Nur Geträumt/Just a Dream

An odd sensation. He was coming to, but wrong somehow.

He was in a plush waiting room, with long, comfortable leather benches that wound around a carpeted hallway, a pair of double doors at its end. He wore one of his nicest pairs of dress slacks, a pair of shoes that cost as much as most cars, and a dress shirt Hannah had bought him that brought out the blue of his eyes.

He was in a bar, bustling and crowded. The patrons were a multi-ethnic bunch; Middle Easterners danced with white tourists, Spaniards spoke in hurried excitement while Italians manned the bars. A warm sea breeze flowed through the open-walled space, bringing with it the briny smell of what he somehow knew was the Mediterranean.

He looked down. He was wearing red shorts and a partly opened casual silk shirt. “I’m a tourist” it seemed to say.

The doors opened and a woman stepped through. She wore what was clearly a maid’s uniform, but one that had been modified to include a pencil skirt, a cut down apron that could almost be confused for an undershirt, and dark, patterned hose with sensible heels. Whole package included, she looked more like a bellhop than the cleaning staff.

“Hello Amelia,” He greeted softly. “How are you doing?”

She sketched a small curtsy.

“Veuillez suivre cette voie, monsieur,” She said, leading him through the doors.

He walked to the bar. Despite the tumult, the approach was surprisingly easy. The bar was manned by a beautiful olive skinned woman. She wore a one piece bathing suit that seemed to be styled with a white apron built into it. She looked Italian, but when she opened her mouth to ask for his order, it was French that came out.

”I’ll take a Calimocho,” He said, debating adding “when in Rome”, then thought better of it.

He didn’t like being a typical tourist, even if that’s obviously what he was.

She returned with a fizzy mixture and set it before him; a dark reddish purple. He took a sip, enjoying the dry but sweet flavor of the Coca Cola and red wine mixture.

Jake followed Amelia. They led into a skyline restaurant; one that followed the curvature of a building that stood high above the City. New York swept out below them in all its gleaming, sleepless glory as they walked past one empty, candlelit table after another.

Then, he saw her.

Farra sat at a table by herself, a bottle of red wine between two filled glasses, her shapely legs crossed, and shown off by a tight, floral patterned evening gown that made an alluring contrast with her skin and eyes. Her hair was straightened, framing her heart-shaped face and trailing down to her lower back.

“Hello Jake. Take a seat,” She invited, gesturing to the chair opposite her.”

He saw her on the far end of the bar. She was drinking something blood red from a tumbler. She was a curvy woman, roughly his age. Luxurious, thick hair that flowed around her in big, primed out waves. She wore a black sequined crop top and a loose, flowing black skirt.

She stood with a certain confidence…no, command that made her stand out in the crowd. Jake found himself gawking in spite of himself.

The stranger noticed, her dark eyes turning up to meet his. She saw him appraising her, and appraised him back. Her full lips turned into a grin, and she tilted her head toward the empty barstool next to her.

Jake took his drink, and followed her lead.

“What’s happening right now?” Jake asked, taking a seat across from her. “I feel like I’m in two places at once.”

Farra spread her hands.

“Welcome to my world,” she said. “This is how I live my life these days. Two bodies, one me.”

Jake nodded, understanding dawning.

“So one half of me is meeting you as a stranger, the other is…what?”

“Having a nice dinner,” Farra said. “With me, as an equal. Something I’ve frankly owed you for a long time now.”

Jake absorbed that.

“And you didn’t feel that way before?”

Farra gave him a sympathetic smile.

“You’ll have to allow me some grace on that account,” She said. “It’s been a long time that I’ve known you.”

“Yeah…I guess that makes sense,” He admitted. “Can you actually do it?”

She shrugged a lovely tanned shoulder.

“I’ll do my damndest,” She said. “Because I do believe you deserve it.”

Jake eyed her warily, remembering his conversation with AJ on the fishing boat.

“And there’s no…angle to this? No goal you’re trying to accomplish.”

Farra closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Not this time,” She said. “This is a cards on the tablet discussion. Because I’ve frankly done more calculation that was likely good for me. ”

”Enjoying the view?" The strange woman said as Jake took a seat next to her.

He had the good grace to look sheepish.

”Maybe a little,” He admitted. “Kind of hard not to.”

”Tourist?” she asked, looking him over. “Your accent says ‘New York’.”

Jake nodded. No sense denying it. He gave her a searching look.

”You though…you’re not studying abroad. At least not as an undergrad. And you didn’t catch my accent by accident," he observed. “I’m guessing…PhD student?”

She lifted her glass, her face taking on an impressed expression.

”Well done,” She said, clinking her glass off his. “What’s your name?

”Jake,” He said, sharing a sip with her. “Yours?”

”Farra,” She said.

It rolled prettily off her tongue. Far-Rah, with a roll in the Rs.

”So…if you’re here for academics instead of for fun, what are you studying?” He asked.

”Social trends in the Middle East,” She said. “Close enough to study. Far enough not to learn anything unfortunate first hand.”

Jake nodded.

”Makes sense that an Iranian Expat would be into that sorta thing.”

For the second time, she looked at him impressed.

”How’d you know?” She asked.

He smiled and made a see-saw with his hand.

”More of a guess,” He admitted. “So you’ve been in America for what…”

He did some mental math. The revolution was in ‘79, and he guessed she probably got out before it. If it’s 88 now…10 years?”

Farra crossed her legs, looking him up and down, a bemused and intrigued smile on her face.

”Well you’re not stupid,” She said, standing. “And what are your thoughts on my homeland’s glorious revolution?”

This was a thorny issue, and she knew it; was, he suspected, inviting him into the briar patch. If her total confidence was any indication, she wasn’t the type to tolerate any shit. Shooting from the hip, he opted for honesty.

”I think it’s shit,” He admitted. “But shit that my people are almost completely responsible for.”

She examined him for a moment, then nodded approval, tossing the remainder of her drink back in one swallow. Somehow, Farra made the gesture graceful rather than obscene.

”Alright, then,” She said, standing. “You’re certainly interesting to talk to. But that’s not strictly why I’m in this bar tonight.”

Jake gave her a slight smile, cocking his head.

”Oh yeah?”

She nodded.

”I’m here to enjoy the company of attractive and interesting men,” She said, extending a hand. “Dance with me?”

The song shifted, from some Italian disco song attempting to knock off its American counterparts to a synthy new wave song in German. Jake’s smile turned into a grin that covered his whole face.

”You, my dear, are on.

Jake shook his head. Half his being was stepping out onto a dance floor with an intriguing stranger, while the other half had this conversation with a woman he’d known his entire life.

“A very gorgeous woman you’ve known your entire life,” an unwelcome part of himself reminded him.

“It’s odd, isn’t it?” Farra asked. “Doing two things at once.”

“More than doing them…thinking them,” He said. “How did you set this up?”

“As something of an experiment,” She admitted. “I wanted us to meet as strangers, in a time and place where I’d be fun.”

“Hence why we’re in the 80s,” He said. “And you really don’t know me either? Like, we’re both strangers?”

Farra nodded..

“You’re making a solid impression, for what it’s worth.” She said with a smile that was almost shy.

And wasn’t that intriguing…

Still, something she’d said niggled at him.

“What do you mean, you’ve done more calculation than was good for you?”

Farra straightened.

“This is no bullshit, Jake,” She said. “I want to have a serious conversation with you. About some of the things I’ve done, and where we’re headed.”

Jake nodded. There was something different about the woman sitting across the table from him. He had the feeling that, despite having known her all his life, that she was speaking to him as an adult for perhaps the first time.

“We as in you and I, or we as in the…” He began to ask.

“The harem,” She provided without flinching. “Both.”

Jake took a breath, somehow suspecting he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear.

“Okay. Let’s talk.”

They stood side by side, bopping awkwardly to a tune that wasn’t quite danceable, but threatened to turn in that direction. Then, it did. The beat began to pick up, turning into something almost suspenseful. As it did, her hips picked up the rhythm, and his met it. The hook kicked in; a bouncy, yet driving one in which the band’s pretty singer threw all she had into the chorus.

They turned to one another then. She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, and his hands dropped to her hips. They stepped in closer, their feet movingly effortlessly to the beat just barely slow enough to keep up with.

Farra raised her arms, extending one of them as she took a step back. Jake held her hand, and stepped back himself before pulling her close again. She spun in his arm, her wide hips grinding against his.

As the song changed to a Michael Jackson tune, she turned around and began dancing in front of him, her large, shapely rear staying just close enough to tease his hardening cock through his slacks. Jake had had to suppress a moan, and place

“You’re a good dancer,” Farra noted from across the table.

“You are too,” Jake said. “A damn good one.”

She smiled.

“We should make it a point to do this for real sometime.”

Jake shook his head.

“I dunno if that’s a good idea, Farra,” He said with a frown.

She raised an eyebrow.

“Seems to me that we’ve gone a little too far, given that we’ve already been together,” She said, then studied him for a moment. “That’s one of those things you wanted to talk about, isn’t it?”

He nodded.

“It was a mistake,” Jake said. “And even more than that, I think it was one you deliberately seduced me into. I wanna know why.”

“That’s fair. And I did,” Farra agreed. “Partly for the points. Partly because I have a great deal of respect for you, and it’s been quite some time since I’ve been with a young man.”

Jake felt a swell of pride at that. The thought she could be manipulating him did occur. But he suspected she was shooting straight with him.

“Well, thank you Farra. I-”

“I also did it to steal from you,” She admitted, taking a large swallow of wine as she did.

The pride vanished at once.

“What?!” He said, “Why? What did you even have to steal? They give us everything there.”

“Sabrina’s cheat book,” She said. “Which, for whatever it’s worth, I have given to her.”

His anger faded somewhat.

“Farra, if you were gonna give it to her, you could have just asked me. I’d have been happy to agree to that.”

She gave him a plaintive look.

“Even if you knew I’d use it on her first?”

And then the anger came right back up.

“Let me guess. The investigation?” He asked. “I told you not to use any of the girls’ curses for that!”

“You did,” She admitted calmly. “And that’s why I gave it to her after I used it. And you should know that I did something similar to Lindsey as well. I gave her two victory points in exchange for compelling her honesty.”

“That’s not the point,” Jake snapped. “Goddamnit, you knew that was out of bounds.”

“And I knew it was the only way to find out for sure,” She retorted. “I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t have a way of leaving them better off for it. Now Sabrina gets to keep something that could be used to seriously **** her. And Lindsey’s two points offset what she lost in the popularity poll.”

He frowned. He couldn’t argue that she’d done something positive for them.

“And they were both innocent?”

“We’d be having a very different conversation right now if they hadn’t been,” Farra said.

She set her wine glass aside.

“Jake, I’m sorry I betrayed your trust,” Farra said. “More for the seduction than the girls.”

She looked down at the table.

“It’s been weighing on me more than I care to admit. And especially as I’ve gotten to know you.”

“It’s not the seduction I’m mad about,” He said. “I wasn’t exactly helpless in that one. The girls were. We had an agreement.”

“I lied about that, too,” Farra admitted. “But if you think for one moment I won’t keep using every means at my disposal to get back at whoever hurt my child…”

“No!” Jake snapped, “I will not have us become the same as those people who are taking advantage of us, Farra. Not even for Lacy.”

It was Farra’s turn to be angry now, and her brown eyes were hot as she turned them on him.

“That’s very easy for you to say,” She snapped, her voice cracking. “My child is gone. Win or lose, I’ll never see him again.”

Jake was taken aback by her fury, but even more so by the deep, obvious pain in her voice. He dropped back, momentarily speechless.

They kept dancing. To Madonna. To George Michael. To Italian artists he’d never heard of. Both of them were fantastic dancers, and their chemistry was effortless.

When they finally stepped away from the floor, they were both laughing and sweaty. The bar had no air conditioning, and their clothes were plastered against their bodies.

”And what a body it is…” Jake thought

”Goddamn,” He said. “I could do that all night.”

”I might take you up on that,” She yelled over the din of the music. “But let’s take a break for the moment. I think I’d like to get to know you a bit better.””

He looked around the bar.

”Kind of hard to talk in here.”

Farra smiled.

”Go grab us a bottle of wine to go,” She said. “I’ll show you the way!”

“Hey,” Jake said, grasping a mollifying tone. “She’s not gone. She’s different now, but she’s not gone.”

“No. He is,” Farra said. Tears had welled in her eyes now, “Ryan was a fuck up, and God knows I’m at least partly responsible for that. In some ways, this new version might even be better off. But that sweet, smart little boy I raised is gone forever. And if I can’t do anything about that, I’ll at least make the person who took him from me fucking pay for it!”

It was difficult to stay angry at her when she looked this ****. And as he felt her grinding on him in another world, though he tried to put that out of his mind. He reached across the table and took her hand, letting her collect herself for a moment before he spoke up.

“You should be proud of Lacy,” He said. “I know it feels like you lost a son, but Farra…Lacy’s…really special.”

It was as close to an admission of attraction as he was willing to make, but Farra didn’t seem to notice. She gave a sad laugh.

“Yes,” She agreed, voice still choked. “She’s quite exactly the daughter I always wanted. It just breaks my heart that I had to give up the son I had to get her.”

“You keep saying that, but you don’t know that it’s true,” He said gently. “If you win, or she does…”

Farra seemed to be collecting herself. She’d at least stopped crying.

“Truth now,” She said. “If Lacy came all the way back and won, do you really think she’d wish herself back to normal?”

Jake frowned. She had a point. And if she believed she wouldn’t as much as he did, then would forcing her back to normal do any good?

“You see the problem?” Farra asked.

“Yeah, I guess I do,,” Jake admitted. “And I’m sorry I rushed to judgment. I don’t know what I’d be doing if it were my kid they’d done that to. Or if it were Megs or something.”

She shook her head, her composure having returned to her.

“To tell the truth, I’m coping with Lacy. I’ll always love her no matter what she ends up as, but this is something that will take some getting used to,” Farra said. “And you really don’t have to apologize. I’m the one who’s been going behind your back.”

“Then let’s just let it go. No sense going round robin on feeling sorry for each other, especially now that you’re coming clean when you didn’t have to,” Jake said. “I do have one other question, though…”

They sat on the beach, his shoes and her heels bookending them. Farra leaned on Jake’s arm, and he did nothing to stop her.

”So,” She said. “Who are you, Jake? What do you do? Not just everyone gets to jet off to Italy on a whim.”

He frowned. This was a fraught part of the conversation that he’d been doing his level best to avoid getting to.

”I’m a stock analyst and trader,” He admitted.

It was a sore point, particularly with the sort of women he found himself most drawn to. But this one only looked at him with curious, upturned eyebrows.

”Really?”

He nodded.

”Yeah, I know. Don’t seem like the type,” He said. “I don’t love my work. There’s a reason I’m here in Italy and not guzzling down martinis with a bunch of Gordon Gecko assholes.”

”Then why do you do it?” She asked.

Jake sighed.

”Because I’m good at it, and it pays me so much money that I can easily focus on the shit in life I do actually care about,” He said. “Most of us do things we hate for a living. At least mine pays me well enough to do shit like this.”

”Interesting. And you don’t consider yourself that? A Gordon Gecko asshole?”

”I do my best to be above board. I don’t always succeed,” He admitted. “I’m less cutthroat than most of the guys who do what I do, but I’d be lying if I said greed didn’t occasionally get the best of me.”

He wasn’t sure why he was telling her all this. He didn’t owe this stranger any justification for his life. But she was gorgeous, and interesting, and he wanted to tell her more.

But instead of a rebuke, all he got was a succinct nod.

”Alright. I admire that.” She said.

Jake blinked. It wasn’t the sort of thing he often heard from the sort of women he was attracted to, who tended to judge him pretty harshly for what he did for a living.

Her look turned almost irritated.

”What? Is that surprising?” She asked. “I’m a refugee, darling. I know what it’s like to do what you have to.

”Oh…yeah. Fair enough,” He said. “I..”

She reached out an put a finger on his lips.

”Enough talk for now,” She said. “I didn’t just drag you out here to talk, you know.”

She slipped her thumbs beneath her skirt and slid it down, revealing shapely legs and a pair of black lacy panties.

”Are you kidding me?” Jake asked, eyes wide. “We’ll get arrested!”

Farra giggled. He’d never heard her giggle before, but it was delightful. But that was a strange thought, wasn’t it? He’d only just met his person.

”Out here, I could walk around topless and you with a bandana wrapped around your manhood without us getting arrested,” She said.

She placed a hand over his and leaned in close. He felt those full lips on her neck, and then they whispered in his ear.

”I think we’re alone enough,” She said. “Let’s have some fun…”

Jake shivered as he felt her phantom lips on his neck.

“Is this really you?” He asked, “The other, you, I mean. Is that what you were like back then?”

She closed her eyes and nodded, though whether her expression was longing or rueful, he couldn’t tell.

“I was quite the hellcat back in my traveling days,” Farra said. “Too much lost time to make up for.”

“Wait,” Jake objected. “Weren’t you married by now? I thought I’d heard that you and George got together when you were teenagers.”

He slipped his arm around her, melting into the kiss. He tried to push himself up; to move on top of her. But she only smiled and shook her head.

”I’ll lead…you follow.”

Jake lay back, putting his hands on her hips as she **** his pants down, her panty clad pussy rubbing against the erection between his strained briefs.

Farra closed her eyes, as if trying to focus, and shook her head.

“We got married when we were teenagers,” She agreed. “I was seventeen, he was eighteen.”

“So. Uh…what the hell?” He asked, as casually as he could.”

She gave him a tired smile.

“George and I knew we were right for each other,” Farra explained. “But we also knew we’d never be enough for one another either. Between my sense of adventure and his appetite for bigger and better things…”

She shrugged.

“We decided early in our marriage that we’d pulled the trigger a bit too young,” She said. “And we still had more of the world to experience before we completely settled down.”

Jake smiled in spite of himself.

“Lemme guess, You never quite did?”

“Something like that,” Farra said with a grin. “We both had our fun. He found other women. I found other men. And an occasional woman, too. Occasionally we found a woman together.”

Jake tried to think about George Jones-Ali with Farra and some other woman, but his thoughts kep coming back to him with her, and Hannah, or Emily, or Loretta…now there was a spicy one.

“I did not need to know that,” was all he managed.

Farra barely suppressed a laugh, then leaned over her wine glass.

“I’m not telling you all this for fun, you know,” She said. “An open mind about life…about love…it can open up some interesting possibilities.”

She pressed him into the sand. He’d kicked away his pants. Her fingers dug into his chest. She was on him. He was in her. He gasped as she rolled her hips, finely manicured nails pricking his skin.

“Is this your way of talking me into a harem?” Jake said. “Because you know I’m not into this.”

“Jake, I know you never asked for this,” Farra said, straightening up. “But for better or worse, they’ve already told use we’re all stuck with you.”

Her face twisted.

“What was it that woman said?” Farra asked, the two words coming out as a sort of curse. “That we’re bonded to you?”

Jake shifted uncomfortably.

“I mean, you don’t know that,” He tried. “Who knows what happens if the right person win-”

“No, Jake,” Farra interrupted. “They said it doesn’t matter. We have to assume we’re stuck with you. You have to…have…fuck me…”

”Fuck me,” Jake breathed.

”Working on it,” Farra said.

She rode him with abandon, tossing that big, glorious head of dark hair back.

Something primal overtook him. He grabbed her hips, holding her tight, and met her stride for stride,

”I…oh!” She began to protest, then must have decided she was more comfortable going with the flow as well.

“I’m sorry,” Farra said, “I don’t know if I can have this conversation in the middle of all this.”

Jake couldn’t help but agree.

“I’m guessing you weren’t expecting things to get so out of hand?” He said, loosening his tie.

“Not a bit,” She admitted, sliding her skirt up over her legs. Her full, beautiful legs.

Suddenly, it was too much.

A million thoughts raced through his mind; Farra’s words about openness. Her squirming in front of him in one reality as he pushed inside her in another. He thought of Emily and Hannah, naked and adoring on either side of him. Of Sabrin spending her last moments as Exe bent over his couch below him. Of Lacy’s strong, curvy thighs pressing against him as she lined up a pool shot.

Bound to him? Fuck it.

Jake reached out with his leg and found the base of the table, pushing it aside. The wine bottle fell to its side, its paltry remainders dribbling out on the table.

Farra looked up at him, her brown eyes curious.

“Jake?”

He stood up.

“You’re right,” He said. “If we’re stuck together, there isn’t any reason to run from it.”

Farra moaned, squirmed, then smiled up at him.

“Is that an invitation?” She asked.

He collapsed her hand in answer, then pulled her to her feet and into a kiss. Farra gasped as he gripped her ass, dragging her close.

“This time, I lead,” He said.

”Turn me over,” Farra breathed.

Ever the soul of obedience, he did, pulling out of her for a painful moment, before switching places, moving above and back in her.

”Yes! Harder!” She commanded.

He certainly didn’t have to guess at what she wanted. He liked that about her; liked women who took charge generally. And when she moaned beneath him, he felt his cock twitch.

Jake had no Interest in being told what to do. He and Farra exchanged sloppy kisses as he led her toward the window overlooking the city. As they slammed it into, he wondered distantly if it would hold.

Then, he decided, it was a dream. Who the hell cared?

“This is new,” Farra breathed as eh pushed her against the window,

Jake smiled, then whispered in her ear.

“You complaining?”

“Not even a little,” Farra moaned.

He found the zipper on her dress, pinched the two sides of the seam, and yanked it down in a fluid motion.

As it fell to the floor, Farra looked up at him with an expression he’d never seen on her before. Uncertainty? Shyness?

Whatever it was, he couldn’t resist it. He cupped her chin and leaned down to kiss those full lips; the first he’d ever wanted to kiss. He imagined that gorgeous backside of hers pressed against the glass for all the city to see. That they wouldn’t be able to so far below, or that there was no on real to see it didn’t even matter.

He unbuckled his pants, and them join her dress on the floor.

”Jake!” Farra moaned beneath him.

He grunted, lifting a leg above his shoulder, and pushed into her.

“Jake!” She moaned as eh pushed into her.. She pushed herself up on her toes, and he lifted her by her hips, her legs wrapping around his as he pushed her against the glass.

She gasped, arching her back beneath him.

She gasped, throwing her head back .

He came.

He came

“Jesus Christ…” Jake breathed, the two slowly making their way to the red carpet.

Farra only nodded, flustered and out of breath.

It was quite a while before either of them could say anything.

“I haven’t done that before,” Farra said. “Both bodies at once.”

Still struggling to recover his wits, he barked a laugh.

“Has anyone?”

Her only response was a lazy, backhanded slap to his shoulder.

“Assertive Jake,” She said. “That’s a new one. I think I like him.”

Jake, sprawling out on the carpet, grunted an acknowledgement.

She rolled onto her side, tucking herself under his arm and against his side.

“That…was unreal,” He finally managed, too mind fogged to know that it actually had been.

After what felt like a long time, Farra propped herself up on her elbow.

“Jake…can we do this in the real world?”

He chuckled.

“Is that what we’re calling the island.”

She stretched then, doing alluring things to her curvy form.

“It’s the only world for the foreseeable future,” Farra said.

“I guess. What’s this though?” Jake asked.

“Dinner. A heart to heart,” She said. “I don’t even know. I think I just want to get to know you better.”

“Farra, I don’t mean any disrespect here,” Jake said with a tired smile,. “But haven’t you known me most of my life?”

But when her eyes met his, they were deadly serious.

“Suddenly, I’m not sure that’s true at all.”

She stood, her gorgeous naked body rimmed in moonlight. She slid on her skirt, then fastened her top around her generous breasts.

”You’re leaving? Just like that?” Jake asked.

She looked down at him and smiled.

”Well, I was hoping you’d come with me,” She said, tying her hair back. “After all, I was told you could dance all night.”

Jake smiled, and lifted himself to his feet. That sounded great.