Maria had the Christmas music playing again throughout the house. Outside, snow was falling. I rolled onto my stomach and grabbed my phone. I was going to find out what these dreams really meant.

They probably meant nothing. I was probably just thinking too much about him. But there was no hurt in trying. So I searched: Meaning of dreams.

Articles about dream interpretations from Freud and Jung popped up. I skimmed through some of them, but they all said the same thing, had the same predictions, and gave me the same useless information.

I narrowed my search. Meaning of dreams with the same person.

The first website that came up said that I shouldn’t take dreaming of the same person too personally, that I wasn’t dreaming of them because I was obsessed, that my dreams only revealed the feelings and emotions that were most prevalent in my life right now.

So, what did my dreams provoke?

Arousal, need, closeness.

It made perfect sense. When I was being ignored by Trevon, I wanted to feel wanted. When Maria was with Zane, she wanted to feel close to someone without being committed. And when Trevon was having dreams of Javier, he wanted to experience sex with another man.

Although it all made sense, I wasn’t satisfied with the answer. So, I cleared my search and tried again.

Meaning of sexual dreams about the same person.

Again, psychology articles came up, and I scrolled through them, reading the same things. Dreams use our subconscious. They tell us about our hidden emotions and desires. Blah. Blah. Blah.

I sighed and wrapped the blanket around myself. I was about to quit, unsatisfied with these websites, when one link caught my eye.

Forget psychology. Here’s the real reason you’re dreaming of that same sexy guy.

When I clicked on the link, an outdated website popped up. There were ads for exorcisms and Jesus all over the place. The text was a dark blue on a black background, so dark it was almost unreadable. Usually I’d click right off of this kind of website, but I was desperate for answers.

Psychology tells you that your dreams are just manifestations of your emotions, but they don’t tell you the whole truth. Some dreams are real. Some people in dreams are real.

Oh, God. Real dreams. Real people. What was I even reading?

They’re called incubus demons.

Incubus demons sleep with sleeping women and men and engage in sexual activities. Sometimes that woman or man can remember the dream, other times they wake up in a sweat with no recollection of what happened.

The demons are usually very attractive to get you to fall for them. I’ve had a personal experience with an incubus demon, and he was so charming that I couldn’t help but fall for him—in my dreams and in real life.

It’s theorized that these demons are just one of seven kinds. The others being greed, gluttony, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Demons are thought to be fallen angels.

To get rid of them, perform an exorcism, wear a cross, go to confession, use salt, or get a—

I stopped reading and blew out a breath through my nose. That was stupid. I couldn’t believe that people actually believed in that kind of stuff.

An incubus demon. Such a ridiculous thought. He couldn’t actually be one, could he?

In his dreams, he had horns and black eyes and an unquenchable thirst for lust. Kasey dressed me as a demon for Halloween—for Eros. What if… what if he actually was one?

I pondered over the thought for a few moments and shook my head. I couldn’t believe that I was actually considering this. It was so stupid. Like angels and spirits and ghosts, demons were just mythical creatures. They weren’t real.

Kasey walked over to my living room window and stared out at the snow. “You and Eros have such a nice view of the city,” she said.

I plopped down on the couch, lost in my own little world. Every time I thought of him, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Eros was in my dreams for a reason and that reason was more than just because I had some unconscious feelings that I needed to resolve. “Have you talked to Eros lately?” I asked.

After he kicked me out, I waited patiently for him to call me like Zane said he would. Two days passed, and I hadn’t heard from him. I was beginning to think that he was ignoring me again.

She nodded. “Last night.”

“Is he feeling better?”

She furrowed her brows, turned around, and pursed her red lips at me. “He was sick?”

I nodded, hesitantly. “Yeah, I was over his apartment the other morning and he locked himself in the bathroom and refused to come out.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh—uh, yeah, I think he’s feeling better,” she said. I drew a finger across my palm, remembering the feeling of his horn on it. I wanted to touch it again. She walked over and sat next to me. “You really care for him, don’t you?”

“I do,” I said quietly, tightening my hand into a fist.

She sat and grabbed my forearm. “He deserves someone like you. He’s had it hard.”

“I know.”

“He told you?”

I sucked on my cheek. “Not everything, but enough.” Enough for now, as long as he didn’t start closing himself off again.

She held my hand to her chest. “It takes him a long time to open up. I’m surprised that he’s told you about his life so quickly.” She paused for a moment, then frowned. “You’re my friend, but if you hurt him, I’ll make your life Hell,” she said sharply.

I tensed. I had never seen her so frightening before.

She dropped my hand and smirked. “So, what were you doing in his apartment?”

My knee bounced up and down, and I looked away. “Stuff.” I could feel the heat crawling up my neck.

Her jaw dropped. “Oh, Heavens! One of you caved!” She jumped off the couch and placed her hands on my knees, staring down at me. “Well, tell me!”

A sudden warmth pooled between my legs, thoughts of the other night running through my mind. “He kissed me,” I said.

She raised her hands in victory. “Yes! I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist you!” She grabbed my hands and pulled me up. “How’d you do it? Did you use my tips? Oh, I’m so excited!”

I honestly didn’t have an answer for her. One moment we were yelling at each other, the next his lips were devouring mine. “I don’t know. We spent the night at The Lounge, and then we went home.”

“You went to The Lounge?” She smirked. “Did Eros have one of those drinks?” she asked. I nodded. “Well, if he brought you there, he lost this little game a long time ago.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing, nothing. I’m just glad you got him.”

Kasey pulled me into a hug and opened the door. “You better be keeping me up to date on everything,” she said, walking down the hall.

My cheeks flushed, and I nodded. When the elevator doors closed, I gazed over at Eros’s door and decided to see if he was home. Two days of not talking to him after that was eating me alive. Not only did I want to see if he was okay, but I wanted to see him.

After knocking twice on the door, Zane answered. “Hey Dani,” he said. “Eros isn’t here.”

“When will he be back?”

Zane shrugged. “I’m not sure. Do you want me to tell him that you’re looking for him?”

Yes, I wanted Eros to know that I was waiting for him. But I didn’t want to seem too attached. He was sending me so many mixed signals, I wasn’t sure what he wanted. Interested in me. Ignore me. Interested in me. Ignore me. It was a damn roller-coaster with these ups and downs.

“Uh—” I hoped that he didn’t think I was too overbearing already and got turned off. “No,” I said, gazing down. “I’ll… see him around sometime, I guess.” I walked back to my apartment, heart hurting. I didn’t know what to do.