Giving Up the Ghost

by Stella Price

  Rhys gave her a dry look. “She doesn’t. It’s a long story but suffice to say that her and Dante have only been together as long as this tour has been on.”

  “New relationship? Odd, they act like an old married couple…well an old married couple of two really hot people.”

  “Well Dante was pretty resistant to her advances and all, and of course his Cro-Magnon man brain couldn’t open to the possibilities that a woman like X wanted him.”

  “Dear god why? The man is hot.”

  Rhys shrugged and they stopped at the long end of the bumper cars and he leaned against the railing. “Well if you wanna know I’ll tell ya.” He said with mischief in his eyes.

  Saffron shook her head. “Gossiping about the boss isn’t wise…”

  “Gossip? Nope, I’m just simply returning the favor of her revealing my secret to someone. See X is a witch…”

  “Yeah I knew that. She’s very open about her affiliations.”

  “Yes well, X was an acolyte for The Morrigan. And acolytes have to give up certain things for their Goddesses. For X it was her virginity. So she waited till she started getting the prophetic dreams about her ‘dream man’ and it lead us all to Dante and Shadow Heights.”

  “Interesting.” She said and leaned against the railing as well.

  “It gets better. Apparently, and you can’t tell Dante I know this, or X, but Dante wasn’t the guy… Some other dude was. But Dante, in true fashion of a big swinging dick, saves her from some muggers and then kisses her. X thinks it’s him and then it snowballs from there.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Rhys laughed and shrugged. “Talking to the dead has its advantages, and I’m a busybody, especially when it comes to X’s happiness.” Rhys said bitterly.

  Saffron sighed. “Unrequited love then?”

  Rhys shook his head. “Hardly. X is my best friend. I didn’t think he was right for her, and I was right. She loves him though, and my god is he protective of her, even though she can totally kick his ass. I keep tabs on them, since it was my fault they almost didn’t happen.”

  “Jealously?” she offered.

  “Stupidity, misplaced loyalty. Wild ideas.”

  Saffron laughed. “Explain.”

  Rhys sighed. “I know it wasn’t long ago but, well if now was then, we wouldn’t be here, odds are you would be carrying my ass to bed to sleep off my bender.”

  “Your drinking jags are well known in the industry Rhys. I was pleasantly surprised to see you as a functioning individual when I got here. Less babysitting work.”

  He gave a small short laugh. “Yeah, well, when I got there I was shitfaced and stayed shitfaced for two days. In my drinking haze I thought I would be… shit I don’t know what I was thinking, but I almost broke them up before they had a chance. So suffice to say, I keep an eye on them, to make sure that the happiness she finally has,” he leaned in and lowered his voice, “And sex life, aren’t fucked with. She deserves to be happy, we all do.” He ended with a frown.

  Saffron touched his shoulder and smiled. “Okay before you get all maudlin, how are you at bumper cars?”

  Rhys grinned and looked over his shoulder. “I think it’s a safe bet we are both going to get into one hellish accident.”

  “Isn’t that the point?” she asked as she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the barker who was collecting the tickets. She handed over six, three for each of them and bee lined it to the far car, a white and red monstrosity with a number 5 on the front.

  Rhys went for a blue and gold metallic car with a 13 on it and grinned. “Ok there Speedracer?” he asked and strapped in.

  “Like you didn’t pick your car for any other reason…”

  “Thirteen is my lucky number…” he offered.

  The jolt of the cars starting shook everyone on the floor and then the hunt was on. Saffron came at him fast, and he took the challenge, ready to ram her.

  She veered last minute and he went flying into someone else crossing their path and Saffron laughed manically.

  “Lucky number my ass!” she screamed and rounded for another pass.

  Rhys shook off the bleariness and rounded, going after her. “Your ass is right…” he called and laughed as he feinted right and then whipped around and slammed into her from the side.

  “Oh! It seems we have had an accident!” he teased and gave her a devastating grin. “Now where did I leave that insurance information?”

  Saffron scowled and shot off and rounded on him as he was laughing and hit him head on and then grinned. “Totaled. I don’t think insurance is going to cover it.”

  Two other people hit them, laughing, which got them laughing. She left the fray and rounded on them, and slid up right next to Rhys’ car as the ride ended, the electric charge leaving the wire grating above them propelling them around the track. She turned and looked at him with an arched brow.

  Rhys unbuckled himself and got out and offered her his hand, which she took as she unbuckled herself, and rose from her car. Gods, she was beautiful, her hair a little windblown, her color up from the excitement. He couldn’t resist. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips and she let him but pulled back all too soon.

  “Not a date remember? Now… what’s next?”

  Rhys hid his disappointment, though he didn’t think she was easy enough to succumb to his advances after a twirl around the bumper car track. “Well, ladies choice, there’s a Ferris wheel, or we could play some games? You wanna win me a stuffed animal?”

  “Isn’t that supposed to be the other way around?” she asked and walked with my off the track and onto the boardwalk proper.

  “Normally yes, but as you said, not a date, so all convention goes down the gangplank so to speak.”

  Saffron gave him an arch look and then shrugged. “Games it is then… What shall we do?”

  They walked into the gaming area, weaving as one unit through the families and screaming children, checking out the different games. A ball toss, balloon darts, basketball. They stopped in the center of it all and gave it another look, and then Saffron pulled him towards one of the stalls.

  “Hey little lady! You fancy a game?”

  Rhys looked at the booth and then the attendant and stifled a laugh. The guy leered at Saffron, his scraggly jack sparrow beard was at least six inches too long to be functional, and he was missing a tooth. Rhys came up behind her and looked over her shoulder.

  “The water gun game? Why not…” he said and Saffron turned to him and grinned and then looked at the attendant.

  “How much?”

  “Two each… quickly now… we are filling up.”

  Saffron fished four bucks out of her pocket and handed it to the attendant and then sat at number twelve and motioned for Rhys to sit next to her on the right. “It is your lucky number right? Let’s see how lucky.”

  Rhys sat and the other seats were quickly taken by kids and adults alike.

  “Ooh full game, full game! This one is for choice…” the attendant said in his microphone and stepped back. “Get ready…”

  The alarm sounded and the game started, both Rhys and Saffron concentrating on hitting the dead center. Rhys watched her out the corner of his eye, her tongue hanging outta her mouth in concentration. He groaned and shook his head, the woman had no idea how dead sexy she really was when she wasn’t trying to be.

  Saffron frowned as seconds later the alarm went off again and a cheer sounded from around the other side of the booth. Pouting, she turned to Rhys. “You distracted me.”

  He laughed. “Lies. You distracted me.”

  Her brows knit. “How do you figure?”

  Rhys got off his stool and leaned down to her. “That sexy little tongue of yours pokes out when you’re concentrating, and I know full well what it can do.” He winked and hauled her up. “Next game?” he said sunnily and pulled her down the line, a shocked look on her face.

  She recovered before they got to the next booth but it was just
rapture to know that she was as effected as he was with his words.

  “Ooh!” she said and went to the next booth down and grinned. “Ping pong for a Wishing Fish?” she asked and he shrugged.

  “Wishing Fish?” he asked and pulled out ten dollars and handed it to the attendant, receiving two baskets with twenty balls each in them. He handed her a basket and quirked an eyebrow.

  Saffron grabbed a ping pong ball and aimed at a bowl in the center and it hit the rim and went careening off in the other direction. She frowned. “A Wishing Fish is a fish you win at the fair, you know the gold fish.”

  “Right but why call them Wishing Fish?”

  “Because you wish on it, and if the fish is still alive the next day, the wish will come true.”

  “That’s a little macabre don’t you think?” he took a shot and missed, clearly unsettled with the situation.

  “Says the guy that uses the dead to spy on his bosses love life.”

  “Touché.” He stated and threw again. This one hit the rim, and rolled but fell off the side, not inside the bowl. “You would think it would be easy to do this…” he murmured.

  “It’s the ping pong balls bounciness. It evens the odds out. You gotta get it just right with enough spin…” she said and launched another ball, and the whooped and cheered. “I got it! Woo!”

  Rhys grinned and kept trying, and that was when Saffron leaned closer and spoke to him in a low even tone.

  “Center yourself. Don’t over throw because that will just get a hard bounce, gentle is the key, but with velocity. Toss it carelessly.”

  He turned his head and leaned in and kissed her as he threw and the attendant barked. “Another winner! Lady is lucky. Two fish… choice my dear!” the old man working the booth smiled at them with a good natured flair. Saffron went to the fish side and stuck her tongue out again, clearly thinking.

  “What are you going to choose?” he asked as the attendant came over to them. “Fighting fish defeat the purpose of a wishing fish; they never die, and are ornery as hell.”

  “Might I suggest…” the attendant said and motioned to the top row. They were kissing fish. “You two seem such a nice couple, perfect for each other, might as well honor the win by getting something that shows how you won.”

  “We aren’t a couple…” Saffron said and then pointed to the pair of medium sized fish. “Those then.” She turned to Rhys as the attendant gave her the bag. “Tour bus mascots, since you guys are all a bunch of horn-dogs.”

  “Can’t fault you there. What are you going to name them?”

  “Fish one and Fish two?” she said with a smart ass grin on her face.

  “I’m sure you can come up with something better.”

  She shrugged. “Probably. That’s what I’m going with right now.” She looked back to the attendant. “Thank you.”

  “Enjoy them Miss…”

  Saffron walked around Rhys and looked over to the dying light of the day, twilight creeping down from the east. “So? More rides? We got all these tickets.”

  Rhys didn’t say anything but grabbed her hand and pulled her further down the pier towards the more raucous rides. She let him lead her and came up next to him when they ended up in the thick of the rides and then pointed. “That one.”

  Rhys looked over to something called Rock N Roll, a snake of cars all attached to a sideways wheel that used gravity to push the low hanging cars straight out as it twirled. Music was blaring from the speakers, the dulcet tones of Winger’s “Seventeen” reaching their ears. Rhys laughed and remembered the one time he had been on the ride, then called the Himalaya, back when he was in high school.

  “Hell yeah, though I hope Winter doesn’t see this when he gets here.”

  “No? Why?”

  “Back in high school he scarfed down a candy apple trying to impress some snotty rich girl from the Garden District and then went on something close to this. Threw up in her lap. Needless to say, he didn’t get any that weekend.”

  Saffron barked out a laugh. “Holy shit that’s hilarious! Well I think we should triumph where he failed don’t you?”

  “And the fish?” he offered.

  “Well take them with us. I’m sure they are going to be traumatized soon enough anyway.” She walked over to the ride and gave the guy sitting at the controls eight tickets and then walked up the ramp and slipped into a car, Rhys right next to her.

  “That guy looked at me funny.” He said in a low tone.

  “Well we are in California,” she offered with a wry smile. “Of course it’s not like you’re not a known face. Shit I’m surprised more people haven’t recognized you on this little jaunt.”

  “I’m counting myself lucky for that.” He murmured. The last thing he wanted was to have to play the part of Rhys the rock star. As much as he loved that part of his life, it was tiring as shit. It was good to let his guard down every once in a while, and he was finding it easier and easier to do when in the presence of Saffron.

  The ride started up a minute later and Rhys groaned as he heard his voice, the deep growly whisper at the beginning of the first song on their album, Bare Witness, fill the ride.

  “Well it’s safe to say someone recognized you…” she said in a scream as they started to go faster. She had one hand on the bar, and one holding the fish bag. Rhys slipped his hand onto her thigh, the small expanse that was naked skin between her over the knee socks and her skirt. She turned to him with a smirk, but didn’t tell him to move his hand, and he squeezed and leaned in as he noticed the people all gathering around the ride itself as they went around.

  “Seems our peace is going to be broken after this little ride. Shame too, I wanted to do the Ferris wheel.”

  Saffron leaned in and giggled. “What, you think you were going to get me on a Ferris wheel and what? Get you some? Think of the children!” she said and pointed down to the fish.

  The ride began to slow, and Rhys looked up to see the crowd had gotten larger and a ton of girls were there watching him and Saffron. From the looks she was getting, daggers would be kinder. The operator smiled at them and hit the button and they started going backwards and Saffron whooped and then leaned in to him again.

  “As soon as we get off this thing, we are going to get mobbed by all the little girls out there.”

  “Tell me about it.” He murmured and then turned and kissed her hard. “I had hoped…” he sighed and Saffron smiled.

  “We get out of here unmolested, I guarantee you will be.”

  ***

  Saffron wasn’t sure why she said what she did on the ride, except for the reasoning that Rhys was a very real fantasy. He was neurotic, and fun, interesting and sexy, and everything she looked for in a guy. She knew when they left for the pier, which was a date no matter how much she protested it, that she was in a whole shit load of trouble and she shouldn’t go, but she did and here she was, calling the car service to get them outta there quickly so they could make out like teenagers in the back seat on the way back to the hotel.

  Xxieda would kill her, or worse, fire her and put the word out through the industry she couldn’t be trusted. Her entire future was riding on this tour, and she was letting something as trivial as attraction ruin it. She had no illusions on where it was going either. Rhys lost his heart long ago, and while she might be a passing fancy, she knew she was expendable in his life, and if things ended badly…

  Still, the man was everything she liked, which was why she was taking the chance. And look at Xxieda, she thought as she closed the phone, She didn’t take no for an answer and look at that slice of heaven, or hell as it were, that is hers for always? Rhys might not be for always, but something could work out. Your still friends with two of your ex’s she reminded herself.

  Why shouldn’t we pursue this? We are adults, and neither of us is looking for forever. No regrets Saff, enjoy the man, he seems to want to enjoy you.

  And that was the other thing. Rhys had already gotten his round the world from her,
and yet here he was, out with her, and interested in her still. She looked over to where he was, talking to a gaggle of teenage girls to see him talking to them, but his eyes on her. There was concern in his gaze, as if he knew she was having the internal struggle. She winked at him and licked her bottom lip, hoping that the action got the point across. He grinned and then put his attention back to the girl that was talking to him. Saffron watched him interact with his fans, watched as the girls pawed at him, and how he just brushed it off. If they were going to keep this thing going between them, it was a good thing she wasn’t in any way a jealous bitch. She learned long ago that it was all part of the job, and jealously wasn’t worth it. But she would jump off that bridge as it burned.

  “So who is the girl?” One of the girls said that was hanging on him much like she knew him.

  Saffron cocked her head listening to the conversation, her curiosity getting the best of her. What would he consider her? His boss? Friend? Handler?

  “Saffron? Saff, come here…” he called and she turned a smile on her face. At least she wasn’t being called a friend. Yet.

  She walked over to them and Rhys reached out and pulled her to him, his arm wrapping around her waist and he leaned his head against hers. Thank god they were almost the same height.

  “Saff, this is Anabelle and her friends. Anabelle and I used to fuck for a while.”

  Saffron, trying to stay unfazed by his candid admission, smiled at the other girl who Rhys had pulled away from completely. She stood there with a pleasant smile on her face but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Great, so now I’m the one he’s fucking for a while. Well this is an answer if there ever was one.

  “Nice to meet you,” Saffron said. “Are you guys coming to the show tomorrow?”

  Anabelle looked at Rhys. “Well that’s what we were discussing. Sexstar here was being stingy with his passes.”

  Sexstar? Oh lord she was one of those that had to forever remind you that they had history.

  “I was not. I didn’t say anything actually.”

  “There is room on the list,” Saffron offered. “How many?”

  Anabelle gave her a jaundiced look. “And how the hell are you going to handle it?”