Author's note: Thanks for the great comments so far! I was kind of thinking no one was going to want to read this, especially since I had to rate it M, but I'm pleased that at least a few people like it so far!
Wicked Game
What a wicked thing to say
Danny ran a small amount of styling gel through his hair, just enough so it stayed in place and didn't sway in wild directions. The Red was a fairly nice restaurant. He had to look at least somewhat presentable.
Not that his sister was someone he needed to impress.
But then again, she did sometimes judge him for his appearance. Are you getting enough sleep, Danny? Are you eating healthy? Did you get that bruise from ghost fighting? Are you walking with a limp because a ghost beat you up?
He had to be sure he didn't look like a complete mess this time when he saw her. Had to give her the impression that he was doing great and he was happy and there was nothing she needed to help him with because he was an adult now and he could absolutely take care of himself.
He patted on some cologne, smoothed out the collar of his shirt, and looked over his reflection a final time.
He gave himself a practiced smile, the smile he had worked hard to make look as genuine as possible. It typically fooled most people.
Didn't always work on Jazz, though.
He said a quick farewell to his roommate, who was making his own dinner in the kitchen, before heading out to the garage and backing his car out onto the street. When his parents first gave him a car as a teen, he didn't use it too often, typically opting to fly.
But now as a perpetually tired adult, driving was preferable.
He frowned at the dust covering his dashboard and digital displays. He really was an adult now. Like for real. New job, about to get a place of his own, and his best friend getting married to some guy he had never even met.
And an enemy from the past scamming him out of all his money at a strip club.
He exhaled loudly at a red light and waited for it to turn green so he could move on from all this.
The restaurant was quite busy that night. Danny had to actually drive around just to find a parking spot. Inside the restaurant, he glanced around for Jazz, but she was nowhere to be seen. He checked his phone. No messages.
He approached the hostess, who welcomed him with a cheerful smile.
"Hi," he said, giving her his practiced smile. "I have a reservation for two under the name Danny."
"Oh, yes." The hostess checked the list of reservations. "Your table is ready now. Would you like to go ahead and be seated?"
Danny looked around again. Jazz still wasn't here. "Uh… Yeah, sure."
He followed the hostess to a table set for two. She placed a menu for each seat. "Your server will come by to get you started if you'd like."
"Great, thanks," said Danny. "My sister is going to be joining me tonight, so if you could look out for a woman with red hair, I'd appreciate it."
"Your sister? Not a date?"
The hostess eyed him up and down, her smile curving into something more beguiling.
"No," replied Danny. "Not a date. I'm, um…" He studied her body language carefully. He was the worst at figuring out whether a girl was flirting with him or not, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to put out a signal. She was pretty. "I'm single."
"Well, then, Danny, maybe you should come talk to me before you leave."
She inclined her head before sauntering away. Danny watched her leave, his heart fluttering.
He sat down and waited with only his thoughts and some water the server brought to keep him occupied. Jazz was still not here. Where was she? Why wasn't she replying to his messages? Or answering his calls?
He wished she'd show up already. He hated being alone with his thoughts.
He hated being…alone.
He had been alone for so long now.
He looked in the direction of the front entrance even though he could not see the hostess stand from this angle. He debated whether or not he'd actually ask the hostess out. It had been quite a while since he went out with anyone. Maybe a date was what he needed. To get his mind off of everything. Off of Sam and her wedding. Off of Spectra.
Spectra.
Danny straightened and furrowed his brow. Spectra was here. Spectra was in the restaurant. What was she doing here?
And why was the hostess directing her to his table?
Her red hair—oh, no—
Dressed in a sleek evening gown, Spectra approached with long strides before stopping right at his table. She looked down at him, eyes lidded, neckline plunging. Danny stayed seated and glared up at her, trying to ignore her immaculate cleavage so close to his face.
"You really are here," she said silkily, her lips curling into a sultry smile.
"Yeah," said Danny in monotone. "I'm here. And you are too, I see."
"Well, of course I'm here. Wouldn't miss an opportunity to see you, cutie."
Spectra grazed his hand on the table with her fingers. Danny pulled his hand away and slipped it under the table.
"Well." Spectra glanced at the empty chair opposite Danny. "Aren't you gonna pull my chair out for me, Danny dear?"
"No, I'm not," said Danny.
"Goodness, aren't we grumpy?" Spectra pulled out the chair herself and took a seat. "Is something wrong? Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, Spectra. I don't want to talk. I want you to leave."
"Leave? But you told me to meet you here."
Danny scoffed. The absolute goddamn audacity of this woman. "Oh, Spectra, I did not—"
"Penelope."
Danny blinked.
"Call me Penelope." Spectra propped an elbow on the table and rested her cheek against her fingers. "I mean, we are on a date. And we're both adults now. We don't have to keep things so formal."
"A date?" Danny stared at her. "We are not on a date."
"You asked me out, darling."
"And when the hell did I do that?"
Spectra set her purse on the table and dug around inside before pulling out a small piece of paper. She handed it to him. "You left that for me."
Danny warily looked at the piece of paper before snatching it out of her hand. He read it to himself: Dinner at seven. The Red.
"How did you get this?" he demanded.
"You gave it to me, sweetie."
"No, I didn't. This was a note I wrote for myself."
"Sweetie, you gave it to me," Spectra reiterated. "At the club. You handed it to me personally."
Danny opened his mouth to protest but stopped when he recalled that the note had been in his pocket along with all of his dollar bills, the very bills he had relinquished to her in a huff before he left.
Had he really been that stupid?
"I guess you really did want to see more of me, huh?" Spectra smiled. "I'm so flattered."
Danny leaned in close to tell her off, to demand that she leave immediately, to let her know that note was not meant for her.
"Hello, nice to see you this evening," said their server, appearing beside them. "Can I get you two started with some drinks now that you're both here?"
"Yes, please. A bottle of the Caymus Select would be excellent," said Spectra.
The server nodded and walked away before Danny could gather his wits to protest.
"So nice that you're old enough to drink now, Danny." Spectra's eyes checked out the upper portion of his body that she could see across the table. "So nice that you've finally grown. You were a cute kid, of course, but my mind is just going all sorts of directions now that you're a man."
"Stop it," hissed Danny. "Enough. You need to leave, Spectra."
"Danny, you really shouldn't be so rude," said Spectra. "You gave me a note asking me to come here. I got all dressed up just for you."
Danny growled and took out his phone. Where the hell was Jazz? "That note wasn't meant for you, it was meant for—"
He froze, stared at the single text message his sister had sent.
Sorry, Davis is really sick and throwing up everywhere. We'll have to reschedule our dinner! I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you earlier.
Davis. Jazz's young son. The son she had with her husband because she had dated and then gotten a boyfriend and then married and now she wasn't alone at all.
He stared at the screen a moment longer before placing his phone in his jacket pocket and slumping in his chair with a sigh.
"What's wrong, Danny dear?" asked Spectra.
"Nothing," said Danny. "Just…nothing."
There was now no reason for him to stay. Jazz wasn't coming. He could just leave.
But leave and do what? Go home and be alone there? Play a video game or watch something on Netflix? Go out on patrol?
There was no reason for him to stay, but there was also no reason for him to go.
And besides, Spectra was a ghost. He couldn't just leave her to her own devices. At some point, he'd definitely have to trap her in a Thermos and send her back to the Ghost Zone.
But for now, he should probably eat dinner. He hadn't eaten much that whole day.
Their server returned and set a bottle of wine on their table, pouring a glass for each of them. Danny reached for his absentmindedly. He didn't really care what Spectra had ordered as long as it was alcohol because getting drunk sounded like a great idea right now. He hadn't been planning on drinking at all, but he'd just have to call Tucker or Uber and get his own car back in the morning. Or maybe he'd fly home.
"So lovely," Spectra purred as she sipped her wine. "Don't you think, Danny dear? So dense and clean. Such a nice finish."
Danny hummed a response of apathy as he set his glass down and picked up the menu. The wine lingered in his mouth, coating his tongue and teeth with its plush texture, but whether it tasted good or not, he couldn't really say nor did he honestly care.
"Ooh, there are so many choices." Spectra studied her menu. "What are you thinking about getting, Danny?"
"I don't know, Spectra," said Danny flatly, not looking up from his menu.
"Danny, why are you being so cold?" Spectra pouted. "You invite me to join you for dinner, but you won't even talk to me?"
"I did not invi—" Danny groaned and shook his head.
"Come on, darling." Spectra batted her eyes. "I'm still a therapist, you know. I'm happy to talk over your problems or feelings with you. I'll even do it for free."
"For free, huh?" Danny's mouth twitched in a wry smile. "You'll give me therapy for free but not a lap dance?"
"Oh, is that what this is about? You're mad that I took all your money at the club?"
Danny shook his head and held his menu up higher.
"No, that's not why you're mad?"
"I just don't want to talk to you."
"But why not, sweetie?"
Danny lowered his voice to a hissing whisper. "What do you want from me, Spectra? Why are you really here? Even if you seriously thought I invited you here, why did you come? Because we both know it's not because you actually wanted to go on a date with me."
"Well, why not? You're certainly cute enough now that you're an adult."
"Because that's not how you work, Spectra. You want my misery for something. That's all you ever want from me."
Her lips pursed. Danny never took his eyes off her, glaring fiercely as he waited for her answer.
"It's true that I enjoy your misery," she began slowly. "I've never enjoyed anyone's misery more. You had so much as a child, so much delicious teenage angst that supplied me with the most exquisite euphoria, the perfect fuel I needed to maintain my beauty and youth." Her mouth curled with a sharp upward curve. "And now as an adult, your misery has only gotten more complex, more layered. You are perfection in that regard, Danny."
Danny could feel his face growing hot as he suppressed a low growl in his throat.
"But…" Spectra hugged her elbows. "I suppose I must admit that lately I've been lonely."
Danny's brow knitted. He straightened up a little.
"I mean, it's been fun at the club. I have a good time with the girls, dance with so many gentlemen, receive so many wonderful gifts. And there is so much misery there. I really don't have to go anywhere else to maintain my appearance." She patted her styled hair. "And I don't have Bertrand anymore, but he was really more of a stooge. I wouldn't call him company even when he was around." She gazed at Danny coquettishly. "But when I was with you last night, I didn't feel lonely at all. I felt like I was connecting with an old friend."
Lonely. The word sounded strange coming out of her poisoned mouth, uttered in her snakish voice.
"And what about you, Danny dear?" asked Spectra. "Did you feel a little less lonely with me last night?"
"What makes you think I was lonely?"
"I could tell, sweetie. I can always tell what you're feeling. You could never hide from me."
Danny sipped at his wine, tipped it more and pulled in a bigger gulp.
"I paid so much attention to you when you were younger because you were my favorite target," Spectra continued. "And you haven't changed at all. You were always such a lonely child."
She reached forward and took his hand, pulling it closer to her.
"And now, you're an even lonelier man."
Danny's face heated. Spectra smiled, baring her ghostly pointed teeth.
"Hello," said their server, reappearing beside their table. "Are you two ready to order, or do you need more time?"
Danny sharply pulled his hand away from Spectra, spilling his wine in the process. The glass clinked and rolled a short distance on the table.
"Oh, that's no problem!" said the server, setting his glass upright again. "Let me grab a towel and I'll be back, okay?"
Danny nodded and mumbled an apology as the server dashed away. He could see Spectra simpering but did not look at her directly.
"Am I making you nervous?" she asked. "You get clumsy when you're nervous."
Danny did not respond. He should just leave. There was nothing for him here. Nothing good could come from this, from Spectra.
You're a lonely man. Her words.
Yes, okay, maybe that was true and maybe he was often a loser who just stayed home by himself on Saturday nights and maybe he'd feel lonelier than ever if he left now but being with Spectra didn't somehow make him less lonely.
He raised his eyes.
Her deep red lips formed a smile just for him.
Their server returned and mopped up the spilled wine with a towel before refilling Danny's glass. Danny wasted no time picking up the glass for another drink.
"There we go. No harm done," said the server. "So what can I get you two tonight?"
"I'll take the steamed sea bass," said Spectra, handing her menu to the server.
The server nodded and turned to Danny, who choked on his gulp of wine and blurted, "The same as her."
The server gave him an amused smile before departing from the table. Danny set down his glass and dabbed at his mouth with his napkin.
"You like sea bass, too?" asked Spectra.
"No. I hate fish."
"Then why did you order it, sweetie?"
"Because I didn't really get a chance to study the menu."
"Danny, sweetie, if you needed more time, you could've just said so."
"It's fine." Danny waved a dismissive hand. He was sure nothing would taste good in Spectra's presence anyway.
Except this wine wasn't so bad. He tilted a small amount into his mouth and tried to put its texture into words, silvery and permeating. He could see her taking a drink as well, her deep red lipstick smudging the rim of her glass.
"Mmm." Spectra set her glass down and licked her lower lip. "I think we should try to put you at ease, Danny dear. Loosen you up. You're so nervous, you're shaking."
"I am not," said Danny as he set his own glass down. His hand was trembling only a little, hardly enough to be considered shaking.
"Here. How about a game?" suggested Spectra. "I'll ask you a question, then you ask me one! So we can get to know each other a little more on a personal level. Doesn't that sound fun?"
Danny narrowed his eyes.
"All right, all right, you can ask first if you want," said Spectra. "The only rule is you have to answer honestly. No lying."
"That's rich coming from you."
"Oh, come on now, I mean it." Spectra drew an "X" over her heart. "I promise I'll be one hundred percent honest, okay?"
"Okay. Sure." Danny stared at her hard. "Then my first question is, what are you really doing here? What do you really want from me?"
"Sweetie, I already answered those questions."
"We both know you were lying."
"No, I wasn't," said Spectra firmly. "I was feeling lonely. I saw an invitation to dinner from you. I decided to take it because I enjoy your company."
Danny could actually see the harsh ectoplasmic light emanating from his eyes falling on his nose.
"Don't be like that, sweetie," said Spectra. "Now do you want to ask me a new question? Or should I take my turn?"
Danny continued to glare at her.
"Fine. My turn." Spectra clasped her hands on the table. "Why were you at the strip club? You're not one of our regulars. Was there a special reason? Or was it maybe your first time?"
Danny recalled all of the events that had preceded him entering the strip club the previous night. His new job. Talking to Jazz on the phone. Jotting down a note meant for himself that he would later stupidly give to Spectra.
And the wedding invitation from Sam.
He slumped in his chair.
"Sweetie?" pressed Spectra.
"I got a new job," said Danny. "My friend—Tucker, I don't know if you remember him—insisted on taking me out to celebrate. I was just there because that's where he wanted to go. I didn't actually want to be there."
"A new job, really? What sort of job?"
"I'm going to be working for the nearby observatory. As an astrophysicist."
"Ooh, I didn't know you were smart," gushed Spectra. "I don't remember you being smart when you were a boy. You really have grown up, haven't you?"
Danny shot her a harsh look but said nothing.
"But then if you really didn't want to go to the strip club, why did you?" asked Spectra. "Surely it wasn't just because your friend made you, was it?"
A heaviness filled Danny's head, prodded at his eyes. He studied the wine in his glass. How much had he drunk by now?
"It's because you were lonely, right?" asked Spectra gently.
Danny sighed. "I was… I was sad. I guess." He wasn't sure why he was confessing this but it felt better to just say it. He had been sad. He was sad now. He couldn't remember the last time he was happy. He couldn't even remember how it felt to be happy.
Spectra's eyes lit up. "Sad? Why were you sad, darling?"
"Yeah, you like that, huh?" spat Danny. "I knew you would. Trying to convince me you're not here for anything shifty, we both know that's not true." He leaned forward. "You want to hear all about my sadness, don't you, Spectra?"
"Penelope, please," said Spectra. "And of course I want to hear all about it. I'm interested in you, Danny."
"Well, too bad. It's not your turn anymore." Danny leaned away from her. "Now it's my turn."
Spectra chuckled and drank a bit of wine. "Okay, okay. What's your question for me, sweetie?"
Danny looked off to the side and also took in some wine. "How long have you been working at the strip club? How long have you been living over here in our world?"
"Hmm." Spectra tapped her fingers together a couple times as she thought. "I've been out of the Ghost Zone for a while now. It just isn't very fun there, you know what I mean?"
Danny nodded. He knew, all right. When he was younger, the Ghost Zone was exciting because it was new, different, dangerous. But now, now he tried to avoid going there altogether.
"I've been living here permanently for about three years," said Spectra. "And I've been working at the club for about eleven months now. Hmm, maybe I should do something fun to celebrate my one-year anniversary of working there." She looked at Danny coyly. "Want to be part of that, Danny dear?"
"Three years," mumbled Danny, perhaps more to himself than to her. "You've been here on our side three years and I didn't even know?"
Spectra laughed. "I guess I'm just sneaky like that."
Danny sipped at his wine.
"My turn again," said Spectra. "Why were you sad at the club?"
Danny exhaled, his eyelids fluttering. He should've expected her to not let this go so easily. "Just...things. I don't know."
"Danny, come on. We're trying to get to know each other here. Tell me the truth."
"I really don't want to talk about it."
"But it might make you feel better."
Spectra smiled at him with full ruby lips, eyed him with such sultry smoky eyes. He had never seen her look so attractive before. She definitely hadn't always been this beautiful, had she?
He ran his finger along the rim of his wine glass. "I guess… Well, I had gotten a wedding invitation from one of my good friends. And I don't know. I guess I was just sad that her life was going somewhere without me."
"I'm guessing you're talking about the pretty girl who always wore black that you used to hang out with?"
"Yeah. Sam."
"Do you wish she had ended up with you instead?"
"Mmm." Danny paused in thought. "I… I don't know. I mean, I wouldn't have been against it. We didn't always get along. And we didn't even like all of the same things. But… I guess I just thought we'd always be close. Somehow." He paused again. "And I guess… I just thought I'd have someone by now, too. She seems happy. I… I want what she has."
"You really were lonely, then, weren't you?" asked Spectra. "At the club."
"Yeah. Tucker is always able to talk to any girl he wants. And so I thought maybe I'd give it a try. But then you came around." Danny shook his head. "But anyway, I've said too much."
"So are you sad right now even with me?" asked Spectra. "Are you still feeling lonely right now?"
Danny did not answer as he studied her face, her features. He wasn't sure what he was feeling anymore.
So instead of answering, he gulped the last of his wine.
"You're drinking that awfully fast," said Spectra. "You like it, huh?"
Danny set his glass down. "It's making this whole situation bearable."
Spectra downed the remainder of her wine as well. "Does this mean you're starting to like being with me? A little?"
Danny did not reply.
The server returned carrying a tray above her head. "Two orders of sea bass!"
She set a hot plate down in front of Spectra first, then Danny. The steam curled off the dead fish meat and assaulted his nostrils with offensive pungency. Spectra's image looked slightly distorted through the hot vapor. Or maybe that was the alcohol. Or both.
"Thank you. This looks delicious," said Spectra, her sensuous lips curling just like the steam.
The server left, and they were alone again. Danny stared at the bass and really wished he had just looked at the menu instead of letting Spectra get to him so much.
"Ooh, this is delightful," said Spectra with a bite of bass in her cheek. She chewed slowly before swallowing. "You should try it, sweetie. I know you said you don't like fish, but I think you might like this."
"Stop calling me that."
"Stop calling you what, hun?"
"Anything other than my name," Danny said somewhat loudly because God damn it he knew that she knew what he was talking about. "'Sweetie,' 'hun,' just stop it."
Spectra chuckled. "Tell you what. I will call you only Danny if you call me Penelope."
Danny huffed and stabbed a fork into his fish.
"It's your turn to ask a question, Danny dear," said Spectra.
Danny thrust a bite of the bass into his mouth. "You said you don't have Bertrand anymore. What happened to him?"
"You sure you don't want to ask me something more personal than that?"
Danny shook his head while attempting to swallow the strong fishy taste down.
Spectra rolled her eyes. "I don't know. He's somewhere in the Ghost Zone, I'm guessing. I haven't seen him since I joined the club. He was getting too snively, always griping about something. Kept killing my buzz, you know? I mean, we had a great time plotting ways to cause misery, but then he couldn't just enjoy the process, always had to rush it. And let me tell you, rush a torture, ruin a torture."
Danny gave her a tired glare.
"This means I'm single, you know." Spectra placed another bite of fish in her mouth. "I'm assuming that's why you asked about Bertrand. Not that Bertrand and I were ever dating, of course. But yes, I am very, very single."
A small bit of cooking oil shone on her lip. Danny moved his gaze back to his own greasy fish.
"Yeah, well." He separated tiny shreds of meat with his fork. "I'm single, too."
Neither of them said anything for a moment as they ate a few bites of their entrées. Danny tipped more wine into his mouth to wash down the slimy taste.
"So who took your virginity?" asked Spectra.
Danny choked on his wine, spitting a small amount of it back into his glass to avoid drowning. "What?"
"That's my next question. Who took your virginity?"
"What—why do you—"
"Oh, I'm sorry." Spectra frowned sympathetically. "You're not still a virgin, are you?"
"N-no, I'm not, but—"
"So who took it, then? Was it your friend getting married, the goth girl?"
"God, no—"
"Then who?"
Danny coughed and gulped down some water to soothe his throat. "I'm not telling you."
"Aw, come on!" Spectra's teeth scraped her bottom lip. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
"I really don't want to know—"
"He was a lot like you, actually. A little shy, awfully cute, full of misery. Kept me looking so young." Spectra sighed. "And he had the most beautiful screams."
Spectra swirled her wine glass dreamily. Danny had no idea how to respond and opted to take another drink.
"Oh, I'm sure you scream beautifully, too, Danny dear," said Spectra.
Danny clutched his wine glass tighter. Was she threatening him?
"Okay, now it's your turn!" Spectra gestured in his direction with an open palm.
Danny's thoughts immediately turned to the girl who first took him to bed but he couldn't tell Spectra about her, he couldn't, no, he had never told anyone about her, not even Tucker—
"I can't," said Danny, his words muffled within his wine glass.
"Why not?" asked Spectra.
"I...promised her I wouldn't."
"Promised who?"
Danny's head swam. He sipped more wine. "Paulina."
Oh, shit. Why did he just say that? He had promised, he had—
But he wanted to tell the story. It had been years. He had kept it inside for years. He wanted to let it out. He wanted someone to know.
"Paulina?" echoed Spectra.
"Yeah. You know, the girl with the flawless skin you wanted back when you were pretending to be our school counselor?"
"Besides the mole."
"Right."
"She was the most beautiful, most popular girl in your school." Spectra leaned forward. "How did you manage to score a girl like her?"
"It was at this party in our junior year. We were both kind of drunk and she dragged me into a room."
"Kind of like how I did?"
"Yes. Except I wasn't broke and miserable afterwards."
"You're still bitter about that, huh?"
Danny said nothing.
"So what happened after that?" Spectra sipped more wine and smacked her lips. "Did you two become an item?"
She was asking another question even though it was no longer her turn, but that was fine, Danny would let her get away with it. Even though he wasn't supposed to say, wasn't supposed to tell. He and Paulina had promised each other.
"We hooked up some more after that," said Danny. "Places at school, like the janitor's closet. Always in secret. She didn't want her friends to find out. Her friends all thought I was a loser, and Sam absolutely hated her anyway, so it was better for both of us, really. We avoided each other most of the time when there were people around. And it was fine at first. I really liked our time together we got." Danny swirled his wine around. "She told me I was her first, too. Although I'm not sure if she just said that to make me feel better about her being my first. But she didn't have a reason to lie."
"It is true, though," said Spectra with a shrug. "Sometimes we girls lie to stroke men's egos, get them to do more for us."
Danny's eyes hardened at his glass of wine, hating that Spectra was trying to make him doubt the authenticity of what he had with Paulina, hating that it was working.
"Did you two ever actually date?" asked Spectra.
Danny slowly shook his head. "She told me she wasn't sleeping with anyone else, just me. And I definitely wasn't seeing anyone else. But I wanted to take her out on a real date, to just hold her hand where everyone could see us." Danny paused. "But it was more than the two of us lying to everyone and sharing a secret. I had my own secret. I was lying to her, too. The whole time. About who I was. About what I could give her."
"What do you mean?"
Danny lowered his eyes.
"Because you're not human?"
Danny gave her a sharp look. Spectra smiled. Danny then softened, sighed, hunched his shoulders.
"Yeah," he said. "I wanted her. So bad. I wanted to be with her. But I couldn't bring myself to get too close to her, to let her get too close to me when she didn't even know what I really was. I just… I kept putting off telling her the truth. I kept planning on it, later, next time. But then weeks passed and I realized that I was just...too afraid to tell her the truth. Too afraid that she'd scream at me, that she'd be afraid of me, that she'd reject me." He paused. "That she'd leave me."
Danny was careful to not meet Spectra's gaze, but he could see that her pleasant smile remained.
"She knew something was wrong," he said. "She told me that she knew I was hiding something from her. How often I'd run off suddenly without a good excuse. How frequently I was late to class. All my cuts and bruises I didn't have a good reason for. I tried to turn it on her. I pretended that I was just tired of hiding our relationship from everyone. She said she was ready to go public with it if I was ready to tell her whatever I was keeping from her." He scratched at the tablecloth. "But I wasn't ready. And she couldn't accept that."
"Did she choose to stop it, then?"
Danny gulped more wine.
"Oh, Danny." Spectra frowned. "That must have been hard for you."
"Don't give me that sympathetic therapist bullshit, Spectra."
"Please, call me Penelope."
Danny set his wine down and stabbed at his fish again.
"How is everything tasting here?" asked their server as she refilled their wine glasses. "Can I get you anything else?"
"Another bottle of wine would be lovely," said Spectra.
"Of course!" The server walked away.
"What's your next question for me, sweetie?" asked Spectra.
Danny wasn't sure what he was feeling now. Defeated? Why was he still here? Why was he still playing this game with her? Why was he still eating this gross fish?
"The guy who took your virginity," Danny began. "Did this happen when you were a ghost? Or back when you were human?"
"I don't remember a thing about my life as a human," said Spectra, her mouth drawing in to something uncharacteristically serious. "I'm assuming I did live as a mortal once. I'm assuming I was human, even—typically ghosts that have humanlike forms were once human—but I can't recall a single thing about it."
"Have you tried?" asked Danny.
"Not really. I don't care anymore. Most of us don't care to figure out who we used to be." Spectra pointed her fork at him. "Look at how much good it's done for you being able to hang on to both your earthly and ghostly existence at the same time, right? You're a mess."
Danny scowled.
"I'm just teasing you, dear." Spectra picked up another bite of fish; she was almost finished. "Anyway, I'm sure I did lose my virginity as a human, but since I have no memory of it, I can only tell you about my first time as a ghost."
Danny waited, more interested than he would've expected to be.
"It was before I knew you," said Spectra. "He was a human, not a ghost. He was tall, strong, dark hair, so very pretty. Kind of like you."
Danny felt himself smiling and actually turning hot. He poured himself more wine, spilling only a little.
"We worked together as counselors at the same clinic," Spectra continued. "He was so very hopeful about helping people. It was really cute. But then when he started realizing just how difficult it actually was, just how powerless he was when it came to patients who didn't want to do the work to help themselves, oh, he became so very attractive indeed." Spectra sighed. "We dated for a few months. It was a wonderful time. He kept me looking young all by himself with his misery. He was my first true love."
"You really did love him?" asked Danny, not believing her.
"How could I not? He was perfect."
"But why a human? Why not a ghost?"
Spectra shrugged. "I've always liked human men best, their misery is just so much more filling. It's so pure and real, you know? Ghosts just don't experience such raw suffering, never to the extent humans are capable of."
Danny chortled and finished off his fish, pushing the plate away. "I don't know about that. I was a lot happier before I became a ghost."
"It's because you're not a full ghost," said Spectra. "You're able to comprehend just how difficult it is to be a ghost, to be stuck in an existence where you have to keep chasing something you can never attain. True ghosts can't understand that and remain blissfully unaware of just how miserable they really are."
Danny blinked and stared at Spectra. She stared back at him just as seriously before breaking into a grin.
"Well, what did you expect?" she said, chuckling. "I really am a therapist, you know. I've thought a long time about all of us, about myself."
She picked up her wine glass and draped her arm over the back of her chair, staring off to the side.
"You only become a ghost if you suffered something horrible in your Earth life. An untimely or agonizing death, intense regrets." She sipped her wine. "I just wonder what it was that happened to me that landed me in this hell."
Danny studied her, the jut of her pert nose and the taut line of her neck. Such angular beauty, so exquisite.
He leaned in toward her, his elbows resting on the table, almost knocking his wine glass over again. "So do—do you—"
"Let me get that for you." The server picked up their empty plates. "Are you interested in dessert this evening?"
"Yes, of course," said Spectra. "Would you bring us some cheesecake? Oh, and more wine, please." Spectra picked up the empty bottle and wiggled it. "It seems Danny here really likes the wine."
The server took the bottle and walked away. Danny scoffed and again leaned over the table, whispering, "You're the one who's been drinking it all, not me."
"Oh, I don't think so," said Spectra, downing the remainder of wine in her glass. "I've been keeping track. It's been you."
"No, it—"
"Isn't it my turn to ask a question?"
Danny shut his mouth and waited.
Spectra smacked her lips and set her glass down on the table. "What did you think of my dance?"
Danny blinked. "Your what?"
"My dance. At the club. Did you like it?"
Danny wished he could loosen his collar. It was getting just a little too warm. "Which one? The one on the stage or...or the other one?"
Spectra chuckled. "You're cute. How about the one on stage?"
"Oh." Danny swallowed. "Uh, yeah, that… That one was good. I guess."
"I choreographed it all by myself, you know."
"Oh?" Danny swallowed again. His mouth was suddenly feeling dry but there was no wine at the moment. He sipped water instead. "So is it hard to do? Dancing like that? With the pole?"
"Is that your next question?"
"Ah… I guess it is, yeah."
Spectra hummed. "I don't mean to boast, but I picked it up really quickly. And I have a bit of an advantage over the other girls because I can use my anti-gravity abilities as a ghost." She gave him a coy smile. "Which means you could get quite good at it too, you know. I could give you private lessons some time if you want."
"Oh." Danny's face burned. "I'm not really a dancer."
Spectra leaned over the table toward him, her elbows propped on the table and her chin resting on her hands. "I bet I could get you to dance."
Danny could feel himself leaning in to meet her but had no idea why or how to stop it.
"Here we are." Their server set a slice of cheesecake in the center of the table and refilled their wine glasses from a new bottle. Danny flushed and sat back in his seat, wiping the sweat from his brow with his hand.
Spectra picked up her fork and cut into the cheesecake. She slipped a bite into her mouth. "Mmm, that's good. You should try it."
Danny placed a forkful of the dessert into his own mouth. The sweet tanginess covered his tongue and squelched between his teeth. "Wow, you're right, this is good." He grabbed another bite. He didn't usually like cheesecake but for some reason this had a pleasing taste.
Spectra licked off a smidge of cream from her upper lip and drank more wine. "My turn to ask a question, isn't it?"
Danny nodded, his cheeks full of cheesecake.
"What's your favorite color?"
Danny downed the cheesecake with a gulp of wine before speaking. "That's what you want to ask?"
"Yeah. It is." Spectra waved her fork in his direction. "I want to know what your favorite color is."
Danny snorted. "Okay. Um." He thought for a moment, looked at his clothes and around the room to remind himself of all the colors that existed. "You know, I don't really have a favorite color."
Spectra's brows pinched. "No favorite color?"
"Yeah. I don't know. I just don't really have a preference when it comes to colors. They're all good to me."
"There really isn't one you like just a little more than others? If you had to choose between a group of different colored shirts, there isn't one that would stand out to you?"
"Not really. I mean, I would just choose one that's comfortable."
Spectra chuckled. "I have to admit, that's pretty cute about you."
"Oh, yeah. One of my best qualities is not having a favorite color. No wonder I'm so popular with girls."
"Danny, sweetie, I really am legitimately shocked you're single."
Danny rolled his eyes and drank more wine. "So. What's your favorite color?" he asked, smacking his lips.
"Red." Spectra waved her fingers from her head to her chest, indicating the color of her hair and dress. "Isn't it obvious?"
Danny forked off another bite of cheesecake. "Yeah, I guess I had a hunch, but I've been surprised before."
"Really? Surprised before by what?"
"Is that your next question?"
"Sure. That's my next question."
"I was pretty surprised when you came into the restaurant tonight."
"Aw, did you think I was going to stand you up for our date?"
Danny smirked and swirled the wine in his glass. "It's not your turn to ask a question."
Spectra and Danny locked eyes for a brief second before bursting into laughter.
As they finished off the cheesecake and drank through another bottle of wine, their questions became less serious, even sillier. Favorite sports, favorite time of day, least favorite chores, hobbies, books, movies, nicknames, pet peeves, how many pillows they liked to sleep with.
"I like having at least four," said Spectra. "Really big fluffy pillows, like full-body ones I can squeeze."
"I honestly didn't know you slept at all." The wine in Danny's glass wobbled as he set it back down on the table. "Not all ghosts sleep, you know."
"Of course I sleep," said Spectra, a good amount of her lipstick smudged off by now as it decorated her glass. "I'm not some degenerate. I'm sophisticated."
Her phis spat out over the table. Danny hummed amusement.
"But you know, nothing makes a better pillow than another person." Spectra lidded her eyes as she looked at Danny. "A real living body to hug. Wouldn't you agree, Danny dear?"
Danny pulled at his shirt collar. "Is that your next question?"
Spectra simpered.
The server returned with the check folder. "Just leaving this here for you, but there's no rush."
"Good because we didn't finish this bottle yet," said Danny, pouring himself another glass.
The server gave him a knowing smile and walked away. Spectra grabbed the bottle from Danny's hand.
"Now we finished it," said Spectra, laughing as she emptied the remainder of the bottle into her glass and set it back in the middle of the table.
Danny raised his glass to her. She raised hers as well.
"So how many bottles was this?" asked Danny, grabbing the neck of the wine bottle and swirling the few drops that remained at the bottom.
"Three, I think," said Spectra.
"Oh." Danny chuckled. "That doesn't sound expensive at all."
Spectra's cheeks puffed out with a small burp as she reached across the table for the check folder. She opened it and hemmed and hawed over the bill, sucking her teeth, clicking her tongue.
Danny watched every movement of her mouth. So much red lipstick stained her glass but her lips somehow still had so much of the color left on them.
She closed the check folder and laid it flat on the table, sliding it over to him. "Well. I'll leave you to it, then."
She stood, looking just a little wobbly as she held the back of the chair to keep her balance.
"Until our next date," said Spectra. She looked down at him, her eyes lidded so he could see her smoky eyeshadow.
"Our next—what—"
Spectra didn't wait for him to finish, walking with a slight stagger away and out of the restaurant. Danny watched the mesmerizing curves and folds of her red dress sashay and disappear from sight.
He remembered too well what was under that dress.
He picked up the check folder and opened it, keeping his expression static as he searched for the final number. He did not react, simply stared at it.
Figured she'd find yet another way to steal three hundred dollars from him.
Danny exhaled deeply and placed his credit card in the folder. He picked up his empty wine glass and swirled the last remaining drops around and around and around.
After the server returned his credit card and Danny paid a tip on top of the bill because why not, what was another sixty dollars now, he attempted to keep his stride steady as he walked toward the exit. He thought about how he might get his car home since he definitely couldn't drive like this. Maybe he could use his anti-gravity powers and just carry it home while flying.
He wondered how Spectra got here. Did she fly, or did she have a car in this world?
Maybe that should've been one of his questions to her but now it was too late. He would never see her again.
And he definitely didn't want to see her. Never again.
Right?
"Danny," cooed a voice as he walked toward the front exit. "How was dinner with your sister?"
Danny stopped and wearily blinked in the direction of the voice. The hostess who had greeted and seated him earlier smiled at him.
"My sister?" Danny looked back at the main seating area. "Oh, that wasn't—I mean—" He turned back to her. "You remember my name?"
"Of course! I couldn't forget someone as handsome as you."
The comment made Danny blush or maybe he was just feeling warm from the wine. "Ah, sorry, I don't remember your name."
"That could be because I didn't tell you."
"You can tell me now if you want."
The hostess drew her lips together in a coy pucker. "How about I tell you over dinner?"
"Dinner? You mean like here?" Danny shifted his weight, placing a hand on the hostess stand to stay up. "Well, I kind of already just ate."
"Yeah, I know. Seems you drank a little, too."
Danny rubbed his neck. "Yeah, maybe a little."
"You're cute." The hostess laughed. "No, not dinner here. Somewhere I don't work. I'm free next Wednesday night."
Her lips were so red and full.
Just like Spectra's.
Danny couldn't stop staring at them and remembering the way the Cupid's bow of Spectra's lips dipped so sharply.
The hostess wrote something on a sticky note and handed it to him. "Here. My number. Why don't you get some rest and text me when you're ready to make plans?"
Danny took the note and stared at the string of numbers. Black and stark like Spectra's eyeliner.
"And drink plenty of water, all right? But feel free to text me if you've got a bad hangover in the morning." The hostess winked. "I can come over and help with that."
Danny nodded and stuffed the note in his pocket. He stepped outside and breathed in the cool night air that had a faint scent of leaves and felt wet inside his nose.
The hostess was pretty, but he wasn't sure he could call her. Not with this other woman on his mind.
Spectra.
Where had his heart gone…
Wherever she was, he was pretty sure.
But it didn't feel as bad as he would've thought.
She had coaxed it out of him so expertly, just like all his money.
God, he hoped he was just really drunk and that he would change his mind in the morning.