Paradoxical Dreaming

Chapter One

"Damn, I could use more dreams like that."

Alethea yawned and stretched out her long limbs in her bed, drinking in the morning light coming in through the crack in her bedroom curtains. She had just experienced the most wildly erotic and to be quite honest, sexually satisfying dream she had ever had. And damn, it had been good.

Alethea smiled to herself, remembering the dream. She normally wasn't one to have those kind of dreams, but if they were to continue, well then, she wasn't about to complain. After all, the things that gorgeous blonde guy could do with his mouth were positively sinful. Nope, she wouldn't complain at all.

"Hmmmm..."

She was so engrossed in reliving her dirty, little fantasy with the blonde hunk from her dream that Alethea didn't hear the phone ringing until halfway through her ringtone. By the time she had stumbled out of her bed and found her phone inside the back pocket of last night's jeans, Sir Mixalot was on the second verse of I Like Big Butts. Yes, that was her ringtone. No, she was not about to change it any time soon. And yes, it was mostly because of the scandalised looks people would give her when it went off in public. Those were priceless and Alethea loved every last one of them.

Alethea pressed the little green phone to answer the call and put the phone to her ear.

"Who's calling and why are you calling at such an ungodly hour?"

"It's 9 am, stop whinging," came the voice of her best friend, Natasha.

"It's a Saturday. I have the right to a lie-in."

"It's Tuesday."

"Ahhh shit," Alethea muttered, rubbing her hand over her face. "In that case I'm half an hour late for work."

"You're still stuck in the office then?"

"Office? Oh, you mean hell with florescent lighting. Yup, the doc doesn't clear me for another week."

Alethea quickly pulled on her work clothes. She paused halfway through as she caught her reflection in a mirror. The long scar down the middle of her chest was the reason for her being stuck behind a desk at the hospital instead of doing her normal job as a paramedic. Though Alethea thought the scar was ugly, it was a small price to pay for being alive.

"Why are you late anyway?... It's not like you to sleep in," Natasha questioned, clearly pausing halfway through to munch on something.

"I know. I was having a pretty good dream actually."

"What, that one where the cupcakes eat that scary clown from your childhood?"

"Ha, no not this time." Alethea didn't bother brushing a comb through her mess of thick, straw-coloured hair as it wouldn't make an ounce of difference to its appearance. "This was a sex dream."

Alethea smiled as she heard her best friend choking on the other end of the line. The coughing went on for several seconds, before it seemed that Natasha was able to locate something to drink.

"I want details. Now." Natasha finally demanded. "All the dirty, juicy, deprived little details."

Alethea snorted. "Pervert."

"Sue me. Who was the guy anyway? Or was it guysss?" Natasha teased and Alethea could practically hear her smirking down the phone.

"Guy. One. Singular," Alethea replied, musing over said person. "But what a guy."

"So who was it?!"

"Dunno, some hot figment of my imagination my subconscious dreamed up."

"You know, they say the people you see in your dreams are people you've actually seen in real life."

"Oh darling, if I had seen Fili in real life, I would remember."

"Fili?" Natasha questioned. "That's the name your subconscious came up with for Monsieur Sexy-Sex? I'm disappointed."

Alethea rolled her eyes. If her best friend had seen the mysterious and gorgeous Fili from her dream, she would have climbed him like a tree. And no straight woman would have blamed her either. Come to think of it, nor would any gay woman. Just 'cause they wouldn't personally want to jump his bones like Alethea had in her dream, didn't mean they wouldn't see what a fine specimen of 'Hot and Sexy' he was.

"Was it good though?"

Alethea paused before answering, smiling to herself. "Oh Nat, describing that dream as 'good' would be the understatement of the century."

Laughter boomed into Alethea's ear from her phone, before Natasha said, "I think your subconscious is telling you that you need to get laid."

"I just did. Multiple times," Alethea smirked.

Really, that dream had sky rocketed in her favourites category. It was now safely in the top three.

"Not in a dream, sweetie, in real life. It's been a while."

Alethea could see where this conversation was heading. She hadn't been with a man in well over a year due to the complications that had resulted with her poor health before her surgery and her recovery after it. However, she had been physically fit enough for a tumble in between the sheets for a couple of months now and much to Natasha's chagrin, didn't have any new dirty stories to swap with her over coffee. Recently her best friend had started to cotton on to why that was. The reason was 14 inches long and etched into her skin down the front of her chest so it hadn't been especially hard for her friend to guess. To be honest, Alethea was surprised Natasha hadn't guessed sooner.

"What are your plans for lunch?" Alethea asked, attempting to change the subject.

"Want to go to Lorenzo's cafe?" Natasha suggested.

"Why, do you think I'll see Fili there?" Alethea teased.

"If you do, I've got dibs because you've already had him."

"Multiple times."

"You said," was Natasha's dry response. "Oooh, got to go, a call's come in and I'm being assigned."

"Who are you partnered with this week?"

"New paramedic, fresh out of school."

"Oh that'll be fun for you."

"Don't. Look, I'll see you at Lorenzo's at 1 unless I'm called out. Bye!"

"Bye!"

Alethea threw her phone into her bag and continued to get ready for the day ahead. She had no doubt that over lunch Natasha would drag out more details about her erotic escapades in her dreamland. Even thinking about the dream caused Alethea to smile and she was fairly sure had she behaved like she had in her dream in real life, she would be tomato-red with embarrassment. Her alter ego dream self was quite the sexual being. And given the noises coming from Fili, said sexual being knew what she was doing. However this was real life and she didn't have to face a real-life Fili in the light of day or participate in the Walk Of Shame she knew people all over the city were currently doing at this very moment.

Heading out her front door, already trying to think up an excuse to give her boss for her tardiness, Alethea's thoughts drifted back to the dream.

"Well, if I have another dream like that tonight, I won't complain." And with that she locked her front door and headed out into the city of London.