Page 130 of Chasing Your Ghost

There was only Riley and the feel of her soft lips and the greedy stroke of her tongue against his. His world condensed to the two of them, to his mouth claiming hers, to his hand sliding under her shirt and gliding over her skin, to the breathy moan she let out when his fingers started wandering lower.

If it weren’t for his parents, who were kind enough to knock loudly on the open door to announce their arrival—much to his and Riley’s mortification—Asher wasn’t sure how long they would have been lost in each other.

Thanks to his mother and father, he would never know for sure. He did, however, know the discomfort of being turned on while his parents, Noah, and Chris made small talk at his bedside. It didn’t take long for the heat in his veins to subside, but they were the most excruciatingly awkward minutes of his life.

“I have news,” Riley told him before she, Noah, and Chris left together. “You know those suitcases?”

Asher nodded.

“I unpacked them this morning.”

Asher grinned and tucked a misbehaving strand of lavender hair behind her ear. Her blonde roots were becoming more obvious, and he wondered what she would look like with her natural hair color. He was so used to the lavender that it was hard to imagine it any other way. “I’m proud of you.”

She bit her lip and shrugged, looking sheepish. “It’s a small step, but I thought it was time. Besides, Edith and I had a good talk yesterday, and she even told Hugh about my ability. He cracked a joke about it this morning. Called me Kat.”

Asher had no idea what she was talking about. “Kat?”

“Yeah, Kat. You know, the girl from Casper.”

Asher didn’t know, but he nodded. “Uh, sure.”

“I didn’t catch on at first either, and it didn’t even make sense because everyone in that movie could see ghosts. Not just Kat. But he meant well.” She shrugged. “It was kind of…cool, you know? Not having to hide who I am from everyone is a nice change.”

“Are you growing soft?” he teased.

“Never,” she replied with playfully narrowed eyes. “And don’t you dare let my enemies hear you say anything of the sort.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” he assured her. “But seriously, I’m glad you and Edith are working on things.”

Riley nodded. “I think I finally understand the things that she did. I still don’t like them, but at least I know they came from a place of love.” She looked over at his mother and father, who couldn’t seem to stop looking at Asher. “I see your parents still don’t want to let you out of their sights.”

“At this point, I’m not sure they’ll let me go back to college,” he joked, but it fell flat because he knew they might never feel anything but anxiety when he had to leave the house, whether it be to start going to classes the following month or to meet with friends.

“Give them a few days, and they’ll be begging you to leave the house,” Riley told him, her hazel eyes alight with mirth.

He clutched his hand to his chest in mock offense. “Harsh.”

“I only tease,” she assured him, lowering her voice so no one else could hear what she said next. “The next time you come to the pool house, the last thing I’ll be doing is begging you to leave.”

Asher swallowed. “Is that your way of telling me I’m good company?”

She shook her head slowly, her teeth digging into her lower lip in a way that made his pulse speed up. “It’s my way of telling you that if your parents hadn’t interrupted earlier, we would have done a lot more than kiss.”

It was the last thing she said to him before saying goodbye, and Asher was still thinking about her words hours later.

35

“Beautiful,” Miss Markova praised. “And into a pirouette.”

Riley spun on her pointe shoe, spinning with a precision that came from years of practice. The smile she always had to wear when dancing wasn’t feigned as she completed two more turns, each more perfect than the last. It was the last private lesson she’d ever have, and she was giving it her all.

She enjoyed ballet, but she’d come to realize that she didn’t need to dedicate as much time as she did to it anymore. She would attend one group class a week, but that was it. Her grandmother had managed to pass down her love of dancing to Riley but not her burning passion for it, and Riley was learning to be okay with the fact that she didn’t have to dance several times a week in an attempt to keep her gran’s memory alive.

Besides, this way, she would have more time to focus on her college classes, and maybe her feet wouldn’t be in a near-constant state of pain every single day.

“Point those feet,” Miss Markova yelled over the music. “Excellent. Now an arabesque. Hold it!”

A sheen of sweat covered Riley’s forehead, and her breathing was becoming a bit strained, but she didn’t let the tiredness in her muscles show. She pushed through, her arms never drooping and her legs remaining strong. She would have liked to think she was pushing herself as hard as she ever had because she wanted her last solo to be as good as possible, but she knew the man standing in the foyer watching her also played a part in it. His eyes tracked her across the studio, following her as she leaped and spun.

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