Love is Enough

Gabby tried to push away from TJ, but he held on. He couldn't do anything to stop Gabby from leaving if she wanted to. She could just disappear in a puff of cold air, but she stayed, and she bit her lip before she said more.

"We were talkin' kinda tense, you know—almost arguin'," Gabby said. "What I said, I said on purpose. I thought it would be a sting, you know? But I was wrong." She leaned close and whispered in TJ's ear, "I love Hannah. I wouldn't hurt her like that on purpose."

Gabby ran her hands down into TJ's pants and smiled when she found his hardening cock. "I'm going to give you a check," she said. "You can cash it tomorrow, and we'll both like it more. Right now, I want to be with Hannah."

TJ shuddered from the chill that surrounded him when Gabby disappeared. He watched the light overhead swing back and forth in a breath of air from the ventilation and wondered how he would explain what happened.

5.

TJ sat down with Mack on Sunday morning and lied. "There must have been something wrong with the ventilation," he said. "It was blowing air in from outside, and the cold draft put people on edge. I helped a lady who stumbled on the stairs, but then I fell and slid down a few steps. I think there was a little hysteria. That's all it was."

"What about all the people who swear they saw a ghost?" Mack asked. "You're going home for Thanksgiving, and I'm going to be here all week answering questions. I need a better story."

"You can call me if the questions get too bad," TJ said. He grinned at Mack and added, "Or, if you don't like my story then you can tell people that the theater is haunted. I bet my story is going to get you fewer hard-to-answer questions."

It was the ventilation tale that made it to the news on Monday.

The story was one problem out of the way. TJ sat down in the box office with his head in his hands and worried about the next problem. He hadn't told Hannah and Gabby that he was leaving. They'd kept him so distracted that he almost forgot, and he was worried about what they'd do.

He felt one of the girls brush by him and the other stop beside him. There was too much bustle in the theater for them to appear, so they waited invisibly. "It's going to be busy for a while," TJ said, "Then I need to tell you something."

Gabby's voice came from beside him, "Why don't you tell us now? Folks are watchin', not listenin'."

"Because I can't protect myself from you if I can't see you," TJ said, and then he felt stupid. He couldn't protect himself anyway, so he gave in. "I won't be here tomorrow, and I won't be back until Saturday. Thursday is Thanksgiving, and I promised Mom a long time ago..."

"You're gonna be here tonight aren't you?" Gabby asked. "We have a date and all, you know?"

TJ felt Hannah brush silently by him again, this time on her way to the door. He turned his head as if he could watch her leave, then Gabby said, "She's upset, but it'll be okay. We're dead, you know. A little time ain't nothin' to us."

"I'll be here tonight," TJ said, "But we have to get there first." He reached to the TV beside the window and turned it on. It was the Sunday, so there was football. "Can you stay and watch this?" he asked.

"Uh huh," Gabby said. From the distracted sound of her voice he could tell that she was already adsorbed in the motion and colors. He stuck a note over the switch that said, "Please leave this on," then went upstairs to check toilet paper in the rest rooms.

He wasn't there long before he realized that he wasn't alone. A chill brushed his shoulder, and he asked, "Who's there?"

Hannah voice was close by his ear when she said, "It's just me."

TJ was at least glad to know where Hannah was. "You don't want to watch TV with Gabby?" he asked. "Are you going to follow me around?"

"Oh, don't cast a kitten," Hannah said. "I'm not getting in your way. I just wanna be where you are. I ain't figured you out yet."

TJ rolled his eyes. It was hard to believe that Hannah would stay out of his way. He went from the women's restroom to the men's and Hannah groaned. "Are you going to spend all your time in the johns?" she asked.

"It's part of the job," TJ said. "I have to make sure housekeeping did their work and that everything's ready to go. And I have to pee." He stepped up to a urinal and Hannah appeared beside him while he unzipped his pants. He stood there for too long with Hannah's breath warm on his ear, so she said "Got a problem? Can I hold that for you?"

"If I let you hold it, will you stop following me?" TJ asked. He brushed Hannah's hand away once, but then gave up.

"You slay me," Hannah said, "No." It took another moment before TJ could relax and then Hannah moved his cock up and down and side to side and watched while he peed.

"Boys get over that when we're kids," TJ said.

"I was never a boy," Hannah said. TJ pushed her hand away when he was done, shook the last drops off his cock and stood back to zip his pants. The urinal flushed automatically and Hannah jumped away from it. "Jeepers!" she said.

Hannah was full of questions, and she was in TJ's way until noon when he opened the stage door for the curtain call. Then she stayed downstairs, and he settled in the break room with his lunch.

TJ felt Gabby before he saw her. She appeared close beside him and said, "Hannah said you bored her to tears, so I can have you for a while."

"She was bored?" TJ asked. "Now I'm confused. It was like she wanted something, and I couldn't tell what it is."

Gabby bit her lip, then leaned close. "That's confusin' her too," she said. "She's stuck on you, you know? She's never had a crush before, and she doesn't know what to do."

"Never?" TJ asked. He sat back and watched Gabby, "I guess I should feel good about that, but it's hard to believe," he said.

Gabby held her hand up and asked, "Would I feed you a line? The way Hannah's step-dad treated her didn't make her expect much from fellas, you know? And the customers didn't help with that. You're real different from all of them."

Voices outside the room made Gabby turn and listen. She disappeared in a swirl of frigid air just as two of the volunteer ushers pushed through the door, laughing about ghosts haunting the theater.

The show was over, and the actors and crew were gone before TJ was alone again. He went to the stage and dropped on the covered chair with his laptop beside him, leaned back, and stared at the light above the stage. He wasn't alone for long before a cold draft and a whiff of perfume tickled his senses.

Gabby appeared behind TJ, draped her arms over his shoulder and whispered with her lips close by his ear. "Isn't this about where we left off last night?" she asked.

"Almost," TJ said. He tugged Gabby around the chair to stand in front of him and tucked one finger under the waist band of her knickers. "Take these off," he said. He set his laptop beside the chair while Gabby let her knickers slip to the floor and stepped out of them.

Gabby pushed TJ back in the chair and climbed over his lap. "This is starting to seem about right," she said. She opened his belt and slipped her hand down into his boxers to wrap his suddenly-hardening cock. "Now we're on the trolley," Gabby said.

TJ groaned his response, and pulled Gabby's camisole over her head. She let go of his cock so the camisole could slip down her arms then sat back on his knees, so he could look at her. Gabby's naked body was firm and lithe. Her skin was the color of cream. TJ slipped his fingers through the dark curls between her legs, but Gabby pushed his hand away.

"This is no good," she said and tugged at his tie. It took a little struggle and a lot of laughing, but a few minutes later TJ was as naked as Gabby. His hard-on jutted up between them, and Gabby's nipples stood out, begging for his attention.

Who was TJ to ignore a tit in need? He put his hands under Gabby's butt and pulled her to him. He kissed her breasts and sucked them, drew her nipples between his lips and pulled them between his teeth. TJ was too distracted to notice the way Gabby's fingers worked between her thighs.

Gabby pushed back from TJ until her nipple slipped from his lips. She settled down, and he caught his breath because his cock pushed up into her wet cunt. He groaned and bucked—the sensations almost overwhelmed him.

TJ could already feel Gabby's warm juice trickling around his balls when she leaned forward and undulated slowly over him. She whispered in his ear, "I think you like being in the dead girl."

"I wish you wouldn't say it like that," he said and pushed her hips down to sink his cock deeper into her. Her face was hidden from the light over the stage, so TJ couldn't see the smile that spread on her face when he said, "You feel alive too me."

Gabby leaned down to brush his lips with hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Her body and her breath were close and warm. She whispered by his ear. "Let me do this," she said, and the way she moved kept TJ from thinking that it could happen any other way.

TJ rested one hand on Gabby's hip and squeezed her tit with his other hand. She kissed his lips and pushed her tongue into his mouth. Gabby's breath was hot on TJ's cheek, and her hips moved faster under his touch. Her skin grew slick with a film of sweat, and his cock ached inside her.

Gabby broke their kiss when she couldn't breathe. She closed her eyes and ground harder against TJ as her excitement took over. He pushed back against her, their bodies slipped together with wet skin on wet skin, and their rhythm accelerated.

It was Gabby who climaxed first. She dug her fingers into TJ's shoulders and groaned through her teeth before she released him. She collapsed on his chest and his shoulders; her body tightened and pulsed around TJ's cock and in his arms. He held her and pushed himself up against her until her body finally went soft.

That was when TJ knew he couldn't stop himself. He forced Gabby down on his cock, and his instinct made him thrust up into her softening body. Gabby gasped into his ear, her body twisted in his arms, and his essence shot the length of his shaft. The stage went black for TJ, and it stayed dark until he could breathe again.

Gabby pushed herself up when TJ's grip relaxed, and said, "I liked that." She watched his face and returned to her slow undulation. His cock softened inside her, and she knew he was empty. "I think you liked it too." Gabby glanced over her shoulder then bent down to kiss his lips. She pushed herself away and stood with TJ trickling down the inside of her thigh, and without another word she was gone.

TJ threw his head back and groaned. It wasn't until he looked up again that he saw Hannah. She sat on the sofa with her feet tucked up under her, chewed on her thumbnail, and watched. TJ pulled himself up, looked around, and found his clothes scattered around the chair. He gathered them together then stood up. "So I guess I bored you this afternoon." he said.

Hannah snorted, "Is that what Gabby told you?" She sat up on the edge of the cushion and watched. "She told me you was mad at me, and I was to leave you alone."

TJ shifted from one foot to the other, held his wad of clothes in front of him, and looked out at the ranks of empty seats. "You were pretty much in my way," he said. "But I wasn't mad. Mostly I was confused about why." He stepped to the sofa and dropped on the cushion beside Hannah with his clothes on his lap.

"I thought the play was done," Hannah said, and ran her hand over the dust cover. "The girls took all their makeup and costumes with them. Why's the furniture still here?"

"They had some problem getting a truck, so Mack let them leave the sets here. Nutcracker is moving in tomorrow night, so these have to be out of here before then." He touched the covered couch and thought aloud, "These things have been useful. It might be hard to do without them."

"Depends on what you want to do," Hannah said. "So what was you confused about? Why I was there?"

TJ watched and said, "Yeah. Gabby said you have a crush on me, and you don't know what to do."

Hannah pushed away. "She made that up, too," she said. TJ could see her blush even in the dim light from the bulb overhead. At least that part of what Gabby told him looked like it was true, and the rest seemed to follow.

"I didn't think a dead hooker would blush like that," TJ said. He tucked his finger under Hannah's chin, but she slapped his hand away. "It's okay to blush, you know. I like it because it shows me things you won't tell me." TJ searched Hannah's expression and asked, "Are you going to be okay while I'm gone? Gabby said that time was nothing."

Hannah relaxed against TJ's shoulder. "It ain't nothing," she said. "Not even to Gabby. She lied again. I'm going to feel every minute until you come back."

It's hard to say who was more surprised—Hannah when TJ bent down to kiss her mouth, or TJ when she caught her breath and wrapped her arms around his neck. He surrounded her with his warmth. Her mouth was soft and welcoming.

TJ pushed his hand under Hannah's camisole and around her waist. The skin on her back was still smooth, supple, and unscarred. She caught her breath when he slipped his hand up to her full breasts, and—at least for a moment—she pressed herself against his touch.

"You're smothering me," Hannah said, and pushed TJ back. She wiped her mouth with her forearm and TJ laughed. "What?" she asked when she saw his grin. TJ didn't answer her question, he just reached to brush her hardened nipples with his fingertips. She was betrayed by her own body.

Hannah slapped TJ's hand away again, but then drew her legs up and curled against his side. He lifted his arm around her and said, "You're really hard to understand."

"Then don't bother," Hannah said. She pulled the wad of clothes off TJ's lap, and laughed when his hard-on popped up. She stroked her fingers along its bulging veins. "I think you're being greedy," she said, "Like Gabby wasn't enough."

"Maybe I am," TJ said while he watched Hannah study his cock. "I figured you'd seen plenty of those before." His cock tingled and strained under her touch.

"I have," Hannah said, "More than I ever thought I would. But yours is different." She had her hand wrapped around his shaft when she looked up at him. "Because it's yours. I had a lot of dicks in me, but you got the only dick I ever wanted in me."

"Then why are you being so complicated?" TJ asked. He bent over Hannah, and she tipped her chin up while he kissed her ear and her neck. He pushed his hand down into her knickers, and her breath heated his neck and his shoulder. Whether she meant to or not, Hannah lifted her knees apart so TJ could touch her soft folds.

Hannah let go of TJ's cock, worked her hand between them, and pushed TJ back, so she could watch his face while she answered. "It is complicated—to me, anyway. Sex was alway what fellas did to me. I just waited 'til it was over. With you, it's like you're getting me blotto, and all I want is another drink. But I don't know from nothing what it's gonna feel like because I never been there before. I'm scared."

To TJ, Hannah seemed more distracted than scared. She tipped her head back against his arm and closed her eyes. He pushed deep between her legs, wet his fingers in her warmth, and slipped them up over her hood. Her breath came in shallow gulps, and her trigger swelled under his touch.

Hannah suddenly stiffened in TJ's arms, and her eyes flew open. She was terrified, and then she was gone in a chill swirl that left TJ cold and alone.

6.

That Saturday morning after Thanksgiving was briefly clear and crisp. TJ's breath swirled in a sunlit cloud around him while he unlocked the door. He hung his coat under the balcony stairs, scratched his whiskers, and straightened his tie before he looked around. The lobby and the mezzanine should have been festooned with Christmas decorations. Instead, a bare Christmas tree stood in one corner of the lobby and another stood on the mezzanine. Wreathes were hung on the doors, but there were no other decorations to see.

Mack slammed his office door behind him, and as he passed TJ he said, "Get Joan when she comes in and finish hanging stuff. You know where the decorations are, right? I have a meeting uptown."

TJ heard Gabby beside him. "Who's Joan?" she asked.

He shushed Gabby and looked around to make sure they were alone. "Snack bar manager," he said. "Is Hannah here?" He didn't wait for an answer. He could feel her at his side. "Come with me." He walked through the box office to the storeroom behind it, closed the door, and said to no-one in particular, "I missed you both more than I should have. Mom thought something was wrong."

Gabby appeared in front of him and Hannah appeared at his side. "Somethin' was wrong," Gabby said. "You weren't with us."

"I didn't miss you," Hannah said. She turned her back on TJ and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "I didn't miss you every minute you was gone."

TJ laughed at them both and said, "I took one of my old plays with me. I spent most of the time rewriting it to put parts of both of you into my characters. I thought about you the whole time." He hesitated, but he needed to feel the girls in his arms. TJ pulled Gabby against him, and she laughed in his ear while he kissed her cheek. Hannah resisted when he tugged on her arm, so he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck while she tried to shrug him off.

"Are these the decorations?" Gabby asked and peeked into an open box on top of a stack of other boxes. "I love decorating. Can we help?"

The idea appealed to TJ, but he had to shake his head. "If we were alone," he said, "But there are probably going to be too many people around. Joan is supposed to help, and there'll be other people coming and going." He lifted a box of tree ornaments from the stack and turned toward the door. "Oh. Could you open the door for me?" he asked.

TJ hung gold garland and red glass balls on the tree, and the ghosts' invisible presence swirled around him while they supervised his work. Joan complimented TJ on the tree when she came in and groaned when he told her that Mack wanted her to help. "We're sold out tonight. I have so much to do, and the crew won't get here 'til six."

"Are you going to be in the back room?" TJ asked. He was starting to think that Hannah and Gabby might be able to help after all. Joan nodded, and he said, "I'll get someone else to help, and I'll see you in a couple hours."

TJ kept one eye on the box office to make sure no-one was coming to the lobby, and he carried boxes from the store room for the giggling ghosts. They ran the stairs to wrap evergreen garlands along the banisters and across the mezzanine rail. TJ directed them to put Nutcracker figures and Santas beside the doors, to hang miniature dolls, and rocking horses from their garlands.

Hannah and Gabby were decorating the tree on the mezzanine when Joan walked out of the snack bar. TJ hauled the last box from the storeroom and found her watching the ghosts. He'd lost track of time. "We have new help," Joan said.

Things would have gone better if Hannah and Gabby hadn't disappeared when they saw Joan. They left her open-mouthed and staring at nothing. "Oh my God!" she said. "I saw the ghost! I saw two ghosts!"

"Where?" TJ asked. "I don't see any ghosts. What did they look like?"

"By the tree up there," Joan said, and pointed up to the mezzanine. "They were short-haired girls in camisoles, and they just disappeared."

It took half an hour, but it seemed like TJ convinced Joan that maybe her eyes tricked her. She just saw his volunteers working on the tree. Of course, that didn't stop her from talking about it to anyone who would listen.

TJ took care of the last box of decorations by himself, and found Mack waiting in the middle of the lobby. "It looks good," he said, "But I need to talk to you in my office."