Dreaming of You (19 page)

Just as I turned to look at her, I saw him climbing into a cab. I took her by the arm and headed toward the front where people were waiting for cabs.

“Aden, please stop. I’m a smoker, I’m going to have a heart attack.”

“You’re fine.” I dragged her with me as his cab pulled away. “You can rest in the car.”

I jumped down off the curb and onto the pavement, running up as an attendant opened the next cab door for a woman and her child. Yanking on Finn’s arm, I hopped in front of the woman as she began to step down off the curb. I began shoving Finn into the cab as she pushed me back, becoming close to the point where she was no longer going to take any more shit from me.

“Sorry, this is an emergency.”

“You can’t do that!” the attendant demanded.

“Fuck off!” I screamed, sliding into the seat next to Finn. The woman on the curb gasped and placed her hands over her daughter’s ears. “Sorry, lady.” I slammed the door shut. I looked at the driver. “There’s a one-hundred-dollar tip if you catch that cab that just pulled out.”

The cabdriver squealed his tires as he pulled away from the curb, cutting off another car.

I settled back into the seat. “The number of the other cab was five-one-nine.”

“Aden.” Finn snatched up my arm, forcing me to face her. “What is happening?”

“I saw him.” I glanced down as she rubbed her wrist with her other hand. “God, did I do that?”

“Um, yeah.” She reached over, pinched the hell out of my arm. “Who the fuck did you see?”

“Ouch, damn it!” I frowned, rubbing my arm. I glanced forward to see if the other cab was anywhere in sight. “The man from my dreams. When we were hugging, I looked up and there he was, walking along like any other human being.”

Finn was looking at me, trying to gauge the exact level of my insanity. “He was just walking along in the airport? There was no one around him or walking with him?”

“Right.” I sat up in the backseat, looking out the front window.

“Are you sure he was real and not just some type of hallucination? I mean, there have been times when you thought you’d seen him in the past only to find out when you got closer that it wasn’t him.”

“Finn, it was him.” I locked eyes with her in an attempt to convince her of my seriousness. “I’m sure of it. There’s not one ounce of my being that does not believe with all certainty that it was him.” I turned back around to look for the cab again.

“There it is!” the cabdriver and I screamed at the same time, as I pointed to the right.

Finn shimmied up in the seat next to me, squinting to see if she could get a glimpse of him. “So you saw him get into that cab?”

I could tell her interest was finally piqued by the possibility that maybe I might be right.

“Yes,” was all I could utter.

“They’re pulling off!” Finn and I yelled at the same time.

“I see it, I see it,” the cabdriver declared, turning sharply, throwing Finn and me into the door of the cab.

“Alive, damn it!” she screamed. “It would be fucking great to get there alive!”

I looked at Finn, who had her eyes peeled for Dream Man’s cab. I smiled, realizing it was becoming a little game to her. Suddenly, the expression on her face changed as she slowly turned her attention to me.

She sat back into the seat, pulling me with her. “Aden, what are we doing? You’re supposed to be on a plane on your way to California, to spend the rest of your life with the man you’re supposed to be in love with.”

Guilt swept over me. “One has nothing to do with the other.” I pushed those feelings to the back of my brain.

“How can you say that?” she asked.

“Look, Finn”—I turned to face her—“I’ve been dreaming about this man for…well, forever. Are you really going to sit there and tell me that I shouldn’t be doing this?”

“I just want to make sure you realize what it is you’re doing here.”

“I do! Realize, that is.”

Dream Man’s cab turned off the road into the Alcott Hotel and stopped under the awning as we pulled up behind them. We watched his silhouette as he paid the cabdriver. My breathing stopped as his cab door swung open. I felt like I might faint. Finn snatched up my hand when his leg swung out of the door. He lifted himself the rest of the way out of the cab and bent backward, stretching. He was wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, and a suede tobacco-colored jacket. He looked exactly as if he walked right out of my dream, the well-defined jawline like a young Gregory Peck’s.

I stared at him closer, thinking that maybe his hair was darker in real life. The trunk of the cab popped open and he walked around to the back, lugging the strap of his carry-on over his shoulder. He took another suitcase and a hanging bag out of the trunk and placed them on the curb as an attendant from the hotel rolled out one of those hanger carts.

Finn noticed me squinting as I assessed the object of my dissection. “Are you sure it’s him?”

I was chewing my lip as I faced her. “It could…be his twin.”

“Could be his twin or is his twin?”

I looked back out the window, then felt a little flutter in my chest. “It’s him.”

“He’s gorgeous,” Finn said.

“I know.”

“I’d fuck him,” the cabdriver added.

Ew, I thought. How dare he defecate all over my dream man like that. I pulled a one-hundred-dollar bill and a couple of twenties out of my carry-on and tossed them over the front seat.

“Thanks.” I began shoving Finn as she opened the car door.

We climbed out of the cab as the driver yelled, “Thank you, sexy. If it don’t work out with him, you give me a call. The name’s Tony, Tony the Tiger.”

I shut the cab door and looked at Finn, shaking my head in disgust.

“Excuse me, but exactly when did the entire free world become gay?” she asked. “Oh my God, Aden, did you even think about that? What if he isn’t gay?”

“Please, men that gorgeous are always gay.”

“That’s not true…but it feels true.” Finn shook her head as we walked toward the doors of the hotel. “One of these days your stereotyping is going to get you into trouble.”

As we entered the hotel, we spotted him at the front desk checking in. Finn started to walk toward him, and I grabbed her arm, pulling her back. I led us over behind a huge potted plant and peered around it, watching him from a distance.

The lobby was enormous with huge columns, which, like the tiled floor, were made from a creamy marble. Staff buffed the crystals of enormous chandeliers dangling from the ceilings as other employees bustled about. The entire room was buzzing with energy as voices seemed to echo back and forth. I listened intently as elevator doors opened and closed, high-heeled shoes clicked across the highly polished floor, and luggage carts zipped across the room. People were scattered about, rustling newspapers, yelling at their children, and passing in and out of the front doors.

“What are we doing?” Finn asked. “This is ridiculous. People are staring at us.”

I tried to look more nonchalant about my stalking by pretending to be having a conversation with Finn by fake laughing and moving my lips.

“You look like an idiot,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Aden, if you don’t stop that this instant, I’m going to leave you here.” She glanced over at an older couple who were now watching us with a look of concern. “What are you looking at?” she asked with a snide expression. “Mind your own damn business.”

The couple quickly averted their eyes, and I laughed. “You can’t leave me here, because your car’s at the airport.” I peered back around the palm.

“Guess you were wrong about the dream, huh?” she said, looking at me. “Looks like he wasn’t letting you go after all.”

“Shit, I hope he isn’t still mad.”

Finn rolled her eyes and shook her head. “It was a dream, idiot. You really are fucked in the head, you know.”

“Right, you’re right.” I nodded as if to remind myself. “Christ, this is weird.”

“There he goes.” Finn pointed.

As he made his way toward the elevators, I quickly ran up to the front desk, jumping in front of two other women so I could have the same receptionist that he checked in with.

She gave me an odd look as I smiled a little too widely. I could hear Finn apologizing to the women behind us for my rude behavior.

“This is going to sound really strange, but I don’t suppose you could give me a room next to the gentleman that just checked in a moment before?” I smiled sweetly, desperately not wanting to sound creepy.

She looked at me, opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, she said, “I’m sorry, what?”

“Okay.” I rested my elbows on the counter and placed my head in my hands for a moment. I folded my arms and scooted in a little closer to the girl. “I swear to you that I’m not some sicko that’s stalking his next murder victim.” I turned and shot Finn a nasty look when I heard her snickering behind me. “I just need to meet that man. That’s all. I just want to meet him, maybe talk to him a little bit. I’m supposed to be on a plane to California right now…long story,” I added, wishing Logan hadn’t just popped into my head. “God, this is hard.”

Finn shoved me aside. “Look, he has been dreaming about that man since he was sixteen.”

“Fourteen,” I said.

“Whatever.” She shot me a nasty look before turning her attention back to the receptionist. “He was on his way to California to get married to another guy, when he saw the dream dude in the airport. So here we are. All he wants is to stay the night and see if we can’t accidentally on purpose bump into him so my friend here can meet him. Period, end of story.” She brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “So what do you say, is there a room next to his that’s open? We aren’t asking you to tell us his name or any other private information about him.”

The girl looked at my pathetic, pleading eyes. She turned toward the guy working behind the desk with her. He gave her a smile. “How would you like to pay?”

I dug through my carry-on bag and fished out a credit card. I handed it to the girl and spun around to the two women standing behind us and apologized again.

“I understand, sweetie,” the lady wearing a pink suit said with a wink. “My nephew’s gay. Good luck.”

I grinned a little despite wondering what her nephew must be like, considering she didn’t seem to find what I was doing very odd. The receptionist handed me back my card and slid two card keys across the counter. “The room you initially inquired about is across the hall from this one. I’m sorry it wasn’t available, but I’m sure you’ll find this room to be suitable.”

I pulled myself up onto the counter and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which startled her. “Thank you so much,” I said as Finn yanked on my arm, dragging me away from the desk. “Really, I appreciate your help.”

“Well, let’s go set up camp,” she said.

We began to make our way toward the elevators, and as one of the doors opened, I saw Logan starting to walk out of it. I stopped in my tracks, closed my eyes, and shook my head. When I reopened them, I realized it wasn’t Logan.

“Wait a minute.” I pulled my overnight bag off my shoulder. “Can we just go over here and sit down for a minute?”

“Sure.”

We went over to a pair of wingback chairs and flopped down. Finn rummaged through her purse and retrieved a pack of Marlboro Lights and a lighter. She slipped one out and lit it, inhaling deeply.

“Can I have one of those?”

“Are you sure?” she asked, with a worried expression. “You never smoke.”

“Finn, please.” I held out my hand, pondering the very real possibility that I may indeed be losing my mental capacities. She gave me the pack and the lighter. I slid one out, lit it, and inhaled, only to cough horribly. I shoved the lighter into the box of smokes and handed it back to her. I took another drag, not coughing as much.

As I sat there smoking, the realization of what I was doing started to sink in. Guilt swept over me, and I couldn’t imagine how many karma points I’d racked up in the “mean or bad things I do” category. I took another puff off the cigarette and flicked the ashes into the ashtray sitting on the table between us. Rationalizing, I knew that at this point I hadn’t actually done anything to betray Logan, at least nothing serious. I could turn back now and chalk it up to the shock of seeing Dream Man. However, if I got up and walked into that elevator and went up to that room, the line would start to get a little fuzzy.