“Damn it.” As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Erica fumbled her way to the light controls and jiggled the knobs. “Please turn the lights back on.”
The dimly-lit LEDs across the board appeared to be getting power…just not enough. She checked the cord where it attached to the wall and to the device, but everything was in its place. “I don’t know, guys. Let’s keep rehearsing, and we’ll worry about the lights later. We’ve still got two hours of practice left.”
Jason peeled himself away from Caitlyn’s grip. “What if this happens during a show?”
“It won’t. I’ll call someone to fix it this afternoon.”
They ran through the scenes the rest of the morning, the lights dimming and changing colors several times before finally going back to normal. With the erratic behavior, Erica wanted to agree with her students that a ghost was messing with the lights. But nothing showed itself to her, no matter how hard she tried to see a spirit.
It definitely wasn’t Mrs. Spencer, and Erica had never seen a ghost in this building…not even when she was a pupil here herself.
She dismissed her students and dropped into a chair. With no source of income, she couldn’t afford to pay a technician. She might be able to cancel the ad space she’d bought in the newspaper, but that wouldn’t be enough to cover the cost of repair.
She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Gage could fix it. He had a way with mechanical things. Electrical. Computers. The man was smart and sexy.
Her stomach fluttered. She hadn’t returned his call from yesterday; she couldn’t ask him for a favor now. But she didn’t have another option she could afford. At least she had her emotions under control today. She’d managed to keep her mind away from thoughts about today’s date all morning. Maybe Gage could distract her enough to get her through the rest of the day.
And she wouldn’t mind seeing his bright aqua eyes again. Maybe even tasting his soft, full lips. She dialed his number before she could change her mind. He answered on the first ring.
“Hey, Gage. I’m sorry I didn’t call you back yesterday.”
“Are you okay?” Concern emanated from his voice. No doubt he’d heard she’d been fired, but she didn’t want to talk about it. Not over the phone.
“I had a rough night, but I’m fine. I will be, anyway.”
“That’s good to hear.”
An awkward silence stretched between them. He was obviously waiting for her to say something. To steer the conversation away from her job loss or to gush about it. When she said nothing, he cleared his voice.
She took a deep breath and forced out her request. “I was wondering…when Mrs. Spencer had the theater renovated, she installed this new, fancy, computerized light board. It’s been on the fritz lately, and I thought…well, lighting was always your thing…”
He chuckled. Was it a humorous chuckle or a perturbed one? “You want me to come have a look at it?”
“Would you? If it’s not too much trouble.”
“It’s no trouble at all.” He paused. “Can you give me two hours?”
“Yeah. Two hours is great. Thank you.”
“Any time.”
As she hung up the phone, her stomach did flip flops. She’d get her light board fixed and get to spend some time with a hot guy. Her lips tugged into a smile. It felt weird to think of Gage that way, but there was no denying his hotness. Gage 2.0 had a sex appeal she’d never noticed before. The question was, what was she going to do about it?
Gage sat on his sofa, tapping his fingers against his knee. His first instinct had been to drop everything and head to the theater right away, but if he’d learned anything from the scores of dating articles Chelsea had sent him, it was that he shouldn’t make himself look desperate. Waiting two hours made it seem like he was busy…so she knew he had a life too.
Still, he couldn’t help but notice the sinking feeling in his stomach. He shouldn’t get his hopes up. She’d only asked him to fix something for her. The last woman he’d dated brought him home and asked him to fix her Wi-Fi. Then he never heard from her again.
He couldn’t let that happen with Erica. It wouldn’t happen with Erica, but he needed to be sure he did everything right with her. He groaned and dialed his baby sister’s number. He would probably regret this.
“Hey, big brother. To what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your voice this afternoon?”
“Hi, Chels. I need some advice.”
“Really?” Damn, she sounded way too excited. “Shoot.”
Pressing his thumb and forefinger into his brow, he squeezed his eyes shut. “Erica’s back in town.”
His sister paused for a moment. “Please don’t get your heart broken again.”
He let out a breath. Chelsea was always the most observant one. No matter how hard he tried to pretend he wasn’t crazy about Erica in high school, his little sister had always seen the truth. “She never broke my heart to begin with. Anyway, I think she might be interested in me now.”
The slight sucking sound of the refrigerator door opening drifted through the phone, followed by the thud of a drawer opening and closing. “What makes you say that?”
He stood and paced the room. “She kissed me.”
“What kind of kiss are we talking about?” She spoke around the food in her mouth. “A peck on the cheek? Don’t read too much into it.”
“It was on the mouth.”
She swallowed. “With tongue?”
He stopped, closing his eyes for a long blink before pacing again. Why had he decided to call his sister about this? Oh, right. Because if he’d asked a guy friend for advice he’d have told him to man-up and ask her out. Maybe that was what he should do. “There was no tongue, but it was a real kiss. It meant something.”
She took another bite of whatever she was eating. “How do you know it meant something?”
“Because I could feel it, and I know she felt it too.” She had to have felt it.
Chelsea finished chewing before she spoke again. “How do you know she felt it?”
The look in her eyes. The way her gaze lingered on his lips as she pulled away. He exhaled an exasperate sigh. “I just do. Never mind. I’m sorry I called you.”
“Wait, Gage. Assuming she is interested, what are you going to do about it?”
Pausing in the living room, he dropped his arm to his side. “That’s why I called you. I don’t want to screw this up.”
The sound of his sister’s nails drumming on the countertop filled the silence before she spoke. “When are you going to see her again?”
He plopped onto the couch. “She bought the old theater, and she asked me to go by and look at the light board. It’s broken.”
“And you told her no, I hope.”
“Why would I tell her no? I said I’d be there in two hours.”
She sighed. “Oh, Gage. Don’t you see the pattern here?”
Yes, he saw the pattern, but this was Erica. She was different. “It’s not going to be that way.”
“It’s already that way. Don’t do it. Call her back…no, even better…text her and tell her something came up, and you can’t go.”
He switched the phone to his other ear. “Something came up?”
“Yes. Don’t tell her what. Be mysterious about it. Then wait and see if she calls you again.”
Yep, he definitely regretted making this phone call. “I’m not doing that.”
“Please don’t go. You know what? I bet even Abigail will agree with me. Let me add her to the call.”
He groaned. “That’s not necessary.” But she had already dialed their oldest sister’s number.
“Hey, Abby, guess what?” Chelsea sang. “Erica Miller’s back in town.”
“Does Gage know?”
She giggled. “He’s on the phone.”
“Hey, Abigail.” He lay on the couch and propped his feet on the arm. “Sorry to drag you into this. I had a brain fart and decided to call Chelsea for dating advice.”
Abiga
il laughed. “You must be desperate.”
“I’m not desperate.”
His niece squealed in the background, and Abigail shushed her. “Are you wanting to ask Erica out?”
“Yes, but—”
“He already kissed her,” Chelsea interrupted. “And now she’s asked him over to fix something for her. Tell him not to do it.”
“Why wouldn’t he do it? They were best friends.”
“And then she moved away and broke his heart.” Chelsea sighed. “Don’t you remember him sulking in his bedroom after she left?”
He clenched his teeth. “I did not sulk.”
“You blasted Secondhand Serenade over and over all day long,” Chelsea said. “You were sulking.”
Sure, he was sad to see Erica go. And so what if he’d found some music that fit his mood? He wasn’t sulking. He’d graduated and hadn’t started college yet. He didn’t have anything better to do at the time. “Anyway…”
“I think you should do it,” Abigail said. “And then ask her to dinner. And talk to her. If you still have feelings for her, you need to make sure she knows this time.”
“I guess that will work too,” Chelsea said. “But don’t act too needy. And don’t be clingy. Be cool.”
“Be yourself,” Abigail said. “Let us know how it goes.”
“Thanks, I will.” He pressed end and tossed his phone on the coffee table. Abigail’s advice made sense. If he told her how he felt, the absolute worst that could happen would be for her to never call him again. And while that was the last thing he wanted to see happen, he’d lived the past ten years without her in his life. He’d survive.
He read his newest demonology book to occupy himself for the next hour. While he hoped to never come into contact with another creature from hell again, he couldn’t deny his fascination with them. It had been almost a year since he’d helped his friends fight off the shadow demon living in their attic, and if he hadn’t studied the creatures as much as he had, they’d probably all be dead. Paranormal investigators had to be prepared for the worst, and sometimes human spirits could be as awful as demons. What would Erica think about his hobby? Most people didn’t give a second thought to the existence of ghosts…until they encountered one themselves.
He showered and changed and then headed to the theater to meet Erica. She’d said the light board was on the fritz, but he had to wonder if the problem could have a paranormal source. Two spirits that he knew of haunted Erica’s theater, but there was no sense in scaring her by mentioning it over the phone. They were harmless as far as he knew, and the problem could still be electrical. He’d find out soon enough.
He pulled into the parking lot next to Erica’s Saturn and wiped his clammy palms on his jeans. Fix her light board. Ask her to dinner. Tell her how he felt. He could do this. No sweat.
He pulled open the front door and stepped into the lobby. Pale sunlight filtering in through the windows provided the only light in the small space. A heavy, black door separated the entry area from the auditorium. Finding it unlocked, he pushed it open and stopped by the last row of seats.
Erica stood on stage, straightening a vase of fake flowers on a prop table. She moved a chair into place and stepped back to eye the position. A flood of memories came rushing through Gage’s mind as he watched the bright lights glisten off her light brown hair. How many days had he spent in the light box at school watching her perform…shining the spot light to make her hair appear as if it were glowing?
He could’ve stood there watching her all afternoon, but he had a mission. Fix the lights. Ask her to dinner. Tell her how he felt.
He cleared his voice.
She turned around, and her whole face brightened. “Hi. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“You should keep the front door locked when you’re here alone.”
“I usually do.” She descended a short set of steps and glided up the aisle toward him. “I unlocked it for you.” She stopped two feet in front of him and wrapped one arm across her stomach to rub the other. The hint of a blush spread across her cheeks. “Thank you for coming.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “No problem. How are you? Lindsay told me what happened at work.”
She lowered her gaze to floor. “She did, eh?”
“It’s a shame I had to hear it from her. Why didn’t you tell me?”
She shrugged and raised her gaze to meet his. “I was…embarrassed.”
“Why?” She’d never been embarrassed to talk to him before. What had changed?
“I had just told you about how badly I’d failed in LA. I didn’t want you to know I’d screwed up yet again.”
“I could have helped you. I might have been able to recover the file.”
She shook her head. “Not in fifteen minutes.”
“I would have tried.”
“What’s done is done.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
“No, I suppose it doesn’t.” He chuckled, though he couldn’t force a bit of humor into his laugh.
“What?”
“It’s nothing. I…back in high school, I was always the first person you turned to. But we’ve lost ten years between us, so I guess I shouldn’t expect things to go right back to the way they used to be. I do wonder what’s changed to make you not trust me anymore. I haven’t changed.”
She leaned forward, shifting her weight to her toes. “But you have changed, Gage. We both have. And I do trust you, but something is different now. I don’t know what it is about you…about us, but something has changed.”
There was that look again. That fire in her eyes that wasn’t there before. She was right; something had changed, and he’d be damned if he was going to let it slip away.
He stepped toward her. Screw telling her how he felt; he’d show her. Cupping her left cheek in his hand, he lowered his mouth to hers. Her lips were warm and soft, and she responded to his kiss, opening her mouth to let him in. He slid his other hand to the small of her back, pulling her close as she wrapped her arms around his waist. A soft moan escaped her throat as her tongue brushed his. God, she felt good in his arms. Her taste. Her scent. The feel of her soft curves pressed against him. He closed his eyes, allowing his body to memorize the contours of hers.
As the kiss slowed, she placed her hands on either side of his face, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs as she pulled away. “Yeah. That’s the something I was talking about.”
His heart hammered in his chest. “Change is good.”
“In this case, I agree.” She kissed him again before resting her head on his shoulder and letting out a satisfied sigh.
He stood there holding her for a while, enjoying the way she felt in his arms. He’d hugged her plenty of times, but an undeniable energy danced between them now. This moment felt too good to be real. Too good to last. Chelsea’s advice rang in his ears: Don’t read too much into it. How could he not? He slowly released his hold and ran his hands up and down her arms. “You have a light board you need me to look at?”
She smiled and gave him a curious look before nodding at something behind him. “It’s right over there.”
“Show me what it’s doing.” With his hand on the small of her back, he guided her toward the computer system. She didn’t seem to mind the close contact. In fact, when he stopped in front of the board, she sidled next to him, sliding an arm around his back to rest it on his hip. Something between them had definitely changed, and he couldn’t fight his smile. “Do the lights go out completely or do they blink?”
“Both. What’s so funny?”
His smile widened. “Nothing. I’m glad you called me back.”
She returned his grin. “Me too.”
He leaned over the board, toying with the dials. “You know, I could charge you seventy-five bucks to take a look at this thing. Then another eighty-five an hour to fix it.”
She crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one foot. “You could.”
“But I won’t.” He continued me
ssing with the dials. “I think you should let me take you out to dinner instead.”
She laughed. “Let you take me out to dinner? That sounds like you’re asking me on a date.”
He straightened and turned to face her. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
She blinked and furrowed her brow. “I would…love to go on a date with you.”
“You look surprised.”
“I kinda am.”
“Surprised I asked or surprised you said yes?”
“Both, actually. But…when?”
His sister’s advice swam in his mind. Don’t be clingy. Don’t be needy. Try not to look desperate…Fuck it. He shrugged. “Are you free tonight?”
“I’m free now.” She held his gaze with her deep, brown eyes, and he was tempted to say screw the lights and take her home with him right then. But the lights were the reason she’d called him.
“I’ve got a job to do right now.” He winked. “But I’ll be free as soon as I’m done.”
She smiled and sat on the arm of a chair. “Okay.”
He checked the cables connecting to the machine and to the walls, making sure everything was in place. Erica probably checked it all already, but in all his years working in IT, he’d learned the easiest fixes were often the ones most overlooked. He glanced up every now and then to find her watching him, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of her pink lips. What he would’ve given to know what she was thinking…
He couldn’t find anything wrong with the mechanics of the system. That left three possible causes: the building’s electrical system, the software, or the paranormal. The latter two he could handle, but if the building’s electrical was the culprit, Erica would have to call someone in to rewire the place.
He tapped a few keys on the keyboard to get into the system, and a frigid breath on the back of his neck made his arm hairs stand on end. He shivered but tried to ignore the spirit manifesting behind him.
The air around him grew colder until goose bumps pricked at his skin. He hovered his fingers above the keys, not touching anything, and the house lights flickered.
Erica covered her mouth and gasped, her eyes growing wide as she focused her gaze on something behind him. Could she actually see the spirit? One way to find out.
To Free a Phantom (Spirit Chasers Book 3) Page 7
