Fantasy Man

"I dreamed about you last night."

Jessica spoke the words like she was still dreaming. They rested on their backs in opposite directions on the grass in a big city park. In the distance they heard the excited yells and cries of the children getting ready for an annual kite festival. They came down to watch for a while after classes before both of them had to go to work.

With his ear pressed against Jessica's, Corbin hoped in a haze he could hear her heartbeat. A silly thought, but no less true for it. "I've dreamed about you almost every night since we met," he said.

Jessica gave him a pleased "mmm." "There was this little cabin. I don't even think there was power, there was just this fire pit in the middle of the room. I was so warm and cozy, and I stepped outside. You were there, sitting on this old log bench, your feet up. You were fishing but you were asleep."

"That sounds... perfect," he said. "Except the fire. Fire means it's cold outside. I hate the cold."

She chuckled throatily. "And yet you come from South Dakota."

"Which is exactly why I hate the cold." He pointed upwards at a meandering cloud. "A two-liter bottle of soda, half tipped, pouring out."

She squinted. "Hmm. Old woman in a dress, sweeping."

"Oh yeah, I can see that. So an old cabin. A big comfy fire. Is that where you want to live someday?"

She nestled her head tighter against Corbin's. "Maybe. I think I told you, I like my place."

"It's a great place."

"And it would be perfect for raising a couple kids, you know? Nice and big, but it feels... homey. I think I'd want to stay in Agramonte, at least for a while. But someday, when the kids are grown and in college or doing whatever they want to do... a smaller place somewhere. Cozy, just a one-bedroom thing. Maybe near a stream, or a river. Not a lake, those have too many flies."

Corbin chuckled. "Sounds nice."

"Mm. What about you?"

He stared up at another cloud, trying to figure out what it might look like. Quietly, he said, "Wherever you were, I'd be happy."

He expected a protest. He expected her to remind him they were just friends with benefits. Instead, Jessica scooted away, and he thought he'd blown it, had pushed her too hard. Things had been so good since their blowup a few weeks ago. Their nights, when both of them were done with school and work, were spent with each other. Good nights. Special nights. He couldn't remember the last time he set foot in his dorm. Every moment Corbin could, he spent with her.

But there was a stillness to their relationship he dared not dapple. Neither one of them had called it that yet. He was afraid to broach the subject, to tell Jessica how he really felt. He thought she would walk away. In the earliest weeks she reminded him often they were just friends with benefits. The words hadn't been spoken since that night of the scavenger hunt, and he thought maybe they'd moved into something new. But to ask was taboo. To ask was to risk everything he'd gained.

But he was tired of not knowing, and now he had probably screwed things up.

Instead of getting upset, Jessica squirmed away, brought her feet up nearly to her chest, and rocked backwards in a surprise reverse somersault that left her on her knees, her black hair wild and hanging down across her eyes. She blew it out of the way with a grin. "Wasn't sure I could still do that," she murmured, coming to him on her knees.

Jessica straddled him, and despite there being an audience far away, Corbin trailed her butt with his fingertips. "I thought I was being too corny and I'd push you away."

"I like corny."

"I mean it. I'm happy with you in a way I've never really been before."

She leaned down and kissed him gently. "Me too."

Jessica rested on him like that, her knees astride him as she scooted down to tuck her head against his chest. He brought his arms up around her back and held her there as she breathed softly against him.

"Jessica."

"Hm?"

"I don't want to just be friends with benefits anymore."

She took a deep, shuddering breath, and whispered, "Me neither."

His heart roared in triumph, and he fought down the urge to spin with her until she was on the ground and he could make love to her right there and then. "So."

"So." She pushed up and kissed his chin, his lips. "But."

"Oh," he said, his guts twisting.

Jessica poked his chest. "It's a fun but. But I don't want to be committed until you've finished your classes."

"I've got four years," he protested. "I can't wait that long."

"Not those classes." Her devilish grin made his prick stir. "My classes."

"Ahhhh," he said, grinning back. "Thoooose classes."

"Mm hm. Pass the final, and you can have whatever it is you want from me. Fail it, and I get whatever I want from you."

Corbin's hands roamed her back lazily. "And what's the final?"

"The question is who, not what."

He caught on. "Dr. Windsor."

Her grin widened. "Exactly. By... let's say Christmas." She kissed him. "Don't know if I can keep this game up for much longer than that."

"Jessica, we don't have to play it at all. I'm yours. You have to know that by now."

"I do," she murmured, and kissed him again, slow, long, good. "But... aren't you curious? Because I kinda want to see if you can. And I think we'd be forty and sitting around the house wondering if you could or couldn't. We owe it to ourselves to try."

He chuckled. "All right."

"And with me gone for the weekend, you have homework."

"What's that?"

She hopped off him and stood up. "Spontaneity. So far, me or Brooke have teed up all your hookups so far. I want you to try and have sex with someone new. Tell her the usual, you're not after a relationship, just some fun."

He stood up too and dusted off the ass of his jeans. "You know I'd only sleep with you if that's what you wanted."

She gave him a sidelong look, such a lovingly fond thing his heart melted. "I know, Corbin. Someday we'll be each other's onlies. I'm an old-fashioned girl like that. Well... we might have fun with a friend on occasion like Brooke, but always together. For right now, though, this is the game I want to play. Is that all right?"

"Yes," he said simply, coming to her. They kissed again. "So. I try to have sex with someone random this weekend."

"Yes, exactly. Sasha asked about you the other day too. I think she might be stopping by tomorrow during the swim meet. You can sleep with her or Brooke, but they don't count."

"I live in a fantasy land," Corbin said.

She snickered and poked his chest. "You better believe I get you on lockdown once we are a couple, though."

"Oh, absolutely. We gotta get you to work."

They headed for her car in the parking lot at the base of the grassy slope. Corbin hesitated, amused that he could be so shy around this woman he loved, then took her hand in his. She glanced down, then up at him, and squeezed. They didn't let go until they had to.

* * *

Jessica's babysitting job was a last-minute emergency, one she was getting paid big bucks for. A death in the family meant a pair of regulars had to fly out and in a hurry. They were taking their youngest child with them, but the two older children had a peewee football game they badly didn't want to miss, and the parents didn't particularly want to drag the whole family cross country to misbehave in a church.

Flying as high as Corbin was on the knowledge that she cared for him too, it sucked to be apart from her that long. At least they would get to talk when the kids were asleep or down for a nap. She would be home Sunday night.

In the meantime, he had a job of his own to take care of, both that night at the sports complex and the following day at the pool. Another college swim meet was that weekend, and it was becoming customary for him to work the events selling tickets. He genuinely liked it. It was easy and he got to talk to a lot of people. Not many attended the meets that early in the year, so he was in for a pretty quiet time.

First, though, came an awkward return to the dorms. The last time he'd been back, it was with the stunning Sasha Windsor and Brooke Wallace, and the things they'd done still made him shiver to think about. At the tail end, after he'd fucked them both, they rested together on his bed and his roommate Sam walked right in. It was pretty funny, all things considered, but before that, Corbin and Sam had something of a falling out.

Corbin hoped to rectify that over the weekend. He missed his roommate's goofy, easy friendship.

Sam wasn't in the room, but the scent of his body spray hung in a cloud. He always gave himself a spritz when he was going to go eat. Corbin checked his cell phone. Only half an hour before he had to work. Time enough to run in to the cafeteria, grab a bite, and talk to Sam.

The cafeteria wasn't that far so he jogged down the stairs, happy as he'd ever been. Jessica wanted to be a couple when all this craziness with her lessons was done. Him a freshman, her a senior looking at grad school, he knew on an intellectual level things would be financially difficult for them both and a long-term relationship would come with a lot of mountains to cross, but his heart told his brain to piss off and they could figure all that out as they went.

It wasn't just Jess making him happy. With more attention to his diet and regular workouts at the school's gym, he dropped a lot of his excess weight. There was still some softness to his gut but when he looked in the mirror he was shocked at the guy who peered back at him. Gone was the boy of just a couple months ago. In his place was a man -- or the makings of one, anyways. And he was actually starting to develop some pretty solid muscles. Him! Crazy.

Corbin grinned at a trio of strangers walking by, and they grinned back. It was a good day.

The cafeteria was divided into six main sections - two for entrees, one for sides, desserts and salads, and one special section that changed out depending on the day of the week. Friday was wing day, and sure enough, there was Sam right in the middle of the pack heaping a plate full. Corbin grabbed a platter from a rack, dumped some silverware on there, and rushed past the drinks to catch up to Sam as his roommate veered away from the wings and towards the entrees.

"Sam! Hey!"

Sam half-turned and said, "Oh. Hey."

"Got anybody eating with you?"

"Um. Patrick and Brad are coming by."

"Well, you want some more company?"

Sam shrugged and kept moving. Corbin tried not to sigh and followed him. It was hard to resist the pot pie, one of the cafeteria's best offerings, but he opted for the turkey meatloaf, which approximated the taste of ground leather. Sam, as he always did, grabbed everything in sight, but he was tiny and could eat all weekend without gaining a pound. Corbin swung by and grabbed a salad, and by that point, Sam was shooting towards a table near the windows. Prime real estate in the cafeteria -- if you didn't nab a seat there early, you weren't going to get one.

Corbin wasn't too far behind his roommate, but by the time he got there, four wings had already been sacrificed to Sam's all-consuming gut, the bones stacked crossways. Corbin slid into the seat across from him as Sam tore into his fifth.

"How's it going? Been a while."

"Uh huh," Sam grunted.

"Saw you made the Wall o' Snacks into a pumpkin. That's neat. Festive."

"Yeah," Sam said. "I ate your mom's cookies. I didn't know if you were coming back so..."

"Ah, hey, that's fine by me. You can have all my side of the snacks."

"I'll pay you back. For that and the action figures."

Corbin fought another sigh and nodded. His action figures had been the point of contention between them -- or rather, Corbin getting rid of them. Sam didn't want Corbin changing too much and felt like his own goofy lifestyle was kind of under attack when Corbin decided to clean up his side of the room and make it more adult-ish. It had led to problems with Jessica too, but those had been resolved almost as fast as they happened.

"I gotta work tonight and tomorrow, but Jessica's gone for the weekend and I'll be around if you want to play some games or something," Corbin said, trying for an olive branch. "Maybe we could go to that bar arcade?"

"I already went with Patrick," Sam said. He hesitated, and finally looked at Corbin. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry? I'm glad you went. Was it cool?"

"Yeah. Really pricey, but if you go Monday through Thursday before five, the game cards are half off."

This was safe territory. "How were the games?"

"Oh man, the whole back wall, it's tabletop arcade cabinets, like without the base, you know? And they have little spaces beside where you can put your food and your drink and just sit there and play."

"Sounds like it might get greasy," Corbin said.

"Yeah, no kidding. There was a waitress wiping everything down like every half hour. She looked like she hated it." Sam finished off another wing before continuing. "We went to this really cool bookstore, too. Big on games, and they have a Space Remains night every Thursday."

Space Remains was a new pen and paper RPG, old school in its philosophy of intricate dice systems and complex character sheets. It was a die-hard game, too intimidating for Corbin even at his nerdiest, but Sam was a big fan and owned all the books.

"That's awesome. You going to sign up?"

"I am," Sam said. "I know you have to work that night-"

"Corbin! Hey!"

Corbin turned in his chair, already grinning. Billy's girlfriend -- now fiancé -- Bethani headed for them, a platter in hand. Billy wasn't far behind.

"Hey yourself!" Corbin said. "I heard the great news. Congratulations."

"Aw, thanks," Bethani said. "Can we join you?"

"Sure," Corbin said. Sam opened his mouth and closed it again. "Do you know Sam?"

"I don't, but you're Corbin's roommate, right?"

Sam nodded, blushing. He was incredibly shy around women, and Bethani was nothing if not gorgeous. Tall, blonde, curvy. She had cut her cornsilk blonde hair since Corbin last saw her, opting for a very stylish short side style that emphasized her strong facial features.

"Billy and Bethani just got engaged," Corbin said as Bethani sat down.

"Oh, that's cool," Sam said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Bethani said. She held out her hand and showed off her engagement ring. "It was really sweet. Up at the falls..."

"A tuba band playing," Billy said, swooping in to sit next to Sam. "Warm Tecate, her with the worst gas you've ever smelled."

"Billy!" Bethani said, jabbing Corbin with her elbow. "Not a bit of that is true."

"What's Tecate?" Sam asked, looking intimidated. Corbin couldn't blame him. Billy was one of the biggest, best wrestlers in the college, and looked about like he could crush someone's skull with one hand. He was ferocious, for sure, but in reality, Billy was also a hell of a good guy and incredibly kind. It was thanks to him Corbin didn't get his ass kicked worse in an ugly incident with some bullies earlier that year, and again when it came to getting his car repaired from some damage done by the same guys.

"A Mexican beer," Billy said, already shoveling up forkfuls of meat. "Sam, right?"

"Uh huh," Sam said.

"Billy." To Corbin, he said, "Where's your girlfriend?"

Corbin couldn't help smiling at the word. Not all that long ago he and Jessica had both been protesting vehemently they were in a relationship, but now he felt no urge to correct Billy. "She has an all-weekend babysitting thing. Last minute."

"Uh oh," Billy said, looking at Sam. "That means she's probably stepping out with the baseball team."

"Billy!" Bethani said, throwing a green bean at him.

"There's, um, Patrick and Brad," Sam said. His voice was barely a whisper.

Corbin shook his head. "Don't make me come across this table at you, Billy. You might strain something laughing at me when I try to elbow drop you."

"Wouldn't want that to happen," Billy said agreeably. "So a free man for the weekend. You got big plans?"

"Working tomorrow," Corbin said, thinking about Jessica's homework assignment for him. "Other than that, I was thinking at some point I'd go grocery shopping and try to surprise Jessica with a nice dinner when she comes back."

"Oooh, romantic," Bethani said. "Do you cook?"

"No, not a bit," Corbin said, grinning. "But figured I'd try, you know?"

Sam turned in his chair and waved at his friends. "Can we make some roo-?"

"Pasta," Billy said. "Can never go wrong with pasta. Easiest thing in the world to cook, too."

"Pasta's good, but you really want to win her over, do a roast," Bethani said.

"Baby, if he doesn't know how to cook, that's throwing him in the deep end," Billy protested.

Sam's friends headed towards the table, looking uncertain. Sam pushed away and stood up. Without a word, he grabbed his platter and headed for Patrick and Dan.

"Sam," Corbin called, but his roommate didn't look back. "Crap."

"Everything okay?" Billy asked.

"What was that about?" Bethani asked.

Corbin shook his head. "Got more friendship drama than I do relationship drama."

* * *

Corbin headed out of the cafeteria. He was going to slide into work right on time, he figured, and pulled his phone to text his mom and dad as he walked.

-Hope you have a good weekend

His dad wrote back fast. Must not have been a busy day.

-U 2! Big parties going on?

Corbin grinned.

-You know it.

-Think bout plans for Thnxgvng. Flights will get xpensive.

-I will. Love you guys.

-love u.

Huh. Should he invite Jessica to Thanksgiving at his parents? Was that too much, too fast? She had family three or four hours away, and lots of friends here. She probably had someplace to be that week. He was mulling that over when his name cracked out across the quad.

"Mr. Block!"

Corbin, startled, turn to glance at one of the teacher office buildings. Standing there in a striped dress and a long coat was Dr. Pamela Windsor, the pinnacle of his fantasies. Or had been, anyways, before he met Jessica. Like her daughter Sasha, Dr. Windsor had a dynamite hourglass figure and a face that could have killed on a runway.

A flash of a heated memory swept through him. Brooke, his and Jessica's sometime fuck buddy, urging Sasha on. "He's going to fill up your mommy's cunt with that big fat dick." He shivered.

Dr. Windsor did not look pleased, and he could guess why. He trotted over in that direction, and she headed back up the stairs to the building to hold open the door for him.

"Hey, Dr. Windsor, I'm sorry, but I'm running to work and-"

"Work can wait," she said, clipping her words short and gesturing inside.

They headed for the elevator and the top floor. A few of her fellow professors wished her a good weekend as they walked past, and she acknowledged them curtly. Corbin felt about as small as a mouse following behind her.

Her office was small, but well-appointed with a gorgeous old desk and several beautiful prints as well as a great picture of Sasha and Dr. Windsor together against a countryside background. Her chair looked three sizes too big for her, but was clearly top of the line and oozed comfort.

She shut the door behind him, and gestured at a padded chair in front of her desk. "Sit." She thought better of that and shook her head. "On second thought, don't. You don't get that comfort."

He sighed. "This is about Sasha?"

Dr. Windsor turned on him, her teeth bared. "You're goddamn right it's about Sasha. You know, I saw the pictures the night of the scavenger hunt and I let it slide, thinking you kids will be kids. Risqué, but I can't say I haven't done worse. But you, you you you..."

"...slept with her," Corbin said quietly.

Her eyes, already burning, threatened to go full nuclear. "I am not your teacher right now. I'm speaking as a mother and I am furious, Mr. Block. How dare you?"