the Lunatic's voice coming from what I now refer to as "The other side".
"What does 'H' mean?" I ask, twirling the flower in my hand. Damn, I got to give it to this man: he's good.
"S'just something a tad nicer for you to call me," he answers. "As much as I appreciate an occasional insult—it does wonders for my ego—I reckon it's high time we moved on from 'weirdos' and 'strangers'."
"H...." I test the sound of it on my tongue. "Does it stand for 'Highly Irritating Person'?"
There's a low hiss of pain, followed by an 'ouch' and what sounds like something heavy crashing into the ground. "You there?" I nervously fret. As much as I enjoy teasing the guy, the thought of hurting his feelings somehow seems... wrong. "Um, y'know, I was just joking—"
"Fuck me! The bloody lounger just won't cooperate," comes his rushed answer. I roll my eyes, my initial worry disappearing in a blink of an eye. "I'm touched that you're growin' soft on me, Cherry. I had a feeling there's a heart hidden somewhere underneath that tough exterior."
"Excuse me?" I feign offense. "I have a big ass heart, thank you very much. In fact, it's bleeding right now for that poor flower you've massacred with all that duct tape."
"Couldn't find anything else on a short notice," he sounds almost sheepish, but the rare moment of embarassment quickly ends as he switches back to his usual cheery demeanor. "Back to the matter at hand: peonies?"
"Not even close," I say curtly in hopes of making him move on from the uncomfortable topic. The last thing I want is to make it obvious how much his silliness is affecting me.
"I was so certain..." he sighs. "I'll get it right next time."
"Dream on," is my half-hearted response.
"You sound so sure of yourself! It will make the moment you finally crack so much more satisfying..." he trails off cheekily.
"It's funny how you believe yourself to be some sort of a female whisperer, when in reality, you're just some random dude trying to chat up a girl through a fence."
