Hunter

Life with a ghost

Gail

I'm learning what life with a ghost is like. I'm not talking about ghosts that haunt your house. That would be simple. Nope, I'm in love with a ghost. I call him Hunter.

He likes to appear out of the blue and scare the shit out of me, like this evening.

It had been four months since I last saw Hunter. Besides his letters, I didn't hear from him. Even his letters were vague and brief. He was a man of few words.

I spent the evening studying at the library while Richard lingered near the entrance. I didn't realize how late it was until the librarian told me the library was closing. I packed up my stuff and shoved my books into my bag. I headed to the entrance to find Richard missing.

Great. My bodyguard flaked on me.

I zipped up my coat, pulled my hood over my head, and led the library. I hastened my pace because it was bitching cold outside. Freaking December. Why couldn't it stay warm all year round?

I tried to avoid black ice on the sidewalk and walked in the snow. As my boots crunched behind me, so did someone else's. Great. I'm going to die in the freezing cold.

I picked up my pace as they did the same. Their footsteps were getting faster, which meant they were gaining on me. Wait until Mason receives an earful from me about Richard. Some bodyguard he is.

The next thing I knew, the creep tackled me to the ground. I screamed bloody murder and fought him. I wasn't going down without a fight.

"Gail! It's me!" A voice exclaimed.

I stopped screaming and fighting and opened my eyes to find Hunter sitting on me, gripping my wrists. "What the hell, you ass?"

Hunter chuckled. I broke free from his grasp and shoved him off me before standing up and brushing off the snow.

Hunter stood up and stepped into my bubble. "Did you miss me?"

"I would like to smack you across the face with a shovel."

Hunter snickered.

I balled my fists. "What is wrong with you? You gave me a flipping heart attack!"

"I wanted to surprise you. I told Richard to take a hike."

I folded my arms. "I thought a creep was going to murder me."

Hunter placed a gloved hand on my cheek. "I would never let anyone hurt you. They would be dead before that happened."

"Still, you shouldn't sneak up on a girl like that."

Hunter kissed me before grabbing my bag and pulling the strap on his shoulder. "I planned to surprise you at your apartment, but you weren't there. So I checked everywhere until I spotted Richie."

"So, why didn't you come into the library instead of following me like a creep?"

"Because I slip in and out without people noticing me. I wouldn't be a ghost if I didn't."

We walked the rest of the way to my apartment with the snow crunching underneath our boots. I noticed Hunter was dressed in jeans, a winter coat, and winter boots. I never saw him dressed in his military outfit.

"What?" Hunter asked.

"How come I've never seen you dressed in your military uniform?"

"Our clothes are called fatigues. We don't wear them on leave since special opts don't allow people to recognize us. We wear all black during top-secret missions. If we're in another country, we wear civilian clothes to blend in so a sniper doesn't take us out."