Page 13 of Wicked Dreams

Without another thought, I placed my hand in his, and he pulled me deeper into the woods.

We walked along the path, hand in hand, for miles until he stopped at a massive waterfall spilling into a pool beneath it. He released my hand and moved to pull off his shirt by the pool’s edge. “Let’s go for a swim.”

He dropped his long-sleeved black shirt to the ground, and I got a full view of his strong, tattooed arms and chest.

“I do-don’t have a suit,” I stuttered, suddenly shy. I tried to hide the fact I was checking him out, but I really wanted to get a closer look at those tattoos. He had a thick, black band around each wrist, and his biceps were covered in dark tribal ink. Each design stretched over his firm pecs. I’d never been one to gawk at a guy before, but his body was hard, and the black tattoos only accented his strong frame. I forgot I wasn’t supposed to be looking at him when my eyes landed on a puckered scar in the shape of an X over his heart, distorting his tattoo.

“I’m your subconscious, remember? And this is a dream.” He grinned and stepped out of his jeans, leaving him in only his boxers. “I won’t look, okay?” He rushed into the water, stopping when the water reached his hips, keeping his back to me.

I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart and pulled my shirt over my head, dropping it next to his pile of clothes. Next, I yanked off my shoes and leggings. When I was down to my black bra and panties, I rushed into the cold water. It instantly caused me to inhale loudly and shiver.

Once I was deep enough, I dove under the water, swimming past him until I could no longer hold my breath. I popped up, breathing in the fresh air I so desperately needed.

“You can really hold your breath,” he acknowledged, swimming closer to me and stopping when he was directly in front of me.

“I run a lot. It’s the only way to destress. Plus, itisa dream, right?” I threw myself backward, floating with my arms stretched out at my side. I breathed deeply and closed my eyes, letting myself get lost in the moment.

He reached out and grabbed my ankle, drawing me toward him. I didn’t know what was happening until I was upright with my chest pressed against his. His gaze dropped quickly to look at where my breasts were smashed against his strong chest before he licked his lips.

“You’re so beautiful, Olivia. I wish you could see what I see.” Slowly, he pressed his lips against mine, and despite how cold the water was, suddenly I was burning up. When his tongue slid into my mouth, my legs wrapped around his hips, and my arms snaked around his neck.

He deepened the kiss and placed one hand on the nape of my neck, holding me to him while the other landed on my ass. His skin was still scorching hot, but with the cold water all around us, it created the perfect temperature. The water seemed to warm around us from the heat we were putting off. He hardened against my core, and the urge to take things further egged me on.

One hand fell from his neck, making its way between us, under the water so I could touch him. When my hand wrapped around his girth, he let out a soft moan and broke the kiss.

“It’s time to go, Olivia,” his voice was almost pained, like he never wanted to stop what we’d started.

“What? I don’t want to.” Things were just getting interesting.

“I’m sorry. It’s time to wake up now.” He released me and placed me on my feet in front of him. We weren’t in the water any longer. We were back where we’d started in the forest. “I’ll see you in your dreams, beautiful,” he said with a smile.

When the last word left his lips, my eyes popped open, and my head shot up from the top of my desk.

“About time, Liv. You were dead to the world,” Anita said, looking down at me with concern.

Blinking, I looked at myself and around the room. I was dry, back in my clothes, and the classroom was filled with students gathering their belongings.

I shook the dream from my head and forced myself to stand. “I guess I didn’t get enough sleep last night.” I grabbed my books absentmindedly and walked from the room in a daze with Anita following along behind me.

“I hear you. I didn’t either. I’ve been worried sick about how mad you were at me.” She gave me a sheepish look.

“For what it’s worth, it was stupid of me to go into that room. I wasn’t thinking. My only thought was finding you.” I shook my head angrily, Brent’s touch still haunting me. “And now, I’m going to be screwed even more because Brent’s been telling everyone that we did more than me just kneeing him in the groin.” I hastily wiped at my eyes, not wanting to cry over it. “But whatever, right? Let them believe it happened.”

“But it’s not what happened, Liv.” Her brown eyes were sad and sympathetic as she stared back at me.

“It is as far as he’s concerned,” I mumbled bitterly. “He told me we may as well do it because everyone was going to believe we did anyway. And he wasn’t wrong. Eddie and Caleb cornered me before class to harass me. I’m sure by lunch I’ll be the talk of the school.” I looked at her earnestly, the tears still in my eyes making her appear blurry. “I reallydidn’tdo what he said I did. I only wanted to get out.”

She shook her head in anger. “What a jerk. Ugh, I swear, I’ll make him pay for that, Liv. I can’t believe I ever liked him. I’m so sorry I accused you of trying to steal him. I don’t know how you can ever forgive me. You were attacked!” With each word, she got louder and angrier.

“Shhh. It’d be great if those who hadn’t heard yet, don’t.” I quickly looked around us, making sure nobody was listening.

“Why not? The whole school should know what kind of loser he really is. I mean, he should be rotting away in a prison cell right now. Let his ass get locked up with someone twice his size and see how he likes it.”

I couldn’t hold back my laugh. “It’s okay, Anita. I appreciate it. But really, I’d just like to forget that it ever happened. Okay? Can we just go back to being friends and pretend like Saturday doesn’t even exist?”

She washed the anger from her face and replaced it with kindness. “As you wish.” She locked her arm through mine and led the way to our next class. “Iwillget back at his ass though.”

Just hearing her threats made me smile, the tears disappearing. I finally felt like my life was coming together. I had my friend back, and in my dreams, a guy that was sweet and nice to look at.Maybe this is a turn for the better,I thought.

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