[Todd Manning enters his darkened penthouse. In his hands are a box with take-out pizza and a six pack of beer.
It's the beginning of another long, lonely night in the life of wealthy publisher Todd Manning.
The irony of his nighttime bachelor lifestyle isn't lost on him. He's recently married and has young children, yet he spends almost every night away from them. Occasionally, when he has a juicy story as his cover, he'll spend the night at the office, working on a story. When life in Llanview, Pennsylvania disappoints him by offering no worthy scandals to splash across the front page of The Sun newspaper, he spends the night at his penthouse, instead. He doesn't want to spend the night in his office on non-newsworthy evenings. He has no desire to give his nosy employees a reason to gossip about his private life. He knows that his recent remarriage to his first ex-wife was a disastrous mistake, but he doesn't want anyone else to know it, too. Besides, his marriage allows him to be with his kids whenever he wants, without having to go through the custody battle hell he had to go through in the past. Having his children with him, and knowing that he's doing what makes them happy, is worth whatever sacrifices he has to make to his own personal happiness.
Hours later...
The pizza has been eaten. Much of the beer has been drunk. Todd is sleeping on the sofa.
His eyes suddenly open. They quickly adjust to the low level of light in the room. He smiles as he takes in the vision of beauty before him.]
Todd: You came! I knew you would.
[Kneeling next to the sofa is his second ex-wife, Tea Delgado.]
Tea: How did you know?
Todd: You come every night...well, almost every night. Sometimes you don't come and I get ticked off at you, but then you come the next night and it's okay again.
Tea: I don't understand.
[Todd's hand reaches out toward her and lightly touches her hair.]
Todd: Your hair is different this time.
Tea: It's been a long time since we've seen each other.
Todd: Right! Maybe my brain figured it should imagine you look different by now. But, I swear, I wasn't bored with how you always look in my dreams.
Tea: Your dreams?
[Tea is taken by surprise as Todd leans toward her and kisses her. She's even more surprised by the long, deep, sensual way he's kissing her.
Several minutes later...
They're still kissing. Tea has easily forgotten everything else as she gets lost in the eroticism of the moment.
Todd's hand moving down to caress her breast through her blouse surprises her again but she still can't allow herself to end this moment yet, although she knows that she must.
Moments later, Todd is the one who ends their kissing. Tea sits down on the floor next to the sofa, trying to catch her breath, stunned at her ex-husband's unexpected greeting, after they hadn't seen each other in so long.]
Todd: Why isn't it happening?
Tea: What?
Todd: This is the part where all your clothes usually disappear.
Tea: Do you really dream about me every night? Erotic dreams? Don't answer that. If you really believe this is a dream, I would be taking advantage of you.
Todd: I'm the one who always takes advantage of you in my dreams, except on the nights I have nightmares instead.
Tea: You still have nightmares?
Todd: Not when I dream about you. You always knew how to keep my nightmares away. I don't want to talk about them right now. I don't want to lose this dream.
Tea: This isn't a dream, Todd. I'm really here. You may be drunk, but you're not asleep.
Todd: I'm not drunk.
Tea: There are empty beer cans lined up next to you.
Todd: That doesn't mean I'm drunk.
Tea: Just as long as you understand that you're not asleep anymore.
Todd: If I wasn't asleep, you wouldn't be here.
Tea: I am here. I didn't think you would be here, though. I thought you would be spending the night with your family. I know you live at Dorian's old place now.
Todd: Only during the day. At night, I'm here dreaming about you, just like tonight. You're really pretty.
[Todd leans in for another kiss. Tea moves away from him and stands up.]
Tea: If you really believe that this is a dream, we can't do that anymore.
Todd: This dream really sucks! Is this how these dreams are going to be from now on? You keep your clothes on and you don't even touch my body?
Tea: You want me to touch your body?
Todd: Now you're getting with the program.
Tea: You're not asleep. You're awake and I'm really here.
Todd: You always say you're really here. When I wake up in the morning and you're not, I know it was just my brain playing games with me again. I don't mind it, though. At least I get to be with you while I'm sleeping. And, I always remember everything that we did together. I get so hard when I think about it after I wake up, I always have to get off before I can do anything else.
Tea: You need to realize that I'm really here. I'm not a figment of your imagination. Anything you say, I'll really hear.
Todd: I don't care.
Tea: You don't?
Todd: I can tell you anything. You don't get ticked off at me. You don't run off. You just let me do stuff to your naked body and you do stuff to mine. It's really cool.
Tea: I'm flattered that you dream about me...surprised, but flattered.
Todd: Can the talking stop now? I want to get to the good part before I wake up.
Tea: I'm really here. How can I convince you this is real?
Todd: If I do everything to your body, and you do everything to mine, and I don't wake up alone in the morning, then I'll believe it. But, I know that I will wake up alone, just like I always do. That's okay with me. I get to be with you and you don't have to be with me. We both get what we want.
Tea: That's not what I want.
Todd: Oh, I get it! This is one of those dreams where you give up everything to be with me again. I've had this one before. Okay, I'll play along. We better still get to the fun part, or I'm spending all day sleeping until I have one of those dreams that gets me hard.
Tea: Even if you believe this is a drunken dream...
Todd: I'm not drunk.
Tea: ...pretend it isn't a dream. Don't say anything to me that you wouldn't want me to really know.
[Tea looks away with a smile on her face as Todd begins to rub his penis through his pants.]
Tea: Todd!
Todd: I'm having the dream I want. I'm not wasting any chances with you.
Tea: I don't understand. If you still think about me...if you dream about me...if you have erotic dreams about me, why haven't you tried to contact me in all this time?
Todd: You know why.
Tea: I don't.
[Tea returns her gaze to him, her eyes fixed on the activity of his hand as he continues to rub himself.]
Todd: Are you going to watch me now?
Tea: That's part of your dream?
Todd: Hell, yeah!
Tea: I shouldn't have asked you that. This isn't right. I should probably leave.
[Todd leaps from the sofa and immediately grabs her.]
Todd: No way! I'm not losing you again.
Tea: Todd...
Todd: I don't care if this is just a damn dream. It's my dream. That means you can't run out on me.
Tea: That's part of the reason I came.
Todd: You wanted another chance to rip my heart out?
Tea: I know what your life is now...at least I thought I knew. You married Blair again.
Todd: What's going on? You never talk about her.
Tea: Maybe in your dreams I don't, but this isn't a dream. This is real. I'm real. Feel me. Feel how real I am.
Todd: You always feel like this. You're so soft. You do whatever I want. And, you're never scared.
Tea: Right now, I'm not scared, but I am really confused.
Todd: It's really simple. Since we're in the penthouse -- I carry you upstairs, I put you on the bed, I hold you, you say stuff to me in Spanish...stuff that sounds like you really want me.
Tea: Wait! You know words like that in Spanish?
Todd: It doesn't matter what the words really mean. You could be saying that the pencil is yellow and it wouldn't matter. What matters is that your voice always sounds like you really want me. You never look at me like I'm disappointing you. You never say that I'm doing it wrong. You never expect me to buy you stuff, before or after. You always say it's perfect. You always tell me that you love me and that you'll never split on me.
Tea: I have to go.
Todd: No! This dream doesn't get to end until I've been with you again.
Tea: This isn't a dream. I need you to believe that.
Todd: I need your clothes to disappear...now!
[Todd looks down at her body, disappointed that her clothes remain.]
Todd: Okay, now I really get it. This is one of those long dreams where I slowly undress you and kiss every part of you until you're begging for me to be inside you.
[Tea's body responds to the prospect of what Todd described. She knows that she's taking unfair advantage of him, but she's finding it hard to resist the open invitation he's offering her.]
ONE LAST TIME chapter 2:
[As Tea tries to think of a way to convince Todd that he really is awake, he makes it harder for her to concentrate as his lips seductively descend upon her neck.
Moments later, Todd suddenly stops kissing her neck and immediately picks her up in his arms.]
Todd: It's time to go upstairs.
Tea: Wait! We can't.
Todd: We can do it on the sofa again.
Tea: Again?
Todd: Sure. I've had that dream lots of times. The one where we can't wait another second so we start ripping our clothes off and we do it down here, or on the docks, or on the table in a restaurant, or wherever we are in whatever dream I'm having.
Tea: Todd...
Todd: Don't sound so sad. It won't be like it was. In my dreams you totally like it.
Tea: I did totally like it.
Todd: I know you didn't and that's really why you split on me.
Tea: You didn't hurt me and you didn't disappoint me. We need to talk about this, but now isn't the time.
Todd: Now is for doing, not talking.
[As Todd carries her up the stairs, Tea allows herself a few seconds of enjoying the feeling of being in his arms, even as she knows that she'll have to stop what Todd has planned before it goes too far.
On the upper level of the penthouse, they reach the master bedroom. Todd kicks at the slightly opened door. As he approaches the bed, Tea speaks again.]
Tea: We can't do this.
Todd: Why not?
Tea: It wouldn't be right.
[Todd gently places Tea on the bed and hovers seductively above her.]
Todd: I don't care about being right. I just want to be with you.
Tea: That's sweet but you don't think that I'm really here. You think this is a dream.
Todd: Even if it weren't, I'd still want to be with you.
Tea: No, you wouldn't. If any of the things you've said in the last few minutes are true, you would push me away if you believed that I really am here.
Todd: So? I'd still want to be with you. You would see through whatever junk I said. You would know that I was just trying to cover so you wouldn't know what kind of hold you still have on me.
Tea: This is exactly why I should leave. You're telling me things that you don't want me to know.
Todd: I always tell you this kind of junk.
Tea: In your dreams, maybe.
Todd: If you walked through the door right now, for real, and woke me up, I would tell you all the same stuff.
Tea: You would not.
Todd: So?
Tea: I need to leave.
[Todd reclines at her side. His hand reaches out to her face and quickly travels from her cheek, down her neck, over the front of her blouse and rests slightly below the top of her slacks.]
Todd: You're not fading away on me until we've taken care of things.
Tea: Think about the ramifications.
Todd: You're not a lawyer here, Delgado. You don't bug me about that kind of stuff anymore.
Tea: What am I, Todd? Am I just the body you have sex with in your dreams?
Todd: You're that. Sometimes you're more. You talk to me.
Tea: But, not as a lawyer? Is that why you've been in jail again? You didn't dream that I gave you advice that could keep your butt out of jail?
Todd: Sometimes you tell me not to do stuff. I usually just ignore you.
Tea: Just like you always ignored my real advice to you.
Todd: Not always.
Tea: Is it just me, or is the mood no longer conducive to sex?
Todd: It's just you.
[Yet again, Todd surprises Tea as his mouth latches onto her breast through her blouse and brassiere. Tea's body reacts to the erotic stimulation, despite the lack of flesh-on-flesh contact. His hand also caresses between her legs, adding to her body's excitement.]
Tea: We need to stop, Todd.
[Todd doesn't stop. He continues to stimulate her, encouraging her physical desire for him.]
Tea: I won't let this continue.
[Todd's hand leaves its position between her legs and moves up her body as he raises himself and begins to unbutton her blouse. Tea stays in the same position on the bed, despite knowing that she needs to leave immediately before they both do something they'll later regret.]
Tea: You're married.
[After her blouse is completely open, Todd moves her bra away from one of her breasts and his tongue laps at her flesh.]
Tea: I don't have sex with married men.
[Todd slides his body off the bed. Tea's breathing quickens as Todd easily removes her slacks.]
Tea: You really need to think about what you're doing. You could be sued for divorce. You could have to pay an outrageous sum of alimony, unless you were smart enough to have a pre-nuptial agreement, which I certainly hope you were, but if you weren't, just think about how much you would lose if we go any further.
Todd: Tea?
Tea: What?
Todd: Shut up.
[Todd reaches for her panties. Tea quickly also grabs for them, making a last, desperate attempt to stop what is about to happen between them.]
Tea: We can't.
Todd: We can and we will. This is a dream. Anything that I want, can happen. I definitely want this. Even when I'm dreaming I won't force you. I'm not forcing you, am I?
Tea: No. But...
Todd: The only butt I want to deal with right now is yours. I want you to raise it so I can get these things off you and we can get to what we're both here for.
[Despite her better judgment, Tea lets go of her panties and allows Todd to remove them. Her brain is still trying to find a way to convince Todd he's not dreaming so he'll put a stop to what they're doing himself. The moment Todd's hands part her thighs and his tongue touches the most intimate part of her flesh, Tea gives up all thoughts of resisting him and stopping what she also wants, even though she knows she'll ultimately regret what they're about to do.]
[Moments later, Tea opens her eyes and watches as Todd removes his shirt. She can't help but smile as he places his body on top of hers, a sexy smirk on his face. She fondly recalls that smirk from their previous lovemaking. On any other man, a smirk in this moment would be a turn-off for Tea, but not when it's Todd's smirk and not when she knows that there can be so much deep emotion hidden behind it.
Tea brings her hand to his cheek, for a moment forgetting everything but how thrilling it will feel to be with him again. She's essentially given up hope of resisting his charm, even though she knows the right thing to do would be to stop their activities before they go too far.
Todd kisses her for several minutes as he grinds himself into her partially naked body.
When Todd ends their kissing, he looks at her with a serious expression on his face.]
Todd: You like being with me, right?
Tea: You know I do.
Todd: You want this?
Tea: Very much.
Todd: I have to ask you that every time. I need to know that I'm not forcing you.
Tea: You're not forcing me. It's me that's taking advantage of you.
Todd: No way. It's my dream.
Tea: It's not a dream, Todd. I know that may cause this to end, but I want you to know what you're doing.
Todd: I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm making love to you the only way that I can...inside my head, while I'm asleep. Actually, I don't even need to be asleep to do this with you in my head.
Tea: You daydream about me?
Todd: All the time.
[Tea knows that she shouldn't ask for more details, but she can't resist the opportunity to learn more.]
Tea: When you daydream about me, do you make up the things we do together, or do you think about the times we've actually had together?
Todd: Both. It doesn't matter if it's real stuff or pretend, I just keep thinking about you, and remembering what you look like, and how you feel underneath me, and it just keeps building until I can't take it anymore and I have to get off.
Tea: Do you really respond to your thoughts of me that way?
Todd: I close my eyes and it's not my hand, it's yours. I remember the way it felt the first time you touched me there. I remember the look on your face. You didn't look like you were grossed out at all.
Tea: I wasn't. I was turned on, just like I am right now, just like I am when I'm alone and daydreaming about you.
Todd: There's no way you do that.
Tea: I do.
Todd: Even in my twisted dreams I know you don't get off thinking about me. You're probably off somewhere doing everything with some loser. You never think about me anymore.
Tea: I do think about you. I...uh...I think about you while I take care of my own needs.
Todd: You say that in my dreams, but I know the truth.
Tea: The truth is that I do everything I can to not think about you while I'm working. It's difficult, though.
Todd: Because all the creepy criminals you defend remind you of me?
Tea: It's difficult because you're never far from my mind. But, at night, when I'm alone...
Todd: You're never alone at night.
Tea: I am...sometimes. When I am, I allow myself to think about you, to remember you. I lose myself in those memories. I lose control. I can't help it. You have such an effect on me, even when I'm only imagining you.
Todd: I wish I could believe you. I wish I didn't know that you're really out there being with some other guy right now.
Tea: I'm not. I'm here.
Todd: You're the you I'm imagining. The real you could be anywhere, underneath anyone.
Tea: I need to know something, Todd.
Todd: What?
Tea: If I had come back sooner, would there have been a chance for us?
Todd: I knew you'd never come back. I wanted you to at first, but you didn't.
Tea: And, you moved on...or, backwards, I suppose.
Todd: It definitely feels backwards sometimes.
Tea: Are you happy? Clearly, there are problems that you need to work on, but do you feel hopeful about working out whatever those problems are?
Todd: My only problem right now is that this is turning into a nightmare of too much talking, instead of the dream I want. What I really want is for the rest of our clothes to be gone so we can move on to what we're here for.
Tea: What are we here for?
Todd: I'm going to make love to you.
Tea: Is it love?
Todd: It's a dream.
Tea: But, in this dream, do you love me? What about outside of this dream? How do you feel about me when you think about me?
Todd: I already told you. I get hard whenever I think about you.
Tea: That's physical. That's not emotional.
Todd: I don't care about emotional junk. I don't need it. I need to be physical with you, right now!
[Todd kisses her again. She responds for several moments before ending their kiss.]
Tea: Todd?
Todd: Why is it that even in my dreams I can't get you to shut up when I want you to?
[Tea is tempted to again try to convince him that this isn't the dream he thinks it is.
Todd lowering his mouth to her exposed breast causes her to relinquish herself to the reality of what they're about to do, despite her concern about the resulting guilt for both of them.]
Tea: Todd...
[Todd raises his head from her breast and looks into her face.]
Todd: This is my dream. I want you to stop talking and start making love to me.
Tea: I will. I just want to say one thing first.
Todd: What?
Tea: When you wake up in the morning, I won't be here.
Todd: I know. You're never here when I wake up. That's how a dream works. You only exist in my head, while I'm sleeping.
Tea: But, I want you to remember this night.
Todd: I definitely will. I'll probably get off in the morning remembering this dream.
Tea: I want you to consider this our last time together.
Todd: This isn't the last time. I'll have lots more dreams about you.
Tea: You won't. This is the last one.
Todd: They're my dreams. I can dream about whatever I want.
Tea: You shouldn't spend your nights away from your family dreaming about me. You should do the work that you need to do so you can be happy with your reality, not focusing on a dream.
Todd: I like dreaming about you. It's one of the few parts of my life I can enjoy anymore.
Tea: I don't believe that. I don't believe that you would have gotten married again, if that were true.
Todd: That whole thing is complicated.
Tea: I know, but you need to deal with it, instead of using me as an escape. You tried that before, it didn't work. You have to stop using me as a barrier to your happiness. Promise me you will.
Todd: I don't want to give you up, Delgado. No way!
Tea: You have to.
Todd: I don't have to do anything. I can do whatever I want. Right now I want to do this...
[Todd removes himself from her body. He stands next to the bed, facing her. Tea sits up at the edge of the bed. Her hands caress his bare stomach before moving up his chest]
Todd: Are you ready?
[Tea responds by bringing her hands back down his body. She opens his pants and pushes them down his legs. She hesitates going further, the guilt of her desire for her married ex-husband haunting her.
Todd takes matters into his own hands by lowering his underwear and taking his flesh into his own hands. For several moments, Tea watches the erotic image of Todd pleasuring himself just inches from her face. Her guilty conscience doesn't have a chance in the fight with her desire for the man before her. Tea's hands push his away as she takes him into her grasp, just seconds before she takes him into her mouth.]
