As Nick lay in bed with Charlie’s ghostly curls under his chin, he couldn’t ever remember a time he’d been this happy before. It sounds crazy, he knows it sounds crazy. Even if you forgot the fact that Charlie was a ghost, they had literally only just met mere minutes ago. But something about their connection, the way Charlie knew what he needed, and when, it was like nothing he’d ever experienced before.

Looking up at him, Charlie said, “Even without being inside you, I can practically hear the cogs whirring inside your brain from here. Penny for them?”

“Why could you hear my thoughts?”

“Oh, that,” Charle paused, “It’s not something we’re supposed to do. It’s not considered a very nice thing to do, have you heard of ghosts possessing people?”

“What, like, demonic possession? Are you a demon?” Nick started to worry that he was going to end up getting killed out here, all alone, and no one would find his body for a really long time.

“No, no! But ghosts can do it too. Before I died, I’d always had a bit of a morbid interest in the paranormal. I’d read that ‘If a ghost enters a living human, they can take full control of them, manipulate them’.” Charlie answered before quickly adding, “I swear I’d never do that, Nick!”

“It’s okay, I believe you. So do you think that’s why everything was so… intense?”

“Yeah, I think that although I obviously wasn’t completely inside you, there was enough of a connection that I could feel you. But it wasn’t just your thoughts Nick – every sensation that you experienced, I was able to experience it too. I could feel your pleasure.”

“Wow, was that… okay?” Nick asked, concerned for how Charlie might be feeling, not wanting to overwhelm him with all of his emotions.

Giggling again, “Nick, it was more than okay. It was incredible.”

Relaxing, Nick smiled, “Okay, good. That’s… good.”

“So, how come you ended up here then?” Charlie asked Nick.

“Oh, well,” Nick paused while he thought about how to explain his current situation, “My Dad overheard some of my teammates from Rugby talking about how I’d beg them to fuck me after our matches. So as a punishment, I guess, he pulled me out of university and packed me off here. He bought this place a couple of months ago from something called the Hope Corporation -”

“Are you sure?” Charlie interrupted.

“Sure about what?”

“It was definitely the Hope Corporation?” Charlie hoped Nick was mistaken but the feeling in where his gut used to be was that it had to be true.

“Erm, yeah I think so. Why have you heard of them?”

“Yeah, that’s my husband’s company, or his parent’s company really.”

“Your husband? You’re married?” Nick was worried, he didn’t want some jealous husband coming in and attacking him.

“Well I was, death do us part and all that,” Charlie reassured Nick. “He’s the reason I died, in a way.”

“What?!?” Nick could feel the rage rising inside him.

“I mean, it’s not like he murdered me, but,” Charlie paused, he’d never had the chance to speak about what happened before.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, it’s not really any of my business,” Nick tried to reassure Charlie.

“No. No I want to, I’ve never had the chance to talk to anyone about it since.”

Nick waited patiently for Charlie to speak, gently stroking his curls and hoping he could feel it or that at least the action of it was in some way comforting.

“His name was Ben. I’d known he’d been cheating on me for a few months, but he’d probably been up to it for years. He never liked this place, so any opportunity he had to get away he would. This house was always my baby. The moment I saw it, I loved this old building, the history of it and the life it had lived. But then one day he came home and just announced he had met some girl called Imogen and he was leaving me to be with her.Just to maximise the pain he caused, he told me as he was heading out the door that I had a few months to find somewhere else to live and then he’d be selling it.”

“I’m so sorry Char,” Nick stroked Charlie’s cheek.

“Thanks Nick,” Charlie smiled a half-hearted smile before continuing, “So, after that I just couldn’t bear the thought of leaving here, it’s just so beautiful and peaceful. I’d suffered with my mental health for years, largely triggered by Ben.But with the pain of everything he did to me, I just gave up. I didn’t eat, I didn’t go out, most days I barely even left the bed unless I had to. Eventually I just wasted away.”

Nick was seething, how could anyone do something like that to this sweet man. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I remember waking up as a ghost, if you can call it that. I was looking down at my body and I felt like I just had so much energy. More than I’d ever had when I was alive. It took a bit of getting used to at first, but things are starting to look up now.”

“Oh, why’s that?” Nick asked with a lopsided grin.

“The new owner’s son definitely brightens up the place,” Charlie smiled.

Smiling broadly now, Nick asked hopefully, “Can I kiss you again?”

Charlie leaned in and brushed his lips to Nick, but he didn’t feel the same as before. When he was inside Nick, he could feel the passion and the texture of Nick’s lips, but now he felt nothing. Charlie pulled away in frustration.

“Was that… not ok?” Nick asked nervously.

“Sorry, it’s just, I couldn’t feel anything,” Charlie said, disappointment clear on his face.

“I have an idea,” Nick smiled mischievously, “Why don’t you try using your tongue, maybe if you’re inside my mouth then you’ll feel what I’m feeling, like before.”

Charlie’s eyes lit up, “Okay,” he said before he moved forward again, this time allowing his tongue to press for entry into Nick’s mouth which he hungrily accepted. With their tongues tangled inside Nick’s mouth, Charlie sighed with relief; he could feel everything Nick was feeling. It was like he was alive again, here in Nick’s arms.

Charlie could have kept kissing Nick forever, he never wanted to break apart now he could feel again. But Nick needed air, he was still alive. Nick reluctantly broke the kiss, cursing his lungs for needing oxygen to survive.

Looking into Charlie’s eyes as he hovered above him, Nick asked, “Still want me to get out?” Mimicking the deep voice Charlie had used to scare him before.
Charlie replied with a smirk, “Absolutely not!” Before capturing Nick’s mouth again for a passionate kiss, his hands wandering over Nick’s naked body. Sensing Nick’s thoughts, Charlie pulled away this time and cheekily asked, “Ready for round 2 already?”