I WOKE UP IN THE AFTERNOON with my hair still wet, but I was fully refreshed. I took a shower, removed the applicator, and cleaned myself up. There was a knock at the door and when I walked into the main part of the suite, I saw a note on the floor. It said to put on a dress and come to the Fantasy Room. I finished drying off, fixed my hair, and put on the dress before applying my makeup. I didn’t know what the night would hold, or what the third piece of my fantasy would be, but I was interested in finding out. I walked down the hallway and pushed open the door, expecting to find it dark, but it was well lit and I noticed that there were several doors in the area that was previously hidden by darkness.
“Your room is ready.” Angelina opened one of the doors and motioned for me.
“I feel like Dorothy looking behind the curtain. Were there people in these rooms when I was here before?” I looked around nervously.
“Only Jedrek and the guy we painted up to look like Dominic.” She smiled and nodded. “I’m glad you chose the right guy.”
“I was tempted, I won’t lie, but Jedrek was definitely the right choice—or at least it felt like it at the time.” I sighed deeply. “I enjoyed my time with Thorne as well.”
“Yes, well, tonight will be a little different. This time you’ll be on the other side of the door, waiting to emerge from the darkness.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Tonight, you’re going to be the fantasy.”
“Me?” I blinked in surprise. “I thought I was trying to find my own fantasy still—I thought I was going to meet the third piece.”
“This is like chess with pieces moving constantly. Each piece of your fantasy is designed to take you somewhere that you’ve never been before and help you see the world you’ve ignored while you were focused on Dominic.” She nodded and smiled again. “You have to also learn how to take charge. It’s the only way you’ll ever be able to get what you want. Tonight, we’re going to put that to the test, and if I’m right, you’ll understand the third piece of your fantasy before it is over.”
“So, what do I do?” I tilted my head in curiosity.
“It’s simple.” She motioned towards the room. “You wait in there and when I give you the signal, you come out and fulfill every fantasy the man on the table has.”
“I have to sleep with him.” My face twisted to one of concern. “What if I don’t like him?”
“You will.” She nodded quickly. “Trust me.”
“Okay, I guess so. I’ve tried to trust you so far, and nothing has really went wrong. I think.” I walked over to the room.
Unless you count the two different directions I’m already torn in, and now I have to complicate things with a third.
I sat down and watched as things came together. One of the rooms appeared to be a small lounge with drinks and refreshments. Another woman came in and was led to a room similar to mine. The lights dimmed and a guy was led into the room by Angelina. He looked as concerned as I did the first day I came. She helped him up onto the table and then two of the guys from the lounge area rushed out and secured him in the leather cuffs. He looked almost terrified, darting his head back and forth as Angelina walked around him. He wasn’t a bad looking guy. He had dark colored hair, a fairly muscular frame, and I was pretty sure he would look cute if he wasn’t scared. A small television next to me came on and I could hear what she was saying through the speakers.
“You came here to find your fantasy, did you not?” Angelina let her nails drag on the leather as she spoke.
“Yeah, but why the fuck am I tied down? This is crazy! Let me go!” He yanked on the cuffs with quick snaps of his arms.
“This is the process. You’ve lived your life obsessed with one girl, have you not?” Angelina looked at my mirror and smiled, but she couldn’t see my face.
Oh my god, you can’t be serious...
It was almost exactly what I had gone through with Dominic. This guy had a girl that he considered to be his best friend, but he had been in love with her forever. He had to watch her get married, listen to her new husband brag about cheating on her, and when he finally lost his temper—he got his ass handed to him. It cost him the friendship and he lost most of his friends because they stood with the asshole that he was trying to protect his best friend from. I had never taken it to that extreme, but I certainly felt like it after I heard Nancy had cheated on Dominic. I understood his pain. Angelina motioned to the door next to me and the girl emerged. I understood. She was the carbon copy of the girl he loved—she was his version of Dominic.
Don’t do it. You’ll regret it if you settle for that.
I was almost relieved when he sent her back into the darkness and embraced whatever fantasy was out there. Then it sort of dawned on me that his next fantasy was me. A sign lit up and the screen on the television flashed, telling me that I was time for me to come out. The words on the screen said I was his only fantasy. I blinked in surprise, but it was my time. How could I be his only fantasy if he was only a piece of mine? My stomach was in knots when I stepped out of the darkness so he could see me. I had always feared rejection from Dominic and I felt that same uneasiness inside me as I was presented as someone else’s fantasy.
“Robby, this is Savannah. I believe she is your fantasy. She isn’t what you’ve spent your life chasing—she’s better.” Angelina motioned for me to come closer.
“She’s—she’s beautiful.” He blinked and exhaled sharply.
“Then would you like to spend some time with her?” Angelina turned towards him.
“Y-yes.” He nodded quickly.
“Okay, let’s go back to your room and she’ll be by shortly.” Angelina helped him out of the cuffs and they walked towards the door.
Oh wow, okay... I guess I have to plan a date. I know nothing about this guy.
Chapter: 14: Robby
“Down, set, hut!” I stomped my foot and waited for the football.
And here comes the twins. Fuck!
The only thing good about the two defensive linemen coming at me was that we were on the same team. That mattered when we were practicing because they didn’t pull any of their hits. That was the life of the backup quarterback where my only purpose was helping the defensive line learn how to scatter my body parts across the field. I did my best, but before the ball could leave my fingers, they hit me. Alex and Ben were the two best linemen in college football, and there was no stopping them when they smelled blood. It won us a lot of games and would probably land them in the NFL one day. I went down in the dirt and fumbled the ball straight into Alex’s hands. He ran it in for a touchdown while Ben watched his back.
“Robby, get up, you fucking maggot!” The coach stormed the field and yanked me to my feet. “How the fuck did you fumble that ball?”
“Sorry, Coach.” I shook my head and started picking turf out of my helmet. “They caught me off guard.”
“If you’re ever going to start a game for this fucking team, you better learn how to keep the ball in your hands—or should I just start calling you fucking butterfingers!?” He coach slammed his visor on the field and stormed off.
“Butterfingers! Ha!” Ben slapped me on the back. “You hear that, guys? Robby’s new name is Butterfingers.”
Hopefully that doesn’t catch on.
“CATCH THE BALL, BUTTERFINGERS!” I walked into Wendy’s with my best friend, Beth, trailing behind me as a Frosty sailed across the restaurant.
“Fuck!” I tried to bat it out of the air, but I only managed to tip it with my fingers.
“What the hell?” Beth shrieked as the Frosty tilted and all of the melted chocolate ice cream covered her dress.
“Oh it’s okay, baby. Butterfingers can’t catch the ball. Why don’t you come over here and let us clean you up.” Alex turned around in his seat. “My brother and I will send you home nice and clean—or dirtier—whichever you prefer.”
“Don’t listen to them, Beth. I’m sorry.” I turned towards her, but noticed that her eyes were locked on the twins.
“Actually.” She bit down on her lip and smiled. “I think I’m going to go hang out with them. Come on, they messed up my dress. The least I can do is let them spoil me a little.”
“You know they only want one thing!” I grabbed Beth’s arm. “Please, don’t go over there.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She smiled and started trotting towards the twins, dripping chocolate ice cream on the floor as she walked.
Great, my college life in a damn nutshell.
It was supposed to be my senior year. I was supposed to be the starting quarterback. Unfortunately, a junior college hotshot decided that he wanted to spend one season at our school before he went pro, so I was back riding the bench. That meant I was never going to get a starting position and my chances of getting drafted were pushed off the cliff. I might get picked up by a team, but I was better off just putting my education to good use and becoming a banker. At least then I wouldn’t get pounded into the dirt at practice every day. The worst part was that I thought once I became the starting quarterback, I might finally get somewhere with Beth. My sweet Beth, the girl of my dreams, was going to be another notch for the twins.
Fuck, I’m not even hungry now. I’m just going back to my dorm.
I had been in love with Beth since high school. I followed her to the college she was accepted at, taking a position as a back-up quarterback in Texas when I could have probably had a starting position somewhere in the Midwest. I was the starting quarterback in high school, and that should have been enough for me to get any girl, but I was too much of a chicken-shit to ask Beth out. The funny thing was that back then, she was dating the back-up quarterback instead of me. I was a stupid fucking idiot in every sense of the word. By the time they broke up, it was close to graduation and I told myself I would ask her out in college. Once we got to college, I was a small fish in a big bond and the big fish gobbled Beth up quick.
“OH MAN, YOU SHOULD have seen the tits on this bitch. I mean, just fucking mountains!” Beth’s husband held out his drink and smiled. “I railed that bitch until they were slapping her in the face!”
That was when I hit him. Beth’s husband was an asshole. He was the biggest asshole on the planet because he married the love of my life and cheated on her like it was nothing. After college, we both returned home to the town we grew up in. I got a job at the bank and Beth settled down with an older man—my boss. It was another slap in the face, but I couldn’t really blame her. She was beautiful and he seemed like a decent guy at first. I even toasted them at their wedding. That pulled me into the circle of trust at the bank where I got a few promotions just because I was his wife’s friend. A couple of years later, I found out he was cheating on her. I internalized it as long as I could until it got so blatant that he bragged about it over drinks at the bar. Beth was at home with their first child on the way and he was laughing with people as he described his latest conquest like I wasn’t sitting next to him.
“Oh, you fucked up now, you little shit.” He bounced off the ground from my unexpected punch like he was made of rubber and was ready to fight.
I would have kicked his ass if I had the chance, but I didn’t get one. One of the guys we worked with, someone that I considered a friend, smashed a beer bottle across the back of my skull. A few seconds later I was on the ground being kicked by both of them. We all spent the night in jail, and when the morning came, he confessed everything to Beth. She forgave him, I lost my job, and the friends I had ostracized me. Or at least, I thought they were friends. I moved to New York, trying to get as far away from the past as I could, and after getting a new job, I eventually told my boss about everything that happened back home. He was sympathetic, and a few days later, he handed me a card for Club Infinite Fantasy.
“Talk to Angelina. She’ll help you.” He patted me on the back and walked into the conference room.
AM I REALLY READY FOR this? Savannah looks like a dream. I’ve faced rejection for so long that I don’t even know how to talk to a woman.
The carbon copy of Beth was tempting, but there were things she would never have. She might have Beth’s long red hair, her curves, and if I closed my eyes, I might have been able to pretend it was her. She would never have Beth’s laugh, though. She couldn’t emulate her curiosity and the way she looked at the world. That was the side of Beth that people didn’t see when they saw her across the room. It was what made me fall in love with her. I floated on those memories for so long that I believed it was destiny. I had accepted that the life I wanted was never going to happen. I don’t know what I was looking for when I came to Club Infinite Fantasy, but I never expected to see a goddess that took my breathe away.
Savannah...
If she was my fantasy, I wasn’t going to complain. She was a vibrant light in the darkness that my life had become. Her stare was captivating. About ten minutes after I got to my room, I was presented with a note under my door that said I should dress in casual attire. I put on a pair of dress slacks, a collared shirt, and ran a comb through my hair. I hoped I wasn’t too casual for what she had in mind. A few minutes later, I heard a knock at my door and when I opened it, she was smiling. Her radiance filled the entire hallway. She motioned for me to follow, and I quickly started walking behind her. I followed her down the hallway until we reached another door and she pushed it open. I walked in behind her and saw a room that was much nicer than mine.
“Would you like a drink?” She turned to me with a smile.
“Uh, sure. Whatever you have. Beer, maybe?” I shrugged.
“Sure.” She walked over a small refrigerator and returned with two cans of Bud Light. “I’ve only recently became a beer drinker. I hope this is okay.”
“Yeah.” I nodded and popped the top. “This is perfect—it reminds me of college.”
“Is that a good thing?” Her eyes raised in concern.
“The good times in college.” I chuckled and nodded. “This is perfect.”
“Good, let’s talk.” She walked over to a table and took a seat. “Angelina believes I’m your fantasy. What do you think about that?”
“I’m—uh—I’m honestly not sure.” I sat down and sipped my beer. “Life has been fairly complicated for me and I’m still trying to figure it out.”
“That makes two of us.” She opened her beer and took a drink, quickly making a face. “Okay, this is much better on draft or in a bottle.”
“When you’re shotgunning them, you really don’t give a shit.” I lifted my beer and guzzled it.
“I’ve never done that.” She stared at her beer for a moment. “Will you teach me?”
“Uh—sure, but we need a couple of cans.” I nodded towards the mini-fridge. “Got some more in there?”
“Yeah, it’s full.” She nodded quickly.
“Okay, well, since there’s no kitchen here, let’s use the bathroom sink. We’ll probably make a mess.” I grabbed two cans and motioned for her to follow me.
I tilted the beer until only one corner was empty and shoved a key into it. I turned it towards my mouth and locked my lips around the hole as I opened it. The beer quickly surged into my mouth once the air was released and I swallowed as fast as I could, feeling it burn the back of my throat. Savannah watched me with a bit of curiosity and then tried to do what I did. It resulted in her getting sprayed with beer, but I quickly got it against her lips and popped the top. She nearly choked before it was done and leaned against the sink, breathing heavily.
“Okay, so now I know I never tried that.” She shook her head and wiped her mouth with a towel.
“It takes practice.” I put my empty can on the sink. “I’ll grab a couple more.”
She got better the second time around and by the third beer, she didn’t miss a drop. The alcohol quickly went to my head and was ready to just sit down and drink a beer like a normal person. She stumbled as we walked back towards the table, but I was able to catch her easily and keep her from tumbling into the wall. We sat back down and we were
both laughing. I lifted the beer I had left behind before we started shotgunning them and sipped it. Savannah’s face was red and I could see she was feeling it a little more than I was.
“I think I was supposed to take you on a date.” She giggled and reached for her beer.
“This is a good date.” I nodded. “It helps me forget why I came here in the first place.”
I’ve needed that for a long fucking time.
Chapter 15: Savannah
Once the buzz started to dissipate, Robby told me about the woman he had fallen for and I told him about Dominic. If misery was supposed to love company, we were definitely a match made in broken-hearted heaven. The difference was that I had put mine in the past and the pain was still fresh on Robby’s face. I wanted to heal it. I felt like that was my purpose as his fantasy, but I had been so nervous that I dove headfirst into alcohol as a way to distract me from what I was supposed to do. I was originally thinking it would be a movie, or a quiet walk in the park, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave my suite. When our stories were done, I got us a couple of fresh beers and sat down across from him again.
“I believe it’s okay to feel the way you do.” I pushed the top into the can and lifted it. “Here’s to a fucked up world.”
“I’ll drink to that.” He opened his beer and tapped it against mine.
“I can honestly say that I’m not sure why we were paired up by Angelina. We have similar stories, but I’m not sure that makes a very good fantasy. You would do better with one of the girls out there that just wants to fuck.” I giggled and sipped my beer again.
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