Chapter 1 - Nick
I open the door and feel the warmth on my skin, burning away the fog of sleep and making me feel alive.
After a lifetime of living in a cold and drizzly town in the UK, the heat on my face seems like a dream come true. It fills me with hope, hope that what I’m doing is right.
Either I’m making the best choices that I have ever made, or I’m throwing away a lifetime of hard work to bet on a dream.
Two months ago, I was offered a job in the United States by an old colleague, Max.
I had been unhappy at work for a while and this opportunity seemed like the perfect way to get out of the rut I was stuck in and make a fresh start.
But I had a much more personal reason for wanting to go to the US. I needed to be nearer to Noelle.
It started at Christmas. I had a weird dream about having sex in a winter cabin with my perfect dream girl. It seemed like my mind was trying to give me something nice to enjoy. Nothing but a fantasy I had while nodding off, sitting in my hallway.
But then it happened again, and again. As each holiday rolled around, Noelle and I would meet in a holiday-themed fantasy land and have the most amazing sex, trying kinks we might never have considered in normal life, but somehow we felt free to indulge in together.
From the start, I had a feeling that it might somehow be real.
Whenever I woke up again after, I would always have her panties.
That physical evidence showed me that maybe, just maybe, Noelle was real and somewhere out there.
During our encounters, I found out that if one of us stopped believing in the meetings, then they would stop, even with the possibility of one of us being trapped there.
So I was determined that wouldn’t happen, taking steps to make sure that she understood that what we had was real.
At Easter, during sex, I pushed a vibrating egg toy into her. Partially to see the look of joy she gave me, but also so that when she woke up back wherever it was she came from, the toy would still be in her. And she would know that this whole crazy holiday thing was real.
Stepping out into the sunlight, I slipped my shades on and headed along the side of the house.
I had only been in the US for a week and as yet had not found accommodation, so was staying in Max’s guest house.
Max has done really well for himself and he and his family live in what seems like a mansion to me, but then, American houses are huge compared to the UK, so maybe it’s normal size?
Either way, they had plenty of room to put me up while I settled in.
I am here on a six-month work visa while we try to sort out the long term. So that gives me six months of trying to find Noelle. That is, if she is even here in the US. Just cause she has an American accent I assumed she was here, but maybe she lived a street away from me in the UK?
It was too late to worry, and I had done enough worrying over the last two months, anyway. Two months without seeing her, without kissing her or hearing her moan as I bent her over and used her. Just thinking about her was making me hard.
But now was not the time for that. I had things to do. Maybe not something I was looking forward to, but something I had agreed to.
Today was the Fourth of July, and Max was having a barbecue.
Because I assume that’s what you do here.
And Max wanted me to meet his friends, his work colleagues, and some potential clients, wanted me to win them over with my charm, knowledge, and accent.
When I pointed out that maybe an English guy trying to win them over on the Fourth of July might not go down too well, he just laughed and slapped me on the back, telling me I could charm the birds down from the trees.
If he had any idea about my love life over the last few years, maybe he would have taken that back.
I had tried to put off attending as long as I could, sleeping late and saying that it was my jet lag catching up with me, but the real reason was I hoped that a portal would open up and take me to Noelle.
I stop at the end of the house and take a deep breath, steadying myself. I can get through this. An hour, maybe two, then I could go back to my room and wait to be whisked away.
And maybe this would be good for me? When was the last time I really went and socialized? Talking to new people was going to be part of my new start, so I might as well start now.
Just then, I feel something tugging at my jeans, and I turn round. Standing there is a little yellow star with a face on it, like something from a cartoon. His little black arms and legs bounce and move all the time, and the little guy looks up at me with a grin.
“Hi Nick, I’m Sparky… I’m here to…”
Before he can finish, I kneel next to him.
“Are you here to take me to Noelle?”
He looks a little put out that I interrupted him in the middle of his speech, but he nods and points back the way I came. The side of the wall has now got a big black hole in it, a portal that sparks and tiny cartoon fireworks are spilling out of.
“Like I said… I’m Sparky…”
My heart is thumping in my chest and as cute as the little star is, I just want to get to Noelle, so I stand up, jump over him, and race over to the portal.
In the distance I can hear a voice calling me: Max wanting me to come to the barbecue.
In the wind, I can almost smell Noelle’s perfume, no doubt blowing from the weird fantasy land I’m about to go into.
“Come on Sparky, no hanging about,” I say, and step inside.