by EmeraldEye2 (formerly EmeraldEye)
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Author's Note: This story is based on a dream I had. *wink*
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Pouring rain, near freezing, and I was wandering the streets in a t-shirt and sweatpants. Embarrassingly, it was the second time I'd been chased out of my apartment by my landlady with a broom for not paying the rent on time. At least the last time, it had been July--warm, and lots of friends home from college that would let me crash on their couch. On a night like this, even the homeless shelter had to turn me away.
"Crazy Sara," everyone called me. The girl who thought she could 'make it' as an artist. Look where it got her. I was a living, breathing cautionary tale for parents who wanted their kids to major in Engineering instead of Philosophy.
Broke, homeless, freezing and desperate.
On a lark, I decided to walk through the snooty part of town. Maybe I could find a gazebo or pool shed to hide in for a while.
"Hmm, not much, but it would do," I grumbled sarcastically to the first house I passed--a mass of brick and windows with a circular drive and a four-car garage. The house was glowing with a warm light. My heart wrenched for someplace cozy and comfortable, and suddenly the enormity of my situation caught up to me.
The first tears had intermingled with the rain and started to fall down my cheeks when I heard a man's voice call, "Sara!"
"Uh, yeah?" I called back, uncertain of the voice's origin.
Someone in black was running down the driveway toward me. "Sara? Is that you?"
"It is, but...."
"Damn taxi drivers never wait to make sure you get in, do they? And your bags? Where are your bags?"
"They were, um.... Look, I think...."
"Lost. No need to explain. Come with me--let's get you out of this rain."
I realized I was being helped up the driveway by a real, live butler, complete with tailed tuxedo and white gloves.
"Have we met?" I asked, incredulous. Was this a dream?
The butler laughed. "Of course not, but maybe Brooks has mentioned me. I'm Abernathy. I know, this ridiculous get-up I have on. I think Liza wants to impress you," he added with a wink.
"Impress me?" I repeated as Abernathy held open the front door for me. Whatever this was, it was crazy, but finally I was someplace warm and dry. I would go with it for as long as it would last.
My eyes took in everything around me. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. An enormous crystal chandelier fifty feet overhead cast a glow on ornate, gilded vases with exotic plants growing out of them, an expanse of marble underneath my feet, and....
"Is that a Breitner?" I asked, stepping toward a large painting of a reclining nude inside a carved wooden frame. I stopped when I heard "schlup, schlup, schlup."
"Oops, sorry," I said, looking back at the trail of water my shoes had made behind me.
"It IS a Breitner!" said a cheerful voice. "How charming; Brooks didn't mention you were an art aficionado." A short, well-dressed woman was tapping toward me with heeled shoes that echoed against the marble floor as she walked. Her hair was dark and piled haphazardly on top of her head. She wore snazzy-looking glasses and bright red lipstick.
"Never mind the puddles. Just leave your shoes there. Abernathy, darling, you'll take care of it, won't you?"
"Of course, Liza. Miss Sara's bags were lost by the airline."
"Oh for Christ's sake, those stupid airlines," Liza spat. "You can wear something of Diana's. Abernathy will lay it out for you. In the meantime, come and sit by the fire! You're totally soaked."
I got the impression Liza was not as formal as her money would suggest.
I followed Liza into another massive room where a roaring fire made the room almost unbearably warm. To me, it felt like heaven.
Liza handed me a large faux-fur wrap and I gratefully enveloped myself in the soft fabric. I sunk into a plush velvet sofa and let her serve me a cup of steaming tea from a silver tray that glittered as it reflected the flames of the fire.
I took a sip of the hot liquid and could hardly choke it down. This was not mine; this was not right. I had to come clean.
"You.... Both of you, you and Abernathy...have been very kind, but I have something I need to confess. I'm not really.... Well, I'm Sara, but I'm not--"
"Don't say another word!" Liza said giddily. "You're not what we were expecting. I'm not upset, dear. I think it's wonderful!"
"Excuse me?"
Liza shook her head. "Brooks. He's such a jokester. He knows how I feel about blondes. I shouldn't be surprised that you're actually a brunette. The 'impeccable dresser' thing? What a relief to see a girl in a t-shirt and sweatpants. And," she continued with a glint in her eye, "he told me you were trying to lose 30 pounds before the wedding. What a hoot; you have a beautiful body!"
"Wedding?!"
"Yes! Which reminds me, I have to get a look at that rock. I told Brooks to go for four carats instead of three. You only live once, right?" She reached out for my left hand.
Suddenly, the front door opened and slammed thunderously. I almost screamed. The jig was up. It was the real Sara, who was going to appear in the doorway, all fat and blonde and expose my lie. It was--
A guy. A tall guy. A tall, tan, hunky guy.
All my life, I'd been the artsy girl--the one who hung out with the goths and the skinny emo guys. Muscular jocks did nothing for me, I always told myself...but who was I kidding. Sometimes a girl just wants to be bent over something sturdy by a guy like...well, like the one who was collapsing next to me on the couch, crossing his light-colored eyes adorably as he looked up at a rogue piece of dripping, curly hair falling into his face.
He was wearing a polo shirt that strained against the muscles of his upper body. His skin was damp from the rain and gave off a glorious scent, a mixture of sweat and cologne. I just looked at him, speechless.
He gave me a funny look in return. "Who's this?" he asked Liza.
Liza wagged her finger. "No fair pretending any longer, Brooks," she said. "I'm on to you. Sara and I were just having a delightful talk."
"Sara?" He looked at me again, a furrow in his brow. His smooth, tan, sexy brow.
"I was trying to explain," I said, throwing off the faux fur wrap. I needed to be unencumbered in case I needed to make a run for it.
I fumbled for words as Brooks' eyes took in my wet t-shirt, or, more appropriately, what was underneath. He looked again at my face--not a model's face, but cute, sort of pixie-ish...or so I'd been told. The confused look on his face was replaced by a large grin.
"Come here, you," he said, interrupting me. He wrapped his large arms around me and tackled me down onto the couch. I was pinned beneath his weight, lost in his skin and scent and gasping for air. My initial wave of panic gave way to a wave of desire as I looked into his eyes, a fraction of an inch away from mine.
He nuzzled into my neck and began covering my flesh with soft-lipped kisses. "We got you big-time, didn't we, Mom?" he said between kisses. "Here she is, my sweet little Sara. I missed you so much, honey."
He raised himself off of me a little, looked at my lips, and lowered his right onto them. It was the most incredible, dizzying kiss I had ever received. My heart pounded and I could hardly believe it, but I kissed back, urgently. When we parted his eyes were still a little confused, but very pleased.
Liza erupted into laughter. "That's enough, you too. Whew, is it hot in here?"
Brooks stood up and offered me his hand as I struggled to sit back up and get my bearings.
"You need a hot bath," he said.
"Lovely idea," Liza agreed. "Abernathy should have laid out some of Diana's clothes for you to wear to dinner," she said to me. "Upstairs to the right, third door on the left."
"Um, okay...." I said, wobbling a little.
"I'll take her there, Mom," Brooks said, grinning maddeningly.
"You will?" I squeaked.
Liza chuckled. "I'm not old-fashioned, I know how it is when you're young and in love," she said. "Just be downstairs at seven for dinner."
"C'mon." Brooks took my hand and led me out of the room. I felt like the opposite of Cinderella--frazzled-looking, going up the majestic stairs instead of down. At least the handsome prince thing was the same.
Brooks opened the third door on the left and led me inside. As soon as I was in the room, he shut the door behind me and pushed me up against it. In the pitch black, his lips found mine and pummeled me with another incredible kiss. Another wave of desire weakened me.
"Good God, what are you doing?" I gasped, trying to sound upset but failing miserably. I had no sight to aid me--only the sense of smell, which was overcome by his musk and the sense of touch, which was tingling all over with the heat of his body pressing against me.
"I'm giving you a bath," he replied, lifting my shirt off of me and casting it aside. I could only manage a murmur before he was kneeling in front of me, slipping me out of my soaking sweatpants and underwear. For a moment, he paused there. I felt his deepening breath on my pelvis. I knew he was contemplating sliding his tongue over me right then and there, and I don't think I would have stopped him. But then he stood back up.
"You're shivering," he said. "I'll draw up the bath for you. C'mon."
He walked away from me and turned on the light in an adjoining bathroom. I followed, sorely disappointed.
He sat on the edge of the tub and held his hand under the water. "Do you like it sort of warm, or really warm?"
"I like it hot," I said, the sultry tone of my voice surprising even myself. I perched in the doorway, aware of my own nudity and not caring one iota.
He chuckled and turned around. He gave my body a once-over and I could tell he was pleased with what he saw. Maybe he would come after me again. I tingled everywhere at the thought of it.
But no, he stood up, went into the linen closet and pulled out a big, fluffy towel. "There's shampoo and soap next to the sink. Abernathy probably laid out your clothes on the bed. They ought to fit--my sister's roughly the same shape and size as you."
Oh, great. I had the same body as his SISTER.
He left and I shakingly went through the normal motions of taking a bath after the very not-normal experiences of the last ten minutes. The water felt amazing under a sea of sweet-smelling bubbles, and my hand couldn't help but slip between my legs.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Everything okay?" It was Brooks.
"Fine, but--"