A Ghost of a Chance

The next few pictures were more teasing. They were pulling their suits down to show their pubic hair to the camera, acting shocked at the other's antics. Then there was a photo of Henry exposing his bare bottom while Peter sat laughing on the sand. In the next photo, they were standing side by side, Henry's arm draped over Peter's shoulders, with their backs to the camera and their suits lowered, displaying their butts. Both of them had very rounded, lush buns that would turn heads even today.

In the next photo, they had removed their suits and were holding them coyly in front of their cocks and balls while laughing, heads flung back.

Next photo, Peter had grabbed Henry's trunks and was holding them above his head while a nude Henry reached for them. His silhouetted cock showed that not only was he pretty well hung, he was half hard.

Next, Henry had grabbed both pairs of trunks from Peter and was running away from him while Peter stood staring brazenly at the camera and smirking. He had a very nice sized uncut cock that was standing out from his body in a downward arc, rapidly inflating.

The next photo showed the two of them side by side again, facing the camera with fully erect cocks. They were roughly the same size, larger than average and both had big balls hanging down. Henry was covering his mouth laughing and it looked from the position of Peter's hidden hand that he was groping Henry's ass.

The final picture showed the two of them standing belly to belly nude and sharing a deep kiss with their arms wrapped around each other.

They looked so alive and so happy. I already knew the depressing end to the story and I felt like crying. Strangely, at the same time, I felt much better. If Peter were merely a product of my mental illness then I never would have known to look for his secret hiding place.

He didn't reappear until later that evening. I was listening to the radio and reading when I noticed him sitting across from me.

"Henry and I looked pretty good, didn't we?" he asked.

"You were both really hot men. You looked even hotter as a couple. But how did you ever have those pictures taken?"

"Henry was the really handsome one. Sometimes I couldn't believe that he ever saw anything in me. The pictures were taken by a friend of ours who we'd known in the city. We both had had a little fling with him and he was the one who introduced us. He worked as a photographer, so he had his own darkroom and everything. One weekend he came up for a visit and he took our pictures."

He sat staring into space and so I asked, "Do you get lonely for Henry?"

"Of course I do, when I think of him." Peter replied.

"Isn't there any way you can contact him? After all, you're both dead now."

"It doesn't work that way. He moved on. I'm stuck here. I have no way to contact him."

"Gene said something last night that got me wondering. He asked if I was intending to hold a séance. Do you think that if I did and we contacted Henry, he could take you back with him?"

"I doubt it, I don't believe in séances anyway. You're making me upset."

He rose and walked into the hallway. I didn't bother to follow.

I spent the rest of the evening musing over my idea. I had summoned up Peter; maybe Henry wouldn't be so difficult, too. Ida had said that she could feel a presence in the house; I could enlist her to help. I resolved to talk to her first thing in the morning.

I went up to bed and as I lay waiting for sleep to come, I couldn't help thinking about how attractive and sexy Peter and Henry had been. In my younger days, I would have hit on either or both of them if I'd gotten the chance. I finally drifted off with a throbbing erection.

I have no idea how long I was asleep but I suddenly jerked awake to find Peter standing at the foot of the bed. I'd forgotten to turn off the bedside light. Peter stood before me, totally nude with a straining erection.

"You've been thinking naughty thoughts about me." he said.

He certainly didn't appear "ghostly". Instead, he looked like a healthy young man in the prime of life. His body was muscular and hairless and there was s flush of pink making his cock and balls darker.

"I confess I have." I said. "It looks like you've been having some of your own." I indicated his stiff dick.

He pushed his big dick down and then let it go so that it slapped against his abdomen and said, "I don't remember this as being this big. You must have been making unconscious improvements."

"It certainly couldn't be improved upon now."

"Are you hard too?" he asked.

I slid the covers down so that he could see my stiff cock lying against my belly.

"That looks even prettier than last night." he said.

I lay there admiring his body and cock until finally I had to ask, "Are you able to have sex?"

"I don't think so, I don't think I'm that...solid." he said. He grasped his big hard dick and stroked it.

"We could jerk off together." I said.

"We could, there's nothing to stop that." he said smiling.

He climbed onto the bed as I pulled my legs up and bent them at the knee. Inches from me, he stopped and sat back on his haunches. He gorgeous uncut cock was standing straight up from his crotch, the foreskin half pulled back to expose the shiny head.

I grasped my stiff shaft in my hand and began to stroke up and down it. He watched me and then did the same. His loose foreskin slid back and forth over his fat cock head, sometimes entirely covering it, sometimes exposing it entirely.

"It's really hot to watch a guy beat an uncut cock." I said.

"I like a cut guy." Peter said.

His heavy balls were swinging back and forth as he stroked and I could get an occasional glimpse of his tight crack. I wondered what his hole looked like, what it would be like to fuck him.

"Now you're making my ass hot, you dirty old man." Peter said. "You must be thinking of it."

"I was fantasizing about sticking my dick in you." I said. "I bet you were a helluva hot fuck."

I was jerking my dick hard now and I could feel myself beginning to ready to shoot.

"I was," Peter said, "either giving or receiving. Henry and I used to fuck like rabbits every chance we got. We were both great at sucking dick, too."

He was pounding his cock in front of me, his knees flexing so that he bounced up and down with his cock in his hand.

"Do you think you're able to cum?" I asked.

No sooner said than done. A thick gout of cum blasted out of his cock, into the air. Instead of falling on the bed it floated up into the air and disappeared.

My own load squirted over my belly instead of disappearing. I was coated from the chin down with hot juice as I watched Peter finish himself off. When his balls were drained, he fell over on his side laughing.

"That's not a very flattering reaction." I said.

"It's not you." he said, barely able to control his giggles. He gathered up some of his cum from his cock head and flicked it upward where it rose and disappeared.

"Ectoplasm!" he said and began laughing again. I couldn't help but laugh, too.

He got off of the bed and went to sit in the corner chair. I closed my eyes and when I peeped again, he was gone.

The next morning he didn't appear so after breakfast I drove myself to Ida's. She heard the car arrive and came out onto her porch.

"Would you do something weird if I asked you to?" I said, standing at the porch steps.

She paused a moment and then said, "That would depend on what and how weird."

"Would you come over and help me hold a séance tonight? I want to see if I can summon Henry."

She got a slightly perplexed, slightly peeved look and said, "Maybe you're getting to wound up in the Peter and Henry story."

"I'm working on getting over it." I said.

"Did Gene show up at your place?" she asked, off the subject.

"Yes, he did." I didn't really feel like discussing her nephew and my interactions. "Will you come over tonight?"

"I'll be there after I watch my shows." she said. "About 10 but I can't stay a long time."

"That's perfect." I said. "Thank you, Ida."

I turned to go but before I left she said, "Gene's a good boy. You be nice to him."

When I got back home, Peter was sitting in the living room. Something else had occurred to me on the drive and as I sat down across from him I asked, "Have you ever been to the graveyard?"

"Henry and I spent an afternoon looking for his relatives." Peter replied. "It isn't very interesting."

"Would you like to visit Henry's grave?"

He gave me a look that I couldn't really interpret so I pushed on.

"I could drive you; you've ridden in cars before so it wouldn't be breaking any rules or anything. Maybe you'll feel some connection or something if you're right at his grave."

He sat thinking and then he said, "I would. I'd like to visit him, even though he's not there. I'd feel closer to him somehow."

I led him outside to where I had parked my car and opened the passenger door.

"I can see the wheels and the seat.' he said. "The rest is all just a blur."

"Just climb in and sit down." I said. 'Don't bump your head; the roof is probably lower than you're used to."

"Ghosts don't bump their heads, dummy." he replied.

When he was seated, I climbed in the driver's side. I started to tell him to wear his seatbelt, and then realized there was no point.

I started the engine and we embarked.

"Quieter than I'm used to." Peter said. "Rides lower, too."

We rode along for a couple of miles. We only had to cross one major intersection and as luck would have it, Gene was stopped on the other street, waiting for the light.

"Gene is up ahead on the right; I didn't expect to see him." I said and Peter craned to look.

As we drove past I waved and he looked at me as if he was confused.

"Mr. Big Dick looked like he swallowed a pickle." Peter said with a grin.

When we arrived at the graveyard, I opened the door to let Peter out. He looked around himself and then took off on his own. He was ahead of me by several feet when he abruptly stopped.

"We're here." he said.

I looked past him and saw Henry's headstone, a granite slab set into the ground. The grave was neat and tidy, recently trimmed and there were flowers in a jar. I knew that Ida was probably responsible.

I stepped to one side of Peter and walked forward to get a better look at the stone and Peter said, "Ouch, watch where you're walking."

I stopped and looked around and then saw that Peter's headstone was beside Henry's. I was standing on his grave.

I jumped backward to what felt like a safe spot and said, "I'm so sorry! Could you feel that?"

"No, you horse's ass. I was teasing you."

Peter looked around and then said, "Still pretty boring here if you ask me."

I walked along the edge of Henry's grave and when I reached his headstone, I crouched down and rested my hand on it.

"Peter's here, if you can hear me, Henry." I said. "I brought him to see you. Are you nearby?"

"Are you crazy?" Peter said. "You're talking to a rock."

"But he could be." I said. "His body is here."

"And he's somewhere else. Nice graves, though. They get lots of sun."

I couldn't help thinking about how beautiful Peter had looked the night before, nude on my bed and how his body now was probably bones and dust. When I glanced up at him, he'd become a decomposed corpse out of a horror film. I was so startled that I fell over backward. When I looked up again, he was back to normal.

"That was really rude." Peter said. "Don't do that! And it was really uncomfortable, too."

"I'm sorry, I just got to thinking." I said.

"Well, don't. I didn't like that at all. I still have some vanity, even if I am dead."

I sat up and placed my hand back on the granite slab.

"Come on, goofy, nobody's home. Let's get back." Peter said.

We drove back to the house in silence and when I pulled into the drive, I was surprised to see Gene's truck parked there. I turned to say something to Peter but he'd disappeared.

When I got out of my car, Gene also got out of his truck and met me halfway.

"I thought you might call me last night." he said.

"I made an early night of it and went to bed." I said.

He looked me up and down for a moment and then he said, "Who was the guy in the car with you earlier?"

I was shocked, unsure of what he was talking about and then it dawned on me that he must mean when we had passed at the crossroad.

"There was no one with me." I said.

"It looked like there was a good looking guy sitting next to you. When I blinked, he was gone, like he ducked down and hid."

"I haven't had a living soul in my car." I said. "Isn't it kind of early to be getting possessive, anyway?"

"I was sure I saw someone." he replied. "It has really been bothering me. I told you, I don't do hookups. I want to see more of you, a lot more of you."

"Gene, maybe insanity is catching. I know I'm going nuts, maybe you're infected from me, too."

"The only crazy I am is crazy about you. Can I come over tonight?"

"That might be awkward. Ida is planning to stop by late."

"Maybe I can come by after she leaves?"

"I'll call you." I said.

I walked into the house before he could say any more.

Inside, Peter was in his usual chair.

"Gene thought he saw you earlier." I said to him.

"I can make that happen for a few seconds when I really try. It will do him good to feel jealous."

"Please stay out of my love life." I said and walked into the kitchen.

I didn't see Peter the rest of the day, he knew that I was pissed about his little stunt with Gene and made himself scarce. I spent the rest of the day reviewing my ghost books, reading everything even remotely related to séances. When all is said and done, it seems all you really need is a dim room, some candles and something that belonged to the deceased, if possible. I went upstairs to Henry's room and checked his closet but all of his clothing had been disposed of in the cleaning. I looked around, knowing that there had to be something.

My eyes lit on the dresser with its pair of brushes lined up on the top. When I picked one of them up, there was still a number of gray hairs caught in the bristles. I carried them downstairs.

It was starting to get dark when I set up a table and two chairs in the living room. I placed the brushes in the center of the table and placed candles at points around the room. Then, I sat down on the sofa to wait.

I must have dozed off; the next thing I knew was that someone was knocking at the door. I jumped up and went to answer.

In the porch light, Ida was standing in front of the door in a pair of pajamas with a robe over the top, with a winter coat on top of it all. Her hair was wound tightly in curlers and she'd wound a scarf turban style around her head.

The first thing she said when I opened the door was, "I must need my head examined, gallivanting all over kingdom come in the middle of the night."

"I really appreciate it, Ida; you're the only one who would understand."

"Well let's get busy. Tom was asleep when I left; maybe I can get back home before he misses me."

I led her into the living room. Peter was sitting in his chair but she, of course, couldn't see him.

"Lovely outfit." Peter said. "She didn't have to dress up just for me."

I glared at him and he smirked.

I walked around the room and lit the candles, then turned off the lamps. After seating Ida at the table, I took my seat across from her.

"This is like a scene from the second feature on a double bill I saw when I was young." Peter said. "Except that was at Halloween."

I ignored him and said to Ida, "We need to clasp hands and shut our eyes while I call on the spirits."

"You both should have sipped some spirits before you started this." Peter said. "Maybe then you'd see something."

Ida and I held hands on the table top, eyes closed and I said to the room, "We are calling on the spirit of Henry, who lived in this house. We ask you to make yourself known."

Nothing happened.

"Wouldn't it be funny if you raised a giant hairball since you're using his brush?" Peter said.

"Henry, we call you to come forward and communicate with us here in this room." I said.

Nothing.

"Henry, come and reunite with the spirit of your friend Peter and take him back with you."

"What, now you're trying to bring them both back?" Ida asked.

"I just want to make sure that they're together, wherever they are." I told her.

I opened one eye and looked at her and she was doing the same to me.

"Maybe you're not cut out for raising up ghosts." she said.

"Well, we both know better than that." Peter said. "Maybe you should have tried this on Henry's tombstone today. There's a lot more of him there than there is in his hairbrush."

I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me.

"Ida," I said, "can I ask one more favor and I'll never ask for another. Can we try this on Henry's grave?"

"Go traipsing around the graveyard when there isn't even a moon? We'll probably get shot for trespassing." She looked incredulous.

"Pleas, Ida, and I'll never mention it again. It won't take long and maybe it will work."

"I must be crazier than you are, going along with this. Come on, let's get it over with."

"I'll meet you there." Peter said. "I don't like your driving."

As we stepped out onto the porch Ida looked at the sky.

"There's a storm blowing, better wear your boots."

"I don't have any." I said.

She tsk'ed and said, "Come along." and then led me over to her car. She opened the trunk and took out a huge pair of rubber soled boots.

"These are Tom's; we always carry a couple pair for emergencies. You can borrow them."

As we each donned our boots, the wind picked up, blowing in from the sea.

"Let's get a move on unless you're planning on getting soaked." she told me.

The trip to the cemetery seemed much shorter than it had earlier in the day and, the entire way, we didn't pass another vehicle on the road. The gates were closed so we got out and walked to Henry's grave. Peter was standing beside it.

"What took so long?" he asked.

I put out the brushes and the candles. I had a hard time lighting them because of the breeze, I could only imagine what it must be like at home. I put my coat down on the grass for Ida to sit on and then sat down across the gravestone from her.

"This is pretty spooky, isn't it?" Peter said. "A desolate graveyard in the middle of the night. What if you see a ghost?"

I continued to ignore him.

I grasped Ida's hands and as I had at home, I called out, "We are calling on Henry, the occupant of this grave, to make himself known."

Nothing happened, as before.

"Henry, show us your spirit and reunite with the spirit of your friend Peter who waits for you."

"I wouldn't strictly say I was waiting for him, I never expected him to turn up." Peter said.

I knew it wasn't working and I knew that I was becoming angry.

"Henry, we demand that you appear to us and be known." I bellowed and then said, "Goddamnit!"

"I'm sure that's not part of the ceremony." Peter said.

I glared up at him and Ida said, "Honey, this just isn't working."

"We've got to keep trying is all." I said. "I know I can make it work."

There was a loud ominous rumble overhead as the storm moved in.

"I'm sorry, Ed, but I'm not going to sit out here and get drenched. You keep trying; I'll wait in the car." Ida said as she rose from the ground.

There was another peal of thunder as she walked away.

"I told you séances are hogwash." Peter said.

"They're not hogwash. I know I can reunite the two of you."

It began to rain, just lightly at first but it made me even angrier.

"I'm not leaving here until Henry comes for you, even if it takes all night." I said, becoming even angrier as the shower began to seep through my clothes.