Is it a dream?

He crumpled, burned and tore the ticket.

But to no avail, the ticket remained unscathed, as if it was made into a material resistant to all elements. The only thing left now was to dispose of it!

All-day, he'd been absent-mindedly thinking how to get rid of it, when it really was quite simple. Why not just throw it away? His day which was supposed to be spent doing fun things with Riley ended in such a low note. He was too distracted to focus on anything other than the mystery of the app and the ticket.

Once Riley left, with a determined heart, he threw it away in the dumpster behind his apartment.

Finally, he could breathe in relief. It didn't take him long to fell asleep after a stressful day.

*~*~*

When the clock struck midnight, the fluttering curtain froze in mid-air. Everything was still, there was not even a breeze at work at that time. The bedroom door was slowly dyed a striking red. It was when Julien stirred into consciousness. He blinked sleepily, wondering what it was that woke him. He sat up in bed and looked around the darkened room, but without his glasses, he could hardly see.

The door creaked and moaned as it slowly opened. Surprised with the sudden sound, Julien fumbled to wear his glasses and saw fog creep inside his room from the slightly ajar door.

"What in the world?" He breathed shakily. Was it fire? He sniffed the air and smelt not smoke but something extremely sweet but tangy like wine.

"Am I dreaming?" Julien pinched himself and hissed in pain. He was not dreaming then what was happening? He caught sight of the frozen window curtain and hurried to peer outside. In the opposite street, a drunkard has been frozen in time waving about a bottle of beer and papers and cardboards hung suspended in the air.

What is happening?

Julien shivered in fear. Is this really not a dream?

He padded softly towards the door and peered at the gap stealthily.

What he saw made him catch his breath. In place of his living room were vast darkness and crawling fog. Julien shivered once the fog caressed his skin. It was extremely cold. He was also aware that the floor covered with fog almost felt like ice.

But aside from that, his attention was rapt in a wide king-sized bed in the middle of the darkness, draped in velvet red sheets and surrounded with dancing blue fire. It was not the bed that made him caught his breath, it was the man in it.

Blindfolded and tied into the headboard was a man who frequently haunted his dream and waking moment. It was Knox!

Julien finally thought of the reward he won from the Erotic roulette! The Erotic dream ticket? Didn't it say something about a realistic dream experience? But didn't he already threw it away? Or is this just a figment of his wild imagination?

He closed his eyes tightly and pinched his cheeks. "Wake up Julien! wake up!"

He counted to ten but when he opened his eyes, he was still there!

He paced across the door, nibbling at his lower lip. How do you get out of this dream? Will it not end just because I wanted it to? Do I need to achieve a predetermined outcome before I could leave?

Then, that predetermined outcome is....

He gazed at the blindfolded Knox who hasn't moved an inch.

Isn't if fine?

It might be realistic but it was a dream isn't it?

Before he knew it, he's already beside the bed, his heart racing in his chest as he took in Knox's handsome face, the set of his jaw, the bronze chest peeking from the three buttons undone.

He held his breath as Knox moved his head towards his direction.

Even with the blindfold, he could feel his cold stare soaked to his skin.

Knox's red lips parted as he spoke, "Untie me."

'How realistic.' That was Julien's passing thought when he heard Knox's words.

Fear and excitement grew and tangled like vines in Julien's heart. Even though the words were said coldly, Knox's deep and sensual voice kindled the fire of desire that made his body felt feverish. The heat seemed to course along his veins and made his breath quickened.

I want him.

The thought invaded his mind, breaking free from the restraints he chained it with.

I want him.

The bed dipped as he sat down. His heart was beating rapidly he could hear it pounding in his ears. Holding his breath, Julien gingerly touched Knox's hand. Tiny sparks traveled up his arms at the mere contact.

The other man didn't say a word but he could feel his gaze on him. With his heart on his throat, Julien leaned closer, his hand traveled up Knox's arm feeling the strength and firmness of his muscles underneath the white sleeves.

The smell of musk and something entirely unique that could only come from Knox made him light-headed. His blue eyes were pinned on the other man's red lips, like an apple begging for him to take a bite. His adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed down his desire.

Before he knew it, he had straddled Knox. With this proximity, the bulge in his pajamas was pressed against Knox's belly and the sight almost took Julien's breath away. He braced his hands on the headboard, gripping tightly that his knuckles turned white.

He wanted to kiss him so bad...

And he did. He leaned closer until his lips pressed against Knox's. Just a simple touch sent shivers upon shivers down his spine that he couldn't help but moaned softly.

He leaned closer and took Knox's lower lips between his teeth and nibbled at it. Julien's hips unconsciously moved, rubbing his hardness against the other man's abdomen in search of release.

But in a split-second his rationality came back and he pulled away in shock, gasping for breath. G-get a hold of yourself!, he chastised himself but failed as he took in what he had done.

Knox's lips were redder and there was something hard poking beneath him.

Julien's eyes widened and a warm and giddy feeling overwhelmed him as he stared at the large bulge in Knox's pants. He lightly touch it and before his eyes, it grew bigger and harder. He licked his lips, his throat felt parched.

Even without experience, Julien had watched videos of men doing "it" and read countless of gay novels. He had vague ideas on what to do. He slowly undulated his hips, rubbing his arousal against Knox. Soft moans and pants filled the darkened space and the blue fire floating around the bed seemed to danced more fiercely.

Julien leaned back closer to Knox, kissing him clumsily as he recalled how it was done from the videos he watched. It was at that moment, that his eyes fluttered open and he realized that the blindfold had sagged on one side, and one stormy gray eye was staring at him. The swirl of desire and lust in those orbs made his heart skipped a beat.

Julien froze, captivated with that heated gaze. His lips and lower body were still plastered tightly against Knox and he felt powerless to move away.

Just then, a warm, firm and slippery thing graze against his lips. He blinked. It took more than a second for his brain to work which was quickly shut off when it slid past his lips and delved inside. Knox's tongue cast delicious havoc, obliterating every and any thought Julien could have at that moment. The kiss was deep and primal. It wasn't gentle in the least and Julien truly felt that he was about to be devoured.

Tears prickled his eyes and threatened to fall as the kiss made him unable to breathe. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, he found himself lying on his back, with Knox on top of him.

The blindfold hung loosely around his neck, the rope bounding his arms had come undone. If Julien could even focus and look around, he'd found out that a huge chunk was gone from the headboard and was reduced to splinters scattered about the ground.

Knox pinched his chin and raised it up, his thumb rubbing at his lower lip that glistened under the glow of the blue fire.

"You started this."