Love, Like Ghosts: A Bay City Paranormal Investigations Story

by Ally Blue

  Stuffing his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, Adrian started across campus toward the road to Groome Castle. He needed to hurry. He would likely require several minutes of quiet meditation before he could connect with Lyndon, and it was imperative that he arrive at the dining hall before Greg tonight.

  So he won’t find out what you’re doing. So you can keep the truth from him.

  Adrian picked up his pace and kept his head down to hide the guilt in his eyes.

  Lyndon had nothing new to say, or to show. Just the same images, over and over and over again, as tantalizing and frustrating as ever. By now, Adrian had memorized the way Cassius’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, the gilded quality of the light on the bed in the tower room, the blinding surge of anger and finality that always accompanied the embroidered collar.

  Adrian had come to believe the collar related somehow to Lyndon’s death. Had his murderer worn it? Had that collar been the last thing Lyndon had seen before he died? The need to know burned in Adrian like nothing else ever had. But that bit of cloth with its blue flowers and the smear of dirt on the corner seemed to exist in a vacuum. If any other memories survived Lyndon’s death, he wasn’t sharing them. Not yet, anyway. Not until Adrian could find a way to open up the deepest parts of himself enough to let Lyndon in.

  If only he could figure out how in the hell to do that.

  Discouraged, Adrian trudged down the steps from the tower room, through the main hall and across the foyer. He would’ve liked to stay and try for a little longer, but he was out of time. Greg expected him at the dining hall in twenty minutes.

  Maybe he could come back tomorrow. Both of his Wednesday classes were back to back first thing in the morning, Dr. Perez didn’t need him at the lab until Friday and Greg was in class from eight until three. If he came by here just after lunch, Adrian would have a good two and a half hours to attempt communicating with Lyndon again. Hopefully the extra time would allow him to relax more. Send himself into a deeper trance. Something, anything, to tap into those locked-off portions of his mind he needed to access in order to learn the rest of Lyndon’s secrets.

  Adrian opened the front door, slipped out into the waning light and used his psychokinesis to lock the door behind him. He hunched his shoulders against a gust of cold wind. He glanced upward. At least the predicted clouds hadn’t materialized. The nearly full moon shone through the bare tree branches, providing him with plenty of light to navigate the gravel drive from the castle to the paved road. He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets and started walking.

  He hadn’t gone more than a few yards when he noticed a figure approaching on the otherwise deserted lane. Frowning, he slowed his pace. Who else would be coming to the castle? There were no events going on right now, and even the most desperate students didn’t come here for private moments when it was this cold. Especially since people without psychokinetic powers couldn’t unlock the doors to get inside.

  As the figure drew closer, it passed through a space clear of trees. The combination of the vanishing daylight and a particularly bright moonbeam picked out a familiar head of golden brown curls.

  Adrian’s heartbeat slowed to a hard, painful thud-thud-thud. He stood rooted to the ground, sick with apprehension, and waited. What else could he do?

  Gravel crunched as Greg approached. “Adrian.”

  “Greg. What…?” Adrian swallowed. “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.” Greg stared at him, gray eyes brimming with anger and hurt. “We need to talk.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Shit. Adrian licked his dry lips. “You’re right. Let’s go to my place. We can talk there.”

  With a curt nod, Greg turned on his heel and stalked off down the road. Adrian followed, shaking all over with a combination of shock and gut-churning dread. He’d been caught red-handed, with no recourse but to tell Greg what he really should have told him weeks ago.

  He just hoped Greg would still be around after he heard what Adrian had to say.

  The walk from Groome Castle to Adrian’s apartment took eons. Greg marched along at a determined pace without one word or a single glance over his shoulder. Adrian trailed meekly behind him, staring at the stiff line of his spine and wishing they could both go back in time. Just transport backward half a day to that morning, when they had lain tangled together in the warm nest of Adrian’s sheets and blankets, Greg’s naked body curled against Adrian’s side and his head pillowed on Adrian’s chest. If he could turn the clock back, Adrian mused, he would tell Greg then. He’d confess the whole thing, before Greg could find out…however it was he’d found out.

  “How did you know I was at Groome Castle?” Adrian asked as they walked up the stairs to his apartment. He concentrated harder than was strictly necessary on punching in the entry code, so he wouldn’t have to see Greg’s face.

  “Well, that’s a very interesting story.” Greg swept past Adrian and into the apartment as soon as he swung the door open. Instead of sitting, Greg took off his jacket, threw it on Adrian’s tiny dining table and started pacing. “I got out of class early today. You’d said you were going to be studying at the library, so I decided to head over there. On the way, I ran into your friend Ryan. I mentioned where I was going, and he said to me, ‘Oh, Adrian’s not at the library anymore. I just saw him heading toward Groome Castle.’”

  All the air rushed out of Adrian’s lungs. He shut the door, shuffled to his only armchair and fell into it. “Oh.”

  Greg snorted. “Yeah, ‘oh’. So I said, ‘Groome Castle? Why would Adrian be going over there?’ And Ryan says, ‘Oh, he goes there all the time. Didn’t you know?’” Crossing the room in a few strides, Greg grabbed the arms of Adrian’s chair and leaned close, eyes blazing. “Didn’t I know? Why, no, I did not know. Why is that, Adrian? Why did I not know that my boyfriend makes regular trips out to Groome Castle? Why the fuck does everyone but me know this? And what in the goddamn hell are you doing out there, anyway?” He straightened up and wrapped his arms around himself, making him look uncertain and heartbreakingly fragile. “Why did you keep this a secret from me, Adrian? Are you…are you seeing someone else?”

  In his wildest nightmares, Adrian never imagined Greg would have believed he’d cheat on him. Without a second thought, Adrian jumped up and wrapped his arms around Greg’s tense body. “No! God, no. There’s nobody but you.”

  Relief shone in Greg’s eyes. Nevertheless, he shook loose of Adrian’s embrace, walked across the room and sat on the edge of Adrian’s bed, still clutching himself as if he’d fall apart if he didn’t. “What’s going on, then? What’s such a big deal that you couldn’t tell me about it?”

  An angry scowl twisted Greg’s features, but the hurt came through loud and clear in his voice. Adrian’s chest tightened. “I’m sorry, Greg. I should’ve told you earlier. It…it’s nothing terrible, I don’t know why I didn’t tell you before. I guess it’s just because you don’t believe in ghosts and I figured you’d be upset, and…” Adrian made a helpless gesture with one hand. “It seems so stupid now.”

  Sighing, Greg rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Adrian. Just fucking tell me.”

  Adrian shut his eyes and drew a couple of slow, deep breaths. When he felt sufficiently calm, he opened his eyes again and walked over to sit beside Greg. “Okay. Just promise me you’ll listen with an open mind?”

  Greg studied him with narrowed eyes for a moment before giving him a brief nod. “I can’t wait to hear this.” Kicking off his sneakers, Greg curled his legs beneath him and pinned Adrian with an expectant stare.

  “All right. Well.” Adrian studied his clasped hands, trying to think of the best way to begin. “You know I saw Lyndon Groome’s ghost the day you and I first met, right?”

  “I know you said you did.” Greg let out a soft laugh. “I remember thinking you were either lying or completely nuts.”

  “I’m not crazy.” Adrian twisted his fingers together. His he
art beat so fast it made him dizzy. “And I told you, I don’t lie.”

  Silence fell. A door slammed across the hall. Footsteps pounded down the stairs outside, fading as they reached the first floor. Adrian waited, staring at his hands and forcing himself to remain still. Part of him desperately wanted to look at Greg. A larger part of him dreaded seeing the expression on Greg’s face.

  “Let me see if I understand what you’re telling me,” Greg said at last, his voice far calmer than Adrian had expected. “You’re telling me that you really did see a ghost that day. No lie.”

  “Lyndon Groome’s ghost, yes.” Adrian glanced at Greg. His face was unnervingly blank.

  Greg nodded. “How do you know that?”

  Surprised, Adrian turned sideways and tucked one leg underneath him on the bed. “What?”

  “How do you know it was Lyndon Groome’s ghost?”

  “Well, um…” Adrian scratched his neck, feeling self-conscious. “He told me.”

  One pale eyebrow lifted. “He told you.”

  “Uh. Yeah.”

  “The ghost.”

  “Yes.” Adrian crossed his arms and fought down a rising tide of indignation. “You knew I could communicate with spirits. I haven’t mentioned it or demonstrated it again around you, because I know it makes you uncomfortable and because I know you don’t believe in it, but I haven’t made any secret of my abilities either.” Not those abilities, at least. Adrian squashed the niggling guilt before it could get a foothold. He wanted to tell Greg about his psychokinesis, but now wasn’t the time. There may never be a time for that. “There’s no need for you to sound so…snide about it.”

  Greg’s cheeks flushed and his eyes darkened, and Adrian steeled himself for a bitter argument. He hated it, but he didn’t know what else to do. He no longer allowed anyone to talk down to him. Even if he should have told Greg about Lyndon earlier, he couldn’t allow Greg to become an exception to one of his most important rules just because he cared for him.

  When Greg slumped forward with a long sigh and rested his head on Adrian’s shoulder, Adrian had to bite back a whoop of relief. He shifted into a more comfortable position, wound his arms around Greg’s back and rested his cheek against Greg’s hair. Greg smelled like the winter cold. Adrian breathed it deep into his lungs with a smile.

  “I’m sorry,” Greg mumbled against Adrian’s neck. “You realize we haven’t discussed this whole ghost thing at all since that night at Groome Castle, right? How you believe it and I don’t, I mean.”

  Adrian’s stomach flip-flopped. “I know.”

  “Mm.” Greg unfolded his legs, stretched one across the bed and planted the other foot on the floor. “We probably should.”

  “Probably.” God, that’s not going to be pretty. Just because the last fight they’d had about ghosts had ended in mind-blowing sex didn’t mean the next one would. They’d both been tense as an overfilled balloon at that point. They could’ve read their grocery lists aloud and it would’ve ended in sex.

  Greg’s hands wandered up Adrian’s back and clutched his sweater hard. “I don’t want to talk about it right now, Adrian. I think this is the wrong time.”

  Relieved, Adrian nuzzled the silky skin just behind Greg’s ear. “I think you’re right. We should wait a while. Put tonight behind us. Then we’ll sit down and talk it all out once and for all. Okay?”

  “Sure.” Lifting his face, Greg captured Adrian’s mouth in a slow, sweet kiss that made his chest ache. When they drew apart, Greg sat back with a calm but determined expression. “All right. So, you were saying that you talked to the ghost. Is that why you keep going out to the castle? Are you still talking to it?”

  “Yeah. But the thing is, it’s more than just a simple conversation. I’ve gotten…” Adrian frowned at the wall, searching for the right way to explain it. “Well, I guess you could say that a few times when I’ve talked to Lyndon, he’s shown me some of his memories. But it’s nothing coherent. Just bits and pieces. If I can figure out what I’m seeing, I might be able to find out what happened to him. How he died. I may even be able to find his body, and if I can do that, maybe the school can give him a proper burial and put his spirit to rest. So that’s what I’ve been doing all this time. Trying to communicate with Lyndon. Trying to see what else I can learn about his death, so that I can help him move on.”

  Greg hid his disbelief well. Adrian would give him that. But Adrian knew Greg well enough to see it anyway. Not that it mattered. He hadn’t expected Greg to actually believe everything he said was the literal truth. What he did expect was for Greg to know he believed it, and to respect that truth. He waited, gazing into Greg’s eyes with as much calm as he could muster.

  After what felt like forever but probably wasn’t more than a minute or two, Greg blew out a breath. “Okay. So, you’ve been trying to solve the mystery of the Groome Castle ghost.” He gave Adrian a weak smile. “I guess that’s better than you sneaking off to fuck some other guy behind my back.”

  Torn between relief and worry, Adrian scooted closer and touched Greg’s cheek. “Greg, you didn’t really think I’d cheat on you, did you?”

  Greg shrugged, the very picture of nonchalance, but Adrian saw his answer in the way Greg’s gaze slid away to study the bedside table. He’d believed, however briefly, that Adrian was seeing someone else, and he’d been visibly relieved to learn that it wasn’t true. Something about that fact gave Adrian’s insides a peculiar deep-down quiver.

  He traced Greg’s jaw with his fingers. The pale stubble tickled his fingertips. “I’d never do that. Never. I don’t want anyone but you. Okay?”

  “Sure.” The answer sounded casual, but Greg’s head remained bowed and his fingers toyed nervously with a hole in the knee of his jeans.

  Cupping Greg’s chin in his palm, Adrian lifted Greg’s face. Greg’s eyes cut sideways to avoid Adrian’s gaze. Adrian shook his head. “Greg. Look at me.”

  Greg obeyed with obvious reluctance. His face wore the expressionless mask he used when he wanted to hide how he felt, but a storm of relief, confusion and lingering hurt swirled in his eyes. For a moment, Adrian felt as if he were staring into a mirror image of his own tortured eleven-year-old psyche, trying to make sense of all the half-truths and outright lies being flung at him from all sides.

  In that moment, Adrian realized in a blinding flash of insight exactly what he’d done, and the shame of it nearly gutted him.

  Framing Greg’s face in his hands, Adrian leaned their foreheads together. “I never cheated on you,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “But I did lie to you. I deliberately hid from you what I was doing, and tried to tell myself that it wasn’t lying, it was just not telling you everything. But it was lying, because the whole point was to keep my secret from you. For you not to find out. And that was wrong, it was against everything I believe in. Worse than that, I broke my promise to you, and I am so, so sorry.” He stroked a thumb over Greg’s cheekbone. “Can you forgive me? Can you give me another chance?”

  Greg let out a soft sound. His hands came up to clasp the back of Adrian’s neck. Tilting his head, he kissed Adrian in a way that signaled the end of any conversation for the night.

  It wasn’t exactly the answer Adrian was looking for, but it was an answer, and he accepted it as such. He’d learned long ago that Greg communicated physically rather than verbally more often than not. If he was still angry, he wouldn’t have his tongue in Adrian’s mouth, his fingers wouldn’t be creeping into Adrian’s hair and he definitely wouldn’t be making that hungry noise in the back of his throat. Adrian opened wide for Greg and let his rising arousal wash through him.

  By the time Greg broke the kiss and shoved Adrian onto his back, he was so hard it hurt. He opened his legs and moaned when Greg’s weight pressed their erections together. Greg shoved Adrian’s sweater up to his armpits. “Off.”

  Adrian grasped the hem of the sweater and pulled it over his head. In the midst of wrestling it over his elbows, Greg bent and suc
ked Adrian’s left nipple. Adrian moaned, his back arching off the mattress. “God.”

  “Mmm.” Wriggling downward, Greg mouthed the crotch of Adrian’s jeans. “These need to come off too.”

  In his haste to get his shoes off, Adrian almost kicked Greg in the head. Greg laughed. Adrian yanked off his sneakers, then nudged Greg’s forehead with one sock-clad toe. “I don’t see what’s so funny.”

  “You are. So anxious for me to suck your cock that you almost knock me out before I can do it.” Grinning, Greg flipped open the button on Adrian’s jeans and tugged down the zipper. “Is this what you want, Adrian?” He eased the worn denim down over Adrian’s hips, taking his underwear with it, then leaned forward and kissed the tip of his prick. “You want me to suck your cock?” Holding Adrian’s gaze, he traced his tongue under the flared head of Adrian’s glans in a slow, lazy circle. “You want me to swallow your dick all the way down? Hm? I bet you want to come in my mouth, don’t you?”

  Adrian bit his lip and nodded, unable to speak. God, but it undid him when Greg talked dirty like that. He was pretty sure Greg wouldn’t consider what he’d just said particularly dirty, but Christian had never talked that way to Adrian during sex, and it excited him beyond belief.

  Sitting back on his heels, Greg slid Adrian’s jeans down his thighs. Adrian lifted his legs into the air so Greg could maneuver the garment down his calves, over his ankles and off. Greg tossed the whole thing over his shoulder, then went to work on his own clothes.

  Adrian sat up to help him. Between them, they got Greg’s sweatshirt off and his jeans unbuttoned. Distracted by the scent of Greg’s skin, Adrian paused to suck up a mark on his neck just below his jaw, one hand fisted in his hair and the other bumping into Greg’s as they both fumbled with his zipper.

  Greg chuckled, the sound rumbling against Adrian’s lips. “Stop helping, you’re getting in the way.”

  “But I want your cock.” Adrian bit Greg’s neck and grinned when he yelped.