“Hey! It is not acloset!It is myhumble abode.Don’t disrespect my new pad!”
Ryan rolled his eyes, though he was grinning.
“Alright, alright.” Ryan tossed the keys to Theo. “You take the hearse, Theo. Cal and I will follow you guys in the wagon.”
“Squeeee!” Naomi squealed and bounded up to Ryan’s spooky corpse mobile. “Thanks, Ry-guy! You’re the best!” she chirped as she climbed into the passenger seat. Theo got into the driver’s side, somehow looking both annoyed and amused at the same time.
I chuckled and fired up the g wagon, pairing my phone and putting on a ‘best of Skrillex’playlist. Ryan smiled at my music choice as he climbed in. He buckled up as I waited for our sisters to pull out before following them down the drive and onto the street.
“Well, she’s excited.” Ryan grinned, and I laughed.
“Yeah, no kidding.”
Naomi had been accepted into several schools but had chosen to go to Cleveland State so she could stay close to home. She didn’t really need to stay in a dorm. It wouldn’t be a far commute for her to drive from Fairview, but she insisted that she needed the full experience.
Vox seemed weirdly grumpy about the whole thing, but I just chalked it up to his overprotective big-brotherish behavior. He’s always treated my sisters like family, and I could tell he was worried about sending Naomi off to school without one of us around to watch over her. If you asked me, it was super fucking cute, and I low-key loved it.
“Is everything good to go for the service tomorrow?” I asked Ryan. I’d double-checked that all my responsibilities were taken care of, but I liked to help Ryan out with his tasks, too, if I could.
Because I hadn’t gone to mortuary school, there were just some tasks that Ryan had to handle on his own. So, if there were things I could take off his plate, I always did my best to do so.
He gave me a warm smile and rested his hand on my thigh. My cock twitched at his gentle touch.
Fuck.
Would I ever get used to him touching me like that? Would there ever be a day when he would put his hands on me, and I wouldn’t be overcome with the aching desire to fuck him senseless?
I didn’t think so.
I had it so bad for this man that it wasn’t even funny.
“Yeah, I think everything’s good to go. I finished up with Ms. Mercer yesterday. She seemed to like… I mean, she looks really good. I think her family will be happy with her.”
I glanced at him, narrowing my eyes. The tips of his ears were bright red, and he was doing that weird thing with his jaw that he always did when he was anxious.
“Hey, so… I have a weird question,” I said carefully.
“Uhm. Yeah? What is it?” he asked, and I could tell by his tone that he knew I was going to ask about his little slip-up.
“Can you see dead people?”
He instantly started coughing and choking, like he swallowed down the wrong tube.
Keeping one hand on the wheel, I slapped him firmly on the back, doing my best not to chuckle at how flustered he was.
“Wh-what! Why do you say that!?” he rasped, and I frowned at him.
“Well, when I was stalking you and watching you on the cameras, you used to always have these shadows following youaround. I always see you talking to no one during services… Also, when you’re in the embalming room, you’re always having full-blown, one-sided conversations with people I can’t see.”
Ryan was staring at me, panicked, which made me frown even more.
“Why are you looking at me likeI’mthe ghost?” I asked, braking for a red light.
“You’re much more observant than people give you credit for,” he muttered, and I laughed.
“Hey, I’m an ex-mercenary. It comes with the territory.” I smirked.
He bit his lip, still looking uncomfortable.
