Dream On

Normally, I am a science fiction writer. I mostly write about time travel. After experiencing this dream the other night, I had to write everything down. I’m still trying to figure out how to combine time travel and erotic fiction. Maybe someday I’ll figure it out. Please try to forgive the humor in the first part of the story. I add a little humor in my stories and it doesn’t change the outcome. ©2003 Sweeper43™ Productions

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It all started on a Friday night. You see, I work two jobs and I also work every day of the week, but lately, who doesn’t work 7 days a week? I guess you might say that I have an odd combination of jobs. I am a computer programmer during the day, and in the afternoon and evening I work at a fast food restaurant. No, I’m not the manager there, I am basically a grunt. I only have two evenings off a week. One of them is Monday night (I’m a wrestling fan, you see, so I gotta watch Raw) and the other is Friday night. Normally I would do things I need to. Grocery shopping and laundry needed to be done on Friday, but on this night, I needed to unwind. There was nothing to prepare me for what was about to happen.

I arrived home at about 4 in the afternoon from cashing my paychecks and picking up a few things I needed at the grocery store to tide me over until I actually needed to go shopping. I sat myself down at my computer and turned it on. I logged onto the internet and almost immediately, my daughter sent me an instant message.

“Hey, dad. What you doing tonight?”

This kind of caught me by surprise because usually she starts off a conversation with one of the many problems that a typical 16-year-old teenage girl has. But I played along, just to see if she was going to turn the conversation toward boys anytime soon.

“Probably nothing. I’m a little tired and you know how bad the weekends are for me. I’ll probably watch a movie or two and get to bed early. I got to be into work tomorrow at 6am. You got something planned for me?”

“No. I just want to make sure you’re not over doing it. Why don’t you go out for a while and blow off some steam? Last time I saw you, you were pretty tense.”

She was right. I was wound up tighter than Eddie Van Halen’s guitar from all the long hours I had worked in the past few weeks and, quite honestly, I did need to let off some steam.

“You know, you’re right. I have been a little edgy as of late. This is probably the first time I’ve taken your advice in over two years. I’m gonna go and hop in the shower, change and then figure out where I’m gonna go tonight, ok?”

“You should listen to me more often, dad. You go and have some fun and tell me all about it tomorrow, ok?” My daughter replied.

“Ok, brat. There probably won’t be much to tell. You know the way I am.” I typed as I let out a sigh.

“Don’t worry about that, pop. Just go and be yourself. Gram wants to use the line to make a phone call, so I’ll talk to you later.” She wrote. She managed to log off the messenger before I could reply to her.

It’s hard for me to be myself when I go out for a couple of reason. I rarely go anywhere except to work or shopping. If I do go out, it’s usually one of two local places that are here in town. Both are rather small and can get pretty crowded on a Friday night. The other reason I don’t go out a lot is even simpler. I’m almost deaf. I suffer from something the doctor called Autoimmune Ear Disease. It’s not contagious, and it’s not passed down from your parents. I would have rather lost my hearing at an Aerosmith concert than the way I did. This disease just takes your hearing away quicker than you can ever imagine. In 6 months, I went from “normal” hearing to deaf. There’s no cure for this, so I am stuck with it.

I signed off the computer, shut it down and took my shower. As I got out and started getting dressed, I realized that I really didn’t have the “proper” attire to go out. My clothing collection consists of mainly jeans and racing shirts. Except for my work clothes, Dale Earnhardt shirts make up my apparel. I finally found one shirt that had a collar on it, kinda like a gold shirt, even though I hate golf. I finished getting dressed then I looked in the mirror. I combed my hair and finished with the rest of my preparations and sighed as I looked in the mirror one last time.

“If I am going out, it had better be somewhere outside of town. Looking the way I do, it’s the best thing.” I thought out loud to myself.

I’m not handsome, good-looking, or even cute. I’m 35, I have dirty blond hair (my mom says it’s red, but I can’t see it) and blue eyes. I stand 6’ 3” and have a few extra pounds on me. I wear glasses and a hearing aid that sometimes is more of a hassle than it is helpful. I thought that, even before I had stepped foot out the door, that since I was going out, I would only stay an hour or so. I had to make sure I got home so that I had enough sleep to start Saturday off right.

I grabbed my jacket, my favorite CD (Joan Jett & The Blackhearts), and my keys as I headed out the door. I hopped in my Cavalier, cranked up both the engine and the CD player and I was off to what I figured was the biggest waste of time since “Ishtar”. (Was probably one of the worst movies ever made without one of the Baldwin brothers in it) I decided to head north. I knew of a place close to where I worked my second job. I picked there for a couple of reasons. One, if things got real bad for me at the nightclub, I could show up at work and they’d put me right to work. And if I got too drunk to drive, the nightclub was in the lounge of a hotel so I could stay the night there and be right ready to go to work the next morning (I even put my work clothes in the car, just in case. Strange, I know, but remember, this is a dream).

I pulled into the parking lot of the nightclub and turned my car off. I must have sat there for about 30 minutes debating with myself. I wanted to go in, but then again, I didn’t. I sent the twelve voices in my head out like a judge sends a jury out to deliberate. (Remember, it’s a dream) The voices came back almost as quickly as they left and the decision was unanimous. I was informed that I was to go into the club, no questions asked. After firing the voice that was my defense attorney, I opened the car door and got out. Closing the door behind me, I started walking towards the nightclub door. I got to about 10 feet in front of the door, looked up into the sky, sighed and said to myself that this was a mistake. Mistake or not, I opened the door and walked through it.

This was the first time I had been in this club, but there wasn’t anything different about it. There was a bar (Duh!), about 15 tables with accompanying chairs and a stage. There wasn’t any band equipment on the stage, just what appeared to be DJ equipment and a large video screen. I took a seat at the far end of the bar and the bartender approached me. “What’ll you have?”

“You got Corona?”

“It’s your dream, right?”

“Ok, give me one.” I said as I chuckled. “Everybody’s a smart ass in my dreams.” I thought to myself.

The bartender gave me my beer and I motioned to the stage and the equipment set up on it.

“What kind of music does the DJ here play? And don’t tell me that ‘It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it’ “

Laughing, the bartender replied “He plays just about anything, but even he has his limits.”

“What won’t he play?” I asked inquisitively.

“He hates the Backstreet Boys and Hanson. Mention either of them to him, and he’ll go postal.” The bartender told me as he looked toward the front door.

“No problem. I’ve had my fill of both of them anyway.” I said as I took a long drink from my beer.

As time ticked away, the nightclub started to fill up. I stayed on the corner stool of the bar in the darkness hoping that if anyone I knew came in, that they wouldn’t recognize me. I knew if I could get out of the bar without being embarrassed, my weekend would go rather smoothly and uneventful. In my younger days, I had spent plenty of time in bars getting drunk and getting into fights and I wasn’t up to that anymore.

It had been about 2 hours and 3 beers since I had arrived at the bar. I decided that it was just about time I head home. I figured I would finish my beer, wait about 15 minutes and then I would head out to my car for the 30-mile trip home. I wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen, though.

My allotted time had passed and I was about to leave when she walked in. I didn’t notice a first because she was accompanied with a couple of female friends. My stool gave me a pretty good view of the people that would come in or go out of the bar without them really seeing me. I planned this because if I had noticed someone I know walk in, I was ready to leave at a moments notice. Anytime that I go out, I always have my escape plan handy.

Her name is Lisa. She stands about 5’9”, has dark hair and a smile that would light up even the darkest room. She has a dark blue blouse on plus a pair of black jeans (I know it’s a dark room, but trust me, that what she was wearing.) She didn’t notice me, thankfully, and sat with her friends at a table about 15 feet away from me. I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could, but I knew if I tried I would walk right by them and she would most likely stop me before I had gotten to the door. I had to think of another way to get out without her seeing me.

(Time to take a little detour. Pan down if you just want to continue the dream)

Let me tell you a little about Lisa. We’ve been friends for quite a few years. We worked together in a couple of places. I had heard things about her and her work habits in one of the places we worked but I knew them to be untrue and I had always stood up for her. She was a joy to work with and one of the reasons I had kept working there even though I had another offer to work somewhere else for more money. I was first affected by her smile there. We became quick friends and somehow, I truly knew that I could talk to her about anything and she wouldn’t judge me. She helped me get through the rough time I had after my wife had left me, and I had been there for her to talk to when she had problems with the guy she was dating. On her off days, if I was working and she came in, she would make her presence felt. I would usually act like I was annoyed, but she knew better. Anytime I had a chance to talk to her or even just to see her, I was overjoyed. Soon I started to develop deep feelings toward her, but never came right out and said anything. She is younger than I am and I didn’t think she’d ever have anything to do with me for that reason (Stupid, I know). She came to see me one Friday night at work wanting to talk. We were real busy so she kept coming in every one in a while during the night. I could see she was really emotional and needed to talk. Finally, around 10pm, I had a break in the action. The manager told me to take a break, and I never hesitated. Lisa was standing by the door. She looked like she had been crying, but I couldn’t be sure. We went outside and talk for what seemed like an eternity, but yet ended quicker than I wanted it to. I’m unsure what we talked about except I’m sure it was that her and her boyfriend had broken up. I remember hugging her, but quickly apologized since I was rather sweaty from working and I didn’t know how she would react to my hug. I apparently had a good effect on her as I saw her the next day and the smile was there, ever present. Not long after that, I’m pretty sure she made up with her boyfriend.

Over the next couple of years, we continued to work together until she left her job to take hair styling classes. I knew she’d be good at it, because she was good at whatever job she had. Somehow I had managed to find a girlfriend that lived about an hour away from where I lived. We dated for about a year before she asked me to come live with her. I wanted to talk to Lisa and tell her what was happening, but I couldn’t find her. It turns out it was the worst mistake I’ve ever made. I ended up having to move back after less than a year with her. I never spoke to this woman again for reasons I will not go into. My first day back, I implored my daughter to find Lisa so I could talk to her. I know she tried, but she couldn’t find her. One day while talking to another person I worked with, she told me that she knew where Lisa was working. I almost kissed her! She then told me something that took me a little by surprise: Lisa was married. I was happy for her. I was in love with her but never said anything, so I was a little taken aback, but was still pleased. I found her where she worked and quickly applied at the same place and started working with her almost immediately. We had been work together for a few months and one night I decided that no matter the consequences, I had to tell her my feelings for her. I knew there was a chance that I could get my face slapped, but I knew it was time to get this load off my shoulders once and for all.

I finished my shift and since it wasn’t all that busy, I asked her if I could talk to her out back for a minute. She followed me outside and we stood next to my car (the same Cavalier that’s in the dream sequence). I told her that I had something that I wanted to say and that I had wanted to say it for a very long time. She told me that I could tell her anything, and that I should just come out and say it. I told her that there was a possibility that she may not like what I had to say, and she told me I was crazy (I was). I looked her right in the eyes and finally said what I had wanted to say for the longest time.

“Lisa, I’ve been in love with you for the longest time. I’ve wanted to say this before but never had the courage. I’m sorry if this upsets you and you can hate me if you want, but I had to say it. I’m sorry”

Lisa cracked the smile that has made me feel so good for so long and said, “I already knew. I’m not mad.”

We continued working with each other for a while after that. I had even made myself available to work with her on my nights off. I would normally sit in the parking lot and she knew that if I was needed, all she had to do was step outside and I would run right in and help anyway I could.

She left that job a couple of months after the incident with me spilling my guts. I didn’t see her for a while as I had health problems that landed me in the hospital on several occasions. When I returned to work about a month after my initial hospital admission, I saw her again. I was walking into work when she spotted me, and drove up right next to me. We talked for a few minutes and during this conversation, I noticed her placing her hand on her stomach. I didn’t need to ask because I knew right away. She was pregnant. I didn’t see her again until after the baby was born. I was happy for her and even though I had deep feelings for her, I wanted what was best for her.

I’ve met up with her several times since she had the baby, a beautiful little girl that has inherited her mother smile. We’ve talked in depth on-line and in person and I have had the pleasure of accompanying her shopping a few times. I am still there for her and she knows this. I am happiest when I am talking to her or around her. I love her making her smile, because I know she can’t fake that smile around me.

(And now, back to the dream.)

I realize that if I am going to make it out of the club without her seeing me my best bet would be to “skirt” my way out the door. That means that I would, in essence, walk next to the wall all the way around the club until I had gotten to the front door and then I’d make a break for it. It was at that point the DJ stopped playing upbeat music and said he was going to slow things down. Since I figured that this was right on cue, now was the best time to get out. I got off the stool as the first notes of the next song played. Something stopped me from walking away from the stool. I turned around to see what Lisa was doing and to see if anyone had come over to ask her to dance. I simply saw her looking up at the colored lights on the ceiling that were moving in all different directions. I could see her letting out a little sigh the look down at her drink. She took the stirrer and stirred the drink. She then looked around the room. I saw her eyes look into mine for a brief second. Part of me wanted her to see me and maybe come over and ask me to dance, but another part of me hoped that she wouldn’t.

At that point, the twelve voices in my head came back. I wanted to ignore them, but it was useless.

“You are to go over to her and ask her to dance when the next song starts. Since you fired the attorney voice a while ago, you have no alternative. Resistance is futile” One of the voices said. The other 11 were voicing their similar opinions in the background.

“Just want I needed, manipulation without representation. There’s only one song that would make me go over there and ask her and there’s no way I’m telling you what that song is, so there! And since when did Star Trek come into this?” I said to the voices.

“The Star Trek bit was logical and we already know what the song is and we have told the DJ to play it next.” Was the reply.

I was a little shocked at that and said “How can you do that? Damn it, Jim, I’m a doctor, not a telepath!”

“You forget that this is a dream and anything is possible here. Now get ready to make your way over to her.”

I smiled and said “If anything is possible, I don’t have to do what you say.”

A voice came back and said “Well, that’s true, but if you don’t do this, we will leave and we will replace our voices with those of the Baldwin brothers.”

I got angry “Ok, alright! You win. Last thing I need is to hear all 27 Baldwin brothers talking at once. I can barely stand to hear one! You know, this is blackmail, don’t you?”

“Yea, we do.” The voice said “But it’s not illegal in a dream and an awful lot of fun. Your song is coming so you’d better get going.”

No sooner as the voice had finished speaking, I found myself standing up and moving away from the barstool. I had been sitting for a while so I had to wait a couple of seconds for the blood to get back into my legs. I finally made my first step and started walking towards Lisa. The music started and I was almost at her table. She wasn’t looking my way so I thought I might be able to get around the table and get out of the bar if I was fast enough. It never happened. Something made my legs lock up when I got about 5 feet in front of the table. The song hadn’t been playing more than five seconds but somehow, I had covered all that ground in such a short time frame.

I love rock music but I do like the occasional ballad as long as it’s done well, not just thrown together. And at that time, what was playing was one of the ballads that I adored and I had danced to with a beautiful girl during my college stay. During the 80s, there was a film released that starred Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikov called “White Nights”. I watched the movie several times and I liked it. But more than the movie, I was enthralled by the “theme song” of the movie. The song was called “Say You, Say Me” and was performed by Lionel Richie. In no time I had the words and the entire video memorized. I must have sang that song a million times and every time that I did, in my mind I was singing to someone who at that time meant more to me than anything. I had always dreamed that when I met the right woman, I would dance with her to this song. I couldn’t sing worth a damn, so dancing was the best I could do.