Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

***ARCHIE***

A rchie opened his eyes and let out a groan when he saw himself surrounded by red brick walls, the familiar torch flickering on the wall. "I guess we're going to do this again," he said. "But I just want to warn you I'm not in the mood for a lesson tonight."

He got no response, not that he'd expected to, "At least this time I know that I'm dreaming," he said, not sure who he was talking to. "I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish, but it's not working."

A few seconds later, the wall began to shimmer just like it had before. A passageway soon appeared, and he could see a light coming toward him. This time, when Felicity stepped out, he could only stare at her for a second, the thoughts running through his mind far from clean. Reining in the images that rushed through his mind at the sight of her in a short nightgown, her breasts barely covered by the flimsy fabric, he tried to find his voice.

"Here we are again," he finally managed to croak. "We have to stop meeting this way."

"Ummm……and maybe with more clothes on," Felicity said , her eyes darting down his body and then back up. "Don't you have a robe or something?"

He looked down, only then realizing that he was dressed in his boxer shorts, "I'm afraid not," he said, grinning at her and spreading his arms open. "This is it, take it or leave it."

Felicity's face turned an appealing shade of pink, making her eyes look even bluer, "Archie, stop that," she said. "This is no time to be joking. What are we doing here again?"

Just then, there was a big clap of thunder, and the key ring appeared out of the ceiling and landed at his feet with a clatter. He bent over and picked them up, "I guess that answers your question," he said, then turned and watched the three doors appear. "I think we're supposed to choose one again."

"No way, the last time……was a bit much for me," she said, shaking her head. "You go without me; I'll wait right here."

He turned back to her, "Is this about that kiss?" he asked. "I won't do that again, I promise. Besides, aren't you just a little curious?"

"Why are you so anxious to get in there?" she asked. "You didn't like where we ended up last time."

"Yeah, but I got to kiss you when it was over," he said, the grin back on his face. "That took the sting away."

"You promised, Archie," she said, backing up a step. "I don't think I can trust you."

"I never break a promise," he said, looking her in the eye. If I promise not to kiss you unless you want me to, I won't go back on that promise. Now, come on."

He held his hand out to her, pleased at the way he turned the promise around, thinking he should have been a lawyer. Felicity looked at his hand suspiciously, then finally reached out and took it, "Remember, you promised," she said. "And stop looking at me like that, I never should have worn this to bed. "

"Sorry, sweetheart, it's hard not to look at you when you're dressed like that, but I'll do my best," he said, guiding her over to one of the doors they hadn't tried. "Let's try this one."

Felicity let out a huff but didn't step away while he selected a key and slipped it into the lock. It turned easily, and the door creaked open, revealing a black swirling mass again. "I really wish we could see what is on the other side," she said, taking his hand when he offered it to her again. "Are you sure you don't know what's going on?"

"Not a clue," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Are you ready?"

When Felicity nodded, he pulled her into the darkness, and for a second, he could see nothing; then his vision cleared, and he realized instantly where they were. He turned and looked over at Felicity, surprised to find her dressed in a beautiful silver formal dress that hugged her body in all the right places, her hair piled up on her head, and a pair of delicate sandals on her feet.

"Wow, you look incredible," he said, slightly breathless with the desire that was suddenly racing through him. "I might have to break that promise after all."

Desire blossomed in Felicity's eyes as she stared at him, "I might just let you. You look very handsome in that suit," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Where are we, Archie?"

He looked around, more confident this time, "We're in the ballroom at Nick's house. He and his wife give great parties, so this should be fun," he said. "I guess we're not just observing this time."

"Archie, I don't know, I don't belong with these people," she said, bringing her hand up to her cheek. "Maybe I really will sit this one out."

He reached over and pulled her hand down, "You look stunning," he said. "And besides, this is my dream. No one is going to stare or whisper behind your back. I won't allow it."

She looked up at him and then at the crowd milling around. "I guess it will be okay," she said. But don't leave me alone."

"Not for a second," he said. "Come on, I want to dance with you."

"Oh, Archie, I don't know if that's a good idea," Felicity said, trying to pull away from him. "I don't really dance anymore. Shouldn't we find out why we're here?"

"Come on, just one," he said. "Then we'll figure it out."

***Felicity***

Felicity was aware of the eyes following them as they crossed the room, heard the whispers that followed them, but didn't miss a step, determined to ignore it. It soon became clear that people were talking about them, not her, and she looked up at Archie to see if he'd noticed. There was a strained look on his face, but his smile was still in place, so she wasn't sure and didn't want to bring it up if he hadn't noticed.

She still wasn't sure what they were doing there or why she'd been sucked into Archie's dream again, but she sensed the only way out was to go through it. A second later, Archie pulled her into his arms, and she stopped worrying about what was happening as he swept her around the floor. The song ended much too soon, and he led her off the dance floor and over to a group of couples who watched them approach with fake smiles on their faces.

"Archie, what a nice surprise!" one of the men said. Vivian and I thought you were out of town on vacation, in the Bahamas, wasn't it? "

"Bermuda," Archie said. "My friend Max's place, but I'm back, and I brought someone with me. This is Felicity."

"Nice to meet you," the man said. "I'm Nick, and this is my wife, Vivian."

Felicity shook Nick's hand, then turned to Vivian, who was staring at her as if she'd just walked out of the sewer and smelled like it. "Nice to meet you," she finally said, fluttering her hand in the air in Felicity's general direction. "So nice you could join us."

"Thank you. You have a beautiful home," she said, not missing the woman's reaction to her. "You must be very proud of it."

"This old place, it's a pile of……well, you know, I much prefer our house in Palm Springs, but Nick has to earn a living," Vivian said, laughing. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I really must make the rounds."

Vivian disappeared into the crowd, "We really weren't expecting you, Archie," Nick said, looking around nervously. "You should have called before you came over."

"I would have, but that wasn't possible," Archie said. "Is there a problem?"

Nick leaned over to whisper in Archie's ear, but she could hear him. "You shouldn't have brought a date," he said. Susan is here, and you know that she's going to throw a fit. We talked about this, man. You can't come over here when she's around."

Before Archie could respond, a tall, dark-haired woman appeared out of the crowd. "Archie, what a surprise to see you here," the woman said. I thought you were on that little island resort your pathetic little friend from college opened, but here you are. And you're not alone. How amusing."

"Susan, don't start. We're divorced, remember?" Archie said. What I do is none of your business."

"Now that's where you're wrong," Susan hissed at him. " You belong to me, Archie. You're mine until I release you, divorced or not. I won't have you parading your charity case around my friends. It's humiliating, and I won't have it."

She gasped, shocked at not only the woman's words but the cruel look on her face, "That's enough, Susan, jealousy doesn't look good on you," Archie said. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have other people to talk to."

"Don't you dare walk away from me," Susan said. "Without me, you're nothing, Archie. The only reason any of these people even talk to you is because I told them to. None of them even like you, you're just a big joke to them, but I was trying to keep you happy. After all, we have to keep that income coming in. I have bills to pay. But you've pushed me too far; you're nothing but a sniveling butt kisser, you make me sick, and the only thing you're good for is filling my bank account. Get out of here, Archie, and take that……pathetic creature with you."

"Pathetic?" Archie asked, his voice hard with anger. "She's ten times the woman you are, Susan. When I kiss her, I don't feel like I have to wash my mouth out with soap, when I hold her in my arms, I know she wants to be there, and someday when I have her in my bed, she'll be the only one I'm thinking about."

Stunned, she could only stand, mouth hanging open, staring at the two of them, "Close your mouth, sweetheart," Susan sneered at her. "Didn't you think there would be some kind of a payment to get that horrible thing on your face fixed? Surely you didn't think my brilliant ex-husband would do it for free. Oh, dear, I guess you did. It's too bad for you. Archie doesn't do anything for free. I guess the secret is out. Speaking of secrets, has he told you the biggest one of all? No, I didn't think so, but then again, I'm not surprised. He doesn't tell just anyone the truth about himself."

Archie looked around, and he realized that a crowd had started to gather, "We're leaving," he said, grabbing her hand. "I won't stand here and let you insult Felicity or tell lies about me."

She started to let him pull her away, but she wasn't going away silently, and stopped him with a gentle tug. "I might have a scar on my face," she said, turning back to Susan. "But you're rotten on the inside, and no amount of surgery can fix that. I don't know what Archie ever saw in you, but I'm glad he was smart enough to get away from you."

"You dumb bitch," Susan said, lunging for her. "He still belongs to me. He's mine until the day one of us dies. I'll never remarry, and he'll never get out from under his alimony. I'm never going to let him."

"Well, then it's a good thing I'm not interested in his money," she said. I like Archie for who he is, not what he can give to me, but of course you wouldn't understand that. You're clearly a vain, spoiled child who only thinks about herself.

She looked over at Archie, who had a stunned look on his face, "Okay, I'm ready to leave now," she said, her voice still shaking with anger. "Get me out of here before I punch her in the nose."