by Sean Michael
“Had a ghost hitch a ride.”
“Is that what happened back at the hospital? Someone tried to hitch a ride?”
“I don’t think so. I mean, I didn’t feel anything in the van.” Thank God.
“I mean, while we were in the hospital. It seemed like there was a ghost using you to communicate. Has that happened before?” Flynn asked.
“No, never.” And he was pretty sure he didn’t want it to happen either. Creepy.
“I didn’t like it. It was like you weren’t there.”
“Hopefully it was just a fluke.” Because Blaine didn’t remember not being there.
“Is it wrong that we’re ghost hunters, but we’re hoping not to have an encounter like that again?”
“We’re hoping to have some cool things on film more than anything, right?”
“Yeah, the camera better have caught something. Otherwise we’re going to look like a whole bunch of scaredy-cats who got spooked at a little bit of darkness.”
“Well, part of that is a thing, isn’t it? I mean, there’s a lot of showmanship, right? In and among the truth?”
“Yeah, I guess. It didn’t look like you were putting shit on at the hospital today, though.”
“It didn’t feel like I was either.”
“Cool. Well, if it happens again, I’m going to try and pull you out of it again.” Flynn looked deadly serious.
“I think I was just tired. I don’t like the idea of….” Of what? Possession? Did he even believe in that?
“You were exhausted.” A shiver went through Flynn. “Anyway. We all came home safely.”
“Right. That’s the important part.” Was not coming home safely an option?
“Yeah.” Flynn kissed his hand. “I better check on those pizzas. You want a Coke or something to drink?” Flynn was still lying on him, making no attempt to actually get up.
“We still have a few minutes, don’t we?” Suddenly he didn’t want to be alone.
“Yeah, I’m sure we do.” Flynn dropped another kiss on his hand, then leaned up and kissed his lips. “I bet we can take as long as we want. There were more pizzas.”
“Or I could wander down with you, rescue them.”
“Sure thing. I just thought we were….” Flynn chuckled. “I wanted more sex. Can you blame me? Look at you.”
“I want more too. I just… I’m hungry too, and a little wigged.”
“Oh man. Call me Mr. Insensitive. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought the whole crap at the hospital up. We could have talked about it tomorrow. I wasn’t planning to bring it up until we went through the stuff we got on the equipment.”
“Hey, it’s cool. We’re still super new at… everything together.”
“Yeah, yeah, we are. But….” Flynn shrugged as they made their way down the stairs. “It’s probably silly, but I feel like I’ve known you forever. I got comfortable with you faster than I ever do with anyone.”
“Me too. It’s like we’re old friends.”
“More than friends.”
There was that voice again.
“Yeah, exactly. Maybe we knew each other in a former life.” Flynn waggled his eyebrows and laughed.
“Maybe. Maybe you were my girlfriend!” Blaine teased.
“Why was I the girl?” Flynn wanted to know.
Blaine noticed that neither of them was pooh-poohing the idea of them having known each other in a former life.
“Maybe we were both girls.”
“Oh, I hadn’t even thought of that. I like it.” Flynn bent over and checked the pizzas through the glass window in the oven. “I think they could use a few more minutes.”
“You want water? Milk? Coke?”
“Oh, pizza needs Coke, not milk.” Flynn grinned and leaned against the counter, hair mussed around his head, beautiful muscles shining in the kitchen lights.
“Is a can okay?”
“No. I want five-star service, man.” Flynn grinned like he was the funniest guy in the world.
“Too fucking bad.” Blaine grinned back. He had to.
“Damn. Okay, I’ll take a can.” Flynn’s laughter bounced around the kitchen, making the place feel full of life.
“I’m glad you’re here, man.” He wouldn’t have wanted to spend tonight alone.
“Yeah, me too.” Flynn opened his Coke and took a mouthful. “And I’m glad you’re not the no-eating-in-bed type.”
“I’m easy, for the most part. I’ve been lonely.”
Flynn came over and hugged him tight. “I’ve got you, babe. Oh God, that’s a line from a Sonny and Cher song.”
“Dude, it scares me that you know that.”
“I shouldn’t tell you that I could sing you the entire song, then, should I?”
“No shit?” Well, he knew Flynn was an odd duck.
“I know. Sad, isn’t it?” Flynn grinned, shrugged. “I have a knack for remembering all manner of things. Lyrics I’m especially good at. Not a terribly useful skill, except when it comes to tests.”
“Hey, that’s cool. I wish I tested better. I’m an average student, really. Was.”
“Was there something that you didn’t get to do because you didn’t have better grades?”
“I just didn’t have the grades for a full ride, so when the money dried up and Mom and Dad needed me here, here I came.”
“At least you’re getting to pursue the ghost hunting.”
“I am.” Right. Quit being all long-in-the-mouth stupid psycho because you don’t get every single thing you want.
Flynn gave him a wry smile. “Tell me to shut up if I’m being too Pollyanna for you. I just always try to look for the good in situations, even when they’re pretty dire. It’s the only way I was able to go forward, you know?”
“Sure. Sure. I’m just a bit of a Debbie Downer sometimes. Stupid, because I’m a lucky bastard.”
“Pollyanna and Debbie Downer—doesn’t that make us the perfect opposites-attract pair?” Flynn grinned and bumped their hips together just as the timer on the oven went off.
Flynn opened the oven door and bent to check the pizzas. “They’re looking just about perfect.”
“Good deal. Don’t burn yourself.” He remembered when David had done that, grabbed a hot pad with a hole and burned his palm bad enough that the blister had been huge.
“Pass me the oven mitts, then.” Flynn reached back without looking.
“You got it.” He put two in Flynn’s hands. “They smell good. There’s nothing like a cheap frozen pizza, somehow.”
“Does anyone from town deliver out this far?” Flynn pulled the pizzas out and set them on top of the stove.
“God, I wish. No. This is a no-man’s land as far as that goes. Hell, my folks are very farm-to-table, you know? Every so often I head to town to Burrito Gringo, just because.”
Flynn laughed. “I love Mexican. And they do huge burritos there. Huge everything, really. It’s a good deal.” Flynn made short work of slicing the pizzas and dishing them onto large plates. “I do love the farm-to-table movement, though.”
“Oh, it’s the only reason that we’re still in business, but sometimes I want to be that guy in a loft downtown near the clubs and drinking coffee in crazy little shops.” He grabbed forks and napkins. “Seriously, I’d last about a day and a half and be utterly overwhelmed and wanting to come home.”
“I’ve been to some clubs.” Flynn made a face. “Too loud. And some of the gyrations that get called dancing….” Shaking his head, Flynn laughed again. “They always called me old-fashioned at university. Just because I’m not into the club scene!”
“I don’t imagine I am either, but I sort of wish I was. I want to be cooler than I am.”
Flynn stopped, literally frozen where he was, eyes on Blaine. “I think you’re pretty damn cool, Blaine. I know I’m only one guy, but… no fooling, you’re the coolest guy I know.”
Oh. Oh okay. That felt like…. It felt like the best thing he’d ever heard. “Thanks. Serious
ly. That rocks.”
“You’re welcome—just telling it like it is.” Flynn grabbed his plate and his Coke and they headed back upstairs. “Did I tell you how cool it is that you’re not afraid to let us eat on your bed?”
“You might have mentioned it. I take it you had a guy who was?”
Flynn snorted. “That’s like saying that the center of the sun is a little bit hot. Hell, some days I was lucky Dirk let me eat at the dining room table. When he was home alone, he’d eat holding his plate over the kitchen sink. He had this real phobia about crumbs leading to bugs. I never did get out of him what bad experience he’d had with bugs as a kid, but I always figured it had to be something really traumatic.”
“That sucks—for you and him, huh? I mean, I can’t imagine.” Bugs were a part of farm life.
“Yeah. I felt sorrier for him than me in the end. I mean, I got to leave and go roll in the mud or something and not worry about it. He was germaphobic, bugaphobic, dirtaphobic. He had to have everything just so, and his entire place was white so he could see if there were crumbs or bugs or any sort of dirt. He tried seeing a therapist for it, but that never took.”
“Well, you can sort of tell that’s not me….” Sort of. Like a lot.
“No, you have a much cooler vibe. Relaxed. Easy. Not that I’m saying you’re easy! Just… you know what I meant, right?”
God, Flynn really was a giant dork. It was kind of hugely adorable.
“I am, though. Easy. And weirdly happy and embarrassed about it.”
Flynn laughed and put his food on the bed, then took Blaine’s from him and set that down as well. That done, Flynn wrapped him in a hug and kissed him. It was the easiest thing on earth to hold on, to wrap his arms around Flynn and kiss right back.
Their mouths parted, though Flynn didn’t back off, and when he spoke, his lips tickled Blaine’s. “I like you easy, and you don’t have to be embarrassed about it. I’ve proved to be pretty easy myself, at least when it comes to you.”
“I like it. Lots. Let’s eat.” He was suddenly ravenous.
“Yeah, ’cause God knows I can’t jump your bones while there’s pizza on the bed. I mean, eating in bed is one thing, rolling all over the food is another.”
“Yeah. Hot cheese burns delicate bits.” He spoke from experience.
Flynn laughed again as he threw himself down on the bed, making their plates bounce. It was a damn good thing he’d put the Cokes on the side table and not the mattress.
Settled against the pillows, Flynn looked totally at home in Blaine’s bed.
Blaine moved more carefully, settling down and starting the movie before grabbing his pizza. Flynn shifted once he’d settled, moving so they were touching from shoulders to hips and from hips to ankles.
“I like this,” he whispered. He liked it a lot.
“Me too. It’s….” Flynn shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not the word guy; I’m the science guy. I was lonely too. And that makes it sound like I’m here just because I was lonely, and that’s not it at all. Maybe that’s why I thought renting a room from you was such a great idea, but it’s not why I’m here”—Flynn pointed at the bed—“with you.”
“We’ll figure out the why part, right?”
“Yeah, we will. I just don’t want you thinking any port in a storm is why I’m here.”
“I don’t know. That’s sort of heroic on my end. Being Mister Porty McStorm?”
Flynn giggled, nearly choking on his bite of pizza.
Blaine winked, feeling clever as hell. Flynn was definitely good for his ego.
After Flynn swallowed, he leaned up and kissed the corner of Blaine’s mouth.
It was sweet and gentle, just about perfect, and he thought he could get used to it. Flynn smiled at him, then turned his attention back to his pizza and took another bite. He kept shooting little smiles at Blaine, happy little glances.
It felt good, and more than that, it felt safe somehow.
When they’d finished their pizzas, Flynn wiped the grease from his mouth and leaned his head against Blaine’s shoulder.
Yeah, this had possibilities. This worked.
Chapter Eight
THE guys were all otherwise busy on Monday, so Flynn and Blaine checked the footage together. Flynn could barely keep from bouncing as they waited for it to load. He’d heard things. He’d seen things. And Blaine had been freaking possessed. Surely they had something on film to show for their weird visit to the hospital on Sunday.
Still, other than a couple of strange lights that seemed to be on Blaine’s shoulders, there was nothing.
Nothing.
How could that be?
He looked at the tape, rewound it, watched it again. Then he gaped at Blaine. “What the fuck?”
“Is there… are they working right? Is there more footage?”
Flynn shook his head, feeling confused and kind of angry. “That’s all of it, and there’s something wrong with the sound, because it didn’t come through on any of them. I don’t know if the mike wasn’t plugged in properly, if it’s broken, or what, but there’s no sound, there’s barely any footage that isn’t all washed-out. It’s like someone sabotaged our equipment.”
“Huh. Should we call Jason to test the cameras?”
“That’s probably a good idea. I mean, this doesn’t even have your narration in it, let alone anything we saw. Get him to check everything, but we were getting temperature changes and EMF readings, so it just seems like the cameras and the mike were messed up. I mean, it could just be a coincidence, but they worked great Saturday when we didn’t see or hear shit, so that’s a hell of a coincidence.” Honestly, Flynn didn’t know what to think.
There were a few possibilities. It could have been a fluke, some random equipment failure. It could have been sabotage, either by one of the team or someone who wanted to discredit them. Or it could have been that all the activity they’d had going on had messed with the equipment. What did it say about Flynn that he was hoping it was the last option?
“Maybe the spirits affected them, you know?” suggested Blaine. “They can suck batteries….”
Flynn nodded, pleased that he hadn’t been the only one thinking this could have been due to ghostly interference. “Yeah? I was thinking that was a possibility. Of course does that mean anytime we actually make contact our equipment is going to go tits-up? That’s not exactly going to help us prove anything, is it?”
“I don’t know. That’s your job, isn’t it? To invent things to fix that issue?”
Flynn laughed and bumped shoulders with Blaine. “It totally is. I guess I’ll get Jase to test the equipment, and then we’ll have to do tests at the site—different machines, different settings, backups, etc.”
“I guess I need to start researching other places to go too, and update the blog with pictures and some video.”
“Having a new destination will be great, but I think we’re not nearly done with the hospital yet. I mean there’s definitely something there, and we haven’t even hit the second floor.”
Blaine shivered, and Flynn swore that a shadow crossed his face.
“Blaine? You okay, man?” It was almost like when Blaine had been possessed back at the hospital.
“Hmm? Yeah. Yeah, totally. I’m fine.”
That didn’t sound like the truth.
Flynn bumped their shoulders again. “Come on, man. You can tell me anything. I think I’ve proved that I’m on your side.”
“I… I just don’t think we should worry about the second floor. It’s dead.”
“Yeah? I thought you said there was stuff going on up there. I mean, we went up on that first quick run-through, and then you had the guys put a couple of motion-activated cameras there.” Flynn was confused because he was sure it had been on the agenda early Friday.
“I just… it’s a bad idea.”
He didn’t get it. It was almost like Blaine was afraid of going up to the second floor. Which didn’t make a whole lot of sense—he was lo
oking for ghosts after all, not trying to avoid them. “Why?”
“Why does there have to be a why? It’s a dangerous old hospital, that’s all.”
“I know, but… I just don’t get why we can’t give the second floor a try. If we’re getting this much activity on the main level, why not look for more upstairs? We can take extra care.”
“I’ll see. I have to talk to the owners and see if we can go back.”
“Somebody owns that place?” Flynn had assumed it was just a condemned building. Maybe owned by the state or something.
“Yeah, a bunch of investors. You know, it’s a tax write-off.”
“Well, I imagine as long as we’ve signed a waiver saying if anything happens to us it’s on us and not them, they won’t care what we do.” He was eager to explore more. Now that he’d done it in person, he thought he might be hooked on ghost hunting.
“Maybe. Maybe. There’s a couple of places—a hotel that’s rumored to be haunted and an abandoned cottage.”
“They sound great. We really should do a bunch of tests with the equipment at the hospital, though. I can’t really compare filming in one place with filming in another, you know? That would change too many of the variables.” It was true, but he was also being stubborn about going back to the hospital because Blaine seemed so determined not to go back, which honestly seemed like a one-eighty. And there was plenty left there for them to explore. Flynn had a strong hunch that they’d only just scratched the surface.
Not only that, but something was wrong. Not with him—with Blaine. Was he overreacting? He didn’t know Blaine that well, but…. No, something was wrong. And it had all started on their last visit to the hospital, and they had to go back there to fix it. That much he was sure of.
Flynn stared Blaine down, waiting for him to come up with another explanation for why they shouldn’t, or couldn’t, go back to the hospital.
Blaine shrugged. “I’ll see what I can arrange, okay? I’ll talk to Jase.”
Flynn shook his head, but he imagined that Jase and the others wouldn’t want to give up on what had been a fairly active scene two times out of three. Almost scarily active in fact. So he capitulated. “Yeah, that’s fine, man. I’ll get this video transferred to the new storage hard drive and get it backed up.”