The Haunted House of Desire

He took a deep breath as he arrived at his car.

"For now, I'll take this place off the market. I think I just made up my mind: if you don't want it, we'll call in the demolition crew. Get back some of what we've got tied up in it... at least be done with the whole thing..."

"So... I can just... move in?"

"Yeah, why not. Give me a call when you're ready and I'll meet you with the keys and a couple of things to sign... But do yourself a favor: don't bring too much stuff. You know - in case you wanna move back out a month from now."

We parted ways and I went back home with my thoughts all over the emotional spectrum. On the one hand, I was elated; so happy I was practically floating. This was a big step, finally being able to move! On the other hand, I had butterflies in my stomach; this was one of those changes so big that even though you know it's happening, you're sort of regretting it already.

I sat down on the bed in my tiny apartment and looked around. "Don't bring too much stuff", he said. Well, that wasn't too much of a problem; I could probably fit all of this in a single van. In fact, now that I was here... I knew I wanted some new furniture. Starting with a new bed. If Porter was right and I wanted to move back out, I could always sell it online.

This was a watershed moment, though: what was I going to do with my old place? I knew that I had to give a month's notice, but I also knew that this area was attractive... If I moved out, the landlord would probably be able to rent it out to someone else within a week. One I'd moved out, I probably wouldn't be able to get back in.

Since I wasn't going to be paying anything for the new property yet, I decided to leave myself an exit strategy and keep my lease for the time being. If there was a problem with the new place, at least I wouldn't have burned all the bridges. I called Porter and agreed to meet him in his office at the end of business Friday, so that I could spend the next couple of days to do the actual move.

When I arrived, he had everything ready.

"Here's the key to the front door... and here's just a simple contract for you to sign."

He pushed a single sheet of paper in front of me and encouraged me to read through it. As he explained, there wasn't much to it.

"It's just a formality, but it's basically a rental agreement with a $1 fee and no deposit. The important thing is that it's time limited, so that we don't have to wait forever for you to make up your mind. I thought three months - that's what it says here, see? I figured... after three months, you'll either decide to keep it or... if experience teaches me anything... drop it like a hot potato."

"That sounds very reasonable." I said and read through the text really quickly just to make sure there weren't any hidden traps.

As soon as I had confirmed that there was no funny business, I signed it and put the key in my pocket. As I was about to leave, Porter reminded me:

"You have my number, so if there's any trouble with... you know, something strange..."

I started laughing. He couldn't help but smile either.

"Did you really just..."

"Who you gonna call?"

"Don't worry, I'll call you before Egon, Ray and Venkman."

I borrowed my parents' second car and went over to the house. Parking in the driveway, my own driveway, I stood out front for several minutes, just looking at the facade and taking it all in. Was this really mine now? All I had to do was survive the rampages of a ghost and it was all mine? I giggled to myself and unlocked the front door.

"Hello? Anybody home?" I shouted as I closed it behind me. Laughing to myself, I wandered in, still calling out. "Hello? Any ghosts here? If you're here, behave yourselves, okay? I've got Ray Stantz on speed dial!"

Of course, there was nothing. Not a sound. With no machines, no white goods or clocks making any noise, the house was, in fact, eerily quiet. Also, this seemed to be a pretty quiet neighborhood. Every now and again, I'd hear a car in the distance, but only if I really listened for it. I walked around the place, taking it all in and enjoying the feeling of actually having my own place. This could be amazing as soon as I got the place furnished.

That weekend, I went to IKEA with a friend from work. She loved shopping but didn't have the money to do so very often, so when she heard I was going on a spree, she was all over it. We filled three carts with all sorts of stuff, including a new bed, a couch and a bench for the TV. I rented a van for the actual move and had it all done by dinner time Sunday. I put together the bed that same evening, wanting to spend a night in the house as soon as was practical.

Monday morning, my boss came over to my desk, looking through a folder.

"I'm just going over the roster... you realize you've got two weeks of vacation time coming to you, right?"

"Uh... no, I hadn't thought about that for a while."

"Well, you could take a week off any time - we won't be very busy for about a month or so."

Without ever looking up from his papers, he disappeared down the corridor, going to remind the next person on his list. He often did that sort of thing; rather than giving orders, he just gave us a hint that we "could" do something, expecting us to jump at the chance. As it happened, this was great timing for me. I put in for a week off and headed home, eager to spend that time getting settled in my new abode.

That's when I realized how nice it was to have plenty of time to move. I needed power in the new house, so I had to call a power company to sign up, then there was the subject of cable and Wi-Fi, water and sewage, updating my address with a host of companies... All of these things, I realized, I now had to arrange myself. It wasn't handled by any landlord. I was the landlord. Having time off - not to mention that three-month trial period - really took the pressure off.

Lastly, I needed to figure out how I would be getting to work every day. I couldn't keep my parents' spare car forever, so maybe it was time to buy my own? I checked the bus routes and noticed that going by bus could also work, even though it would take a bit longer than I was used to.

By Wednesday, I felt ready to clean out my old place and lock it up. There was nothing left in there now, apart from a shower curtain that was here when I arrived a few years ago. The bed in my new house was set up and ready, with new sheets and pillows from the Swedish furniture empire. I would keep buying new things, but I had the stuff I really needed.

Honestly, it went more smoothly than I expected. I ate takeout for dinner, had an early night and slept like a baby in my new bed, waking up to a completely normal Thursday morning. I took a shower in my new house, made myself some coffee in my new kitchen and sat down on the couch to read a book in my new living room.

A few days in, I had started wandering around the house, thinking about ways it could be upgraded or renovated. Like Porter said, all the big stuff like the electrics, the roof and the windows had been done some time ago, but there were quite a few superficial things that could be dealt with. The floors in some of the rooms were pretty old, some of the interior walls could use some new wallpaper and paint...

There was also the odd creak here and there, but I didn't really mind. Those creaking noises from the stairs, for instance. They gave the place character. I mean, those stairs must be well over a century old. And every time I heard a noise like that, I had fun with this little game I played with myself, pretending to talk to the supposed 'ghost' that lived here.

"Is that you, ghost? Keep it down, will you? I'm trying to read." I'd say, giggling to myself. Honestly, the people who used to live here must have just panicked once they heard rumors of a haunting. Then, unable to let it go, they'd wanted out. Me, I was getting more and more thrilled with the prospect of sealing this deal.

Then.... sure enough... weird things began to happen.

The first thing I noticed was that a light bulb went out in the hallway. I didn't think anything of it at first, I simply replaced the bulb with a fresh one. But then it happened again. Same lamp. I checked the breakers, nothing wrong there. The lamp itself was also pretty new, having been installed when they did the rest of the electrics. When I then climbed up to unscrew the bulb, I noticed that it came out very easily. It was, in fact, loose. When I screwed it back in and tightened it, the light came back on.

"Okay," I thought to myself, "I must not have tightened it properly."

But then it happened again. I tightened it, then it came loose. Two more times within minutes. It was like the brand new bulb was unscrewing itself. At this point, the little 'conversations' I had with the 'ghost' of the house had become somewhat of a habit, so I found myself muttering as I struggled with the lamp issue.

"So what's the problem here...? You don't like the lamp or something? I'm sorry, but I didn't choose it. I just live here, you know."

Okay, I thought, maybe it's the bulb itself - even though it's new. I looked through my shopping bags for some other ones and, sure enough, I'd bought several types of new bulbs. One was almost the same, but slightly less bright.

"How about this one?" I asked the 'ghost'. "It isn't as bright as the other one. Is that it? You want the light out here to be a bit dimmer? I can do that..."

I screwed in the bulb and left to do something else for a while. Checking on it later, the light was working perfectly fine. I shrugged and assumed there had been a problem with the actual bulb and didn't think any more of it.

The following week, I came home from work and couldn't find my big rubber boots. I had thought about doing a bit of work in the garden, but it had just rained and the whole yard was soaking wet.

"Where the heck are they...?" I mumbled as I looked through the plentiful closets. A house like this had many nooks and crannies where things could simply disappear. Great, I thought, storage space is nice. But it did mean that I'd forgotten where I'd left my boots.

"All right, where'd you put 'em?!" I shouted out. "I need my boots, it's wet and muddy! If I'm going to get this garden fixed up, I need to take a look out there and find out what needs..."

Then, suddenly, I smelled coffee. An overpowering aroma, as if I'd stepped into a cafeteria just as the barista brought out a fresh batch. Had I started the coffee maker? I didn't think I had... I had a habit of putting a filter in and filling it with coffee, then fill the machine with water, so that all I needed to do later was flip the switch. But I hadn't done that. Not today. Right? No, I must have done.

I retraced my steps. As soon as I came in, I took off my shoes, went to the bathroom, then I headed out to the bedroom to change into something comfortable for yard work... Yeah. Somewhere in there, while passing through the kitchen, I must have switched on the coffee maker. Then I went to look for my boots but didn't find them... That must be it; I'd been so preoccupied with looking for my boots that I'd forgotten I put on the coffee.

"Might as well have a nice cup of brew, I guess..." I mumbled to myself, thinking the garden could wait a bit longer.

Then, I looked over at the living room table and saw my book. That's weird, I thought. Didn't I leave that on the bedroom floor last night? I knew I'd been reading it before going to bed, so... what was it doing in the living room? I shrugged and thought I must have put it there and forgotten about it. Man, I was getting forgetful. I sat down on the couch and enjoyed a big cup of fresh coffee while I picked up from the chapter I'd just finished the night before.

Ten minutes later, it was raining again. A lot. It was absolutely rushing down, raining cats and dogs, giraffes and elephants. Good thing the roof wasn't too old. And good thing I hadn't gone outside; I would have had to rush inside before getting absolutely drenched. I looked out the window and compared the outdoor situation to the one in here, where I sat, warm and cozy with a nice book.

"I suppose this was your work, then?" I joked. "You didn't think it would be a good idea to do outdoor work today, huh? Well, thanks. I do agree that this is very nice. Did you take my boots too, hm? All right, but I need those back, okay... because I am fixing up that garden at some point."

I was really getting into this ghost talk thing. The other people who had lived here had probably gotten really nervous once they thought about ghosts - to the point at which they saw shadows everywhere and got scared every time they heard a noise. Making light of it was a much better idea. Treat the whole thing like a joke. Yeah, that was the thing. Have fun with it. Because why not? There was nothing to be scared of.

After a couple of weeks, I was beginning to feel really comfortable in my new home. I had made several more trips to various shops, buying more furniture and appliances, both big things and small. I even felt comfortable enough to invite some of my friends over for a party, and we spent the whole evening drinking and playing board games. After everyone had left, I stripped off all my clothes and collapsed on the bed, still a little woozy from the wine I'd been drinking. I was a man now. An adult and a home owner. A grown, responsible man with a full-time job and my own house. Of course I was going through with this deal. This place was amazing.

As I was lying there in my half-drunken state, I thought that the only thing missing now was having a hot girl join me. I'd had a bit of a thing for one of my female friends a year back, but that never turned into anything real... but man, it would have been fun if one of them had decided to stay after the party... to 'congratulate' me on my new house...

I closed my eyes, feeling myself beginning to drift off. Fantasies of sexy girls flowed across my mind and I felt my cock going hard as I lay there on my back, completely naked. The thought of rubbing one out occurred to me, but since I was pretty drunk and moments from falling asleep, I was torn between jerking off and just letting myself black out. Semi-conscious, I mumbled:

"Hey, ghost... you wanna help me take care of this...? Heheh...."

In my mind, I pictured a beautiful woman coming in to fulfill my request. To serve me, pleasure me, so I didn't have to do anything myself. I could feel her hands stroke against my thighs and her wet, willing mouth suck my cock...

"Mmmm yeah... that's nice..."

A delightful orgasm flowed through me moments later, and then I drifted off to sleep.

The following morning, I felt great. This whole state of being felt amazing. I felt successful. My life was improving steadily by the day and I had never before felt like everything was working out this well for me. I woke up late, put on a simple bathrobe instead of getting properly dressed, and then started tidying up after the party. Not much to it; my guests weren't too messy. I stuffed the dishwasher full of plates and cups and started it up. Then I thought I'd change the bed linen, seeing as I had been sleeping in it for a while now... and there were probably stains from last night.

Looking at them, though... they didn't seem dirty. Or sticky. I ran my hand over them and expected to find some patches of either crusty old body fluids or places where they were still moist. But no. Nothing. Spotless. Didn't I jerk off last night, though? I thought I remembered that pretty clearly; I hadn't been that drunk, just tired. Maybe I had just imagined it before passing out?

I changed the sheets anyway and threw the used ones in the washing machine.

"Hey, ghost, did I jerk off last night?" I asked, laughing to myself.

Well, if I didn't, I'd definitely have to do it tonight, I thought. I might actually do it regardless. I was feeling really frisky - like I had some built-up sexual energy that needed to be released. And I expected to be in a position to do that soon. My chances of getting a girlfriend, or even just a casual relationship, were probably better now that I had a nicer place to live.

I walked around the different rooms on the ground floor, thinking about having sex in every one of them. It would be great if I could find a girl who was into that kind of thing. As I put away the last remnants of snacks from last night, I thought about doing it in the kitchen - just bending her over the kitchen counter and taking her roughly from behind. Then I thought about doing it on the living room floor, in the hall, maybe even outside in the garden...?

There was something strange about this feeling, though. I was horny, but it didn't feel like a normal sexual desire... it felt like a desire to please someone else. It didn't go away, either. As I finished tidying up and finally went into the shower, I just kept thinking how much dirty sex I could have in there.

It didn't take long before I started stroking myself. I was so horny, I just had to. My dick was throbbing, it was so hard. As the warm water flowed down over me, I kept feeling the desire grow and grow until I felt like I was about to explode. I jerked off furiously, panting like I was running on a treadmill. Grunting loudly, I finally got myself off and painted the wall with my cum.

I took a breather. Damn, that was an intense orgasm. I could hardly believe how fast it had happened - mere seconds after I started jacking it. I had probably shot out one hell of a load too. I usually did that when I was really worked up. I plucked the shower handle down off its holder to rinse the mess off the wall... but where was it? I had been facing the wall, so it had to be...

I couldn't see it anywhere. No sticky globs of white-ish yellow-ish semen. The wall was a pretty dark brown, so it shouldn't be that hard to spot. After looking for a few more seconds, I shrugged and dismissed it - the running water had probably washed it away already. I didn't think the shower was aimed at the wall, but... Oh, well. I rinsed the whole shower clean and dismissed it.

Drying myself off and going to put on some proper clothes, I left the bathroom with a strong feeling of satisfaction. Like I had gotten what I wanted. What I needed. It was strange how specific these emotions were. I couldn't remember such a thing happening before; normally, if I was horny, it was just in a general way, like I needed to get off. Now, they seemed to manifest more clearly. It was also a little bit weird - as I got dressed after having gotten myself off in the shower, I felt ... thankful.

Why would I feel like that? I mean, I could always give myself a pat on the back, I suppose. Having orgasms is good for your mental health. Thanks, me. Still, though. It was... a little strange. Oh, well, I thought. Better get to work. I didn't start until ten today, but I'd better get moving. I was still getting used to the bus routes and timetables.

As soon I left the house, the feeling went away. I didn't think about sex at all, and didn't feel the slightest bit horny. As should be expected. A guy doesn't think about sex all day, despite the popular myth that they do every other minute or so. Now I was focused on work. And, actually, the bus service seemed to work quite well for me. It just took a few minutes walking to the bus stop, then twenty minutes until I reached my stop another five-minute walk away from the office. Maybe I didn't really need my own car after all.

I was still thinking about that when I returned home later that day. I'd spent the whole journey home crunching numbers in my head. Could I afford the mortgage and a car? What if I bought one second-hand? Maybe I should wait a while, just to see what the financial situation was like. Then I could run some more numbers and figure out if I could afford it or not. I mean, I did kinda want a car of my own, so...