Love, Like Ghosts: A Bay City Paranormal Investigations Story

by Ally Blue

  Adrian laughed. “Colin’s going to be jealous.”

  “Pfft. Maybe he should’ve bought a clue earlier.” Chelsea glanced through the back door window. Her eyes widened, and she grinned. “Here comes Greg. I’m just making myself scarce now.” Grabbing her cup, she turned and scampered across the kitchen to the hallway she and Adrian had just come from. “See you later, Adrian.”

  “Yeah, see you.”

  Smiling, Adrian took a sip of his coffee. It tasted a little burnt, but the heat felt good going down. He cradled the warm cup in both hands, leaned against the counter and waited. A moment later, the door opened and Greg stomped inside, looking put out.

  He stopped when he saw Adrian. A guarded expression flitted through his eyes swift as thought before his face lit up and he smiled. “Adrian. Hi.” He bounded across the room. Adrian barely had time to set his coffee down before getting a double armful of Greg. Still grinning, Greg pressed a light kiss to Adrian’s lips. “Jesus, you’re soaked. What happened?”

  “I was helping carry stuff out to the truck, and of course I didn’t have a raincoat or anything.” Since no one was around to see, Adrian ran his tongue over the purple bruise on Greg’s neck. A quick movement at the back door window caught the tail of his eye. Lifting his head, he saw something shift out of sight. He frowned. “Greg? Is someone else out there?”

  “Just someone I know.” Greg kissed the corner of Adrian’s jaw. “Mmm. Wanna get out of here?”

  Adrian opened his mouth to question Greg again—because clearly the person on the porch was more than “just someone”—but Greg’s lips on his throat convinced him it didn’t matter so much right then. He ran his hands up underneath Greg’s shirt, seeking the warmth of his bare skin. God, it was so hard to think straight with Greg’s body molded to his. At least his psychokinesis wasn’t going haywire anymore. “Are you sure that’s all right?”

  “Sure. Most of the work’s done. You need to get out of those wet clothes, then you need a warm bath, and then you need to get in a warm bed with a nice, warm man. Namely, me.” Fingers traced the line of Adrian’s spine and wound into his hair. Greg licked along the shell of Adrian’s ear. “C’mon, let’s head on back to your apartment. I really, really want to suck your brains out through your cock.”

  “Oh. Oh, my God.” Adrian’s knees wobbled. He clutched Greg tighter. “Yeah. Okay.”

  Greg let out a low, lustful laugh that raised goose bumps on Adrian’s arms. “Thought you might like that.” He pulled away, taking Adrian’s hand in his. “Come on.”

  Adrian grabbed his coffee and let Greg lead him out of the kitchen. By the time they reached the main hall where several of the other students still congregated, he’d managed to rid himself of his semi-erection.

  He didn’t realize he’d forgotten his umbrella until he and Greg were halfway to his apartment, but he didn’t mind. Greg had an extra-large one to share.

  Besides, Adrian knew he’d go back to the castle soon enough. He still had the mystery of Lyndon Groome’s death to solve.

  ~ * ~

  “And therefore, when one considers the concept of simultaneity as it applies to subatomic particles, one can only conclude…”

  Adrian glanced at his watch. Five minutes had passed since the last time he checked. He swallowed a frustrated sigh. The lecture had already run overtime, and he was supposed to be at the Paul Green Theater for Greg’s audition ten minutes ago.

  Just when Adrian thought he couldn’t take another second, Dr. Perez strode up to the lectern to thank the guest lecturer and dismiss the class. Adrian jumped to his feet, swung his laptop bag onto his shoulder and jogged out of the hall while most of his classmates were still in their seats.

  “Adrian, wait up!”

  With a frustrated groan, Adrian slowed down to a rapid walk. “I’m late meeting someone, Ryan. What’s up?”

  Ryan matched his pace, grinning ear to ear. “I heard through the grapevine that some lucky man finally captured the enigmatic Mr. Broussard. More specifically, I heard you were dating Greg Woodhall.”

  Surprised, Adrian glanced at Ryan. “You know Greg?”

  “Not personally, no. But I know who he is. My friend Isobel was in theater classes with him last year, and she had a huge crush on him. All to no avail, of course.” Ryan nudged Adrian’s shoulder. “So, it’s true? You and Greg are an item, for real?”

  Adrian rolled his eyes. “Good grief, doesn’t anyone have anything better to talk about than my love life?”

  “It’s your own fault. You wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if you hooked up all the time like a normal person.” Ryan leaned closer with an exaggerated squint. “Nice hickey, by the way.”

  Heat flooded Adrian’s cheeks. He covered the mark on his neck with one hand. “Shut up.”

  Ryan laughed. “Sorry, it’s just weird to see you walking around with love bites, you know? I was starting to think you were asexual.”

  “I dated Christian for six months in freshman year. Did you forget that already?”

  “Dude, Christian never once left you looking like you’d been sexed up by a mountain lion and liked it.”

  It was true, which irritated Adrian beyond belief. He shot a glare at his friend. “Change the subject or go away.”

  Ryan held up a placating hand. “Actually I did have a real reason for stopping you. I wanted to ask you if you had Dr. Orson’s lecture from last week. I got held up at computer lab and missed it, and they’ve already taken it down off the website.”

  “Oh. Yeah, I have it on my hard drive. I’ll email it to you.”

  “Cool, thanks.” Ryan dodged around a slight young man and a tall, rangy girl making out in the middle of the sidewalk. “I tried to ask you about it last night, but you ignored me in favor of gazing soulfully into Greg’s eyes.” Folding both hands beneath his chin, Ryan batted his eyelashes.

  Adrian frowned. “What’re you talking about? I didn’t see Greg last night. I was home alone all night working on a paper.”

  “Really?” Ryan’s eyebrows went up. “Huh. Must’ve been someone else I saw.”

  Someone else. With Greg. Last night.

  Gazing into his eyes.

  Adrian shook off the instant surge of jealousy. Any number of perfectly legitimate reasons existed for what Ryan had seen.

  “Someone else. Yeah.” Adrian forced a laugh. “I would’ve thought you’d be able to recognize me by now, though.”

  “Hey, it was dark, and I only saw him from the back. And the guy had on a knit cap or something. I just assumed it was you because whoever it was, he was alone under a tree at night with Greg, and I’d heard y’all were dating. It was definitely Greg, though.” Ryan pointed a finger at Adrian. “If I were you, I’d find out who this dude is. Looked to me like he was trying to put the moves on your boy.”

  A trickle of unease ran up Adrian’s spine. He didn’t believe Greg would cheat on him. But something felt off. Maybe he should ask Greg about it.

  No. Ryan probably just saw him talking to a friend of his. If you start asking questions, it’ll look like you don’t trust him, and he’ll get angry. Just keep it to yourself.

  Easier said than done. But Adrian did trust Greg, and he was determined not to let his insecurities turn something innocuous into a potential source of contention between them. He wouldn’t ask Greg about the man Ryan had spotted him with last night, no matter how badly he wanted to.

  Adrian glanced at his watch and cursed under his breath. “Shit. I need to hurry. I’ll send you that lecture later this afternoon, all right?”

  “Sure.” Ryan gave him a narrow-eyed stare. “You okay, man?”

  Adrian answered his friend’s obvious worry with a smile. “I’m fine. Talk to you later.”

  “Yeah. Later.” Ryan clapped Adrian on the shoulder, then veered off across the quad.

  Drawing a deep breath to steady himself, Adrian picked up his pace and hurried toward the theater as fast as he could without actually running. He ha
d an audition to get to.

  ~ * ~

  “Well, crap.”

  Adrian glanced over the top of his MacBook at Greg, who sat on the other side of the library table staring at his own laptop as if it had just told him his favorite grandmother died. “What’s wrong?”

  “I didn’t get the part.” Shutting his laptop, Greg dropped his chin into his hands. “Ms. Halstead said my monologue was excellent, but my singing voice wasn’t very good.”

  Greg’s expression was so forlorn it tore at Adrian’s heart. He reached across the narrow table to touch Greg’s arm. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I thought you were great.”

  A faint smile touched Greg’s lips. “Too bad you’re not casting the play.”

  Adrian shook his head. “I don’t understand why she said that about your singing. I didn’t see anything wrong with it.”

  “Yeah, well. ‘Nothing wrong with it’ wasn’t enough to beat out Jon Hudson.”

  “Which one was he?”

  “The really tall guy with the ponytail.”

  “Oh.” Adrian studied the document open on his laptop. He remembered the man now. His acting ability hadn’t been quite as good as Greg’s, but it hadn’t been far off, and his singing had been truly impressive. Adrian had no idea if saying so would hurt Greg’s feelings, however, and he’d just as soon avoid finding out.

  Apparently luck was not with him. Greg leaned forward, watching Adrian’s face. “You can’t tell me you thought I sang as well as Jon.”

  Damn. Steeling himself for whatever might happen next, Adrian met Greg’s gaze. “No, that’s true. He’s definitely the better singer.”

  Greg looked startled for a second, then let out a quiet laugh. “Well, you did tell me you’d never lie to me.”

  “Yeah.” Adrian bit his lip. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. I know I can be really blunt.”

  “No, that’s okay. You didn’t hurt my feelings. I want to hear the truth.” Greg raked a hand through his hair. “They’re casting for Wicked in February. I’ll try out for the part of Fiyero. That’ll be my goal.” He pinned Adrian with a bright, fierce gaze. “I can do this. I can.”

  Adrian took in the determined gleam in Greg’s eyes and felt an odd flutter in his chest. Pushing his laptop aside, he reached across the table and took Greg’s hands in his. “I know you can.”

  Greg beamed at him. Shooting a glance toward the librarian—who was frowning at them—he lowered his voice to a whisper. “You want to go grab some dinner, then go back to your place?”

  “Sure.” Adrian peered at the clock on his Mac. It was only five thirty, early enough that nothing on Franklin Street should be too crowded yet, even on a Saturday. “I could go for Pita Pit, how about you? I’m not in the mood for the dining hall tonight.”

  “Me neither. Pita Pit sounds perfect, let’s go.”

  They gathered their laptops, pulled on their jackets and exited into the mid-November twilight. Greg produced a Tarheels toboggan from one pocket of his coat and tugged it over his ears. “Damn, it’s cold out here.”

  “I know. They’ve been predicting an unusually cold winter this year.”

  Greg stuck his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders. He didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t have to. Adrian knew what he was thinking—he wanted Adrian’s arm around him, like the night of their first date.

  Adrian stifled a sigh. He couldn’t deny that it would feel good to walk down the sidewalk with Greg’s body warm and solid against his side. But he just couldn’t do it. Even though his psychokinesis had settled down a lot since he and Greg started having sex, it still tended to react unpredictably when Greg pushed his comfort zone in public. And walking through the Chapel Hill crowds with their arms around each other definitely pushed Adrian’s comfort level. It made him feel rather like a bug pinned to a piece of cardboard.

  I have known the eyes already, known them all. He laughed.

  Greg shot him a sharp look. “What?”

  “Nothing. Just thinking of something I read once.” And thinking that if I ever get that pathetic I hope someone smacks some sense into me.

  “Fine.” Hoisting his laptop bag farther up onto his shoulder, Greg started walking faster. “Let’s hurry. I’m freezing my ass off.”

  Adrian shook his head and picked up his pace to match Greg’s. It amazed him that someone with as much professional drive and determination as Greg could be so childish at times.

  They’d just emerged onto Franklin Street when a man Adrian didn’t know stepped out in front of them. He wore black jeans and a red wool coat. A brown knit cap covered his hair.

  A knit cap. Ryan said the guy Greg was with the other night wore a knit cap.

  Yeah, and so do a million other people. Greg’s wearing one right now. You’re being paranoid.

  The logical argument didn’t help. Adrian studied the stranger’s face with growing suspicion.

  Eyes as pale as a Husky’s stared at Greg with unnerving intensity. He ignored Adrian completely. “Hello, Greg.”

  “Um. Hi.” Greg moved closer to Adrian. “Uh, ’scuse us.”

  He tried to go around the stranger, but the man moved in front of them again. Alarmed, Adrian looked the man up and down. Physically, he didn’t seem very intimidating. He was about Adrian’s height, and not much bulkier. But Adrian didn’t like the hard glint in his eyes at all.

  Adrian took Greg’s hand and stared at the side of the stranger’s head. “If you’ll excuse us, we really need to go.”

  The man cast a baleful look in Adrian’s direction. “Who’s that?”

  Greg sighed. “This is Adrian. We’re dating now.”

  The man whipped around and pinned Adrian with a narrow-eyed stare. “No. You stay away from him.”

  “Harrison, you can’t—” Greg clamped his mouth shut so fast his teeth snapped together with an audible clack. He met Adrian’s gaze for a second, then looked away, but not fast enough to hide the expression in his eyes.

  A rush of pure fury drew the dead leaves at Adrian’s feet into a miniature whirlwind for a moment before he got it under control again. He couldn’t decide which made him angrier—the fact that Harrison seemed to be stalking Greg still or that Greg obviously hadn’t wanted Adrian to know.

  Not that it mattered right then. Adrian hadn’t felt this kind of rage in years, and if he didn’t do something with it, he thought it might eat him alive.

  He stepped between Harrison and Greg and met Harrison’s livid gaze. “No, Harrison. You’re the one who needs to stay away from Greg. He doesn’t want to see you anymore. And if I ever catch you bothering him again, I will make you very, very sorry. Are we clear?”

  Behind him, Greg let out an exasperated noise. “Adrian, goddammit—”

  “Shut up, Greg.” Harrison bared his teeth. “I’d like to see you try to keep me away.”

  An idea popped into Adrian’s head, and he went with it before he could overthink it. Gathering his anger to him, he used it to sharpen and focus his psychokinesis. It was surprisingly simple to compress the air around Harrison’s neck just a bit. Not much. Not enough to really hurt him. Just enough to make his eyes go wide and his hand fly up to his throat.

  Simple to start. Not so simple to continue. After a couple of seconds, Adrian’s control unraveled. Harrison sucked in a deep lungful of air. The malice in his eyes was gone. He stared at Adrian with fear stamped into every line of his face.

  Oh, my God. He knows what I can do. He knows. All because of my stupid temper.

  And who’s to say you couldn’t have hurt him? Maybe you could. Maybe you could even have killed him, if you wanted it.

  Neither were exactly pleasant thoughts. But Franklin Street wasn’t the place to have a crisis about it. Adrian arched an eyebrow and tried to look as if he didn’t feel like throwing up. “You okay, Harrison? You don’t look so good.”

  Shaking his head, Harrison backed up. “You stay away. You stay away from him, demon!
He’s mine, you can’t have him!” He fled across the street, narrowly avoiding being hit by several cars, and blended into the crowd on the other side.

  “Jesus fucking Christ,” Greg groaned. “I swear, if I knew how to get in touch with his parents, I’d call them. He’s gone off his nut.”

  “Yeah.” After a quick look to make sure Harrison had really gone, Adrian turned to Greg and laid both hands on his shoulders. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. He didn’t even touch me, in case you didn’t notice.”

  Adrian frowned at the peevish tone in Greg’s voice. “Well, obviously he’s still been bothering you, even after you told him not to.”

  “Yeah, so?” Greg started down the sidewalk, his laptop bag bumping against his side and Adrian at his heels. “He never does anything but this. Just keeps trying to get me to come back. He’s just being a pest.”

  “Are you kidding me? He’s already hit you once.” Adrian gestured in the general direction of the Forest Theatre. “And according to you, he’s hit you before, when you were dating. That’s why you broke up with him.”

  Greg’s shoulders tensed. “He’s only hit me that once since we broke up, and that was because I pissed him off. As long as I don’t make him too mad, he doesn’t do anything but talk. I can deal with that.”

  “Jesus, Greg.” Adrian rubbed a hand over his face. “Listen to yourself. You’re making excuses for his behavior.”

  “They’re not excuses. I know him, Adrian. I know what he’s like, and I know how to handle him.”

  The steel in Greg’s voice brooked no argument. Adrian gritted his teeth and switched tactics. “Fine. He’s just pestering you. What happens when it escalates like it did before?”

  “It won’t.”

  “But what if it does?”

  Greg shot an irritated look over his shoulder. “I’ll handle it.”

  “Really? Like you’ve been handling it up until now?” Adrian swerved around a woman pushing a stroller. “He’s the one you were talking to at Groome Castle the day we were taking down the haunted house, wasn’t he?”