Dare To Dream

Zariah Aura runs the tap, dumps red, pink, and white petals into the water, then slips in like she just punched her clock on a night shift. Heat hits. Hands wander. In her head she’s already tangled up with Riley Nixon, her imaginary dream girl, the kind of pretty that makes you laugh out of nowhere. The more her fingers work, the clearer that scene plays: a bright, floating room, bodies gliding and grinding, every freckle and sound and sweet inch of contact served up in perfect, not-so-imaginary detail.