Page 19 of My Inherited House Might be Haunted

As the hours passed, though, I started to get a little nervous. Not bad nervous, more excited nervous. My date with Calix wascoming up. We’d agreed to have dinner at five, with him picking me up. We’d been helping each other out with our stores, so I knew he was a good guy. I just hoped we meshed well on a personal level.

All right, now it was time to pick a good outfit. I was not wearing the jeans and holey shirt that I’d been doing chores in. No siree.

I took a shower—being, ahem, thorough in some areas in case I got lucky—then with a towel wrapped around my waist, went back into my bedroom. Time to pick out a good outfit. Okay, what was dressy enough for a date without it being overly dressy?

The dark wash jeans I’d bought two weeks ago still looked crisp and new. Those would work. Shirt, though, which shirt? I had a couple of good candidates. There was a forest green dress shirt with short sleeves, fitted to display what muscles I had. My sister had gotten it for me, and she had a very good eye for fashion.

I also had a navy blue shirt with longer sleeves that rolled up, the underside of the sleeves a very cool plaid pattern for contrast. Honestly, I felt torn between the two, as I looked good in both.

Needing a second opinion, I held up each of them in either hand. “Myst, whatcha think?”

He sat at my feet, looking up at me with this face that said “You’re wonderful no matter what.”

“While you are cute, you are not helpful. All right, next. Lucy?”

Lucy eyed me from her window perch, flicked her tail, and went back to watching birds.

“Figures you’re no help either.” I looked at both shirts. Should I just toss a coin?

I kinda leant toward green for some reason. I knew this color looked good on me. Maybe I should just go with—

The blue shirt was abruptly seized by some invisible force and flung onto the bed.

Without shame, I can admit I screamed like a little girl.

Also jumped five feet in the air. Who said white men can’t jump? We just needed the proper motivation.

I was out of my room in two seconds. Literally, I had never moved so fast in my life. Then I stopped in the doorway because one, I wanted to know if something was going to follow me, two, I was doubting what I’d just experienced—mostly because it was too surreal—and three, pants.

Mostly one and two, not going to lie.

Myst whirled in place and growled at something I couldn’t see. He could see it, though, clearly, as he stared straight at one spot right next to my four-poster bed. His lips were curled up, haunches raised, and he stayed in a guard position for what seemed like hours but was more like ten seconds before he suddenly relaxed.

Lucy sat up as well, staring hard, but relaxed when he did.

“Is it—is it gone?” I asked them nervously.

Myst wagged his tail, back to being a happy puppy.

“You sure?” They could clearly see what I could not, so I was trusting them on this one. Apparently a ghost had decided to weigh in on my date options. Which, fine, I had asked for help, but a heart attack was not helpful.

Part of me reaaaaally did not want to go into that bedroom. Part of me did because, again, pants. Plus, I had, like, twenty minutes before my date showed up. I was not letting whatever this was screw up my date. I had priorities, dammit.

I eased into the room, one foot at a time, until I reached pants, boxers, and socks laying on the comforter. The second I was inrange, I pounced, scooping them all up and hightailing it back for the bathroom. Phew, okay. Nothing weird had happened.

Myst followed me in, like the cute stalker he was, and watched as I quickly pulled clothes on.

Still nothing happened.

Likely one of the ghosts. Aunt Ruth had said to talk to them, so I gave it a go. “Uh, thanks for the advice? Please warn me you’re nearby next time. You nearly gave me heart failure.”

There was something that could have been a sigh, or a laugh—it was too faint to hear.

I gave Myst a pat on the head and tried joking. “At least they helped me decide on a shirt, huh, bud.”

Myst leaned in for more scratches. Not a care in the world for him.

I breathed in and out a few times, steadying my nerves. I still had to style my hair, I had maybe ten minutes before Calix was here, which meant I had ten minutes to get my shit together.

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