Wednesday, November 4, 2009

San Diego Sunset

San Diego Sunset
At some point in each of our lives, if we're lucky, we become receptive to the messages of the universe. We must then choose between living or merely existing. This is a tale of such choosing. Never underestimate the power of dreams.

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The story's finale is captured below in the illustration by the incomparable pattydraws:

San Diego Sunset (by pattydraws)

EXCERPT after the cut...
"No," she groaned as sleep escaped into the dawn. "Don't go!" Remnants of the dream teased her consciousness. She shivered as she pushed the sheets, damp from her perspiration, aside and rose on shaky legs. The dream was always more vivid toward the middle of each month, as if the date carried some mysterious power. The mildest versions simply contained an image of the sun setting into the sea, obviously the west coast. As the month progressed, however, they would grow in duration and intensity until she'd wake with his name on her lips, the pulses of her orgasm fading. The name she could never recapture, but the touch and the scent and the sound of him were as memorable as the sight. His words, spoken into her ear with an urgency bordering on desperation, echoed in her mind: Come to me. His skin smelled of the sea, as if he'd been in the water and dried by the sun, and he tasted of her sex mingled with his own sweet salt.

Grabbing the notepad and pen from her nightstand, she rapidly jotted down a couple new clues as to the location: a hang glider coasting lazily overhead; a winding path, with occasional rough stairs, along a steep hillside; and dark sands on the beach at its base. She shook her head in frustration as the images dissipated leaving behind only a pervasive longing. There was no doubt in her mind that the place was real. She would find it eventually, and when she did, she'd go there. It was crazy but, no matter the time or the trouble or the cost, she'd go. The incredible pull left her no alternative. He'd be waiting there for her, on that beach at sunset. Ready and waiting. The thought warmed the embers of her climax.

Detouring only long enough to start a pot of coffee, she carried her laptop onto the deck wiped the dew off a chair while the machine whirred to life. The Internet thus far had not been much help, but armed with new information she pecked a string of key words into the search box and sent it into the ether with a muttered prayer. The results were encouraging: down from 8,160 hits to just under five hundred. On a whim, she added the word "California" to the query, since it occupied such a large expanse of the Pacific coast, and resubmitted. There! On the very first page, the words jumped out at her: Torrey Pines Gliderport. So THAT was what the sign said; the sign which would never come into focus in her dreams.

When her head began to swim, she realized she'd been holding her breath. Fear mingled with anticipation, causing a tingly pressure in her sternum which radiated outward. She felt on the verge of a life-changing discovery, and with trembling hands she placed the laptop on the glass patio table as if it'd suddenly become too hot to touch. After all these months of searching, piecing the puzzle together, she somehow knew that once she clicked that link, nothing would ever be the same.

7 comments:

  1. 5 KISSES for San Diego Sunset from Sheila at Two Lips Reviews:

    Using unnamed protagonists, Alessia Brio and Will Belegon bring us San Diego Sunset, in which both the man and the woman have the same dream. The urge to find the place and the person is strong in both of them, and they act on that urge during the Christmas holidays.

    Each chapter alternated between the man’s perspective and the woman’s, although the point of view is always third person. I loved the anonymity of the characters. When each character follows the dream to San Diego, they feel the other’s presence but do not know who the other one is. There is a lingering smell, a lipstick print, an awareness to avoid something. There is also the need to follow the dream exactly as it is dreamt. Neither wants bad karma to influence and ruin the dream.

    I loved the anticipation the authors built up in this story. Both have the dream. Both are searching. Both believe they have found the place, but will they find the person?

    The ending of San Diego Sunset is perfect. I didn’t want explanations. I wanted the expectations fulfilled. And they were. Fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Astrea from Enchanted Ramblings had this to say about San Diego Sunset:

    This is a romantic story about what happens when two people are fated to meet. I enjoyed the way it feels as if they could be anyone, even the woman or man next door.

    http://www.enchantedramblings.net/reviews/review0628.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. Erotic Paranormal Romance
    Heat Rating: Pulsar
    RRT Rating: Missionary ("Gets the job done.")

    San Diego, CA - Present Day

    She haunts his dreams with erotic promise and passion. Each night the dreams become more compelling and leave him restless and discontent. Dare he believe in the promise of the dream?

    He haunts her dreams with erotic pleasure. She feels compelled to find him, yet, he is only a dream, even if the feelings she has for him seem more real than anything in her life. Dare she believe in the passion of the dream?

    Two souls meant for each other, if only they dare to follow their dreams. SAN DIEGO SUNSET is a romantic and powerful short story about believing the impossible and making it come true.

    - Isabelle Spencer for Romance Reviews Today
    http://www.rrterotic.com/Nibbles/phaze_nibbles.htm

    ReplyDelete
  4. As two people dream of a meeting on a beach, they begin to wonder if it’s only a dream or a future meeting. Their stories are told concurrently, as they travel to what could be their destinies. Both have begun to realize there must be more to life, than what they have experienced so far. He begins to realize the beach is one from his past, close to where he grew up. For her it is somewhere new and exciting, although costing more than she’d anticipated. As they come closer to each other, the scents and sounds around them seem to change. Feelings of being unfulfilled no longer matter; they ignore everything as the dream takes them on a journey. A journey they have no way of knowing how it will end, if it is destiny or their imagination.

    This reviewer found the story strange to begin with, but the prose was so enchanting, it swept me along. Despite very little dialogue, the story is easy to follow and interesting. The imagery is very strong throughout the tale. The conflict is within the two main characters, as they find themselves doing something completely out of their comfort zone. Moods become linked and the tale flows smoothly through doubts and worries as it wraps the characters and reader within its spell. The plot winds around them as they experience something new and exciting. Passion flares as they think about the culmination of the dream, taking the reader on a sensual journey of discovery. The ‘what if’s’ are left behind as the characters surprise themselves by their own audacity. As the sun finally sets, the reader is left with a feeling of peace as darkness blankets the characters.

    - Pam for Love Romances & More
    http://www.loveromancesandmore.com/reviews/Dec06/sandiegosunset_pam.htm

    ReplyDelete
  5. San Diego Sunset is the story of two individuals who are about to be brought together by destiny. He dreams several times a week of lying on an empty warm beach, post-intimacy, with a woman, and waking just before he hears her name. On the days following the dream, he is both more creative and productive, and also more stressed. She finds the dream to intensify in vividness at the end of each month, and most especially at the year’s end. Both are determined to locate the location and to find each other.

    San Diego Sunset is a fascinating short tale of two souls on a collision course with Destiny and each other. I found my heart catching in my throat as the two worked their way toward each other and then at first, passed by like two ships in the night, close but without contact. But Destiny won’t be denied.

    Overall rating: 4.5 of 5
    Sensuality rating: Very sensual

    - Annie for The Romance Studio (TRS)
    http://www.theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/sandiegosunsetbrio.htm

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  6. San Diego Sunset is a romantic story about what happens when two people are fated to meet. I enjoyed the way it feels as if they could be anyone, even the woman or man next door. Alessia Brio and Will Belegon write so well together you cannot tell this is written by more than one author.

    - Erys for Joyfully Reviewed
    http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/reviews/May08/sandiegosunset.ABWB.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fallen Angel Reviews says:

    "What a fantastically fun read. San Diego Sunset was definitely not what I expected when I first started reading it; although I should have known it would be amazing with authors Alessia Brio and Will Belegon. Everything these two write together is outstanding. Somehow, they always manage to keep their stories and characters fresh and full of fun."

    http://www.fallenangelreviews.com

    ReplyDelete

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