Page 25 of The Ghost of You

She walks back into the living room and sits back down. “Sorry, I go a bit crazy when I don’t put it away. You never know if someone is going to break in. Hate having all that cash around.”

“Good thing you live next to a cop,” I say with a wink.

She looks up from the mug in her hand. “Yeah, good thing.”

She yawns and I take it as my cue to leave. I finish my tea and stand up. “You’re tired. I should get going.”

“You don’t have to go. Honest. I like having the company.”

Maybe she isn’t doing as well as I thought she was. “Well next time one of us needs to use the other’s shower we can do this again.”

She smiles at that. “It’s a date.” That blush returns to her face and her hand goes to the necklace I always see around her neck. “I mean it’s not a date—it’s just a—thing.”

“Right.” I grin. “Oh by the way, my brother is having a thing tomorrow night. A kind of housewarming party for his studio.”

She lights up. “He got it? It all worked out? I remember you talking about it.”

“Yep, he closed on it at the beginning of the week. He moved quickly on getting it ready for a party.”

“I have to work tomorrow but I got scheduled for the early shift. First cut. So if I can leave early, maybe I’ll stop by.”

“He’ll be happy about that.”

She smiles at me and takes my cup from me. “I’ll put this in the kitchen and walk you out. You sure you want to leave?”

I scratch the back of my head as I hold in a yawn. “Yeah, I need to study.”

“For what?”

“Detective exam.”

“That’s exciting,” she says over her shoulder as I follow her toward the kitchen. I stop in the bathroom and grab my wet clothes before heading back to the front door.

I wake up Brutus as she meets me in the foyer.

“Thanks again for the ride. I would probably still be hoofing it.”

“Or drowned.”

I chuckle. “Definitely a possibility.”

“Well, have a good night, Noah.”

“You too, Anna.”

* * *

The bassof the music is driving me crazy. I am too old for this shit. I don’t even know what the fuck we are listening to. Mason plays a mix of rock, bluegrass, and folk. I have no idea what this is, but the vibrations throughout my body are making me nauseous.

I make my way to the front door to get some fresh air but Carson stops me.

“Leaving already?”

I shake my head and sip my beer. “Nah. This music is giving me a headache.”

Carson starts cracking up and I look at him strangely. “Dude, don’t tell Mason that. This is some new project he is working on. Thinks it’s going to be the next big thing since dubstep.”

“I was able to tolerate dubstep. This just sounds like an elephant got stuck in a cement truck and it’s flopping against the side and then the truck caught on fire.”

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