Page 19 of Tall, Dark, & Ginger

“Yeah. It’s an old fucking house. Sure, it’s been renovated, but the bones are the bones. You’re gonna hear shit sometimes.”

Wren nods, picking at some ham on the side of his sandwich. “Totally. Except that doesn’t explain the whispers.”

Lowen blanches. “The what?”

Wren grins. “Sorry. I’m just teasing about the last part. I’m a horror movie fan.”

Lowen exhales. “You and Ridley with the horror stuff.”

Wren winks at me and I chuckle.

“If it is haunted, it’s a pretty chill ghost,” I add. “Works for me.”

“I think we should cleanse it,” Lowen says. “Can’t be too careful these days.”

“Or a priest can bless it,” Bane adds.

“Or both,” Jerryn says.

Shaking my head, I grab another chip from the bowl. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Hey,” Salem says. “Maybe that’s why you can’t sleep. It’s a ghost.”

“I wish. This has been going on for years, way before living here.”

“Not being able to sleep when you want to…” Salem shakes his head as his words trail off. “It must suck.”

“It does,” Wren interjects. “I’m so tired right now that it doesn’t seem possible to be awake, but unless this is an elaborate dream, I am.”

“Does anything help?” Indy asks.

Wren seems to ponder the question, his gaze distant until he blinks and focuses on Indy. “A few things, but they aren’t always available.”

“Like?” Jerryn asks so innocently that Bane musses his hair with a soft smile on his face. “What? Did I miss something?”

“Sex, I’m guessing,” Salem says.

Wren blushes, averting his eyes while Jerryn whispers, “Right,” and nods.

“Orgasms help,” Wren says. “But things with Trent were so bad even that didn’t help. Solo time has lost its appeal.” He glances up then away again. “But when it’s good, it puts me out.”

My cock reacts to the veiled conversation. At least I know it was good for him too.

“Weed helps sometimes,” Wren continues, “but I don’t want to get dependent on using it, so I keep it just for when things are really bad.”

“Like?” Bane asks.

“Several nights without sleep. I can feel when it’s going on too long. I lose my edge. I actually got some decent sleep last night or I’d be a wreck today. A few hours is better than none at all.”

Damn, I’d like to offer my services going forward, but I bite my tongue and finish my sandwich.

We clean up the kitchen, then everyone drifts upstairs to their rooms, leaving me and Wren alone in the hallway. Wren’s pretty hazel eyes roam across my face, and as he flicks his tongue out to wet his lips, I have to fight the urge to take over for him.

“Are you going up?” he asks.

“I’m not sure. You?”

“Figured I might watch a movie.” He shrugs. “If you want to join me.”

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