"Yikes for making assumptions." Aurie wrinkled her nose at the awkwardness.

"It's not a big deal." I let my hair fall over my face and gave her a sideways smile, ready to change the subject. The conversation was getting culturally precarious.

"You don't have to talk about being adopted if you don't want to, but I find you fascinating."

"Like a peculiarity?" I teased.

She smirked. "Like an interesting person that I'd like to get to know."

I studied the floor. I rarely talked about my past. There was never any cause. My best friend Kittie had seen most of it firsthand, and my clients couldn't care less. Aurie's interest felt like a warm flicker within my consciousness.

I struggled to find a safe starting point. There were real traumas in my history, but my memories of growing up secretly Supernatural in a houseful of humans were just basic level bad.

"The first fifteen years of my life, I had no idea what I was. I thought I was mental. I could feel other people's emotions. When I tried explaining my Empathy to my parents, they said I was making things up."

"What's it like?" Aurie asked.

"Impressions," I murmured, looking at her. "Of what you want, what you need. I know exactly how you feel right now." She blushed, and I shrugged and smiled. "I try not to eavesdrop."

"Thank you," she said as she caught my hand. I sighed.

Sometimes I can't stop listening because I find you fascinating, too. "Anyway, I didn't understand why I could see things no one else saw," I murmured. "I remember telling my parents there was a monster outside my window. Later, I found out there were goblins and dragon shifters in my old neighborhood."

"Wow. Why didn't the other Supers help you?"

"I didn't know them, they didn't know me. I had a very sheltered home life. I was even homeschooled."

"Ah, got it. My mom is, um, famous. So, in middle school, my classmates started giving me a hard time about it, and my parents hired private tutors until I graduated."

"Yeah, my parents were fundamentalists. I learned about Overlay City when my best friend Kittie and I were recruited by a pimp who happened to be an elf." I chuckled dryly at the memory of Jasper. "That was after I basically got put out."

"Your parents put you out?" Aurie gasped.

"It's...complicated, but that's a story for another day. Ready to go in?" I asked. Our conversation had carried us to William J. Varnado's door. Aurie buzzed with nervousness.

"I hate leaping through walls, but here goes nothing."

"See you on the other side," I said.

I lifted a fist to knock at the door once she went in, but my phone rang. Glancing at the screen, I saw it was Kittie, and Aurie's words came back to me. I had been avoiding my best friend for making a forgivable thoughtless remark, which was wrong of me.

I hurriedly whispered into the receiver, "Can't talk now, except to apologize for behaving like a garbage human being for the past two weeks."

"No, no, it was me!" Kittie Cad insisted. "I wanted you to clear your schedule, but that stupid question came out all wrong. Ugh! Can we put it behind us? Let's start over. Please, hang out with me this weekend, darling."

"Of course, Ms. Cad."

"Oh, good! My boyfriend has been dying to meet you!"

"Okay, uh..." A thunderous crash suddenly came from within the apartment. "Can we make plans later? I'm a tad busy at the moment. I'll have to call you back."

I rushed off the phone with Kittie as a visibly upset Aurie stormed from Willie-Jay's apartment. I grabbed the ghost and hightailed it before her crush investigated the invisible force wreaking havoc. We ducked into the elevator.

"That bastard," Aurie fumed as she shoved a broken iPad at me.

"What the hell happened?" I asked.

"He was in the middle of uploading revenge porn. I heard him talking about it on the phone with some other guy. That's what took me so long. I don't even know the girl, but, dude!"

"I'm guessing when he saw the tablet fly across the room—"

"Yeah, he realized that was a bad idea," Aurie laughed with rancor. She pushed her hair from her face and paced the elevator on a minor rampage. "Why are men like that?"

"Is it a problematic time to say, 'not all men'?" I joked. She growled and mushed my face, and I caught her hand and kissed her fingertips. "Come here. I empathize, Yokai. I literally feel your pain, but don't let one asshole taint your impression of the world." I applauded myself for turning off my inner cynic. Kittie would be proud.

In a whiny huff, Aurie slipped into my arms and snuggled against my chest. I buried my nose in her hair. Was it weird that she smelled like spring? I hadn't interacted with many ghosts, per se, but everything about her felt too alive. Her voluptuous breasts, the gentle flare of her hips, the V of her...

Ah, hell. I tried to disengage, but she hugged me tighter, lithe body flush with mine. My face filled with heat as I stared at the ceiling of the elevator.

"It doesn't bother me," Aurie murmured without looking up.

A fluttery laugh escaped. "I don't think you understand." I willed myself to think of anything else. The shadowy interlude in the alley with Zyr came to mind. Fuck my life. Between the two of them, I would drown in an ocean of pent-up...something.

"Try to explain it," Aurie coaxed, "and don't say you're not like other guys because I know."

"I'm not like other guys." I scoffed.

She leaned back and looked at me. "Why do I make you uncomfortable?"

"I..." Don't sleep with women but I'm deeply attracted to you? The elevator landed with a quiet thump and chimed for the lobby. I breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm not uncomfortable with you. This is our floor."

"Liar, but I guess I should be figuring out my situation instead of putting you on the spot," Aurie groused. "So, what is my unfinished business, if it isn't William Varnado?"

"I have an idea, but I'll need Detective Zyr's help," I said as I led her out the lobby.

"Watch me turn into a primal scream before I learn what I'm supposed to do with my Afterlife."

"Don't worry," I whispered to her as I opened the door to the Uber, but I shared some doubts. It usually took a while for ghosts to lose touch with reality. On the other hand, it took them longer to gain control of their powers, too. Aurie was already proving the exception to the rule.

The Uber returned us to my apartment without incident. I scanned the courtyard one last time before we slipped inside. I hadn't felt a single bad vibe while we were out, and I was confident no one had seen us.

"Call him over," Aurie suggested.

It took me a second to realize who she meant. "The detective? I need to call my friend Kittie and play catch up. She checked in while we were at Willie's place."

"Yay! I'm glad you two made up. One friendship down, one ship to go."

"Shut it," I giggled.

Aurie settled in my favorite chair in a better mood. Zyr would be pleased to know our idea had worked. Sort of. Her poltergeist-y jitters were calmed for the moment. I slipped into the kitchenette to whip up two coffees for us. Aurie was a java fiend like me. Then I dialed Kittie Cad and discussed meeting up on Friday night while my roommate planted her nose in a book to give me privacy.

"I promise not to alert the press," I teased through the phone.

"You better not! He's the mayor," Kittie confided.

"Me-ow, Kittie! That's why everything has been hush-hush."

"You know some people would have a meltdown at him dating a trans woman. Dress casual. It should be a laid-back meeting between friends."

"Understood," I said. It bugged me that we had to pretend, but I truly did understand, as much as I hated it. "Now, let me go, Ms. Cad. Gotta spend time with Aurie before I—"

"Who's Aurie?" Kittie chirped. "A new friend? At your place??"

Without lifting her gaze from the page, Aurie turned an ear my way with a knowing smile tickling the corners of her lips. I fumbled for words, inwardly chastising myself for the mistake. Kittie clearly thought Aurie was more than just a friend. How did I explain my new roomie was a ghost?

The pubs in New Orleans were unlike anywhere else. In a city where open containers were the norm, it took a lot more than kitschy décor to keep beer buddies at the bar. The place where I met Kittie and her boyfriend was swamp-themed. There was an alligator on the wall, and a stuffed possum family in a glass display case by the door.

Aside from strong mixed drinks, the live music was the real draw at Pappy's Bootstrap. As I entered the crowded establishment, the three-man band started up a rousing rendition of "Barton Hollow" by the Civil Wars. I hummed along, standing on tiptoe to peer over the dance floor in search of Kittie Cad and her date.

There she was. Across the pub at a table near the bar, Kittie and Mayor Terrance Rhemus shared loaded eye contact. My best friend profiled in a millennial pink pantsuit. She toyed with salon-styled hair as she listened to something the mayor was saying. Her sienna face glowed from a touch of highlighter, but mostly from genuine joy.

Keeling over with a grin, she unconsciously arched her body toward her date, and he licked his lips as if he'd like nothing better than to eat her alive. I had no idea the mayor was such an attractive man. He had clear brown skin, a dark manscaped beard over a square jawline. He was a total conservative heartthrob.

This was the real deal, and Kittie deserved it. Grinning, I wove my way through the pub to greet them. They were so engrossed, they didn't even notice me. I shyly announced my presence.

"Mitsuyo!" Kittie squealed. "Please meet my friend, Terrance. Could you keep him company while I run to the ladies' room?" She hopped up and hugged me, as she gestured to her date.

"Um, okay," I said, reaching to shake his hand. "Call me Mys."

"Nice to meet you, Mys. Kristin has told me a lot about you."

As I settled at the table, I happened to glance at the door. To my surprise, there was Detective Zyr with a bombshell clinging to him like she'd never let go. Her body screamed femme fatale. Burnished copper hair accentuated ivory skin. A spray of freckles covered the bridge of her nose. Her bow-shaped lips parted seductively as she stared at the detective.

Who the hell was she?