An Ostentatious Love Affair.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky as Barbara lay on the sand. Thank God for that, she couldn’t help but think. Any cloud floating across the azure sky would hold the possibility of obstructing UV rays-- rays that she needed to maintain her flawless tan. Barbara always got what she wanted from whomever she wanted, and Mother Nature was no exception.

This was not the first self-centered thought Barbara’s mind had hosted today. Before leaving for the beach, she had stood in front of the mirror and admired herself for a while. Everything about her was perfect, from her long, slender legs to her big blue eyes complimented by perfect makeup. She wore perfect clothes that accentuated her perfect figure. When she left her perfect house she hopped into her perfect car on this most perfect of days.

Surely Barbara’s perfection made others sick as they glanced at her on the road, in the mall, at the gym. Women saw her and wish they looked like her. Men saw her and wished they had her. Little girls saw her and decided they would grow up to be just like her. She was the spitting image of the vanity consuming the world around her.

Everyone has his or her own counterpart, Barbara had always been told. Each individual will eventually meet somebody who complements him or her impeccably. However, she had yet to meet this man. Some had come close- Ron, the handsome and charming man who was just too nice, Scott, the extremely rich and athletic man who had a receding hairline, Mark, the funny and powerful man who was just too smart to keep up with. Barbara always found that one flaw in each of them, and ended each relationship on that basis. She had yet to meet a man of her caliber, so she stopped looking.

Today, as Barbara sat up to turn onto her stomach and tan her back, all of that changed. She saw a young man not much older than she, surfing towards the shore. He had bleach-blonde hair, bright green eyes, and a perfect olive complexion. He didn’t wear a wet-suit as he surfed, so his perfect abs were there to be admired, emphasized by the sunlight reflecting off his wet body.

It was rude to stare, Barbara knew. She was so used to being the one stared at that she had never found the opportunity to put that to test, yet today she didn’t care. She watched the man in awe as he drew closer to the shore. Naturally, he caught her gaze and mirrored it, as soul mates did in cliché movies. His lips curled into a smile, revealing perfectly white and straight teeth.

The man climbed off his board and waded through the water until his feet met dry sand. He set his surfboard next to Barbara and sat down on top of it. As he extended his hand, he said, “Hi there, I’m Ken. Wonderful to meet you.”

As she took his strong hand and gave it a light shake, she said, “My name is Barbara, but you can just call me Barbie.”

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[Fiction] Friday Challenge #165 for July 23th, 2010

Pick two established characters, either from your own work or others’. Now write the scene/story of their meeting.