The Haunted Pub

by Melanie Tushmore

  "I-I like your sailor," he said, inwardly cringing at how lame that sounded.

  "Mm." Ginger brushed his face over the side of Ryan's head, and laid a kiss on the soft fuzz of hair just above his ear. "I've got a cowboy on my bum."

  "Huh?" The surprise made Ryan forget his nerves. "A cowboy?"

  "Yeah." Ginger began to twist away from him, and Ryan gave up his hold on Ginger's cock in favour of seeing this promised cowboy. Ginger pushed his pyjamas all the way off, letting them drop to the floor, and turned his back on Ryan.

  "Oh." Ryan couldn't believe it. On his right butt cheek, Ginger did indeed have a tattoo of a cowboy, cartoon style, like a pin-up. The cowboy only had a dash of colour, and was holding a whirling lasso. "Uh, it-it's nice," Ryan said, as Ginger turned to face him. This all felt too surreal, and Ryan wasn't sure what to do next. His cock ached with want, but his body was frozen in place.

  Ginger afforded him a smile, somewhat shy, then reached for the hem of Ryan's T-shirt. He tugged on it and, when Ryan's mind caught up, Ryan eagerly lifted his arms for Ginger to pull it off. The pendant Ryan wore bumped against his collarbone, then fell back into place on his chest.

  "What's that?" Ginger asked, looking at the pendant.

  Ryan reached for the pendant, covering it in his hand. "Oh- um, nothing, it's just..." He quickly pulled it over his head, taking it off. His hand shook ever-so-slightly, but nothing happened now that he'd removed it. The world didn't fall in on itself, and he didn't see any visions. Only Ginger in front of him.

  It's going to be okay.

  Ryan stared at Ginger as he let the pendant fall from his hand, landing softly on his T-shirt on the floor. It's okay, he told himself. This was real, and good. Most of all, this was his. Ryan felt his face grow hot at the thought, but that didn't stop his hands from tugging at Ginger's vest, wanting it off. Ginger removed it for him, his long hair swinging with the motion. Ryan's eyes went to the pierced nipples on Ginger's chest, and he so wanted to touch, and taste, do everything he'd been thinking about for so long, but he felt a little overwhelmed.

  Almost warily, Ryan touched his fingers to Ginger's waist, thumbs grazing the tips of the tattooed wings on his hip bones. If Ginger had asked him if he still wanted to go through with this, Ryan would have said yes. Always, it was always going to be yes. But there was no asking, only Ginger's hands running along the top of Ryan's jeans, stroking the sensitive skin of his belly. Ryan's skin shivered into gooseflesh, and his cock beat in time with his heart. Ginger's hands met at Ryan's fly and, slowly, began to unbutton him.

  Terrified and exhilarated at the same time, Ryan was suddenly all too eager to get naked. He pulled away, hands scrabbling to undo his fly while also trying to kick his shoes off. Why did laces have to be invented? Before he lost his balance, Ryan collapsed on his bed, throwing off shoes, socks, jeans, pants. Naked at last, he held his arms out for Ginger, who came down onto the bed with him. Ryan stretched out his body next to Ginger's, his mind going into meltdown at the delicious feel of skin contact.

  Lying side by side, their legs tangled together, Ryan claimed Ginger's mouth in a fierce kiss. He loved the taste of Ginger, would have kissed him forever, but his cock demanded attention. Ryan's hips thrust all on their own, grinding his cock on smooth, heavenly skin. Shifting slightly, Ryan aligned his body, seeking to rub himself on Ginger's hard and very gorgeous cock. When their lengths slid against each other, slippery with precome, Ryan bit back a groan. God, that felt amazing. He was going to lose it, and fast.

  "Daniel," he said hoarsely. "I—I want you inside me."

  There, he'd said it. Were they moving too fast? Ryan had wanted this for so long, he couldn't be sure. He pulled away and stared down at Ginger's tattooed chest, which rose and fell as he breathed.

  Ginger reached for his hand, lacing their fingers together. "If you want to," he said softly, so quiet that Ryan almost didn't hear.

  Elated, Ryan couldn't help a grin. If I want to?

  "Hell, yes," he said. Wasting no more time, he sat up, and reached over to his night stand. Opening the drawer, he pulled out a strip of condoms, tearing one off. His eyes darted to his favourite sex toy, the purple jelly dildo, resting idly at the back. An incredibly smug thought about having the real thing entered his mind and refused to budge. Ryan allowed it, if only for a moment. He snatched up the tube of Sheer Glide lubricant, and slammed the drawer shut.

  In his haste, Ryan forgot that the lube didn't have a top, but was a self-closing seal. He squeezed the tube too tight and a jet of clear liquid shot out. It hit the wall above his bed, spattering one of his posters. They both looked at the mess on the wall, then at each other. Ryan felt his face flame up, as Ginger smiled at him.

  "Er, sorry," Ryan mumbled.

  Ginger's smile grew. "It's your wall, Ry."

  A nervous laugh bubbled out. "I know. Fuck it, right? I don't care." Ryan moved closer, holding out the condom. "Put this on?" His eyes lingered over Ginger's naked body, on the long, perfect cock that rested hard on his lower belly. God, he's beautiful.

  Ginger took the condom, and Ryan lost no time in squeezing lube onto his fingers, then spread his knees on the bed. This was going to be rough, but he knew he could take it. He wanted this, more than anything. Fingers slippery wet, he reached behind him and lubed up his own hole. Ryan didn't take his eyes from Ginger, gaze flitting down his nude form to the cock he so desperately wanted to feel inside him. Ryan moaned, shifting his hips as he rode his own fingers. His hard cock bounced in front of him.

  "Daniel, hurry."

  Ginger tore open the condom, expertly sliding the latex down his shaft.

  Ryan moaned again. He couldn't wait any longer. "Lay back for me? I want to sit on you."

  Obediently, Ginger shifted to lie back on Ryan's pillows. Ryan thought he'd come just from the sight of Ginger laid out on his bed, naked, hard, and waiting for him. His red hair was a stark contrast against the pale blue of Ryan's bedclothes. He'd always remember this moment, this image, no matter what happened between them.

  Ryan took a deep breath to calm himself, and removed his fingers. He squeezed a generous amount of lube into his hand, then tossed away the tube. Eyes dropping down, he reached out with wet fingers to carefully coat lube down Ginger's cock, massaging gently as he went. A shaky groan escaped Ginger's mouth. His eyes closed halfway, his lips were parted, lush and tempting. Ryan couldn't resist; keeping his hand moving over Ginger's cock, he leaned in, claiming another kiss. Ginger kissed him back, a moan passing his lips. "If you keep that up, I'm gonna come."

  Ryan bit back groan at the thought. He gave Ginger's cock a final squeeze, at the same time placing a kiss on the man's lips. "Come inside me." He sat up, and carefully swung one leg over Ginger's hips, positioning himself.

  All the time he'd spent fantasising about this moment, yet he still couldn't quite believe it was happening. His pulse raced, heating his body. Ginger shifted under him, resting his hands on Ryan's hips. Ryan sat up on his knees, and took hold of Ginger's cock. This is it. They'd already crossed the line of friends; nothing would be the same after this.

  And God, how he wanted it.

  Ryan spread his knees wide, stretching himself over Ginger's cock. He guided the tip to his hole, closing his eyes briefly to savour the feel of that first contact. Carefully, he moved his hands to Ginger's arms, holding on as he centred himself on Ginger's cock, then slowly, slowly sank down. Ragged breaths escaped his mouth, but he didn't stop. He adjusted his hips, knowing the best possible angle to make the slide smoother, to get as much of Ginger inside him as possible.

  Beneath him, Ginger's hands clutched Ryan's hips. His breath hissed, and Ryan knew he was trying his hardest to stay still. He wouldn't have to for long. Shifting his knees, Ryan thrust down to slide that last little bit, fully seating himself on Ginger's cock. He groaned, breathing hard. "Oh, God," he whispered. "Fuck."

  "You okay?" Ginger asked, his voice shaky.

  Ryan groaned in response.
"Oh, God, yes." Leaning back slightly, he placed one hand on the bed for balance, arched his back, and gave in to the urge to rock his hips, sliding up and down that gloriously-slick cock. Ginger gasped and moaned, and began to thrust in time to Ryan's movement. He pulled out and slammed back in hard enough to make Ryan cry out. Ryan's orgasm was already building, the fire licking at the insides of his balls. "Oh... fuck, I'm close."

  His legs burned with the effort of being on top, and he lost his rhythm. Ginger growled lightly, moving to sit up. Ryan found himself lifted and flipped onto his back in one fluid movement. He gasped in surprise, then groaned at the feel of Ginger's cock pressing into him again. Ginger gripped Ryan's legs behind the knees, pushing them up. Ryan gave in willingly. His heart melted at the sight of Ginger between his legs, his slim body all beautiful and taut. Ginger gazed down to where their bodies joined as he worked his hips, fucking Ryan with deep, steady thrusts. Ryan groaned, watching the curve of Ginger's hip, the angel wings on his pelvis moving in time with his thrusts, like they wanted to fly.

  It was too much: lust crested inside him. Ryan reached down his body, hands slipping over his cock in a tight grip. "Daniel," he whispered, a mere second before he came. His balls drew up, his body tensed, and his cock spilled out his release as the orgasm rocked through his body. "Ohhh, yes. Fuck!"

  Ginger shuddered against him, groaning in reply. He thrust hard once more, then slowed almost to a stop. Ryan opened his eyes to watch the gorgeous man between his legs coming inside him. Hazel eyes locked on his, and Ryan fell in love all over again as he watched Ginger's face through his release. Ryan wanted to see that look many more times, for the rest of his life, if he could.

  Panting, he dropped his legs, reaching out to drag Ginger against him. Ginger collapsed into him, breathless. He shifted his hips as he settled against Ryan, his cock sliding out of his body as he did so. Ryan regretted the loss, but he needed full-body contact right now, needed to be close. He wrapped himself around Ginger, arms and legs. He pushed red hair from the man's face, and brushed his lips over Ginger's mouth.

  Smiling, Ginger pressed a kiss to his lips, then shifted them on the bed, so they could lie side by side. "You okay?"

  "Yeah," Ryan said, breathless. "Definitely." He leaned in for a kiss, head still swimming from lust-filled pleasure. Ginger kissed him languidly, tongue melting against Ryan's. Closing his eyes, Ryan hummed into the kiss. He could have kissed until he fell asleep, but Ginger pulled away.

  "Just a sec." He shifted on the bed, reaching down to take off the condom.

  "There's a bin just there." Ryan gestured to Ginger's side of the bed. Ginger nodded, and once he tied off the condom, he pitched it at the bin with perfect aim. Ryan wanted to say good shot, but bit his lip. He didn't want to ruin the moment by making some lame joke.

  Ginger lay back on the bed, facing Ryan. When he held out his arm on the pillow, wriggling his fingers, Ryan gratefully took it as invitation to snuggle into his chest. He buried his face in soft, sweet-smelling skin. Ginger's arm curled around his back, holding him close. Ryan realised they were both a little sticky and wet. His own come was drying on his stomach.

  Oh, well. Everything else was too good to care about that. Ginger's other hand came to rest on Ryan's hip, thumb brushing over the stickiness on his skin. Ryan shivered, the embers of his orgasm still licking through him.

  "Daniel? I-I'd really like to do that again."

  "Yeah?" Ginger dragged his fingers over Ryan's skin, nails lightly scratching.

  "Mmm. Like, soon." In turn, Ryan traced his fingers over the tattoo on Ginger's chest, the one of intertwining white skulls and red roses.

  "Soon?"

  "Yeah." Ryan's fingers trailed lower, brushing against one silver ring through a dusky pink nipple. The touch stirred a reaction: Ginger's skin flinched; at the same time, a small whimper escaped. Ryan lifted his head, watching Ginger's face. "You like that?" His thumb pressed into Ginger's nipple, then circled the nub gently. Ryan could feel the metal moving through soft flesh. A rush of sordid thoughts filled Ryan's mind, but Ginger's hand gently closed around his, stilling his fingers.

  "Mm." His eyes fluttered closed. "I do like it, but maybe not right now. It's usually better before I... er, you know... come." A slight blush coloured his cheeks.

  Ryan shifted up to lean on his elbow, looking down at Ginger. He spread his palm on Ginger's chest, feeling his heart thumping away. It struck Ryan how shy Ginger seemed, which only made Ryan want him more.

  "Hey," he said softly.

  Ginger's eyes darted up to him, then away. "Hey."

  Ryan slid his hand to Ginger's shoulder, his index finger making tiny circles on tattooed skin. He wanted to touch Ginger's face, too, and stroke his fingers through his long, red hair, but he made a conscious effort not to cling too hard. One step at a time, he told himself.

  "We can... do things later," he said, then quickly added, "I mean, if you want to." Ryan felt his own cheeks heating.

  "Later?" Ginger looked up at him now, eyes locking with his.

  "Uh, yeah."

  "I thought you said you wanted to do this again soon?"

  "Um, yeah... I did." Ryan's face felt like it was turning crimson pink. Smooth move, Ry.

  "Aren't we both working later?" Ginger asked.

  "Er, yes. We are."

  A hint of a smile was on Ginger's lips. "Then wouldn't sooner be better?"

  "Oh." Relief washed over Ryan, and he grinned. "Yes. Sooner would be great."

  "Just great?"

  "I mean, amazing, of course." Ryan leaned down, pressing a kiss to Ginger's lips. "Better than amazing. All the amazing words, and then some."

  "Oh, really?" Ginger smiled at him. "Sounds pretty good."

  "Sure is."

  Chapter 24

  "Matt?" Pete opened the kitchen door. "Y'alright?"

  Looking up from peeling his potatoes, Matt nodded. "Yeah, all right. How you feeling?"

  Pete stepped into the room, nodding absently. "Yeah, fine, I suppose. Slept like a log."

  All right for some, Matt thought. "Er, that's good." He kept peeling the spuds.

  "Yeah." Pete watched him peeling for a few moments. "So... guess this means you're ready to run the kitchen today?"

  "Yep. All set. Just doing some extra 'tats now."

  "Okay." Pete wandered over to the window, glancing down to the beer garden below. "Ginger must have gone out. You seen him?"

  Matt stopped peeling. "I thought he'd slept in the living room?"

  Pete shrugged. "Not there now. Maybe he popped out. Ryan must still be asleep, too, as I can't find him. Fizz is about though, and said he'll help out if we need him."

  A shudder wanted to run over Matt's skin, but he tried to suppress it. "Hm. Right. So, who's supposed to be on shift today?"

  "Ryan and Ginger."

  "Oh."

  "It's all right, though, I'm sure Ginger will be back from... wherever he's gone. I might work today as well. Doesn't really matter if we're late opening, Dom said to take it easy today. Hah."

  "Well, yeah, you probably should."

  Pete waved his concerns away. "Honestly, I feel fine. If everyone didn't keep telling me about what happened, I wouldn't have known any different. Apart from I can't remember Saturday at all."

  "Yeah... well." Matt wasn't sure what to say. He resumed peeling the potatoes.

  "Okay, well, I'm gonna head downstairs." Pete headed for the door. "See what shape the bar's in."

  Matt frowned to himself. He was about to say, he'd seen Ryan earlier, making coffee in the kitchen. But he paused. Maybe Ryan had gone back to bed. Oh, well.

  "I'm picking Sammy up from the hospital about four," Pete added as he left.

  "Right," Matt called back. He peeled the potatoes extra fast.

  * * * *

  Sammy felt sore. He had a new cast on his left arm, reaching from his hand to halfway up his bicep. They'd had to take off the old one, re-set his dislocated shoulder, then re-set
his arm, all while he was awake, for God's sake. After that, he'd had the joy of having a new cast put on. Whatever pain killers they dished out weren't nearly strong enough, and Sammy had made sure to inform the doctor as such. Not that he seemed to care.

  "Everything's pretty much back to normal," Pete said, as he manoeuvred the car out of the hospital car park. "Obviously, you can't work for a while... but we'll sort something out."

  Rolling his eyes to himself, Sammy tried not to huff. Obviously, he couldn't work. How would he pull pints with only one working arm? Not only that, his whole body was sore. There was a huge purple bruise all over his shoulder and back, which really wasn't attractive. The worst thing about all this was that no one could tell him how it'd happened.

  Apparently he'd fallen over in Fizz's room and hit the wall. Sammy didn't even recall going into Fizz's room. Why would he want to go in there? None of it made sense. Well, from now on, he was going to be treating everyone and everything in the pub with a fair amount of suspicion.

  Pete drove them back to The Queen Anne. The sun was out, which added insult to injury, as far as Sammy was concerned. The sky should have been as miserable as he felt. When Pete pulled the car into the front courtyard and cut the engine, he asked Sammy what he wanted to do next.

  Sammy huffed again. He could see people sitting in the beer garden, mostly regulars. They were all gazing his way. "I just want to go upstairs and chill out."

  "Sure." Pete unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out of the car. He came around to Sammy's side, to assist him in getting out of the car, much to Sammy's annoyance. He felt a little woozy, and a lot tired. Maybe those painkillers were pretty strong after all. Ushering him through the pub's side door, Pete escorted Sammy up the stairs.