Dream One

- DEX -

By the time I was told Raya was in surgery to repair damage to her liver, I had already found a comfortable spot in one of the waiting room chairs. With my jacket curled up as a pillow and my legs elevated just right on a short magazine table, it really isn't such a bad spot.

Traveling the world like I have, there have been far worse positions and accommodations that I've found myself napping in. And with no phone notifications to bother me, this corner of the waiting room is almost like a peaceful little hideout from the world. No Lawson to call and annoy me. No notifications from social media. No emails. No news stories. No weather alerts. I sigh and close my eyes, relishing in the ambient buzz of quiet chatter that is not directed my way.

With the puzzling comments and fury from Raya's sister still fresh in my mind, I eventually fall asleep. I know I'm sleeping—I have to be—because I'm in an entirely different place. Rather than the hospital waiting room with its bright, clinical lights, I'm walking through a dark apartment at night. Even though I don't recognize it at all, I've definitely been here before, because my steps take me straight to a back room where I know I belong. A curious black and white cat mews and runs alongside me, rubbing against my leg and purring.

The bedroom door where I'm headed is ajar with a faint golden light illuminating the room beyond, and the cat disappears inside when I gently push it open. I see a woman's blonde hair splayed across the pillow. She's in the perfect position to slip in next to and curl behind, and just as my thoughts imagine it, my body follows.

I lift the sheets and climb in, pulling her against me where she fits so perfectly—curled in my arms, resting against my chest, tucked next to my heart with her hair tickling my face until I smooth it down. This wakes her, and she shifts—her soft curves arching and pressing against me, hand reaching for my thigh, head turning into the kiss that I leave on her cheek.

An explosion of dormant, feral sensations spark in the darkness, and my hands glide along the curves and dips that they already seem so familiar with. When I reach between this woman's legs, wanting to feel her—wanting so badly to please her—she whimpers and reaches back for my neck, for my hair, for my mouth that she finds and hungrily devours with her own. She feels so perfect. She feels so fucking right, because she's already mine.

"Dex," she whimpers, her hips finding a rhythm with my hand as her ass arches and grinds against my…

"Dex!"

I jolt up, startled awake by my name to find myself back in the hospital waiting room. It's about as close to having a bucket of ice cold water dumped on my head as I can imagine—from the dream of the mystery woman's bedroom to here. God, that was so real. Why was that so real?

"Are you okay?"

Rory, Raya's sister, is standing over me. Raya…

"Oh my god." I rake a hand down my face, trying to clear the dream from my thoughts, but it's still right there. Damn, I dreamed. I fucking dreamed for the first time in… I don't even know how long.

When that shock finally passes, it occurs to me why Rory is staring at me, waiting for me to act like a person with normal comprehension. "What happened? Is Raya okay?" I sit up straighter, dropping my feet from the table and catching the jacket that falls from its place behind my head.

"Yes, everything went fine. She's awake." Her arms are crossed over herself, but she doesn't appear to be furious with me like she was before.

"Good," I nod and bury my head in my hands, trying to make sense of what just happened without looking crazy. I can pass this off as just being tired. That's completely normal.

"Yeah," Rory says softly.

When I look up again, she is biting her lip and staring at the floor, obviously unsure of what else to say.

"So she's good then," I repeat, filling the silence with repetition.

"Yeah. She was a little out of it at first, but now she remembers everything," she nods. "She said it was really sweet of you to wait."

For some reason that makes me chuckle, and I have to rub my face to try to erase the stupid crooked grin that arises. "So she'll be staying overnight?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Probably a few nights."

"Okay. Well… I'll be headed out then." I grab my jacket and stand to leave. Clearly that's what Rory is waiting for, and there is no longer any reason for me to stay… other than the fact that her sister seems to have some kind of magnetic pull on me. It doesn't feel right to leave her. "Hey, would you mind telling her that I put my number in her phone?"

"Oh… sure," Rory says.

"Just in case she needs anything. Obviously she doesn't need to worry about work until she has recovered."

"Of course. Great. I will let her know." She smiles politely, her gaze flitting around the room like she is purposely trying to avoid my eyes.

"Thank you." I start walking to the door until something stops me. I stand there for a moment, staring at my feet that are refusing to move until I ask… until I ask just one question. "Rory… would you mind if I ask you something?"

Her previously polite smile slowly diminishes, and she bites her lip again. "You know, actually I have to get back…" she chuckles nervously and gestures toward the hospital rooms. But she doesn't leave when I take the few steps back her way.

"Don't worry, it will just take a second. This might sound strange, but…" I chuckle to myself, shaking my head and wondering what the hell I'm thinking. "Does your sister by any chance have a cat?"