Love, Like Ghosts: A Bay City Paranormal Investigations Story

people discussing my love life. It’s weird.”
“Well, then, let’s discuss mine.” Chelsea let go of Adrian’s arm and made a beeline for the big metal urn on the counter. She took two Styrofoam cups from the stack, handed one to Adrian and began filling the other. “I asked Theo out, and he said yes.”
“Seriously? That’s great!” Adrian gave her a one-armed hug before filling his own cup. “You doing anything special?”
“Depends on what you call special, I guess. We’re gonna go to T.J.’s for dinner tomorrow, then go see Doombunny at Cat’s Cradle.” She stirred three sugars and two packs of creamer into her coffee, lifted the cup and took a sip. “We both love that band. It’s fate, I tell you.”
Adrian laughed. “Colin’s going to be jealous.”
“Pfft. Maybe he should’ve bought a clue earlier.” Chelsea glanced through the back door window. Her eyes widened, and she grinned. “Here comes Greg. I’m just making myself scarce now.” Grabbing her cup, she turned and scampered across the kitchen to the hallway she and Adrian had just come from. “See you later, Adrian.”
“Yeah, see you.”
Smiling, Adrian took a sip of his coffee. It tasted a little burnt, but the heat felt good going down. He cradled the warm cup in both hands, leaned against the counter and waited. A moment later, the door opened and Greg stomped inside, looking put out.
He stopped when he saw Adrian. A guarded expression flitted through his eyes swift as thought before his face lit up and he smiled. “Adrian. Hi.” He bounded across the room. Adrian barely had time to set his coffee down before getting a double armful of Greg. Still grinning, Greg pressed a light kiss to Adrian’s lips. “Jesus, you’re soaked. What happened?”
“I was helping carry stuff out to the truck, and of course I didn’t have a raincoat or anything.” Since no one was around to see, Adrian ran his tongue over the purple bruise on Greg’s neck. A quick movement at the back door window caught the tail of his eye. Lifting his head, he saw something shift out of sight. He frowned. “Greg? Is someone else out there?”
“Just someone I know.” Greg kissed the corner of Adrian’s jaw. “Mmm. Wanna get out of here?”
Adrian opened his mouth to question Greg again—because clearly the person on the porch was more than “just someone”—but Greg’s lips on his throat convinced him it didn’t matter so much right then. He ran his hands up underneath Greg’s shirt, seeking the warmth of his bare skin. God, it was so hard to think straight with Greg’s body molded to his. At least his psychokinesis wasn’t going haywire anymore. “Are you sure that’s all right?”
“Sure. Most of the work’s done. You need to get out of those wet clothes, then you need a warm bath, and then you need to get in a warm bed with a nice, warm man. Namely, me.” Fingers traced the line of Adrian’s spine and wound into his hair. Greg licked along the shell of Adrian’s ear. “C’mon, let’s head on back to your apartment. I really, really want to suck your brains out through your cock.”
“Oh. Oh, my God.” Adrian’s knees wobbled. He clutched Greg tighter. “Yeah. Okay.”
Greg let out a low, lustful laugh that raised goose bumps on Adrian’s arms. “Thought you might like that.” He pulled away, taking Adrian’s hand in his. “Come on.”
Adrian grabbed his coffee and let Greg lead him out of the kitchen. By the time they reached the main hall where several of the other students still congregated, he’d managed to rid himself of his semi-erection.
He didn’t realize he’d forgotten his umbrella until he and Greg were halfway to his apartment, but he didn’t mind. Greg had an extra-large one to share.
Besides, Adrian knew he’d go back to the castle soon enough. He still had the mystery of Lyndon Groome’s death to solve.
~ * ~
     
“And therefore, when one considers the concept of simultaneity as it applies to subatomic particles, one can only conclude…”
    Adrian glanced at his watch. Five minutes had passed since the last time he checked. He swallowed a frustrated sigh. The lecture had already run overtime, and he was supposed to be at the Paul Green Theater for Greg’s audition ten minutes ago.
    Just when Adrian thought he couldn’t take another second, Dr. Perez strode up to the lectern to thank the guest lecturer and dismiss the class. Adrian jumped to his feet, swung his laptop bag onto his shoulder and