Page 2 of Ghost of a Chance

Normally she hooked up with a guy in the hotel bar while on a book tour. An average bloke she’d never regret not seeing again. Jasper was fresh—a nice guy that she had more than off-the-charts chemistry with. Plus she was leaving in a day, so there was no way this could get complicated.

Three hours later the show was over and they were standing outside of the bar. She was drenched with sweat, slightly buzzed from a third round of shots, and feeling good in a way she hadn’t in a long time.

His blue eyes looked bright and fascinating as she stared up at him under the umbrella that he’d offered to share with her. It was September; she should have anticipated rain when she left her hotel, but really had just wanted to get to the concert so she’d have a good spot to see the band.

They were so close; his body heat kept her warm against the chill of the rain. Glancing up she couldn’t tear her eyes from his jaw and his full mouth. That lower lip of his caught her attention and there was no way she could look away. She licked her own lips without even thinking about it.

He groaned.

Going up on her tiptoes, she sucked his lip into her mouth as she’d been wanting to do for hours.

He groaned again. The sound reverberated through her body.

His free hand gripped her butt, pulling her closer, more fully into contact with him. He was warm and tasted of beer and tequila. Her ears were buzzing with the drums’ beat and lyrics from the Dead Boys’ last song, “Find Joy.”

Joy was one thing she didn’t really give much time to.

There was writing and worrying about royalties and if she’d be paid on time.

There was adulthood and figuring out what would happen next.

And there was the anxiety that someday her fans would discover that she, unlike her famous heroine, couldn’t actually speak to ghosts.

But as Jasper’s tongue rubbed over hers…joy exploded through her fuzzy brain.

Her body buzzed with need. Desire consumed her as a car pulled up next to them. Jasper broke off the kiss and lifted his head.

“This one’s ours,” he said.

She got into the back seat, sliding all the way across. Once Jasper had the umbrella closed he draped one arm along the back of the seat, his fingers playing with a tendril of her hair that had come free, wrapping one of her curls around his finger while he cupped the back of her neck.

Then his mouth was on hers again. Jasper was tequila, joy and freedom. No responsibility or consequences.

Delicious.

They got out in front of a building that wasn’t her hotel.

“Where are we?”

“My place. I didn’t know your address,” he said, his arms around her waist. The rain had lightened up as they stood outside. “That okay?”

For a minute she hesitated. He was a stranger. A cute, racy one, granted. But a stranger all the same.

“I’m a decent dude. If you want to go somewhere else, the Uber will take you,” he said. “My mom raised me right.”

She wasn’t really worried about going with him. Her gut said this guy was okay, and frankly her body didn’t really care. It had been a long time since she’d been laid. And this hookup felt right.

“I’m good,” she said, kissing him again.

He let the Uber driver go and then took her hand, leading her into his building. It was a blur as they climbed up two flights of stairs. And then he opened his door.

* * *

The music of the night still floated through Jasper’s mind, but really, he couldn’t think of anything else but Kirsty. It had been too long since he’d brought a woman home. He didn’t dwell on the fact that there was still a chance things could go wrong tonight.

Instead the energy and primal need that had been coursing through him since they first locked eyes was in charge.

His apartment was neat-ish. There were dishes in the sink, but he wasn’t planning on taking her to the kitchen.

His apartment was a mix of furniture his mom had given him and IKEA stuff.

He wouldn’t say it had any style except for the corner where his record player, vinyl albums and an old recliner that had been his dad’s sat.

His dad had worked at a local hotel while he’d been studying to become a high school physics teacher, but his dream had been to be a science fiction writer.

He’d been working part-time at a local hotel to try to pay his way through college, then when he graduated he’d pursue writing full-time.

According to Jasper’s mom these albums were the soundtrack of that project he’d been working on when he died.

Thankfully from the outside the collection just made him look like a hipster—broadcasting his membership in the dead dad’s club wasn’t exactly foreplay.

He led her into the living room, noticing how quiet it was after the thrilling noise of the concert. The couch was one of those big overstuffed ones. Glancing at the physics book on the coffee table, he was tempted to toss it into the other room.

It could invite some questions he really didn’t want to get into. But as soon as he sat down, Kirsty straddled his lap, brushing his hair back from his forehead.

“Comfy?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

Her breath was warm, smelling slightly of booze which turned him on.

He’d tried to be cool and not let things drift too far into the sexy zone.

But the entire time they’d been doing shots he’d wanted to feel her tongue on his skin and his on hers. “Getting there.”

The television flickered on. Shit.

“ Don’t spit on my cupcake and tell me it’s frosting .” Of course it was on Judge Judy and she was coming in hot with her tough love.

“What was that?”

“Uh, sorry. I think I must have sat on the remote,” he said, knowing full well he hadn’t.

“Was that Judge Judy ?”

“Yeah. Must have come on after whatever I was watching,” he said. Honestly he should just shut it and stop trying to overexplain.

“She’s a hoot.”

“Sure,” he said. Maybe if he hadn’t heard her advice, wisdom and wisecracks too often, he’d think so too.

He shifted her to the couch and got up to try to find the remote and turn off the TV. Of course the remote was nowhere to be found. He was tempted to unplug it but the plug was behind the big wall unit that housed his Star Wars Legos.

The lights flickered in the kitchen but Kirsty didn’t seem to notice as he finally found the off button on the TV. Kirsty danced around as she sang “Find Joy.”

Glaring at the kitchen, he turned back to Kirsty. Her eyes were closed behind those red framed glasses and her hair was a halo of curls around her head. She opened her eyes and smiled at him. “Dance with me.”

He pulled her back into his arms, singing softly along with her. A few furtive glances confirmed that the television and the lights were all back off.

Picking Kirsty up he walked backward to the couch, sitting down with her once again straddling his lap. “Where were we?”

“About here,” she said, her hand snaking up under his T-shirt. Her fingers were long and slender and cold against his hot skin. As she scraped her nail down his stomach he felt his erection grow.

“I think you have too many clothes on.”

“You too,” he said, stripping his tee up and over his head, tossing it on the floor. Then the lights in the kitchen flickered on and off three more times.

For fuck’s sake .

Kirsty turned her head. “What’s going on?”

The confusion was the only thing saving him. If he gave her a moment to think she’d probably freak and run from his apartment. Jasper brought his mouth down hard on hers to distract her.

Her tongue tangled with his, her arms snaking around his waist, pulling them closer. He forgot about everything going on around him, losing himself in her.

He wasn’t ripped or anything, but she didn’t seem to notice or mind as she kneaded her fingers into his pecs. A trail of fire followed her touch as she undid his jeans.

Removing her glasses, he tugged her T-shirt off. The blender started whirring, a loud jarring sound that had him biting back a curse. Picking up a pillow he tossed it toward the kitchen.

The blender stopped. Glancing down at Kirsty he saw her head resting on his shoulder, soft exhalations brushing against his neck. She’d fallen asleep.

“Thanks a lot, Paul,” he muttered.

He held her for a few more minutes. The light in the kitchen was out again. No need to worry about that right now. Instead he carried her down the hall to his bedroom.

He set her on the bed as she rubbed her eyes sleepily. Grabbing a T-shirt from his clean laundry basket, he handed it to her. She pulled it on before she snuggled under his sheets and curled on her side.

Standing in the doorway he watched her sleeping. His head was fuzzy from the shots and the music and the fun. God it had been a while since he’d just forgotten about all the crap in his life and let loose.

Bringing her back here…he couldn’t regret it. He folded her clothes into a neat pile and placed them along with her glasses on the chair next to her side of the bed.

In the living room, he picked the physics book up off the coffee table. One stupid book had so much control over his life. That ended tomorrow. He tucked it in his work backpack, hoping that would keep things calm in the morning.

Buzzed she might not comment on flickering lights and the TV, but sober she was bound to notice.

Going back in the bedroom, he gazed down at the woman, already fast asleep.

He initially figured he could sleep with her, but somehow that seemed more intimate than the almost-sex they’d had.

Instead he returned to the living room and, grabbing the blanket his mom insisted he’d need, he tried to get comfortable on the couch.

His feet hung off the edge, but the aftermath of almost-sex and the drinks combined to help him drift off to sleep. The soundtrack to his dreams was made up of Dead Boys songs, and his mind drifted off full of images of Kirsty.

* * *

The sound of Judge Judy in Spanish blasting from the TV brought him bolting upright at 6:00 a.m. Sitting up and frantically searching, he found the remote, but hitting the off button did no good. He was finally able to mute it after a few seconds of fumbling around.

“What the fuck?”

He glanced to the hall where Kirsty stood in one of his old T-shirts, tousled hair looking adorably messy. Her mascara had smudged, creating black lines under her eyes, and she looked aggravated and seductive as hell.

“Sorry. Must have hit the remote,” he said.

“Judge Judy…wasn’t she on last night?”

“Uh…”

It was hard to come up with a reason on the fly, she looked tousled, he had a boner, his mind wasn’t on excusing the TV.

He pulled the blanket up to his chest. She furrowed her brow at him. After last night, the modesty might have been a little much. But the fact was they were essentially strangers. Last night’s energy was gone.

“Thanks for letting me have the bed,” she said.

Nodding, he got up, wrapping the blanket around his waist. “Do you want coffee? You’re welcome to use the shower.”

“I’ll get both back at mine.” She turned to go back to his bedroom.

Should he offer to order her some breakfast? Was anything even open at this time of the day? After last night he should have expected that this TV shit would happen…though it wasn’t usually this early.

She returned a few minutes later dressed in yesterday’s clothes. “My Uber should be here in a few minutes.”

“Uh, I’ll go down with you,” he said.

She shook her head. “No need. Thanks for last night.”

Just like that, she walked out his front door. He should have gotten her socials so they could keep in touch, but last night hadn’t felt like the start of anything more than a hookup.

Their almost hookup was merely an extension of the fun they’d had at the concert. She’d been looking for a one-night man and honestly that was all he had the emotional bandwidth for. Best to leave it at that.

He walked to the window. Responded to his mom’s good-morning text. And watched until she got into her Uber. He took a photo of the license plate just in case. As he walked into his bedroom his phone started playing “Nobody” by Hozier.

“You fucker. You couldn’t let me have a nice morning with her?”

The music kept playing, so Jasper just went and took a shower.

This was the final straw. Today was the day he got rid of Paul. For real .

His dead college roommate had been haunting him since he died junior year. Jasper had moved four times before he determined that Paul’s spirit was tied to an old physics book. One that Jasper had no remembrance of ever packing or bringing with him.

He’d thrown that damned book out more times than he wanted to count, and it always showed back up.

Blasting Judge Judy at all hours, and it was always Judge Judy .

Making his phone play random songs at the most inopportune moments.

And that shit with the lights and other electronics. Enough was enough.

Today that all ended.

He was a segment producer on Live with Bri O’Brien . A popular syndicated morning talk show that shot before a live studio audience and was shown across the US and in some foreign markets.

They were having author K.L. Henson on their show. The famed mystery writer was also a clairvoyant and could talk to the dead, not unlike Eva Clare, the detective in her popular Satan’s Brook mystery series.

Jasper was taking Paul with him to the studio for the first time and today his ass was moving on. Whatever it was that Paul thought he needed in order to move on to the other side, it was done as far Jasper was concerned.

Maybe he’d give dating a try again. Things hadn’t gone that bad with Kirsty last night. He hadn’t had a girlfriend since Paul died and his ghost had become a major part of his life.