Kissing the Ghost

This is my entry for the Valentine's Day contest. I would appreciate your vote and a comment.

{I wrote this one for you.}

"This."

The voice was very, very quiet, almost felt rather than heard. A low rumbling tone, barely perceptible, but definitely male, sounded in her head. As Kellyn Morgan followed the aisle in Alexander's Department store back to the housewares section, she heard the voice again.

"This."

Kellyn looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. There was no one nearby. The lingerie section where she'd stopped was deserted; the Valentine's Day display of lacy little things meant to entice passersby was devoid of customers. She turned and her fingers brushed across a bit of pale pink silk.

"Yes."

Ah, she thought, a new advertising campaign. Quite clever, it certainly got her to stop. Kellyn wondered how it worked, something with motion detection, she guessed. She really didn't need a new bra, but it was pretty. Very pretty, she thought, fingering the dainty little thing of frills and froth. Ah, but she was strictly a white cotton camisole girl and so walked on down the aisle.

She was certain it was merely the heating system kicking in, but the sound was quite reminiscent of a male sigh of disappointment and frustration. It was just a trick of the acoustics, but the sound seemed to follow her as she picked out a shower curtain and a few new towels.

Her selection in hand, Kellyn walked toward the counter to pay for them. She had no intention of stopping by that lingerie area again, but still, she paused in front of the display once more. Wispy creations of silk and lace, bras, panties and camisoles, were hung on a small rack. A raised platform next to it held a leather desk chair, draped with a man's suit jacket, one high-heeled red shoe resting on the seat. A bit of white lace, panties perhaps, spilled out from the breast pocket of the suit. A simple tableau, but one quite evocative of an evening of romance and seduction.

Oh, Kellyn thought, if I had an evening like that to look forward to, I'd buy that lingerie in an instant.

"You do."

Kellyn shivered, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up, almost as if an invisible finger brushed across them. This was definitely not part of a clever ad campaign or the furnace kicking in or her imagination. She could hear the voice, a male voice, in her head and feel his breath on the side of her neck.

She whipped around, looking for the source, a hidden speaker, a man standing too close beside her, something, anything, but the area was still empty. One of the bras, the pink one with the white lace, was now dangling from the stack of towels she carried. I must have caught my arm on the hanger when I turned so fast.

Or, she thought, it's a ghost. Kellyn was surprised at this idea. She was not given to such flights of fancy. She was usually a down-to-earth woman with both feet planted firmly on the ground. Normally, even the idea of a ghost would not have crossed her mind. Today, for some reason, was different. The voice she was hearing needed some sort of explanation and "ghost" seemed to fit.

Kellyn smiled at the idea of a ghost haunting a department store. At least it's a ghost with good taste, she thought as her curiosity got the better of her and she checked the tags before she put it back on the rack. Hm, she thought, just my size and on sale, too. Ah, but it's not really me...

"Yes, it is."

The voice was more insistent now, a slight edge of exasperation in the tone. A rather impatient ghost, Kellyn thought as she looked at the bra once more. It was a pretty thing and, mentally checking her wallet, since it's on sale, I can afford it. She untangled the hanger from the others on the rack and added it to the towels.

"Panties."

Kellyn almost giggled. She found the whole idea of a ghost choosing her underwear to be amusing. Of course, the ghost wanted her to buy the matching panties. They were practically invisible. She looked on the rack and found her size.

Okay, but I'm drawing the line at the garter belts, she thought. Somehow she was not surprised at all by the groan of disappointment that followed.

Kellyn paid for her things and headed for the front entrance. She paused at the doors, waiting for another word or two from the ghost, but she heard nothing. She resisted the urge to turn around and look for him one last time, pushed open the door and crossed the chilly parking lot to her car.

She wasn't exactly sure what alerted her to his presence in the car with her. It could have been a slight change in the air pressure inside the vehicle. Maybe a faint scent of male cologne she first attributed to samples tucked inside the shopping bag, but when the now-familiar voice whispered in her ear, she really wasn't surprised at all. That didn't mean, though, that she didn't slam on the brakes a bit too hard as she pulled into the driveway. Any swear words she might have used then were completely justified as far as she was concerned.

"What are you doing?" she asked, a quite understandably screechy tone crept into her voice. "You're the store's ghost, not mine!"

"No."

"What do you mean, 'no'? Of course you are. I'm a perfectly normal, perfectly boring woman. I can't have a ghost! I live in a studio apartment. I don't even own a white nightgown!"

"Uh?" The confusion in the ghost's voice was readily apparent even in that short utterance.

"I read books. Whenever there's a ghost, there's always a castle and there's always a silly girl running down a dark hill in a flimsy white nightgown. No castle. No nightgown. No ghost. It's as simple as that."

"Oh?"

Kellyn didn't like that faint tone of male skepticism and amusement she heard. "Listen, ghost. It's too cold to stay out here and argue with a figment of my imagination or whatever you are. I'm tired and I'm hungry and since I don't have a date for Valentine's Day, I plan on dining with Mrs. Campbell and curling up with my kindle. You are not in my plans." With that, Kellyn gathered up her things and went into the building.

She tossed the bag on her bed and shrugged out of her coat. She kicked off her shoes and stripped out of the clothes she'd put on early that morning. She'd worn them long enough. Tonight was a night for her fuzzy slipper socks and comfy jammies.

Kellyn shook the contents of a soup can into an oversized mug, added the requisite can of milk and popped it into the microwave.

"Ah. Mrs. Campbell."

Kellyn gave a little squeak and dropped the red and white labeled can on the counter. She took a deep breath and slowly turned around, half expecting to see someone in her small apartment. There was, of course, no one there.

No one, but a very persistent ghost, she amended.

"I thought I left you in the car."

"Cold."

Of course it's cold. It's the middle of February. Thanks to that stupid groundhog, we're in for six more months of winter --"

"Weeks."

"I know it's weeks." Now it was her turn to be exasperated. "It just seems like months. Okay? Months and months of dark and cold weather and hearts and flowers and true love and --"

The timer on the microwave dinged. She took the steaming mug of soup to the table and flipped open her kindle.

"Love?"

"Uh, no thanks. Been there, done that, as they say. It didn't work out. And as long as I avoid the radio which will be playing syrupy ballads all night and the television which will undoubtedly interrupt a sappy movie with even sappier commercials for engagement rings, I'll be perfectly happy." Her speech finished, Kellyn sipped from the mug and tried to concentrate on the murder mystery unfolding on the small screen.

She soon found it was almost impossible to concentrate on the story. The ghost gave no sign of his presence, made no sound, but still she knew he was there someplace. After staring at the kindle for several minutes and having no recollection at all of what she'd read, Kellyn sighed and closed the cover. She drank the last of her soup and rinsed the mug in the sink.

Only eight o'clock she thought as she looked at her watch. Hours and hours before she'd be tired enough to go to sleep. Maybe a movie would help. She swiveled the television around until it was facing the bed, made herself comfortable and grabbed the remote from the bedside table. The whirring jumble of color and the low rumble and roar of automobile engines filled the room.

"Yes."

"Oh, no," said Kellyn and she flipped to the next channel. Football. No. Reality television. No. Game show. No. Flip. Flip. Flip. Finally Kellyn found an old black and white movie to watch.

"Aww." The ghost's drawn-out sigh was the very epitome of disappointment.

"Judging from that whine, I take it you're not a fan of the classics."

The snort that followed left no doubt as to his opinion.

"Sh! I'm trying to watch this." Kellyn turned back to the television set, doing her best to focus on the movie, rather than on her uninvited guest. The quiet series of sighs, groans and other obvious signs of disappointment made this almost impossible. Finally, she gave up even trying and muted the volume.

"Okay. You pick something, then. But no sports and no scary guys living in the woods." Kellyn tossed the remote on the bed beside her. The sound stayed muted but the black and white picture slowly gained color until the picture of a tropical beach on a bright sunny day filled the screen. Waves lapped at two pairs of bare feet, one male, one female, standing at the water's edge.

"Oh, not romance." It was Kellyn's turn to grumble. "I don't wanna watch this. I changed my mind. Let's go back to the car racing."

"Watch."

As Kellyn watched the television, the scene shifted to show the couple holding hands and staring out at a sailboat skimming across the blue-green water. She was wearing a filmy white dress; he was dressed in faded Levis and a colorful Hawaiian print shirt. Their backs were to the camera so she couldn't see their faces.

"She's wearing a wedding dress. Oh, please tell me they didn't just get married!"

"Nightgown."

"What?"

"Not a wedding dress." There was a pause and then the ghost continued. "Nightgown."

"A nightgown?"

"Yes."

Kellyn took a closer look at the couple on the television, especially the woman. Yes, that was a nightgown. A flimsy white nightgown, very similar to the ones on the covers of all those Gothic romances she had stashed on the shelves.

"She's wearing a nightgown?" Kellyn's curiosity was piqued now. "Why?"

"Ghost."

"What? She's a ghost?"

"No," said the voice. Kellyn thought she detected a tone of impatience in his answer.

"See."

"No, I don't see," said Kellyn. Then, an idea popped into her head. "She's wearing a nightgown because she sees ghosts?"

"To see."

"Oh! The nightgown lets her see ghosts." Kellyn thought about this for a second and then continued. "That's the silliest thing I've ever heard."

"Look."

Kellyn looked back at the picture on the television set. The man was still dressed as he had been before, but the white nightgown was now pooled at the woman's feet. She was wearing a lacy pink and white bra and panties.

"Hey! That looks like the set I bought today." Kellyn looked closer at the scene. The woman was turned slightly and Kellyn recognized that birthmark on her upper thigh. "Is that me?"

"Yes," replied the ghost.

"Who's the guy?"

The silence seemed to fill the room and then the ghost answered. "Me."

"Oh." Kellyn turned back to the screen and watched as the man, his face still hidden, put his arms around the woman and leaned down to kiss her. A very steamy, very passionate kiss.

"So," Kellyn said, her eyes still focused on the screen, "if I wear those things I brought today, could I see you?"

"Yes."

"Now?" Kellyn asked.

"Now." The reply was more a command than an answer to her question. "Now." As he repeated the word, the two people disappeared as the screen faded to a pale silvery glow, now the only illumination in the room.

Kellyn grabbed the bag containing the lingerie on her way to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and heard the click of the lock as she turned the knob. She pulled the things out of the bag, clipped off the tags and draped them over the towel rack while she stripped off the pajamas she wore. She stepped into the panties and pulled them up over her hips. A perfect fit, she thought. She put her arms through the bra straps and tied the ribbon in the front. After adjusting the straps and smoothing the cups, Kellyn raised her eyes to the mirror.

There behind her in the locked bathroom, a faint outline of a man could be seen in the shadows. Kellyn yelped and whirled around. "Hey! I locked that door!"

"You also locked your car and your apartment door. They didn't keep me out, either."

"Oh, so now you can talk," Kellyn said.

"Yes, as long as you're wearing my lingerie, tonight I can talk with you."

"Can I see you? You're still rather faint."

"I'm still a ghost. 'Rather faint' may be the best I can do." The man's voice held a tinge of amusement.

"Can I touch you? I mean my finger's not going to go right through you or anything creepy like that, is it?"

"Try it."

Kellyn slowly reached out a finger and very tentatively touched him on the forearm. A barely visible, but most definitely solid forearm. She stroked her finger down the length of his arm. His hand closed around hers and he gently pulled her through the now open door.

"Hey!" Kellyn said as he drew her into the room and towards her bed.

"It's Valentine's Day. You don't want to spend it in the bathroom, do you?"

"I thought we agreed there'd be no romance tonight."

"You need romance, Kellyn."

"Who are you, the Ghost of Valentines Past?" Kellyn scowled at him. "That reminds me. I don't know your name. I can't keep calling you Ghost."

"Ghost is fine."

"Uh oh. That means your name is something really goofy, doesn't it?"

"No, that just means I like the way you say 'ghost'. Nothing more."

"Okay, but if I find out your name's really Elmer, I'm going to be so disappointed."

"It's not Elmer," he laughed.

The sound of his laughter sent a little shiver through Kellyn. A very nice little shiver.

"Cold?" he asked.

"Maybe just a little," she admitted.

"Come with me and I'll warm you up," the ghost whispered in her ear.

"Um. Uh. I don't think I'm quite ready to go to bed," Kellyn said, closing her eyes, the word 'bed' more a squeak than a spoken word.

"Not to bed," he said, "to the beach. Look."

Kellyn opened her eyes. She was no longer in her cramped studio apartment on a cold and dreary midwinter night. She was on a tropical beach, the same one she'd seen on her television set just moments earlier. She could feel the sand under her feet and the warmth of the setting sun on her bare shoulders. Or was that the warmth of his hands? At this point, Kellyn didn't really know. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Dance with me, Kellyn."

"Here? There's no music," she said.

"Yes, there is. Just listen closely."

The sounds of a soft, slow ballad wafted across the beach. The ghost took Kellyn in his arms and began swaying in time to the music. Kellyn moved with him, her bare feet at the water's edge. The setting sun turned everything golden around the couple as they danced.

Kellyn felt his fingers, calloused and slightly rough, as they caressed the skin of her back. The cotton of his shirt was soft against her cheek.

"It's just like the movie except --" she said.

"Except?" he asked.

"There's no kiss."

"Yes, there is," the ghost said and he lowered his head to hers. Kellyn felt his lips on her forehead, a gentle kiss, one on the tip of her nose and finally, her mouth was touched by his. One kiss, slow and soft, another, still slow but not as soft, and then another and another until Kellyn was breathless.

They kissed, alone on that tropical beach, the music fading away into silence broken only by the waves lapping at the shoreline. They kissed through the last rays of the sun, through the deep blue of the twilight and long after the first stars appeared.

"Can we do more than just kiss?" Kellyn asked.

"We can do anything you'd like," the ghost answered.

They kissed again as Kellyn skimmed her fingers over his chest and unbuttoned his shirt one button at a time and slid her fingers inside. His breath stilled as she brushed her fingers over the crisp hair and found his nipples. The briefest skim of her fingertips and they tightened.

"This?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

"More?"

"Whatever you're comfortable with," he said.

"Touch me. Here." Her hands guided his to the pink silk and white lace. His hands caressed her breasts, stroking her through the bra until her nipples were tight little buds. A little sound escaped her lips, part breath, part purr. The purr changed to a moan as his mouth closed around a nipple, licked and sucked it, moved to the other one and did the same.

"More," she whispered.

He untied the bow and the cups fell open. His hands closed around her bare breasts. His fingers touched her nipples. Gentle brushes with the work-roughened tips, rolling them between finger and thumb.

"This?" she asked as her fingers unfastened the first button of his jeans. His only reply was a muffled 'yes' into her mouth as he kissed her. She made quick work of the rest of the buttons and reached her hand inside.

His response was more a growl than an assent. Kellyn moved the edges of his jeans aside and took out his cock. She stroked her finger across the tip, gathered the drop of moisture and spread the slickness over the head of his cock.

The ghost pulled aside the lace of her panties and slipped a finger inside. She was silky and slippery; his finger sliding easily into her pussy. He withdrew his finger, dripping with her juices and stroked her clit.

"More," she purred.

The ghost pulled her panties down, leaving them pooled around her ankles. His hands, almost invisible in the glow of the moon, cupped her bottom, raising her and then sliding her ever so slowly down his cock until he was sheathed by her warm pussy.

She rocked, grinding her clit against his cock, as he moved her up and down. He bent his head, catching first one nipple, then the other, in his mouth. Kellyn quivered as sensations moved from her nipples to her clit.

As the first waves of her climax swept over her, Kellyn arched her back and felt herself falling. She flailed her arms out, trying to regain her balance to no avail. The fall seemed to happen in slow motion. They floated gently down and landed, not on the hard surface of the sandy beach, but on the innerspring mattress of her bed in her very own bedroom.

"Oh, wow," she gasped, her breath labored, her heart still racing.

"More?" he asked. His cock was still hard inside her, his body over hers.

"Oh, yes. More," she replied.

He took her in his arms and switched positions until she was riding his cock. His hands guided her hips back and forth and then moved up to her breasts. The ghost played with her nipples, brushing across them with his thumbs, tugging on them, as her hands splayed over his chest. Her clit throbbed as she came, her pussy pulsing around his hard cock.

She could barely see him but she definitely felt his hands grab her ass and move her body faster and faster until he shuddered with his orgasm. When the flutters passed and his hands dropped away, Kellyn collapsed, feeling almost boneless, and drifted off to sleep. The last thing she remembered was him pulling the covers over both of them.

The alarm clock's shrieking woke Kellyn up from the most wonderful dream. She smiled as parts of the dream replayed in her head. As Kellyn threw back the covers, she spied a bit of pink tangled in her pale blue cotton sheets. She reached down and tugged the pink silk and white lace lingerie free. Well, she thought, at least that part of the dream was true.