5. A hot pickle
five
A hot pickle
JAMES
Iwake spooning Ewan, with my nose buried in his hair and my hand slung over his hip. I take a moment to revel in this happy circumstance before slowly backing away from him. He’s sleeping soundly, his large body sandwiched between me and the wall.
I don’t know if I should thank or curse the damn cat for deflating the air mattress.
This prolonged exposure to Ewan’s incredible body isn’t making it easier. I have to remind myself every hour of the day that he’s my teammate and not some guy I met at a bar who I'm trying to seduce.
Do coworkers often share beds? a little voice says in my head. No, they don’t. But then again, we’re not doing a normal job, are we?
Last night while I was a little drunk, I stupidly tried to flirt with him, but he didn’t say a word. Would he say something if it made him uncomfortable? Somehow I’m not sure. I’d hate to learn I made him uneasy.
I sigh and sit at the edge of the bed, rubbing my tired eyes. One quick look at my phone tells me it’s almost noon, even though it feels like 7am. Our graveyard shifts are messing with my perception of time.
Ewan stirs behind me, and I witness his slow awakening. His eyes open and he looks at me, gaze soft from sleep and the remnants of whatever dream he was having. Then when his brain finally connects to reality, his face turns beet red. Adorable.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” I say.
Ewan hides his eyes under his arm and mumbles, “Good mornin’.” His Scottish accent is like a purr.
“Did you sleep well? I didn’t squish you against the wall, did I?”
He shakes his head, but the way the colour of his cheeks deepen, I think I probably did.
“Come on, let’s get breakfast.” I stand up and stretch. “I’m ravenous.”
Just like the day before, we find Shirley and a few members of the staff—two women this time—gathered for lunch in the kitchen.
“Ah! I was hoping to catch you before my afternoon shift,” she says, pointing her fork at us. “How did it go last night?”
I make a beeline for the coffee machine. “We got rid of the Urchin. The little shit was hard to handle, but we did it. No more water damage in the hostel, hopefully.”
“Oh wow, really? Damn, you guys are efficient.”
“What can I say, we’re professionals.”
I meant it as a joke, but they’re all nodding seriously. I share a glance with Ewan and he hides his smile behind a hand. Once again, we almost got our asses handed to us by a ghost.
I give the first coffee to Ewan, and he thanks me with another of his perfect blushes. Once mine is ready, we sit around the table for breakfast.
“Who are you doing next?” Shirley asks. Her purple hair is tied an impressive hairdo today.
I take a sip of my coffee before answering. “We’re not sure yet. The Lady in Red, probably.”
“Oh. Be careful with her, she’s a piece of work.”
“How so?”
“She can make you really... horny.”
I almost spit my coffee. “Excuse me?”
“In the notebook, Lana wrote that she can manipulates emotions?” Ewan says.
Shirley nods. “Yeah, but especially your body. Your sensations. You’ll feel hot all over.
We regularly find guests humping in the library after curfew.
So often that we started locking the door at night to stop them from entering.
If you let her have her way, the hostel would turn into a brothel.
” There is a gleam in her eyes, and I think she actually likes the idea.
“Well, I personally know I can control myself,” I say. “I’m not an animal. And we’ll have to exorcise her out of the house eventually. So the sooner we get it done, the better.”
Shirley smirks. “If you say so.”
Ewan looks unsure, but he says nothing.
We eat while listening to the staff gossiping about the guests and the other workers.
After breakfast, I really feel the need to get some air, so I ask Ewan if he wants to take a walk through the city with me. Summer is giving its last breath, and the sun is shining timidly over Edinburgh.
Ewan, who has been living here for a few years now, attending university, gives me a tour.
As I’ve started to notice, he’s kind of a history nerd.
He gives me a full rundown on the many historical events that have occurred at the castle on the hill, but stops on the cobblestone street before the main entrance.
“Do you want to go in?” I say. “We can get tickets if you want.”
“No, it’s fine.” But his eyes are on the courtyard beyond, tracking movements.
And suddenly, I realise something. “You can see ghosts here, can’t you?”
At last, his attention lands on me, and his face morphs into an expression of relief mixed with shame. “Aye...”
“You know you can tell me everything, right? I believe you. We’re ExorSquad, remember?”
He gives me a shaky smile. “There are so many ghosts here on the grounds. So many people were killed here, and they all roam the castle, lost and confused. That’s how it started again.
How I... began to see them again. At first, there was the man with a sword.
I thought he was working at the castle, for the tour.
Then I saw people with burnt faces and stab wounds.
They were everywhere I looked, as if appearing out of thin air.
” He gives a nervous laugh. “I guess they kind of were appearing out of thin air...”
How exhausting it must be, to always see things no else can and yet have to pretend they aren’t here?
I grab his hand. “Hey, take me somewhere you feel safe. I don’t care about the damn castle.”
Ewan nods and leads the way.
“A cemetery, really?” I say with a chuckle.
Ewan blushes. “There are no ghosts in cemeteries, most of the time. People rarely die or get murdered here, and the spirits avoid them. I think they don’t like to be reminded of death.”
“Makes sense. I wouldn't either.”
And I have to admit the moss-covered tombstones, the yellowing trees, and the green grass are quite nice.
“I come here to escape them when I feel overwhelmed,” he admits.
“Fine by me. Come sit by our dear friend...” I read the name on an old tombstone, “Richard Mackenzie.”
Ewan makes a face, and I laugh.
We walk a little farther away and sit under a tree to drink our takeaway coffees. It's no surprise that Ewan ordered a monstrous drink with outrageous flavours and too much sugar. I started to notice he has a sweet tooth.
Today, we’re wearing our normal clothes and left our ExorSquad overalls at the hostel. Ewan looks good in his Edinburgh University hoodie and sweat pants. To be fair, I think he’d look good in anything. He’s like a giant teddy bear, you just want to wrap yourself around him.
“I bet girls are all over you,” I say out of the blue.
Ewan gapes at me. “Wh—what?”
“You’re a big guy with a kind heart. But I think they really like the big part.”
Now I’m just teasing. I saw his cock in the showers, and even though he was soft, I could tell that he was quite proportionate.
“I—it’s—I don’t...” he stammers, and I burst out laughing. He’s too easy to tease.
I wait, hoping he'll give me a clue about his sexual orientation, but he just stays silent and stares at his feet.
I sigh and turn my face to the sun. “Winter will come in the blink of an eye.”
Ewan hums. “But first, autumn. Edinburgh looks beautiful during autumn.”
“Too bad, I won’t be here to see it.” I sigh.
“Where do you live? London, right?”
“Yeah. I grew up in London. My father was the Japanese ambassador, and he fell in love with my English mother. But lately I’ve been all over the UK.
I visit friends and follow jobs. All summer I was working on a farm in Wales, but with winter approaching, they didn’t need me anymore, so I had to improvise and found the ExorSquad job offer online. ”
Ewan nods thoughtfully. “So when this is all over, you’re moving on?”
I smile at him. “Well, we make a great team, don’t we? Maybe ExorSquad could keep us working jobs together for a while longer.”
He looks happy at that, and we spend the rest of the afternoon talking and enjoying the sunshine in the cemetery.
When midnight comes, we’re ready for our next ghost hunt. Earlier today, Shirley showed us which key opens the library—an old brass thing probably older than my grandmother.
Tonight, our plan is simple: Ewan does the talking, and I am his knight in shining armour—or should I say crumpled overalls? He’s the one with the gift, and I am the muscle. Even if it makes no sense whatsoever when you see us side by side.
The library is eerily quiet when we enter, not a pipe banging or a floorboard groaning.
“Wow,” Ewan whispers by my side, and I have to admit, wow indeed.
The library looks like one from a movie.
It's two stories high, with shelves that reach up to the ceiling. Just like the key, the room is from another time entirely. The only modern touches are the couches and chairs at the centre of the library where guests can sit to read. Two tall windows let in natural sunlight during the day and offer a prime view over Edinburgh’s castle.
There is only one sconce above our head, and its light barely reaches half the shelves. The huge fireplace is fireless, of course, no one in their right mind would start a fire in here nowadays.
Ewan walks to the nearest shelf and trails his fingers over the books. “Shirley said guests often leave books they bought after reading them, contributing to expand the collection.”
“I believe that,” I say, spying some romance titles. I pull a book out and snort when I realise the cover is a shirtless Highlander with long hair and a really big sword. “I bet Lana is contributing, too.”
When we met her in the evening, she was opening a package from the mail containing books, three of her cats trailing behind her.
For some reason, neither Ewan nor I mentioned the deflated air mattress to the staff.
“Where do you think she is?” Ewan whispers by my ear. He’s talking about the Lady in Red.
“We can bring her out with puns again.”
“Please don’t...” he hisses. “I’m tired of facing angry ghosts.”
“Well, maybe we could—” but I stop talking, noticing the figure now standing by the window, bathed in moonlight.