Haunted Ever After Read Free

mouth, and he moaned in that way that told me he wasn’t quite ready to fall asleep. He rolled on top of me and caressed my face, sprinkling me with warm, soft kisses, his lips still wet from the shower. I wrapped my arms around him and savoured his affection. It had been two weeks since we’d had any. As his kisses trailed down my neck I ran my fingers through his damp hair, watching the shadows from the windswept tree dance across the ceiling.
    ‘Sure, go right ahead. Forget I’m even here!’ Ghost Woman appeared above us, her arms crossed and face creased in annoyance.
    ‘Argh!’ I pushed Greg off and scrambled to my feet, yanking the blanket off the bed and wrapping it around me. My heart pounded and my nerves sharpened at the ready like soldiers awaiting attack.
    Ghost Woman laughed her ear-splitting laugh.
    ‘Sal, what on earth is wrong?’ Greg’s dumbfounded expression replaced his desire-filled one from before, as he lay semi-reclined on his back, propped up by his elbows.
    There’s a ghost watching us make out .
    I drew a deep breath and clenched the blanket to my chest. ‘Um…it was just…’ I glanced at the ghost who was circling her hand as though waiting for me to spill the beans. ‘There was a spider. On the roof.’ I pointed.
    ‘Where?’ Greg stood and turned on the bedside lamp, peering at the roof. ‘I don’t see it.’
    ‘You don’t see anything ?’ The woman was still there, floating near the ceiling.
    ‘Only the peeling paint in the corners. We really must get this place repainted.’
    Oh great. I was dealing with an annoying, perverted ghost and all he could think about was home renovations?
    ‘Are you sure it wasn’t just a shadow?’ he asked, glancing around the room, lifting pillows and peering behind furniture.
    ‘Oh. Maybe it was. It looked like a spider, but I’m probably still on edge from before.’
    ‘Well, I can’t see anything. Let’s forget about it and continue where we left off, yeah?’ He flashed a grin and the room darkened as he flicked the switch.
    My body was tense and the moment was gone. I couldn’t exactly get in the mood with some otherworldly being floating above us, could I? ‘Actually, I think I’ll go get a drink. I need to calm my mind.’ Even though I knew the woman might follow me out there, I had to get out of the bedroom. Sure, I was scared, but I wanted to tell her off. How dare she interrupt our…our…our romantic endeavours. What a cow.
    I hesitated near the door and turned back to my fiancé. ‘Ah, Greg? I was just thinking…we’ve never really talked much about our past relationships. Who were you with before me again?’ I leaned against the doorframe like it was the most casual thing to chat about at this moment in time.
    ‘Huh? Why are you asking this now?’
    ‘Curious, that’s all.’
    ‘Becky. Remember? She was the one before you. Ran off overseas with that Italian guy?’
    ‘Oh yeah. And before her?’
    ‘Sal, do we really have to get into this now? C’mon!’
    ‘Did you ever date anyone who, I dunno, later…died, or anything?’
    ‘What? Why would you ask that? Sal, I think you should have some of that chamomile tea or whatever it is and chill out.’
    ‘I’m just interested. Did you?’
    ‘No. I mean, I don’t know. I haven’t exactly kept in touch with all my exes, so how would I know? But I’m sure they’re all alive and well.’
    ‘What about a redhead? Did you ever date a woman with red hair?’
    He shuffled awkwardly on the bed and sat with his hands clasped around his bent knees. ‘Um, I might have, a couple of them had red hair, I think.’
    ‘You think? Have there been that many women that you can’t remember?’ Whatever ‘mood’ I’d had before was long gone now.
    ‘Oh Sal, give me a break. It’s late and I’m tired. I can’t think straight. And women are always changing their hair colour, it’s hard to keep up.’
    ‘Fine,’ I sighed, and exited the bedroom. I wanted this night