Taking Risks (4 page)

             
Saturday morning I woke up to silence, which made me uneasy because Gray loved to wake me up on the weekends. I sat up and looked around, but saw no sign of Gray. I was usually having to kick him out of my bedroom just so I could change my clothes really fast or use the bathroom. I decided to venture downstairs to see if he was hiding there. When I made it to the living room I found Gray sprawled out on the couch wearing a pair of lounge pants and watching Saturday morning cartoons.

             
“Jeeze, put some clothe on why don’t ya?” I said teasingly.

             
Gray flashed me a cheesy grin and said, “I’m betting that, back in my day, ladies would swoon over this fine physic.” Then he winked at me.

             
“Hilarious.” I teased and then went to fix myself a bowl of cereal.

             
When I joined Gray on the couch I noticed that he had changed his clothes. He was now wearing an orange and blue plaid button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow and a pair of khaki cargo shorts.

             
“How do you do that?” I was totally jealous of that part of being a ghost.

             
“I just think hard enough about what I want to wear and it appears. Presto-Chango!”

             
I rolled my eyes at him. Gray always had such a flair for the dramatic.

             
“Can you do that with your face…and stuff?” I asked.

             
Gray looked as though he might be trying for a minute. He scrunched his face up and stared into the distance, but nothing happened. “Nah, just with things that weren’t permanent on me when I died. I could probably change my hair too, but this style has always suited me.”

             
I got the sudden urge to see Gray in some platinum blonde pigtails and laughed out loud at the thought. He was so used to my out of nowhere laughter that he just flashed me his cocky grin and settled back onto the couch.

             
Gray and I spent that Saturday much like we spent all Saturdays, laying around on the couch and watching TV until I had to get ready for my shift at Rocktop. I took my time getting ready for my Saturday shifts. It was nice not having to rush to the bar after school and my tips always seemed to be better with the more that I wore. I got out of the shower and dressed in my barely-there uniform, just in time too, because Gray emerged from the air. I tried to give him a dirty look to show him that I didn’t approve of his unannounced entrance, but he was doing some crazy hip hop dance that I had seen on a music video and I couldn’t keep from laughing at him. After he finished his dance and I gave him a standing ovation, I dried my hair and then pulled it back into a messy, but cute, high pony tail with a purple headband that matched my Ravens jersey. I applied a little mascara and then finished my makeup with some pale pink lip gloss.

             
“You look smokin’ Spud!” Gray said when I emerged from the bathroom. Gray had chosen the nickname “Spud” for me when I was little. I’ve never asked him why he called me that, but I avoided talking to him about it at all costs. I could only be glad that no one else could hear him say it and start to follow the trend. I rolled my eyes at him and he gave me a disapproving look. Irritating him with eye rolling was the only ammo I had against him.

             
“I’m ready!” I said.

             
“It’s about time.” Said Gray and then we headed out to the Delray. Usually Gray and I rode in silence as we listened to the radio, but something had been eating at the both of us.

             
“What are we going to do about Little Dirty Boy?” I asked.

             
“Little
who?”
Gray was confused. I guess I had never said the nickname that I had chosen for the boy out loud.

             
“You know, our friend we made. The one that’s going on a downhill spiral…fast.”

             
“I’ve been wondering the same thing myself.” Gray said and his mouth turned down into a frown.

             
Neither of us had any idea what we could do to help Little Dirty Boy, so the rest of the car ride we were quiet and thoughtful. When we got to the bar I walked straight to the employee room to clock in. Remi was there looking at something on her phone and waiting to start her shift. Gray moved behind her and started checking out her ass just for the sake of making me uncomfortable. He was never that inconsiderate unless he was
trying
to be a jerk. I tried really hard not to pay any attention to him, but the room was small and it wasn’t long before I started to giggle at him. Remi must’ve heard me because she tore her attention from her phone and said, “Oh hey chick! Did you get your boy problems figured out?” I began to blush which made Remi laugh. She loved making people squirm and she knew how easy it was for me.

I punched my time card and put on my little black waist apron to start my shift. When I got into the dining room the other server girls were in a huddle pointing at something and giggling. When I saw what they were pointing at
, my jaw dropped. Risk was sitting in the restaurant section of the bar. He was sitting in
my
section to be exact. There were only two other occupied tables in my section and they had already been served their food, so I took a few long deep breaths and headed over to his table.

             
I tried not to make eye contact with him so that it wouldn’t be obvious that I recognized him. “Can I get you anything?”

             
After he didn’t respond right away I decided to quit being a sissy and look at him. Risk looked like I had caught him by surprise and he didn’t know what to say. I cleared my throat because I was uncomfortable with the silence and his face lit up. “I’ll take whatever’s on tap.” He said and his green eyes twinkled.
Weird.

             
“I’ll have to see some I.D.” I stuck my hand in his face and waited for him to start making excuses about how he had “forgotten” it in his other pants. I was shocked when a Georgia state driver’s license was placed in my hand. By the date on the license, Risk had been old enough to drink for four months.

             
“Shit, seriously? You’re in high school!” I said.

             
“Read em’ and weep.” He said and winked at me.

             
That’s really more of a poker term
, I thought, and stalked off to the bar to order his beer. Girls under the age of twenty one weren’t supposed to carry alcohol, but when the bar got busy no one seemed to pay attention to which girl was grabbing which drink, and Rocktop was packed. After I had waited on a few more tables my thick tights had already started to feel like they were microwaving my legs. When I couldn’t ignore Risks beer anymore I grabbed it from Jane and stalked off to his table. When he came into view I noticed something
horrifying
. Gray was sitting right next to Risk with his arm around his shoulders and smirking at me. I knew that the only reason Gray might have taken an interest in him would have been because Risk had been talking about me.

             
I set Risks beer down and glared at Gray. That’s when I noticed that two people, besides my stalker ghost, had joined him. It was an older man and woman who couldn’t have been older than their late thirties, but looked like they were well in to their fifties. Time had definitely not been kind to these people, and from the smell of them, it was their own doing. The man was borderline drooling on himself and reeked of cheap vodka, while the woman was trying to act composed and classy, but she really just looked snooty, especially in comparison to Risks easy going manner.

             
“Here’s your beer. Can I get anything for the two of you?”

             
The man looked at me with hooded eyes. I think that he was trying to be seductive, but he could’ve just been on the verge of passing out. “God son, she’s hotter than you said! Look at that fine ass!” The man slurred and my mouth hung open in surprise. I looked at Risk who had started to blush. “Uh…Thanks, sir. Can I get you something to drink? Our specials are…”

             
“I don’t want any of that shit! Give me a vodka straight and dry. And I want the top shelf stuff too, my son here is buying.” His lips curled into a smile and Risk looked down at his hands while he fiddled with a piece of his napkin.

             
“Coming right up!” Was all I could say as I spun on my toes and hurried back to the bar.

             
While I was picking up the drinks Gray appeared next to me looking a little too peppy considering what I had just witnessed.

             
“You won’t believe what he’s saying about you Spud!” I rolled my eyes and Grays smile wavered.

             
“Oh, I think I can probably figure it out.”

             
“No, not his jackass dad. Risk was telling his parents how
beautiful
you are and that he was thinking of asking you to prom!”

             
I took a moment to process that information. Was I seriously going to be asked to prom with a guy that was drop dead gorgeous? No. No way was that happening. I just didn’t have that kind of luck.

             
I only realized that I was standing there with my mouth hanging open when the bartender, Jane, yelled from behind me, “Are you gonna take this drink or stare at that fine piece of ass all night?” I turned to look at Jane and then whipped my head back to Gray, but he had already rejoined Risk at his table. I took them the drink and tried my hardest to set the glass down and scurry away without being noticed, but Risks dad grabbed my hand. “Aren’t you just a precious little thing? I’ve heard some stories about you
girl
. You’re some kind of invalid aren’t you?” I tried jerking my arm away but he had a good grip. I started to panic and ended up dumping the glass of vodka in his lap by accident. “Oh Jesus! What the fuck is wrong with you?” My manager saw me dump his drink and rushed over to offer the bastard drinks on the house for the rest of the night. Too bad my manager hadn’t seen the near assault or his ass would have been out on the street.

             
Risks cheeks looked like they were on fire and I’m sure that I looked pretty flustered myself. Sometime during the scuffle Gray had appeared at my side, but it’s not like he could’ve done anything to help me. I was disappointed that Risk hadn’t jumped in and helped me, but I was only a girl he knew from school, and I understood that he couldn’t go against his father for that kind of relationship.

             
Risks father left me alone for the rest of the night unless he was demanding another free drink. He drank until he couldn’t stand anymore, and the mother snuck sips here and there. Risk just sat there watching the room and several times I noticed him watching me work.

             
Just before Risk was about to help drag his father out to their car he got up from his table and walked up to me at the bar. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and he looked nervous. “Can we talk sometime?” He asked with a smile.

             
I was already putty in his hands with that smile. “Ummm…sure!” I tried my best to look cute as a button.

             
He smiled bright and his green eyes twinkled. “Cool, can I have your number so I can text you tomorrow or something?”

             
“That sounds amazing!” Man I was sounding desperate. After I wrote my number on a bar napkin he shoved it into his pocket and turned away from me with a big grin after promising to text me the next day.
EEEEEK! He’s so hot! Oh gross, I’m gushing.

             
As soon as I was done with my happy dance that I thought I had only been sharing with Gray, I heard a sultry chuckle behind me and I froze. “I knew you had a boyfriend! And man is he H.O.T!!! Tell me everything now, bitch!” Remi was way too excited about my personal life, but I was on cloud nine so I filled her in on everything so far.

             
“Well he’s new at school, and an outcast like me, but I’m not sure why because everyone thinks he’s hot and he isn’t weird. He has great hair and a rockin’ body and I really hope he asks me to prom! Oh! And his name is Risk….something. I don’t know his last name yet.”

             
Remi “eeked” just as hard as I had and we shared another round of the happy dance. Gray watched from a corner with a satisfied smile on his face while I had my moment. He was always so worried about how I would live my life being able to talk to ghosts and do normal things like have friends and fall in love. I always wondered if maybe a normal life just wasn’t in the cards for me. After all, talking to ghosts is pretty freaking awesome most of the time and I would never vote against having Gray around. We were stuck with each other until he crossed over or I died and crossed over, and I liked the minimal chances that either of those things would happen anytime soon.