Inhale, Exhale - By Sarah M. Ross Page 0,1
I’ve never felt before.”
Trish balked in the backseat, placing her hands on her ample hips and rolling her baby blues at me. “Pfft! What, like soul mates? Those only exist in rom-coms and cheesy romance novels.”
I shook my head, closing my eyes to try to picture the face that hung just outside my memory. I wanted to capture the feelings of the dream once more—if only for a second.
“No, not soul mates. You know I don’t believe in those. It was more like we were completely compatible. Like he got me, and we clicked together. Pieces of a puzzle or something.”
“But you and Christian have that, sweetie. You guys are perfect together,” Ava reassured me.
“Yeah, you’re right. We are.” I smiled, trying to convince myself the stupid dream meant nothing. Christian and I were great together, everyone said so. Sure, there were a few things I would change about him if I could—things that worried me about our future—but all couples had that. After all, no one was perfect. “Like I said, it’s stupid. It didn’t mean anything.” I tried to keep my tone light, indifferent even, but I couldn’t shake the hint of longing that snuck in.
“So, was this dream guy at least a hottie?” Trish asked from the backseat, wagging her eyebrows at me.
Heat flushed my face, and I turned away to hide from Trish’s view. “Um, I don’t remember,” I lied. It was a partial lie. I didn’t remember what the guy in my dream looked like, but I remember how my body tightened when our eyes met—that intense heat flared to life within me and brought an almost unquenchable sense of longing as we moved closer together.
I wished I could go back to sleep right now and dream about him again. I tried falling back asleep after waking up with my heart racing, but it was impossible. The dream was just out of my reach when I closed my eyes, even when I tried to remember the quickly fading details. I feel like Tantalus, I thought.
“Girl, you can try to hide the blush all you want. We’ve been friends for too long for me not to see through that. Spill. And this time, I want all the juicy details. This must have been one hell of a dream to make you turn the shade of a ripe tomato.”
I continued to attempt to hide the evidence, but Trish would have none of it. She began poking me under the ribs—the spot she knew I was most ticklish. She knew I had no defenses against tickling. I squealed, bending over to try to protect the sensitive area, but she was unrelenting.
“Okay, okay!” I cried, tears streaming down my face. “I give up. Uncle! I’ll tell you, stop tickling me, please.”
Trish relented, resuming her seat in the back of the car and pumping her arms triumphantly.
“I already told you, I don’t remember any of the specific details. I only remember how being with him made me feel. It was like…” I paused, trying to find the right words. “I’d never wanted to be with someone so badly in my entire life.”
“Wow, it sounds intense. So now you think this dream is going to come true?” Ava made the turn into the mall entrance. It was packed, as usual for a Saturday, so we began the hunt for a spot to park.
“When I woke up this morning, I had this feeling it was more than a dream, like it was a metaphor or something. Like there was a message there.” I closed my eyes, trying once again to picture his face. Had I seen him somewhere before? Did that guy really exist? “It’s totally crazy, but it felt so real. If I hadn’t woken up next to Christian, I would have sworn it really happened.”
“Did you tell him anything about it?”
“God, no! How awkward would that conversation have been? ‘Um, hun, I know we’ve been together for a long time now, but I have the hots for an imaginary guy I dreamt about.’” I rolled my eyes. “I can see that going over real well.”
Trish snorted. Ava and I both laughed at our crazy friend as Ava finally found and pulled into a spot and we filed out of the car. The three of us had been friends for as long as I could remember. Ava’s grandma lived on the same street as Trish and me, and she was the only one in the neighborhood with a pool. With the