The world around me wasn't school anymore. No crowded classroom. No chalk dust. No Mia's laughter echoing behind my ears.
It was… bright. Soft. A park maybe? A garden? I didn't even care. Because
She was there.
Aimee.
Her cheeks flushed pink, her lashes fluttering down shyly. She looked up at me and giggled in that sweet, nervous way she always did. My heart? Gone. Melted. Crumbled like burnt toast.
"Kael," she whispered, stepping closer. "Walk with me?"
Oh. My. GOD.
I didn't even answer. My legs moved themselves. We strolled together, laughing at nothing. The air was warm, her perfume sweeter than anything I'd ever breathed.
Then she paused. Turned to me.
Her hand lifted slowly, hesitating… before stretching toward mine.
My whole body jolted.
Sweat exploded across my forehead.
This is it. This is the moment.
I reached out, every nerve in me screaming. Our hands touched. Fingers laced.
BOOM. A firework went off in my chest.
"HAAA—HAHAHAHA! I DID IT! OH-HO-HO-HO!"
I actually shouted. In the dream. In reality too, probably. Who knows? I didn't care.
I twirled around, holding her hand in victory like I'd just scored the winning goal in life itself.
"Oh my God," I gasped, laughing until my ribs hurt. "Oh-ho-ho-ho! I finally made a dream come true! HA! Who said Kael can't do it, huh? Look at me now!"
Aimee just blinked at me, her shy blush deepening into a crimson flush. But then she giggled. And that giggle fueled me like rocket fuel.
In my heart, I swore:
This isn't just a dream. This is fate. This is love. This is… legendary.
In the dream Aimee was closer than ever. Her smile? Heavenly. Her eyes? Shy and soft.
She leaned in, cheeks glowing. My heart thumped like a thousand drums. And then without even thinking my hands just… moved.
Warm.
Soft.
Perfect.
I gasped inside my dream.
Am I really—? Oh-ho-ho-ho, I'm touching Aimee's !
Her breath hitched. Her lips parted. She whispered, "Kael…" shy, almost trembling.
I laughed like a maniac. "YES! YESSS! DREAMS DO COME TRUE!"
But…
In the real world, I wasn't holding Aimee.
I was still slumped on the desk, dead asleep. And in front of me Mia had returned with the files. She'd leaned close, smirking as she listened to me muttering like a fool.
That's when my hands moved.
Not in the dream oh no, in reality.
Right onto Mia.
Squish.
Both palms full. Heavy. Soft. Alive.
Her eyes went wide.
Her breath caught.
Her face flared scarlet.
Meanwhile, still dreaming, I yelled:
"OH AIMEE, YOU'RE SO SOFT IS THIS WHAT HEAVEN FEELS LIKE?!"
Mia's mouth dropped. Then
PFFT! She burst out laughing, slapping a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound but failing miserably.
She whispered through giggles, "Kael… y-you… oh my God, you're grabbing me in your sleep?! You pervert!"
But she didn't even move away. Instead, she tilted her head, cheeks red, eyes sparkling with mischief, watching him squeeze her like a baby clutching his favorite pillow.
Kael, still locked in dreamland, whispered:
"Don't… don't let go, Aimee. Please. This… this is… love…"
Mia's face turned crimson, her giggles softening into a strange silence. She bit her lip. Her breath grew heavier as she whispered so close he could almost hear it in his sleep:
"You idiot… it's not Aimee."
In my dream, Aimee leaned into me, soft, shy, perfect. I couldn't hold back. My hands squeezed tighter pressing, squishing like I never wanted to let go.
"Ohhh… so soft… I could live here forever," I muttered, half-laughing in my sleep.
In reality Mia's body jolted. Her face turned scarlet, her breath caught. She glanced around the empty room, whispering through clenched teeth:
"H-He's… he's pressing so hard ! What the hell is wrong with this idiot ?! And why does it feel…"
But Kael didn't stop.
He adjusted his grip, pressing deeper, shifting as if molding them into his palms. His head tilted, nuzzling forward like a sleepy child searching for a pillow only this "pillow" wasn't stuffed with cotton.
He rubbed beneath, over the tops, his thumbs brushing dangerously close to her peaks.
And then… he found the center.
Dreaming, Kael laughed softly:
"Aimee… your heart's beating so fast. Do you… do you want this too?"
His fingers teased, circling, playing as if he knew every secret spot.
Mia's body tensed, her lips parting, her laugh breaking into a shaky gasp.
"Y-You… you're insane… you're… oh my God, Kael…" she whispered, her voice trembling between outrage and something else she didn't want to admit.
Then Kael leaned closer mouth parting. Still dreaming. Still believing.
"Aimee…" he whispered, breath warm, lips puckering clumsily. "I'll… I'll kiss you right here…"
His head lowered, slowly, closer to the very place his hands were worshiping.
Mia's eyes went wide, heat rushing up her face, down her body.
She slapped both hands over her mouth to keep from squealing.
This fool—!
He's about to he's really about to !
And yet… she didn't move.
She stayed. Watching. Breathing. Waiting.
Her eyes glazed between shock, laughter, and a dizzy blush. A tiny smirk curved her lips as she whispered under her breath:
"You stupid, stupid dreamer… It's not Aimee… it's me."
And just as Kael's lips barely brushed against her…
Aimee's lips were so close, so soft Kael's heart pounded as if fireworks lit his chest. He leaned in, trembling, and finally kissed her.
"Mmm… Aimee…" he breathed, lips pressing gently, then harder, tasting warmth he thought could only exist in fantasy.
But in reality it wasn't Aimee's lips he kissed. It was Mia's.
Her whole body froze at first, then melted under the sudden romance of it, her cheeks flushing crimson, breath hitching as his hands still squeezed her breasts firmly, rhythmically, like he was sculpting her.
"Wh-What the hell, Kael… you… you idiot…" she whispered under her breath, yet her lips answered his kiss without resistance, softening, parting just enough.
Kael deepened the kiss, tongue teasing out, stripping slowly along the line of Aimee's imagined neck. In the dream, she moaned. In reality Mia did.
Her body betrayed her.
"Mmmh ahh… K-Kael…" she whimpered softly, pressing closer.
Still dreaming, Kael slid down, parting his mouth to lick around the "Aimee" in his mind, circling, playing, savoring the taste of her skin.
But in real life, his tongue traced Mia's chest. His lips brushed her curves. His mouth kissed closer, lower.
Mia bit her lip, face blazing red. She let out a small laugh through her moan, dizzy, torn between finding it absurd and feeling something she couldn't suppress.
"Y-you're… you're really going to do this… in your sleep?" she whispered shakily.
Her hands, almost unconsciously, began to move. She tugged at her blouse slowly, nervously, but surely. The buttons slipped, one by one, until her top opened wide, sliding down her shoulders.
Now Kael's greedy, dream-driven hands were no longer squishing over fabric he was kneading bare flesh, warm and raw beneath his palms.
Mia's breath hitched, her moans growing softer, wetter.
"Aahh… Kael… s-stop—no… don't stop "
Kael, still trapped in dreamland, whispered with a smile:
"Aimee… you're perfect… so perfect."
And then his lips found the tip of her nipple.
He kissed it. Slowly. Tender. Then let his tongue flick, licking around, teasing.
Mia's entire body arched, her back curving, her face redder than fire.
She gasped out, both hands clamping over her mouth to stifle the moan that almost screamed free.
Her thighs rubbed together, her eyes glassy as she panted.
"Oh God… oh my God… this fool's gonna kill me " she muttered, laughing breathlessly.
Kael's mouth lingered, sucking gently, tasting, savoring.
And at that exact moment his eyes opened.
Reality crashed in.
He froze, lips still pressed at her tip, hand clutching her bare breast.
She froze too blouse wide open, her nipple glistening where he'd licked.
Their eyes locked.
Hers wide, cheeks crimson, chest heaving.
His terrified, shocked, as if he'd just awakened in hell disguised as heaven.
The air was molten. Neither moved.
Mia's lips curled slowly into a dangerous, breathless smile.
"…You weren't dreaming, Kael," she whispered.