Go to sleep and check it out tomorrow

Wow...something like that was so damn hard to shake from my mind for even the shortest time. The scent from the card seemed to plague me even after i put it back in my wallet. The thing had seemed so bland and insignificant when my friend handed it to me, but now....there was no way in hell it was going to get out of my head. I simply HAD to see what this was all about. The card couldn't be the sole gift. It must be something else. I decided I was going to check out that adress tomorrow. I knew where the area was. Engleton Lane. That was in the area of all the rich estates. No wonder why the card looked so nice....

Tossing my wallet on the coffee table, I stood up, giving my head a shake and running my hands through my mop of brownish-black hair. Not only did i find myself consumed by curiosity, but i was also starting to notice just how heavy my eyelids were feeling. A half-lidded glance at the clock on the wall told me that it was around 9:30pm...a good enough time as any to head to bed. My fiancee was staying at her sister's house that night because that sister was going to be busy and wouldn't be able to make it to our wedding, so she wanted to spend some time with her beforehand. So....that meant I was alone in the house. There was no way I'd be getting up to anything crazy though. I was way too tired for that. I usually manage to stay up until 11 or midnight or some other late hour, but there was no arguing with the fact that if I didn't hit the bed soon I was going to pass out in the middle of the living room.

Off I trudged down the hallway to the bedroom like a soldier, but with no reward waiting for me at my destination. Turning off the lights as i passed each one, I considered stopping off in the bathroom for a bit of a "relief" but my mind was too out of focus and crazy to concentrate on that. After nearly walking face-first into the door, I got into the room and groggily stripped down to my boxers before crawling into bed and burying myself in the comfort of the soft blue-black of the giant blanket. It was only a short minute or two after that that I drifted off to sleep, the scent of the card and the images it invoked still running rampant in my mind and body

----------in the morning-----------------

"Holy shit...." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes as I woke up in a rather embarassing position. I woke up curled into a little ball crouched on my knees and with my head buried into the pillow. Flopping over onto my back I noticed another thing.......the now dried patch on the front of my boxers. "What a dream...." Looking over to where I'd been crouched and curled up, I could see that there was some on the bed too. The dream I had that night must have been pretty damn intense. The only thing that woke me up from it was that I swore I could feel a huge stinging on my backside like I'd been smacked or something. It hurt like hell, but I must admit...I liked it. Moving to rub my eyes of their sleep again it was evident that I'd enjoyed it a hell of a lot. At least that's what my hands, boxers, and bed told me.

Wow.......I never knew I had a weakness for that before. Hell, my fiancee would never even consider getting anywhere near that stuff. She was a sweet girl, not one to ever hurt or be hurt in that way. I wouldn't be seeing her with a welt on her ass or a crop in her hand anytime soon...or ever for that matter.

It took a few minutes to shake myself off, but it was 11 o'clock in the morning and I really needed a good shower. There was still that place to go check out today too. Getting up and walking over to the closet, I grabbed a few articles of clothing and another pair of boxers off the floor. I was set. Now for that shower...which turned out to be pretty uneventful. It was simply the usual list of things I go through whenever I shower alone. Wash hair, scrub body, "tend to myself", then clean up. That's it. Usually though, i end up showering with my fiancee, which throws that schedule for a complete loop. But that's not the story I'm telling......So yeah....

I got dressed in the usual jeans and an old faded concert shirt and socks, which I'm sad to say, had a few holes and thin spots. Oh well..."air conditioning" is the excuse i make everytime I'm told to get new ones. A quick glance in the mirror shows my usual body: a mid-ranged body size, not too soft or not too thin, guitarist hands, and a rather attractive face which my unruly hair tended to cover most of the time. The model musician form, I'm always told. Being quite pleased with myself, I went out to the kitchen and grabbed a quick bite to eat before putting my shoes on and grabbing the keys.

Just as I'm about to head out the door, I stop dead in my tracks because i'd nearly forgotten my wallet. Not only did it have my license and money, but it had the card in it. There was no forgetting that, so I hurried over to the table and got it. Stuffing the black leather wallet into my faded back pocket, and with the hastily put together ham sandwich stuffed into my mouth, I hurried out the door to my car in the driveway. Everything after that went fairly normal, I'm sad to admit. The drive was just like any other i've ever taken...except that this one had an ending that I was wholly unaware of, but incredibly eager to see.

After a quick scan through the posts of the estate markers, I find it....number 32..."32 Engleton Lane..." I think out loud as I give the card a varifying glance. The path leading to the Rosewood Manor was incredibly long. The feilds around it seemed to stretch and roll and simply go on forever. They met the sky and the sun, exploding in a frenzy of color. Every now and then along the path there were those really pretty Oriental Plum trees with the billions of little pink blossoms that, believe it or not guys, actually smell not too bad.

After about five minutes of driving through the most remarkable scenery I could have ever imagined, I came upon another wonder...Rosewood Manor. It was a HUGE old Victorian style manor house with roses climbing their way from the flower beds up the sides of the building just like ivy. I half expected to see a horse and carriage go by at any moment. But i didn't see it, so I parked the car out front and sat there for a moment, asking myself what I was doing. After experiencing that card and the dream, there was no way i was turing back. I had to see what this was all about.

So...getting out of the car, locking it, and straightening myself off, I walked up the short stairs to the door. I took the huge shined golden door knocker in my hand and within mere seconds of knocking it, the door was answered by a stern and elderly looking butler. Not quite knowing what else to do, I show him the card I was given by my friends. With a nod and an English accented "Follow me", the butler lead me through another set of doors and into a large and elaborate room which contained a table, several chairs, and looked to be somewhat of a waiting room.

Though waiting for what.....