Part 1
Christine finally ended her engagement to Robert. In fact she broke off all contact with him. She didn't hate him. She appreciated him, and he was solicitous of her. But there had been little enough fire between them, and that had long since sputtered out. What troubled her most was that he hadn't seemed to notice. They'd still slept together; they'd still fucked. But she did it from a strange vantage point, floating off in her mind, as if she were watching strangers copulating. No voyeuristic thrill compensated for this desolation. She feared that if she tried to fix things, she would break instead. So she did her best to console him, to encourage him to find someone else, to not hurt him too badly.
And then it was done. The next few days turned to weeks, sliding by in a blur. She was quite lovely to look at--a long, lithe brunette. Body like a dancer's. So it was easy enough for her to date, and she accepted invitations from men she'd met through her work selling real estate, but her heart just wasn't in it. She didn't bed them. They were all Robert's understudies.
So after another bleak Saturday night at the neighborhood bar, having downed too many drinks (or perhaps not enough), she walked home, turned the key to the apartment door. Went in, and undressed. She lay in bed, waiting for sleep. A strange thought made its way into her hypnagogic state: She might find an answer in her dreams. She might find release. Then sleep took her, and she dreamed.
She found herself standing at the door of a fine old mansion. Lush, colorful landscaping surrounded the place. It seemed to be in a part of town she knew, given her occupation. Perhaps she'd driven by at some point in time. She rang the bell. The door opened. She was met by an absolutely stunning woman with skin like ivory, eyes of green, auburn hair. The woman wore a shockingly erotic outfit, perhaps like a French maid's, but starkly sexual. The woman's full breasts were exposed, as was her vulva. The costume (for costume it had to be-no one would otherwise wear something so frankly seductive) colored a deep purple, served only to draw one's eyes to her mouth, breasts, cunt.
The woman spoke. "My name is Pauline. I am here to guide you. This is only a dream, but there is truth in it. Come with me." Christine seemed to float through the red-carpeted rooms, following Pauline up the stairs to an opulent spa-like bath. Surrounding the sunken tub were erotic murals: women and men; women penetrated; women on their knees... Christine found herself somehow naked in the tub's scented water. The heat melted away her tension, her worries, her resistance. The tub then seemed to fade away, to be replaced by a luxurious Parlor. Somehow it seemed natural that she now was dressed exactly as Pauline was dressed. Her "maid's" costume fit her perfectly. But the scene that met her eyes took her breath away. She saw Pauline, kneeling before two men. The men were naked, their cocks throbbing. Pauline held one of the cocks in her hand, the other between her lips. Taking turns on one and then the other, her eyes were ablaze with both wild hunger and dark serenity, a strange mix of open defiance and deep submission. Their phalluses now dripping from Pauline's eager attention, the men began to rub themselves on her face, leaving glistening decoration on her perfect skin. She looked toward Christine, and beckoned her to approach. Christine, hungry to taste these men, drifted toward them, as Pauline withdrew. Gratefully falling to her knees, with a desperate, pleading look, she parted her lips to accept the first pulsating cock.
Then, to her astonishment and immeasurable grief, the scene faded, only to be replaced by the bizarre vision of a numeral, floating before her: The number "4". It was cruel to tear her from her aching need, only to find, instead, this grotesque enigma. Then she fell...
And she fell...and awoke in her own bed. A deep sob wracked her body, followed by a quiet litany of them. Her tears cleansed her soul. The sin of her betrayal of herself, the sin of believing that Robert might ever make her happy, had been washed from her. So, amidst her grief, she felt lighter, more herself than she had in years. There was some solace in that. She considered the meaning of the numeral "4," but found no explanation.
She showered. Still aroused from her dream, she touched herself as she bathed. She pictured herself truly taking Pauline's place, kneeling before the men, their cocks sliding back an forth in her hands; in and out of her mouth. She climaxed with her imaginary sex partners, finished her shower, and left for work.