Chapter Text
“You say, one love, one life
When it’s one need in the night
One love, we get to share it
Leaves you baby if you don’t care for it”
Tim Bradford stirred in his sleep in the early morning hours. His breath was steadily becoming more ragged as he tossed in his sheets, sweat starting to drip as his chest heaved up and down. He’d gone to bed at his usual time, after his usual dinner, and his usual workout session, unfortunately following this with another usual dream; or at least one he’d been having consistently for the past six months. Most of the time he didn’t realize it was a dream, the feelings so strong he could swear it was happening again.
He could feel her hips rolling against his fingertips as she writhed beneath him, stark naked in the huge hotel bed. Her nails dug into his back as he sucked on her neck, desperate for more contact between their bodies. His lips felt the vibration in her throat when she moaned, a sound he found motivational, encouraging him to thrust into her deeper and deeper. Her legs wrapped around him in a vice grip that forced him impossibly closer until he could feel her body building to a climax. Just as he pulled his mouth away from her neck to watch her bite down on her lower lip, he jerked awake in a sudden motion that almost threw him from his own bed.
Tim looked around his room, alarmed, only to find that he was alone and extremely hot. He took a few deep breaths and scolded himself for having no control over his dreams or the way his body reacted to them. Granted that night was the only sexual encounter he’d had in over a year, he told himself he needed to get over it. He didn’t even dream about Isabel like that anymore. No, the dreams he had starring Isabel were plagued with visions of her shooting up or lying dead in a ditch somewhere. This girl had invaded not only his sleep, but his mind. He had no qualms about calling her a girl because of the naivety that radiated off her in waves. She had a quick wit, but gentleness about her that resonated deep within him.
Those parts came in flashes. The shy smile she gave him as she tucked her hair behind her ear and told him her name was Rachel. He could tell she was lying, but didn’t give a damn. It had been almost seven months since Isabel had disappeared on him, and probably a year since he’d cracked a genuine smile. If this girl wanted to pretend to be someone else for a night, who was he to judge? He’d been pretending for much longer than that. So he nodded and told her his name was Tim, inviting her to sit on the stool beside him.
He couldn’t remember everything they talked about, only that for the first time in a long time he laughed deep from his core. The whiskey played its part, but it helped that she didn’t look at him and know that his wife had chosen drugs over him. She didn’t feel sorry for him or give him the pitiful looks he got at the station. Instead her eyes were filled with wonder, she was optimistic and hopeful; a sharp contrast to his own state of mind. She didn’t ask about his past or even his job, just kept the conversation light and playful until the clock ticked past midnight. Still, she managed to lower his guard.
“Oh I love this song,” She said softly, and he tried to listen to the song playing. He was too focused on the dazzling effect her smile had on him. “Let’s dance!” She shot out of her seat and pulled on his arm.
“What?” He tried to keep his cool. “No, oh, no no. I don’t dance.” He’d told countless people that in his life, but never received such a look of disappointment before. Her eyes gleamed and her lips slipped into the cutest pout that shouldn’t have tugged at him like it did.
“Please?” She asked again, with just the right amount of sweetness in her tone. “Please say yes?” Her hand was already in his when he caved with a single sigh. “Thank you, thank you!” Her joy could have been amplified by the empty glass in front of her, but it didn’t matter to him. He let her pull him off his stool and towards the empty dance floor where she wrapped her arms around his waist without a second thought. The way she held him with such ease and trust was foreign to him, but he tried to relax into her touch and reciprocate her embrace. She hummed along to the song he now recognized as they swayed back and forth, and he found himself closing his eyes to savor her warmth.
“ But in your dreams whatever they be…” She sang out loud in a velvety timbre, not embarrassed in the slightest that he was watching her. “Dream a little dream of me.”
She surprised him when she leaned up to kiss him, so determined at first before pulling back with wide eyes and shaking her head, as if it was the craziest thing she’d ever done. Maybe it was, but once he got a taste he needed more. He’d used both hands to pull her lips back to his, kissing her hard with an unapologetic fierceness he hadn’t felt in too long. Before long, he felt a cold, plastic card slide into his hand, and looked down to see she’d handed him a key card to a room at the hotel of the bar they were just drinking in. Looking back into her eyes, he saw no hesitation so he didn’t hold back as he kissed her again and led her towards the elevators.
Still reeling from his dream, Tim sat up in his bed and recalled the nervous giggle she let out as she slid her dress off her body. He had felt his eyes go wide when he saw that she had worn nothing underneath it. As magnificent as her body was, Tim smiled to himself at the memory of her laughter throughout the night. Her soft smile had been a bright light in the darkness of his life at the time. When the morning came, he knew he had to leave before he could ruin things. Before his life’s shadow threatened to dim her light.
Just like he did that morning, he shook his head free from thoughts of her and moved on. The clock on his nightstand told him he was over two hours ahead of schedule, but he got up anyway to take a cold shower and start his day. He figured things would only go up after the unwanted dream because today would be the start of his favorite pastime: terrorizing rookies. In just a few short hours he’d meet the poor sap who got lucky enough to get him as a training officer. He could not wait.