Gabbi hums in thought, “Cillian? Keegan? I don’t know, something like that.”
“C-Cian?” My heart is pounding as I do a web search for a Cian Gunn in Kismet Falls. I bite my thumbnail as the results load.
“Yeah, that sounds right!” I can hear Gabbi suck her teeth before she asks, “Okay, what’s going on Triss? Why does itmatter what the dead previous owner’s dead son’s name—dios mio!Is he the fucking ghost?”
I click on a newspaper archive and blink. Right there, in pixelated black and white, is Casper. My heart skips a beat and my hand comes up to my mouth to cover my intake of breath.
“Trissa?” Gabbi’s voice, which is an octave higher than normal snaps me out of my trance.
“No, Gabs…” I take a shaky breath against the tightness in my throat and feel a tear slide down my cheek. “He’s the ghost,andmy mystery texter…” I glance around the room, not sure how I feel about the possibility that he’s watching me right now.
“Fuck. I’m not gonna say I told you so… but in lieu of that, I think I need a drink.”
“Me too…” I think about my conversations with Cian, and how he seemed to always be so spot on and in tune to what I was feeling, which makes a lot more sense now that I know he had the inside scoop. I want to feel betrayed, or angry. Hell, I’d settle for freaked out at this point because that would probably be the normal reaction. You know, the one that doesn’t indicate I may need a grippy sock vacation… but, I’m none of those things. Shocked, yes… shocked and sad for him, andannoyed.Because if Cian is Casper, then whatthe fuckis he waiting for? “But first, I’m gonna go fishing.”
“Fish—what the hell are you talking about Trissa?” I can’t help but to giggle at the confusion in Gabbi’s voice.
“I need you to be my Max.” I perk up with excitement as the pieces of my plan click into place.
“Ooo-kay… now you’ve really lost me.”
“I’m Nev, you’re Max…I’m gonna catch me a big ol’ catfish and make him holler!”
Gabbi sighs heavily and I can almost hear the litany of curses that I know are running through her head until she mumbles, “Tiger. It’s the tiger that hollers.” I can feel her giving in and I smile with victory as she says, “Fine. Fine, just tell me what to do.”
I squeal with excitement and run back over to the drawer, shoving the card inside of it and carefully pushing the drawer back into place. “Okay… let Operation Ghost Cock commence!”
A groan sounds over the phone and Gabbi whines, “I’m already regretting this.”
Chapter twelve
Self-Gratification
Cian
Iblow out a breath as I head toward the bedroom, where Trissa’s presence is beckoning me like a lighthouse does a ship on stormy seas. Despite the exhaustion weighing me down like a physical thing, I’m proud of what I accomplished today. A little shiver of excitement runs through me as I think about that embrace earlier, and howgoodshe felt in my arms trembling to the sound of my voice in her ear. My experimentation with the ghost goo was a pretty significant success as well. I’m still struggling a little with the mechanics of controlling the appendages (yes, plural!), but I can create them without any real effort now, and the details are much more complete.
I smile to myself as Trissa comes into view. She’s snuggled into the center of my bed with a book perched on her lap and her phone on the bed beside her. Her luminous blue hair is cascading freely around her shoulders and my hands itch to run through it. I’ve missed her today, even though we’ve only been separated for a couple of hours. I bite my lip, torn between wanting to crawl up her body and continue what we startedearlier, or send a message on the phone and just get to know her some more. While I’m frozen with indecision Trissa picks up her phone and frowns. Before she can so much as blink, I’m floating above her. I glance down at her phone to see a small string of messages she’s sent to me over the last thirty minutes or so.Shit!I didn’t think about what would happen if I wasn’t in the area when she tried to text. Shame heats the tips of my ears as I try to quickly scan the messages over her shoulder.
Trissa: So what do you look like—just like, a rough idea?
Trissa: Sorry if that was out of pocket, just realized that I have no idea and might have been a little too trusting of a stranger…
Trissa: Tell me something about you, something that no one else knows.
Trissa: Cian?
A warmth settles in my chest as I read her questions. She wants to get to know me too! My heart soars but I frown as I think about how to answer, especially considering she already knows what I look like…
Cian: Sorry, love—was working on something and time slipped away from me. I’m twenty-four, pale, bit thin but solid… I don’t know, average looking I guess.
Trissa gasps and then grins, her face lighting up with joy as she gets my text. A strange expression flashes across her facequickly and I’m worried for a moment that she won’t accept my pathetically vague answer.
Trissa: I can work with that. And something no one else knows?
As thankful as I am that she’s not really hounding me for answers, I’m still a bit chagrined to know that the bar is so low... seemingly the only thing lower is her personal safety awareness. How does knowing I’m a skinny pale guy make me any less a stranger? I scratch my chest and shake my head. At least I’m here to help protect her now. I sigh and think about how to answer the next one.I’m a ghost and you’ve made me come in my pants… twice, is a real possibility. I snort and start talking…
Cian:I feel trapped…and I’m terrified that what I am right now is all that I’ll ever be.
