Carey So Very

FLASH FICTION CHALLENGE #2

This is my second entry for the Flash Fiction contest I entered over a month ago. “Exploded on Impact” was my entry for Challenge #1 and I recently found out I placed 14th out of 20 in my group. 😦  Oh well. I hope to redeem myself with this story, though it is unlikely I will move to the next round, as my combined scores for both stories must place me in the top five.

I had 48 hours to write this story and had to write based on these three things:

GENRE: Romance

PLACE: Water Park

ITEM: Cell Phone Charger

As long as my story included romance, I was allowed to combine it with another genre. Mine is a romance comedy. ENJOY!

 

BRANDON’S PULSE POUNDED as his body was thrust feet first into engulfing darkness and careened through high-speed twists and turns. Screams from behind indicated another soul had plummeted into the great abyss. A quick drop shoved Brandon’s heart into his throat and was followed by a fast jerk to the left. A glimpse of light signaled the thrill was nearing its conclusion as Brandon’s inner tube spewed out the end of the slippery tunnel and plunged into the large receiving pool.

Yet, for Brandon, the real thrill–the reason he visited Splash Harbor for the thirty-second time that summer–lingered at the base of the Black Hole. While Brandon drifted across the water, his eyes scanned the area. And then he saw her. At that moment, like every other time he exited the Black Hole that day, his high-speed world came to a screeching halt and everything moved in slow motion. 

She was the epitome of feminine perfection, the miraculous formation of female form. Her golden locks enraptured him, her dimpled smile melted his heart and her blue eyes were like a tropical ocean devouring his soul. Brandon’s heart ached at the very thought of her. And, well, that meant that his heart had suffered continuously since he first locked eyes on Carey at the start of summer. Oh Carey, you’re so very. His catch phrase for her fell from his lips a hundred times a day. 

“Keep it moving! There’s another rider coming.”

Brandon snapped from his trance at the bellowing words of his beloved, a Splash Harbor lifeguard. She had just spoken to him. His heart exploded out of his chest and a goofy grin formed across his face. Feeling her baby blues fixed on him, Brandon attempted to hop off his tube with coolness and swag. Instead, he managed to fall out of it like a clumsy idiot, plunging face first into the water.

A hand grabbed his arm and yanked him upright. Flicking his drenched hair out of his eyes, Brandon found himself standing face to face with the woman of his dreams. And she was touching him.

This was his moment, his opportunity to be suave and say something charmingly witty. Flashing his pearly whites, he opened his mouth. “I–um–uh–“

Just then an inner tube tore out the end of the Black Hole and barreled into Brandon. He toppled onto his beloved, submersing them both under water. He bumbled about and then was abruptly heaved up the steps and out of the pool. 

“Get out of zee vahter!” It was Scary Steroid German Lady, as she was commonly referred to. Rumor had it she was once a steroid taking Olympic athlete, who had grown to unnaturally masculine proportions.

Once over the shock of being touched by Scary Steroid German Lady, Brandon glanced around and found Carey exiting the far side of the pool.

His window of opportunity had vanished.

 

THE NEXT MORNING Brandon sauntered up to the information booth.

 “Hey, Sandy.”

 “And he’s back. Do you ever plan on speaking to her?”

“Well, I’m feeling good about today, my friend. Debrief me.”

 “She’s at Little Fish Lagoon.”

 “Little Fish Lagoon? What kind of suave, totally datable guy hangs out at the kiddie pool all day … without a kiddie?”

 “A guy who’s completely infatuated with a woman he’ll probably never speak to. That’s who.”

 “I got it!” Brandon reached for his phone. “Darn, it’s dead. I gotta run to my car.”

 Inside his Scion, Brandon plugged the phone into his charger and dialed.

 “Joey! Dude. I need you, man. Well, really I need your little sister.”

 Forty minutes later Brandon strolled by Sandy, grinning and pointing to the little person attached to his hand. Sandy smirked and shook her head.

 Turns out Brandon had no time for flirting that day amid the demands of his new little friend. Keeping her entertained, fed and bodily fluids eliminated were more than he had bargained for. Clearly, this was not his best idea.

 

THREE DAYS LATER Brandon returned to the information booth.

“She’s at Jungle River.” Sandy pointed. “You better make a move soon. Summer is almost over.”

Brandon winked. “Today, I have plan.”

On Jungle River, Brandon’s inner tube carried him repeatedly around a massive counterclockwise loop.

“Oh, Carey so very, where do you tarry on such a lovely day as this?” The Shakespeare in him chattered softly as he searched for his beloved.

Spotting her seated high atop a lifeguard chair sent his heart throbbing.

After three more loops around the river, Brandon had worked up the guts to unfold his brilliant plan. He would “fall” into the water, flail about, Carey would leap to his rescue, pull him to safety and press her voluptuous lips upon his … to revive him, of course.

Poising himself for action, he took the plunge and the flailing began. A major oversight revealed the water’s depth was only 3-feet, yet Carey had already leaped to his rescue.

Awkward.

With Carey standing above him, Brandon closed his eyes and let his body go limp. After being drug and hoisted to dry ground, that’s when it happened. His dream came true with the warmth of his beloved’s mouth upon his.

But wait. Something was pricking his face. Was this a dude’s mouth?

Opening his eyes, what he observed still haunts him to this day. The mouth attached to his belonged to none other than Scary Steroid German Lady!

Wide-eyed, Brandon shrieked in horror. Turning his head away, he coughed and nearly vomited.

“You vorried us, young man!”

 Brandon sat up. Quite a crowd had gathered, making this easily the most embarrassing moment of his life. He buried his face in his hands.

 Suddenly, he felt the warm sensation of a hand on his back. Lifting his head he discovered Carey crouching beside him. She moved her lips close to his ear launching a rippling sensation up and down his spine.

 “If you wanna ask me out, why don’t you just do it?”