The Haunted_Edit Copy 4-7-17

he was pretty much alone around here. This explained why he didn’t
mind hanging out with some little girl who talked too much during
the small amount of free time that he hadn’t promised to The End
Shelf or Lark Hollow Paranormal.
In return, I told him that I was still living at home with my
dad and brother and going to community college part time while I
worked full time at the theater. My music taste was a little more
modern, but I could appreciate movies from any era, and when I
found out he loved Mark Wahlberg as much as I did, I knew we had
solid ground to build upon.
Eventually, he pushed back his chair, making another oh-sopleasant
scraping sound on the ground. Most of the people around
us had cleared out of their tables, and the sidewalks around us were
decidedly less crowded as well. “I hate to cut this short, but I’ve got
to be up early for work tomorrow. Do you want to take my number
so you can just call me or text me if you’ve got a question?”
“Sure. Or we could do this again.” I pulled my phone out of
my pocket and handed it over to him. He entered his number and
passed it back to me. After I called him so he had mine as well, I
pocketed my cell again.
“I would be okay with that.” He smiled as he stood up,
displaying just how tall he was as his head almost hit the umbrella
over the table.
“Me, too.” My head barely came up to his shoulder when I
rose to stand next to him. “Thank you for answering all my
questions. And for answering Gunner’s. And for hanging out with
me.”
“Don’t mention it, really. I’m glad to share my passion.” The
little white lights around the shop’s window reflected in his dark
eyes.
“Passion. For dead things.” I stroked a make-believe beard
thoughtfully. “Maybe I should have given you a fake number.”
He laughed. “Thank you for hanging out with me, Chelsea.
You’re great. I’m kind of hoping you decide you want to ghost hunt.
I could bring you on a case with me just to see if you like it or not.”
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