Oh yes, I definitely have had dreams that seemed "unforgettable" only to have them fade quickly away. Few stay as vivid as that one, but others stay with me. I've never been organized about writing down my dreams so I guess they have no reason to stick around. I know some people get ideas for stories from their dreams (as you did) but I don't find them very useful for that. I also don't have romantic or erotic dreams but often ones that are strangely mundane in many ways, but with a grotesque twist (a dog with a head falling off, my hand becomes detachable, feathers sprout unfortunately from strange places). It is interesting to me that however bizarre the dream gets, I'm usually very accepting of the peculiar situation. My dream self is very calm. I don't think I want to know what they all mean...if anything. It's just interesting to me how they play out.