Stars Dancing [Dreams-To-Lovers Romance]

RORY

"Blech," I muttered, eyes blinking open in the late afternoon light. I'd crashed for a few hours of desperately needed sleep, and I could hear laughter outside. But I needed a shower before anything else, so I headed to the bathroom.

We weren't aboard Mindy's yacht The Dream just then because we'd settled on shore for a few days in the most unbelievable lodgings I'd ever seen. It was a chalet built similarly to the hover yacht, covered in windows and full of warmth and picturesque vistas.

But I hadn't had much of a chance to enjoy it because I'd gotten slammed with work that couldn't be delayed. So, I'd hunkered down for thirteen straight hours while the others slept or took turns bringing me snacks and coffee. I'd finished the project then collapsed into bed, hoping that I'd be back in vacay mode once I woke.

And after I showered and brushed my teeth, I was, so I grabbed my pad, opening it to something fun I wanted to try and headed down the stairs. I slipped outside, Slydar pulling me close and pressing his lips to my temple. Mmmmm. He felt good, and I melted against him, but something smelled too appetizing to ignore.

"It's river trout Mindy caught today while you were sleepin,'" he explained, and I noticed there were pans over the firepit with fish and chopped veggies and potatoes.

"It smells amazing! Susette, Mindy, you're both outdoor cooks? This looks incredible!"

"Not me," Susette insisted as Mindy chuckled.

"Grew up as a river rat, so fishing and grilling are just part of life for me," Mindy explained. "Thought you'd all like to see how this side of life really works. We do it for tourists, sure, but it's also how families gather and relax."

We dished up plates full of deliciousness, and I went in for seconds it was so good.

"Wow, sands below, I think that may be my favorite meal yet. So, I've got something for us to try, who's game for a Blank Bits?"

Mouth full of chocolate chip cookie, Susette jumped up, waving, "Me! Me! Go, Rory, tell us! Call them out!"

Laughing, I opened my pad to the notoriously lewd fill-in-the-blank party game. A sort of group effort to write a hysterical story. I started barking out demands, and they jumped in with random words:

"Woman's name:"

"Maxi!"

"Small animal:"

"Mouse!"

"Man's name:"

"Ronald!"

"Another animal:"

"Duck!"

"Adjective:"

"Hot!"

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"An exclamation:"

"I'm so horny!"

"Adjective:"

"Feathery!"

"Color:"

"Black!"

"Adjective:"

"Soft!"

"Adjective:"

"Feathery!"

"Noun:"

"Towel!"

"Adjective:"

"Naked!"

"Past tense verb:"

"Fucked!"

"Book genre:"

"Rom Com Space Opera!"

I typed in everything they shouted at me, and the program automatically inserted it into a pre-written story. When I got to the end, I was laughing too hard to read it aloud, so Susette grabbed the pad from me. Of course she did, she was a troubadour after all, and a born entertainer. Flourishing the pad with raised arms, she started in:

"Dear friends, I now present the tale of a lifetime:"

"The Dreams of Maxi Mouse and Ronald Duck"

Maxi Mouse wound her way down the lonely dirt path, crossing the vast open prairie. In the distance, she could see trees, but they seemed awfully far off, and she was too hot with the sun glaring down on her. Suddenly, everything changed.

A shadow blocked the sun, and Maxi was no longer alone. Running as fast as she could, she headed for the trees, one thought on her mind:

"I'm so horny!"

Just as she reached the shade of the nearest tree, her toe caught a root. There was nothing for it, she careened forward. But she never hit the ground. No, a soft, feathery touch caught her up and placed her back on her feet. Looking up into wide, black eyes, Maxi's breath caught.

"Wwhaaat, whhaatt are you?" she wondered in the face of the duck.

"Your dreams come true," and soft lips met hers. She pulled back, unsure if she should keep going, but quite certain that she wanted to.

One eyebrow quirked, the handsome duck spoke softly, "I'm Ronald, and I couldn't stay away. When I saw you in that blue towel, I knew you were everything I've been dreaming of."

Maxi looked down, confused as to why she was in a forest wearing only a towel, but all at once, the towel disappeared.

"I seem to be naked, Ronald, what should I do?"

He grinned, "I can think of a few things."

And so, right there on the edge of the woods, they fucked. Unsatisfactorily, however, for Maxi awoke in her home, lying on the couch on a Sunday afternoon with her favorite Rom Com Space Opera lying discarded beside her thinking, "It was only a dream."

We collapsed into puddles of laughter, none of us able to breathe as Susette took a bow after her performance. I was about to ask if we should do a second one, but Slydar was already grinning and pulling a bottle outta the cooler.

"Taste test, babe. Every sparkly bevvie the Trautons make. We're gonna try 'em all and rank 'em."

"What, like beer and champagne?"

He cackled and Rhianne blurted out, "No, the sparkly girly drinks!"

My face screwed up. Apparently while I'd been working, they'd gotten their stupid on. Who wanted to drink those fruity bottles of nasty? Was this about fun and not about flavor? I grabbed my glass and took a sip of the first beverage Sly handed me. Then grimaced.

"Ew," I complained, and everyone nodded, laughing gleefully. "Two stars. Cherry sweetness I'll never drink again."

Mindy took down everyone's rating while Slydar cleaned the glasses and loaded another test.

The next one was worse. Susette caught a case of the giggles, and when she finally got her breath she wheezed, "Tastes like public bathroom."

Then we were all in stitches and couldn't drink anything for awhile. That bottle got poured into the dirt.

"Hey, that's not half bad," Rhianne said about the third one. "I'm saying four stars. Not too sweet and a little sour with that lemon. I'd actually drink this one, I think."

Slydar set the bottle aside in case we wanted to finish it later, and it turned out Slim's Lemon Sparkle was the only bevvie any of us thought was drinkable.

Blur Bright Day: 2 stars. "Orange-flavored cough syrup."

Pep: 1 star. "Lighter fluid with notes of berry and bad choices."

FlavRade: 0.5 stars. "Like three-day-old butt wipes after the baby ate bananas."

I was laughing too hard to question if Slydar had ever tasted such a thing, but it didn't matter 'cuz we finished off the Slim's Lemon Sparkle, put out the fire, and crashed into bed. But the night didn't go the way we'd hoped.