Dream World

by T. G. Haynes

  ‘Assuming that we’re awake, don’t mind me,’ Sylvia said.

  Had she still been dreaming, Kate probably wouldn’t have hesitated, however, she was eager to maintain the differentiation between her dreams and her waking life, so she pulled away from the kiss, much to Richard’s disappointment.

  Dexter

  After leaving the dream centre, sensing that Kate wasn’t overly anxious to return home to an empty house, Sylvia suggested that she spend the night at her place. Eagerly Kate agreed, but popped home first to throw a few bits and bobs into an overnight bag.

  When she arrived at Sylvia’s apartment Kate found that her host had gone to town, breaking open the wine and hand made Belgian chocolates. The two girls retreated to the living room where Sylvia proceeded to lower the lighting. As Kate sat down on the sofa she asked, ‘What’s with the ambience? Are you trying to seduce me?’

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ Sylvia replied, but then aroused Kate’s suspicion’s further by lighting a couple of candles and sitting next to her on the sofa.

  As the evening drew on and the wine flowed Kate relaxed and the pair found themselves discussing the events of the recent dream they had shared.

  ‘You’re so outrageous,’ Kate said.

  ‘I think most of us are, up here,’ Sylvia said, tapping her right temple.

  ‘You mean in our subconscious?’

  ‘Absolutely. That’s the beauty of Dream World. It allows you to tap into your subconscious without burdening you with the guilt of acting out your deepest darkest desires in real life.’

  ‘You mean the sort of thing you got up to with Robbie?’

  Sylvia smiled. ‘That kind of thing.’

  Kate shook her head. ‘I don’t know how you could, in front of all those girls.’

  ‘C’mon, don’t tell me that the thought didn’t cross your mind?’

  ‘It might have done,’ Kate admitted.

  ‘And you can’t deny that you weren’t turned on by him.’

  ‘A little, I suppose.’

  ‘More than a little from what I could see,’ Sylvia said.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I spotted what you were up to.’

  Kate blushed. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘Kate, it was my sub-conscious, it was my dream. I couldn’t fail to notice when my best friend...’ Sylvia trailed off and placed her left hand on Kate’s right thigh. Kate tensed, but didn’t remove it, much to Sylvia’s delight.

  ‘You mean, when I touched myself?’ Kate whispered.

  Sylvia nodded and stroked Kate’s thigh. Mesmerised, Kate looked down at the hand. She kept telling herself that she wasn’t dreaming now, that the situation was real, but it had been so long since she had been touched by anyone the contact was welcome.

  ‘So,’ Sylvia said. ‘Are you going to tell me what you got up to when you disappeared through that little green door?’

  ‘Nothing special,’ Kate mumbled.

  ‘I doubt that, Ms Phillips. I doubt that very much. Do you know why I think you wanted to be alone?’

  Kate shook her head.

  ‘I think you wanted to be alone in order to pleasure yourself.’ As she spoke the words Sylvia’s hand snaked beneath the hemline of Kate’s skirt and came to rest against the outer fabric of her panties.

  ‘Maybe,’ Kate admitted.

  ‘Now we’re getting somewhere,’ Sylvia said. Then, leaning in close to her friend, she whispered, ‘Do tell.’

  Kate felt the hand toying with the flimsy material. Sylvia’s fingers traced delicate figures of eight and threatened to slip inside the panties at any moment. Kate kept telling herself that she was heterosexual, that she had no desire to make love to another woman, and yet those fingers felt sensational. The next thing she knew, Sylvia had taken hold of the edge of the fabric between her thumb and forefinger and was in the process of easing it to one side when Kate’s mobile phone rang, causing both women to jump.

  It was Sylvia who recovered first. ‘Ignore it,’ she urged.

  It was too late though, Kate had snatched the phone off the table and already answered. ‘Hello?’

  It was a depressingly familiar voice on the other end of the line.

  ‘Alan, what are you doing calling at this time of night?’ Not particularly wishing her friend to listen in on the conversation, Kate retreated to the kitchen in order to talk to him in private.

  She didn’t re-emerge for about five minutes. When she did, Sylvia said, ‘Let me guess, he said that he’s sorry, that he’ll never do it again and that he wants you to take him back and give him another chance.’

  ‘Pretty much,’ Kate replied.

  ‘So much for originality.’

  With the moment having passed, Sylvia picked up the empty wine glasses, dumped them in the kitchen and said, ‘I hope you don’t mind, only I’m going to turn in. You know where the spare room is, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, thanks.’

  Showing that there were no hard feelings about what had transpired a few moments earlier, Kate hugged her friend, then the girls made their way to their respective bedrooms. After changing into her pink short sleeved nightdress, Kate popped into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Upon leaving the bathroom she bumped into Sylvia going in the opposite direction. Sylvia hadn’t bothered knotting the tie on her silk nightgown and as she passed Kate it fell open. Kate couldn’t help but glance at her friend’s naked torso. The sight aroused her passions once more and she hastened towards her bedroom before her desire got the better of her.

  ‘If you get lonely in the night,’ Sylvia said, ‘you’re more than welcome to join me.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Kate said, before closing the bedroom door behind her, doing her best to shut the temptation out.

  Much to her surprise, Kate slept sounder than she had done since the night she and Alan had split up. It was such a welcome relief to wake up the following morning feeling refreshed for a change. Kate half thought about treating herself to a lie in, but when she glanced at her watch she realised that if she didn’t hurry they would be late for their morning appointment at Dream World. She dashed into the kitchen and found Sylvia sitting there, calmly sipping a cup of tea.

  ‘Sorry,’ Kate apologised. ‘I’ve only just woken up,’

  ‘Don’t worry, sleepy head. I’ve called and re-arranged our bookings for this afternoon so that you don’t have to rush.’

  ‘You’re an angel.’

  ‘That’s not what you said last night,’ Sylvia replied, cheekily.

  Kate laughed.

  ‘Now,’ Sylvia said, reaching into the oven and pulling out a baking tray laden with goodies. ‘Would you like butter or jam with your croissants?’

  ‘How about a bit of both.’

  ‘Why not.’ Sylvia put the tray down on a cork mat on the table, then grabbed an assortment of jars from the fridge. Unable to wait, Kate had already tucked into the croissants.

  ‘Mmm,’ she said, between mouthfuls of pastry. ‘Delicious. You know, if you keep spoiling me like this, I’ll end up coming again.’

  ‘You know you’re always welcome,’ Sylvia told her.

  After breakfast Kate treated herself to a long shower, then the girls killed time by popping into town. Sylvia wanted to treat herself to some new underwear.

  ‘For the dream trip?’ Kate asked.

  ‘No, this evening silly. I thought we could pop out for a few drinks afterwards.’

  ‘Don’t tell me you’re meeting up with Clive again?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Sylvia answered, coyly.

  ‘That’ll be a yes then,’ Kate said.

  Sylvia laughed, but avoided replying, focussing instead upon the turquoise and black matching bra and panties that had caught her eye. Removing
the items from of the rack she held them against her body. ‘Well, what do you think?’

  ‘They look great,’ Kate said.

  ‘Sold.’

  After leaving the shop the girls popped for a quick coffee before heading to Dream World. The car park was so busy Sylvia ended up parking quite a distance from the entrance.

  ‘Good exercise,’ she quipped.

  Kate didn’t mind in the slightest, although she was anxious to enter the centre as quickly as possible and start dreaming, determined to branch out on her own that afternoon for the first time. Half way across the car park, Sylvia tutted.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Kate said.

  ‘I’ve forgotten my handbag. Don’t worry, you go ahead. I’ll catch you up.’

  As Sylvia doubled back, Kate slowed her pace deliberately and dawdled at the entrance to the car park. Looking across towards the centre she spotted a man wearing a three quarter length black leather jacket, large dark glasses and a baseball cap leaving. No sooner had he done so two security guards burst through the doors behind him. The man in the baseball cap started to run.

  ‘Hey!’ one of the security guards shouted, ‘Stop.’

  Glancing back to see if Sylvia was aware of the excitement, when Kate turned around she found the guy in the baseball cap virtually on top of her, running at full pelt. Although she stepped aside, he brushed against her arm as he ran past. He was going at such a speed, though the impact was slight, it was enough to dislodge his glasses. As they fell to the floor he half thought about retrieving them, only the security guards were closing in on him fast. Deciding to leave the glasses behind the man happened to glance in Kate’s direction. Kate found herself looking into the bluest pair of eyes she had ever seen. He winked, gave Kate a cheeky smile, then bolted off across the car park.

  Sylvia jogged up and asked Kate if she was alright.

  ‘Fine,’ she replied. ‘Better than that guy anyway. What do you think that was all about?’

  ‘Who knows,’ Sylvia said. ‘More importantly, who cares. C’mon girl, we’ve got dreaming to do.’

  Kate found the atmosphere inside the dream chamber very different to her previous two visits. She largely put it down to the fact that, instead of Richard, they were catered for by a rather dour girl dressed in a nurse’s uniform whose name was Brenda. Kate realised that she was more disappointed than she cared to admit that Richard wasn’t able to join her that morning. Sensing her disappointment, Sylvia suggested they take a joint trip again. Tempted though she was, Kate stuck to her guns and decided to branch out alone.

  After swallowing the tablet that induced sleep, Kate took a little longer than usual to drift off.

  Opening her eyes she felt disorientated for a few seconds. Something seemed to have gone wrong. The tablet didn’t appear to have worked. Kate got up off the bed, unhooked the pads from her temples, sat up and looked around for Brenda. The room was empty, other than Sylvia lying on the bed next to her.

  Kate got off the bed and searched for a phone or intercom system to buzz a member of staff. Unable to find either, she was just deliberating which of the doors she should try when the one on the far side of the room opened and Richard stepped through.

  ‘I thought you were up in London for the day?’ Kate remarked.

  ‘Why would I want to do that when I could spend time here with you instead?’ he replied.

  ‘You’ve cancelled your trip just to be with me?’

  ‘You don’t mind, do you?’

  ‘Of course not!’ Kate exclaimed, delighted.

  Richard crossed the room and took his hands in hers. ‘So, where do you fancy going. Rome, Paris, Madrid?’

  ‘I don’t quite follow.’

  ‘Or we could stay right here. The beds are quite comfortable.’

  ‘Hang on a minute,’ Kate said. ‘Is this real?’

  ‘It’s as real as you want it to be,’ Richard whispered, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek.

  As his lips brushed against her skin they certainly felt real enough. In an attempt to try and work out whether she was dreaming or not, Kate closed her eyes and tried to picture a green door. She didn’t find it easy because Richard’s lips had transferred to her right ear and he was alternating between gently nibbling it and kissing it. Kate was starting to melt. She concentrated hard and tried to focus. She wanted to be sure what was real and what wasn’t before matters went any further.

  When she opened her eyes she discovered a green door had materialised at the foot of the bed on which Sylvia was lying. Kate smiled to herself. So she was dreaming. Excellent, she thought. She had fancied Richard from the moment she had first clapped eyes on him. It was time to let go and really enjoy herself.

  Kate felt Richards’s hands begin to explore her body. As he held her tightly his right hand traced the curvature of her spine; from her neck, down the length of her back, to the top of her buttocks. It stopped there. He broke away from kissing her and the pair gazed deep into one another’s eyes. Kate hadn’t realised quite how black his were. She couldn’t help wondering what dark secrets they hid. They were just about to resume kissing when a red door popped into existence and a member of security staff stepped through. He coughed politely, causing Richard and Kate to part.

  Clearly irritated, Richard snapped, ‘Yes. What is it?’

  ‘I’m really sorry to interrupt sir, only...’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You know,’ the guard muttered.

  ‘No, I don’t, which is why I’m asking,’ Richard barked.

  ‘It’s... him.’

  Richard’s manner changed immediately. ‘Ah, right. Thank you.’ After dismissing the guard he turned to Kate and apologised profusely. ‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave you. There’s something I have to deal with.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘If I want you to stay, can’t I command you to? After all, it’s my dream.’

  Forcing a smile to his lips Richard said, ‘It’s a bit hard to explain. I tell you what, I can see that you’ve conjured up a door. Why don’t you pick a really romantic venue, somewhere memorable and special, then, as soon as I’ve dealt with this minor problem, I’ll rejoin you.’

  Sensing that she didn’t have much of a choice, Kate agreed. To her slight disappointment, Richard left the dream chamber a mite too eagerly for her liking.

  After he had left she crossed over to the bed, sat down on the edge of it and tried to work out if she had done anything wrong; something that might have caused her dream Richard to act in such a strange manner. After a few minutes of deliberating, Kate came to the conclusion that she simply hadn’t quite got the hang of controlling her dreams as yet. With renewed determination to summon Richard back into her dream as quickly as possible she got off the bed and approached the green door. Before stepping through, Kate thought long and hard about where she wanted to visit. She considered a whole gamut of possibilities. Should she go for an old favourite? Somewhere where she had travelled to before and enjoyed? Or should she select a new destination, somewhere that she had never been to, but had always longed to go? It took her some time to make up her mind. When she finally settled upon a destination she grasped the door handle, turned, and stepped through the aperture.

  Although she knew what to expect - given that she had conjured the scenario - the scene that greeted her still managed to take her breath away. She had been lucky enough to visit Paris on a couple of occasions and the Eiffel Tower never failed to impress her. Walking towards it, along the Champs de Mars, Kate thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a bar at the top of the tower where the current viewing platform was and wouldn’t it be fabulous if she was in that bar, looking out over France’s capital. Kate shut her eyes and summoned the vision into existence.

  Upon opening her eyes she found herself stood at the rai
lings of the viewing platform near the top of the tower that overlooked Paris. The only difference to reality was, her imagination had shortened the platform in order to accommodate a small bar. Impressive though the view was, Kate had always wondered what it would be like at night. Never having experienced that pleasure, once again she closed her eyes and pictured the sun setting, faster than it ever could in real time in the real world. A slight breeze blew through her hair, but it wasn’t cold, for she had imagined it to be summer. Upon opening her eyes she found Paris lit up below her. Kate giggled, thrilled by her new found power. Eager to exercise it even further, glancing down at the jeans and T-shirt she was wearing, she suddenly felt the urge to dress up for the occasion. Closing her eyes, momentarily, when she opened them Kate discovered she was wearing a spectacular scarlet ball dress. Without having to check, she knew that her underwear was matching.

  ‘It’s really something, isn’t it?’ a voice said at her left elbow.

  Kate turned and found that she wasn’t alone at the railing. Though she didn’t remember conjuring up the person that had joined her, she complemented her imagination on the choice it had made. Dressed in an elegant tuxedo, the chap who had made the comment was probably around six feet in height, well built - without being overly muscle bound - had collar length blonde hair, neatly swept back off his face, a winning smile and the bluest pair of eyes that Kate had ever seen. There was also something slightly familiar about her dream man that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Whereas she had been hoping to be joined by Richard, she decided that the vision she had summoned would more than compensate. He held out his hand.

  ‘Dexter. Dexter Norris.’

  Kate took his hand and shook it.

  ‘You seem very familiar, Mr Norris,’ Kate said.

  ‘I should hope so,’ he replied.

  ‘Really, why do you say that?’

  ‘Well, if I’m a fantasy part of your sub-conscious, I would hope that you might recognise me.’