Feature Writer: RedMonkeyButt
Feature Title: Supernatural Soap Opera
Published: 03.02.2013
Story Codes: Erotic Horror
Synopsis: A ghostly visitor keeps Remi from meeting a new man
Author’s Notes: Many thanks to pandybear311 for editing this. As usual any comments or feedback are welcome as long as it’s constructive. It is my belief that spirits watch the living like the living watch soap operas. They yell at our world like we scream at the T.V. when our favorite character does something stupid or dies. Sometimes, they get so angry with how things are going that they attempt to step in and change them. Most of them cannot cross into our world, but every now and then one of them breaks through and all hell breaks loose. Please feel free to vote and let me know what you thought of my story. Reader comments and feedback is always appreciated.
Supernatural Soap Opera
I watched as Alex walked across the coffee shop and left, the door swinging shut behind him. The rest of the patrons went back to their daily lives, the warring couple who had disrupted their morning broken and their own small worlds set back on their axes. We had been arguing when we walked into the small shop, but I had never thought he would have exploded in front of so many witnesses and then stormed out without me. I picked up my frappe and sat in a back corner to try to calm my frayed nerves.
He is so stupid! I thought as I looked out the window as he sped past in his little car. How could he have thought I wouldn’t find out? It had started several weeks ago when I noticed that he wasn’t coming over as often. He wanted me to come to his apartment, and at first I was fine with it. We generally split our time between our apartments fairly evenly since we lived on opposite sides of the city, but suddenly I found myself driving to him more and more.
Then I walked in to find him shoving women’s clothes into the laundry hamper. He tried to pass them off as mine, but I have never fit into a size zero anything. I called him out on the cheating, and we had been fighting ever since. I suppose I should have known that it was over then, but I didn’t want to believe it. So the death of our relationship had been long, slow, and painful until it culminated in me sitting in a coffee shop, quietly crying in the corner. Yep, I should have known.
I stood, tossed the half-empty cup in the trash can and pulled my car keys from my pocket as I stepped into the parking lot. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I reached for the door handle. I shrugged it off as leftover chills from the very public fight. The car pulled smoothly out of the parking lot as I headed to the office for what I was hoping to be a mind-numbing day of work that would erase any emotions from the morning.
The drive home after work was less than eventful. Traffic was bad as usual, the people merging onto and off of the interstate highway weren’t paying attention. I passed three wrecks in the eight mile drive to my apartment. I had shaken off several fits of chills throughout the day, and decided to head to a bar I frequented to wind down. Since it was Friday and the bar nearby, I went home, changed into something sexier than office wear and walked to the bar.
Lenny smiled as I walked in, “Haven’t seen you in a while, darlin’. Pull up a chair and I’ll get your first drink.”
“You heard?”
“Yep. My little brother works at that coffee shop. He called me after you left. I don’t like to say ‘I told you so,’ but I could have called this one. You want the usual?”
“Yeah, and a rum and coke.”
I went to a booth in a dark corner and stretched out across one seat. The bar would be pretty empty for another hour or so. I smiled when Lenny walked around the bar with a pint jar of his handmade ice cream. This bar was the only place I could get chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips that tasted just like the out-of-production Blue Bell flavor. Best of all, Lenny made it in house.
“Hey, where’s the drink?”
“Finish the ice cream and then see how you’re feeling,” he tapped the table and went back to the bar as a man in a business suit sat on a bar stool.
The ice cream was so delicious that I paid little attention to the few other people in the bar as I ate it. I set the jar on the table just as someone else set a glass in front of me. The man in the suit was standing in front of me, smiling.
“Lenny said you liked rum and coke but that I better leave you alone until you were done with the ice cream.”
I glanced at Lenny and he shot me an over-the-top salute. “Yes, Lenny says things a lot. You shouldn’t listen to him.”
“Oh, so you don’t like rum and coke,” the man made to take the drink away and I sat up.
“Don’t be too hasty, now. You can leave the drink.”
“Can I sit with you?”
I looked more closely at him. His suit was well tailored and pressed. He was handsome in a way that made me think he would be more comfortable in a pair of jeans. I glanced down at his feet and, sure enough, he was wearing shiny cowboy boots instead of loafers. “Sure,” I motioned to the booth seat across from me and straightened up on my own bench.
“I, uh, don’t think I’ve ever had a woman take so long to consider letting me sit with her and then make the decision based on my shoes.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
“What if I had been wearing some fancy lace-up shoes?”
“I would have sent you back to the bar to grab your fruity drink and look elsewhere.”
“But you still would have taken the drink I bought you.”
“Hell, yeah. I’m not going to pass up a free rum and coke. Lenny charges an arm and a leg when I come in here.”
He laughed and I smiled at him. He had a nice laugh.
“I’m Remi.”
He held his hand out and I shook it, “I’m Zach. So, do you come here for the ice cream often?”
“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, buddy. Lenny makes the best ice cream in the state.” I took a sip of the drink and was thankful that Lenny went easy on the rum.
“I’ll take your word for it,” he ducked his head a bit and smiled. “Other than the ice cream, why would someone as good looking as you be here alone on a Friday night?”
“Oh, that’s very cliché. ‘What’s a place like you doing in a girl like this?'” I smiled at him until I noticed he was serious. “I had a screaming fight with my recently ex-boyfriend in a coffee shop this morning. Lenny’s ice cream is more comforting than my empty apartment.”
“Wait, how recently ex?”
“This morning, in the coffee shop. That fight I mentioned? Yeah.”
“Ooh, sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. He was the bastard.” I rubbed my neck as the hairs stood up again, sending chills down my back.
“Are you cold?” He stood, took his jacket off and wrapped it around my shoulders. He took the opportunity to sit next to me in the booth with his arms over the back behind my shoulders. He lifted his glass to me, “To hell with the bastards.”
“Thanks,” I clinked glasses with him but couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. A quick glance around didn’t reveal any evil stares from across the room, but Lenny was watching me with a worried look on his face. I raised my half empty glass and motioned for him to add more rum to it than the last one as I downed the rest of the drink.
Lenny brought the drink to the table and shot me a look, but I just smiled and reached for the glass. It fell off the table and onto Zach’s lap. I frantically called Lenny back with a towel. “Oh my god, I am so sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s a dark suit and my cleaners can get anything out,” he didn’t look like it was fine. The smile was forced as he moved back to the other side of the booth. “Though if you didn’t want me to sit next to you all, you had to do was say something.”
“I swear I didn’t spill it!”
“My pants would beg to differ.”
We laughed about the mishap as Lenny brought me another drink, careful to hand it to me. To make matters worse he left a thick pile of napkins on the table as well. The night went a lot smoother and we had a lot more drinks when I finally signaled Lenny that I was done. Zach followed, held my wrist as I tried to hand Lenny some cash for my drinks – about half what another patron would have paid for the same amount – and handed him a black credit card. He signed the receipt and then walked out with me.
When I didn’t turn toward the parking lot, he stopped me with a hand on my waist. “Whoa, you’re not walking at this time of night, are you?”
“That was the plan.”
“Come on, let me give you a ride. I’m a little reluctant to leave your company after having met you.”
I looked at him and then followed him to the parking lot. I had expected a low-slung Corvette or bright yellow Ferrari, but he pointed a key fob at a modest BMW instead. The seats were soft leather and I was impressed as I sank into them.
He stopped before leaving the parking lot, “You’ve got to tell me which way to go.”
“Well, I live to the left, but you’re free to just drive for a while if you want.”
He smiled and turned right, heading to the highway that looped around the city. At this hour there were a lot of cops and a lot more drunks on the road. He was careful not to speed too much and soon we were pulling off into one of the more expensive parts of town. “You said it was ok to drive, but I didn’t figure you would want to drive all night. We’re almost to my apartment.”
We pulled into a small garage. Zach led me to a door at the back and up some stairs into a nice, modern living room. Everything was white, silver, or black and made of straight lines. The floors were stained concrete. Some of the other elements of the room were industrial, but it wasn’t overpowering. It worked and seemed to fit a man who drove a beemer and picked random girls up at dive bars.
“Nice, place,” I said as I walked through a door into a half bath.
“Thanks. Took me a few years to get it to this state, though. Would you like a nightcap?”
“Sure.” I sat at the breakfast bar in his kitchen and watched as he made a couple glasses of coffee with one of those fancy coffee makers that uses the little cups and makes single servings. “Lots of sugar and milk.”
He walked into the living room after handing me my cup and set his own on a tray on the ottoman. “I’ve got to get out of these pants. Make yourself comfortable.”
I watched as he headed toward a hallway. I slid his jacket off my shoulders and laid it across the low back of the sofa. He had a huge TV on the far wall with enough entertainment equipment to make a lesser woman swoon. Considering I didn’t have a TV at all, I went to the rack of CDs and vinyls he had on another wall.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and goose bumps ran down my arms as I felt hands on my hips. I tried to turn around when I was pushed backward and screamed. I looked up to see Zach startled as I stepped away from him.
“Whoa, whoa. What’s wrong?”
“I was just pushed!”
“I didn’t push you. Jesus, I was just trying to get romantic.”
“No, I know that. I didn’t say you pushed me. I said I was pushed. Like someone was right in front of me and shoved me.”
“Wait,” he smiled. “Were you being pushed to me?”
“I don’t know. I was just pushed. It was freaky as hell.”
“Hey, calm down.” He stepped toward me and tried to pull me into his arms as I got the same chilly feeling as before.
“Something’s going to happen again.”
“What do you mean?”
“A chill just ran down my back like someone dropped ice down my shirt. It’s the same feeling I got just before I was pushed.”
“Are you sure it’s not just me?” The cocky grin that had started to stretch his lips faded as I was jerked away from him and slammed against the bar.
“Shit! What the hell was that?” I held my ribs where I had impacted the bar and winced. That was going to bruise.
“I have no idea, but whatever it is, it is not happy with you.”
I sat up and leaned against the column that held the bar up and then suddenly, whatever presence had been in the room was gone. I looked at Zach and sighed, “I think it’s gone.”
“How do you know?”
“I’m not sure, but it feels gone.”
“How long have you felt like there was something there?”
“I don’t know,” I stopped. “Uh, I started getting chills this morning after the fight. I just thought I was in shock or something and ignored it. At the bar, it felt like someone was watching me. Nothing else until you walked up behind me.”
“So, you have a ghost,” he looked around the living room. “And cold coffee.”
“I should probably just go before I get thrown through a wall or something.”
He helped me up and then wrapped his arms around my waist, moving his hand when I winced as he hit the bruised spot. “I don’t really want you to go, jealous ghost or not. This has been the most interesting night I’ve had in a very long time.” He leaned in and the kiss was feather light across my lips. “Let me get some ice for your side.”
I moved my arm and stretched, but nothing pulled or felt too bad. I didn’t think I needed to go to the hospital. Zach returned from the kitchen with a bag of ice wrapped in a red and white gingham tea towel. “Oh, that is too cute.”
“My mother gave me this towel. Sit on the couch,” he motioned me to the middle of the couch and then sat behind me holding the ice pack to my side. He had changed into sweats and a t-shirt. His thigh felt nice next to mine.
After a few minutes I pulled the ice pack away from him and pressed my fingers into the bruise. “I’m going to need to check this out in a mirror to see how bad it is.”
“Yeah, help yourself.”
The shirt I was wearing was lightweight and soft. I was thankful for that when I saw the angry red mark spreading across my side from just below my ribs to about even with my breast. It was already starting to darken to a bruise, and I knew it would be black by the next day.
“Are you okay in here?” The door opened and he stopped when he saw the damage. “Holy shit, do I need to take you to the hospital?”
“No, I think it’s just a really bad bruise. I can move just fine with only a little bit of soreness, so I think I’ll be fine. In pain, but fine.”
He stepped into the small bathroom, slid his hands over my waist and kissed my shoulder. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” I turned in his arms and finished that light brush of lips he had started earlier.
His lips were soft, but his tongue was strong as I opened for him to explore. I winced when I tried to stretch my arms up around his neck and moved them to his hips. He groaned, moving his hands up to my face as his tongue caressed my own.
Zach took my hand and pulled me from the bathroom through the living room to the hallway he had gone down to change. There was a door to one side, but we passed it and went through another door into a spartan bedroom. He kissed me again as I backed up to the bed. He followed me as I went down when my knees hit the mattress.
He stood back up looking down at me with a smile on his face as he ran his hands over my stomach to the waistband of my jeans. The buttons came undone easily. He slid the pants down until they were stopped by my shoes. My heels made soft thuds against the floor and then he was sliding up my body, kissing my legs and tickling behind my knees.
I sat up on the edge of the bed running my hands over his shoulders and under his shirt to his back. With a moan he stood and pulled his shirt over his head. Zach watched as I slid farther onto the bed before he crawled towards me with almost animalistic grace. He pushed a knee between my thighs and lowered his hips to mine covering my mouth with his own. I gasped when he kissed my cheek and then nibbled my ear lobe before working his way down to my collarbones. My back arched a bit before a lance of pain from my side stopped the action, but it was enough for him to get a hand behind me to unhook my bra.
My breasts freed, he dipped his head and took a nipple into his mouth flicking his tongue over the tip until I was moaning. I tangled my hand in his hair as he moved to the other nipple, repeating the same teasing flicks and touches. His fingertips trailed up my side opposite the bruises making me shiver and squeal.
“Quit it! I’m ticklish!”
“Mmmm, I think I like that.”
Things degenerated a bit into a tickle fight before he went back to exploring my body as I did the same with his. We had twisted in the bed until I was facing his thighs on my stomach. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but it didn’t hurt enough for me to complain as long as I kept my elbow tucked near my side. I still had a free hand to pull the sweats over his hips and giggle at his lack of underwear.
“Hey now, it is very discouraging for a woman to laugh at a man.”
“I’m sorry, but I was half expecting pink polka dot undies. Or a thong.”
He looked down at me with one hand to his chest as though he were affronted, “My dear woman, I do not now nor will I ever own a thong.”
“Oh, but you have pink polka dots?”
“In silk.” As if he needed to prove himself, Zach got up, opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of eye-popping hot pink boxers with orange polka dots.
“Oh my god, those are the most hideous things I’ve ever seen.”
“I think so too. You can have them if you’re good.”
“I don’t think you know me well enough to be giving me lingerie.”
He climbed back into the bed and pulled me to him, kissing me gently as he smiled, “I’d like to get to know you that well.”
His fingers kept exploring until he reached the apex of my thighs. I was happy I’d waxed recently when he started to massage my outer lips. My eyes closed and I sighed as small shocks started to travel up my spine from the slow touches. I grabbed his shoulders when he finally spread my lips and touched my wetness. It had been too long since I had been in bed with a man. Zach was making me regret that.
My lips had parted and I was gasping as the pressure started to build low in my stomach. He claimed my mouth as a finger slid inside me. I tried to wrap my legs around his waist as we lay on our sides on the bed. The motion opened me wider and his finger went deeper causing small waves of ecstasy and making me moan into his mouth. He pulled his fingers out and started to slide them along my slick sex. Zach took notice when I gasped or moaned, repeating the motion until I was clinging to him.
With a moan he rolled me onto my back and pulled my legs up, opening me to him. I could feel him at my entrance and I flexed my hips in an effort to get him to slide into me. His eyes held mine as he pushed into me, filling me until I thought I would burst. He let out an explosive breath when his balls rested on my ass, as though he hadn’t expected to fit.
“Oh, it’s been a long time since a woman could take all of me.” Then he started moving and there was no breath to talk.
I could feel every inch of him rubbing inside me. I threw my head back as a long moan escaped my throat. My nipples grazed the coarse hair on his chest, sending sparks of pleasure across my chest. I looked down and could see him entering me, stretching me.
It made me buck my hips against him and forget about any pain. His hands squeezed my ass as he let me take his full weight and started to ram into me. The sound of our bodies slapping together was almost enough to make me ignore the goose bumps that were suddenly coursing up my arms. I wasn’t that close to climax, though.
“Uh, Zach.”
“Mmm, baby. You feel so good.”
“No, Zach. My little hanger on is back.”
He stopped, buried inside me, and rose up on his arms to look at me. “You’re sure?”
I nodded, pointing to the gooseflesh on my arms. “You feel fantastic, but I’m not that close to coming yet.”
His mouth opened as though he were going to say something when a look of surprise and fear crossed his face and he was pulled off of me to the foot of the bed. I had no time to react before I was lifted and thrown off the bed onto the floor. I curled around my injured side. I tried to relearn how to breathe as the impact had knocked the wind from me. Zach groaned. looking down at me as the feeling of someone else in the room vanished again.
“I, uhm,” I swallowed. “Don’t think we should try to finish this right now.”
He nodded helping me up from the floor. “What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it just doesn’t like me.”
“That’s bullshit. You’re likeable. What happened when you broke up with your ex?” He settled me back on the bed on my non-bruised side and settled in behind me. “Was he into the occult at all? Holy shit.”
I looked back at him to find him staring at the wall. When I turned to see what he was staring at, I had to blink and then look again to make sure I was seeing it right. There were large, black letters spelling out my name and Alex’s name on the wall.
“He was cheating on me. His behavior became erratic and then I found him with another woman’s clothes in his apartment.” The words just bubbled out as I stared at the names on the wall. “He admitted to having another girl on the side, but we tried to make things work. We kept arguing, and finally I couldn’t stand it anymore. But why would some spirit want us to be together? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Zach pulled me closer and kissed my shoulder. “I don’t know. I’m fine with being a rebound, but maybe you should find a psychic or something and see if they can banish this thing.”
I turned onto my back and looked at him. “Do you think maybe it doesn’t want you and me together?”
He thought for a moment then sighed. “It could be. I’m recently divorced,” he held a hand up when I started to interrupt.
“The proceedings were finalized a couple months ago. She got the house and a nice settlement while I moved here. So I fibbed a bit about being here for a while. It took a couple weeks to get the floors done and then I had to order all the furniture because she got everything that was in the house. Maybe you’re not supposed to be with some divorcee and the fates have sent a spirit to warn you off. I don’t know why it would want you back with a man who would cheat on you though.”
“Why did you get divorced?”
“It was amicable, for the most part. We fell out of love. She was growing one way, I was growing another. Choose your cliché.”
He looked defeated so I kissed him, soft and slow. When he opened his eyes, Zach smiled as he slid his fingers up my stomach and over my chest to tickle along the hollow of my neck for a second.
“I don’t think the fates should be messing around in my business. Alex was a douche, pure and simple, and I will not be going back to him.” I turned to the ceiling and said loudly, “Do you hear that, whatever the fuck you are? I’m not going back to him so just leave me the fuck alone.”
I felt a chill run down my spine and gasped, huddling into Zach’s chest. A breeze kicked up in the room making the still ceiling fan turn slowly. The wind died as easily as it had started and we looked around before our eyes settled on the wall. Alex’s name was crossed out and there was a smiley face next to the words before they disappeared without a trace.
THE END