Sweet Dreams

Jasmine had been home for almost an entire week before she allowed herself to process the full weight of what had happened. She could still feel the coldness in Clara’s voice, the sting of her dismissal, the awkwardness of Elijah’s silence as she walked away. It had been humiliating, no question.

And yet, deep down, Jasmine knew it hadn’t been as earth-shattering as she had initially thought. Clara was the kind of person who didn’t think twice about stepping on someone to keep her world in place. And Elijah? Well, Elijah had made his choices long before Jasmine entered the picture. He had his fiancée, his perfect life, and all of the wealth and privilege that came with it.

So why had it stung so much?

There was no room for self-pity. Jasmine had learned that lesson a long ago with her own family. She had her studies to focus on, bills to pay, and dreams to chase. The world had never been kind, but it had always been predictable. And right now, predictability was what she craved most. Even if it meant overdue bills and working odd jobs to make grocery money as soon as her savings ran out.

With that in mind, Jasmine had called the HireMe customer service and told them she wouldn’t be returning the morning after Clara threw her out. She didn’t need to explain herself. They had too many other employees to care about the reasons why she suddenly decided to pull out of a gig. She just let it go. Just like she let everything else go.

That was the hard part about being someone like Jasmine. You couldn’t afford to linger on feelings, to think too deeply about the way someone’s touch made your skin burn, or how a stolen glance might have turned your entire world upside down. Life was about surviving. It wasn’t about living for moments that came and went, leaving you bruised and confused.

Jasmine stood in front of her bedroom window, sipping coffee and staring out at the University Campus. The world looked so different from up here. From the safety of her tiny dorm, it was easy to think she could do anything and imagine her future filled with success, with a career that mattered.

The possibilities were endless, even though the money in her bank account said otherwise and her savings were dwindling. But the truth was, life never unfolded the way you wanted it to. You work hard, and you fight, and sometimes, you ended up in the same place you started.

So, that was the plan. Get back to the grind. Focus on school. Forget about Elijah. Forget about Clara. Forget about his touch. Forget about how my body craved more of the fire he lit. Forget about anything that might distract her from what she knew she had to do. College.

As Jasmine opened her laptop, a notification popped up on her screen.

Maya: “Hey, how are you handling unemployment? Have you had a chance to breathe? We need to talk about Elijah."

Jasmine sighed, knowing full well what that meant.

Jasmine: “I’m fine. Just focusing on school and my other jobs. No more distractions. I’m not going back to the cleaning job.”

She closed the laptop and continued staring out at the sidewalk below. She needed to be strong. She needed to convince herself that she wasn’t going to let that one brief, confused interaction with Elijah define her. He was engaged, and no matter how much their eyes had connected, no matter how much their bodies created fire in the heat of the moment. It meant nothing. Nothing.

She tried to tell herself that.

A few hours later, Jasmines phone rang and it was Maya.

“Jasmine, come on!” Maya’s voice was as insistent as ever, always the one to push Jasmine when she needed a little nudge. “I’m not letting you just move on from Elijah that easily. Tell me what really happened. What did he do? I know it was awkward, but this whole thing with him… it’s been bugging me all week. You have to tell me the details. I have waited long enough!”

Jasmine could hear the excitement in Maya’s voice, the underlying amusement at her friend’s internal conflict. Maya had been the one to tease Jasmine the most about Elijah, calling him the perfect guy or the romantic disaster waiting to happen, but it was clear she wasn’t about to let Jasmine hide behind her logical walls this time.

“Come on,” Maya continued, “You can’t just brush this off. You had a moment with him, Jazz. There’s no way I’m letting you pretend it didn’t happen. Just think about it… A hot guy like Elijah, his hand on your waist pulling you in, the chemistry between you two? Girl, you’d be crazy not to acknowledge it.”

Jasmine groaned and sank back onto the couch, feeling the weight of the conversation closing in. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate Maya’s enthusiasm. But the more she let herself think about Elijah, the more it felt like she was opening a door that could lead her straight into dangerous territory. Maya was right about one thing, though: it had been a moment. She couldn’t deny the chemistry, the pull between them that had been almost magnetic, and it was hard to ignore that feeling now that she was alone with her thoughts.

“I had a dream about him,” Jasmine blurted out, trying to change the subject before things got too complicated. It wasn’t exactly what Maya had been pushing for, but it was an easy way to end the conversation without going deeper into dangerous territory. “A dream where we were… well… yeah, you know. You’d be proud of me. I actually let myself imagine it.”

Maya’s voice dropped into a low, teasing tone. “Oooh, now we’re talking. Tell me everything, girl. This is what I was waiting for.”

Jasmine closed her eyes, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. “It was… intense. Like, everything you’d expect. I don’t even know how to explain it. One minute, I’m cleaning the house, and the next, he’s… well, he’s touching me. Not just a simple touch, Maya, it was so much more. There was this look in his eyes, and I don’t know how to describe it. I woke up feeling like I couldn’t breathe. Like the air had changed composition.”

Maya’s laughter echoed through the phone, a sound that somehow made Jasmine feel both embarrassed and comforted at the same time. “Damn, girl. I knew it was more than just a one-off attraction. You have serious chemistry with him.”

Jasmine sighed, rubbing her temple. “No, Maya. It was just a dream. And I’m not going to entertain it. You know better than anyone that I can’t afford to get caught up in something like that. I have my life to focus on. I can’t let myself fall into some fantasy about a guy who is ENGAGED! AH! What am I going to do with myself?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then Maya spoke, her voice quieter, almost softer. “I get it. You’ve got your priorities straight. But, Jazz, come on. No one ever talks about the moments in life where we just take a risk. You deserve a little fun. Maybe it’s just about feeling something, not about going all in. Why not take a moment and explore what’s there, before you lock it all away in some little box?”

Jasmine’s thoughts raced, but she didn’t respond immediately, “It’s not like I will see him ever again. I got fired and we don’t exactly run in the same circle.”

The truth was, she was scared. Scared of what might happen if she let herself fall into something as simple as desire. Life had taught her too many lessons, and none of them were about fantasy. They were about responsibility. About surviving. But the conversation she heard between Elijah and Clara wasn't loving... it seemed almost business like.

But Maya was right about one thing. There was a pull between her and Elijah, something she couldn’t easily explain away. Why did it have to feel like this? Why did she have to feel this connection when it was so clearly out of reach?

“Jazz, please,” Maya added, her tone almost pleading now. “I’m just saying, take a chance. Don’t just shut this down completely. If you’re going to have a crush on him, let yourself have a crush, even if it’s just for a minute. You deserve to be seen, Jazz. You deserve to feel like you matter to someone.”

Jasmine was quiet for a long time, staring at the stack of textbooks in front of her, at the to-do list she had scribbled on a piece of scrap paper. And yet, despite all her resolutions to ignore it, despite everything telling her she needed to focus; Maya was right.

Maybe she couldn’t ignore this. Maybe she didn’t have to let it become anything more than what it was, but she couldn’t pretend it didn’t exist. She was only human, after all.

“I don’t know, Maya,” Jasmine finally said, her voice softer than she’d intended. “I’ll think about it. But right now, I just need to keep moving forward. I’ve got enough on my plate already.”

Maya chuckled. “Fair enough, but don’t close your heart off completely. Life’s too short, Jazz.”

As Jasmine ended the call, she leaned back into the couch and stared at the ceiling. She didn’t know where this would go, or even if it would go anywhere at all. But for the first time in days, Jasmine allowed herself to wonder. What if?

She had survived her life so far by being pragmatic, by shutting down the parts of herself that wanted more. But there was something about Elijah, something undeniable, something that called to her from the depth of her soul. Would she let herself fall for him? Or would she let this feeling pass, just as quickly as it had come?

She couldn’t say yet. But maybe… just maybe… it was okay.