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“You want to do what?”
Tommy’s voice was flat but he can’t help the incredulous lilt on the last word. He stared at his friend, eyes wide and mouth dropped open. Or, well, at who he thought was his friend. But if Enrico Torres was asking him to join a ghost hunting group, of all things, Tommy had some serious doubts. About his sanity, at the very least, and possibly how well Enrico actually knew him if he was asking this.
“C’mon, Tommy, hear me out,” Enrico replied, lifting his hands towards Tommy as he made his brown eyes as pleading as possible.
“I don’t even believe in ghosts,” Tommy argued, shaking his head.
“Exactly!” Enrico nodded emphatically, pointing at Tommy. “That’s exactly what we need.”
Taking a deep breath, Tommy shook his head again. This time, it was more amusement at himself than an automatic denial. He’d known about the group Enrico had been putting together. The guy had talked about little else at trivia nights for the last six months. Stalling for a few moments, he grabbed their empty beer bottles, tossed them in the trash, and grabbed a couple more out of the fridge. Sitting back down at the table, Tommy slid a bottle towards Enrico.
“All right, I’m listening,” Tommy said, opening his bottle then handing the opener to Enrico. “Try to sell me on this.”
“Really? Okay, great, here we go,” Enrico grinned and took a deep drink of his beer. “Okay, look, there’s me and three others. Allie, Lucas, and Skye. We all believe, right? So what we need is a skeptic. Someone whose immediate response isn’t ‘it’s a ghost’, you know? Someone who can debunk things or point out safety issues, things like that?”
“So you don’t actually want me to find ghosts?” Tommy asked, arching one eyebrow as he thought about it. “You want me to prove it’s not ghosts?”
“Exactly!” Enrico repeated, waving his arms in excitement. “Obviously, not everything is ghosts. We know that. But we don’t know everything that might be making it seem like it’s ghosts. Besides, we need the skeptic to balance the rest of us. We need a voice that says hey, not everything is paranormal.”
“That... that makes sense,” Tommy allowed cautiously. He took another drink of his beer, part of him intrigued by the idea. Another part was dismayed he was considering it. “Are you gonna listen to me if I tell you it’s not ghosts?”
Enrico looked hurt at the implication that they would ignore what Tommy said. The expression lasted for a few seconds, then he sighed. Knowing other people who believed, he understood that there were people who would ignore a skeptic no matter what evidence that skeptic provided.
“We’ll listen,” Enrico finally promised. “I can’t say we’d be happy about it but we’ll listen. Besides, that’s the whole point, right? Discovering the truth, whether it’s ghosts or not?”
“Maybe for you guys,” Tommy muttered, annoyance crossing his face. “Not for everybody. Some of those weird documentaries I’ve watched with Evan have seemed almost delusional with their belief that something is paranormal. And most of the time, it’s carbon monoxide poisoning or buildings not up to code or something dangerous like that.”
“Which is what we need you for,” Enrico emphasized, pointing at Tommy again. “Besides, you being a firefighter and all, you have first aid training none of the rest of us have.”
“None of you? Any first aid at all?” Tommy asked incredulously, his eyes widening again. “Seriously?”
“Well, the extent of my first aid is ‘put bandaid on cut’,” Enrico admitted, a somewhat sheepish look crossing his face. “I don’t think the others are much better.”
“Holy hell,” Tommy muttered, scrubbing a hand across his face. “You are all grown adults in the year 2024. How do you not know more than that?”
“See? This is another reason we need you,” Enrico cajoled. “I don’t foresee too many injuries or anything but if something happens, you’ll be there to help. So will you? Please?”
“I’m gonna regret this,” Tommy muttered to himself. Then he clinked his bottle against Enrico’s. “But yeah. I’m in. The second it gets actually dangerous though, we’re out. All of us, no matter what.”
“Great!” Enrico exclaimed. He got up and walked around the table to pull Tommy into a hug. “That’s awesome! I know the rest of the team can’t wait to meet you.”
Tommy returned the hug, patting Enrico on the back. Then, they finished their beers while Enrico filled him in on the rest of the team and what their first couple places were going to be. And when Evan got off shift just as Enrico was leaving, Tommy had the wonderful experience of his boyfriend laughing himself breathless after Tommy explained what he was going to be doing. It didn’t help that Enrico joined him.
~*~*~*~
“So when’s this guy supposed to get here?” Skye asked, impatiently tying their long brown hair back in a ponytail for the fourth time since they’d started packing Allie’s van. “We’re going to be leaving soon.”
“I don’t know,” Allie muttered, counting over the cameras once again. She blew out a breath as she came to the correct number. “But if he’s not here, we’re leaving his ass behind.”
She silently handed Skye a new hair tie.
“Now, Allie, how can you say that when you haven’t even seen his ass?” Enrico asked, as he dumped an armful of power cords next to the box Skye had put in the back of the van. “It’s a very nice ass.”
“Can’t judge his ass if it’s not here, can we, Rico?” Lucas chimed in from the driver’s seat of the van. Sunglasses covered his gray eyes and a map was spread open over the steering wheel. The sunglasses didn’t hide his expressive eyebrows, currently lifted in an expression of mischievousness. “Could be the world’s worst ass.”
“Who’s ass are we talking about?” an unfamiliar voice cut in.
Skye, Allie, and Lucas all turned to look at the man standing near Enrico at the back of the van. He was big, taller than all of them, and built. His brown hair was just long enough for the curls to be contained, though they looked like they would absolutely be unruly if they grew anymore. His blue eyes were amused. Allie and Lucas took one look at him and exchanged looks that meant wow. Skye just snorted as they looked the guy up and down.
“Tommy!” Enrico greeted him, holding out his hand for Tommy to shake. When he did, Enrico pulled him into a hug. “Glad you could make it. Here’s the rest of the team. Let me introduce you. This is Allie, she’s in charge of finding places and researching for any evidence of the paranormal.”
“And in charge of my van,” Allie interrupted, smiling warmly at Tommy as she held out her hand for him to shake. “Nice to meet you.”
“Right, Allie is the only one with a vehicle big enough for all of us and the equipment,” Enrico continued. “This is Skye. They’re our tech person. We are their minions when setting up all the initial equipment. And over there, in the driver seat, is Lucas. He’s secondary tech. He’s also a sensitive.”
“Sensitive?” Tommy repeated, waving at Skye and Lucas when both made no move for handshakes.
“Psychic, gifted, whatever you want to call it,” Lucas clarified, slotting an annoyed glance at Enrico. “It’s why I joined the group. I’ve kinda sensed ghosts since I was a kid. Lots of paranormal experiences.”
“Right,” Tommy said, struggling to keep his tone neutral. He was pretty sure he snorted a little anyway. “Okay.”
“It’s okay if you don’t believe,” Lucas shrugged, turning back to the map. “Most people don’t.”
“Well, this is the group,” Enrico said after an awkward pause. He turned to Skye and Allie. “Everything packed? All the cameras and mics ready to go?”
“Yep,” Allie nodded. “We’ll be ready to stream right after set up.”
“Stream?” Tommy asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach. He put a hand on Enrico’s shoulder when the other man started to slide away. “What do you mean?”
“Ah, didn’t I mention that?” Enrico asked, not meeting Tommy’s eyes. “We’re putting videos of our hunts up on youtube. It should be fun. People love ghosts and the paranormal.”
“You did not,” Tommy replied flatly.
“Surprise?” Enrico singsonged, moving his fingers in lackluster jazz hands.
Tommy just shook his head. It wasn’t enough to make him back out now that he’d committed. But he wasn’t going to hear the end of it if his coworkers ever watched any of the videos in the future. He could already hear Evan. He got into the van with the rest of the group after one last check of all the equipment. He didn’t notice Allie checking him out, her eyes appraising.
Lucas did. When he raised his eyebrows in question, Allie mouthed his ass is nice with a grin. Lucas grinned back at her, a chuckle burbling in his throat. Then he put the van in gear and the group was off for their first ghost hunt.
~*~*~*~