If the line between where reality ends and fantasy begins seems to have gotten confusing, that's because it has. When Sonya started singing Lips Like Sugar to me, the rules completely changed. I always thought she had ways to get inside my head. Now I realize she may have been there for a long time. She weaves in and out of my dreams, my awake moments, my stories.
She can change into anyone she wants. She is the witch I met in the 1980s that could make me cum by licking my arm. The older woman who took my virginity in the BMW. Now she is the woman on my webcam that has taken my heart.
Wait! I've never owned a BMW. I lost my virginity in my 1970 Chevy Nova. Was she there too? Two female police officers caught us parked and pulled me out of the car naked, forcing me to stand in the cold. They had to make sure the young woman I was with had given consent to be in my back seat. She did. I'm no rapist.
I didn't even know Boulder had two female officers back then. Why did they keep looking at me that way? I couldn't seem to cover myself. My hands were frozen. My arms were frozen. My cock should have been frozen and shriveled, but it was standing at attention. The cold overtook me and I couldn't move at all.
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Stu awoke and nearly screamed.
The dreams were getting more intense. The night of the event had arrived.
"So, what are we going to?" He asked Kelli. She looked more beautiful tonight than he had ever seen her. She had on a short, tight dress that looked different from every angle. In some places it was sheer, in others a pastel blue, in others a deep black. The shortness caught him off guard when he picked her up. She had fantastic legs. Dancer's legs. Why she always wore such long, flowing skirts he didn't understand.
"Because I like the way my fabric feels against my body," she said.
"Is it that easy to read my mind?" He asked.
"Being horny opens you up like a book. It is also Midinvaerne. Thank you for the compliment on my legs, by the way."
"Midenvaerne? What is that?"
"A very old term. A few from the old Slavic countries may have heard of it, mostly authors (but Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher was still two decades away). We have the opportunity to observe it tonight." She gave him a light tickle on his neck. Her skirt was hiking up and he was starting to get aroused. It wasn't too far up the canyon to Gold Hill, but he wasn't in a hurry. The Trans Am could have made the run in half the time they were taking, but tonight's mood was mystical and called for a slow pace. The huge engine purred as "Under the Milky Way" by The Church filled the air from his stereo. He hadn't touched the tape since she had dared to change his music. It was playing songs he had never put on it. It was playing songs that hadn't even been released in 1987.
"Isn't tonight the Summer Solstice?" He asked.
"Yes"
"Is it the same thing?"
She looked at him. Her deep blue eyes were usually something he gazed into and got lost. Now she seemed to be gazing into him.
"I must ask you something," she said. "It might sound disturbing. It is very important, however."
He instinctively covered his balls. She noticed, but didn't laugh.
"I am sorry about the nightmares," she said. Was that fear in her eyes? She was trembling. "It has taken nearly all of my power, but I think we will make it."
"You look terrified." He touched her hand and held it softly. Two months ago he would have laughed at such a strange conversation. Not tonight. She blinked and the fear seemed to pass.
"I used to live up here," she said as she looked past him and out into the night. He stole another look at her legs. "That is why they are so fit. The mountains will do that for you. We have to earn the right to be here. I would love to show you the process now, but I cannot. Perhaps someday."
"Turn here and park on the far end of the drive."
His imagination had never been so active as it was when he thought about what to expect this evening. He anticipated a small mansion was awaiting, even though he knew Gold Hill didn't have any. He still wasn't disappointed.
They were in the parking lot for the old inn. He wasn't aware it had been restored. There were a large number of cars there and people inside and out. His loud engine always made people turn their heads. Tonight he wished maybe they could have been a little more stealthy. Something didn't seem right about them.
"Wow, that's a lot of people," He said. "Are they all part of this event?"
"In the beginning. Then we trim down to a small group. 14, counting you."
She grabbed his arm and placed something in his hand. He tried to look down but she had hold of his face and was kissing him deeply. She had a small tear running down her cheek.
He was starting to get scared. What was wrong with her? They had only known each other a short time, but he had never seen her act this way.
She took some slow, deep breaths and let go of his face. "I'm sorry," she said, "but I think - not think - I know. I'm in love with you."
He knew he felt the same way. He had known it since the first time he had seen her. He pulled her close. "I have felt the same way for a long time, but you know that. Who are you, and how have I been so lucky to have you choose me? My life? My love?
"I am so sorry."
"Why?"
"Please trust me. I must ask you to do something. I would never ask it of someone unless I loved them deeply. I have never felt this way about a human, a person, before."
He looked at her for a long time. Was this really happening? Did she actually say "human" and then correct herself? Was she really weaving in and out of his life like this? Was she part of all times at once? He had been with her when he was young. He would be with her in all his days ahead, even though he might not know it. Yet he knew it now. And he knew he loved her so deeply he would do anything she asked of him.
"OK."
"Drink this. Do it right away. It won't affect you until exactly the right time."
"What is it?"
"Poison."
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The Gold Hill Inn looked like it was brand new. Everything sparkled and shined. The lamps and chandeliers were filling the rooms with a deep, lazy glow. The plush furniture and hardwood floors were new, but looked cozy and worn. There was a woman's face painted on the floor. That shouldn't be here either. That was in a completely separate town, Central City.
"Kelli!"
A short, thin woman was headed towards them. Kelli had returned to her normal self. She had nearly scared him to death in the car, but he trusted her with his life. He drank the poison in one swig. The Smiths' Morrissey was singing, "I am human and I need to be loved," just as he drank it. The reverberation was still going in his head.
"Mother!"
The two embraced, but air kissed each other's cheek. Her mother looked at him and said, "My! What a handsome young man you have brought me. My name is Regina Black, pleased to meet you."
"I am Stu Redding." He kissed her extended hand like she was the Queen of England. "It is my honor to meet you." He felt Kelli squeeze his hand. She had trained him well. He knew his etiquette and protocol! Both Kelli and her mother laughed at the same time. Great. The mind reading ability ran in the family.
His mother led them off to a small table in the corner. "I would like to do a reading on you," she said. Stu was disappointed. The event was a reading? He had lost any doubt about mind reading, but palm reading? Telling him his future? He still wasn't sure about the rest of the mystical claims going around. Readings, crystals, past lives and Shirley McClaine were all the rage in the 1980s. Boulder was obsessed with all of it. Somewhere in Minnesota a pastor was convinced that it was making Boulder become the new gateway to Hell. He wanted to drive his congregation down and have a good old fashioned book burning. Shirley McClaine would have made a mint. The police and a large throng of the natives shut it all down before it ever happened.
"Of course." He held out his hand. Regina just looked at it.
"I need an object, preferably metallic and lying against your skin. For most men that is their watch." Stu undid the clasp on his dirt cheap Casio. He wondered what the object might be for most women. Kelli and Regina both smiled. He handed the watch to Kelli's mother.
She did the most amazing withdrawal and tremble he had seen yet. He had seen a few. It was standard fare for someone faking a psychic reading. He wasn't buying it for a minute, but played along. She kept rubbing the watch, flipping it over and over. He wasn't sure it was going to stand up to the examination. It barely kept time.
"A doctor, a surgeon."
This might be good. Usually he was some farmer in ancient Egypt with a name like Topalz.
"Germany. The war has just begun." She shuddered again, opened her eyes and handed him back his watch. Kelli was looking at him with a sense of horror.
"Which war? Please don't tell me I was some Nazi that did horrible things." He looked at Kelli again and started to get get angry that her mother would spin such a tale.
"No, you were there to save them." With that she turned and simply walked away. Kelli grabbed his arm and led him over to a small table with a buffet. Her face suddenly relaxed.
"You did so well! She had no idea." Kelli said. "Forget the German doctor bit, she tries that on everyone. She thinks it makes you become vulnerable. You convinced her it actually worked!"
She was whispering to him, but her lips weren't moving. He was losing strength, his body started to fall towards the table. The lights were fading. The poison kicked in and paralysis crept through his veins. A few of the guests looked his way. He didn't realize it had been a masquerade party..
