A/N: A little insight into Melinda and Jim's earlier relationship and the night she told him about her gift... and the sexy times that followed. I hope you all enjoy xx Mariah

Ages:

Andrea - 27
Jim - 24
Melinda - 20

Melinda was staring at herself in what was her fourth outfit change before her date arrived. She couldn't make up her mind. What was she going to wear?

She had to find something perfect because this wasn't just another date with some guy. It was a date with Jim, and while they weren't exactly serious yet, this was their tenth date and she hoped tonight would be the night.

"Andrea, what do you think?" She asked her friend, hoping that if she raised her voice a bit that she would make her way in here.

Her friend came into the room and sat on her bed. "Another outfit change? Really? You look beautiful, Melinda." Andrea said, sighing as she shook her head. While the young black woman was older than her they had been the best of friends since she had happened to work as the receptionist at the same law firm Andrea used to work at. "Jim is blind if he doesn't think that."

"Really?" She asked, looking over herself again.

Her first outfit had been a summer dress, but she couldn't find the right cover-up to go with it. It was a little chilly out and he'd talked about wanting to walk around after their movie.

Her second was a skirt and a blouse, but it made her feel like she was a single mom and had changed before Andrea even got a chance to see that one on her.

The third was Andrea's outfit of choice was a nude bandage dress, one that showed off everything she had going for her. It wasn't a dress you wore if you didn't want to be stared at all night. She didn't mind feeling Jim's eyes all over her and could even say she loved it when she could feel them on her but hadn't wanted anyone else to be staring at her all night either.

The last outfit that she currently had on was her favorite and the most comfortable of them; a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a white top, paired with her favorite pair of wedges and hoop earrings.

"Melinda," Andrea tried to reassure her. "Stop acting like this is your first date."

"It's not like he's proposed to me," she sighed. "We aren't even officially dating or anything. He hasn't said anything to me about that kind of thing yet."

"Breathe Mel," her best friend chided her as she stood up and hugged her. "In with the good air and out with the bad. Go sit down on the couch and finish the glass of wine you started earlier. You will feel better once he's here."

"I don't know why I'm so nervous Andrea." She replied, sighing. "Everything is just so much different when I'm with him. I feel like I could tell him everything and he'd believe me," she explained, turning the light off as they walked to the living room, both sitting on the couch. "It's like we are the only people in the room when I am with him, and the sex? God."

"You're going to tell him about your gift tonight aren't you?" Andrea reached for her glass of wine, taking a sip.

She groaned and finished off her drink. "You are too good, you know?" She stood up and went to pout herself a little more wine. "Maybe. I was thinking about telling him. It's been almost four months since our first date and he hasn't gotten sick of me yet. Plus there is just this overwhelming feeling of comfort when I'm alone with Jim, and I don't want to hide anything from him. It's already begun to get hard to hide things… and isn't it better to tell him now than to wait and get my heart broken again?"

"Yeah, I guess, but either way you're still getting hurt." Andrea sighed, finishing her glass of wine as she stood up and came to get a refill as well.

Melinda poured the rest of the bottle into her friend's glass and they clinked their glasses together. She finished her glass as there was a light knock on the door and gave Andrea her glass to put in the sink.

"Want me to get it?" Andrea teased.

"I got it," she said, standing up. "Don't be weird. I'll text you if things go well and I end up wanting to go home with him."

Andrea laughed, hugging her. "I will and I resent you thinking I am the weird one." Her friend said and rolled her eyes. "Have fun and you better tell me everything when you come back."

"I will. It's not like I can keep anything for you anyway," she giggled and grabbed her purse from the floor, and headed toward the front door. "See you later." She took another breath as there was another knock again and she promptly opened the door before he finished.

Jim was standing there in a blue button-up and a pair of jeans, a leather jacket also. Her knees nearly gave out, the alcohol buzzing through her head as she looked at him, but Andrea gave her a push forward.

"Hope you have a fun night planned, Jim. She's been a nervous wreck waiting for you," Andrea teased them both. "Have a good night, Mel."

"Of course I do. Hey, you," Jim grinned at her, hands in his pockets. "You look as beautiful as ever."

"Thank you, and don't mind my friend. She's just overprotective," she said and then waved off Andrea, pulling the door closed as she stepped out into the hall. "You look particularly handsome tonight. Almost more than usual."

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" He teased her, sliding his hand into hers as they walked down the hallway together. "I don't mind Andrea. She's funny and a good friend if she's protective over you. That's what friends are for."

"I suppose it usually is the man's role to compliment a woman, but I don't follow society's guidelines all the time." She said as he pressed the button for the elevator. "How was your day?"

"Uneventful. I worked for most of it, but not in the way I would've liked," he shrugged, sighing as he leaned against the wall. "Instead of being face-to-face with any patients, I had to sit through a bunch of different training meetings today with videos to watch. How was yours?"

"I had a lot of faxing to do," she replied. "And it's not the most fun of tasks when the fax machine despises you. It was a very long day. I'm glad to be spending my time with you now because it always makes my day better."

He nodded. "Me too, Mel. I'm glad to have an entire evening with you."

The elevator dinged as the doors opened and they stepped inside. It was rather crowded for seven o'clock on a Tuesday night. Melinda had automatically tucked herself inside Jim's arms to avoid feeling claustrophobic. There was just something different about being in his arms.

She felt his hands as they brushed up and down her forearms mindlessly, his fingers tracing invisible patterns. It felt nice and reassuring that someone cared enough about her to want her close in a crowded elevator.

She felt his lips against the shell of her ear and bit her lip as he spoke, "This might sound weird, but you smell nice."

She laughed and looked over her shoulder up at him and stole a quick kiss from him by rising on her toes just enough. "Thank you," she whispered as she pulled back.

The doors opened soon on the second floor and few people left before they reached the bottom floor and everyone filed out. Melinda and Jim waited and were the last to leave the elevator hand-in-hand.

"I am really glad you called me tonight," she said and smiled at him as he led her out the main doors. "I was looking at just finishing off the bottle of wine I opened."

"So that's what I tasted, huh?" He teased her, pulling her closer as they walked toward where he parked his truck.

"Maybe," she giggled, leaning up against his truck as he unlocked the door and opened it. "So what were your plans originally?"

"I was supposed to work late but the shift was slow and they didn't need a full crew on," he said, helping her up into his truck. "Why do you think I called you? There's no one I would rather spend my time with."

She felt her face flush and smiled at him. "I feel special hearing those words come out of your mouth," she said as he continued to stand there. "Aren't you going to shut the door and get in? It's kind of cold."

"Yeah, in a minute, but I wanted to do this first," he said and bent down, quickly capturing her lips in a delightful kiss.

It was warm, and his lips were soft. Passion burned within the kiss, desire in it too. Their eyes were closed, both of them savoring the moment. His arms wrapped around her waist as her fingers intertwined with his hair.

Who knew? Maybe fairy tales did come true.

Jim noticed something off about Melinda ten minutes into when they arrived at the sushi place. She had been fidgeting with her bracelet around her wrist since he had picked her up, but it had turned into hiding behind her menu from him from the last five minutes.

He wasn't sure if it was someone else in the restaurant that had her so distracted, but he didn't like to see her so worried.

"Is there something wrong, Mel?" He asked once they had put in their drink order and she finally closed her menu.

She shook her head. "No," she smiled. "Everything is fine." Her eyes told him otherwise, fidgetting between him and the waiter as he came back over with his beer and her iced tea. "I'm just a little… distracted."

"I noticed." He tried to shake the feeling off, but there was something about it that made him anxious. Was it something he'd done? "I thought you were excited about tonight?"

"I am," she said, reaching across the table with her palm open. "It's not you that's distracting me."

He slid his hand in and held hers, bringing it to his lips. "Just relax. Tonight will be fine."

"I wish it were as simple as that," she said inconspicuously and chuckled uneasily as she squeezed his hand and took a sip of iced tea with the other.

Melinda tried her best to relax and to seem less anxious about whatever it was when they put their orders in and the menus were taken away, but he wasn't completely buying it. Something was distracting her every so often for the rest of the meal and when it came time for their dishes to be taken away and she still hadn't loosened up, he was a little worried.

"Are you sure something isn't bothering you? Is it this restaurant?" He asked, looking around to see if anything in the vicinity that could be bothering her but he didn't see anything. "Is it me? Did I say something that upset you?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "It isn't you. You're perfect."

He could sense there was something. "Just tell me. Maybe I can help," he reassured her.

"I don't think that's possible, but promise to keep an open mind?" She asked.

He didn't know what to think of that but nodded anyway. He was an open book for the woman who sat in front of him and he didn't want to lose any chance he had with her. Especially not over something as trivial as what she could be worrying about on their tenth date.

Was could she possibly have to tell him that would want to turn him away?

"What if I told you the reason I'm distracted is that there is this ghost that keeps chatting in my ear whenever the server comes by and it is making it hard to concentrate on anything else." She began, her voice a little softer for only him to hear. She reached across and held onto his hand again, squeezing it. "It's true, Jim. I can see ghosts and I have since I was a little girl. They come to me and I try to help them find peace, but sometimes they pop into my life and ruin things like dates… seeing them has ruined quite a lot of things for me, but I hope it doesn't ruin what we have."

Ghosts? She could talk to ghosts?

He didn't have any clue what to say just now but leaned back to process it all and it clicked in about ten seconds. It made enough sense and he could tell she was telling the truth, not that he ever doubted her.

When he thought of a few other times when they were together, that made those interactions make a lot of sense too. But he had just thought she was easily distracted at the time.

"There's one here now?" He asked, looking around the restaurant even though he knew he wouldn't see anything. It was fascinating the longer he thought about it. "Where?"

"There can tend to be a lot of spirits at restaurants or in populated spaces; more than you'd think. A few are in here, but the one that is bothering me is attached to our server." She said, her voice shaking. He'd never seen her like this before. "Her father is unhappy she has let her mother put this restaurant on the market, but that's all I've gotten. I have tried to ignore him most of the night. I didn't want to ruin our date, but it seems it already has."

Jim had tried to let her tell him as much as she could before she got quiet again. It was almost like she was just waiting for him to walk up and leave her right here and now. As if he would ever do that to her even if he didn't believe her. Had someone done that to her before when she'd told them?

"You don't have to do that. Nothing has ruined our night together," he told her. There was a look of relief on her face and he squeezed her hand this time. He loved her, even if he hadn't told her yet. "I'm sorry that you've had to hide part of who you are around me. That's the last thing I want."

It was as though there was a weight lifted off her shoulders and she smiled at him. A pure undescribable one that he never wanted to leave her face. "You believe me?" She asked. "Without any other questions?"

He felt his eyes well up tears at the idea of telling her any differently. "Why wouldn't I?" He asked.

"Because it's unbelievably weird and strange… and everything in between." She said, blinking tears from her eyes. "Not everyone is open to the idea of an afterlife where their loved ones have unfinished business and stay behind until they find peace."

"I like just enough of strangeness in my life, Melinda, and that's right here with you. I don't want to be anywhere else and I'm not going to leave you here." He moved to sit beside her on the other side of the booth and embraced her tightly. He breathed in the smell of her lavender perfume and pressed a kiss to her cheek as he pulled back, wiping away the last fallen tear he saw. "This is just another part of you that I got find out about, and I will keep your secret if that's what you want me to do."

Melinda blinked at him, more tears forming in her eyes before she hugged him again. "Does this mean we're official now?" She teased.

"Yes," he chuckled.

This time she held on tighter like she never wanted to let go and neither did he.

They went back to his apartment quickly and Jim could barely keep his hands off of her as they got out of his truck and walked from where he had parked and into his apartment building. They had shared an eager, long kiss while waiting for the elevator, but once the doors opened they parted when they saw someone had walked in before them and shuffled inside.

Once on his floor and to his apartment, he unlocked the door and pulled her inside, sealing their lips together again. His hands were at the hem of her top, sliding underneath against the warmth of her soft, delicate skin. Melinda shoved her hands into his hair as he kissed her, and she felt like her whole body was on fire. He pushed her until she was against the wall, and his hands explored her body as she let her own roam his chest, shoulders, and arms.

He felt so good under her touch, every curve of his muscles turning her on impossibly more, and let out a low groan as she scratched his back. "I've wanted to touch you like this since we left the restaurant, but then you saw that ice cream stand in the park…" He murmured, kissing down her neck and she sighed, hands now settling on his waist. "I couldn't say no."

"Mmm… that was good tasting ice cream though, wasn't it?" She managed to ask, her mind foggy from the want that was building up all night.

He seemed to know exactly where to touch her to make her knees tremble. "Nothing tastes as good as you do," he told her, his voice wrapped with lust.

This seemed to make him even more eager to please her, gliding his hand over her ass and squeezing, giving it a nice pat as he pulled her even closer. He fiddled with the button and zipper of her jeans before sliding his hand inside as he pulled her face up and kissed her fiercely.

She let out a little moan, feeling him hard against her as his fingers worked inside her. After another few moments, she felt her legs chill in the air around her as he pulled down her jeans, his lips between her legs as he kissed her thighs.

"Not here," she said, tugging on his hair slightly.

As he stood, their lips met again and she kicked her pants off the rest of the way. "Where do you want to go?" He asked, leading her backward through his tiny apartment and nearly knocking over a lamp in the process.

"Your bed," she said as he pulled her the rest of the way and with a thud, they landed on it. She stayed on top of him for a moment, their lips crashing against each other like waves kissing the hull of a ship. When they parted, she ran her hand up the length of his side. "You know… tonight was the first time a man in my life hasn't left when I told him about my gift."

He nodded, having felt that much was true from the moment she told him. "I wish you didn't have to go through all of that, Melinda, but if it led you to me I can't help but be happy that I can take care of you now. There is never anything you need to hide from me. I will always be there to help you, no matter what."

She leaned her forehead against his. "I don't know if you know how much that truly means to me, Jim," she whispered and then kissed him again.

Melinda frantically began unbuttoning his shirt, forgetting about her previous thought of slowly peeling his layers off of him. She wanted what he had to give her, and she wanted it now. He shrugged off his jacket and shirt, exposing his toned chest and abdomen.

She bent down and touched her tongue to his belly, slowly drawing it up over his taut stomach to his nipple, swirling around until it pebbled under the heat of her mouth. Flicking it with the tip of her tongue, she moved on to his other nipple, feeling the vibration of his moan and the thrill of his hands running through her hair.

Still grasping his waistband, she moved backward and sat on the mattress in front of him. Looking him in the eye, she removed her shirt. She reached toward him, grasping his hands and pulling them around her, hoping he'd get the clue and take her bra off so she could feel him pressed up against her. She was already so wet and he had barely even touched her yet.

Jim leaned forward and kissed her, following her lead and unhooking her bra. He gasped when she brought his hands to cup her breasts, moaning into his mouth and reaching forward to unbuckle his belt. He was a bundle of heated nerves. He had never been with anyone, ever, who was as bold and brave as Melinda. Was bold even the right word? Whatever she was, she was someone he never wanted to let go of.

She managed to unbuckle his belt and unfasten his pants before she let him do the rest and laughed as he ended up standing to shrug them off and then rummaged through his side table, coming back with a foil wrapper in his hand. She had pulled her underwear off by the time he was in bed beside her and held out her hand with a smile on her face.

"Wanna see what I can do?" She said, taking the condom from him.

"I...uh...ok?" Honestly, Jim had no idea where this was going. Part of him was more excited than he had ever been and afraid if she touched him he would explode on the spot.

He watched as she took the condom, put it in her mouth, and proceeded to grasp him in her hand and roll the condom down as far as she could get him inside her mouth. He decided then and there he'd be ok with anything that happened between them after that.

"That was...impressive," he panted, trying to keep some semblance of control.

"Baby," Melinda said as she straddled him, "you have barely seen any of my tricks yet."