Midnight Lover: The Stranger In My Dreams

I

“Aurora! There your mind goes again, flying around in dreamland!”

Aurora flinched when she felt Sharlene patting her arm. They were currently on lunch break and her best friend asked her to take their meals in the hotel’s restaurant because she told her that she was craving the taste of the hotel’s food. But if she had not known any better, Sharlene was just trying to catch the eye of their new chef. She glanced at the food that fell from her spoon to her plate. A Filipino dish named adobo with rice. She let out a relieved sigh. At least the sauce did not spatter on her white long-sleeved uniform. If ever, she would have pulled out every single strand of Sharlene’s hair, a payback for startling her. She rolled her eyes before digging into her food, which made her best friend laugh. “What, you stayed up late reading your steamy Lycan fiction pocket books again?”

She shook her head and chuckled. “No, I have my own ebooks on my phone. And besides, I have had no time to read these past few nights. I’ve been exhausted from hearing you rant over and over about your ex-boyfriend.”

It was Sharlene’s turn to roll her eyes. “You know what, Aurora? You should stop reading books about mouth-watering men who turn into handsome wolves and vampires who suck your blood during the full moon and start looking for a real man! At this rate, I won’t be surprised if you start hunting for demons just to fill your curiosity!”

Aurora threw a roll of table napkins and annoyingly glared at her. “Shut up. And besides, I knew that they really don’t exist in real life, so why would I go for drastic measures and seek the impossible? I’m just fascinated, like I always say. That’s all.”

Sharlene did not stop from teasing her. “Well, come to think of it, a mortal human can’t even reach your standards. It’s not surprising that you’re fantasizing about these fictional men that have huge and complete packages.”

She choked on her drink, making her pull her best friend’s hair. She emptied her glass before turning on her. “Gaga! I’m just being careful not to accept abusive men in my life! And besides, what’s wrong with fantasizing about my male leads? I never judged you for sleeping around, Sharlene Sanchez!”

She then jokingly shook her head. “Nerd.”

Aurora rolled her eyes as her gaze fixated on the new chef that came out of the kitchen. She could not deny that the man was attractive, however, it was not enough to interest her. She even winced when the guy winked at her and smiled. She just went back to her food as she saw Sharlene throwing the man a flirty grin. Her best friend immediately groaned in pain as she kicked her leg under the table, as if telling her to focus on the food and not on the chef.

Aurora knew that she was pretty. But she hid those attractive qualities underneath her thick glasses and cold demeanor. She also knew that her co-workers jokingly called her ice queen behind her back for rejecting even the most handsome guy that ever courted her. If not hurt by her indifference, they always give up on her because she was hard-to-get. Sharlene even teasingly told her once that courting her felt like they were finding the smallest needle in a barn full of haystacks. But for her, she was only guarding her heart.

“You know, you should try love once, Aurora,” Sharlene seriously said. “I mean, you’ve been obsessed with supernatural entities since we were in college. You even had posters of vampire male leads from every movie that you watched. Not to be unsupportive, but what if, while you’re looking for the perfect man, you’ve been passing up opportunities to be happy?”

She chuckled before wiping her lips. “It’s better to grow old and die as an old maid than to get your heart wrecked over and over again.”

Her best friend just shrugged and continued to eat. She knew that her intentions were good, though she knew and believed that she was not ready–and would never be ready–for love. She was afraid of hurting herself. Let alone meet someone like his douchebag of a father. She would prefer growing old alone than to live with a man who would only use her as his own personal blow-up doll and punching bag after. Like her poor mother.

When she stood up to bring the plates back to the kitchen, which she usually did, she was immediately met by the handsome face of the chef earlier. He wiped his hands with a clean towel before extending one to her. If she had guessed correctly, he was around six feet tall. Prominent Grecian nose, dimples on both sides of his cheeks. Aurora stared at his extended hand, puzzled. “Hi, I’m… Jasper. Jasper Sullivan. I’m the new chef who cooked the meal that you just ate…”

She timidly smiled. “It tasted good, well done.”

He scratched the back of his neck and took back his hand. “Well, aren’t you going to tell me your name?”

She dryly laughed before pointing at her nameplate. “Aurora Celeste dela Vega. Chief hotel supervisor.”

Despite her cold and dry introduction, Jasper seemed not to mind. Instead, a playful, teasing smirk painted his lips.He then c****d his head to the side before running a quick glance at her whole body. “Well, Ms. dela Vega, I’m afraid I have to go. Maybe we can grab lunch some other time?”

She did not answer him as she quickly turned and walked away to go back to her best friend who was busy on her phone. Aside from the fact that she was annoyed by his breezy personality, Aurora did not like the way he stared at her body as if grading her. When she glanced at her best friend, her stares were already teasing. “Why the hell are you grinning?”

Sharlene playfully nudged her and wiggled her eyebrows. “You know I always told you how beautiful you are, right? Look, you even caught the new chef’s attention!”

She grimaced before pulling her out of the hotel’s restaurant. “Sharlene Sanchez, for your information, I don’t have any time to flirt around like you. My work’s already eating all of my time and I won’t waste the remaining on letting someone into my panties.”

They were both working in a five-star hotel named La Vida. Sharlene was the chief concierge while she was the chief supervisor. Both of them were busy with their own duties and she frequently used her work as an excuse not to entertain love. Unlike Sharlene, who has a new toy boy every three days, as she always exaggerates, who would only use her poor best friend for money and s*x.

Sharlene frowned. “What a prude,” she teased once again, before going back to her station. She only nodded and went back to her own job. She still has a lot of things to do, after all.

Aurora did not notice how quickly the time passed. It was already past twelve in the morning when she arrived at her small, suburban home. She had to wait for the night supervisor that would replace her during the night. She was already too tired to cook a meal for herself. That was why she dropped by a local eatery to grab some dinner. Her home appliances were rarely used either. Even her casual clothes. She has already devoted her life to La Vida Hotel. After all, she has nothing else to do in her life, nobody to take care of since her mom passed away twelve years ago. She was all alone.

She sighed as she remembered that she had not finished reading the novel she was reading last night. Like what Sharlene said, she had been fascinated with Gothic Romance since she was a teenager. She could not think if it was the curiosity that drew her to reading, or the need to escape her then miserable life. But still, she was far from hunting creatures like in her books just to make them her lover.

She softly chuckled as she contemplated if she was going insane or not. She can still differ from reality and fantasy, anyway. Maybe she was just a prude, like Sharlene said. A prude who would prefer to use romance books as her way of experiencing the bittersweet taste of love.

She let out a deep breath before standing up and making her way towards her small kitchen. She grabbed the milk jug from the fridge and poured some on a glass before going back to her room. She made her way towards the small glass door leading to the balcony and stared at the bright, full moon. Her life was peaceful and calm. So peaceful that sometimes she felt as if it was being monotonous.

In the morning, after she woke up, she would eat her breakfast. Take a bath, go to work, come home. Would sleep and when she wakes up the next day, the cycle continues, even during weekends. Even during her birthdays or special occasions.

It was a routine already for her. Sometimes she would even dream of her work in La Vida Hotel. She never used any of her vacation leaves because she never went on vacations. She has nobody to go with, anyway. Her abusive, piece of sh*t father was already dead, and she did not know who her relatives were. After some time, she had just gotten used to being alone and doing things alone.

Whatever, she thought to herself. Moping around would not do her any good anyway. She has to work hard for herself. If she did not, she would only end up like her pathetic father. Besides, she has nobody else to turn to but herself.

She yawned and stretched her back before heading back inside to her room. She needed to rest. She turned off her phone and decided to continue reading her book tomorrow night before changing into her sleepwear.

She laid on her bed, wide awake. Thinking about what Sharlene said earlier, she could not deny that she was also fantasizing about the male leads in the books she had read. Every night, she lets her imagination run wild and…

Six foot two. Broad back and muscular–no, ripped–body. Cherry red lips and prominent nose. Eyes like golden flame, burning every inch of her as his gaze intensified. Raven black hair that she could hold on to while he–

Her cheeks turned red with the raunchy thought. But she did not stop her imagination. Until her body slowly fell asleep into deep slumber, nobody else in her mind but that imagined lover she only read from books.