Call Me Ghost ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Eight

It's the last day of break, and I'm reluctant to have it end for a number of reasons. One being that I'm not looking forward to going back to a world of classrooms and textbooks and homework that I can barely finish. But the majority of my reasons revolve solely around the guy who is currently sitting at the other end of the couch, my feet on his lap as he plays some violent fighting game on his Xbox.

Throughout the entire week, we haven't spent much time apart. It's been pure bliss. Even when we're just lounging around, like we are right now, I love every minute of it. I love that I can glance up from my book and see that stern, beautiful look of concentration on his face. I love that every now and then I feel his hand lightly rub my leg or squeeze my thigh. I love that at any moment I can lean over and kiss him and he'll immediately drop whatever he's doing and kiss me back with unmatched passion.

I've spent just about every night at his place, sleeping peacefully in bed beside him, knowing Brody could never reach me here. I've been so wrapped up in my own bubble of bliss, that I haven't even been giving myself the chance to stress over the fact that we still haven't labeled what we are.

Ghost doesn't even seem to care about having that conversation. He's never tried to bring it up, and I've been too worried about popping our bubble to even brush the subject. I'm scared he'll tell me that he doesn't want anything serious, that this is all just for some casual fun. Hearing him say that would undoubtedly crush me.

And then there's the intimacy thing. Despite sleeping in bed together every night, and getting caught up in numerous passionate make out sessions, we still haven't had sex.

That's not to say we haven't gotten close. There are times when we can hardly contain ourselves, but as soon as it seems like it's about to go the next step further, Ghost pulls back. He seems to still be worried about everything that happened with Brody, and how recent it all was. He wants to make sure I feel certain and safe, and despite how frustrating it is in the moment, I appreciate that he's so patient with me.

Because, admittedly, he's right. I don't want to rush into things when Brody is still heavy on my mind. There's so much about me that I never even realized he had affected. Just over the course of the week there have been quite a few instances that made that glaringly obvious.

Like when Mila texted me to hang out earlier in the week. I had turned to Ghost and asked if it was alright for me to say yes. He had given me a confused look and told me I didn't need his permission to do things.

Or when we'd gone to the park the other day. As we laid in the grass, relaxing, a frisbee had landed beside us. The owner was a guy about our age who came trotting over. He had flashed me a kind smile and asked me to throw it back, and when I did he complimented my nice throw. I had sunk back down into the grass with hunched shoulders, expecting to be berated for "flirting" with the stranger, but Ghost had merely smiled at me and agreed that it was a good throw.

Slowly, I'm learning how to shed off these small, but significant, habits that Brody instilled in me. Ghost is teaching me what a healthy relationship looks like.

"Dammit!" He curses and tosses his controller to the side, apparently losing his game in some way.

I glance up at him with a small smile, "You good?"

He shrugs and shifts on the couch to face me better, bringing his hands to my calves and rubbing them lightly, "Yeah, whatever, it's just a game. What are you reading?"

I show him the cover of the book in my hands, "The Queen's Gambit, figured I'd give it a try since I liked the show so much."

He nods his head before asking, "Have you done any writing today?"