Page 37 of Ghost of a Chance
“Because she asked you to give her space, you douche,” he said out loud.Chewie snorted at him.After a few more minutes of tossing and turning, it became clear that sleep was not on the agenda, so Jasper got to his feet, pulled on a pair of sweatpants, forgoing a tee since he was hot and went down to the kitchen.
He’d dealt with insomnia in seventh grade, and his mom had him see a sleep therapist who advised him to leave the room entirely if he wasn’t sleeping.To only return when he was tired.Something about not associating the bed with restlessness.
Maybe one of the girls had brought Sleepytime tea.He started opening cabinets when he heard footsteps behind him and jumped, pivoting to see Kirsty standing at the entrance to the kitchen in a long black cardigan.
“Sorry.”
Fuck.His heart was still racing, and it was all he could do not to curse out loud and try to appear chill.Like she hadn’t genuinely scared him.
“It’s fine.Did you bring any Sleepytime tea?”he asked.
“I think Gia has some tea with valerian in it.”Her hair was down, hanging around her shoulders as she brushed past him toward the cupboard and found the tea.
“Want some?”he asked as he filled the kettle with water.
“Sure,” she said.“I don’t know if it’ll work.This place is…different.”
“It definitely is.”He hadn’t even considered that the house itself was part of the problem.Paul seemed real enough, but the idea of other hauntings unsettled him.“Too big for my tastes.I’m used to my apartment and its sounds.”
“And flickering lights,” she teased.
“Especially those.Even Paul feels a bit subdued here,” he mentioned.Other than earlier when the TV and the lights went off, he’d been pretty quiet.
“Probably realizes that you’re serious about getting rid of him this time,” she said.“Might scare him.”
“Can ghosts get scared?”
“Hey, if they’re our souls that are lingering for a reason, I’m pretty sure they can get scared.”
She had a point.
They both took their teas to the kitchen table, which had been moved back in after their earlier theatrics, and sat down.He noticed she kept glancing at his naked chest, and he tried his damnedest to keep his eyes on her.That sweetheart-shaped face with her thick black brows and big brown eyes that he could just sink into.
There was something young and innocent about her when she wasn’t wearing her dark eyeliner and lipstick.As if she was a different person entirely.
“Possibly,” he said, not wanting to talk about Paul.“What’s your biggest objection to hooking up with me again?”
Right now he needed her to give him something solid so he didn’t make a pass.They were becoming friends and he didn’t want to screw with that.Not tonight when for the first time in a really long time he didn’t feel unsure.
Her hand went to the top button of her sweater, unbuttoning it and then buttoning it again as if it would help make up her mind.
“Too in your face?”
She flushed and forced her gaze up to his face.Their eyes met.He held his breath as a flash of longing and want appeared in her eyes.The spark between them went both ways.He reached across the table and touched her hand, ran his finger along her knuckles.Her skin was smooth and cool to the touch.She opened her palm and then turned it over until the tips of her fingers brushed his.
Then she pulled back.“Like I said, I’m here as an author and my publisher wants results.”She started to say more, then shook her head, moving her gaze down to her tea mug.
Jasper just stared at those pretty brown eyes of hers.She really didn’t like to reveal anything about herself.That much was clear.It was a wonder that she’d come home with him after the concert.
It would be easier to have this conversation if she wasn’t so damned sexy.He couldn’t concentrate on anything right now.As mysterious and guarded as she was, he felt like he understood her.
“That’s just an excuse.”She sighed, worrying a strand of her hair between her fingers.“I don’t trust people.”
“Why not?”He had no trouble trusting people but honestly, that was easy for him because he expected nothing from them.
“I suck at relationships.I don’t want to sleep with you because one time I can write off, but more than that…things get complicated.”
“Maybe we can make up rules and build our own world, like your books,” he said.He’d do anything to hold her again.Sober this time.Feel her moving with him, exploring each other.
