Message-ID: <6709eli$9712231405@qz.little-neck.ny.us> X-Archived-At: From: Ellen Hayes Subject: NEW <*> Dance With Me - ellen's CCSC2 entry! Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d Path: qz!not-for-mail Organization: The Committee To Thwart Spam Approved: X-Moderator-Contact: Eli the Bearded X-Story-Submission: X-Original-Message-ID: <19971223152722.21705.qmail@nym.alias.net> That'd be The Second Annual Celestial Christmas Story Contest, Bob. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Dance With Me - Copyright 1997 by Ellen Hayes. No part of this work may be distributed as an original work by another person or group. Permission is given to redistribute this by electronic means, as long as the entirety of the work (from the BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE header to the END PGP SIGNATURE footer) is distributed, and credit is given to the original author, me. Archiving is permitted provided no fee is charged for access. Any resemblance between the writings in this work, and any actual persons or places, living or dead, are purely coincidental, except when used for satirical purposes. All rights reserved. Furthermore, This work contains adult situations, adult language, adult concepts, and possibly sex. If you are legally not allowed to read materials containing such things, then you will be breaking the law by reading this. I am not responsible. Continuing to read this document, or storing it or reproducing it in any format means that you explicitly affirm that you are legally allowed to possess and read such materials in your city, county/parish, state, and country. Dance with Me by Ellen Hayes Doctor, Doctor Can't you see I'm burnin', burnin' Oh, Doctor, Doctor Is this love I'm feelin'? David looked around the school parking lot, and wondered for the hundredth time where Linda could be. Damnit, he thought to himself, I thought we were dating! But she'd gone off somewhere when he wasn't looking, and now he couldn't decide whether to go into the Christmas dance and look for her, or stay outside and hope she would come back to find him. He hoped it would be soon, whichever it was. He was cold as hell. Among other things. Carrie slid out of Maggie's car, and took a look around. When she saw the lone figure standing on the sidewalk, she drew in a breath in surprise. "Maggie, give me the keys." "What? Carrie, you don't-" "Give. Me. The. Keys. Maggie." Maggie sighed, and tossed a large jangling mess towards Carrie, who snagged it out of the air without looking. David was looking around, trying to spot Linda or one of her friends who might tell him where she was, when he noticed the white-haired girl that was walking towards him was actually walking _towards_ him. "Oh, hey," he said distractedly. "Hi," she replied. She had a beautiful voice, rich and full. "Looking for something?" Her blue eyes flickered over him. "Yeah, my girlfriend." "Oh?" The girl tilted her head a little bit to the side. "What's her name?" "Linda, Linda Travers. Have you seen her?" "Linda, Linda..." the girl mused. "What does she look like?" "Um, a little shorter than you, brown hair, down to her shoulders, really pretty-" The girl laughed a little. "Of course she is, she's your girlfriend!" David chuckled a bit himself. "Anyway," she continued, "I was just teasing you a little. She had to go home suddenly, with one of her friends, um..." she paused with a thoughtful look on her face, then shook her head. "I forget, anyway, she was taking Linda home, and Linda asked me to find you and tell you." David was astonished, then annoyed. "Well, hell, why didn't she tell me she was-" The girl interrupted, "Well, she just puked and she was running a fever already. She was really ill." "Awwwww...." David stared off into the parking lot as if to prove her wrong. No Linda. "Shit." She'd promised him something really special tonight, as an early Christmas present, and the way she'd put his hands on her breasts had left no doubt in his mind as to what it would be. Especially when she had mentioned oh so casually that her parents were going to be at a very late party, leaving her house all empty... "Yeah, really" she agreed. He turned his attention back to her. "Well, I don't have a date either. Want to do something together, us dateless people?" She smiled at him, with one corner of her mouth turned up, daring him. "Ahhh..." He was well aware that Linda could get jealous in a heartbeat. "Come on," the girl urged. "Linda told me I should me sure you had a good time tonight, even if she wasn't here." On the other hand, she hadn't even told him she was leaving, either. That wasn't real nice. Pretty irritating, in fact. And she was absolutely unbearable when she was sick anyway. "Yeah, I guess, okay," David decided. "Cool," said the girl, looking relieved. David took a closer look at her, now that they were apparently going to be together for the evening. She was a little shorter than him, and she had a thinnish, athletic build that combined with a certain grace to say that she spent a lot of time working out. She was alert, and looked enthusiastic without being brainlessly perky. Of course, you couldn't miss the brilliant white hair, nor the sapphire eyes that flicked over him and everything else. The black dress she was wearing looked more feminine, and younger, than what a lot of the girls were wearing tonight, and somehow the black fabric set off her skin and hair without making them both look bleached out. One thing was for certain; he'd never seen her before. "Uh," he finally thought to ask, "what's your name? I'm David, David Marsh." He stuck out his hand. "Carrie Dallan-" and the rest didn't stick. She must've been used to it, because without pausing she explained, "It's old Irish, nobody can pronounce it, just call me Carrie, okay?" There was an accent flickering in and out as she talked, but David couldn't place it. She grabbed his hand and shook it firmly without making it a butch-out contest. David shrugged, and stuck his hands in his coat pocket. "So, uh, what do you wanna do?" Carrie shrugged. "I dunno, go out, I guess." She looked at the entrance to the high school gym. "Maybe somewhere where you won't get asked about every five seconds where Linda is?" David snorted, but it sounded like a good idea to him. "Sure thing. Want me to drive?" "No, I've got a car tonight, and I feel like driving. Come on," she waved him along. "So anyway, how come I haven't seen you around before?" he asked. "Oh, I transferred in really recently, so I haven't been around a lot, I've been studying trying to catch up, or trying to fix my paperwork," she sighed. "Ugh, bummer," David sympathized. "So what do you like to do for fun?" she asked him. Carrie was a good conversationalist, David realized as she drove. It really sounded like she was interested in him, without trying to come on to him clumsily like some girls had. She was fascinating too. Her parents were anthropologists, out in the bush in Australia, and she had grown up there, which explained the faint accent he could detect in her voice. She was in the United States to go to high school and get acquainted with the culture, which was very new to her. "It's very different," she mentioned. "I grew up with maybe a few hundred people within easy travel distance, and now there's millions." David agreed, "L.A. is like that." "I know, it's so strange." She was shaking her head. "Sometimes I miss being able to, to go outside, you know? Even when you step out of the house or whatever, it's like you're still inside." "Huh." David had never thought about it that way before. "I can see that, I guess." He got an idea which, while not brilliant, would do for the time being. "Hey, want to go up to Griffith Park?" She turned to him, and smiled. "I'd love to." Zooming down Canyon Drive, David could feel a part of him relaxing he hadn't even known was tense. "This was a great idea," he said to her. "Yeah," she sighed happily. "It's not as good as getting really far out, but it helps when I just can't stand to be inside the walls any more." She unexpectedly slowed, then turned down a road David hadn't even known was there. "Wait until you see this," she explained. "This is my favorite place in all Los Angeles." It was even darker, if that was possible. You could almost imagine that there wasn't anyone around, except for the light streaming in over the horizon. There weren't any cars on this part of the road either. Finally, she pulled over to a small gravel turnaround and parked the car. "Come on, you have to see," she said. They both got out, and the quiet was almost shocking. David felt his shoulders untense even further, and rolled them around to help release the tension. "God..." he said slowly. "Really," she agreed. "Come walk over here, and I'll show you." He followed her down a path that she apparently knew by heart. He would have been completely lost, except without thinking, apparently, she took his hand and was leading him along. David smiled to himself, thinking that this was the weirdest experience he'd had in a long time. Although, thinking about it, he couldn't deny that he was also feeling better than he had in a long time. More alive, somehow. Finally she stopped, at a place that didn't look any different to David's dazzled eyes, and let go of his hand. "Um," he said after a long minute. "Just wait, and let your eyes adjust," Carrie told him. "In fact..." and she did something he could just barely hear. For one startled moment, it sounded like she'd slipped her dress off, but when she took his hand and pulled him down, there was a towel or blanket or something where she was guiding him. "Have a seat," she suggested unnecessarily. He sat, and waited, and listened to the quiet that wasn't silent, and the little sounds that came from God knew where in the darkness. As his eyes slowly adjusted, he started to see trees, and bushes, and one large rock off to one side that stuck out of the ground like a statue. It was leaning a little to one side, but somehow it looked even better that way than it would have otherwise. As he kept looking, he began to make out the branches that framed the rock like it was a portrait of some kind. "Wowwww..." he mumbled without realizing it. "Yeah," Carrie said quietly, almost reverently. They sat in silence for quite a while. Finally, David asked, "How did you find this place?" "Out hiking one day, I just found it, like it was destiny or something." She chuckled. "I could barely manage to leave. There's a certain... something, almost magical about this place. Don't you think?" "Yeah." Especially in the darkness; it somehow made it seem more mysterious, larger, something... more magical, like Carrie had said. "I see what you mean." She turned her head towards his, and he sensed more than saw her smile. They were laying back on the blanket now, with part of it wrapped around them to keep warm. Despite the opinions of people who didn't live there, it did get cold in LA in December. "College?" she asked. "What were you planning to study?" "Art, I think, though I might have to major in something else." He looked up at the few stars visible over the rock. "Something to do while I get going on the art." "What sort of art? And why do you need to go to college to learn it?" He sighed. This was the major dilemma in his life. "Because... I don't know enough about HOW, to make things come out the way I want. I need the training, and my parents wouldn't pay for just an art school. They think I need something to fall back on, at least. Something to pay the bills." "It does kind of make sense," she said apologetically. "Yeah, I know.... I just wish I knew." A moment of silence, then Carrie asked, "Knew what?" "If I could make it. Then I'd take the risk and go to art school, do it twelve hours a day, get really good at it, and then I could do the things I can see in my head, the things I see outside." He stared at the rock, and the stars above, trying to memorize the scene. "It's pretty scary, being enthralled to a muse," she said absently. David looked over at her, her white hair showing where her face must be. "You're the first person that understood that," he said slowly. "Ever." She turned her head towards him. He could almost resolve her eyes in the darkness. "Some of us haven't had our souls strangled by the banality of modern life." He had to ask. "Do you..." "Sing, mostly," she answered the unfinished question. Without waiting for another question, she began to hum quietly, then slowly shifted into something slow in a language David couldn't even guess at. The song itself, though, seemed to speak of power beyond one's control, the madness lurking right at the edge, the vision that would overwhelm him sometimes, the frustration at not ever being able to get it quite right on a canvas or paper, and yet the satisfaction he had when he finally got close, and the feeling he got when someone actually felt the same thing he had been feeling when he created the work, when they looked, when they saw what he had seen. All in the soft notes lingering in the cold December air. When the last one finally died away, he was quiet for a long time, stunned. "My God," he finally breathed. "That's.... that's it." "I like it too. It... seemed to fit," she said absently. Without warning, she rolled over and pressed herself against him, draping an arm over his abdomen. David froze, not quite sure what to do, especially with the song still echoing in his head and leaving him disoriented. She moved her arm before he could decide, up his chest to rest on his sternum, and he felt her warm fingers feathering over his face. "It's so rare to find someone that understands," she explained. "And you looked so disappointed when I said Linda wasn't there. Were you two going to do something tonight?" The subtle emphasis she placed on the last words told him that she knew very well what she was asking. "Uh, yeah..." He wondered why he was telling her this. Maybe it had something to do with her gentle massage. He wasn't too surprised when she pushed herself up on one elbow and kissed his cheek gently. "Can I tell you a secret?" she asked him. "Sure." He turned his head a little so he could look at her better. Her hair seemed to be attracting the starlight; the white framed her face and shrouded it in relative darkness at the same time. She leaned closer, so close that he could feel her warm breath on his cheek as she whispered, "I knew about... you two. Linda... she knew she couldn't stay with you tonight. That's why I talked to you, brought you out here." "What?" David was completely astonished, so much so that he almost sat up. "She-" Carrie kissed him on the lips quickly, then leaned back over to whisper some more. "It's true! And I've been lonely too, and... you need me tonight." "But-" He was desperately trying to deny her, deny the attraction he felt towards her, and especially deny the arousal that was starting to make him really uncomfortable. "You need me tonight," she repeated, and slid herself, somehow, on top of him. He blinked repeatedly, trying to say something, or move, as she just sat on his belly and looked at him. She leaned forward, and kissed him gently on the lips, and he gave up trying to think any more. It was all too damn confusing, and she was right there on top of him, for God's sake- She kissed him again, and then slid on her hands until they slipped under his arms, ending up a few inches away from his face. Her hair covered them both, like curtains, and shut out the increasingly bright night. David's arms just naturally curled around her firm body. With that slow inevitability that happens sometimes, when it's just right, he craned his neck towards her, and their lips met. She kissed gently, delicately, as if she had all the time in the world. David was more impatient than that, but tried to rein himself in. It certainly wasn't a bad kiss... He tried sticking his tongue just barely through her open lips, and she responded by sucking it, inviting him further in. She tasted completely fascinating to David, and he spent some time trying to analyze it, even licking her teeth and the insides of her lips. With a low moan, she slid herself a few inches up, then back down his body. The friction over his penis made him involuntarily strain upwards, yearning to do more. She did it again, faster this time, and he lifted her up with his reaction. When she finally broke the kiss, she sat up on him again, and began unbuttoning his shirt. He took the opportunity to cup her breasts in his hands. An intake of breath, and her shifting towards him, told him that she didn't mind that at all. She finished unbuttoning it, and pulled it out of his pants and opened it up to the night air. He got a sudden chill which was dispelled when she slid down his body and leaned against him, and began licking delicately at his nipples. He'd never thought of his nipples as being very sensitive - perhaps it was just the novelty of the situation - but he moaned as her tongue flicked irregularly at one, then the other. He slipped his hands back around her breasts and began trying to imitate her actions with his fingers. She began humming with pleasure as she tormented him, but she never slowed down. Finally, David wasn't able to stand it any more, and tweaked one of her nipples lightly. She gasped and sat up, pulling her breasts out of reach, and David pushed out, "Wait, come back here for a minute." Carrie took a couple of fast, deep breaths, then slid upwards again along his torso, until her face was within kissing distance. So he kissed her, trying to be as delicate as she had been. "Mmmmm," she said as she relaxed, letting her weight rest against him. She slid her hands inside his open shirt, teasing the skin on his flanks. David responded by kissing her a little more intensely. Once again, she began sliding up and down his body, a few inches each way, but it was enough to drive him crazy. His breath began rasping through his nostrils as he tried to devour her, and he pulled her as tight against him as he could manage. When she broke this kiss, she chuckled under her breath, and pushed herself almost completely off him. He was going to complain, a lot, until she unzipped his pants. Oh, he thought. My. She put her hands under his bottom, and he lifted himself up enough that she could slide his pants down several inches. His underwear followed, leaving him exposed to the cold night air. It seemed more refreshing than cold to him now, though. She stroked one finger along it, and he almost came all over her right then. "Wait," he gasped, and tried to sit up. Carrie slid back, along his legs, and helped pull him upwards. He frantically shed his coat, then dropped it behind him and laid on top of it. "Let's trade places," Carrie suggested huskily. He sat up again, and she got off him entirely. He sat up and moved over, wondering how to manage this, but she just sat herself down on top of his coat where he had been moments before. He was going to say something, even he wasn't quite sure what, when she reached behind herself and undid her zipper. He watched in amazed silence as she wriggled and jiggled and finally swam out of her dress entirely. She looked even better without clothes, from what he could tell. And she wasn't wearing a bra either. She laid the dress on the other side of the blanket from David, then wriggled a little more and slid her panties off as well, leaving her with just a garter belt and stockings. When she put the underwear on top of her dress, she beckoned wordlessly to David as she lay back down. David lost his breath in a rush, just looking at her almost nude form. She was stunningly attractive like this, and all of his senses were overloading on her, including the lingering taste of her mouth, and the distinctive musky scent that he'd only smelled a few times before. "Come on," she whispered, and ran her hands down along her thighs. Even though he was a virgin, it didn't take him any time to take the hint and run with it. As he moved towards her, she spread her legs in invitation, filling the small glade with her scent. He clambered over her, and then found himself at a loss about what to do next. Carrie wasn't, though, because she reached towards him, lifting herself up, and pulled him towards her with one hand at the small of his back, and the other hand guiding his penis where she wanted it, where it was supposed to go. David leaned towards her as she pulled, then laid down on top of her, and found himself shuddering with anticipation and pleasure as he slid inside of her. She moved both her arms under his shirt again, and stroked his back as she breathed quietly. David could just hear her over his own gasping. Finally, when she was rubbing up and down his back, he came out of his trance and began slowly moving himself back and forth, much like she had done to him earlier. A series of gasps told him that while he might not have done this before, he must be doing something right. She stretched her legs even wider, under him, and wrapped them partially around his, and began arching her back in time with his motions. David began thrusting forward with a little more confidence, tentatively pushing himself further inside her with each stroke. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was hurt her. She didn't object at all, though, even when he couldn't go any further. Instead, she was matching him stroke for stroke as he moved, and her breathing was now almost as loud as his was. Carrie began running her hands over his chest, tweaking his nipples like he had done to her earlier, and that combined with the excruciating pleasure of actual intercourse was pushing him to the edge faster than he would have thought possible. Within what seemed like only a few seconds, he was struggling against his own instincts to try and prolong the sex. "Merry Christmas from Linda and me," Carrie gasped out, and that blew his mind and his control completely. With only one short warning gasp, he began to orgasm inside of her, pushing as hard as he could into her, almost slamming their bones together. Faintly, he noticed the gasps that almost resembled shrieks coming from both of them, but nothing mattered at that point. Finally, he slowed, and stopped. He was completely stunned by what he had just done, by what they had done, by the entire night in fact. Carrie seemed to sense this, because she wrapped her arms around him, and rolled them both over until he was on top of her dress and they were facing each other while lying on their sides. He snuggled against her, or she against him, and they lay there for quite some time as their breathing slowed, and the sweat cooled on their bodies. That maddening urge of lust, that had been howling around his brain since Linda had told him what she planned, finally quieted down for the first time in what seemed like ages, and he could think almost like his normal self after a long time. Then it occurred to him. He could barely believe he hadn't thought of this. "Carrie?" he asked, a sense of wonder in his voice. "Mmmmm?" she purred as she twisted her head a little against his chest. "I'm dead..." he said, then stopped, because he didn't know what else to say. What else could you say to that? Finally, he tacked on, "aren't I?" She pulled back a little, and locked gazes with him. There was a hint of- no, more than a hint of sadness on her face. She looked at him for a long time before she replied, simply, "Yes." There was a long moment of silence as David tried to digest this revelation. "How long... I mean, what happened?" She sighed, and shifted her body, but didn't let go of him. "Two years ago, on the way from dinner to the school Christmas dance. Someone high on horse ran a light and T-boned your side of the car. Linda wasn't hurt too bad, but..." She took a deep breath. "But you died a few minutes after impact." "Two years?!" Carrie was silent. "How could it be two years?" he asked her. Because he was a ghost, he told himself. "Am I.... am I a ghost, Carrie?" "It depends on your definition, I guess," was her enigmatic reply. "Close enough." "How long was I a ghost?" "Since the accident," she told him. "Linda was at the hospital the year it happened, of course, but the year after, she went to the Christmas dance with someone; in fact, it was your best friend Dan. They both wanted to go, to try and exorcise the bad feeling they both had about your death. Unfortunately, when they pulled up, there you were on the sidewalk, waiting for her." She paused for a moment. "It upset her rather a lot. That was last year." "Well, what... I mean...." David was still confused, though not as much as he had been before. He realized that now. "Well, what are you doing? Here, I mean?" Then he felt stupid, sort of, because it was rather obvious what she had been doing, at least in one sense. Carrie explained, "People stay behind because of reasons, usually very powerful ones. One of the reasons you stayed behind was because of her promise to you. I couldn't do anything about any of the other reasons, but I could fix this one. So when _I_ saw you at the dance, it was a chance to relieve you of some of your burden so you could pass on, if you choose." "But how can you... I mean, if I'm a ghost...." He was having trouble talking about it; the concepts were so new to him they were almost painful. "I'm not entirely ignorant of the Otherworld," she told him. "Some people have called me a witch before, so I guess that's close enough." "But...." She sighed, and rubbed a hand against his chest. "Don't worry about it so much now. You've got to think some, about what to do." "What do you mean?" He looked down, into her deep blue eyes. They gazed back, steady and calm. Carrie said, "At this point, having become aware of your death, you are no longer tied to the same pattern you were stuck in before. There's two things you can do at this point. One is pass on," she said somberly. "Pass on?" Instead of answering, she freed one hand, and pointed upwards. He turned his head and looked, and instead of the faint stars he expected, there was a glare in the sky that came from what looked like a sun, or a glowing tunnel. Oh, he thought slowly, no wonder I can see better now. "Uh." "It's not quite what modern mythology says it is," Carrie mentioned from beside him, "but it's quite nice." "Oh." Then he looked back at her. "What was the other choice?" She raised both eyebrows at him. "If you so choose, Linda is willing to take you in, and, in a sense, share her body with you. I asked her before I came to the dance tonight. You could be with her until she dies, and you both pass on together. Though I have to warn you, it would be quite a bit different than this, what you shared with me tonight. You'd be a lot closer, and not quite as... separate." He could almost feel it as she talked about it. He looked at her, and asked, "What do you think I should do?" "That's up to you," she told him. And was silent. He thought about it for a long, long time, tight against Carrie. He thought about his dreams, about his art, and most of all, about Linda. And after what could have possibly been an hour, he Decided. "How do I get to Linda?" he asked her. She smiled at him. "Just think hard about her, picture her in your head, and you can find her. Then do what your heart tells you." "What about you?" he asked, already feeling the urge to go, but - bizarrely - not wanting to be rude to Carrie. "I've done my part, and I'll have some wine and think of you two, and then... who knows?" She chuckled again. "The night's young, and there's plenty of songs to sing before the dawn." "I won't forget you, you know," he said to her, and kissed her one more time. "I know," she replied softly. She kissed him back, then urged him, "Now go on... she's waiting for either you or me to call her, and I think she might prefer to get the news quickly." "Well..." he procrastinated, but she pushed him gently away. "Go on, and...." He saw a tear slide from one eye across the bridge of her nose. "Merry Christmas, David." "Merry Christmas, Carrie." He kissed her one last time, then thought hard of his lady love, Linda, and was gone. Linda woke up from a restless sleep, a look of joyous amazement of her face. "David?!" she cried out to the empty room. She was no longer alone. Carrie was sitting on top of the roof of Maggie's car, drinking a fairly good bottle of wine, and watching the stars. In your eyes, the light, the heat your eyes I feel complete your eyes a resolution your eyes to all the endless searching... She sang softly but firmly as the tears streamed down her cheeks in the cold LA air. But she was smiling. - -30- With great thanks to The Thompson Twins, for "Doctor Doctor" and Peter Gabriel for all his versions of "In Your Eyes." All lyrics used without permission; this story does not challenge any existing or future copyrights on these works. "Tallyho!" \ / @>--,--'-- ehayes@nym.alias.net + vicki .sig Ellen Hayes --=(*)=(*)=-- Renaissance Woman ==[-------- + virus 9.1a http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Heights/5734/ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBNJ+1qnYDebnvyV1VAQEGcwQAumuYKrzQ2WJJN2iA/cVR7fxVmjA9ZuiG 0fAfEdOmZbnVHZiK8WseAAgud4HNgXiD5y/T6jCdmfC88u5Y2RJsu5GYTIApWrbc dlOY1nyZyUd5KZyMosBD1YMSfFlKzt8i/Si/sWq7DX61dJ3eOjK2Ww3daw8dYegD 1kENuzAOZCo= =DZV5 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- +--------------' Story submission `-+-' Moderator contact `------------+ | story-submit@qz.little-neck.ny.us | story-admin@qz.little-neck.ny.us | | Archive site +--------------------+------------------+ Newsgroup FAQ |